A Persian-Roman Army Fights Muslim Invaders

A 19th century Bedouin warrior
The Arab forces facing the Romans would look much like this soldier.
(vikingsword.com)

Battle for the Middle East, Part II
The Coming of Islam

Where is the great historian Procopius when you need him?

We see an amazing lack of information about the final great Roman-Persian War (602 - 628 AD) and the start of the Muslim Arab invasion of the Empire in 629. Because we lack so many details it falls on historians to put their own spin on events. So here I am doing the best an amatuer military historian can do.

The Roman Emperor Heraclius and Persian Shah Khosrau II were is a 26 year long Death Grip of a war that looked like it might never end. But all wars do end. In this case it was with Heraclius at the head of a Roman army marching deep into the Persian Empire and crushing their forces at the Battle of Ninevah.

The Persian War ended in 628 just in time for the first Muslim invasion in 629.

Anarchy in Persia

Shah Khosrau was overthrown and executed by his own son in 627 and peace concluded in 628.

The Persians surrendered the captured lands of Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia and parts of Anatolia to Rome. The undefeated Persian armies were withdrawn to the homeland.

Over the next four years Persia was in anarchy with ten kings and queens. The final Shah, Yazdegerd III, was thought to be a child of 8 years old upon assuming the throne.

The Persian Empire that faced the invading Arab Muslim armies was bankrupted from the long war, militarily exhausted, had Roman troops still in their country and was in political anarchy.

Shah Khosrau II submitting to Emperor Heraclius

Rome is Supreme

The Roman Empire had decisively won the war and was in the stronger position of the two.

In addition to withdrawing their armies the Persians returned the True Cross to Heraclius. In 630 the Emperor entered Jerusalem by its Golden Gate. Shedding all Imperial insignia Heraclius walked in the city with the cross and restored it to the Patriarch.

The Eastern Empire was at the peak of its fame and power.  But victory masked deep problems.

Like Persia the Empire was financially and militarily exhausted.

Jerusalem had suffered grave damage in the siege of 614. Other cities and farmland over a huge area would also have been damaged or destroyed. Roman Christians held captive in Persia were repatriated and resettled.

With the collapse of the Persian government thousands of Persian Christians migrated to Roman territory under armed escort. This created a new mix of cultures in Roman cities.

Heraclius left Jerusalem and went to the Roman province of Mesopotamia. There he supervised the exit of Persian troops from Roman territory, the return of hostages and the movement of refugees.

A great danger was Heraclius had little time to reestablish governmental rule from Constantinople of the liberated areas. For years provinces like Egypt and Palaestina Prima were ruled from Persia. A Roman Emperor had become but a distant memory. Now the Emperor was back with his tax collectors and attempts to dictate how local Christians were allowed to worship.

Roman-Byzantine reenactor infantryman from the age Justinian. 
The Roman infantry facing the Arabs 100 years later
might have looked much like this soldier. 

The Winds of War

In the year 628 Mohammad dispatched messages to the Shah of Persia, the Roman Emperor, the Governor of Egypt and the Prince of Abyssinia asking them to accept Islam.

In 629 a number of minor raids and expeditions were sent out from Arabia.  Some were defeated and others returned with booty.  In September, 629 a more important expedition was organized resulting the Battle of Mota (Mu'tah).  Some 10,000 Roman troops gave the invading Muslim army a bloody nose forcing them to retreat to Arabia.

Then in 632 Saint Maximos the Confessor wrote a contemporary reference to the barbarian ravages on the frontier that must have been about the Arabs:

"What more unfortunate circumstances could there be here than these 

that hold the inhabited world in their grip? . . .  What could be more 

lamentable and more terrible to those upon whom them fell?  To see 

how a people, coming from the desert and barbaric, run through the 

land that is not theirs, as if it were their own; how they, who seem 

only to have simple human features, lay waste our sweet and 

organized country with their wild untamed beasts."

Heraclius, Emperor of Byzntium - Walker Kaegi (pg 218)

When the Muslim invasion began in 633 it was Persia, not Rome, that was the target.

The Romans had beaten back the Muslims at the Battle of Mota. With anarchy in Persia the Muslims no doubt felt it was a softer target.

Eastern Roman Armored Cavalry
A possible look for the Roman cavalry. The standard stirrup and saddle were both used by the Byzantine Cataphract, allowing for more powerful lance attacks and making it a bit harder to knock him off his saddle. Reflecting the nature of heavy cavalry, the horse was covered in Lamellar armor that extended down to its knees, giving the horse protection for when charges were made against dense formation. It's head was enveloped in a plate headpiece. From front to back, there was not a place above the knees left uncovered.
(necromoprhvsfellowship) 

The Roman Army

The historian Warren Treadgold says there were about 109,000 Roman troops in the field in this period.

This number sounds large but is deceptive. The Empire was enormous ranging from the Pillars of Hercules to Italy, the Balkans, Egypt and Mesopotamia. Troops were required everywhere to man fortresses and drive off invaders. The number of troops available to act as actual field armies was a small fraction of the total.

The mix of the available troops is not available to us. How many are infantry? Cavalry? or militia?

We do know that soldiers were in very short supply. Huge numbers of troops were needed to reoccupy the provinces abandoned by the retreating Persian armies. To fill that gap and to counter the Muslims, Heracilus unsuccessfully tried to shift Roman troops from Numidia in North Africa to Egypt which had a minimal garrison.

Another factor in troop shortages, it appears some level of Roman troops were still inside Persia. They were there perhaps because of the internal political anarchy or to "supervise" the peace of a defeated enemy. In any case those troops were not immediately available to face the Muslims on the frontier of Palestine.

Because of the devastation of war tax money was not coming in. So as a "bonus" the Emperor was cutting expenses left and right and the army was not spared. Even Rome's ally the Arab Ghassanid tribe that protected the desert frontiers of Arabia had their funds cut off at the exact time an invasion from Arabia took place.

Rome needed time and peace to rebuild. Neither were available.

The Arab Army

In 632 AD the Muslim army numbered perhaps 13,000 men.

Because of poverty in Arabia and an arid climate, of that 13,000 perhaps 20% was cavalry.  Infantry would have been an untrained tribal mass.

I do not downgrade the power of tribal based warfare. You can ask the few survivors of the Battle of Teutoburg Forest about tribal warriors. An infantry force of 5,000 fanatical Jihadis slamming into your front lines would have frightened the hardest and most experienced of veteran troops.

But to me the true Arab secret weapon was Islamic Blitzkreig.

