User:Kansas Bear/Julian's Persian War
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Julian's Persian War, or the Perso-Roman War of 363, was the last undertaking of the Roman emperor Julian, begun in March 363. Julian advanced rapidly down the Euphrates valley, meeting only scattered opposition, and reached the walls of the Persian capital Ctesiphon, where he met and defeated the Persian army at the Battle of Ctesiphon (363). Unable to take the city, and with a faltering campaign, Julian was misled by Persian spies into burning his fleet and taking a disadvantageous route of retreat in which his army was constantly harassed and his progress crawled to a halt.
Julian's Persian War | |||||||||
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Part of the Roman–Persian Wars | |||||||||
Investiture of King Ardashir II by the angelic divinity Mithra (left) and Shapur II (right); the body of Julian is trampled underfoot. Reliefs at Taq-e Bostan. | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Roman Empire Arsacid Armenia | Sassanian Empire | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Julian the Apostate Arsaces II Hormizd Procopius and Sebastianus Lucillianus |
Shapur II Ardashir Pigranes Surena Narseus | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
120,000 | Unknown, but presumed to be numerically inferior to the Romans[8] | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
Heavy |
Moderate[9] (by modern estimations) |
In one of the skirmishes Julian was wounded and later died of his wounds, leaving his successor, Jovian, along with his army, trapped in Persian territory. Jovian quickly agreed to humiliating treaty and retreated from Sasanid territory.