Battle of Edessa
| Battle of Edessa | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Roman–Persian Wars | |||||||
A rock-face relief dating to the third century at Naqsh-e Rostam, depicting the triumph of Shapur I over the Roman Emperor Valerian. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Sasanian Empire |
Roman Empire Germanic and Goth allies | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Shapur I | Valerian (POW) | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | 70,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
Entire force | |||||||
The Battle of Edessa took place between the armies of the Roman Empire under the command of Emperor Valerian and the Sasanian Empire under Shapur I, in Edessa (now the Turkish city of Urfa) in 260. The Roman army was defeated and captured in its entirety by the Sasanian forces; for the first time, a Roman emperor was taken prisoner.