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And at the Salarian Gate a Goth of goodly stature and a capable warrior,
wearing a corselet and having a helmet on his head, a man who was of no
mean station in the Gothic nation, refused to remain in the ranks with
his comrades, but stood by a tree and kept shooting many missiles at the
parapet. But this man by some chance was hit by a missile from an engine
which was on a tower at his left. And passing through the corselet and
the body of the man, the missile sank more than half its length into the
tree, and pinning him to the spot where it entered the tree, it
suspended him there a corpse. And when this was seen by the Goths they
fell into great fear, and getting outside the range of missiles, they
still remained in line, but no longer harassed those on the wall.

But Bessas and Peranius summoned Belisarius, since Vittigis was pressing
most vigorously upon them at the Vivarium. And he was fearful concerning
the wall there (for it was most assailable at that point, as has been
said[119]), and so came to the rescue himself with all speed, leaving
one of his friends at the Salarian Gate. And finding that the soldiers
in the Vivarium dreaded the attack of the enemy, which was being pressed
with great vigour and by very large numbers, he bade them look with
contempt upon the enemy and thus restored their confidence. Now the
ground there[120] was very level, and consequently the place lay open to
the attacks of any assailant. And for some reason the wall at that point
had crumbled a great deal, and to such an extent that the binding of the
bricks did not hold together very well. Consequently the ancient Romans
had built another wall of short length outside of it and encircling it,
not for the sake of safety (for it was neither strengthened with towers,
nor indeed was there any battlement built upon it, nor any other means
by which it would have been possible to repulse an enemy's assault upon
the fortifications), but in order to provide for an unseemly kind of
luxury, namely, that they might confine and keep there lions and other
wild animals. And it is for this reason that this place has been named
the Vivarium; for thus the Romans call a place where untamed animals are
regularly cared for. So Vittigis began to make ready various engines at
different places along the wall and commanded the Goths to mine the
outside wall, thinking that, if they should get inside that, they would
have no trouble in capturing the main wall, which he knew to be by no
means strong. But Belisarius, seeing that the enemy was undermining the
Vivarium and assaulting the fortifications at many places, neither
allowed the soldiers to defend the wall nor to remain at the
battlement, except a very few, although he had with him whatever men of
distinction the army contained. But he held them all in readiness below
about the gates, with their corselets on and carrying only swords in
their hands. And when the Goths, after making a breach in the wall, got
inside the Vivarium, he quickly sent Cyprian with some others into the
enclosure against them, commanding them to set to work. And they slew
all who had broken in, for these made no defence and at the same time
were being destroyed by one another in the cramped space about the exit.
And since the enemy were thrown into dismay by the sudden turn of events
and were not drawn up in order, but were rushing one in one direction
and one in another, Belisarius suddenly opened the gates of the
circuit-wall and sent out his entire army against his opponents. And the
Goths had not the least thought of resistance, but rushed off in flight
in any and every direction, while the Romans, following them up, found
no difficulty in killing all whom they fell in with, and the pursuit
proved a long one, since the Goths, in assaulting the wall at that
place, were far away from their own camps. Then Belisarius gave the
order to burn the enemy's engines, and the flames, rising to a great
height, naturally increased the consternation of the fugitives.

Meanwhile it chanced that the same thing happened at the Salarian Gate
also. For the Romans suddenly opened the gates and fell unexpectedly
upon the barbarians, and, as these made no resistance but turned their
backs, slew them; and they burned the engines of war which were within
their reach. And the flames at many parts of the wall rose to a great
height, and the Goths were already being forced to retire from the whole
circuit-wall; and the shouting on both sides was exceedingly loud, as
the men on the wall urged on the pursuers, and those in the camps
bewailed the overwhelming calamity they had suffered. Among the Goths
there perished on that day thirty thousand, as their leaders declared,
and a larger number were wounded; for since they were massed in great
numbers, those fighting from the battlement generally hit somebody when
they shot at them, and at the same time those who made the sallies
destroyed an extraordinary number of terrified and fleeing men. And the
fighting at the wall, which had commenced early in the morning, did not
end until late in the afternoon. During that night, then, both armies
bivouacked where they were, the Romans singing the song of victory on
the fortifications and lauding Belisarius to the skies, having with them
the spoils stripped from the fallen, while the Goths cared for their
wounded and bewailed their dead.