In warfare terms think Heinz Guderian and Erwin Rommel.  Like the Allied forces from 1939 to 1942 the Roman Army was a traditional slower moving force with lots of equipment, supplies and camp followers.

The German armored units often avoided combat and plunged deep behind enemy lines to attack the enemy in the flank or the rear. Like the Germans the light Arab cavalry units under their brilliant commander Khalid ibn Walid moved like lightening through the harsh, waterless deserts. The Arab cavalry played that same role as the German armor by rapidly covering hundreds of miles from front to front appearing seemingly out of nowhere to attack Roman troops.

Click to enlarge

Map details the route of Khalid ibn Walid's conquest of
the western portion of the Persian Empire.

The Battle of Firaz

Persians, Romans and Christian Arabs

combine to stop Islam

The Roman crushing of the Persian Empire made that country an obvious first target for Muslim invaders.

From the Muslim point of view it was also critical to prevent Byzantine military recruiting among the Armenians and the other peoples of the Caucasus region. Troops from the Caucasus had form a major part of Heracilus' army that invaded Persia. The conquest of Persian Mesopotamia was a vital first step before attacking Armenia and thereby deny Heracilus access to new soldiers.

The Muslims gathered their army, such as it was. Lt. General Glubb Pasha estimates that the Muslim commander Khalid ibn al-Walid had at best 3,500 warriors available to him. More troops may have come from Arabia as time went on. The Persian forces facing Khalid consisted of local Arab tribes and regular army.

Glubb Pasha explains the situations very well:

"The key to all the early operations, against Persia and against 

Syria alike, is that the Persians and Byzantines could not move 

in the desert, being mounted on horses. The Muslims were like 

a sea-power, cruising off shore in their ships, whereas the 

Persians and Byzantines alike could only take up positions 

on the shore (that is, the cultivated area) unable to launch 

out to 'sea' and engage the enemy in his own element."

Terrorism as a weapon.  After an early victory the ruthless Khalid ordered that all enemy prisoners be beheaded. Arab historians claim that thousands were butchered over a three day period.

In battle after battle Khalid marched up the Euphrates River through Persian Mesopotamia finally coming within 100 miles of the Roman frontier at Firaz.

Firaz was at the outermost edge of the Persian Empire but it still contained an undefeated Persian garrison. There was also a nearby Roman garrison supported by their Christian Arab allies.

The Persians, Romans and Christian Arabs joined forces to face the threat of Khalid.

The Persian-Roman allied army put their backs against 
the Euphrates River to face the Muslims.

Khalid was more or less the master of the Euphrates Valley, but he feared if this undefeated combined force was left alone there could be a Persian re-invasion to take back lost territory.

In December, 633 Khalid marched with a force to the Firaz area and in January, 634 engaged in battle.

There are no records of the size of the forces involved. As commander we can assume Khalid would not have gone into battle with less than several thousand troops. The combined Persian-Roman army might have been the same or maybe smaller. The allies certainly would not have marched to open battle with a tiny force. That would have been suicide. So perhaps their army also numbered in the thousands. It is all guess work.

The combined Persian-Roman army put their backs to the Euphrates River and await the Muslim advance. A bridge over the river was at their rear for an escape if needed.

As usual information is maddeningly vague. It appears Khalid engaged the allies with his infantry. As the front ranks of both sides were engaged in battle he sent his cavalry in a swift lightning movement to engage the flanks of the allies. The Muslims then made a dash for the bridge and cut off the retreat of the allies.

The allies were caught in a double envelopment.

Casualties? We have no idea. We do know that Arab historians do not boast of the allied army surrendering or mass conversions to Islam at sword point. We have to assume the allied army was completely destroyed.

Khalid could now turn his attention on Roman Palestine.

Islamic conquest of Persia

Emperor Flavius Heraclius Augustus
The Emperor was at war for about 27 out of 
his 30 years on the throne.

Sassanid Persian Armored Cataphract

Map of the Middle East on the eve of the Muslim invasions.

(Bagot Glubb)      (Heraclius)      (Persia)      (Firaz)      (Rashidun)

(Byzantine Army)      (Levant)   

Zoroastrians and Christians vs Islam - The Amorium Campaign

Israeli reenactors doing the later Battle of Hattin. But you get a
flavor of the brutality of warfare in the period.  (theatlantic.com)

The Amorium Campaign (837-838 AD)

A two year campaign of a Roman invasion of Arab held Mesopotamia and a counter invasion by Arab Muslims

For 500 years the Eastern Roman heartland of Anatolia was ground zero for endless invasions by Arab Muslim forces and counter attacks by Roman troops.

The ancient Roman city and fortress of Amorium was one of many strong points looking to slow down or delay invaders to allow time for Constantinople to gather an army to repel enemy forces.

Amorium was founded in the Hellenistic period. It was situated on the Byzantine military road from Constantinople to Cilicia. The city was fortified by the Emperor Zeno in the 5th century, but did not rise to prominence until the 7th century. Its strategic location in central Asia Minor made the city a vital stronghold against the armies of the Arab Caliphate following the Muslim conquest of the Levant.

The city was first attacked by Muʿāwiya in 646. It capitulated to ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Khalid in 666 and was occupied by Yazid I in 669, then retaken by Constans II's general Andreas. Over the next two centuries, it remained a frequent target of Muslim raids into Asia Minor, especially during the great sieges of 716 and 796. It became capital of the thema of Anatolikon soon after. 

In 742-743, it was the main base of Emperor Constantine V against the usurper Artabasdos, and in 820, an Amorian, Michael II, ascended the Byzantine throne, establishing the Amorian dynasty. This began the period of the city's greatest prosperity, when it became the largest city in Asia Minor. Its status however as the native city of the reigning dynasty also spelled its doom: in 838, the Caliph Al-Mu'tasim launched a campaign specifically against the city.

Roman Emperor Theophilos

Babak Khorramdin
Babak was the leader of the Zoroastrians revolting against oppressive 
Muslim rule. They became allies with Constantinople against Islam.
He was captured and tortured to death by the Muslims.

The Faravahar symbol of Zoroastrianism
and ancient Persia.

A Zoroastrian - Christian Alliance

The warfare between the Eastern Romans, Persian Zoroastrians and Islam had been non-stop for 200 years by this point.

In 827 AD, two years before Emperor Theophilos took power, the Muslims had landed in Roman Sicily looking to conquer Italy.  The Emperor was searching in any direction he could for allies to help take the pressure off front line Byzantine forces in Italy or on other fronts.

The Zoroastrian Khurramites in the Mesopotamia area had been in rebellion against their oppressive Muslim overlords since 816.  Under their leader Babak, the Khurramites broke up the great Muslim estates and redistributed the land back to the Zoroastrian people.

