120,000 men
93-491: Ammianus Marcellinus , occasionally anglicised as Ammian ( Greek : Αμμιανός Μαρκελλίνος; born c. 330 , died c. 391 – 400), was a Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquity (preceding Procopius ). Written in Latin and known as the Res gestae , his work chronicled the history of Rome from
186-399: A Greek" ( miles quondam et graecus ), and his enrollment among the elite protectores domestici (household guards) shows that he was of middle class or higher birth. Consensus is that Ammianus probably came from a curial family , but it is also possible that he was the son of a comes Orientis of the same family name. He entered the army at an early age, when Constantius II was emperor of
279-485: A crossing was abandoned, the march was not resumed. The spirit of the army was broken, its provisions were four days from giving out, and the verges of Corduene a hundred miles further north as yet. At this juncture, the emissaries of Shapur II arrived in the Roman camp. According to Gibbon, Shapur was actuated by his fears of the "resistance of despair" on the part of the entrapped Roman enemy, who had come so near to toppling
372-481: A gold crown. He refused to pay the traditional tribute in return; though he later requested their envoys to join him. The army followed the Euphrates downstream to the border city of Circesium and crossed the river Aboras (Khabur) with the help of a pontoon bridge constructed for the purpose. Once over the border, Julian invigorated the soldiers' ardor with a fiery oration, representing his hopes and reasons for
465-604: A large army, but without revealing its purpose; he sent Lucillianus to Samosata in the upper Euphrates valley to build a fleet of river ships. These preparations are thought by scholars to have suggested to Shapur that an invasion from the north, by way of the Tigris valley, was Julian's plan. Julian had wintered at Antioch in Roman Syria . On 5 March 363, he set out north-east with his army by way of Beroea ( Aleppo ) and Hierapolis ( Manbij ), where fifty soldiers were killed when
558-453: A large train of siege engines and offensive weapons, and he was supplied by an active fleet that possessed the undisputed navigation of the river, the Romans appear to have been at some difficulty in putting Ctesiphon to the siege. Although it had fallen on several previous occasions to the Romans, the city was better fortified than in the second century. Confronted with the difficulty to capture
651-461: A night march in an attempt to catch the Romans at Amida unprepared. After a protracted cavalry battle, the Romans were scattered; Ursicinus evaded capture and fled to Melitene, while Ammianus made a difficult journey back to Amida with a wounded comrade. The Persians besieged and eventually sacked Amida, and Ammianus barely escaped with his life. When Ursicinus was dismissed from his military post by Constantius, Ammianus too seems to have retired from
744-412: A portico collapsed while they were marching under it. The whole army mustered there, crossed the middle Euphrates and proceeded to Carrhae ( Harran ), the site of the famous battle in which the Roman general Crassus was defeated and killed in 53 BC. "From there two different royal highways lead to Persia," writes the eyewitness Ammianus Marcellinus : "the one on the left through Adiabene and across
837-483: A predominantly English-speaking place, though bilingualism was still common. This created a divided linguistic geography, as the people of the countryside continued to use forms of Norman French , and many did not even know English. English became seen in the Channel Islands as "the language of commercial success and moral and intellectual achievement". The growth of English and the decline of French brought about
930-403: A successful ruler with one who has been in exile for decades is an "incomprehensible" aim. Julian asked several major oracles about the outcome of his expedition. Julian's praetorian prefect of Gaul, Sallustius , wrote advising him to abandon his plan, and numerous adverse omens were reported; at the urging of other advisers he went ahead. He instructed Arshak II of Armenia to prepare
1023-467: The British government , and it was suggested that anglicisation would not only encourage loyalty and congeniality between the Channel Islands and Britain, but also provide economic prosperity and improved "general happiness". During the 19th century, there was concern over the practise of sending young Channel Islanders to France for education, as they might have brought back French culture and viewpoints back to
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#17329479578471116-866: The Danish city København ( Copenhagen ), the Russian city of Moskva ( Moscow ), the Swedish city of Göteborg ( Gothenburg ), the Dutch city of Den Haag ( The Hague ), the Spanish city of Sevilla ( Seville ), the Egyptian city of Al-Qāhira ( Cairo ), and the Italian city of Firenze ( Florence ). The Indian city of Kolkata used to be anglicised as Calcutta , until the city chose to change its official name back to Kolkata in 2001. Anglicisation of words and names from indigenous languages occurred across
