Breakthrough Point. Hatra and Roman-Persian Relations at the End of the Reign of Severus Alexander and in the First Years of the Reign of Gordian III

Robert Suski

Abstract


The Sassanid overthrow of the Parthian Arsacid dynasty in the 3rd century AD opened up new opportunities for the Roman Empire to strengthen power in the east. Although in the 30s of the 3rd century the Roman army was probably stationed in Hatra (a key fortress for the reign of northern Mesopotamia), it was conquered by the Persians around 240241 AD. Why didn't the Roman Empire take advantage of this opportunity? In this text, I want to look at the circumstances that made it so.


Keywords


Hatra; Severus Alexander; Maximinus the Thrax; Persia; Shapur I

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/rh.2022.54.11-31
Date of publication: 2022-12-14 08:36:26
Date of submission: 2021-06-07 14:25:34


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