The Anastasian War was fought from 502 to 506 between the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

and the Sasanian Empire. It was the first major conflict between the two powers since 440, and would be the prelude to a long series of destructive conflicts between the two empires over the next century.

Prelude

Several factors underlay the termination of the longest period of peace the Eastern Roman and the

Sassanid Empire The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Name ...

ever enjoyed. The Persian king Kavad I needed money to pay his debts to the Hephthalites who had helped him regain his throne in 498/499. The situation was exacerbated by recent changes in the flow of the

Tigris The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...

in Lower Mesopotamia, sparking famines and flood. When the Roman emperor Anastasius I refused to provide any help, Kavad tried to gain the money by force.

War

Kavad's campaign of 502

In 502, Kavad quickly captured the unprepared city of Theodosiopolis, perhaps with local support; the city was in any case undefended by troops and weakly fortified. Martyropolis also fell in the same year. Kavad then besieged the fortress-city of Amida through the autumn and winter (502-503) and captured it after a lengthy siege, although the defenders were unsupported by troops. Many people, particularly the population of Amida, were deported to Pars and Khuzestan in Persia, in particular, to the new city of

Veh-az-Amid Kavad Arrajan (Argan) was a medieval Persian city located between Fars Province, Fars and Khuzestan, which was settled since Elam period and an important in the Sasanian Empire, Sasanian period until the 11th century. It was the capital of a medieval pro ...

(Arrajan).

Anastasius' campaign of 503 and Kavad's counterattack

The Byzantine emperor Anastasius I dispatched an army in May 503 against the Sasanians. The army numbered 52,000 men, the largest Roman force in the East since Julian's invasion of Persia, and the largest assembled Roman army throughout the 6th century. The force gathered at

Edessa Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city ('' polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Os ...

and

Samosata Samsat ( ku, Samîsad), formerly Samosata ( grc, Σαμόσατα) is a small town in the Adıyaman Province of Turkey, situated on the upper Euphrates river. It is the seat of Samsat District.magister militum per Orientem'' Areobindus, '' strategos'' Patricius, and Hypatius. Hypatius and Patricius attacked Amida, which was held by a 3,000-strong garrison under Glones. Areobindus, together with Romanus and the Arab '' phylarch'' Asouades (Aswad) (probably a Kinda leader) attacked Nisibis, in which Kavad was residing. Procopius also mentions

Celer Celer may refer to: People * Celer (builder), foreman appointed by Romulus to oversee the building of Rome's first walls. * Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer, consul of the Roman Republic, 60 BC * Publius Egnatius Celer, first century Stoic philos ...

as a fourth commander. Notable officers associated with this force include ''" hyparch"'' Apion I (the Egyptian), '' comes'' Justin (the future emperor), Patriciolus and his son

Vitalian Pope Vitalian ( la, Vitalianus; died 27 January 672) was the bishop of Rome from 30 July 657 to his death. His pontificate was marked by the dispute between the papacy and the imperial government in Constantinople over Monothelitism, which Rome ...

(who later revolted against Anastasius), the Colchian Pharesmanes, and the Goths Godidisklus and Bessas. Initially, Areobindus gained the upper hand in Nisibis, but Kavad's counterattack defeated him, plundered his fort Apadna, and forced him to retreat westward; Hypatius and Patricius attempted to assist him, but it was too late. They failed to join with Areobindus and were decisively defeated between Apadna and Tell Beshme and retreated to Samosata. According to Zacharias, their cavalry suffered heavily during the retreat, falling from the cliffs of mountains. Kavad continued westward to Constantia but failed to capture it, though he received supplies from its inhabitants. In early September, Kavad reached near Edessa. Areobindus rejected Kavad's demand of of gold in exchange for peace. Sasanians and

Lakhmids The Lakhmids ( ar, اللخميون, translit=al-Laḫmiyyūn) referred to in Arabic as al-Manādhirah (, romanized as: ) or Banu Lakhm (, romanized as: ) was an Arab kingdom in Southern Iraq and Eastern Arabia, with al-Hirah as their capit ...

overran much of Osrhoene but attempts to attack the fortified city failed. Meanwhile, Byzantine forces under Pharesmanes attacked Amida, who killed the Sasanian commander Glones through cunning. This, together with Hunnic incursions, the arrival of Byzantine reinforcements, and Kavad's lack of supplies, all forced him to withdraw to Persia. This further contributed to the reputation of Edessa as being impregnable. Meanwhile, the ''dux'' of Osrhoene, Timostratus, defeated the Lakhmids, and the Tha'labites (Byzantine Arabs) attacked Lakhmid capital al-Hira.

Anastasius' renewed assault

In the summer of 503, Anastasius sent reinforcements under '' magister officiorum''

and canceled taxes from Mesopotamia and Osrhoene, while Hypatius and Apion were recalled. Patricius moved to Amida, defeated a force sent against him, and invested the city; Celer joined him later in the spring of 504. While the siege was ongoing, Celer raided

Beth Arabaye Arbāyistān ( xpr, 𐭀𐭓𐭁𐭉𐭎𐭈𐭍 �rbstn; Middle Persian: ''Arwāstān''; Armenian: ''Arvastan'') or Beth Arabaye (Syriac: ''Bēṯ ʿArbāyē'') was a Sasanian province in Late Antiquity. Due to its situation and its road systems ...

, while Areobindus raided Arzanene. Sasanian weakness at this point is apparent by defections to the Byzantine side by the renegade Constantine, a certain Arab chief Adid, and the Armenian Mushlek. The Byzantines eventually captured Amida.

Peace treaty

In the same year, an armistice was agreed as a result of an invasion of Armenia by the

Hun The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...

s from the Caucasus. Negotiations between the two powers took place, but such was the distrust that in 506 the Romans, suspecting treachery, seized the Persian officials; once released, the Persians preferred to stay in Nisibis.. In November 506, a treaty was finally agreed, but little is known of what the terms of the treaty were.

Procopius Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman ge ...

states that peace was agreed for seven years, and it is likely that some payments were made to the Persians. The Persians did not keep Byzantine territory and no annual tribute was paid so it seems the peace treaty was not harsh on the Byzantines.

Aftermath

The Roman generals blamed many of their difficulties in this war on their lack of a major base in the immediate vicinity of the frontier, a role filled for the Persians by Nisibis (which until its secession in 363 had served the same purpose for the Romans), and in 505 Anastasius therefore ordered the building of a great fortified city at Dara. The dilapidated fortifications were also upgraded at

, Batnae and Amida. Although no further large-scale conflict took place during Anastasius's reign, tensions continued, especially while work continued at Dara. This construction project was to become a key component of the Roman defenses, and also a lasting source of controversy with the Persians, who complained that its construction violated the treaty agreed in 422, by which both empires had agreed not to establish new fortifications in the frontier zone. Anastasius, however, pursued the project, deflecting Kavad's complaints with money. The Persians were in any case unable to stop the work, and the walls were completed by 507/508.

References

Sources

Primary

Books I–II

Secondary

* {{refend 500s in the Byzantine Empire 6th century in Iran 500s conflicts Roman–Sasanian Wars 6th century in Asia 500s 502 506