History

Nevertheless both armies fought with clouds of stones thrown by hand; neither side gave way, but the hot fight continued with great determination from dawn until nightfall, and ended indecisively. Then, on the following day, they continued the battle most fiercely, many fell on both sides, and their equal strength held the victory in balance. Whereupon the emperor, hastening to try every lucky throw amid the mutual slaughter, surrounded by a band in wedge-formation, and protected from the fall of arrows by shields held closely together, in swift assault with a company of vigorous warriors, came near the enemy’s gate, which was heavily overlaid with iron.

And although he and those who shared in his peril were assailed with rocks, bullets from slings, and other missiles, nevertheless he often cheered on his men as they tried to break in the leaves of the folding gates, in order to affect an entrance, and he did not withdraw until he saw that he must soon be overwhelmed by the volleys that were being hurled down upon him.

After all, he got back with all his men; a few were slightly wounded, he himself was unhurt, but bore a blush of shame upon his face. For he had read that Scipio Aemilianus, accompanied by the historian Polybius of Megalopolis in Arcadia and thirty soldiers, had undermined a gate of Carthage in a like attack. But the admitted credibility of the writers of old upholds the recent exploit.

For Aemilianus had come close up to the gate, and it was protected by an arch of masonry, under which he was safely hidden while the enemy were trying to lift off the masses of stone ; and he broke into the city when it was stripped of its defenders. But Julian attacked an exposed place, and was forced to retreat only when the face of heaven was darkened by fragments of mountains and other missiles showered upon him; and then with difficulty.

These actions went on in haste and confusion, and since it was evident that the construction of mantlet-sheds and mounds was greatly interfered with by other pressing matters, Julian gave orders that the engine called helepolis should quickly be built, by the use of which, as I have said above, King Demetrius overcame many cities and won the name of Poliorcetes.

To this huge mass, which would rise above the battlements of the lofty towers, the defenders turned an attentive eye, and at the same time considering the resolution of the besiegers, they suddenly fell to their prayers, and standing on the towers and battlements, and with outstretched hands imploring the protection of the Romans, they craved pardon and life.

And when they saw that the works were discontinued, and that those who were constructing them were attempting nothing further, which was a sure sign of peace, they asked that an opportunity be given them of conferring with Ormizda.

When this was granted, and Mamersides, commander of the garrison, was let down on a rope and taken to the emperor, he obtained (as he besought) a sure promise of life and impunity for himself and his followers, and was allowed to return. When he reported what he had accomplished, all the people of both sexes, since everything that they desired had been accepted, made peace with trustworthy religious rites. Then the gates were thrown open and they came out, shouting that a potent protecting angel had appeared to them in the person of a Caesar great and merciful.

The prisoners numbered only 2500; for the rest of the population, in anticipation of a siege, had crossed the river in small boats and made off. In this citadel there was found a great abundance of arms and provisions; of these the victors took what they needed and burned the rest along with the place itself.

The day after these events the serious news came to the emperor, while he was quietly at table, that the Persian leader called the Surena had unexpectedly attacked three squadrons of our scouting cavalry, had killed a very few of them, including one of their tribunes, and carried off a standard.

At once roused to furious anger, Julian hurried forth with an armed force,—his safest course lay in his very speed-and routed the marauders in shameful confusion; he cashiered the two surviving tribunes as inefficient and cowardly, and following the ancient laws, discharged and put to death ten of the soldiers who had fled from the field.

Then, after the city was burned (as has been told), Julian mounted a tribunal erected for the purpose and thanked the assembled army, urging them all to act in the same way in the future, and promised each man a hundred pieces of silver. But when he perceived that the smallness of the promised sum excited a mutinous uproar, he was roused to deep indignation and spoke as follows:

Behold the Persians, said he, abounding in wealth of every kind. The riches of this people can enrich you, if we show ourselves brave men of united purpose. But from endless resources (believe me, pray) the Roman empire has sunk to extremest want through those men who (to enrich themselves) have taught princes to buy peace from the barbarians with gold.

The treasury has been pillaged, cities depopulated, provinces laid waste. I have neither wealth nor family connections (although I am of noble birth), only a heart that knows no fear; and an emperor who finds his sole happiness in the training of his mind will feel no shame in admitting an honourable poverty. For the Fabricii too, though poor in worldly goods, conducted serious wars and were rich in glory.

