feb 7, 53 BC - 53 BC - Marcus Licinius Crassus killed by Parthians at battle of Carrhae

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The next day, Surena sent a message to the Romans and offered to negotiate with Crassus. Surena proposed a truce to allow the Roman army to return to Syria safely in exchange for Rome giving up all territory east of the Euphrates. Surena either sent an embassy to the Romans by the hills or went himself to state he wanted a peace conference on an evacuation.[32][33]

Crassus was reluctant to meet with the Parthians, but his troops threatened to mutiny otherwise.[34] At the meeting, a Parthian pulled at Crassus's reins and sparked violence in which Crassus and his generals were killed.

After his death, the Parthians allegedly poured molten gold down his throat in a symbolic gesture mocking Crassus's renowned greed.[35] Plutarch reports that Crassus' severed head was then used as a prop for part of a play, Euripides' Bacchae, performed at a banquet before the king. [36][37] The remaining Romans at Carrhae attempted to flee, but most were captured or killed. According to the ancient historian Plutarch, Roman casualties amounted to about 20,000 killed and 10,000 captured,[38] which made the battle one of the costliest defeats in Roman history. Parthian casualties were minimal.

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