f reason and eloquence. See Tillemont, Hist.
des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 828, 1132.]

[Footnote 52: Ammian. xviii. 5, 6, 8. The decent and respectful behavior
of Antoninus towards the Roman general, sets him in a very interesting
light; and Ammianus himself speaks of the traitor with some compassion
and esteem.]

[Footnote 53: This circumstance, as it is noticed by Ammianus, serves to
prove the veracity of Herodotus, (l. i. c. 133,) and the permanency of
the Persian manners. In every age the Persians have been addicted to
intemperance, and the wines of Shiraz have triumphed over the law of
Mahomet. Brisson de Regno Pers. l. ii. p. 462-472, and Voyages en Perse,
tom, iii. p. 90.]

The military historian, [54] who was himself despatched to observe the
army of the Persians, as they were preparing to construct a bridge of
boats over the Tigris, beheld from an eminence the plain of Assyria, as
far as the edge of the horizon, covered with men, with horses, and with
arms. Sapor appeared in the front, conspicuous by the splendor of
his purple. On his left hand, the place of honor among the Orientals,
Grumbates, king of the Chionites, displayed the stern countenance of an
aged and renowned warrior. The monarch had reserved a similar place on
his right hand for the king of the Albanians, who led his independent
tribes from the shores of the Caspian. [54a] The satraps and generals
were distributed according to their several ranks, and the whole army,
besides the numerous train of Oriental luxury, consisted of more than
one hundred thousand effective men, inured to fatigue, and selected from
the bravest nations of Asia. The Roman deserter, who in some measure
guided the councils of Sapor, had prudently advised, that, instead of
wasting the summer in tedious and difficult sieges, he should march
directly to the Euphrates, and press forwards without delay to seize the
feeble and wealthy metropolis of Syria. But the Persians were no sooner
advanced into the plains of Mesopotamia, than they discovered that every
precaution had been used which could retard their progress, or defeat
their design. The inhabitants, with their cattle, were secured in places
of strength, the green forage throughout the country was set on fire,
the fords of the rivers were fortified by sharp stakes; military engines
were planted on the opposite banks, and a seasonable swell of the waters
of the Euphrates deterred the Barbarians from attempting the ordinary