The main objective of the campaign was to capture Petra, where the magister militum per Armeniam John Tzibus had concentrated his forces and had established a monopoly in the port city.
Petra featured a rough terrain and unusually strong defensive towers, which, instead of being hollow, were made of solid stone to a great height.
The possessions of the rich commander/merchant John Tzibus were seized, but everything else was untouched, and the surviving Byzantine forces joined the Sasanian army.
[3][4][5] An account cited that in the course of the siege, many Persian soldiers died due to the difficult terrain, an epidemic, and lack of supplies.
[6][1] Leif Inge Ree Petersen notes that Roman commanders were killed (without specifying names) during the defense of Petra.