Three successive victories virtually concluded
the campaign ; at Scarponna (Charpeigne) one band of barbarians was
surprised and defeated, while another was massacred on the Moselle.
the campaign ; at Scarponna (Charpeigne) one band of barbarians was
surprised and defeated, while another was massacred on the Moselle.
Cambridge Medieval History - v1 - Christian Roman Empire and Teutonic Kingdoms
= Ges.
Schriften, vi.
pp.
303 ff.
) expressly emphasizes :
(Valens). . . [in fidem recepto rege Athanjarico, victis superatisque Gothis. . . hunc
burgum) ad defensionem rei publicae extruxit. . . .
CH. VII.
## p. 214 (#244) ############################################
214
Athanarich and Fritigern
[A. D. 370—376
ferocity against all Christians, without distinction of high or low, Arian,
Catholic, or Audian, with the avowed intention of extirpating
Christianity as dangerous to the State and deleterious to the strength
and vigour of the nation.
Probably in connexion with this, there arose (c. 370) a violent
conflict between the two most influential chiefs, Athanarich and Fritigern,
which finally led to an open schism between two portions of the race.
Fritigern was worsted, retired with his whole following into Roman
territory and placed himself under the protection of the Emperor, who
readily accorded him all possible succour and support. This step had
an important result for the cause of the persecuted Christians, inasmuch
as Fritigern with all his followers went over to Christianity and adopted
the Arian creed. This conversion of Fritigern to Christianity, and,
moreover, to Arian Christianity, powerfully influenced the further
development of events, since, on the one hand, it prepared the way for
the wider extension and final victory of Christianity among the Goths,
and on the other hand it became a serious danger to the political existence
of the nation when Arianism had been suppressed among the Romans,
for it had acquired a virtually national significance for the Goths.
The sojourn of Fritigern in Roman territory was not of long
duration. Confident in the support of the Roman government, he
returned with his followers to his own country and succeeded in main-
taining his position against Athanarich; there seems indeed to have
been a reconciliation between the rivals. Alongside of them, though
doubtless inferior to them in power and influence, a whole series of
important chiefs are mentioned by name in this period, among them
Alavio, Munderich, Eriwulf and Fravitta. At the same time, however,
Athanarich continued to exercise a certain primacy, although his
position was not in any sense constitutionally defined—among the
Romans he always bears the title of judex not rex.
The East Goths, of whom we have so long lost sight, had in the
meantime extended their dominions far and wide. A mighty empire
extending from the Don to the Dniester, from the Black Sea to the
marshes of the Pripet and the head-waters of the Dnieper and the
Volga, had emerged from their continual wars of conquest against their
neighbours, Germanic (such as the Heruli), Slavonic, and Finnish. The
main portion of these conquests is doubtless to be ascribed to King
Ermanarich, who had ruled over the Greutungi since the middle of the
century. In contrast with the West Goths who, as we have seen, down
to the end of their residence on the Danube, were ruled according to
ancient Germanic custom by principes or local chiefs, the East Goths had
early developed a monarchy embracing the whole nation. It is doubtless
to the inner strength which belongs to a firm and undivided exercise of
authority, that we are to attribute the rapid rise of the young Ostro-
gothic State under its kings from Ostrogotha to Ermanarich, a monarch
## p. 215 (#245) ############################################
A. D. 370–376]
The Huns
215
under whose vigorous rule it enjoyed its period of greatest prosperity-
and also met its fall.
Such was the state of affairs when a nation of untamed
savages,
horrible
in aspect and terrible from their countless numbers and ferocious courage,
broke forth from the interior of Asia and threatened the whole of the
West with destruction. These were the Huns. They were doubtless of
Mongolian race, and were probably natives of the great expanse of
steppes which lies to the north and east of the Caspian Sea. Soon after
370 they penetrated into Europe, and threw themselves with irresistible
fury upon the peoples which came in their way. The Alani, who had to
,
bear the first brunt of their attack, were soon overpowered, and com-
pelled to join their conquerors, and the same fate befel the smaller
peoples whose settlements lay further north, on the right bank of the
Volga.
