Abstract
The article deals with the Battle of Mesiche in the context of the events of the Persian campaign of Gordian III. Arguments are given in favor of the fact that the Battle of Mesiche should be considered the general battle of the armies of the two empires and the decisive event of the campaign. These sources allow us to confi dently speak of a major defeat for the Romans, however, the Roman army was clearly not completely defeated. There is reason to believe that one of the reasons for the victory of the Persians was the severe wounding of Gordian during the battle. Having not achieved victory, the Roman army found itself in a diffi cult situation, as it lacked food. An important factor that aggravated the situation for the Romans was that a large canal blocked the way for their retreat. Therefore, despite the fact that the Roman army was not ultimately defeated at Mesiche, the consequences of this defeat were very signifi cant. The new emperor Philip was forced to conclude a peace treaty with the Persians on the terms of the payment of indemnity to the winners and the renunciation of Rome from spheres of infl uence in Armenia, as well as in Northern Mesopotamia. Thus, the defeat at Mesiche predetermined the unsuccessful outcome of Gordian’s Persian campaign and led to the conclusion of an unfavorable treaty for Rome, the terms of which changed the balance of power in the Middle East in favor of the Persians. The article also discusses various versions of the death of Gordian III. A version of the death of the emperor is proposed, which is consistent with the majority of confl icting evidence from sources. A reconstruction of events is proposed, which includes the wound of the emperor received during the battle, the rebellion of the soldiers and the subsequent death of Gordian.
Keywords
Roman Empire, Sasanians, Gordian III, Shapur I, Philip the Arab, battle of Mesiche, Roman-Persian wars.
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