The battle was fought during the reign of
Trebonianus Gallus between the Sasanian Persians and Romans at Barbalissos, an old Roman town near
Aleppo in modern-day Syria and close to the
Euphrates River. The battle was fought in 252 when
Shapur I (239-270 AD), King of the Sasanian Empire led his army from the
Euphrates River and met with a
Roman army 60,000 strong of legionaries, archers, and
Roman cavalry. Although the number of forces of the
Sasanian army are unclear, through tactics and use of strategy
Shapur I managed to win the battle and open a way through the
Syrian cities and castles. Based on the place-names listed in the
Res Gestae Divi Saporis, it has been suggested that Shapur leap-frogged the key fortresses of
Dura Europos and
Circesium at the
Khabur confluence in order to bee-line towards a major Roman army at Barbalissos, perhaps under the legate of Syria or someone holding an extraordinary command to deal with the Sasanians. After annihilating this army, he split his army into two to neutralize the legionary bases of
Raphanea and
Zeugma, and perhaps to obfuscate his march on
Antioch, which apparently took the locals by surprise. After taking Antioch, he then split his army into three our four forces to raid
Syria and eastern
Cilicia more widely, while another army raided
Cappadocia and captured the legionary base at
Satala. Meanwhile, a task force marching from
Pirisabora appears to have captured Dura and Circesium, exploiting the fact that the Romans were distracted by the raids into Syria and Anatolia. The defeat was very costly for
Valerian who appointed many more armies to stop Shapur I from quick advance into Roman soil and later decided to lead an army of 70,000 legionaries himself in what became known as the
Battle of Edessa. == References ==