Procopius
P >>
Procopius >> Procopius
Pages:
1 | 2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17
FOOTNOTES:
[11] Book IV. v. 11 ff.
[12] Near modern Mitrowitz.
[13] Cf. Book III. xiv. 5, 6.
IV
But while these things were going on as I have explained, Theodatus was
denounced before Amalasuntha by many Tuscans, who stated that he had
done violence to all the people of Tuscany and had without cause seized
their estates, taking not only all private estates but especially those
belonging to the royal household, which the Romans are accustomed to
call "patrimonium." For this reason the woman called Theodatus to an
investigation, and when, being confronted by his denouncers, he had been
proved guilty without any question, she compelled him to pay back
everything which he had wrongfully seized and then dismissed him. And
since in this way she had given the greatest offence to the man, from
that time she was on hostile terms with him, exceedingly vexed as he
was by reason of his fondness for money, because he was unable to
continue his unlawful and violent practices.
At about this same time[I] Atalaric, being quite wasted away by the
disease, came to his end, having lived eight years in office. As for
Amalasuntha, since it was fated that she should fare ill, she took no
account of the nature of Theodatus and of what she had recently done to
him, and supposed that she would suffer no unpleasant treatment at his
hands if she should do the man some rather unusual favour. She
accordingly summoned him, and when he came, set out to cajole him,
saying that for some time she had known well that it was to be expected
that her son would soon die; for she had heard the opinion of all the
physicians, who agreed in their judgment, and had herself perceived that
the body of Atalaric continued to waste away. And since she saw that
both Goths and Italians had an unfavourable opinion regarding Theodatus,
who had now come to represent the race of Theoderic, she had conceived
the desire to clear him of this evil name, in order that it might not
stand in his way if he were called to the throne. But at the same time,
she explained, the question of justice disturbed her, at the thought
that those who claimed to have been wronged by him already should find
that they had no one to whom they might report what had befallen them,
but that they now had their enemy as their master. For these reasons,
then, although she invited him to the throne after his name should have
been cleared in this way, yet it was necessary, she said, that he should
be bound by the most solemn oaths that while the title of the office
should be conferred upon Theodatus, she herself should in fact hold the
power no less than before. When Theodatus heard this, although he swore
to all the conditions which Amalasuntha wished, he entered into the
agreement with treacherous intent, remembering all that she had
previously done to him. Thus Amalasuntha, being deceived by her own
judgment and the oaths of Theodatus, established him in the office. And
sending some Goths as envoys to Byzantium, she made this known to the
Emperor Justinian.
DATE:
[I]Oct. 10, 534 A.D.
But Theodatus, upon receiving the supreme power, began to act in all
things contrary to the hopes she had entertained and to the promises he
had made. And after winning the adherence of the relatives of the Goths
who had been slain by her--and they were both numerous and men of very
high standing among the Goths--he suddenly put to death some of the
connections of Amalasuntha and imprisoned her, the envoys not having as
yet reached Byzantium. Now there is a certain lake in Tuscany called
Vulsina,[14] within which rises an island,[15] exceedingly small but
having a strong fortress upon it. There Theodatus confined Amalasuntha
and kept her under guard.[J] But fearing that by this act he had given
offence to the emperor, as actually proved to be the case, he sent some
men of the Roman senate, Liberius and Opilio and certain others,
directing them to excuse his conduct to the emperor with all their power
by assuring him that Amalasuntha had met with no harsh treatment at his
hands, although she had perpetrated irreparable outrages upon him
before. And he himself wrote in this sense to the emperor, and also
compelled Amalasuntha, much against her will, to write the same thing.
DATE:
[J]Apr. 30, 535 A.D.
Such was the course of these events. But Peter had already been
despatched by the emperor on an embassy to Italy with instructions to
meet Theodatus without the knowledge of any others, and after Theodatus
had given pledges by an oath that none of their dealings should be
divulged, he was then to make a secure settlement with him regarding
Tuscany; and meeting Amalasuntha stealthily he was to make such an
arrangement with her regarding the whole of Italy as would be to the
profit of either party. But openly his mission was to negotiate with
regard to Lilybaeum and the other matters which I have lately mentioned.
For as yet the emperor had heard nothing about the death of Atalaric or
the succession of Theodatus to the throne, or the fate which had
befallen Amalasuntha. And Peter was already on his way when he met the
envoys of Amalasuntha and learned, in the first place, that Theodatus
had come to the throne; and a little later, upon reaching the city of
Aulon,[16] which lies on the Ionian Gulf, he met there the company of
Liberius and Opilio, and learned everything which had taken place, and
reporting this to the emperor he remained there.
