From A. D. 285. to 305. Sgraphy. Gauls and Britons, in the West, were stimulated into rebellion by the intrigues of their ambitious Chiefs, or by the deep feeling of oppression to which the peasantry had long been subjected. The Germans, too, accustomed to the enjoyments which spring from a rich soil and a fine climate, could not, without unremitting vigilance, be restrained from crossing the Rhine, and extending their occasional settlements as far as the Alps and the Pyrenees. On the authority of certain medals we are warranted to conclude, that the first year of Diocletian's reign was signalized by some advantages, gained by his Lieutenants over the Barbarians of the Continent as well as those of Britain; but, although the honour of victory was reflected upon the head of the Emperor, it is manifest that he had no share in the labour by which it was obtained, because he spent the winter which immediately followed his accession at his favourite residence of Nicomedia.* The urgency of affairs suggested to Diocletian the Mans expediency of nominating a colleague in the Governhis calea- ment, who might share with him the various toils incident to a state of war. He selected from among the Commanders who had distinguished themselves in the Eastern campaign Maximianus, a bold and successful soldier; whose qualities, fitting him rather for the field than for the cabinet, would supply the want which the Emperor is 'supposed to have felt in his own character, without interfering with the more secret movements of the great political machine. The deficiency to which we have just alluded in the successor of Carinus, respected military courage; for though it is difficult to conceive, that he who acquired and preserved the esteem of Aurelian, Probus, and Carus, could be chargeable with cowardice, it is, nevertheless, admitted that he did not possess that daring impetuosity which rushes into danger without measuring its extent, and which seems to value enterprise in proportion to its hazard. Indeed, he himself appears to have estimated at a much higher rate the wisdom of the statesman than the valour of the soldier; and no sooner, accordingly, was he clothed with the Purple, than he made known by the line of policy upon which he entered, that his labours for the welfare of the Empire were to bear a greater resemblance to the thoughtful administration of Augustus, than to the brilliant reigns of those warlike Princes who succeeded Gallienus.† Leaze and Maximianus was born near Sirmium, in Pannonia, character of of parents who belonged to the lowest class in society, Maximianus and who could not bestow upon their son any of the advantages of education. He was so ignorant, indeed, that, after he ascended the Throne, a Panegyrist who compared his exploits to those of Hannibal and Scipio Africanus, ventured to lavish upon him the ambiguous compliment that he had surpassed heroes with whose names he was probably unacquainted. Bred amid the toils and perils of war he exhibited much personal bravery, with the rough and honest frankness which is generated in the camp. His rise in military honours did not compensate the want of that early discipline which forms the manners to the mould of social life; for, even when in the Palace of the Caesars, he betrayed the fierce, the licentious, and, sometimes, cruel disposition of the Illyrian peasant. He aspired to nothing higher than the fame of an able General. Under Panegyr. Vet. Aurel. Victor. Eutrop. lib ix. VOL. XI. From A. D. 285. to 305. Aurelian and Probus he had distinguished himself on Caius every frontier of the Empire; and though his talents__Valerius were better fitted for executing the commands of a Diocletianus superior, than for regulating the movements of an Augustus. extensive campaign, he was nevertheless capable, by his valour, constancy, and experience, of conducting the most arduous undertakings. He was formed by nature to be a fit instrument in the hand of Diocletian. In war he led the armies of Rome to certain victory; and at home he was ever ready to exercise those necessary severities which policy from time to time required, but from which the mild or timid character of his colleague habitually recoiled. It was the object of the latter to establish a reputation for clemency and gentleness; and, accordingly, while he employed the stern hand of Maximianus to inflict punishment or to gratify revenge, he usually contrived to interpose his influence in order to save such victims as he had no wish to sacrifice, and to moderate the rage which he himself had either kindled or impelled. But, notwithstanding the difference of their characters, the two Emperors cultivated on the Throne the friendship which they had contracted in the camp; and the harmony which prevailed in the maxims by which the Country was governed, soon diffused itself through all the subordinate departments of the State. The bold and turbulent spirit of the one submitted to the more enlightened genius of the other; and, although the popular voice was accustomed to recognise in the two masters of the Empire an emblem of the Golden and the Iron Age, the administration of affairs was conducted with not less success than unanimity. With an allusion, perhaps, to their respective qualities of intellectual and physical strength, they assumed the titles of Jovius and HERCULIUS; intimating, that while the one was prepared to direct, the other was ready to perform.