fell back by echellons; and at
the end of the day, though frightened neither by the sad sight of the
slaughter nor of the wounds, he at length allowed a short period to be
given to rest.

VIII.

Sec. 1. Night had put an end to the combat; and when a slight rest had been
procured from sleep, the moment that the dawn, looked for as the
harbinger of better fortune, appeared, Sapor, full of rage and
indignation, and perfectly reckless, called forth his people to attack
us. And as his works were all burnt, as we have related, and the attack
had to be conducted by means of their lofty mounds raised close to our
walls, we also from mounds within the walls, as fast as we could raise
them, struggled in spite of all our difficulties, with all our might,
and with equal courage, against our assailants.

2. And long did the bloody conflict last, nor was any one of the
garrison driven by fear of death from his resolution to defend the city.
The conflict was prolonged, till at last, while the fortune of the two
sides was still undecided, the structure raised by our men, having been
long assailed and shaken, at last fell, as if by an earthquake.

3. And the whole space which was between the wall and the external mound
being made level as if by a causeway or a bridge, opened a passage to
the enemy, which was no longer embarrassed by any obstacles; and numbers
of our men, being crushed or enfeebled by their wounds, gave up the
struggle. Still men flocked from all quarters to repel so imminent a
danger, but from their eager haste they got in one another's way, while
the boldness of the enemy increased with their success.

4. By the command of the king all his troops now hastened into action,
and a hand-to-hand engagement ensued. Blood ran down from the vast
slaughter on both sides: the ditches were filled with corpses, and thus
a wider path was opened for the besiegers. And the city, being now
filled with the eager crowd which forced its way in, all hope of defence
or of escape was cut off, and armed and unarmed without any distinction
of age or sex were slaughtered like sheep.

5. It was full evening, when, though fortune had proved adverse, the
bulk of our troops was still fighting in good order; and I, having
concealed myself with two companions in an obscure corner of the city,
now under cover of darkness, made my escape by a postern gate where
there was no guard; and aided by my own knowledge of the country and by
the speed