the ancient city of Shushtar. According to another source (Lactantius), Shapur humiliated Valerian, using the former emperor as a human stepping-stool while mounting his horse. He was reportedly kept in a cage and was humiliated for the Persian emperor's pleasure, according to Aurelius Victor. Upon his death, Valerian's body was allegedly skinned and stuffed with, depending on which account, manure or straw, to produce a trophy of Roman submission preserved in a Persian temple. However, there are also accounts that stipulate he was treated with respect, and that allegations of torture may have been fabricated by Christian historians of late antiquity to show the perils that befell persecutors of Christianity. Following Valerian's capture, Shapur took the city of Caesarea and deported some 400,000 of its citizens to the southern provinces of the Sassanian Empire. He then raided Cilicia, but he was finally repulsed by a Roman force that was rallied by Macrianus, Callistus and Odenathus of Palmyra. Valerian's defeat at Edessa became the catalyst for a series of revolts that would lead to the temporary fragmentation of the Roman Empire. In the East, Macrianus used his control of Valerian's treasury to proclaim his sons Macrianus Minor and Quietus as emperors. Along the Danubian frontier, Ingenuus and Regalianus were also proclaimed emperors. In the West, the Roman governor Postumus took advantage of Gallienus' distraction to murder the Imperial heir, Saloninus, and take control of what is now called the Gallic Empire. References Sources Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum, v. Zosimus, New History, i. Abdolhossein Zarinkoob, Ruzgaran: tarikh-i Iran az aghz ta saqut saltnat Pahlvi, Sukhan, 1999. Potter, David S., The Roman Empire at Bay AD 180–395, Routledge, 2004. External links "Valerian" on De Imperatoribus Romanis. 260 Edessa Edessa 3rd century in Iran 260s in the Roman Empire History of Şanlıurfa Province Shapur I Edessa Battles involving Germanic peoples Battles involving the Goths