With Roman support the Khurramites had attacked Arab forces in Persia and Mesopotamia, and they defeated four different Muslim armies sent against them by the Caliph.

The Muslim attempts to suppress the rebellion sent 14,000 or more Khurramite refugees into Roman territory.  Their leader Nasr was baptized a Christian and took the new name of Theophobos.  Many of the Khurramites were enrolled in the Byzantine army under their leader.

Click to enlarge
Map of the Byzantine and Arab campaigns in the years 837–838,
showing Theophilos's raid into Upper Mesopotamia and Mu'tasim's
retaliatory invasion of Asia Minor (Anatolia), culminating in
the conquest of Amorium.

Roman Invasion of Mesopotamia

At the urging of a hard-pressed Babak, the Emperor gathered a large army to strike the lightly protected Muslim frontier emirates.

As usual sources from that period claim the Emperor assembled a massive army of 70,000 to 100,000 men for the invasion.  Pure fantasy as usual.  The historian Warren Treadgold places the entire strength of the Eastern Roman army on all fronts at between 80,000 and 100,000 men.

Follis minted in large quantities in
celebration of Theophilos's victories
against the Arabs. He is represented in
triumphal attire, wearing the toupha,
and on the reverse the traditional
acclamation "Theophilos Augustus,
you conquer".

Still with the Emperor himself at the head of an army invading Muslim territory the force would have been above average.  Using troops from Constantinople as the core, and picking up theme troops along the way, the army might have grown to 20,000 to 25,000.

In any case, the Emperor's army invaded the upper Euphrates almost unopposed.  With the Arab forces busy attacking the Khurramites the Romans took the towns of Sozopetra and Arsamosata.  The Romans ravaged and plundered the countryside and extracted ransom from several cities in exchange for not attacking them.  Several small Arab forces were defeated.

Emperor Theophilos then returned to Constantinople, gave himself a triumph and acclaimed himself an "incomparable champion" at the Hippodrome.

A true victory it was not. This was pure ego and political theater for the people back home.

While the Emperor was having his "triumph" his allies the Khurramites were being crushed by the Muslims. In late 837 the Khurramites were forced from their mountain stronghold by General Afshin. Babak fled to Armenia, but he was betrayed to the Muslims and was tortured to death.

So much for the Emperor's "victory".

Israeli reenactors as Arabs doing a later battle but it
gives you the flavor of the time period.  (theatlantic.com)

The Muslim Counter Invasion

The Caliph al-Mu'tasim claimed to be outraged by the brutality of the Roman invasion (as if Arab invasions were polite affairs). It appears during the sack of Sozopetra, the possible birthplace of the Caliph, all male prisoners were killed or sold into slavery and many women were raped by Khurramites.

With the Khurramites eliminated the Caliph targeted the Roman city of Amorium, the capital of the powerful Anatolic Theme deep in Anatolia. Another reason for targeting the city is it was the birthplace of Michael II, the Emperor's father and founder of the dynasty.

This was a very, very serious objective for the Arabs. Far from the frontier, the Anatolic Theme was the largest and most powerful of the themes. Later Arab historians say the theme contained 34 fortresses and could field 15,000 troops at need.

Byzantine historian Michael the Syrian says the Arabs gathered an army of 80,000 men and 30,000 camp followers and servants. As usual the numbers are fantasy. But this was a major campaign of revenge. An invading army of 40,000 Arabs might not be far off.

Marking his target, the Caliph had the city of Amorium placed on the shields and banners of his troops.

The Caliph divided his force into two parts.

First Corps - A detachment of 10,000 Turks under General Afshin were sent to the northeast to join forces with Muslim and Armenian troops. Together this force would invade the neighboring Charsianon and Armeniac Themes through the Pass of Hadath. It was claimed that once the forces were joined this army reached 30,000 men.  Too high a number? Perhaps.

Second Corps - The Caliph with the main army of perhaps 30,000 men would invade Cappadocia through the Cilician Gates and on into central Anatolia.

Byzantine reenactor

Upon hearing of the Arab invasion the Emperor gathered the Tagmata from Constantinople and in June marched to the frontier. His army included Khurramite troops and perhaps some soldiers from European themes.

Michael the Syrian claimed the Byzantine army marching east was 40,000 men. Too many in my view. Even if the Emperor added units to his army from Anatolia I doubt if his army was more than the 20,000 to 25,000 based on his previous invasion of Mesopotamia.

The Emperor's generals advised the evacuation of the city of Amorium in order to deprive the Caliph of his prime target. But the Emperor did not want to give up on a major city and military strong point. So he ordered Aetios, the Strategos of the Anatolics theme, to reinforce the city. In addition the Emperor added to that force with men from his army: men from the Tagmata of the Excubitors and the Vigla.

The Emperor then marched with the remainder of his force to the river Halys and positioned himself between the Cilician Gates and the fortress of Ancyra.

On June 19 the first corps of the Arab army under Ashinas passed through the Cilician Gates with the Caliph's second corps following two days later.

In mid-July Emperor Theophilos learned of the arrival of Arab army at Dazimon far to the northeast.

The Emperor divided his army a second time. He left part of his army at the river with a family member and took the rest on a march to Dazimon.

The Emperor moved fast and attacked the Arabs in the Battle of Anzen on July 22. He outnumbered his Arab enemy. That in itself shows the true size of the armies involved on both sides. If after twice detaching troops from his own army the Emperor still outnumbered the Arabs then the historians of the period overstated the size of the invading army.

The Roman attack was successful at first, but the Emperor decided to lead an attack in person. His absence from his usual position with the army created panic among the troops who feared his had been killed. After a fierce attack by Turkish horse-archers the Byzantine army broke and fled. Some men as far as Constantinople bring "news" that the Emperor was dead.

Meanwhile the Emperor was surrounded and trapped on a hill with his Tagmata troops and some Kurdish allies. Nearly avoiding disaster the Emperor's force broke through the Arab lines suffering many casualties. Theophilos and his men reached the safety of the town of Chilokomon where he gradually reassembled what was left of his army.

Emperor Theophilos flees after the Battle of Anzen, miniature from the Madrid Skylitzes manuscript.

Click to enlarge
Artist's impression of the Byzantine Lower City at Amorium in ca. A.D. 800, showing the bathhouse and wine-making installations (by Tatiana Meltsem). © The Amorium Excavations Project.  (metmuseum.org)
.
Amorium was one of Byzantium’s most important cities between the 8th and 10th centuries. The fact that Amorium remained uninhabited following the 12th century guarantees a good level of monument preservation, allows the smooth conducting of excavations, as well as the execution of large-scale surface and geophysics research.  (snf.org)

The Siege and Sack of Amorium

The political situation of the Empire was often unsettled in the best of times.