* the war It was at Nicomedia that Maximianus was invested He is inwith the name and power of Augustus; immediately trusted with after which he was charged with the management of against the the war against the rebellious peasantry of Gaul. The Gauls. class of persons here mentioned are described by the name of Bagaude, a term which is understood to denote an insurgent or tumultuary assemblage. Oppressed by the extortion and tyranny of the Nobles, the occupiers of the land had been occasionally driven to arms, in order to vindicate their rights or to defend their property; and, on the present emergency, they appear to have listened to the counsels of Helianus and Amandus, two ambitious Chiefs, who employed their resentment with the view of accomplishing certain objects of their own. But undisciplined rustics could not long withstand the valour of the Legions under such a Commander as Maximianus. They were defeated in several battles, reduced once more to submission, and saw their leaders, who had assumed the Purple, obliged to seek safety in flight. Having restored tranquillity in the Southern Provinces, the new Augustus advanced towards the Rhine, where he gained a succession of victories over the Franks, the Burgundians, and the Alemanni, who had as usual seized the moment of suspense or weakness to renew their depredations within the limits of the Empire. He pursued them across the river; carried fire and sword into their country; and compelled the proudest of these Barba Panegyr. Vet. in Max. Victor, Epit. Eutrop. lib. ix. Aurel. Victor, de Casaribus. K Biography. rians to sue for compassion, and consent to hold their lands at the pleasure of the Roman Emperor.* From A. D. 285. to 305. War with the Franks and defec tion of Carausius, who assumes the Britain. But the Franks, although unequal to their powerful enemies in the field, maintained their superiority on the ocean. Emboldened by the successful enterprise which they completed in the reign of Probus, when they performed a voyage from the Euxine to the mouths of the Rhine and the Elbe, they had learned to put confidence in the sea; and having equipped numerous vessels of a light structure and convenient size, they were constantly seen hovering along the coasts of Gaul, Britain, and Spain, and ready to retaliate upon the defenceless inhabitants Purple in the losses which their countrymen suffered from the invading Legions. To check the incursions of these pirates, Maximian resolved to form a navy; and fixing upon a port in the English Channel, as the most suitable station for his fleet he intrusted the care of it to Carausius, an experienced sailor, who undertook to watch the movements of the Northern freebooters. But it soon appeared that the interests of the Roman Admiral were at variance with his duty. Accustomed, perhaps, to the practices which he was now appointed to suppress, he connived at the ravages of the Saxon adventurers, that he might participate the more largely in their plunder. His increasing wealth was regarded as a proof of his guilt; and the Emperor, accordingly, gave instructions to some confidential agent to supersede the Admiral in the command of the fleet, and to put him to death. But the suspicions of Carausius anticipated the designs of his master. Dreading the punishment that awaited him, he sailed into Britain; where, having gained the troops which were stationed to defend that island, he assumed the Imperial title and authority, and defied at once the resentment and the arms of his offended Sovereign. He even formed an alliance with the Saxons and Franks, whose active squadrons, joined to his own, commanded the seas which separate Albion from the Continent. Retaining possession of Boulogne, the original seat of his power, he spread the terror of invasion from the Rhine to the promontory of Calpe; and so firmly established did his government in a short time become, that Diocletian and Maximian judged it expedient to resign into his hands the Sovereignty which he had usurped, and to acknowledge him as one of the Roman Emperors. A medal struck by Carausius, to commemorate this event, represents him in conjunction with his two colleagues, and bears for its legend the PAX TRIUM AUGUSTORUM. His administration in Britain was more remarkable for vigour than for either wisdom or clemency. He chastised, indeed, the Caledonians on the Northern border, and even rebuilt the wall of Severus; but, at the same time, he oppressed the subjects of the Empire by cruel exactions, and during six or seven years set an example to his troops of every species of tyranny and licentiousness.