Belisarius defeated the Sassanids at the Battle of Dara in 530. The victory was one of the Byzantine Empire’s most important successes during the Iberian War against the Sasanian Empire.
Belisarius commanded the Byzantine army alongside Hermogenes, while the Sasanian force was led by Perozes. Although the Persians greatly outnumbered the Byzantines, Belisarius used field fortifications, cavalry positioning, reserves, and carefully timed attacks to disrupt the enemy’s formation.
The battle took place near the fortified city of Dara in northern Mesopotamia, close to the Sasanian frontier. Procopius, a contemporary historian who served with Belisarius, provided an unusually detailed account of the tactics and fighting. The Byzantine victory helped protect the eastern frontier and enhanced Belisarius’s reputation as a commander.
The result should not be confused with Callinicum in 531, where Belisarius suffered a Byzantine defeat. Nor was Dara the end of the war: fighting continued until the so-called Eternal Peace with Persia in 532.