Editing Valens (section)

=== Persian War: 373 ===
As mentioned before, among Valens' reasons for contracting a hasty and not entirely favorable peace in 369 was the deteriorating state of affairs in the East. Jovian had surrendered Rome's much disputed claim to control over Armenia in 363, and [[Shapur II]] was eager to make good on this new opportunity. The Persian emperor began enticing Armenian lords over to his camp and eventually forced the defection of the [[Arsacid dynasty of Armenia|Arsacid]] Armenian king, [[Arshak II]] (Arsaces II), whom he quickly arrested and incarcerated. The Armenian nobility responded by asking Valens to return Arshak's son, [[Pap of Armenia|Pap]].<ref name="AM27129">Ammianus Marcellinus, ''Res Gestae'', 27.12.9.</ref> Valens agreed and sent Pap back to Armenia, but as these events took place during the war with the Goths he could not support him militarily.<ref name="AM27129" />

In response to the return of Pap, Shapur personally led an invasion force to seize control of Armenia.<ref name="AM27121011">Ammianus Marcellinus, ''Res Gestae'', 27.12.10–11.</ref> Pap and his followers took refuge in the mountains while [[Artaxata]], the Armenian capital, and the city of Artogerassa along with several strongholds and castles were destroyed.<ref name="AM27121011" /> Shapur sent a second invasion force to [[Caucasian Iberia]] to drive out the pro-Roman king [[Sauromaces II of Iberia|Sauromaces II]], and put his own appointee, Sauromaces's uncle [[Aspacures II of Iberia|Aspacures II]], on the throne.

In the summer following his Gothic settlement, Valens sent his ''[[magister peditum]]'' (Master of Foot) [[Flavius Arinthaeus|Arinthaeus]] to support Pap.<ref>Ammianus Marcellinus, ''Res Gestae'', 27.12.13.</ref> The following spring twelve legions were sent under [[Terentius (comes et dux Armeniae)|Terentius]] to regain Iberia and to garrison Armenia near Mount Npat. When Shapur counterattacked into Armenia in 371, his forces were bested by Valens' generals [[Traianus (magister peditum)|Traianus]] and [[Vadomarius]] and the Armenian ''[[sparapet]]'' (general) [[Mushegh I Mamikonian|Mushegh Mamikonian]] at [[Battle of Bagrevand (372)|Bagavan]] and [[Gandzak, Armenia|Gandzak]].<ref>Hughes, Ian, ''Imperial Brothers'',{{full citation needed|date=April 2022}} pp. 102–106.</ref> Valens had overstepped the 363 treaty and then successfully defended his transgression. A truce settled after the 371 victory held as a quasi-peace for the next five years while Shapur was forced to deal with a [[Kushan Empire|Kushan]] invasion on his eastern frontier.

Meanwhile, troubles broke out with the boy-king Pap, who purportedly had the Armenian patriarch [[Nerses I|Nerses]] assassinated and demanded control of a number of Roman cities, including [[Edessa, Mesopotamia|Edessa]]. Controversy also ensued over the issue of the appointment of a new patriarch of Armenia, with Pap appointing a candidate without the traditional approval from Caesarea. Pressed by his generals and fearing that Pap would defect to the Persians, Valens made an unsuccessful attempt to capture the prince and later had him executed inside Armenia. In his stead, Valens imposed another Arsacid, [[Varazdat]], who ruled under the regency of the ''sparapet'' Mushegh Mamikonian, a friend of Rome.{{cn|date=February 2024}}

None of this sat well with the Persians, who began agitating again for compliance with the 363 treaty. As the eastern frontier heated up in 375, Valens began preparations for a major expedition. Meanwhile, trouble was brewing elsewhere. In [[Isauria]], the mountainous region of western [[Cilicia]], a major revolt had broken out in 375 which diverted troops formerly stationed in the East. Furthermore, by 377, the [[Saracens]] under [[Mavia (queen)|Queen Mavia]] had broken into revolt and devastated a swath of territory stretching from [[Phoenice (Roman province)|Phoenicia]] and [[Syria Palaestina|Palestine]] as far as the [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]]. Though Valens successfully brought both uprisings under control, the opportunities for action on the eastern frontier were limited by these skirmishes closer to home.
[[File:Valens aquädukt02.jpg|thumb|[[Aqueduct of Valens]] in [[Constantinople]], capital of the eastern Roman Empire]]
[[File:KHM Wien 32.482 - Valens medal, 375-78 AD.jpg|thumb|Obverse of a medal of Valens, set in a later pendant and found in the [[Șimleu Silvaniei]], a [[hoard]] from the second quarter of the 5th century ([[Kunsthistorisches Museum]])]]