Battle of Emesa 272 AD - How Aurelian Restored Rome (Part 3)

 

In light of the battle of Immae, Zenobia arrived in Antioch with her own retinue to bolster morale The unwelcome news that her heavily-armoured clibanarii had been badly defeated by lighter units surely came as unexpected.

 Having lost some of their best cavalry and needing reinforcements, the Palmyrene position at Antioch had become untenable, and there was a real danger of encirclement if they chose to stay and fight.

 But a hasty retreat would've spread panic and could prompt the citizens to rise against the Palmyrenes in order to gain favour with the victor.

 Fearing betrayal by the people of Antioch, Zabdas employed a clever ruse to buy some time.

 He fabricated a victory at Immae ...

 To back up his claim he found a man who resembled Aurelian in age and build, dressed him in clothes that looked somewhat imperial, and then paraded him in chains through the city's streets, giving off the impression that the Palmyrenes had not only won the battle, but had captured the Roman emperor alive.

 Their ruse, however, would only last for so long, as Aurelian’s army would appear in front of the city walls, in no more than a day.

 While the people enjoyed the procession and the subsequent celebrations, Zenobia and Zabdas made preparations to abandon the city .

 The following night, they slipped out of Antioch under the cover of darkness and marshalled their army south to Emesa.

 Despite this setback, Queen Zenobia remained defiant.

 She still possessed cavalry reserves that far outnumbered those available to the enemy.

 Her army was more than capable of stopping Aurelian and turning the tide of the war… When the sun rose the next day, the citizens of Antioch were in for a rude awakening.

 Seeing that the Palmyrenes had retreated, many who had staunchly supported Zenobia feared reprisals from Aurelian.

 Some of the officials and aristocrats fled into the surrounding countryside.

 Meanwhile, the Roman emperor was encamped some 20 kilometers east of the city, still unaware that Zabdas had withdrawn his troops.

 Having dealt a blow to the enemy’s heavy cavalry, Aurelian could now safely deploy his infantry against Antioch and send the cavalry around the city to encircle the Palmyrene position.

 It was only sometime after daybreak that he learned of Zenobia’s complete withdrawal and he marched to the city at once…

 Once at Antioch, Aurelian was met with opened gates and a warm reception.

 The city clearly tried to do everything not to provoke the emperor.

 For his part, Aurelian showed that he was not interested in retribution.

 Upon learning that some of the city’s elites had fled in fear of reprisals, he issued a general pardon to all citizens of Antioch .

 But his political maneuvering didn’t stop there . He published edicts far and wide, advertising to the people of Syria that he considered those who had collaborated with Zenobia to have done so under pressure, rather than of their own free will, thus absolving them of any penalties.

 This calculated policy of clemency immediately had a desired effect.

 His troops were welcomed by the locals.

 Bartering for provisions brought business to local markets, craftsmen, and shopkeepers.

 And, most importantly for the emperor’s long term planning, the wealthy elite that had fled Antioch returned to the city with gratitude.

 Moreover, a march further into Syria would likely be met with much less hostility and, crucially, the large fortified cities were now less likely to offer resistance, which would otherwise force Aurelian into prolonged and costly sieges.

 By embracing the wealthy Syrian aristocracy that opposed him, the emperor not only freed up troops that he needed for the war against Zenobia, but also secured the local logistical support for his army in Syria.

 However, Aurelian was detained at Antioch for a time due to administrative and military considerations.

 Years of Palmyrene rule, increasingly at odds with the central imperial government, brought about changes to the administration that needed to be addressed.

 First, at the fore of these issues was the imperial mint, which Aurelian temporarily closed.

 Second, the emperor dealt with the growing problem of the Christian schism by deposing Paul of Samosata, the divisive bishop of Antioch, who had received patronage from Zenobia.

 On the military side of things, a pressing issue was the Palmyrene garrison at Daphne, just south of Antioch, which had been left behind as a rearguard by Zabdas as he withdrew south.

 This contingent was unlikely to pose a threat, but its position above the strategic narrow gorges could hinder Aurelian’s advance and inflict serious losses on his army.

 This made the Palmyrene contingent both impossible to ignore and difficult to dislodge.

 Aurelian opted for a full frontal assault with his infantry, who had yet to see action on the battlefield in the war against Palmyra.

 The legionaries formed the famed testudo formation and attacked up the steep slopes, battling their way up the hill under a heavy rain of missiles, including darts and stones.