The fate of the Ostrogothic Empire was now imminent. For a con-
siderable time they succeeded in holding the enemy at the sword's point,
but finally their strength broke down before the weight of the Asiatic
hordes. Ermanarich himself died by his own hand rather than live to see
the downfall of his kingdom ; his successor, Withimir, after several bloody
defeats, met his death on the field of battle. All resistance ceased, and
the whole people surrendered itself to the Huns.
The invading flood rolled westward to encounter the Tervingi (375).
At the first tidings of the events in the neighbouring country, Athanarich
called his people to arms and marched with a part of his forces to meet
the Huns. The Gothic leader took his stand on the bank of the
Dniester ; but finding himself compelled to abandon this position by a
crafty turning-movement of the enemy, Athanarich gave up thence-
forward all thought of resistance in the field, and betook himself to the
impenetrable ravines of the Transylvanian highlands. But only some of
the Goths followed him thither. The mass of the people, weary of
hardship and privation, separated themselves and resolved to abandon
their country. Under the leadership of their local chiefs Alavio and
Fritigern they mustered their forces in the spring of 376 on the north
bank of the Danube and besought permission to enter the Roman
Empire, in the hope of finding a dwelling-place in the rich plains of
Thrace. The Emperor Valens graciously received their request and gave
orders to the commanders on the frontier to take measures for the
shelter and provisioning of this huge mass of people. The Goths passed
the river. In boats, and rafts, and hollowed tree-trunks they made their
way across and covered all the country round"like the rain of ashes from
an eruption of Etna. ” At first all went well. The new-comers maintained
an exemplary attitude: not so the Roman officials—the chief of whom
was the Thracian comes Lupicinus. They used the precarious position
of the barbarians to their own profit, taking advantage of them in every
CH. VII.
## p. 216 (#246) ############################################
216
Battle of Hadrianople
[A. D. 376–378
possible way. It was not long before their shameless injustice aroused
the deep resentment of the Teutons, among whom famine had already
set in.
Things soon came to open rupture. In the immediate neighbourhood
of Marcianople a bloody battle was fought between the infuriated
Teutons and the soldiers of Lupicinus. The Romans were almost
annihilated, their leader took refuge behind the strong walls of the town,
which was immediately invested by the main body of the Tervingian
forces. Other divisions scattered over the plains, plundering as they
went. All attempts of the barbarians failed to take the town by storm.
So Fritigern “made his peace with stone walls. ” A strong force remained
“
before the place as an army of observation, while the main body turned,
as detachments of it had done before, to the plundering of the adjoining
districts of Moesia. Once more the country suffered fearfully, and to
complete its misery other bands of plunderers now joined the Goths.
Taifali, Alani, and even Huns were drawn across the Danube by the hope
of plundering and ravaging these fertile provinces. This was in the
summer of 377.
Troops were hurried up from all sides for the defence of the threatened
provinces ; even Gratian sent aid from the West. Meanwhile the Goths
had overrun all Moesia. Not only had the bloody battle fought at a
place called Salices (late summer 377) been indecisive and cost the
Romans heavy losses, but a strong detachment of Roman troops under
the tribune Barzimeres, a Teuton by race, had been. cut to pieces at
Dibaltus. A success which the dux Frigeridus, likewise of Teutonic birth,
gained over the Taifali and a company of the Greutungi under their
chief Farnobius was not much to balance this and did not alter the fact
that Thrace, which after the battle of Salices had been overrun by the
Teutons, remained a prey to them.
Finally (30 May 378) Valens arrived at Constantinople. As soon
as Fritigern, who lay in the neighbourhood of Hadrianople, heard of the
Emperor's arrival, he gave the order for the widely scattered Gothic
forces to unite. From this point onward events followed in quick
succession. At first the fortune of war seemed to smile upon the
Romans. Making Hadrianople his base, Sebastianus, the commander
of reinforcements sent by Gratian, succeeded in inflicting a reverse upon
the Goths. Fritigern thereupon retired to the neighbourhood of Cabyle
and there concentrated his forces. Thereupon Valens, on his part,
advanced to Hadrianople, resolved to venture upon a decisive stroke.
