Ammianus Marcellinus

Ammianus Marcellinus, who lived in the 4th century AD, is a historian who personally witnessed the campaigns organized by Rome against the Sasanian Empire. His work is an important primary source for the ancient history of the region, as it provides a first-hand account of the Sasanian-Roman struggle of its time and the Upper Tigris basin where this struggle took place.

The Region and Local Peoples

Since Ammianus Marcellinus personally participated in Rome's campaigns against the Persians, he provided important information about the geographical regions he mentioned and their inhabitants (Vol. 1, p. 49). While discussing the Sasanian-Roman struggle in the 4th century, he mentions local communities living in the region, such as the Zap people; such sources are carefully evaluated in discussions about the local peoples of the region, as they sometimes provide information about tribes living in the same geography in ancient times, from their religious beliefs to their daily practices, even without explicitly naming the tribes (Vol. 1, p. 19).

The Corduene Region

One of the regions central to the historian's narrative is Corduene/Corduenae. Ammianus, who elaborately discusses the war between Sasanian Shahanshah Shapur II and the Roman army and personally visited the Corduene region, states that the people of the region were under Persian suzerainty and were governed by a satrap named Iovinianus, who sympathized with Rome; he also recounts traveling through steep mountains to meet with the satrap of Corduene (18.6.20) (Vol. 1, p. 49). Furthermore, he mentions various animal populations along the course of the Tigris river, likely in the area extending south from Corduene, i.e., towards Mesopotamia (24.8.4-5) (Vol. 1, p. 49).

Influence on Later Sources

The place names and fortresses mentioned by Ammianus have been reiterated in later sources. Indeed, Zosimus, who describes the peace treaty made by the Roman emperor Jovian, who ascended to the throne upon the death of Emperor Julian, with Shapur II, also mentions in his own work the fortresses previously cited by Ammianus Marcellinus; according to this treaty, Rome was forced to cede the regions of Zabdicena, Carduena, Rhemena, and Zelena, and 15 fortresses in these regions, to the Persians (Vol. 1, p. 37).

Campaigns and His Life

The Romans, who had various forms of contact with Corduene, ultimately lost their dominance in this region by being defeated by the Persians in 363 AD (Vol. 1, p. 49). In the context of the eastern campaigns, in which Ammianus Marcellinus also participated, it is stated that the historian was in Gaul until 357 AD, and was subsequently sent to the East due to the Sasanian-Roman wars (Vol. 1, p. 48).