Siege of Dura-Europos (256)

Siege of Dura Europos (256)
	Part of the Roman-Persian wars;
	; ; Map of Dura-Europos in Roman times.
Date	256
Location	Dura-Europos, present-day Syria
Result	; Sassanian victory
Territorial; changes	; Sassanians capture Dura-Europos;
Belligerents
; Sassanian Empire;	; Roman Empire;
Commanders and leaders
	; Shapur I;
Strength
; Unknown	; Unknown

The Siege of Dura Europos took place when the Sassanians under Shapur I besieged the Roman city of Dura-Europos in 256 after capturing Antioch.

The siege was notable for the early use of chemical weapons by the attacking Persian army. During the siege the attackers dug several underground shaft mines under the city walls. The Romans dug tunnels to reach the mines and fight the diggers underground. In one such tunnel, when the Romans broke through into the Sassanian tunnel the tunnelers ignited a mixture of sulfur and pitch, producing a cloud of sulfur dioxide, which killed twenty Roman soldiers. Archaeologists excavated the scene in the 1930s. In 2009 tests showed the presence of sulfur dioxide inside the tunnel.^[2]^[3]^[4]

References[edit]

^ Encyclopaedia Iranica "The siege of Dura Europos. The Sasanian siege of Dura Europos in 256 brought an end to the town’s existence and immobilized Šāpūr’s army for several months. The determined resistance put up by the inhabitants forced the assailants to adopt various siege tactics, which eventually resulted in conquest of the city"

^ “Death Underground: Gas Warfare at Dura-Europos,” Current Archaeology, November 26, 2009 (online feature) http://www.archaeology.co.uk/cwa/world-news/death-underground-gas-warfare-at-dura-europos.htm (accessed October 3, 2014)

^ Samir S. Patel, “Early Chemical Warfare – Dura-Europos, Syria,” Archaeology, Vol. 63, No. 1, January/February 2010, http://www.archaeology.org/1001/topten/syria.html (accessed October 3, 2014)

^ Stephanie Pappas, “Buried Soldiers May Be Victims of Ancient Chemical Weapon,” LiveScience, March 8, 2011, http://www.livescience.com/13113-ancient-chemical-warfare-romans-persians.html (accessed October 3, 2014).

This article about a battle or war of Ancient Roman history is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] Encyclopaedia Iranica "The siege of Dura Europos. The Sasanian siege of Dura Europos in 256 brought an end to the town’s existence and immobilized Šāpūr’s army for several months. The determined resistance put up by the inhabitants forced the assailants to adopt various siege tactics, which eventually resulted in conquest of the city"

[2] “Death Underground: Gas Warfare at Dura-Europos,” Current Archaeology, November 26, 2009 (online feature) http://www.archaeology.co.uk/cwa/world-news/death-underground-gas-warfare-at-dura-europos.htm (accessed October 3, 2014)

[3] Samir S. Patel, “Early Chemical Warfare – Dura-Europos, Syria,” Archaeology, Vol. 63, No. 1, January/February 2010, http://www.archaeology.org/1001/topten/syria.html (accessed October 3, 2014)

[4] Stephanie Pappas, “Buried Soldiers May Be Victims of Ancient Chemical Weapon,” LiveScience, March 8, 2011, http://www.livescience.com/13113-ancient-chemical-warfare-romans-persians.html (accessed October 3, 2014).

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