The Circle for Late Antique and Medieval Studies is pleased to present a panel discussion on Roman-Sasanian relations in late antique and medieval studies, featuring illustrious professors:

Geoffrey Greatrex, University of Ottawa

Ekaterina Nechaeva, University of Lille

and

Scott McDonough, William Paterson University

This event will be held online only. Register via Zoom.

From the second century BCE to the first two decades of the seventh century, there was not one century in which first the Romans and the Parthians and subsequently the Eastern Romans and the Sasanians, did not engage in war and conflict.  Throughout this period and in times of peace, they continued to trade with each other, emulate the cultural and political traditions of one another and otherwise cooperate with one another.  The 6th and 7th century especially witnessed devastating wars, a couple of which lasted decades between the Sasanians and the East Romans.  The climax of these wars from the Anastasian War of 502-506 onwards, was the Roman-Sasanian war of 602-628, at the end of which, according to one theory, the “Arab” conquests are said to have begun.  A central question in investigating these Roman-Sasanian wars must be the causes of these devastating conflicts between the two imperial powers.  Were there economic dimensions to these wars and if so, what did they entail?  Did belief systems propel these?  What was the grand strategy of the powers in these wars?  What other peoples did these wars engage?  Does the international scene of the 7th century resonate at all with the devastating events of the 21st century as they unfold before our very eyes?

Panelists will discuss the the important aspects of the relations between the Roman and Sassanian Empires during late antiquity, including what was crucial to their engagement with each other.

Geoffrey Greatrex is Professor in the Department of Classics and Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa, Canada. His research focuses on the period of Late Antiquity, in particular Procopius of Caesarea and the reign of Justinian: his monograph, Rome and Persia at War, 502-532, was published in 1998, while a source book, The Roman Eastern Frontiers and the Persian Wars, A.D. 363-630, co-authored with Sam Lieu, appeared in 2002. He has edited a translation and commentary of The Chronicle of Pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor (Liverpool, 2011) with two collaborators, and more recently brought out Procopius of Caesarea. The Persian Wars. A Historical Commentary (Cambridge, 2022) along with a new English translation of the same work. His collaboration with Stephen Mitchell bore fruit this year in the publication of the third edition of the History of the Later Roman Empire (Oxford, 2023), which expands the coverage of the previous two editions.

Ekaterina Nechaeva is a Junior Professor at the University of Lille. She specializes in Late Antique history, with a focus on international affairs, relations between Rome and Sasanian Persia, diplomacy, and across-the-border migration and mobility.Her current project EX-PATRIA centers around prosopography of Conflicts, Contacts, and Circulation between Rome and Iran in Late Antiquity.

Scott McDonough is a Professor of History at William Paterson University in New Jersey. His research interests lie in the social, institutional and religious history of late ancient west Asia, especially pre-Islamic Iran and Caucasia. He is currently completing a monograph, Sasanian Iran: Power, Patronage and Piety, and is beginning a new project on royal succession in the Sasanian Empire.

The Circle is convened by Parvaneh Pourshariati, Associate Professor of History at CityTech, CUNY.  The Circle for Late Antique and Medieval Studies is based at the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies at the Graduate Center, CUNY.