The fertile province of Assyria, 52 whic_The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Table of Contents with links in the HTML file to the two Project Gutenberg editions (12 volumes)

Tigris, as far as the mountains of Media, 53 extended about four

hundred miles from the ancient wall of Macepracta, to the

territory of Basra, where the united streams of the Euphrates and

Tigris discharge themselves into the Persian Gulf. 54 The whole

country might have claimed the peculiar name of Mesopotamia; as

the two rivers, which are never more distant than fifty,

approach, between Bagdad and Babylon, within twenty-five miles,

of each other. A multitude of artificial canals, dug without much

labor in a soft and yielding soil connected the rivers, and

intersected the plain of Assyria. The uses of these artificial

canals were various and important. They served to discharge the

superfluous waters from one river into the other, at the season

of their respective inundations. Subdividing themselves into

smaller and smaller branches, they refreshed the dry lands, and

supplied the deficiency of rain. They facilitated the intercourse

of peace and commerce; and, as the dams could be speedily broke

down, they armed the despair of the Assyrians with the means of

opposing a sudden deluge to the progress of an invading army. To

the soil and climate of Assyria, nature had denied some of her

choicest gifts, the vine, the olive, and the fig-tree; 5411 but

the food which supports the life of man, and particularly wheat

and barley, were produced with inexhaustible fertility; and the

husbandman, who committed his seed to the earth, was frequently

rewarded with an increase of two, or even of three, hundred. The

face of the country was interspersed with groves of innumerable

palm-trees; 55 and the diligent natives celebrated, either in

verse or prose, the three hundred and sixty uses to which the

trunk, the branches, the leaves, the juice, and the fruit, were

skilfully applied. Several manufactures, especially those of

leather and linen, employed the industry of a numerous people,

and afforded valuable materials for foreign trade; which appears,

however, to have been conducted by the hands of strangers.

Babylon had been converted into a royal park; but near the ruins

of the ancient capital, new cities had successively arisen, and

the populousness of the country was displayed in the multitude of

towns and villages, which were built of bricks dried in the sun,

and strongly cemented with bitumen; the natural and peculiar

production of the Babylonian soil. While the successors of Cyrus

reigned over Asia, the province of Syria alone maintained, during

a third part of the year, the luxurious plenty of the table and

household of the Great King. Four considerable villages were

assigned for the subsistence of his Indian dogs; eight hundred

stallions, and sixteen thousand mares, were constantly kept, at

the expense of the country, for the royal stables; and as the

daily tribute, which was paid to the satrap, amounted to one

English bushe of silver, we may compute the annual revenue of

Assyria at more than twelve hundred thousand pounds sterling. 56

52 (return) [ The description of Assyria, is furnished by

Herodotus, (l. i. c. 192, &c.,) who sometimes writes for

children, and sometimes for philosophers; by Strabo, (l. xvi. p.

1070-1082,) and by Ammianus, (l.xxiii. c. 6.) The most useful of

the modern travellers are Tavernier, (part i. l. ii. p. 226-258,)

Otter, (tom. ii. p. 35-69, and 189-224,) and Niebuhr, (tom. ii.

p. 172-288.) Yet I much regret that the _Irak Arabi_ of Abulfeda

has not been translated.]

53 (return) [ Ammianus remarks, that the primitive Assyria, which

comprehended Ninus, (Nineveh,) and Arbela, had assumed the more

recent and peculiar appellation of Adiabene; and he seems to fix

Teredon, Vologesia, and Apollonia, as the _extreme_ cities of the

actual province of Assyria.]

54 (return) [ The two rivers unite at Apamea, or Corna, (one

hundred miles from the Persian Gulf,) into the broad stream of

the Pasitigris, or Shutul-Arab. The Euphrates formerly reached

the sea by a separate channel, which was obstructed and diverted

by the citizens of Orchoe, about twenty miles to the south-east

of modern Basra. (D’Anville, in the Mémoires de l’Acad. des

Inscriptions, tom.xxx. p. 171-191.)]

5411 (return) [ We are informed by Mr. Gibbon, that nature has

denied to the soil an climate of Assyria some of her choicest

gifts, the vine, the olive, and the fig-tree. This might have

been the case ir the age of Ammianus Marcellinus, but it is not

so at the present day; and it is a curious fact that the grape,

the olive, and the fig, are the most common fruits in the

province, and may be seen in every garden. Macdonald Kinneir,

Geogr. Mem. on Persia 239—M.]

55 (return) [ The learned Kæmpfer, as a botanist, an antiquary,

and a traveller, has exhausted (Amœnitat. Exoticæ, Fasicul. iv.

p. 660-764) the whole subject of palm-trees.]

56 (return) [ Assyria yielded to the Persian satrap an _Artaba_

of silver each day. The well-known proportion of weights and

measures (see Bishop Hooper’s elaborate Inquiry,) the specific

gravity of water and silver, and the value of that metal, will

afford, after a short process, the annual revenue which I have

stated. Yet the Great King received no more than 1000 Euboic, or

Tyrian, talents (252,000l.) from Assyria. The comparison of two

passages in Herodotus, (l. i. c. 192, l. iii. c. 89-96) reveals

an important difference between the _gross_, and the _net_,

revenue of Persia; the sums paid by the province, and the gold or

silver deposited in the royal treasure. The monarch might

annually save three millions six hundred thousand pounds, of the

seventeen or eighteen millions raised upon the people.]

Chapter XXIV: The Retreat And Death Of Julian.—Part III.

The fields of Assyria were devoted by Julian to the calamities of

war; and the philosopher retaliated on a guiltless people the

acts of rapine and cruelty which had been committed by their

haughty master in the Roman provinces. The trembling Assyrians

summoned the rivers to their assistance; and completed, with

their own hands, the ruin of their country. The roads were

rendered impracticable; a flood of waters was poured into the

camp; and, during several days, the troops of Julian were obliged

to contend with the most discouraging hardships. But every

obstacle was surmounted by the perseverance of the legionaries,

who were inured to toil as well as to danger, and who felt

themselves animated by the spirit of their leader. The damage was

gradually repaired; the waters were restored to their proper

channels; whole groves of palm-trees were cut down, and placed

along the broken parts of the road; and the army passed over the

broad and deeper canals, on bridges of floating rafts, which were

supported by the help of bladders. Two cities of Assyria presumed

to resist the arms of a Roman emperor: and they both paid the

severe penalty of their rashness. At the distance of fifty miles

from the royal residence of Ctesiphon, Perisabor, 5711 or Anbar,

held the second rank in the province; a city, large, populous,

and well fortified, surrounded with a double wall, almost

encompassed by a branch of the Euphrates, and defended by the

valor of a numerous garrison. The exhortations of Hormisdas were

repulsed with contempt; and the ears of the Persian prince were

wounded by a just reproach, that, unmindful of his royal birth,

he conducted an army of strangers against his king and country.

The Assyrians maintained their loyalty by a skilful, as well as

vigorous, defence; till the lucky stroke of a battering-ram,

having opened a large breach, by shattering one of the angles of

the wall, they hastily retired into the fortifications of the

interior citadel. The soldiers of Julian rushed impetuously into

the town, and after the full gratification of every military

appetite, Perisabor was reduced to ashes; and the engines which

assaulted the citadel were planted on the ruins of the smoking

houses. The contest was continued by an incessant and mutual

discharge of missile weapons; and the superiority which the

Romans might derive from the mechanical powers of their balistæ

and catapultæ was counterbalanced by the advantage of the ground

on the side of the besieged. But as soon as an _Helepolis_ had

been constructed, which could engage on equal terms with the

loftiest ramparts, the tremendous aspect of a moving turret, that

would leave no hope of resistance or mercy, terrified the

defenders of the citadel into an humble submission; and the place

was surrendered only two days after Julian first appeared under

the walls of Perisabor. Two thousand five hundred persons, of

both sexes, the feeble remnant of a flourishing people, were

permitted to retire; the plentiful magazines of corn, of arms,

and of splendid furniture, were partly distributed among the

troops, and partly reserved for the public service; the useless

stores were destroyed by fire or thrown into the stream of the

Euphrates; and the fate of Amida was revenged by the total ruin

of Perisabor.

5711 (return) [ Libanius says that it was a great city of

Assyria, called after the name of the reigning king. The orator

of Antioch is not mistaken. The Persians and Syrians called it

Fyrouz Schapour or Fyrouz Schahbour; in Persian, the victory of

Schahpour. It owed that name to Sapor the First. It was before

called Anbar St. Martin, iii. 85.—M.]

The city or rather fortress, of Maogamalcha, which was defended

by sixteen large towers, a deep ditch, and two strong and solid

walls of brick and bitumen, appears to have been constructed at

the distance of eleven miles, as the safeguard of the capital of

Persia. The emperor, apprehensive of leaving such an important

fortress in his rear, immediately formed the siege of

Maogamalcha; and the Roman army was distributed, for that

purpose, into three divisions. Victor, at the head of the

cavalry, and of a detachment of heavy-armed foot, was ordered to

clear the country, as far as the banks of the Tigris, and the

suburbs of Ctesiphon. The conduct of the attack was assumed by

Julian himself, who seemed to place his whole dependence in the

military engines which he erected against the walls; while he

secretly contrived a more efficacious method of introducing his

troops into the heart of the city. Under the direction of Nevitta

and Dagalaiphus, the trenches were opened at a considerable

distance, and gradually prolonged as far as the edge of the

ditch. The ditch was speedily filled with earth; and, by the

incessant labor of the troops, a mine was carried under the

foundations of the walls, and sustained, at sufficient intervals,

by props of timber. Three chosen cohorts, advancing in a single

file, silently explored the dark and dangerous passage; till

their intrepid leader whispered back the intelligence, that he

was ready to issue from his confinement into the streets of the

hostile city. Julian checked their ardor, that he might insure

their success; and immediately diverted the attention of the

garrison, by the tumult and clamor of a general assault. The

Persians, who, from their walls, contemptuously beheld the

progress of an impotent attack, celebrated with songs of triumph

the glory of Sapor; and ventured to assure the emperor, that he

might ascend the starry mansion of Ormusd, before he could hope

to take the impregnable city of Maogamalcha. The city was already

taken. History has recorded the name of a private soldier the

first who ascended from the mine into a deserted tower. The

passage was widened by his companions, who pressed forwards with

impatient valor. Fifteen hundred enemies were already in the

midst of the city. The astonished garrison abandoned the walls,

and their only hope of safety; the gates were instantly burst

open; and the revenge of the soldier, unless it were suspended by

lust or avarice, was satiated by an undistinguishing massacre.

The governor, who had yielded on a promise of mercy, was burnt

alive, a few days afterwards, on a charge of having uttered some

disrespectful words against the honor of Prince Hormisdas. The

fortifications were razed to the ground; and not a vestige was

left, that the city of Maogamalcha had ever existed. The

neighborhood of the capital of Persia was adorned with three

stately palaces, laboriously enriched with every production that

could gratify the luxury and pride of an Eastern monarch. The

pleasant situation of the gardens along the banks of the Tigris,

was improved, according to the Persian taste, by the symmetry of

flowers, fountains, and shady walks: and spacious parks were

enclosed for the reception of the bears, lions, and wild boars,

which were maintained at a considerable expense for the pleasure

of the royal chase. The park walls were broken down, the savage

game was abandoned to the darts of the soldiers, and the palaces

of Sapor were reduced to ashes, by the command of the Roman

emperor. Julian, on this occasion, showed himself ignorant, or

careless, of the laws of civility, which the prudence and

refinement of polished ages have established between hostile

princes. Yet these wanton ravages need not excite in our breasts

any vehement emotions of pity or resentment. A simple, naked

statue, finished by the hand of a Grecian artist, is of more

genuine value than all these rude and costly monuments of

Barbaric labor; and, if we are more deeply affected by the ruin

of a palace than by the conflagration of a cottage, our humanity

must have formed a very erroneous estimate of the miseries of

human life. 57

57 (return) [ The operations of the Assyrian war are

circumstantially related by Ammianus, (xxiv. 2, 3, 4, 5,)

Libanius, (Orat. Parent. c. 112-123, p. 335-347,) Zosimus, (l.

iii. p. 168-180,) and Gregory Nazianzen, (Orat iv. p. 113, 144.)

The _military_ criticisms of the saint are devoutly copied by

Tillemont, his faithful slave.]

Julian was an object of hatred and terror to the Persian and the

painters of that nation represented the invader of their country

under the emblem of a furious lion, who vomited from his mouth a

consuming fire. 58 To his friends and soldiers the philosophic

hero appeared in a more amiable light; and his virtues were never

more conspicuously displayed, than in the last and most active

period of his life. He practised, without effort, and almost

without merit, the habitual qualities of temperance and sobriety.

According to the dictates of that artificial wisdom, which

assumes an absolute dominion over the mind and body, he sternly

refused himself the indulgence of the most natural appetites. 59

In the warm climate of Assyria, which solicited a luxurious

people to the gratification of every sensual desire, 60 a

youthful conqueror preserved his chastity pure and inviolate; nor

was Julian ever tempted, even by a motive of curiosity, to visit

his female captives of exquisite beauty, 61 who, instead of

resisting his power, would have disputed with each other the

honor of his embraces. With the same firmness that he resisted

the allurements of love, he sustained the hardships of war. When

the Romans marched through the flat and flooded country, their

sovereign, on foot, at the head of his legions, shared their

fatigues and animated their diligence. In every useful labor, the

hand of Julian was prompt and strenuous; and the Imperial purple

was wet and dirty as the coarse garment of the meanest soldier.

