Carrhae 53 B.C - Epic Symphony

You can buy this track and more of my music here:

An original composition by Farya Faraji. I wanted to write a symphonic piece in movements about the legendary battle of Carrhae, which saw one of the most catastrophic defeats in the history of Ancient Rome, fought on one side by Crassus of the Roman Republic, and on the other by the general Surena of the Parthian Empire. On that day, the two greatest states of this corner of the world met, and the memory of their battle still echoes to this day.

The Roman side of the music emulates Ancient Roman music, especially in the instrumentation: most of it is historical and uses lyres, aulos and a pan flute, whilst being spruced up with modern trumpets and modern compositional methods. The Iranian side representing the Parthians uses modern Iranian instruments since the music of Ancient Iran is lost to us, and the instrumentation revolves mainly around the kemenche, the tanbour and daf drums.

The lyrics are in Latin and in Parthian, the official languages of the respective warring states.

Latin lyrics:
Per aspera ad astra,
Per ardua ad astra,
Exurge Mars, Mars Ultor,
Roma et Imperator,

Viribus unitis,
Semper fidelis!
Sumus filii Lupae capitolinae!

English translation (loose translation):
Through hardships to the stars,
Through adversity to the stars,
Awake Mars, Mars the avenger,
For Rome and the Imperator*,

*Given the timeframe here, imperator cannot yet be translated as emperor, as it will only gain that meaning centuries later when deep into the era of Rome as an autocratic Empire.

With forces united,
Forever loyal!
We are sons of the Capitoline Wolf!

Parthian lyrics:
Az mazdezn bag,
Werod Shāh,
Shāhān Shāh Erān,

Ke chihr as yazdān,
Werod Shāh,
Shāhan Shāh Eran

Translation:
I, the Mazda-worshiping,
King Orodes,
King of Kings of Iran,

Whose race is of the gods,
King Orodes,
King of Kings of Iran,

00:00 Overture - The Parthian Empire
1:20 Crassus Departs
3:15 Surena Sets Out
6:12 The Romans Approach
9:40 The Parthian Drums
10:24 Charge of the Cataphracts
14:02 Blood
18:20 Crassus' Lament
19:30 Surena Returns Triumphant
22:26 Surena's Reward

#epicromanmusic
#sonsofmars
#epicbattlemusic

[faryafaraji]

You can buy this track and more of my music here:

An original composition by Farya Faraji. I wanted to write a symphonic piece in movements about the legendary battle of Carrhae, which saw one of the most catastrophic defeats in the history of Ancient Rome, fought on one side by Crassus of the Roman Republic, and on the other by the general Surena of the Parthian Empire. On that day, the two greatest states of this corner of the world met, and the memory of their battle still echoes to this day.


The Roman side of the music emulates Ancient Roman music, especially in the instrumentation: most of it is historical and uses lyres, aulos and a pan flute, whilst being spruced up with modern trumpets and modern compositional methods. The Iranian side representing the Parthians uses modern Iranian instruments since the music of Ancient Iran is lost to us, and the instrumentation revolves mainly around the kemenche, the tanbour and daf drums.

The lyrics are in Latin and in Parthian, the official languages of the respective warring states.

Latin lyrics:
Per aspera ad astra,
Per ardua ad astra,
Exurge Mars, Mars Ultor,
Roma et Imperator,

Viribus unitis,
Semper fidelis!
Sumus filii Lupae capitolinae!

English translation (loose translation):
Through hardships to the stars,
Through adversity to the stars,
Awake Mars, Mars the avenger,
For Rome and the Imperator*,

*Given the timeframe here, imperator cannot yet be translated as emperor, as it will only gain that meaning centuries later when deep into the era of Rome as an autocratic Empire.

With forces united,
Forever loyal!
We are sons of the Capitoline Wolf!

Parthian lyrics:
Az mazdezn bag,
Werod Shāh,
Shāhān Shāh Erān,

Ke chihr as yazdān,
Werod Shāh,
Shāhan Shāh Eran

Translation:
I, the Mazda-worshiping,
King Orodes,
King of Kings of Iran,

Whose race is of the Yazatas (minor gods, or angelic-like beings depending on the wide variety of Ancient Iranian beliefs back then)
King Orodes,
King of Kings of Iran

[W_W-fy]

A score that would make Holywood composers jealous and we get to enjoy it all for free, what an amazing guy

[alkha]

19:25 The moment you realize the voice trail is a reference to Crassus’s death by allegedly having molten gold poured down his throat as a punishment for his greed after losing to the Parthians. Another testament to Farya’s musical genius.

