Historical Background
In the spring of 531 AD, the Persian army, now commanded by the able general Azarethes, again invaded the Byzantine territory of Syria. Belisarius was caught off guard by the new direction of the invasion, yet he quickly marched a small part of his army at Dara to intercept the Persians who had been busy pillaging the countryside. Belisarius received numerous Syrian garrison reinforcements, giving him a force of equal size to the Persians.
Still, it was an army that had not fought together before. After outmaneuvering Azarethes, Belisarius wished only to force the Persians to retreat, but much of the Byzantine army clamored to do battle, and ominously, began to openly insult Belisarius.
Fearing a mutiny, Belisarius deployed for battle on Easter Sunday. For much of the day both sides engaged in missile fire.
The Persians had the advantage in the number of bows, but the Byzantine bows were stronger. Both sides lost heavily, but the more lightly armed Persian cavalry got the worst of it. While this exchange of missiles took place, Azarethes moved most of his heavy cavalry unnoticed to his left and they charged. The Byzantine right wing crumbled and fled. Azarethes’ cavalry now occupied the high ground on the exposed Byzantine flank. The Byzantine army faced imminent destruction.
The stage is set. The battle lines are drawn and you are in command. Can you change history?
War Council
Sassanid Army (Use Tan blocks)
• Leader: Azarethes
• 5 Command Cards
• 5 Inspired Action tokens
• Move First
Byzantine Army (Use Purple blocks)
• Leader: Belisarius
• 5 Command Cards
• 3 Inspired Action tokens
Victory
6 Banners
Special Rules
- The group of six hill hexes is worth 1 Victory Banner. The banner is awarded at the start of a player’s turn when at least one unit occupies any of these hexes and the opposition does not occupy any of these hexes. The Victory banner is held so long as both of those conditions exist.
- The Sassanid Medium, Heavy and Super Heavy Cavalry units are armed with bows.
- The Byzantine Medium and Super Heavy Cavalry units are armed with bows.
- The Euphrates River is impassable.