All this you may possess in abundance, if you fearlessly follow God’s lead and your general’s, who will be careful (so far as human foresight can provide), and if you act with moderation; but if you oppose me and repeat the shameful scenes of former revolts, go to it now!

I alone, as becomes a commander, having reached the end of a career of great deeds, will die standing on my feet, indifferent to a life which one little fever may take from me; or at any rate I will abdicate, since I have not lived such a life that I cannot some time be a private citizen. And I may say with pride and joy that we have with us thoroughly tried generals, perfect in their knowledge of every kind of warfare.

By this address of an emperor self-contained amid prosperity and adversity the soldiers were quieted for the time, and, gaining confidence through the anticipation of better days, they promised to be obedient and compliant. With unanimous applause they lauded his leadership and high spirit to the skies; and when such utterances are sincere and come from the heart, it is usually shown by a slight clashing of shields.

After this they retired to their tents and (so far as the circumstances allowed) refreshed themselves with food and sleep. It gave courage to the army besides that Julian constantly took oath, not by those dear to him, but by the great deeds that he planned, saying: As I hope to send the Persians under the yoke; As I hope to restore the shattered Roman world. Just as Trajan is said sometimes to have emphasized a statement by the oaths: As I hope to see Dacia reduced to the form of a province; As I hope to cross the Hister and the Euphrates on bridges; and many other oaths of the same kind.

Next, after a march of fourteen miles, we came to a place where the fields are made fertile by an abundance of water; but the Persians, having learned in advance that we should take that route, had broken the dykes and allowed the water to flow everywhere without restraint.

Therefore, as the ground was covered far and wide with standing pools, the emperor gave the soldiers another day of rest, and went on himself; and after overcoming many dangers, he made such bridges as he could from bladders, as well as boats from the trunks of palm trees, and so got his army across, though not without difficulty.

In these regions there are many fields, planted with vineyards and various kinds of fruits. Here too palm trees are wont to grow, extending over a wide expanse as far as Mesene and the great sea, in mighty groves. And wherever anyone goes, one constantly sees palm branches with and without fruit, and from their yield an abundance of honey and wine is made. The palms themselves are said to couple, and the sexes may easily be distinguished.

It is also said that the female trees conceive when smeared with the seeds of the male, and they assert that the trees take pleasure in mutual love, and that this is evident from the fact that they lean towards each other, and cannot be parted even by gales of wind. And if the female tree is not smeared in the usual way with the seed of the male, it suffers abortion and loses its fruit before it is ripe. And if it is not known with what male any female tree is in love, her trunk is smeared with her own perfume, and the other tree by a law of nature is attracted by the sweet odour. It is from these signs that the belief in a kind of copulation is created.

Abundantly supplied with food of that kind, our army passed by several islands, and where formerly there was dread of scarcity there was now serious danger of over-eating. Finally, they were assailed by a hidden attack of the enemy’s archers, but not unavenged; and came to a place where the main body of the Euphrates is divided into many small streams.

In this tract a city which, because of its low walls, had been abandoned by its Jewish inhabitants, was burned by the hands of the angry soldiers. This done, the emperor went on farther, still more hopeful because of the gracious aid of the deity, as he interpreted it.

And when he had come to Maiozamalcha, a great city surrounded by strong walls, he pitched his tents and took anxious precautions that the camp might not be disturbed by a sudden onset of the Persian cavalry, whose valour in the open field was enormously feared by all peoples.

After making this provision, attended by a few light-armed soldiers and himself also marching on foot, Julian planned to make a careful examination of the position of the city; but he fell into a dangerous ambuscade, from which he escaped only with difficulty and at the risk of his life.

For through a secret gate of the town ten armed Persians came out, and after crossing the lower slopes on bended knees made a sudden onslaught on our men. Two with drawn swords attacked the emperor, whose bearing made him conspicuous, but he met their strokes by lifting up his shield. Thus protected, with great and lofty courage he plunged his sword into the side of one assailant, while his followers with many a stroke cut down the other. The rest, of whom some were wounded, fled in all directions. After stripping the two of their arms, Julian returned to the camp with the spoils, bringing back his companions uninjured, and was received by all with great joy.

Torquatus once took from a prostrate foe his golden neck-chain; Valerius, afterwards surnamed Corvinus, laid low a bold and bragging Gaul with the aid of a crow, and by these glorious deeds they gained fame with posterity. We do not begrudge the praise; let this fine exploit also be added to the records of the past.