[silvercorvidsmarketing]

I used to be a Farya fan, but then I took multiple arrows to the knee from seemingly endless horse archers.

[azvdcrafts]

I can't be the only one who listens to this while imagining a Opera or a movie happening at the same time. This battle deserves way more recongnition. It's a tale about pride, greed, and the price of talent and loyalty. Crassus falls thanks to his ambition while Surena's greatest accomplishment turned out to be his ultimate downfall. It's one hell of greek tragedy...

[farhadzalavi]

سپاس از ظریف بینی و نکته سنجی شما ،براستی در فضای فرهنگی مردمان ایران زمین جای همچین نوای دلنوازی که حاکی از احساسات اجدادمان بود خالی می نمود ،سپاس از زحماتتان و احسنت به استعداد شما!

[TetsuShima]

*62 years after the Battle of Carrhae*
Augustus: "...And that was the story of how we lost a great amount of soldiers in Parthia"
Germanicus: "Woah, grandfather. That Crassus man really messed up with the enemy, doesn't he?"
Augustus: "Yeah, boy. Glad things have changed since then and our men are now much more efficent than..."
Slave: "Excuse me, Caesar. But a soldier from Varus' division in Germany has brought you news. They're about something that happened in Teutoburg..."

[justinianthegreat]

I am crying as I listen to this, you made me emotional Farya. You have such a good talent at composing

[AverageJoExplorations]

14:02

Crassus: Publius! Take your Gallic warriors and find a way to break through!
Publius: Yes father. *charges the front line*
Cassius: You are sending your son to the grave, Crassus! I must advise you to reconsider!
Crassus: Remember who your general is, Cassius! Remain focused on your legion and leave me to my business!

Publius was killed and his head used to taunt the army. Crassus was inconsolable. Cassius rallied the survivors, taking control of the situation, and led the survivors to Carrhae. Cassius also defended Roman territory against a retaliatory strike soon after.

Nine years later, Cassius participated in the assassination of Julius Caesar.

[liubei]

I, The Emperor of The Han Dynasty, Emperor Zhaolie, must say that this symphony is honey for the soul. It is a delight to hear, and a privilege to be able to hear it.

[somestormcloakwithanarrowo]

Crassus: "make a square with a gap in the middle!"
Surena: *I get around starts playing*

[madamebkrt]

The Parthian Drums and Charge of the Cataphracts bits are insane, please never stop making music.

[The_Honcho]

6:44 This is stunning, just imagining seeing a massive legionary formation shining in the sun and looking distorted from the heat haze as they march forwards🔥

[peruamorrortubarrenetxea]

22:26 In my native language there is a saying that goes "Ondo eginaren pague, ate ostean palue" (I. e., As a reward for the good deed, behind the door there waits the stick), which applies very well to poor Surena.

[kunturkusilla]

The romans aproach just helped me do 70 kilos bench press for the first time. Thank you very much bro

[tahaghasemi]

اصالت، فرهنگ، حماسه و افتخار در این ترانه موج میزند. درست به مانند شاهنامه. باعث افتخار هستید♥️ پاینده باشید

[فرزندایران-ذل]

من واقعا عاشق کار های شما شده ام اقای فرجی موسیقی هایی که شما میسازید مخصوصا در باب ایران واقعا یک حسو حال به ریشه برگشتن رو به من میده امید وارم اهورا مزدای پاک پشتیبانتان باشد تا بتونید بیشتر همچین قطعه های بی نظیری تولید کنید

[malasian]

During "Surena sets out". The part when the Parthian lyrics comes on, it gave me the chills.

[HistorywithCy]

This is great and I love the mix of Latin and Parthian lyrics! Thanks so much for posting!

[MrFRS]

Synchronisation of Persian and Roman music in blood soundtrack deeply touched my heart. Keep it up. Kudos to your creativity.