After the defeat at Anzen the Emperor had to immediately leave the battle against the Muslims in order to secure his throne. Rumors of the Emperor's death created a whirlwind of plots to declare a new Emperor.

With the Emperor in Constantinople the Khurramite troops gathered in the coastal town of Sinop declared their commander Theophobos the new Emperor. But Theophobos was reluctant to take on the Emperor and appears to have been pardoned by Theophilos.

While this game of thrones was being played out, advanced units of the Arab second corp reached the Roman city of Ancyra on July 26th. The Arabs found the city deserted, but the inhabitants were discovered hiding in local mines and taken captive. The city was plundered and the Arabs continued their march to Amorium.

Looting the countryside on the way the Arab army advanced on Amorium in three different corps. The Muslim Turkish General Ashinas was in the front, the Caliph was in the middle and the Persian Muslim general Afshin in the rear. They began the siege of the city on August 1st.

The Arab siege of Jerusalem in Kingdom of Heaven gives you
an idea of the Muslim attack on Amorium.

A "Battle Shy" Emperor

To my mind the actions of the Emperor are very questionable.

All sides agreed that Amorium was vital, but the Emperor appears to have avoided combat to save the city. Was he frightened after his near capture at Anzen? We do not know. What we do know is he made no attempt of any kind to threaten the rear of the Arab forces besieging Amorium.

Spineless Groveling - In a total display of weakness the one thing the Emperor did do was send envoys to grovel in front of the Caliph. His envoys told the Caliph that the atrocities the Romans committed at Sozopetra were not on the Emperor's orders, offered to rebuild the city for the Caliph at Roman expense, release all Muslim prisoners and pay tribute.

The Caliph saw this as a massive display of military weakness. That the Emperor was too frightened or the Empire too weak to do anything about the invading Arab armies. So the Caliph refused to even discuss terms, detained the envoys and forced them to view the siege.

The city itself was a powerful strong point with 44 towers, thick walls and a moat. The Emperor should have been able reduce pressure on the city by threatening besieging forces at different points or trying to cut their lines of communication, but nothing was done.

Click to enlarge

The Caliph assigned each of his generals a section of the walls. Both sides used siege engines against each other and exchanged missile fire for a number of days. The Arabs also used sappers to try and undermine the walls.

A serious problem appeared almost at once. A section of the wall had been badly damaged by heavy rainfall and the Roman commander had only done the most superficial of repairs. Arab accounts say an Arab Christian convert defected from the Romans back to the Caliph and informed them of the weaken section of the wall.

The Arabs immediately concentrated their attacks on this section. The defenders tried to cushion the walls by hanging wooden beams to absorb the shock of the siege engines. Their efforts failed and after two days a breach was made.

After neglecting the city defenses the Byzantine commander Aetios appears to have panicked. He made plans to break out in the middle of the night and link up with the Emperor. But two messengers he sent out were captured, converted to Islam and paraded around the city walls. To make sure no break out would happen Arab cavalry patrols were increased even at night.

The Arabs now stepped up the attacks on the breach. Wheeled four man catapults were brought forward closer to the wall. Ten man mobile towers were brought to the edge of the moat where the men began to fill in the moat with sheep skins full of earth.

To speed the attack the Caliph ordered that dirt be thrown over the sheep skins right up to the wall itself. To help with this a tower was pushed to the mid point of the moat but became stuck. It and other siege engines had to be abandoned and burned.

Over the next two weeks the Caliph continued with multiple attacks against the breach gradually wearing down the Byzantine defenders. The strategos Aetios sent an embassy headed by the city's bishop to the Caliph offering to surrender Amorium in exchange for safe passage for the troops and the residents. The Caliph refused.

Now panic set in among some of the troops. The Byzantine commander of the breach, Boiditzes, entered into secret negotiations with the Caliph. He ordered his men to stand down and went Arab camp to discuss the possible surrender of the breach.

The Arabs betrayed Boiditzes. While the Roman was speaking with the Caliph the Arab troops moved closer to the breach, charged and broke into the city. Taken by surprise resistance was minor. Some soldiers barricaded themselves in a monastery but were burned to death to death by the Arabs. Aetios took refuge in a tower with some of his officers before being forced to surrender.

For five full days the city was plundered. Byzantines said 70,000 people died. A vastly inflated number. But even the Arabs say 30,000 died. The surviving civilian population was sold into slavery. The civic and military elites were held captive by the Caliph.

The Caliph now sent the Emperor's envoys home with news of the defeat and then burned the city to the ground. The massive iron doors of the city were installed at the entrance the Caliph's palace.

Sold into Muslim Slavery
Thousands of Roman Christians from the sacked city of Amorium
were divided among Arab army leaders and sold into slavery.

What Came After

Fresh from his victory the Caliph marched toward Constantinople to take on the forces of the Emperor. Naturally the Emperor and anything resembling a Roman army could not be found. The only thing that stopped the Caliph was news of a conspiracy against him back home. So he left the other Byzantine fortresses intact and returned to his own country.

Both the Caliph's army and Roman prisoners suffered in the dry Anatolian countryside. To put down unrest the Caliph executed 6,000 prisoners.

The Emperor continued to grovel. He sent an embassy to the Caliph offering a ransom 20,000 Byzantine pounds of gold for the Roman captives and the release of all Muslim prisoners. It was rejected.

The border wars between Byzantium and the Arabs continued for years to come without real changes to the frontier borders.

Some 42 high ranking prisoners were held by the Arabs until 845 when the new Caliph ordered that they be killed even though the Emperor continued to offer ransom.

Damage to the Empire was limited. Amorium was rebuilt though it never returned to its former glory. It was also for a time replaced at the capital of the Anatolic Theme.

The Emperor, trying to look relevant, "reorganized" the army, created new commands and dispersed the revolting Khurramite troops among different themes. This was more window dressing than anything else. So the wars went on much as before.

Amorium - click to enlarge
(ourancientworld.com)

(Anzen)      (archive.org)      (Amorium)      (Sack of Amorium)

(amorium)      (Amorium)

Battle of Callinicum - Romans vs Persians

Cataphract Cavalry used at Callinicum
Both the Persian Sassanid (above) and the Eastern Roman Empires used highly trained Cataphract armored horse archers.  These highly mobile troops would let fly a deadly barrage of arrows into an enemy to break up their formation and then charge in for the kill. 

