Atlas of Battles

siege, ancient

Siege of Edessa

Siege of Edessa was a siege conducted in AD 165 at Edessa, in what is now Turkey. It was part of the Roman–Parthian War of 161–166, which ran from AD 161 to AD 166. The recorded result: Roman victory; Citizens of Edessa massacre its Parthian garrison and submit the city to the Romans.

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FoughtAD 165
WhereEdessa, Turkey37.146N, 38.784E
OutcomeRoman victory; Citizens of Edessa massacre its Parthian garrison and submit the city to the Romans
BelligerentsRoman Empire; Pro-Roman EdessansagainstParthian Empire; Pro-Parthian Edessans
Part ofRoman–Parthian War of 161–166AD 161 to AD 166

Where it sits in the Roman–Parthian War of 161–166

Siege of Edessa, AD 163Battle of Ctesiphon, AD 165Siege of Edessa, AD 165Battle of Dura-Europos, AD 165AD 163AD 165Siege of Edessa, AD 165
4 placed engagements of the Roman–Parthian War of 161–166 in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

DateAD 165 (year precision)
PlaceEdessa, Turkey
37.146N, 38.784E
KindSiege, ancient
Commanders
  • Lucius Verus
  • Avidius Cassius
  • Vologases IV
Siege of EdessaSiege of EdessaSiege of EdessaBattle of EdessaSiege of EdessaBattle of UrfaSiege of EdessaSiege of EdessaAleppoGaziantepDiyarbakırAdıyamanKilisMardinKahramanmaraşAl Hasakah100 km37.146N, 38.784E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 9 times between AD 163 and 1920.

In the same war

Siege of Edessa is one of 32 engagements of the 2nd century in the atlas and one of 622 in present-day Turkey.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q65081356, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Siege of Edessa (165), revision 1370740965, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.