The two sieges allowed him some remarkable opportunities of

signalizing his personal valor, which, in the improved state of

the military art, can seldom be exerted by a prudent general. The

emperor stood before the citadel of Perisabor, insensible of his

extreme danger, and encouraged his troops to burst open the gates

of iron, till he was almost overwhelmed under a cloud of missile

weapons and huge stones, that were directed against his person.

As he examined the exterior fortifications of Maogamalcha, two

Persians, devoting themselves for their country, suddenly rushed

upon him with drawn cimeters: the emperor dexterously received

their blows on his uplifted shield; and, with a steady and

well-aimed thrust, laid one of his adversaries dead at his feet.

The esteem of a prince who possesses the virtues which he

approves, is the noblest recompense of a deserving subject; and

the authority which Julian derived from his personal merit,

enabled him to revive and enforce the rigor of ancient

discipline. He punished with death or ignominy the misbehavior of

three troops of horse, who, in a skirmish with the Surenas, had

lost their honor and one of their standards: and he distinguished

with _obsidional_ 62 crowns the valor of the foremost soldiers,

who had ascended into the city of Maogamalcha.

After the siege of Perisabor, the firmness of the emperor was

exercised by the insolent avarice of the army, who loudly

complained, that their services were rewarded by a trifling

donative of one hundred pieces of silver. His just indignation

was expressed in the grave and manly language of a Roman. “Riches

are the object of your desires; those riches are in the hands of

the Persians; and the spoils of this fruitful country are

proposed as the prize of your valor and discipline. Believe me,”

added Julian, “the Roman republic, which formerly possessed such

immense treasures, is now reduced to want and wretchedness once

our princes have been persuaded, by weak and interested

ministers, to purchase with gold the tranquillity of the

Barbarians. The revenue is exhausted; the cities are ruined; the

provinces are dispeopled. For myself, the only inheritance that I

have received from my royal ancestors is a soul incapable of

fear; and as long as I am convinced that every real advantage is

seated in the mind, I shall not blush to acknowledge an honorable

poverty, which, in the days of ancient virtue, was considered as

the glory of Fabricius. That glory, and that virtue, may be your

own, if you will listen to the voice of Heaven and of your

leader. But if you will rashly persist, if you are determined to

renew the shameful and mischievous examples of old seditions,

proceed. As it becomes an emperor who has filled the first rank

among men, I am prepared to die, standing; and to despise a

precarious life, which, every hour, may depend on an accidental

fever. If I have been found unworthy of the command, there are

now among you, (I speak it with pride and pleasure,) there are

many chiefs whose merit and experience are equal to the conduct

of the most important war. Such has been the temper of my reign,

that I can retire, without regret, and without apprehension, to

the obscurity of a private station” 63 The modest resolution of

Julian was answered by the unanimous applause and cheerful

obedience of the Romans, who declared their confidence of

victory, while they fought under the banners of their heroic

prince. Their courage was kindled by his frequent and familiar

asseverations, (for such wishes were the oaths of Julian,) “So

may I reduce the Persians under the yoke!” “Thus may I restore

the strength and splendor of the republic!” The love of fame was

the ardent passion of his soul: but it was not before he trampled

on the ruins of Maogamalcha, that he allowed himself to say, “We

have now provided some materials for the sophist of Antioch.” 64

58 (return) [ Libanius de ulciscenda Juliani nece, c. 13, p.

162.]

59 (return) [ The famous examples of Cyrus, Alexander, and

Scipio, were acts of justice. Julian’s chastity was voluntary,

and, in his opinion, meritorious.]

60 (return) [ Sallust (ap. Vet. Scholiast. Juvenal. Satir. i.

104) observes, that nihil corruptius moribus. The matrons and

virgins of Babylon freely mingled with the men in licentious

banquets; and as they felt the intoxication of wine and love,

they gradually, and almost completely, threw aside the

encumbrance of dress; ad ultimum ima corporum velamenta

projiciunt. Q. Curtius, v. 1.]

61 (return) [ Ex virginibus autem quæ speciosæ sunt captæ, et in

Perside, ubi fæminarum pulchritudo excellit, nec contrectare

aliquam votuit nec videre. Ammian. xxiv. 4. The native race of

Persians is small and ugly; but it has been improved by the

perpetual mixture of Circassian blood, (Herodot. l. iii. c. 97.

Buffon, Hist. Naturelle, tom. iii. p. 420.)]

62 (return) [ Obsidionalibus coronis donati. Ammian. xxiv. 4.

Either Julian or his historian were unskillful antiquaries. He

should have given mural crowns. The _obsidional_ were the reward

of a general who had delivered a besieged city, (Aulus Gellius,

Noct. Attic. v. 6.)]

63 (return) [ I give this speech as original and genuine.

Ammianus might hear, could transcribe, and was incapable of

inventing, it. I have used some slight freedoms, and conclude

with the most forcibic sentence.]

64 (return) [ Ammian. xxiv. 3. Libanius, Orat. Parent. c. 122, p.

346.]

The successful valor of Julian had triumphed over all the

obstacles that opposed his march to the gates of Ctesiphon. But

the reduction, or even the siege, of the capital of Persia, was

still at a distance: nor can the military conduct of the emperor

be clearly apprehended, without a knowledge of the country which

was the theatre of his bold and skilful operations. 65 Twenty

miles to the south of Bagdad, and on the eastern bank of the

Tigris, the curiosity of travellers has observed some ruins of

the palaces of Ctesiphon, which, in the time of Julian, was a

great and populous city. The name and glory of the adjacent

Seleucia were forever extinguished; and the only remaining

quarter of that Greek colony had resumed, with the Assyrian

language and manners, the primitive appellation of Coche. Coche

was situate on the western side of the Tigris; but it was

naturally considered as a suburb of Ctesiphon, with which we may

suppose it to have been connected by a permanent bridge of boats.

The united parts contribute to form the common epithet of Al

Modain, the cities, which the Orientals have bestowed on the

winter residence of the Sassinadees; and the whole circumference

of the Persian capital was strongly fortified by the waters of

the river, by lofty walls, and by impracticable morasses. Near

the ruins of Seleucia, the camp of Julian was fixed, and secured,

by a ditch and rampart, against the sallies of the numerous and

enterprising garrison of Coche. In this fruitful and pleasant

country, the Romans were plentifully supplied with water and

forage: and several forts, which might have embarrassed the

motions of the army, submitted, after some resistance, to the

efforts of their valor. The fleet passed from the Euphrates into

an artificial derivation of that river, which pours a copious and

navigable stream into the Tigris, at a small distance _below_ the

great city. If they had followed this royal canal, which bore the

name of Nahar-Malcha, 66 the intermediate situation of Coche

would have separated the fleet and army of Julian; and the rash

attempt of steering against the current of the Tigris, and

forcing their way through the midst of a hostile capital, must

have been attended with the total destruction of the Roman navy.

The prudence of the emperor foresaw the danger, and provided the

remedy. As he had minutely studied the operations of Trajan in

the same country, he soon recollected that his warlike

predecessor had dug a new and navigable canal, which, leaving

Coche on the right hand, conveyed the waters of the Nahar-Malcha

into the river Tigris, at some distance _above_ the cities. From

the information of the peasants, Julian ascertained the vestiges

of this ancient work, which were almost obliterated by design or

accident. By the indefatigable labor of the soldiers, a broad and

deep channel was speedily prepared for the reception of the

Euphrates. A strong dike was constructed to interrupt the

ordinary current of the Nahar-Malcha: a flood of waters rushed

impetuously into their new bed; and the Roman fleet, steering

their triumphant course into the Tigris, derided the vain and

ineffectual barriers which the Persians of Ctesiphon had erected

to oppose their passage.

65 (return) [ M. d’Anville, (Mém. de l’Académie des Inscriptions,

tom. xxxviii p. 246-259) has ascertained the true position and

distance of Babylon, Seleucia, Ctesiphon, Bagdad, &c. The Roman

traveller, Pietro della Valle, (tom. i. lett. xvii. p. 650-780,)

seems to be the most intelligent spectator of that famous

province. He is a gentleman and a scholar, but intolerably vain

and prolix.]

66 (return) [ The Royal Canal (_Nahar-Malcha_) might be

successively restored, altered, divided, &c., (Cellarius,

Geograph. Antiq. tom. ii. p. 453;) and these changes may serve to

explain the seeming contradictions of antiquity. In the time of

Julian, it must have fallen into the Euphrates _below_

Ctesiphon.]

As it became necessary to transport the Roman army over the

Tigris, another labor presented itself, of less toil, but of more

danger, than the preceding expedition. The stream was broad and

rapid; the ascent steep and difficult; and the intrenchments

which had been formed on the ridge of the opposite bank, were

lined with a numerous army of heavy cuirrasiers, dexterous

archers, and huge elephants; who (according to the extravagant

hyperbole of Libanius) could trample with the same ease a field

of corn, or a legion of Romans. 67 In the presence of such an

enemy, the construction of a bridge was impracticable; and the

intrepid prince, who instantly seized the only possible

expedient, concealed his design, till the moment of execution,

from the knowledge of the Barbarians, of his own troops, and even

of his generals themselves. Under the specious pretence of

examining the state of the magazines, fourscore vessels 6711 were

gradually unladen; and a select detachment, apparently destined

for some secret expedition, was ordered to stand to their arms on

the first signal. Julian disguised the silent anxiety of his own

mind with smiles of confidence and joy; and amused the hostile

nations with the spectacle of military games, which he

insultingly celebrated under the walls of Coche. The day was

consecrated to pleasure; but, as soon as the hour of supper was

passed, the emperor summoned the generals to his tent, and

acquainted them that he had fixed that night for the passage of

the Tigris. They stood in silent and respectful astonishment;

but, when the venerable Sallust assumed the privilege of his age

and experience, the rest of the chiefs supported with freedom the

weight of his prudent remonstrances. 68 Julian contented himself

with observing, that conquest and safety depended on the attempt;

that instead of diminishing, the number of their enemies would be

increased, by successive reenforcements; and that a longer delay

would neither contract the breadth of the stream, nor level the

height of the bank. The signal was instantly given, and obeyed;

the most impatient of the legionaries leaped into five vessels

that lay nearest to the bank; and as they plied their oars with

intrepid diligence, they were lost, after a few moments, in the

darkness of the night. A flame arose on the opposite side; and

Julian, who too clearly understood that his foremost vessels, in

attempting to land, had been fired by the enemy, dexterously

converted their extreme danger into a presage of victory. “Our

fellow-soldiers,” he eagerly exclaimed, “are already masters of

the bank; see—they make the appointed signal; let us hasten to

emulate and assist their courage.” The united and rapid motion of

a great fleet broke the violence of the current, and they reached

the eastern shore of the Tigris with sufficient speed to

extinguish the flames, and rescue their adventurous companions.

The difficulties of a steep and lofty ascent were increased by

the weight of armor, and the darkness of the night. A shower of

stones, darts, and fire, was incessantly discharged on the heads

of the assailants; who, after an arduous struggle, climbed the

bank and stood victorious upon the rampart. As soon as they

possessed a more equal field, Julian, who, with his light

infantry, had led the attack, 69 darted through the ranks a

skilful and experienced eye: his bravest soldiers, according to

the precepts of Homer, 70 were distributed in the front and rear:

and all the trumpets of the Imperial army sounded to battle. The

Romans, after sending up a military shout, advanced in measured

steps to the animating notes of martial music; launched their

formidable javelins; and rushed forwards with drawn swords, to

deprive the Barbarians, by a closer onset, of the advantage of

their missile weapons. The whole engagement lasted above twelve

hours; till the gradual retreat of the Persians was changed into

a disorderly flight, of which the shameful example was given by

the principal leader, and the Surenas himself. They were pursued

to the gates of Ctesiphon; and the conquerors might have entered

the dismayed city, 71 if their general, Victor, who was

dangerously wounded with an arrow, had not conjured them to

desist from a rash attempt, which must be fatal, if it were not

successful. On _their_ side, the Romans acknowledged the loss of

only seventy-five men; while they affirmed, that the Barbarians

had left on the field of battle two thousand five hundred, or

even six thousand, of their bravest soldiers. The spoil was such

as might be expected from the riches and luxury of an Oriental

camp; large quantities of silver and gold, splendid arms and

trappings, and beds and tables of massy silver. 7111 The

victorious emperor distributed, as the rewards of valor, some

honorable gifts, civic, and mural, and naval crowns; which he,

and perhaps he alone, esteemed more precious than the wealth of

Asia. A solemn sacrifice was offered to the god of war, but the

appearances of the victims threatened the most inauspicious

events; and Julian soon discovered, by less ambiguous signs, that

he had now reached the term of his prosperity. 72

67 (return) [ Rien n’est beau que le vrai; a maxim which should

be inscribed on the desk of every rhetorician.]

6711 (return) [ This is a mistake; each vessel (according to

Zosimus two, according to Ammianus five) had eighty men. Amm.

xxiv. 6, with Wagner’s note. Gibbon must have read _octogenas_

for _octogenis_. The five vessels selected for this service were

remarkably large and strong provision transports. The strength of

the fleet remained with Julian to carry over the army—M.]

