Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1827) Vol 2.djvu/399

 OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 381 atred king of the Chionites, satiated with revenge, CHAP, turned away with horror from a scene of action where ' he had been deprived of the hoj)e of his family and nation. The strength as well as spirit of the army with which Sapor took the field in the ensuing spring, was no longer equal to the unbounded views of his am- bition. Instead of aspiring to the conquest of the east, he was obliged to content himself with the re- duction of two fortified cities of Mesopotamia, Singara and Bezabde"; the one situate in the midst of a sandy desert, the other in a small peninsula, surrounded al- most on every side by the deep and rapid stream of the Tigris. Five Homan legions, of the diminutive size to which they had been reduced in the age of Constantine, were made prisoners, and sent into remote cajitivity on the extreme confines of Persia. After dis- mantling the walls of Singara, the conqueror abandoned that solitary and sequestered place; but he carefully restored the fortifications of Bezabde, and fixed in that important post a garrison or colony of veterans; amply supplied with every means of defence, and animated by high sentiments of honour and fidelity. Towards the close of the campaign, the arms of Sapor incurred some disgrace by an unsuccessful enterprise against Virtha, or Tecrit, a strong, or, as it was universally esteemed till the age of Tamerlane, an impregnable fortress of the independent Arabs f. The defence of the east against the arms of Sapor, Conduct of required and would have exercised the abilities of the ^^^°'"^'' most consummate general ; and it seemed fortunate for the state, that it was the actual province of the brave Ursicinus, who alone deserved the confidence of the soldiers and people. In the hour of danger, Ursi- cinus'" was removed from his station by the intrigues of The account of these sieges is given by Ammianus, xx. 6, 7. P For the identity of Virtha and Tecrit, see d'Anville, Geographic An- cienne, torn. ii. p. 201. For the siege of that castle by Timur Bee, or Tam- erlane, see Cherefeddin, 1. iii. c. 33. The Persian biographer exaggerates the merit and difficulty of this exploit, which delivered the caravans of Bagdad from a formidable gang of robbers. 1 Ammianus (xviii. 5, 6. xix. 3. xx. 2.) represents the merit and dis-