Sykes' History of Persia - Heritage Institute

426 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.
to all Parthian fugitives. But in the other provinces
Ardeshir appears to have made good his title without
any great difficulty ; and Babylonia, with Ctesiphon the
Parthian capital, was also subdued.
Ardeshir and Sevents Alexander^ a.d. 229-232.—Arde-
shir was in consequence firmly established, and believing
himself to be in a position to throw down the gauntlet to
the Roman Empire, he decided, about a.d. 228, to cross
the Euphrates. From his point of view he was the victor
over Ardawan, who had forced a great Roman army to
purchase an ignominious peace. He might therefore
reasonably hope for success against the recently defeated
legions. Moreover, in all probability he was not only
urged by his natural ambition and love of glory, but
forced by circumstances also, to declare himself the inheritor
of the kingdom of the Achaemenians.
Severus Alexander, who sat in the seat of the Caesars at
this time, was a singularly well-intentioned and well-mean-
ing youth. Hearing of the Persian invasion, and perhaps
realizing that to gain time was necessary before a Roman
expedition could be organized, he despatched a letter to
Ardeshir exhorting him to keep to his own territories and
"
not to attempt to revolutionise Asia." The letter added
that it was unsafe, merely on the strength of vague hopes,
to begin a great war ; that Ardeshir would find a contest
with Rome very different from conflicts with barbarous
tribes like his own, and that he should remember the
victories of Augustus, of Trajan, and of Septimius Severus.
To this monition Ardeshir replied by despatching a
splendid embassy consisting of 400 Persians specially
selected for their fine physique, and magnificently
equipped with golden trappings and weapons. They
delivered an arrogant and provocative message summoning
the Romans to evacuate Syria and the rest
of Asia, to permit the Persians to
regain
their ancient
inheritance, and to content themselves with the undisturbed
possession of Europe. So insolent did this demand
appear that the ambassadors, in spite
of their
privileged and indeed almost sacred position,
were seized
and treated as prisoners of war. Meanwhile preparations^