[6] Prior to the battle, Shapur I had penetrated several times deeply into Roman territory, conquering and plundering Antioch in Syria in 253 or 256.

After defeating the usurper Aemilianus and assuming imperial power for himself, Valerian arrived in the eastern provinces as soon as he could (254 or 255) and gradually restored order.

According to Shapur I's inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht, Valerian's army comprised men from almost every part of the Roman Empire as well as Germanic allies.

Upon his death, Valerian's body was allegedly skinned and stuffed with, depending on the account, manure or straw, to produce a trophy of Roman submission preserved in a Sasanian temple.

[11] Following Valerian's capture, Shapur took the city of Caesarea Cappadocia and deported some 400,000 of its citizens to the southern provinces of the Sassanian Empire.

In the West, the Roman governor Postumus took advantage of Gallienus' distraction to murder the Imperial heir, Saloninus, and take control of what is now called the Gallic Empire.