 Perhaps driven by the will to take revenge for the destruction of Palmyrene trade centers and discourage Shapur from initiating future attacks , Odaenathus launched an invasion against the Persians . In the spring of 262 , the king marched north into the occupied Roman province of Mesopotamia , driving out the Persian garrisons and freeing Edessa and Carrhae . The first <unk> was aimed at Nisibis , which Odaenathus regained but sacked since the inhabitants were sympathetic toward the Persian occupation . The Palmyrene monarch destroyed the Jewish city of Nehardea , 45 km west of the Persian capital Ctesiphon , as he deemed the Jews of Mesopotamia loyal to Shapur . By late 262 or early 263 , Odaenathus stood at the walls of the Persian capital . 
