Editing Trajan (section)

==== Course of the war ====
[[File:Trajan inscription Artaxata, Armenia 116.jpg|thumb|An AD 116 [[:File:Trajan inscription Artaxata, Armenia 116 full.jpg|inscription]] of the [[Legio IV Scythica]] found near the Armenian capital [[Artaxata]] mentioning Trajan.<ref>Discovered in 1967 in [[Pokr Vedi]], made of [[Vedi]] [[limestone]]. Now kept at the [[History Museum of Armenia]] (see [[:File:Trajan inscription Artaxata, Armenia 116 sign.jpg|sign]]). {{cite journal |last1=Arakelyan |first1=Babken |author1-link=Babken Arakelyan |title=Լատիներեն արձանագրություններ Արտաշատ մայրաքաղաքից [Inscriptions in Latin from the Ancient Armenian Capital of Artashat] |journal=[[Patma-Banasirakan Handes]] |date=1967 |issue=4 |pages=302–311 |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161111133137/hpj.asj-oa.am/1121/ |language=hy}}</ref>]]

The campaign was carefully planned in advance: ten legions were concentrated in the Eastern theatre; since 111, the correspondence of Pliny the Younger witnesses to the fact that provincial authorities in Bithynia had to organize supplies for passing troops, and local city councils and their individual members had to shoulder part of the increased expenses by supplying troops themselves.<ref>Fergus Millar, ''The Roman Near East, 31 B.C. – A.D. 337''. Harvard University Press, 1993, {{ISBN|0-674-77886-3}}, p. 103.</ref> The intended campaign, therefore, was immensely costly from its very beginning.<ref>M.Christol & D. Nony, ''Rome et son Empire''. Paris: Hachette, 2003, {{ISBN|2-01-145542-1}}, p. 171.</ref> Trajan marched first on Armenia, deposed the Parthian-appointed king, [[Parthamasiris of Armenia|Parthamasiris]] (who was afterwards murdered while kept in the custody of Roman troops in an unclear incident, later described by [[Marcus Cornelius Fronto|Fronto]] as a breach of Roman good faith),<ref>John Rich, Graham Shipley, eds., ''War and Society in the Roman World''. London: Routledge, 1993, {{ISBN|0-415-06644-1}}, p. 235.</ref> and annexed it to the Roman Empire as a province, receiving in passing the acknowledgement of Roman hegemony by various tribes in the Caucasus and on the Eastern coast of the Black Sea{{snds}}a process that kept him busy until the end of 114.{{sfn|Bennett|2001|pp=194–195}} At the same time, a Roman column under the legate [[Lusius Quietus]]{{snds}}an outstanding cavalry general<ref>Hermann Bengtson, ''Römische Geschichte: Republik und Kaiserzeit bis 284 n. Chr''. Munich: Beck, 2001, {{ISBN|3-406-02505-6}}, p. 289.</ref> who had signalled himself during the Dacian Wars by commanding a unit from his native [[Mauretania]]<ref>Alfred S. Bradford, ''With Arrow, Sword, and Spear: A History of Warfare in the Ancient World''. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2001, {{ISBN|0-275-95259-2}}, p. 232.</ref>{{snds}}crossed the [[Aras (river)|Araxes]] river from Armenia into [[Media Atropatene]] and the land of the [[Mardians]] (present-day [[Ghilan]]).{{sfn|Choisnel|2004|p=164}} It is possible that Quietus' campaign had as its goal the extending of the newer, more defensible Roman border eastwards towards the [[Caspian Sea]] and northwards to the foothills of the Caucasus.<ref>S.J. De Laet, review of Lepper, ''Trajan's Parthian War''. ''L'Antiquité Classique'', 18-2, 1949, pp. 487–489.</ref> This newer, more "rational" frontier, depended, however, on an increased, permanent Roman presence east of the Euphrates.<ref>Richard Stoneman, ''Palmyra and Its Empire: Zenobia's Revolt Against Rome''. Ann Arbor: 1994, University of Michigan Press, {{ISBN|0-472-08315-5}}, p. 89.</ref>

[[File:Trajan Sestertius 116 833039.jpg|thumb|270px|right|[[Sestertius]] during 116 to commemorate [[Trajan's Parthian campaign|Trajan's Parthian victories]]. [[Obverse]]: bust of Trajan, with laurel crown; caption: IMP. CAES. NERV. TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG. GER. DAC. PARTHICO P. M., TR. P., COS VI, P. P.; Reverse: Trajan standing between prostrate allegories of [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenia]] (crowned with a [[tiara]]) and the Rivers Tigris & Euphrates; caption: ARMENIA ET MESOPOTAMIA IN POTESTATEM P. R. REDACTAE (put under the authority of the Roman People) – S. C. (Senatus Consultus, issued by [[Senate of the Roman Empire|the Senate]]).]]

