Beate Dignas & Engelbert Winter - Kaveh Farrokh

192 6 Shared interests: Continuing conflicts
and political role the Caucasus region played between the two great powers.
Three aspects are crucial: first the dangers posed by invasions of the
‘barbarians’, secondly the fact that by themselves neither Rome nor the
Persian Empire were able to guard the Caucasus region and thus to protect
their own territory and, thirdly, the necessity to make arrangements for the
protection of the frontier together, to guarantee this by official agreements
and in particular to assign and agree on the financial contributions of each
side.
In this context the ancient author also refers to the peace treaty of the year
363 (18). He confirms once more the loss of important strategic positions
that Jovian had to accept after Julian’s catastrophic defeat in his Persian
War (8). As after 363 87 the Romans withdrew from the Caucasus extremely
slowly, the Persians thought that they had to increase their efforts to protect
the region. John the Lydian seems to indicate that the Romans henceforth
no longer met their financial obligations with regard to the Caucasus. 88 In
the end the Persians could not accept the fact that the Roman payments
had ceased and they decided to invade Syria and Cappadocia. 89 It is also
significant that the author refers to negotiations regarding the costs for
building a fortress in order to protect the portae Caucasiae and for setting
up a garrison. However, it would appear that it did not come to an official
agreement.
In spite of the hostile atmosphere between Rome and Persia, both shared
an interest in fending off bellicose nomadic tribes. However, an agreement
to that effect would have had to be based on an alliance that most probably
did not form until the beginning of the fifth century, and not, as John the
Lydian claims, as early as 363. 90 Certainly from the end of the fourth century
and with the increasing frequency of the attacks by the Huns, which posed
a serious threat to the West and the East, the protection of the Caucasian
passes became a crucial issue for both great powers. 91 This was still the
case when in the following period Rome had to turn to the more and more
pressing problems along the frontiers along the Rhine and the Danube and
the Sasanians alone often had to bear the financial burden of protecting
the Caucasus region. As a consequence the relations tended to deteriorate
and the outbreak of the wars of 421–2 and 441 (19) was directly linked to
87 The confrontations between Valens and Sāpūr ˇ II in Ibēria between 362 and 378 (Amm. xxvii.12.1–2
and xxvii.30.2–3) reveal that the great powers continued to fight over the country; cf. also Chrysos
1993: 183.
88 Luther 1997: 105–6. 89 Lyd. Mag. iii.53.
90 Synelli 1986: 106–20. 91 Chrysos 1993: 183.