The Battle of Callinicum (April 19, 531 AD) was the last of a series of battles between the armies of the Eastern Roman Empire and the Sassanid Persian Empire in the Iberian War that lasted from 526 – 532 AD.

The Iberian War

After the Anastasian War, a seven-year truce was agreed on, yet it lasted for nearly twenty years. Even during the war in 505, Emperor Anastasius I had already started fortifying Dara as a counter to the Persian fortress city of Nisibis for a looming conflict. In 524/525, the Persian shah Kavadh I (r. 488–531) proposed that Roman Emperor Justin I adopt his son, Khosrau I; the priority of the Persian king was to secure the succession of Khosrau, whose position was threatened by rival brothers and the Mazdakite sect.

The proposal was initially greeted with enthusiasm by the Roman Emperor and his nephew, Justinian, but Justin's quaestor, Proculus, opposed the move. Despite the breakdown of the negotiations, it was not until 530 that full-scale warfare on the main eastern frontier broke out. In the intervening years, the two sides preferred to wage war by proxy, through Arab allies in the south and Huns in the north.

Tensions between the two powers were further heightened by the defection of the Iberian king Gourgen to the Romans. According to Procopius, Kavadh I tried to force the Christian Iberians to become Zoroastrians, who in 524/525 under the leadership of Gourgen rose in revolt against Persia, following the example of the neighboring Christian kingdom of Lazica. Gourgen received pledges by Roman Emperor Justin I that he would defend Iberia; the Romans indeed recruited Huns from the north of the Caucasus to assist the Iberians.

By 526-527, overt fighting between the two empires had broken out in the Transcaucasus region and upper Mesopotamia.

The Iberian War saw the Persian and Roman Empires in a fight
from the Caucasus to the upper Mesopotamia region. 

Battle of Callinicum

The Byzantines’ eastern borders, especially the area of Syria and along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, were under constant dispute with the Persians. One of the ways the Persians gave the Eastern Romans fits was raiding this disputed area during time of war.

Generally, a substantial Sassanian military force – 10,000 to 20,000 men, usually all cavalry – would be sent into Byzantine territory to temporarily capture some forts, towns or cities, take any valuables they could carry, and beat a hasty retreat back to Sassanian territory. Usually by the time a sufficient Byzantine military response could be formed, the raiders slipped away with their loot.

In April 531, a Persian force under Azarethes, numbering about 15,000 cavalry, with an additional group of 5,000 Lakhmid Arab light horse allies under their King Al-Mundhir, crossed the frontier at Circesium on the Euphrates and marched north.

The Roman - Persian Wars
For over 700 years, from 92 BC to 629 AD,
the two great empires fought wars for
the control of western Asia.

As the Persians neared Callinicum in modern day Syria, Belisarius, who commanded the local Roman troops, set out to follow them as they advanced westwards. 

Belisarius was the Magister Militum per Orientum (the commander of all Roman forces east of Constantinople) reacted swiftly to the Persian thrust.  Belisarius was riding the wave of a stunning victory over a Persian army twice his size at the Battle of Dara just a year before and was an experienced commander.

Belisarius had gathered his forces, beginning his pursuit within days of the Persian crossing of the Euphrates. His force initially consisted of 5,000 Byzantine cavalry and 5,000 Ghassanid Arab light cavalry.  Part of his army had been left to secure Dara and other border towns against Persian attack.

Belisarius was expecting reinforcements as he continued shadowing the Persian raiders.

After a few days, Belisarius received some reinforcements from nearby Roman provinces, as well as directly from the Byzantine capital. These men were led by Hermogenes, the Roman Emperor’s Magister Officiorum. 

The additional troops swelled Belisarius’ force to 9000 infantry, 12,000 Byzantine cavalry and the 5,000 Ghassanid light horsemen.   At least two thousand of the troops were Isaurians under the command of Longinus and Stephanacius.  The commanders of cavalry were all the same ones who had previously fought the Battle at Dara with Mirranes and the Persians, while the infantry were commanded by one of the body-guards of the Emperor Justinian, named Peter.

Belisarius' army began to approach the invading Persians.  Once word reached the Persians that it was Belisarius who was coming for them they immediately decided to retire back to Persia.  Through a series of forced marches, Belisarius kept his men moving, barely missing contact with the fleeing Sassanid force on several occasions.

At dawn on the morning of April 19 – the day before Easter – the Roman army came upon the Sassanids still encamped on the southern bank of the Euphrates, across the river from the town of Callinicum

Kavadh I
Persian King of Kings.
Image of Kavadh I on one of his coins.

General Belisarius was also not interested in a head to head fight with the fleeing Persians. He really had nothing to gain, and he also probably realized that his army was tired from the forced marches. In addition, the army was probably hungry from the enforced Holy Week fasting. Finally, the Persian camp was well fortified, with a defensive ditch as well as anti-cavalry caltrops sown around its perimeter.

The Byzantine troops, however, were restless, and clamored for battle.  The strategy of just pushing the Persians out of Roman lands did not sit well with many of the commanders, especially Hermogenes, who seems to have wanted to prove his bona fides as a military man. Perhaps the senior Roman officers wanted to punish the Persians for their incursion; or, maybe they were still flushed with the glow of victory from battles in the previous year.

According to Procopius: “…the army began to insult [Belisarius], not in silence nor with any concealment, but they came shouting into his presence, and called him weak and a destroyer of their zeal; and even some of the officers joined with the soldiers in this offence…” Seeing that his men were determined to fight the Sassanians, Belisarius – against his better judgment – began deploying his army for battle.

Events like this are recorded over and over.  They show that military discipline was minimal if the troops, and even the officers, had no fear of their own generals.

The Euphrates River
Belisarius anchored his infantry on the river with an island mid-river in view 
and the Roman town of Callinicum on the far shore.



The Byzantine left was anchored on the Euphrates River with the
Roman town of Callinicum located just across the river.  The Persian
left mounted a strong attack on the 5,000 Ghassanid Arab light cavalry
on the Roman right.  The Ghassanids fled without firing a shot allowing
the Persians to attack the rear of the Roman cavalry in the center.  

The Armies Meet at the Euphrates

The two armies met outside Callinicum on 19 April 531. Both groups formed up differently.

Belisarius chose an "odd" formation that confused his opposing general. In this case he anchored his left flank on the bank of the river with the Roman infantry and put the Ghassanid Arab allies on his far right flank on slopping ground.  He then placed several ranks of Roman heavy cavalry, the armored cataphracts, in the center of the front line.