The chronology of subsequent events is uncertain, but it is generally believed that early in 115 Trajan launched a Mesopotamian campaign, marching down towards the Taurus mountains in order to consolidate territory between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. He placed permanent garrisons along the way to secure the territory.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sheldon|first=Rose Mary|title=Rome's Wars in Parthia: Blood in the Sand|date=2010|publisher=Vallentine Mitchell|location=London|page=133}}</ref> While Trajan moved from west to east, Lusius Quietus moved with his army from the Caspian Sea towards the west, both armies performing a successful pincer movement,{{sfn|Bennett|2001|p=195}} whose apparent result was to establish a Roman presence into the Parthian Empire proper, with Trajan taking the northern Mesopotamian cities of [[Nisibis]] and [[Suruç#History|Batnae]] and organizing a province of [[Mesopotamia (Roman province)|Mesopotamia]], including the Kingdom of [[Osrhoene]]{{snds}}where King [[Abgar VII]] submitted to Trajan publicly<ref>[[Maurice Sartre]], ''The Middle East Under Rome''. Harvard University Press, 2005, {{ISBN|0-674-01683-1}}, p. 146. According to Cassius Dio, the deal between Trajan and Abgaros was sealed by the king's son offering himself as Trajan's paramour—Bennett, 199.</ref>{{snds}}as a Roman protectorate.{{sfn|Bennett|2001|p=199}} This process seems to have been completed at the beginning of 116, when coins were issued announcing that Armenia and Mesopotamia had been put under the authority of the Roman people.<ref>Bennett, Trajan, 196; Christol & Nony, Rome,171.</ref> The area between the Khabur River and the mountains around [[Singara]] seems to have been considered as the new frontier, and as such received a road surrounded by fortresses.{{sfn|Petit|1976|p=44}}

After wintering in Antioch during 115/116 {{snds}}and, according to literary sources, barely escaping from a [[115 Antioch earthquake|violent earthquake]] that claimed the life of one of the consuls, [[Marcus Pedo Vergilianus|Marcus Pedo Virgilianus]]<ref>Fergus Millar, ''The Roman Near East, 31 B.C. – A.D. 337''. Harvard University Press, 1993, {{ISBN|0-674-77886-3}}, p. 101.</ref>{{sfn|Birley|2013|p=71}}{{snds}}Trajan again took to the field in 116, with a view to the conquest of the whole of Mesopotamia, an overambitious goal that eventually backfired on the results of his entire campaign. According to some modern historians, the aim of the campaign of 116 was to achieve a "pre-emptive demonstration" aiming not toward the conquest of Parthia, but for tighter Roman control over the Eastern trade route. However, the overall scarcity of manpower for the Roman military establishment meant that the campaign was doomed from the start.<ref>Patrick Le Roux, IN Ségolène Demougin, ed., ''H.-G. Pflaum, un historien du XXe siècle: actes du colloque international, Paris les 21, 22 et 23 octobre 2004''. Geneva: Droz, 2006, {{ISBN|2-600-01099-8}}, pp. 182/183.</ref> It is noteworthy that no new legions were raised by Trajan before the Parthian campaign, maybe because the sources of new citizen recruits were already over-exploited.{{sfn|Petit|1976|p=45}}

