Battle of Narasara (336)

Battle of Narasara
Part of the Mesopotamian Campaigns of Shapur II
Coin of Constantine I of 335–336 : (obverse) CONSTANTI-NVS MAX AVG, diademed head, draped bust and cuirass facing right; (reverse) VICTORIA CO-NSTANTINI AVG, Victoria advancing left, holding trophy in right hand and palm frond in left, resting on arm; (Christogram)–LXXII // SMAN in exergue. [1]
Date 336 AD Location Narasara, near Amida Result Roman Victory
Belligerents
Roman Empire	Sasanian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Constantius II Hannibalianus	Shapur II Narses   †

The Battle of Narasara was one of the first clashes of the war of position between the Sassanid troops of Shapur II and the Roman troops of the eastern limes of Constantius II.

Historical context

Under the Christian king Tiridates III of Armenia, most of his kingdom had converted to Christianity (by 301). But in 334 the Armenian king was taken prisoner by Shapur II and taken to Persia, forcing the Armenians to invoke the help of Constantine I. ^[2] The latter wrote to the "king of kings" (Shahanshah) Shapur, ^[3] who, at the end of a long negotiation, decided to annex Armenia and threatened the nearby Roman province of Mesopotamia. ^[4]

Constantine I was thus forced to prepare ^[5] for the great war against Persia, ^{[6] [7] [8]} starting from the end of 336, ^{[9] [10] [11] [12] [13]} John the Lydian does not hide that Constantine's desire was also to equal emperors such as Trajan and Septimius Severus in the conquest of Persia. ^[14]

The battle

The great Christian sovereign then entrusted the eastern sector to his son Constantius II. ^{[15] [16]} He recruited and drafted new soldiers, including his nephew Hannibalianus, implemented training and drills, expanded the cavalry, and stockpiled supplies. ^{[16] [17]} These preparations did not go unnoticed by the Sasanids. ^[16] It is said that already during this year, the son of the Sassanid king, Narses, managed to advance to Amida and occupy the Roman city, but shortly afterwards he was killed in battle by the advancing Roman troops ^[18] not far from Amida (in Narasara), ^{[19] [20]} and ultimately, Constantius, with the soldiers of the Legio V Parthica and its legatus legionis , ^[21] was able to push back the invasion, and Shapur failed to make any significant gains. ^[22] Now the location of the battle has been identified by some with Hileia or Eleia, at the foot of the Djebel Sindjar mountain range, along the Nahr Ghiran river. ^{[22] [23]}

Consequences

Amida, shortly after, returned to Roman hands and Constantius ordered the construction of a new and imposing circle of walls and towers, where he could also place a large artillery arsenal, thus making the city almost impregnable. ^[24]

References

1. RIC VII 100; Alföldi 571; Depeyrot 49/1; Cohen 605. Coin source.
2. Horst 1987, pp. 308–309.
3. Eusebius of Caesarea, Vita Constantini, IV, 8-13.
4. Horst 1987, p. 310.
5. Eutropius, Breviarium historiae romanoe, X, 8.2.
6. Eusebius of Caesarea, Vita Constantini, IV, 56.
7. Rufius Festus, Breviarium rerum gestarum populi Romani, 26.
8. Saint Jerome, Chronicle, 337, p. 234, 8-10.
9. Annales Valesiani, VI, 35.
10. Paul Orosius, Historiae adversos pagas, VII, 28, 31.
11. Passio Artemii, 8 (8.12-19).
12. Theophanes the Confessor, Chronographia A.M. 5828 (latin text).
13. Zonaras, The epitome of stories, XIII, 4, 25-28.
14. John the Lydian, De magistratibus, III, 34.
15. Julian, Oration I, Panegyric of Constantius II, 13B.
16. Harrel 2016, p. 17.
17. Dodgeon & Lieu 2002, pp. 152–162.
18. Hunt 1998, p. 13.
19. Theophanes the Confessor, Chronographia A.M. 5815 (Latin text).
20. Rufius Festus, Breviarium rerum gestarum populi Romani, 27.
21. González 2003 , p. 816, fig. 15.
22. Dingas & Winter 2007, p. 89.
23. Dodgeon & Lieu 2002 , pp. 152–162, n. 26–27.
24. Ammianus Marcellinus, Histories, XVIII, 9.1.

Sources

Primary or ancient

• Ammianus Marcellinus, Historiae X (Latin text). (English facing text available here).
• Annales Valesiani, here is the Latin version with the English translation.
• Eusebius of Caesarea, Vita Costantini, I-IV, (Latin text and English translation); Storia ecclesiastica (English translation).
• Eutropius, Breviarium historiae Romanae (Latin text), X .
• Rufius Festus, Breviarium rerum gestarum populi Romani.
• John the Lydian, De Mensibus.
• Saint Jerome, Chronicle, French version HERE.
• Julian, Oration I, Panegyric of Constantius II.
• Paul Orosius, Historiarum adversos pagas libri VII, VII, Lation version HERE.
• Passio Artemii.
• Theophanes the Confessor, Chronographia (Latin text) .
• Joannes Zonaras, The Epitome of Stories, Latin version HERE.

Inscriptions

• CIL = Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, XVII voll., Berolini, 1863- Das Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum - Homepage
• ILS = Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae of Hermann Dessau, 3 voll., 1892-1916 Inscriptiones latinae selectae. (1892 edition) | Open Library

Secondary or modern

• Dingas, Beate; Winter, Engelbert (2007). Rome and Persia in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press.
• Dodgeon, Michael H.; Greatrex, Geoffrey; Lieu, Samuel N. C. (2002). The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars (Part I, 226–363 AD). Routledge. ISBN   0-415-00342-3.
• González, Julio R. (2003). Historia de las legiones romanas (in Spanish). Madrid: Signifer Libros. ISBN   8493120782.
• Harrel, John S. (2016). The Nisibis War. Pen & Sword.
• Horst, Eberhard (September 1, 1987). Rusconi Libri (ed.). Costantino il Grande (in Italian).
• Hunt, David (1998). "The successors of Constantine + Julian". In Averil Cameron & Peter Garnsey (eds.). The Cambridge Ancient History XIII: The Late Empire, A.D. 337–425. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   0-521-30200-5.