Editing Severus Alexander (section)

===Persian War===
On the whole, Alexander's reign was prosperous until the rise of the [[Sassanid Empire|Sassanids]]{{sfn|Southern|2001|p=61}} under [[Ardashir I]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Severus Alexander |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014|access-date=2 May 2014|url= http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/536782/Severus-Alexander}}</ref> In 231 AD, Ardashir invaded the Roman provinces of the east, overrunning Mesopotamia and penetrating possibly as far as Syria and Cappadocia, forcing from the young Alexander a vigorous response.<ref>Arthur E.R. Boak (1921). ''A History Of Rome To 565 A.D.'', New York: The Macmillan Company, chap. XVIII., p. 258</ref> Of the war that followed there are various accounts. According to the most detailed authority, [[Herodian]], the Roman armies suffered a number of humiliating setbacks and defeats,<ref>[[Herodian]], 6:5–6:6</ref> while according to the [[Historia Augusta]]<ref>[[Historia Augusta]], ''Life of Severus Alexander'', 55:1–3</ref> as well as Alexander's own dispatch to the [[Roman Senate]], he gained great victories.{{sfn|Southern|2001|p=62}} Making [[Antioch]] his base, he organized in 233 a three-fold invasion of the [[Sassanian Empire]]; at the head of the main body he himself advanced to recapture northern [[Mesopotamia]], while another army invaded [[Media (region)|Media]] through the mountains of Armenia, and a third advanced from the south in the direction of [[Babylon]]. The northernmost army gained some success, fighting in mountainous territory favorable to the Roman infantry, but the southern army was surrounded and destroyed by Ardashir's skilful horse-archers, and Alexander himself retreated after an indecisive campaign, his army wracked by indiscipline and disease.<ref name=":0">[[Edward Gibbon]], ''The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', (The Modern Library, 1932), chap. VIII., p. 182</ref><ref>Herodian, 6:5:10</ref> Further losses were incurred by the retreating northern army in the inclement cold of [[Roman Armenia|Armenia]] as it retired into winter quarters, due to a failure through incompetence to establish adequate supply lines.<ref>Herodian, 6:6:3</ref><ref name=":0" /> Still, Mesopotamia was retaken, and Ardashir was not thereafter able to extend his conquests, though his son, Shapur, would obtain some success later in the century.<ref name=":0" />

Although the Sassanids were checked for the time,{{sfn|Southern|2001|p=62}} the conduct of the [[Imperial Roman army|Roman army]] showed an extraordinary lack of discipline. In 232, there was a mutiny in the Syrian legion, which proclaimed [[Taurinus]] emperor.<ref>[[Epitome de Caesaribus]], 24:2</ref> Alexander managed to suppress the uprising, and Taurinus drowned while attempting to flee across the [[Euphrates]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=McHugh|first=John S|title=Emperor Alexander Severus: Rome's Age of Insurrection AD 222–235|publisher=Pen and Sword|year=2017|isbn=9781510708754|pages=184}}</ref> The emperor returned to Rome and celebrated a triumph in 233.{{sfn|Southern|2001|p=62}}