He had set his heart upon meeting his nephew Gratian, who was
hastening up from the West, with the news of a great victory. And so
(9 Aug. 378) battle was joined near Hadrianople. It resulted in a
terrible defeat of the Romans, in which the Emperor himself was slain.
More than two-thirds of his army, the flower of the military forces of
the East, was left upon the field of battle.
## p. 217 (#247) ############################################
A. D. 378]
Battle of Hadrianople
217
It was in truth a second Cannae. The Empire rocked to its foun-
dations. Sheer panic fell upon all that bore the name of Rome. The
power and glory of the Empire seemed stamped into the dust by the
barbarian hordes. The struggle between Rome and the Teutons which
we have followed through five centuries was drawing to a close. The
battle of Hadrianople introduces the last act of the great drama, the
most pregnant with consequences which the history of the world has
ever seen.
CH. VII.
## p. 218 (#248) ############################################
218
CHAPTER VIII.
THE DYNASTY OF VALENTINIAN AND
THEODOSIUS THE GREAT.
a
The imperial throne was once more vacant (16-17 February 364),
but the army had learned the danger of a tumultuous election, and
after the troops had advanced by an eight days' march to Nicaea, both
the civil and military authorities weighed with anxious deliberation
the rival claims of possible candidates. Aequitius, tribune of the first
regiment of the scutarii, men knew to be harsh and uncultured,
Januarius, a relative of Jovian in supreme command in Illyricum, was
too far distant, and at length one and all agreed to offer the diadem
to Valentinian. The new Emperor had not marched from Ancyra with
the
army,
but had received orders to follow in due course with his regi-
ment, the second schola of scutarii ; thus, while messengers hastened his
journey, the Roman world was for ten days without a master. Valentinian
was a native of Pannonia; his father Gratian, a peasant rope-seller of
Cibalae, had early distinguished himself by his strength and bravery.
Risen from the ranks he had become successively protector, tribune and
general of the Roman forces in Africa ; accused of peculation, he re-
mained for a time under a cloud, only to be given later the command
of the legions of Britain. After his retirement, hospitality shewn to
Magnentius led to the confiscation of Gratian's property by Constantius,
but the services of the father made advancement easy for Valentinian.
In Gaul, however, when acting under Julian's orders he was dismissed
from the army by Barbatio, but on Julian's accession he re-enlisted.
Valentinian's military capacity outweighed even in the eyes of an
apostate emperor his pronounced Christianity, and an important com-
mand was given him in the Persian War. Later he had been sent on
a mission to the West, bearing the news of Jovian's election, and from
this journey he had but recently returned. The life story of Gratian
and Valentinian is one of the most striking examples of the splendid
career which lay open to talent in the Roman army.
The father,
a peasant unknown and without influence, by his ability rises to supreme
command over Britain, while his son becomes Emperor of Rome.
It is
## p. 219 (#249) ############################################
364–365]
Valens co-Emperor
219
hardly surprising that barbarians were ready to enter a service which
offered to the capable soldier such prospects of promotion. It may also
be noticed in passing that in the council at Nicaea only military officers
were considered as successors of Jovian: we do not hear of
any
civil
administrator as a possible candidate for the vacant throne.
From the very day of his accession the character of Valentinian was
declared. When the crowd bade him name at once a co-Augustus, he
replied that but an hour before they had possessed the right to command,
but that right now belonged to the Emperor of their own creation.
