any important place, Azarethas, upon his return to court, was alfo difgraced. Belifarius, foon after, being recalled to oppose the Vandals, the Perfians had better fuccefs against the Romans; and their army, even in view of the enemy, laid fiege to Martyropolis, a place of the last importance to the Roman empire. Sittas the Roman general, defpairing of being able to raise the fiege by force, had recourfe to artifice, and fent a perfon in whom he could confide into the Perfian camp, who as a friend told the Perfian general that the Melaget, whom Cavades had hired to fall into the Roman territories, had accepted a fum of money from Juftinian, and were on the point of invading Perfia. On this intelligence, the Perfians confented to a truce with the Rmans, and the Maffageta, foon after, quitted the Roman territories. Cavades, who was oppreffed with years, died foon after, in the 30th year of his reign, reckoning from his reftoration, and in the 45th, or, according to fome, 43d, from the time of his first receiving the crown. Before his death he put his will, by which he appointed his youngest fon Cofroes his fucfucceffion ceffor, into the hands of Mebodes, his confident and minifter, to his charging him to fee it fully executed. Cavades leaves the youngest fon. Upon the death of Cavades, Cafes, his eldeft fon, took upon him the title of king; but Mebodes interpofed, and infifted that an affembly of the nobles was neceffary to recognize his title. An affembly was accordingly called, in which the will of the king was produced and read; and fuch a regard was paid by the nobility to his memory, that the claim of Caofes was fet Cofroes II. afide, and Cofroes declared monarch of Perfia (A). Cofroes, cr An. Chr. Khofrou, became famous throughout all the eaft under the name 931. of Noufchirvan, or the magnanimous. The Perfian word, taken literally, fignifies a foul candied in honey; and metaphorically, a mind equally diftinguished by fweetnefs of temper and great abilities. Noufchirvan, tho' the mildeft prince in the world, began his reign with an act of severity. He caused the impoftor Mazdek, whofe licentious doctrines had fuch a fatal tendency, to be feized and put to death; which ftruck fuch a terror into his followers, that they profeffed to abandon his doctrines; the king having laid them under the alternative of reftoring what they had wrongfully taken from others, or of fuffering capital punishment as thieves. (A) Crofes, the eldest fon, was a great favourer of the Manichees, who were held in abhorrence by the Perfians, and fuffered a violent perfecution during the reign of Cavades, from a fufpicion that they had formed a design of raifing Cafes to the throne during the life of his father. The apprehenfion that Carfes would attempt a change in the national religion, if ever he fhould come to the throne, probably prevailed with his father to deprive him of the fucceffion, and influenced the nobility to confirm his father's will. Cofroes, Cofroes, in the beginning of his reign, received an embassy from Juftinian, who was very defirous of concluding a peace with the Perfians. As Cofroes infifted upon receiving a large fum of money from the Romans, who, from time to time, had been constrained to pay fubfidies to the Perfians, for many years paft, Rufinus, who was at the head of the embafly, returned to Conftantinople for new inftructions. During his abfence, a report prevailing at the Perfian court that Juftinian had put Rufinus to death, Cofroes immediately marched towards the frontiers at the head of a powerful army; which ftruck such a terror into the Romans in thofe parts, that many of them deferted their habitations. Rufinus, however, arrived before the Perfians proceeded to hoftilities, and a treaty was foon after concluded. Cofroes, in the fecond year of his reign, divided all the Perfan dominions into four vizirfhips. The firft confifted of the frontier_provinces towards Tartary and India; the fecond included Parthia, Armenia, and the provinces bordering on the Cafpian fea; the third comprehended Perfia Proper, and all the provinces between it and the gulph; and the 4th was compofed of Mefopotamia, Chaldæa, and the countries conquered from the Arabs and the Greek emperors. fpiracy against 229 The Perfian nobles did not relifh the patriot defigns of Cofroes, A conwho they thought acted in too arbitrary a manner, which =feemed to leffen their dignity. They accordingly entered into a confpiracy to dethrone him, and to confer the crown on his him. = brother Zames, who was elder than he. As Zames was blind of an eye, he was by law incapacitated; but to elude the law, they refolved to proclaim his fon Cavades king, and to veft the regal authority in Zames, as his tutor. As Cofroes made it a rule The conto fpare no money to procure intelligence, he foon received full fpirators information of the confpiracy; upon which he caused all the put to confpirators to be feized and put to death. The young death. - Cavades alone escaped, being in a diftant