Rome and Persia in Late Antiquity: Neighbours and Rivals

by Beate Dignas , Engelbert Winter

• ISBN13: 9780521849258
• ISBN10: 052184925X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-10-08
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

The foundation of the Sasanian Empire in Persia in AD 224 established a formidable new power on the Roman Empire's eastern frontier, and relations over the next four centuries proved turbulent. This book provides a chronological narrative of their relationship, supported by a substantial collection of translated sources illustrating structural patterns. The political goals of the two sides, their military confrontations and their diplomatic solutions are discussed, as well as the common interests between the two powers. Special attention is given to the situation of Arabia and Armenia, to economic aspects, the protection of the frontiers, the religious life in both empires and the channels of communication between East and West. Considerable attention is also paid to exploring the role played by the Sasanians in the history of the ancient Near East. The book will prove invaluable for students and non-specialists interested in late antiquity and early Byzantium.

Author Biography

Engelbert Winter is Professor of Ancient History at the University of Munster.

Table of Contents

List of figures	p. viii
List of maps	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
Abbreviations	p. xiii
Introduction: West and East, friend and foe, counterpart and mirror image...	p. 1
Narrative
Rome and Iran to the beginning of the third century AD	p. 9
Rome and the Sasanian Empire: A chronological survey	p. 18
The third century: The origins of Sasanian interests in the West	p. 18
The fourth century: The conflict escalates under Sapur II (309-379)	p. 32
The fifth century: Detente at the Roman Eastern frontier	p. 34
The sixth century: The Sasanians renew their expansionist policy in the West	p. 37
The seventh century: Might and decline of Sasanian power	p. 44
Sources and Contexts
Political goals	p. 53
Territorial claims of the Sasanians against Rome	p. 53
Succession to Achaemenid rule as programmatic foreign policy	p. 56
Warfare	p. 63
Sasanian armament and tactics	p. 63
Military confrontations	p. 70
The third century: Origins of Sasanian interests in the West	p. 71
Earliest Roman-Sasanian confrontations (230-233)	p. 71
Sapur I (240-272) at war with Rome	p. 77
Galerius defeats Narse in the year 298	p. 84
The fourth century: The conflict escalates under Sapur II (309-379)	p. 88
Fighting during the reign of Constantius II (337-361)	p. 88
Julian's Persian War (363)	p. 90
The fifth century: Detente at the Roman Eastern frontier	p. 94
Arcadius (383-408) and Yazdgard I (399-420)	p. 94
Persian confrontations with the Hephthalites	p. 97
The Sasanian monarchy loses and regains power	p. 98
The sixth century: The Sasanians renew their expansionist policy in the West	p. 100
The first Sasanian-Byzantine War (502-532)	p. 100
The second Sasanian-Byzantine War (540-562)	p. 106
The third Sasanian-Byzantine War (572-591) and the Persian expansion into South Arabia	p. 109
The seventh century: Might and decline of Sasanian power	p. 115
The advance of Xusro II Parvez (602-628)	p. 115
The diplomatic solutions	p. 119
The peace treaty of 244 between Philip the Arab and Sapur I	p. 119
The peace treaty of 298 between Diocletian and Narse	p. 122
The peace treaty of 363 between Jovian and Sapur II	p. 131
The peace treaty of 422 between Theodosius II and Bahram V Gor	p. 135
The peace treaty of 562 between Justinian and Xusro I Anosarvan	p. 138
The peace treaty of 628 between Heraclius and Kavadh II Seroe	p. 148
Arabia between the great powers	p. 152
Hatra	p. 152
Palmyra	p. 155
The Arab prince Imru'ulqais between Romans and Sasanians	p. 163
'Proxy policy': Lahmids and Gassanids	p. 169
Shared interests: Continuing conflicts	p. 173
Armenia	p. 173
Protection of the frontier	p. 188
Economy and trade	p. 195
Religion: Christianity and Zoroastrianism	p. 210
Religion and kingship in the Sasanian Empire	p. 210
The Sasanian kings as patrons of Zoroastrianism	p. 213
From Diocletian to Constantine: Religious change in the West and the consequences for Roman-Sasanian relations	p. 216
The situation of the Persian Christians during the reign of Yazdgard I (399-420)	p. 221
Religion and politics during the sixth and seventh centuries	p. 225
Emperor and King of kings	p. 232
Concepts of 'legitimate rule' and the 'family of kings'	p. 232
Exchange of information between West and East	p. 242
Diplomacy and espionage	p. 245
Deportations: Enforced resettlements of prisoners	p. 254
Mutual cultural interest	p. 263
Lists of Sasanian kings and Roman emperors	p. 266
Chronological table	p. 268
Glossary	p. 273
Bibliography	p. 282
Index of sources	p. 326
Index of translated sources	p. 332
Index of names	p. 335
Index of place names	p. 339
General index	p. 343
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.