First Sabrian War
First Sabrian War | |||||||
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Part of the Sabrian Wars | |||||||
Sabrian and Makedonian infantry clash at the Battle of Ha Tho | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Makedonian Empire | Sabrian Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Deinokrates III Strophantes Polyctor Admetos † Hegesinos the Elder † Licymnios |
Vitellia Ripana Herius Adnronicus Amulius Camerius † Helvetia Procula Paullus Mercator † | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
1,000,000 (contemporary sources) 250,000-500,000 (modern sources) | Unkown, presumed fewer | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Heavy | Heavy |
The First Sabrian War was the first of two wars fought between the Sabrian Empire and the Makedonian Empire, the two main powers in eastern Siduri, between 656 to 661 CE. The shorter of the two conflicts, the First Sabrian War was primarily fought along the Quenminese coast and throughout eastern Siduri.
The war began in 656 roughly 12 years after the Makedonians had completed their conquest of Quenmin under Deinokrates III. The cause of the war is believed to have been disputes over ownership of ports and alliances of the various Quenminese warring factions, and their relationship with Sabrian holdings along the coast. The Makedonians began besieging Sabrian cities and ports along the coast, but the Sabrian navy sailed in supplies and rienforcements. The Makedonians began building their own fleets along the coast to compete with the Sabrians on the open sea while continuing to assault Sabrian holdings on the continent. Over the course of two years the Makedonians steadily reduced Sabrian holdings one by one while fighting several naval battles along the coast, but failing to secure a strategic victory at sea.
In 559 the Makedonians finally captured Van Lao, prompting the Sabrians to dispatch two armies in 660, one in Bà Thiết in the north and the other to the south in Lào Hòa. The Sabrians scored a victory at Cam Doc, but were decisively defeated at the Battle of Buon Ma Thuot. The Sabrians withdrew from Quenmin in 661 and signed a peace treaty, ending the war in a Makedonian victory. The Sabrians were forced to relinquish their holdings in Quenmin and swore off further ambitions to the Quenminese coast, and were forced to pay a reparation of nearly 10,000 silver pieces. The Makedonians cemented their control over Quenmin, but disputes and tensions over the rest of eastern Siduri would lead to the Second Sabrian War less than twenty years later.
One of the largest conflicts of late antiquity, the war would would eventually be eclipsed by the second war, which was larger in scale and lasted longer. Quenminese soldiers played a major role in the conflict as both levy troops and mercenaries, fighting for both sides in large numbers and at many times constituted the majority of the soldiers on the battlefield. Quenminese forces would become a major component of the Makedonian armies in eastern Siduri, and Quenmin would remain under Makedonian rule for four centuries until it was overthrown by the Âu Lạc Rebellion in 1090.