de
reconnaissances, accompanied by only one or two horsemen, and, under
the shelter of a flag of truce, explored the position of his adversary.
Narses found himself overmatched alike in art and in force. He allowed
himself to be surprised in his camp by his active enemy, and suffered a
defeat by which he more than lost all the fruits of his former victory.
Most of his army was destroyed; he himself received a wound, and with
difficulty escaped by a hasty flight. Galerius pursued, and, though he
did not succeed in taking the monarch himself, made prize of his
wives, his sisters, and a number of his children, besides capturing
his military chest. He also took many of the most illustrious Persians
prisoners. How far he followed his flying adversary is uncertain; but
it is scarcely probable that he proceeded much southward of the Armenian
frontier. He had to reinstate Tiridates in his dominions, to recover
Eastern Mesopotamia, and to lay his laurels at the feet of his colleague
and master. It seems probable that having driven Narses from Armenia,
and left Tiridates there to administer the government, he hastened to
rejoin Diocletian before attempting any further conquests.

The Persian monarch, on his side, having recovered from his wound, which
could have been but slight, set himself to collect another army, but at
the same time sent an ambassador to to the camp of Galerius, requesting
to know the terms on which Rome would consent to make peace. A writer
of good authority has left us an account of the interview which followed
between the envoy of the Persian monarch and the victorious Roman.
Apharban (so was the envoy named) opened the negotiations with the
following speech:

"The whole human race knows," he said, "that the Roman and Persian
kingdoms resemble two great luminaries, and that, like a man's two eyes,
they ought mutually to adorn and illustrate each other, and not in the
extremity of their wrath to seek rather each other's destruction. So
to act is not to act manfully, but is indicative rather of levity and
weakness; for it is to suppose that our inferiors can never be of any
service to us, and that therefore we had bettor get rid of them. Narses,
moreover, ought not to be accounted a weaker prince than other Persian
kings; thou hast indeed conquered him, but then thou surpassest all
other monarchs; and thus Narses has of course been worsted by thee,
though he is no whit inferior in merit to the best of his an