THE ROMAN EASTERN FRONTIER AND THE PERSIAN WARS IN LATE ANTIQUITY: CONFRONTATION AND COEXISTENCE IN GREEK AND SYRIAN ECCLESIASTICAL SOURCES (410-428 AD)

Abstract

The history of relations between the Eastern Roman and Sassanid Persian Empires was marked by armed conflicts at different times between the two powers during Late Antiquity. This theme has been studied by historiography, with particular emphasis on the conflicting moments recorded by the Greek sources that have come down to us. Considering the context of the search for affirmation of different Christian denominations in the Mesopotamian region between the two empires in the first half of the 5th century AD, the objective of this article is to demonstrate that, in addition to the conflicting episodes that resulted in armed confrontations, there was a need, at times, for negotiations and coexistence between the rulers of both empires in the face of the claims of the Christian elites that emerged on both sides of the border in search of political and administrative autonomy. For this analysis, the “Ecclesiastical Histories” by Socrates of Constantinople and Theodoret of Cyrus, written in Greek, and the “Acts of the Persian Martyrs under King Yazdgird I” and the “Synodicon Orientale” (Records of the Nestorian Synods), written in the Syriac language, will be used.