Battle of Nineveh (627)
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Nineveh was the climactic battle of the Byzantine-Sassanid War of 602–628
Byzantine-Sassanid War of 602–628
The Byzantine–Sassanid War of 602–628 was the final and most devastating of the series of wars fought between the Roman Empire and the Sassanid Empire. The previous war had ended in 591 after Emperor Maurice had helped the Sassanian king Khosrau II regain his throne. In 602, Maurice was murdered...

. The Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...

 victory broke the power of the Sassanid dynasty and for a period of time restored the empire to its ancient boundaries in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

. This resurgence of power and prestige was not to last, however, as within a matter of decades an Islamic Caliphate emerged from the Arabian desert
Arabian Desert
The Arabian Desert is a vast desert wilderness stretching from Yemen to the Persian Gulf and Oman to Jordan and Iraq. It occupies most of the Arabian Peninsula, with an area of...

 and once again brought the empire to the brink of destruction.

Prelude

When Emperor Maurice
Maurice (emperor)
Maurice was Byzantine Emperor from 582 to 602.A prominent general in his youth, Maurice fought with success against the Sassanid Persians...

 was murdered by the usurper Phocas
Phocas
Phocas was Byzantine Emperor from 602 to 610. He usurped the throne from the Emperor Maurice, and was himself overthrown by Heraclius after losing a civil war.-Origins:...

, Khosrau II
Khosrau II
250px|thumb|Khosrau II 250px|thumb|Khosrau II 250px|thumb|Khosrau II (Khosrow II, Chosroes II, or Xosrov II in classical sources, sometimes called Parvez, "the Ever Victorious" – (in Persian: خسرو پرویز), was the twenty-second Sassanid King of Persia, reigning from 590 to 628...

 declared war, ostensibly to avenge his benefactor's death. While the Persians proved largely successful during the first stages of the war, conquering much of the Levant, Egypt, and even parts of Anatolia, the ascendancy of Heraclius
Heraclius
Heraclius was Byzantine Emperor from 610 to 641.He was responsible for introducing Greek as the empire's official language. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, successfully led a revolt against the unpopular usurper Phocas.Heraclius'...

 eventually led to the Persians' demise. Heraclius' campaigns altered the balance, forcing the Persians on the defensive and allowing for the Byzantines to regain momentum. Allied with the Avars, the Persians attempted to take Constantinople
Siege of Constantinople (626)
The Siege of Constantinople in 626 by the Avars, aided by large numbers of allied Slavs and the Sassanid Persians, ended in a strategic victory for the Byzantines...

, but were defeated there.

While the Siege of Constantinople
Siege of Constantinople (626)
The Siege of Constantinople in 626 by the Avars, aided by large numbers of allied Slavs and the Sassanid Persians, ended in a strategic victory for the Byzantines...

 was taking place, Heraclius allied with what Byzantine sources called the Khazars under Ziebel, who are identified with the Western Turkic Khaganate
Western Turkic Khaganate
The Western Turkic Khaganate was formed as a result of the internecine wars in the beginning of the 7th century after the Göktürk Khaganate had splintered into two politiesEastern and Western.The Western Turks initially sought friendly relations with the Byzantine Empire in order to expand their...

 of the Göktürks
Göktürks
The Göktürks or Kök Türks, were a nomadic confederation of peoples in medieval Inner Asia. Known in Chinese sources as 突厥 , the Göktürks under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan The Göktürks or Kök Türks, (Old Turkic: Türük or Kök Türük or Türük; Celestial Turks) were a nomadic confederation of...

 led by Tong Yabghu. plying him with wondrous gifts and a promise of the reward of the porphyrogenita Eudoxia Epiphania
Eudoxia Epiphania
Eudoxia Epiphania was the only daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius and his first wife Eudokia. She was born at Constantinople on the July 7, 611 CE, baptized on August 15, and crowned Eudoxia Epiphania (also known as Epiphania, Eudocia or Eudokia) was the only daughter of the Byzantine...

. The Caucasus-based Turks responded by sending 40,000 of their men to ravage the Persian empire in 626 to start the Third Perso-Turkic War
Third Perso-Turkic War
The Third Perso-Turkic War was the third and final conflict between the Sassanian Empire and the Western Turkic Khaganate. Unlike the previous two wars, it was fought, not in Central Asia, but in Transcaucasia. Hostilities were initiated in 627 AD by Khagan Tong Yabghu of the Western Göktürks and...

. Joint Byzantine and Göktürks operations were focused on besieging Tiflis

Invasion of Mesopotamia

In mid-September 627, leaving Ziebel to continue the siege of Tiflis, Heraclius invaded the Persian heartland, this time with between 25,000 and 50,000 troops and 40,000 Göktürks. The Göktürks, however, quickly deserted him because of the strange winter conditions. Heraclius was tailed by Rhahzadh
Rhahzadh
Razadh, originally Roch Vehan, known in Byzantine sources as Rhazates was a Persian general of Armenian origin under Sassanid king Khosrau II ....

's army of 12,000, but managed to evade Rhahzadh
Rhahzadh
Razadh, originally Roch Vehan, known in Byzantine sources as Rhazates was a Persian general of Armenian origin under Sassanid king Khosrau II ....

 and invaded the heartland of Persia, in modern Iraq. Heraclius acquired food and fodder from the countryside, so Rhahzadh
Rhahzadh
Razadh, originally Roch Vehan, known in Byzantine sources as Rhazates was a Persian general of Armenian origin under Sassanid king Khosrau II ....

