Carus' Sasanian campaign
| Carus' invasion of the Sasanian Empire | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Roman–Sasanian wars | |||||||||
Rome's third-century frontiers with Persia. | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Roman Empire | Sasanian Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Bahram II | |||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
The Sasanian campaign of Carus was a military campaign conducted by the Roman Emperor Carus against the Sasanian Empire in 283. Following Carus' accession in 282, he made his eldest son Carinus co-emperor. Leaving Carinus in charge of the western part of the empire, Carus and his younger son Numerian brought an army east into Mesopotamia, quickly advancing on Seleucia and the Sasanian capital, Ctesiphon. Sasanian internal difficulties weakened their resistance to the assault, and both cities were captured by the Romans.
Carus died suddenly in the summer of 283 near Ctesiphon, leaving Numerian in command of the army; following this the Romans withdrew from Mesopotamia, in unclear circumstances. Late in 284, returning from the east, Numerian also died. His withdrawal did not entail negotiations with the Sasanians, leaving relations between the empires unclear. After Numerian's death, Diocletian was acclaimed emperor by the eastern army; he prevailed over Carinus the following year and in 287 made peace with Persia.