view it continued to be his first wish to obtain
possession of Nisibis. Accordingly, having settled Armenian affairs to
his liking, he made, in A.D. 346, a second attack on the great city of
Northern Mesopotamia, again investing it with a large body of troops,
and this time pressing the siege during the space of nearly three
months. Again, however, the strength of the walls and the endurance of
the garrison baffled him. Sapor was once more obliged to withdraw from,
before the place, having suffered greater loss than those whom he had
assailed, and forfeited much of the prestige which he had acquired by
his many victories.

It was, perhaps, on account of the repulse from Nisibis, and in the hope
of recovering his lost laurels, that Sapor, in the next year but one,
A.D. 348, made an unusual effort. Calling out the entire military
force of the empire, and augmenting it by large bodies of allies and
mercenaries, the Persian king, towards the middle of summer, crossed
the Tigris by three bridges, and with a numerous and well-appointed army
invaded Central Mesopotamia, probably from Adiabene, or the region near
and a little south of Nineveh. Constantius, with the Roman army, was
posted on and about the Sinjax range of hills, in the vicinity of the
town of Singara, which is represented by the modern village of Sinjar.
The Roman emperor did not venture to dispute the passage of the river,
or to meet his adversary in the broad plain which, intervenes between
the Tigris and the mountain range, but clung to the skirts of the hills,
and commanded his troops to remain wholly on the defensive. Sapor was
thus enabled to choose his position, to establish a fortified camp at
a convenient distance from the enemy, and to occupy the hills in its
vicinity--some portion of the Sinjar range--with his archers. It is
uncertain whether, in making these dispositions, he was merely providing
for his own safety, or whether he was laying a trap into which he hoped
to entice the Roman army. Perhaps his mind was wide enough to embrace
both contingencies. At any rate, having thus established a _point
d'appui_ in his rear, he advanced boldly and challenged the legions
to an encounter. The challenge was at once accepted, and the battle
commenced about midday; but now the Persians, having just crossed swords
with the enemy, almost immediately began to give ground, and retreating
hastily drew their adversaries along, across the thirsty plain, to the
vicini