Roman–Sasanian wars
85-543: Byzantine–Sasanian Wars The Roman–Parthian Wars (54 BC – 217 AD) were a series of conflicts between the Parthian Empire and the Roman Republic and Roman Empire . It was the first series of conflicts in what would be 682 years of Roman–Persian Wars . Battles between the Parthian Empire and the Roman Republic began in 54 BC. This first incursion against Parthia was repulsed, notably at
170-622: 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 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
255-606: A Parthian dynasty, and despite its nominal allegiance to Rome, it would come under increasing Parthian influence. In the judgment of later generations, "Romans had lost Armenia", and although the Peace of Rhandeia ushered in a period of relatively peaceful relations that would last for 50 years, Armenia would continue to be a constant bone of contention between the Romans, the Parthians, and their Sassanid successors. As for Corbulo, he
340-546: A huge army into Caucasian Albania (just east of Armenia), but his siege train and its escort were isolated and wiped out, while his Armenian allies deserted. Failing to make progress against Parthian positions, the Romans withdrew with heavy casualties. In 33 BC Antony was again in Armenia, contracting an alliance with the Median king against both Octavian , and the Parthians, but other preoccupations obliged him to withdraw, and
425-432: A large body of Corduene archers. Shapur sent a flag of truce to demand a surrender, joining with the messengers some prisoners of high rank taken at Singara, lest the enemy should open fire upon his envoys. The device was successful; but the garrison proved staunch, and determined on resisting to the last. After a long siege, the wall was at last breached, the city taken, and its defenders indiscriminately massacred. In 363,
510-584: A major invasion led by the crown prince Pacorus and the general Osaces ; they besieged Cassius in Antioch , and caused considerable alarm in the Roman provinces in Asia. Cicero , who had been chosen governor of adjacent Cilicia for that year, marched with two legions to lift the siege. Pacorus fell back, but was ambushed in his retreat by Cassius near Antigonea and Osaces was killed. During Caesar's civil war
595-550: A strategic priority, and successfully overran the Parthian capital, Ctesiphon , installing Parthamaspates of Parthia as a client ruler. However he was later repulsed from the region by rebellions. Hadrian , Trajan's successor, reversed his predecessor's policy, intending to re-establish the Euphrates as the limit of Roman control. However, in the 2nd century, war over Armenia broke out again in 161, when Vologases IV defeated
680-626: A treaty was signed in which Jovian ceded five provinces beyond the Euphrates including Corduene and Arzanene and towns of Nisibis and Singara to the Sassanids . Following this treaty, Greeks living in those lands emigrated due to persecution of Christians at the hands of Shapur and the Zoroastrians . Corduene was a bishop's see of the Church of the East since at least 424. In 578,
765-670: 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 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
850-700: A year later he was defeated and Khosrow II came to power. The Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 , also called 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
935-814: 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 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
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#17327653291841020-623: Is more likely that the Kurds were descended from the Cyrtians , who appear in the works of Polybius , Livy , and Strabo. There were numerous forms of this name, partly due to the difficulty of representing kh in Latin. The spelling Karduchoi is itself probably borrowed from Armenian , since the termination -choi represents the Armenian language plural suffix -k' . The singular form of
1105-568: Is now Turkey. Corduene must also be sought on the left bank of the Tigris . Corduene is documented as a fertile mountainous district, rich in pasturage. The Kingdom of Gordyene emerged from the declining Seleucid Empire , and for most of its history it was a province of the Roman Empire and acknowledged the sovereignty of Rome . From 189 to 90 BCE, it enjoyed a period of independence. The people of Gordyene were known to have worshiped
1190-714: 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 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. Corduene Gordyene or Corduene ( Armenian : Կորդուք , romanized : Korduk’ ; Greek : Κορδυηνή , romanized : Kordyene ; Hebrew : קרטיגיני , romanized : Kartigini )
1275-662: The Battle of Carrhae (53 BC). During the Roman Liberators' civil war of the 1st century BC, the Parthians actively supported Brutus and Cassius , invading Syria, and gaining territories in the Levant . However, the conclusion of the second Roman civil war brought a revival of Roman strength in Western Asia . In 113 AD, the Roman Emperor Trajan made eastern conquests and the defeat of Parthia