And when the Emperor Justinian heard these things, he formed the purpose
of throwing the Goths and Theodatus into confusion; accordingly he wrote
a letter to Amalasuntha, stating that he was eager to give her every
possible support, and at the same time he directed Peter by no means to
conceal this message, but to make it known to Theodatus himself and to
all the Goths. And when the envoys from Italy arrived in Byzantium, they
all, with a single exception, reported the whole matter to the emperor,
and especially Liberius; for he was a man unusually upright and
honourable, and one who knew well how to shew regard for the truth; but
Opilio alone declared with the greatest persistence that Theodatus had
committed no offence against Amalasuntha. Now when Peter arrived in
Italy, it so happened that Amalasuntha had been removed from among men.
For the relatives of the Goths who had been slain by her came before
Theodatus declaring that neither his life nor theirs was secure unless
Amalasuntha should be put out of their way as quickly as possible. And
as soon as he gave in to them, they went to the island and killed
Amalasuntha,--an act which grieved exceedingly all the Italians and the
Goths as well. For the woman had the strictest regard for every kind of
virtue, as has been stated by me a little earlier.[17] Now Peter
protested openly[18] to Theodatus and the other Goths that because this
base deed had been committed by them, there would be war without truce
between the emperor and themselves. But Theodatus, such was his stupid
folly, while still holding the slayers of Amalasuntha in honour and
favour kept trying to persuade Peter and the emperor that this unholy
deed had been committed by the Goths by no means with his approval, but
decidedly against his will.
FOOTNOTES:
[14] Modern Bolsena.
[15] Marta; "now entirely uninhabited, but with a few steps cut in the
rock which are said to have led to the prison of Amalasuntha."--HODGKIN.
[16] Modern Avlona in Albania.
[17] Chap. ii. 3.
[18] See Gibbon's note (chap. xli.), amplified in Bury's edition, Vol.
IV. p. 304, for additional light on the part played by Justinian and
Peter in this affair.
V
Meanwhile it happened that Belisarius had distinguished himself by the
defeat of Gelimer and the Vandals. And the emperor, upon learning what
had befallen Amalasuntha, immediately entered upon the war, being in the
ninth year of his reign. And he first commanded Mundus, the general of
Illyricum, to go to Dalmatia, which was subject to the Goths, and make
trial of Salones.[19] Now Mundus was by birth a barbarian, but
exceedingly loyal to the cause of the emperor and an able warrior. Then
he sent Belisarius by sea with four thousand soldiers from the regular
troops and the foederati,[20] and about three thousand of the Isaurians.
And the commanders were men of note: Constantinus and Bessas from the
land of Thrace, and Peranius from Iberia[21] which is hard by Media, a
man who was by birth a member of the royal family of the Iberians, but
had before this time come as a deserter to the Romans through enmity
toward the Persians; and the levies of cavalry were commanded by
Valentinus, Magnus, and Innocentius, and the infantry by Herodian,
Paulus, Demetrius, and Ursicinus, while the leader of the Isaurians was
Ennes. And there were also two hundred Huns as allies and three hundred
Moors. But the general in supreme command over all was Belisarius, and
he had with him many notable men as spearmen and guards. And he was
accompanied also by Photius, the son of his wife Antonina by a previous
marriage; he was still a young man wearing his first beard, but
possessed the greatest discretion and shewed a strength of character
beyond his years. And the emperor instructed Belisarius to give out that
his destination was Carthage, but as soon as they should arrive at
Sicily, they were to disembark there as it obliged for some reason to do
so, and make trial of the island. And if it should be possible to reduce
it to subjection without any trouble, they were to take possession and
not let it go again; but if they should meet with any obstacle, they
were to sail with all speed to Libya, giving no one an opportunity to
perceive what their intention was.
And he also sent a letter to the leaders of the Franks as follows: "The
Goths, having seized by violence Italy, which was ours, have not only
refused absolutely to give it back, but have committed further acts of
injustice against us which are unendurable and pass beyond all bounds.
For this reason we have been compelled to take the field against them,
and it is proper that you should join with us in waging this war, which
is rendered yours as well as ours not only by the orthodox faith, which
rejects the opinion of the Arians, but also by the enmity we both feel
toward the Goths." Such was the emperor's letter; and making a gift of
money to them, he agreed to give more as soon as they should take an
active part. And they with all zeal promised to fight in alliance with
him.
