318

THE DECLINE AND FALL

CHAP.

VIII.

Reforma-tion of theMagianreligion.

station of private citizens. 1 * As the lineal heir, of the monarchy, he asserted his right to thethrone, and challenged the noble task of deliver-ing the Persians from the oppression underwhich they groaned above five centuries sincethe death of Darius. The Parthians were de-feated in three great battles. In the last ofthese their king Artaban was slain, and the spi-rit of the nation was now for ever broken.* Theauthority of Artaxerxes was solemnly acknow-ledged in a great assembly held at Balch inKhorasan. Two younger branches of the royalhouse of Arsaces were confounded among theprostrate satraps. A third, more mindful ofancient grandeur than of present necessity, at-tempted to retire, with a numerous train of vas-sals, towards their kinsman the king of Arme-nia ; but this little army of deserters was inter-cepted, and cutoff, by the vigilance of the con-queror/ who boldly assumed the double dia-dem, and the title of king of kings, which hadbeen enjoyed by his predecessor. But thesepompous titles, instead of gratifying the vanityof the Persian, served only to admonish him ofhis duty, and to inflame in his soul the ambi-tion of restoring, in their full splendour, the re-ligion and empire of Cyrus.

i. During the long servitude of Persia underthe Macedonian and the Parthian yoke, the na-tions of Europe and Asia had mutually adopted

d D’Herbelot . Bibliotheque Orientale. Ardshir.

' Dion Cassius, 1. lxxx. Herodian , 1. vi, p. 207. AbiilpharagiusDynast, p. 80.

f See Moses Chorenensis, 1. ii, c. 65-71.