Battle of Ctesiphon

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Battle of Ctesiphon

Roman history [363]

Written by Michael Kerrigan

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Location:: Ctesiphon; Iraq

Participants:: ancient Rome; Sasanian dynasty

Key People:: Julian

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Battle of Ctesiphon, clash of June 26–27, 363 ce, during the realm of Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate, who had invaded Persia. At Ctesiphon, just a few miles south of present-day Baghdad, Iraq, Julian’s army battled the Sassanid forces of Shāpūr II. The Romans won on the battlefield, but then faced a Persian scorched-earth policy. The campaign ended with the Roman army exhausted and demoralized, and Julian dead.

Julian, only 32 at the time of the battle, was an attractive, charismatic figure: a man who lived his life on a heroic scale, a reckless romantic in search of striking gestures and epic triumphs. One was the Persian campaign of 363, which historians largely regard as a strategic error—and an unforced one, since Shāpūr, with no interest in continuing to fight against Rome’s much superior forces, had sued for peace. Nonetheless, seeking the prestige that would accrue from defeating Persia, Julian proceeded with his invasion, sailing up the Tigris River to the Persian capital at Ctesiphon and, in a dramatic gesture, burning his boats to signal that there was no turning back.

Louis IX of France (St. Louis), stained glass window of Louis IX during the Crusades. (Unknown location.)

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The Persian army awaiting the Romans outside the city was an intimidating sight, with long lines of cataphracts (armored cavalry) arrayed against the Romans. Undaunted, Julian had his cavalry form a crescent, the wings enveloping the enemy. The Romans gained an unexpected victory, but their siege engines had gone up in flames with the fleet, so that there was no way that they could hope to lay siege to Ctesiphon and capture the city. Instead, Julian decided to strike deep into Persia, from where Shāpūr was advancing with another army. Harried by the Persians, who had burned all the crops, the Romans were soon hungry and morale was low. Avoiding a head-on clash, the Persians waged a campaign of skirmishes and small engagements.

Julian decided to withdraw, moving northward toward Anatolia, but the Persian attacks continued, and, in one of these—at Sāmarrāʾ, in what is now central Iraq—he was mortally wounded. His army limped home, decimated by starvation, disease, and enemy attack: never had a “victorious” army returned in so forlorn a state.

Losses: Roman, 70; Persian, 2,500.

Michael Kerrigan

Sasanian dynasty

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Sasanian dynasty

Iranian dynasty

Also known as: Sasanid, Sassanian dynasty

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Jun 6, 2025 • Article History

Sasanian also spelled:: Sassanian

Also called:: Sasanid

On the Web:: Encyclopedia Iranica - Sasanian Dynasty (June 06, 2025)

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Sasanian dynasty, ancient Iranian dynasty that ruled an empire (224–651 ce), rising through Ardashīr I’s conquests in 208–224 ce and destroyed by the Arabs during the years 637–651. The dynasty was named after Sāsān, an ancestor of Ardashīr.

Under the leadership of Ardashīr (reigned as “king of kings” 224–241), the Sasanians overthrew the Parthians and created an empire that was constantly changing in size as it reacted to Rome and Byzantium to the west and to the Kushans and Hephthalites to the east. At the time of Shāpūr I (reigned 241–272), the empire stretched from Sogdiana and Iberia (Georgia) in the north to the Mazun region of Arabia in the south and extended to the Indus River in the east and to the upper Tigris and Euphrates river valleys in the west.

A revival of Iranian nationalism took place under Sasanian rule. Zoroastrianism became the state religion, and at various times followers of other faiths suffered official persecution. The government was centralized, with provincial officials directly responsible to the throne, and roads, city building, and even agriculture were financed by the government.