€66 PER 
Perfian monarch to make overtures to him for a treaty of 
peace ; but Julian, who had inflamed his ambitious fpirit 
with ideas of the glory to be derived from oriental con- 
queft, rejefled his propofal, and declared his intention of 
fpeedily vifiting the Perfian capita! at the head of an army. 
Accordingly he took every precaution that might contri¬ 
bute to the fuccefs of his project, and marched into the 
dominions of Sapor, who contented himfelf with adling on 
the defenfive againft fo formidable an enemy. The empe¬ 
ror, having taken fome fortrefles by affault, and obtained 
admiflion into others by the treachery of their governors, 
came at length to Ctefiphon, which had been the bulwark 
of the Parthian empire. Here he met with a vigorous re- 
fiftance from thegarrifon ; and was fo repeatedly harafled 
by ikirmilhes, that he at length refolved to raife the fiege, 
and remove to the Tigris, on which he had a fleet of tranf- 
ports laden with provifion. At this jundture a Perfian 
nobleman repaired to his camp, on pretence of ill treat¬ 
ment, and allured him that his prefent intention would 
prove highly prejudical to his affairs and reputation; 
whereas, if he would confent to quit the fide of the river, 
burn his fleet, and march through an open road, into 
which he (the Perfian) would condudt him, his difficul¬ 
ties would foon be terminated, and he might be juflly 
ftyled the conqueror of the Perfians. Notwithftanding 
the glaring abfurdity of this propofal, and the repeated re- 
monltrances of the Roman generals, Julian commanded 
his troops to furnilh themfelves with twenty days’ provi¬ 
fion, and caufed the fleet to be fet on fire. When the evil 
was palt remedy, he began to liften to his friends, who 
loudly exclaimed that he was betrayed, and ordered the 
Perfian nobleman, with his fervants, to be put to the tor¬ 
ture. This order was executed upon the fervants, who 
boldly avowed the deceit, and exulted in the fafety of 
their mafter, who had made his efcape. Julian, however, 
obftinately refolved to take the road which had been 
pointed out by his enemies, and thus led his forces into 
the molt imminent danger; for, after they had proceeded 
about four days, they found themfelves Ikirted by the 
whole force of Perfia ; and having ftruggled for fome time 
with the united inconveniences of intenfe heat, want of 
provifion, and fcarcity of water, they were fuddenly at¬ 
tacked by the greater part of the Perfian cavalry, who 
fought with extraordinary refolution, and continued the 
combat till Julian was mortally wounded. This event 
threw the Romans into confternation ; and Sapor, impro¬ 
ving the opportunity, obtained an honourable and advan¬ 
tageous peace of the new emperor Jovian, who had no 
other way of extricating himfelf from his difficulties than 
by accepting the terms of accommodation which Saporof- 
fered. Thel'e were, the reflitution to the Perfian empire 
of the five contefled provinces, and the firong city of Ni- 
libis, which had proved impregnable to its arms. Sapor 
faithfully performed on his part the conditions by which 
the fate retreat of the Romans was fecured ; and the 
termination of this alarming invafion proved the moll glo¬ 
rious event of his reign. 
Having now obtained a refpite from the toils of war, Sa¬ 
por applied his thoughts to the fettling the bounds of 
his empire toward Tartary and India. This plan ferved 
to exercife his foldiers for fome tipae; but, on the death 
of the emperor Jovian, he made an irruption into Arme¬ 
nia, flew Arfaces king of that country, and reduced a 
confiderable territory under his authority; yet on the 
approach of Arinthias, he w>as compelled to abandon his 
important conquefts. However, being intently fixed oil 
the aggrandifement of the Perfian dominions, he re¬ 
mained in arms, and transferred the imperial refidence to 
Ctefiphon, that he might be at hand to improve every op¬ 
portunity. His future actions, however, being puffed 
over in filence by hiftorians, we can only obferve, that he 
ended his days early in the reign of Gratian, (A. D. 380.) 
after having fwayed the Perfian fceptre feventy years, 
with great variety of fortune. 
