Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1827) Vol 2.djvu/349

 OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 331 the fame of Constantius, relates with amazing coolness, C H A P. an act of such incredible cruelty, as, in the judgement ^' of posterity, must imprint a far deeper stain on the honour of the imperial name. The son of Sapor, the heir of his crown, had been made a captive in the Per- sian camp. The unhappy youth, who might have ex- cited the compassion of tlie most savage enemy, was scourged, tortured, and pul^licly executed by tiie in- human Romans'". Whatever advantages might attend the arms of Sa- Siege of Ni- por in the field, though nine repeated victories diffused ^' ""■ among the nations the fame of his valour and conduct, he could not hope to succeed in the execution of his designs, while the fortified towns of Mesopotamia, and above all, the strong and ancient city of Nisibis, re- mained in the possession of the Romans. In the space of twelve years, Nisibis, which, since the time of Lu- cullus, had been deservedly esteemed the bulwark of the east, sustained three memorable sieges against the A.D.338. power of Sapor; and the disappointed monarch, after ^"^ • urging his attacks above sixty, eighty, and an hundred days, was thrice repulsed with loss and ignominy '. This large and populous city was situate about two days' journey from the Tigris, in the midst of a plea- sant and fertile plain at the foot of mount Masius. A treble enclosure of brick walls was defended by a deep ditch ^ ; and the intrepid resistance of count Lucilia- nus and his garrison, was seconded by the desperate courage of the people. The citizens of Nisibis were animated by the exhortations of their bishop*, inured n Libanius, Orat.iii. p. 133. with Julian, Oral. i. p. 24. and Spanheim's Commentary, p. 179. ' See Julian, Oiat. i. p. 27. Orat. ii. p. 62, etc. with the Commentary of Spanheim, (p. 188 — 202.) who illustrates the circumstances, and ascer- tains the time of the three sieges of Nisibis. Their dates are likewise examined by Tillemont, (Hist, des Empereurs, torn. iv. p. 668. 671. 674.) Something is added from Zosimus, 1. iii. p. 151. and the Alexandrian Chronicle, p. 290. iii. p. 184. Nisibis is now reduced to one hundred and fifty houses; the marshy lands produce rice, and the fertile meadows, as far as Mosul and the Tigris, are covered with the ruins of towns and villages. See Niebuhr, Voyages, torn. ii. p. 300 — 309. » The miracles which Theodorel (I. ii. c. 30.) ascribes to St. James,
 * Sallust. Fragment. Ixxxiv. edit. Brosses, and Plutarch in Lucull. torn,