1209-601: The English-speaking world in former parts of the British Empire . Toponyms in particular have been affected by this process. In the past, the names of people from other language areas were anglicised to a higher extent than today. This was the general rule for names of Latin or (classical) Greek origin. Today, the anglicised name forms are often retained for the more well-known persons, like Aristotle for Aristoteles, and Adrian (or later Hadrian ) for Hadrianus. During
1302-675: The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands . Until the 19th century, most significant period for anglicisation in those regions was the High Middle Ages . Between 1000 and 1300, the British Isles became increasingly anglicised. Firstly, the ruling classes of England, who were of Norman origin after the Norman Conquest of 1066, became anglicised as their separate Norman identity, different from
1395-417: The Res gestae . The precise year of his death is unknown, but scholarly consensus places it somewhere between 392 and 400 at the latest. Modern scholarship generally describes Ammianus as a pagan who was tolerant of Christianity. Marcellinus writes of Christianity as being a "plain and simple" religion that demands only what is just and mild, and when he condemns the actions of Christians, he does not do so on
1488-565: The Sasanian Empire , since such victory would have been proof of the support of the Roman gods. Among the leaders of the expedition was Hormizd , a brother of Shapur II, who had fled from the Persian Empire forty years earlier and had been welcomed by the then Roman emperor Constantine I . Julian is said to have intended to place Hormizd on the Persian throne in place of Shapur, but replacing
1581-521: The Scottish people . In Wales , however, the Welsh language has continued to be spoken by a large part of the country's population due to language revival measures aimed at countering historical anglicisation measures such as the Welsh not . In the early parts of the 19th century, mostly due to increased immigration from the rest of the British Isles, the town of St Helier in the Channel Islands became
1674-565: The United Kingdom ; or linguistic , in which a non-English term or name is altered due to the cultural influence of the English language. It can also refer to the influence of English soft power , which includes media, cuisine, popular culture, technology, business practices, laws and political systems. Anglicisation first occurred in the British Isles , when Celts under the sovereignty of
1767-456: The Welsh educational system . English "was perceived as the language of progress, equality, prosperity, mass entertainment and pleasure". This and other administrative reforms resulted in the institutional and cultural dominance of English and marginalisation of Welsh, especially in the more urban south and north-east of Wales. In 2022, the Commission for Welsh-speaking Communities warned that
1860-727: The conquest of Wales by Edward I , which involved English and Flemish settlers being "planted" in various newly established settlements in Welsh territory. English settlers in Ireland mostly resided in the Pale , a small area concentrated around Dublin . However, much of the land the English settled was not intensively used or densely populated. The culture of settling English populations in Wales and Ireland remained heavy influenced by that of England. These communities were also socially and culturally segregated from
1953-533: The folly by observing that Julian expected a plentiful supply from the harvests of the fertile territory by which he was to march, and, with regard to the fleet, that it was not navigable up the river, and must be taken by the Persians if abandoned intact. Meanwhile, if he retreated northward with the entire army immediately, his already considerable achievements would be undone, and his prestige irreparably damaged, as one who had obtained success by stratagem and fled upon
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#17329479578472046-555: The king of England underwent a process of anglicisation. The Celtic language decline in England was mostly complete by 1000 AD, but continued in Cornwall and other regions until the 18th century. In Scotland , the decline of Scottish Gaelic began during the reign of Malcolm III of Scotland to the point where by the mid-14th century the Scots language was the dominant national language among
2139-586: The 380s, Ammianus wrote a Latin history of the Roman empire from the accession of Nerva (96) to the death of Valens at the Battle of Adrianople (378), in effect writing a continuation of the history of Tacitus . At 22.16.12 he praises the Serapeum of Alexandria in Egypt as the glory of the empire, so his work was presumably completed before the destruction of that building in 391. The Res gestae ( Rerum gestarum libri XXXI )
2232-487: The Domestic Guard, distinguished primarily for a merry heart and sociable disposition. His first command subscribed the continuation of a prompt retreat. During four further days the march was directed up the river towards Corduene and the safety of the frontier, where supplies sufficient for the famished army were expected to be obtained. The Persians, revived by the intelligence of their conqueror's demise, fell twice on
