stain from action; but on this occasion,
necessity and reason were more prevalent than superstition; and the
trumpets sounded at the break of day. The army marched through a hilly
country; and the hills had been secretly occupied by the Persians.
Julian led the van with the skill and attention of a consummate general;
he was alarmed by the intelligence that his rear was suddenly attacked.
The heat of the weather had tempted him to lay aside his cuirass; but
he snatched a shield from one of his attendants, and hastened, with a
sufficient reenforcement, to the relief of the rear-guard. A similar
danger recalled the intrepid prince to the defence of the front; and,
as he galloped through the columns, the centre of the left was attacked,
and almost overpowered by the furious charge of the Persian cavalry and
elephants. This huge body was soon defeated, by the well-timed evolution
of the light infantry, who aimed their weapons, with dexterity
and effect, against the backs of the horsemen, and the legs of the
elephants. The Barbarians fled; and Julian, who was foremost in every
danger, animated the pursuit with his voice and gestures. His trembling
guards, scattered and oppressed by the disorderly throng of friends and
enemies, reminded their fearless sovereign that he was without armor;
and conjured him to decline the fall of the impending ruin. As they
exclaimed, [93] a cloud of darts and arrows was discharged from the
flying squadrons; and a javelin, after razing the skin of his arm,
transpierced the ribs, and fixed in the inferior part of the liver.
Julian attempted to draw the deadly weapon from his side; but his
fingers were cut by the sharpness of the steel, and he fell senseless
from his horse. His guards flew to his relief; and the wounded emperor
was gently raised from the ground, and conveyed out of the tumult of the
battle into an adjacent tent. The report of the melancholy event passed
from rank to rank; but the grief of the Romans inspired them with
invincible valor, and the desire of revenge. The bloody and obstinate
conflict was maintained by the two armies, till they were separated by
the total darkness of the night. The Persians derived some honor
from the advantage which they obtained against the left wing, where
Anatolius, master of the offices, was slain, and the praefect Sallust
very narrowly escaped. But the event of the day was adverse to the
Barbarians. They abandoned the field; their two generals, Mera