Narses (general)

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Narses († 605 in Constantinople ) was an Eastern Roman general and, as far as is known, not related to the older eunuch Narses , who fought against the Ostrogoths under Justinian I.

Life

Narses fought very successfully against the Persian Sassanids under Emperor Maurikios in the Roman-Persian war that broke out again in 572 . In the spring of 591 he then led a Roman army through Armenia to Atropatene to help King Chosrau II , who had been overthrown in 590, back to the Persian throne and to eliminate the usurper Bahram Chobin . In the summer of 591 he and Johannes Mystakon beat Bahram Tschobin at the Blarathon (or Blarathos) river and thus brought the war provoked almost 20 years ago by Justin II to a favorable conclusion for Ostrom, since Chosrau II and the emperor had one for him made advantageous peace.

When Maurikios turned against the Avars and Slavs in 591 and relocated large parts of the army to the Balkans for this purpose (see Maurikios' Balkan campaigns ), Narses remained with part of the army in the east and secured Roman rule in the territories gained in 591.

When Chosrau II declared war on the Romans in 603 after the overthrow of his patron Maurikios, Narses rebelled against the new emperor Phocas , came to an understanding with the Sassanids and entrenched himself in Edessa , which he was able to hold thanks to a Persian relief attack against a punitive expedition sent by Phocas . Here he eliminated Severus, the bishop of Edessa , who probably sympathized with Phocas. Narses and Chosrau II pretended to act on behalf of the rightful heir to the throne, Theodosius , who had fled to join them. Eventually the city fell anyway when a second imperial army built a siege ring. But Narses was able to escape to Hierapolis . When Phocas offered to pretend negotiations, Narses went to Constantinople, where he was executed as a traitor in 605. Domentiolos succeeded him as a general in the east .

Narses is described in the sources as an excellent general who is said to have terrified the Persians.

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literature

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Remarks

  1. See Robert W. Thomson, James Howard-Johnston : The Armenian history attributed to Sebeos. Volume 2: Historical Commentary (= Translated Texts for Historians. Vol. 31, 2). Translated, with notes. Liverpool University Press, Liverpool, ISBN 0-85323-564-3 , 197 f.