By anchoring his infantry on the Euphrates perhaps Belisarius was trying to prevent his troops from being flanked by the more mobile Persians as well as creating a sense of security to any prevent panic.

Most of these infantry spearmen would have worn metallic armor – at least the front few ranks – metal helmets and carried large shields, possibly with greaves to protect their legs. They were probably arranged 5 to 10 ranks deep. The remainder of the infantry consisted of 2,000-3,000 bowmen, likely lined up behind the spearmen, or possibly mixed in among them. All of the infantrymen, spearmen and archers, were armed with a sword as a secondary weapon, with the bowmen probably having a small round shield for more protection.

Infantry Officer in the era of Justinian
(6th century AD)

The Roman cavalry in the center divided into three divisions. Next to the left wing he placed his limitanei cavalry; to their right were the comitatensis horsemen, then  the limitanei cavalry.

These units would have lined up 10 files deep in battle. The first two files would have been armed with lances and swords, the next two files with have been armed with bows and swords, and the remaining files would have had some bows, most probably were armed with javelins and swords. The lancers probably had the most metal armor, with helmets and small round shields, while the other men probably were limited to leather or padded armor.

To the right of the cavalry was a 2,000-man contingent of infantry, newly raised by Hermogenes as he rode to link up with Belisarius. These men were not well trained, probably not well equipped, and armed with little more than javelins.

Completing the Byzantine deployment, the 5,000-strong Ghassanid Arab horsemen were stationed on the upward sloping ground, guarding the army’s right flank. These men would be lightly armored, armed with light spears, javelins, swords and some bows.

It is probable that lined up behind the Byzantine center was a 1,000-man reserve commanded by Belisarius and Hermogenes, consisting of their bucellari, their personal retainers. These men, sworn to the personal service of the general and the bureaucrat, would have worn the best armor possible, complete with small round shields, and probably greaves. However, they probably didn’t have any protection for their horses. These men were probably mostly Goths or Thracians.

The Sassanid deployment is a bit simpler, but most of the Persian sources don’t give quite as much detail. The 15,000 Persian cavalry was divided into three divisions, placed on the right and center of their battleline, with their Lakhmid Arab allies on the left facing their traditional enemies the Ghassanids.

The other 5,000-man Persian division was lined up behind the center as a tactical reserve.

The sources stated that the Sassanid army was marching under a “royal standard,” probably meaning that these were the closest thing to “regulars” that the Persians had to offer. It can be further assumed that the majority of the army consisted of the elite riders of the Persians, the cataphracts: heavily armored, well-trained horsemen armed with lances, bows, and swords or maces. Their horses were also well-protected, and could logically be referred to as the “tanks” of the sixth century battlefield.

These warriors probably comprised the front two or three ranks of each Persian division, with the remainder consisting of light Parthian or Hunnic horsemen armed with bows. The Persians usually fired their bows to disrupt their enemy’s formations, then sent the heavy horsemen in deep wedges to pound them into submission.

6th Century Roman Infantry

For much of the day, the battle was a stalemate, with the Persians and Romans trading arrows and cavalry charges.

The historian Procopius says the battle was exceedingly fierce and went on for hours. The arrows, shot from either side in very great numbers, caused great loss of life in both armies, while some placed themselves in the interval between the armies and made a display of valorous deeds against each other, and especially among the Persians they were falling by the arrows in great numbers.

The Persians began a series of attacks along the Byzantine line, using the treasured tactic of attacking and feigning retreat in hopes of drawing out the Romans to pursue them. Apparently, the Romans’ discipline held fast.

After several hours, probably now late afternoon, the Persians gathered their heavy cavalry into a single unit.  They marched to attack the Roman right flank made up of some 5,000 Ghassanid Arab light cavalry.  With the Persians approaching Procopius says the Arabs simply turned and fled the battlefield without even trying to fight.

The entire Roman right wing had instantly vanished.

The advancing Persians swung around and attacked the Roman center from both the rear and the front.  At this point the Romans were exhausted by the long marches and the day long battle.  Most of the troops rapidly left the battlefield right into the Euphrates River to try and take shelter on the islands offshore.

But many other Romans stayed to fight.  One was Ascan who, after killing many of the notables among the Persians, was gradually hacked to pieces and finally fell, and with him eight hundred others perished after showing themselves brave men in this struggle. Almost all the untrained militia-style  Isaurians fell with their leaders, without even daring to lift their weapons against the enemy.

The infantry commander Peter still had a large force available though most of his men had fled.  Belisarius and his cavalry had been with Ascan.  When that warrior and his men fell the general retreated to Peter's infantry phalanx.  Belisarius commanded all his men to give up their horses and join the infantry to fight on foot.  There would be no retreat from this spot.

The Romans under Belisarius and Peter turned their backs to the river in what was probably a half circle so the Persians could not flank them. 

Belisarius' Shield Wall Holds Firm.
Roman infantry re-enactors (above) do a shield wall to repel a cavalry
attack.  Belisarius and his men put their backs to the Euphrates River to
form a phalanx of shields and spears to fight off the endless charges
of the elite Persian cavalry units.

The Persians attacked the Roman wall of shields again and again with no results.  Belisarius and his smaller force was taking on the entire Persian army.  Procopius reports that the Romans stood shoulder to shoulder in a tight formation with shields in an unyielding barricade.  Every time the Persians attacked the Romans poured arrow fire into their ranks creating huge numbers of casualties and confusion.

This last phase of the battle appears to have lasted for hours.  The Persians did not give up their endless assaults on Belisarius until nightfall.  Only then did the Persians withdraw to their fortified camp.

Belisarius with a few men then found a small freight-boat and crossed to the island in the middle of the river that many other Romans had reached by swimming.

On the following day many freight-boats were brought to the Romans from the city of Callinicus to ferry the remaining troops across the Euphrates.  The Persians, after despoiling the dead, departed homeward.

Exact casualties are not known, but both sides suffered badly in the encounter.

And After the Battle

The direct outcome of the battle was something of a stalemate; the Byzantine army had lost many soldiers and would not be in fighting condition for months, but the Persians had taken such heavy losses that it was useless as to its original purpose, the invasion of Syria. 

The leadership on both sides were unhappy with the battle results.

Upon return, Emperor Kavadh I removed General Azarethes from command and stripped him of his honors due to the general's actions in the battle.  When Belisarius returned to Constantinople, he was brought before a review board and dismissed from his position.

Justinian's envoy, Hermogenes, visited Kavadh immediately after the Battle of Callinicum to re-open negotiations but without success. Justinian therefore took steps to bolster the Roman position, trying, at the same time, to engage Kavadh diplomatically. Kavadh died shortly afterwards, and in spring 532 new negotiations began between the Roman envoys and the new Persian king, Khosrau I, who needed to devote his attention to secure his own position.

