Battle of Resaena

Battle of Resaena
Part of Roman-Persian Wars
Date243
LocationResaena, Mesopotamia (Ras al-Ayn, Syria)
Result Roman victory[1]
Belligerents
Roman Empire Sassanid Empire
Commanders and leaders
Gordian III
Timesitheus		 Shapur I

The Battle of Resaena or Resaina, near present day Ceylanpınar, Turkey, was fought in 243 AD between the forces of the Roman Empire, led by the Emperor Gordian III and the Praetorian Prefect Timesitheus against a Sassanid Empire army, led by King Shapur I.[1] The Romans were victorious.[1]

Background

The battle was fought during a campaign ordered by Emperor Gordian III to retake the Roman cities of Hatra, Nisibis[1] and Carrhae. These territories had been conquered by Shapur and his father, Ardashir I, when the Roman Empire plunged into the Crisis of the Third Century, a conflict amongst several pretenders to the imperial throne.[1]

Aftermath

Following this victory the Roman legions recovered Nisibis and Singara, and advanced by way of the Khabur to the Euphrates. Intending to take Ctesiphon, Gordian's army was defeated at the battle of Misiche in 244.[2] Gordian was either killed during the battle[3] or assassinated afterwards.[4]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East, ed. Spencer C. Tucker, (ABC-CLIO, 2010), 147.
  2. ↑ Maria Brosius, The Persians, (Routledge, 2006), 144.
  3. ↑ The Sasanians, Richard N. Frye, The Cambridge Ancient History: Volume 12, The Crisis of Empire, AD 193-337, ed. Alan Bowman, Peter Garnsey, Averil Cameron, (Cambridge University Press, 2005), 468.
  4. ↑ Trevor Bryce, Ancient Syria: A Three Thousand Year History, (Oxford University Press, 2014), 265.

Coordinates: 36°51′1.08″N 40°4′14.16″E / 36.8503000°N 40.0706000°E / 36.8503000; 40.0706000


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