Julian's Persian campaign: the failure of a strategy?

Abstract

Although scholars have offered several important contributions on Julian's ill-fated expedition to Persia some interesting points can be further developed. Firstly, it seems conceivable that the expedition was carefully conceived according to a precise strategy. It is interesting to note in this sense that the emperor, in launching his offensive, did not neglect to protect the Roman territories from the manoeuvres of the Persian armies. The capture of Ctesiphon must have been a key objective but it is by no means certain that in Julian's intentions it was the only one.