XIII.

Speech of

the Perfian

ambaffa

dor.

Great King". The power, or at least the spirit CHAP. of Narfes, had been broken by his laft defeat; and he confidered an immediate peace as the only means that could ftop the progrefs of the Roman arms. He difpatched Apharban, a fervant who poffeffed his favour and confidence, with a commiffion to negociate a treaty, or rather to receive whatever conditions the conqueror should impose. Apharban opened the conference by expreffing his mafter's gratitude for the generous treatment of his family, and by foliciting the liberty of those illuftrious captives. He celebrated the valour of Galerius without degrading the reputation of Narfes, and thought it no dishonour to confefs the fuperiority of the victorious Cæfar, over a monarch who had furpaffed in glory all the princes of his race. Notwithstanding the juftice of the Perfian cause, he was empowered to fubmit the prefent differences to the decifion of the emperors themselves; convinced as he was, that, in the midst of profperity, they would not be unmindful of the viciffitudes of fortune. Apharban concluded his discourse in the ftyle of eastern allegory, by observing that the Roman and Perfian monarchies were the two eyes of the world, which would remain imperfect and mutilated if either of them should be put out.

"

Galerius.

It well becomes the Perfians,,, replied Ga- Anfwer of lerius, with a transport of fury, which feemed to convulfe his whole frame, it well becomes the Perfians to expatiate on the viciffitudes of for,, tune, and calmly to read us lectures on the

CHAP.
XIII.

22

2

virtues of moderation. Let them remember their own moderation towards the unhappy Valerian. They vanquished him by fraud, they treated him with indignity. They detained him till the last moment of his life in shameful captivity, and after his death they expofed his body to perpetual ignominy.,, Softening however, his tone, Galerius infinuated to the ambaffador, that it had never been the practice of the Romans to trample on a proftrate enemy ; and that, on this occafion, they should confult their own dignity, rather than the Perfian merit. He difmiffed Apharban with a hope, that Narfes would foon be informed on what conditions he might obtain, from the clemency of the empe rors, a lafting peace, and the reftoration of his wives and children. In this conference we may discover the fierce paffions of Galerius, as well as his deference to the fuperior wisdom and authority of Diocletian. The ambition of the former grafped at the conqueft of the Eaft, and had proposed to reduce Perfia into the ftate of a province. The prudence of the latter, who adhered tion of Di- to the moderate policy of Auguftus and the Antonines, embraced the favourable opportunity of terminating a fuccessful war by an honourable and advantageous peace

Modera

ocletian.

Conclu

fion

75

In pursuance of their promife, the emperors foon afterwards appointed Sicorius Probus, one of their fecretaries, to acquaint the Perfian court with their final refolution. As the minifter of peace, he was received with every mark of po

76

liteness and friendship; but, under the pretence CHAP. of allowing him the neceffary repofe after fo long a journey, the audience of Probus was deferred from day to day; and he attended the slow motions of the king, till at length he was admitted' to his prefence, near the river Afprudus in Media. The secret motive of Narfes in this delay, had been to collect fuch a military force, as might enable him, though fincerely defirous of peace, to negociate with the greater weight and dignity. Three perfons only affifted at this important conference, the minifter Apharban, the præfect of the guards, and an officer who had commanded on the Armenian frontier ". The firft condition proposed by the ambaffador, is not at prefent of a very intelligible nature; that the city of Nifibis might be established for the place of mutual exchange, or, as we should formerly have termed it, for the ftaple of trade, between the two em+ pires. There is no difficulty in conceiving the intention of the Roman princes to improve their revenue by fome restraints upon commerce; but as Nifibis was fituated within their own dominions, and as they were masters both of the imports and exports, it should feem, that fuch restraints were the objects of an internal law, rather than of a foreign treaty. To render them more effectual, fome ftipulations were probably required on the fide of the king of Perfia, which appeared fo very repugnant either to his interest or to his dignity, that Narfes could not be perfuaded to fubfcribe them. As this was the only

CHAP.

XIII.

and arti

treaty.

The Abo

the limits

between

the empires.

article to which he refufed his confent, it was no longer infifted on; and the emperors either fuffered the trade to flow in its natural channels, or contented themselves with fuch reftrictions as it depended on their own authority to eftablish.

As foon as this difficulty was removed, a focles of the lemn peace was concluded and ratified between the two nations. The conditions of a treaty fo glorious to the empire, and so neceffary to Perfia, may deserve a more peculiar attention, as the history of Rome prefents very few tranfactions of a fimilar nature; most of her wars having either been terminated by abfolute conqueft, or waged against barbarians ignorant of the ufe of letters. I. The Aboras, or, as it is called by Xenophon ras fixed as the Araxes, was fixed as the boundary between the two monarchies ". That river, which rofe near the Tigris, was increafed a few miles below Nifibis, by the little ftream of the Mygdonius, paffed under the walls of Singara, and fell into the Euphrates at Circefium, a frontier town, which, by the care of Diocletian, was very ftrongly fortified ". Mefopotamia, the object of fo many wars, was ceded to the empire; and the Perfians, by this treaty, renounced all preCeffion of tenfions to that great province. II. They relinquished to the Romans five provinces beyond the yond the Tigris ". Their fituation formed a very useful barrier, and their natural ftrength was foon improved by art and military skill. Four of these, to the north of the river, were districts of obscure

five pro

vinces be

Tigris.

80

CHAP.

XIII.

fame and inconfiderable extent; Intiline, Zabdicene, Arzanene, and Moxoene: but on the eaft of the Tigris, the empire acquired the large and mountainous territory of Carduene, the ancient feat of the Carduchians, who preferved for many ages their manly freedom in the heart of the defpotic monarchies of Afia. The ten thoufand Greeks traverfed their country, after a painful march, or rather engagement, of feven days; and it is confeffed by their leader, in his incomparable relation of the retreat, that they fuffered more from the arrows of the Carduchians, than from the power of the Great King ". Their pofterity, the Curds, with very little alteration either of name or manners, acknowledged the Armenia. nominal fovereignty of the Turkish fultan. III. It is almost needlefs to obferve, that Tiridates, the faithful ally of Rome, was restored to the throne of his fathers, and that the rights of the Imperial fupremacy were fully afferted and fecured. The limits of Armenia were extended as far as the fortrefs of Sintha in Media, and this increase of dominion was not fo much an act of liberality as of justice. Of the provinces already mentioned beyond the Tigris, the four first had been dismembered by the Parthians from the crown of Armenia "; and when the Romans acquired the poffeffion of them, they stipulated, at the expence of the ufurpers, an ample compenfation, which invefted their ally with the extenfive and fertile country of Atropatene. Its principal city, in the fame fituation perhaps as the