Siege of Phasis - Rome vs Persia

Sassanid Persian Cavalry Reinactment

Siege of Phasis  -  Rome vs Persia


The Siege of Phasis took place in 555–556 during the Lazic War between the Eastern Roman Empire and Sassanid Persia. The Persians besieged the town of Phasis in Lazica, held by the Byzantines, but failed to take it. The main source for the siege is the 6th-century historian Agathias.

Background

The Lazic War had started in 541 with the defection of the Lazi under their king Gubazes II from Rome to Persia. The Persians quickly overran the country, but after Gubazes learned that the Persians planned to kill him, deport his people and bring in Persian colonists, he asked the Byzantines for help.

In 554, the Persians won a major victory against the Laz-Byzantine forces at Telephis, forcing the latter to withdraw to the western parts of the country, and in the next year they were able to thwart a Byzantine attack on the fortress of Onoguris. In the spring of 556, the Persian general Nachoragan took the initiative in besieging their major stronghold, the town of Phasis, which lay at the mouth of the namesake river.

Byzantine Warrior

Illustration showing a Byzantine Army archer of Emperor Justinian I in the 6th century AD

The exact site of Phasis has never been found.
The town's location was between the Black Sea and the River Phasis secured it from the east, north and west. At its south side, a moat was its first line of defense.  The Persians expected an easy victory as the town and its fortifications were built of wood and were vulnerable to fire.  The wooden fortifications above could have been something like what the Persians faced at Phasis.

A bridge of boats.
The city of Phasis was proteced by the river of the same name.  The Persians overcame that advantage by building a bridge of boats over the river and brought their infantry up to the walls.

Opposing forces and preparations for the siege

Nachoragan led an army of ca. 60,000 men. The Byzantine forces of the area were led by the magister militum per Armeniam Martin and his second-in-command Justin, son of Germanus. Their combined forces were less than 20,000 men. Nachoragan could expect an easy victory as the town and its fortifications were built of wood and were vulnerable to fire.

The Phasis River helped secure the city.

The town's location between the Black Sea and the River Phasis secured it from the east, north and west. At its south side, a moat was its first line of defense.

Nachoragan's forces however emptied the moat after days of hard work, and managed to surround the town from its river side too by building a bridge of boats across the Phasis.

Meanwhile, the Byzantines had organized the defense of the city, with their forces taking their places at the various sides of the fortifications.

The extreme western side, the one closest to the river, was guarded by Justin, while Martin positioned himself in the south-western side.

The south side was defended by Angilas, Theodore and Philomathius. Angilas is recorded leading a regiment of Moorish peltasts and spearmen, probably meaning they were only armed with shield and lances.

Theodore led heavy infantry consisting of Tzani, a recently Christianized tribe living in the mountains above Trapezus, while Philomathius led Isaurian slingers and dart-throwers.

The south-eastern side was guarded by Gibrus, who led a combined force of Heruli and Lombards. The extreme eastern side was guarded by Valerian, leading forces from the praetorian prefecture of the East. Their composition is not recorded. Finally, the Byzantine ships were placed under the protection of Dabragezas the Wend and Elmingir (Elminegeir) the Hun.

Eastern Roman infantry reenactors
The composition of the Roman Army at Phasis reflected the international nature and wide reach of the Empire.  Roman units came from as far away as Morocco.  Other ethnic groups represented were Huns, Isaurians, Heruli, Lombards and Wends (Western Slavs from Northern Europe).

Sassanid Cataphract

Events of the siege

Operations started with a volley of arrows from the Persians. Martin, the overall commander of the Byzantine troops, had given instructions to the whole army to stay at their respective posts. They were to disregard attempts by the Persians to induce them to sally forth from the fortifications and fight in the open. However, Angilas and Philomathius with about two hundred of their men opened a town gate, exited the town and attacked the nearest force of Sassanids whose archers were harassing the defenders.

Theodore at first attempted to restrain them, but then bowed down to "majority opinion" and followed them in attacking. He was reportedly reluctant to violate orders, but unwilling to be branded a coward by the soldiers.

The Byzantine force was heavily outnumbered, and Agathias reports that they "would almost certainly have been annihilated", but they were saved by an error of the Dailamites. The Dailamites were a force of auxiliaries, originating in the mountains of Persia. "They fought on foot, armed each with a sword, a shield, and three javelins".


Persian Dailamite infantry

They decided against attacking the Byzantines from a distance, and instead they "calmly awaited their approach" and then easily performed an encirclement. The encircled Byzantines however began a desperate attack on the enemies positioned closer to the town walls, and the Dailamites "opened up their ranks and made way from them" instead of standing their ground. Thus Angilas and the others escaped back to the safety of the city.

Martin eventually conceived a ruse of war, which would both raise the morale of his soldiers and spread fear in enemy units. He called the army in an assembly, supposedly to discuss further measures of defense. The assembly was interrupted by an unknown person, posing as a messenger from Constantinople.

Martin reported the contents of the "imperial message" to all those assembled. The fabricated message congratulated the defenders for their valour and informed them that reinforcements were approaching, and the "messenger" claimed that they were camped near the river Neocnus, at a short distance from the town itself. Martin then feigned indignation that newcomers would share the glory and spoil "with those who had borne the burden and the heat", to which his troops shouted their approval, being motivated to action.

The Byzantine reinforcements did not in fact exist, but news of their approach reached Nachoragan, who reacted in two ways. He first assigned a large reconnaissance force, sending them out to locate and observe the Byzantine reinforcements, and then launched the rest of his forces in a general attack on the walls, hoping to capture the city before the reinforcements arrived.

