"Battle of Dara (530 AD) " Topic

"The wars between the West and the Persian Empire went on for century after century with Greeks, Romans, Armenians, Byzantines and others either attacking Persia or defending themselves from Persia. Sometimes these wars were minor border dust-ups of little importance. But others were either full wars or fights to the death.

The Byzantine Empire was at war with the Sassanids from 507, supposedly because Kavadh I had tried to force the Iberians to become Zoroastrians. The Iberian king fled from Kavadh, but Kavadh tried to make peace with the Byzantines, and attempted to have Justin I adopt his son Khosrau. Justin and his nephew and heir, Justinian I, refused and sent his generals Sittas and Belisarius into Persia, where they were initially defeated.

Justinian tried to negotiate but Kavadh instead sent 40,000 men towards Dara in 529. Belisarius was sent back to the region with Hermogenes as his co-commander and 25,000 men in 530; Kavadh replied with another 10,000 troops under the general Firouz, who set up camp about five kilometers away at Ammodius…"
Full article here
link

Anyone wargame this battle?

Amicalement
Armand

This was the battle that got me into ancient war gaming. IN the 70s I got a book on military history, edited by David Chandler, as a Christmas present from my parents.

It had three battles in it played out as wargames, Daras was the first. Using Peter Guilders figures. It looked beautiful, I was hooked.

I remember that book – somewhere on my bookshelves! Hinchliffe figures as I recall – still have some of those. Looking forward to Aventine's 28mm early Byzantines.

This looks like an interesting battle to wargame. Simon MacDowall has a scenario write up for this battle for his Comitatus rules set. I have read it over a few times and want to try it for Comitatus someday. I have neither army in miniatures, so will take me a awhile to get to that point. I have 4th Century Late Imperial Romans, but they differ from the 6th Century Early Byzantines and Sassanids I would need to do this battle.

Funny that you gentlemen should mention that book, as a youth I would check that book out from the library and drool over the wargames photos. I believe the boon was The Art of Warfare on Land: link

Was the battle of Three Kings also in that? I remember a diorama of that battle in a book (possibly with flats?), but it was decades ago.

The Art of Warfare on Land had Daras, Waterloo, and Gettysburg in miniature. That Daras layout hooked me into the Byzantine Empire's history as well. I still own the book and re-read it regularly. No battle of Three Kings in it though. Had to be a different book.