David Frendo, Cassius Dio and Herodian on the First Sasanian Offensive
against the Eastern Provinces of the Roman Empire (229–232)
The present article subjects the relevant source material to a much
more detailed analysis than has so far been attempted. In the
light of the better understanding that results from this analysis, two
diametrically opposed but frequently canvassed interpretations of
Sasanian territorial aspirations are examined critically and are both
found to be unsatisfactory. The article concludes by offering a new
approach, which seeks to dispense with the unwarranted assumptions on
which previous interpretations have been based and to re-examine the
entire question within a more appropriate historical context and from a
different perspective.