02-23-2013, 05:48 PM
The discussion has periodically touched upon the Sasanid siege of Nisibis in AD 350 -- I'd like to just add one minor detail. If I were writing a commentary on Julian's account, I would point out that, strictly speaking, he doesn't claim that the town was surrounded by a lake (although he cunningly implies it, to magnify our impression of the Sasanid efforts). He does describe a λίμνη, which is a body of standing water of indeterminate size ("pool, pond, lake"), and he does describe the diverting of the River Mygdonius against the walls ("the Mydonius flowed in, flooding the land around the town"), and he does claim (somewhat surprisingly) that siege-machinery was floated on ships; but the flooding was probably localised, and it is not necessary to imagine the city standing in the midst of a lake (imho).
