This article is about the specific polity Sasanian Empire and therefore only includes events related to its territory and not to its possessions or colonies. If you are interested in the possession, this is the link to the article about the nation which includes all possessions as well as all the different incarnations of the nation.
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The Sasanian Empire (or Sassanid Empire) was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named after the House of Sasan, it endured for over four centuries, from 224 to 651 AD, making it the longest-lived Persian imperial dynasty. The Sasanian Empire succeeded the Parthian Empire.
Establishment
April 224: In 221-222 AD, an ethnic Persian, Ardashir V, who was King of Persis, led a revolt against the Parthians, establishing the Sasanian Empire. Ardashir V defeated Characene forces and annexed the country.
April 224: In 221-222 AD, an ethnic Persian, Ardashir V, who was King of Persis, led a revolt against the Parthians, establishing the Sasanian Empire. The Battle of Hormozdgan was the climactic battle between the Arsacid and the Sasanian dynasties. The Sasanian victory broke the power of the Arsacid dynasty, effectively ending almost five centuries of Parthian rule in Iran, and marking the official start of the Sasanian era.
Chronology
Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation
Were a series of Wars between Rome (first the Roman Republic then the Roman Empire and finally the Eastern Roman Empire) and Persia (the Parthian Empire, and then its successor, the Sasanian Empire). The wars were ended by the early Muslim conquests, which led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire and huge territorial losses for the Byzantine Empire.
January 348: The treaty of Nisibis stipulated the reestablishment of the Roman protectorate over Caucasian Iberia and Albania. But fifty years later Rome lost the area that since then remained an integral part of the Sasanian Empire.
January 523: In 521/522 Kavad lost control of Lazica, whose rulers switched their allegiance to the Romans.
January 542: Sasanian general Cosroe digged a tunnel that allowed his army to reach under a tower of the Petra and set it on fire. With part of its defenses destroyed, the city surrendered to the Sasanians who entered triumphantly (541).
January 542: Revolt in Lazica against the Byzantines, Gubazes II asks for help from the Persians. Persia successfully invades Lazica.
January 550: Persian protectorate over the region was established. However, the Shah of Persia's attempt to directly control the region and the missionary zeal of the Zoroastrian priests soon caused the discontent of the Christian population of Lazica. Gubazes revolted against Persian rule and asked Justinian for help, begging forgiveness for their previous quarrels which had caused Lazica to fall into Persian hands. The Lazi who crossed the river defeated the 1,000 Persian soldiers sent in advance and subsequently attacked their camp while they were still sleeping causing them to flee.
1.1.Mesopotamian Campaign of Ardashir I
Was a military campaign by Sassanid King Ardashir I against the Roman Empire.
January 231: The Sassanid armies, led by King Ardashir I, invaded Roman Mesopotamia in 230. They besieged Roman garrisons along the Euphrates and attempted to conquer Nisibis, but were ultimately unsuccessful in their efforts.
February 231: In 231 AD, the Sassanid armies, led by King Ardashir I, advanced into Roman Mesopotamia and besieged Roman garrisons along the Euphrates. They also attempted to conquer the city of Nisibis, but were ultimately unsuccessful in their efforts.
January 239: It seems that during the reign of Maximinus the Thrax, the cities of the Roman province of Mesopotamia, Nisibis and Carrhae, were besieged and occupied by the Sassanids.
January 240: Sasanid conquest of Dura Europos.
February 240: Sasanid conquest of Dura Europos.
January 241: Sassanians occupied Caucasian Albanian around 240 AD.
January 241: Sasanian ruler Ardashir I finally managed to conquer and destroy the important stronghold city of Hatra, then occupying a large part of Roman Mesopotamia (including the legionary fortresses of Resaina and Singara, as well as the auxiliary fort of Zagurae, today's Ain Sinu), perhaps even arriving to besiege and occupy Antioch of Syria itself, as the fact that its mint stopped minting for the years 240 and 241 seems to suggest.
January 241: Hatra is besieged by the Sasanian Empire.
May 241: Capture of Hatra by the Sasanians.
January 243: In the 3rd century, Ardashir I, marched on Oman and Bahrain, where he defeated Sanatruq the ruler of Bahrain.
1.2.Sasanid Campaign of Alexander Severus
Was a military campaign by Roman Emperor Severus Alexander against the Sasanian Empire.
January 233: Roman Emperor Alexander Severus invaded Persia with various, occupying the Euphrates region (but not Seleucia and Ctesifon) and Media.
February 233: Roman Emperor Alexander Severus invaded Persia with various, occupying the Euphrates region (but not Seleucia and Ctesifon) and Media.
1.3.Sasanid Campaing of Jordan III
Was a military campaign by Roman Emperor Gordian III against the Sasanian Empire.
January 244: Arrived in Antioch (perhaps at the end of the previous year), which it seems he reconquered after falling into the hands of Shapur I, he crossed the Euphrates, repeatedly defeating the Persians, taking from them Carre, Nisibis and Singara (so much so that all three of these cities returned to mint Roman coins), then defeating them in the battle of Resena.
January 245: Roman retreat from the Persian territories of south-central Mesopotamia. In fact, the Sassanids did not conquer any other cities, besides Hatra, and Sapor did not undertake further military initiatives for the next eight years.
