Procopius

P >> Procopius >> Procopius

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17

PROCOPIUS

WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY
H.B. DEWING

IN SEVEN VOLUMES
III

HISTORY OF THE WARS, BOOKS V AND VI

LONDON
WILLIAM HEINEMANN LTD

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS

_First printed_ 1919

_Printed in Great Britain_

CONTENTS

PAGE

HISTORY OF THE WARS--

BOOK V.--THE GOTHIC WAR 1
BOOK VI.--THE GOTHIC WAR (_continued_) 287

INDEX 427

* * * * *

PLAN OF WALLS AND GATES OF ROME _facing_ 185

PROCOPIUS OF CAESAREA

HISTORY OF THE WARS:

BOOK V

THE GOTHIC WAR

I

Such, then, were the fortunes of the Romans in Libya. I shall now
proceed to the Gothic War, first telling all that befell the Goths and
Italians before this war.

During the reign of Zeno[A] in Byzantium the power in the West was held
by Augustus, whom the Romans used to call by the diminutive name
Augustulus because he took over the empire while still a lad,[B] his
father Orestes, a man of the greatest discretion, administering it as
regent for him. Now it happened that the Romans a short time before had
induced the Sciri and Alani and certain other Gothic nations to form an
alliance with them; and from that time on it was their fortune to suffer
at the hand of Alaric and Attila those things which have been told in
the previous narrative.[1] And in proportion as the barbarian element
among them became strong, just so did the prestige of the Roman soldiers
forthwith decline, and under the fair name of alliance they were more
and more tyrannized over by the intruders and oppressed by them; so that
the barbarians ruthlessly forced many other measures upon the Romans
much against their will and finally demanded that they should divide
with them the entire land of Italy. And indeed they commanded Orestes to
give them the third part of this, and when he would by no means agree to
do so, they killed him immediately.[C] Now there was a certain man among
the Romans named Odoacer, one of the bodyguards of the emperor, and he
at that time agreed to carry out their commands, on condition that they
should set him upon the throne. And when he had received the supreme
power in this way, [D] he did the emperor no further harm, but allowed
him to live thenceforth as a private citizen. And by giving the third
part of the land to the barbarians, and in this way gaining their
allegiance most firmly, he held the supreme power securely for ten
years.[2]

DATES:
[A]474-491 A.D.
[B]July 31, 475 A.D.
[C]July 28, 476 A.D.
[D]July 28, 476 A.D.

It was at about this same time that the Goths also, who were dwelling in
Thrace with the permission of the emperor, took up arms against the
Romans under the leadership of Theoderic, a man who was of patrician
rank and had attained the consular office in Byzantium. But the Emperor
Zeno, who understood how to settle to his advantage any situation in
which he found himself, advised Theoderic to proceed to Italy, attack
Odoacer, and win for himself and the Goths the western dominion. For it
was better for him, he said, especially as he had attained the
senatorial dignity, to force out a usurper and be ruler over all the
Romans and Italians than to incur the great risk of a decisive struggle
with the emperor.

Now Theoderic was pleased with the suggestion and went to Italy, and he
was followed by the Gothic host, who placed in their waggons the women
and children and such of their chattels as they were able to take with
them. And when they came near the Ionian Gulf,[3] they were quite unable
to cross over it, since they had no ships at hand; and so they made the
journey around the gulf, advancing through the land of the Taulantii and
the other nations of that region. Here the forces of Odoacer encountered
them, but after being defeated in many battles, they shut themselves up
with their leader in Ravenna and such other towns as were especially
strong. [E] And the Goths laid siege to these places and captured them
all, in one way or another, as it chanced in each case, except that they
were unable to capture, either by surrender or by storm, the fortress of
Caesena,[4] which is three hundred stades distant from Ravenna, and
Ravenna itself, where Odoacer happened to be. For this city of Ravenna
lies in a level plain at the extremity of the Ionian Gulf, lacking two
stades of being on the sea, and it is so situated as not to be easily
approached either by ships or by a land army. Ships cannot possibly put
in to shore there because the sea itself prevents them by forming shoals
for not less than thirty stades; consequently the beach at Ravenna,
although to the eye of mariners it is very near at hand, is in reality
very far away by reason of the great extent of the shoal-water. And a
land army cannot approach it at all; for the river Po, also called the
Eridanus, which flows past Ravenna, coming from the boundaries of
Celtica, and other navigable rivers together with some marshes, encircle
it on all sides and so cause the city to be surrounded by water. In that
place a very wonderful thing takes place every day. For early in the
morning the sea forms a kind of river and comes up over the land for the
distance of a day's journey for an unencumbered traveller and becomes
navigable in the midst of the mainland, and then in the late afternoon
it turns back again, causing the inlet to disappear, and gathers the
stream to itself.[5] All those, therefore, who have to convey provisions
into the city or carry them out from there for trade or for any other
reason, place their cargoes in boats, and drawing them down to the place
where the inlet is regularly formed, they await the inflow of the water.
And when this comes, the boats are lifted little by little from the
ground and float, and the sailors on them set to work and from that time
on are seafaring men. And this is not the only place where this happens,
but it is the regular occurrence along the whole coast in this region as
far as the city of Aquileia. However, it does not always take place in
the same way at every time, but when the light of the moon is faint, the
advance of the sea is not strong either, but from the first[6] half-moon
until the second the inflow has a tendency to be greater. So much for
this matter.

