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Surena

Surena or Suren (died 53 or 52 BC), was a Parthian spahbed ("general" or "commander") during the 1st century BC. He was the leader of the House of Suren and is best known for defeating the Romans at the Battle of Carrhae. Under his command, the 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. "Suren" remains popular as a name in Iran and it is sometimes pronounced as "Soren". "Surena" is the Greek and Latin form of Sûrên or Sūrēn. "Suren" also remains as a common name in Armenia. Suren means "the heroic one, Avestan sūra (strong, exalted)."

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Article summary

Surena or Suren (died 53 or 52 BC), was a Parthian spahbed ("general" or "commander") during the 1st century BC. He was the leader of the House of Suren and is best known for defeating the Romans at the Battle of Carrhae. Under his command, the 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. "Suren" remains popular as a name in Iran and it is sometimes pronounced as "Soren". "Surena" is the Greek and Latin form of Sûrên or Sūrēn. "Suren" also remains as a common name in Armenia. Suren means "the heroic one, Avestan sūra (strong, exalted)."

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Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  3. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

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