ABSTRACT
The first period with substantial evidence allowing for a more systematic consideration of Roman–Parthian relations is 66–63 BCE, when Pompey the Great replaced Lucullus, carrying on Rome’s Third Mithridatic War and negotiations with Arsacid king Phraates III. While tension between Rome and Parthia over control of Armenia and Upper Mesopotamia was real, multiple diplomatic exchanges led to some positive results, including the recognition of the Euphrates River as a working boundary of Roman and Parthian empires. Yet how such interactions were presented for a domestic audience was another issue.