† 66 A. D. 285. to 305. cens; in Pannonia, over the Sarmatians, the Goths, the Carus Quadi, the Jugonthi, and the Carpians; and in Rhætia, Valerius over the more active and warlike Alemanni. The Diocletianus two Emperors, in the winter of the year 290, had Augustus. an interview at Milan, the object of which has not From been transmitted to our times; but it was on this occasion that the first of the orators just named, while celebrating the concord which prevailed between the Augusti, took an opportunity of specifying their respective triumphs. The laurels," said he, "which Diocletian gathered in the East, in Rhætia, and Pannonia, afforded to you, Maximianus, the most heartfelt joy; while, on the other hand, the defeat of the seditious Tribes in Gaul, the conquest of Germany, and the successful termination of the war with the Saxon pirates, gratified the most ardent wishes of Diocletian." It may be questioned, indeed, whether this eulogy does not belong to a period somewhat later than the fifth year of their reign, and, consequently, whether the laurels gained by the Imperial Commander in Syria, were not those which crowned his arms when he replaced Tiridates, the Armenian Prince, upon the Throne of his fathers.* But whatever obscurity may attach to the Chronology Constantius of the above events, it is manifest that the peace which and Galethey procured was not of long duration. The restless rius appoirted Cæsars. spirit of the Germans and Goths impelled them to new adventures; the Asiatic nations, at variance with one another, agreed in their hatred or jealousy of Rome; and the Maritime tribes who inhabited the extreme boundaries of the West, were becoming every day more formidable to the Provincials of Gaul, and even to the numerous cities beyond the Pyrenees. It, therefore, occurred to the wisdom of Diocletian, that the Empire, exposed to be assailed on every side, ought on every side to be protected by a separate army, under a leader invested with supreme power. With this view, as well as to prevent the wanton exercise of the elective privilege so long assumed by the Legions, he determined once more to divide his jurisdiction, and to confer on two Generals, who were each to enjoy the title of Cæsar, an equal share of the Sovereign authority. Galerius, surnamed the Herdsman, and Constantius, who from some peculiarity in his complexion had acquired the denomination of Chlorus, were the two individuals appointed to enjoy the subordinate honours of the Imperial Purple.† ders. The former of these Chiefs was born at Dacia, and Lineage could not boast a descent any higher than that of of these Diocletian, nor a more liberal education than that Comman which had been enjoyed by Maximianus. Like the latter, his early youth was spent in tending cattle, and like him, too, he was rough in his manners, impetuous, and blood-thirsty. The birth of Constantius was less obscure, and his character was much more amiable. His mother was a niece of the Emperor Claudius, and his father held an eminent rank among the Nobles of Illyricum. Trained to arms from his childhood he rose to high promotion under Aurelian and Probus, whose interests he strengthened by several brilliant exploits against the enemies of the Empire: and when Carus mounted the Throne, his services were acknowledged by his being appointed to the important Government of Dalmatia. To cement still more firmly the bonds or Eumen, in Panegyr. Vet. Mamertin, Panegyr, in Maxim Eutrop. Lactant. de Mort. Pers. From A. D. 285. to 305. They are adopted by the Emperors. Biography, this political union, each Emperor adopted one of the Cæsars as his son; Diocletian fixing his choice upon Galerius, and Maximian upon Constantius. In order to be more closely engrafted into the Imperial families, each of the new Sovereigns accepted a wife at the hand of his adopted father: nor was the circumstance that they were both previously married, allowed to prove a bar to this domestic arrangement, for Constantius was desired to repudiate Helena, the mother of the famous Constantine, to make way for Theodora, the stepdaughter of Maximian, while Galerius performed a similar act to qualify him to become the husband of Valeria, the daughter of Diocletian. It has been noticed by a contemporary Annalist, that each Emperor, in exercising the rights of adoption, selected the Cæsar whose character was most opposed to his own; as if it had been intended, that in both cases the defects of the elder Princes should be compensated by the qualities of the younger, and that, by combining in the same Administration a variety of endowments, the balance of the Constitution might be the better preserved. It has been thought further worthy of remark, that the rank of Constantius and Galerius was not settled according to the dignity of their adopted fathers; on the contrary, the preeminence was given to the former of these Commanders, although the Emperor into whose family he was introduced uniformly acknowledged the precedence of his elder colleague.