XXIV.

CHAP. 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 Per"sians under the yoke!" "Thus may I restore "the strength and splendour 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 ma"terials for the sophist of Antioch."

He transports his

the Eu

The successful valour of Julian had triumphHeet from ed over all the obstacles that opposed his march phrates to to the gates of Ctesiphon. But the reduction, the Tigris. 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. 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 for ever extinguished; and the only remaining quarter of that Greek colony had resumed, with the Assyrian

s Ammian. xxiv. 3; Libanius, Orat. Parent. c. 122, p. 346.

t

M. d'Anville (Mem. de l'Academie des Inscriptions, tom. xxviii, p. 246-259) has ascertained the true position and distance of Babylon, Seleuci, 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.

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language and manners, the primitive appella- CHAP. tion 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 contributed to form the common epithet of Al Modain, THE CITIES, which the Orientals have bestowed on the winter residence of the Sassanides; 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 valour. 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," the intermediate situation of Coche would have separated the fleet and army of Julian; and the rash at

"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.

XXIV.

....

CHAP. tempt 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 labour 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 pas

sage.

Passage of As it became necessary to transport the Ro

the Tigris,

tory of the

Romans,..

and vic- man army over the Tigris, another labour 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

XXIV.

lined with a numerous army of heavy cuirassiers, CHAP. 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.* 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 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 past, 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

* Καα μεγέθεσιν ελεφίντων, οις ισον εργον δια ταχυων ελθείν, και φαλαγγος. Rien n'est beau que le vrai; a maxim which should be inscribed on the desk of every rhetorician.

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CHAP. his prudent remonstrances. 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 reinforcements; 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 armour, and the darkness of the night. A shower of stones, darts, and fire, was incessantly discharged on the

y Libanius alludes to the most powerful of the generals. I have ventured to name Sallust. Ammianus says, of all the leaders, quod acri metû territi duces concordi precatû fieri prohibere tentarent.