province, under the tuition of the governor Adergudunbades, who received orders from court to put him to death. The wife of the who had nurfed Cavades, prevailed on her husband to fpare the governor, young prince. He eafily hearkned to her perfuafions, and intrufted none with the fecret but his eldest son and an old fervant. Some years after, when Cavades was capable of conducting himself, he received a fum of money from the governor, and retired to Conftantinople, where he was treated by the emperor Juftinian with all the respect due to his birth. Varrahames, the eldeft fon of Adergudunbades, about the fame time, betrayed his father, by disclosing the fecret to Cofroes, who caused Adergudunbades to be put to death, and conferred his government on his fon. As the treafon of the father, according to the Perfian maxims, did not prejudice the children, and moft of their governments were also hereditary in certain noble families, the children of governors thus became checks upon Q3 their He in vades the Remon territories. their fathers, and fometimes facrificed their parents to their ambition, or to their zeal for the public welfare. Cofroes, in the beginning of his reign, cultivated peace with the Romans, and by an embaffy, congratulated Juftinian upon the victories of Belifarius in Africa, claiming alfo, in a jocofe manner, fome of the fpoils of his enemies, fince, as he alleged, if the Perfians had not continued quiet, the emperor would not have had either forces or leifure to make conquefts in Africa. Juftinian not only entertained the Perfian ambaffadors with great kindness, but also fent a confiderable fum of money to Cofroes. This good correfpondence, however, was but of very fhort continuance; for the Saracens, foon after, making incurfions into the Roman territories, and Juftinian thereupon complaining to Cofroes, who was accused of supporting them, the Perfian king replied, that he had no right to complain, as he could prove by his own letters that he had endeavoured to excite both the Saracens and Huns to invade Perfia. Not long after, Vitiges king of the Goths, and the Arfacida, or Armenian princes, complaining of the ufurpations and oppreffions of the Roman emperor, Cofroes began to make preparations for a war with the Romans. Juftinian, who was informed of thefe preparations, wrote to him to divert him from violating the peace; but Cofroes, paying no regard to the emperor's letter, the following spring marched with a powerful army thro' Mefopotamia, and began hoftilities in Syria and Cilicia. To thofe who made any oppofition he used feverity, and those who readily fubmitted he treated with clemency; but upon all, however, he impofed heavy contributions. He offered to retire from before Antioch, if the inhabitants would pay him a large fum of money but the Antiochians, confiding in the ftrength of their fortifications, which had been newly repaired, and in their numerous garrifon, not only refufed his demand, but maltreated his meffengers; which fo irritated him, that he invefted the place, and, contrary to the rules of war, ftormed the city before the walls were at all battered. In this rafh and defperate attempt the Perfians, though they behaved with the greateft refolution and bravery, were beaten off with great laughter. In a fecond attack, the fcaling-ladders and machines, by which the Perfians mounted, were overturned by the Antiochians; but their fall over the craggy mountains made fuch a dreadful noife, that the garrifon imagined part of the walls of the city had fallen down, and in that apprehenfion opened the gates, and abandoned the place, with the utmost precipitation. Thofe on the walls alfo apprehending that the Perfians had gained admittance into the city, quitted their poft, and retired to the market-place. Cafroes Antioch. taking advantage of the confternation of the befieged, fcaled the walls, and, after a bloody conteft in the market-place, inflicted on the Antiochians all the feverities that could be expected from an incenfed enemy. While he continued at Antioch, ambafladors arrived from Juftinian, to expoftulate with him on his He takes breach breach of the peace, and to treat of an accommodation. Cof- The ambaffadors demurring a little upon this, Cofroes burnt Antisch the city of Antioch to the ground, and not long after concluded deftroyed. an advantageous peace. The eastern writers mention that he tranfported the inhabitants of Antioch to the province of Irak, and gave them the city of Mahouza near Babylon for their habitation, changing the name of the place to that of Antioch. Notwithstanding the peace he had concluded, he still continued hoftilities, and raised contributions upon the inhabitants of a great number of cities, which he flighted as foon as he had robbed them of their wealth. Towards the end of the campaign, however, he was obliged to raise the fiege of Dara, and foon after returned to his own territories. As he had now anfwered the ends he proposed in the war, he endeavoured to renew the negotiations