Siege of Maiozamalcha

Siege of Maiozamalcha
Part of the Julian's Persian War
LocationMaiozamalcha, Asoristan, Sasanian Empire
Result Roman victory
Commanders and leaders
Julian
Hormizd		 Unknown
Casualties and losses
Entire city

During the Siege of Maiozamalcha, 363 CE, the Roman army under Emperor Julian stormed, pillaged, and destroyed the city of Maiozamalcha, before continuing onward to the Sasanian capital of Ctesiphon.[1][2]

Background

In the year A.D. 363 the emperor Julian, hoping to revenge Roman defeats under his predecessor Constantius II and to establish his fame by accomplishing what had never been done by a Roman before: the subjection of the east, invaded the dominions of Shapur II., king of Persia.[3] Assembling his strength at Carrhae in the Roman province of Mesopotamia, Julian divided his forces. While a part of the army (30,000 men, according to Ammianus Marcellinus) was dispatched north-east under his cousin Procopius and Count Sebastian to enlist the aid of Arshak II of Armenia for a march down the Tigris to Ctesiphon, Julian himself, with a larger force (65,000), penetrated Assyria to the south, proceeding along the Euphrates from Callinicum with the same ultimate destination. He crossed the frontier at Circesium, where it had been established by the peace of Diocletian, leaving a numerous detachment to secure his rear (10,000).[4] Cought off his guard by the force and direction of Julian's invasion, Shapur had failed to assemble forces in time for the defence of Assyria, and the former in his course through the province experienced a purely nominal resistance. Cavalry harried his wings, and the dykes and canals were released by the enemy to flood the country. However, these obstacles were surmounted; Anah capitulated; Macepracta was subdued; Pirisabora was reduced and sacked, and Julian presently arrived under the walls of Maiozamalcha, a strongly fortified place at the distance of 11 miles from the Persian capital of Ctesiphon.[5]

The Siege

The situation, and the formidable defenses and strong garrison of the fortress of Maiozamalcha, determined Julian to effect its capture. A train of catapults and siege engines had attended the emperor's march through Assyria, and Julian employed them in vain against the impregnable fortifications, to distract the enemy from his real device. While the assault on the walls was repelled by a vigorous Persian defense, a mine was surreptitiously carried under the very feet of defenders by the activity of Julian's engineers, by means of which three cohorts, or 1,500 of the elite of the Roman soldiery crept into the heart of the city. The city was instantly captured, and no mercy was shown towards the astonished defenders or populace, who before its fall had in insolent assurance insulted Julian's arms and ally, the renegade prince of the Persian royal house, Hormisdas (or Hormizd).[6]

Aftermath

Obsidional crowns were conferred on the bravest of the troops, in accordance with ancient practice.[7] The adjacent palaces and gardens of the Persian monarchy were despoiled and burnt;[8] and the capital, Ctesiphon, was exposed to Julian's hostile intents. Ultimately, the siege of that city was unsuccessful, though Julian crossed the Tigris and defeated the Persians in the field before retiring from before the adamant walls of the capital of the Sassanids. The lateness of the season, the revived forces of Shapur, and the treacherous advice of a captive Persian, by which the baggage and the river fleet were burnt, contributed to render Julian's position untenable, the northern army having failed to join him due to Tiran's resentment,[9] and the expedition ended in disaster after Julian's death in the retreat.

References

  1. ↑ Jaques, Tony (2007). Dictionary of battles and sieges : a guide to 8500 battles from antiquity through the twenty-first century. Vol 2, F-O. Westport, Conn. [u.a.]: Greenwood Press. p. 618. ISBN 9780313335389. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  2. ↑ Ammianus Marcellinus. Rolfe, J.C., ed. The Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus Book XXIV. Loeb Classical Library. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  3. ↑ Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, (The Modern Library,1932), ch. XXIV., pp. 798, 799.
  4. ↑ Gibbon, pp. 806-8
  5. ↑ Gibbon, pp. 821, and 810-13
  6. ↑ Gibbon, pp. 813, 814.
  7. ↑ Gibbon, p. 816
  8. ↑ Gibbon, p. 814
  9. ↑ Gibbon, p. 820


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