68 (return) [ Libanius alludes to the most powerful of the

generals. I have ventured to name _Sallust_. Ammianus says, of

all the leaders, quod acri metû territ acrimetu territi duces

concordi precatû precaut fieri prohibere tentarent. * Note: It is

evident that Gibbon has mistaken the sense of Libanius; his words

can only apply to a commander of a detachment, not to so eminent

a person as the Præfect of the East. St. Martin, iii. 313.—M.]

69 (return) [ Hinc Imperator.... (says Ammianus) ipse cum levis

armaturæ auxiliis per prima postremaque discurrens, &c. Yet

Zosimus, his friend, does not allow him to pass the river till

two days after the battle.]

70 (return) [ Secundum Homericam dispositionem. A similar

disposition is ascribed to the wise Nestor, in the fourth book of

the Iliad; and Homer was never absent from the mind of Julian.]

71 (return) [ Persas terrore subito miscuerunt, versisque

agminibus totius gentis, apertas Ctesiphontis portas victor miles

intrâsset, ni major prædarum occasio fuisset, quam cura victoriæ,

(Sextus Rufus de Provinciis c. 28.) Their avarice might dispose

them to hear the advice of Victor.]

7111 (return) [ The suburbs of Ctesiphon, according to a new

fragment of Eunapius, were so full of provisions, that the

soldiers were in danger of suffering from excess. Mai, p. 260.

Eunapius in Niebuhr. Nov. Byz. Coll. 68. Julian exhibited warlike

dances and games in his camp to recreate the soldiers Ibid.—M.]

72 (return) [ The labor of the canal, the passage of the Tigris,

and the victory, are described by Ammianus, (xxiv. 5, 6,)

Libanius, (Orat. Parent. c. 124-128, p. 347-353,) Greg.

Nazianzen, (Orat. iv. p. 115,) Zosimus, (l. iii. p. 181-183,) and

Sextus Rufus, (de Provinciis, c. 28.)]

On the second day after the battle, the domestic guards, the

Jovians and Herculians, and the remaining troops, which composed

near two thirds of the whole army, were securely wafted over the

Tigris. 73 While the Persians beheld from the walls of Ctesiphon

the desolation of the adjacent country, Julian cast many an

anxious look towards the North, in full expectation, that as he

himself had victoriously penetrated to the capital of Sapor, the

march and junction of his lieutenants, Sebastian and Procopius,

would be executed with the same courage and diligence. His

expectations were disappointed by the treachery of the Armenian

king, who permitted, and most probably directed, the desertion of

his auxiliary troops from the camp of the Romans; 74 and by the

dissensions of the two generals, who were incapable of forming or

executing any plan for the public service. When the emperor had

relinquished the hope of this important reenforcement, he

condescended to hold a council of war, and approved, after a full

debate, the sentiment of those generals, who dissuaded the siege

of Ctesiphon, as a fruitless and pernicious undertaking. It is

not easy for us to conceive, by what arts of fortification a city

thrice besieged and taken by the predecessors of Julian could be

rendered impregnable against an army of sixty thousand Romans,

commanded by a brave and experienced general, and abundantly

supplied with ships, provisions, battering engines, and military

stores. But we may rest assured, from the love of glory, and

contempt of danger, which formed the character of Julian, that he

was not discouraged by any trivial or imaginary obstacles. 75 At

the very time when he declined the siege of Ctesiphon, he

rejected, with obstinacy and disdain, the most flattering offers

of a negotiation of peace. Sapor, who had been so long accustomed

to the tardy ostentation of Constantius, was surprised by the

intrepid diligence of his successor. As far as the confines of

India and Scythia, the satraps of the distant provinces were

ordered to assemble their troops, and to march, without delay, to

the assistance of their monarch. But their preparations were

dilatory, their motions slow; and before Sapor could lead an army

into the field, he received the melancholy intelligence of the

devastation of Assyria, the ruin of his palaces, and the

slaughter of his bravest troops, who defended the passage of the

Tigris. The pride of royalty was humbled in the dust; he took his

repasts on the ground; and the disorder of his hair expressed the

grief and anxiety of his mind. Perhaps he would not have refused

to purchase, with one half of his kingdom, the safety of the

remainder; and he would have gladly subscribed himself, in a

treaty of peace, the faithful and dependent ally of the Roman

conqueror. Under the pretence of private business, a minister of

rank and confidence was secretly despatched to embrace the knees

of Hormisdas, and to request, in the language of a suppliant,

that he might be introduced into the presence of the emperor. The

Sassanian prince, whether he listened to the voice of pride or

humanity, whether he consulted the sentiments of his birth, or

the duties of his situation, was equally inclined to promote a

salutary measure, which would terminate the calamities of Persia,

and secure the triumph of Rome. He was astonished by the

inflexible firmness of a hero, who remembered, most unfortunately

for himself and for his country, that Alexander had uniformly

rejected the propositions of Darius. But as Julian was sensible,

that the hope of a safe and honorable peace might cool the ardor

of his troops, he earnestly requested that Hormisdas would

privately dismiss the minister of Sapor, and conceal this

dangerous temptation from the knowledge of the camp. 76

73 (return) [ The fleet and army were formed in three divisions,

of which the first only had passed during the night.]

74 (return) [ Moses of Chorene (Hist. Armen. l. iii. c. 15, p.

246) supplies us with a national tradition, and a spurious

letter. I have borrowed only the leading circumstance, which is

consistent with truth, probability, and Libanius, (Orat. Parent.

c. 131, p. 355.)]

75 (return) [ Civitas inexpugnabilis, facinus audax et

importunum. Ammianus, xxiv. 7. His fellow-soldier, Eutropius,

turns aside from the difficulty, Assyriamque populatus, castra

apud Ctesiphontem stativa aliquandiu habuit: remeansbue victor,

&c. x. 16. Zosimus is artful or ignorant, and Socrates

inaccurate.]

76 (return) [ Libanius, Orat. Parent. c. 130, p. 354, c. 139, p.

361. Socrates, l. iii. c. 21. The ecclesiastical historian

imputes the refusal of peace to the advice of Maximus. Such

advice was unworthy of a philosopher; but the philosopher was

likewise a magician, who flattered the hopes and passions of his

master.]

Chapter XXIV: The Retreat And Death Of Julian.—Part IV.

The honor, as well as interest, of Julian, forbade him to consume

his time under the impregnable walls of Ctesiphon and as often as

he defied the Barbarians, who defended the city, to meet him on

the open plain, they prudently replied, that if he desired to

exercise his valor, he might seek the army of the Great King. He

felt the insult, and he accepted the advice. Instead of confining

his servile march to the banks of the Euphrates and Tigris, he

resolved to imitate the adventurous spirit of Alexander, and

boldly to advance into the inland provinces, till he forced his

rival to contend with him, perhaps in the plains of Arbela, for

the empire of Asia. The magnanimity of Julian was applauded and

betrayed, by the arts of a noble Persian, who, in the cause of

his country, had generously submitted to act a part full of

danger, of falsehood, and of shame. 77 With a train of faithful

followers, he deserted to the Imperial camp; exposed, in a

specious tale, the injuries which he had sustained; exaggerated

the cruelty of Sapor, the discontent of the people, and the

weakness of the monarchy; and confidently offered himself as the

hostage and guide of the Roman march. The most rational grounds

of suspicion were urged, without effect, by the wisdom and

experience of Hormisdas; and the credulous Julian, receiving the

traitor into his bosom, was persuaded to issue a hasty order,

which, in the opinion of mankind, appeared to arraign his

prudence, and to endanger his safety. He destroyed, in a single

hour, the whole navy, which had been transported above five

hundred miles, at so great an expense of toil, of treasure, and

of blood. Twelve, or, at the most, twenty-two small vessels were

saved, to accompany, on carriages, the march of the army, and to

form occasional bridges for the passage of the rivers. A supply

of twenty days’ provisions was reserved for the use of the

soldiers; and the rest of the magazines, with a fleet of eleven

hundred vessels, which rode at anchor in the Tigris, were

abandoned to the flames, by the absolute command of the emperor.

The Christian bishops, Gregory and Augustin, insult the madness

of the Apostate, who executed, with his own hands, the sentence

of divine justice. Their authority, of less weight, perhaps, in a

military question, is confirmed by the cool judgment of an

experienced soldier, who was himself spectator of the

conflagration, and who could not disapprove the reluctant murmurs

of the troops. 78 Yet there are not wanting some specious, and

perhaps solid, reasons, which might justify the resolution of

Julian. The navigation of the Euphrates never ascended above

Babylon, nor that of the Tigris above Opis. 79 The distance of

the last-mentioned city from the Roman camp was not very

considerable: and Julian must soon have renounced the vain and

impracticable attempt of forcing upwards a great fleet against

the stream of a rapid river, 80 which in several places was

embarrassed by natural or artificial cataracts. 81 The power of

sails and oars was insufficient; it became necessary to tow the

ships against the current of the river; the strength of twenty

thousand soldiers was exhausted in this tedious and servile

labor, and if the Romans continued to march along the banks of

the Tigris, they could only expect to return home without

achieving any enterprise worthy of the genius or fortune of their

leader. If, on the contrary, it was advisable to advance into the

inland country, the destruction of the fleet and magazines was

the only measure which could save that valuable prize from the

hands of the numerous and active troops which might suddenly be

poured from the gates of Ctesiphon. Had the arms of Julian been

victorious, we should now admire the conduct, as well as the

courage, of a hero, who, by depriving his soldiers of the hopes

of a retreat, left them only the alternative of death or

conquest. 82

77 (return) [ The arts of this new Zopyrus (Greg. Nazianzen,

Orat. iv. p. 115, 116) may derive some credit from the testimony

of two abbreviators, (Sextus Rufus and Victor,) and the casual

hints of Libanius (Orat. Parent. c. 134, p. 357) and Ammianus,

(xxiv. 7.) The course of genuine history is interrupted by a most

unseasonable chasm in the text of Ammianus.]

78 (return) [ See Ammianus, (xxiv. 7,) Libanius, (Orat.

Parentalis, c. 132, 133, p. 356, 357,) Zosimus, (l. iii. p. 183,)

Zonaras, (tom. ii. l. xiii. p. 26) Gregory, (Orat. iv. p. 116,)

and Augustin, (de Civitate Dei, l. iv. c. 29, l. v. c. 21.) Of

these Libanius alone attempts a faint apology for his hero; who,

according to Ammianus, pronounced his own condemnation by a tardy

and ineffectual attempt to extinguish the flames.]

79 (return) [ Consult Herodotus, (l. i. c. 194,) Strabo, (l. xvi.

p. 1074,) and Tavernier, (part i. l. ii. p. 152.)]

80 (return) [ A celeritate Tigris incipit vocari, ita appellant

Medi sagittam. Plin. Hist. Natur. vi. 31.]

81 (return) [ One of these dikes, which produces an artificial

cascade or cataract, is described by Tavernier (part i. l. ii. p.

226) and Thevenot, (part ii. l. i. p. 193.) The Persians, or

Assyrians, labored to interrupt the navigation of the river,

(Strabo, l. xv. p. 1075. D’Anville, l’Euphrate et le Tigre, p.

98, 99.)]

82 (return) [ Recollect the successful and applauded rashness of

Agathocles and Cortez, who burnt their ships on the coast of

Africa and Mexico.]

The cumbersome train of artillery and wagons, which retards the

operations of a modern army, were in a great measure unknown in

the camps of the Romans. 83 Yet, in every age, the subsistence of

sixty thousand men must have been one of the most important cares

of a prudent general; and that subsistence could only be drawn

from his own or from the enemy’s country. Had it been possible

for Julian to maintain a bridge of communication on the Tigris,

and to preserve the conquered places of Assyria, a desolated

province could not afford any large or regular supplies, in a

season of the year when the lands were covered by the inundation

of the Euphrates, 84 and the unwholesome air was darkened with

swarms of innumerable insects. 85 The appearance of the hostile

country was far more inviting. The extensive region that lies

between the River Tigris and the mountains of Media, was filled

with villages and towns; and the fertile soil, for the most part,

was in a very improved state of cultivation. Julian might expect,

that a conqueror, who possessed the two forcible instruments of

persuasion, steel and gold, would easily procure a plentiful

subsistence from the fears or avarice of the natives. But, on the

approach of the Romans, the rich and smiling prospect was

instantly blasted. Wherever they moved, the inhabitants deserted

the open villages, and took shelter in the fortified towns; the

cattle was driven away; the grass and ripe corn were consumed

with fire; and, as soon as the flames had subsided which

interrupted the march of Julian, he beheld the melancholy face of

a smoking and naked desert. This desperate but effectual method

of defence can only be executed by the enthusiasm of a people who

prefer their independence to their property; or by the rigor of

an arbitrary government, which consults the public safety without

submitting to their inclinations the liberty of choice. On the

present occasion the zeal and obedience of the Persians seconded

the commands of Sapor; and the emperor was soon reduced to the

scanty stock of provisions, which continually wasted in his

hands. Before they were entirely consumed, he might still have

reached the wealthy and unwarlike cities of Ecbatana or Susa, by

the effort of a rapid and well-directed march; 86 but he was

deprived of this last resource by his ignorance of the roads, and

by the perfidy of his guides. The Romans wandered several days in

the country to the eastward of Bagdad; the Persian deserter, who

had artfully led them into the snare, escaped from their

resentment; and his followers, as soon as they were put to the

torture, confessed the secret of the conspiracy. The visionary

conquests of Hyrcania and India, which had so long amused, now

tormented, the mind of Julian. Conscious that his own imprudence

was the cause of the public distress, he anxiously balanced the

hopes of safety or success, without obtaining a satisfactory

answer, either from gods or men. At length, as the only

practicable measure, he embraced the resolution of directing his

steps towards the banks of the Tigris, with the design of saving

the army by a hasty march to the confines of Corduene; a fertile

and friendly province, which acknowledged the sovereignty of

Rome. The desponding troops obeyed the signal of the retreat,

only seventy days after they had passed the Chaboras, with the

sanguine expectation of subverting the throne of Persia. 87

83 (return) [ See the judicious reflections of the author of the

Essai sur la Tactique, tom. ii. p. 287-353, and the learned

remarks of M. Guichardt Nouveaux Mémoires Militaires, tom. i. p.

