Procopius

P >> Procopius >> Procopius

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

And afterwards they gave hostages to one another to secure the keeping
of the armistice, the Romans giving Zeno, and the Goths Ulias, a man of
no mean station, with the understanding that during three months they
should make no attack upon one another, until the envoys should return
from Byzantium and report the will of the emperor. And even if the one
side or the other should initiate offences against their opponents, the
envoys were nevertheless to be returned to their own nation. So the
envoys of the barbarians went to Byzantium escorted by Romans, and
Ildiger, the son-in-law of Antonina, came to Rome from Libya with not a
few horsemen. And the Goths who were holding the stronghold at Portus
abandoned the place by the order of Vittigis because their supplies were
exhausted, and came to the camp in obedience to his summons. Whereupon
Paulus with his Isaurians came from Ostia and took possession of it and
held it. Now the chief reason why these barbarians were without
provisions was that the Romans commanded the sea and did not allow any
of the necessary supplies to be brought in to them. And it was for this
reason that they also abandoned at about the same time a sea-coast city
of great importance, Centumcellae[163] by name, that is, because they
were short of provisions. This city is large and populous, lying to the
west of Rome, in Tuscany, distant from it about two hundred and eighty
stades. And after taking possession of it the Romans went on and
extended their power still more, for they took also the town of Albani,
which lies to the east of Rome, the enemy having evacuated it at that
time for the same reason, and they had already surrounded the barbarians
on all sides and now held them between their forces. The Goths,
therefore, were in a mood to break the agreement and do some harm to the
Romans. So they sent envoys to Belisarius and asserted that they had
been unjustly treated during a truce; for when Vittigis had summoned the
Goths who were in Portus to perform some service for him, Paulus and the
Isaurians had seized and taken possession of the fort there for no good
reason. And they made this same false charge regarding Albani and
Centumcellae, and threatened that, unless he should give these places
back to them, they would resent it. But Belisarius laughed and sent them
away, saying that this charge was but a pretext, and that no one was
ignorant of the reason why the Goths had abandoned these places. And
thereafter the two sides were somewhat suspicious of one another.

But later, when Belisarius saw that Rome was abundantly supplied with
soldiers, he sent many horsemen to places far distant from Rome, and
commanded John, the nephew of Vitalian, and the horsemen under his
command, eight hundred in number, to pass the winter near the city of
Alba, which lies in Picenum; and with him he sent four hundred of the
men of Valerian, whom Damianus, the nephew of Valerian, commanded, and
eight hundred men of his own guards who were especially able warriors.
And in command of these he put two spearmen, Suntas and Adegis, and
ordered them to follow John wherever he should lead; and he gave John
instructions that as long as he saw the enemy was keeping the agreement
made between them, he should remain quiet; but whenever he found that
the armistice had been violated by them, he should do as follows: With
his whole force he was to make a sudden raid and overrun the land of
Picenum, visiting all the districts of that region and reaching each
one before the report of his coming. For in this whole land there was
virtually not a single man left, since all, as it appeared, had marched
against Rome, but everywhere there were women and children of the enemy
and money. He was instructed, therefore, to enslave or plunder whatever
he found, taking care never to injure any of the Romans living there.
And if he should happen upon any place which had men and defences, as he
probably would, he was to make an attempt upon it with his whole force.
And if he was able to capture it, he was to go forward, but if it should
so happen that his attempt was unsuccessful, he was to march back or
remain there. For if he should go forward and leave such a fortress in
his rear, he would be involved in the greatest danger, since his men
would never be able to defend themselves easily, if they should be
harassed by their opponents. He was also to keep the whole booty intact,
in order that it might be divided fairly and properly among the army.
Then with a laugh he added this also: "For it is not fair that the
drones should be destroyed with great labour by one force, while others,
without having endured any hardship at all, enjoy the honey." So after
giving these instructions, Belisarius sent John with his army.

And at about the same time Datius, the priest of Milan, and some notable
men among the citizens came to Rome and begged Belisarius to send them a
few guards. For they declared that they were themselves able without any
trouble to detach from the Goths not only Milan, but the whole of
Liguria also, and to recover them for the emperor. Now this city is
situated in Liguria, and lies about half way between the city of Ravenna
and the Alps on the borders of Gaul; for from either one it is a journey
of eight days to Milan for an unencumbered traveller; and it is the
first of the cities of the West, after Rome at least, both in size and
in population and in general prosperity. And Belisarius promised to
fulfil their request, but detained them there during the winter season.

