 Think of where you were or will be at age 28. Most of you would probably say starting a family, working a job, kicking it in prison, or living in your mom's basement. Figures. In 528 CE, one Roman 28 year old named Flavius Belisarius was having the time of his life. And by that, I mean he was in charge of an entire war, leading a bunch of raw recruits and going up against an army who had an elite band of troops called the Immortals. Maybe your desk job isn't so bad after all. But Belisarius wouldn't have it any other way. He was an ambitious, talented officer who at a young age had a lot to prove. This was his moment. So how was it then that Belisarius ended up in this situation and what did he do? Well, that's exactly what we're going to explore. In the 6th century CE, two superpowers dominated the Near East, the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire, and the Sassanid Persians. Sometimes, these two powers would come to blows, sending armies against each other and engaging in massive battles. Most of the time, however, conditions were peaceful. Peace being a relative term, the two empires would not battle each other directly, but sought to establish spheres of influence over neighboring minor states in Arabia and the Caucasus. Through them, they would engage in proxy conflicts. In the 520s, relations had again broken down between the two giants and direct conflict was back on the menu. First, diplomatic communications were severed after things went to ride during a potential adoption deal when Byzantine Emperor Justin I insulted Persian king Qavad. Later, the Persians got into a scrap with their client state, Iberia. We'd know not that Iberia, this one. Confused? Me too. Anyways, as it turns out, religion was the root of the conflict. Simply put, the Iberians were Christian and the Persians were not. The Persian king demanded Iberia begin adhering to their customs, which the Iberians did not take kindly to. Imagine that. Iberia defected to the Romans, and the Persian king had something to say about that, so he sent his forces to retake Iberia by force. The Romans responded, and the powers of the Near East in 526 CE had yet again found themselves at war. The first year did not go well for the Byzantines. Emperor Justin had died, leaving his nephew Justinian in charge, and the Iberians completely folded. There was a real danger the conflict would spill out into new areas. Namely, much of the remaining drama would occur between two fortresses situated across the border. Dara and Nizibus. Nizibus had previously been a fortress of crucial strategic value for Rome, but they had lost it to Persia in a previous war. Still needing a strong fortress in the area, the Romans built Dara just a couple dozen miles down the road. After coming to power, Justinian wanted to better defend the empire from the threat of Persian invasion. He had met Balasarius previously and recognized great potential in him, so he appointed him commander of Dara. His first task was to construct a new fortress at a place called Tannerus. The Persians noticed the construction and began sending threats to Balasarius. They knew allowing the Romans to build a new fortress would be a huge blunder. After making no headway, they sent in their army. Balasarius was reinforced by two other senior commanders and they prepared for battle. The Romans lost badly, with several of their commanders killed or captured. They were forced to retreat to Dara and the Persians destroyed their construction. Balasarius's first real action had been a defeat. Luckily, he was outranked by the other two commanders and as such was able to avoid much of the blame of this loss. Still in good favor with Justinian, he was even promoted to senior command. In Dara, around a year later, talks of peace abound. Justinian had dispatched diplomats to facilitate peace talks and they were currently awaiting an answer from the Persians to begin negotiations. Suddenly, reports came in that the Persians had instead sent an army to capture Dara. The Persian forces consisted of around 40,000 well-trained men, many of which were heavy cavalry, with them were the elite Persian cataphracts called the Immortals. As their cool name implies, these guys were the best of the best. Balasarius was in command of a much smaller force of around 25,000. To make matters worse, many of these guys were untrained in inexperienced infantry. They were so hastily recruited that in order to get some help out of them, Balasarius had to train them in archery at the last minute. Many of them had never even touched a bow. Still, Balasarius had large contingents of heavy cavalry available who were tough fighters in their own right. He also had his own crack units, his elite personal guard the Bukalarii, and a few small contingents of allied Hunnic and Harul cavalry, barbarians who Balasarius would continue to use throughout his career. While Persia marched, Balasarius considered his options. Sure, they could pull back behind the safety of the walls of Dara, but then they would have to be under siege and they wouldn't be able to get any food in and just, eh, Balasarius really wasn't about that life. And who can blame him for not wanting to starve for months inside a tiny fort? Instead, Balasarius brought his army out in front of the walls and made preparations for a pitched battle. He knew his troops were outnumbered and outmatched, but that just meant he had to get creative. He ordered his troops to begin digging a system of trenches wide enough that a horse couldn't jump over them and close enough to the walls for archers to provide support. At certain points, he left breaks in the trench that acted as choke points for the Persian cavalry to funnel into. The wings of the trench were forward while the center was further back, making any enemy attacking the center easy to flank. The trench works mitigated the impacts of a full-on Persian cavalry charge and gave Balasarius a significant defensive advantage. Not long after, the Persian army arrived. They made camp just a few miles down the road and began to array themselves for battle. They placed their cavalry in front and their infantry in the back. Balasarius placed his weak infantry behind the center trench and his cavalry behind both wings. On the interior were the contingents