Book Review: Rome and Persia: The Seven Hundred Year Rivalry

The newest volume from British historian Adrian Goldsworthy is a sweeping account of one of the longest-running conflicts in the classical world.

I’ve long had a fascination with the Sassanid Empire, and in particular with its long-running conflict with the Roman Empire to its west. Thus, when I saw that NetGalley had a galley copy of noted historian Adrian Goldsworthy’s new book, Rome and Persia: The Seven Hundred Year Rivalry, I knew at once that I was going to have to secure a copy. Having just finished the book, I’m very glad I did. As he has shown in both his monographs and in his numerous appearances in historical documentaries, Goldsworthy is one of the finest historians of the ancient world working today. 

Goldsworthy begins his story with a fateful meeting between the Roman Sulla and the representatives of the Parthian king of kings. This would be just one of the many times that representatives from the two great powers of the classical era met with one another to hash out terms for coexistence. For the most part, as Goldsworthy points out, the two empires were content to engage in border skirmishes, and while there were periods of marked conflict–such as the Battle of Carrhae that ended in the ignominious defeat and death of Crassus or the defeat of the emperor Valerian that led him to be taken as a prisoner into the lands of Persia (where he was, some records state, used as a mounting block by the king of kings himself)--for the most part such engagements were limited in scope. 

Of particular interest to both parties, as Goldsworthy reminds us again and again, was the land of Armenia, which was long a bone of contention for both these great powers. Each saw it as a key element of their foreign policy to control this particular piece of land. Indeed, geography was a critical reason for both nations to try to maintain at least a measure of peace with one another. It’s very hard to keep your own imperial domains in one piece when you’re constantly engaged in armed conflict of one sort or another. 

This all changed during the time of Emperor Heraclius and the King of Kings Khosrow II, the latter of whom launched a remarkable offensive against the provinces of the Roman Empire. What might have begun as a conflict somewhat limited in scale soon became something much more significant, as the king of kings went from victory to victory. It was only the timely ascension (or usurpation) of Heraclius  that saved the day for the Romans and, even so, the two empires were exhausted after their war with one another. This, in turn, left them both uniquely vulnerable to the newly-forged armies from Arabia, united as they were under the banner of Islam and with a thirst for conquest. Sassanid Persia was by far the more notable of the casualties of this conflict and, after some nominal resistance, they were ultimately swept away, their last king of kings supposedly slain by a man who didn’t even know who he was. The Roman Empire, meanwhile, lost some of its most lucrative provinces, and it would never be the same.

Goldsworthy has a keen command of how to write narrative history and, while he isn’t afraid to drill down into the nitty-gritty during particular historical periods, he also doesn’t allow his reader to get lost in the weeds. He never loses sight of the bigger picture, and he somehow even manages to make the periods of peace between the two empires seem exciting. While the book is sprawling in scope–covering, as its title suggests, seven centuries of conflict and peace between two of the mightiest and largest empires of antiquity–he also pays key attention to some of the significant individuals who ruled from atop the imperial hierarchies, whether that’s Justinian of the Roman Empire or Shapur I of the Sassanians. These were individuals who left their mark both upon their own domains and upon world history generally.

As he has in several of his other volumes, Goldsworthy also has a keen eye for military history, and he draws our attention to some of the more significant conflicts that erupted between Rome and Persia. He deftly manages providing a macro view of these conflicts while also giving a bit of a deep dive into strategy, material, and army composition. Given just how frequently Rome and Persia were engaged in armed conflict of one sort or another, this is definitely welcome. 

At the same time, Goldsworthy is not one of those historians who tries to pass off speculation as absolute fact. He repeatedly pauses to remind us that there is a great deal that we simply don’t know, particularly since the sources for the Persians during this time are remarkably thinner on the ground than those for Rome and its allies. As a result, some of the periods discussed in the book are a bit skewed in the direction of Rome. This is, of course, only what one would expect from a historian who wishes to be as rigorous as possible, but it does make for some difficult reading at times, since there’s only so many times you can be reminded of the fact that there are only sparse records for a period before it becomes a bit tedious. 

This is, however, a relatively minor quibble, and it’s to Goldsworthy’s credit that he’s able to weave together this very complex and complicated story into a narrative that even those who aren’t as well-versed or as committed to this particular subject as I am. Furthermore, given the extent to which the last great war between Rome and Persia played such a key role in setting the stage for the rise of Islam, it’s more important than ever to see how such conflicts can have cascading consequences not intended (or foreseen) by either of the main combatants. This book will come to be seen as one of the most important volumes on the subject, and it’s a reminder of the extent to which the conflicts between rival superpowers have long been a familiar part of the theater of history.