Surena

Surena or Suren (died 53 BC) was a Parthian spahbed ("General" or "Commander") during the 1st century BC. He was a member of the House of Suren and was best known for defeating the Romans in the Battle of Carrhae. Under his command Parthians decisively defeated a numerically superior Roman invasion force under the command of Marcus Licinius Crassus. It is commonly seen as one of the earliest and most important battles between the Roman and Parthian empires and one of the most crushing defeats in Roman history.

'Surena' remains popular as a name in Iran. 'Surena' is the Greek and Latin form of Sûrên or Sūrēn. As 'Suren', the name remains common in Armenia.Suren means "the heroic one, Avestan sūra (strong, exalted)."

Context

In Life of Crassus 21, written c. 225 years after the commander's time, Plutarch described Surena as "an extremely distinguished man. In wealth, birth, and in the honor paid to him, he ranked next after the king; in courage and ability he was the foremost Parthian of his time; and in stature and personal beauty he had no equal." Also according to Plutarch, there were "many slaves" in his army, suggesting the general had great wealth. Plutarch also described him as "the tallest and finest looking man himself, but the delicacy of his looks and effeminacy of his dress did not promise so much manhood as he really was master of; for his face was painted, and his hair parted after the fashion of the Medes."