The Battle of Immae was fought in 272 between the

Roman army The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...

of Emperor Aurelian, and the armies of the

Palmyrene Empire The Palmyrene Empire was a short-lived breakaway state from the Roman Empire resulting from the Crisis of the Third Century. Named after its capital city, Palmyra, it encompassed the Roman provinces of Syria Palaestina, Arabia Petraea, and Egypt, ...

, whose leader, Queen

Zenobia Septimia Zenobia ( Palmyrene Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; AD 240 – c. 274) was a third-century queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Syria. Many legends surround her ancestry; she was probably not a commoner and she married the ruler of the city ...

, had usurped Roman control over the eastern provinces.

Background and prelude to war

During the

Crisis of the Third Century The Crisis of the Third Century, also known as the Military Anarchy or the Imperial Crisis (AD 235–284), was a period in which the Roman Empire nearly collapsed. The crisis ended due to the military victories of Aurelian and with the ascensio ...

, Rome had lost its ability to defend its eastern provinces from

Sassanid 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 ...

invasion. Septimius Odaenathus, a chieftain out of

Palmyra Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early secon ...

, improvised an army that proved highly successful in repelling the Sassanid onslaught. He was so successful that

Gallienus Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (; c. 218 – September 268) was Roman emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260 and alone from 260 to 268. He ruled during the Crisis of the Third Century that nearly caused the collapse of the empi ...

made him a king and protector of the eastern empire. After his death his wife Queen

assumed direct control (through her son) of the eastern Roman Empire provinces that were under Palmyrian protection. Through shrewd diplomacy she managed to expand her holdings into Egypt and convinced much of Asia Minor to call Palmyra its capital, effectively carving out a Palmyrene Empire. Publicly she maintained the facade of a partnership with Rome by at all times placing her son in the subordinate position to Aurelian in all official documents, letterhead, and coins that were minted. In Aurelian's eyes her entrance into Egypt, still considered a strictly personal province of the Emperor, was nothing short of a declaration of war. Despite this Aurelian had been unable to challenge her actions directly due to the constant invasion by Germanic tribes. Finally after devastating victories over the Alamanni, fortifying the region with city walls, and abandoning

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It ...

he felt Rome was safe enough to begin a campaign into the east.

Preparations

Roman preparations

Realising his army was far too cumbersome to invade

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

effectively, Aurelian sent one of his generals with a fleet to attempt to drive out the Palmyrene garrison stationed there. Meanwhile, once Emperor Aurelian restored his army to its full strength he began to march towards the city of

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

Palmyrene eparations

Realising that the charade was over, Queen Zenobia dropped all pretenses and had her son declared Augustus and mobilised an army to meet Aurelian in the field under the command of her capable general Zabdas.

The battle

Both armies took the field "near" Antioch at Immae (close by Reyhanli, Turkey) in traditional battle formations with infantry in the center and cavalry on the flanks. Zabdas had two big advantages at his disposal: first was the superiority of his cataphracts, and the second was the extreme heat the Romans were not adapted to. Aurelian understood the situation as well, and planned to use a tactic implemented by

Claudius Gothicus Marcus Aurelius Claudius "Gothicus" (10 May 214 – January/April 270), also known as Claudius II, was Roman emperor from 268 to 270. During his reign he fought successfully against the Alemanni and decisively defeated the Goths at the Battle ...

against the Goths, turning both disadvantages into decisive advantages. After some skirmishes Zabdas wanted to seize the initiative and called for a cavalry charge which forced Aurelian to counter with his own cavalry charge. When the two forces were close to engaging the Roman light cavalry suddenly broke ranks, routed, and left the battlefield. Zabdas, smelling blood and certain victory, ordered his much heavier cataphracts to give chase. After a while the lengthy chase and hot sun started to wear more on the heavily armored Palmyrene horses and men but their seemingly unshakable confidence in the superiority of their cavalry spurred them to ride on. At a predetermined point the Romans wheeled around and suddenly attacked the exhausted and surprised cavalry. The trap was devastating, and very few of the Palmyrene cavalry made it back alive. After hearing of the destruction of his cavalry Zabdas realized the day was lost. His infantry was no match for the battle-hardened legionaries and immediately ordered a full retreat to Antioch. Understanding the inevitability of Antioch's fall, Queen Zenobia and Zabdas resupplied their forces and moved them under the cover of darkness out of Antioch to

Emesa ar, حمصي, Himsi , population_urban = , population_density_urban_km2 = , population_density_urban_sq_mi = , population_blank1_title = Ethnicities , population_blank1 = , population_blank2_t ...

The aftermath

In the morning the senior officials of

found they had been abandoned and Aurelian's reputation for savage retribution began to fill them with paralysing fear. Having no choice they opened their gates to Aurelian and prepared for the worst. In a surprise move Aurelian did not kill the senior leadership or even allow his troops to sack the city but instead granted a general amnesty. This show of mercy had a rippling effect throughout the east as city after city, no longer fearing retribution, accepted their peaceful reincorporation into the fold of the Roman Empire.

References

{{Reflist *

Zosimus Zosimus, Zosimos, Zosima or Zosimas may refer to: People * * Rufus and Zosimus (died 107), Christian saints * Zosimus (martyr) (died 110), Christian martyr who was executed in Umbria, Italy * Zosimos of Panopolis, also known as ''Zosimus Alchem ...

, 1.50.2
"Vaballathus and Zenobia"
De Imperatoribus Romanis Immae 272 272 Palmyrene Empire Immae 270s in the Roman Empire Aurelian