1.4.Military Campaigns of Shapur I in Syria and Mesopotamia
Was a military campaign by Sassanid King Shapur I against the Roman Empire.
November 252: Towards the end of 252, Sapor I resumed a violent offensive against the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. The Persian troops occupied numerous cities in the province of Mesopotamia (including Nisibis itself), then pushed into Cappadocia, Licaonia and Syria, where they defeated the Roman army rushing to Barbalissos and took possession of Antioch itself.
January 255: At the end of this new Sasanian incursion, the emperor Valerian was forced to intervene, managing to reconquer the capital of Syria, Antioch, that same year (253) or the following year (254).
January 257: In 256 the armies of Sasanian Shah Shapur I removed important strongholds from Roman rule in Syria, including Dura Europos.
January 261: The capture of Valerian by the Persians left the Roman East at the mercy of Sapor I, who led a new offensive from his headquarters in Nisibis (occupied in 252 by the Sasanian army), managing to occupy the Roman territories up to Tarsus ( in Cilicia), Antioch (in Syria) and Caesarea (in Cappadocia).
1.5.Sasanian Campaign of Odaenathus
Was a military campaign by Palmyrene King Odaenathus against the Sasanian Empire.
January 261: Margiana was formally annexed by Sasanian ruler Shapur I in c. 260 AD.
February 261: The praetorian prefect, Ballista, managed to surprise the Persians near Corycus in Cilicia and push them back as far as the Euphrates.
January 264: In 263, the Roman Emperor Valerian defeated the Persian King Sapor I near the Persian capital of Ctesiphon. This victory marked a significant moment in the ongoing conflict between the Roman Empire and the Persian Empire.
February 264: Roman Emperor Odenathus defeated the Sasanian Emperor Shapur I near the capital of the Sasanian Empire, Ctesiphon, in 264
January 265: Odaenathus was a Palmyrene prince and Roman client king who led military campaigns against the Sassanian Persians. Ctesiphon was the capital of the Persian Empire at the time. The Roman Empire gained control of the territory after Odaenathus's successful campaigns.
February 265: Odaenathus was a Palmyrene prince and Roman client king who led military campaigns against the Sasanian Empire. Ctesiphon was the capital of the Sasanian Empire at the time. His second campaign likely took place in 265.
1.6.Sasanian Campaign of Carus and Numerian
Was a military campaign by Roman Emperors Carus and Numerian against the Sasanian Empire.
January 284: The surviving sources do not allow for a detailed or accurate reconstruction of Carus' military campaign against the Sassanids. They laconically report that the emperor devastated Mesopotamia, taking possession of the cities of Seleucia and Ctesiphon, and bringing the Roman army beyond the Tigris.
April 284: For unclear reasons the Romans withdrew from Persia.
1.7.Sasanian Campaign of Galerius
Was a military campaign by Roman Emperor Galerius against the Sasanian Empire.
January 297: Narses, to punish the Romans for supporting the Armenian revolt, invaded the Roman province of Syria.
January 298: After two battles with uncertain outcome, the third battle (fought between Carre and Nicephorium or Callinicum) was a complete defeat for the Romans, following which Rome lost the province of Mesopotamia.
January 299: Diocletian assembled a cover army in Syria, ready to go into action in an emergency. Taking advantage of the advantage, he took the city of Ctesiphon.
January 313: Persian king Shapur II invaded Osroene.
February 313: The Romans conquer Osroene back from the Persians.
1.7.1.Peace Treaty of Diocletian with the Sasanian Empire
Was a peace treaty between the Roman Empire under Diocletian (in the East) and the Sasanian Empire.
January 300: Diocletian and Galerius, after meeting in Nisibis, sent Sicorio Probus, one of their secretaries, to communicate the conditions for peace to the Persians. When the day of the audience finally arrived, Probus communicated the conditions for peace to the Shah: Armenia and Iberia became client kingdoms of the Romans; the border between the two empires is fixed on the Tigris river while the border between Armenia and Persia is fixed near Zintha, a fortress of Media on the border with Armenia; The Persians cede five regions beyond the Tigris. According to Peter Patrick, these were Intelene, Sophene, Arzanene, Zabdicene and Carduene. According to Ammianus Marcellinus, however, the five regions ceded would have been Zabdicene, Arzanene, Moxoene, Carduene and Rehimene. Narses only opposed the first point, which however he was forced to accept in the face of the firmness of the Romans. After the treaty was made, relatives who had been taken captive by the Romans were returned to Narses.
1.8.Military Campaigns of Shapur II in Syria and Mesopotamia
Was a military campaign by Sassanid King Shapur II against the Roman Empire.
January 337: The son of the Sasanian king, Narses, managed to advance as far as Amida and occupy the Roman city.
February 337: Amida returned under Roman control.
January 360: Battle of Amida.
January 361: Constantius decided that the war against the Sasanians took precedence over Julian's rebellion, and in the spring of 360 he began his own eastern campaign, occupying Edessa.
January 361: In 360 Sapor took the eastern fortresses of Singara and Bezabde.
1.9.Sasanian Campaign of Julian
Was a military campaign by Roman Emperor Julian against the Sasanian Empire.
June 363: Roman Emperor Julian conquered Seleucia and visited its ruins.
June 363: The battle of Maranga in 363 was fought between the Roman army led by Emperor Julian and the Persian army of Sapor II. The Roman emperor Julian died during this battle, leading to the territory of Maranga falling under the control of the Roman Empire.
