the Euphrates, and in the islands
which are occasionally formed by that river. The city of Annah, or
Anatho, [49] the actual residence of an Arabian emir, is composed of
two long streets, which enclose, within a natural fortification, a
small island in the midst, and two fruitful spots on either side, of
the Euphrates. The warlike inhabitants of Anatho showed a disposition
to stop the march of a Roman emperor; till they were diverted from such
fatal presumption by the mild exhortations of Prince Hormisdas, and
the approaching terrors of the fleet and army. They implored, and
experienced, the clemency of Julian, who transplanted the people to an
advantageous settlement, near Chalcis in Syria, and admitted Pusaeus,
the governor, to an honorable rank in his service and friendship. But
the impregnable fortress of Thilutha could scorn the menace of a
siege; and the emperor was obliged to content himself with an insulting
promise, that, when he had subdued the interior provinces of Persia,
Thilutha would no longer refuse to grace the triumph of the emperor. The
inhabitants of the open towns, unable to resist, and unwilling to
yield, fled with precipitation; and their houses, filled with spoil
and provisions, were occupied by the soldiers of Julian, who massacred,
without remorse and without punishment, some defenceless women. During
the march, the Surenas, [49a] or Persian general, and Malek Rodosaces,
the renowned emir of the tribe of Gassan, [50] incessantly hovered
round the army; every straggler was intercepted; every detachment was
attacked; and the valiant Hormisdas escaped with some difficulty from
their hands. But the Barbarians were finally repulsed; the country
became every day less favorable to the operations of cavalry; and when
the Romans arrived at Macepracta, they perceived the ruins of the wall,
which had been constructed by the ancient kings of Assyria, to secure
their dominions from the incursions of the Medes. These preliminaries of
the expedition of Julian appear to have employed about fifteen days; and
we may compute near three hundred miles from the fortress of Circesium
to the wall of Macepracta. [1]

[Footnote 49: See Voyages de Tavernier, part i. l. iii. p. 316, and more
especially Viaggi di Pietro della Valle, tom. i. lett. xvii. p. 671,
&c. He was ignorant of the old name and condition of Annah. Our blind
travellers seldom possess any previous knowledge of the countries which
they visit. Shaw and To