* Teer government But, whatever might be their respective claims on the homage of the Roman people, it is sufficiently maniand offices. fest that the Empire was now provided with four Rulers, all of whom might be regarded as independent Sovereigns. Every one of them had his Court, his Officers of State, and even a Prætorian Præfect; who, in his turn, had Lieutenants appointed in the different Provinces of the general government. Galerius received from Diocletian the charge of Illyricum, Thrace, and Macedonia; while he himself retained the command of Greece, Egypt, and the rich Countries of Asia from the Egean to the Euphrates. The other Emperor assumed for his peculiar department the defence of Italy and the African Colonies; having intrusted to the warlike vigilance of Constantius the protection of Gaul, Spain, and Britain. This distribution has been held by Historians rather as a simple partition of official care, than as an actual division of territorial Sovereignty; or, if each was independent within his own jurisdiction, all of them were bound to afford mutual assistance to their colleagues, as well by counsel as by arms. The Cæsars, in their exalted rank, confessed the superior Majesty of the Emperors; and the three younger Princes invariably acknowledged, by their gratitude and obedience, the common parent of their fortunes. The suspicious jealousy of power found not any place among them; and the singular happiness of their union has been compared to a concert of music, the harmony of which is regulated and maintained by the skilful hand of the leader.t It was on the Calends of March, in the year 292, that the Cæsars were installed into their high office. Diocletian, having assembled the Legions at a short distance from Nicomedia, recommended to them his adopted son, and in their presence invested him with Caius Valerius Diocletianus the Purple. The same honour is supposed to have been conferred upon Constantius by the second Augustus, in one of the cities of Italy or Gaul, on which occasion Augustus. both the young Princes were addressed as Emperors and Fathers of their country, and clothed with the Tribunitian power, the High-Priesthood, and all the other attributes of Sovereign authority.* From A. D. 285. to Constantius was no sooner nominated to his Government, than he made preparations for recovering Britain 305. from the hands of the usurper. By reducing Boulogne, Constantius which continued in the power of Carausius, he dimin- takes Boulogne. ished greatly the maritime strength of his antagonist, and acquired, at the same time, the means of building a fleet which he intended for the invasion of his insular Kingdom. But the equipment of a sufficient number of ships to accomplish such an object, occupied the mechanics of Gaul nearly three years; in the course of which, the colleague of Maximian employed his troops in strengthening the defences of the Rhine against the Franks, whose daring spirit he repressed in several bloody engagements.† When every thing was ready for a descent upon Bri- Death of tain, the news arrived that Carausius had fallen the Carausius, and recovery victim of treason, and left the Government to Allectus, of Britain. his Prime Minister, who was accused of effecting his destruction. The assassin having assumed the Purple, and thereby declared himself an enemy to Rome, the expedition was only delayed until such means were adopted as could not fail to render its object most complete. A squadron, which had been fitted at the mouth of the Seine, put to sea under Asclepiodatus, and reached without opposition a port on the coast of Kent or Sussex; while the remainder of the armament, conducted by Constantius in person, threatened the Capital and the fruitful shores of the Thames. When the former landed his troops he burned the transports, resolving to conquer or die in the Province which he had undertaken to recover; and, accordingly, Allectus had no sooner marched against him, than he put an end to the war and to the life of the usurper, by gaining a speedy and decisive victory. The approach of the Cæsar, therefore, bore a greater resemblance to a Triumph than to the advance of a hostile army. He was welcomed with acclamations from crowds of obedient subjects, who seemed to regret their long separation from the Empire, and who now prepared to celebrate an event which, after a rebellion of ten years, placed them once more under the protection of the Imperial Sceptre.