of the Olympian games V. Those qualities were C H AP.. . XIH. more nobly exerted In the defence of hlS bene- . , factor Liciniusfl. That officer, in the sedition A-D- 2317 which occasioned the death of Probus, was exv posed to the most imminent danger, and the en_ raged soldiers were' forcing their way into his tent, when they were checked by the single arm of the Armenian prince. The gratitude of Tiridates contributed soon afterwards to his restoration. Licinius was in every statiOn the friend and companion of' Galerius, and the merit of Galerius, long before he was raised to the dignity of Caesar, had been known and esteemed by Dio- * eletian. In the third year of that emperor's reign, T iridates was invested with the kingdom of Armenia. 'The justice of the measure was not less evident than its expediency. It was' time to rescue from the usurpation of the Persian monarch, an important territory, which, since the reign of Nero, had been always granted under the protection of the empire to a younger branch of the house of Arsaces 54. When Tiridates appeared on the frontiers of Armenia, he was received with an unfeigned transport of joy and loyalty. During twenty-six years, the country had experienced the real and imaginary hardships of a foreign yoke. The Perfian monarchs adorned their new conquest with magnificent buildings; but those monuments had been erected at the expence of the people, and were abhorred as badges of flavery. The apprehension of a revolt had inspired the most rigorous precautions: oppreffion had been aggravated by insult, and the consciousness of the public hatred had been vproductive of every measure that could render it still more implacable. We have already remarked the intolerant spirit of the Magian religion. The statues of the deified kings of Armenia, and the sacred images of the sun and moon, were broke in pieces by the zeal of the conqueror ; and the perpetual fire of Ormuzd was kindled and preserved upon an altar erected on the summit of mount Bagavan '5. It was natural, that a people exasperated by so many injuries, should arm with zeal in the cause of their independence, their religion, and their hereditary sovereign. The _ torrent bore down every obstacle, and the Perfian garrisons retreated before its fury. The nobles of Armenia flew to gin was Scythian, and the horde which acknowledged his authority, had encamped' a very few years before on the skirts of the Chinese empirez', which at that time extended as far as the neigh 56 The Armenian nobility was numerous and powerful. Moses mentions manyfamilies which were distinguished under the reign of Valarsaces (1. ii. 7.), and which still subfisted in his own time, about the middle of the fifth century. See the preface of'his Editors. 57 She was named Chosroiduchta, and had not the a: pain/um like other women. (Hilh Armen. l. ii. c. 79.) I do not understand the expreffion. 58 In the Armenian History (1. ii. 78.), as well as in the Geography (p. 367.), China is called Zenia, or Zenastan. It is characterized by the production of silk, by the opulence of the natives, and by their love of peace, above all the other nations of the earth. bourhood c H AP. bourhood of SogdianaW. Having incurred the XIII. w displeasure of his master, Mamgo, with his fol-' lowers, retired to the banks of the Oxus, and implored the protection of Sapor. The emperor of China claimed the fugitive, and alleged the rights of sovereignty. The Persian monarch' pleaded the laws of hospitality, and with some difficulty avoided a war, by the promise that he would banish Mamgo to the uttermost parts of the West; a punishment, as he described it, not less dreadful than death itself. Armenia was chosen for the place of exile, and a large district: was assigned to the Scythian horde, on which they might feed their flocks and herds, and remove their encampment from one place to another, according to the different seasons of the year. They were employed to repel the invasion of Tiridates; but their leader, after weighing the obligations and injuries which he had received from the Persian monarch, resolved to abandon his party. The' Armenian prince, who was well acquainted with the' 'merit as well as power of Mamgo, treated him with distinguished respect; and by admitting- him into his confidence, ac-. quired a brave and faithful servant, who contributed very essectually to his restoration "*._ 59 Vou-ti,the first emperor of the seventh dynasty, who then ' reigned in China, had political transactions with Fergana, a province of Sogdiana, and is said to have received a Roman embassy v (Histoire des Huns, tom. i. p. 38.). In those ages the Chinese kept a garrison at Kashgar, and one of their generals, about the time os Trajan, marched as far as the Caspian sea. With regard * to the intercourse between China and the western countries, a cu rious memoir of M. de Guignes may be consulted, in the Academie des Inscriptions, tom. xxxii. p. 3 5 5. For a while, fortune appeared to favour the, enterprising valour of Tiridates. He not only, expelled the enemies of his family and country from the whole extent of Armenia, but in the prosecution of his ssrevenge he carried his arms, or at least _his incursions, into the heart of Assyria. The historian, 'who has preserved the name of. Tiridates from oblivion, celebrates with a degree of national enthusiasm, his personal prowess ; and, in the true spirit of eastern romance, describes the giants and the elephants that fell beneath his invinciblearm. It is'from other information that we discover the distracted state of the p Persian monarchy, to which the king of Armenia was indebted for some part of hisv advantages. The throne was disputed by the ambition of contending brothers; and Hormuz, after exerting had recourse to the dangerous asiistance of the barbarians who inhabited the banks of the Caspian Sea 6'. The civil war was, however, soon terminated, either by a victory, or by a reconciliation; and Narses, who was universally acknowledged as King of Persia, directed his whole |