On the following day bridges were built and the army led across, and a camp was measured off in another and more advantageous place and girt by a double palisade, since (as I have said) Julian feared the open plains. Then he began the siege of the town, thinking that it would be dangerous to advance farther, and leave behind him an enemy whom he feared.

While great preparations were being made for the siege, the Surena, who was in command of the enemy, made an attack on the pack-animals, which were grazing in the palm-groves; but he was met by our scouting-cohorts, and after loss of a few of the men, was baffled by our forces and withdrew.

The inhabitants of two cities, which were on islands made by the winding river, alarmed and distrustful of their strength, tried to make their way to the walls of Ctesiphon; some of them slipped off through the thick woods, others crossed the neighbouring pools in their boats made from hollowed trees, thinking this their only hope and the best means for making the long journey which confronted them, if they were to reach that distant land.

Some of them, who offered resistance, were slain by our troops, who also rushed about everywhere in skiffs and boats and from time to time brought in others as prisoners. For Julian had provided with balanced care, that while the infantry were besieging the town, the cavalry forces, divided into detachments, should give their attention to driving off booty; and through this arrangement the soldiers, without burdening the provincials at all, fed upon the vitals of the enemy.

And now the emperor, having surrounded, with a triple line of shields, the town, which had a double wall about it, assailed it with all his might, in the hope of gaining his end. But necessary as the attack was, so was it very difficult to bring it to a successful issue. For on every side the approaches were surrounded by high and precipitous cliffs and many windings made them doubly perilous and the town inaccessible, especially since the towers, formidable for both their number and their height, rose to the same elevation as the eminence of natural rock which formed the citadel, while the sloping plateau overlooking the river was fortified with strong battlements.

Added to this was an equally serious disadvantage, in that the large and carefully chosen force of the besieged could not by any enticements be led to surrender, but resisted as though resolved either to be victorious or to die amid the ashes of their native city. But our soldiers could with difficulty be kept from the attack, mutinously pressing on and demanding a pitched battle even in the open field; and when the trumpet sounded the recall, they continually tormented themselves with spirited attempts to assail the enemy.

However, the judgement of our leaders overcame their extreme violence; the work was divided, and each man undertook with all speed the task assigned him. For here lofty embankments were being raised, there others were filling up the deep ditches; elsewhere long passages were being constructed in the bowels of the earth, and those in charge of the artillery were setting up their hurling engines, soon to break out with deadly roar.

Nevitta and Dagalaifus had charge of the mines and mantelets; the opening of the attack, and the protection of the artillery from fire or sallies was undertaken by the emperor in person. And when all the preparations for destroying the city had been completed with much painful toil, and the soldiers demanded battle, the general named Victor, who had reconnoitred the roads as far as Ctesiphon, returned and reported that he had found no obstacles.

Upon this all the soldiers were wild with joy, and aroused to greater confidence awaited under arms the signal for battle.

And now, as the trumpets sounded their martial note, both sides raised a loud shout. The Romans were the first with repeated onslaughts and threatening roars to attack the foe, who were covered with plates of iron as if by a thin layer of feathers, and were full of confidence since the arrows flew back as they struck the folds of the hard iron; but at times the covering of joined shields, with which our men skilfully covered themselves as if by the protection of irregularly shaped arches, because of their continual movements yawned apart. The Persians, on the other hand, obstinately clinging to their walls, tried with every possible effort to avoid and baffle the death-dealing attacks.

But when the besiegers, carrying before them hurdles of wicker work, were already threatening the walls, the enemy’s slingers and archers, others even rolling down huge stones, with torches and fiery shafts tried to keep them at a distance; then ballistae adapted for wooden arrows were bent and plied with screaming sound, sending forth showers of missiles; and scorpions, hauled to various places by skilled hands, hurled round stones.

But after renewed and repeated contests, as the heat increased towards the middle of the day and the sun burnt like fire, both sides, though intent upon the preparation of the siege-works and eager for battle, were forced to retire worn out and drenched with sweat.

With the same fixity of purpose, the contending parties on the following day also carried on the battle persistently with contests of various kinds, and separated on equal terms and with indecisive result. But in the face of every danger, the emperor, in closest company with combatants, urged on the destruction of the city, lest by lingering too long about its walls, he should be forced to abandon his greater projects.

