Battle of Europos

Battle of Dura-Europos (165)
Part of Lucius Verus' campaigns of 161–166
The citadel of Dura-Europos.
Date 165 Location Dura-Europos, modern-day Syria Result Roman victory [1] [2] Territorial changes Romans recapture Dura-Europos. [3] [4]
Belligerents
Roman Empire	Parthian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Avidius Cassius [1] [5] Possibly Statius Priscus [6]	Unknown
Units involved
Legio III Gallica [5]	Parthian garrison

The Battle of Europos , as retold by Lucian of Samosata, ^[7] was a clash between the forces of the Roman Empire commanded by Avidius Cassius ^{[1] [5]} against a Parthian garrison resisting the siege. The city was eventually captured ^{[3] [4]} and, as reported by Marcus Statius Priscus, 70,236 Parthians were slaughtered ^[6] in the battle, with the romans suffering only 2 dead and 7 wounded. ^[8] However, Lucian himself denies this claim. ^{[6] [8]} Scholar Peter Edwell noted that Lucian referred to the Europus battle on numbers of occasions and complained that a contemporary source summarised the battle in only seven lines, all of which suggests that the battle was actually significant and the casualties reported may have some true aspect in their numbers. ^{[9] [10]} According to Belgian historian Franz Cumont, the battle marked the Roman takeover of the city of Dura, ^[11] however Peter Edwell again pointed out that Lucian was referring to another city, much further up along the Euphrates. ^[8] Archeological traces along the wall defenses of the besieged city have been ascribed to a Roman assault on the city of Dura-Europus itself, ultimately confirming the location of the battle. ^{[12] [13] [14]} Further archeological research showed the breached walls of the city, implying that it was taken over by the Romans. ^{[15] [16] [17] [18]} Nevertheless, after the battle, Avidius Cassius advanced as far as Ctesiphon and Seleucia. ^[19] Following the war, a Roman garrison of Syrian troops was enstablished in the city. ^{[3] [4] [5]} The new garrison possibly included the legions IIII Scythica and XVI Flavia Firma. ^[20]

References

1. Leriche & MacKenzie 2013.
2. Bivar 1968, p. 93.
3. Kia 2016, p. 14.
4. Erdkamp 2011, p. 250.
5. Birley 2000, p. 163.
6. Lucian 1905, p. 120.
7. Lucian 1905, pp. 120–125.
8. Edwell 2008, p. 116.
9. Edwell 2008, p. 112, n. 114.
10. Edwell 2008, p. 116, n. 128.
11. Cumont 1926, pp. 52–53, 66.
12. Leriche 1986, pp. 79–80.
13. Leriche & Al-Mahmoud 1997, p. 10.
14. ’Abdul Massih 1997, pp. 52–54.
15. Rostovtzeff 1977, p. 288.
16. Ingholt 1954, p. 2.
17. Lönnqvist 2008, p. 100.
18. Burns 2009, p. 149.
19. Venning 2011, p. 541.
20. James 2019, pp. 241–250.

Sources

Primary sources

• Lucian of Samosata (1905). Fowler, H. W.; Fowler, H. G. (eds.). The Way to Write History. The Works of Lucian of Samosata. Clarendon Press.

Secondary sources

• James, Simon (2019). The Roman Military Base at Dura-Europos, Syria: An Archaeological Visualization. Oxford University Press. ISBN   9-780-19874356-9.

• Cumont, Franz (1926). Fouilles de Doura-Europos, 1922-1923 (in French). Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner. OCLC   878262482.

• Burns, Ross (2009). Monuments of Syria: A Guide. I. B. Tauris. ISBN   978-0-85771-489-3.

• Leriche, Pierre (1986). Doura-Europos: Etudes 1986 (in French). Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner. ISBN   2-705-30495-9.

• Rostovtzeff, Michael (1977). The Excavations at Dura-Europos. Yale University Press.

• Ingholt, Harald (1954). Palmyrene and Gandharan Sculpture: An Exhibition Illustrating the Cultural Interrelations Between the Parthian Empire and Its Neighbors West and East, Palmyra and Gandhara. Yale University Art Gallery.

• Lönnqvist, Minna (2008). Jebel Bishri in context: introduction to the archaeological studies and the neighbourhood of Jebel Bishri in central Syria: Proceedings of a Nordic research training seminar in Syria, May 2004. Archaeopres. ISBN   978-1-4073-0303-1.

• Leriche, Pierre; Al-Mahmoud, Asʼad (1997). "Bilan des campagnes 1991-1993 de la Mission Franco-Syrienne de Doura-Europos". In Leriche, Pierre; Gelin, Mathilde (eds.). Doura-Europos: Etudes 1991-1993 (in French). Institut Français d'Archéologie du Proche Orient. ISBN   2-705-30566-1. OCLC   971018089.

• ’Abdul Massih, Jeanine (1997). "La porte de Palmyre à Doura-Europos". In Leriche, Pierre; Gelin, Mathilde (eds.). Doura-Europos: Etudes 1991-1993 (in French). Institut Français d'Archéologie du Proche Orient. ISBN   2-705-30566-1. OCLC   971018089.

• Kia, Mehrdad (2016). The Persian Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia [2 Volumes]. ABC-Clio. ISBN   978-16-10-69391-2.

• Leriche, Pierre; MacKenzie, D. N. (2013). "Dura Europos". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica . Vol. VII/6: Drugs–Ebn al-Aṯir. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 589–594. ISBN   978-1-56859-024-0.

• Venning, Timothy (2011). A Chronology of the Roman Empire. A&C Black. ISBN   1-441-15478-7.

• Birley, Anthony R. (2000). "Hadrian to the Antonines". In Bowman, Alan K.; Garnsey, Peter; Rathbone, Dominic (eds.). The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume XI: The High Empire, A.D. 70–192. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 132–194. ISBN   978-0-5212-6335-1.

• Bivar, A. D. H. (1968). "The Political History of Iran under the Arsacids". In Yarshater, Ehsan; Fisher, William Bayne (eds.). The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 3(1). Cambridge University Press.

• Erdkamp, Paul (2011). A Companion to the Roman Army. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN   1-444-39376-6.

• Edwell, Peter (2008). Between Rome and Persia. Routledge. ISBN   0-415-59489-8.