‡ Constantius is said to have used his victory with Mildness of mildness and clemency. Far from confounding the the conunhappy natives with their tyrannical oppressors, he queror. studied rather how to compensate to the former the losses which they had sustained during the successive usurpations He restored property to those from whom it had been unjustly taken away; placed the whole Country under the protection of equal laws; and granted pardon to all who expressed contrition for their offences against the parent State. The year 296 is distinguished by the Historians of Rome, as the period when Britain was completely recovered by the arms and wise counsels of the father of Constantine.§ Some years elapsed during which no event of pecu Lactant. e. 19. + Eumen. Panegyr, in Constant. August. Eutrop. lib. ix. Aurel. Victor. Eumen. Panegyr, in Constant. Eumen. Panegyr. From A. D. 285. to 305. His success German Tribes. Biography. liar magnitude arrests the attention of the reader. Galerius appears to have maintained a chain of positions along the Danube, which the diminished courage of the Barbarians seldom urged them to attack. The duty of Constantius, who had returned from Britain to Gaul, was much more active but not less successful. Not content with repelling the various hordes of Geragainst the mans from the banks of the Rhine he pursued them into their own territory, and even planted his victorious Eagles on the Ems and Weser. Pursuing the policy which had been suggested by Probus, he conducted large bodies of such prisoners as preferred slavery to death, from the forests and bogs of the North, and settled them in those very districts of Gaul which they had wasted by their inroads. They were usually employed as shepherds and hinds, but were denied the use of arms, except when necessity called for their aid in the public service. Lands were sometimes granted to the more deserving, if willing to adopt the manners and to court the protection of the Romans; and on this principle the Emperors conceded extensive privileges to the Carpi, Bastarna, and Sarmatians, who soon afterwards showed themselves willing to forget the servile tenure in which their possessions were held. While the Empire enjoyed tranquillity in the North and West, an insurrection broke out almost at the and Egypt. same moment in Egypt and Africa. In the latter country five Moorish nations, who are known to the Latin Historians by the name of Quinquagentiani, issued from their wilderness and attacked the Provincials along the coast. Maximianus hurried to the scene of action, where he quickly drove back the savages into their desert, overran the greater part of Mauritania, and deprived them of certain strongholds in the mountains, whither they were wont to repair for refuge and the concealment of their plunder. Another exploit of the Emperor is fixed at the same period, but it is extremely doubtful whether it does not relate to the same occurrence. We are informed that an officer, called Julian, had assumed the Purple at Carthage; but we know not if he was encouraged to his rebellion by the presence of the Moorish invaders; or whether he had seduced the Roman garrison from their allegiance to favour his pretensions; or, finally, whether the disaffection of the troops had not compelled him to take the title of Sovereign and lead them into the field. The result is clearly narrated. Julian was defeated; upon which, despairing of mercy from the hands of the enraged Maximian, he stabbed himself with a dagger, and immediately leaped into a pile of flames.* Insurrection in Africa To suppress the disturbance in Egypt, where another Pretender had placed himself on the Throne, Diocletian resumed his arms, which appear to have been for some time laid aside. He opened the campaign by the siege of Alexandria; which he endeavoured to reduce by cutting off the aqueducts which conveyed the waters of the Nile into every quarter of that immense city, and by rendering his camp impregnable to every sally which the despair of the inhabitants might urge them to attempt. At the end of eight months, the resources as well as the courage of the garrison being exhausted, they resolved to throw themselves upon the mercy of the Emperor, who, irritated by their seditious and wavering temper, refused to exempt from military execution Achilleus, the author of the rebellion, and the * Zosim. lib. i. Panegyr. Vet. iv. 11. From A. D. 285. to 305 principal accomplices of his guilt. The city, at length, Caius was taken by storm, when an indiscriminate slaughter Valerius ensued of all ranks and ages; and those who fell not Diocletianus by the sword were condemned to the severer punishAugustus. ment of poverty and of exile. The magnificence of Alexandria was given up to the fury and rapacity of the soldiers, who had not learned to