June 363: After passing the fields flooded by the retreating Persians, Emperor Julian set fire to Birtha, while his troops breached the fortifications of Maiozamalcha. This event took place during the Roman-Persian Wars, with Julian leading the Roman Empire against the Sassanian Empire.
June 363: The Romans, led by Emperor Julian, entered Dura Europos, a city located in modern-day Syria. The city had been abandoned for years after being captured by the Sassanid Empire. Julian's conquest was part of his campaign against the Sassanids during his short reign as Roman Emperor.
June 363: After passing Macepracta, the Roman Emperor Julian and his army arrived in front of Pirisabora, a city in Mesopotamia. They besieged the city, which was eventually surrendered, looted, and burned down in 363 AD.
June 363: Anatha conquered by Roman Empire.
1.9.1.Perso-Roman Peace Treaty of 363
Was a peace treaty between the Romans and Sasanians in 363 AD.
January 364: In 363, the Roman Emperor Jovian had to cede the territory of Corduene to the Sasanian king Shapur II as part of a peace treaty following the Roman defeat at the Battle of Ctesiphon. This marked a significant loss for the Roman Empire in the region.
January 364: In 363, the Roman Emperor Jovian had to cede the territory of Corduene to the Sasanian king Shapur II. Jovian was a Roman Emperor who ruled from 363 to 364, while Shapur II was the king of the Sasanian Empire from 309 to 379.
1.10.Partition of Armenia (429)
Division of Armenia between the Romans and the Persians.
January 429: In 428 the Sasanids deposed the legitimate ruler by establishing their own dynasty.
1.11.Anastasian War
Was a war between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Sasanian Empire.
September 502: In August 502, King Kavad I of the Sasanian Empire easily captured the unprepared city of Theodosiopolis, which was a key Byzantine stronghold located in modern-day Turkey. The conquest marked a significant victory for the Sasanians in their ongoing conflict with the Byzantine Empire.
July 503: Siege of the important Roman border fortress of Amida. The defenders, although receiving no reinforcements, repulsed the Persian assaults for three months, proving to be a far more difficult target than the Sasanian ruler anticipated, but they finally gave way and the city fell.
September 503: Between August and September the Romans were besieged in Edessa by Kavad I.
October 503: During the year 503, the city of Edessa was besieged by Kavad I, the Sassanid King of Persia. The siege took place between August and September, with the territory eventually falling under the control of the Eastern Roman Empire.
January 507: A peace treaty signed in November 506 by the Eastern Roman Empire and the Sasanian Empire ended the Anastasian War. With the treaty, the contenders agreed to restore the status quo ante bellum.
1.12.Iberian War
Was a war between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Sasanian Empire over the eastern Georgian kingdom of Iberia - a Sasanian client state that had defected to the Byzantines.
January 526: Iberia, a Sasanian client state, defected to the Byzantines.
January 528: In 527, the Eastern Roman Empire, under the rule of Emperor Justinian I, occupied two forts in Persarmenia, Bolon and Farangion. This was part of Justinian's efforts to expand and strengthen the empire's borders in the region.
January 529: In 528 the Persians used the conquered bases in Iberia to penetrate eastern Lazica.
1.12.1.Ethernal Peace (Byzantine-Sasanian Treaty)
Was a peace treaty between the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian Empire that ended the Iberian War.
January 533: Eternal peace was signed in 532 and the Romans had to return the fortresses of Bolon and Faragion to Persia.
January 533: The Sasanian Persians recognized Lazica as a dependent state of Byzantium in the Eternal Peace of 532.
1.13.Lazic War
Was a war fought between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Sasanian Empire for control of the ancient Georgian region of Lazica.
January 552: The Sasanids conquered lazica.
January 552: The Byzantine commander Bessa put down a pro-Persian revolt by the Abasgoi tribe and took Petra.
September 556: In 556, the Eastern Roman Empire's allies, led by the Byzantine general Bessas, successfully recaptured Archaeopolis from the Persians. They also defeated the Persian general Nachoragan at Phasis, securing control of the territory for the Eastern Roman Empire.
January 557: In 556, the Byzantines, led by General Martin, successfully suppressed a rebellion by the Misimiani tribe in Lazica. This victory allowed them to drive out the Persians from the region, consolidating their control over Lazica.
1.14.Byzantine-Sasanian War of 572-591
Was a war fought between the Sasanian Empire of Persia and the Eastern Roman Empire. It was triggered by pro-Byzantine revolts in areas of the Caucasus under Persian hegemony.
April 572: Early in 572, the Armenians under Vardan II Mamikonian defeated the Persian governor of Armenia.
January 573: The Persians retook the city of Dvin.
February 573: The Sasanian Empire was captured by combined Armenian and Byzantine forces and direct hostilities between Byzantines and Persians began.
January 574: In 573, the Sassanid forces led by Khosrow I launched a successful counter-attack against the Byzantine Empire, capturing the city of Dara after a four-month siege. Khosrow I was the ruler of the Sassanid Empire from 531 to 579.
January 574: The Romans laid siege to Nisibis.
February 574: The abrupt dismissal of the byzantine general Marcian led to a disorderly retreat from Nisibis.