2325-630: The East, and was sent to serve under Ursicinus , governor of Nisibis in Mesopotamia , and magister militum . Ammianus campaigned in the East twice under Ursicinus. He travelled with Ursicinus to Italy in an expedition against Silvanus , an officer who had proclaimed himself emperor in Gaul . Ursicinus ended the threat by having Silvanus assassinated, then stayed in the region to help install Julian as Caesar of Gaul, Spain and Britain. Ammianus probably met Julian for
2418-506: The Euphrates without opposition, while the group in Armenia was supposed to join up with Julian in Assyria. Many modern scholars have praised the choice of routes, rapid movements, and deception, while some consider the plan to be inadequate with regard to supply, communication, climate consideration, and the difficulty of crossing between Euphrates and Tigris near Naarmalcha . Julian himself, with
2511-591: The Islands. The upper class in the Channel Islands supported anglicising the Islands, due to the social and economic benefits it would bring. Anglophiles such as John Le Couteur strove to introduce English culture to Jersey . Anglicisation was an essential element in the development of British society and of the development of a unified British polity. Within the British Isles , anglicisation can be defined as influence of English culture in Scotland , Wales , Ireland ,
2604-460: The Jews. Although very briefly under Julian , Paganism appeared to be experiencing a revival, with the restoration of numerous ancient temples and ceremonies which had fallen into decay, the revival collapsed very soon upon his death due to an intense Christian backlash. Over the succeeding years, paganism declined further and further, and an increasing portion of the subjects of Rome, especially in
2697-421: The Persians in their repulse on the main sector of the front but in a profound sense the battle was disastrous to the Roman cause; at best, a momentary reprieve was purchased by the loss of the stay of the army of the east and the genius of the Persian war. Within a few hours of Julian's death, his generals gathered under the necessity of determining a successor. Exigency settled on Jovian , an obscure general of
2790-526: The Romans' extended columns in the retreat; at Maranga a sharp skirmish developed into a battle; the Sasanians were repulsed, and Julian's army retired to rest in the hills south of Samarra , on July 25, 363. The next day, 26 July, the advance resumed over the sloping hills and valleys in the arid wastelands south of modern Samarra. The heat of the day had already impelled Julian to divest himself of his helmet and protecting armor, when an alarm reached him from
2883-460: The Sassanian throne: conscious of the folly of refusing a peaceful but honorable settlement, obtainable at such an advantage, the Persian prudently extended the offer of peace. Meanwhile, Jovian 's supplies and expedients were depleted, and in his overwhelming joy at the prospect of saving his army, his fortunes, and the empire which he later gained, he was willing to overlook the excessive harshness of
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2976-526: The Tigris; the one on the right through Assyria and across the Euphrates." Julian made use of both. He sent a detachment, which ancient sources variously estimated between 16,000 and 30,000 in strength, under Procopius and Sebastianus towards the Tigris where they were to join Arshak and his Armenian army. They were then to attack the Persians from the north. Thus, by tying Shapur down in northern Mesopotamia , Julian would have been able to quickly advance down
3069-419: The Welsh people did not move abroad in search of employment during the early modern era, and thus did not have to learn to speak English. Furthermore, migration patterns created a cultural division of labour, with national migrants tending to work in coalfields or remain in rural villages, while non-national migrants were attracted to coastal towns and cities. This preserved monocultural Welsh communities, ensuring
3162-564: The accession of the Emperor Nerva in 96 to the death of Valens at the Battle of Adrianople in 378. Only the sections covering the period 353 to 378 survive. Ammianus was born in the East Mediterranean, possibly in Syria or Phoenicia , around 330, into a noble family of Greek origin. Since he calls himself Graecus ( lit. Greek), he was most likely born in a Greek-speaking area of
3255-464: The adoption of more values and social structures from Victorian era England. Eventually, this led to the Channel Islands's culture becoming mostly anglicised, which supplanted the traditional Norman-based culture of the Islands. From 1912, the educational system of the Channel Islands was delivered solely in English, following the norms of the English educational system . Anglicisation was supported by
3348-401: The advance of the main Roman army along the Euphrates. Modern scholars have noted this avoidance of a full-scale field battle and letting the main Roman army advance deep into Assyria. After destroying the private residence, palaces, gardens and extensive menagerie of the Persian monarchy north of Ctesiphon, and securing his position by improvised fortifications, Julian turned his attention to