From the first the stern glance and majestic bearing of Valentinian
bowed men to his will. Through Nicomedia he advanced to Constanti-
nople, and here in the suburb of the Hebdomon on 28 March 364 he
created his brother Valens co-Emperor ; he looked for loyal subjection
and personal dependence, and he was not disappointed ; with the rank
of Augustus, Valens was content in effect to play the part of a
Caesar. At Naissus the military forces of the Empire were divided, and
many Pannonians were raised to high office. The new rulers were, how-
ever, careful to retain in their posts men who had been chosen both by
Julian and Jovian ; they wished to injure no susceptibilities by open
partisanship. But even though Valentinian remained true to his constant
principle of religious toleration and refused to favour the nominees either
of a Christian or a Pagan Emperor, yet men traced a secret distrust and
covert jealousy of those who had been Julian's intimates; Sallust, the all-
powerful praefect, was removed, and accusations were brought against the
philosopher Maximus. When both Emperors were attacked with fever,
a commission of high imperial officials was appointed to examine whether
the disease might not be due to secret arts. No shred of evidence of any
unholy design was discovered, but the common rumour ran that the only
object of the inquiry was to bring into disrepute the memory and the
friends of Julian. Those who had been loyal to the old dynasty began
.
to seek a leader.
At Sirmium the brothers parted, Valentinian for Milan, Valens for
Constantinople; they each entered on their first consulship in the
following year (365), and as soon as the winter was past Valens travelled
with all speed for Syria ; it would seem that already the terms of the
Thirty Years' Peace were giving rise to fresh difficulties; too many
questions remained open between Rome and Persia.
But as yet it was not foreign invasion but domestic rebellion which
was to endanger the life and throne of Valens. When Procopius had
laid the corpse of Julian to rest in Tarsus, he himself discreetly vanished
from the sight of kings and courtiers: it was a perilous distinction to
have enjoyed the peculiar favour of the dead Emperor? . Before long
however he grew weary of his fugitive existence : life as a hunted exile
in the Crimea was too dearly bought. In desperation he sailed secretly
1 Cf. p. 85.
a
CH. VII.
## p. 220 (#250) ############################################
220
The Revolt of Procopius
[365
for the capital where he found shelter in the friendly house of a senator
Strategius, while a eunuch, Eugenius by name, recently dismissed from
the imperial service, put unlimited funds at his disposal. As he wandered
unrecognised through the streets, on every hand he heard men muttering
of the cruelty and avarice of Petronius, the father-in-law of Valens. The
Emperor himself was no longer in Constantinople, and popular discontent
seemed only to need its champion. The regiments of the Divitenses and
the Tungritani Juniores, on their march from Bithynia for the defence of
Thrace, were at the moment in the city. For two days Procopius
negotiated with their officers; his gold and promises won their allegiance
and in their quarters at the Anastasian Baths the soldiers met under
cover of night and swore to support the usurpation. “Leaving the
inkpot and stool of the notary,” so ran the scornful phrase of the
Court rhetorician, this stage figure of an emperor, hesitating to the last,
assumed the purple and with stammering tongue harangued his followers.
Any sensation was grateful to the populace, and they were content to
accept without enthusiasm their new ruler. Those who had nothing
to lose were ready enough to share the spoils, but the upper classes
generally held aloof or fled to the Court of Valens ; none of them met
Procopius as he entered the deserted senate house. He relied for
support upon men's devotion to the family of Constantine; as reinforce-
ments bound for Thrace reached the capital, he came before them with
Faustina, the widow of Constantius, by his side, while he himself
bore her little daughter in his arms. He pleaded his own kinship
to Julian and the troops were won. Gumoarius and Agilo who had
served Constantius well were recalled from retirement and put at the
head of the army, while to Julian's friend Phronemius was given the
charge of the capital. Valentinian had advanced Pannonians, Procopius
chose Gauls, for the Gallic provinces had most reason to remember
Julian's services to the Empire. Nebridius, recently created praetorian
praefect through the influence of Petronius, was held a prisoner and
forced to write despatches recalling Julius who was in command in
Thrace; the stratagem succeeded and the province was won without
a blow. The embassy to Illyricum, however, bearing the newly minted
coinage of Procopius, was defeated by the vigilance of Aequitius, every
approach, whether through Dacia, Macedonia or the pass of Succi, being
effectually barred.
