Page:Secret History of the Court of the Emperor Justinian 1674.djvu/20

 his Troops, to cross the Tigre; but Arethas not executing his Orders, he returned into his own Countrey, without the honor of having per­formed his duty. Bellisarius resolution was to keep himself within a league of the Frontiers, though the Fort of Sisuranum, which I menti­oned before, was not above a days journey from the Frontiers, by the way of Nisibe; and by any other way, it was not half so far distant. In short, had he passed the Tigre at first, with his whole Army, I make no question, but he had been Master of all Assyria, and without any difficulty extended his Conquests as far as the City of Ctesiphont; and before his return, might have delivered the Inhabitants of Antioch, and all the Romans which were prisoners; besides, his unexpected departure, favored the Retreat of Cosroes, who was at the same time in Colchis. The case was thus, Cosroes, King of Persia, and Son of Cabades, having subdued Petra, and per­formed all the exploits which I have mentioned in my other Histories; his Army was much weakned and impoverished, not only by its En­gagements and Sieges, but by the inconveni­ence of the ways, (being over Mountains and almost unpassable Rocks) and by a Contagion (which carried off a great part of his Army) besides the want of such things as were neces­sary. In this juncture of them, news arrived out of Persia, That Bellisarius having vanquish­ed Nabades, had taken Sisuranum, and in it Belesinaches, and Eight hundred Persian Horse, and was marching with his Army in good order directly