of the Armenian contingent, whom he sent forward to reconnoitre, that the canal was impassable, came to the conclusion that his expedition had reached its extreme limit, and that prudence required him to commence his retreat.  The season had been, it would 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 tyrannical acts are alleged against him; and it is said that he was contemplating the setting aside of his legitimate successor, Siroes, in favor of a younger son, Merdasas, his offspring by his favorite wife, the Christian Shirin, when a rebellion broke out against his authority.  Gurdanaspa,