The reign of Decius
The first Syrian invasion by Shapur, or his second campaign against the Roman Empire, was directed substantially along the Euphrates and demonstrates more clearly than at any other time how the Euphrates was an efficient transport route but was not particularly useful from a defensive perspective. The Roman inability to put a halt to Shapur’s invasion, of which the object was the rich cities of Syria, demonstrated both the empire’s lack of defensive preparedness for such an invasion and the overwhelming nature of the invasion itself. The magnitude of this invasion had never been experienced by the Romans before. Despite the internal difficulties that the Romans were experiencing at this time, which probably contributed to their difficulties in initially responding to the invasion, they were able to muster two large forces to meet the Sasanians within approximately seven years of each other.
The end of Philip’s reign began with the rebellion of Decius in April/May 249.175 Philip and his son were defeated by Decius in September/ October 249 at Verona.176 Relations between Rome and Persia are unknown for most of the short reign of Decius, and the event for which Decius’ reign was best known to later writers was his edict issued in the latter part of 249 ordering all of his subjects to sacrifice.177 This has obviously obscured discussion of other events during his reign, particularly in texts of the fourth century and later. The varying levels of conflict and dispute regarding Armenia and Mesopotamia, which appear to have been a feature of Philip’s reign, probably continued throughout the reign of Decius and right up to the time of Shapur’s first invasion of Syria.
Mariades
Towards the end of Decius’ reign there is some evidence that reflects ongoing tension between Rome and Persia and its internal ramifications for Rome. This came in the form of the activity of Mariades at Antioch and his flight to the court of Shapur I in Persia. The story is recorded in the Historia Augusta, Malalas, the Anonymous Continuator of Cassius Dio and Oracula Sibyllina XIII. In the Historia Augusta, Mariades is referred to as Kyriades, which was probably a Hellenized form of Mariades.178 While the individual referred to in Oracula Sibyllina XIII is not named as Mariades, his actions are similar to those reported in other sources that do name him.179 The dating of Mariades’ activity at Antioch and his subsequent flight to Persia relies mostly on the reference in Oracula Sibyllina XIII. It is placed between clear references to the elevation of Decius in September/October 249 and his death in battle in Moesia in late May/early June 251.180 The oracle referred to Mariades as follows:
Then a crafty and deceitful man will come, a brigand appearing from Syria, an obscure Roman, and he will move treacherously against the race of Cappadocian men and, insatiable of war, besiege and beset them; then for you, Tyana and Mazaka, there will be capture and thus you will be enslaved and will place your neck under the yoke; and Syria will mourn for dead men and Selene will not save the holy city. When the swift-moving man flees from Syria through Soura, escaping the Romans across the flood of the Euphrates, no longer like to the Romans, but to the arrogant arrow-shooting Persians, then the king of the Italians will fall in battle, smitten by gleaming iron, in a state of disarray; and his sons will be destroyed with him.181
The lead-up to Mariades’ flight to Persia was referred to by a number of later writers.182 These texts discussed the initial upheaval associated with the actions of Mariades and claimed that the problems became intractable when, as a member of the city council (boule) he was accused of embezzling funds advanced to him for the organization of chariot races.183 Mari-ades’ expulsion from the boule was probably the culmination of a period in which hard factional politics had been played at Antioch, with Mariades emerging as a factional leader in this process. The accusation of embezzlement may have been trumped up in an effort to remove him. Oracula Sibyllina XIII indicates, however, that Mariades was involved in substantially more than the embezzlement of public funds and that he became a figure around which a rebellion developed.184 Eventually his position became untenable and he fled to Persia.
Mariades is linked by all of the relevant texts to Shapur’s later capture of Antioch.185 Following his flight to Persia and the court of Shapur I it was claimed that Mariades offered assistance in invading Roman Syria and capturing Antioch.186 The HA accused Mariades of robbing his respected father of large sums of silver and gold before fleeing to Persia.187 According to the HA, Mariades actively encouraged Shapur to attack Roman territory, the ultimate goal being the capture of Antioch. In the same passage the HA claimed that following Shapur’s successful capture of Antioch, Mariades was hailed as Augustus soon after the accession of Valerian, which clearly indicates a chronological error. Barnes states that ‘much of the Tyranni Triginta (of the HA) must be disallowed as sheer fiction’, but other sources confirm the general nature of the HA’s account regarding Mariades’ flight to Persia and his return with Shapur when the latter attacked the city.188 The Anonymous Continuator of Cassius Dio confirmed that Mariades was with Shapur at the time that the attack on Antioch took place.189 According to this writer, when the citizens of Antioch received news that Shapur and Mariades were encamped at a distance of 20 stades (approximately 4 km) outside the city, a number of them fled.190 Many remained, however, as they were supportive of Mariades.
Mariades was clearly a figure who took advantage of the disagreements between Rome and Persia at this time. The date of his flight to
Figure 5.7 The plains of Antioch from Mt Silpius with the rear wall of the citadel in the foreground.
Persia seems to have been some time in the first half of 251, based on the chronology of the reference to him in Oracula Sibyllina XIII. Mariades took advantage of the instability to gain Persian support and re-establish himself at Antioch in a more powerful position. His flight to the Persian court and favourable reception by Shapur is, therefore, an indication of ongoing tension between Rome and Persia at this time.
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