542 
THIRD BAS-RELIEF. 
grasps the hands of the one of the two figures which stands up¬ 
right. To put the hands between those of another, who claims 
superiority either by inheritance or conquest, has, in many 
countries, been considered the acknowledging act of submission 
and vassalage. The other Roman is bent on one knee, with his 
arms extended in a supplicating posture; and the expression of 
his face declares the same. Both figures have large rings round 
their ankles, probably intended by the victors for the fixture 
of chains ; such bracelets never having been a part of the Roman 
dress. The whole length of this excavation is thirty-seven feet; • 
that of the horse occupies fourteen of it. I cannot praise the 
general execution of the piece ; the human figures, as well as 
the horse, being heavy and ill-proportioned ; and all, with the 
exception of the heads of the king and the horse, very roughly 
worked. Those heads are evidently by a different hand from the 
one which completed the rest. 
The great similitude in the face of the Persian king in this 
group, with that on the coins which I have seen, and have in 
my own possession, of Shapoor, the second monarch of the 
Sassanian dynasty, and the Sapor I. of the Roman history; also, 
the diadem being the same; and the subject of this design 
agreeing so well with the prominent event of Shapoor’s reign, 
his conquest over the Roman Emperor Valerian, and the cir¬ 
cumstances connected with it; I can hardly entertain a doubt 
that this sculpture is meant to record the deed. The unfortunate 
Roman prince, venerable in years and bravery, not only found 
himself surrounded by the Persian arms, but in the midst of a 
treacherous host, who had assisted in betraying him. Valerian 
knew that the prisoner of fair combat, is generally treated with 
some degree of respect, but that he who is taken by foul means, can 
