Siege of Dara (573)

The siege of Dara was raised by the Sasanian king Khosrow I in 573 during the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 572–591. The fortified city fell after 4 months.^[3]

Siege of Dara (573)
Part of Byzantine–Sasanian War of 572–591
Ruins of the fortifications of Dara
Date 573 Location Dara (modern-day Oğuz, Mardin, Turkey) Result Sasanian victory
Belligerents
Sasanian Empire	Byzantine Empire
Commanders and leaders
Khosrow I Izadgushasp Fariburz Bahram Chobin	Sergius † Ioannes (POW)[1]
Strength
23,000 cavalry 40,000 infantry [2]

The Sasanians cut through a hill to divert the city's water supply,^[4] and used captured Roman ballistae from the abandoned Roman Siege of Nisibis (573).^[5]

The news of the fall of Dara, long a major Byzantine stronghold in Upper Mesopotamia, drove Emperor Justin II insane.^[3] Bahram Chobin was commander of the cavalry force in the siege, and was promoted to the spahbed of the North after this victory.^[6]