Battle of Carrhae (296)

Battle of Carrhae (296)
Part of the Roman–Persian Wars
Location of the battle
Location of the battle
Date296 or 297 AD [1]
Location
Between Carrhae (Harran) and Callinicum (al-Raqqah)
Result Sasanian victory[2][3]
Belligerents
Sassanid Empire Roman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Narseh Galerius
Tiridates III of Armenia[4]
Casualties and losses
Unknown Heavy

The Battle of Carrhae, also known as the Battle of Callinicum, took place in 296 or 297,[1] after the invasion of Mesopotamia and Armenia by the Sasanian king Narseh. The battle took place between Carrhae (Harran) and Callinicum (al-Raqqah) and was a victory for the Sasanians. Narseh attacked with forces recruited from the Euphrates frontier. He managed to defeat his opponent by good timing.[5]

Galerius and Tiridates III of Armenia escaped with a remnant of their forces. Galerius met Diocletian in Antioch.[6] Eutropius and Theophanes the Confessor have recorded versions of a celebrated story regarding a public humiliation of Galerius by Diocletian,[7] though the latter retained Galerius in command.[8]

Diocletian later sent reinforcements for Galerius, and the latter managed to defeat the Sassanids two years later at the Battle of Satala.

  1. ^ a b Frye (1993), 130; Southern (2001), 242
  2. ^ Dictionary of Wars "The Roman Caesar for the east, Galerius (d. 311), and a relatively small army marched against the Persians, won some minor victories in Mesopotamia, but were decisively routed at the battle of Carrhea (Harran) in 296."
  3. ^ The Cambridge Ancient History: Volume 12, The Crisis of Empire, AD 193-337"Since Diocletian was occupied in Egypt, he sent his Caesar Galerius against Narseh who met the Romans and defeated them somewhere in upper Mesopotamia"
  4. ^ Gray, Hamilton (1850). Emperors of Rome from Augustus to Constantine: Being a Continuation of the History of Rome. Thomas Hatchard. p. 507.
  5. ^ Lacey, Jim; Lacey, James (2016). Great Strategic Rivalries: From the Classical World to the Cold War. Oxford University Press. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-19-062046-2.
  6. ^ Dupuy, Richard Ernest (1993). The Harper Encyclopedia of Military History: From 3500 BC to the Present. HarperCollins. p. 175a. ISBN 978-0-06-270056-8.
  7. ^ Edwards, Iorwerth Eiddon Stephen; Gadd, Cyril John; Hammond, Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière; Boardman, John; Walbank, Frank William; Lewis, David Malcolm; Bowman, Alan; Astin, A. E.; Garnsey, Peter; Crook, John Anthony; Lintott, Andrew William; Cameron, Averil; Rawson, Elizabeth; Champlin, Edward; Rathbone, Dominic; Ward-Perkins, Bryan; Whitby, Michael (1970). The Cambridge Ancient History: Volume 12, The Crisis of Empire, AD 193-337. Cambridge University Press. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-521-30199-2.
  8. ^ Tucker, Spencer C. (2009). A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East [6 volumes]: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East. ABC-CLIO. p. 153b. ISBN 978-1-85109-672-5.