Roman–Sasanian wars
45-605: Byzantine–Sasanian Wars The Anastasian War was fought from 502 to 506 between the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian Empire . It was the first major conflict between the two powers since 440, and would be the prelude to a long series of destructive conflicts between the two empires over the next century. Several factors underlay the termination of the longest period of peace the Eastern Roman and
90-449: A lengthy siege and fierce fighting as Mihr-Mihroe did not arrive in time. The latter unsuccessfully diverted his force against Archaeopolis in 551 as many of his men were lost due to a lack of supplies. However, the latter was unopposed elsewhere in the field and managed to capture Cotais and the fortress of Uthimereos, blocking the important roads to the highland regions of Scymnia and Souania , which were also captured by him later. In
135-626: A completely superior force, while Sittas and Dorotheus defeated the Sasanian army at Satala (530) . However, in 531 Belisarius was defeated at Callinicum and was removed from command of the army, the Persian general Azaret was also removed because he failed to take advantage of the victory at Callinicum. After the failure of the Siege of Martyropolis and the death of Kavadh I , a peace was concluded, according to which Byzantium retained Lazica and
180-571: A long conflict of their own that functioned as a proxy war for the Byzantine and Sasanian Empires. In 531, the Sasanians defeated the Byzantine general Belisarius at the Battle of Callinicum south of Edessa (now Urfa , in southeastern Turkey ), with the help of al-Hirah. In 602, Khosrow II deposed al-Nu'man III ibn al-Mundhir and annexed al-Hirah. Hirta was the seat of a bishopric of
225-576: A monastery and lived a pious life. The Sasanian emperor Bahram V won the throne with support of al-Mundhir I ibn al-Nu'man , king of Ḥīrā, in 420. He was amazed and showed great respect as he encountered the saint near the village of Bēṯ 'Arbī on his way back from the imperial capital Seleucia-Ctesiphon . From c. 527 , al-Hirah was opposed by the Ghassanids , a Byzantine -sponsored Arab state in Syria and Palestine. The two powers engaged in
270-631: A number of other cities. They were only pushed away from Syria proper by a bumbling Byzantine defence near Antioch. To make matters worse, in 572 the Byzantine emperor Justin II had ordered the assassination of the Ghassanid king al-Mundhir III ; as a result of the unsuccessful attempt on his life, al-Mundhir severed his alliance with the Byzantines, leaving their desert frontier exposed. In 575,
315-628: A payment of 10,000 pounds from Byzantium, but Areobindus refused this. The success of the Byzantine forces at Amida, as well as the invasion of the Huns, forced the Sassanids to retreat from Edessa . Lazica , a kingdom usually allied with the Persians, converted to Christianity and sided with Byzantium. He was followed by the rest of the Caucasian kingdoms, such as Iberia , to get out from under
360-625: A year later. A peace treaty was signed in 545. In Lazica, Khosrow I's attempt to establish direct Persian control over the country and the missionary zeal of the Zoroastrian priests soon caused discontent in Christian Lazica and King Gubazes revolted in 548, this time against the Persians. Gubazes II requested aid from Emperor Justinian I and allied with the Alans and Sabirs . Justinian sent 7,000 Roman and 1,000 Tzani (relatives of
405-690: Is apparent by defections to the Byzantine side by the renegade Constantine, a certain Arab chief Adid, and the Armenian Mushlek. The Byzantines eventually captured Amida. In the same year, an armistice was agreed as a result of an invasion of Armenia by the Huns from the Caucasus. Negotiations between the two powers took place, but such was the distrust that in 506 the Romans, suspecting treachery, seized
450-536: The Caucasus against nomadic attacks. The Romans helped in the defense of the Caucasus by paying the Iranians roughly 500 lbs (226 kg) of gold at irregular intervals. While the Romans saw this payment as political subsidies, the Iranians saw it as an opportunity to influence Roman military affairs. The Roman emperor Theodosius II 's unwillingness to continue the payment made shah Yazdegerd II declare war against
495-509: The Lazes ) auxiliaries under Dagisthaeus to assist Gubazes and besieged the fortress of Petra but faced tough resistance from its heavily outnumbered garrison. Persian reinforcements under Mihr-Mihroe defeated a small Byzantine force guarding the mountain passes and then relieved the besieged Petra. Lacking enough supplies, Mihr-Mihroe garrisoned 3,000 men in the fortress and marched to Armenia leaving 5,000 soldiers to supply Petra. This force
SECTION 10
