The Sasanian Empire at War: Persia, Rome, and the Rise of Islam, 224-651

A comprehensive military history of one of the most important empires of Late AntiquityThe Sasanian Empire at War: Persia, Rome, and the Rise of Islam, 224-651 is the first comprehensive study in English examining war and society in one of the most important empires in world history: the Persian Empire of 224-651 AD, ruled by the Sasanian clan.At its height the Sasanians governed lands from the Indus River in the east to Egypt and the Mediterranean in the west.Adversaries of Rome, they also faced grave challenges from nomadic powers from Central Asia, notably the Huns and Turks.The Sasanians were able to maintain their empire for hundreds of years through nearly constant warfare, but when their expansion was checked in the north by the Byzantines at Constantinople in 626, and with the Muslim invasions to their south and west beginning in the 630s, the empire could no longer be sustained, and it finally collapsed. In this book, Michael J. Decker examines Sasanian warfare, including mili