1360-581: The Caucasus , namely the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia , the Arsacid dynasty of Iberia , and the Arsacid dynasty of Caucasian Albania . After 90 BC, the Parthian power was diminished by dynastic feuds, while at the same time, Roman power in Anatolia collapsed. Roman–Parthian contact was restored when Lucullus invaded Southern Armenia and defeated Tigranes in 69 BC, however, again no definite agreement
1445-674: 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 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
1530-671: The Hurrian chief deity and weather god Teshub . The origin of the Carduchii is uncertain, though it seems they were of non- Armenian origin based on the accounts of the Greek historian Xenophon (died 354/55 BC) and classical writers such as Strabo (died 24 AD) and Plutarch (died after 119 AD). According to Arshak Safrastian, the Medes and Scythians mentioned in classical Greek literature existed only as preconceived notions. Equating
1615-701: The Persians to Mesopotamia, were said to have taken up their dwelling in the region of Gordyene. According to Strabo the Gordyaeans received their name from Gordys son of Triptolemus , who assisted in searching after Io , and then settled in Gordyaea district of Phrygia . Both Phraates III and Tigranes the Great laid claim to this province. However, it was conquered by the Roman troops under Pompey . The local population (called Gordyeni ) did not defend
1700-601: The Roman Empire had since their peace treaty in 387 agreed that they both were obligated to cooperate in the defense of 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
1785-536: 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 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,
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#17327653291841870-623: 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 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,
1955-401: The 2nd century, during which the Romans consistently held the upper hand over Parthia. In 113, the Roman Emperor Trajan decided that the moment was ripe to resolve the "eastern question" once and for all time by the decisive defeat of Parthia and the annexation of Armenia; his conquests marked a deliberate change of Roman policy towards Parthia, and a shift of emphasis in the "grand strategy" of
2040-533: The Armenian provinces into the empire and deploying Roman garrisons in the area. Already in 526, an open confrontation began between 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
2125-495: The Armenian rule since according to Plutarch , Tigranes had demolished their native cities and had forced them into exile in Tigranocerta. In 69 BC, Zarbienus , the king of Corduene, was secretly planning for a revolt against Tigranes. He was negotiating with Appius Claudius for Roman help. However the plan was revealed and he was killed by Tigranes. After this, Lucullus raised a monument to Zarbienus and then he took over
2210-509: The Armenians and captured their country. However, Surena's victory invoked the jealousy of the Parthian king, and he ordered Surena's execution. Following Surena's death, Orodes II himself took command of the Parthian army and led an unsuccessful military campaign into Syria. The Battle of Carrhae was one of the first major battles between the Romans and Parthians. The following year, the Parthians launched raids into Syria, and in 51 BC mounted
2295-611: The Byzantine emperor Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus defeated the Sassanid army led by Chosroes I , and conquered Corduene and incorporated it once again in the Roman empire. The Roman army also liberated 10,000 Christian captives of the Sassanids. According to Khwarizmi , Arabs conquered the area along with Nisbis and Tur Abdin in 640. Some identify Corduene and Carduchi with the modern Kurds, considering that Carduchi
2380-537: 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 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
2465-832: The Carduchi with the Gutians , he adds that the moment the Ten Thousand began to skirt the lower slopes of the Hamrin Mountains, they were in contact with the tribes of Gutium which are presented here as Medes or Scythians. According to historians Edwin Bryant and Laurie L. Patton, a direct Gutian connection, is unlikely, as the Gutians were not Indo-Iranians and only known to have lived in southern Mesopotamia. The Iranologist and Kurdologist Garnik Asatrian considers
2550-489: The Carduchii to have been an indigenous people inhabiting the area before the arrival of the Iranians . The origin of the name "Carduchii" is disputed. Some historians have suggested that it is derived from Urartian due to the suffix "-uchi" or similarity in consonants to the name of the Khaldi people. These two arguments have been criticized by historian Michał Marciak , who states that "The first apparent similarity misses