respect either its origin or its antiquities. Coptos and Busiris shared the same fate; being, by the orders of Diocletian, reduced and levelled with the ground. Extending his arms to the borders of Ethiopia, he inflicted a suitable chastisement upon the Blemmyes; who, though by themselves an insignificant enemy, had, since the days of Firmus, ever shown the utmost readiness to aid the rebellious and the disaffected in the remoter parts of Egypt. To prevent their irruptions for the future, the Emperor invited a tribe of Nubians to take possession of an extensive range of country, above the Cataracts of the Nile, on condition that they should defend the frontiers of the lower Provinces against those Barbarians, with whom it was unworthy of the Legions to wage a regular war.* The enemies of Diocletian have asserted, that in his Supposed Egyptian campaign he was not satisfied with the death severity of of a rival who had dared to assume the Imperial en- Diocletian. signs, and with the ruin of all who had placed themselves under his banners, but that he directed his hostility against Science, and interdicted the most ingenious and interesting pursuits of Philosophy. He caused, says an Historian of the middle Ages, the most diligent inquiry to be made for all the ancient books which treated of the wonderful Art of producing gold and silver, and without remorse committed them to the flames; apprehensive lest the riches which the Egyptians should thereby procure, might inspire them with the resolution of rebelling against the Empire. But even were we to admit the fact now stated, the motive assigned for the conduct of the Emperor must appear exceedingly absurd. The wealth of a Province naturally flows into the treasury of the dominant State; and the precious metals of Egypt, accordingly, must soon have added to the power and magnificence of Rome. We may therefore conclude, that Diocletian proscribed Alchymy as a vain and pernicious imagination, fitted rather to dissipate gold than to create it; though it is still more probable that the accusation with which he is charged by a Monkish Writer originated in the malignity of a later age.† Persians. We come now to record one of the most important He enters events in the reign of Diocletian, his successful war into a war against the Persians. Several reasons concurred at with the this time to induce the Romans to take up arms against their ancient enemies. They had not yet forgotten the indignity inflicted upon the Empire in the person of Valerian; the sudden retreat of Numerianus was still recent; and the King of Armenia, whose family had long held their crown under the protection of the Roman People, was again expelled from his country, and forced to seek an asylum in a foreign land. In the year 296 Narses was on the Throne of Persia ; who, after crushing a rebellion at home, had carried his arms against Tiridates, the son of Chosroes, added Armenia, as we have just related, to his vast dominions, and was now, after the example of Sapor, his Biography. warlike ancestor, preparing to stretch the limits of his sovereignty to the farthest parts of Asia Minor.* From A. D. 285. to 305. Exploits of Tiridates Defeat of Galerius, The Emperor placed his head-quarters at the city of Antioch, whence he intended to direct the movements of his army. The immediate command of the Legions was intrusted to Galerius, whose duty on the Illyrian frontiers was in the meantime transferred to an Officer of inferior rank; when, equally confident in their the Arme strength and in the goodness of their cause, the two nian Prince. powerful hosts advanced to meet each other in the plains of Mesopotamia. Orosius narrates, that the Romans were three times worsted before they could be induced to yield ground; but the last action appears to have been so decisive, that only the scattered remains of their troops reached Antioch after a disgraceful flight. The young King of Armenia was in the battle, where, unsubdued by misfortune, he signalized his valour against the inveterate foes of his House. He was pursued as far as the Euphrates, on a wounded horse which could carry him no farther; but rather than surrender to the Persians, from whom he had reason to apprehend the most unworthy treatment, he plunged into the river, and at length reached in safety the opposite bank.