The great king, they
said, having respect to the mutability of human affairs, was desirous
of dealing mercifully with the Romans, and would allow the escape of
the remnant which was left of their army, if the Caesar and his advisers
accepted the conditions that he required. These conditions would be
explained to any envoys whom Jovian might empower to discuss them with
the Persian plenipotentiaries. The Roman emperor and his council
gladly caught at the offer; and two officers of high rank, the general
Arinthseus and the prefect Sallust, were at once appointed to confer
with Sapor's envoys, and ascertain the terms on which peace would
be granted. They proved to be such as Roman pride felt to be almost
intolerable; and great efforts were made to induce Sapor to be content
with less. The negotiations lasted for four days; but the Persian
monarch was inexorable; each day diminished his adversary's strength and
bettered his own position; there was no reason why he should make any
concession at all; and he seems, in fact, to have yielded nothing of his
original demands, except points of such exceedingly slight moment that
to insist on them would have been folly.

The following were the terms of peace to which Jovian consented. First,
the five provinces east of the Tigris, which had been ceded to Rome by
Narses, the grandfather of Sapor, after his defeat by Galerius, were to
be given back to Persia, with their fortifications, their inhabitants,
and all that they contained of value. The Romans in the territory were,
however, to be allowed to withdraw and join their countrymen. Secondly,
three places in Eastern Mesopotamia, Nisibis, Singara, and a fort called
"the Camp of the Moors," were to be surrendered, but with the condition
that not only the Romans, but the inhabitants generally, might retire
ere the Persians took possession, and carry with them such of their
effects as were movable. The surrender of these places necessarily
involved that of the country which they commanded, and can scarcely
imply less than the withdrawal of Rome from any claim to dominion over
the region between the Tigris and the Khabour. Thirdly, all connection
between Armenia and Rome was to be broken off; Arsaces was to be left
to his own resources; and in any quarrel between him and Persia Rome
was precluded from lending him aid. On these conditions a peace
was concluded for thirty years; oaths to observe it faithfully were
interchanged; and hostag