Beate Dignas & Engelbert Winter - Kaveh Farrokh

c h a p t e r 4
Diplomatic solutions
The persistent military conflicts took their toll of Romans as well as Persians.
Already for the third and up to the seventh century our sources attest to
attempts to end wars or to even prevent conflicts altogether by way of
diplomatic activities. These attempts were serious and showed true interest
in a peaceful coexistence beyond the existing rivalries. However, severe
defeats in battle, military exhaustion as well as domestic crises were the
main reasons why the parties sought a cease-fire and tried to come to
agreements.
Numerous peace treaties have survived, and their contents are elaborately
described by the ancient authors; moreover, many details regarding
embassies during this period convey a vivid impression of the diplomatic
relations between the two powers and allow insight into legal practices
in the international arena that had developed during the course of late
antiquity. An analysis of the diplomatic protocol shows that in spite of any
political rivalry both states acknowledged the other’s sovereignty and that
both rulers were perceived as equals. This chapter in particular points to
the efforts towards a reconciliation of differing interests and to conditions
under which a peaceful coexistence of neighbours was possible.
16: The peace treaty of 244 between Philip the Arab and ˇSāpūr I
The ˇ Sāpūr Inscription on the Kaba-i Zarduˇst at Naqˇs-i Rustam ( ˇ SKZ )
§ 8 The Parthian text
And the emperor Philip approached us with a petition (regarding the conditions
for surrender) and gave us for their souls a ransom of 500,000 denarii and became
tributary to us; and we therefore renamed Miˇsīk as Pērōz- ˇ Sāpūr (‘victorious is
ˇSāpūr’).
Apparently Rome’s crushing defeat at Miˇsīk in the year 244 and the death
of the Roman emperor Gordian III forced his successor Philip the Arab to
seek a peaceful settlement with ˇ Sāpūr I. According to the Res gestae divi
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