351-382, on the baggage and subsistence of the Roman armies.]

84 (return) [ The Tigris rises to the south, the Euphrates to the

north, of the Armenian mountains. The former overflows in March,

the latter in July. These circumstances are well explained in the

Geographical Dissertation of Foster, inserted in Spelman’s

Expedition of Cyras, vol. ii. p. 26.]

85 (return) [ Ammianus (xxiv. 8) describes, as he had felt, the

inconveniency of the flood, the heat, and the insects. The lands

of Assyria, oppressed by the Turks, and ravaged by the Curds or

Arabs, yield an increase of ten, fifteen, and twenty fold, for

the seed which is cast into the ground by the wretched and

unskillful husbandmen. Voyage de Niebuhr, tom. ii. p. 279, 285.]

86 (return) [ Isidore of Charax (Mansion. Parthic. p. 5, 6, in

Hudson, Geograph. Minor. tom. ii.) reckons 129 schæni from

Seleucia, and Thevenot, (part i. l. i. ii. p. 209-245,) 128 hours

of march from Bagdad to Ecbatana, or Hamadan. These measures

cannot exceed an ordinary parasang, or three Roman miles.]

87 (return) [ The march of Julian from Ctesiphon is

circumstantially, but not clearly, described by Ammianus, (xxiv.

7, 8,) Libanius, (Orat. Parent. c. 134, p. 357,) and Zosimus, (l.

iii. p. 183.) The two last seem ignorant that their conqueror was

retreating; and Libanius absurdly confines him to the banks of

the Tigris.]

As long as the Romans seemed to advance into the country, their

march was observed and insulted from a distance, by several

bodies of Persian cavalry; who, showing themselves sometimes in

loose, and sometimes in close order, faintly skirmished with the

advanced guards. These detachments were, however, supported by a

much greater force; and the heads of the columns were no sooner

pointed towards the Tigris than a cloud of dust arose on the

plain. The Romans, who now aspired only to the permission of a

safe and speedy retreat, endeavored to persuade themselves, that

this formidable appearance was occasioned by a troop of wild

asses, or perhaps by the approach of some friendly Arabs. They

halted, pitched their tents, fortified their camp, passed the

whole night in continual alarms; and discovered at the dawn of

day, that they were surrounded by an army of Persians. This army,

which might be considered only as the van of the Barbarians, was

soon followed by the main body of cuirassiers, archers, and

elephants, commanded by Meranes, a general of rank and

reputation. He was accompanied by two of the king’s sons, and

many of the principal satraps; and fame and expectation

exaggerated the strength of the remaining powers, which slowly

advanced under the conduct of Sapor himself. As the Romans

continued their march, their long array, which was forced to bend

or divide, according to the varieties of the ground, afforded

frequent and favorable opportunities to their vigilant enemies.

The Persians repeatedly charged with fury; they were repeatedly

repulsed with firmness; and the action at Maronga, which almost

deserved the name of a battle, was marked by a considerable loss

of satraps and elephants, perhaps of equal value in the eyes of

their monarch. These splendid advantages were not obtained

without an adequate slaughter on the side of the Romans: several

officers of distinction were either killed or wounded; and the

emperor himself, who, on all occasions of danger, inspired and

guided the valor of his troops, was obliged to expose his person,

and exert his abilities. The weight of offensive and defensive

arms, which still constituted the strength and safety of the

Romans, disabled them from making any long or effectual pursuit;

and as the horsemen of the East were trained to dart their

javelins, and shoot their arrows, at full speed, and in every

possible direction, 88 the cavalry of Persia was never more

formidable than in the moment of a rapid and disorderly flight.

But the most certain and irreparable loss of the Romans was that

of time. The hardy veterans, accustomed to the cold climate of

Gaul and Germany, fainted under the sultry heat of an Assyrian

summer; their vigor was exhausted by the incessant repetition of

march and combat; and the progress of the army was suspended by

the precautions of a slow and dangerous retreat, in the presence

of an active enemy. Every day, every hour, as the supply

diminished, the value and price of subsistence increased in the

Roman camp. 89 Julian, who always contented himself with such

food as a hungry soldier would have disdained, distributed, for

the use of the troops, the provisions of the Imperial household,

and whatever could be spared, from the sumpter-horses, of the

tribunes and generals. But this feeble relief served only to

aggravate the sense of the public distress; and the Romans began

to entertain the most gloomy apprehensions that, before they

could reach the frontiers of the empire, they should all perish,

either by famine, or by the sword of the Barbarians. 90

88 (return) [ Chardin, the most judicious of modern travellers,

describes (tom. ii. p. 57, 58, &c., edit. in 4to.) the education

and dexterity of the Persian horsemen. Brissonius (de Regno

Persico, p. 650 651, &c.,) has collected the testimonies of

antiquity.]

89 (return) [ In Mark Antony’s retreat, an attic chœnix sold for

fifty drachmæ, or, in other words, a pound of flour for twelve or

fourteen shillings barley bread was sold for its weight in

silver. It is impossible to peruse the interesting narrative of

Plutarch, (tom. v. p. 102-116,) without perceiving that Mark

Antony and Julian were pursued by the same enemies, and involved

in the same distress.]

90 (return) [ Ammian. xxiv. 8, xxv. 1. Zosimus, l. iii. p. 184,

185, 186. Libanius, Orat. Parent. c. 134, 135, p. 357, 358, 359.

The sophist of Antioch appears ignorant that the troops were

hungry.]

While Julian struggled with the almost insuperable difficulties

of his situation, the silent hours of the night were still

devoted to study and contemplation. Whenever he closed his eyes

in short and interrupted slumbers, his mind was agitated with

painful anxiety; nor can it be thought surprising, that the

Genius of the empire should once more appear before him, covering

with a funeral veil his head, and his horn of abundance, and

slowly retiring from the Imperial tent. The monarch started from

his couch, and stepping forth to refresh his wearied spirits with

the coolness of the midnight air, he beheld a fiery meteor, which

shot athwart the sky, and suddenly vanished. Julian was convinced

that he had seen the menacing countenance of the god of war; 91

the council which he summoned, of Tuscan Haruspices, 92

unanimously pronounced that he should abstain from action; but on

this occasion, necessity and reason were more prevalent than

superstition; and the trumpets sounded at the break of day. The

army marched through a hilly country; and the hills had been

secretly occupied by the Persians. Julian led the van with the

skill and attention of a consummate general; he was alarmed by

the intelligence that his rear was suddenly attacked. The heat of

the weather had tempted him to lay aside his cuirass; but he

snatched a shield from one of his attendants, and hastened, with

a sufficient reenforcement, to the relief of the rear-guard. A

similar danger recalled the intrepid prince to the defence of the

front; and, as he galloped through the columns, the centre of the

left was attacked, and almost overpowered by the furious charge

of the Persian cavalry and elephants. This huge body was soon

defeated, by the well-timed evolution of the light infantry, who

aimed their weapons, with dexterity and effect, against the backs

of the horsemen, and the legs of the elephants. The Barbarians

fled; and Julian, who was foremost in every danger, animated the

pursuit with his voice and gestures. His trembling guards,

scattered and oppressed by the disorderly throng of friends and

enemies, reminded their fearless sovereign that he was without

armor; and conjured him to decline the fall of the impending

ruin. As they exclaimed, 93 a cloud of darts and arrows was

discharged from the flying squadrons; and a javelin, after razing

the skin of his arm, transpierced the ribs, and fixed in the

inferior part of the liver. Julian attempted to draw the deadly

weapon from his side; but his fingers were cut by the sharpness

of the steel, and he fell senseless from his horse. His guards

flew to his relief; and the wounded emperor was gently raised

from the ground, and conveyed out of the tumult of the battle

into an adjacent tent. The report of the melancholy event passed

from rank to rank; but the grief of the Romans inspired them with

invincible valor, and the desire of revenge. The bloody and

obstinate conflict was maintained by the two armies, till they

were separated by the total darkness of the night. The Persians

derived some honor from the advantage which they obtained against

the left wing, where Anatolius, master of the offices, was slain,

and the præfect Sallust very narrowly escaped. But the event of

the day was adverse to the Barbarians. They abandoned the field;

their two generals, Meranes and Nohordates, 94 fifty nobles or

satraps, and a multitude of their bravest soldiers; and the

success of the Romans, if Julian had survived, might have been

improved into a decisive and useful victory.

91 (return) [ Ammian. xxv. 2. Julian had sworn in a passion,

nunquam se Marti sacra facturum, (xxiv. 6.) Such whimsical

quarrels were not uncommon between the gods and their insolent

votaries; and even the prudent Augustus, after his fleet had been

twice shipwrecked, excluded Neptune from the honors of public

processions. See Hume’s Philosophical Reflections. Essays, vol.

ii. p. 418.]

92 (return) [ They still retained the monopoly of the vain but

lucrative science, which had been invented in Hetruria; and

professed to derive their knowledge of signs and omens from the

ancient books of Tarquitius, a Tuscan sage.]

93 (return) [ Clambant hinc inde _candidati_ (see the note of

Valesius) quos terror, ut fugientium molem tanquam ruinam male

compositi culminis declinaret. Ammian. xxv 3.]

94 (return) [ Sapor himself declared to the Romans, that it was

his practice to comfort the families of his deceased satraps, by

sending them, as a present, the heads of the guards and officers

who had not fallen by their master’s side. Libanius, de nece

Julian. ulcis. c. xiii. p. 163.]

The first words that Julian uttered, after his recovery from the

fainting fit into which he had been thrown by loss of blood, were

expressive of his martial spirit. He called for his horse and

arms, and was impatient to rush into the battle. His remaining

strength was exhausted by the painful effort; and the surgeons,

who examined his wound, discovered the symptoms of approaching

death. He employed the awful moments with the firm temper of a

hero and a sage; the philosophers who had accompanied him in this

fatal expedition, compared the tent of Julian with the prison of

Socrates; and the spectators, whom duty, or friendship, or

curiosity, had assembled round his couch, listened with

respectful grief to the funeral oration of their dying emperor.

95 “Friends and fellow-soldiers, the seasonable period of my

departure is now arrived, and I discharge, with the cheerfulness

of a ready debtor, the demands of nature. I have learned from

philosophy, how much the soul is more excellent than the body;

and that the separation of the nobler substance should be the

subject of joy, rather than of affliction. I have learned from

religion, that an early death has often been the reward of piety;

96 and I accept, as a favor of the gods, the mortal stroke that

secures me from the danger of disgracing a character, which has

hitherto been supported by virtue and fortitude. I die without

remorse, as I have lived without guilt. I am pleased to reflect

on the innocence of my private life; and I can affirm with

confidence, that the supreme authority, that emanation of the

Divine Power, has been preserved in my hands pure and immaculate.

Detesting the corrupt and destructive maxims of despotism, I have

considered the happiness of the people as the end of government.

Submitting my actions to the laws of prudence, of justice, and of

moderation, I have trusted the event to the care of Providence.

Peace was the object of my counsels, as long as peace was

consistent with the public welfare; but when the imperious voice

of my country summoned me to arms, I exposed my person to the

dangers of war, with the clear foreknowledge (which I had

acquired from the art of divination) that I was destined to fall

by the sword. I now offer my tribute of gratitude to the Eternal

Being, who has not suffered me to perish by the cruelty of a

tyrant, by the secret dagger of conspiracy, or by the slow

tortures of lingering disease. He has given me, in the midst of

an honorable career, a splendid and glorious departure from this

world; and I hold it equally absurd, equally base, to solicit, or

to decline, the stroke of fate. This much I have attempted to

say; but my strength fails me, and I feel the approach of death.

