Battle of Nisibis (217)

Coordinates: 37°04′00″N 41°13′00″E / 37.0667°N 41.2167°E / 37.0667; 41.2167
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Battle of Nisibis
Part of
Nisibis, northern Mesopotamia
(modern-day Nusaybin, Mardin, Turkey
)
Result Parthian victory[1]
Belligerents Parthian Empire Roman EmpireCommanders and leaders Artabanus IV MacrinusStrength Unknown UnknownCasualties and losses Heavy Heavy

The Battle of Nisibis was fought in the summer of 217 between the armies of the Roman Empire under the newly ascended emperor Macrinus and the Parthian army of King Artabanus IV. It lasted for three days, and ended with a bloody Parthian victory, with both sides suffering large casualties. As a result of the battle, Macrinus was forced to seek peace, paying the Parthians a huge sum and abandoning the invasion of Mesopotamia that Caracalla had begun a year before.

Background

For centuries, Rome and Parthia had dominated the

Edessa
for the winter.

However, on 8 April 217, Caracalla fell victim to a plot by his praetorian prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus and was murdered.[6] Macrinus became emperor, but already Artabanus was approaching, having gathered a large army in order to avenge himself for the Romans' treacherous attack. The situation was summed up well by Macrinus himself in the speech he delivered to his army, as delivered by Herodian:

You see the barbarian with his whole Eastern horde already upon us, and Artabanus seems to have good reason for his enmity. We provoked him by breaking the treaty, and in a time of complete peace we started a war. [...] This is no quarrel about boundaries or river beds; everything is at stake in this dispute in which we face a mighty king fighting for his children and kinsmen who, he believes, have been murdered in violation of solemn oaths.

At first Macrinus, having no military experience and wishing to avoid a battle, tried to placate and reach an accommodation with Artabanus, offering to return all prisoners. Artabanus rejected this, demanding financial compensation, the rebuilding of the destroyed towns and the cession of the Roman provinces of northern Mesopotamia, only recently conquered by Septimius Severus. These terms were unacceptable to the Romans, and so Macrinus rejected them.[2]

The battle

The two enemies exemplified two different approaches to warfare: the Roman army was traditionally infantry-based, relying on its excellent

skirmish forward and then withdraw to the safety of the heavier formations if necessary.[8]

The Parthians attacked at sunrise, shooting volleys of arrows, while the cataphracts, supported by lancers on

caltrops behind them, with deadly results. The Parthians' horses and camels stepped on them and fell, taking their riders with them and breaking the momentum of the advance. In the resulting close-quarter fighting, the Romans had the advantage.[9]

The Parthians launched several assaults with little result until night fell, when both sides withdrew to their camps. The second day was a repeat of the first, but on the third day the Parthians, using their greater numbers and superior mobility, tried to outflank the Roman line. The Romans responded by abandoning their customary "deep" formation in several lines (the triplex acies)[10] and extended their front.[11] Thus, by also maneuvering their cavalry and light troops to protect the wings, they avoided being outflanked and encircled.[12]

By this time, casualties on both sides were so great that "the entire plain was covered with the dead; bodies were piled up in huge mounds, and the dromedaries especially fell in heaps".[13] At this point, Macrinus, with his army on the verge of breaking, sent another embassy to Artabanus, informing him of Caracalla's demise and offering a substantial compensation. The Parthian army had also suffered large casualties, and moreover, since it was not a professional but a feudal militia force, it had started to become restive at the prolonged campaign.[14] Thus Artabanus agreed to a peace, after receiving 200 million sesterces.[15]

Aftermath

In June 218, Macrinus was defeated by the forces supporting

Alexander Severus fought over Mesopotamia, and hostilities continued intermittently until the Muslim conquests
.

References

  1. ^ The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History, ed.Touraj Daryaee, (Oxford University Press, 2012), 178;"A Parthian counteroffensive defeated them in the battle of Nisibis"
  2. ^ a b Rawlinson, Ch. XXI
  3. ^ Herodian, IV.10.1-2
  4. ^ Herodian, IV.11.1-2
  5. ^ Herodian, IV.11.5-7
  6. ^ Herodian, IV.13
  7. ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History, Book LXXIX.26
  8. ^ Herodian, IV.15.1
  9. ^ Herodian, IV.15.2-3
  10. ^ Herodian refers only to a deep formation, but it is possible that the Romans were formed up in some sort of triple line. On the triplex acies in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, see M.P. Speidel, The Framework of an Imperial Legion (Cardiff 1992).
  11. ^ Herodian, IV.15.4
  12. Crassus against the Parthians at Carrhae
    , but Crassus did not follow it. Cowan, Roman Battle Tactics, p. 20
  13. ^ Herodian, IV.15.5
  14. ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History, Book LXXIX.27
  15. ^ Herodian, IV.15.7-8

Sources

External links

37°04′00″N 41°13′00″E / 37.0667°N 41.2167°E / 37.0667; 41.2167

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