purple, but humbled by the sense of
his fault and misfortune, was obliged to follow the emperor's chariot
above a mile on foot, and to exhibit, before the whole court, the
spectacle of his disgrace.

As soon as Diocletian had indulged his private resentment, and asserted
the majesty of supreme power, he yielded to the submissive entreaties of
the Caesar, and permitted him to retrieve his own honor, as well as that
of the Roman arms. In the room of the unwarlike troops of Asia, which
had most probably served in the first expedition, a second army was
drawn from the veterans and new levies of the Illyrian frontier, and
a considerable body of Gothic auxiliaries were taken into the Imperial
pay. At the head of a chosen army of twenty-five thousand men, Galerius
again passed the Euphrates; but, instead of exposing his legions in the
open plains of Mesopotamia he advanced through the mountains of Armenia,
where he found the inhabitants devoted to his cause, and the country as
favorable to the operations of infantry as it was inconvenient for the
motions of cavalry. Adversity had confirmed the Roman discipline, while
the barbarians, elated by success, were become so negligent and remiss,
that in the moment when they least expected it, they were surprised by
the active conduct of Galerius, who, attended only by two horsemen,
had with his own eyes secretly examined the state and position of their
camp. A surprise, especially in the night time, was for the most
part fatal to a Persian army. "Their horses were tied, and generally
shackled, to prevent their running away; and if an alarm happened, a
Persian had his housing to fix, his horse to bridle, and his corselet to
put on, before he could mount." On this occasion, the impetuous attack
of Galerius spread disorder and dismay over the camp of the barbarians.
A slight resistance was followed by a dreadful carnage, and, in the
general confusion, the wounded monarch (for Narses commanded his armies
in person) fled towards the deserts of Media. His sumptuous tents, and
those of his satraps, afforded an immense booty to the conqueror; and an
incident is mentioned, which proves the rustic but martial ignorance
of the legions in the elegant superfluities of life. A bag of shining
leather, filled with pearls, fell into the hands of a private soldier;
he carefully preserved the bag, but he threw away its contents, judging
that whatever was of no use could not possibly be of any value. The