2635-701: The Parthian capital, Ctesiphon, before sailing downriver to the Persian Gulf . However, in that year revolts erupted in Eastern Mediterranean , North Africa and northern Mesopotamia, while a major Jewish revolt broke out in Roman territory, severely stretching Roman military resources. Trajan failed to take Hatra , the capital of the Kingdom of Hatra , which avoided total Parthian defeat. Parthian forces attacked key Roman positions and Roman garrisons at Seleucia , Nisibis and Edessa were evicted by
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2720-649: The Parthian dynasties. Until the Sassanids came to power, the Romans were mostly the aggressors. However, the Sassanids, being Persians, were determined to reconquer lands that the Achaemenid dynasty had once held and now lost. Their nationalistic zeal made them much more aggressive foes of the Romans than the Parthians ever were. For more information, see Byzantine-Sassanid Wars . [REDACTED] Media related to Parthian-Roman wars at Wikimedia Commons Byzantine%E2%80%93Sasanian Wars [REDACTED] Byzantine empire [REDACTED] Sasanian empire Byzantine–Sasanian Wars or Byzantine–Persian Wars it
2805-467: The Parthians was launched by the emperor Caracalla , who sacked Arbela in 216, but after his assassination, his successor Macrinus lost a battle against the Parthians at Nisibis and was forced to pay tribute to Parthia, that was the last engagement of the Parthian Wars. Parthia was finally destroyed by Ardashir I when he entered Ctesiphon in 226. The Sassanids were more centralized than
2890-414: The Parthians actively supported Brutus and Cassius, sending a contingent which fought with them at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC. After that defeat, the Parthians under Pacorus invaded Roman territory in 40 BC in conjunction with Quintus Labienus , a Roman erstwhile supporter of Brutus and Cassius. They swiftly overran Syria, and defeated Roman forces in the province; all the cities of the coast, with
2975-524: The Parthians made no move, but maintained relations with Pompey. After his defeat and death, a force under Pacorus came to the aid of the Pompeian general Caecilius Bassus , who was besieged at Apamea Valley by the Caesarian forces. With the civil war over, Julius Caesar elaborated plans for a campaign against Parthia, but his assassination averted the war. During the ensuing Liberators' civil war ,
3060-479: The Parthians. Gordyene belonged to Urartu for about 200 years and to Armenia for about 250 years. While the Parthian dynasty was being weakened by dynastic feuds Tigranes extended his power by the annexation of Sophene and the Submission of Gordyene under its prince. Districts of Cordyene under Armenian period were: Corduene was conquered again by Diocletian in the 3rd century and the Roman presence in
3145-511: The Persians defeated this army, separately from the army of Areobind. Kavadh I , who reached Edessa , began demanding peace in exchange for 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
3230-519: 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 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
3315-499: The Romans there. A Roman counter-attack under Statius Priscus defeated the Parthians in Armenia and installed a favored candidate on the Armenian throne, and an invasion of Mesopotamia culminated in the sack of Ctesiphon in 165. In 195, another Roman invasion of Mesopotamia began under the Emperor Septimius Severus , who occupied Seleucia and Babylon , however he was unable to take Hatra . Parthia ultimately
3400-486: The Sasanian king Khosrow II regain his throne. In 602, Maurice was murdered by his political rival Phocas . Khosrow declared war, ostensibly to avenge 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
3485-512: 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 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
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3570-411: The ancient Carduchians. According to him, the inhabitants had an exceptional repute as master-builders and as experts in the construction of siege engines and for this reason Tigranes used them in such work; he also notices the country for its naphtha resources. Ammianus Marcellinus visited this region while on a diplomatic visit to the satrap of Corduene. Eretrians who were exiled and deported by
3655-563: The city after a four-month siege . At the same time, a smaller Persian army under Adarmahan ravaged Syria, sacking Apamea and 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
3740-400: The command of Areobindus . This army was divided into two parts: one of them went to capture Amidah, 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,