3441-523: The anglicisation of the Welsh culture and language. Motives for anglicising Wales included securing Protestant England against incursions from Catholic powers in Continental Europe and promoting the power of the Welsh Tudor dynasty in the rest of England. Scholars have argued that industrialisation prevented Wales from being anglicised to the extent of Ireland and Scotland, as the majority of
3534-483: The army had preserved only 20 days' provisions from the ruin of the fleet, they soon faced the threat of starvation. This together with summer heat prompted the Romans not to advance further and instead seek a route towards the Tigris and follow it upstream to the region Corduena . At this stage, Shapur II 's army appeared and began to engage Julian's army by ceaseless skirmishing. The Sasanian cavalry repeatedly assailed
3627-407: The army of Procopius under the walls of Thilasapha . From here the exhausted legions retired to Nisibis , where their sorry state of deprivation was finally brought to an end. The Army had not rested long under the walls of Nisibis , when the deputies of Shapur arrived, demanding the surrender of the city in accordance with the treaty. Notwithstanding the entreaties of the populace, and those of
3720-405: The army of Shapur before the latter should join with the already numerous garrison of Ctesiphon to besiege the camp of the besiegers. More inexplicable is the burning of the fleet, and most of the provisions, which had been transported the whole course of the Euphrates with such monumental cost. Although ancient and modern historians have censured the rashness of the deed, Edward Gibbon palliates
3813-464: The basis of their Christianity as such. His lifetime was marked by lengthy outbreaks of sectarian and dogmatic strife within the new state-backed faith, often with violent consequences (especially the Arian controversy ) and these conflicts sometimes appeared unworthy to him, though it was territory where he could not risk going very far in criticism, due to the growing and volatile political connections between
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3906-466: The characteristic sequence of earthquake, retreat of the sea, and sudden incoming giant wave. Anglicisation Anglicisation or Anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England . It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English or place adopts the English language or culture; institutional, in which institutions are influenced by those of England or
3999-464: The church and imperial power. Ammianus was not blind to the faults of Christians or of pagans and was especially critical of them; he commented that "no wild beasts are so hostile to men as Christian sects in general are to one another" and he condemns the emperor Julian for excessive attachment to (pagan) sacrifice, and for his edict effectively barring Christians from teaching posts. While living in Rome in
4092-522: The cities, passed to the profession of Christianity. Under the reign of Gratian and Theodosius , less than thirty years from the Apostate 's death, the practice of pagan ceremonies was formally banned by imperial decree, and the risible relic of ancient paganism passed into illegality. Without assistance from Rome, Armenia was invaded and conquered by Shapur II . Arshak II of Armenia, Julian 's ally, maintained resistance for up to four years longer, but
4185-549: The city itself. The twin cities of Ctesiphon and Seleucia (rebuilt as Veh-Ardashir ) lay before Julian to the south. In order to invest the place on both sides, Julian first dug a canal between the Euphrates and Tigris , allowing his fleet to enter the latter river, and by this means ferried his army to the further bank. A large Persian army had assembled in Ctesiphon, which was the appointed place of rendezvous for Shapur's army at
4278-467: The city, Julian called a council of war, at which it was decided not to besiege the city and march into Persia's interior instead —a turning point of the campaign. Apparently, it met with resistance within the army. The reasons for this decision are uncertain; according to Ammianus, it was due to the fear of a two-front war, since Shapur II's army was apparently nearby. According to Libanios, Shapur II sent an emissary to Julian, who refused it. After abandoning
4371-534: The city, instead burning the Roman fleet of supplies and leading a march into Persia's interior. Shapur II's army, however, took lengths to avoid a full-scale battle and used a scorched earth strategy; as a result, Julian's army soon faced supply problems and had to retreat to the north. Shapur II's army pursued the retreating Romans, ceaselessly harassing the retreat through skirmishes. Julian died of wounds from one of these skirmishes and his successor, Jovian , agreed to surrender under unfavorable terms in order to save
