s, during his embassy at that country. The
coronation of the mother of Sapor is likewise mentioned by Snikard,
(Tarikh. p. 116,) and D'Herbelot (Bibliotheque Orientale, p. 703.)
----The author of the Zenut-ul-Tarikh states, that the lady herself
affirmed her belief of this from the extraordinary liveliness of the
infant, and its lying on the right side. Those who are sage on such
subjects must determine what right she had to be positive from these
symptoms. Malcolm, Hist. of Persia, i 83.--M.]

[Footnote 55: D'Herbelot, Bibliotheque Orientale, p. 764.]

[Footnote 55a: Gibbon, according to Sir J. Malcolm, has greatly
mistaken the derivation of this name; it means Zoolaktaf, the Lord of
the Shoulders, from his directing the shoulders of his captives to be
pierced and then dislocated by a string passed through them. Eastern
authors are agreed with respect to the origin of this title. Malcolm,
i. 84. Gibbon took his derivation from D'Herbelot, who gives both, the
latter on the authority of the Leb. Tarikh.--M.]

The ambition of the Persian, to whom his enemies ascribe the virtues of
a soldier and a statesman, was animated by the desire of revenging the
disgrace of his fathers, and of wresting from the hands of the Romans
the five provinces beyond the Tigris. The military fame of Constantine,
and the real or apparent strength of his government, suspended the
attack; and while the hostile conduct of Sapor provoked the resentment,
his artful negotiations amused the patience of the Imperial court.
The death of Constantine was the signal of war, [56] and the actual
condition of the Syrian and Armenian frontier seemed to encourage the
Persians by the prospect of a rich spoil and an easy conquest.
The example of the massacres of the palace diffused a spirit of
licentiousness and sedition among the troops of the East, who were no
longer restrained by their habits of obedience to a veteran commander.
By the prudence of Constantius, who, from the interview with his
brothers in Pannonia, immediately hastened to the banks of the
Euphrates, the legions were gradually restored to a sense of duty and
discipline; but the season of anarchy had permitted Sapor to form
the siege of Nisibis, and to occupy several of the mo st important
fortresses of Mesopotamia. [57] In Armenia, the renowned Tiridates had
long enjoyed the peace and glory which he deserved by his valor
and fidelity to the cause of Rome. [57a] The firm alliance which he
maint