f Tauris or Gandzaca, [87] the ancient and modern capital of one of the
provinces of Media. At the head of forty thousand men, Chosroes himself
had returned from some distant expedition to oppose the progress of the
Roman arms; but he retreated on the approach of Heraclius, declining the
generous alternative of peace or of battle. Instead of half a million of
inhabitants, which have been ascribed to Tauris under the reign of the
Sophys, the city contained no more than three thousand houses; but the
value of the royal treasures was enhanced by a tradition, that they
were the spoils of Croesus, which had been transported by Cyrus from the
citadel of Sardes. The rapid conquests of Heraclius were suspended
only by the winter season; a motive of prudence, or superstition, [88]
determined his retreat into the province of Albania, along the shores of
the Caspian; and his tents were most probably pitched in the plains of
Mogan, [89] the favorite encampment of Oriental princes. In the course
of this successful inroad, he signalized the zeal and revenge of a
Christian emperor: at his command, the soldiers extinguished the fire,
and destroyed the temples, of the Magi; the statues of Chosroes, who
aspired to divine honors, were abandoned to the flames; and the ruins of
Thebarma or Ormia, [90] which had given birth to Zoroaster himself, made
some atonement for the injuries of the holy sepulchre. A purer spirit
of religion was shown in the relief and deliverance of fifty
thousand captives. Heraclius was rewarded by their tears and grateful
acclamations; but this wise measure, which spread the fame of his
benevolence, diffused the murmurs of the Persians against the pride
and obstinacy of their own sovereign. [Footnote 83: Theophanes (p. 256)
carries Heraclius swiftly into Armenia. Nicephorus, (p. 11,) though he
confounds the two expeditions, defines the province of Lazica. Eutychius
(Annal. tom. ii. p. 231) has given the 5000 men, with the more probable
station of Trebizond.]

[Footnote 84: From Constantinople to Trebizond, with a fair wind,
four or five days; from thence to Erzerom, five; to Erivan, twelve; to
Taurus, ten; in all, thirty-two. Such is the Itinerary of Tavernier,
(Voyages, tom. i. p. 12--56,) who was perfectly conversant with the
roads of Asia. Tournefort, who travelled with a pacha, spent ten or
twelve days between Trebizond and Erzerom, (Voyage du Levant, tom. iii.
lettre xviii.;) and Chardin (Voyages, tom. i. p. 249