3825-586: The counsel of the Armenian king Trdat and helped to defend Armenia's southern borders. Additionally, it seems that there was the early presence of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Korduk'. This region is traditionally identified with the landing site in Deluge mythology. In the targumim , Noah 's landing place after the flood is given as 'Qadron' or 'Qardu'. Jacob Neusner identifies
3910-417: The east bank of the Tigris, near the point where that river quits the mountains and debouches upon the plain; though not on the site, it may be considered the representative of the modern Jezireh ( Cizre in southeastern Turkey), which commands the passes from the low country into the Corduene mountains. It was much valued by Rome, was fortified in places with a double wall, and was guarded by three legions and
3995-426: The empire. In 114, Trajan invaded Armenia, annexed it as a Roman province, and killed Parthamasiris who was placed on the Armenian throne by his relative, the king of Parthia, Osroes I . In 115, the Roman emperor overran northern Mesopotamia and annexed it to Rome as well; its conquest was deemed necessary, since otherwise the Armenian salient could be cut off by the Parthians from the south. The Romans then captured
4080-509: The exception of Tyre admitted the Parthians. Pacorus then advanced into Hasmonean Judea , overthrowing the Roman client Hyrcanus II and installing his nephew Antigonus (40–37 BC) in his place. For a moment, the whole of the Roman East was captured by the Parthians. The conclusion of the second Roman civil war was soon to bring about a revival of Roman strength in Western Asia . Meanwhile, Mark Antony had already sent Ventidius to oppose Labienus who had invaded Anatolia. Soon Labienius
4165-400: 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, 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
4250-429: The king of Persia, as were the Greek mercenaries with Xenophon, but their response to thousands of armed and desperate strangers was hostile. They had no heavy troops who could face the battle-hardened hoplites , but they used longbows and slings effectively, and for the Greeks the "seven days spent in traversing the country of the Carduchians had been one long continuous battle, which had cost them more suffering than
4335-421: 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 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
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#17327653291844420-546: The local populaces. Trajan subdued the rebels in Mesopotamia, installed the Parthian prince Parthamaspates as a client ruler, and withdrew to Syria. Trajan died in 117, before he could renew the war. Trajan's Parthian campaign is considered, in different ways, the climax of "two centuries of political posturing and bitter rivalry." Trajan was the first emperor to carry out a successful invasion of Mesopotamia. His grand scheme for Armenia and Mesopotamia were ultimately "cut short by circumstances created by an incorrect understanding of
4505-406: 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 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
4590-455: 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, 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
4675-470: The next several decades. The decision of the Parthian king Artabanus II to place his son, Arsaces, on the vacant Armenian throne nearly led to a war with Rome in 36 AD. Artabanus III reached an understanding with the Roman general, Lucius Vitellius , renouncing Parthian claims to a sphere of influence in Armenia. A new crisis was triggered in 58, when the Romans invaded Armenia after the Parthian king Vologases I forcibly installed his brother Tiridates on
4760-469: The origins of the people of Corduene to the marriage of Jinns of King Solomon with 500 beautiful Jewish women. According to the Greek historian and geographer Strabo , the region of Gorduene ( Γορδυηνῆ , or Γoρδυαῖα ὄρη , "Gordyaean Mts") referred to the mountains between Diyarbakır and Muş . He recorded its main cities as Sareisa , Satalca and Pinaca (northwest of Bezabde ), and considered its inhabitants ( Gordyaeans ) as descendants of
4845-406: The payment made shah Yazdegerd II declare war against 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
4930-449: The point linguistically, as it does not address the root of the ethnonym; and the second similarity does not actually appear to be very close." Other historians suggest that it is related to the Akkadian word qardu ("strong," "heroic"). A people called the Carduchoi ( Καρδοῦχοι ) are mentioned in Xenophon's Anabasis . They inhabited the mountains north of the Tigris in 401 BC, living in well-provisioned villages. They were enemies to
5015-416: The region of Corduene. He took part in the funeral of Zarbienus, offered royal robes, gold and the spoils (taken from Tigranes), and called him his companion and confederate of the Romans. After Pompey's success in subjugating Armenia and part of Pontus , and the Roman advance across the Euphrates , Phraates was anxious to have a truce with the Romans. However, Pompey held him in contempt and demanded back
