Despite being a powerful city and later Empire, Rome was not the only state seeking to control the lands around the Mediterranean Sea. Conquest and expansion brought the Romans into conflict with the mighty Parthian Empire, which had experienced a meteoric rise to power and was now in a position to challenge the Imperium Romanum along its eastern border.

Theme: Imperial Nemesis: Rome vs. Parthia

• Pawel Gryzstar, 'Introduction to the theme'
• Joaquín Montero, 'Sources for Trajan's campaign'
• Glenn Barnett and Arnold Blumberg, 'Seeking the knock-out blow: a history of asymmetric warfare'
• Paul McDonnell-Staff, 'The Parthian bow'
• Duncan B. Campbell, 'Armed Diplomacy: Rome and Parthia in the 1st C AD'
• Ross Cowan, 'The battle of Nisibis, AD 217: last battle of the Parthian Wars'
• Raffaele D'Amato, 'Romans or Parthians? Legionary equipment during the Parthian campaigns of AD 197-199'

Features

• Fred Ray, 'Flair for the unexpected: Myronides and the Athenian land empire'
• Murray Dahm, 'The arrow versus the spear: The Breviarium of Festus as a military handbook'