FOOTNOTES:

[160] Ostia, since the regular harbour, Portus, was held by the Goths.

[161] _i.e._ facing upstream.

[162] Book IV. xxvi. 14.

[163] Modern Civita Vecchia.

VIII

Such was the course of these events. But the envy of fortune was already
swelling against the Romans, when she saw their affairs progressing
successfully and well, and wishing to mingle some evil with this good,
she inspired a quarrel, on a trifling pretext, between Belisarius and
Constantinus; and how this grew and to what end it came I shall now go
on to relate. There was a certain Presidius, a Roman living at Ravenna,
and a man of no mean station. This Presidius had given offence to the
Goths at the time when Vittigis was about to march against Rome, and so
he set out with some few of his domestics ostensibly on a hunting
expedition, and went into exile; he had communicated his plan to no one
and took none of his property with him, except indeed that he himself
carried two daggers, the scabbards of which happened to be adorned with
much gold and precious stones. And when he came to Spolitium, he lodged
in a certain temple outside the fortifications. And when Constantinus,
who happened to be still tarrying there,[164] heard of this, he sent one
of his guards, Maxentiolus, and took away from him both the daggers for
no good reason. The man was deeply offended by what had taken place, and
set out for Rome with all speed and came to Belisarius, and Constantinus
also arrived there not long afterward; for the Gothic army was already
reported to be not far away. Now as long as the affairs of the Romans
were critical and in confusion, Presidius remained silent; but when he
saw that the Romans were gaining the upper hand and that the envoys of
the Goths had been sent to the emperor, as has been told by me above, he
frequently approached Belisarius reporting the injustice and demanding
that he assist him in obtaining his rights. And Belisarius reproached
Constantinus many times himself, and many times through others, urging
him to clear himself of the guilt of an unjust deed and of a
dishonouring report. But Constantinus--for it must needs be that evil
befall him--always lightly evaded the charge and taunted the wronged
man. But on one occasion Presidius met Belisarius riding on horseback in
the forum, and he laid hold of the horse's bridle, and crying out with a
loud voice asked whether the laws of the emperor said that, whenever
anyone fleeing from the barbarians comes to them as a suppliant, they
should rob him by violence of whatever he may chance to have in his
hands. And though many men gathered about and commanded him with threats
to let go his hold of the bridle, he did not let go until at last
Belisarius promised to give him the daggers. On the following day,
therefore, Belisarius called Constantinus and many of the commanders to
an apartment in the palace, and after going over what had happened on
the previous day urged him even at that late time to restore the
daggers. But Constantinus refused to do so; nay, he would more gladly
throw them into the waters of the Tiber than give them to Presidius. And
Belisarius, being by now mastered by anger, enquired whether
Constantinus did not think that he was subject to his orders. And he
agreed to obey him in all other things, for this was the emperor's will;
this command, however, which at the present time he was laying upon him,
he would never obey. Belisarius then commanded his guards to enter,
whereupon Constantinus said: "In order, plainly, to have them kill me."
"By no means," said Belisarius, "but to have them compel your bodyguard
Maxentiolus, who forcibly carried away the daggers for you, to restore
to the man what he took from him by violence." But Constantinus,
thinking that he was to die that very instant, wished to do some great
deed before he should suffer anything himself. He accordingly drew the
dagger which hung by his thigh and suddenly thrust it at the belly of
Belisarius. And he in consternation stepped back, and by throwing his
arms around Bessas, who was standing near, succeeded in escaping the
blow. Then Constantinus, still boiling with anger, made after him; but
Ildiger and Valerian, seeing what was being done, laid hold of his
hands, one of the right and the other of the left, and dragged him back.
And at this point the guards entered whom Belisarius had summoned a
moment before, snatched the dagger of Constantinus from his hand with
great violence, and seized him amid a great uproar. At the moment they
did him no harm, out of respect, I suppose, to the officers present, but
led him away to another room at the command of Belisarius, and at a
somewhat later time put him to death. This was the only unholy deed done
by Belisarius, and it was in no way worthy of the character of the man;
for he always shewed great gentleness in his treatment of all others.
But it had to be, as I have said, that evil should befall Constantinus.

