The Battle of Thyatira was fought in 366 at

Thyatira Thyateira (also Thyatira; ) was the name of an ancient Greek city in Asia Minor, now the modern Turkish city of Akhisar ("white castle"), Manisa Province. The name is probably Lydian. It lies in the far west of Turkey, southwest of Istanb ...

Lydia Lydia (; ) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom situated in western Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. Later, it became an important province of the Achaemenid Empire and then the Roman Empire. Its capital was Sardis. At some point before 800 BC, ...

(modern Turkey), between the army of the Roman Emperor

Valens Valens (; ; 328 – 9 August 378) was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I, who gave him the Byzantine Empire, eastern half of the Roman Em ...

and the army of the

usurper A usurper is an illegitimate or controversial claimant to power, often but not always in a monarchy. In other words, one who takes the power of a country, city, or established region for oneself, without any formal or legal right to claim it a ...

Procopius Procopius of Caesarea (; ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; ; – 565) was a prominent Late antiquity, late antique Byzantine Greeks, Greek scholar and historian from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman general Belisarius in Justinian I, Empe ...

, led by his general Gomoarius.

Background

After the death of the emperor Julian in his campaign against Persia in 363, his distant relative

was the last surviving descendant of

Constantine I Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...

Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English essayist, historian, and politician. His most important work, ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1789, is known for ...

, ''The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire'', (The Modern Library, 1932), chap. XXV., p. 850, note 34. This link to the revered

Constantinian dynasty The Constantinian dynasty is an informal name for the ruling family of the Roman Empire from Constantius Chlorus (died 306) to the death of Julian in 363. It is named after its most famous member, Constantine the Great, who became the sole rule ...

made Procopius dangerous as a potential usurper, but the emperor

Jovian Jovian is the adjectival form of Jupiter and may refer to: * Jovian (emperor) (Flavius Iovianus Augustus), Roman emperor (363–364 AD) * Jovians and Herculians, Roman imperial guard corps * Jovian (lemur), a Coquerel's sifaka known for ''Zobooma ...

allowed him to retire peacefully to his estates in

Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...

. Jovian's successor

was less trusting, and tried to have Procopius killed. Procopius escaped from the imperial executioners and spent an interval hiding in the Tauric Chersonese. In 365, while Valens was absent from

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, Procopius emerged from exile, seizing control of the capital city and the adjoining provinces of

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

and

Bithynia Bithynia (; ) was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, Paphlagonia to the northeast a ...

. His Constantinian heritage, and promises of money, won a strong force of imperial soldiers to his cause.

Battle

Valens reacted to the usurpation with despair, and the situation was saved by his generals,

Salutius Saturninius Secundus Salutius ( 355–367) was a Roman official and Neoplatonist author. A native of Gaul, he had a successful career as a provincial governor and officer at the imperial court, becoming a close friend and adviser of the Emperor J ...

Arintheus Flavius Arintheus (or Arinthaeus; died AD 378) was a Roman Empire, Roman army officer who started his career in the middle ranks and rose to senior political and military positions. He served the Roman emperor, emperors Constantius II, Julian ( ...

and Arbitio. An army intended for campaigns in the east was redirected against Procopius, who confronted it at

. Valens's officers spoke to the rebellious soldiers, many of whom they had commanded in prior wars, and encouraged them to rejoin the legitimate emperor. Procopius lost the battle after a large part of his army defected to Valens; a subsequent action at Nacolia ended in a similar manner, and Procopius was captured and killed.Gibbon pp.852-54

References

366 360s in the Byzantine Empire {{AncientRome-battle-stub