Dignas B., Winter E. Rome and Persia in late Antiquity. Neighbours and Rivals

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Maps

1 Asia Minor and the Roman Eastern provinces page 10

2 Sasanian Iran 20

3 Northern Mesopotamia and adjacent regions 30

4 The Roman–Sasanian Frontier in late antiquity 61

5 Sasanian sites 68

6 The Roman Near East and the Western regions of the

Sasanian Empire 72

7 The sphere of contact in the Near East between Iran and the

Arabs in pre-Islamic and early Islamic times 111

8 The ‘Trans-Tigritania’ 127

9 Palmyra and the Roman East in the second century 157

10 Lahmids and Gassanids along the Roman–Sasanian frontier 166

11 Armenia at the time of the Parthian Empire 175

12 The Caucasus 189

13 The Silk Road from China to the Roman Orient 198

14 The Byzantine–Sasanian borderlands 243

Preface

In 2001 our Rom und das Perserreich. Zwei Weltm

achte zwischen Konfronta-

tion und Koexistenz was published by the Akademie Verlag, Berlin. Natu-

rally, comments made by friends and colleagues as well as academic reviews

encouraged us to think further about the issues of our book and also

about its place among textbooks and scholarly works. We are hoping that

Rome and Persia in Late Antiquity: Neighbours and Rivals, a revised and

expanded translation, is an adequate response to the many suggestions we

have received since 2001, among these the observation that our book did

not have a counterpart in the English language that would correspond to

its scope and format.

Even more than the German volume, the present study of Roman–

Sasanian relations has been guided by our attempt to focus on the interests

and independent policies of the eastern power. In reaction to the conven-

tional and still prevalent eurocentric perspective of many scholarly works

we emphasise the Eastern textual and visual testimonies. We have done so

with the help of Ph. Huyse (Paris), who translated crucial passages from the

trilingual

ur Inscription (the Parthian text) as well as the inscriptions

of the Zoroastrian priest Kart

er (Middle Persian) into English for us. Petra

Sijpesteijn (Oxford) helped us with the translation of excerpts from Arabic

texts and David Taylor (Oxford) with the Syriac texts. Thank you!

We have expanded our study by including a new chapter on the role of

Armenia (26). Here, we are grateful to Tim Greenwood (St Andrew’s), who

not only translated the Armenian passages but also gave patient advice on

the interpretation of the material. Moreover, the new book has chapters on

Sasanian warfare (II.2) and on the relationship between rulers (II.8). We

have also paid more attention to aspects of diplomacy and religion during

the late phase of Roman–Sasanian relations.

It has been a pleasure to work with Cambridge University Press. We

would like to thank Michael Sharp for accepting the book for publication,

xii Preface

and Sarah Parker and Elizabeth Davey for their support and guidance

during all stages of the production. Last but not least, Linda Woodward’s

copy-editing has been thorough, extremely helpful and efﬁcient.