of Hunnic cavalry to provide support. Balasarius himself was positioned with his Bukalari behind the center where he could observe the battlefield best. The Persians began with a cavalry attack against the Byzantine left. Overwhelmed, the Byzantines began to fall back, but the Persian cavalry paused feeling threatened by the Huns in the center. This gave the Byzantine left time to rally and counterattack, forcing the Persians to retreat. Once back, a young Persian soldier rode out in front of the Byzantine lines, taunting them in demanding individual combat. The call was answered by a wrestling coach named Andreas. The two men charged. The Persian was good, but Andreas was better. He struck the Persian with his lance, dismounted, and finished him off in a flash. The Roman troops cheered and celebrated. Angrily, another Persian rode out to demand single combat. Andreas again, in spite of having bed forbid to do so, rode out to meet the Challenger. This time, both men missed each other, their horses crashing into each other, and everyone falling down. The dazed Persian began to rise. Too slow, Andreas was already on his feet and struck the Persian down. A deafening roar emanated from the Roman lines. The soldiers were ecstatic. In their humiliation, the Persians were done for the day. The following morning, an additional 10,000 Persian troops arrived from Nizibus, further stretching the Persian advantage. Belisarius sent a letter trying to reason with the Persian commander. Peace is a blessing, as is agreed by all reasonable men. If one should destroy the peace, he is most responsible for the troubles to come. We have made it clear we desire peace, and urge you, do not destroy this, lest you be held responsible by the powers that be in Persia. The Persian commander arrogantly responded. Why, as words, were they not coming from a fickle and untrustworthy Roman? Prepare yourselves for battle, and tomorrow, make sure you ready my bath and lunch before I arrive in the city. Hubris. The following day, the Persian commander launched his attack around noon, just before the Romans ate their first meal. The battle began with the two sides barraging each other with arrows. The Persian archers were better and more numerous, but a strong and steady wind was coming from behind the Romans, limiting their casualties. After the barrage had ended, the Persians launched their attack. They split up their cavalry into two groups, which would simultaneously engage the Roman left and right. On the left, Belisarius' trenches had worked wonders to stop the Persian charge outright, but as the Persians began pushing their way across the gaps, the Romans began to lose more and more ground. But Belisarius had a trick up his sleeve. He had placed the contingent of Harul Cavalrymen behind a nearby hill out of sight of the Persians. As soon as they had crossed the trench, the Haruls charged down. At the same time, the nearby Huns wheeled and charged across their bridge into the Persian lines. They were being flanked from both directions. The Persians were now being pushed into each other, being cut down left and right. Panic began to set in, and the Persian horsemen fled the scene in fear. On the Roman right, the Persian attack had limited success. After taking a moment to regroup, the Persian commander decided to fully commit to breaking this side. With his remaining heavy cavalry, including his cracked squadrons of immortals, he launched a staggering attack on the Roman right. The overwhelmed Byzantines could not keep up with this for long and began to falter. From his central position, Belisarius saw their movements and ordered reinforcements from the left to attack, and to great effect. The Persian back line had become bogged down in the fighting, and the first line continued chasing the retreating Romans. Belisarius then ordered his elite Bukalarii to split the two and engage the Persian first line from behind. Realizing reinforcements were here, the Roman right rallied and charged back into the Persian line as well, a devastating encirclement. Just as before, panic had set in, and the Persians were pressed up against one another like sardines. Eventually, the Persian second in command was slain, and the line broke. The Persian infantry, now on an island, began to panic and rout as well as their defeated cavalry scattered. The Byzantines gave chase for a couple miles before Belisarius called them off, fearing the Persians would rally and destroy the disorganized Roman forces. The battle had been won, and the Persian invasion of Roman lands boiled. The war continued for some time, and Belisarius would get one more chance to display his skills as a general. He lost, mainly due to his inability to control his junior commanders, one of his few deficiencies as a general that would plague his entire career, but his efforts prevented the Persians from continuing their campaign. The Battle of Dara was the first example of Belisarius' shining star. He proved himself at a young age to have a robust and imaginative understanding of tactical defensive concepts, primarily depicted with his use of the trenches and pre-battle deployment. More so, he proved to have a dynamic grasp of tactical offensive concepts as well, ordering timely and swift counter-attacks during the Persian charge on the right flank. As he transitioned to pursuit, he remained cautious and did not allow his troops to overextend themselves. His use of terrain was excellent. He dictated to the Persians where the battle would be fought, and held terrain that was necessary for them to take. He forced them to attack over difficult obstacles which limited their avenues of approach. He made excellent use of the terrain to provide concealment from which he could surprise the enemy. Finally, he positioned himself and his army in a place where they could easily observe the enemy and react quickly to their movements. While the Persians were for sure over confident, they were the real deal. Their troops were elite and heavily outnumbered the Romans. Their commander's decision to attack the Romans before they ate their first meal proved that they had not abandoned measured strategic thinking. Balasarius earned this victory, and it proved to be their first battlefield victory over the Persians in over 150 years.