Battle of Edessa

A rock-face relief at Naqsh-e Rostam, depicting the triumph of Shapur I over the Roman Emperor Valerian.

Date	AD 260
Location	Edessa, Osroene (southern Turkey)
Result	Decisive Sassanid victory

Belligerents

Sassanid Empire

Roman Empire

Commanders and leaders

Shapur I

Valerian (POW)

Strength

Unknown

70,000

Casualties and losses

Unknown

Entire force

The Battle of Edessa took place between the armies of the Roman Empire under the command of Emperor Valerian and Sassanid forces under Shahanshah (King of the Kings) Shapur I in 260. The Roman army was defeated and captured in its entirety by the Persian forces; for the first time in Rome's military history their emperor was taken prisoner. As such, the battle is generally viewed as one of the worst disasters in Roman military history.

Prior to the battle, Shapur I had penetrated several times deeply into Roman territory, conquering and plundering Antioch in Syria in 253 or 256. After defeating the usurper Aemilianus and assuming the purple for himself, Valerian arrived in the eastern provinces as soon as he could (254 or 255) and gradually restored order. Soon he had to confront a naval Gothic invasion in northern Asia Minor. The Goths ravaged Pontus and moved south into Cappadocia. An attempt from Valerian and his army in Antiocheia to intercept them failed because of the plague. While his army was in that weakened state, Shapur invaded northern Mesopotamia in 260, probably in early Spring.

In his sixties, the aged Valerian marched eastward to the Sassanid borders. According to Shapur's account, Valerian met the main Persian army, under the command of Shapur I, between Carrhae and Edessa (in Middle Persian: Urhāy) and was thoroughly defeated and captured with his entire army.

According to the Roman sources, which are not very clear, the Roman army was defeated and besieged by the Persian forces. Then Valerian tried to negotiate but he was captured; it is possible that his army surrendered after that. The prisoners included, according to Shapur's claims, many other high-ranking officials, including a praetorian prefect, possibly Successianus. It has also been claimed that Shapur went back on his word by having the emperor seized after agreeing to truce negotiations.

...
Wikipedia