4464-519: The continued prominence of the Welsh language and customs within them. However, other scholars argue that industrialisation and urbanisation led to economic decline in rural Wales, and given that the country's large towns and cities were anglicised, this led to an overall anglicisation of the nation. The Elementary Education Act 1870 and the Welsh Intermediate Education Act 1889 introduced compulsory English-language education into
4557-412: The defense. The light infantry under his command overthrew the massive troops of Persian heavy cavalry and elephants, and Julian, by the admission of the most hostile authorities, proved his courage in the conduct of the attack. But he had plunged into the fray still unarmored, due to the desperateness of the situation, and fell stricken from a Persian dart even as the enemy fell back. The emperor toppled to
4650-563: The east. The two did not get along, resulting in a lack of cooperation between the Limitanei (border regiments) of Mesopotamia and Osrhoene under Ursicinus' command and the comitatus (field army) of Sabinianus. While on a mission near Nisibis, Ammianus spotted a Persian patrol which was about to try and capture Ursicinus, and warned his commander in time. In an attempt to locate the Persian Royal Army, Ursicinus sent Ammianus to Jovinianus,
4743-544: The emigration of Anglophones to Welsh-speaking villages and towns was putting the Welsh language at risk. During the 19th and 20th centuries, there was a nationwide effort in the United States to anglicise all immigrants to the US . This was carried out through methods including (but not limited to) mandating the teaching of American English and having all immigrants change their first names to English-sounding names. This movement
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#17329479578474836-598: The empire. His native language was Greek but he also knew Latin. The surviving books of his history cover the years 353 to 378. Ammianus began his career as a military officer in the Praetorian Guard , where he gained firsthand experience in various military campaigns. He served as an officer in the army of the emperors Constantius II and Julian . He served in Gaul (Julian) and in the east (twice for Constantius, once under Julian). He professes to have been "a former soldier and
4929-473: The experience of the soldiers but at the cost of ignoring the bigger picture. As a result, it is difficult for the reader to understand why the battles he describes had the outcome they did. Ammianus' work contains a detailed description of the earthquake and tsunami of 365 in Alexandria , which devastated the metropolis and the shores of the eastern Mediterranean on 21 July 365. His report describes accurately
5022-477: The first time while serving on Ursicinus' staff in Gaul. In 359, Constantius sent Ursicinus back to the east to help in the defence against a Persian invasion led by king Shapur II himself. Ammianus returned with his commander to the East and again served Ursicinus as a staff officer. Ursicinus, although he was the more experienced commander, was placed under the command of Sabinianus, the Magister Peditum of
5115-476: The ground off his horse and was borne in an unconscious state from the field of battle. That midnight Julian died in his tent; " Having received from the Deity ", in his own words to the assembled officers, " in the midst of an honorable career, a splendid and glorious departure from the world. " The battle, which ended indecisively, raged until night-time. The emperor's death was offset by the heavy losses sustained by
5208-514: The history of his own times without indulging the prejudices and passions which usually affect the mind of a contemporary." But he also condemned Ammianus for lack of literary flair: "The coarse and undistinguishing pencil of Ammianus has delineated his bloody figures with tedious and disgusting accuracy." Austrian historian Ernst Stein praised Ammianus as "the greatest literary genius that the world produced between Tacitus and Dante ". According to Kimberly Kagan , his accounts of battles emphasize
5301-403: The identity of the native Anglo-Saxons , became replaced with a single English national identity . Secondly, English communities in Wales and Ireland emphasised their English identities, which became established through the settlement of various parts of Wales and Ireland between the 11th and 17th centuries under the guidance of successive English kings. In Wales, this primarily occurred during
5394-481: The indisputably most consequential act of Jovian 's short reign was the abolition of laws against Christianity . From Antioch he issued decrees immediately repealing the hostile edicts of Julian , which forbade the Christians from the teaching of secular studies, and unofficially banned them from employment in the administration of the state. The exemption of the clergy from taxes and the discharge of civil obligations
5487-469: The larger part of his army of 65,000, of which it is unclear whether that was before or after Procopius' departure, turned south along the Balikh River towards the lower Euphrates, reaching Callinicum ( al-Raqqah ) on 27 March and meeting the fleet of 1,100 supply vessels and 50 armed galleys under the command of Lucillianus. There he was met by leaders of the "Saraceni" (Arab nomads), who offered Julian
