The World's First Chemical Attack (256AD) | The Siege of Dura-Europos

This video is a collaboration with @toldinstone. You can watch his video about the remarkable history and findings of Dura Europos here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR5P_Fc0_Uc In 256 AD, at the siege of Dura Europos, Roman soldiers entered a tunnel for a sneak attack—and encountered history's first recorded chemical weapon. This is the full story of the brutal clash between Rome and the Sassanid Empire. The siege was a key battle in the centuries-long Romano-Persian Wars. The city was a crucial Roman frontier fortress on the Euphrates, defended by the Cohors XX Palmyrenorum and legionary detachments. Its strong walls were tested by the besieging Sassanid army, leading to desperate tactics. This video explores the entire history of the siege, from the Roman defenses to the shocking archaeological discovery of the tunnel where Persian forces used toxic smoke from bitumen and sulfur to kill the Roman soldiers. We uncover the truth behind this ancient war crime and the fall of a Roman border stronghold. This is the World's FIRST Poison Gas Primary sources: Theo. Simoc. II. 9. Eugippius. XX. Passion of the Sixty Martyrs of Gaza. I-IV. Gregory the Great. Letters. XLVI Procopius. V. 12, 14-19 Secondary sources: Soto Chica, J. De Aecio a Siagrio: Las Galias y el último ejército romano en Occidente in Desperta Ferro, Specials XXV: La legión Romana El Ocaso del Imperio. Soto Chica, J. Las últimas Legiones in Desperta Ferro, Specials XXIX: La legión Romana Las últimas Legiones Coello, T. Unit Sizes in the Late Roman Army. BAR International Series 645, 1996. Dura Europos Secondary Sources Cowan, R. (2003): Imperial Roman Legionary AD 161-284. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. James, S. (2011a): “Stratagems, Combat and Chemical Warfare’ in the Siege Mines of Dura-Europos”. American Journal of Archaeology, 115, pp. 69-101. James, S. (2011b): “Dark Secrets in the Archive: Evidence for ‘Chemical Warfare’ and Martial Convergences in the Siege-Mines of Dura-Europos”, en Brody, L. R. y Hoffman, G. L. (eds.), Dura-Europos: Crossroads of Antiquity. Chestnut Hill, MA: McMullen Museum of Art. Soria Molina, D. Como Topos. Minas y Contraminas en el Asedio de Dura-Europos in Desperta Ferro, Especiales XVII La legión Romana: La Anarquía Militar.