As far as the sources allow a description of this campaign, it seems that one Roman division crossed the [[Tigris]] into [[Adiabene]], sweeping south and capturing Adenystrae; a second followed the river south, capturing [[Babylon]]; Trajan himself sailed down the [[Euphrates]] from [[Dura-Europos]]{{snds}}where a triumphal arch was erected in his honour{{snds}}through Ozogardana, where he erected a "tribunal" still to be seen at the time of [[Julian the Apostate|Julian the Apostate's]] campaigns in the same area. Having come to the narrow strip of land between the Euphrates and the Tigris, he then dragged his fleet overland into the Tigris, capturing [[Seleucia on the Tigris|Seleucia]] and finally the Parthian capital of [[Ctesiphon]].{{sfn|Bennett|2001|pp=197/199}}{{sfn|Birley|2013|p=72}} He continued southward to the [[Persian Gulf]], when, after escaping with his fleet a tidal bore on the Tigris,<ref name="ReferenceC">Longden, "Notes on the Parthian Campaigns", 8.</ref> he received the submission of Athambelus, the ruler of [[Charax Spasinu|Charax]]. He declared Babylon a new province of the Empire and had his statue erected on the shore of the Persian Gulf,<ref>T. Olajos, "Le monument du triomphe de Trajan en Parthie. Quelques renseignements inobservés (Jean d'Ephèse, Anthologie Grecque XVI 72)". ''Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae'', 1981, vol. 29, no 1-4, pp. 379–383. The statue was torn down by [[Sassanids]] in 571/572.</ref> after which he sent the Senate a laurelled letter declaring the war to be at a close and bemoaning that he was too old to go on any further and repeat the conquests of [[Alexander the Great]].{{sfn|Bennett|2001|p=199}} Since Charax was a ''de facto'' independent kingdom whose connections to Palmyra were described above, Trajan's bid for the Persian Gulf may have coincided with Palmyrene interests in the region.{{sfn|Edwell|2007|p=21}} Another hypothesis is that the rulers of Charax had expansionist designs on Parthian Babylon, giving them a rationale for alliance with Trajan.<ref>E. J. Keall, ''Parthian Nippur and Vologases' Southern Strategy: A Hypothesis''. ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'' Vol. 95, No. 4 (Oct. – Dec. 1975), pp. 620–632.</ref> The Parthian city of [[Susa]] was apparently also occupied by the Romans.<ref>George Rawlinson, ''Parthia''. New York: Cosimo, 2007, {{ISBN|978-1-60206-136-1}}, p. 310.</ref>

[[File:TrajanCoinAhinposhBuddhistMonasteryAfghanistan.jpg|thumb|200px|left|A coin of Trajan, found together with coins of the [[Kushan Empire|Kushan]] ruler [[Kanishka]], at the [[Ahin Posh]] Buddhist Monastery, Afghanistan. Caption: IMP. CAES. NER. TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG. GER. DAC.]]

According to late literary sources (not backed by numismatic or inscriptional evidence) a province of [[Roman Assyria|Assyria]] was also proclaimed,<ref>Christopher S. Mackay, ''Ancient Rome: A Military and Political History''.Cambridge University Press, 2004, {{ISBN|0-521-80918-5}}, p. 227.</ref> apparently covering the territory of Adiabene.<ref>Various authors have discussed the existence of the province and its location: André Maricq (La province d'Assyrie créée par Trajan. A propos de la guerre parthique de Trajan. In: Maricq: ''Classica et orientalia'', Paris 1965, pp. 103/111) identifies Assyria with Southern Mesopotamia; Chris S. Lightfood ("Trajan's Parthian War and the Fourth-Century Perspective", ''Journal of Roman Studies'' 80, 1990, pp. 115–126), doubts the actual existence of the province; Maria G. Angeli Bertinelli ("I Romani oltre l'Eufrate nel II secolo d. C. – le provincie di Assiria, di Mesopotamia e di Osroene", In ''Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt'', Bd. 9.1, Berlin 1976, pp. 3/45) puts Assyria between Mesopotamia and Adiabene; Lepper (1948, p. 146) considers Assyria and Adiabene to be the same province.</ref> Some measures seem to have been considered regarding the fiscal administration of Indian trade{{snds}}or simply about the payment of customs (''portoria'') on goods traded on the Euphrates and Tigris.{{sfn|Luttwak|1979|p=110}}{{sfn|Edwell|2007|p=21}} It is possible that it was this "streamlining" of the administration of the newly conquered lands according to the standard pattern of Roman provincial administration in tax collecting, requisitions and the handling of local potentates' prerogatives, that triggered later resistance against Trajan.<ref>Janos Harmatta and others, eds., ''History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizations, 700 B.C. to A.D. 250''. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1999, {{ISBN|81-208-1408-8}}, p. 135.</ref> According to some modern historians, Trajan might have busied himself during his stay on the Persian Gulf with ordering raids on the Parthian coasts,<ref>Pirouz Mojtahed-Zadeh, ''Security and Territoriality in the Persian Gulf: A Maritime Political Geography'', London: Routledge, 2013, {{ISBN|0-7007-1098-1}}, p. 120.</ref> as well as probing into extending Roman suzerainty over the mountaineer tribes holding the passes across the [[Zagros Mountains]] into the [[Iranian plateau]] eastward, as well as establishing some sort of direct contact between Rome and the Kushan Empire.{{sfn|Choisnel|2004|pp=164/165}} No attempt was made to expand into the Iranian Plateau itself, where the Roman army, with its relative weakness in cavalry, would have been at a disadvantage.<ref>Axel Kristinsson, ''Expansions: Competition and Conquest in Europe Since the Bronze Age''. Reykjavík:  ReykjavíkurAkademían, 2010, {{ISBN|978-9979-9922-1-9}}, p. 129.</ref>

