Byzantine-Sasanian War of 602-628
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Was the final and most devastating of the series of wars fought between the Roman Empire and the Sasanian Empire. The war was fought in Egypt, the Levant, Mesopotamia, the Caucasus, Anatolia, Armenia, the Aegean Sea and before the walls of Constantinople itself. After an initial phase of Sasanian conquest, the Byzantines were able to regain most of their territories. The war ended after a civil war broke out in Persia. After the war both Empires were so weakened that the Middle East and North Africa were soon conquered by the emerging Islamic Caliphate.
Chronology
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Were a series of Sasanian military campaigns that resulted in the conquest of large portions of the Byzantine Empire.
January 606: An army sent by Roman emperor Phocas against Sasanian Shah Khosrow was defeated near Dara in Upper Mesopotamia, leading to the capture of that important fortress in 605.
January 610: During the civil war in the Byzantine Empire, the Persians, led by King Khosrow II, seized the opportunity to expand their territory. In 609, they successfully conquered the frontier towns of Mardin and Amida in Upper Mesopotamia, further strengthening their control in the region.
November 610: By the time of Heraclius' accession the Persians had conquered all Roman cities east of the Euphrates and in Armenia before moving on to Cappadocia, where their general Shahin took Caesarea.
January 614: The Battle of Antioch took place in 613 outside Antioch. The victorious Persians were able to maintain a hold on the recently taken Byzantine territory. The victory paved the way for further Sasanian advance into the Levant and Anatolia.
January 614: In 613, the Roman forces, led by Emperor Heraclius, suffered a defeat against the Sasanian Empire at the Cilician Gates. This strategic pass was crucial for controlling access to the region north of Antioch.
January 614: The Persians captured Tarsus and the Cilician plain.
January 614: The cities of Damascus, Apamea, and Emesa fell quickly to the Sasanians in 613.
June 614: The Sasanian Empire, under the rule of King Khosrow II, conquered Jerusalem after a brief siege in 614. This conquest led to the fall of the Byzantine Empire's control over the region and marked a significant shift in power in the area.
January 623: In 622, the Sasanian Empire captured Ancyra, an important military base in central Anatolia, during the ongoing conflict with the Byzantine Empire. The Persians were led by King Khosrow II, while the Byzantines were under the rule of Emperor Heraclius.
January 624: Rhodes and several other islands in the eastern Aegean fell in 622/3, threatening a naval assault on Constantinople.
The Exarch of Africa Heraclius the Elder and his namesake son Heraclius the Younger began a rebellion against the Byzantine emperor Phocas in 608. In October 610, Heraclius the Younger reached Constantinople, executed Phocas, and was proclaimed as emperor.
Was a Jewish revolt against the Byzantine Empire during the Byzantine-Sasanian War of 602-628.
While the Byzantines were occupied with the Persians, the Avars and Slavs invaded the Balkans, capturing several Byzantine cities.
January 615: The Avars, a nomadic people from Central Asia, began raiding Thrace in 614.
February 615: End of Avar raid in Thrace.
January 615: While the Byzantines were occupied with the Persians, the Avars and Slavs poured into the Balkans, capturing several Byzantine cities, including Singidunum (Belgrade), Viminacium (Kostolac), Naissus (Niš), and Serdica (Sofia), while destroying Salona in 614. Other minor cities on the Adriatic coast like Jadar (Zadar), Tragurium (Trogir), Butua (Budva), Scodra (Shkodër), and Lissus (Lezhë) also survived the invasions.
Sasanian military campaign that resulted in the conquest of Byzantine Egypt.
July 619: According to the Khuzistan Chronicle, Alexandria was betrayed to the Persians by a certain Peter in June 619.
January 618: Chalcedon fell in 617 to Shahin, bringing the Persians within sight of Constantinople.
January 622: After the fall of Alexandria, the Persians gradually extended their rule southwards along the Nile. Sporadic resistance required some mopping-up operations, but by 621, the province was securely in Persian hands.
Were a series of military operations by the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius that resulted in the reconquest of most of the territories lost to the Sasanian Empire.
September 622: Heraclius threatened Persian communications from the Euphrates valley to Anatolia by marching to Cappadocia. This forced the Persian forces in Anatolia under Shahrbaraz to retreat from the front-lines of Bithynia and Galatia to eastern Anatolia in order to block his access to Iran.
December 622: What followed next is not entirely clear, but Heraclius certainly won a crushing victory over Shahrbaraz in the fall of 622. Thus he saved Anatolia from the Persians.
November 624: Byzantine emperor Heraclius and his army wintered in Caucasian Albania.
January 625: Byzantine Emperor Heraclius recovered Caesarea from the Sassanid Empire before continuing his campaign in the Caucasus region.
January 625: Heraclius left Constantinople to attack the Persian heartland. He advanced along the Araxes River, destroying Persian-held Dvin, the capital of Armenia, and Nakhchivan. At Ganzaka, Heraclius met Khosrow's army, then destroyed Adur Gushnasp. His raids went as far as the Gayshawan.
January 626: In 625, the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius bypassed Mount Ararat and traveled 200 miles along the Arsanias River to capture the cities of Amida and Martyropolis from the Sassanid Empire.
July 626: The siege of Constantinople by the Sassanid Persians and Avars, aided by large numbers of allied Slavs, ended in a strategic victory for the Byzantines.
December 627: With no Persian army left to oppose him, Heraclius' victorious army plundered Dastagird.
March 628: The Persian army rebelled and overthrew Khosrow II, installing his son Kavadh II as his successor. Immediately after ascending to the throne, Kavadh II initiated peace talks with Byzantine Emperor Heraclius. Under the terms of the resulting peace treaty, the Byzantines regained all their territories that had been lost, their captured soldiers, a war indemnity, and the religious relics that had been taken from Jerusalem.
August 626: The siege of Constantinople in 626 was led by the Sassanid Persian Empire and the Avars, with support from Slavic allies. The Byzantine Empire, under the leadership of Emperor Heraclius, successfully defended the city, securing a crucial victory.
September 627: In mid-September 627, Heraclius invaded the Iranian heartland.
November 628: Joint Byzantine and Göktürk operations were then focused on besieging Tiflis. Khosrow sent 1,000 cavalry under Shahraplakan to reinforce the city, but it nevertheless fell, probably in late 628.