I shall cautiously refrain from any word that may tend to

influence your suffrages in the election of an emperor. My choice

might be imprudent or injudicious; and if it should not be

ratified by the consent of the army, it might be fatal to the

person whom I should recommend. I shall only, as a good citizen,

express my hopes, that the Romans may be blessed with the

government of a virtuous sovereign.” After this discourse, which

Julian pronounced in a firm and gentle tone of voice, he

distributed, by a military testament, 97 the remains of his

private fortune; and making some inquiry why Anatolius was not

present, he understood, from the answer of Sallust, that

Anatolius was killed; and bewailed, with amiable inconsistency,

the loss of his friend. At the same time he reproved the

immoderate grief of the spectators; and conjured them not to

disgrace, by unmanly tears, the fate of a prince, who in a few

moments would be united with heaven, and with the stars. 98 The

spectators were silent; and Julian entered into a metaphysical

argument with the philosophers Priscus and Maximus, on the nature

of the soul. The efforts which he made, of mind as well as body,

most probably hastened his death. His wound began to bleed with

fresh violence; his respiration was embarrassed by the swelling

of the veins; he called for a draught of cold water, and, as soon

as he had drank it, expired without pain, about the hour of

midnight. Such was the end of that extraordinary man, in the

thirty-second year of his age, after a reign of one year and

about eight months, from the death of Constantius. In his last

moments he displayed, perhaps with some ostentation, the love of

virtue and of fame, which had been the ruling passions of his

life. 99

95 (return) [ The character and situation of Julian might

countenance the suspicion that he had previously composed the

elaborate oration, which Ammianus heard, and has transcribed. The

version of the Abbé de la Bleterie is faithful and elegant. I

have followed him in expressing the Platonic idea of emanations,

which is darkly insinuated in the original.]

96 (return) [ Herodotus (l. i. c. 31,) has displayed that

doctrine in an agreeable tale. Yet the Jupiter, (in the 16th book

of the Iliad,) who laments with tears of blood the death of

Sarpedon his son, had a very imperfect notion of happiness or

glory beyond the grave.]

97 (return) [ The soldiers who made their verbal or nuncupatory

testaments, upon actual service, (in procinctu,) were exempted

from the formalities of the Roman law. See Heineccius, (Antiquit.

Jur. Roman. tom. i. p. 504,) and Montesquieu, (Esprit des Loix,

l. xxvii.)]

98 (return) [ This union of the human soul with the divine

æthereal substance of the universe, is the ancient doctrine of

Pythagoras and Plato: but it seems to exclude any personal or

conscious immortality. See Warburton’s learned and rational

observations. Divine Legation, vol ii. p. 199-216.]

99 (return) [ The whole relation of the death of Julian is given

by Ammianus, (xxv. 3,) an intelligent spectator. Libanius, who

turns with horror from the scene, has supplied some

circumstances, (Orat. Parental. c 136-140, p. 359-362.) The

calumnies of Gregory, and the legends of more recent saints, may

now be _silently_ despised. * Note: A very remarkable fragment of

Eunapius describes, not without spirit, the struggle between the

terror of the army on account of their perilous situation, and

their grief for the death of Julian. “Even the vulgar felt that

they would soon provide a general, but such a general as Julian

they would never find, even though a god in the form of

man—Julian, who, with a mind equal to the divinity, triumphed

over the evil propensities of human nature,—* * who held commerce

with immaterial beings while yet in the material body—who

condescended to rule because a ruler was necessary to the welfare

of mankind.” Mai, Nov. Coll. ii. 261. Eunapius in Niebuhr, 69.]

The triumph of Christianity, and the calamities of the empire,

may, in some measure, be ascribed to Julian himself, who had

neglected to secure the future execution of his designs, by the

timely and judicious nomination of an associate and successor.

But the royal race of Constantius Chlorus was reduced to his own

person; and if he entertained any serious thoughts of investing

with the purple the most worthy among the Romans, he was diverted

from his resolution by the difficulty of the choice, the jealousy

of power, the fear of ingratitude, and the natural presumption of

health, of youth, and of prosperity. His unexpected death left

the empire without a master, and without an heir, in a state of

perplexity and danger, which, in the space of fourscore years,

had never been experienced, since the election of Diocletian. In

a government which had almost forgotten the distinction of pure

and noble blood, the superiority of birth was of little moment;

the claims of official rank were accidental and precarious; and

the candidates, who might aspire to ascend the vacant throne

could be supported only by the consciousness of personal merit,

or by the hopes of popular favor. But the situation of a famished

army, encompassed on all sides by a host of Barbarians, shortened

the moments of grief and deliberation. In this scene of terror

and distress, the body of the deceased prince, according to his

own directions, was decently embalmed; and, at the dawn of day,

the generals convened a military senate, at which the commanders

of the legions, and the officers both of cavalry and infantry,

were invited to assist. Three or four hours of the night had not

passed away without some secret cabals; and when the election of

an emperor was proposed, the spirit of faction began to agitate

the assembly. Victor and Arinthæus collected the remains of the

court of Constantius; the friends of Julian attached themselves

to the Gallic chiefs, Dagalaiphus and Nevitta; and the most fatal

consequences might be apprehended from the discord of two

factions, so opposite in their character and interest, in their

maxims of government, and perhaps in their religious principles.

The superior virtues of Sallust could alone reconcile their

divisions, and unite their suffrages; and the venerable præfect

would immediately have been declared the successor of Julian, if

he himself, with sincere and modest firmness, had not alleged his

age and infirmities, so unequal to the weight of the diadem. The

generals, who were surprised and perplexed by his refusal, showed

some disposition to adopt the salutary advice of an inferior

officer, 100 that they should act as they would have acted in the

absence of the emperor; that they should exert their abilities to

extricate the army from the present distress; and, if they were

fortunate enough to reach the confines of Mesopotamia, they

should proceed with united and deliberate counsels in the

election of a lawful sovereign. While they debated, a few voices

saluted Jovian, who was no more than _first_ 101 of the

domestics, with the names of Emperor and Augustus. The tumultuary

acclamation 10111 was instantly repeated by the guards who

surrounded the tent, and passed, in a few minutes, to the

extremities of the line. The new prince, astonished with his own

fortune was hastily invested with the Imperial ornaments, and

received an oath of fidelity from the generals, whose favor and

protection he so lately solicited. The strongest recommendation

of Jovian was the merit of his father, Count Varronian, who

enjoyed, in honorable retirement, the fruit of his long services.

In the obscure freedom of a private station, the son indulged his

taste for wine and women; yet he supported, with credit, the

character of a Christian 102 and a soldier. Without being

conspicuous for any of the ambitious qualifications which excite

the admiration and envy of mankind, the comely person of Jovian,

his cheerful temper, and familiar wit, had gained the affection

of his fellow-soldiers; and the generals of both parties

acquiesced in a popular election, which had not been conducted by

the arts of their enemies. The pride of this unexpected elevation

was moderated by the just apprehension, that the same day might

terminate the life and reign of the new emperor. The pressing

voice of necessity was obeyed without delay; and the first orders

issued by Jovian, a few hours after his predecessor had expired,

were to prosecute a march, which could alone extricate the Romans

from their actual distress. 103

100 (return) [ Honoratior aliquis miles; perhaps Ammianus

himself. The modest and judicious historian describes the scene

of the election, at which he was undoubtedly present, (xxv. 5.)]

101 (return) [ The _primus_ or _primicerius_ enjoyed the dignity

of a senator, and though only a tribune, he ranked with the

military dukes. Cod. Theodosian. l. vi. tit. xxiv. These

privileges are perhaps more recent than the time of Jovian.]

10111 (return) [ The soldiers supposed that the acclamations

proclaimed the name of Julian, restored, as they fondly thought,

to health, not that of Jovian. loc.—M.]

102 (return) [ The ecclesiastical historians, Socrates, (l. iii.

c. 22,) Sozomen, (l. vi. c. 3,) and Theodoret, (l. iv. c. 1,)

ascribe to Jovian the merit of a confessor under the preceding

reign; and piously suppose that he refused the purple, till the

whole army unanimously exclaimed that they were Christians.

Ammianus, calmly pursuing his narrative, overthrows the legend by

a single sentence. Hostiis pro Joviano extisque inspectis,

pronuntiatum est, &c., xxv. 6.]

103 (return) [ Ammianus (xxv. 10) has drawn from the life an

impartial portrait of Jovian; to which the younger Victor has

added some remarkable strokes. The Abbé de la Bleterie (Histoire

de Jovien, tom. i. p. 1-238) has composed an elaborate history of

his short reign; a work remarkably distinguished by elegance of

style, critical disquisition, and religious prejudice.]

Chapter XXIV: The Retreat And Death Of Julian.—Part V.

The esteem of an enemy is most sincerely expressed by his fears;

and the degree of fear may be accurately measured by the joy with

which he celebrates his deliverance. The welcome news of the

death of Julian, which a deserter revealed to the camp of Sapor,

inspired the desponding monarch with a sudden confidence of

victory. He immediately detached the royal cavalry, perhaps the

ten thousand _Immortals_, 104 to second and support the pursuit;

and discharged the whole weight of his united forces on the

rear-guard of the Romans. The rear-guard was thrown into

disorder; the renowned legions, which derived their titles from

Diocletian, and his warlike colleague, were broke and trampled

down by the elephants; and three tribunes lost their lives in

attempting to stop the flight of their soldiers. The battle was

at length restored by the persevering valor of the Romans; the

Persians were repulsed with a great slaughter of men and

elephants; and the army, after marching and fighting a long

summer’s day, arrived, in the evening, at Samara, on the banks of

the Tigris, about one hundred miles above Ctesiphon. 105 On the

ensuing day, the Barbarians, instead of harassing the march,

attacked the camp, of Jovian; which had been seated in a deep and

sequestered valley. From the hills, the archers of Persia

insulted and annoyed the wearied legionaries; and a body of

cavalry, which had penetrated with desperate courage through the

Prætorian gate, was cut in pieces, after a doubtful conflict,

near the Imperial tent. In the succeeding night, the camp of

Carche was protected by the lofty dikes of the river; and the

Roman army, though incessantly exposed to the vexatious pursuit

of the Saracens, pitched their tents near the city of Dura, 106

four days after the death of Julian. The Tigris was still on

their left; their hopes and provisions were almost consumed; and

the impatient soldiers, who had fondly persuaded themselves that

the frontiers of the empire were not far distant, requested their

new sovereign, that they might be permitted to hazard the passage

of the river. With the assistance of his wisest officers, Jovian

endeavored to check their rashness; by representing, that if they

possessed sufficient skill and vigor to stem the torrent of a

deep and rapid stream, they would only deliver themselves naked

and defenceless to the Barbarians, who had occupied the opposite

banks, Yielding at length to their clamorous importunities, he

consented, with reluctance, that five hundred Gauls and Germans,

accustomed from their infancy to the waters of the Rhine and

Danube, should attempt the bold adventure, which might serve

either as an encouragement, or as a warning, for the rest of the

army. In the silence of the night, they swam the Tigris,

surprised an unguarded post of the enemy, and displayed at the

dawn of day the signal of their resolution and fortune. The

success of this trial disposed the emperor to listen to the

promises of his architects, who propose to construct a floating

bridge of the inflated skins of sheep, oxen, and goats, covered

with a floor of earth and fascines. 107 Two important days were

spent in the ineffectual labor; and the Romans, who already

endured the miseries of famine, cast a look of despair on the

Tigris, and upon the Barbarians; whose numbers and obstinacy

increased with the distress of the Imperial army. 108

104 (return) [ Regius equitatus. It appears, from Irocopius, that

the Immortals, so famous under Cyrus and his successors, were

revived, if we may use that improper word, by the Sassanides.

Brisson de Regno Persico, p. 268, &c.]

105 (return) [ The obscure villages of the inland country are

irrecoverably lost; nor can we name the field of battle where

Julian fell: but M. D’Anville has demonstrated the precise

situation of Sumere, Carche, and Dura, along the banks of the

Tigris, (Geographie Ancienne, tom. ii. p. 248 L’Euphrate et le

Tigre, p. 95, 97.) In the ninth century, Sumere, or Samara,

became, with a slight change of name, the royal residence of the

khalifs of the house of Abbas. * Note: Sormanray, called by the

Arabs Samira, where D’Anville placed Samara, is too much to the

south; and is a modern town built by Caliph Morasen.

Serra-man-rai means, in Arabic, it rejoices every one who sees

it. St. Martin, iii. 133.—M.]

106 (return) [ Dura was a fortified place in the wars of

Antiochus against the rebels of Media and Persia, (Polybius, l.

v. c. 48, 52, p. 548, 552 edit. Casaubon, in 8vo.)]

107 (return) [ A similar expedient was proposed to the leaders of

the ten thousand, and wisely rejected. Xenophon, Anabasis, l.

iii. p. 255, 256, 257. It appears, from our modern travellers,

that rafts floating on bladders perform the trade and navigation

of the Tigris.]

108 (return) [ The first military acts of the reign of Jovian are

related by Ammianus, (xxv. 6,) Libanius, (Orat. Parent. c. 146,

p. 364,) and Zosimus, (l. iii. p. 189, 190, 191.) Though we may

distrust the fairness of Libanius, the ocular testimony of

Eutropius (uno a Persis atque altero prœlio victus, x. 17) must

incline us to suspect that Ammianus had been too jealous of the

honor of the Roman arms.]