FOOTNOTES:

[117] "No doubt these are the same as the _Regii_, one of the seventeen
'Auxilia Palatina' under the command of the Magister Militum
Praesentalis, mentioned in the _Notitia Orientis_, chap. v."--HODGKIN.

[118] Murus Ruptus. "Here, to this day, notwithstanding some lamentable
and perfectly unnecessary 'restorations' of recent years, may be seen
some portions of the Muro Torto, a twisted, bulging, overhanging mass of
_opus reticulatum_."--HODGKIN.

[119] Chap. xxii. 10.

[120] The exact location is hard to determine; the majority of the
authorities agree on the location given in the plan (opposite p. 185),
near the Porta Labicana.

XXIV

And Belisarius wrote a letter to the emperor of the following purport:
"We have arrived in Italy, as thou didst command, and we have made
ourselves masters of much territory in it and have taken possession of
Rome also, after driving out the barbarians who were here, whose leader,
Leuderis, I have recently sent to you. But since we have stationed a
great number of soldiers both in Sicily and in Italy to guard the
strongholds which we have proved able to capture, our army has in
consequence been reduced to only five thousand men. But the enemy have
come against us, gathered together to the number of one hundred and
fifty thousand. And first of all, when we went out to spy upon their
forces along the Tiber River and were compelled, contrary to our
intention, to engage with them, we lacked only a little of being buried
under a multitude of spears. And after this, when the barbarians
attacked the wall with their whole army and assaulted the fortifications
at every point with sundry engines of war, they came within a little of
capturing both us and the city at the first onset, and they would have
succeeded had not some chance snatched us from ruin. For achievements
which transcend the nature of things may not properly and fittingly be
ascribed to man's valour, but to a stronger power. Now all that has been
achieved by us hitherto, whether it has been due to some kind fortune or
to valour, is for the best; but as to our prospects from now on, I could
wish better things for thy cause. However, I shall never hide from you
anything that it is my duty to say and yours to do, knowing that while
human affairs follow whatever course may be in accordance with God's
will, yet those who are in charge of any enterprise always win praise or
blame according to their own deeds. Therefore let both arms and soldiers
be sent to us in such numbers that from now on we may engage with the
enemy in this war with an equality of strength. For one ought not to
trust everything to fortune, since fortune, on its part, is not given to
following the same course forever. But do thou, O Emperor, take this
thought to heart, that if at this time the barbarians win the victory
over us, we shall be cast out of Italy which is thine and shall lose the
army in addition, and besides all this we shall have to bear the shame,
however great it may be, that attaches to our conduct. For I refrain
from saying that we should also be regarded as having ruined the Romans,
men who have held their safety more lightly than their loyalty to thy
kingdom. Consequently, if this should happen, the result for us will be
that the successes we have won thus far will in the end prove to have
been but a prelude to calamities. For if it had so happened that we had
been repulsed from Rome and Campania and, at a much earlier time, from
Sicily, we should only be feeling the sting of the lightest of all
misfortunes, that of having found ourselves unable to grow wealthy on
the possessions of others. And again, this too is worthy of
consideration by you, that it has never been possible even for many
times ten thousand men to guard Rome for any considerable length of
time, since the city embraces a large territory, and, because it is not
on the sea, is shut off from all supplies. And although at the present
time the Romans are well disposed toward us, yet when their troubles are
prolonged, they will probably not hesitate to choose the course which is
better for their own interests. For when men have entered into
friendship with others on the spur of the moment, it is not while they
are in evil fortune, but while they prosper, that they are accustomed to
keep faith with them. Furthermore, the Romans will be compelled by
hunger to do many things they would prefer not to do. Now as for me, I
know I am bound even to die for thy kingdom, and for this reason no man
will ever be able to remove me from this city while I live; but I beg
thee to consider what kind of a fame such an end of Belisarius would
bring thee."

