Julian, in sacrificing his ships, suffered simply a pecuniary loss--they could not possibly have been of any further service to him in the campaign.
Retreat being resolved upon, it only remained to determine what route should be followed, and on what portion of the Roman territory the march should be directed.

The soldiers clamored for a return by the way whereby they had come; but many valid objections to this course presented themselves to their commanders.

The country along the line of the Euphrates had been exhausted of its stores by the troops in their advance; the forage had been consumed, the towns and villages desolated.
There would be neither food nor shelter for the men along this route; the season was also unsuitable for it, since the Euphrates was in full flood, and the moist atmosphere would be sure to breed swarms of flies and mosquitoes.

Julian saw that by far the best line of retreat was along the Tigris, which had higher banks than the Euphrates, which was no longer in flood, and which ran through a tract that was highly productive and that had for many years not been visited by an enemy.

The army, therefore, was ordered to commence its retreat through the country lying on the left bank of the Tigris, and to spread itself over the fertile region, in the hope of obtaining ample supplies.