5580-454: The largest city of Mesopotamia after Ctesiphon. The city was surrendered after two or three days and was destroyed. Julian used the nearby Naarmalcha (the Royal Canal), which was the most direct route, to transfer the fleet from the Euphrates to Tigris. The army moved southeast with great difficulties and losses. Worse still, the Persians flooded the land by destroying the dams and diverting
5673-514: The latter is now flooded by the Haditha Dam), since both of them were difficult to capture. A part of the army crossed over at Baraxmalcha. Then they reached Diacira ( Hit ) and then Ozogardana/Zaragardia, both of which were abandoned and Julian destroyed them. Then the Romans met a Sasanian detachment for the first time and defeated it. After Macepracta/Besechana, which was reached by a march of two weeks, Julian's army besieged Pirisabora ( Anbar ),
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#17329479578475766-528: The loss of the first thirteen books, the remaining eighteen are in many places corrupt and lacunose . The sole surviving manuscript from which almost every other is derived is a ninth-century Carolingian text, Vatican lat. 1873 ( V ), produced in Fulda from an insular exemplar. The only independent textual source for Ammianus lies in Fragmenta Marbugensia ( M ), another ninth-century Frankish codex which
5859-556: The military; however, reevaluation of his participation in Julian's Persian campaign has led modern scholarship to suggest that he continued his service but did not for some reason include the period in his history. He accompanied Julian, for whom he expresses enthusiastic admiration, in his campaigns against the Alamanni and the Sassanids . After Julian's death, Ammianus accompanied the retreat of
5952-678: The native Irish and Welsh, a distinction which was reinforced by government legislation such as the Statutes of Kilkenny . During the Middle Ages , Wales was gradually conquered by the English. The institutional anglicisation of Wales was finalised with the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 , which fully incorporated Wales into the Kingdom of England . This not only institutionally anglicised Wales, but brought about
6045-511: The new emperor, Jovian , as far as Antioch. He was residing in Antioch in 372 when a certain Theodorus was thought to have been identified the successor to the emperor Valens by divination. Speaking as an alleged eyewitness, Marcellinus recounts how Theodorus and several others were made to confess their deceit through the use of torture, and cruelly punished. He eventually settled in Rome and began
6138-475: The north. Meanwhile, his main army and a large fleet, facing little opposition, advanced rapidly down the Euphrates , destroying several well-fortified cities along the way. The ships then reached the walls of Ctesiphon, where a large Sasanian force had assembled in its defense. The Romans won a victory outside the city, but the northern army failed to arrive, and the fortified capital seemed impregnable. Due to these complications, Julian did not attempt to besiege
6231-552: The outset of the campaign; this was arrayed along the eastern bank in strong defensive positions, and it required the advantages of night-time and surprise, and subsequently a prolonged struggle on the escarpment, reportedly lasting twelve hours, to gain the passage of the river. But in the contest victory lay ultimately with the Romans, and the Persians were driven back within the city walls after sustaining losses of twenty-five hundred men; Julian's casualties are given at no more than 70. Though Julian had brought with him through Assyria
6324-507: The poor text of the 1474 edition; the 1474 edition was pirated for the first Froben edition (Basle, 1518). It was not until 1533 that the last five books of Ammianus' history were put into print by Silvanus Otmar and edited by Mariangelus Accursius . The first modern edition was produced by C.U. Clark (Berlin, 1910–1913). The first English translations were by Philemon Holland in 1609, and later by C.D. Yonge in 1862. Edward Gibbon judged Ammianus "an accurate and faithful guide, who composed
6417-489: The rear of the column that the army was again under assault. Before the attack could be repelled, a warning from the vanguard revealed that the army was surrounded in an ambush, the Persians having stolen a march to occupy the Roman route ahead. While the army struggled to form up so as to meet the manifold threats from every side, a charge of elephants and cavalry rattled the Roman line on the left, and Julian, to prevent its imminent collapse, led his reserves in-person to shore up
6510-408: The rear of the retreat, and on the camp, one party penetrating to the imperial tent before being cut off and destroyed at Jovian's feet. At Dura on the fourth day the army came to a halt, deluded with the vain hope of bridging the river with makeshift contraptions of timber and animal hide. In two days, after some initial appearance of success, the futility of the endeavor was proved; but while hope of