DATES:
[E] 489 A.D.

But when the third year had already been spent by the Goths and
Theoderic in their siege of Ravenna, the Goths, who were weary of the
siege, and the followers of Odoacer, who were hard pressed by the lack
of provisions, came to an agreement with each other through the
mediation of the priest of Ravenna, the understanding being that both
Theoderic and Odoacer should reside in Ravenna on terms of complete
equality. And for some time they observed the agreement; but afterward
Theoderic caught Odoacer, as they say, plotting against him, and bidding
him to a feast with treacherous intent slew him,[7] and in this way,
after gaining the adherence of such of the hostile barbarians as chanced
to survive, he himself secured the supremacy over both Goths and
Italians. And though he did not claim the right to assume either the
garb or the name of emperor of the Romans, but was called "rex" to the
end of his life (for thus the barbarians are accustomed to call their
leaders),[8] still, in governing his own subjects, he invested himself
with all the qualities which appropriately belong to one who is by birth
an emperor. For he was exceedingly careful to observe justice, he
preserved the laws on a sure basis, he protected the land and kept it
safe from the barbarians dwelling round about, and attained the highest
possible degree of wisdom and manliness. And he himself committed
scarcely a single act of injustice against his subjects, nor would he
brook such conduct on the part of anyone else who attempted it, except,
indeed, that the Goths distributed among themselves the portion of the
lands which Odoacer had given to his own partisans. And although in name
Theoderic was a usurper, yet in fact he was as truly an emperor as any
who have distinguished themselves in this office from the beginning; and
love for him among both Goths and Italians grew to be great, and that
too contrary to the ordinary habits of men. For in all states men's
preferences are divergent, with the result that the government in power
pleases for the moment only those with whom its acts find favour, but
offends those whose judgment it violates. But Theoderic reigned for
thirty-seven years, and when he died, he had not only made himself an
object of terror to all his enemies, but he also left to his subjects a
keen sense of bereavement at his loss. And he died in the following
manner.[F]

DATE:
[F] 526 A.D.

Symmachus and his son-in-law Boetius were men of noble and ancient
lineage, and both had been leading men[9] in the Roman senate and had
been consuls. But because they practised philosophy and were mindful of
justice in a manner surpassed by no other men, relieving the destitution
of both citizens and strangers by generous gifts of money, they attained
great fame and thus led men of the basest sort to envy them. Now such
persons slandered them to Theoderic, and he, believing their slanders,
put these two men to death, on the ground that they were setting about a
revolution, and made their property confiscate to the public treasury.
And a few days later, while he was dining, the servants set before him
the head of a great fish. This seemed to Theoderic to be the head of
Symmachus newly slain. Indeed, with its teeth set in its lower lip and
its eyes looking at him with a grim and insane stare, it did resemble
exceedingly a person threatening him. And becoming greatly frightened at
the extraordinary prodigy and shivering excessively, he retired running
to his own chamber, and bidding them place many covers upon him,
remained quiet. But afterwards he disclosed to his physician Elpidius
all that had happened and wept for the wrong he had done Symmachus and
Boetius. Then, having lamented and grieved exceedingly over the
unfortunate occurrence, he died not long afterward. This was the first
and last act of injustice which he committed toward his subjects, and
the cause of it was that he had not made a thorough investigation, as he
was accustomed to do, before passing judgment on the two men.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Book III. ii. 7 ff., iv. 29 ff.

