The Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus Part 50

-- 1. Another fortunate circ.u.mstance occurred to swell the prosperity of the rebels. A tribune named Rumitalca, who had joined the partisans of Procopius, having been intrusted with the guard of the palace, digested a plan, and after mingling with the soldiers, pa.s.sed over by sea to the town formerly known as Drepanum, but now as Helenopolis, and thence marched upon Nicaea, and made himself master of it before any one dreamt of such a step.

2. Valens sent Vadomarius, who had formerly been duke and king of the Allemanni, with a body of troops experienced in that kind of work, to besiege Nicaea, and proceeded himself to Nicomedia; and pa.s.sing on from that city, he pressed the siege of Chalcedon with all his might; but the citizens poured reproaches on him from the walls, calling him Sabaiarius, or beer-drinker. Now Sabai is a drink made of barley or other grain, and is used only by poor people in Illyric.u.m.

3. At last, being worn out by the scarcity of supplies and the exceeding obstinacy of the garrison, he was preparing to raise the siege, when the garrison who were shut up in Nicaea suddenly opened the gates and issued forth, destroying a great portion of the works of the besiegers, and under the command of the faithful Rumitalca hastened on eagerly in the hope of cutting off Valens, who had not yet quitted the suburb of Chalcedon. And they would have succeeded in their attempt if he had not learnt the imminence of his danger from some rumour, and eluded the enemy who were pressing on his track, by departing with all speed by a road lying between the lake Sunon and the winding course of the river Gallus. And through this circ.u.mstance Bithynia also fell into the hands of Procopius.

4. When Valens had returned by forced marches from this city to Ancyra, and had learnt that Lupicinus was approaching with no inconsiderable force from the East, he began to entertain better hopes, and sent Arinthaeus as his most approved general to encounter the enemy.

5. And when Arinthaeus reached Dadastana, where we have mentioned that Jovian died, he suddenly saw in his front, Hyperechius, who had previously been only a subaltern, but who now, as a trusty friend, had received from Procopius the command of the auxiliary forces. And thinking it no credit to defeat in battle a man of no renown, relying on his authority and on his lofty personal stature, he shouted out a command to the enemy themselves to take and bind their commander; they obeyed, and so this mere shadow of a general was arrested by the hands of his own men.

6. In the interim, a man of the name of Venustus, who had been an officer of the treasury under Valens, and who had some time before been sent to Nicomedia, to distribute pay to the soldiers who were scattered over the East, when he heard of this disaster, perceived that the time was unfavourable for the execution of his commission, and repaired in haste to Cyzicus with the money which he had with him.

7. There, as it happened, he met Serenia.n.u.s, who was at that time the count of the guards, and who had been sent to protect the treasury, and who now, with a garrison collected in a hurry, had undertaken the defence of the city, which was impregnable in its walls, and celebrated also for many ancient monuments, though Procopius, in order, now that he had got possession of Bithynia, to make himself master of the h.e.l.lespont, had sent a strong force to besiege it.

8. The siege went on slowly; often numbers of the besiegers were wounded by arrows and bullets, and other missiles; and by the skill of the garrison a barrier of the strongest iron chain was thrown across the mouth of the harbour, fastened strongly to the land on each side, to prevent the ships of the enemy, which were armed with beaks, from forcing their way in.

9. This boom, however, after great exertions on the part of both soldiers and generals, who were all exhausted by the fierce nature of the struggle, a tribune of the name of Aliso, an experienced and skilful warrior, cut through in the following manner:--He fastened together three vessels, and placed upon them a kind of testudo, thus,--on the benches stood a body of armed men, united together by their shields, which joined above their heads; behind them was another row, who stooped, so as to be lower; a third rank bent lower still, so as to form a regular gradation; so that the last row of all, resting on their haunches, gave the whole formation the appearance of an arch. This kind of machine is employed in contests under the walls of towns, in order that while the blows of missiles and stones fall on the slippery descent they may pa.s.s off like so much rain.

10. Aliso then, being for a while defended from the shower of missiles, by his own vast strength held a log under this chain, while with a mighty blow of his axe he cut it through, so that being driven asunder, it left the broad entrance open, and thus the city was laid open unprotected to the a.s.sault of the enemy. And on this account, when, after the death of the originator of all this confusion, cruel vengeance was taken on the members of his party, the same tribune, from a recollection of his gallant action, was granted his life and allowed to retain his commission, and a long time afterwards fell in Isauria in a conflict with a band of ravagers.