5100-411: The region was formally recognized in a peace treaty signed between Diocletian and the Persians . Diocletian then raised an army unit from this region under the title Ala XV Flavia Carduenorum , naming it after his Caesar Constantine the Great . Following the defeat of Narseh , the Sassanid King, at the hands of the Romans in 296, a peace treaty was signed between the two sides, according to which
5185-410: The spring of 360, Shapur II staged a campaign to capture the city of Singara (probably modern Shingar or Sinjar northwest of Mosul ). The town fell after a few days of siege . From Singara, Shapur directed his march almost due northwards, and leaving Nisibis unassailed upon his left, proceeded to attack the strong fort known indifferently as Pinaca (Phaenicha) or Bezabde . This was a position on
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#17327653291845270-474: The steppes of northern Mesopotamia , with Singara and the hill country on the left bank of the Tigris as far as Gordyene (Corduene), were also ceded to the victors (Romans). The name of the province appears again in the account of the campaign between the Persians led by Shapur II and the Romans led by Julian the Apostate (and after Julian's death, by Jovian ). The Romans started to retreat through Corduene after they could not besiege Ctesiphon . In
5355-497: The strategic realities of eastern conquest and an underestimation of what insurgency can do." Trajan's successor, Hadrian , promptly reversed his predecessor's policy. He decided that it was in Rome's interest to re-establish the Euphrates as the limit of its direct control, and willingly returned to the status quo ante , surrendering the territories of Armenia, Mesopotamia, and Adiabene back to their previous rulers and client-kings. Once again, at least for another half century, Rome
5440-478: The targumim's locations with Corduene. According to the Aggadah , Noah landed in Corduene in Armenia. The early 3rd century BCE Babylonian writer Berossus was also of the opinion that Xisuthros landed with his ship in Corduene. Josephus cited the evidence of Berossus as proof that the Flood was not a myth and also mentioned that the remains of the Ark were still visible in the district of Carron , presumably identical with Korduene. Jewish sources trace
5525-475: The territory of Corduene. He sent envoys, but after receiving no answer, he sent Afranius into the territory and occupied it without a battle. The Parthians who were found in possession were driven beyond the frontier and pursued even as far as Arbela in Adiabene . According to an inscription dedicated to the temple of Venus, Pompey gave protection to the newly acquired territory of Gordyene. Tigran retained Gordyene and Nisibis, which Pompeius withheld from
5610-424: The throne there. Roman forces under Corbulo overthrew Tiridates and replaced him with a Cappadocian prince. This prompted Parthian retaliation and an inconclusive series of campaigns in Armenia ensued. The war came to an end in 63, when the Romans agreed to allow Tiridates and his descendants to rule Armenia on condition that they received the kingship from the Roman emperor. Armenia would henceforth be ruled by
5695-451: The time of Mithridates I ; during his reign, the Arsacids succeeded in extending their rule into Armenia and Mesopotamia . This was the beginning of an "international role" for the Parthian empire, a phase that also entailed contacts with Rome. Mithridates II conducted unsuccessful negotiations with Sulla for a Roman–Parthian alliance (c. 105 BC). By the same time the Parthians started their rise, they established eponymous branches in
5780-401: 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 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
5865-399: The unsuccessful attempt on his life, al-Mundhir severed his alliance with the Byzantines, leaving their desert frontier exposed. In 575, 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
5950-442: 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 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
6035-442: The western district of Osroene , which became a Roman dependency. In 53 BC, Crassus led an invasion of Mesopotamia, with catastrophic results; at the Battle of Carrhae , Crassus and his son Publius were defeated and killed by a Parthian army under General Surena . The bulk of his force was either killed or captured; of 42,000 men, about half died, a quarter made it back to Syria , and the remainder became prisoners of war. Rome
6120-443: The whole of their troubles at the hands of the king [of Persia] and Tissaphernes put together." They have been also mentioned as Gordi by Hecataeus of Miletus c. 520 BC. The region of Corduene was called Korduk' in Armenian sources. In these records, unlike in the Greek ones, the people of Korduk' were loyal to Armenian rule and the rulers of Korduk' are presented as members of the Armenian nobility. A prince of Korduk' served in