[2] Odoacer was defeated and shut up in Ravenna by Theoderic in 489,
surrendered to him in 493, and was put to death in the same year. His
independent rule ([Greek: tyrannis]) therefore lasted thirteen years.

[3] Meaning the whole Adriatic; cf. chap. xv. 16, note.

[4] Modern Cesena.

[5] He means that an estuary ([Greek: porthmos]) is formed by the rising
tide in the morning, and the water flows out again as the tide falls in
the evening.

[6] From the first until the third quarter.

[7] See note in Bury's edition of Gibbon, Vol. IV. p. 180, for an
interesting account of this event.

[8] This is a general observation; the title "rex" was current among the
barbarians to indicate a position inferior to that of a [Greek:
basileus] or "imperator"; cf. VI. xiv. 38.

[9] Probably a reminiscence of the "princeps senatus" of classical
times.

II

After his death[G] the kingdom was taken over by Atalaric, the son of
Theoderic's daughter; he had reached the age of eight years and was
being reared under the care of his mother Amalasuntha. For his father
had already departed from among men. And not long afterward Justinian
succeeded to the imperial power in Byzantium. [H]Now Amalasuntha, as
guardian of her child, administered the government, and she proved to be
endowed with wisdom and regard for justice in the highest degree,
displaying to a great extent the masculine temper. As long as she stood
at the head of the government she inflicted punishment upon no Roman in
any case either by touching his person or by imposing a fine.
Furthermore, she did not give way to the Goths in their mad desire to
wrong them, but she even restored to the children of Symmachus and
Boetius their fathers' estates. Now Amalasuntha wished to make her son
resemble the Roman princes in his manner of life, and was already
compelling him to attend the school of a teacher of letters. And she
chose out three among the old men of the Goths whom she knew to be
prudent and refined above all the others, and bade them live with
Atalaric. But the Goths were by no means pleased with this. For because
of their eagerness to wrong their subjects they wished to be ruled by
him more after the barbarian fashion. On one occasion the mother,
finding the boy doing some wrong in his chamber, chastised him; and he
in tears went off thence to the men's apartments. And some Goths who met
him made a great to-do about this, and reviling Amalasuntha insisted
that she wished to put the boy out of the world as quickly as possible,
in order that she might marry a second husband and with him rule over
the Goths and Italians. And all the notable men among them gathered
together, and coming before Amalasuntha made the charge that their king
was not being educated correctly from their point of view nor to his own
advantage. For letters, they said, are far removed from manliness, and
the teaching of old men results for the most part in a cowardly and
submissive spirit. Therefore the man who is to shew daring in any work
and be great in renown ought to be freed from the timidity which
teachers inspire and to take his training in arms. They added that even
Theoderic would never allow any of the Goths to send their children to
school; for he used to say to them all that, if the fear of the strap
once came over them, they would never have the resolution to despise
sword or spear. And they asked her to reflect that her father Theoderic
before he died had become master of all this territory and had invested
himself with a kingdom which was his by no sort of right, although he
had not so much as heard of letters. "Therefore, O Queen," they said,
"have done with these tutors now, and do you give to Atalaric some men
of his own age to be his companions, who will pass through the period of
youth with him and thus give him an impulse toward that excellence which
is in keeping with the custom of barbarians."

DATES:
[G]526 A.D.
[H]527 A.D.

When Amalasuntha heard this, although she did not approve, yet because
she feared the plotting of these men, she made it appear that their
words found favour with her, and granted everything the barbarians
desired of her. And when the old men had left Atalaric, he was given the
company of some boys who were to share his daily life,--lads who had not
yet come of age but were only a little in advance of him in years; and
these boys, as soon as he came of age, by enticing him to drunkenness
and to intercourse with women, made him an exceptionally depraved youth,
and of such stupid folly that he was disinclined to follow his mother's
advice. Consequently he utterly refused to champion her cause, although
the barbarians were by now openly leaguing together against her; for
they were boldly commanding the woman to withdraw from the palace. But
Amalasuntha neither became frightened at the plotting of the Goths nor
did she, womanlike, weakly give way, but still displaying the dignity
befitting a queen, she chose out three men who were the most notable
among the barbarians and at the same time the most responsible for the
sedition against her, and bade them go to the limits of Italy, not
together, however, but as far apart as possible from one another; but it
was made to appear that they were being sent in order to guard the land
against the enemy's attack. But nevertheless these men by the help of
their friends and relations, who were all still in communication with
them, even travelling a long journey for the purpose, continued to make
ready the details of their plot against Amalasuntha.