In this hopeless condition, the fainting spirits of the Romans

were revived by the sound of peace. The transient presumption of

Sapor had vanished: he observed, with serious concern, that, in

the repetition of doubtful combats, he had lost his most faithful

and intrepid nobles, his bravest troops, and the greatest part of

his train of elephants: and the experienced monarch feared to

provoke the resistance of despair, the vicissitudes of fortune,

and the unexhausted powers of the Roman empire; which might soon

advance to elieve, or to revenge, the successor of Julian. The

Surenas himself, accompanied by another satrap, appeared in the

camp of Jovian; 109 and declared, that the clemency of his

sovereign was not averse to signify the conditions on which he

would consent to spare and to dismiss the Cæsar with the relics

of his captive army. 10911 The hopes of safety subdued the

firmness of the Romans; the emperor was compelled, by the advice

of his council, and the cries of his soldiers, to embrace the

offer of peace; 10912 and the præfect Sallust was immediately

sent, with the general Arinthæus, to understand the pleasure of

the Great King. The crafty Persian delayed, under various

pretenses, the conclusion of the agreement; started difficulties,

required explanations, suggested expedients, receded from his

concessions, increased his demands, and wasted four days in the

arts of negotiation, till he had consumed the stock of provisions

which yet remained in the camp of the Romans. Had Jovian been

capable of executing a bold and prudent measure, he would have

continued his march, with unremitting diligence; the progress of

the treaty would have suspended the attacks of the Barbarians;

and, before the expiration of the fourth day, he might have

safely reached the fruitful province of Corduene, at the distance

only of one hundred miles. 110 The irresolute emperor, instead of

breaking through the toils of the enemy, expected his fate with

patient resignation; and accepted the humiliating conditions of

peace, which it was no longer in his power to refuse. The five

provinces beyond the Tigris, which had been ceded by the

grandfather of Sapor, were restored to the Persian monarchy. He

acquired, by a single article, the impregnable city of Nisibis;

which had sustained, in three successive sieges, the effort of

his arms. Singara, and the castle of the Moors, one of the

strongest places of Mesopotamia, were likewise dismembered from

the empire. It was considered as an indulgence, that the

inhabitants of those fortresses were permitted to retire with

their effects; but the conqueror rigorously insisted, that the

Romans should forever abandon the king and kingdom of Armenia.

11011 A peace, or rather a long truce, of thirty years, was

stipulated between the hostile nations; the faith of the treaty

was ratified by solemn oaths and religious ceremonies; and

hostages of distinguished rank were reciprocally delivered to

secure the performance of the conditions. 111

109 (return) [ Sextus Rufus (de Provinciis, c. 29) embraces a

poor subterfuge of national vanity. Tanta reverentia nominis

Romani fuit, ut a Persis _primus_ de pace sermo haberetur. ——He

is called Junius by John Malala; the same, M. St. Martin

conjectures, with a satrap of Gordyene named Jovianus, or

Jovinianus; mentioned in Ammianus Marcellinus, xviii. 6.—M.]

10911 (return) [ The Persian historians couch the message of

Shah-pour in these Oriental terms: “I have reassembled my

numerous army. I am resolved to revenge my subjects, who have

been plundered, made captives, and slain. It is for this that I

have bared my arm, and girded my loins. If you consent to pay the

price of the blood which has been shed, to deliver up the booty

which has been plundered, and to restore the city of Nisibis,

which is in Irak, and belongs to our empire, though now in your

possession, I will sheathe the sword of war; but should you

refuse these terms, the hoofs of my horse, which are hard as

steel, shall efface the name of the Romans from the earth; and my

glorious cimeter, that destroys like fire, shall exterminate the

people of your empire.” These authorities do not mention the

death of Julian. Malcolm’s Persia, i. 87.—M.]

10912 (return) [ The Paschal chronicle, not, as M. St. Martin

says, supported by John Malala, places the mission of this

ambassador before the death of Julian. The king of Persia was

then in Persarmenia, ignorant of the death of Julian; he only

arrived at the army subsequent to that event. St. Martin adopts

this view, and finds or extorts support for it, from Libanius and

Ammianus, iii. 158.—M.]

110 (return) [ It is presumptuous to controvert the opinion of

Ammianus, a soldier and a spectator. Yet it is difficult to

understand _how_ the mountains of Corduene could extend over the

plains of Assyria, as low as the conflux of the Tigris and the

great Zab; or _how_ an army of sixty thousand men could march one

hundred miles in four days. Note: * Yet this appears to be the

case (in modern maps: ) the march is the difficulty.—M.]

11011 (return) [ Sapor availed himself, a few years after, of the

dissolution of the alliance between the Romans and the Armenians.

See St. M. iii. 163.—M.]

111 (return) [ The treaty of Dura is recorded with grief or

indignation by Ammianus, (xxv. 7,) Libanius, (Orat. Parent. c.

142, p. 364,) Zosimus, (l. iii. p. 190, 191,) Gregory Nazianzen,

(Orat. iv. p. 117, 118, who imputes the distress to Julian, the

deliverance to Jovian,) and Eutropius, (x. 17.) The

last-mentioned writer, who was present in military station,

styles this peace necessarium quidem sed ignoblem.]

The sophist of Antioch, who saw with indignation the sceptre of

his hero in the feeble hand of a Christian successor, professes

to admire the moderation of Sapor, in contenting himself with so

small a portion of the Roman empire. If he had stretched as far

as the Euphrates the claims of his ambition, he might have been

secure, says Libanius, of not meeting with a refusal. If he had

fixed, as the boundary of Persia, the Orontes, the Cydnus, the

Sangarius, or even the Thracian Bosphorus, flatterers would not

have been wanting in the court of Jovian to convince the timid

monarch, that his remaining provinces would still afford the most

ample gratifications of power and luxury. 112 Without adopting in

its full force this malicious insinuation, we must acknowledge,

that the conclusion of so ignominious a treaty was facilitated by

the private ambition of Jovian. The obscure domestic, exalted to

the throne by fortune, rather than by merit, was impatient to

escape from the hands of the Persians, that he might prevent the

designs of Procopius, who commanded the army of Mesopotamia, and

establish his doubtful reign over the legions and provinces which

were still ignorant of the hasty and tumultuous choice of the

camp beyond the Tigris. 113 In the neighborhood of the same

river, at no very considerable distance from the fatal station of

Dura, 114 the ten thousand Greeks, without generals, or guides,

or provisions, were abandoned, above twelve hundred miles from

their native country, to the resentment of a victorious monarch.

The difference of _their_ conduct and success depended much more

on their character than on their situation. Instead of tamely

resigning themselves to the secret deliberations and private

views of a single person, the united councils of the Greeks were

inspired by the generous enthusiasm of a popular assembly; where

the mind of each citizen is filled with the love of glory, the

pride of freedom, and the contempt of death. Conscious of their

superiority over the Barbarians in arms and discipline, they

disdained to yield, they refused to capitulate: every obstacle

was surmounted by their patience, courage, and military skill;

and the memorable retreat of the ten thousand exposed and

insulted the weakness of the Persian monarchy. 115

112 (return) [ Libanius, Orat. Parent. c. 143, p. 364, 365.]

113 (return) [ Conditionibus..... dispendiosis Romanæ reipublicæ

impositis.... quibus cupidior regni quam gloriæ Jovianus, imperio

rudis, adquievit. Sextus Rufus de Provinciis, c. 29. La Bleterie

has expressed, in a long, direct oration, these specious

considerations of public and private interest, (Hist. de Jovien,

tom. i. p. 39, &c.)]

114 (return) [ The generals were murdered on the bauks of the

Zabatus, (Ana basis, l. ii. p. 156, l. iii. p. 226,) or great

Zab, a river of Assyria, 400 feet broad, which falls into the

Tigris fourteen hours below Mosul. The error of the Greeks

bestowed on the greater and lesser Zab the names of the _Wolf_,

(Lycus,) and the _Goat_, (Capros.) They created these animals to

attend the _Tiger_ of the East.]

115 (return) [ The _Cyropædia_ is vague and languid; the

_Anabasis_ circumstance and animated. Such is the eternal

difference between fiction and truth.]

As the price of his disgraceful concessions, the emperor might

perhaps have stipulated, that the camp of the hungry Romans

should be plentifully supplied; 116 and that they should be

permitted to pass the Tigris on the bridge which was constructed

by the hands of the Persians. But, if Jovian presumed to solicit

those equitable terms, they were sternly refused by the haughty

tyrant of the East, whose clemency had pardoned the invaders of

his country. The Saracens sometimes intercepted the stragglers of

the march; but the generals and troops of Sapor respected the

cessation of arms; and Jovian was suffered to explore the most

convenient place for the passage of the river. The small vessels,

which had been saved from the conflagration of the fleet,

performed the most essential service. They first conveyed the

emperor and his favorites; and afterwards transported, in many

successive voyages, a great part of the army. But, as every man

was anxious for his personal safety, and apprehensive of being

left on the hostile shore, the soldiers, who were too impatient

to wait the slow returns of the boats, boldly ventured themselves

on light hurdles, or inflated skins; and, drawing after them

their horses, attempted, with various success, to swim across the

river. Many of these daring adventurers were swallowed by the

waves; many others, who were carried along by the violence of the

stream, fell an easy prey to the avarice or cruelty of the wild

Arabs: and the loss which the army sustained in the passage of

the Tigris, was not inferior to the carnage of a day of battle.

As soon as the Romans were landed on the western bank, they were

delivered from the hostile pursuit of the Barbarians; but, in a

laborious march of two hundred miles over the plains of

Mesopotamia, they endured the last extremities of thirst and

hunger. They were obliged to traverse the sandy desert, which, in

the extent of seventy miles, did not afford a single blade of

sweet grass, nor a single spring of fresh water; and the rest of

the inhospitable waste was untrod by the footsteps either of

friends or enemies. Whenever a small measure of flour could be

discovered in the camp, twenty pounds weight were greedily

purchased with ten pieces of gold: 117 the beasts of burden were

slaughtered and devoured; and the desert was strewed with the

arms and baggage of the Roman soldiers, whose tattered garments

and meagre countenances displayed their past sufferings and

actual misery. A small convoy of provisions advanced to meet the

army as far as the castle of Ur; and the supply was the more

grateful, since it declared the fidelity of Sebastian and

Procopius. At Thilsaphata, 118 the emperor most graciously

received the generals of Mesopotamia; and the remains of a once

flourishing army at length reposed themselves under the walls of

Nisibis. The messengers of Jovian had already proclaimed, in the

language of flattery, his election, his treaty, and his return;

and the new prince had taken the most effectual measures to

secure the allegiance of the armies and provinces of Europe, by

placing the military command in the hands of those officers, who,

from motives of interest, or inclination, would firmly support

the cause of their benefactor. 119

116 (return) [ According to Rufinus, an immediate supply of

provisions was stipulated by the treaty, and Theodoret affirms,

that the obligation was faithfully discharged by the Persians.

Such a fact is probable but undoubtedly false. See Tillemont,

Hist. des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 702.]

117 (return) [ We may recollect some lines of Lucan, (Pharsal.

iv. 95,) who describes a similar distress of Cæsar’s army in

Spain:— ——Sæva fames aderat—Miles eget: toto censu non prodigus

emit Exiguam Cererem. Proh lucri pallida tabes! Non deest prolato

jejunus venditor auro. See Guichardt (Nouveaux Mémoires

Militaires, tom. i. p. 370-382.) His analysis of the two

campaigns in Spain and Africa is the noblest monument that has

ever been raised to the fame of Cæsar.]

118 (return) [ M. d’Anville (see his Maps, and l’Euphrate et le

Tigre, p. 92, 93) traces their march, and assigns the true

position of Hatra, Ur, and Thilsaphata, which Ammianus has

mentioned. ——He does not complain of the Samiel, the deadly hot

wind, which Thevenot (Voyages, part ii. l. i. p. 192) so much

dreaded. ——Hatra, now Kadhr. Ur, Kasr or Skervidgi. Thilsaphata

is unknown—M.]

119 (return) [ The retreat of Jovian is described by Ammianus,

(xxv. 9,) Libanius, (Orat. Parent. c. 143, p. 365,) and Zosimus,

(l. iii. p. 194.)]

The friends of Julian had confidently announced the success of

his expedition. They entertained a fond persuasion that the

temples of the gods would be enriched with the spoils of the

East; that Persia would be reduced to the humble state of a

tributary province, governed by the laws and magistrates of Rome;

that the Barbarians would adopt the dress, and manners, and

language of their conquerors; and that the youth of Ecbatana and

Susa would study the art of rhetoric under Grecian masters. 120

The progress of the arms of Julian interrupted his communication

with the empire; and, from the moment that he passed the Tigris,

his affectionate subjects were ignorant of the fate and fortunes

of their prince. Their contemplation of fancied triumphs was

disturbed by the melancholy rumor of his death; and they

persisted to doubt, after they could no longer deny, the truth of

that fatal event. 121 The messengers of Jovian promulgated the

specious tale of a prudent and necessary peace; the voice of

fame, louder and more sincere, revealed the disgrace of the

emperor, and the conditions of the ignominious treaty. The minds

of the people were filled with astonishment and grief, with

indignation and terror, when they were informed, that the

unworthy successor of Julian relinquished the five provinces

which had been acquired by the victory of Galerius; and that he

shamefully surrendered to the Barbarians the important city of

Nisibis, the firmest bulwark of the provinces of the East. 122

The deep and dangerous question, how far the public faith should

be observed, when it becomes incompatible with the public safety,

was freely agitated in popular conversation; and some hopes were

entertained that the emperor would redeem his pusillanimous

behavior by a splendid act of patriotic perfidy. The inflexible

spirit of the Roman senate had always disclaimed the unequal

conditions which were extorted from the distress of their captive

armies; and, if it were necessary to satisfy the national honor,

by delivering the guilty general into the hands of the

Barbarians, the greatest part of the subjects of Jovian would

have cheerfully acquiesced in the precedent of ancient times. 123

120 (return) [ Libanius, (Orat. Parent. c. 145, p. 366.) Such

were the natural hopes and wishes of a rhetorician.]