January 578: The Byzantines defeated the Persians at near Melitene and exploited their disarray by raiding deep into Caucasian Albania and Azerbaijan.
February 578: The Byzantines leave Caucasian Albania and Azerbaijan after a raid.
January 579: Corduene was a mountainous region located in present-day eastern Turkey and western Iran. Maurice I was the Byzantine Emperor from 582 to 602, known for his military campaigns and administrative reforms. The incorporation of Corduene into the Byzantine Empire was part of Maurice's efforts to expand and strengthen Byzantine territories.
January 579: In 578, the Sasanian Empire, led by Adarmahan, launched a destructive military campaign in Roman Mesopotamia, causing significant damage to the region. This event marked a period of conflict between the Sasanians and the Romans in the area.
February 579: The Persians, led by Adarmahan, launched a destructive military campaign in Roman Mesopotamia in 579. This led to significant losses for the Eastern Roman Empire in the region.
January 590: Martyropolis, a city in the Byzantine Empire, fell to the Sasanian Empire in 589 due to the betrayal of the Byzantine officer Sittas. This event was part of the ongoing conflict between the two empires during the reign of Emperor Maurice.
April 591: Byzantine conquest of Dara.
September 591: Khosrow II gives the Byzantine Empire most of Persian Armenia.
September 591: Persian Armenia was annexed directly to Persia.
September 591: At the Battle of Blarathon, near Ganzak, they decisively defeated Bahram, restoring Khosrow II to power and bringing the war to an end. Khosrow not only returned Dara and Martyropolis in exchange for Maurice's assistance, but also agreed to a new partition of the Caucasus by which the Sassanids handed over to the Byzantines many cities, including Tigranokert, Manzikert, Baguana, Valarsakert, Bagaran, Vardkesavan, Yerevan, Ani, Kars, and Zarisat. The western part of the Kingdom of Iberia, including the cities of Ardahan, Lori, Dmanisi, Lomsia, Mtskheta, and Tontio became Byzantine dependencies. Also, the city of Cytaea was given to Lazica, also a Byzantine dependency.
1.15.Byzantine-Sasanian War of 602-628
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.
1.15.1.Persian dominance (Byzantine-Sasanian War of 602-628)
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: 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 cities of Damascus, Apamea, and Emesa fell quickly to the Sasanians in 613.
January 614: The Persians captured Tarsus and the Cilician plain.
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.
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.
1.15.2.Sasanian conquest of Egypt
Sasanian military campaign that resulted in the conquest of Byzantine Egypt.
January 618: Chalcedon fell in 617 to Shahin, bringing the Persians within sight of Constantinople.
July 619: According to the Khuzistan Chronicle, Alexandria was betrayed to the Persians by a certain Peter in June 619.
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.
1.15.3.Byzantine Counterattack (Byzantine-Sasanian War of 602-628)
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: 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 625: Byzantine Emperor Heraclius recovered Caesarea from the Sassanid Empire before continuing his campaign in the Caucasus region.
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.
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.
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.
Several important cities in Dalmatia became factually independent after the end of the Western Roman Empire.
January 481: The Alchon Huns, also known as the Hephthalites, were a nomadic people who invaded the region of Sindh in 480 CE. They were a powerful Central Asian tribe known for their military prowess and conquests in the region.
Was a military confrontation that took place in 484 between an invading force of the Sasanian Empire under the command of Peroz I and a smaller army of the Hephthalite Empire under the command of Khushnavaz. The battle was a catastrophic defeat for the Sasanian forces and resulted in the creation of the state of the Nezak Huns, as well as the conquest of several territories by the Hephtalites.
January 485: Peroz was defeated and killed by a Hephthalite army near Balkh. The main Sasanian cities of the eastern region of Khorasan−Nishapur, Herat and Marw were now under Hephthalite rule.
January 485: In 484, Peroz I, the grandfather of Khosrow I Anushirvan, was killed in the Battle of Herat by the Hephthalites and allowed them to annex much of Khorasan from the Sasanians.
January 485: The Nezak Huns established their realm in 484, after the defeat and death of the Sasanian King of Kings (shahanshah) Peroz I against the Hephthalites.
January 486: The Huns invaded the Sassanid territories which had been left without a central government following the death of the king. Much of the Sassanid land was pillaged repeatedly for a period of two years.
Mar-Zutra II was a Jewish Exilarch who led a revolt against the Sasanian rulers in 495 CE and achieved seven years of political independence in Mahoza.
January 496: Mar-Zutra II was a Jewish Exilarch who led a revolt against the Sasanian rulers in 495 AD and achieved seven years of political independence in Mahoza.
January 503: The Jewish state lasted seven years, until 502 CE, when Kavadh finally defeated Mar-Zutra and punished him with crucifixion on the bridge of Mahoza.
The Battle of Gol-Zarriun or Battle of Bukhara, took place in c. 560 when the Sasanian Empire allied with the First Turkic Khaganate against the Hephthalite Empire.
January 561: The Hephthalites possessed military power, but they lacked the organization to fight on multiple fronts. The Sasanians and the Turks made an alliance and launched a two-pronged attack on the Hephthalites, taking advantage of their disorganization and disunity. As a result, the Turks took the territory north of the Oxus River.
Were a protracted series of armed engagements between the Sasanian Persian Empire and the Aksumite Empire for control over the waning Himyarite Kingdom in southern Arabia (modern-day Yemen) in the 6th century CE.
