Siege of Caesarea in Cappadocia (260)
Siege of Caesarea by Sasanian forces (260)
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The siege of Caesarea by the Sasanians under Shapur I took place following their siege of the Roman city of Antioch in 260 which followed their major victory over the Romans in the Battle of Edessa.
| Siege of Caesarea (260) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Shapur I's third Roman campaign | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Sassanid Empire | Roman Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Shapur I Hormizd I | Demosthenes[2] | ||||||||
Background
The siege took place during a Sasanian invasion of the Roman east. Caesarea during that time had a large population (about 400,000 inhabitants).
Siege
The Sassanids were unable to take the city, and took a Roman as captive and tortured him until he revealed another route they could use. The Sassanids then raided Caesarea during the night, killing every Roman soldier.
Aftermath
According to Percy Sykes, "He [Shapur] captured Caesarea Mazaca, the greatest city in Cappadocia; but probably from the lack of a standing army, again made no attempt to organize and administer, or even to retain, his conquests. He merely killed and ravaged with barbarous severity".[3][4]
