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Battle of Singara and the Siege of Nisibis – the Death of Constantine – the Murder of Constans – the Conquest of Italy and the Death of Magnentius (348 – 353 A.D.)
During the long period of the reign of Constantius, the
provinces of the East were afflicted by the calamities of the
Persian war. ! The irregular incursions of the light troops
alternately spread terror and devastation beyond the Tigris and
beyond the Euphrates, from the gates of Ctesiphon to those of
Antioch; and this active service was performed by the Arabs of
the desert, who were divided in their interest and affections;
some of their independent chiefs being enlisted in the party of
Sapor, whilst others had engaged their doubtful fidelity to the
emperor. 59 The more grave and important operations of the war
were conducted with equal vigor; and the armies of Rome and
Persia encountered each other in nine bloody fields, in two of
which Constantius himself commanded in person. 60 The event of
the day was most commonly adverse to the Romans, but in the
battle of Singara, heir imprudent valor had almost achieved a
signal and decisive Victory. The stationary troops of Singara *
retired on the approach of Sapor, who passed the Tigris over
three bridges, and occupied near the village of Hilleh an
advantageous camp, which, by the labor of his numerous pioneers,
he surrounded in one day with a deep ditch and a lofty rampart.
His formidable host, when it was drawn out in order of battle,
covered the banks of the river, the adjacent heights, and the
whole extent of a plain of above twelve miles, which separated
the two armies. Both were alike impatient to engage; but the
Barbarians, after a slight resistance, fled in disorder; unable
to resist, or desirous to weary, the strength of the heavy
legions, who, fainting with heat and thirst, pursued them across
the plain, and cut in pieces a line of cavalry , clothed in
complete armor, which had been posted before the gates of the
camp to protect their retreat. Constantius, who was hurried
along in the pursuit, attempted, without effect, to restrain the
ardor of his troops, by representing to them the dangers of the
approaching night, and the certainty of completing their success
with the return of day. As they depended much more on their own
valor than on the experience or the abilities of their chief,
they silenced by their clamors his timid remonstrances; and
rushing with fury to the charge, filled up the ditch, broke down
the rampart, and dispersed themselves through the tents to
recruit their exhausted strength, and to enjoy the rich harvest
of their labors. But the prudent Sapor had watched the moment of
Victory. His army, of which the greater part, securely posted on
the heights, had been spectators of the action, advanced in
silence, and under the shadow of the night; and his Persian
archers, guided by the illumination of the camp, poured a shower
of arrows on a disarmed and licentious crowd. The sincerity of
history 61 declares, that the Romans were vanquished with a
dreadful slaughter, and that the flying remnant of the legions
was exposed to the most intolerable hardships. Even the
tenderness of panegyric, confessing that the glory of the emperor
was sullied by the disobedience of his soldiers, chooses to draw
a veil over the circumstances of this melancholy retreat. Yet
one of those venal orators, so jealous of the fame of
Constantius, relates, with amazing coolness, an act of such
incredible cruelty, as, in the judgment of posterity, must
imprint a far deeper stain on the honor of the Imperial name.
The son of Sapor, the heir of his crown, had been made a captive
in the Persian camp. The unhappy youth, who might have excited
the compassion of the most savage enemy, was scourged, tortured,
and publicly executed by the inhuman Romans. 62
Footnote *: It was during this war that a bold flatterer (whose
name is unknown) published the Itineraries of Alexander and
Trajan, in order to direct the victorious Constantius in the
footsteps of those great conquerors of the East. The former of
these has been published for the first time by M. Angelo Mai
(Milan, 1817, reprinted at Frankfort, 1818.) It adds so little to
our knowledge of Alexander's campaigns, that it only excites our
regret that it is not the Itinerary of Trajan, of whose eastern
Victories we have no distinct record - M
Footnote 59: Ammianus (xiv. 4) gives a lively description of the
wandering and predatory life of the Saracens, who stretched from
the confines of Assyria to the cataracts of the Nile. It appears
from the adventures of Malchus, which Jerom has related in so
entertaining a manner, that the high road between Beraea and
Edessa was infested by these robbers. See Hieronym. tom. i. p.
256.
Footnote 60: We shall take from Eutropius the general idea of
the war. A Persis enim multa et gravia perpessus, saepe captis,
oppidis, obsessis urbibus, caesis exercitibus, nullumque ei
contra Saporem prosperum praelium fuit, nisi quod apud Singaram,
&c. This honest account is confirmed by the hints of Ammianus,
Rufus, and Jerom. The two first orations of Julian, and the
third oration of Libanius, exhibit a more flattering picture; but
the recantation of both those orators, after the death of
Constantius, while it restores us to the possession of the truth,
degrades their own character, and that of the emperor. The
Commentary of Spanheim on the first oration of Julian is
profusely learned. See likewise the judicious observations of
Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 656.
