Alessandro Severo e Ardašīr: diplomazie al lavoro

In the tenth year of the reign of Alexander Severus (222-235), alarming messages reached Rome. The governors of Syria and Mesopotamia informed the emperor that Ardašīr, king of the Persians, had seized control of the East from the Parthian and was threatening the Roman frontier. This Persian expansion marked the beginning of the protracted conflict between Rome and the Sassanids, a struggle that would unfold over more than four centuries, with varying fortunes. Alexander Severus, however, did not respond immediately with military action, but rather initiated a complex diplomatic strategy aimed to establish a balance of power – one that also acknowledged war as a legitimate instrument of deterrence. This paper develops along three main lines. First, it seeks to reconstruct Ardašīr’s campaign against the Arsacids and the origins of the conflict with Rome, analyzing the ideological foundations of Ardašīr’s enterprise. I give particular attention to the diversity of Iranian sources, in order to place them in dialogue with the Greco-Roman propaganda that emerged in response to the looming Sassanid threat. Second, the paper examines Alexander Severus’ diplomatic strategy, which aimed to legitimize the presence of the powerful Sassanid kingdom in the East in order to pursue a policy of balance between the two empires. This section analyzes the motivations of the emperor’s diplomatic action and explores the tools of diplomacy at the time. Finally, I emphasize how this policy is reflected in the work of Herodian, analyzing passages largely disregarded by scholars, and exploring the response to diplomacy within contemporary Roman political discourse.