Shapur I Captures the Roman Emperor Valerian

In 260, the Roman emperor Valerian led an imperial army into northern Mesopotamia to confront the forces of the Sasanian king Shapur I. Valerian, who had taken power several years earlier, faced intense pressure along Rome's eastern frontier, where Sasanian armies had repeatedly raided Roman territories and plundered Antioch. Although Valerian had attempted to restore imperial authority across the eastern provinces, his troops were severely weakened by disease following an abortive campaign to counter Gothic incursions in Asia Minor. Despite the depleted state of his legions, the emperor advanced toward the border regions between Carrhae and Edessa to halt the Persian invasion.

The clash between the two empires resulted in a catastrophic Roman defeat outside Edessa. According to Shapur I's monumental inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht, the Roman force, by Shapur's own account, numbered some 70,000 men drawn from many imperial provinces, including Gothic and Germanic lands, and Shapur claimed to have taken Valerian prisoner with his own hands along with the army's commanders. Roman chroniclers, writing with a tendency to explain major military setbacks through foreign perfidy or commanding incompetence, claimed that Valerian was seized during truce negotiations. Other records indicate that the emperor and his remaining soldiers surrendered under siege to save their lives.