further. Aside from having spent the campaign season in the reduction of a single city, Shapur II had lost as many as 30,000 in the siege, and his barbarian allies from the east deserted him due to the heavy casualties. In the following year (360), Shapur II renewed his invasion and captured the key border fortresses Bezabde and Singara, killing and capturing five entire Roman legions, but again suffering high casualties. In spring of the next year Constantius II who had spent the winter in Constantinople recruiting his forces, finally arrived in the east. Shapur's strategy was to refortify and hold on to the fortresses he had captured and avoid a pitched battle. Constantius directed his efforts towards retaking Bezabde, but met an unexpectedly strong resistance; diverted from his purpose by the revolt of Julian which had arisen meanwhile in Gaul, Constantius abandoned the siege at the approach of winter, heading west. He died shortly at Antioch of a fever. At the accession of Julian, Shapur desired peace. In 363, Emperor Julian, at the head of a strong army, invaded Persia and advanced to take Ctesiphon. But despite a good start to the campaign he was killed in battle on the retreat. His successor Jovian signed a treaty of peace, by which the districts on the Tigris and Nisibis (totalling five Roman provinces) were ceded to the Persians and the Romans relinquished the right to interfere in Armenia. See also Persian wars of Constantius II References Sources Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae (translated by J. C. Rolfe), Cambridge MA, 1982. Abd al-Husayn Zarrin’kub, Ruzgaran: tarikh-i Iran az aghz ta saqut saltnat Pahlvi, Sukhan, 1999. John Harrel, The Nisibis War: The Defence of the Roman East AD 337–363, Pen & Sword Military, 2016. External links The Siege of Amida in 359 by Ammianus Marcellinus 359 Amida Amida Amida Amida 350s in the Roman Empire 4th century in Iran Shapur II Battles involving the Gauls