January 571: After the Battle of Hadhramaut and the Siege of Sana'a in 570, the Aksumites were expelled from the Arabian peninsula.
January 576: In 575, the war resumed again, after Saif was killed by Axumites. The Persian general Vahrez led another army of 8000, ending Axum rule in Yemen.
January 576: Aksum re-established its power.
6.1.Sassanid conquest of Aden
The Sassanid Empire annexed Aden around 570 CE.
January 571: The Sasanid Empire annexed Aden around 570 CE.
Was a series of conflicts between the Göktürks and the Sassanid Empire.
7.1.First Perso-Turkic War
Was a war fought by the Turkic Khaganate, together with his Hephthalite subjects, against the Sasanian Empire.
January 589: In 588, the Turkic Khagan Bagha Qaghan (known as Sabeh/Saba in Persian sources), together with his Hephthalite subjects, invaded the Sasanian territories south of the Oxus, where they attacked and routed the Sasanian soldiers stationed in Balkh, and then proceeded to conquer the city along with Talaqan, Badghis, and Herat.
January 590: Hormizd IV proceeded to cross the Oxus river and won a decisive victory over Turks. The Sasanians now held suzerainty over the Sogdian cities of Chach and Samarkand, where Hormizd minted coins.
January 590: In a council of war, Bahram was chosen to lead an army against them. His army ambushed a large army of Turks and Hephthalites in April 588, at the battle of Hyrcanian rock, and again in 589, re-conquering Balkh.
7.2.Second Perso-Turkic War
Was an invasion of the Sasanian Empire by the Göktürks and Hephthalites ending with the defeat of the Turks and Hephthalites by the Sasanians.
January 607: A Western Turkic force overran Khorasan and further territory up to Isfahan.
February 607: The Turks withdrew after their raids in Khorasan.
7.3.Third Perso-Turkic War
Was the third and final conflict between the Sasanian Empire and the Western Turkic Khaganate.
January 630: In 629, the Turks, led by their ruler Tong Yabghu, raided Caucasian Iberia, a territory of the Sasanian Empire. Anticipating a strong retaliation from the Sassanids, the Turks looted cities before retreating to the steppes.
Were the military campaigns by the first three Islamic Caliphates (the Caliphate of Muhammad, the Rashidun Caliphate and the Umayyad Caliphate) that led to the Islamic conquest of most of the Middle East as well as the Iberian Peninsula.
8.1.Establishment of Mohammed´s Caliphate
Was the establishment of the first Islamic Caliphate under the Prophet Mohammed.
January 631: In 630 CE, Mohammed sent his cousin Ali to Sana'a, Yemen, which was the most advanced region in Arabia. The Banu Hamdan confederation, one of the prominent tribes in the area, was among the first to accept Islam under Ali's leadership.
January 631: In 630 AD the island of Bahrain was conquered by the Arabs.
January 633: When Mohammed died in 632, the entire Arabian Peninsula was under the control of his Caliphate.
8.2.Conquest of Persia
Was a military campaign by the Rashidun Caliphate that resulted in the Muslim conquest of Persia and the fall of the Sasanian Empire.
January 640: Muslim invasion of Fars in 638/9 led by the Rashidun Caliphate.
February 640: Rashidun forces leave Fars.
January 643: From Nahavand, Nu'man ibn Muqaarin marched to Hamadan, and then proceeded 370 kilometres southeast to the city of Isfahan, defeating a Sasanian army there. Nu'man, reinforced by fresh troops from Busra and Kufa under the command of Abu Musa Ashaari and Ahnaf ibn Qais, then besieged the city. The siege continued for a few months before the city surrendered.
January 644: In ca. 643, Uthman ibn Abi al-As, a military commander under the Rashidun Caliphate, seized control of Bishapur, an ancient city in present-day Iran.
January 644: Suhail was a military commander of the Rashidun Caliphate. Kerman was a province in Persia. Persepolis was an ancient city in Persia. The Rashidun Caliphate was a Muslim empire that expanded rapidly in the 7th century.
January 645: Attack by al-'Ala' from Bahrain to nthe Sasanian Empire who reached as far as Estakhr.
February 645: In 645, the Persian governor (marzban) of Fars, Shahrag, successfully repulsed an attack by al-'Ala' from Bahrain.
January 649: In 648, 'Abd-Allah ibn al-'Ash'ari, a military commander of the Rashidun Caliphate, successfully captured the city of Estakhr in Fars after forcing the governor, Mahak, to surrender. This event marked a significant victory for the Rashidun Caliphate in expanding their territory in the region.
January 651: The first real invasion took place in 650, when Abd-Allah ibn Amir, having secured his position in Kerman, sent an army under Mujashi ibn Mas'ud there. After crossing the Dasht-i Lut desert, Mujashi ibn Mas'ud reached Sakastan, but suffered a heavy defeat and was forced to retreat.
February 651: The first real invasion took place in 650, when Abd-Allah ibn Amir, having secured his position in Kerman, sent an army under Mujashi ibn Mas'ud there. After crossing the Dasht-i Lut desert, Mujashi ibn Mas'ud reached Sakastan, but suffered a heavy defeat and was forced to retreat.
January 652: Abdullah ibn Aamir, a general of the Rashidun Caliphate, besieged the provincial capital, Zrang, and, after a heavy battle outside the city, its governor, Aparviz, surrendered.
