battle, notable, ancient

Battle of the Arius

Name: Battle of the Arius
Location: Hari River, Turkmenistan

Battle of the Arius was a battle fought in 208 BC at Hari River, in what is now Turkmenistan. Its exact site is not recorded; the atlas places it at Hari River. It was part of the Seleucid–Parthian Wars, which ran from 238 BC to 129 BC. The recorded result: Seleucid victory. Recorded strength: unknown against 10,000 Cataphracts.

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Fought208 BC

WhereHari River, Turkmenistan37.662N, 60.435E, placed at the location, approximate

OutcomeSeleucid victory

BelligerentsSeleucid EmpireagainstGreco-Bactrian Kingdom

Casualties and lossesat least 2000 horsemen KIAand2,000–2,500 Cataphracts

Part ofSeleucid–Parthian Wars238 BC to 129 BC

Where it sits in the Seleucid–Parthian Wars

4 placed engagements of the Seleucid–Parthian Wars in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date	208 BC (year precision)
Place	Hari River, Turkmenistan 37.662N, 60.435E
Kind	Battle, ancient
Strength	unknown	10,000 Cataphracts
Casualties and losses	at least 2000 horsemen KIA	2,000–2,500 Cataphracts
Commanders	Antiochus III the Great	Euthydemus I

Placed at Hari River; the exact site is not recorded. with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

Battle of Dandanaqan 1040, 86 km E
Siege of Merv 1221, 155 km E
Battle of Nishapur AD 652, 217 km SW
Siege of Nishapur 1220, 217 km SW
Battle of Geok Tepe 1880, 223 km W

In the same war

Before: Battle of Mount Labus 209 BC
After: Siege of Bactra 208 BC
All 4 engagements of Seleucid–Parthian Wars

Elsewhere in 208 BC

Battle of Baecula Spain
Battle of Petelia Italy

Battle of the Arius is one of 184 engagements of the 3rd century BC in the atlas and one of 11 in present-day Turkmenistan.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q2761397, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of the Arius, revision 1376555178, 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.