Deja View

"Beyond the Euphrates began for us the land of mirage and danger, the sands where one helplessly sank, and the roads which ended in nothing. The slightest reversal would have resulted in a jolt to our prestige giving rise to all kinds of catastrophe; the problem was not only to conquer but to conquer again and again, perpetually; our forces would be drained off in the attempt." Emperor Hadrian AD 117-138

(Quote posted by Meirux on DailyKos; picture above is of Roman doorway sculpture from the Euphrates River area, at the Eastern limit of their Empire.)