|
I HAVE narrated in the preceding book the occurrences which took
place in the Church, during the reign of Julian. This emperor,
having determined to carry on the war with Persia, made a rapid
transit across the Euphrates in the beginning of spring, and, passing
by Edessa from hatred to the inhabitants, who had long professed
Christianity, he went on to Carrae, where there was a temple of
Jupiter, in which he offered up sacrifice and prayer. He then
selected twenty thousand armed men from among his troops, and sent them
towards the Tigris, in order that they might guard those regions, and
also be ready to join him, in case he should require their assistance.
He then wrote to Arsacius, king of Armenia, one of the Roman
allies, to bespeak his aid in the war. In this letter Julian
manifested the most unbounded arrogance; he boasted of the high
qualities which had, he said, rendered him worthy of the empire, and
acceptable to the gods for whom he cared; he reviled Constantius, his
predecessor, as an effeminate and impious emperor, and threatened
Arsacius in a grossly insulting way; and since he understood that he
was a Christian, he intensified his insuits, or eagerly and largely
uttered unlawful blasphemies against Christ, for he was wont to dare
this in every case. He told Arsacius that unless he acted according
to his directions, the God in whom he trusted would not be able to
defend him from his vengeance. When he considered that all his
arrangements had been duly made, he led his army through Assyria.
He took a great many towns and fortresses, either through treachery or
by battle, and thoughtlessly proceeded onwards, without refleeting
that he would have to return by the same route. He pillaged every
place he approached, and pulled down or burnt the granaries and
storehouses. As he was journeying up the Euphrates, he arrived at
Ctesiphon, a very large city, whither the Persian monarchs have now
transferred their residence from Babylon. The Tigris flows near this
spot. As he was prevented from reaching the city with his ships, by a
part of the land which separated it from the river, he judged that
either he must pursue his journey by water, or quit his ships and go to
Ctesiphon by land; and he interrogated the prisoners on the subject.
Having ascertained from them that there was a canal which had been
blocked up in the course of time, he caused it to be cleared out,
and, having thus effected a communication between the Euphrates and
the Tigris, he proceeded towards the city, his ships floating along
by the side of his army. But the Persians appeared on the banks of
the Tigris with a formidable display of horse and many armed troops,
of elephants, and of horses; and Julian became conscious that his
army was besieged between two great rivers, and was in danger of
perishing, either by remaining in its present position, or by
retreating through the cities and villages which he had so utterly
devastated that no provisions were attainable; therefore he summoned
the soldiers to see horse races, and proposed rewards to the fleetest
racers. In the meantime he commanded the officers of the ships to
throw over the provisions and baggage of the army, so that the
soldiers, seeing themselves in danger by the want of necessaries,
might turn about boldly and fight their enemies more desperately.
After supper he sent for the generals and tribunes and commanded the
embarkation of the troops. They sailed along the Tigris during the
night and came at once to the opposite banks and disembarked; but their
departure was perceived by some of the Persians, who exhorted one
another to oppose them, but those still asleep the Romans readily
overcame.
At daybreak, the two armies engaged in battle; and after much
bloodshed on both sides, the Romans returned by the river, and
encamped near Ctesiphon. The emperor, being no longer desirous of
proceeding further, burnt his vessels, as he considered that they
required too many soldiers to guard them; and he then commenced his
retreat along the Tigris, which was to his left. The prisoners, who
acted as guides to the Romans, led them to a fertile country where
they found abundance of provisions. Soon after, an old man who had
resolved to die for the liberty of Persia, allowed himself to be taken
prisoner, and was brought before the emperor. On being questioned as
to the route, and seeming to speak the truth, he persuaded them to
follow him as capable of transporting the army very speedily to the
Roman frontiers. He observed that for the space of three or four
days' journey this road would be difficult, and that it would be
necessary to carry provisions during that time, as the surrounding
country was sterile. The emperor was deceived by the discourse of this
wise old man, and approved the march by this route. On advancing
further, after the lapse of three days, they were cast upon an
uncultivated region. The old prisoner was put to torture. He
confessed that he had exposed himself voluntarily to death for the sake
of his country, and was therefore prepared to endure any sufferings
that could be inflicted on him.
The Roman troops were now worn out by the length of the journey and
the scarcity of provisions, and the Persians chose this moment to
attack them.
In the heat of the conflict which ensued, a violent wind arose; and
the sky and the sun were totally concealed by the clouds, while the air
was at the same time mixed with dust. During the darkness which was
thus produced, a horseman, riding at full gallop, directed his lance
against the emperor, and wounded him mortally. After throwing Julian
from his horse, the unknown assailant secretly went away. Some
conjectured that he was a Persian; others, that he was a Saracen.
There are those who insist that he who struck the blow was a Roman
soldier, who was indignant at the imprudence and temerity which the
emperor had manifested in exposing his army to such peril. Libanius,
the sophist, a native of Syria, the most intimate friend of Julian,
expressed himself in the following terms concerning the person who had
committed the deed: "You desire to know by whom the emperor was
slain. I know not his name. We have a proof, however, that the
murderer was not one of the enemies; for no one came forward to claim
the reward, although the king of Persia caused proclamation to be
made, by a herald, of the honors to be awarded to him who had
performed the deed. We are surely beholden to the enemy for not
arrogating to themselves the glory of the action, but for leaving it to
us to seek the slayer among ourselves.
"Those who sought his death were those who lived in habitual
transgression of the laws, and who had formerly conspired against him,
and who therefore perpetrated the deed as soon as they could find an
opportunity. They were impelled by the desire of obtaining a greater
degree of freedom from all control than they could enjoy under his
government; and they were, perhaps, mainly stimulated by their
indignation at the attachment of the emperor to the service of the
gods, to which they were averse."
|
|