Such was the letter written by Belisarius. And the emperor, greatly
distressed, began in haste to gather an army and ships, and sent orders
to the troops of Valerian and Martinus[121] to proceed with all speed.
For they had been sent, as it happened, with another army at about the
winter solstice, with instructions to sail to Italy. But they had sailed
as far as Greece, and since they were unable to force their way any
farther, they were passing the winter in the land of Aetolia and
Acarnania. And the Emperor Justinian sent word of all this to
Belisarius, and thus filled him and all the Romans with still greater
courage and confirmed their zeal.

At this time it so happened that the following event took place in
Naples. There was in the market-place a picture of Theoderic, the ruler
of the Goths, made by means of sundry stones which were exceedingly
small and tinted with nearly every colour. At one time during the life
of Theoderic it had come to pass that the head of this picture fell
apart, the stones as they had been set having become disarranged without
having been touched by anyone, and by a coincidence Theoderic finished
his life forthwith. And eight years later the stones which formed the
body of the picture fell apart suddenly, and Atalaric, the grandson of
Theoderic, immediately died. And after the passage of a short time, the
stones about the groin fell to the ground, and Amalasuntha, the child
of Theoderic, passed from the world. Now these things had already
happened as described. But when the Goths began the siege of Rome, as
chance would have it, the portion of the picture from the thighs to the
tips of the feet fell into ruin, and thus the whole picture disappeared
from the wall. And the Romans, divining the meaning of the incident,
maintained that the emperor's army would be victorious in the war,
thinking that the feet of Theoderic were nothing else than the Gothic
people whom he ruled, and, in consequence, they became still more
hopeful.

In Rome, moreover, some of the patricians brought out the Sibylline
oracles,[122] declaring that the danger which had come to the city would
continue only up till the month of July. For it was fated that at that
time someone should be appointed king over the Romans, and thenceforth
Rome should have no longer any Getic peril to fear; for they say that
the Goths are of the Getic race. And the oracle was as follows: "In the
fifth (Quintilis) month . . . under . . . as king nothing Getic
longer. . . ." And they declared that the "fifth month" was July, some
because the siege began on the first day of March, from which July is
the fifth month, others because March was considered the first month
until the reign of Numa, the full year before that time containing ten
months and our July for this reason having its name Quintilis. But
after all, none of these predictions came true. For neither was a king
appointed over the Romans at that time, nor was the siege destined to be
broken up until a year later, and Rome was again to come into similar
perils in the reign of Totila, ruler of the Goths, as will be told by me
in the subsequent narrative.[123] For it seems to me that the oracle
does not indicate this present attack of the barbarians, but some other
attack which has either happened already or will come at some later
time. Indeed, in my opinion, it is impossible for a mortal man to
discover the meaning of the Sibyl's oracles before the actual event. The
reason for this I shall now set forth, having read all the oracles in
question. The Sibyl does not invariably mention events in their order,
much less construct a well-arranged narrative, but after uttering some
verse or other concerning the troubles in Libya she leaps straightway to
the land of Persia, thence proceeds to mention the Romans, and then
transfers the narrative to the Assyrians. And again, while uttering
prophecies about the Romans, she foretells the misfortunes of the
Britons. For this reason it is impossible for any man soever to
comprehend the oracles of the Sibyl before the event, and it is only
time itself, after the event has already come to pass and the words can
be tested by experience, that can shew itself an accurate interpreter of
her sayings. But as for these things, let each one reason as he desires.
But I shall return to the point from which I have strayed.

FOOTNOTES:

[121] Leaders of foederati; see Book III. xi. 4-6; they had been
recalled from Africa to Byzantium, cf. Book IV. xix. 2.

[122] The story of the origin of these oracles is given in Dionysius of
Halicarnassus, _Ant. Rom._ IV. lxii. They were burned with the Capitol
in 83 B.C. The second collection was burned by Stilicho in 405 A.D. The
oracles Procopius saw (cf. Sec. 35 of this chapter) were therefore a third
collection.

[123] Book VII. xx.