Footnote *: Now Sinjar, or the River Claboras. - M.
Footnote 61: Acerrima nocturna concertatione pugnatum est,
nostrorum copiis ngenti strage confossis. Ammian. xviii. 5. See
likewise Eutropius, x. 10, and S. Rufus, c. 27.
Footnote *: The Persian historian s, or romancers, do not mention
the battle of Singara, but make the captive Shahpour escape,
defeat, and take prisoner, the Roman emperor. The Roman captives
were forced to repair all the ravages they had committed, even to
replanting the smallest trees. Malcolm. i. 82. - M.
Footnote 62: Libanius, Orat. iii. p. 133, with Julian. Orat. i.
p. 24, and Spanneism's Commentary, p. 179.
Whatever advantages might attend the arms of Sapor in the
field, though nine repeated Victories diffused among the nations
the fame of his valor and conduct, he could not hope to succeed
in the execution of his designs, while the fortified towns of
Mesopotamia, and, above all, the strong and ancient city of
Nisibis, remained in the possession of the Romans. In the space
of twelve years, Nisibis, which, since the time of Lucullus, had
been deservedly esteemed the bulwark of the East, sustained three
memorable sieges against the power of Sapor; and the disappointed
monarch, after urging his attacks above sixty, eighty, and a
hundred days, was thrice repulsed with loss and ignominy. 63
This large and populous city was situate about two days' journey
from the Tigris, in the midst of a pleasant and fertile plain at
the foot of Mount Masius. A treble enclosure of brick walls was
defended by a deep ditch; 64 and the intrepid resistance of
Count Lucilianus, and his garrison, was seconded by the desperate
courage of the people. The citizens of Nisibis were animated by
the exhortations of their bishop , 65 inured to arms by the
presence of danger, and convinced of the intentions of Sapor to
plant a Persian colony in their room, and to lead them away into
distant and barbarous captivity. The event of the two former
sieges elated their confidence, and exasperated the haughty
spirit of the Great King, who advanced a third time towards
Nisibis, at the head of the united forces of Persia and India.
The ordinary machines, invented to batter or undermine the walls,
were rendered ineffectual by the superior skill of the Romans;
and many days had vainly elapsed, when Sapor embraced a
resolution worthy of an eastern monarch, who believed that the
elements themselves were subject to his power. At the stated
season of the melting of the snows in Armenia , the River
Mygdonius, which divides the plain and the city of Nisibis,
forms, like the Nile, 66 an inundation over the adjacent
country. By the labor of the Persians, the course of the river
was stopped below the town, and the waters were confined on every
side by solid mounds of earth. On this artificial lake, a fleet
of armed vessels filled with soldiers, and with engines which
discharged stones of five hundred pounds weight, advanced in
order of battle, and engaged, almost upon a level, the troops
which defended the ramparts. * The irresistible force of the
waters was alternately fatal to the contending parties, till at
length a portion of the walls, unable to sustain the accumulated
pressure, gave way at once, and exposed an ample breach of one
hundred and fifty feet. The Persians were instantly driven to
the assault, and the fate of Nisibis depended on the event of the
day. The heavy-armed cavalry, who led the van of a deep column,
were embarrassed in the mud, and great numbers were drowned in
the unseen holes which had been filled by the rushing waters.
The elephants, made furious by their wounds, increased the
disorder, and trampled down thousands of the Persian archers.
The Great King, who, from an exalted throne, beheld the
misfortunes of his arms, sounded, with reluctant indignation, the
signal of the retreat, and suspended for some hours the
prosecution of the attack. But the vigilant citizens improved the
opportunity of the night; and the return of day discovered a new
wall of six feet in height, rising every moment to fill up the
interval of the breach. Notwithstanding the disappointment of
his hopes, and the loss of more than twenty thousand men, Sapor
still pressed the reduction of Nisibis, with an obstinate
firmness, which could have yielded only to the necessity of
defending the eastern provinces of Persia against a formidable
invasion of the Massagetae. 67 Alarmed by this intelligence, he
hastily relinquished the siege, and marched with rapid diligence
from the banks of the Tigris to those of the Oxus. The danger
and difficulties of the Scythian war engaged him soon afterwards
to conclude, or at least to observe, a truce with the Roman
emperor, which was equally grateful to both princes; as
Constantius himself, after the death of his two brothers, was
involved, by the revolutions of the West, in a civil contest,
which required and seemed to exceed the most vigorous exertion of
his undivided strength.