Now Mundus and the army under his command entered Dalmatia, and engaging
with the Goths who encountered them there, defeated them in the battle
and took possession of Salones. As for Belisarius, he put in at Sicily
and took Catana. And making that place his base of operations, he took
over Syracuse and the other cities by surrender without any trouble;
except, indeed, that the Goths who were keeping guard in Panormus,[22]
having confidence in the fortifications of the place, which was a strong
one, were quite unwilling to yield to Belisarius and ordered him to lead
his army away from there with all speed. But Belisarius, considering
that it was impossible to capture the place from the landward side,
ordered the fleet to sail into the harbour, which extended right up to
the wall. For it was outside the circuit-wall and entirely without
defenders. Now when the ships had anchored there, it was seen that the
masts were higher than the parapet. Straightway, therefore, he filled
all the small boats of the ships with bowmen and hoisted them to the
tops of the masts. And when from these boats the enemy were shot at from
above, they fell into such an irresistible fear that they immediately
delivered Panormus to Belisarius by surrender. As a result of this the
emperor held all Sicily subject and tributary to himself. And at that
time it so happened that there fell to Belisarius a piece of good
fortune beyond the power of words to describe. For, having received the
dignity of the consulship because of his victory over the Vandals, while
he was still holding this honour, and after he had won the whole of
Sicily, on the last day of his consulship,[K] he marched into Syracuse,
loudly applauded by the army and by the Sicilians and throwing golden
coins to all. This coincidence, however, was not intentionally arranged
by him, but it was a happy chance which befell the man, that after
having recovered the whole of the island for the Romans he marched into
Syracuse on that particular day; and so it was not in the senate house
in Byzantium, as was customary, but there that he laid down the office
of the consuls and so became an ex-consul. Thus, then, did good fortune
attend Belisarius.
DATE:
[K]Dec. 31, 535 A.D.
FOOTNOTES:
[19] Or Salona, near modern Spalato.
[20] Auxiliaries; see Book III. xi. 3, 4, and note.
[21] Corresponding roughly to modern Georgia, just south of the
Caucasus.
[22] Modern Palermo.
VI
And when Peter learned of the conquest of Sicily, he was still more
insistent in his efforts to frighten Theodatus and would not let him go.
But he, turning coward and reduced to speechlessness no less than if he
himself had become a captive with Gelimer,[23] entered into negotiations
with Peter without the knowledge of any others, and between them they
formed an agreement, providing that Theodatus should retire from all
Sicily in favour of the Emperor Justinian, and should send him also a
golden crown every year weighing three hundred litrae,[24] and Gothic
warriors to the number of three thousand whenever he should wish; and
that Theodatus himself should have no authority to kill any priest or
senator, or to confiscate his property for the public treasury except by
the decision of the emperor; and that if Theodatus wished to advance
any of his subjects to the patrician or some other senatorial rank this
honour should not be bestowed by him, but he should ask the emperor to
bestow it; and that the Roman populace, in acclaiming their sovereign,
should always shout the name of the emperor first, and afterward that of
Theodatus, both in the theatres and in the hippodromes and wherever else
it should be necessary for such a thing to be done; furthermore, that no
statue of bronze nor of any other material should ever be set up to
Theodatus alone, but statues must always be made for both, and they must
stand thus: on the right that of the emperor, and on the other side that
of Theodatus. And after Theodatus had written in confirmation of this
agreement he dismissed the ambassador.
But, a little later, terror laid hold upon the man's soul and brought
him into fears which knew no bound and tortured his mind, filling him
with dread at the name of war, and reminding him that if the agreement
drawn up by Peter and himself did not please the emperor at all, war
would straightway come upon him. Once more, therefore, he summoned
Peter, who had already reached Albani,[25] for a secret conference, and
enquired of the man whether he thought that the agreement would be
pleasing to the emperor. And he replied that he supposed it would. "But
if," said Theodatus, "these things do not please the man at all, what
will happen then?" And Peter replied "After that you will have to wage
war, most noble Sir." "But what is this," he said; "is it just, my dear
ambassador?" And Peter, immediately taking him up, said "And how is it
not just, my good Sir, that the pursuits appropriate to each man's
nature should be preserved?" "What, pray, may this mean?" asked
Theodatus. "It means," was the reply, "that your great interest is to
philosophize, while Justinian's is to be a worthy emperor of the Romans.
