All Battles 
Emperors 
Sack of Petra |
year: 551 |
| The Byzantines sacked the Sassanid-held Georgian city of Petra | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ |
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enemy: Sassanid Persians
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location: Petra, modern village Tsikhisdziri on the Black sea coast of Georgia
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accuracy:
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battle type: City Capture |
war: Lazic War |
modern country:
Georgia |
| ▼ The Byzantines(emperor: Justinian I) | ▼ The Enemies | |
| Commander: | magister militum Bessas | General Mihr-Mihroe (Mermeroes) |
| Forces: | 6,000 | 2,600 |
| Losses: |
| Background story: |
| Gubazes II (Greek: Γουβάζης) was king of Lazica from circa 541 until 555. He was a central figure of the Lazic War (541–562) between Byzantium and Persia. He originally ascended the throne as a vassal of the Byzantine Empire, but the domineering attitude of the Byzantine overlords pushed him to seek the alliance of Byzantium's main rival, Sassanid Persia. The Byzantines were evicted from Lazica with the aid of a Persian army in 541, but the Persian occupation of the country turned out to be worse, and by 548, a repentant Gubazes was requesting assistance from Byzantium. In 548-549, Emperor Justinian sent 7,000 men under Dagisthaeus, who joined King Gubazes to besiege Petra. The Allies defeated two Persian armies, but could not retake the city. Dagisthaeus withdrew because he had neglected to safeguard the mountain passes and Mihr-Mihroe was able to move into Lazica with a claimed 30,000 Persians. The Persians relieved the siege of Petra and reinforced its garrison. After the failure of Dagisthaeus to recapture Petra, Emperor Justinian replaced him with the veteran Bessas. |
The Battle: |
 the ruins of Petra fortress The Byzantines under Bessas, allied with Sabirs (a Hunnic tribe of Caucasus), numbering 6,000 in total, started a siege against Petra in 550. The Sassanid garrison, numbering 2,600, resisted heroically and as in 549 despite the bad condition of the fortification, repelled successfully the attacks for months. The Sassanid general Mihr-Mihroe (Mermeroes) tried again (as he did in 549) to approach with his army of cavalry and 8 elephants to relieve the siege, but this time he did not manage to arrive in time. Bessas finally captured the fortress in spring of 551. The Byzantine commander Bessas personally attacked the walls in an act of courage despite his old age. A small remaining Persian force in the acropolis refused to surrender, and were burned alive there. Bessas then destroyed the fortification –as ordered by Emperor Justinian– in order not to be used by the enemy in the future. After Petra's fall, Mihr-Mihroe directed his force against the Byzantine forts in the area, capturing some of them. Then he launched an attack against the major stronghold of Archaeopolis, but he failed. However, the Persians were unopposed elsewhere in Lazica and managed to had several minor successes in the following years and to establish Persian control over the eastern part of Lazica. The Byzantine forces withdrew west to the mouth of the Phasis, while the Lazi, including Gubazes and his family, sought refuge in the mountains. |
Noteworthy: |
| Bessas was the Byzantine commander in Rome in 546 (when it was captured by the Ostrogoths) while Dagisthaeus later was distinguished as a commander under Narses in the battles that gave the final victory over the Ostrogoths in Italy. Procopius remarked that while Bessas had lost Rome and recovered Petra, Dagisthaeus had failed at Petra but reconquered Rome. |
Aftermath: |
| King Gubazes complained again to Justinian and Bessas was replaced but a little later Gubazes was killed by the Byzantine commanders. The conflict in Lazica continued for some years and ended with the treaty of 561. The Persians had to leave Lazica, however the Byzantines agreed to pay an annual tribute for the right to occupy the region. |
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