FOOTNOTE:

[164] Cf. Book V. xvi. 1 ff.

IX

And the Goths not long after this wished to strike a blow at the
fortifications of Rome. And first they sent some men by night into one
of the aqueducts, from which they themselves had taken out the water at
the beginning of this war.[165] And with lamps and torches in their
hands they explored the entrance into the city by this way. Now it
happened that not far from the small Pincian Gate an arch of this
aqueduct[166] had a sort of crevice in it, and one of the guards saw the
light through this and told his companions; but they said that he had
seen a wolf passing by his post. For at that point it so happened that
the structure of the aqueduct did not rise high above the ground, and
they thought that the guard had imagined the wolf's eyes to be fire. So
those barbarians who explored the aqueduct, upon reaching the middle of
the city, where there was an upward passage built in olden times leading
to the palace itself, came upon some masonry there which allowed them
neither to advance beyond that point nor to use the ascent at all. This
masonry had been put in by Belisarius as an act of precaution at the
beginning of this siege, as has been set forth by me in the preceding
narrative.[167] So they decided first to remove one small stone from the
wall and then to go back immediately, and when they returned to
Vittigis, they displayed the stone and reported the whole situation. And
while he was considering his scheme with the best of the Goths, the
Romans who were on guard at the Pincian Gate recalled among themselves
on the following day the suspicion of the wolf. But when the story was
passed around and came to Belisarius, the general did not treat the
matter carelessly, but immediately sent some of the notable men in the
army, together with the guardsman Diogenes, down into the aqueduct and
bade them investigate everything with all speed. And they found all
along the aqueduct the lamps of the enemy and the ashes which had
dropped from their torches, and after observing the masonry where the
stone had been taken out by the Goths, they reported to Belisarius. For
this reason he personally kept the aqueduct under close guard; and the
Goths, perceiving it, desisted from this attempt.

But later on the barbarians went so far as to plan an open attack
against the fortifications. So they waited for the time of lunch, and
bringing up ladders and fire, when their enemy were least expecting
them, made an assault upon the small Pincian Gate, emboldened by the
hope of capturing the city by a sudden attack, since not many soldiers
had been left there. But it happened that Ildiger and his men were
keeping guard at that time; for all were assigned by turns to
guard-duty. So when he saw the enemy advancing in disorder, he went out
against them before they were yet drawn up in line of battle and while
they were advancing in great disarray, and routing those who were
opposite him without any trouble he slew many. And a great outcry and
commotion arose throughout the city, as was to be expected, and the
Romans gathered as quickly as possible to all parts of the
fortifications; whereupon the barbarians after a short time retired to
their camp baffled.

But Vittigis resorted again to a plot against the wall. Now there was a
certain part of it that was especially vulnerable, where the bank of the
Tiber is, because at this place the Romans of old, confident in the
protection afforded by the stream, had built the wall carelessly, making
it low and altogether without towers; Vittigis therefore hoped to
capture the city rather easily from that quarter. For indeed there was
not even any garrison there of any consequence, as it happened. He
therefore bribed with money two Romans who lived near the church of
Peter the Apostle to pass along by the guards there at about nightfall
carrying a skin full of wine, and in some way or other, by making a show
of friendship, to give it to them, and then to sit drinking with them
well on into the night; and they were to throw into the cup of each
guard a sleep-producing drug which Vittigis had given them. And he
stealthily got ready some skiffs, which he kept at the other bank; as
soon as the guards should be overcome by sleep, some of the barbarians,
acting in concert, were to cross the river in these, taking ladders with
them, and make the assault on the wall. And he made ready the entire
army with the intention of capturing the whole city by storm. After
these arrangements were all complete, one of the two men who had been
prepared by Vittigis for this service (for it was not fated that Rome
should be captured by this army of the Goths) came of his own accord to
Belisarius and revealed everything, and told who the other man was. So
this man under torture brought to light all that he was about to do and
displayed the drug which Vittigis had given him. And Belisarius first
mutilated his nose and ears and then sent him riding on an ass into the
enemy's camp. And when the barbarians saw him, they realised that God
would not allow their purposes to have free course, and that therefore
the city could never be captured by them.

FOOTNOTES:

[165] Book V. xix. 13.

[166] The _Aqua Virgo_.

[167] Book V. xix. 18.