He boasted that he would burn the city and its inhabitants down, and sent his camp servants to the nearby woods and instructed them to gather timber to burn down the city. He also instructed them to watch for great smoke rising to the heavens, for it would mean that the city had fallen and that they should immediately return to help.


The Romans employed
Isaurian slingers and dart-throwers.

While Nachoragan was forming his plan, Justin decided to take advantage of the calm before the storm: he exited the city, leading a force of 5,000 men, cavalrymen and an infantry brigade to "a church of great sanctity in the vicinity".

We need to stop right here and question this part of the original account by the historian Agathias. 

Justin did not take 5,000 troops on some casual stroll or religious "pilgramage" to a local church.  With this seriously large force, there is no doubt that Justin was looking to meet the Persians and perhaps take out some smaller units that might have become separated from the main army.

Agathias says the Persians somehow failed to notice the departure of Justin's force, and began their great attack that same morning.  Did the Romans leave under cover of darkness to avoid detechtion?  We do not know, but it is a logical assumption.

A large Roman force walking out of the city implies that the Persians were not there in great enough numbers to completely cut off the city.

In the attack arrows and darts filled the air, while Sassanid siege weapons were attempting to destroy the wooden walls. The defenders answered by throwing "huge blocks of stone" at the weapons and smaller stones at the enemy soldiers.

The initial stages of the fight lasted long enough for Justin to return from his pilgrimage. He could not return to the city, but was able to organize his own forces and attack the rear of the enemy force. 

Attacking the rear of the Persians may, or may not, have been in the original Roman plan.  But a good general knows to take advantage of an opportunity.

The sudden attack of the Romans spread havoc, breaking through enemy lines. At least some of the Sassanid forces believed that Justin's men were the rumoured Byzantine reinforcements.

Panicked Sassanid troops started to retreat, and most of the Dailamites left their positions to "relieve those who were being hard pressed". Angilas and Theodore noticed that there were few troops left besieging their section of the fortifications and led a sortie against the besiegers.

The few Dailamites left behind were either slain or forced to flee, "pressed in relentless pursuit" by the Byzantine force. The other Dailamites noted that their kinsmen were in peril and abandoned their current positions in an attempt to face Angilas and Theodore, but their counterattack was disorganized and ineffective.


Sassanian Persian War Elephant Unit battle formation.
War Elephant Unit: Rider armed with spear and Persian 
Sword rides in front and archers armed with spears
and supplied with bow and arrows ride in the cabin.

The nearby Persian forces in turn thought that the Dailamites were retreating in haste, panicked and started fleeing "ignominiously in all directions". The Dailamites were left unsupported and "rushed to join them in flight".

Agathias regards them as the cause and victims of a "double misunderstanding". Angilas and Theodore thus succeeded in causing a general flight of the Sassanid forces. The rest of the Byzantine troops sallied forth from behind the walls and started pursuing the fleeing enemies. The entire left wing of the Sassanid army fell apart, although the right wing remained unbroken and continued to fight.

The right wing included the war elephants of the Sassanid force. They might have stopped the Byzantine advance, but one of the elephants panicked and turned against the Persian ranks. The horses of the Sassanid cavalry were terrified of the attacking elephant, panicked in turn and bolted. In the confusion, the Sassanid forces scattered.

Nachoragan gave the command to retreat, but by that time most of his forces had either already fled the battlefield or were in the process of doing so.

By the time night fell, the Persians had reportedly lost at least ten thousand fighting men and most of their siege equipment.

The Byzantine casualties "did not number more than two hundred". The Byzantines set the siege equipment on fire. The servants and porters of the Sassanid army reportedly mistook the smoke for a sign that the city had fallen, and started rushing towards the Byzantine lines. Nearly two thousand of them were killed that night, others captured.


Islamic Mughal Empire:  War Elephants
The Mughal Empire used war elephants in a sophisticated and pioneering manner, this part looks at the armour and tusks of the elephants.

The elephant war "tank" was used in wars for centuries in wars Africa, the Middle East and in Habbibal's famous invasion of Italy.

Aftermath  -  Flayed Alive

Nachoragan was already running out of supplies and winter was approaching. He broke off the siege and retreated the following day. His troops headed towards Kotais and Mochereisis. Sassanid reinforcements arrived too late to make a difference and also retreated. The Byzantine forces were left in undisputed control of the western districts of Lazica. Nachoragan eventually crossed into Caucasian Iberia to winter.

News of the disaster however reached the Persian shah, Khosrau I (r. 531–579), who was enraged with his general. Agathias reports that Nachoragan was flayed alive by orders of Khosrau. "His skin, torn off in one piece from head to foot, so as to retain the shape of the body, was sewn up and inflated like a bladder". Khosrau reportedly kept it on display as a warning against "anyone who fled before the enemies" of the King of Kings.

The Lazic War had started in 541 with the defection of the Lazi under their king Gubazes II from Rome to Persia. The Persians quickly overran the country, but after Gubazes learned that the Persians planned to kill him, deport his people and bring in Persian colonists, he asked the Byzantines for help.

The Roman - Persian Wars.
For centuries both empires had fought a series of nearly meaningless border wars with each other over the control of assorted smaller client states and selected fortresses.  For the most part, the Roman-Persian border hardly moved. 

Sassanid Persian Empire



Persian soldier at the walls of Ctesiphon, Persia.

(Lazic War)          (iranpoliticsclub.net - Sassanian)

(books.google - Siega of Phasis)         (Siege of Phasis)