Beate Dignas & Engelbert Winter - Kaveh Farrokh

7 Fighting during Constantine’s reign 89
war 63 but in the following year his son Constantius II, who was entrusted
with the rule over the East, led an enormous force against ˇ Sāpūr II in order
to put a halt to the king’s activities in Mesopotamia and Armenia. 64 When
in 338 hostilities opened, this was just the beginning of a series of military
conflicts that took place during Constantius’ reign. Festus, who seems to
have been commissioned by the emperor Valens to write a survey of Roman
history to the beginning of his reign, summarises the fighting in the East
as follows: 65
Festus 27
(1) Constantius fought against the Persians with varying and indecisive outcome. 66
Apart from the light skirmishes of those positioned along the ‘limes’ nine pitched
battles took place; among these seven were fought by his generals, and he was
himself present twice. In the battles at Sisara, at Singara and a second one at
Singara, in which Constantius was present, at Sicgara (sic), also at Constantia,
and when Amida was captured, our state was severely harmed under this emperor.
(2) Nisibis was besieged three times but the enemy suffered even greater losses
while maintaining the siege. In the battle of Narasara, 67 however, where Narsē was
killed, 68 we were victorious. (3) In the night battle at Eleia, near Satara, where
Constantius himself was present, the outcome of all activities would have been
balanced, if the emperor – although the terrain and night time were adverse – had
personally addressed his soldiers, who were in a state of aggressive excitement, and
had been able to stop them from opening battle at a most unfavourable moment. 69
The excerpt is typical for the histories of the fourth century, which, because
of the concise character of the narrative, are also labelled ‘epitomes’. 70 While
numerous other sources describe the course of individual battles in detail, 71
Festus’ sparse comments reveal important general characteristics of the
fighting between 338 and 361. First, the large number of battles, second,
the indecisive outcome of battles and third, the focus on strategically and
economically important urban centres in Mesopotamia, such as Nisibis,
Singara, Constantia or Amida.
63 On Constantine the Great’s plans for a Persian campaign see Fowden 1994: 146–70.
64 Peeters 1931: 10–47.
65 On the author and his work see Eadie 1967a.
66 For a similar assessment see Eutr. x.10.1
67 Narasara (Hileia) is located at the foot of the Djebel Sindjar, near the modern river Nahr Ghīrān.
68 Festus is the only author who mentions the death of the Sasanian prince in this battle; according
to the Byzantine chronicler Theophanes (Chron. A.M. 5815 [p. 20, 21–6 ed. de Boor]) a brother of
ˇSāpūr II named Narsē died in the confrontations with Constantius.
69 On this night battle at Singara see Mosig-Walburg 1999: 330–84, who dates this confrontation to
the year 344; cf. also Portmann 1989: 1–18.
70 See Den Boer 1972; Schlumberger 1974.
71 For references with regard to the siege of Nisibis in the year 350, e.g., see Brandt 1998: 161–4.