At Babylon :
Mark Antony had taken the legionary army at Anatolia far East into the kingdom of Armenia. Around the same time, Artavardes, the king of Armenia had revolted against Parthian rule. Their people had been ruled by the Parthian empire for almost two centuries. Armenians and Persians lived in peace, till Phraates came.
By his many cruelties, Phraates had aroused the indignation of the Armenian people, the fallen king, Artavardes had thus seen fit to revolt and declare independence. But their struggle would come to naught. The first rebellion was brutally crushed, and every Armenian who fought against the Parthians were crucified along with their families. King Artavardes had succeeded in fleeing with a small band of liberators to Anatolia, where they took shelter under the protection of Mark Antony.
Mark Antony knew how indispensable Artavardes was to his cause. Artavardes was king of the Armenians, though a king without a crown or throne, but he was still king of his land in the eyes of his people. Mark Antony would use him to incite the Armenians against Phraates, as part of the deal, Armenia would be given to him, a sovereign province.
At Capadocia, Mark Antony divided his forces in two. He would march South with the twelve thousand legionaries, and all the siege equipment of the army of Anatolia, to take Babylon for Rome. Another twelve thousand legionaries were entrusted to captain Hector to march with Artavardes and liberate Armenia and Atropane.
Babylon was weakly defended, there was only one division of armed swordsmen that stood before the army of Mark Antony. "This should not take long" he said to himself, they had crossed the Euphrates far North of Babylon and faced down the Northern wall of Babylon. The swordsmen were not well trained warriors, recruited hastily from among the peasants of Mesopotamia.
Mark Antony placed the siege weapons in front, the massive catapults were loaded with big boulders smeared in oil and put on fire. The scorpions were positioned a little behind the catapults. Mark Antony meant to bring down the walls of Babylon and flush out the defenders, then massacre them with the Scorpions. The legionaries would destroy whatever remained.
"On my signal, unleash hell" Mark Antony raised his hand, when he would lower it, the catapults would rain fiery boulders upon the city till either the walls were destroyed, or the swordsmen came out.
For four hours the catapults rained boulders after boulders on the enemy. The walls of Babylon were battered, but not yet destroyed. The Northern gate was shattered and burning under the impact of two boulders. Mark Antony waited, "They will come out soon. Continue the bombardment!"
the catapults hurled boulders for another hour, then the patience of the Parthian troops was broken at last.
A thousand swordsmen came out of the burning gate of Babylon and assumed formation. "Ready the Scorpions!" the giant spears were loaded and locked and the Scorpions took aim. "Take position!" the Scorpions were moved in place and the siege masters took their aim, "Fire !"
Two hundred Scorpions fired away at a thousand swordsmen, who charged at the Roman lines.
More than a hundred lay dead before they could get anywhere close to the Romans, yet they kept coming. "These are brave men.. let us kill them all" Mark Antony unsheathed his blade, and ordered his legionaries to meet the swordsmen in battle.
The strength of the Roman army lay in its discipline and tactical ingenuity. The Roman testudo formation had been adapted from the Greeks, which as yet has remained undefeated by any army. The Parthians however had understood its weakness, the tactics of the Romans as had been with the Greeks, rested on tight infantry formations. While this made the formation impregnable, it was also immobile. Horse archers could harrow this formation and break it down with hit and run tactics. This was how, the Parthians had retaken Seleukeia Susana from the Alexandrian empire.
Unfortunately for the Parthians but fortunately for the Romans, they had not been able to train many more divisions of horse archers. The war with the Greeks had wasted the strength of the Parthians and even though they had usurped Babylon from the Romans, and thus built one of the largest empires in the world, they had no strength left to defend it. The Parthians would now lose Babylon to the superior strength of the Roman infantry.
The legionaries met the swords in battle, a thousand had been reduced to seven hundred. Seven hundred untrained, injured but fearless men who would give their lives for the defense of Babylon. Seven hundred Roman legions met seven hundred Parthian swordsmen, only a dozen romans died and only a dozen parthians were left standing.
Four more waves of soldiers would come, four more massacres would the Roman army conduct. The soil of Babylon was drenched in the blood of Parthian martyrs that day. Against the bloodied soil and the blood red sky of dusk, the burning wall of Babylon greeted Mark Antony. "So this is what victory looks like" Mark Antony mused as he made his way to take Babylon.
