hostilities.  Some negotiations, which are not very clearly narrated, followed.  Both sides, apparently, had determined on war, but both wished to gain time.  It is uncertain what would have been the result had Constantine lived.  But the death of that monarch in the early summer of A.D. 337, on his way to the eastern frontier, dispelled the last chance of peace by relieving Sapor from the wholesome fear which had hitherto restrained his ambition.  The military fame of Constantine was great, and naturally inspired respect; his power was firmly fixed, and he was without competitor or rival.  By his removal the whole face of affairs was changed; and Sapor, who had almost brought himself to venture on a rupture with Rome during Constantine’s life, no longer hesitated on receiving news of his death, but at once commenced hostilities.

It is probable that among the motives which determined the somewhat wavering conduct of Sapor at this juncture was a reasonable fear of the internal troubles which it seemed to be in the power of the Romans to excite among the Persians, if from friends they became enemies.  Having tested his own military capacity in his Arab wars, and formed an army on whose courage, endurance, and attachment he could rely, he was not afraid of measuring his strength with that of Rome in the open field; but he may well have dreaded the arts which the Imperial State was in the habit of employing, to supplement her military shortcomings, in wars with her neighbors.  There was now at the court of Constantinople a Persian refugee of such rank and importance that Constantine had, as it were, a pretender ready made to his hand, and could reckon on creating dissension among the Persians whenever he pleased, by simply proclaiming himself this person’s ally and patron.  Prince Hormisdas, the elder brother of Sapor, and rightful king of Persia, had, after a long imprisonment, contrived, by the help of his wife, to escape from his dungeon, and had fled to the court of Constantine as early as A.D. 323.  He had been received by the emperor with every mark of honor and distinction, had been given a maintenance suited to his rank, and had enjoyed other favors.  Sapor must have felt himself deeply aggrieved by the undue attention paid to his rival; and though he pretended to make light of the matter, and even generously sent Hormisdas the wife to whom his escape was due, he cannot but have been uneasy at the possession, by the Roman emperor, of his brother’s person.  In weighing the reasons for and against war he cannot but have assigned considerable importance to this circumstance.  It did not ultimately prevent him from challenging Rome to the combat; but it may help to account for the hesitation, the delay, and the fluctuations of purpose, which we remark in his conduct during the four or five years which immediately preceded the death of Constantine.

CHAPTER VIII.

Position of Affairs on the Death of Constantine.  First War of Sapor with Rome, A.D. 337-350.  First Siege of Nisibis.  Obscure Interval.  Troubles in Armenia, and Recovery of Armenia by the Persians.  Sapor’s Second Siege of Nisibis.  Its Failure.  Great Battle of Singara.  Sapor’s Son made Prisoner and murdered in cold blood.  Third Siege of Nisibis.  Sapor called away by an Invasion of the Massagatae.