But in case of dire necessity nothing is so trifling that it may not at times, even contrary to expectation, tip the balance in some great undertaking. For when, as often, the combatants were on the point of separating and the fighting slackened, a more violent blow from a ram which had shortly before been brought up shattered a tower which was higher than all the rest and strongly built of kiln-dried brick; and in its fall it carried with it amid a tremendous crash the adjacent side of the wall.

Thereupon, according to changes of the situation, the vigour of the besiegers and in turn the energy of the besieged was shown by splendid deeds. For nothing seemed too hard for our soldiers, inflamed as they were with wrath and resentment, nothing was formidable or terrible in the eyes of the defenders as they joined issue for their lives. For it was not until the fight had raged for a long time without result and blood had been shed in much slaughter on both sides, that the close of the day brought it to an end and the combatants then yielded to fatigue.

While this was going on in the light of day and before the eyes of all, it was reported to the emperor, who kept a watchful eye on everything, that the legionary soldiers to whom the laying of the mines had been assigned, having completed their underground passages and supported them by beams, had made their way to the bottom of the foundations of the walls, and were ready to sally out when he himself should give the word.

Therefore, although the night was far advanced, the trumpets sounded, and at the given signal for entering battle they rushed to arms. And, as had been planned, the fronts of the wall were attacked on two sides in order that while the defenders were rushing here and there to avert the danger, the clink of the iron tools digging at the parts close by might not be heard, and that with no hindrance from within, the band of sappers might suddenly make its appearance.

When these matters were arranged as had been determined, and the defenders were fully occupied, the mines were opened and Exsuperius, a soldier of a cohort of the Victores, leaped out; next came Magnus, a tribune and Jovianus, a notary, followed by the whole daring band. They first slew those who were found in the room through which they had come into daylight; then advancing on tiptoe they cut down all the watch, who, according to the custom of the race, were loudly praising in song the justice and good fortune of their king.

It was thought that Mars himself (if it is lawful for the majesty of the gods to mingle with mortals) had been with Luscinus, when he stormed the camp of the Lucanians; and this was believed because in the heat of battle an armed warrior of formidable size was seen carrying scaling-ladders, and on the following day, when the army was reviewed, could not be found, although he was sought for with particular care; whereas, if he had been a soldier, from consciousness of a memorable exploit he would have presented himself of his own accord. But although then the doer of that noble deed was wholly unknown, on the present occasion those who had fought valiantly were made conspicuous by gifts of siege-crowns, and according to the ancient custom were commended in the presence of the assembled army.

At last the city, stripped of its defenders, laid open with many breaches and on the point of falling, was entered, and the violence of the enraged soldiers destroyed whatever they found in their way, without distinction of age or sex; others, in fear of imminent death, being threatened on one side by fire, on the other by the sword, shedding their last tears voluntarily hurled themselves headlong from the walls, and with all their limbs shattered endured for a time a life more awful than death, until they were put out of their misery.

Nabdates, however, the commandant of the garrison, with eighty followers, was dragged out alive, and when he was brought before the emperor, who was happy and inclined to mercy, orders were given that he be spared unharmed with the others and kept in custody. Then when the booty was divided according to the estimate of merit and hard service, the emperor, being content with little, took only a dumb boy who was offered to him, who was acquainted with sign- language and explained many things in which he was skilled by most graceful gestures, and was valued at three pieces of gold; and this he considered a reward for the victory that he had won that was both agreeable and deserving of gratitude.

But as to the maidens who were taken prisoners (and they were beautiful, as is usual in Persia, where the women excel in that respect) he refused to touch a single one or even to look on her, following the example of Alexander and Africanus, who avoided such conduct, lest those who showed themselves unwearied by hardships should be unnerved by passion.

In the course of these contests a builder on our side, whose name I do not recall, happened to be standing behind a scorpion, when a stone which one of the gunners had fitted insecurely to the sling was hurled backward. The unfortunate man was thrown on his back with his breast crushed, and killed; and his limbs were so torn asunder that not even parts of his whole body could be identified.

The emperor was on the point of leaving the spot, when a trustworthy informant reported that in some dark and hidden pits near the walls of the destroyed city, such as are numerous in those parts, a band of the enemy was treacherously lying in wait, intending to rush out unexpectedly and attack the rear of our army.