uilt originally
to fence in one of the royal parks, could be seen the dense masses
of the enemy's-horse and foot, stretching away to right and left, the
former encased in glittering armor, the latter protected by huge
wattled shields. Behind these troops were discernible the vast forms
of elephants, looking (says the historian) like moving mountains, and
regarded by the legionaries with extreme dread. Julian felt that he
could not ask his army to cross the stream openly in the face of a foe
thus advantageously posted. He therefore waited the approach of night.
When darkness had closed in, he made his dispositions; divided his
fleet into portions; embarked a number of his troops; and, despite
the dissuasions of his officers, gave the signal for the passage to
commence. Five ships, each of them conveying eighty soldiers, led the
way, and reached the opposite shore without accident. Here, however,
the enemy received them with a sharp fire of burning darts, and the two
foremost were soon in flames. At the ominous sight the rest of the fleet
wavered, and might have refused to proceed further, had not Julian, with
admirable presence of mind, exclaimed aloud--"Our men have crossed and
are masters of the bank--that fire is the signal which I bade them make
if they were victorious." Thus encouraged, the crews plied their oars
with vigor, and impelled the remaining vessels rapidly across the
stream. At the same time, some of the soldiers who had not been put on
board, impatient to assist their comrades, plunged into the stream, and
swam across supported by their shields. Though a stout resistance
was offered by the Persians, it was found impossible to withstand the
impetuosity of the Roman attack. Not only were the half-burned vessels
saved, the flames extinguished, and the men on board rescued from their
perilous position, but everywhere the Roman troops made good their
landing, fought their way up the bank against a storm of missile
weapons, and drew up in good order upon its summit. A pause probably now
occurred, as the armies could not see each other in the darkness; but,
at dawn of day, Julian, having made a fresh arrangement of his troops,
led them against the dense array of the enemy, and engaged in a
hand-to-hand combat, which lasted from morning to midday, when it was
terminated by the flight of the Persians. Their leaders, Tigranes,
Narseus, and the Surena, are said to have been the first to quit the
field and take refug