The two sides finally came to an agreement, and the Eternal Peace, which lasted less than eight years, was signed in September 532. Both sides agreed to return all occupied territories and the Romans to make a one-off payment of 110 centenaria (11,000 pounds of gold). The Romans recovered the Lazic forts, Iberia remained in Persian hands, but the Iberians who had left their country were allowed to remain in Roman territory or to return to their native land.

 

Belisarius and his Staff
(Johnny Shumates Portfolio)

Persian Cavalry Reenactment

 

Sassanid Persian Cataphract
Sassanian Elite Savaran Persian Cavalry

 

History of the Wars:  Book I

The Persian War

By Procopius of Caesarea
(AD 500 – c. AD 565)
Procopius was with Belisarius on the eastern front at the Battle of Callinicum in AD 531.  Here is his eyewitness account of the battle.


At the opening of spring a Persian army under the leadership of Azarethes invaded the Roman territory. They were fifteen thousand strong, all horsemen. With them was Alamoundaras, son of Saccice, with a very large body of Saracens. But this invasion was not made by the Persians in the customary manner; for they did not invade Mesopotamia, as formerly, but the country called Commagene of old, but now Euphratesia, a point from which, as far as we know, the Persians never before conducted a campaign against the Romans.

. . . . This man's suggestion at that time therefore pleased Cabades, and he chose out fifteen thousand men, putting in command of them Azarethes, a Persian, who was an exceptionally able warrior, and he bade Alamoundaras lead the expedition.

So they crossed the River Euphrates in Assyria, and, after passing over some uninhabited country, they suddenly and unexpectedly threw their forces into the land of the so-called Commagenae. This was the first invasion made by the Persians from this point into Roman soil, as far as we know from tradition or by any other means, and it paralyzed all the Romans with fear by its unexpectedness.

6th Century Eastern Roman reenactor

And when this news came to the knowledge of Belisarius, at first he was at a loss, but afterwards he decided to go to the rescue with all speed. So he established a sufficient garrison in each city in order that Cabades with another hostile army might not come there and find the towns of Mesopotamia utterly unguarded, and himself with the rest of the army went to meet the invasion; and crossing the River Euphrates they moved forward in great haste.

Now the Roman army amounted to about twenty thousand foot and horse, and among them not less than two thousand were Isaurians. The commanders of cavalry were all the same ones who had previously fought the battle at Daras with Mirranes and the Persians, while the infantry were commanded by one of the body-guards of the Emperor Justinian, Peter by name. The Isaurians, however, were under the command of Longinus and Stephanacius. Arethas also came there to join them with the Saracen army. When they reached the city of Chalcis, they encamped and remained there, since they learned that the enemy were in a place called Gabboulon, one hundred and ten stades away from Chalcis.

When this became known to Alamoundaras and Azarethes, they were terrified at the danger, and no longer continued their advance, but decided to retire homeward instantly. Accordingly they began to march back, with the River Euphrates on the left, while the Roman army was following in the rear. And in the spot where the Persians bivouacked each night the Romans always tarried on the following night. For Belisarius purposely refused to allow the army to make any longer march because he did not wish to come to an engagement with the enemy, but he considered that it was sufficient for them that the Persians and Alamoundaras, after invading the land of the Romans, should retire from it in such a fashion, betaking themselves to their own land without accomplishing anything. And because of this all secretly mocked him, both officers and soldiers, but not a man reproached him to his face.

Finally the Persians made their bivouac on the bank of the Euphrates just opposite the city of Callinicus. From there they were about to march through a country absolutely uninhabited by man, and thus to quit the land of the Romans; for they purposed no longer to proceed as before, keeping to the bank of the river.

The Romans had passed the night in the city of Sura, and, removing from there, they came upon the enemy just in the act of preparing for the departure.  Now the feast of Easter was near and would take place on the following day; this feast is reverenced by the Christians above all others, and on the day before it they are accustomed to refrain from food and drink not only throughout the day, but for a large part of the night also they continue the fast.

Then, therefore, Belisarius, seeing that all his men were passionately eager to go against the enemy, wished to persuade them to give up this idea (for this course had been counselled by Hermogenes also, who had come recently on an embassy from the emperor); he accordingly called together all who were present and spoke as follows:


Byzantine Armor
Manufactured by Dimitrios
Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection.

"O Romans, whither are you rushing? and what has happened to you that you are purposing to choose for yourselves a danger which is not necessary? Men believe that there is only one victory which is unalloyed, namely to suffer no harm at the hands of the enemy, and this very thing has been given us in the present instance by fortune and by the fear of us that overpowers our foes. Therefore it is better to enjoy the benefit of our present blessings than to seek them when they have passed. For the Persians, led on by many hopes, undertook an expedition against the Romans, and now, with everything lost, they have beaten a hasty retreat. So that if we compel them against their will to abandon their purpose of withdrawing and to come to battle with us, we shall win no advantage whatsoever if we are victorious,—for why should one rout a fugitive?—while if we are unfortunate, as may happen, we shall both be deprived of the victory which we now have, not robbed of it by the enemy, but flinging it away ourselves, and also we shall abandon the land of the emperor to lie open hereafter to the attacks of the enemy without defenders. Moreover this also is worth your consideration, that God is always accustomed to succour men in dangers which are necessary, not in those which they choose for themselves. And apart from this it will come about that those who have nowhere to turn will play the part of brave men even against their will, while the obstacles which are to be met by us in entering the engagement are many; for a large number of you have come on foot and all of us are fasting. I refrain from mentioning that some even now have not arrived." So spoke Belisarius.

But the army began to insult him, not in silence nor with any concealment, but they came shouting into his presence, and called him weak and a destroyer of their zeal; and even some of the officers joined with the soldiers in this offence, thus displaying the extent of their daring. And Belisarius, in astonishment at their shamelessness, changed his exhortation and now seemed to be urging them on against the enemy and drawing them up for battle, saying that he had not known before their eagerness to fight, but that now he was of good courage and would go against the enemy with a better hope.

He then formed the phalanx with a single front, disposing his men as follows: on the left wing by the river he stationed all the infantry, while on the right where the ground rose sharply he placed Arethas and all his Saracens; he himself with the cavalry took his position in the centre. Thus the Romans arrayed themselves.