6603-470: The rearguard were under Dagalaifus , while the scouts were led by Lucilianus , the veteran of Nisibis . A detachment was left to hold the fortress of Circesium, as several of the fickle Arabian tribes near the border were allied with Persia. Julian then penetrated rapidly into Assyria. Similarly to the concentration of Egypt 's population on the Nile was the main part of the population of Assyria located in
6696-516: The remainder of the territories ceded to Shapur, as also the gossip and calumnies of the Roman people, Jovian conformed to his oath; the depopulated were resettled in Amida , funds for the restoration of which were granted lavishly by the emperor. From Nisibis Jovian proceeded to Antioch , where the insults of the citizenry at his cowardice soon drove the disgusted emperor to seek a more hospitable place of abode. Notwithstanding widespread disaffection at
6789-513: The remnants of his demoralized and exhausted army from annihilation. The Treaty of 363 transferred multiple regions and frontier fortresses, including Nisibis and Singara . In addition to territorial concessions, Rome renounced its alliance with Armenia, giving Shapur II the opportunity to invade and annex it. The military and political aims of the campaign are uncertain, and they are also disputed by both ancient and modern sources and historians. According to Ammianus Marcellinus , Julian's aim
6882-471: The resurgence of the foe. There were therefore no negligible reasons for his abandonment of the siege, the fleet, and the safe familiarity of the river bank. After spending several days outside Ctesiphon, Julian directed his army toward the inner regions of Persia east of Ctesiphon. Shapur II's army avoided being dragged into battle while following a scorched earth policy by firing houses, provisions, crops and farmland wherever Julian's march approached; since
6975-459: The semi-independent governor of Corduene , and a friend of Ursicinus. Ammianus successfully located the Persian main body and reported his findings to Ursicinus. After his mission in Corduene, Ammianus left the headquarters at Amida in the retinue of Ursinicus, who was on a mission to make sure the bridges across the Euphrates were demolished. They were attacked by the Persian vanguard, who had made
7068-543: The shameful accommodation which he had made, the Roman world accepted his sovereignty; the deputies of the western army met him at Tyana , on his way to Constantinople , where they rendered him homage. At Dadastana, on February 17, 364 A.D., Jovian died of unknown causes, after a reign of merely eight months. The death of Julian without naming a successor allowed the accession of the Christian Jovian, and thus destroyed Julian's ambitions of reestablishing Paganism, for
7161-419: The siege, Julian burned his fleet of provisions to avoid its fall into the Sasanians' hands, as Julian's army now had to move upstream the river. Another theory is that Julian was deceived by Sasanian deserters. Julian was possibly still hoping to join up with the reinforcements from Armenia and then defeat Shapur II's army in a regular battle. It is possible the intention was justified by the hope of destroying
7254-654: The terms, and subscribe his signature to the Imperial disgrace along with the demands of Shapur II . The articles of the treaty, known to history as the treaty of Dura , stipulated the cession of Nisibis , Corduene , the four further provinces east of the Tigris which Diocletian had wrested from Persia by the Treaty of Nisibis ; the Roman interest in Armenia and Iberia , as well as guaranteeing an inviolable truce of 30 years, to be warranted by mutual exchange of hostages. The frontier
7347-478: The throne. When Pap was discovered in secret correspondence with Shapur, Valens attempted to have him executed. After multiple unsuccessful attempts, he had Pap assassinated at a banquet given by the Roman officer Traianus . At the death of Shapur in 379 AD, the Persian throne passed to his brother, the moderate Ardeshir II , who sought peace. In 384, a formal treaty was signed between Theodosius I and Shapur III , son of Shapur II , which divided Armenia between
7440-452: The time in which there were large influxes of immigrants from Europe to the United States and United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries, the names of many immigrants were never changed by immigration officials but only by personal choice. Julian%27s Persian campaign Roman–Sasanian wars Byzantine–Sasanian Wars Julian's Persian expedition began in March 363 AD and
7533-506: The towns on the banks of the Euphrates , while the interior of the country was, for the most part, a desert wasteland. The first Persian settlement that was encountered was Anatha ( Anah ), which surrendered, but the Romans destroyed it. The army then moved past the Thilutha ( Telbis Island , now flooded by the Haditha Dam ) and Achaiachala (variously identified with Haditha or Bijân Island ,
7626-429: The war, and distributed a donative of 130 pieces of silver to each. The army was divided on the march into three principal divisions. The center under Victor , composed of the heavy infantry; the cavalry under Arintheus and Hormizd the renegade Persian on the left; the right, marching along the riverbank and maintaining contact with the fleet, consisting likewise of infantry, and commanded by Nevitta . The baggage and