The last of the swordsmen had made their way back to the city and took shelter in the city. The legionaries charged ahead through the broken gates of Babylon. The swordsmen now resorted to unconventional tactics, they hurled stones from atop the walls of Babylon on the oncoming Roman soldiers. Many were injured and some brave Romans would meet their deaths, but Mark Antony and his men would not stop fighting.
Roman legionaries kept entering the city in waves, and fought every last remaining resistance fighter in Babylon. When they had taken refuge in the houses and markets, Mark Antony ordered them to be burnt.
"Burn it all ! Burn the houses, Burn the markets ! Burn them all !" "I will flush out every last man who resists me. Babylon will fall to me or become ash!"
The legionaries went on an orgy of loot and burning. Before long, half the city was lit ablaze. The five hundred or so who had survived the Roman charges were either killed or taken prisoner. Most of Babylon's citizenry either fled or were left to the mercy of the Roman legionaries.
"I did not want it to end like this… I did not want this bloodshed" Mark Antony thought to himself, as a child he had always been fascinated with the city of wonders that was Babylon, the beautiful gardens, the great rivers of the Tigris and Euphrates. The city where a great civilization was born, the seat of Alexander's greatest conquests. A tear went down his cheek as he remembered the stories of his childhood.
The legionaries had completed their loot of the city, and rounded all the prisoners they could and looted whatever treasures they could find. Ten thousand women were taken as slaves of the Roman legionaries, and fifty of the five hundred resistors.
"Bring me the swordsmen" Mark Antony order,
the fifty swordsmen, now prisoners of war were brought before Mark Antony in chains.
"By the laws of Rome, you would now become slaves, but I give you a choice" the prisoners looked up,
"I give you the choice to serve Rome and win your freedom. Or else, be bound to a life of slavery".
The prisoners remained silent and kept their heads down, then one among them spoke,
"I did not chose this life. I did not chose to become a warrior of Persia. Phraates had taken me from my family and put me to defend this damned city".
He rose up and continued to speak "But I swore to defend Persia and her people from invaders like you!"
"No son of an Aryan will submit to your rule. Not in Persia. You gave me a choice between being a slave and being your soldier ? I spit on this offer ! You would have me a slave both ways. I won't submit to you, or take your damned offer!"
The Roman soldiers were incensed, "May I slit his throat commander?" said a Roman legionnaire as he drew his short sword to the prisoner's throat, but Mark Antony stopped him,
"No you may not Kalonus." he looked at the prisoner and spoke "You do not seem to fear death, any more than your compatriots did. This is not the only army that walks against Phraates, another large army of Legionaries marches to besiege Artashat and conquer the province of Atropane. You are surrounded by the might of Rome, there is no chance of escape, nor any chance of victory. Yet you dare to stand before Mark Antony and defy the might of Rome."
"I do not fear death commander, but if I may die, and I know I will, I shall die an honorable death."
Mark Antony stood contemplating, 'This was my war of redemption, if I kill him here and now, I would sully my victory. I have destroyed half of what was once the greatest city on earth, perhaps in forgiveness I may redeem myself….' "Release him"
Mark Antony's order left the Roman soldiers astounded, "but general, they are the enemy.."
"I said release him!"
the soldiers went about unchaining the brave prisoner,
"What is your name?" Mark Antony asked,
the prisoner replied "They call me Surena".
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Meanwhile in Artashat :
The Roman legionnaires marched to the hills North West of Artashat from where they would attack the city. Artavasdes' scouts aided the army's march to the East, taking them through the hills and valleys of the Caucasus where his people were awaiting the coming of their king.
The Roman army made its way virtually unopposed to the city of Artashat. The region was rich in copper and iron, metals of war and was a vital point of supply for raw materials for the Parthian Empire. Cutting it off would rob the Parthians of a vital source of raw materials, it was no surprise then that Phraates had put so much effort into keeping the land in Parthian hands.
"They say the Indians are surrounding the Persians from the East." Artavasdes said,
"So we have heard. Their emissary in Pompey tells us that Emperor Pulovami means to punish them for some claim they have over the land of Gedrosia. We don't know any more than this."
"My scouts tell me they have brought hundreds of armored elephants to harrow the Persians from the North while a larger army conquers the South."
"Why do you pay heed to what the Indians want?"