#1732771795196540-726: The Sassanid Empire ever enjoyed. The Persian king Kavad I needed money to pay his debts to the Hephthalites who had helped him regain his throne in 498/499. The situation was exacerbated by recent changes in the flow of the Tigris in Lower Mesopotamia , sparking famines and flood. When the Roman emperor Anastasius I refused to provide any help, Kavad tried to gain the money by force. In 502, Kavad quickly captured
585-522: The Sassanid army , Narses, engaged Ardabur in battle, but was defeated and forced to retreat. Narses planned to attack Mesopotamia , a Roman province that had been left unguarded, and moved there, but Ardabur foresaw his enemy's plan and intercepted him there. The Sasanian and the Roman Empire had since their peace treaty in 387 agreed that they both were obligated to cooperate in the defense of
630-505: The Byzantines managed to resolve their conflict with the Ghassanids , the latter in turn plundered the capital of the Arabs allied to the Persians. Khosrow I prepared a grandiose campaign through the Caucasus to Anatolia , but during this campaign he was defeated near Melitene. The Byzantines took advantage of the situation and began raiding Caucasian Albania , wintering there and plundering territories. Khosrow wanted to ask for peace, but
675-679: The Colchian Pharesmanes , and the Goths Godidisklus and Bessas . Initially, Areobindus gained the upper hand in Nisibis, but Kavad's counterattack defeated him, plundered his fort Apadna, and forced him to retreat westward; Hypatius and Patricius attempted to assist him, but it was too late. They failed to join with Areobindus and were decisively defeated between Apadna and Tell Beshme and retreated to Samosata. According to Zacharias, their cavalry suffered heavily during
720-673: The Last Great War of Antiquity, was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Persian Sasanian Empire . It was the final and most devastating conflict of the Roman–Persian Wars (54 BC – AD 628). The previous war between the two powers had ended in 591 after Emperor Maurice helped the Sasanian king Khosrow II regain his throne. In 602, Maurice was murdered by his political rival Phocas . Khosrow declared war, ostensibly to avenge
765-467: The Persian officials; once released, the Persians preferred to stay in Nisibis . In November 506, a treaty was finally agreed, but little is known of what the terms of the treaty were. Procopius states that peace was agreed for seven years, and it is likely that some payments were made to the Persians. The Persians did not keep Byzantine territory and no annual tribute was paid so it seems the peace treaty
810-507: The Romans, which had ultimately little success for either side. The Persian king Kavadh I was sorely short of money, for this reason he declared war on Byzantium. In 502, the Sassanid emperor invaded Byzantine empire , and captured a number of fortresses not ready for war by the Romans. Anastasius I sent an army of 52,000 men under the command of Areobindus . This army was divided into two parts: one of them went to capture Amidah,
855-710: The Romans, a huge number of territories in the east were ceded to the Sasanian Empire , including Armenia. The last conflict in the history of the Roman-Sasanian wars was the Shapur 3 campaign in Armenia , as a result of the peace treaty , Armenia was divided into two parts: Persarmenia (territory ceded to the Sassanians) and Armenia Minor (territory ceded to the Romans). In 421, Bahram V became emperor of
900-469: The Sasanian Empire and continued the persecution of Christians in the territory of the Sasanian Empire, which was started by his father Yazdigerd I . The Persians hired several Roman gold miners, but now refused to send them back; moreover, the Sassanids seized the property of Roman merchants. This was the reason for the first Byzantine-Sasanian war . The commander-in-chief of the Roman army
945-526: The Sasanian commander Glones through cunning. This, together with Hunnic incursions, the arrival of Byzantine reinforcements, and Kavad's lack of supplies, all forced him to withdraw to Persia. This further contributed to the reputation of Edessa as being impregnable. Meanwhile, the dux of Osrhoene, Timostratus, defeated the Lakhmids, and the Tha'labites (Byzantine Arabs) attacked Lakhmid capital al-Hira . In
SECTION 20
#1732771795196990-524: The Sassanids retained Iberia . Those calls were answered that year by the Persian king Khosrow I , who entered Lazica, captured the Byzantine main stronghold of Petra, and established another protectorate over the country. Khosrow I retreated to Persia a year later after an abortive invasion of Commagene. In 543, a Roman invasion of Armenia was defeated by a small Persian force at Anglon, and Khosrow I unsuccessfully besieged Edessa in Mesopotamia
1035-531: The ascendancy of the emperor Heraclius in 610 led, despite initial setbacks, to a status quo ante bellum . Heraclius's campaigns in Iranian lands from 622 to 626 forced the Persians onto the defensive, allowing his forces to regain momentum. Allied with the Avars and Slavs , the Persians made a final attempt to take Constantinople in 626 , but were defeated there. In 627, allied with Turks , Heraclius invaded
