Peace of Nisibis
After Galerius routed the Persian king Narseh at Satala and captured his family, Diocletian imposed a peace that gave Rome five districts beyond the upper Tigris, extended its influence over Armenia and Iberia and made Nisibis the only lawful place of trade between the two empires. The settlement held for about forty years.
- Date
- between 298 and 299exact date unknown: an interval is given
- Place
- Nisibistoday: Nusaybin, Mardin Province, Turkey · Middle East and Egypt
- Participants
- Diocletian, Galerius, Narseh, Roman Empire, Sasanian Empire, Kingdom of Armenia
- Threads
- Middle East and Egypt (1st–5th c.)
- Also known as
- Treaty of Nisibis (299); Peace of Nisibis (298); Нисибисский мирный договор
Narseh, a son of Shapur I who took the Sasanian throne in 293, invaded Armenia in 296 and defeated the Caesar Galerius near Carrhae in 296 or 297. Galerius gathered reinforcements and in 298, in Armenia near Satala, fell upon the Persian camp, capturing Narseh’s treasury and his harem — his wives, sisters and several of his children; the Romans went on to take Ctesiphon.
Diocletian and Galerius met at Nisibis, and their envoy Sicorius Probus put the terms to Narseh; the treaty is dated to 299 (the emperors met at Nisibis in the spring of that year) or to 298. According to Peter the Patrician, Persia gave up five regions east of the Tigris — among them Arzanene, Corduene and Zabdicene; the lists in the sources differ — accepted the Tigris as the frontier, let Armenia extend to the fortress of Zintha in Media, left the appointment of the kings of Iberia to Rome and agreed that Nisibis would be the only place of exchange between the two empires. The peace lasted about forty years, until Shapur II resumed the war in the late 330s, and was formally superseded only by the treaty concluded by Jovian in 363.
Connections
Related events
- Battle of Edessa and the capture of Valerian260 · Middle East and Egyptforty years after Valerian’s capture Rome dictated terms to Persia
- Establishment of the Tetrarchy1 March 293 · Western and Central Europethe war was won by Galerius, Caesar of the East under the Tetrarchy
Same participants
- Roman–Parthian War of 161–166161–166 · Middle East and Egyptvia Kingdom of Armenia
- Kartir’s inscriptions and the rise of the Zoroastrian priesthoodbetween 274 and 293 · Middle East and Egyptvia Sasanian Empire
- Diocletian’s Palace at Splitc. 295 – c. 305 · Balkans and Anatoliavia Diocletian
- The Kushano-Sasanian kingdom in Bactriabetween 230 and 262 – between 350 and 370 · Central and Northern Asiavia Sasanian Empire
- Great Persecution24 February 303 – 313 · Balkans and Anatoliavia Galerius
Meanwhile in the world
Other regions, within a year of this event
Eastern Europe
- Kyiv culturec. 200 – between 400 and 430
- Chernyakhov culturebetween 200 and 250 – between 400 and 430
Balkans and Anatolia
- Diocletian’s Palace at Splitc. 295 – c. 305
Africa
- Aksum begins to mint coinsbetween 270 and 300
Central and Northern Asia
- The Kushano-Sasanian kingdom in Bactriabetween 230 and 262 – between 350 and 370
- Toprak-Kala, palace of the kings of Khwarezm200–299
South Asia
- Mahasena builds the Jetavanaramayabetween 273 and 304
- Vijayapuri of the Ikshvakus: the monasteries of Nagarjunakondabetween 210 and 250 – between 300 and 350
East Asia
- Chen Shou writes the Records of the Three Kingdomsbetween 280 and 297
- Kofun period: the age of keyhole tombsbetween 250 and 300 – 538
Southeast Asia and Oceania
- Óc Eo, the port of Funanbetween 1 and 100 – between 601 and 700
- Gold pendant copying a coin of Antoninus Pius at Óc Eobetween 152 and 600
North America
- Late Basketmaker II erac. 50 – c. 500
- Hopewell traditionbetween 200 and 100 BC – c. 500
Latin America
- Nazca culture and the Nazca Linesbetween 200 and 100 BC – between 500 and 800
The same period
Sources
- Wikipedia (English): Peace of Nisibis (299)
- Wikipedia (English): Narseh
- Wikipedia (English): Battle of Satala (298)
- Wikipedia (Russian): Нисибисский мирный договор (298)
- Wikipedia (Russian): Нарсе
- Dodgeon M. H., Lieu S. N. C. The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars, AD 226–363: A Documentary History. — London: Routledge, 1991.
- Wikidata: Q246833