A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

JULIANUS., JULIANUS. 647
Julian, in which he proclaimed a perfect toleration down behind them by his orders, to convince the
of all parties. He was not, however, impartial in soldiers that a retreat was no plan of their master.
his conduct towards the Christians, since he pre- From Circesium he continued marching along the
ferred pagans as his civil and military officers, Euphrates till he came to that narrow neck of land
forbade the Christians to teach rhetoric and gram- which separates the Euphrates from the Tigris in
mar in the schools, and, in order to annoy them, the latitude of Ctesiphon. This portion of the route
allowed the Jews to rebuild their great temple at lies partly through a dreary desert, where the
Jerusalem*, and compelled the followers of Jesus to Romans experienced some trifling losses from the
pay money towards the erection of pagan temples, light Persian horse, who hovered round them, and
and, in some instances, to assist in building them. occasionally picked up stragglers or assailed the
Had Julian lived longer he would have seen that rear or the van. Previous to crossing the neck of
his apostacy was not followed by those effects, either land, Julian besieged, stormed, and burned Perireligious or political, which he flattered himself sabor, a large town on the Euphrates; and while
would take place: he would have learnt that crossing that tract, he was delayed some time
paganism, as he understood it, was not the religion under the walls of Maogamalcha, which he likeof the great mass of pagans, and that paganism, as wise took after a short siege and razed to' the
it actually existed, was a rotten institution, desti- ground. Julian now accomplished a most difficult
tute of all religious and moral discipline; and he and extraordinary task: he conveyed his whole
would have witnessed that, however divided the fleet across the above-mentioned neck of land, by
Christians were, there was something better and an ancient canal called Nahar-Malcha, which, howhealthier in Christianity than futile subjects for ever, he was obliged to deepen before he could
subtle controversies. trust his ships in such a passage; and, as the
Soon after his accession Julian set out for canal joined the Tigris below Ctesiphon, he looked
Antioch, where he remained some time busy in for and found an old cut, dug by Trajan, from
organising a powerful armny for the invasion, and Colche' to a place somewhat above Ctesiphon,
perhaps subjugation, of Persia. The people of which, however, he was likewise compelled to make
Antioch received him coolly: they were Christians, deeper and broader, so that at last his fleet run
but also the most frivolous and luxurious people safely out into the Tigris. The canal of Naharin the East, and they despised the straightforward Malcha is now called the canal of Sakldfwiyeh, or
and somewhat rustic manners of an emperor who Isa; it joins the Tigris a little below Baghdkd,
had formed his character among stern Celts and and it still affords a communication between the
Germans. At Antioch Julian made the acquaint- two rivers. Through a very skilful manoeuvre, he
ance of the orator Libanius; but the latter was brought over his army on the left bank of the
unable to reconcile the emperor to the sort of life Tigris,-a passage not only extremely difficult on
which prevailed in that splendid city. He there- account of the rapid current of the Tigris, but
fore withdrew to Tarsus in Cilicia, where he took rendered still more so through the stout resistance
up his winter-quarters. In the following spring of a Persian army, which, however, was routed and
(March, 363) he set out for Persia. The different pursued to the walls of Ctesiphon. The city would
corps of his army met at Hierapolis, where they have been entered by the Romans together with
passed the Euphrates on a bridge of boats, and the fugitive Persians, but for the death of their
thence moved to Carrhae, now Harran, a town leader, Victors Julian was now looking out for the
in Mesopotamia about fifty miles E. N. E. from arrival of Procopius and Sebastianus, and the main
Hierapolis. Julian's plan was to march upon army of the Armenian king, Arsaces or Tiranus.
Ctesiphon, but in order to deceive the Persian He was sadly disappointed: his lieutenants did
king, Sapor, he despatched Procopius and Sebas- not arrive, and Tiranus arranged for a body of his
tianus with 30,000 men against Nisibis (east of Armenians to desert which had joined the Romans
Carrhae), while he himself wheeled suddenly round previously, and which now secretly withdrew from
to the south, following the course of the Euphrates the Roman camp at Ctesiphon. Julian nevertheon its left or Mesopotamian side. Procopius and less began the siege of that vast city, which was
Sebastianus were to join Arsaces Tiranus, king of defended by the flower of the Persian troops, king
Armenia, and Julian expected to effect a junction Sapor, with the main body of his army, not having
with their united forces in the environs of Ctesi- yet arrived from the interior of Persia. Unable to
phon; but the treachery of Arsaces prevented the take the city, and desirous of dispersing the king's
accomplishment of his plan, as is mentioned below army, Julian imprudently followed the advice of a
[Compare Vol. I. p. 363, b.]. While Julian marched Persian nobleman of great distinction, who appeared
along the Euphrates in a south-eastern direction, in the Roman camp under the pretext' of being
he was accompanied by a fleet of 1100 ships, fifty persecuted by Sapor, and who recommended the
of which were well-armed galleys, and the rest emperor to set out in search of the Persian king.
barges, carrying a vast supply of provisions and In doing so, Julian would have been compelled to
military stores. At Circesium, situated on the abandon his fleet on the Tigris to the attacks of a
confluence of the Chaboras, now the Khabur, with hostile and infuriated populace: this he avoided by
the Euphrates, he arrived at the Persian frontier, setting fire to his slips,-the best thing he could
which ran along the lower part of the Chaboras, have done, if his march into the interior of Persia
and he entered the Persian territory on the 7th of had been dictated by absolute necessity; but
April, 363, at the head of an army of 65,000 as he was not obliged to leave the city, even sucveterans. The bridge of the Chaboras was broken cess would not have compensated for the loss of
1200 ships. In proportion as the Romans ad" Respecting the alleged miracle which inter- vanced eastward, the country became more and
rupted the Jews in this work, see the judicious re- more barren, and Sapor remained invisible. The
marks in Lardner's Jewish and Heatlien Testimonies, treachery of the Persian noble was discovered after
vol. iv. his secret flight, and Julian was obliged to retreat.
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