ould seem,
exceptionally mild, and the passes of the mountains were still open; but
it was to be expected that in a few weeks they would be closed by the
snow, which always falls heavily during some portion of the winter.
Heraclius, therefore, like Julian, having come within sight of
Ctesiphon, shrank from the idea of besieging it, and, content with
the punishment that he had inflicted on his enemy by wasting and
devastation, desisted from his expedition, and retraced his steps. In
his retreat he was more fortunate than his great predecessor. The defeat
which he had inflicted on the main army of the Persians paralyzed their
energies, and it would seem that his return march was unmolested. He
reached Siazurus (_Shehrizur_) early in February, Barzan (_Berozeh_)
probably on the 1st of March,176 and on the 11th of March Canzaca, where
he remained during the rest of the winter.

Chosroes had escaped a great danger, but he had incurred a terrible
disgrace. He had fled before his adversary without venturing to give
him battle. He had seen palace after palace destroyed, and had lost
the magnificent residence where he had held his court for the last
four-and-twenty years. The Romans had recovered 300 standards, trophies
gained in the numerous victories of his early years. They had shown
themselves able to penetrate into the heart of his empire, and to retire
without suffering any loss. Still, had he possessed a moderate amount
of prudence, Chosroes might even now have surmounted the perils of
his position, and have terminated his reign in tranquillity, if not
in glory. Heraclius was anxious for peace, and willing to grant it on
reasonable conditions. He did not aim at conquests, and would have been
contented at any time with the restoration of Egypt, Syria, and Asia
Minor. The Persians generally were weary of the war, and would have
hailed with joy almost any terms of accommodation. But Chosroes was
obstinate; he did not know how to bear the frowns of fortune; the
disasters of the late campaign, instead of bending his spirit, had
simply exasperated him, and he vented upon his own subjects the
ill-humor which the successes of his enemies had provoked. Lending a
too ready ear to a whispered slander, he ordered the execution of
Shahr-Barz, and thus mortally offended that general, to whom the
despatch was communicated by the Romans. He imprisoned the officers
who had been defeated by, or had fled before Heraclius. Several other
tyr