Footnote 63: See Julian. Orat. i. p. 27, Orat. ii. p. 62, &c.,
with the Commentary of Spanheim, (p. 188-202,) who illustrates
the circumstances, and ascertains the time of the three sieges of
Nisibis. Their dates are likewise examined by Tillemont, (Hist.
des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 668, 671, 674.) Something is added
from Zosimus, l. iii. p. 151, and the Alexandrine Chronicle, p.
290.
Footnote 64: Sallust. Fragment. lxxxiv. edit. Brosses, and
Plutarch in Lucull. tom. iii. p. 184. Nisibis is now reduced to
one hundred and fifty houses: the marshy lands produce rice, and
the fertile meadows, as far as Mosul and the Tigris, are covered
with the ruins of towns and allages. See Niebuhr, Voyages, tom.
ii. p. 300-309.
Footnote 65: The miracles which Theodoret (l. ii. c. 30)
ascribes to St. James, bishop of Edessa, were at least performed
in a worthy cause, the defence of his coutry. He appeared on
the walls under the figure of the Roman emperor, and sent an army
of gnats to sting the trunks of the elephants, and to discomfit
the host of the new Sennacherib.
Footnote 66: Julian. Orat. i. p. 27. Though Niebuhr (tom. ii.
p. 307) allows a very considerable swell to the Mygdonius, over
which he saw a bridge of twelve arches: it is difficult, however,
to understand this parallel of a trifling rivulet with a mighty
river. There are many circumstances obscure, and almost
unintelligible, in the description of these stupendous
water-works.
Footnote *: Macdonald Kinnier observes on these floating
batteries, "As the elevation of place is considerably above the
level of the country in its immediate vicinity, and the Mygdonius
is a very insignificant stream, it is difficult to imagine how
this work could have been accomplished, even with the wonderful
resources which the king must have had at his disposal"
Geographical Memoir. p. 262. - M.
Footnote 67: We are obliged to Zonaras (tom. ii. l. xiii. p. 11)
for this invasion of the Massagetae, which is perfectly
consistent with the general series of events to which we are
darkly led by the broken history of Ammianus.
After the partition of the Empire, three years had scarcely
elapsed before the sons of Constantine seemed impatient to
convince mankind that they were incapable of contenting
themselves with the dominions which they were unqualified to
govern. The eldest of those princes soon complained, that he was
defrauded of his just proportion of the spoils of their murdered
kinsmen; and though he might yield to the superior guilt and
merit of Constantius, he exacted from Constans the cession of the
African provinces, as an equivalent for the rich countries of
Macedonia and Greece, which his brother had acquired by the death
of Dalmatius. The want of sincerity, which Constantine
experienced in a tedious and fruitless negotiation, exasperated
the fierceness of his temper; and he eagerly listened to those
favorites, who suggested to him that his honor, as well as his
interest, was concerned in the prosecution of the quarrel. At
the head of a tumultuary band, suited for rapine rather than for
conquest, he suddenly broke onto the dominions of Constans, by
the way of the Julian Alps, and the country round Aquileia felt
the first effects of his resentment. The measures of Constans,
who then resided in Dacia, were directed with more prudence and
ability. On the news of his brother's invasion, he detached a
select and disciplined body of his Illyrian troops, proposing to
follow them in person, with the remainder of his forces. But the
conduct of his lieutenants soon terminated the unnatural contest.
By the artful appearances of flight, Constantine was betrayed
into an ambuscade, which had been concealed in a wood, where the
rash youth, with a few attendants, was surprised, surrounded, and
slain. His body, after it had been found in the obscure stream
of the Alsa, obtained the honors of an Imperial sepulchre; but
his provinces transferred their allegiance to the conqueror, who,
refusing to admit his elder brother Constantius to any share in
these new acquisitions, maintained the undisputed possession of
more than two thirds of the Roman Empire. 68
Footnote 68: The causes and the events of this Civil war are
related with much perplexity and contradiction. I have chiefly
followed Zonaras and the younger Victor. The monody (ad Calcem
Eutrop. edit. Havercamp.) pronounced on the death of Constantine,
might have been very instructive; but prudence and false taste
engaged the orator to involve himself in vague declamation.
End of Chapter XVIII.
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To cite original text:
Gibbon, Edward, 1737-1794. The history of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. (NY : Knopf, 1993), v. 2, pp. 182 - 198.