Following the collapse of Hellenistic rule in 321 BC, the territories of the Achaemenid Empire, which had been divided between the Ptolemaic Dynasty in Egypt and the Seleucids in West Asia, were inherited by the newly established Parthian Empire. The empire witnessed great expansion under Mithridates I, developing into a major cultural and political power. Its military prowess is demonstrated through the many impressive wars waged against the Roman Republic. This including the historic defeat of the Roman general and triumvir Marcus Licinius Crassus at Carrhae, which occurred during the reign of Orodes II in 53BC. The victory was largely due to a cavalry tactic known as the ‘Parthian Shot’ – a manoeuvre requiring exceptional horsemanship. Although Crassus had accept the parley offered by Surena, one of Orodes II’s generals, he was killed and it is said that the Parthians had poured molten gold down his throat after his death, symbolic of his renown greed, according to Cassius Dio.
Orodes II was the King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 57 BC until 37 BC. He inherited the title after having murdered his father, Phraates III (ruler from 69 BC to 57 BC), with his older brother, Mithridates IV, whom Orodes II subsequently executed after a dynastic struggle. He was the ruler of the Parthian Empire during the defeat of Crassus in 53 BC, and during the civil wars of the Roman Republic. The Parthians first sided with Pompey, then with Brutus and Cassius, though they did not become involved with the war until the death of Parocus I, the favourite son and heir of Orodes II. Grief-struck, he relinquished the throne to his son, Phraates IV, who, according to Plutarch, killed his father, his half-brothers, and Laodice, one of Orodes II’s wives, to ensure his succession. Cassius Dio, however, writes that Orodes II died of old age or of grief.
