Heraclius' Caucasus campaign[c] was an invasion of the Byzantine army into the Caucasus, which belonged to the Sassanids at that time, took place in the period from 624 to 625, as a result, the Greeks captured the Transcaucasia.
Having won a victory over the Persians in Anatolia and concluded a peace treaty with the Avars, Heraclius began to prepare for a new campaign.On March 25, 624, he left Constantinople with the goal of capturing Armenia. Immediately before the campaign itself, the emperor of Byzantium made attempts to conclude peace with Khosrow, but nothing came of it.Heraclius, together with his new second wife and niece Martina and two of the children from his first marriage (with Fabia/Eudokia), departed from Constantinople on 25 March 624. He crossed to Chalcedon, then followed the route along the Sea of Marmara. His daughters Epiphania and Eudokia by his first marriage (but apparently not his son Heraclius Constantine) accompanied him as far as the vicinity of Nikomedia where they celebrated Easter on 15 April.[4]
In the spring of 624, Heraclius raised a new army and invaded Sasanian Armenia.[3] Some primary sources claim that he raised an army of 120,000, but modern historiography has recognized these figures as overstated.[5][6] Heraclius marched rapidly through Anatolia, along the way of the cities of Satalu, Theodosiopolis and Ayrarat. On the Aras, he destroyed the Dvin fortress. At that moment, he met Khosrow at Ganzak, one of the most important religious centers of the Persian state. In a short battle, the Byzantines won a complete victory and dispersed Khosrow's army.[7] After the battle, they looted the palace in Ganzak in revenge for what the Persians had done to Jerusalem 10 years earlier.[8] However, the campaign did not end there, Khosrow wanting to take revenge for the defeat, sent a large army to meet Heraclius. The army was commanded by the most prominent Sassanid generals who had shown themselves in campaigns earlier.[d]At Archesh, the tired Byzantine army met the Persians, and immediately rushed into battle, but a false retreat lured the vanguard of the Byzantines into a trap and most of them died. Heraclius did not lose his head and decided to personally lead the cavalry to the attack, which even Shahrbaraz admired.[3] This was successful and the Persians fled, almost the entire army had exterminated,[9][10]Shahrbaraz himself was almost killed, he lost his entire treasury and even his harem. The Byzantines were even able to invade the north of Mesopotamia, but retreated under the onslaught of Persian troops.[11] Byzantine army was drained of blood and Heraclius was forced to postpone the invasion of Persia until the following year.[8]
Aftermath
The Byzantines won, but the war did not end there, the following year the Persians made a last attempt to attack right into the heart of Byzantium - Constantinople. He even called for the help of the Slavs and Avars, gathering an army of 80,000, but could not win, the Byzantines defeated the Slavs' fleet and the Persians were forced to give up leaving Anatolia.[12][8] Seeing the successes of Heraclius, the Turks also entered the war, in the period from 627 to 628, Heraclius again won several brilliant losses, in Mesopotamia at the ancient city of Nineveh and in the siege of Tbilisi.[13]
Greatrex, Geoffrey (1991). The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian wars.Part II.363-630AD. Routledge. ISBN0-415-14687-9.
Decker, Michael J. (2022). The Sasanian empire at War.Persia,Rome and the rise od Islam. Westholme Publishing,LLC. ISBN978-1-59416-692-1.
Norwich, John (2023). The History of the Byzantine Empire: From the foundation of Constantinople to the collapse of the state. Moscow: КоЛибри. ISBN978-5-389-19591-2.
Ostrogorsky, George (2011) [1956]. История Византийского государства[The History of the Byzantine State] (in Russian). Moscow: Сибирская Благозвонница. ISBN978-5-91362-458-1.
Kulakovsky, Julian (1996). История Византии: 602-717[The History of the Byzantine: 602-717] (in Russian). Volume 3. Moscow: Алетейя. ISBN5-89329-005-4.
Dashkov, Sergei (2008). Цари царей: Сасаниды[The Sassanids: Kings of Kings] (in Russian). Moscow: Сми-Азия. ISBN978-5-91660-001-8.
↑ Three armies: the first under the command of Khosrow with 40,000,[1] participated in the Battle of Ganzak, the second army sent in 625 under the command of Shahin with 30,000 which participated in Battle of Aghdam (625), and the third army with 30,000 under Shahrvaraz command, which participated in Battle of Archesh.[2][Note 1]
↑ Kaegi gives an estimate of 6,000, however, he means the detachment that participated directly in the clash, above he calls the size of the invasion army with 30,000 Kaegi 2003, p.129
Related Research Articles
Heraclius was Byzantine emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exarch of Africa, led a revolt against the unpopular emperor Phocas.
The 620s decade ran from January 1, 620, to December 31, 629.