1080-506: The capital of the Lakhmids , an Arab vassal kingdom of the Sasanian Empire , whom it helped in containing the nomadic Arabs to the south. The Lakhmid rulers of al-Hirah were recognized by Shapur II (309-379), the tenth Sasanian emperor. A particular Mār 'Abdīšo' was born in Maysan and moved to Ḥīrā after studying elsewhere under Mār 'Abdā. There he gained widespread respect as he built
1125-642: The death of the deposed emperor Maurice. This became a decades-long conflict, the longest war in the series, and was fought throughout the Middle East, the Aegean Sea , and before the walls of Constantinople itself. While the Persians proved largely successful during the first stage of the war from 602 to 622, conquering much of the Levant, Egypt, several islands in the Aegean Sea and parts of Anatolia,
1170-459: The east. In 572, there was an uprising against the Persians in Armenia, which was suppressed, but the connection of the head of the uprising with the emperor helped unite all Christians in this region. This helped the Byzantines move deeper into Persia, all the way to Caucasian Albania . In Mesopotamia, however, the war began disastrously for the Byzantines. After a victory at Sargathon in 573, they laid siege to Nisibis and were apparently on
1215-564: The empires in the Transcaucasus . At first, the Persians were lucky, the uprising in Iberia was suppressed, the Roman offensives were repelled, and attempts to strengthen the border were stopped by Persian raids. In 528, the Persians moved from Iberia to Lazica , where, in a small skirmish , they forced Belisarius to retreat to Dara . In 530, the Byzantines managed to win a number of major victories. Under Dara, Belisarius routed
1260-541: The heartland of Persia. After the Battle of Nineveh (627), Iranian forces were finally broken and Byzantium won war, forcing civil war-torn Persia to seek peace. Al-Hira Al-Hira ( Arabic : الحيرة , romanized : al-Ḥīra Middle Persian : Hērt ) was an ancient city in Mesopotamia located south of what is now Kufa in south-central Iraq . Al-Hirah was a significant city in pre- Islamic Arab history. Al-Hirah (4th-7th centuries) served as
1305-561: The influence of the Persians. The Persians tried to bring back the now Christian kingdom of Iberia to Zoroastrianism , but this kingdom rebelled, following its neighbor Lazica . As part of his strategic consolidation of power in the East, Justinian I further strengthened the border defenses by incorporating the Armenian provinces into the empire and deploying Roman garrisons in the area. Already in 526, an open confrontation began between
1350-575: The new city of Veh-az-Amid Kavad (Arrajan). The Byzantine emperor Anastasius I dispatched an army in May 503 against the Sasanians. The army numbered 52,000 men, the largest Roman force in the East since Julian's invasion of Persia , and the largest assembled Roman army throughout the 6th century. The force gathered at Edessa and Samosata . It operated in three divisions under magister militum per Orientem Areobindus , strategos Patricius , and Hypatius . Hypatius and Patricius attacked Amida, which
1395-427: The point of capturing this, the chief bulwark of the Persian frontier defences, when the abrupt dismissal of their general Marcian led to a disorderly retreat. Taking advantage of Byzantine confusion, Sassanid forces under Khosrow I swiftly counter-attacked and encircled Dara , capturing the city after a four-month siege . At the same time, a smaller Persian army under Adarmahan ravaged Syria, sacking Apamea and
Anastasian War - Misplaced Pages Continue
1440-488: The retreat, falling from the cliffs of mountains. Kavad continued westward to Constantia but failed to capture it, though he received supplies from its inhabitants. In early September, Kavad reached near Edessa. Areobindus rejected Kavad's demand of 10,000 pounds (4,500 kg) of gold in exchange for peace. Sasanians and Lakhmids overran much of Osrhoene but attempts to attack the fortified city failed. Meanwhile, Byzantine forces under Pharesmanes attacked Amida, who killed
1485-441: The second besieged Nisibis . Although the Byzantines were initially successful at Nisibis , they could not consolidate the advantage, Kavadh I forced Areobindus to retreat during a counterattack. The second part of the army tried to come to the support of the first, but it was too late, the Persians defeated this army, separately from the army of Areobind. Kavadh I , who reached Edessa , began demanding peace in exchange for
1530-432: The summer of 503, Anastasius sent reinforcements under magister officiorum Celer and canceled taxes from Mesopotamia and Osrhoene, while Hypatius and Apion were recalled. Patricius moved to Amida, defeated a force sent against him, and invested the city; Celer joined him later in the spring of 504. While the siege was ongoing, Celer raided Beth Arabaye , while Areobindus raided Arzanene . Sasanian weakness at this point