121 (return) [ The people of Carrhæ, a city devoted to Paganism,

buried the inauspicious messenger under a pile of stones,

(Zosimus, l. iii. p. 196.) Libanius, when he received the fatal

intelligence, cast his eye on his sword; but he recollected that

Plato had condemned suicide, and that he must live to compose the

Panegyric of Julian, (Libanius de Vita sua, tom. ii. p. 45, 46.)]

122 (return) [ Ammianus and Eutropius may be admitted as fair and

credible witnesses of the public language and opinions. The

people of Antioch reviled an ignominious peace, which exposed

them to the Persians, on a naked and defenceless frontier,

(Excerpt. Valesiana, p. 845, ex Johanne Antiocheno.)]

123 (return) [ The Abbé de la Bleterie, (Hist. de Jovien, tom. i.

p. 212-227.) though a severe casuist, has pronounced that Jovian

was not bound to execute his promise; since he _could not_

dismember the empire, nor alienate, without their consent, the

allegiance of his people. I have never found much delight or

instruction in such political metaphysics.]

But the emperor, whatever might be the limits of his

constitutional authority, was the absolute master of the laws and

arms of the state; and the same motives which had forced him to

subscribe, now pressed him to execute, the treaty of peace. He

was impatient to secure an empire at the expense of a few

provinces; and the respectable names of religion and honor

concealed the personal fears and ambition of Jovian.

Notwithstanding the dutiful solicitations of the inhabitants,

decency, as well as prudence, forbade the emperor to lodge in the

palace of Nisibis; but the next morning after his arrival,

Bineses, the ambassador of Persia, entered the place, displayed

from the citadel the standard of the Great King, and proclaimed,

in his name, the cruel alternative of exile or servitude. The

principal citizens of Nisibis, who, till that fatal moment, had

confided in the protection of their sovereign, threw themselves

at his feet. They conjured him not to abandon, or, at least, not

to deliver, a faithful colony to the rage of a Barbarian tyrant,

exasperated by the three successive defeats which he had

experienced under the walls of Nisibis. They still possessed arms

and courage to repel the invaders of their country: they

requested only the permission of using them in their own defence;

and, as soon as they had asserted their independence, they should

implore the favor of being again admitted into the ranks of his

subjects. Their arguments, their eloquence, their tears, were

ineffectual. Jovian alleged, with some confusion, the sanctity of

oaths; and, as the reluctance with which he accepted the present

of a crown of gold, convinced the citizens of their hopeless

condition, the advocate Sylvanus was provoked to exclaim, “O

emperor! may you thus be crowned by all the cities of your

dominions!” Jovian, who in a few weeks had assumed the habits of

a prince, 124 was displeased with freedom, and offended with

truth: and as he reasonably supposed, that the discontent of the

people might incline them to submit to the Persian government, he

published an edict, under pain of death, that they should leave

the city within the term of three days. Ammianus has delineated

in lively colors the scene of universal despair, which he seems

to have viewed with an eye of compassion. 125 The martial youth

deserted, with indignant grief, the walls which they had so

gloriously defended: the disconsolate mourner dropped a last tear

over the tomb of a son or husband, which must soon be profaned by

the rude hand of a Barbarian master; and the aged citizen kissed

the threshold, and clung to the doors, of the house where he had

passed the cheerful and careless hours of infancy. The highways

were crowded with a trembling multitude: the distinctions of

rank, and sex, and age, were lost in the general calamity. Every

one strove to bear away some fragment from the wreck of his

fortunes; and as they could not command the immediate service of

an adequate number of horses or wagons, they were obliged to

leave behind them the greatest part of their valuable effects.

The savage insensibility of Jovian appears to have aggravated the

hardships of these unhappy fugitives. They were seated, however,

in a new-built quarter of Amida; and that rising city, with the

reenforcement of a very considerable colony, soon recovered its

former splendor, and became the capital of Mesopotamia. 126

Similar orders were despatched by the emperor for the evacuation

of Singara and the castle of the Moors; and for the restitution

of the five provinces beyond the Tigris. Sapor enjoyed the glory

and the fruits of his victory; and this ignominious peace has

justly been considered as a memorable æra in the decline and fall

of the Roman empire. The predecessors of Jovian had sometimes

relinquished the dominion of distant and unprofitable provinces;

but, since the foundation of the city, the genius of Rome, the

god Terminus, who guarded the boundaries of the republic, had

never retired before the sword of a victorious enemy. 127

124 (return) [ At Nisibis he performed a _royal_ act. A brave

officer, his namesake, who had been thought worthy of the purple,

was dragged from supper, thrown into a well, and stoned to death

without any form of trial or evidence of guilt. Anomian. xxv. 8.]

125 (return) [ See xxv. 9, and Zosimus, l. iii. p. 194, 195.]

126 (return) [ Chron. Paschal. p. 300. The ecclesiastical Notitiæ

may be consulted.]

127 (return) [ Zosimus, l. iii. p. 192, 193. Sextus Rufus de

Provinciis, c. 29. Augustin de Civitat. Dei, l. iv. c. 29. This

general position must be applied and interpreted with some

caution.]

After Jovian had performed those engagements which the voice of

his people might have tempted him to violate, he hastened away

from the scene of his disgrace, and proceeded with his whole

court to enjoy the luxury of Antioch. 128 Without consulting the

dictates of religious zeal, he was prompted, by humanity and

gratitude, to bestow the last honors on the remains of his

deceased sovereign: 129 and Procopius, who sincerely bewailed the

loss of his kinsman, was removed from the command of the army,

under the decent pretence of conducting the funeral. The corpse

of Julian was transported from Nisibis to Tarsus, in a slow march

of fifteen days; and, as it passed through the cities of the

East, was saluted by the hostile factions, with mournful

lamentations and clamorous insults. The Pagans already placed

their beloved hero in the rank of those gods whose worship he had

restored; while the invectives of the Christians pursued the soul

of the Apostate to hell, and his body to the grave. 130 One party

lamented the approaching ruin of their altars; the other

celebrated the marvellous deliverance of their church. The

Christians applauded, in lofty and ambiguous strains, the stroke

of divine vengeance, which had been so long suspended over the

guilty head of Julian. They acknowledge, that the death of the

tyrant, at the instant he expired beyond the Tigris, was

_revealed_ to the saints of Egypt, Syria, and Cappadocia; 131 and

instead of suffering him to fall by the Persian darts, their

indiscretion ascribed the heroic deed to the obscure hand of some

mortal or immortal champion of the faith. 132 Such imprudent

declarations were eagerly adopted by the malice, or credulity, of

their adversaries; 133 who darkly insinuated, or confidently

asserted, that the governors of the church had instigated and

directed the fanaticism of a domestic assassin. 134 Above sixteen

years after the death of Julian, the charge was solemnly and

vehemently urged, in a public oration, addressed by Libanius to

the emperor Theodosius. His suspicions are unsupported by fact or

argument; and we can only esteem the generous zeal of the sophist

of Antioch for the cold and neglected ashes of his friend. 135

128 (return) [ Ammianus, xxv. 9. Zosimus, l. iii. p. 196. He

might be edax, vino Venerique indulgens. But I agree with La

Bleterie (tom. i. p. 148-154) in rejecting the foolish report of

a Bacchanalian riot (ap. Suidam) celebrated at Antioch, by the

emperor, his _wife_, and a troop of concubines.]

129 (return) [ The Abbé de la Bleterie (tom. i. p. 156-209)

handsomely exposes the brutal bigotry of Baronius, who would have

thrown Julian to the dogs, ne cespititia quidem sepultura

dignus.]

130 (return) [ Compare the sophist and the saint, (Libanius,

Monod. tom. ii. p. 251, and Orat. Parent. c. 145, p. 367, c. 156,

p. 377, with Gregory Nazianzen, Orat. iv. p. 125-132.) The

Christian orator faintly mutters some exhortations to modesty and

forgiveness; but he is well satisfied, that the real sufferings

of Julian will far exceed the fabulous torments of Ixion or

Tantalus.]

131 (return) [ Tillemont (Hist. des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 549)

has collected these visions. Some saint or angel was observed to

be absent in the night, on a secret expedition, &c.]

132 (return) [ Sozomen (l. vi. 2) applauds the Greek doctrine of

_tyrannicide;_ but the whole passage, which a Jesuit might have

translated, is prudently suppressed by the president Cousin.]

133 (return) [ Immediately after the death of Julian, an

uncertain rumor was scattered, telo cecidisse Romano. It was

carried, by some deserters to the Persian camp; and the Romans

were reproached as the assassins of the emperor by Sapor and his

subjects, (Ammian. xxv. 6. Libanius de ulciscenda Juliani nece,

c. xiii. p. 162, 163.) It was urged, as a decisive proof, that no

Persian had appeared to claim the promised reward, (Liban. Orat.

Parent. c. 141, p. 363.) But the flying horseman, who darted the

fatal javelin, might be ignorant of its effect; or he might be

slain in the same action. Ammianus neither feels nor inspires a

suspicion.]

134 (return) [ This dark and ambiguous expression may point to

Athanasius, the first, without a rival, of the Christian clergy,

(Libanius de ulcis. Jul. nece, c. 5, p. 149. La Bleterie, Hist.

de Jovien, tom. i. p. 179.)]

135 (return) [ The orator (Fabricius, Bibliot. Græc. tom. vii. p.

145-179) scatters suspicions, demands an inquiry, and insinuates,

that proofs might still be obtained. He ascribes the success of

the Huns to the criminal neglect of revenging Julian’s death.]

It was an ancient custom in the funerals, as well as in the

triumphs, of the Romans, that the voice of praise should be

corrected by that of satire and ridicule; and that, in the midst

of the splendid pageants, which displayed the glory of the living

or of the dead, their imperfections should not be concealed from

the eyes of the world. 136 This custom was practised in the

funeral of Julian. The comedians, who resented his contempt and

aversion for the theatre, exhibited, with the applause of a

Christian audience, the lively and exaggerated representation of

the faults and follies of the deceased emperor. His various

character and singular manners afforded an ample scope for

pleasantry and ridicule. 137 In the exercise of his uncommon

talents, he often descended below the majesty of his rank.

Alexander was transformed into Diogenes; the philosopher was

degraded into a priest. The purity of his virtue was sullied by

excessive vanity; his superstition disturbed the peace, and

endangered the safety, of a mighty empire; and his irregular

sallies were the less entitled to indulgence, as they appeared to

be the laborious efforts of art, or even of affectation. The

remains of Julian were interred at Tarsus in Cilicia; but his

stately tomb, which arose in that city, on the banks of the cold

and limpid Cydnus, 138 was displeasing to the faithful friends,

who loved and revered the memory of that extraordinary man. The

philosopher expressed a very reasonable wish, that the disciple

of Plato might have reposed amidst the groves of the academy; 139

while the soldier exclaimed, in bolder accents, that the ashes of

Julian should have been mingled with those of Cæsar, in the field

of Mars, and among the ancient monuments of Roman virtue. 140 The

history of princes does not very frequently renew the examples of

a similar competition.

136 (return) [ At the funeral of Vespasian, the comedian who

personated that frugal emperor, anxiously inquired how much it

cost. Fourscore thousand pounds, (centies.) Give me the tenth

part of the sum, and throw my body into the Tiber. Sueton, in

Vespasian, c. 19, with the notes of Casaubon and Gronovius.]

137 (return) [ Gregory (Orat. iv. p. 119, 120) compares this

supposed ignominy and ridicule to the funeral honors of

Constantius, whose body was chanted over Mount Taurus by a choir

of angels.]

138 (return) [ Quintus Curtius, l. iii. c. 4. The luxuriancy of

his descriptions has been often censured. Yet it was almost the

duty of the historian to describe a river, whose waters had

nearly proved fatal to Alexander.]

139 (return) [ Libanius, Orat. Parent. c. 156, p. 377. Yet he

acknowledges with gratitude the liberality of the two royal

brothers in decorating the tomb of Julian, (de ulcis. Jul. nece,

c. 7, p. 152.)]

140 (return) [ Cujus suprema et cineres, si qui tunc juste

consuleret, non Cydnus videre deberet, quamvis gratissimus amnis

et liquidus: sed ad perpetuandam gloriam recte factorum

præterlambere Tiberis, intersecans urbem æternam, divorumque

veterum monumenta præstringens Ammian. xxv. 10.]

Chapter XXV: Reigns Of Jovian And Valentinian, Division Of The

Empire.—Part I.

The Government And Death Of Jovian.—Election Of Valentinian, Who

Associates His Brother Valens, And Makes The Final Division Of The

Eastern And Western Empires.— Revolt Of Procopius.—Civil And

Ecclesiastical Administration.—Germany. —Britain.—Africa.—The

East.— The Danube.—Death Of Valentinian.—His Two Sons, Gratian And

Valentinian II., Succeed To The Western Empire.