Oxford/M

unster beate dignas

and engelbert winter

Abbreviations

AA Arch

aologischer Anzeiger

AAG. Ph.-h. Kl. Abhandlungen der Akademie der Wissenschaften zu

ottingen

AAntHung Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae

AAAS Les annales arch

eologiques arabs syriennes

AAWW Anzeiger der

Osterreichischen Akademie der Wis-

senschaften in Wien. Philologisch-historische Klasse

AchHist Achaemenid History

ActIr Acta Iranica

AHB The Ancient History Bulletin

AJA American Journal of Archaeology

AJPh American Journal of Philology

AMI Arch

aologische Mitteilungen aus Iran

AnalBolland Analecta Bollandiana

AncSoc Ancient Society

ANRW Aufstieg und Niedergang der R

omischen Welt

AnTard Antiquit

e Tardive

ArOr Arch

ıv Or

ıent

aln

AW Antike Welt

BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research

BCHI Bastan Chenasi va Honar-e Iran. Revue d’arch

eologie

d’art iraniens

BHAC Bonner Historia Augusta Colloquium

BJb Bonner Jahrb

ucher

BMGS Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies

BSAC Bulletin de la Soci

e d’Arch

eologie Copte

BSO(A)S Bulletin of the School of Oriental (from vol. 10 ff. and

African) Studies

xiii

xiv List of abbreviations

ByzF Byzantinische Forschungen. Internationale Zeitschrift

ur Byzantinistik

ByzZ Byzantinische Zeitschrift

CAH The Cambridge Ancient History, Volumes i–xiv

CFHB Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae

CHI The Cambridge History of Iran, Volumes i–viii

CHR Catholic Historical Review

CIL Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum

CP Classical Philology

CQ Classical Quarterly

CSCO Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium

CSHB Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae

DNP Der Neue Pauly

DOP Dumbarton Oaks Papers

EA Epigraphica Anatolica. Zeitschrift f

ur Epigraphik und

historische Geographie Anatoliens

EHR English Historical Review

EI Encyclopaedia of Islam

EncIr Encyclopaedia Iranica

EOS Atti del Colloquio Internazionale AIEGL su Epigraﬁa e

Ordine Senatorio: Roma, 14–20 maggio 1981

E&W East and West

G&R Greece and Rome

GRBS Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies

HAW Handbuch der Altertumswissenschaften

HdO Handbuch der Orientalistik

IF Indogermanische Forschungen

IrAnt Iranica Antiqua

JA Journal Asiatique

JbAC Jahrbuch f

ur Antike und Christentum

JDAI Jahrbuch des Deutschen Arch

aologischen Instituts

JHS Journal of Hellenic Studies

JNES Journal of Near Eastern Studies

JNG Jahrbuch f

ur Numismatik und Geldgeschichte

JRA Journal of Roman Archaeology

JRAS Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society

JRS Journal of Roman Studies

JSAI Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam

LMA Lexikon des Mittelalters

MBAH M

unstersche Beitr

age zur antiken Handelsgeschichte

List of abbreviations xv

MH Museum Helveticum

NC Numismatic Chronicle

NZ Numismatische Zeitschrift

OCP Orientalia Christiana Periodica

OLP Orientalia Lovaniensia Periodica

OrChr Oriens Christianus

PLRE Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire

PSAS Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies

QC Quaderni catanesi di studi classici e medievali

RAC Reallexikon f

ur Antike und Christentum. Sachw

or-

terbuch zur Auseinandersetzung des Christentums mit

der antiken Welt

RE Pauly-Wissowa Realencyclop

adie der classischen Alter-

tumswissenschaft

REA Revue des

Etudes Anciennes

REB Revue des

Etudes Byzantines

REtArm Revue des

Etudes Arm

eniennes

RevBibl Revue Biblique

RGG K. Galling, Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegen-

wart. Handw

orterbuch f

ur Theologie und Religionswis-

senschaft. 7 vols., 1957–65.

RhM Rheinisches Museum f

ur Philologie

RIC H. Mattingly, The Roman Imperial Coinage. 10 vols.,

1923–94.

RIDA Revue internationale des droits de l’antiquit

RstorAnt Rivista storica dell’antichit

SBAW Sitzungsberichte der Bayerischen Akademie der Wis-

senschaften

SKZ Inscription of

ur I at the Ka’ba-i Zardu

st in Naq

Rustam

StIr Studia Iranica

TALANTA Talanta. Proceedings of the Dutch Archaeological and

Historical Society

TAPhA Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philolog-

ical Association

TAVO T

ubinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients

TravMem Travaux et m

emoires. Centre de recherche d’histoire et

civilisation byzantine

xvi List of abbreviations

WJA W

urzburger Jahrb

ucher f

ur die Altertumswissenschaft

YCS Yale Classical Studies

ZDMG Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenl

andischen Gesellschaft

ZKG Zeitschrift f

ur Kirchengeschichte

ZPE Zeitschrift f

ur Papyrologie und Epigraphik

Introduction: West and East, friend and foe,

counterpart and mirror image ...

