Siege of Ctesiphon (629)

Siege of Ctesiphon (629)
Date 27 April 629 Location Ctesiphon, Iranshahr (present day Iraq) Result Shahrbaraz victory; Shahrbaraz becomes Shahanshah of the Sasanian Empire
Belligerents
Shahrbaraz forces Parsig faction Nimruzi faction	Sasanian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Shahrbaraz Piruz Khosrow Namdar Jushnas	Ardashir III † Ardabīl † Mah-Adhur Gushnasp †
Strength
6,000	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

Coordinates: 33°05′37″N 44°34′50″E / 33.09361°N 44.58056°E / 33.09361; 44.58056

The Siege of Ctesiphon took place on 27 April 629 between the forces of Shahrbaraz and Ardashir III. Shahrbaraz managed to capture Ctesiphon with a small force, demonstrating to all the weakness of the Sasanian Empire.

In 602, the last Byzantine-Sasanian war began; it was the most devastating of the series of wars fought between the two empires. In 618, Khosrau II sent Shahrbaraz to conquer Egypt; one year later the Sasanians managed to capture Alexandria, the capital of Byzantine Egypt. After the fall of Alexandria, the Sasanians gradually extended their rule southwards along the Nile. By 621, the province was securely in Sasanian hands.

Egypt would remain in Sasanian hands for 10 years, run by general Shahrbaraz from Alexandria. As the new Roman emperor, Heraclius, reversed the tide and defeated Khosrau II, Shahrbaraz was ordered to evacuate the province, but refused. In the end, Heraclius, trying both to recover Egypt and to sow disunion amongst the Iranians, offered to help Shahrbaraz seize the Sasanian throne for himself. An agreement was reached, and in the spring of 629, the Sasanian troops began leaving Egypt.

...
Wikipedia