Res Gestae

But as to the maidens who were taken prisoners (and they were beautiful, as is usual in Persia, where the women excel in that respect) he refused to touch a single one or even to look on her, following the example of

In the course of these contests a builder on our side, whose name I do not recall, happened to be standing behind a scorpion, when a stone which one of the gunners had fitted insecurely to the sling was hurled backward. The unfortunate man was thrown on his back with his breast crushed, and killed; and his limbs were so torn asunder that not even parts of his whole body could be identified.

The emperor was on the point of leaving the spot, when a trustworthy informant reported that in some dark and hidden pits near the walls of the destroyed city, such as are numerous in those parts, a band of the enemy was treacherously lying in wait, intending to rush out unexpectedly and attack the rear of our army.

At once a band of foot soldiers of tried valour was sent to dislodge them, and when they could neither force an entrance through the openings nor lure to battle those hidden within, .they gathered straw and faggots and piled them before the entrances of the caves. The smoke from this, becoming thicker the narrower the space which it penetrated, killed some by suffocation; others scorched by the blast of fires, were forced to come out and met a swift death; and so, when all had fallen victims to steel or flame, our men quickly returned to their standards. Thus a great and

After these glorious deeds we passed over a series of bridges, made necessary by the union of many streams, and came to two fortresses built with special care. Here a son of the Persian king, who had come from Ctesiphon with some magnates and an armed force, tried to prevent Count Victor, who was leading our van, from crossing the river; but on seeing the throng of soldiers that followed, he retreated.

Then going on, we came to groves and fields rich with the bloom of many kinds of fruits; there we found a palace built in Roman style, with which we were so pleased that we left it untouched.

There was also in that same region an extensive round tract, enclosed by a strong fence and containing the wild beasts that were kept for the king’s entertainment: lions with flowing manes, boars with bristling shoulders, and bears savage beyond all manner of madness (as they usually are in Persia), and other choice animals of enormous size; our cavalry burst the fastenings of the gates and butchered them all with hunting-spears and showers of missiles.

This district is fruitful in fields of grain and in cultivation.[*](The text is very uncertain. There was probably a lacuna between qui and bus. ) Not far from it is Coche, which they call Seleucia; there a camp

Here too Nabdates, who (as I have said) was dragged with eighty men from a hiding-place in a captured city,[*](Maiozamalcha; see ch. 4, 26, above.) was burned alive, because early in the beginning of the siege he had secretly promised to betray the town, but had fought most vigorously, and after obtaining an unhoped-for pardon had gone to such a pitch of insolence as to assail Ormisda with every kind of insult.

We had gone on some distance, when we were shocked by a sad misfortune. For while three cohorts of light-armed skirmishers were fighting with a band of Persians which had burst forth from the suddenly opened gates of a town,[*](Perhaps Sabatha (Zosimus).) others who had sallied forth from the opposite side of the river, cut off and butchered the pack-animals that followed us, along with a few foragers who were carelessly roaming about.

The emperor left the spot in a rage, grinding his teeth, and was already nearing the vicinity of Ctesiphon, when he came upon a lofty, well-fortified stronghold. He ventured to approach and examine the place, riding up to the walls with a few followers

Fearfully enraged because of this, he resolved to besiege the fortress, and its garrison was intent upon a vigorous resistance, trusting to their position, which was all but inaccessible, and believing that the king, who was rapidly advancing with an impressive force, would shortly make his appearance.

Already the mantlets and all the other equipment required for a siege were being made ready, when, as the night chanced to be clear and the bright moonlight clearly revealed everything to those who stood upon the battlements, near the end of the second watch a throng quickly gathered and burst from the suddenly opened gates, and falling unawares on one of our cohorts, killed a great number, including also a tribune who tried to avert the danger.

While this was going on, the Persians, in the same way as before, attacked a part of our men from the opposite side of the river, killed some, and took a few alive. And from fear, and at the same time because they thought that the enemy had gained greater numbers, our men for a time were held irresolute; but when they had recovered their courage, had armed themselves as well as they could in the confusion, and our army, aroused by the trumpets’ blast, was

The emperor, roused to bitter anger, reduced the surviving members of the cohort, who had shown no spirit[*](Cf. egere segnius, § 9, above.) in resisting the marauders’ attack, to the infantry service[*](cohors is commonly used of the infantry, but Ammi- anus probably refers to the horsemen mingled with the foot-soldiers, who may have been most to blame. Vegetius tells us that each cohort had its horsemen.) (which is more burdensome) with loss of rank.

This set him afire to destroy the fortress before which he had been so endangered,[*](Cf. § 6, above.) and he devoted his energies and thoughts to that end, never himself leaving the van, in order that by fighting among the foremost he might by his personal example rouse the soldiers to deeds of valour, as the witness and judge of their conduct. And so when he had exposed himself valiantly and long to extreme peril, after using every kind of attack[*](An unusual meaning of munitio, which commonly implies defence, but cf. xxi. 12, 12, where munitores, besiegers, is contrasted with prohibitores, besieged. ) and weapons, through the unanimous valour of the besiegers that same fortress was at last taken and destroyed by fire.

After this, in consideration of the difficult tasks already performed and those which impended, the army, exhausted by excessive toil, was given a rest and many kinds of provisions were distributed in abundance. However, after that time the palisade of the camp was more carefully constructed with a close array of stakes and a deep moat, since there was fear of sudden sallies and other secret attempts from Ctesiphon, which was now not far distant.