Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1827) Vol 1.djvu/388

 364 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, rations of stones, of arrows, and of every species of ^^' missile weapons. Every part of the walls is provided with two or three balistce, and artificial fires are thrown from her miHtary engines. The fear of punishment has armed her with a desperate courage. Yet still I trust in the protecting deities of Rome, who have hitherto been favourable to all my undertakings'"." Doubtful, however, of the protection of the gods, and of the event of the siege, Aurelian judged it more pru- dent to offer terms of an advantageous capitulation : to the queen, a splendid retreat ; to the citizens, their an- cient privileges. His proposals were obstinately re- jected, and the refusal was accompanied with insult, who be- The firmness of Zenobia was supported by the hope, ma"^e f *^^* ^" ^ ^^^^ short time famine would compel the Zenobia and Roman army to repass the desert; and by the reason- o t e city. ^1^1^ expectation that the kings of the east, and par- ticularly the Persian monarch, would arm in the de- fence of their most natural ally. But fortune and the perseverance of Aurelian overcame every obstacle. The death of Sapor, which happened about this time**, distracted the councils of Persia; and the inconsiderable succours that attempted to relieve Palmyra, were easily intercepted either by the arms or the liberality of the emperor. From every part of Syria, a regular succes- sion of convoys safely arrived in the camp, which was increased by the return of Probus with his victorious troops from the conquest of Egypt. It was then that Zenobia resolved to fly. She mounted the fleetest of her dromedaries ^, and had already reached the banks of the Euphrates, about sixty miles from Palmyra, when she was overtaken by the pursuit of Aurelian's ^ From a very doubtful chronology I have endeavoured to extract the most probable date. <= Hist. August, p. 218; Zosimus 1. i. p. 50. Though the camel is a heavy beast of burden, the dromedary, who is either of the same or of a kindred species, is used by the natives of Asia and Africa on all occasions which require celerity. The Arabs affirm, that he will run over as much ground in one day, as their fleetest horses can perform in eight or ten. See Buflfon, Hist. Nat. torn. xi. p. 222, and Shaw's Travels, p. 167.
 * Vopiscus in Hist. August, p. 218.