by Peter Darman
‘And I will observe the established laws,
‘And whatever laws in the future,
‘May be reasonably established.
‘If any person seeks to overturn the laws,
‘Both alone and with help I will oppose him.
‘I shall protect the king in country and in town, fall and die for him.
‘I shall speak with him in the truth of my heart,
‘Give him sound advice loyally, and smooth his way in every respect.
‘I will also honour the religion of my fathers.
‘I call on the great Goddess Ishtar to witness this my oath of allegiance.
‘May I be struck down by Your mighty power if I fail You.’
When the oath had been taken, Gallia walked to each recruit and embraced her, personally welcoming her to what was her personal bodyguard, and mine when the army marched to war.
I was just a bystander to the event, an insignificant observer to the living embodiment of the wisdom and vision of my wife. I had fought for forty years to rid Parthia of the Roman menace. But it had taken her just one campaign to sow the seeds of mutual respect and a lasting truce between the Parthian Empire and Rome, which would eventually result in Phraates surrendering the eagles in return for his son. As she went from new recruit to new recruit, I stood and admired the most exceptional woman I had ever known.
Gallia, Princess of the Gauls, Queen of Dura, Companion.
Amazon.
Historical notes
Phraates was king of kings of the Parthian Empire for forty years, apart from the short interlude when Tiridates overthrew him. As with much concerning the Parthians, our knowledge of the revolt is sketchy, though sources report the tyranny of Phraates was a major factor. We do know that Phraates was restored with the aid of the ‘Scythians’, with whom he enjoyed sanctuary with for a while. The fact he not only returned and ejected Tiridates from Ctesiphon is testimony to the talents of Phraates, that and the fact he ruled Parthia for another thirty-two years.
Before Phraates, Rome and Parthia had been bitter enemies, leading to the latter being invaded by Roman armies on three separate occasions. Each invasion ended in defeat for Rome: at Carrhae, at Phraaspa, and in Media. And while Mark Antony and Octavian were at loggerheads and there was civil war in the Roman world, Parthia could be confident of defending its western frontier against a divided Rome. Octavian’s victory at Actium in 30BC changed the strategic picture. Rome was now united behind a single leader, who immediately began directing his energies towards achieving the return of the eagles lost at Carrhae and Lake Urmia, which would increase his domestic popularity enormously.
Having just fought an exhausting civil war and aware that Roman armies had failed to subdue Parthia in the past, Octavian took the astute decision to achieve the return of the eagles by diplomatic means. The toppling of Tiridates worked to his advantage because before he fled Parthia for Syria, the rebel abducted the son of Phraates and spirited him away to Roman territory. Octavian, who was in the east at the time, took the infant with him back to Rome from where he stated his position to Phraates: return the lost standards and we will send your son back to you. Phraates agreed, though it would be a number of years before the eagles actually left Parthia (they were returned in May 20BC, being accepted by Tiberius, the step-son of Octavian). The return of the eagles was regarded as a major victory among Roman contemporaries. The poet Ovid stated: ‘You [Parthian] no longer hold proofs of our shame.’ The event was celebrated on Roman coins and the eagles themselves were dedicated in a new temple to Mars.
In comparison to Octavian, who became the Emperor Augustus in 27BC, Phraates is little more than a footnote of history. And yet the Parthian high king was adept at diplomacy, overseeing a conciliatory policy towards Rome that not only ensured no Roman armies crossed the Euphrates during his long reign, but also laid the foundations for a peace between Parthia and Rome that lasted for an unbroken ninety years (from Mark Antony’s last invasion in 33BC to the start of the war between Vologases and Nero in 58AD).