1575-473: The summer of 555, he dislodged a superior Byzantine-Lazic force at Telephis and Ollaria by stratagem and forced them to retreat to Nesos. Mihr-Mihroe died of illness shortly after and was replaced by Nachoragan . Less than 10 years after the end of the Lazic War, tensions have risen again. The Persians invaded Yemen, expelling the Byzantine allies, and the allied Arabs raided the territories of Byzantium in
1620-533: The unprepared city of Theodosiopolis , perhaps with local support; the city was in any case undefended by troops and weakly fortified. Martyropolis also fell in the same year. Kavad then besieged the fortress-city of Amida through the autumn and winter (502-503) and captured it after a lengthy siege, although the defenders were unsupported by troops. Many people, particularly the population of Amida, were deported to Pars and Khuzestan in Persia, in particular, to
1665-409: The victory of his general in Armenia stopped him. In 578, the main front moved to Mesopotamia . Mauritius has conducted successful raids on both banks of the Tigris . Khosrow wanted to ask for peace again, but died, and his heir Hormizd IV interrupted the negotiations. In 582, Maurice became emperor, but in the 80s neither side was able to achieve anything. In 589, the Persian general Bahram 6,
1710-564: The work, and the walls were completed by 507/508. Byzantine%E2%80%93Sasanian Wars [REDACTED] Byzantine empire [REDACTED] Sasanian empire Byzantine–Sasanian Wars or Byzantine–Persian Wars it is a series of conflicts between the Byzantine Empire and the Sassanian Empire that lasted 207 years and ended with the victory of Byzantine empire , after which the Sassanian Empire declined and
1755-585: Was Ardabur , who, incidentally, came from the Iranian tribe of the Alans . Ardabur needed to collect many troops for his campaign. Theodosius, therefore, allowed some Pannonian Ostrogoths to settle in Thracia , to defend the province from the Huns while the Thracian Roman troops were sent to the East. Ardabur sent Anatolius to Persarmenia , where he joined the rebels, while Ardabur entered Persian territory and devastated Arzanene . The general of
1800-476: Was conquered by the Arabs after 30 years. Throughout its history, the Sasanian Empire sought to gain control of the Middle East, justifying this with the Achaemenid legacy. Byzantine empire , in turn, sought to seize Transcaucasia and the trade routes coming from distant China. During Julian's Persian campaign , the Romans suffered a crushing defeat. As a result of the humiliating peace treaty for
1845-421: Was able to repel the Roman offensive, but after a single defeat he was dismissed. The angry general raised an uprising, as a result of which Khosrow 2 was elevated to the throne, but Bahram was still dissatisfied, after a while Khosrow was forced to flee to Byzantium, and Bahram IV became emperor, but a year later he was defeated and Khosrow II came to power. The Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 , also called
Anastasian War - Misplaced Pages Continue
1890-572: Was destroyed by Dagisthaeus at the Phasis river in 549. The next Persian offensive also proved to be unsuccessful with the commander Chorianes killed in a decisive battle at the river Hippis (now the Tskhenistskali ). Nevertheless, the Persians manage to resupply Petra. The new Byzantine commander Bessas quelled a pro-Persian revolt of the Abasgi tribe, took and dismantled the fort of Petra after
1935-530: Was held by a 3,000-strong garrison under Glones . Areobindus, together with Romanus and the Arab phylarch Asouades (Aswad) (probably a Kinda leader) attacked Nisibis , in which Kavad was residing. Procopius also mentions Celer as a fourth commander. Notable officers associated with this force include " hyparch " Apion I (the Egyptian), comes Justin (the future emperor), Patriciolus and his son Vitalian (who later revolted against Anastasius),
1980-634: Was not harsh on the Byzantines. The Roman generals blamed many of their difficulties in this war on their lack of a major base in the immediate vicinity of the frontier, a role filled for the Persians by Nisibis (which until its secession in 363 had served the same purpose for the Romans), and in 505 Anastasius therefore ordered the building of a great fortified city at Dara . The dilapidated fortifications were also upgraded at Edessa , Batnae and Amida. Although no further large-scale conflict took place during Anastasius's reign, tensions continued, especially while work continued at Dara. This construction project
2025-404: Was to become a key component of the Roman defenses, and also a lasting source of controversy with the Persians, who complained that its construction violated the treaty agreed in 422, by which both empires had agreed not to establish new fortifications in the frontier zone. Anastasius, however, pursued the project, deflecting Kavad's complaints with money. The Persians were in any case unable to stop
#195804