January 652: Nu'aym was a military commander under the Rashidun Caliphate. Qom was a city in Persia known for its strategic location. The capture of Qom was part of the expansion of the Rashidun Caliphate's territory in the region.
January 652: Next, he besieged the provincial capital, Zrang, and, after a heavy battle outside the city, its governor, Aparviz, surrendered.
January 652: In 651, the Arab general Nu'aym led an expedition from Rey to Tabaristan, where the local ruler signed a peace treaty with the Rashidun Caliphate. Tabaristan was a region south of the Caspian Sea.
January 652: In 651, Nu'aym ibn Muqaarin, Nu'man's brother, marched northeast to Rey, Iran, about 320 kilometres from Hamadan, and laid siege to the city, which surrendered after fierce resistance.
8.2.1.First invasion of Mesopotamia
Was the first military campaign in Mesopotamia by the Rashidun Caliphate.
April 633: The Battle of Al Madhar, took place in Mesopotamia (Iraq) between the forces of the Rashidun Caliphate and the Sasanian Empire. Muslims, under Khalid ibn al-Walid's command, defeated the numerically superior Persian army.
May 633: Battle of Walaja.
May 633: Battle of Ullais.
June 633: In the last week of May 633, the important city of Hira fell to the Muslims led by the Rashidun Caliphate, specifically under the command of Khalid ibn al-Walid. Hira was a strategic city in present-day Iraq, marking a significant victory for the expanding Muslim empire.
July 633: In 633, the military leader Khalid, a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, conquered the city of Ayn al-Tamr in the last week of July. This victory was part of the expansion of the Rashidun Caliphate, led by Caliph Abu Bakr, in the Arabian Peninsula.
December 633: He received news of the assembling of a large Persian army and then decided to defeat them all separately to avoid the risk of being defeated by a large unified Persian army. Four divisions of Persian and Christian Arab auxiliaries were present at Hanafiz, Zumiel, Sanni and Muzieh. Khalid divided his army into three units, and employed them in well-coordinated attacks against the Persians from three different sides at night, in the Battle of Muzayyah.
December 633: Battle of Saniyy.
November 634: The Battle of the Bridge took place in 634 between the Rashidun Caliphate, led by Abu Ubaid, and the Persians. The Persians emerged victorious in this battle, which occurred near Kufa, Iraq, marking a significant event in the ongoing conflict between the two powers.
November 634: The Battle of the Bridge in 634 saw the Sasanian Empire defeating Abu Ubaid, a prominent military leader of the Rashidun Caliphate. This victory marked a significant turning point in the Arab-Persian conflict during the early Islamic conquests.
January 635: After commander Khalid ibn al-Walid left Mesopotamia, the Persians pursued the Muslim army and recaptured most of their previously lost territory. Consequently, the Muslim forces were compelled to withdraw from the conquered areas and consolidate their position along the border, where they still held control over Namaraq, Kaskar, and Baqusiathain in southern Iraq.
8.2.2.Second invasion of Mesopotamia
Was the second military campaign in Mesopotamia by the Rashidun Caliphate.
January 637: Rashidun conquest of Kūthā, Sābāṭ (Valashabad) and Bahurasīr (Veh-Ardashir).
January 637: Saad ibn Abi Waqqas, a prominent companion of the Prophet Muhammad, led the Rashidun Caliphate forces in the Battle of Babylon in 636. The victory resulted in the conquest of Babylon by the Rashidun Caliphate.
May 637: Utbah ibn Ghazwan arrived in April 637, and captured al-Ubulla and Basra.
May 637: After the conquest of Ctesiphon, several detachments were immediately sent west to capture Circesium and Heet, both forts at the Byzantine border.
December 637: In April 637, the Arab general Hashim, serving under the Rashidun Caliphate, led 12,000 troops to victory over the Persians at the Battle of Jalawla. Following the battle, he laid siege to Jalawla for seven months before capturing the city.
January 638: Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab of the Rashidun Caliphate sent an army to Mosul which surrendered on the condition of paying Jizya.
January 638: Rashidun general Abdullah ibn Muta'am marched against Tikrit and captured the city with the help of Christians.
January 638: With victory at Jalawla and occupation of the Tikrit-Mosul region, the whole of Mesopotamia was under Muslim control.
January 638: Qa'qa defeated the Persian forces in the Battle of Khaniqeen and captured the city.
February 638: After the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah, the Persian forces retreated to Hulwan. Qa'qa ibn Amr, a prominent general of the Rashidun Caliphate, pursued them and successfully laid siege to the city. Hulwan fell to the Rashidun forces in January 638.
March 638: By February 638 there was a lull in the fighting on the Persian front. The Suwad, the Tigris valley, and the Euphrates valley were now under complete Muslim control.
8.2.3.Conquest of Armenia
The Muslims had conquered Byzantine Armenia in 638-639.
December 644: With the success of all three missions, the advance into Armenia came to an end with the death of Umar in November 644.
8.2.4.Conquest of Khuzestan
Was the conquest of Khuzestan by the Rashidun Caliphate.
