The Siege of Tyana occurred in 272 CE. The forces of the Roman Emperor Aurelian were seeking to conquer the

Palmyrene Empire The Palmyrene Empire was a short-lived breakaway state from the Roman Empire resulting from the Crisis of the Third Century. Named after its capital city, Palmyra, it encompassed the Roman provinces of Syria Palaestina, Arabia Petraea, and Egypt, ...

Background

In 269, while

Claudius Gothicus Marcus Aurelius Claudius "Gothicus" (10 May 214 – January/April 270), also known as Claudius II, was Roman emperor from 268 to 270. During his reign he fought successfully against the Alemanni and decisively defeated the Goths at the Battle ...

(Gallienus' successor) was defending the borders of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

against Germanic invasions, Palmyrene queen

Zenobia Septimia Zenobia ( Palmyrene Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; AD 240 – c. 274) was a third-century queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Syria. Many legends surround her ancestry; she was probably not a commoner and she married the ruler of the city ...

was cementing her authority; Roman officials in the East were caught between loyalty to the emperor and Zenobia's increasing demands for allegiance. The timing and rationale of the queen's decision to use military force to strengthen her authority in the East is unclear; scholar Gary K. Young suggested that Roman officials refused to recognize Palmyrene authority, and Zenobia's expeditions were intended to maintain Palmyrene dominance. Another factor may have been the weakness of Roman central authority and its corresponding inability to protect the provinces, which probably convinced Zenobia that the only way to maintain stability in the East was to control the region directly. The historian Jacques Schwartz tied Zenobia's actions to her desire to protect Palmyra's economic interests, which were threatened by Rome's failure to protect the provinces. Also, according to Schwartz, the economic interests conflicted;

Bostra Bosra ( ar, بُصْرَىٰ, Buṣrā), also spelled Bostra, Busrana, Bozrah, Bozra and officially called Busra al-Sham ( ar, بُصْرَىٰ ٱلشَّام, Buṣrā al-Shām), is a town in southern Syria, administratively belonging to the Dara ...

and Egypt received trade which would have otherwise passed through Palmyra. The Tanukhids near Bostra and the merchants of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

probably attempted to rid themselves of Palmyrene domination, triggering a military response from Zenobia. In October of 270, a Palmyrene army of 70,000 invaded

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

, and declared Zenobia, Vaballathus's mother, the Queen of Egypt. The Roman general

Tenagino Probus Tenagino Probus was a Roman soldier and procuratorial official whose career reached its peak at the end of the sixth decade of the third century AD (c. 255–260). A poverty of primary sources means that nothing is known for certain of his orig ...

was able to regain

in November, but was defeated and escaped to the fortress of Babylon, where he was besieged and killed by

Zabdas Zabdas was a 3rd-century Syrian general who led the forces of Queen Zenobia of Palmyra during her rule as regent of her son Vaballathus and her subsequent rebellion against the Roman Emperor under the short-lived independent Palmyrene Empire. He ...

, a Palmyrene general, who continued his march south and secured Egypt. Afterward, in 271,

Zabbai Zabbai is a name of uncertain meaning. It appears in the Bible in Ezra , and in Nehemiah , where Zabbai is given as the father of Baruch, who "earnestly repaired" part of the walls of Jerusalem The Walls of Jerusalem ( he, חומות ירו ...

, another Palmyrene general serving Zenobia, started the operations in

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

, and was joined by Zabdas in the spring of that year. The Palmyrenes subdued the Asian province of Galatia, and occupied the regional capital of

Ancyra Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, mak ...

, marking the greatest extent of the Palmyrene expansion.

The siege

Aurelian's vision

As Aurelian besieged the city of

Tyana Tyana ( grc, Τύανα), earlier known as Tuwana ( Hieroglyphic Luwian: ; Akkadian: ) and Tuwanuwa ( Hittite: ) was an ancient city in the Anatolian region of Cappadocia, in modern Kemerhisar, Niğde Province, Central Anatolia, Turkey. It w ...

, he allegedly had a vision of the great 1st-century philosopher

Apollonius of Tyana Apollonius of Tyana ( grc, Ἀπολλώνιος ὁ Τυανεύς; c. 3 BC – c. 97 AD) was a Greek Neopythagorean philosopher from the town of Tyana in the Roman province of Cappadocia in Anatolia. He is the subject of '' ...

, whom he respected greatly, in a dream. Apollonius implored him to show Tyana mercy if he took the city. Aurelian did so. This paid off militarily for the remainder of his campaign as many more cities submitted to him upon seeing that the Emperor would not exact revenge upon them. Apollonius was seen as the champion to the Greek people, as he was seen as a miracle worker. Having been a wise philosopher he was well known by many during and after his lifetime. Some texts relate him to, or mention him being very similar to,

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

of Nazareth. He was highly respected, and he was even regarded as a magician to some people who believed that he practiced

wizardry ''Wizardry'' is a series of role-playing video games, developed by Sir-Tech, that were highly influential in the evolution of modern role-playing video games. The original ''Wizardry'' was a significant influence on early console role-playing ...

. This may be the reason as to why Aurelian was allegedly guided by a vision to be merciful for a greater reward in the future.

Resistance

Most of the soldiers of Tyana only offered little resistance, and the resistance that they did offer up against the legions was completely ineffective. Some men of the garrison charged at Aurelian's men without weapons in their hands as they were farmers that had been called to action, and were not prepared for any sort of warfare with the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

. Following this minor skirmish, the garrison soon surrendered to the legions, allowing them to enter the newly captured city.

Aftermath

Tyana was a great victory, which was accomplished with very little effort by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. Prior to the siege, Aurelian had destroyed every city that resisted him, but he spared Tyana. Whatever the reason for his clemency, Aurelian sparing of Tyana paid off: many more cities submitted to him upon seeing that the emperor would not exact revenge upon them. The gains made by his legions allowed Aurelian to rapidly capture significant amounts of territory taken by the Palmyrenes and eventually defeat Queen

along with subsequently diminishing and weakening the rest of the

in just six months. The war against the Palmyrene Empire only lasted for three years in total with Aurelian rising to power in 270 CE.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Description of battle
at Historia Augusta

Aurelian {{AncientRome-mil-stub