 With their shields closed together over their heads, Aurelian’s infantry made the ascent without suffering heavy losses.

 And once atop the hill, they made short work of breaking through the enemy defenses.

 They put the Palmyrenes to flight in such disorder that some were driven over the cliff’s edge and were dashed to pieces on the precipices below.

 Such a direct assault would’ve otherwise been considered reckless, but in contrast with his public show of clemency, Aurelian made sure to demonstrate to everyone his capability to deal swiftly with any dissent.

 The secondary military reason that delayed the emperor was reinforcements.

 Aurelian welcomed contingents from the recently retaken Tyana, as well as the various other towns of Cappadocia, all on their way to join the emperor’s army.

 He deliberately waited to provoke defections of other Roman units in the east, who abandoned Zenobia’s cause and joined Aurelian.

 To the south, Marcus Aurelius Probus was similarly delayed while he welcomed defections of various military units from Phoenicia and Palestine.

 At last ready to move south, Aurelian was received with open arms by the towns and villages along his itinerary, most notably the cities of Apamea, Larissa, and Arethusa.

 However, he soon came upon the army of Zenobia and Zabdas.

 Zabdas drew up the Palmyrene army on the plains north of Emesa, some 50,000 strong.

 His host was reinforced with large numbers of clibanarii to replace those who had been lost in the previous encounter.

 And this time, the battlefield was of his own choosing, well suited for mailed heavy cavalry.

 Aurelian’s ranks, meanwhile, had swelled as well.

 He had crossed into Asia with some 36,000 troops, but reinforcements from the newly conquered eastern provinces brought his army up to around 45,000.

 Both commanders stationed their cavalry on the flanks, and infantry in the center.

 The Palmyrene cavalry arm was superior, not only because of their armour, but also their superior numbers.

 In addition to their clibanarii, the Palmyrenes probably also employed elite Osrhoenian armoured horse-archers and Palmyra’s local light cavalry and dromedary archer units.

 Again the Roman emperor took the initiative.

 His infantry, interspersed with veterans from the campaigns against the Iuthungi, Vandals and Goths, were tasked with breaking their counterparts.

 Meanwhile, he planned to keep the Palmyrene cavalry occupied.

 He feared that the superior numbers of the enemy cavalry would allow Zabdas to hit his infantry on the flanks.

 Marcellinus, one of his most trusted lieutenants, was to use his own cavalry to deter an envelopment through the use of non-committal tactics of harassment.

 If successful, the clibanarii and Zenobia’s other mounted units would not be able to commit to an envelopment of Aurelian’s centre, so long as the fast-moving Dalmatians and Moors were in a position to outmaneuver them and hit them on the flanks.

 But Zabdas had learned from his prior defeat …

 He ordered his heavy cavalry to advance on the enemy at a slower pace, to give the impression that they would again fall into the trap of a feigned retreat.

 But… they waited for the opportune moment when the enemy came-in too close, before charging at full gallop!

 The battle did not begin as Aurelian had hoped.

 He had ordered his mounted units to withdraw before the charge of the enemy and fight an evasive battle of harassment.

 But the clibanarii pursued the emperor’s cavalry with such ferocity, that they were unable to maintain their distance.

 Locked in close quarters fighting, and also facing ranged attacks from Zabdas’ horse archers and dromedary archers, the Dalmatians and Moors were hard-pressed, and many fell.

 But despite their troubles , they kept their discipline and successfully occupied Zenobia’s cavalry, buying time for the infantry in the center.

 After facing down a Palmyrene rain of arrow fire, Aurelians’ infantry charged the enemy formation, their momentum driving back Zabdas’ center .

 However, the situation for the Dalmatians and Moors on the flanks was critical.

 What was supposed to be an orderly tactical withdrawal was close to becoming a rout.

 If their lines faltered, the whole army would quickly become surrounded.

 Aurelian decided to gamble … Seeing the trouble his cavalry were in, he detached infantry from the main line, to wheel

 about and aid the embattled flanks.

 This action sapped the forward push of his units in the center, and Zabdas was immediately able to counter.

 Aurelian’s veterans held firm, but the less experienced troops fared badly, their lines faltering against superior numbers of the Palmyrene infantry.

 But… just as the battle seemed lost, Aurelian’s gamble proved decisive.

 Zabdas’ clibanarii brought the full force of their charge upon Aurelian’s cavalry.

 But in doing so their own formation had fragmented into smaller groups as they made every effort to chase down the nimble riders.

