Pharnapates

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Pharnapates († 39 BC ) was a Parthian general.

Life

After the Parthians in 40 BC BC had conquered the Roman province of Syria , Pharnapates acted there as satrap . He was under the supreme command of Pakoros I , a son of the Parthian king Orodes II. He was one of the generals who commanded the Parthian armed forces on the invasion of Palestine in the same year. With his army unit he marched forward inland, while the king's son advanced along the seashore. In Galilee he received John Hyrcanus II and Phasael , but later had them taken away as prisoners.

In the spring of 39 BC The Roman general Quintus Labienus , who defected to the Parthians, and the Parthian associations called by him to help had to retreat before the militarily very talented military leader Publius Ventidius Bassus from Asia Minor, who acted on behalf of Mark Antony . Thereupon Pharnapates was of Pakoros in the summer of 39 BC. He was sent ahead from Syria with his troops to occupy the strategically important pass in the Amanus Mountains , which separates Cilicia from Syria. This was intended to block Ventidius' further advance into Syria. Pharnapates got ahead of Ventidius' legate or Quaestor Poppaedius Silo, who should have received the passport quickly on the instructions of his Commander-in-Chief, but who now found it occupied by Pharnapates. Pharnapates was able to strike back at Silo. Then, however, Ventidius Bassus suddenly appeared with a strong force and, by means of a clever military tactic, won a clear victory over the ambushed Parthians in a battle near Mount Trapezon, and Pharnapates also lost his life.

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ The name form of Pharnapates is passed down differently by the ancient authors: Strabon ( Geographika 16, 751): Φρανικάτης ; Flavius ​​Josephus ( Jewish Antiquities 14, 13, 3; 15, 2, 1; 20, 10, 4; Jewish War 1, 13, 1): Βαρζαφάρνης ; Plutarch ( Antonius 33): Φαρναπάτης ; Cassius Dio ( Roman History 48, 41, 3f.): Φραναπάτης ; Sextus Iulius Frontinus ( Strategemata 2, 5, 37): Pharnasthanes . Anthony E. Raubitschek (RE XIX, 2, Col. 1855) assumes, despite these different name forms, that they are dealing with one and the same personality.
  2. ↑ a b Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 14, 13, 3 and Jewish War 1, 13, 1.
  3. ^ Cassius Dio, Römische Geschichte 48, 41, 3f.
  4. ↑ Josephus, Jüdische Antiquities 14, 13, 5; 15, 2, 1; 20, 10, 4.
  5. ^ Cassius Dio, Römische Geschichte 48, 41, 1 ff.
  6. ↑ The main sources of the battle are Cassius Dio ( Roman History 48, 41, 1 ff.) And Frontinus ( Strategemata 2, 5, 37); but they differ somewhat in their representations of the course of the fight. Furthermore, Strabo ( Geographika 16, 2, 8 p. 751), Aulus Gellius ( Noctes Atticae 15, 4) and Plutarch ( Antonius 33) briefly report on this military confrontation.
personal data
SURNAME Pharnapates
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Persian general
DATE OF BIRTH 1st century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 39 BC Chr.