Map Close  
Person info Close  
Information Close  
Source reference Close  
  Svenska
 
Previous page Page 39 Next page Smaller font Larger font Print friednly version  
Marcus Antonius tried first, in a report to Rome, to make a victory out of this defeat, but when the news of his defeat spread, he needed to find an scapegoat and blamed the entire failure on the Armenian king, Artavazd III. He did this despite the fact that Artavazd had given him shelter in Armenia and saved the remaining Roman army from annihilation during the harsh winter. The strangest thing was that Marcus Antonius did this just after thanking the Armenian king for the hospitality which Artavazd had showed him and his army. We can also get a clearer picture of the situation from Plutarchos' description of the condition in which the Roman army arrived in Armenia. He wrote: "They arrived at the Araxes River, the border between Medes and Armenia, and it was if they had came from the sea and found land, because they started to kiss the ground while crying from joy and embracing each other in happiness. Now as they marched through this fertile and cultivated region, they could after a long time of starvation eat properly and enjoy life."

This ambiguous account from Plutarchos' pen about Artavazd's treatment and the amendments made by Strabon can be rejected by the fact alone that Mark Anthony would have never been able to save his remaining men without the protection of Armenia. Moreover we today know that the majority of the Roman historians always put down the losses of the Roman army to the treachery of their allies and nothing else. 21

On his return to Antiochia, Marcus Antonius spent his time in arranging parties together with Cleopatra. On the treacherous recommendation of Cleopatra, since he really wanted to gain access to the assets of Armenia and also put one of his sons of the Armenian throne, Mark Anthony lured Artavazd III to Nicopolis and, despite having thanked him before for saving the Roman army during the retreat, threw the Armenian king in jail together with his queen and two sons.



When the Armenian royal family was taken before Cleopatra, the driving force behind this plot – since Mark Anthony was totally in her command and acted upon her demands – each member of the family displayed great dignity and pride, which impressed the Romans present, but Cleopatra did was not as sentimental as the others. Dion Cassius noted: "Even though some threatened them and told them to bow before the queen and express their submission, not one of them expressed even a word of submission to Cleopatra or even bowed his head. Every one was moved by their bravery, but it was this bravery which caused them much pain and deep misery." 22

Cleopatra tortured them in order to get them to reveal the whereabouts of the Armenian treasures. Then Cleopatra and Marcus Antonius sent an army to conquer Armenia. She also sent her son Alexander, her oldest son from her marriage with Marcus Antonius, Alexander to sit on the Armenian throne.

The whole of Armenia was looted by the Roman army and the royal treasures were brought to Egypt to slake Cleopatra's thirst for money. The Roman army plundered the entire country and not even the temple of the Goddess Anahita was spared.

Marcus Antonius executed all this under the instigation of Cleopatra and her collaborators. In deference to the Romans, there was another group around Mark Anthony, who still respected Rome's laws and its policy towards Armenia. They tried their best to convince Mark Anthony to rethink his actions. They knew that an invasion of Armenia and imprisoning and murdering the Armenian king would mean grave danger for the friendship and the trust of Armenia, a country whose aid Rome needed in the struggle against the Persians.