, following through countryside already stripped, could not easily find provisions. This resulted in harm to Rhahzadh
Rhahzadh
Razadh, originally Roch Vehan, known in Byzantine sources as Rhazates was a Persian general of Armenian origin under Sassanid king Khosrau II ....

's animals.
On 1 December, Heraclius crossed the Great Zab River
Great Zab
The Great Zab , , , ) is an approximately long river flowing through Turkey and Iraq. It rises in Turkey near Lake Van and joins the Tigris in Iraq south of Mosul. The drainage basin of the Great Zab covers approximately , and during its course, the rivers collects the water from a large number...

 and camped near Nineveh
Nineveh
Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, and capital of the Neo Assyrian Empire. Its ruins are across the river from the modern-day major city of Mosul, in the Ninawa Governorate of Iraq....

. This was a movement from south to north, contrary to the expectation of a southward advance. However, this can be seen as a way to avoid being trapped by the Persian army in case of a defeat. Rhahzadh
Rhahzadh
Razadh, originally Roch Vehan, known in Byzantine sources as Rhazates was a Persian general of Armenian origin under Sassanid king Khosrau II ....

 approached Nineveh from a different position. News that 3,000 Persian reinforcements were approaching reached Heraclius, forcing him to act. He gave the appearance of retreating from Persia by crossing the Tigris.

Field

Heraclius had found a plain west of the Great Zab some distance from the ruins of Nineveh. This allowed the Byzantines to take advantage of their strengths in lances and hand-to-hand combat. Furthermore, the fog reduced the Persian advantage in missile troops and allowing the Byzantines to charge without great losses from missile barrages. Walter Kaegi believes that this battle took place near the Karamlays Creek.

The battle

Rhahzadh
Rhahzadh
Razadh, originally Roch Vehan, known in Byzantine sources as Rhazates was a Persian general of Armenian origin under Sassanid king Khosrau II ....

 deployed his forces into three masses and attacked. Heraclius feigned retreat to lead the Persians to the plains before reversing his troops to the surprise of the Persians. After eight hours of fighting, the Persians suddenly retreated to nearby foothills, but it was not a rout. 6,000 Persians fell.

Nikephoros' Brief History mentions that Rhahzadh
Rhahzadh
Razadh, originally Roch Vehan, known in Byzantine sources as Rhazates was a Persian general of Armenian origin under Sassanid king Khosrau II ....

 challenged Heraclius to personal combat. Heraclius accepted and killed Rhahzadh
Rhahzadh
Razadh, originally Roch Vehan, known in Byzantine sources as Rhazates was a Persian general of Armenian origin under Sassanid king Khosrau II ....

 in a single thrust; two other challengers fought and also lost. But either way, Rhahzadh
Rhahzadh
Razadh, originally Roch Vehan, known in Byzantine sources as Rhazates was a Persian general of Armenian origin under Sassanid king Khosrau II ....

 died sometime in the battle.

The 3,000 Persian reinforcements arrived too late and likely joined with the remnants of Rhahzadh
Rhahzadh
Razadh, originally Roch Vehan, known in Byzantine sources as Rhazates was a Persian general of Armenian origin under Sassanid king Khosrau II ....

's force.

Aftermath

The victory at Nineveh was not total as the Byzantines were unable to capture the Persian camp. However, this victory was significant enough to shatter the resistance of the Persians.

With no Persian army left to oppose him, Heraclius' victorious army plundered Dastagird, Khosrau's palace, and gained tremendous riches while recovering 300 captured Byzantine/Roman standards accumulated over years of warfare. Khosrau had already fled to the mountains of Susiana to try to rally support for the defense of Ctesiphon
Ctesiphon
Ctesiphon, the imperial capital of the Parthian Arsacids and of the Persian Sassanids, was one of the great cities of ancient Mesopotamia.The ruins of the city are located on the east bank of the Tigris, across the river from the Hellenistic city of Seleucia...

. Heraclius could not attack Ctesiphon itself because the Nahrawan Canal was blocked due to the collapse of a bridge leading over it.

The Persian army rebelled and overthrew Khosrau II, raising his son Kavadh II
Kavadh II
Kavadh II , twenty-third Sassanid King of Persia, son of Khosrau II , was raised to the throne in opposition to his father in February 628, after the great victories of the Emperor Heraclius...

, also known as Siroes, in his stead. Khosrau perished in a dungeon after suffering for five days on bare sustenance—he was shot to death slowly with arrows on the fifth day. Kavadh immediately sent peace offers to Heraclius. Heraclius did not impose harsh terms, knowing that his own empire was also near exhaustion. Under the peace treaty, the Byzantines regained all their lost territories, their captured soldiers, a war indemnity, and of great spiritual significance, the True Cross
True Cross
The True Cross is the name for physical remnants which, by a Christian tradition, are believed to be from the cross upon which Jesus was crucified.According to post-Nicene historians, Socrates Scholasticus and others, the Empress Helena The True Cross is the name for physical remnants which, by a...

 and other relics that were lost
Siege of Jerusalem (614)
The Siege of Jerusalem in 614 was part of the final phase of the Byzantine-Sassanid Wars. The Persian Shah Khosrau II appointed his generals to conquer the Byzantine controlled areas of the Near East, establishing a strategic alliance with the Jewish population of the Sassanid Persia...

 in Jerusalem in 614.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK