The Roman-Persian Wars were a long series of conflicts between the Roman Empire, and later the Byzantine Empire, and the Parthian and Sasanian Persian empires, which fought over Mesopotamia, Armenia and Syria. The first major clash was the disaster at Carrhae, where the Roman general Crassus was defeated and killed. The conflicts included the capture of the emperor Valerian by Shapur I and the death of Julian during his invasion of Persia. They ended with the last great war in the early seventh century, in which the Persians conquered Syria, Egypt and Jerusalem before the emperor Heraclius counterattacked. Both empires were left exhausted, which made it easier for the Arab armies to overrun them soon afterwards.
Before and after
- 58 BCEBattle of the Arar
- from 58 BCE to 51 BCEGallic War
- from 57 BCE to 935 CESilla
- 55 BCEOrigins of Theatre of Pompey
- from 54 BCE to 628 CERoman–Persian Wars
- c. 50 BCEEruption of Apoyeque
- 49 BCECaesar defeats Pompey at Pharsalus
- from 10 January 49 BCE to 17 March 45 BCECaesar's Civil War
- from 19 April 49 BCE to 6 September 49 BCESiege of Massilia
More in Wars, politics & history
- from 499 BCE to 449 BCEGreco-Persian Wars
- from 431 BCE to 404 BCEPeloponnesian War
- 335 BCEAlexander the Great crosses into Asia
- from 218 BCE to 201 BCESecond Punic War
- 217 BCEHannibal destroys the Roman army at Cannae
- from 59 BCE to 51 BCECaesar begins the conquest of Gaul
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 1st century BCE.