"When Civilizations Die"
by Joel Bowman
“Carthago delenda est.” (Carthage must be destroyed.)
~ Cato the Elder (234-149 BC)
Buenos Aires, Argentina - "Comes word from the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States of America… via Truth Social: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.” According to Mr. Trump’s ultimatum, the Iranians have until tonight to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. (8 p.m. ET is the official “deadline.”)
What must it feel like, we shudder, to lay waste to a “whole civilization”... to witness the fear and trembling of your fellow primates... to see them bow down before you, as a god among men, bringer of death and destruction? According to Polybius’s account, when the great Roman general, Scipio Aemilianus, saw the ancient city of Carthage reduced to ashes at his feet, he is said to have wept openly for his enemies. After a sombre pause, he quoted from Homer: “A day will come when sacred Troy shall perish, and Priam and his people shall be slain.” And when one amongst the crowd asked him what he meant, he turned and reflected: “I feel a terror and dread, lest someone should one day give the same order about my own city.”
We wonder what gives Mr. Trump pause... what demons visit him in the quiet of the night... plaguing his conscience, stealing his breath away, inspiring “terror and dread” for the fate of his own empire? Or does he sleep the sleep of the pure... the angelic... the imbecilic? Hmm...
Prizes, Pomp and Parity: When we
left you last week, we were tracing the parallels between Pax Americana and its ancient namesake, Pax Romana. In both eras, while those within the imperial gates enjoyed long stretches of relative peace (with notable exceptions), the god of Mars reigned supreme beyond them. Fought for trade, for treasure, and for glory, Rome’s military campaigns sometimes brought great bounties - as in the Dacian Wars, where the vast gold mines of modern-day Romania were emptied into the empire’s coffers.
More often, they were a drain on the imperial purse and on public morale, tearing at the fabric of the Republic itself. Skirmishes across the Arabian desert, seemingly endless battles with Germanic “barbarians,” and campaigns as far north as Hadrian’s Wall in Britain all cost the empire dearly… but none so much as the clashes with its great power rival in the east, centered in what some readers will recognize as modern day Iran.
Rome’s contest with the Parthian Empire predates the so-called Pax Romana by several decades... and runs straight through it, like a heavy pilum cast across the centuries. By the time Rome turned in earnest toward Parthia, nearly a century after the destruction of Carthage in the Third Punic War, the great existential struggle of the Republic was over.
Yet even as Augustus declared peace, Rome was already entangled in a rivalry it could neither decisively win nor easily abandon...one that would endure for nearly three centuries, and slowly, almost imperceptibly, wear the empire down. And yet, the warning signs were there from the very outset. Indeed, the first clues were open to witness during the disastrous Battle of Carrhae, in 53BC.
Spearheading the Attack: Wealthy, ambitious and ruthless, Marcus Licinius Crassus was the third tenor in Rome’s First Triumvirate, along with Julius Caesar and Pompey. The lesser known of the three statesmen, it might be said that Crassus invaded Parthia seeking prizes, pomp and parity. Of these spoils, he was to win none.
Ignoring advice to advance carefully and methodically along the winding Euphrates River (where supply and support could be maintained), Crassus instead set out to chase a swift and spectacular victory. Cutting inland into open, arid terrain, he soon found himself drawn deep into enemy territory, where his Roman infantry were greeted by the mighty Parthian cavalry.
Suddenly exposed, Crassus’s men assumed a defensive “hollow square” formation, a sound enough strategy against opposing infantry... but disastrous against mounted archers and armored cataphracts. With camel trains providing them an endless supply of arrows, the Parthian cavalry circled the Roman defenses with near impunity, raining arrows on their heads under the scorching noonday sun.
At one point, Crassus’s own son, Publius Crassus, led a cavalry charge to break the siege. When he returned sometime later, his head was borne aloft on a Parthian spear, which was displayed on horseback along the frontlines for all the Roman soldiers to see.
Writing 150 years after the blood had dried, Plutarch relayed the event as a classic triumph of hubris over prudence: “[Crassus] paid no attention to those who advised him well, but was led on by his own hopes.” Added Cassius Dio: “Crassus showed neither foresight in planning nor safety in execution [...] He was ignorant of the country and the enemy, yet he advanced as if against a weak foe.”
Heart of Darkness: By the end of the first day, 20,000 Romans had been slaughtered… another 10,000 captured. The hollow square closing in on him, and the possibility of retreat fast fading with the sun, Crassus tried desperately to negotiate a withdrawal. Alas, the meeting quickly turned violent, and Crassus soon met his maker. Stories (likely apocryphal) describe the Parthians rewarding their attacker’s lust for wealth and glory by giving him his Midas fill. Again, from Cassius Dio: “The Parthians, mocking his love of wealth, poured molten gold into his mouth.”
So began, at the very edge of the Parthian Empire, what would become nearly three centuries of intermittent struggle between two great powers. Rome would, in time, push further east - capturing cities, even sacking capitals - but each advance only drew them deeper, until they reached the beating heart of Parthia… and the very limits of their power."
"Stay tuned for more Notes From the End of the World..."
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