Battle of Archesh
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| Battle of Archesh | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 and the Heraclius Caucasus campaign | |||||||
 Region of Archesh on the map | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Byzantine empire | Sasanian Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Heraclius | Shahrbaraz | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 20,000[2][3] | 6,000[3]–30,000[2] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | Entire force[4][3] | ||||||
The Battle of Archesh or Battle of Van Lake was a battle between the Byzantine and Sasanian armies during the Byzantine-Sasanian War of 602-628. The battle was the final event of Heraclius Caucasus campaign, after which the Byzantine army went on the offensive deep into the territory of the Sasanian Empire.
During the Heraclius Caucasus campaign, after the defeat of the united Persian army of Shahin, Shahrvaraz and Shahraplakan, Heraclius moved to Persia, but Shahin and Shahrvaraz gathered the remnants of the surviving army, united and decided to give battle to Heraclius again. Having received information that the Lazi and Abasgi broke the alliance with the Romans and went home, the Persians decided to attack the army of Heraclius. After a while, the armies met and stood opposite each other until the evening, without taking any action.When evening came, the Byzantine emperor continued on his way, and the Sassanids followed him, they wanted to shorten the path, but ended up in a swampy area, thanks to which Heraclius entered Persarmenia, local residents learned about this and joined Shahrvaraz's army. With the onset of winter, the people scattered throughout their lands, which Heraclius took advantage of in the future.[5]