A brief analysis of the Strabo study, the cultural belonging and identity of a provincial elite. Rome's first two battles with Parthia ended in crushing defeats, and Augustus also showed extreme caution in the early stages and tried to solve the problem diplomatically, so it is doubtful whether Rome's military power at this time was a strong deterrent to Parthia.
According to Strabo, the political system of the Parthian Arsascian dynasty remained in the stage of primitive tribalism.
The king was elected by court council, and the wealthy landed aristocracy controlled local power and held armies, and they were loyal to the king, but at the same time retained the power to replace the king.
This made the Parthian king always wary of throne rulers, and once the opponents were sufficiently counterproductive, his throne was threatened.
Thus, it was not the Roman military offensive that brought Flats to its knees, but the possible rebellion at home by Tiridatis, which they supported.
In this contest, Rome and Parthia were actually evenly matched.
From the agreement reached between the two sides, Flats received a promise from Rome not to interfere with his kingdom, guarding against the possible threat posed by Tiridatis, who coveted the throne.
The Euphrates River became the border between the Roman and Parthian empires, each of which agreed not to interfere with each other.
On this premise, Rome welcomed back Crassus's lost banner and the prisoners of war who had previously remained there.
To be fair, this can only be considered a win-win diplomatic achievement.
And this is precisely what the Roman side is not willing to admit.
They had the glory of regaining the military flag, and they had a posture of shame and exasperation.
Not only Augustus described this event in the Book of Merits as "forced" the Parthians to return their spoils of war and make peace with the Romans; The Senate also granted Augustus a triumphal ceremony to render this great victory with a grand celebration; The epic sings passionately about the great achievement of Augustus; A large number of coins were cast with the Parthian kneeling and returning military flag to commemorate this great victory; Augustus' famous armor also engraved this scene.
In Strabo's writing, the plot of Parthian and Roman collegiation is omitted, and the Parthian king is placed in the position of active peace, which is basically consistent with the statement of the Roman biographer Suetonius.
In this way, under the unified tone of Strabo and various public opinions, Augustus showed a strong deterrent, as if he forced Parthia to make peace with Rome without military effort, swept away the humiliation of the Roman army, and his personal military and diplomatic achievements were affirmed.
In addition to his military achievements, Strabo also recorded the diplomatic achievements of Augustus, such as Strabo's record of Nikolaos seeing Indian envoys in Antioch on their way to Rome to meet Augustus.
They carried Greek letters written on animal skins, and brought great gifts to Augustus, including busts, poisonous snakes, giant pythons, turtles, and partridges; Similarly, Augustus maintained friendly relations with Seleucia, Jordan and the Medes.
In Augustus' record of merit, it is also written, "The king of India frequently sent envoys to me, and they had not previously expressed this courtesy to other Roman rulers."
The kings of the Bastar, Scythian and Samatians, as well as the kings of the Alberians, Iberians and Medes, also sent envoys to win friendship with the Romans.
It was during my time as chief citizen that many regions and peoples began to establish friendly relations with the Roman people and realized foreign exchanges.
Bibliography:
Encyclopedia Britannica, International Chinese Edition, China Encyclopedia Press, 1999.
"Damei Encyclopedia" Editorial Department of "Damei Encyclopedia" of Guangfu Books Bureau 79th Year of the Republic of China.
