MARTYROPOLIS - v1.0 
Summer 589

by Chris Jackson
Symbol set required - master 1


HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Although Justinian's conquests looked impressive on a map, they severely drained
the treasury and resources of the Empire and proved impossible to hold onto. In
568, just three years after his death, the Lombards invaded northern Italy and 
established themselves there, in territory the Byzantines would never again
recover. In 572 Justinian's successor, nephew Justin II, provoked yet another
war with Persia, allied with a newly risen people called the Turks (a peasant 
race of mixed stock who had recently overthrown their Avar masters). The war did
not go as expected, and the Byzantines lost Daras in November 573. The news of 
this loss was said to have driven Justin II insane.

Amidst truces and army manouvers, a former notary from Arabissus named Maurice
(b. 539) was given supreme command of the eastern armies in 578, the same year
Justin II died and Tiberius, who had been leading on his behalf, succeeded him.
In early 579 the old Persian king Chosroes died, but when his successor Hormizd
IV refused to concede any territory, the war continued. When Tiberius died in 582,
Maurice became the next emperor, and was forced to open a separate campaign against
the invading Avars on the Balkan front. 

After an unsuccessful time with John Mystacon as the new general in the east, he
was replaced by Maurice's brother-in-law Phillipicus in 584. The Byzantines then
began to turn the war in their favour, capturing several Persian fortresses in 
Mesopotamia while the Turks overran much of Khorosan. Hormizd IV was a very 
unpopular emperor, and internal strife brought Persia to the verge of collapse.

It took an able new general, Bahram Chobin, to keep Persia from military falling.
A tall, strong man related to the royal house, with a small army of 12,000 he 
defeated the Turks at Hyrcanian Rock in 588 by hiding in the steep mountain passes
and ambushing them with archery attacks. Bahram won back many lost areas south of
the Oxus that year, although the Persians were too weak to capitalize on a mutiny
in the Byzantine army that also took place in 588, and were beaten by a small
force led by Germanus at Martyropolis. The commander Maruzas was killed and 3,000
prisoners were taken here.

The Byzantines suffered a reverse here in 589 when the Persians took Martyropolis
by the betrayal of a local commander Sittas, who brought in Persian "deserters"
who took over the city. Phillipicus immediately moved to besiege it, and the 
Persians sent a relief force to hold on to the city. A battle was fought outside
the city walls, and while the Persians might have taken heavy losses, they 
succeeded in reinforcing the city. Phillipicus had to abandon the siege, and
was replaced by the magister militum from Spain, Comentiolus, who defeated the
Persians that autumn northeast of Nisibis at Sisarbanon. However, in 589 more 
important action was taking place with Bahram to the northeast in Suania.

Bahram and Hormizd had fallen into a dispute. First there was fighting over the
apportioning of treasure taken during the successes against the Turks; then there
was a defeat that Bahram suffered against the Byzantines near the Araxes River,
unable to withstand a Byzantine charge after being accustomed to nomad warfare.
Soldiers feared Horizd would punish them for this loss, and Bahram decided to use
the soldiers' fear of Hormizd to overthrow him.


SOURCES

Dupuy, B. Ernst and Dupuy, Trevor N. "Harper Encyclopedia of Military History".
     New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993.

Whitby, Micheal. "The Emperor Maurice and His Historian". Oxford: Clarendon Press,
     1988.


BATTLE NOTES

Well, for scenarios I have good information on I try to adhere closely with the
information, but with battles less documented I go ahead and use my imagination.
This is one of the latter situations. There's a big elevation around the city 
walls to keep archers from firing their arrows in, but I decided to let it get 
interesting to make it possible to get into the city and fight in it. It may not
be accurate but it might be kinda fun. The scenario probably favours the Persians
but either side can win.

- Chris Jackson
April 8, 2000