In 555 AD Byzantine and Sassanid empires fought again on the occasion of the occupation of Laziki in the Black Sea. After a series of battles a powerful Persian army under the general Nahoragan besieged the small Byzantine forces in the city of Fasi, known from the Descent of the Myria.
The Persian army numbered, according to Agathias Scholasticus, who is also the main source, more than 60,000 men. On the contrary, the Byzantine general Martin had at most 20,000 men after and his reinforcement from the small force of general Justin. The city was fortified with a wooden, not a stone wall, and its capture seemed easy to the Persian general. The city was built near the homonymous river and was covered by a moat from the south.
The Persians soon surrounded the city and after days of hard work they emptied the ditch and built a bridge connecting the two banks of the river. In the meantime, Martinus also organized the defense. He placed Justin and his men on the western part of the walls, he himself took over the defense of the south-western and most vulnerable part and assigned other officers to guard the remaining sectors. Martin's force consisted of local units of light and heavy infantry, Isaurian light infantry, a few elite Byzantine soldiers and a few German mercenaries.
Persian attack and exodus
Martinos gave clear orders not to attempt an exit except upon his orders. Nevertheless, a small section, unknown whether it acted voluntarily or under orders, came out of the gates and led by Angila, Philomatheus and Theodore, attacked the besiegers. The Byzantine force numbered only about 200-300 men and was soon surrounded and would be exterminated.
But it was saved by the courage of its leaders. As the Persians surrounded the small Byzantine section its leaders led their men in a desperate attack against the Persians closer to the walls. So they broke the rope and returned unharmed, most of them, to the city.
Martinos deceives the enemies and raises morale
After this incident Martinos decided that he had to find a way to raise the morale of his men. So he gathered his men together to speak to them. Suddenly a "messenger from Constantinople"appeared which conveyed the message that the emperor congratulated them for their fighting spirit and that a powerful force was coming to reinforce them. In fact, he said that the liberation army was already very close.
Martinos he feigned surprise and even declared annoyed "because the men who would reinforce them would take their booty from the Persians who alone could defeat them" ! Martin's men enthusiastically agreed with him. Of course it was all a lie. the messenger was a man of Martinus.
But the Byzantine general made sure that the "news" reached the Persian-Sassanid camp as well . Nahoragan immediately sent a strong part of his army to seek out the supposed Byzantine reinforcements. At the same time, he decided that he did not have time to systematically besiege the city and decided to set it on fire.
The second strategy
So he ordered his men to gather wood from the nearby forests to set fire to the wooden walls of Phasida. But Martinos had another ace up his sleeve. So he ordered Justin to leave the city with 5,000 footmen and horsemen secretly. So it happened. The Persians did not understand anything and at the first light of day they started their general attack.
At the time when the Persian attack was at its peak and the defenders were being suffocated, Justin's force attacked the Persians from the south. Within minutes chaos reigned in the Sassanid camp as the Persians believed they were being attacked by Byzantine reinforcements. The Persians fled in panic. The defenders within the city, not seeing the panic of the enemies, made an exit.
The panic of the Persians became general. Only a part of the Sassanid army that also had war elephants was still holding out. But soon the elephants received blows, panicked and began to run away trampling the Persians themselves. The once proud army of Nahoragan was no more... The Byzantines had only 200 dead and wounded.