 Aurelian’s infantry exploited the gaps, where the club-armed Palestinians were especially effective in the tight spaces.

 Their blunt weapons proved devastating against the heavily armored Palmyrene cavalrymen.

 Marcellinus rallied the cavalry and the clibanarii began taking many casualties.

 Their formations held fast and repelled repeated attacks.

 But… overwhelmed and attacked from two sides, their numbers dwindled and the survivors fled the field.

 By this time in the centre, Aurelian’s infantry formation had stabilized and was slowly chipping away at Zabdas’ line.

 Seeing that the battle is lost, the remaining Palmyrene troops lost heart… That Aurelian and his infantry were able to respond to a critically dangerous situation with such flexibility in the heat of battle, and thereby win both the infantry and cavalry engagements, while his cavalry retained their discipline when hard-pressed, reflects both the veterancy of his men, honed through years of military crisis, and their confidence in his strong leadership.

 The few Palmyrene survivors staggered back to Emesa.

 After an impromptu council of war with her generals and advisors, Zenobia decided to retreat to the relative safety of Palmyra itself.

 With Aurelian closing in fast, the queen and her retinue abandoned the royal treasury in their haste.

 The Emesenes threw open their gates to the emperor, but he did not dwell there for long.

 Rather than returning to Apamea in the north, and then taking a south-easterly route to the city of Palmyra, Aurelian led his army in direct pursuit via the shorter but more dangerous easterly route, from Emesa across the treacherous dry steppe.

 His army was harassed by the raids of brigands, but they soon arrived at the trade metropolis .

 Palmyra did not possess a circuit wall at this time, and Zenobia’s troops could do little more than to occupy strategic points in the hope of stopping the enemy.

 The queen hoped that the stores and granaries inside her city would enable her to outlast the enemy.

 However, the city was hopelessly surrounded… Moreover, Aurelian took great care to cut off the approach of a force of Persians, perhaps mercenaries, who had arrived to assist Palmyra.

 He also received assistance and supplies from the Arabic Tanukh Confederation, who were enemies of Zenobia.

 Zenobia needed outside help.

 She slipped out of the city during the night on a dromedary and travelled east, intending to meet with the Persian king Bahram I to secure his support.

 But it was not to be.

 Aurelian was alerted to her escape and sent cavalry in pursuit.

 They caught up with her as she was attempting to cross the Euphrates by boat, and brought her to the emperor.

 The people of Palmyra were initially divided, with some wishing to continue the fight.

 But Aurelian’s reconciliatory policy fostered a series of defections, which eventually persuaded the city’s inhabitants that they could trust in Aurelian’s mercy.

 He entered the city in triumph and distributed much of its wealth to his soldiers.

 The war had been won…

 Aurelian now faced the difficult task of restructuring the eastern frontier, which had fallen into disarray during the war with Palmyra.

 The Persians would have surely sought to capitalize on the crisis Rome was facing, but they faced their own internal problems following the death of Shapur I in 270 AD.

 Needless to say, the Persians were now anxious to avoid a full scale war with the victorious Aurelian.

 Thus, the emperor was able to reach an understanding with Bahram I.

 He entrusted the reintegration of the Syrian provinces into the empire and the restructuring of the eastern frontier to Marcellinus, one of his most reliable marshals.

 With the affairs of Palmyra and the eastern border arranged to his satisfaction, Aurelian returned to Emesa where he put Zenobia and some of her key supporters on trial.

 It was here that some of Zenobia’s most prominent supporters, faced the harshest punishment , including Cassius Longinus, an intellectual from Emesa.

 Zenobia herself was spared, but not out of any regard for the dignity of her position.

 Aurelian was aware that the formidable queen came close to defeating the imperial war machine and undoubtedly still enjoyed much support in the east.

 Thus, she was paraded through the cities of Syria on the back of a camel and, according to one source, was chained up on a high structure in Antioch for three days.

 Such humiliation was not prompted by cruelty, but by calculated political considerations – the myth of a powerful Zenobia had to be dispelled and any sympathies for her cause had to be diminished in the urban centers, if Aurelian’s position as emperor was to be secure.

 Having finally felt he had brought stability to the east, Aurelian assumed the title: Restorer of the World, and embarked on a journey west with his hostages and the vast wealth plundered from Palmyra.

 His ultimate propaganda goal was to display Zenobia and Vaballathus in Rome during his triumphant return.

 While the preparations for this elaborate procession were being made, in 273 AD Aurelian was detained in Thrace and Moesia, having to campaign against an invasion by the Carpi.