Year 624 (DCXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 624 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
The Battle of Nineveh was the climactic battle of the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628.
Shahrbaraz, was shah (king) of the Sasanian Empire from 27 April 630 to 9 June 630. He usurped the throne from Ardashir III, and was killed by Iranian nobles after forty days. Before usurping the Sasanian throne he was a spahbed (general) under Khosrow II (590–628). He is furthermore noted for his important role during the climactic Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628, and the events that followed afterwards.
Heraclius' campaign of 622, erroneously also known as the Battle of Issus, was a major campaign in the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 by emperor Heraclius that culminated in a crushing Byzantine victory in Anatolia.
Shahen or Shahin was a senior Sasanian general (spahbed) during the reign of Khosrow II (590–628). He was a member of the House of Spandiyadh.
The Byzantine Empire was ruled by emperors of the dynasty of Heraclius between 610 and 711. The Heraclians presided over a period of cataclysmic events that were a watershed in the history of the Empire and the world. Heraclius, the founder of his dynasty, was of Armenian and Cappadocian (Greek) origin. At the beginning of the dynasty, the Empire's culture was still essentially Ancient Roman, dominating the Mediterranean and harbouring a prosperous Late Antique urban civilization. This world was shattered by successive invasions, which resulted in extensive territorial losses, financial collapse and plagues that depopulated the cities, while religious controversies and rebellions further weakened the Empire.
The siege of Constantinople in 626 by the Sassanid Persians and Avars, aided by large numbers of allied Slavs, ended in a strategic victory for the Byzantines. The failure of the siege saved the empire from collapse, and, combined with other victories achieved by Emperor Heraclius the previous year and in 627, enabled Byzantium to regain its territories and end the destructive Roman–Persian Wars by enforcing a treaty with borders status quo c. 590.
The Battle of Antioch took place in 613 outside Antioch, Turkey between a Byzantine army led by Emperor Heraclius and a Persian Sassanid army under Generals (spahbed) Shahin and Shahrbaraz as part of the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628. The victorious Persians were able to maintain a hold on the recently taken Byzantine territory. The victory paved the way for a further Sasanian advance into the Levant and Anatolia.
The Battle of Sarus was fought in April 625 between the Byzantine army, led by Emperor Heraclius, and the Persian general Shahrbaraz. After a series of maneuvers, the Byzantine army under Heraclius, which in the previous year had invaded Persia, caught up with Shahrbaraz's army, which was heading towards the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, where his forces would take part in its siege together with the Avars. The battle ended in a nominal victory for the Byzantines, but Shahrbaraz withdrew in good order, and was able to continue his advance through Anatolia towards Constantinople.
The Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628, also called the Last Great War of Antiquity, was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian Empire. It was the final and most devastating conflict of the Roman–Persian Wars. The previous war between the two powers had ended in 591 after emperor Maurice helped the Sasanian King Khosrow II regain his throne. In 602, Maurice was murdered by his political rival Phocas. Khosrow declared war, ostensibly to avenge the death of the deposed emperor Maurice. This became a decades-long conflict, the longest war in the series, and was fought throughout the Middle East, the Aegean Sea, and before the walls of Constantinople itself.
Shahraplakan, rendered Sarablangas (Σαραβλαγγᾶς) in Greek sources, was a Sassanid Persian general (spahbed) who participated in the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 and the Third Perso-Turkic War.
Theodore was the brother of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius, a curopalates and leading general in Heraclius' wars against the Persians and against the Muslim conquest of the Levant.
Niketas was a 7th-century Byzantine officer. He was the son and heir of the Sasanian Persian general and briefly shahanshah, Shahrbaraz.
The siege of Tbilisi (627-628) was a siege by the Byzantine Empire and Western Turkic Khaganate in 627-628 against Prince Stephen I of Iberia, the Sasanid vassal ruler of Sasanian Iberia.
The Battle of Archesh or Battle of Van Lake was a battle between the Byzantine and Sasanian armies during the Byzantine-Sasanian War of 602-628. The battle was the final event of Heraclius Caucasus campaign, after which the Byzantine army went on the offensive deep into the territory of the Sasanian Empire.
The Battle of Ganzak was a clash between the Byzantine and Sasanian armies. The emperors of both empires personally took part in this battle. The Persians suffered a crushing defeat, and Khosrow fled leaving his army. As a result of this, Heraclius was able to move deeper into Persia.
The Battle of Ophlimus was a clash between the Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius and the Sasanian army under Shahrbarāz, ending in victory for the Byzantines.
Battle of Aghdam is battle between Byzantine and Sasanian armies. As a result of the battle, Shahin's army was defeated and Irakli was able to move against Shahrvaraz's army.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
