The Roman historie containing such acts and occurrents as passed under Constantius, Iulianus, Iovianus, Valentinianus, and Valens, emperours. Digested into 18. bookes, the remains of 31. and written first in Latine by Ammianus Marcellinus: now translated newly into English. Wherunto is annexed the chronologie, serving in stead of a briefe supplement of those former 13. bookes, which by the iniurie of time are lost: together with compendious annotations and coniectures upon such hard places as occurre in the said historie. Done by Philemon Holland of the citie of Coventrie, Doctor in Physicke.

CHAP. 1. Sapor lifted up with this small victorie, besiegeth Amida not without dan∣ger. The sonne of king Grumbates, a young gentleman, is pierced through the bodie with the shot of a Balist, and with royall funerals lamented.

THe king right joyous for this miserable captivitie that happe∣ned on our part, and waiting still for the like successes, depar∣ted thence, and marching softly, came by the third day before Amida. Now, when the day-light first appeared, all the coun∣trey over, as farre as could be seene, shone againe with glitte∣ring armour and weapons, and the men of armes with their bard horses all in complete harneis, covered both hill and dale. Himselfe mounted upon a courser, and higher than the rest, advaunced before the whole armie, wearing in lieu of a diademe the resemblance of a rams head of gold, set with precious stones, all goodly to be seene aloft, accompanied with a traine of many high personages in honourable place, and of divers and sundrie nations. And for certaine it was knowne, that he meant by way of parley onely and no far∣ther to sound the defendants of the wals, as hastening by the advice of Antoninus another way. But the heavenly power, to conclude the miseries of the whole em∣pire of Rome within the compasse of one region, restrained and curbed him, as he infinitely bare himselfe aloft, and weened verily, that upon the very sight of him all the besieged would streightwaies for feare become heartlesse, and fall in humble manner to entreatie. Before the gates he rode braving up and downe, accompanied with the guard of his royall band: and whiles he over-boldly engageth himselfe so neere, as that his very visage might openly be knowne, a faire marke he was, by rea∣son of his goodly ornaments, to be shot at with arrowes & other casting-weapons; whereby he had surely beene overthrowne and layed along, but that through the dust that arose from the archers and darters, they lost the sight of him: and so with the rent of a part of his garment by the shot of a barbed-headed javelin he gat away and escaped to do afterwards an infinit deale of mischiefe. Hereupon raging against them no lesse, than if they had beene sacrilegious spoylers of some holy temple, and giving it out, That the lord of so many kings and nations was violated; hee

made great preparation, and mightily endevoured utterly to rase and destroy the citie: And when his chiefe and principall captaines besought him, that by fal∣ling thus into an excessive fit of choler, he would not give over and leave his glo∣rious-begun enterprises, being with their most mild petition pacified, he decreed, That the morrow also the defendants might bee summoned to surrender. And therefore, at the first breaking of the day, Grumbates king of the Chionites, to per∣forme his diligent service in this behalfe, boldly approched the walls, having a strong guard about him of right expert and nimble servitours: who was no soo∣ner espied (comming now within the reach of a dart shot) by a most skilfull ar∣cher that had a very good eye, but bending his crosse-bow, hee levelled at his sonne in the very prime of his youthfull yeares as he stood close to his fathers side, pierced his curace, and shot him through breast and all: a gallant gentleman, for talnesse of personage and goodly presence surmounting all his equals in age. At whose fall, his countreymen slipped away every one, and fled: but returning a∣none againe upon good reason and due consideration, least he should be harried away, they strucke up the al'arme, and raysed together a number of nations with their dissonant out-cries: by whose concourse and encounter, whiles the darts flew to and fro as thicke as hayle, there was a cruell fight: and after deadly skir∣mishes, which lasted to the end of the day, when as now it grew to be night, the corpes with much adoe protected, hardly by the mist and darknesse of the night was gotten out among heapes of slaine bodies and streames running downe of bloud: much like, as when at Troy in times past there was a right hote and blou∣die conflict about the breathlesse bodie of [Patroclus] companion to the Thessa∣lian leader [Achilles.] By occasion of this death, the kings house was heavie and sad, and for that all the lords and nobles, together with the father, were strucken with this suddaine losse, after proclamation of a vacation made, the young prince (commendable for his nobilitie of birth, and well beloved) was solemnely be∣wayled and mourned for, after the guise of his owne nation. Being therefore car∣ried out all armed, as he used to bee, placed he was upon a certaine large and high raysed terrace or scaffold, and about him tenne little beds were spread, carrying the images of dead men, so curiously dressed and embaulmed, as that the very por∣traits were like unto bodies new enterred. And thus for the space of seven dayes together, all the men verily by bands and companies kept good cheare, and with dauncing and singing certaine mournefull kinds of dumpes and sorrowfull dities, bewayled the death of the young prince: but the women with wofull knocking of their breasts and shedding teares after their wonted manner, piteously cried and lamented for the hope of their nation, thus untimely cut off in the very prime and flower of his age: like for all the world to those women priests and worshippers of Venus, that are oftentimes seene to weepe in the ordinarie feasts and solemnities of ^a Adonis, which mysticall Religion teacheth us to be some representation of corne full growne.