Fall of Hatra

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Siege of Hatra
Part of the
Roman-Persian Wars

The ruins of Hatra
Date240 – April 241 AD
Location
Hatra, northern Mesopotamia
35°35′17″N 42°43′6″E / 35.58806°N 42.71833°E / 35.58806; 42.71833
Result

Sasanian victory

  • Kingdom of Hatra dissolved
Belligerents
Sasanian Empire Kingdom of Hatra
Support:
Roman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Ardashir I or Shapur I Sanatruq II †

The fall of Hatra, capital of the Kingdom of Hatra under Sanatruq II, took place in the 3rd century after a lengthy siege by the Sasanian king Shapur I. Hatra was plundered and abandoned, and its kingdom dissolved.

Background

During the

vassal kingdom of the Romans. The Sasanian king Ardashir I unsuccessfully besieged the city in 220s. Latin dedications from the year 235 in Hatra's ruins suggest there was presence of Roman army in the city in that period.[1]

Siege and aftermath

Modern sources put the date of Hatra's fall in 240–241 AD (or April 241 AD) per the newly discovered document

Cologne Mani Codex (18.2-8), which is the year that Ardashir I crowned his son Shapur I as the co-regent. Either of these may have conquered Hatra. The siege took one year,[1][2] or two years, according to al-Tabari.[3]

After the city's conquest, it was plundered, its fortifications were destroyed, the city was deserted and never resettled, and the Kingdom of Hatra was disestablished.[4][1] In 363, Ammianus Marcellinus passed by Hatra together with the Roman army and has described it as an "old city situated in an uninhabited area and deserted for a long time past".[1]

The fall of Hatra is described in medieval Arabic and Persian traditions via stories that mix facts and fiction. The legend tells of the Hatrene princess al-Nadirah who betrayed the city to Shapur I after falling in love with him.[1]

The Sasanian capture of Hatra is thought to be the cause of the Persian war of Gordian III.[5]

References

  1. ^
    Encyclopaedia Iranica
    . Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  2. ^ Ibrāhīm, Jābir Khalīl (1986). Pre-Islamic settlement in Jazirah. Republic of Iraq, Ministry of Culture & Information, State Organization of Antiquities & Heritage. p. 107.
  3. ISBN 9781134095735
    .
  4. ^ Mid East. Vol. 7. American Friends of the Middle East. 1967. p. 56.
  5. Encyclopaedia Iranica
    .

Further reading

  • Marcato, Enrico (2020). "An Aramaic Incantation Bowl and the Fall of Hatra". Journal of Ancient Near Eastern History. 7 (2): 133–157.
    S2CID 225421630
    .
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