And the woman, being unable to endure these things any longer, devised
the following plan. Sending to Byzantium she enquired of the Emperor
Justinian whether it was his wish that Amalasuntha, the daughter of
Theoderic, should come to him; for she wished to depart from Italy as
quickly as possible. And the emperor, being pleased by the suggestion,
bade her come and sent orders that the finest of the houses in Epidamnus
should be put in readiness, in order that when Amalasuntha should come
there, she might lodge in it and after spending such time there as she
wished might then betake herself to Byzantium. When Amalasuntha learned
this, she chose out certain Goths who were energetic men and especially
devoted to her and sent them to kill the three whom I have just
mentioned, as having been chiefly responsible for the sedition against
her. And she herself placed all her possessions, including four hundred
centenaria[10] of gold, in a single ship and embarked on it some of
those most faithful to her and bade them sail to Epidamnus, and, upon
arriving there, to anchor in its harbour, but to discharge from the ship
nothing whatever of its cargo until she herself should send orders. And
she did this in order that, if she should learn that the three men had
been destroyed, she might remain there and summon the ship back, having
no further fear from her enemies; but if it should chance that any one
of them was left alive, no good hope being left her, she purposed to
sail with all speed and find safety for herself and her possessions in
the emperor's land. Such was the purpose with which Amalasuntha was
sending the ship to Epidamnus; and when it arrived at the harbour of
that city, those who had the money carried out her orders. But a little
later, when the murders had been accomplished as she wished, Amalasuntha
summoned the ship back and remaining at Ravenna strengthened her rule
and made it as secure as might be.

FOOTNOTE:

[10] See Book I. xxii. 4; III. vi. 2 and note.

III

There was among the Goths one Theodatus by name, son of Amalafrida, the
sister of Theoderic, a man already of mature years, versed in the Latin
literature and the teachings of Plato, but without any experience
whatever in war and taking no part in active life, and yet
extraordinarily devoted to the pursuit of money. This Theodatus had
gained possession of most of the lands in Tuscany, and he was eager by
violent methods to wrest the remainder from their owners. For to have a
neighbour seemed to Theodatus a kind of misfortune. Now Amalasuntha was
exerting herself to curb this desire of his, and consequently he was
always vexed with her and resentful. He formed the plan, therefore, of
handing over Tuscany to the Emperor Justinian, in order that, upon
receiving from him a great sum of money and the senatorial dignity, he
might pass the rest of his life in Byzantium. After Theodatus had formed
this plan, there came from Byzantium to the chief priest of Rome two
envoys, Hypatius, the priest of Ephesus, and Demetrius, from Philippi in
Macedonia, to confer about a tenet of faith, which is a subject of
disagreement and controversy among the Christians. As for the points in
dispute, although I know them well, I shall by no means make mention of
them; for I consider it a sort of insane folly to investigate the nature
of God, enquiring of what sort it is. For man cannot, I think, apprehend
even human affairs with accuracy, much less those things which pertain
to the nature of God. As for me, therefore, I shall maintain a discreet
silence concerning these matters, with the sole object that old and
venerable beliefs may not be discredited. For I, for my part, will say
nothing whatever about God save that He is altogether good and has all
things in His power. But let each one say whatever he thinks he knows
about these matters, both priest and layman. As for Theodatus, he met
these envoys secretly and directed them to report to the Emperor
Justinian what he had planned, explaining what has just been set forth
by me.