† Galerias cisive vicfory over Narses, Diocletian was greatly offended at the failure of Galerius; who, it should seem, was carried by the impetuosity of his temper to attack the enemy with an inadequate force, and on ground highly disadvantageous to the Roman infantry. He accordingly received the vanquished Cæsar with the strongest expressions of indignation, and even compelled him to walk a considerable way by the side of his chariot before he would vouchsafe to answer his entreaties, that he might be supplied with another opportunity to retrieve his character, and avenge the cause of the Empire on the squadrons of Narses. Having drawn reinforcements from the hardy cohorts which served on the Danube, and strengthened his ranks by a large body of Gothic auxiliaries, who were taken into the Imperial pay, Galerius once more crossed the Euphrates, and waited the approach of his antagonist. Taught by experience, he avoided the level plains on gains a de- which he had found the Persian cavalry so formidable, and directed his march along the confines of Armenia, a hilly country, the inhabitants of which afforded him, at the same time, both supplies and intelligence. The enemy, elated by their recent success, had begun to despise the Romans and to neglect the safety of their own camp, whereupon Galerius, who had carefully examined their position, resolved to attack them in the night with his whole forces. The assault proved decisive. The army of Narses, consisting chiefly of horsemen, was thrown into confusion and totally routed: the King himself was wounded and compelled to continue his retreat into the deserts of Media; leaving in the hands of the conquerors his wife his children, and sisters, with all the wealth usually to be found in the tent of a Persian Monarch. The character of the Roman Cæsar did not, indeed, present many points of resemblance to that of the renowned son of Philip; but on the present occasion he revived, in favour of his female captives, the generosity which has been so justly praised in the conduct of Alexander Ammian. Marcel. lib. xxiii. Oros. lib. vii. c. 25. Zonar lib. xii. e. 31. p. 640. Mos, Choren. Armen. Hist. lib. ii. c. 76. From A. D. 285. to 305. Peace. The vanquished Persians, upon finding that Diocletian was advancing from Antioch to follow up the victory which his son had just achieved, had immediate recourse to negociation. Their Ambassadors, having arrived at the camp of Galerius, represented to the The PerRomans that Peace was now become desirable to both sians sue for Countries, and that the prolongation of the unfortunate war in which they were engaged could not fail to be productive of the greatest calamities, not only to themselves but to the Human race at large. Apharban, the principal speaker, represented the rival Empires as the two eyes of the world, and deplored on that ground the extinction of either. He also reminded the victor of the uncertainty and change which attached to all mortal grandeur, and besought him to exercise that moderation which became the Prince of a great People, and of which the Persians on similar occasions had given so many striking proofs. Galerius could no longer restrain his impatience. "Ill does it become you," he exclaimed, "to expatiate on the vicissitudes of Fortune, and on the forbearance which we ought to practise to one another; you, who, after obtaining by fraud the possession of an Emperor's person, kept him in the most painful captivity till the day of his death! Think of the clemency which you showed' to Valerian, and then consider what you have a right to exact at our hands. But, he continued, it is not the practice of the Romans to trample on a beaten enemy; and, by the compassion which we are willing to bestow upon the supplicating Persians, we shall make manifest to the world that the soldiers of the West are not more gallant in the field of battle than merciful in the hour of victory."+ The unreflecting ambition of Galerius pointed, it The terms was thought, to the complete and final subjugation of on which it the Persian Empire, which he was desirous to add as a is granted. Province to that of Rome. But the mind of Diocletian, influenced by the wise maxims of Augustus and by the experience of Trajan, was disposed to pursue a more moderate policy; to humble the subjects of Narses, to strip them of a large portion of their territory, and thereby to deprive them of the means of renewing their incursions beyond the Euphrates. With this view he sent Sicorius Probus, one of his Secretaries, to explain to the Persian Court the terms on which Peace might be obtained. In the first place the Envoy was instructed to demand the entire relinquishment of Mesopotamia, the occasion of so many wars and disputes, and the cession to Rome of all the countries which extended from that Province to the Aboras, or Araxes, a stream which falls into the Tigris. The tract of land thus acquired, including Carduena, Arzanena, and Zabdicene, was of great value to Diocletian, because it formed a strong barrier on the Eastern limits of the Empire, and increased at the same time the number of his allies from among the hardiest and most warlike tribes of Asia. It was likewise stipulated that Armenia, upon being restored to Tiridates, should have * Aurel. Victor. Pet. Pat. in Legat. Sex. Rufin. + Aurel. Victor, Pet. Pat, in Legat. Aminian. Marcel. lib. xxii. Eutrop. lib. ix. |