Relations between Romans and Persians in late antiquity were bound to

be turbulent, to say the least. We are looking at those who conquered the

possessions of the heirs of Alexander the Great versus those who claimed to

be the heirs of the Achaemenid Empire, which was conquered by Alexan-

der the Great. ‘Heritage’ and its claims often foreshadow war, in this case

centuries of warfare that lasted throughout the existence of the relationship

between the two powers, i.e. the third to the seventh century ad. On both

sides war was accompanied by complex attempts to justify their respective

goals, in both active and reactive ways. Rome’s claim for world domination

was accompanied by a sense of mission and pride in Western civilisation;

it was met by Eastern myths and oracles prophesying the downfall of the

Western power.

Our sources reﬂect strong Roman ambitions to become a

guarantor of peace and order.

Simultaneously, they reﬂect long-standing

prejudices with regard to the Eastern power’s different customs, religious

structures, languages and forms of government. As a consequence, a wide

gap separated the two cultures and negative attitudes that stemmed from

existing political, military and economic rivalries were constantly rein-

forced. In the company of most ancient – and often Western – observers,

it is tempting to associate our theme with an ‘everlasting’ conﬂict between

West and East, between a ‘civilised’ Roman world and a barbarian enemy,

and hence to describe the struggle between the two super powers as a clash

of fundamentally alien cultures.

This approach is a phenomenon that applies not only to antiquity but

also to the present day, possibly more than ever before. The world of the

See e.g. Or. Sib. 3. 350–5; on these examples of the Sibylline oracles, which originated in a Jewish

context from the second half of the ﬁrst century onwards, see Gauger 1998: 440–51; for references on

the intellectual context of this source see ibid. 543–4; cf. also Potter 1990; Fuchs 1964.

Winter 1998: 46–65.

On the evolution and tradition of the term barbaros see Speyer 1992: 811–95; Hall 1989 and on

the latter Metzler 1992/3: 215–23; on the tendency towards Eurocentrism in classical scholarship see

Hauser 2001b: 83–104.

2 Introduction

‘Oriental’ appears alien to those of us who represent the ‘Occident’ and

its tradition. However, in the face of progressing technology, new forms

of communication and an increasing globalisation in the social, political,

cultural and economic realms, the necessity and willingness to welcome

the ‘other’ has taken on new dimensions. The attempt to understand the

character and characteristics of a different culture has to include the ability

to relieve tensions in a peaceful way, by way of dialogue and negotiation,

explanation and reﬂection. This cannot happen unless the relations between

West and East are based on a foundation that shows respect for the history

of the East and does not shape this history according to Western needs. By

adopting this wider perspective, i.e. by looking beyond a Graeco-Roman

antiquity, we avoid an approach that makes us juxtapose supposedly relevant

and irrelevant, central and peripheral cultures.

These prerogatives bear on a study that focuses on the relations between

Rome and the Sasanian Empire founded in 224. Deliberately, the follow-

ing chapters do not only convey information regarding Roman–Sasanian

contacts and conﬂicts but also examine the role the Sasanians played in

the history of the eastern part of the ancient world. The nature of our

source material favours an emphasis on Roman history and often leads

us to notice historical developments in other regions only insofar as they

bear on Roman interests. However, apart from the fact that from the third

century onwards the history of Rome was mainly shaped by the relations

with its Eastern neighbour it is necessary to address social and political

developments outside the Roman sphere of inﬂuence in their own right.

Moreover, it is not justiﬁed to limit one’s focus on armed conﬂicts and

to assume that an Eastern perspective on Roman–Sasanian relations did

not exist beyond aspects of military strategy, or that it cannot be assessed.

Rome and Persia interacted consistently and shared many points of interest

with regard to trade, the protection of the frontiers, cultural and religious

policies. These frequent and intensive contacts characterised the relations

between the two throughout the period. On multiple levels the Sasanians

pursued active goals in their dealings with the West, which forced the

Romans to be extremely vigilant and evoked strategic as well as political

reactive measures on their side. Ironically, pointing to Persian ambitions

and ideologies of domination may also be perceived as a eurocentric per-

spective, assigning one-sided aggression to the East. This is certainly not

intended but it is rather the case that the Roman ideological background is

See e.g. Wirth 1980/1: 306–7.