X

But while these things were happening, Belisarius wrote to John and
commanded him to begin operations. And he with his two thousand horsemen
began to go about the land of Picenum and to plunder everything before
him, treating the women and children of the enemy as slaves. And when
Ulitheus, the uncle of Vittigis, confronted him with an army of Goths,
he defeated them in battle and killed Ulitheus himself and almost the
whole army of the enemy. For this reason no one dared any longer to
engage with him. But when he came to the city of Auximus,[168] though he
learned that it contained a Gothic garrison of inconsiderable size, yet
in other respects he observed that the place was strong and impossible
to capture. And for this reason he was quite unwilling to lay siege to
it, but departing from there as quickly as he could, he moved forward.
And he did this same thing at the city of Urbinus,[169] but at
Ariminum,[170] which is one day's journey distant from Ravenna, he
marched into the city at the invitation of the Romans. Now all the
barbarians who were keeping guard there were very suspicious of the
Roman inhabitants, and as soon as they learned that this army was
approaching, they withdrew and ran until they reached Ravenna. And thus
John secured Ariminum; but he had meanwhile left in his rear a garrison
of the enemy both at Auximus and at Urbinus, not because he had
forgotten the commands of Belisarius, nor because he was carried away by
unreasoning boldness, since he had wisdom as well as energy, but because
he reasoned--correctly, as it turned out--that if the Goths learned that
the Roman army was close to Ravenna, they would instantly break up the
siege of Rome because of their fears regarding this place. And in fact
his reasoning proved to be true. For as soon as Vittigis and the army
of the Goths heard that Ariminum was held by him, they were plunged into
great fear regarding Ravenna, and abandoning all other considerations,
they straightway made their withdrawal, as will be told by me directly.
And John won great fame from this deed, though he was renowned even
before. For he was a daring and efficient man in the highest degree,
unflinching before danger, and in his daily life shewing at all times a
certain austerity and ability to endure hardship unsurpassed by any
barbarian or common soldier. Such a man was John. And Matasuntha, the
wife of Vittigis, who was exceedingly hostile to her husband because he
had taken her to wife by violence in the beginning,[171] upon learning
that John had come to Ariminum was absolutely overcome by joy, and
sending a messenger to him opened secret negotiations with him
concerning marriage and the betrayal of the city.

So these two kept sending messengers to each other without the knowledge
of the rest and arranging these matters. But when the Goths learned what
had happened at Ariminum, and when at the same time all their provisions
had failed them, and the three months' time had already expired, they
began to make their withdrawal, although they had not as yet received
any information as far as the envoys were concerned. Now it was about
the spring equinox, and one year had been spent in the siege and nine
days in addition, when the Goths, having burned all their camps, set out
at daybreak. And the Romans, seeing their opponents in flight, were at a
loss how to deal with the situation. For it so happened that the
majority of the horsemen were not present at that time, since they had
been sent to various places, as has been stated by me above,[172] and
they did not think that by themselves they were a match for so great a
multitude of the enemy. However, Belisarius armed all the infantry and
cavalry. And when he saw that more than half of the enemy had crossed
the bridge, he led the army out through the small Pincian Gate, and the
hand-to-hand battle which ensued proved to be equal to any that had
preceded it. At the beginning the barbarians withstood their enemy
vigorously, and many on both sides fell in the first encounter; but
afterwards the Goths turned to flight and brought upon themselves a
great and overwhelming calamity; for each man for himself was rushing to
cross the bridge first. As a result of this they became very much
crowded and suffered most cruelly, for they were being killed both by
each other and by the enemy. Many, too, fell off the bridge on either
side into the Tiber, sank with all their arms, and perished. Finally,
after losing in this way the most of their number, the remainder joined
those who had crossed before. And Longinus the Isaurian and Mundilas,
the guards of Belisarius, made themselves conspicuous for their valour
in this battle. But while Mundilas, after engaging with four barbarians
in turn and killing them all, was himself saved, Longinus, having proved
himself the chief cause of the rout of the enemy, fell where he fought,
leaving the Roman army great regret for his loss.

FOOTNOTES:

[168] Modern Osimo.

[169] Modern Urbino.

[170] Modern Rimini.

[171] Cf. Book V. xi. 27.

[172] Chap. vii. 25.

