Surena or Suren, also known as Rustaham Suren (died 53 BC) was a
Parthian Parthian may be:
Historical
* A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran
* Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD)
* Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language
* Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...
''
spahbed
''Spāhbed'' (also spelled ''spahbod'' and ''spahbad'') is a Middle Persian title meaning "army chief" used chiefly in the Sasanian Empire. Originally there was a single ''spāhbed'', called the , who functioned as the generalissimo of the Sasani ...
'' ("general" or "commander") during the first century BC. He was the leader of the
House of Suren
House of Suren or Surenas.. (Parthian: 𐭎𐭅𐭓𐭉𐭍 Surēn, Middle Persian: 𐭮𐭥𐭫𐭩𐭭) is one of two Parthian noble families explicitly mentioned by name in sources dateable to the Arsacid period..
History
The head of Suren ...
and was best known for defeating the Romans in the
Battle of Carrhae
The Battle of Carrhae () was fought in 53 BC between the Roman Republic and the Parthian Empire near the ancient town of Carrhae (present-day Harran, Turkey). An invading force of seven legions of Roman heavy infantry under Marcus Licinius Cra ...
. Under his command Parthians decisively defeated a numerically superior Roman invasion force under the command of
Marcus Licinius Crassus
Marcus Licinius Crassus (; 115 – 53 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who played a key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He is often called "the richest man in Rome." Wallechinsky, David & Wallace, I ...
. It is commonly seen as one of the earliest and most important
battles between the Roman and Parthian empires and one of the most crushing defeats in Roman history.
"Surena" remains popular as a name in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and it is sometimes pronounced as “Sorena”. "Surena" is the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
and
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
form of ''Sûrên''
[.] or ''Sūrēn''.
[.] As "Suren", the name remains common in
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
.
[.] ''Suren'' means "the heroic one,
Avestan
Avestan (), or historically Zend, is an umbrella term for two Old Iranian languages: Old Avestan (spoken in the 2nd millennium BCE) and Younger Avestan (spoken in the 1st millennium BCE). They are known only from their conjoined use as the scrip ...
''sūra'' (strong, exalted)."
[.]
Context
In ''
Life of Crassus'' 21, written c. 125 years after the commander's time,
Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
described
Surena as "an extremely distinguished man. In wealth, birth, and in the honor paid to him, he ranked next after the king; in courage and ability he was the foremost Parthian of his time; and in stature and personal beauty he had no equal." Also according to Plutarch, there were "many slaves" in his army, suggesting the general had great wealth.
[.] However, the actual meaning of the term "slaves" (''doûloi'', ') mentioned in this context is disputed.
Plutarch also described him as "the tallest and finest looking man himself, but the delicacy of his looks and effeminacy of his dress did not promise so much manhood as he really was master of; for his face was painted, and his hair parted after the fashion of the Medes."
Surena was thus one of the most powerful men in the Parthian Empire, and according to Gazerani, was a "king in his own right, as he travels with what is unmistakably a courtly retinue" In 54 BC, Surena commanded troops of
Orodes II
Orodes II (also spelled Urud II; xpr, 𐭅𐭓𐭅𐭃 ''Wērōd''), was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 57 BC to 37 BC. He was a son of Phraates III, whom he murdered in 57 BC, assisted by his elder brother Mithridates IV. The two br ...
at the battle for the city of
Seleucia
Seleucia (; grc-gre, Σελεύκεια), also known as or , was a major Mesopotamian city of the Seleucid empire. It stood on the west bank of the Tigris River, within the present-day Baghdad Governorate in Iraq.
Name
Seleucia ( grc-gre, Σ ...
. Surena distinguished himself in this battle for dynastic succession (Orodes II had previously been deposed by
Mithridates IV) and was instrumental in the reinstatement of Orodes upon the Arsacid throne.
[.]
In 53 BC, the Romans advanced on the western Parthian vassalaries. In response, Orodes II sent his cavalry units under Surena to combat them. The two armies subsequently met at the
Battle of Carrhae
The Battle of Carrhae () was fought in 53 BC between the Roman Republic and the Parthian Empire near the ancient town of Carrhae (present-day Harran, Turkey). An invading force of seven legions of Roman heavy infantry under Marcus Licinius Cra ...
(at
Harrân in present-day Turkey), where the superior equipment and clever tactics of the Parthians to lure the Romans out into the middle of the desert enabled them to defeat the numerically superior Romans.
[.] Although this feat of arms took a severe toll on the Roman troops (Plutarch speaks of 20,000 dead and 10,000 prisoners), and "produced a mighty echo amongst the peoples of the East," it did not cause "any decisive shift in the balance of power,"
[.] that is, the Arsacid victory did not gain them territory. Surena was then executed by King
Orodes II
Orodes II (also spelled Urud II; xpr, 𐭅𐭓𐭅𐭃 ''Wērōd''), was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 57 BC to 37 BC. He was a son of Phraates III, whom he murdered in 57 BC, assisted by his elder brother Mithridates IV. The two br ...
, the reason likely being that the king felt Surena could be a threat.
"In some ways, the position of
urena
''Urena'' is the genus of plants, which grow in various tropical and subtropical areas worldwide. Some view the plant as a weed, but others make use of its fiber for various purposes. The leaves and flowers are also a famine food in Africa. It ...
in the historical tradition is curiously parallel to that of
Rustam
use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) -->
, death_place = Kabulistan
, death_cause = With the conspiracy of his half-brother Shaghad, he fell into a wel ...
in the
Shahnameh">/nowiki>Shahnameh">Shahnameh.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Shahnameh">/nowiki>Shahnameh/nowiki>." "Yet despite the predominance of Rustam in the epic tradition, it has never been possible to find him a convincingly historical niche."[.]
Portrayals
* The last composition of the 17th-century French dramatist Pierre Corneille, a tragedy titled ''Suréna'', is roughly based on the story of General Surena.
See also
* Surena Street
* IKCO Samand Soren
* Surena (robot)
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
* .
*
*
*
* Plutarch, "Marcus Crassus", in
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
* {{cite journal , last1=Overtoom , first1=Nikolaus Leo , title=Reassessing the Role of Parthia and Rome in the Origins of the First Romano-Parthian War (56/5–50 BCE) , journal=Journal of Ancient History , date=2021 , volume=9 , issue=2 , pages=238–268 , doi=10.1515/jah-2021-0007, s2cid=237154963
84 BC births
52 BC deaths
Spahbeds
Generals of the Parthian Empire
People of the Roman–Parthian Wars
House of Suren
1st-century BC Iranian people