Battle of Carrhae - Legacy

Legacy

The capture of the golden aquilae (legionary battle standards) by the Parthians was considered a grave moral defeat and evil omen for the Romans. At the time of his assassination, Caesar was planning a retaliatory war. The Parthians are said to have feared especially harsh retribution if Caesar won, because the surviving son of Crassus would be among the Roman forces. Marcus Antonius made an attempt, but suffered another defeat by the Parthians. It required a generation of diplomacy before the golden eagles were returned. Their restoration was considered a great triumph by Augustus, and celebrated like a military victory.

However, an immediate effect of the battle may have been the fall of the Roman Republic, and thus the beginning of imperial monarchy at Rome. Sulla's first march on Rome in 88 BC had begun the collapse of the republican form of government, but the death of Crassus and the loss of his legions utterly destabilized the balance of power at Rome. Along with the death of Julia, Pompey's wife and Caesar's daughter, Crassus' death may have severed the ties between Caesar and Pompey; the first Triumvirate no longer existed. As a result, civil war broke out, Caesar won, and the Republic quickly became an autocratic dictatorship.