Solachon, Battle of
586 CE
The Battle of Solachon is fought in 586 CE in northern Mesopotamia between the East Roman (Byzantine) forces, led by Philippicus, and the Sassanid Persians under Kardarigan.
The engagement is part of the long and inconclusive Byzantine–Sassanid War of 572–591.
The Battle of Solachon ends in a major Byzantine victory that improves the Byzantine position in Mesopotamia, but it is not in the end decisive.
The war drags on until 591, when it ends with a negotiated settlement between Maurice and the Persian shah Khosrau II (r. 590–628).In the days before the battle, Philippicus, newly assigned to the Persian front, moves to intercept an anticipated Persian invasion.
He chooses to deploy his army at Solachon, controlling the various routes of the Mesopotamian plain, and especially access to the main local watering source, the Arzamon river.
Kardarigan, confident of victory, advances against the Byzantines, but they have been warned and are deployed in battle order when Kardarigan reaches Solachon.
The Persians deploy as well and attack, gaining the upper hand in the center, but the Byzantine right wing breaks through the Persian left flank.
The successful Byzantine wing is thrown into disarray as its men head off to loot the Persian camp, but Philippicus is able to restore order.
Then, while the Byzantine center is forced to form a shield wall to withstand the Persian pressure, the Byzantine left flank also manages to turn the Persians' right.
Under threat of a double envelopment, the Persian army collapses and flees, with many dying in the desert of thirst or from water poisoning.
Kardarigan himself survives and, with a part of his army, holds out against Byzantine attacks on a hillock for several days before the Byzantines withdraw.
Subject
Related Events
Showing 1 events out of 1 total
Kardarigan attacks the army of Philippicus at Solachon in summer 586, commanding the central division of the Persian army in person.
The battle ends in a heavy defeat, and although Kardarigan himself escapes, the survivors of his army suffer greatly because of his decision to destroy his army's water supplies before the battle, in an attempt to harden his men's resolve.
In addition, the surviving Persians are refused entry into Dara since, according to Simocatta, Persian custom forbade entrance to fugitives.
Simocatta also narrates that many Persians died of thirst or from water poisoning when they drank too much water from wells after their ordeal.
Nevertheless, while Philippicus proceeds to attack the fortress of Chlomaron, Kardarigan manages to assemble an improvised force, mostly composed of peasant levies.
He then marches to Chlomaron and unites his army with its defenders, forcing the imperial general to raise the siege.
Kardarigan thus escapes, although his men suffer further casualties in the process, up to a thousand according to Simocatta, from imperial patrols.