And there is this difference, that for one who has practised philosophy
it would never be seemly to bring about the death of men, especially in
such great numbers, and it should be added that this view accords with
the teachings of Plato, which you have evidently espoused, and hence it
is unholy for you not to be free from all bloodshed; but for him it is
not at all inappropriate to seek to acquire a land which has belonged
from of old to the realm which is his own." Thereupon Theodatus, being
convinced by this advice, agreed to retire from the kingship in favour
of the Emperor Justinian, and both he and his wife took an oath to this
effect. He then bound Peter by oaths that he would not divulge this
agreement until he should see that the emperor would not accept the
former convention. And he sent with him Rusticus, a priest who was
especially devoted to him and a Roman citizen, to negotiate on the basis
of this agreement. And he also entrusted a letter to these men.
So Peter and Rusticus, upon reaching Byzantium, reported the first
decision to the emperor, just as Theodatus had directed them to do. But
when the emperor was quite unwilling to accept the proposal, they
revealed the plan which had been committed to writing afterwards. This
was to the following effect: "I am no stranger to royal courts, but it
was my fortune to have been born in the house of my uncle while he was
king and to have been reared in a manner worthy of my race; and yet I
have had little experience of wars and of the turmoils which wars
entail. For since from my earliest years I have been passionately
addicted to scholarly disputations and have always devoted my time to
this sort of thing, I have consequently been up to the present time very
far removed from the confusion of battles. Therefore it is utterly
absurd that I should aspire to the honours which royalty confers and
thus lead a life fraught with danger, when it is possible for me to
avoid them both. For neither one of these is a pleasure to me; the
first, because it is liable to satiety, for it is a surfeit of all sweet
things, and the second, because lack of familiarity with such a life
throws one into confusion. But as for me, if estates should be provided
me which yielded an annual income of no less than twelve centenaria,[26]
I should regard the kingdom as of less account than them, and I shall
hand over to thee forthwith the power of the Goths and Italians. For I
should find more pleasure in being a farmer free from all cares than in
passing my life amid a king's anxieties, attended as they are by danger
after danger. Pray send a man as quickly as possible into whose hands I
may fittingly deliver Italy and the affairs of the kingdom."
Such was the purport of the letter of Theodatus. And the emperor, being
exceedingly pleased, replied as follows: "From of old have I heard by
report that you were a man of discretion, but now, taught by experience,
I know it by the decision you have reached not to await the issue of
the war. For certain men who in the past have followed such a course
have been completely undone. And you will never repent having made us
friends instead of enemies. But you will not only have this that you ask
at our hands, but you will also have the distinction of being enrolled
in the highest honours of the Romans. Now for the present I have sent
Athanasius and Peter, so that each party may have surety by some
agreement. And almost immediately Belisarius also will visit you to
complete all the arrangements which have been agreed upon between us."
After writing this the emperor sent Athanasius, the brother of
Alexander, who had previously gone on an embassy to Atalaric, as has
been said,[27] and for the second time Peter the orator, whom I have
mentioned above,[28] enjoining upon them to assign to Theodatus the
estates of the royal household, which they call "patrimonium"; and not
until after they had drawn up a written document and had secured oaths
to fortify the agreement were they to summon Belisarius from Sicily, in
order that he might take over the palace and all Italy and hold them
under guard. And he wrote to Belisarius that as soon as they should
summon him he should go thither with all speed.
FOOTNOTES:
[23] The captivity of Gelimer is described in Book IV. vii. 12-17; ix.
11-14.
[24] At present values "worth about L12,000."--HODGKIN.
[25] Modern Albano; on the Appian Way. Cf. Book VI. iv. 8.
[26] See Book I. xxii. 4; III. vi. 2, note.
[27] Chap. iii. 13.
[28] Chap. iii. 30, iv. 17 ff.
VII
But meantime, while the emperor was engaged in these negotiations and
these envoys were travelling to Italy, the Goths, under command of
Asinarius and Gripas and some others, had come with a great army into
Dalmatia. And when they had reached the neighbourhood of Salones,
Mauricius, the son of Mundus, who was not marching out for battle but,
with a few men, was on a scouting expedition, encountered them. A
violent engagement ensued in which the Goths lost their foremost and
noblest men, but the Romans almost their whole company, including their
general Mauricius. And when Mundus heard of this, being overcome with
grief at the misfortune and by this time dominated by a mighty fury, he
went against the enemy without the least delay and regardless of order.