11. When Cyzicus was thus opened to him, Procopius hastened thither, and pardoned all who had opposed him, except Serenia.n.u.s, whom he put in irons, and sent to Nicaea, to be kept in close confinement.

12. And immediately he appointed the young Hormisdas (the son of the former Prince Hormisdas) proconsul intrusting him in the ancient fashion with the command both in civil and military affairs. He conducted himself, as his natural disposition prompted him, with moderation, but was almost seized by the soldiers whom Valens had sent by the difficult pa.s.ses of Phrygia; he saved himself, however, by great energy, embarking on board a vessel which he kept in readiness for any emergency, carrying off also his wife, who followed him, and was nearly taken prisoner, had he not protected her under a shower of arrows. She was a lady of high family and great wealth, whose modesty and the glorious destiny reserved for her subsequently saved her husband from great dangers.

13. In consequence of this victory Procopius was elated beyond measure, and not knowing that a man, however happy, if Fortune turns her wheel may become most miserable before evening, he ordered the house of Arbetio, which he had previously spared as that of one of his own partisans, to be rifled, and it was full of furniture of countless value. The reason of his indignation against Arbetio was, that though he had summoned him several times to come to him, he had deferred his audience, pleading old age and sickness.

14. And this presumptuous man might, from the uncertainty in human affairs, have feared some great change; but though without any resistance he could have overrun the provinces of the East with the willing consent of the natives themselves, who, from weariness of the severe rule under which they then were, were eager for any change whatever, he indolently lingered, hoping to gain over some cities of Asia Minor, and to collect some men who were skilful in procuring gold, and who would be of use to him in future battles, which he expected would be both numerous and severe.

15. Thus he was allowing himself to grow blunt, like a rusty sword; just as formerly Pescennius Niger, when repeatedly urged by the Roman people to come to their aid at a time of great extremity, lost a great deal of time in Syria, and at last was defeated by Severus in the Gulf of Issus (which is a town in Cilicia, where Alexander conquered Darius), and was put to death by a common soldier in a suburb of Antioch.

IX.

A.D. 366.

-- 1. These events took place in the depth of winter, in the consulship of Valentinian and Valens. But this high office of consul was transferred to Gratian, who was as yet only a private individual, and to Dagalaiphus. And then, having collected his forces at the approach of spring, Valens, having united Lupicinus's troops, which were a numerous body, to his own, marched with all speed towards Pessinus, which was formerly reckoned a town of Phrygia, but was now considered to belong to Galatia.

2. Having speedily secured it with a garrison, to prevent any unforeseen danger from arising in that district, he proceeded along the foot of Mount Olympus by very difficult pa.s.ses to Lycia, intending to attack Gomoarius, who was loitering in that province.

3. Many vehemently opposed this project from this consideration, that his enemy, as has been already mentioned, always bore with him on a litter the little daughter of Constantius, with her mother Faustina, both when marching and when preparing for battle, thus exciting the soldiers to fight more resolutely for the imperial family, with which, as he told them, he himself was connected. So formerly, when the Macedonians were on the point of engaging in battle with the Illyrians, they placed their king, who was still an infant,[158] in his cradle behind the line of battle, and the fear lest he should be taken prisoner made them exert themselves the more so as to defeat their enemies.

4. To counteract this crafty manoeuvre the emperor, in the critical state of his affairs, devised a sagacious remedy, and summoned Arbetio, formerly consul, but who was now living in privacy, to join him, in order that the fierce minds of the soldiers might be awed by the presence of a general who had served under Constantine. And it happened as he expected.

5. For when that officer, who was older in years than all around him, and superior in rank, showed his venerable gray hairs to the numbers who were inclined to violate their oaths, and accused Procopius as a public robber, and addressing the soldiers who followed his guilty leadership as his own sons and the partners of his former toils, entreated them rather to follow him as a parent known to them before as a successful leader than obey a profligate spendthrift who ought to be abandoned, and who would soon fall.

6. And when Gomoarius heard this, though he might have escaped from the enemy and returned in safety to the place from whence he came, yet, availing himself of the proximity of the emperor's camp, he pa.s.sed over under the guise of a prisoner, as if he had been surrounded by the sudden advance of a superior force.