This reftlefs and ambitious monarch was fucceeded by 
S I A. 
a prince called Artaxerxes, of whom the European hifto¬ 
rians merely obferve, that he lived in amity with the Ro¬ 
mans, and enjoyed the regal dignity without difturbance 
for the fpace of four years. Varanes IV. fucceeded. He 
alfo maintained the peace with the Romans; and go¬ 
verned his dominions quietly for eleven years. 
A,D. 401.—Ifdigertes or Yezdegerd, a prince defervedly 
celebrated for his virtuous difpolition, was con'temporary 
with the emperor Arcadius who, at his death, entrufted 
him with the care of his foil Theodofius II. and the Ro¬ 
man empire. The attention which Ifdigertes paid to his 
pupil’s improvement, and the zeal which he evinced on 
his behalf, laid the foundation of a friendlhip between 
the two empires; and delivered the Chriftian iubjedls of 
Perfia from many inconveniences ; for Marathas, a Me- 
fopotamian bifhop, being fent with other ambaffadors 
from Theodofius, exerted himfelf fo fuccefsfully to re¬ 
move the prejudices of Ifdigertes, that he was fully con¬ 
vinced of the loyalty of a people whom he had hitherto 
confidered as heretical rebels. Some time after, the king 
was afflidfed with a mental derangement, upon which 
Marathas, with the bifhop of Periia, joined in folemn 
prayer to God for his recovery. Their petitions were 
ioon anfwered, to the joy of the court;.and the profeflors 
of the Chriftian faith were afterward treated with great 
indulgence. Ifdigertes enjoyed the regal dignity twenty- 
one years, and was fucceeded by his fon. 
A. D. 421.—Varanes V. feems to have afcended the 
throne with fentiments favorable to the Chriftians; but an 
occurrence foon took place which converted his friendlhip 
into the 1110ft implacable enmity, and produced a long fe- 
ries of calamities to the church. Abdas, the Perfian bi- 
fliop, having, in an unwarrantable fit of zeal, burnt one of 
the fire-temples to the ground, Varanes expoftulated with 
him in private, and adviled him to rebuild it. This, 
however, he peremptorily refufed ; and the Magi raifed 
fo dreadful a clamour among the populace, that the king 
was compelled to facrifice the offender and all the Chrif¬ 
tian churches to their refentment. A cruel perfecution 
enfued, upon the pretence that all who differed in religi¬ 
ous principles from the fovereign were difloyal to the go¬ 
vernment ; perfons of diftindtion were deprived of their 
dignities and eftates; the meaner fort were delivered into 
the hands of the exafperated Magi: and many were 
doomed to die in the moll exquifite torments; but the 
barbarians were difappointed in the hope of making con¬ 
verts; and the glorious dodlrines of Chriftianity received 
new luftre from the exemplary condudt and unlhaken 
fortitude of expiring martyrs. 
Theodofius was no fooner apprifed of thefe proceedings, 
than he determined to avenge thecaufe of the perfecuted 
Chriftians; and Varanes, hearing of this intention, made 
fuitable preparations for the defence of his dominions. 
Having nominated Narfes general of his troops, the king 
of Periia lent him to the frontiers, where he expedted a 
numerous army; but, before they could arrive at the 
place of rendezvous, the Roman general Ardaburius had 
marched through Armenia, and begun to wafte the pro¬ 
vince of Azazene with fire arid fword. Narfes immedi¬ 
ately haftened thither to repel the invaders; but, finding 
his ltrength unequal to his defign, he prudently retreated, 
and made an incurfion into Mefopotamia, which com¬ 
pelled the Romans to abandon Azazene. Narfes, howe¬ 
ver, was difappointed in his expedition ; for Ardaburius, 
inftead of offering him battle, blocked up the Perfian for- 
trefs of Nifibis. Refolved therefore to provoke him to an 
engagement, Narfes fent a herald to avow his defire of 
taking the field ; but Ardaburius wifely replied, that the 
Romans fought where they pleafed, and not when an 
enemy requefted it for his own advantage. 
Meanwhile the Saracens, having been prevailed on to 
efpoufe the caufe of Perfia, palled the Euphrates, and 
broke like a torrent into the Roman provinces; but their 
rapacity rendered them fo odious, that the inhabitants 
unanimoufly rofe in arms, and, with the affiftance of the 
1 Roman 
