But the forces to resist the effort of his arms. The treasure * Tillemont (Hist. des Empereurs, tom. v. p. 701.) proves, from chronology, that Olympias must have been the mother of Para, XXV. CHAP. ed in the cause of Rome; and as long as the successors of Constantine disputed with those of Artaxerxes the sovereignty of the intermediate provinces, the religious connection always threw a decisive advantage into the scale of the empire. A numerous and active party acknowledged Para, the son of Tiranus, as the lawful sovereign of Armenia; and his title to the throne was deeply rooted in the hereditary succession of five hundred years. By the unanimous consent of the Iberians, the country was equally divided between the rival princes; and Aspacuras, who owed his diadem to the choice of Sapor, was obliged to declare, that his regard for his children, who were detained as hostages by the tyrant, was the only consideration, which prevented him from openly renouncing the alliance of Persia. The emperor Valens, who respected the obliga. tions of the treaty, and who was apprehensive of involving the East in a dangerous war, ventured, with slow and cautious measures, to support the Roman party in the kingdoms of Iberia and Armenia. Twelve legions established the authority of Sauromaces on the banks of the Cyrus. The Euphrates was protected by the valour of Arintheus. A powerful army, under the command of Count Trajan, and of Vadomair, king of the Alemanni, fixed their camp on the confines of Armenia. But they were strictly enjoined, not to commit the first hostilities, which might be understood as a breach of the treaty: and such was the implicit obedience of the Ro man XXV. man general, that they retreated, with exemplary CHAP. patience, under a shower of Persian arrows, till they had clearly acquired a just title to an honourable and legitimate victory. Yet these appearances of war insensibly subsided in a vain and tedious negociation. The contending parties supported their claims by mutual reproaches of perfidy and ambition; and it should seem, that the original treaty was expressed in very obscure terms, since they were reduced to the necessity of making their inconclusive appeal to the partial testimony of the generals of the two nations, who had assisted at the negociations *. The invasion of the Goths and Huns, which soon afterwards shook the foundations of the Romanempire, exposed the provinces of Asia to the arms of Sapor. But the declining age, and perhaps the infirmities, of the monarch, suggested new maxims of tranquillity and moderation. His death, which happened in the full maturity of a A. D. 380. reign of seventy years, changed in a moment the court and councils of Persia; and their attention was most probably engaged by domestic troubles, and the distant efforts of a Carmanian wart. The Ammianus (xxvii. 12. xxix. 1. xxx. 1, 2.) has described the events, without the dates, of the Persian war. Moses of Chorene (Hist. Armen. 1. iii. c. 28. p. 261. c. 31. p. 266. c. 35. p. 271.) affords some additional facts; but it is extremely difficult to separate truth from fable. Artaxerxes was the successor and brother (the cousin-german) of the great Sapor; and the guardian of his son Sapor III. (Agathias, l. iv. p. 136. edit. Louvre). See the Universal History, vol. xi. p. 86. 161. The authors of that unequal work have compiled the Sassanian dynasty with erudition and diligence: but it is a preposterous arrangement to divide the Roman and Oriental accounts into two distinct historics. XXV. The treaty of peace. A. D. 384. CHAP. The remembrance of ancient injuries was lost in the enjoyment of peace. The kingdoms of Armenia and Iberia were permitted, by the mutual, though tacit, consent of both empires, to resume their doubtful neutrality. In the first years of the reign of Theodosius, a Persian embassy arrived at Constantinople, to excuse the unjustifiable measures of the former reign; and to offer, as the tribute of friendship, or even of respect, a splendid present of gems, of silk, and of Indian elephants *. Adventures of of Arme nia. In the general picture of the affairs of the East Para, king under the reign of Valens, the adventures of Para form one of the most striking and singular objects. The noble youth, by the persuasion of his mother Olympias, had escaped through the Persian host that besieged Artogerassa, and implored the protection of the emperor of the East. By his timid councils, Para was alternately supported, and recalled, and restored, and betrayed. The hopes of the Armenians were sometimes raised by the presence of their natural sovereign; and the ministers of Valens were satisfied, that they preserved the integrity of the public faith, if their vassal was not suffered to assume the diadem and title of King. But they soon repented of their own rashness. They were confounded by the reproaches and threats of the Persian monarch. They found reason to distrust the cruel and inconstant temper of Para himself: who sacrificed, Pacatus in Panegyr. Vet. xii. 22. and Orosius, 1. vii. c. 34. Ictumque tum fœdus est, quo universus Oriens usque ad nunc (A. D. 416.) tranquillissime fruitur. XXV. sacrificed, to the slightest suspicions, the lives of CHAP.. his most faithful servants; and held a secret and disgraceful correspondence with the assassin of his father, and the enemy of his country. Under the specious pretence of consulting with the em peror on the subject of their common interest, Para was persuaded to descend from the mountains of Armenia, where his party was in arms, and to trust his independence and safety to the discretion of a perfidious court. The king of Armenia, for such he appeared in his own eyes and in those of his nation, was received with due honours by the governors of the provinces through which he passed; but when he arrived at Tarsus in Cilicia, his progress was stopped under various pretences; his motions were watched with respectful vigilance; and he gradually discovered, that he was a prisoner in the hands of the Romans. Para suppressed his indignation, dissembled his fears, and, after secretly preparing his escape, mounted on horseback with three hundred of his faithful followers. The officer stationed at the door of his apartment immediately communicated his flight to the consular of Cilicia, who overtook him in the suburbs, and endeavoured, without success, to dissuade him from prosecuting his rash and dangerous design. A legion was ordered to pursue the royal fugitive; but the pursuit of infantry could not be very alarming to a body of light cavalry; and upon the first cloud of arrows that was discharged into the air, they retreated with precipitation to the |