But at this juncture Atalaric, having plunged into a drunken revel which
passed all bounds, was seized with a wasting disease. Wherefore
Amalasuntha was in great perplexity; for, on the one hand, she had no
confidence in the loyalty of her son, now that he had gone so far in his
depravity, and, on the other, she thought that if Atalaric also should
be removed from among men, her life would not be safe thereafter, since
she had given offence to the most notable of the Goths. For this reason
she was desirous of handing over the power of the Goths and Italians to
the Emperor Justinian, in order that she herself might be saved. And it
happened that Alexander, a man of the senate, together with Demetrius
and Hypatius, had come to Ravenna. For when the emperor had heard that
Amalasuntha's boat was anchored in the harbour of Epidamnus, but that
she herself was still tarrying, although much time had passed, he had
sent Alexander to investigate and report to him the whole situation with
regard to Amalasuntha; but it was given out that the emperor had sent
Alexander as an envoy to her because he was greatly disturbed by the
events at Lilybaeum which have been set forth by me in the preceding
narrative,[11] and because ten Huns from the army in Libya had taken
flight and reached Campania, and Uliaris, who was guarding Naples, had
received them not at all against the will of Amalasuntha, and also
because the Goths, in making war on the Gepaedes about Sirmium,[12] had
treated the city of Gratiana, situated at the extremity of Illyricum, as
a hostile town. So by way of protesting to Amalasuntha with regard to
these things, he wrote a letter and sent Alexander.

And when Alexander arrived in Rome, he left there the priests busied
with the matters for which they had come, and he himself, journeying on
to Ravenna and coming before Amalasuntha, reported the emperor's message
secretly, and openly delivered the letter to her. And the purport of the
writing was as follows: "The fortress of Lilybaeum, which is ours, you
have taken by force and are now holding, and barbarians, slaves of mine
who have run away, you have received and have not even yet decided to
restore them to me, and besides all this you have treated outrageously
my city of Gratiana, though it belongs to you in no way whatever.
Wherefore it is time for you to consider what the end of these things
will some day be." And when this letter had been delivered to her and
she had read it, she replied in the following words: "One may reasonably
expect an emperor who is great and lays claim to virtue to assist an
orphan child who does not in the least comprehend what is being done,
rather than for no cause at all to quarrel with him. For unless a
struggle be waged on even terms, even the victory it gains brings no
honour. But thou dost threaten Atalaric on account of Lilybaeum, and ten
runaways, and a mistake, made by soldiers in going against their
enemies, which through some misapprehension chanced to affect a friendly
city. Nay! do not thus; do not thou thus, O Emperor, but call to mind
that when them wast making war upon the Vandals, we not only refrained
from hindering thee, but quite zealously even gave thee free passage
against the enemy and provided a market in which to buy the
indispensable supplies,[13] furnishing especially the multitude of
horses to which thy final mastery over the enemy was chiefly due. And
yet it is not merely the man who offers an alliance of arms to his
neighbours that would in justice be called their ally and friend, but
also the man who actually is found assisting another in war in regard to
his every need. And consider that at that time thy fleet had no other
place at which to put in from the sea except Sicily, and that without
the supplies bought there it could not go on to Libya. Therefore thou
art indebted to us for the chief cause of thy victory; for the one who
provides a solution for a difficult situation is justly entitled also to
the credit for the results which flow from his help. And what could be
sweeter for a man, O Emperor, than gaining the mastery over his enemies?
And yet in our case the outcome is that we suffer no slight
disadvantage, in that we do not, in accordance with the custom of war,
enjoy our share of the spoils. And now thou art also claiming the right
to despoil us of Lilybaeum in Sicily, which has belonged to the Goths
from ancient times, a lone rock, O Emperor, worth not so much as a piece
of silver, which, had it happened to belong to thy kingdom from ancient
times, thou mightest in equity at least have granted to Atalaric as a
reward for his services, since he lent thee assistance in the times of
thy most pressing necessity." Such was the message which Amalasuntha
wrote openly to the emperor; but secretly she agreed to put the whole
of Italy into his hands. And the envoys, returning to Byzantium,
reported everything to the Emperor Justinian, Alexander telling him the
course which had been decided upon by Amalasuntha, and Demetrius and
Hypatius all that they had heard Theodatus say, adding that Theodatus
enjoyed great power in Tuscany, where he had become owner of the most of
the land and consequently would be able with no trouble at all to carry
his agreement into effect. And the emperor, overjoyed at this situation,
immediately sent to Italy Peter, an Illyrian by birth, but a citizen of
Thessalonica, a man who was one of the trained speakers in Byzantium, a
discreet and gentle person withal and fitted by nature to persuade men.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17