Byzantine–Sasanian War of 440

The East Roman–Sassanid War of 440 was a short conflict between the East Roman Empire and the Sasanian Empire. The reason for its short ending was that the southern Roman provinces were being invaded by the Vandals, which forced the East Romans to sue for a quick end to the war to focus on the Vandal invasion. The Romans agrees to pay their agreed share of amount for border defences.

Byzantine–Sasanian War of 440
Part of the Byzantine–Sasanian Wars
Byzantine - Sasanian frontier
Date 440 Location The Near East Result Inconclusive
Belligerents
East Roman Empire	Sasanian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Theodosius II	Yazdegerd II

History

The Sasanian and the Roman Empire had since their peace treaty in 387 agreed that they both were obligated to cooperate in the defense of the Caucasus against nomadic attacks. The Romans helped in the defense of the Caucasus by paying the Iranians roughly 500 lbs (226 kg) of gold at irregular intervals. While the Romans saw this payment as political subsidies, the Iranians saw it as an opportunity to influence Roman military affairs. The Roman emperor Theodosius II's unwillingness to continue the payment made shah Yazdegerd II declare war against the Romans, which had ultimately little success for either side.

The Romans were invaded in their southern provinces by the Vandals, causing Theodosius II to ask for peace and send his commander, Anatolius, personally to Yazdegerd II's camp. In the ensuing negotiations in 440, both empires promised not to build any new fortifications in Mesopotamia and that the Sasanian Empire would get some payment in order to protect the Caucasus from incursions.

Sources

• Daryaee, Touraj. "Yazdegerd II". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
• Frye, R. N. (1983). "The political history of Iran under the Sasanians". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 3(1): The Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian Periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-20092-X.
• Payne, Richard (2015). "The Reinvention of Iran: The Sasanian Empire and the Huns". In Maas, Michael (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Attila. Cambridge University Press. pp. 282–299. ISBN 978-1-107-63388-9.
• Shayegan, M. Rahim (2017). "Sasanian political ideology". In Potts, Daniel T. (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran. Oxford University Press. pp. 1–1021. ISBN 9780190668662.