The news of the revolt reached Valens as he was leaving Bithynia for
Antioch, and he was only recalled from abject despair by the counsels of
his friends. Procopius with the Divitenses and a hastily collected force
had advanced to Nicaea, but before the approach of the Jovii and Victores
he retreated to Mygdus on the Sangarius. Once more the soldiers yielded
when he appealed to their loyalty to the house of Constantine: the
troops of Valens deserting “ the degenerate Pannonian," “ the drinker of
miserable barley beer,” went over to the usurper. One success followed
## p. 221 (#251) ############################################
366–369]
Fall of Procopius
221
another: Nicomedia was surprised by the tribune Rumitalca, who forth-
with marched to the north; Valens who was besieging Chalcedon was
taken unawares and forced to fly for his life to Ancyra. Thus Bithynia
was won for Procopius. His fleet under Marcellus attacked Cyzicus and
when once the chain across the harbour's mouth was broken the garrison
surrendered. With the fall of Cyzicus, Valens had lost the mastery of
the Hellespont, while he could expect no help from his brother, since
Valentinian had determined that the safety of the whole Roman Empire
demanded his presence on the western frontier. Thus during the early
months of 366, while Procopius endeavoured to raise funds for the future
conduct of the war, Valens could only await the arrival of Lupicinus.
The Emperor's final victory was indeed mainly due to an ill-considered
act of his rival. Arbitio, the retired general of Constantius, had supported
the usurper, but had declined an invitation to his court, pleading the
infirmities of old age and ill-health. Procopius replied by an order
that the general's house should be pillaged, thereby turning a friend
into a bitter foe. Arbitio on the appeal of Valens joined the camp of
Lupicinus ; his arrival at once inspired the Emperor with fresh hope
and courage, and gave the signal for wholesale defections from the
usurper's forces. In an engagement at Thyatira, Gumoarius procured
his own capture and carried with him many of his men. After the
march of Valens into Phrygia, Agilo in his turn deserted when the
armies met at Nacolia. The soldiers refused to continue the struggle
(26 May 366). Procopius was betrayed to the Emperor by two of his
own officers and was immediately put to death. Imperial suspicion and
persecution had once again goaded a loyal subject to treason and to
ruin. His severed head was borne beneath the walls of Philippopolis,
and the city surrendered to Aequitius. The ghastly trophy was even
carried to Valentinian through the provinces of Gaul, lest loyalty to the
memory of Julian should awake treason in the West. Valens could
now avenge his terror and sate his avarice. The suppression of the
rebellion was followed by a train of executions, burnings, proscriptions,
and banishments which caused men to curse the victory of the lawful
Emperor.
The plea of kinship with the family of Constantine had induced some
thousands of the Gothic tribesmen on the Danube to cross the Roman
frontier in support of Procopius. Valens refused to recognise their
defence, and depriving them of their weapons settled them in the cities
along the northern boundaries of the Empire. When discontent declared
itself, in fear of a general attack he acted on his brother's advice, and
marched in person to the Danube, and for the three succeeding years
(367–369) the Gothic campaign absorbed his attention. With Marci-
anople as his base of operations, he crossed the river in 367 and 369;
in the latter year he conquered Athanarich, and during the autumn
concluded an advantageous peace. The Emperor and the Gothic judex
CH, VIII.
## p. 222 (#252) ############################################
222
Valentinian I in Gaul
( 364–366
met on a ship in mid-stream, for Athanarich professed himself bound by
a fearful oath never to set foot upon Roman soil. During these years
Valens, pursuing in the East his brother's policy, strengthened the whole
of the Danube frontier line with forts and garrisons.