"Because Captain Hector, if the Indians succeed in their war efforts.. and I have heard they are succeeding, and we surely will succeed in our's, then it will be the end of Persia as we know it."
Captain Hector looked at Artavasdes incredulously, "Persia is not so easily destroyed" he said.
The men marched on till they reached the hill of Artashat from where the city comes in full view. To call Artashat a town would be a bit of an exaggeration. Since the time of the Greek wars, the city had been in a state of emergency. The people of Atropane never knew any peace, and Phraates had not let them know of peace. The lion of Persia brought war and poverty, and now he by his cruelties he brought the wrath of Artavasdes and the legions of Rome.
"Artashat is in sight!" the scouts reported,
"we will march on the city with the first light of day." Captain Hector ordered,
"We will camp on this hill. From here we will write the freedom of my people." Artavasdes organized his militias and camped them beside the legions.
There were no siege engines with this army, but they may not need it. Artavasdes knew of paths to the city which even the Parthians did not know. He would lead the men through a hidden tunnel under the hill of Artashat.
It was a red dawn. The sun arose from the eastern hills behind the city of Artashat. The romans had their camp set up, but no Parthian troop came to meet them. It would seem that the Parthians did not know of the Romans' coming. Artavasdes had seen to that, his raiders murdered every Parthian scout between Capadocia and Atropane. The Parthians were blind to the Roman threat till it became blindingly obvious.
The tunnel leading them into Artashat was wide enough for three men to walk through at once. The Romans walked in three lines, following Artavasdes and his militia. The tunnel went winding downwards in a serpentine, then it started to climb upwards gently at first and then steeply. A light shone from above where the tunnel ended, Artavasdes' scouts climbed with ropes and hooks. The tunnel led out at an inconspicuous corner of the central plaza between two stout structures. A division of six thousand praetorians were given orders to charge the gates of Artashat precisely four hours from dawn, they were not to move from their camp till then. Captain Gaius, the second in command would lead this division.
Two of the scouts stealthily moved in place above the tunnel's exit, they hooked their ropes in place and threw down the ropes to the tunnel below. One by one, the Romans climbed the ropes and walked out of the tunnel. The archers saw nothing, their gaze was fixed on the approaching legionaries from the West making their way down the hill of Artashat. Six thousand armored Roman legionaries, their shields gleaming in the morning sun. The Parthian archers fired on their foes, they launched volleys after volleys, but the Roman shields met their bolts, and while the archers on the Western wall faced the unstoppable Roman legions, Captain hector and Artavasdes made their way through the secret tunnel.
"We're in!"
"Legions! ready arms !" Captain Hector ordered,
"Three thousand of you make for the Western wall. The rest, march for the barracks. Attack!"
Three thousand legions made their way to the Western wall to charge on the archers from behind them, but three thousand more made their way to the barracks of Artashat where the reserve army laid in wait.
The archers continued to fire on the legionaries from the wall in vain even as they began storming the gates with a makeshift ram. "Bring in the oil!" the commander shouted,
"Sir… look"
"Oh Ahura Mazda have mercy…"
Three thousand Roman legionaries charged on them from within the city. "We are surrounded" the commander said in despair.
"Your order sir!"
the commander stood silent,
"Sir.. Your orders."
He still said nothing. The gates broke under the strike of the Roman legions, even as Captain Hector's troops walked up the walls and began slaughtering the Parthian garrison.
The fighting went on for three more hours, the Romans would kill a thousand of the archers stationed on the wall, while the rest fled in fear. The charging legionaries occupied most of the town of Artashat, while every Parthian official either fled or were captured by Artavasdes.
The next day, a crowd of Armenians assembled over the broken gates of Artashat. King Artavasdes would address his people.
"Armenians! The day is at hand ! At long last, our people are free of the oppression of the cruel Phraates!" the men cheered in joy,
"For long years have our men women and children choked under the suppression of a foreign ruler. Not any more ! I stand before you people of Armenia, Your King ! I promise to you as long as I remain on this throne, and as long as my line resides here, no one shall dare take this freedom from you!"
"Long live King Artavasdes!" "To Victory!" "Long live King Artavasdes!" "To Victory!" the cheers went on for a full hour till they began subsiding.
Captain Hector wrote a message to his commander Mark Antony, "Artashat has been taken. Awaiting further instructions."
Neither Artavasdes nor Mark Antony knew of the betrayals that would ensue.