And when Azarethes saw the enemy gathering in battle line, he exhorted his men with the following words: "Persians as you are, no one would deny that you would not give up your valour in exchange for life, if a choice of the two should be offered. But I say that not even if you should wish, is it within your power to make the choice between the two. For as for men who have the opportunity to escape from danger and live in dishonour it is not at all unnatural that they should, if they wish, choose what is most pleasant instead of what is best; but for men who are bound to die, either gloriously at the hands of the enemy or shamefully led to punishment by your Master, it is extreme folly not to choose what is better instead of what is most shameful. Now, therefore, when things stand thus, I consider that it befits you all to bear in mind not only the enemy but also your own Lord and so enter this battle."

After Azarethes also had uttered these words of exhortation, he stationed the phalanx opposite his opponents, assigning the Persians the right wing and the Saracens the left. Straightway both sides began the fight, and the battle was exceedingly fierce. For the arrows, shot from either side in very great numbers, caused great loss of life in both armies, while some placed themselves in the interval between the armies and made a display of valorous deeds against each other, and especially among the Persians they were falling by the arrows in great numbers.



Vandoforos (Ensign) Klivanarios horseman of the time of Justinian

(6th century AD.)

The horseman depicted represents one of the elite units of the early Byzantine army. Bring complex defensive armor of metal plates that protect the ends, scaly lorikio and chained chest. Bring style helmet with chain spagenhelm hood and uses a small round shield painted over with religious representations. The elite cavalry of the time were trained to fight with all types Mêlée and ranged weapons like the Persians counterparts.

For while their missiles were incomparably more frequent, since the Persians are almost all bowmen and they learn to make their shots much more rapidly than any other men, still the bows which sent the arrows were weak and not very tightly strung, so that their missiles, hitting a corselet, perhaps, or helmet or shield of a Roman warrior, were broken off and had no power to hurt the man who was hit. The Roman bowmen are always slower indeed, but inasmuch as their bows are extremely stiff and very tightly strung, and one might add that they are handled by stronger men, they easily slay much greater numbers of those they hit than do the Persians, for no armour proves an obstacle to the force of their arrows.

Now already two-thirds of the day had passed, and the battle was still even. Then by mutual agreement all the best of the Persian army advanced to attack the Roman right wing, where Arethas and the Saracens had been stationed. But they broke their formation and moved apart, so that they got the reputation of having betrayed the Romans to the Persians. For without awaiting the oncoming enemy they all straightway beat a hasty retreat. So the Persians in this way broke through the enemy's line and immediately got in the rear of the Roman cavalry.

Thus the Romans, who were already exhausted both by the march and the labour of the battle,—and besides this they were all fasting so far on in the day,—now that they were assailed by the enemy on both sides, held out no longer, but the most of them in full flight made their way to the islands in the river which were close by, while some also remained there and performed deeds both amazing and remarkable against the enemy.

Among these was Ascan who, after killing many of the notables among the Persians, was gradually hacked to pieces and finally fell, leaving to the enemy abundant reason to remember him. And with him eight hundred others perished after shewing themselves brave men in this struggle, and almost all the Isaurians fell with their leaders, without even daring to lift their weapons against the enemy. For they were thoroughly inexperienced in this business, since they had recently left off farming and entered into the perils of warfare, which before that time were unknown to them. And yet just before these very men had been most furious of all for battle because of their ignorance of warfare, and were then reproaching Belisarius with cowardice. They were not in fact all Isaurians but the majority of them were Lycaones.


Persian Cavalry

Belisarius with some few men remained there, and as long as he saw Ascan and his men holding out, he also in company with those who were with him held back the enemy; but when some of Ascan's troops had fallen, and the others had turned to flee wherever they could, then at length he too fled with his men and came to the phalanx of infantry, who with Peter were still fighting, although not many in number now, since the most of them too had fled. There he himself gave up his horse and commanded all his men to do the same thing and on foot with the others to fight off the oncoming enemy.

And those of the Persians who were following the fugitives, after pursuing for only a short distance, straightway returned and rushed upon the infantry and Belisarius with all the others. Then the Romans turned their backs to the river so that no movement to surround them might be executed by the enemy, and as best they could under the circumstances were defending themselves against their assailants.

And again the battle became fierce, although the two sides were not evenly matched in strength; for foot-soldiers, and a very few of them, were fighting against the whole Persian cavalry. Nevertheless the enemy were not able either to rout them or in any other way to overpower them. For standing shoulder to shoulder they kept themselves constantly massed in a small space, and they formed with their shields a rigid, unyielding barricade, so that they shot at the Persians more conveniently than they were shot at by them. Many a time after giving up, the Persians would advance against them determined to break up and destroy their line, but they always retired again from the assault unsuccessful. For their horses, annoyed by the clashing of the shields, reared up and made confusion for themselves and their riders.

Thus both sides continued the struggle until it had become late in the day. And when night had already come on, the Persians withdrew to their camp, and Belisarius accompanied by some few men found a freight-boat and crossed over to the island in the river, while the other Romans reached the same place by swimming. On the following day many freight-boats were brought to the Romans from the city of Callinicus and they were conveyed thither in them, and the Persians, after despoiling the dead, all departed homeward. However they did not find their own dead less numerous than the enemy's.

When Azarethes reached Persia with his army, although he had prospered in the battle, he found Cabades exceedingly ungrateful, for the following reason. It is a custom among the Persians that, when they are about to march against any of their foes, the king sits on the royal throne, and many baskets are set there before him; and the general also is present who is expected to lead the army against the enemy; then the army passes along before the king, one man at a time, and each of them throws one weapon into the baskets; after this they are sealed with the king's seal and preserved; and when this army returns to Persia, each one of the soldiers takes one weapon out of the baskets. A count is then made by those whose office it is to do so of all the weapons which have not been taken by the men, and they report to the king the number of the soldiers who have not returned, and in this way it becomes evident how many have perished in the war. Thus the law has stood from of old among the Persians.

Now when Azarethes came into the presence of the king, Cabades enquired of him whether he came back with any Roman fortress won over to their side, for he had marched forth with Alamoundaras against the Romans, with the purpose of subduing Antioch. And Azarethes said that he had captured no fortress, but that he had conquered the Romans and Belisarius in battle. So Cabades bade the army of Azarethes pass by, and from the baskets each man took out a weapon just as was customary. But since many weapons were left, Cabades rebuked Azarethes for the victory and thereafter ranked him among the most unworthy. So the victory had this conclusion for Azarethes.




 

Byzantine Cataphract

 

 

(Iberian War)        (Radpour.com)        (Gutenberg.org - Procopius)

(Battle of Callinicum)        (Burnpit.legion.org)        (eclass31.weebly.com)