Yes, but the Sasanians also won a war against the Romans which ended one of the most notable Roman dynasties and in turn led to turmoil and ruin in Rome.

@TrPrado and yet the Muslims, who were "shaped by Persia" were so eager to establish Constantinople as their capital

Without which war the Valentinians would not gain power, so Theodosius would not rise to power, and without him there would be no Byzantines.
Boom.

@TrPrado fortunately we aren't talking about the Sasanians.

The official entry is Persian civilization. The Sasanians were an empire of ancient Persian civilization.

I thought we clarified Cyrus the Great through Darius

either way though, I still argue that Byzantine wins

Ancient Persia ends with Darius III. Then there is like a three hundred year gap when the Seleucid Empire reigned (which wasn't Persian.. it was Greek) then the successor Persian state which is most definitely not what we are talking about here. Even if it was Byzantine would still win because guess what they did. They beat the Sasanians in the final war that they fought.

so now that we have definitively proven Constantinople is militarily superior, shall we move on to culturally

but is there in any really comparison?

There is no comparison between these two cultures. BYZ is much better.

VOTE BYZ people!

Where in the heck are you guys getting that the Byzantines beat the Sassanids? From the wiki on Roman-Persian wars...

"The devastating impact of this last war, added to the cumulative effects of a century of almost continuous conflict, left both empires crippled. When Kavadh II died only months after coming to the throne, Persia was plunged into several years of dynastic turmoil and civil war. The Sassanids were further weakened by economic decline, heavy taxation from Khosrau II's campaigns, religious unrest, rigid social stratification, and the increasing power of the provincial landholders. The Roman Empire was even more severely affected, with its financial reserves exhausted by the war, the Balkans now largely in the hands of the Slavs, Anatolia devastated by repeated Persian invasions, and the empire's hold on Syria, Mesopotamia, Palestine and Egypt loosened by many years of Persian occupation. Neither empire was given any chance to recover, as within a few years they were struck by the onslaught of the Arabs, newly united by Islam"

They fought each other to a standstill. Look at the borders before and after the war. There was little to no change.

ND is very adamant about Byzantium. As such ##votePersia

Literally no history book I've read, and I've *taken* courses on Byzantine history, say that the Byzantines won that war, or were a great military power in general. If you read through those campaigns, they got their asses kicked more often than not. They won because they were larger, had more people, had more money ( to bribe the Turks, Arabs, or other kingdoms to their side), and we're frequently the one getting invaded (thus could raid supply lines)

Also Byzantium fucked over Belisarius, so fuck Byzantium.

And Persia is better in Civ

Meanwhile Achaemenid Persia shit on every other power from Babylon to Egypt. They only lost to the Greeks, but that was a total of three battles over a hundred years until the reign of Alexander "greatest general to ever live" the Great

if they fought each other to a standstill, let's compare how they did against the Arabs. Islam had taken most Persian territory, yet the could not crack Constantinople for another 700 years or so. Not for a lack of trying, though.

They besieged Constantinople almost immediately. They only couldn't take it because of its location, not military prowess on the Byzantine's part. The Arabs didn't have a navy, and the city was on the other side of the Bosporus.

Are you really going to have that be your reason?

Also, they didn't take Constantinople, but they took all of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Syria and the Levant from the Byzantines. That's half the empire

Ok, full disclosure - I was wrong about the siege of Constantinople. Stand also had a fleet. But sieging a well fortified city that requires joint control of the sea and land can be very difficult. Just ask the Athenians.

If you read the wiki you will clearly see the Byzantine's beat the Sasanian Empire. Just read the conclusion to the war here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine%E2%80%93Sasanian_War_of_602%E2%80%93628#Byzantine_assault_on_Persia

There is no reason why they should lose this. They outclass the Persians at every level. That's all I am going to say on the matter and I hope that more people vote for them.

@Vashta: Also Belisarius was Byzantine. So, I guess you should pick up a history book sometime.

@ND: I know that, but you know, trumping up charges against one of the best generals ever because he will *totally* take over the kingdom he could have isn't a nice thing.

Whatever, I am going to have to step away from this conversation before I get too angry. The Byzantine Empire beats Ancient Persia by every metric imaginable. I guess this is just because the Byzantine Empire is seriously under studied in the West and because Persia was the big bad in 300 (so that means they must be epic!) or something dum like that.

Lol, ND. Read the next section. You know, where the war actually ends. Instead of just telling me to read about the Byzantine resurgence. My quote was from there.

It's like saying "The US totally won in Korea! Look at how many Chinese they killed, and how far they pushed them back by 1952"

End of the war[edit]
With no Persian army left to oppose him, Heraclius' victorious army plundered Dastagird, which was a palace of Khosrau's, and gained tremendous riches while recovering 300 captured Byzantine flags.[138] Khosrau had already fled to the mountains of Susiana to try to rally support for the defense of Ctesiphon.[113][114] Heraclius then issued an ultimatum to Khosrau:

I pursue and run after peace. I do not willingly burn Persia, but compelled by you. Let us now throw down our arms and embrace peace. Let us quench the fire before it burns up everything.

— Heraclius' ultimatum to Khosrau II, 6 January 628[139]
However, Heraclius could not attack Ctesiphon itself, as the Nahrawan Canal was blocked due to the collapse of a bridge leading over it,[138] and he did not attempt to bypass the canal.[140]

Regardless, the Persian army rebelled and overthrew Khosrau II, raising his son Kavadh II, also known as Siroes, in his stead. Khosrau was shut in a dungeon, where he suffered for five days on bare sustenance—he was shot to death slowly with arrows on the fifth day.[141] Kavadh immediately sent peace offers to Heraclius. Heraclius did not impose harsh terms, knowing that his own empire was also near exhaustion. Under the terms of the peace treaty, the Byzantines regained all their lost territories, their captured soldiers, a war indemnity, and most importantly for them, the True Cross and other relics that were lost in Jerusalem in 614.[141][142][143]

@Goldfinger: What am I supposed to "read" about. This section "END OF THE WAR" shows that the Byzantine's one.

Specifically: "Under the terms of the peace treaty, the Byzantines regained all their lost territories, their captured soldiers, a war indemnity, and most importantly for them, the True Cross and other relics that were lost in Jerusalem in 614"

Wow.

won* (edit)