Valentinian may indeed be styled the frontier Emperor ; his title to
fame is his restoration of the defences of Rome in the West against the
surging barbarian hordes. He was a hard-worked soldier prince, and
the one purpose which inspires his reign is his fixed determination never
to yield an inch of Roman territory. He had always before his eyes the
terrible warning of his predecessor. In the year 364, when the Emperor
was still at Milan, ambassadors from the Alemanni came to greet him on
his accession, and to receive the tribute which Roman pride disguised
under the fairer name of gifts. Valentinian would not squander state
funds in bounty to barbarians; the presents were small, while Ursatius,
the magister officiorum, who took his cue from his master, treated the
messengers with scant courtesy. They returned indignant to their homes,
and in the early days of the new year, A. D. 365, the Alemanni burst
plundering and ravaging across the frontier. Charietto the count
commanding in both Germanies and the aged general Servianus,
stationed at Cabillona (Châlons-sur-Saône), both fell before the
barbarian onset. Gaul demanded Valentinian's presence; the Emperor
started for Paris in the month of October; and while on the march,
news reached him of the revolt of Procopius. The report gave no details
he did not know whether Valens were alive or dead. But with that strong
sense of imperial duty which dignifies the characters of the fourth
century emperors, he subordinated utterly the personal interest to the
common weal : “Procopius is but my brother's enemy and my own," he
repeated to himself; "the Alemanni are the foes of the Roman world. "
Arrived at Paris, it was from that city that he despatched Dagalaiphus
against the Alemanni. Autumn was fast giving place to winter, the
tribesmen had scattered, and the new general was dilatory and inactive;
he was recalled to become consul with the Emperor's son Gratian
(Jan. 366) and Jovinus, as magister equitum, took his place at the
head of the Roman troops.
Three successive victories virtually concluded
the campaign ; at Scarponna (Charpeigne) one band of barbarians was
surprised and defeated, while another was massacred on the Moselle. In
negligent security the Alemanni on the river bank were drinking,
washing and dyeing their hair red, when from the fringe of the forest
the Roman legionaries poured down upon them. Jovinus then under-
took a further march and pitched his camp at Châlons-sur-Marne ; here
there was a desperate engagement with a third force of the enemy. The
withdrawal during the battle of the tribune Balchobaudes seriously
endangered the army's safety, but at length the day was won. The
Alemanni lost six thousand killed and four thousand wounded; of the
Romans two hundred were wounded and twelve hundred killed; in
a
## p. 223 (#253) ############################################
366–369)
Count Theodosius in Britain
223
a
a
the pursuit Ascarii in the Roman service captured the barbarian king,
and in the heat of the moment he was struck dead. After a few lesser
encounters resistance was for the time at an end. It was probably his
interest in this campaign which had led Valentinian to spend the early
months of 366 at Rheims. He now returned to Paris and from the latter
city advanced (end of June 366 ? ) to meet his successful general, whom he
nominated for the consulship in the succeeding year. At the same time
the head of Procopius reached him from the East. But in the high tide
of success he was struck down with a serious illness (winter 366–7). The
Court was already considering possible candidates for the purple when
Valentinian recovered, but, realising the dangers for the West which
might arise from a disputed succession, at Amiens on 24 August 367
he procured from the troops the recognition of the seven year old Gratian
as co-Augustus. It may well have been the necessity for defending the
northern coast against raids of Franks and Saxons which had summoned
Valentinian to Amiens ; and now on his way from that town to Trier
tidings reached him of a serious revolt in Britain. Fullofaudes, the
Roman general, together with Nectaridus, the commander of the coast
line (count of the Saxon shore ? ), had both met their deaths. In the
autumn of 367 Severus, count of the imperial guards, was despatched to
the island only to be recalled. Jovinus, appointed in his place, sent Pro-
vertides in advance to raise levies, while in view of the constant reports
of fresh disasters the Count Theodosius (the father of Theodosius the
Great) was ordered to sail for Britain at the head of Gallic reinforcements.
