Azarethes [SEP] conflict
Azarethes
Azarethes (), also recorded as Exarath () and Zuraq, was a Sassanid Persian military commander during the Byzantine–Sassanid Wars. His Greek name is possibly a misunderstanding of the honorific title "hazaraft".
Biography.
According to the account of Procopius ("De bello Persico", ), Azarethes was placed in command of the Persian army in Mesopotamia after the Persian defeat in the Battle of Dara in 530. Procopius calls him an "exceptionally able warrior", and Zacharias of Mytilene records
Sasanian army, led by Perozes, Pityaxes and Baresmanas, suffered a severe defeat. The battle, did not, however, bring an end to the conflict. The following year Kavad raised an army, which he sent under Azarethes to invade the Byzantine province of Commagene. When the Byzantine army under Belisarius approached, Azarethes and his men withdrew east, halting at Callinicum. In the ensuing battle, the Byzantines suffered a heavy defeat, but Iranian losses too were so high that Kavad was displeased with Azarethes and relieved him of