XXV

When the Goths had been repulsed in the fight at the wall, each army
bivouacked that night in the manner already described.[124] But on the
following day Belisarius commanded all the Romans to remove their women
and children to Naples, and also such of their domestics as they thought
would not be needed by them for the guarding of the wall, his purpose
being, naturally, to forestall a scarcity of provisions. And he issued
orders to the soldiers to do the same thing, in case anyone had a male
or female attendant. For, he went on to say, he was no longer able while
besieged to provide them with food to the customary amount, but they
would have to accept one half their daily ration in actual supplies,
taking the remainder in silver. So they proceeded to carry out his
instructions. And immediately a great throng set out for Campania. Now
some, who had the good fortune to secure such boats as were lying at
anchor in the harbour[125] of Rome, secured passage, but the rest went
on foot by the road which is called the Appian Way. And no danger or
fear, as far as the besiegers were concerned, arose to disturb either
those who travelled this way on foot or those who set out from the
harbour. For, on the one hand, the enemy were unable to surround the
whole of Rome with their camps on account of the great size of the city,
and, on the other, they did not dare to be found far from the camps in
small companies, fearing the sallies of their opponents. And on this
account abundant opportunity was afforded for some time to the besieged
both to move out of the city and to bring provisions into it from
outside. And especially at night the barbarians were always in great
fear, and so they merely posted guards and remained quietly in their
camps. For parties were continually issuing from the city, and
especially Moors in great numbers, and whenever they found their enemies
either asleep or walking about in small companies (as is accustomed to
happen often in a large army, the men going out not only to attend to
the needs of nature, but also to pasture horses and mules and such
animals as are suitable for food), they would kill them and speedily
strip them, and if perchance a larger number of the enemy should fall
upon them, they would retire on the run, being men swift of foot by
nature and lightly equipped, and always distancing their pursuers in the
flight. Consequently, the great majority were able to withdraw from
Rome, and some went to Campania, some to Sicily, and others wherever
they thought it was easier or better to go. But Belisarius saw that the
number of soldiers at his command was by no means sufficient for the
whole circuit of the wall, for they were few, as I have previously
stated,[126] and the same men could not keep guard constantly without
sleeping, but some would naturally be taking their sleep while others
were stationed on guard. At the same time he saw that the greatest part
of the populace were hard pressed by poverty and in want of the
necessities of life; for since they were men who worked with their
hands, and all they had was what they got from day to day, and since
they had been compelled to be idle on account of the siege, they had no
means of procuring provisions. For these reasons Belisarius mingled
soldiers and citizens together and distributed them to each post,
appointing a certain fixed wage for an unenlisted man for each day. In
this way companies were made up which were sufficient for the guarding
of the wall, and the duty of keeping guard on the fortifications during
a stated night was assigned to each company, and the members of the
companies all took turns in standing guard. In this manner, then,
Belisarius did away with the distress of both soldiers and citizens.

But a suspicion arose against Silverius, the chief priest of the city,
that he was engaged in treasonable negotiations with the Goths, and
Belisarius sent him immediately to Greece, and a little later appointed
another man, Vigilius by name, to the office of chief priest. And he
banished from Rome on the same charge some of the senators, but later,
when the enemy had abandoned the siege and retired, he restored them
again to their homes. Among these was Maximus, whose ancestor
Maximus[127] had committed the crime against the Emperor Valentinian.
And fearing lest the guards at the gates should become involved in a
plot, and lest someone should gain access from the outside with intent
to corrupt them with money, twice in each month he destroyed all the
keys and had new ones made, each time of a different design, and he also
changed the guards to other posts which were far removed from those they
had formerly occupied, and every night he set different men in charge
of those who were doing guard-duty on the fortifications. And it was the
duty of these officers to make the rounds of a section of the wall,
taking turns in this work, and to write down the names of the guards,
and if anyone was missing from that section, they put another man on
duty in his stead for the moment, and on the morrow reported the missing
man to Belisarius himself, whoever he might be, in order that the
fitting punishment might be given him. And he ordered musicians to play
their instruments on the fortifications at night, and he continually
sent detachments of soldiers, especially Moors, outside the walls, whose
duty it was always to pass the night about the moat, and he sent dogs
with them in order that no one might approach the fortifications, even
at a distance, without being detected.

