Artabazes (military officer)
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Artabazes ( el, Ἀρταβάζης; died 542), whose name is often latinised as Ardabastos, was a
Sasanian 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 ...
cavalryman and later a
Byzantine 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 Constantinopl ...
military officer, recorded taking part in the Roman-Persian Wars and Gothic War. He was killed just prior to the
Battle of Faventia In the spring of 542, at the Battle of Faventia (modern Faenza), an Ostrogothic army under king Totila scattered the larger Roman forces of generals Constantian and Alexander, beginning the resurgence of Gothic resistance to the Roman reconques ...
. The main source about him is
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 gener ...
...


Biography

ArtabazesThe name is a variant of Artavasdes, which is ultimately from
Old Iranian The Iranian languages or Iranic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian plateau, Iranian Pl ...
Ṛtavazd

/ref> was a
Persarmenia Sasanian Armenia, also known as Persian Armenia and Persarmenia ( hy, Պարսկահայաստան – ''Parskahayastan''), may either refer to the periods in which Armenia ( pal, 𐭠𐭫𐭬𐭭𐭩 – ''Armin'') was under the suzerainty of ...
n. He originally served as a cavalryman ('' aswār'') in the garrison of
Sisauranon Sisauranon, Sisauronon ( gr, Σισαυράνων), Sisaurana, or Sarbane was a Sasanian fortress city in the province of Arbayistan, located to the east of Nisibis at the edge of the north Syrian plain. It was situated near the border with the Byz ...
, a frontier stronghold of the
Sasanian 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 History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...
which was captured by Belisarius. Together with his commander Bleschames and 800 other cavalrymen, he was sent to Italy to fight alongside the Byzantines. He is first recorded in 542 as an
archon ''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, mean ...
of the Byzantine army, but his rank is not specified in primary sources. He was one of the Byzantine troops marching against the city of
Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...
, an
Ostrogoth The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the large Gothic populations who ...
stronghold. The Byzantine forces consisted of about 12,000 men, with Constantianus and
Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
as co-commanders. The Byzantines managed to bribe or otherwise win over Marcianus, one of the sentinels of the city. He was to open a city gate at night so that a small Byzantine unit would seize the gate and prepare the entry for the rest of the army. Artabazes was chosen to lead the operation and his unit for the night consisted of 100 hand-picked men. The small force entered the city, but the rest of the Byzantine army failed to arrive on time. The co-commanders were allegedly involved in a nightly dispute over how to divide the plunder once the city was taken. The delay proved disastrous and the Gothic garrison had time to organize itself and advance against Artabazes through the city gate which was still open, leaving the Byzantine unit trapped within the city. The subsequent fighting was an anomaly, as the Artabazes' men had to resist anattack from the city. Artabazes and his men retreated towards the
battlement A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...
. Their only way of escape was to jump down from the
city walls A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...
. They did so, with several of them killed by the fall. Artabazes survived the battle mostly unhurt and returned to the Byzantine camp. He bitterly criticized the delay that cost them victory. The Byzantine army retreated towards
Faventia Faenza (, , ; rgn, Fènza or ; la, Faventia) is an Italian city and comune of 59,063 inhabitants in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, situated southeast of Bologna. Faenza is home to a historical manufacture of majolica-ware glazed eart ...
and eventually camped next to a
stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...
variously known as Anemo or Lamone. There, they were met by King
Totila Totila, original name Baduila (died 1 July 552), was the penultimate King of the Ostrogoths, reigning from 541 to 552 AD. A skilled military and political leader, Totila reversed the tide of the Gothic War, recovering by 543 almost all the t ...
of the Ostrogoths (r. 541–552), marching against them with about 5,000 men. Artabazes is recorded urging his superiors to attack the enemy forces while they were still crossing the river. He argued that the disorder would gain their side an advantage, but his idea was ultimately rejected. While the rival armies were preparing for battle, Artabazes was engaged in
single combat Single combat is a duel between two single warriors which takes place in the context of a battle between two armies. Instances of single combat are known from Classical Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The champions were often combatants who repres ...
on horseback against
Valaris Valaris ( el, Οὐάλαρις, died 542) was a Goths, Gothic soldier who fought for the Ostrogothic Kingdom, Ostrogoths against the Eastern Roman Empire in the Gothic War (535–554), Gothic War. Valaris was part of Totila's army engaged at the ...
. The latter was a champion of the Goths, reportedly a giant of a man, whose appearance terrified his opponents. Artabazes accepted the challenge and managed to slay his opponent, but he himself was accidentally wounded in the throat and died three days later. Procopius praises him as a good soldier. Ultimately, Totila won the
Battle of Faventia In the spring of 542, at the Battle of Faventia (modern Faenza), an Ostrogothic army under king Totila scattered the larger Roman forces of generals Constantian and Alexander, beginning the resurgence of Gothic resistance to the Roman reconques ...
and even managed to capture the imperial standards. He then took the initiative of invading
Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...
and besieging
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
.


References


Sources

* * * {{cite book , last1=Petersen , first1=Leif Inge Ree , title=Siege Warfare and Military Organization in the Successor States (400-800 AD): Byzantium, the West and Islam , date=15 September 2013 , publisher=Brill , isbn=978-90-04-25446-6 , language=en 542 deaths 6th-century Byzantine military personnel Byzantine people of Armenian descent People of the Gothic War (535–554) Byzantines killed in battle Year of birth unknown 6th-century Armenian people Byzantine people of Iranian descent Generals of Khosrow I Duellists