November 640: This peace also proved short-lived once Hormuzan was reinforced by fresh Persian troops sent by Emperor Yazdgerd III in late 640. The troops concentrated at Tuster, north of Ahvaz. Umar sent the Governor of Kufa, Ammar ibn Yasir, the governor of Busra, Abu Musa, and Nouman ibn Muqarin there, where Hormuzan was defeated, captured and sent to Umar in Medina.
July 641: Next, Abu Musa marched against Junde Sabur, the only place left of military importance in the Persian province of Khuzistan, which surrendered to the Muslims after a siege of a few weeks.
8.2.5.Conquest of Hamadan
Was the conquest of Hamadan by the Rashidun Caliphate.
January 643: Within four years Yazdgerd III felt powerful enough to challenge the Muslims again for control of Mesopotamia. Accordingly, he recruited 100,000 hardened veterans and young volunteers from all parts of Persia, under the command of Mardan Shah, which marched to Nahavand for the last titanic struggle with the Caliphate. Although Umar had expressed a desire for Mesopotamia to be his easternmost frontier, the concentration of the Persian army at Nahavand forced him to act. The Muslim army defeated the Persians at the Battle of Nahavand in December 642.
April 643: The Muslims, led by the Rashidun Caliphate, captured the district of Hamadan in 643. The conquest was relatively easy as they faced minimal resistance from the local inhabitants.
8.2.6.Conquest of Khorasan
Was the conquest of Khorasan by the Rashidun Caliphate.
January 652: No resistance was offered at Merv, and the Muslims occupied the capital of Khurasan without firing a shot.
January 652: The remainder of Yazdegerd's army was defeated at the Battle of Oxus River and retreated across the Oxus to Transoxiana.
8.2.7.Conquest of Azerbaijan
Was the conquest of Azerbaijan by the Rashidun Caliphate.
January 652: On his way north Bukair was halted by a large Persian force under Isfandiyar, the son of Farrukhzad. A pitched battle was fought, after which Isfandiyar was defeated and captured. In return for his life, he agreed to surrender his estates in Azerbaijan and persuade others to submit to Muslim rule.
8.3.Muslim conquest of the Levant
Was a 634-638 CE invasion of Byzantine Syria by the Rashidun Caliphate. .
8.3.1.Conquest of Syria
Conquest of Syria from the Byantines by the Rashidun Caliphate.
January 635: The Rashidun Caliphate needed six years to conquer the entire Arabian Peninsula (628-634).
8.3.2.Final Stage of the conquest in Syria and Palestina
Consolidation of the Rashidun Caliphate conquests in the Levant.
July 637: Khalid defeated a large Byzantine force in the Battle of Hazir near the fortress of Qinnasrin and then the city of Hazir surrendered to Khalid.
8.4.Battle of Rasil
Fought between the Rashidun Caliphate and the Rai kingdom ruled by Raja Rasil in early 644. The Makran coast up to Indus river and western territories of Rai Kingdom were annexed by the Rashidun Caliphate.
April 644: Conflict fought between the Rashidun Caliphate and the Rai kingdom ruled by Raja Rasil in early 644. Makran coast up to Indus river and western territories of Rai Kingdom annexed by Rashidun Caliphate.
8.5.Arab-Khazar Wars
Were a series of conflicts fought between the armies of the Khazar Khaganate and the Rashidun, Umayyad, and Abbasid caliphates and their respective vassals.
8.5.1.First Arab-Khazar War
Was a war between the Khazar Kahaganate and the Rashidun Caliphate.
January 653: The Khazars abandoned Balanjar and moved their capital further north, in an attempt to evade the reach of the Arab armies.
February 653: The Khazars abandoned Balanjar and moved their capital further north, in an attempt to evade the reach of the Arab armies.
8.6.Muslim conquest of Transoxiana, Ferghana and Khorasan
Were the 7th and 8th century conquests, by Umayyad and Abbasid Arabs, of Transoxiana, the land between the Oxus (Amu Darya) and Jaxartes (Syr Darya) rivers, a part of Central Asia that today includes all or parts of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.
January 657: The local population, led by Qarin (possibly a member of the House of Karen) rose in revolt. The Arabs evacuated all of Khurasan, and according to Chinese sources, the princes of Tokharistan restored Yazdegerd III's son Peroz as titular king of Persia for a time.
January 671: It was not until the appointment of Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan to the government of Iraq and the eastern Caliphate that the Arabs undertook a systematic pacification campaign in Khurasan. Peroz was evicted and once again fled to China.
Expansion during the rule of Uthman in the Rashidun Caliphate.
January 655: Armenia conquered by Rashidun Caliphate.
January 226: The Indo-Parthians managed to retain control of Sakastan, which they ruled until the fall of the Parthian Empire by Sasanian Empire.
January 226: The Sasanians captured the provinces of Sogdiana, Bactria and Gandhara from the Kushans in 225 AD. The Sasanians established governors in the area, who minted their own coinage and took the title of Kushanshas, i.e. "Kings of the Kushans".
January 231: In ca. 230 the province was lost to the Sasanian Empire.
January 241: The Kushans were defeated by the Sassanid Persian Empire in the mid 3rd century, first becoming part of a vassal Kushansha state.
January 246: In 245, the Roman Empire regained control of Caucasian Albania under the rule of Emperor Philip the Arab. This marked a period of Roman influence in the region, with Caucasian Albania becoming a client state of Rome.