At that time some of the Romans attempted secretly to force open the
doors of the temple of Janus. This Janus was the first of the ancient
gods whom the Romans call in their own tongue "Penates."[128] And he has
his temple in that part of the forum in front of the senate-house which
lies a little above the "Tria Fata"[129]; for thus the Romans are
accustomed to call the Moirai.[130] And the temple is entirely of bronze
and was erected in the form of a square, but it is only large enough to
cover the statue of Janus. Now this statue, is of bronze, and not less
than five cubits high; in all other respects it resembles a man, but its
head has two faces, one of which is turned toward the east and the other
toward the west. And there are brazen doors fronting each face, which
the Romans in olden times were accustomed to close in time of peace and
prosperity, but when they had war they opened them. But when the Romans
came to honour, as truly as any others, the teachings of the Christians,
they gave up the custom of opening these doors, even when they were at
war. During this siege, however, some, I suppose, who had in mind the
old belief, attempted secretly to open them, but they did not succeed
entirely, and moved the doors only so far that they did not close
tightly against one another as formerly. And those who had attempted to
do this escaped detection; and no investigation of the act was made, as
was natural in a time of great confusion, since it did not become known
to the commanders, nor did it reach the ears of the multitude, except of
a very few.

FOOTNOTES:

[124] Chap. xxiii. 27.

[125] At this time the town of Portus, on the north side of the Tiber's
mouths, Ostia, on the south side, having been long neglected. Cf. chap.
xxvi. 7, 8.

[126] Five thousand; cf. chap. xxiv. 2.

[127] Book III. iv. 36.

[128] Janus was an old Italian divinity, whose worship was said to have
been introduced by Romulus. We are not told by anyone else that he was
included among the Penates, but the statement is doubtless true.

[129] "This temple of Janus--the most celebrated, but not the only one
in Rome--must have stood a little to the right of the Arch of Septimius
Severus (as one looks toward the Capitol) and a little in front of the
Mamertine Prison."--HODGKIN. The "Tria Fata" were three ancient statues
of Sibyls which stood by the Rostra.

[130] _i.e._ the Fates.

XXVI

Now Vittigis, in his anger and perplexity, first sent some of his
bodyguards to Ravenna with orders to kill all the Roman senators whom he
had taken there at the beginning of this war. And some of them, learning
of this beforehand, succeeded in making their escape, among them being
Vergentinus and Reparatus, the brother of Vigilius, the chief priest of
Rome, both of whom betook themselves into Liguria and remained there;
but all the rest were destroyed. After this Vittigis, seeing that the
enemy were enjoying a large degree of freedom, not only in taking out of
the city whatever they wished, but also in bringing in provisions both
by land and by sea, decided to seize the harbour, which the Romans call
"Portus."

This harbour is distant from the city one hundred and twenty-six stades;
for Rome lacks only so much of being on the sea; and it is situated
where the Tiber River has its mouth.[131] Now as the Tiber flows down
from Rome, and reaches a point rather near the sea, about fifteen stades
from it, the stream divides into two parts and makes there the Sacred
Island, as it is called. As the river flows on the island becomes wider,
so that the measure of its breadth corresponds to its length, for the
two streams have between them a distance of fifteen stades; and the
Tiber remains navigable on both sides. Now the portion of the river on
the right empties into the harbour, and beyond the mouth the Romans in
ancient times built on the shore a city,[132] which is surrounded by an
exceedingly strong wall; and it is called, like the harbour, "Portus."
But on the left at the point where the other part of the Tiber empties
into the sea is situated the city of Ostia, lying beyond the place where
the river-bank ends, a place of great consequence in olden times, but
now entirely without walls. Moreover, the Romans at the very beginning
made a road leading from Portus to Rome, which was smooth and presented
no difficulty of any kind. And many barges are always anchored in the
harbour ready for service, and no small number of oxen stand in
readiness close by. Now when the merchants reach the harbour with their
ships, they unload their cargoes and place them in the barges, and sail
by way of the Tiber to Rome; but they do not use sails or oars at all,
for the boats cannot be propelled in the stream by any wind since the
river winds about exceedingly and does not follow a straight course, nor
can oars be employed, either, since the force of the current is always
against them. Instead of using such means, therefore, they fasten ropes
from the barges to the necks of oxen, and so draw them just like waggons
up to Rome. But on the other side of the river, as one goes from the
city of Ostia to Rome, the road is shut in by woods and in general lies
neglected, and is not even near the bank of the Tiber, since there is no
towing of barges on that road.

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