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39 BC - Mark Antony, undeniably the strongest of the Second Triumvirate and ruler of the entire Roman East, was away. He had left the East to negotiate a peace treaty with the 'Last Pompey,' Sextus Pompeius—the pirate king of the Western Mediterranean who had relentlessly harassed Octavian (Antony’s brother-in-law, through his wife Octavia, though the marriage was political). Taking advantage of Antony's absence, Parthia once again launched a massive invasion targeting the richest and most vital Roman eastern province: Syria.

However, even though he was often mocked for his 'Gladiator IQ,' Antony was unquestionably brilliant as a general, and he made an excellent choice for his temporary commander-in-chief in the East: Publius Ventidius Bassus, arguably the best general under Antony. Ventidius fortified the mountain passes of the Taurus Mountains in Cilicia, the natural defense barrier protecting Syria. Ventidius won three successive battles. In the final engagement, he even managed to kill the enemy commander, the Parthian Prince Pacorus. This great victory finally washed away the massive humiliation Rome suffered decades earlier at the Battle of Carrhae, thanks to the foolish, senile Crassus.

Regrettably, detailed records of Ventidius's victory are scarce. However, the general strategy is known: Before the battle, he fully prepared by recruiting not only legionaries but also many auxiliary corps, yet he concealed the size of the Roman force. He feigned cowardice, pretending to be holed up in his camp, thereby inducing a premature offensive attack from the arrogant Parthians.

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When the battle began, contrary to the Parthians' assumptions, the legionaries burst out of the fortifications and bravely charged. They were supported by numerous auxiliary light infantry armed with various missile weapons, who provided literal suppressive machine-gun fire.

Specifically, Ventidius analyzed the lessons learned from Carrhae, where Crassus's Roman army was helplessly decimated by Parthian horse archers. This time, he employed specially selected, gold-tier elite slingers—likely Rhodian slingers—to suppress the Parthian horse archers. The stones they hurled from their slings flew farther, faster, and more accurately than the arrows shot by the Parthians. Furthermore, their impact was so powerful that even if the projectiles failed to penetrate the steel helmets worn by Parthian Cataphracts (heavy armored cavalry, similar to Goguryeo *Gaemamusa*), the sheer kinetic force would knock the Cataphract unconscious and off his horse.

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- From Adrian Goldsworthy’s 'Rome and Persia,' and Plutarch’s 'Lives' (Antony's Chapter).