7. Encouraged by this, Valens quickly moved his camp to Phrygia, and engaged the enemy near Nacolia, and the battle was doubtful till Agilo, the leader of Procopius's forces, betrayed his side by a sudden desertion of his ranks; and he was followed by many who, brandishing their javelins and their swords, crossed over to the emperor, bearing their standards and their shields reversed, which is the most manifest sign of defection.

8. When this unexpected event took place, Procopius abandoning all hope of safety, dismounted, and sought a hiding-place on foot in the groves and hills. He was followed by Florentius and the tribune Barchalbas, who having been known ever since the time of Constantine in all the terrible wars which had taken place, was now driven into treason by necessity not by inclination.

9. So when the greater part of the night was pa.s.sed, as the moon, which had risen in the evening, by continuing her light till dawn increased their fear, Procopius, finding it impossible to escape, and having no resources, as is often the case in moments of extreme danger, began to blame his mournful and disastrous fortune. And being overwhelmed with care, he was on a sudden taken and bound by his own comrades, and, at daybreak led to the camp, and brought, silent and downcast, before the emperor. He was immediately beheaded; and his death put an end to the increasing disturbances of civil war. His fate resembled that of Perpenna of old, who, after Sertorius had been slain at a banquet, enjoyed the power for a short time, but was dragged out of the thicket where he was concealed, and brought to Pompey, by whose orders he was put to death.

10. Giving way to equal indignation against Florentius and Barchalbas, though they delivered up Procopius, he instantly ordered them also to be slain, without listening to reason. For if they had betrayed their legitimate prince, Justice herself would p.r.o.nounce them justly slain; but if he whom they betrayed was a rebel and an enemy to the tranquillity of the state, as was alleged, then they ought to have received an ample reward for so memorable an action.

11. Procopius perished at the age of forty years and ten months. He was of a goodly appearance, tall, inclined to stoop, always looking on the ground as he walked, and in his reserved and melancholy manners like Cra.s.sus, whom Lucillius and Cicero record never to have smiled but once in his life; and what is very remarkable, as long as he lived he never shed blood.

X.

-- 1. About the same time, his kinsman Marcellus, an officer of the guard, who commanded the garrison of Nicaea, hearing of the treachery of the soldiers and the death of Procopius, attacked Serenia.n.u.s, who was confined in the palace, unexpectedly at midnight, and put him to death.

And his death was the safety of many.

2. For if he, a man of rude manners, bitter temper, and a love of injuring people, had survived Valens's victory, having also great influence with Valens from the similarity of his disposition and the proximity of their birthplaces, he would have studied the secret inclinations of a prince always inclined to cruelty, and would have shed the blood of many innocent persons.

3. Having killed him, Marcellus by a rapid march seized on Chalcedon, and with the aid of a few people, whom the lowness of their condition and despair urged to crime, obtained a shadow of authority which proved fatal to him, being deceived by two circ.u.mstances, because he thought that the three thousand Goths who, after their kings had been conciliated, had been sent to aid Procopius, who had prevailed on them to support him by pleading his relationship to Constantine, would at a small cost be easily won over to support him, and also because he was ignorant of what had happened in Illyric.u.m.

4. While these alarming events were taking place, Equitius, having learnt by trustworthy reports from his scouts that the whole stress of the war was now to be found in Asia, pa.s.sed through the Succi, and made a vigorous attempt to take Philippopolis, the ancient Eumolpias,[159]

which was occupied by a garrison of the enemy. It was a city in a most favourable position, and likely to prove an obstacle to his approach if left in his rear, and if he, while conducting reinforcements to Valens (for he was not yet acquainted with what had happened at Nacolia), should be compelled to hasten to the district around Mount Haemus.

5. But when, a few days later, he heard of the foolish usurpation of Marcellus, he sent against him a body of bold and active troops, who seized him as a mischievous slave, and threw him into prison. From which, some days afterwards, he was brought forth, scourged severely with his accomplices, and put to death, having deserved favour by no action of his life except that he had slain Serenia.n.u.s, a man as cruel as Phalaris, and faithful only in barbarity, which he displayed on the slightest pretext.