January 246: In 245, the Roman Empire regained control of Caucasian Albania under the rule of Emperor Philip the Arab. This marked a period of Roman influence in the region, with the territory remaining under Roman control for several decades.
January 251: Christian Arabs emigrated, in the year 250, from Yemen to the Hawran region in southern Syria and established the Ghassanid Kingdom.
January 301: Gerrha was under the control of the Persian Sasanids after 300.
January 301: The Lahmid Kingdom was an Arab kingdom of southern Iraq and East Arabia, with al-Hirah as its capital, from about 300 AD.
January 351: After a period of control of the areas as far as Gandhara by the Kushano-Sasanians, the Sasanian Empire further expanded into the northwest of the subcontinent, particularly in the regions of Gandhara and Punjab, from the time of Shapur II circa 350 CE. Further south, as far as the mouth of the Indus river, the Sasanians exerted some sort of control or influence, as suggested by the Sasanian coinage of Sindh. It is probable that the Sasanian expansion in India, which put an end to the remnants of Kushan rule, was also made in part at the expense of the Western Satraps.
January 401: The Salīḥids were the dominant Arab foederati of the Byzantine Empire in the 5th century. They succeeded the Tanukhids, who were dominant in the 4th century.
January 451: Sakastan was overrun by the Hephthalites in the mid 5th century.
January 451: The Hephthalites became a significant political entity in Bactria around 450 CE.
January 451: Peroz I gathered his forces in Nishapur in 443 and launched a prolonged campaign against the Kidarites. After a number of battles he crushed them and drove them out beyond the Oxus river in 450.
January 476: In the second half of the fifth century, the Hephtalites controlled the deserts of Turkmenistan as far as the Caspian Sea and possibly Merv.
January 490: The Rai Dynasty (c. 489-632 CE) was a kingdom during the Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Sindh, later part of Pakistan. The dynasty at its height ruled much of the Northwestern regions of the Indian subcontinent. The influence of the Rai's extended from Kashmir in the east, Makran and Debal port (modern Karachi) in the west, Surat port in the south, and the Kandahar, Sulaiman, Ferdan and Kikanan hills in the north. It ruled an area of over 1,553,993 km2, and the dynasty reigned a period of 143 years.
January 501: Sarir was a medieval Christian state lasting from the 5th century to the 12th century in the mountainous regions of modern-day Dagestan.
January 501: By 500 the Hephtalite held the whole of Bactria and the Pamirs and parts of Afghanistan.
January 509: In 580, Hormizd IV abolished the monarchy after the death of King Bakur III, and Iberia became a Persian province ruled by a marzpan (governor).
January 542: In 541 Lazica defected to the Persians.
January 548: In 547 when Lazica again switched sides and eventually expelled its Persian garrison with Byzantine help.
January 561: The Qarinvand dynasty was founded by Karen, who in return for aiding the Sasanian king Khosrow I (r. 531-579) against the Turks, received land to the south of Amol in Tabaristan.
January 561: The Principality of Chaghaniyan was a part of the Hephthalite Confederation from the 5th to the 7th century AD. After this, it was ruled by a local, presumably Iranian dynasty, which governed the Chaghaniyan region from the late 7th-century.
January 566: The Tokhara Yabghus occupied the area north of the Oxus (Transoxonia, Sogdiana) following the destruction of the Hephthalites in 557-565 CE by the Sasanian Empire.
January 573: In 572, Muqan Qaghan, ruler of the First Turkic Khaganate, achieved a significant victory by defeating the Hephthalite Empire, Khitan, and Kyrgyz. This military success solidified his power and expanded the territory under his control.
January 589: The Turks apparently did not permanently occupy the territory south of the Oxus.
January 601: The Kingdom of Kapisa was a state located in what is now Afghanistan during the late 1st millennium CE. In around 600 CE, the Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang made a pilgrimage to Kapisa, and described there the cultivation of rice and wheat, and a king of the Suli tribe.
January 603: In 602, the last Lakhmid king, al-Nuʿmān III, was executed by the Sasanian shāhanshāh Khosrau II on unfounded suspicions of treason and the Lakhmid kingdom was annexed to the Sasanian Persian Empire.
January 626: In 625, Tong Yabgu, a powerful ruler of the Western Turkic Khaganate, launched an invasion into Tokharistan, an area south of the Oxus River. The Hephtalites, also known as the White Huns, were the principalities that were forced to submit to Tong Yabgu's authority.
January 643: The Dabuyid dynasty was a Zoroastrian Iranian dynasty that started in the early seventh century as an independent group of rulers, reigning over Tabaristan and parts of western Khorasan.
January 651: The Qağanate of the Khazars took shape out of the ruins of the Turkic Khaganate as it broke up under pressure from the Tang dynasty armies to the east sometime between 630 and 650.
January 652: The Principality of Chaghaniyan, known in Arabic sources as al-Saghaniyan, was a part of the Hephthalite Confederation from the 5th to the 7th century CE. After this, it was ruled by a local, presumably Iranian dynasty.
January 656: The Paduspanids were a local dynasty in Tabaristan, established in 655. They ruled over Royan, Nur, and Rostamdar. The territory was located in present-day northern Iran.
Disestablishment
January 671: It was not until the appointment of Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan to the government of Iraq and the eastern Caliphate that the Arabs undertook a systematic pacification campaign in Khurasan. Peroz was evicted and once again fled to China.
Sasanian Empire