Trajan left the Persian Gulf for Babylon{{snds}}where he intended to offer sacrifice to Alexander in the house where he had died in 323{{nbsp}}BC<ref name="Bennett, Trajan, 199">Bennett, Trajan, 199.</ref>{{snds}} But a revolt led by [[Sanatruces II of Parthia|Sanatruces]], a nephew of the Parthian king [[Osroes I]] who had retained a cavalry force, possibly strengthened by the addition of [[Saka]] archers,<ref>Kaveh Farrokh, ''Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War''. Oxford: Osprey, 2007, {{ISBN|978-1-84603-108-3}}, p. 162.</ref> imperilled Roman positions in Mesopotamia and Armenia. Trajan sought to deal with this by forsaking direct Roman rule in Parthia proper, at least partially.{{sfn|Bennett|2001|p=200}} Trajan sent two armies towards Northern Mesopotamia: the first, under Lusius Quietus, recovered Nisibis and [[Edessa]] from the rebels, probably having King Abgarus deposed and killed in the process,{{sfn|Bennett|2001|p=200}} with Quietus probably earning the right to receive the honors of a senator of praetorian rank (''adlectus inter praetorios'').<ref>''The Cambridge Ancient History: The Imperial peace, A.D. 70–192'', 1965 ed., p. 249.</ref> The second army, however, under Appius Maximus Santra (probably a governor of Macedonia) was defeated and Santra killed.<ref name=":0">Julián González, ed., ''Trajano Emperador De Roma'', 216.</ref>

Later in 116, Trajan, with the assistance of Quietus and two other legates, [[Marcus Erucius Clarus]] and Tiberius Julius Alexander Julianus,<ref>The last two were made consuls (''suffecti'') for the year 117.</ref><ref name=":0"/> defeated a Parthian army in a battle where Sanatruces was killed (possibly with the assistance of Osroes' son and Sanatruces' cousin, [[Parthamaspates of Parthia|Parthamaspates]], whom Trajan wooed successfully).<ref>E. Yarshater, ed., ''The Cambridge History of Iran'', Volume 3(1). Cambridge University Press, 1983, {{ISBN|0-521-20092-X}}, p. 91.</ref> After re-taking and burning Seleucia, Trajan then formally deposed Osroes, putting Parthamaspates on the throne as client ruler. This event was commemorated in a coin as the reduction of Parthia to client kingdom status: <small>REX PARTHIS DATUS</small>, "a king is given to the Parthians".{{sfn|Mommsen|1999|p=289}} That done, Trajan retreated north in order to retain what he could of the new provinces of Armenia{{snds}}where he had already accepted an armistice in exchange for surrendering part of the territory to Sanatruces' son Vologeses{{sfn|Bennett|2001|p=203}}{{snds}}and Mesopotamia. It was at this point that Trajan's health started to fail him. The fortress city of [[Hatra]], on the [[Tigris]] in his rear, continued to hold out against repeated Roman assaults. He was personally present at the [[siege]], and it is possible that he suffered a heat stroke while in the blazing heat.{{sfn|Bennett|2001|p=200}}