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[11] Therefore on the tenth day after the beginning of the siege, when the waning hope of our men was causing general dejection, it was decided to bring into action a ram of great size, which the Persians, after formerly using it to raze Antioch, had brought back and left at Carrae. The unlooked-for sight of this and the skilful manner in which it was put together would [p. 77] have daunted the besieged, who had already been almost reduced to seeking safety in surrender, had they not taken heart again and prepared defences against the menacing engine.

Ammianus Marcellinus. With An English Translation. John C. Rolfe, Ph.D., Litt.D. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1935-1940.

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