Phraaspa

Phraaspa ( Greek  Φράασπα , other spellings Πράασπα Praaspa , Φράατα Phraata , called by Strabo Οὐέρα Vera ) was a fortified city and royal residence in the Parthian vassal state Media Atropatene .

The exact location of Phraaspa has not yet been determined. According to Josef Wiesehöfer , it cannot be identified with Tacht-e Suleiman , while Michael Grant advocates precisely this equation. According to Helmut Halfmann , Phraaspa is to be located southeast of Lake Urmi .

In 36 BC Mark Antony marched with an army of 60,000 Praetorians against the Parthian Empire. The cavalry consisted of 10,000 Gallic cavalrymen and Armenian armored riders who were up to the cataphracts of the Parthians. Since the Roman army was advancing very slowly, Mark Antony abandoned the siege equipment and handed over two legions to Oppius Statianus in order to besiege Phraaspa, where the wives and children of King Artavasdes of Media were staying, relying solely on his remaining troops . Meanwhile General Monases had arrived with Parthian soldiers and wiped out the legions, whereby Oppius was killed. Without the siege engines, however, Mark Antony could not take Phraaspa. He therefore negotiated with Phraates IV. After the peace negotiations were over, he gave the siege to 35 BC before the beginning of winter. And withdrew with his army. The Parthian attacks decimated the Roman armed forces. At the end of the campaign, 32,000 Romans had died.

swell

• Plutarch , Antonius 38-41
• Cassius Dio , Roman History 49, 25–28

literature

• Johanna Schmidt: Phraaspa. In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume XX, 1, Stuttgart 1941, Col. 737 f.
• Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin : Phraaspa. In: The Little Pauly (KlP). Volume 4, Stuttgart 1972, Col. 817.

Remarks

1. ↑ Stephanos of Byzantium , Ethnika , s. Phraaspa .
2. ↑ Cassius Dio , Roman History 49, 25, 3.
3. ↑ Plutarch , Antonius 38, 2.
4. ^ Strabo, Geographika 11, 13, 3.
5. ^ Josef Wiesehöfer: Phraaspa. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 9, Metzler, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-476-01479-7 , Sp. 959.
6. ↑ Michael Grant, Kleopatra , German Bastei-Lübbe, 1998, ISBN 3-404-61416-X , p. 207.
7. ^ Helmut Halfmann, Marcus Antonius. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2011, ISBN 978-3-534-21727-4 , p. 156.
8. ^ Helmut Halfmann, Marcus Antonius , p. 159.