The battle which took place was stubbornly contested, and the result was
a Cadmean victory[29] for the Romans. For although the most of the enemy
fell there and their rout had been decisive, Mundus, who went on killing
and following up the enemy wherever he chanced to find them and was
quite unable to restrain his mind because of the misfortune of his son,
was wounded by some fugitive or other and fell. Thereupon the pursuit
ended and the two armies separated. And at that time the Romans recalled
the verse of the Sibyl, which had been pronounced in earlier times and
seemed to them a portent. For the words of the saying were that when
Africa should be held, the "world" would perish together with its
offspring. This, however, was not the real meaning of the oracle, but
after intimating that Libya would be once more subject to the Romans, it
added this statement also, that when that time came Mundus would perish
together with his son. For it runs as follows: "Africa capta Mundus cum
nato peribit."[30] But since "mundus" in the Latin tongue has the force
of "world," they thought that the saying had reference to the world. So
much, then, for this. As for Salones, it was not entered by anyone. For
the Romans went back home, since they were left altogether without a
commander, and the Goths, seeing that not one of their nobles was left
them, fell into fear and took possession of the strongholds in the
neighbourhood; for they had no confidence in the defences of Salones,
and, besides, the Romans who lived there were not very well disposed
towards them.
When Theodatus heard this, he took no account of the envoys who by now
had come to him. For he was by nature much given to distrust, and he by
no means kept his mind steadfast, but the present fortune always reduced
him now to a state of terror which knew no measure, and this contrary to
reason and the proper understanding of the situation, and again brought
him to the opposite extreme of unspeakable boldness. And so at that
time, when he heard of the death of Mundus and Mauricius, he was lifted
up exceedingly and in a manner altogether unjustified by what had
happened, and he saw fit to taunt the envoys when they at length
appeared before him. And when Peter on one occasion remonstrated with
him because he had transgressed his agreement with the emperor,
Theodatus called both of them publicly and spoke as follows: "The
position of envoys is a proud one and in general has come to be held in
honour among all men; but envoys preserve for themselves these their
prerogatives only so long as they guard the dignity of their embassy by
the propriety of their own conduct. For men have sanctioned as just the
killing of an envoy whenever he is either found to have insulted a
sovereign or has had knowledge of a woman who is the wife of another."
Such were the words with which Theodatus inveighed against Peter, not
because he had approached a woman, but, apparently, in order to make
good his claim that there were charges which might lead to the death of
an ambassador. But the envoys replied as follows: "The facts are not, O
Ruler of the Goths, as thou hast stated them, nor canst thou, under
cover of flimsy pretexts, wantonly perpetrate unholy deeds upon men who
are envoys. For it is not possible for an ambassador, even if he wishes
it, to become an adulterer, since it is not easy for him even to partake
of water except by the will of those who guard him. And as for the
proposals which he has received from the lips of him who has sent him
and then delivers, he himself cannot reasonably incur the blame which
arises from them, in case they be not good, but he who has given the
command would justly bear this charge, while the sole responsibility of
the ambassador is to have discharged his mission. We, therefore, shall
say all that we were instructed by the emperor to say when we were sent,
and do thou hear us quietly; for if thou art stirred to excitement, all
thou canst do will be to wrong men who are ambassadors. It is time,
therefore, for thee of thine own free will to perform all that thou
didst promise the emperor. This, indeed, is the purpose for which we
have come. And the letter which he wrote to thee thou hast already
received, but as for the writing which he sent to the foremost of the
Goths, to no others shall we give it than to them." When the leading men
of the barbarians, who were present, heard this speech of the envoys,
they bade them give to Theodatus what had been written to them. And it
ran as follows: "It has been the object of our care to receive you back
into our state, whereat you may well be pleased. For you will come to
us, not in order to be made of less consequence, but that you may be
more honoured. And, besides, we are not bidding the Goths enter into
strange or alien customs, but into those of a people with whom you were
once familiar, though you have by chance been separated from them for a
season. For these reasons Athanasius and Peter have been sent to you,
and you ought to assist them in all things." Such was the purport of
this letter. But after Theodatus had read everything, he not only
decided not to perform in deed the promises he had made to the emperor,
but also put the envoys under a strict guard.
Pages:
1 | 2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17