6. The war being now at an end by the death of the leader, many were treated with much greater severity than their errors or faults required, especially the defenders of Philippopolis, who would not surrender the city or themselves till they saw the head of Procopius, which was conveyed to Gaul.

7. Some, however, by the influence of intercessors, received mercy, the most eminent of whom was Araxius, who, when the crisis was at its height, had applied for and obtained the office of prefect. He, by the intercession of his son-in-law Agilo, was punished only by banishment to an island, from which he soon afterwards escaped.

8. But Euphrasius and Phronemius were sent to the west to be at the disposal of Valentinian. Euphrasius was acquitted, but Phronemius was transported to the Chersonesus, being punished more severely than the other, though their case was the same, because he had been a favourite with the late emperor Julian, whose memorable virtues the two brothers now on the throne joined in disparaging, though they were neither like nor equal to him.

9. To these severities other grievances of greater importance, and more to be dreaded than any sufferings in battle, were added. For the executioner, and the rack, and b.l.o.o.d.y modes of torture, now attacked men of every rank, cla.s.s, or fortune, without distinction. Peace seemed as a pretext for establishing a detestable tribunal, while all men cursed the ill-omened victory that had been gained as worse than the most deadly war.

10. For amid arms and trumpets the equality of every one's chance makes danger seem lighter; and often the might of martial valour obtains what it aims at; or else a sudden death, if it befalls a man, is attended by no feeling of ignominy, but brings an end to life and to suffering at the same time. When, however, laws and statutes are put forth as pretexts for wicked counsels, and judges, affecting the equity of Cato or Ca.s.sius, sit on the bench, though in fact everything is done at the discretion of over-arrogant power, on the whim of which every man's life or death depends, the mischief is fatal and incurable.

11. For at this time any one might go to the palace on any pretext, and if he were inflamed with a desire of appropriating the goods of others, though the person he accused might be notoriously innocent, he was received by the emperor as a friend to be trusted and deserving to be enriched at the expense of others.

12. For the emperor was quick to inflict injury, always ready to listen to informers, admitting the most deadly accusations, and exulting unrestrainedly in the diversity of punishments devised; ignorant of the expression of Tully, which teaches us that those men are unhappy who think themselves privileged to do everything.

13. This implacability, unworthy of a just cause, and disgracing his victory, exposed many innocent men to the torturers, crushing them beneath the rack, or slaying them by the stroke of the fierce executioner. Men who, if nature had permitted, would rather have lost ten lives in battle than be thus tortured while guiltless of all crime, having their estates confiscated, as if guilty of treason, and their bodies mutilated before death, which is the most bitter kind of death.

14. At last, when his ferocity was exhausted by his cruelties, men of the highest rank were still exposed to proscription, banishment, and other punishments which, though severe, appear lighter to some people.

And in order to enrich some one else, men of n.o.ble birth, and perhaps still more richly endowed with virtues, were stripped of their patrimony and driven into exile, where they were exhausted with misery, perhaps being even reduced to subsist by beggary. Nor was any limit put to the cruelties which were inflicted till both the prince and those about him were satiated with plunder and bloodshed.

15. While the usurper, whose various acts and death we have been relating, was still alive, on the 21st of July, in the first consulship of Valentinian and his brother, fearful dangers suddenly overspread the whole world, such as are related in no ancient fables or histories.

16. For a little before sunrise there was a terrible earthquake, preceded by incessant and furious lightning. The sea was driven backwards, so as to recede from the land, and the very depths were uncovered, so that many marine animals were left sticking in the mud.

And the depths of its valleys and the recesses of the hills, which from the very first origin of all things had been lying beneath the boundless waters, now beheld the beams of the sun.

17. Many ships were stranded on the dry sh.o.r.e, while people straggling about the shoal water picked up fishes and things of that kind in their hands. In another quarter the waves, as if raging against the violence with which they had been driven back, rose, and swelling over the boiling shallows, beat upon the islands and the extended coasts of the mainland, levelling cities and houses wherever they encountered them.

All the elements were in furious discord, and the whole face of the world seemed turned upside down, revealing the most extraordinary sights.

18. For the vast waves subsided when it was least expected, and thus drowned many thousand men. Even ships were swallowed up in the furious currents of the returning tide, and were seen to sink when the fury of the sea was exhausted; and the bodies of those who perished by shipwreck floated about on their backs or faces.