6205-451: The whole region passed under Parthian control. Under the threat of an impending war between the two powers, Gaius Caesar and Phraataces worked out a rough compromise between the two powers in 1 AD. According to the agreement, Parthia undertook to withdraw its forces from Armenia, and to recognize a de facto Roman protectorate over the country. Nonetheless, Roman-Parthian rivalry over control and influence in Armenia continued unabated for
6290-468: Was an ancient historical region , located south of Lake Van , present-day eastern Turkey . According to the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica , Gordyene is the ancient name of the region of Bohtan , now Şırnak Province . It is mentioned as Beth Qardu in Syriac sources and is described as a small vassal state between Armenia and Parthian Empire in the mountainous area south of Lake Van in what
6375-454: 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 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
6460-607: Was driven back to Syria by Roman forces, and, though his Parthian allies came to his support, he was defeated, taken prisoner and then put to death. After suffering a further defeat near the Syrian Gates , the Parthians withdrew from Syria. They returned in 38 BC, but were decisively defeated by Ventidius and Pacorus was killed. In Judea, Antigonus was ousted with Roman help by the Idumean Herod in 37 BC. With Roman control of Syria and Judaea restored, Mark Antony led
6545-466: Was followed by the rest of the Caucasian kingdoms, such as Iberia , to get out from under 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
6630-509: Was honored by Nero as the man who had brought this "triumph" to be, but his popularity and influence with the army made him a potential rival. Together with the involvement of his son-in-law Lucius Annius Vinicianus in a foiled plot against Nero in 66, Corbulo became suspect in the eyes of the emperor. In 67, while journeying in Greece, Nero ordered him to be executed; upon hearing of this, Corbulo committed suicide. A new series of wars began in
6715-485: Was humiliated by this defeat, and this was made even worse by the fact that the Parthians had captured several Legionary Eagles. It is also mentioned by Plutarch that the Parthians found the Roman prisoner of war that resembled Crassus the most, dressed him as a woman and paraded him through Parthia for all to see. This, however, could easily be Roman propaganda. Orodes II, with the rest of the Parthian Army, defeated
6800-489: Was made. When Pompey took charge of the war in the East, he re-opened negotiations with Phraates III ; they came to an agreement and Roman–Parthian troops invaded Armenia in 66/65 BC, but soon a dispute arose over Euphrates boundary between Rome and Parthia. Pompey refused to recognize the title of "King of Kings" for Phraates, and offered arbitration between Tigranes and the Parthian king over Corduene . Finally, Phraates asserted his control over Mesopotamia , except for
6885-504: 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 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
6970-400: Was sweeping Parthia at the time now spread to the Roman army, leading to their withdrawal. In 195, another Roman invasion of Mesopotamia began under the Emperor Septimius Severus , who occupied Seleucia and Babylon , and then sacked Ctesiphon yet again in 197. These wars led to the Roman acquisition of northern Mesopotamia, as far as the areas around Nisibis and Singara. A final war against
7055-650: Was taken by a Persian rebellion led by Ardashir I , who entered Ctesiphon in 226. Under Ardashir and his successors, Persian-Roman conflict continued between the Sassanid Empire and Rome. After triumphing in the Seleucid–Parthian Wars and annexing large amounts of the Seleucid Empire, the Parthians began to look west for more territory to expand into. Parthian enterprise in the West began in
7140-490: Was the ancient lexical equivalent of " Kurdistan ". It has been suggested that Corduene was proto-Kurdish. Other modern scholars reject a Kurdish connection. Historian John Limbert, writing in 1968, states that "older scholarship believed that the modern Kurds were direct descendants of the Kardukhoi" but that "this view has been widely disputed since the beginning of the twentieth century." According to some scholars, it
7225-573: Was to avoid active intervention east of the Euphrates. War over Armenia broke out again in 161, when Vologases IV defeated the Romans there, captured Edessa and ravaged Syria. In 163, a Roman counter-attack under Statius Priscus defeated the Parthians in Armenia and installed a favored candidate on the Armenian throne. The following year Avidius Cassius began an invasion of Mesopotamia, winning battles at Dura-Europos and Seleucia and sacking Ctesiphon in 165. An epidemic, possibly of smallpox, which
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