7719-631: The water of the Naarmalcha canal after the Romans passed Phissenia. Julian's army then reaches Bithra. Arriving within a dozen miles of Ctesiphon , the fortified Maiozamalcha was besieged and taken after several days through mining operations. The city was destroyed and almost all inhabitants were killed. Through Meinas Sabatha, Julian marched towards the Seleucia–Ctesiphon metropolis ( Al-Mada'in ). Arshak II's preparations in Armenia might have deceived Shapur II, but he must have been soon informed of
7812-546: Was abandoned by his nobles, and eventually captured by Shapur. He died in captivity in Ecbatana in 371, reportedly by suicide. His queen Pharantzem , who retreated to the fortress of Artogerassa, was able to save her son Pap , before she too was captured with the fall of Artogerassa. The Christian population of Armenia rose in revolt against the Zoroastrian Sasanians , and, aided by the Roman emperor Valens , Pap took
7905-413: Was copied from M. As L. D. Reynolds summarizes, "M is thus a fragment of the archetype; symptoms of an insular pre-archetype are evident." His handling from his earliest printers was little better. The editio princeps was printed in 1474 in Rome by Georg Sachsel and Bartholomaeus Golsch, which broke off at the end of Book 26. The next edition (Bologna, 1517) suffered from its editor's conjectures upon
7998-399: Was in fact not impartial, although he expresses an intention to be so, and had strong moral and religious prejudices. Although criticised as lacking literary merit by his early biographers, he was in fact quite skilled in rhetoric, which significantly has brought the veracity of some of the Res gestae into question. His work has suffered substantially from manuscript transmission. Aside from
8091-706: Was known as Americanization and is considered a subset of Anglicization due to English being the dominant language in the United States. Linguistic anglicisation is the practice of modifying foreign words, names, and phrases to make them easier to spell, pronounce or understand in English . The term commonly refers to the respelling of foreign words, often to a more drastic degree than that implied in, for example, romanisation . Non-English words may be anglicised by changing their form and/or pronunciation to something more familiar to English speakers. Some foreign place names are commonly anglicised in English. Examples include
8184-403: Was originally composed of thirty-one books, but the first thirteen have been lost. The surviving eighteen books, covering the period from 353 to 378, constitute the foundation of modern understanding of the history of the fourth century Roman Empire. They are lauded as a clear, comprehensive, and generally impartial account of events by a contemporary; like many ancient historians, however, Ammianus
8277-457: Was peeled back from the Khabur , and most of Roman Mesopotamia, along with the elaborate chain of defensive fortresses constructed by Diocletian, conceded to the enemy. The disgraced army, after succumbing to the abject necessity of its situation, was haughtily dismissed from his dominions by Shapur, and it was left to straggle across the desolate tracts of northern Mesopotamia, until at last it rejoined
8370-667: Was reinstated; their requirement to repair the pagan temples destroyed under Constantius II recalled; and the rebuilding of the Third Temple in Jerusalem was instantly brought to a halt. At the same time, while Jovian expressed the hope that all his subjects would embrace the Christian religion, he granted the rights of conscience to all of mankind, leaving the pagans free to worship in their temples (barring only certain rites which previously had been suppressed), and freedom from persecution to
8463-466: Was taken apart to provide covers for account-books during the fifteenth century. Only six leaves of M survive; however, before this manuscript was dismantled the Abbot of Hersfeld lent the manuscript to Sigismund Gelenius , who used it in preparing the text of the second Froben edition ( G ). The dates and relationship of V and M were long disputed until 1936 when R. P. Robinson demonstrated persuasively that V
8556-468: Was the final military campaign of the Roman emperor Julian . The Romans fought against the Sasanian Empire , ruled at the time by Shapur II . Aiming to capture the Sasanians' winter capital of Ctesiphon , Julian assembled a large army. In order to mislead the opponent and to carry out a pincer attack , he sent a detachment to join with his ally Arshak II of Arsacid Armenia to take the Tigris route from
8649-466: Was to enhance his fame as a general and to punish the Persians for their invasions of Rome's eastern provinces; for this reason, he refused Shapur's immediate offer of negotiations. Julian was a devout believer in the old Roman religion . Some modern authors note that he intended to accelerate and gain support for the pagan renovation of the Roman Empire and actions against the Christians after defeating
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