Beate Dignas & Engelbert Winter - Kaveh Farrokh

80 3 Military confrontations
claim credit for this death if Gordian III had in fact been assassinated by
Philip the Arab far away from Miˇsīk, as the majority of the Western sources
state?
The idea that Philip the Arab was responsible for Gordian III’s death
thus has to be dismissed. The Western sources share widespread prejudices
against Philip the Arab and do not conceal these. It would appear that all
versions intend to cover up the military defeat and to blame Philip the
Arab for the events of the year 244. 37 Reporting on the fact that the new
emperor concluded a humiliating peace treaty with ˇ Sāpūr I also served these
intentions well (16).
In the year 252 a new Roman–Persian War broke out. By 253 the Persians
had made a deep advance into Roman territory and inflicted heavy losses
on the Romans. Possibly reacting to a Roman counter-attack, they then
withdrew without having taken possession of Roman territory. However,
in the year 260 the Persians embarked on a new, major campaign about
which we learn also from the ˇ Sāpūr Inscription. 38
The ˇ Sāpūr Inscription on the Kaba-i Zarduˇst at Naqˇs-i Rustam ( ˇ SKZ),
§§ 18–22 The Parthian text
(§ 18) During the third campaign, when we advanced against Carrhae and Edessa
and besieged Carrhae and Edessa, the emperor Valerian marched against us, (§ 19)
and there was with him . . . (§ 21) a force of 70,000 men. (§ 22) And on the other
side of Carrhae and Edessa we fought a great battle with Valerian, and we captured
the emperor Valerian with our own hands and the others, the praetorian prefect
and senators and officials, all those who were the leaders of that force, and we made
all of them prisoners and deported them to Persis.
If we believe ˇ Sāpūr’s words, the Roman emperor Valerian moved an army
of 70,000 men against the king while the Sasanians were laying siege to
the Mesopotamian cities of Carrhae and Edessa. In order to commemorate
his victory in the most effective way, ˇ Sāpūr refers in detail to the make
up and size of the Roman army. We learn that during the decisive battle
near Edessa not only high Roman officials but also the emperor Valerian
himself were captured by ˇ Sāpūr ‘with his own hands’. We do not know what
happened to Valerian afterwards. He must have died in captivity. 39 The
Sasanians celebrated this victory, which was one of their greatest successes
37 Cf. York 1972: 320–1 and Pohlsander 1980: 464–5.
38 On the course of events during this decade see also Tyler 1975.
39 On the capture of Valerian see Kettenhofen 1982: 97–9; on the inconsistencies in our sources
see Alföldi 1937: 62–3 (= 1967: 149–50); Stolte 1971a: 385–6; 1971b: 157–62; Carson 1982: 461–5;
Bleckmann 1992: 97–114; Huyse 1999: 10–14 (vol. i) and 82–4 (vol. ii).