216 which it was the capital, had been betrayed to the enemy by Abradates, the goverior of and united to the empire of Persia. * Many years before these events, that is, when the Chaldean soldiers were led on by Nebuchadnezzar, they were said to be “terrible and dreadful.” They were, as is well known, celebrated for swiftness, coffrage, and cruelty. “Their horses were swifter than leopards, and fiercer than evening wolves.” They had, we infer, a multitude of horsemenoor mounted soldiers, who rushed upon their enemies “ as the eagle darts upon its prey.” The horses near the river Euphrates were a pecnliarly fine breed of animals, spirited and նոմ of war, and so bold that neither the sight tor the roaring of the lion made them afraid. g But after the death of Nebuchadnezzar, the armies of the Chaldeans seem gradually to have lost their former courage. The probable cause of this was, that they had become luxurious and dissipated from the abundance of the spoils taken in war, and their strength and their bravery were
