e River Tigris and the mountains of Media, was filled with villages
and towns; and the fertile soil, for the most part, was in a very
improved state of cultivation. Julian might expect, that a conqueror,
who possessed the two forcible instruments of persuasion, steel and
gold, would easily procure a plentiful subsistence from the fears or
avarice of the natives. But, on the approach of the Romans, the rich
and smiling prospect was instantly blasted. Wherever they moved,
the inhabitants deserted the open villages, and took shelter in the
fortified towns; the cattle was driven away; the grass and ripe corn
were consumed with fire; and, as soon as the flames had subsided which
interrupted the march of Julian, he beheld the melancholy face of a
smoking and naked desert. This desperate but effectual method of defence
can only be executed by the enthusiasm of a people who prefer their
independence to their property; or by the rigor of an arbitrary
government, which consults the public safety without submitting to their
inclinations the liberty of choice. On the present occasion the zeal
and obedience of the Persians seconded the commands of Sapor; and
the emperor was soon reduced to the scanty stock of provisions, which
continually wasted in his hands. Before they were entirely consumed, he
might still have reached the wealthy and unwarlike cities of Ecbatana
or Susa, by the effort of a rapid and well-directed march; but he was
deprived of this last resource by his ignorance of the roads, and by the
perfidy of his guides. The Romans wandered several days in the country
to the eastward of Bagdad; the Persian deserter, who had artfully led
them into the spare, escaped from their resentment; and his followers,
as soon as they were put to the torture, confessed the secret of the
conspiracy. The visionary conquests of Hyrcania and India, which had so
long amused, now tormented, the mind of Julian. Conscious that his own
imprudence was the cause of the public distress, he anxiously balanced
the hopes of safety or success, without obtaining a satisfactory answer,
either from gods or men. At length, as the only practicable measure, he
embraced the resolution of directing his steps towards the banks of
the Tigris, with the design of saving the army by a hasty march to
the confines of Corduene; a fertile and friendly province, which
acknowledged the sovereignty of Rome. The desponding troops obeyed
the signal of the retreat, only seventy