for a peace, which was now rejected by Juftinian, who refolved to employ the chief ftrength of his empire in curbing the Perfians. Juftinian, by aiming at an en- The war croachment upon the liberties of the Lazi, a free and indepen- transferdent people of Colchis, moft imprudently gave an advantage to red to the Perfians, who transferred the war into that country. Tho' Cholchis. the Lazi had for a long time acknowleged the emperors of Conftantinople, yet it was rather as allies than fubjects; for they were neither charged with any taxes, nor obliged to admit any new magiftrates, as a conquered people. On the death of any of their princes, the emperor of Conftantinople named his fucceffor. Juftinian, however, aimed at extending his prerogatives over them; and with that view recommended it to one Tzibus, whom he named a prince of the Lazi, to build and fortify a city on the coaft of the Euxine fea. The Lazians joyfully affifted in building the city; but when they faw that Tzibus received into it. Roman garrison, they inftantly took the alarm, and implored the protection of Cofroes. The Perfian king willingly laid hold of this opportunity of extending his frontier; and raising a great army, with a pretence of oppofing the Huns, who threatened to invade his territories, he marched towards Iberia; but fuddenly changing his route, he cut his way thro' a foreft, till then impenetrable, and entering Colchis, was joined by the Lazi, under one of their princes named Gubazes. The con- The joined army drove Tzibus and the Roman garrifon from Petra, Rom ns and made themselves mafters of that ftrong city. driven our Belifarius, in the mean time, laid fiege to Nifibis; but the of Cholchi garrifon making a vigorous refiftance, he withdrew from thence, by the and made an incurfion into Perfia; upon which Cofroes left Perfians. Q4 Colchis, Colchis, and returned to his own dominions, where he made great preparations during the winter. The following spring he marched with an army into the Roman territories; but by the diligence and activity of Belifarius, who came poft from another part of the empire, his progrefs was ftopped; upon which, he had recourfe to negotiation. The conferences, however, had no effect, and hoftilities continued during the whole campaign; in the end of which the Perfians gained a confiderable advantage, near Anglon, over the Roman army, commanded by Narfes. Cofres re- The year following, Cofroes made his fourth expedition into pulfed be- the Roman territories, with a profeffed view, according to Profore Edef- copius, of expreffing his contempt for our Saviour. This auJai thor, and several of the ecclefiaftical writers, relate, that there was a tradition among the inhabitants of Edeffa, that Chrift had promised to Abgarus their king, that their city fhould never be taken. Cofroes, with a view to falfify this alleged prophecy, now marched against Edessa with a most formidable army. He profecuted the fiege with the utmost vigour; but the inhabitants defended themselves with fo much refolution and bravery, that he was at length conftrained to raise the fiege, after he had loft a great number of men. He had placed his chief hopes in an artificial mount, which he attempted to raise as high as their walls; but the inhabitants, having dug a mine under the foundation of the mount, found means to deftroy it by fire. They themselves, however, attributed their deliverance to a miracle; the fire, as they relate, not kindling till they had brought the miraculous print of our Saviour's face, which he had fent to Abgarus, into the mine, and poured water upon it, Cofroes, after his unfuccefsful campaign, retiring into his own dominions, was followed thither by the Roman ambaffadors, who were prevailed upon to agree to an infidious treaty, more deftructive to their master than an open war. The Lazi Not long after the conclufion of this peace, Cefroes formed a in Chol- defign of tranfporting the Lazi into Perfia, and fettling a colony chis revolt of Perfians in Colchis. The Lazi, although they had thrown off from the their dependance upon the emperor, ftill kept up a connection Perfians. with the Romans, who lay conveniently for fupplying them by fea with corn, wine, falt, and other commodities. Being alfo zealous Chriftians, they endeavoured to convert the Perfians who dwelt among them; fo that Cefroes defpaired of their being firmly attached to him in their prefent fituation. To facilitate the defign he had formed, he refolved to build a navy at Petra, and accordingly fent thither great quantities of timber, under pretence of repairing the fortifications. Gubazes king of Lazi, fufpecting the defigns of Cofroes, folicited the protection of the emperor; and a Roman army foon after arriving at Colchis, under the command of Dagiftheus, the Perfians were obliged to fhut themfelves up in Petra. The city was invefted on one fide by the Lazi under Gubazes, and on the other by the Romans, to whom the guard of a pafs was intrufted, thro' which alone the befieged |