The Battle of Martyropolis was fought in summer 588 near Martyropolis between an East Roman (Byzantine) and a

Sassanid Persia 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. Named ...

n army, and resulted in a Byzantine victory.

Background

The Byzantine army of the East had been weakened by a mutiny in April 588, caused by unpopular cost-cutting measures and directed against the new commander,

Priscus Priscus of Panium (; el, Πρίσκος; 410s AD/420s AD-after 472 AD) was a 5th-century Eastern Roman diplomat and Greek historian and rhetorician (or sophist)...: "For information about Attila, his court and the organization of life generall ...

. Priscus was attacked and fled the army camp, and the mutineers chose the ''

dux ''Dux'' (; plural: ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, ''dux' ...

'' of

Phoenice Libanensis Phoenice Libanensis (, also known in Latin as Phoenice Libani), or Phoenice II/Phoenice Secunda), was a province of the Roman Empire, covering the Anti-Lebanon Mountains and the territories to the east, all the way to Palmyra. It was officially cre ...

, Germanus, as their temporary leader. Byzantine Emperor

Maurice Maurice may refer to: People * Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr * Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...

then restored the former commander,

Philippicus Philippicus ( la, Filepicus; el, Φιλιππικός, Philippikós) was Byzantine emperor from 711 to 713. He took power in a coup against the unpopular emperor Justinian II, and was deposed in a similarly violent manner nineteen months later. ...

, to the post, but before he could arrive and take control, the Persians, taking advantage of the disorder, invaded Byzantine territory and attacked

Constantina Flavia Valeria Constantina (also sometimes called ''Constantia'' and ''Constantiana''; el, Κωνσταντίνα; b. after 307/before 317 – d. 354), later known as Saint Constance, was the eldest daughter of Roman emperor Constantine the Great ...

. Germanus organized a force of a thousand men which relieved the siege. As the historian

Theophylact Simocatta Theophylact Simocatta (Byzantine Greek: Θεοφύλακτος Σιμοκάτ(τ)ης ''Theophýlaktos Simokát(t)ēs''; la, Theophylactus Simocatta) was an early seventh-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine historiographer, arguably ranking as th ...

records, "with difficulty ermanusspurred on and incited the Roman contingents with speeches" and managed to assemble 4,000 men and launch a raid into Persian territory. The arrival of Maurice's envoy Aristobulus eased the tension in the Byzantine camp, and the soldiers were restored to discipline.

Battle

Germanus then led his army north to Martyropolis, from where he launched another raid across the border into

Arzanene Arzanene ( el, Ἀρζανηνή) or Aghdznik () was a historical region in the southwest of the ancient kingdom of Armenia. It was ruled by one of the four ''bdeashkhs'' (''bidakhsh'', ''vitaxa'') of Armenia, the highest ranking nobles below t ...

. The attack was blocked by the Persian general Maruzas (and possibly corresponds also with the raid defeated in battle at Tsalkajur near

Lake Van Lake Van ( tr, Van Gölü; hy, Վանա լիճ, translit=Vana lič̣; ku, Gola Wanê) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the far east of Turkey, in the provinces of Van and Bitlis in the Armenian highlands. It is a saline soda lake ...

by the Persian ''

marzban Marzbān, or Marzpān (Middle Persian transliteration: mrzwpn, derived from ''marz'' "border, boundary" and the suffix ''-pān'' "guardian"; Modern Persian: ''Marzbān'') were a class of margraves, warden of the marches, and by extension militar ...

'' of Armenia, Aphrahat), and turned back. The Persians under Maruzas followed close behind, and a battle was fought near Martyropolis which resulted in a major Byzantine victory. According to Simocatta's account, Maruzas was killed, several of the Persian leaders were captured along with 3,000 other prisoners, and only a thousand men survived to reach refuge at

Nisibis Nusaybin (; '; ar, نُصَيْبِيْن, translit=Nuṣaybīn; syr, ܢܨܝܒܝܢ, translit=Nṣībīn), historically known as Nisibis () or Nesbin, is a city in Mardin Province, Turkey. The population of the city is 83,832 as of 2009 and is ...

. The Byzantines secured much booty, including the Persian battle standards, and sent them along with Maruzas' head to Maurice in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

References

* * * {{citation , first1=Michael , last1=Whitby , first2=Mary , last2=Whitby , title=The History of Theophylact Simocatta , publisher=Clarendon Press , year=1986 , isbn=978-0-19-822799-1 , pages=73–76, 78 Martyropolis 588 Martyropolis 588 Martyropolis 588 Martyropolis 588 580s in the Byzantine Empire 6th century in Iran 588 History of Diyarbakır Province Martyropolis