However, king Mithridates was besieged by Orodes' general, Surena, in Seleucia, and after a prolonged resistance, offered battle to Orodes' forces and was defeated.
Surena appears as a minor character in The Catiline Conspiracy, the second volume of John Maddox Roberts' SPQR series, taking place in 63 BC, several years before Carrhae.
Surena |
In Roman times, Harran was known as Carrhae, and was the location of the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BCE, in which the Parthians, commanded by general Surena, defeated a large Roman army under the command of Crassus, who was killed.
In some ways, the position of Rostam in the historical tradition is parallel to that of Surena, the hero of the Battle of Carrhae.