The death of Julian had left the public affairs of the empire in

a very doubtful and dangerous situation. The Roman army was saved

by an inglorious, perhaps a necessary treaty; 1 and the first

moments of peace were consecrated by the pious Jovian to restore

the domestic tranquility of the church and state. The

indiscretion of his predecessor, instead of reconciling, had

artfully fomented the religious war: and the balance which he

affected to preserve between the hostile factions, served only to

perpetuate the contest, by the vicissitudes of hope and fear, by

the rival claims of ancient possession and actual favor. The

Christians had forgotten the spirit of the gospel; and the Pagans

had imbibed the spirit of the church. In private families, the

sentiments of nature were extinguished by the blind fury of zeal

and revenge: the majesty of the laws was violated or abused; the

cities of the East were stained with blood; and the most

implacable enemies of the Romans were in the bosom of their

country. Jovian was educated in the profession of Christianity;

and as he marched from Nisibis to Antioch, the banner of the

Cross, the Labarum of Constantine, which was again displayed at

the head of the legions, announced to the people the faith of

their new emperor. As soon as he ascended the throne, he

transmitted a circular epistle to all the governors of provinces;

in which he confessed the divine truth, and secured the legal

establishment, of the Christian religion. The insidious edicts of

Julian were abolished; the ecclesiastical immunities were

restored and enlarged; and Jovian condescended to lament, that

the distress of the times obliged him to diminish the measure of

charitable distributions. 2 The Christians were unanimous in the

loud and sincere applause which they bestowed on the pious

successor of Julian. But they were still ignorant what creed, or

what synod, he would choose for the standard of orthodoxy; and

the peace of the church immediately revived those eager disputes

which had been suspended during the season of persecution. The

episcopal leaders of the contending sects, convinced, from

experience, how much their fate would depend on the earliest

impressions that were made on the mind of an untutored soldier,

hastened to the court of Edessa, or Antioch. The highways of the

East were crowded with Homoousian, and Arian, and Semi-Arian, and

Eunomian bishops, who struggled to outstrip each other in the

holy race: the apartments of the palace resounded with their

clamors; and the ears of the prince were assaulted, and perhaps

astonished, by the singular mixture of metaphysical argument and

passionate invective. 3 The moderation of Jovian, who recommended

concord and charity, and referred the disputants to the sentence

of a future council, was interpreted as a symptom of

indifference: but his attachment to the Nicene creed was at

length discovered and declared, by the reverence which he

expressed for the _celestial_ 4 virtues of the great Athanasius.

The intrepid veteran of the faith, at the age of seventy, had

issued from his retreat on the first intelligence of the tyrant’s

death. The acclamations of the people seated him once more on the

archiepiscopal throne; and he wisely accepted, or anticipated,

the invitation of Jovian. The venerable figure of Athanasius, his

calm courage, and insinuating eloquence, sustained the reputation

which he had already acquired in the courts of four successive

princes. 5 As soon as he had gained the confidence, and secured

the faith, of the Christian emperor, he returned in triumph to

his diocese, and continued, with mature counsels and undiminished

vigor, to direct, ten years longer, 6 the ecclesiastical

government of Alexandria, Egypt, and the Catholic church. Before

his departure from Antioch, he assured Jovian that his orthodox

devotion would be rewarded with a long and peaceful reign.

Athanasius, had reason to hope, that he should be allowed either

the merit of a successful prediction, or the excuse of a grateful

though ineffectual prayer. 7

1 (return) [ The medals of Jovian adorn him with victories,

laurel crowns, and prostrate captives. Ducange, Famil. Byzantin.

p. 52. Flattery is a foolish suicide; she destroys herself with

her own hands.]

2 (return) [ Jovian restored to the church a forcible and

comprehensive expression, (Philostorgius, l. viii. c. 5, with

Godefroy’s Dissertations, p. 329. Sozomen, l. vi. c. 3.) The new

law which condemned the rape or marriage of nuns (Cod. Theod. l.

ix. tit. xxv. leg. 2) is exaggerated by Sozomen; who supposes,

that an amorous glance, the adultery of the heart, was punished

with death by the evangelic legislator.]

3 (return) [ Compare Socrates, l. iii. c. 25, and Philostorgius,

l. viii. c. 6, with Godefroy’s Dissertations, p. 330.]

4 (return) [ The word _celestial_ faintly expresses the impious

and extravagant flattery of the emperor to the archbishop. (See

the original epistle in Athanasius, tom. ii. p. 33.) Gregory

Nazianzen (Orat. xxi. p. 392) celebrates the friendship of Jovian

and Athanasius. The primate’s journey was advised by the Egyptian

monks, (Tillemont, Mém. Eccles. tom. viii. p. 221.)]

5 (return) [ Athanasius, at the court of Antioch, is agreeably

represented by La Bleterie, (Hist. de Jovien, tom. i. p.

121-148;) he translates the singular and original conferences of

the emperor, the primate of Egypt, and the Arian deputies. The

Abbé is not satisfied with the coarse pleasantry of Jovian; but

his partiality for Athanasius assumes, in _his_ eyes, the

character of justice.]

6 (return) [ The true area of his death is perplexed with some

difficulties, (Tillemont, Mém. Eccles. tom. viii. p. 719-723.)

But the date (A. D. 373, May 2) which seems the most consistent

with history and reason, is ratified by his authentic life,

(Maffei Osservazioni Letterarie, tom. iii. p. 81.)]

7 (return) [ See the observations of Valesius and Jortin (Remarks

on Ecclesiastical History, vol. iv. p. 38) on the original letter

of Athanasius; which is preserved by Theodoret, (l. iv. c. 3.) In

some Mss. this indiscreet promise is omitted; perhaps by the

Catholics, jealous of the prophetic fame of their leader.]

The slightest force, when it is applied to assist and guide the

natural descent of its object, operates with irresistible weight;

and Jovian had the good fortune to embrace the religious opinions

which were supported by the spirit of the times, and the zeal and

numbers of the most powerful sect. 8 Under his reign,

Christianity obtained an easy and lasting victory; and as soon as

the smile of royal patronage was withdrawn, the genius of

Paganism, which had been fondly raised and cherished by the arts

of Julian, sunk irrecoverably in the. In many cities, the temples

were shut or deserted: the philosophers who had abused their

transient favor, thought it prudent to shave their beards, and

disguise their profession; and the Christians rejoiced, that they

were now in a condition to forgive, or to revenge, the injuries

which they had suffered under the preceding reign. 9 The

consternation of the Pagan world was dispelled by a wise and

gracious edict of toleration; in which Jovian explicitly

declared, that although he should severely punish the

sacrilegious rites of magic, his subjects might exercise, with

freedom and safety, the ceremonies of the ancient worship. The

memory of this law has been preserved by the orator Themistius,

who was deputed by the senate of Constantinople to express their

royal devotion for the new emperor. Themistius expatiates on the

clemency of the Divine Nature, the facility of human error, the

rights of conscience, and the independence of the mind; and, with

some eloquence, inculcates the principles of philosophical

toleration; whose aid Superstition herself, in the hour of her

distress, is not ashamed to implore. He justly observes, that in

the recent changes, both religions had been alternately disgraced

by the seeming acquisition of worthless proselytes, of those

votaries of the reigning purple, who could pass, without a

reason, and without a blush, from the church to the temple, and

from the altars of Jupiter to the sacred table of the Christians.

8 (return) [ Athanasius (apud Theodoret, l. iv. c. 3) magnifies

the number of the orthodox, who composed the whole world. This

assertion was verified in the space of thirty and forty years.]

9 (return) [ Socrates, l. iii. c. 24. Gregory Nazianzen (Orat.

iv. p. 131) and Libanius (Orat. Parentalis, c. 148, p. 369)

expresses the _living_ sentiments of their respective factions.]

10 (return) [ Themistius, Orat. v. p. 63-71, edit. Harduin,

Paris, 1684. The Abbé de la Bleterie judiciously remarks, (Hist.

de Jovien, tom. i. p. 199,) that Sozomen has forgot the general

toleration; and Themistius the establishment of the Catholic

religion. Each of them turned away from the object which he

disliked, and wished to suppress the part of the edict the least

honorable, in his opinion, to the emperor.]

In the space of seven months, the Roman troops, who were now

returned to Antioch, had performed a march of fifteen hundred

miles; in which they had endured all the hardships of war, of

famine, and of climate. Notwithstanding their services, their

fatigues, and the approach of winter, the timid and impatient

Jovian allowed only, to the men and horses, a respite of six

weeks. The emperor could not sustain the indiscreet and malicious

raillery of the people of Antioch. 11 He was impatient to possess

the palace of Constantinople; and to prevent the ambition of some

competitor, who might occupy the vacant allegiance of Europe. But

he soon received the grateful intelligence, that his authority

was acknowledged from the Thracian Bosphorus to the Atlantic

Ocean. By the first letters which he despatched from the camp of

Mesopotamia, he had delegated the military command of Gaul and

Illyricum to Malarich, a brave and faithful officer of the nation

of the Franks; and to his father-in-law, Count Lucillian, who had

formerly distinguished his courage and conduct in the defence of

Nisibis. Malarich had declined an office to which he thought

himself unequal; and Lucillian was massacred at Rheims, in an

accidental mutiny of the Batavian cohorts. 12 But the moderation

of Jovinus, master-general of the cavalry, who forgave the

intention of his disgrace, soon appeased the tumult, and

confirmed the uncertain minds of the soldiers. The oath of

fidelity was administered and taken, with loyal acclamations; and

the deputies of the Western armies 13 saluted their new sovereign

as he descended from Mount Taurus to the city of Tyana in

Cappadocia. From Tyana he continued his hasty march to Ancyra,

capital of the province of Galatia; where Jovian assumed, with

his infant son, the name and ensigns of the consulship. 14

Dadastana, 15 an obscure town, almost at an equal distance

between Ancyra and Nice, was marked for the fatal term of his

journey and life. After indulging himself with a plentiful,

perhaps an intemperate, supper, he retired to rest; and the next

morning the emperor Jovian was found dead in his bed. The cause

of this sudden death was variously understood. By some it was

ascribed to the consequences of an indigestion, occasioned either

by the quantity of the wine, or the quality of the mushrooms,

which he had swallowed in the evening. According to others, he

was suffocated in his sleep by the vapor of charcoal, which

extracted from the walls of the apartment the unwholesome

moisture of the fresh plaster. 16 But the want of a regular

inquiry into the death of a prince, whose reign and person were

soon forgotten, appears to have been the only circumstance which

countenanced the malicious whispers of poison and domestic guilt.

17 The body of Jovian was sent to Constantinople, to be interred

with his predecessors, and the sad procession was met on the road

by his wife Charito, the daughter of Count Lucillian; who still

wept the recent death of her father, and was hastening to dry her

tears in the embraces of an Imperial husband. Her disappointment

and grief were imbittered by the anxiety of maternal tenderness.

Six weeks before the death of Jovian, his infant son had been

placed in the curule chair, adorned with the title of

_Nobilissimus_, and the vain ensigns of the consulship.

Unconscious of his fortune, the royal youth, who, from his

grandfather, assumed the name of Varronian, was reminded only by

the jealousy of the government, that he was the son of an

emperor. Sixteen years afterwards he was still alive, but he had

already been deprived of an eye; and his afflicted mother

expected every hour, that the innocent victim would be torn from

her arms, to appease, with his blood, the suspicions of the

reigning prince. 18

11 (return) [ Johan. Antiochen. in Excerpt. Valesian. p. 845. The

libels of Antioch may be admitted on very slight evidence.]

12 (return) [ Compare Ammianus, (xxv. 10,) who omits the name of

the Batarians, with Zosimus, (l. iii. p. 197,) who removes the

scene of action from Rheims to Sirmium.]

13 (return) [ Quos capita scholarum ordo castrensis appellat.

Ammian. xxv. 10, and Vales. ad locum.]

14 (return) [ Cugus vagitus, pertinaciter reluctantis, ne in

curuli sella veheretur ex more, id quod mox accidit protendebat.

Augustus and his successors respectfully solicited a dispensation

of age for the sons or nephews whom they raised to the

consulship. But the curule chair of the first Brutus had never

been dishonored by an infant.]

15 (return) [ The Itinerary of Antoninus fixes Dadastana 125

Roman miles from Nice; 117 from Ancyra, (Wesseling, Itinerar. p.

142.) The pilgrim of Bourdeaux, by omitting some stages, reduces

the whole space from 242 to 181 miles. Wesseling, p. 574. * Note:

Dadastana is supposed to be Castabat.—M.]

16 (return) [ See Ammianus, (xxv. 10,) Eutropius, (x. 18.) who

might likewise be present, Jerom, (tom. i. p. 26, ad Heliodorum.)

Orosius, (vii. 31,) Sozomen, (l. vi. c. 6,) Zosimus, (l. iii. p.

197, 198,) and Zonaras, (tom. ii. l. xiii. p. 28, 29.) We cannot

expect a perfect agreement, and we shall not discuss minute

differences.]

17 (return) [ Ammianus, unmindful of his usual candor and good

sense, compares the death of the harmless Jovian to that of the

second Africanus, who had excited the fears and resentment of the

popular faction.]

18 (return) [ Chrysostom, tom. i. p. 336, 344, edit. Montfaucon.

The Christian orator attempts to comfort a widow by the examples

of illustrious misfortunes; and observes, that of nine emperors

(including the Cæsar Gallus) who had reigned in his time, only

two (Constantine and Constantius) died a natural death. Such

vague consolations have never wiped away a single tear.]

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Table of Contents with links in the HTML file to the two Project Gutenberg editions (12 volumes) · 第 25 / 79 章

The fertile province of Assyria, 52 which stretched beyond the