XI

Now Vittigis with the remainder of his army marched toward Ravenna; and
he strengthened the fortified places with a great number of guards,
leaving in Clusium,[173] the city of Tuscany, one thousand men and
Gibimer as commander, and in Urviventus[174] an equal number, over whom
he set Albilas, a Goth, as commander. And he left Uligisalus in
Tudera[175] with four hundred men. And in the land of Picenum he left in
the fortress of Petra four hundred men who had lived there previously,
and in Auximus, which is the largest of all the cities of that country,
he left four thousand Goths selected for their valour and a very
energetic commander, Visandus by name, and two thousand men with Moras
in the city of Urbinus. There are also two other fortresses, Caesena and
Monteferetra,[176] in each of which he established a garrison of not
less than five hundred men. Then he himself with the rest of the army
moved straight for Ariminum with the purpose of laying siege to it.

But it happened that Belisarius, as soon as the Goths had broken up the
siege of Rome, had sent Ildiger and Martinus with a thousand horsemen,
in order that by travelling more quickly by another road they might
arrive at Ariminum first, and he directed them promptly to remove John
from the city and all those with him, and to put in their place fully
enough men to guard the city, taking them from the fortress which is on
the Ionian Gulf, Ancon by name, two days' journey distant from Ariminum.
For he had already taken possession of it not long before, having sent
Conon with no small force of Isaurians and Thracians. It was his hope
that if unsupported infantry under commanders of no great note should
hold Ariminum, the Gothic forces would never undertake its siege, but
would regard it with contempt and so go at once to Ravenna, and that if
they should decide to besiege Ariminum, the provisions there would
suffice for the infantry for a somewhat longer time; and he thought also
that two thousand horsemen,[177] attacking from outside with the rest of
the army, would in all probability do the enemy great harm and drive
them more easily to abandon the siege. It was with this purpose that
Belisarius gave such orders to Martinus and Ildiger and their men. And
they, by travelling over the Flaminian Way, arrived long before the
barbarians. For since the Goths were moving in a great throng, they
proceeded in a more leisurely manner, and they were compelled to make
certain long detours, both because of the lack of provisions, and
because they preferred not to pass close to the fortresses on the
Flaminian Way, Narnia and Spolitium and Perusia, since these were in the
hands of the enemy, as has been stated above.[178]

When the Roman army arrived at Petra, they made an attack upon the
fortress there, regarding it as an incident of their expedition. Now
this fortress was not devised by man, but it was made by the nature of
the place; for the road passes through an extremely mountainous country
at that place. On the right of this road a river descends which no man
can ford because of the swiftness of the current, and on the left not
far away rises a sheer rock which reaches to such a height that men who
might chance to be standing on its summit, as seen by those below,
resemble in size the smallest birds. And in olden times there was no
passage through as one went forward. For the end of the rock reaches to
the very stream of the river, affording no room for those who travel
that way to pass by. So the men of ancient times constructed a tunnel at
that point, and made there a gate for the place.[179] And they also
closed up the greatest part of the other[180] entrance, leaving only
enough space for a small gate there also, and thus rendered the place a
natural fortress, which they call by the fitting name of Petra. So the
men of Martinus and Ildiger first made an attack upon one of the two
gates,[181] and shot many missiles, but they accomplished nothing,
although the barbarians there made no defence at all; but afterwards
they forced their way up the cliff behind the fortress and hurled stones
from there upon the heads of the Goths. And they, hurriedly and in great
confusion, entered their houses and remained quiet. And then the Romans,
unable to hit any of the enemy with the stones they threw, devised the
following plan. They broke off large pieces from the cliff and, many of
them pushing together, hurled them down, aiming at the houses. And
wherever these in their fall did no more than just graze the building,
they yet gave the whole fortress a considerable shock and reduced the
barbarians to great fear. Consequently the Goths stretched out their
hands to those who were still about the gate and surrendered themselves
and the fort, with the condition that they themselves should remain free
from harm, being slaves of the emperor and subject to Belisarius. And
Ildiger and Martinus removed the most of them and led them away, putting
them on a basis of complete equality with themselves, but some few they
left there, together with their wives and children. And they also left
something of a garrison of Romans. Thence they proceeded to Ancon, and
taking with them many of the infantry in that place on the third day
reached Ariminum, and announced the will of Belisarius. But John was not
only unwilling himself to follow them, but also proposed to retain
Damianus with the four hundred.[182] So they left there the infantry and
retired thence with all speed, taking the spearmen and guards of
Belisarius.

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