 But trouble was again brewing in the east.

 Some of Palmyra’s leading men sought to revive their political fortunes, and attempted to persuade Marcellinus to usurp as emperor .

 Playing for time with vague answers, Marcellinus remained loyal and informed the emperor of what was happening.

 Growing impatient, the conspirators then clothed a certain Antiochus in the imperial purple.

 Incensed, Aurelian hastened back east with minimal preparations.

 Through a series of forced marches he arrived at Antioch, surprising the inhabitants who were attending a horse race.

 From there he rushed to Palmyra, catching the conspirators off guard and taking the city without a fight.

 This time however, there would be no mercy.

 Although he spared Antiochus as a man of insignificant birth, who was clearly propped up by the wealthy elites, the emperor’s soldiers were given permission to strip the city bare and take as much plunder as they could carry.

 Palmyra would never again pose a threat to Rome.

 However, the emperor had no time to waste.

 He hastened south to deal with an insurgency in Alexandria.

 This rebellion was led by adherents to Zenobia wishing to avoid punishment, led by a man name Firmus .

 In the fierce fighting that followed, much of the prosperous Bruchion district, which included the Ptolemaic royal palace, was destroyed.

 Aurelian crushed the rebellion and had Firmus strangled to death.

 In 274, the victorious emperor turned his attention to the Gallic Empire.

 This final campaign of reunification consisted of both diplomacy and ferocious fighting on the battlefield.

 The Gallic emperor Victorinus had been assassinated in 271, and his successor Tetricus was both fearful of Aurelian and anxious about sedition within his own forces.

 Being aware of Aurelian’s reputation for clemency, Tetricus wrote a letter to Aurelian, offering to surrender.

 However, it appears that Aurelian would only accept his surrender if he offered up his army as a sacrifice.

 And so, in the autumn of 274 Tetricus conspired with Aurelian to meet in battle on the Catalaunian Plains, an open expanse of land that would have favoured Aurelian’s cavalry, including perhaps the former surviving catraphracts of Zenobia.

 Tetricus led forth his army, only to then abandon them and ride over to Aurelian’s side of the battlefield in a show of surrender.

 However, the Romano-Gallic army was an experienced force.

 They had successfully crushed Germans, usurpers and rebel cities, and had twice defeated the excellent military emperor Gallienus.

 They were still a cohesive and strong enough force to fight Aurelian without their emperor.

 Nevertheless, the Gallic army was slaughtered in a massive and hard fought battle that reunited the empire but also, due to the Gallic losses, temporarily compromised the security of the Rhine frontier.

 Finally, at the end of 274, Aurelian returned to Rome to celebrate his grand triumph over barbarians and usurpers.

 Tetricus and his son Tetricus II were made to walk before Aurelian’s triumphal chariot.

 But also marching before Aurelian was the once mighty queen Zenobia, a jewel in Aurelian’s crown.

 She was shackled in gold chains and adorned with large gems so heavy that she could hardly walk.

 Aurelian's soldiers handed out free bread to the citizens and the Emperor was hailed a hero by his subjects .

 Aurelian pardoned Tetricus, rewarding him for turning over the Gallic Empire by making him the governor of Lucania in southern Italy.

 Likewise, Palmyra’s moment in the sun had come to an end, but Zenobia now embarked on a new life.

 Aurelian gave her an estate in Tivoli, and she married a Roman senator.

 Thereafter, she lived in Italy with her children, now a member of Rome’s senatorial elite.

 The ever-busy Aurelian was still not yet able to rest.

 In 275 he returned to Gaul to restore the weakened Rhine frontier, putting down Gallic unrest and defeating Germanic incursions into both Gaul and Raetia.

 He then made his way to the Balkans to deal with a new series of Gothic raids into Thrace and Asia Minor.

 However, Aurelian never finished this campaign.

 As an administrator, he was known to be strict, handing out severe punishments to corrupt officials and soldiers.

 His secretary Eros feared for his life on account of his own corruption.

 To save his own skin, he forged a document, listing the names of men supposedly marked by Aurelian for execution.

 High ranking officers of the army were on that list.

 Fearing punishment, they murdered Aurelian in September 275 , in Thrace.

 Aurelian’s death prevented a full restoration of political stability that could have ended the cycle of assassinations and civil wars.

 His short reign had reunified a disintegrating empire and secured its frontiers, effectively giving Rome a new lease of life that lasted another 200 years.