ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses key developments in conflict and competition between the Roman and Parthian Empires from the first century BC to the early decades of the third century AD as background to analysing the relationship between Rome and Sasanian Persia. It explains the development of key points of territorial contention between the two powers in Armenia and northern Mesopotamia and why Rome’s invasions of the Parthian Empire in the second century continued to be important in the third and fourth centuries. Analysis is also provided of ongoing Roman attempts to destabilise the Parthian imperial dynasty and the internal challenges both empires faced as factors in the developing relationship between them.