From Boulogne he landed at Rutupiae (Richborough: spring 368) and
was followed by the Batavi, Heruli, Jovii and Victores. Scenes of hope-
less confusion met him on his arrival; Dicalydones and Verturiones (the
two divisions of the Picts), Attacotti and Scotti (Irish) all ranged pillaging
over the countryside, while Frank and Saxon marauders swept down in
forays on the coast. Theodosius marched towards London, and it would
seem made this city his headquarters. Defeating the scattered troops
of spoil-laden barbarians, he restored the greater part of the booty to
the harassed provincials, while deserters were recalled to the standard by
promises of pardon. From London, where he spent the winter, Theodosius
prayed the Emperor to appoint men of wide experience to govern the
island—Civilis as pro-praefect and Dulcitius as general; in this year too,
he probably cooperated with imperial troops on the continent in the
suppression of Frank and Saxon pirates in the Low Countries and about
the mouths of the Rhine and Waal. Valentinian himself advanced as
far north as Cologne in the autumn of 368. In the year 369 Theodosius
everywhere surprised the barbarians and swept the country clear of their
robber bands. Town-fortifications were restored, forts rebuilt and
frontiers regarrisoned, while the Areani, a treacherous border militia,
were removed. Territory in the north was recovered, and a new fifth
province of Valentia or Valentinia created. The revolt of Valentinus,
CH, VIII.
## p. 224 (#254) ############################################
224
Valentinian I and Frontier Defence
[367—371
who had been exiled to Britain on a criminal charge, was easily crushed
by Theodosius, who repressed with a strong hand the treason trials which
usually followed the defeat of an unsuccessful usurper. When he sailed
for Gaul, probably in the spring of 370, he left the provincials “ leapin
for very joy. " On his return to the Court he was appointed to succeed
Jovinus as magister equitum (before end of May 370).
While his lieutenant had been restoring order in Britain, Valentinian
had been actively engaged in Gaul. The winter of 367–8 the Emperor
spent at Rheims preparing for his vengeance upon the disturbers of the
peace in the West.
But the new year opened with a disaster, for while
the Christian inhabitants of Mainz were keeping festival (Epiphany ? 368)
the Aleman prince Rando surprised and sacked the town. The Romans,
however, gained a treacherous advantage by the murder of King Withicab,
and in the summer of the same year the Emperor together with his son in-
vaded the territory between Neckar and Rhine. Our authorities give us no
certain information as to his route, perhaps he advanced by the Rhine
road and then turned off by Ettlingen and Pforzheim. Solicinium (near
Rottenburg on the left bank of the Neckar) was the scene of the decisive
struggle. The barbarians occupied a strong position on a precipitous
hill; the Romans experienced great difficulty in dislodging them but
were at length successful, and the enemy fled over the Neckar by
Lopodunum towards the Danube. The advantage thus gained was
secured by the building of a strong fort, apparently at Altrip, and for its
erection it seems possible that the ruins of Lopodunum were employed.
The Emperor spent the winter in Trier, and with the new year (369)
began his great work of frontier defence extending from the province of
Rhaetia to the ocean. Valentinian even sought to plant his fortresses
in the enemy's territory. This was regarded by the Alemanni as a breach
of treaty rights, and the Romans suffered a serious reverse at the Mons
Piri (Heidelberg? ). The Emperor accordingly entered into negotiations
with the Burgundians, who were to attack the Alemanni with the support
of the Roman troops. The Burgundians, long at feud with their neigh-
bours over the possession of some salt springs on their borders, gladly
accepted the Emperor's overtures and appeared in immense force on the
Rhine: the confederate seemed more terrible than the foe. Valentinian
was absent superintending the building of his new forts, and feared either
to accept or refuse the assistance of such dangerous allies. He sought to
gain time by inaction, and the Burgundians, infuriated at this betrayal,
were forced to withdraw, since the Alemanni threatened to oppose their
homeward march. Meanwhile Theodosius, newly arrived in Gaul from
Britain, swept upon the distracted Alemanni from Rhaetia, and after a
successful campaign was able to settle his captives as farmers in the valley
of the Po. Macrian, king of the Alemanni, had been the heart and soul
of his people's resistance to Rome; with the intention therefore of
capturing this dangerous enemy by a sudden surprise, in September 371
## p. 225 (#255) ############################################
365–371]
Rome and Armenia
225
-
Valentinian accompanied by Theodosius left Mainz for Aquae Mattiacae ;
but with the troops the opportunities for pillage outweighed the Emperor's
strictest orders. The smoke of burning homesteads betrayed the Roman
approach ; the army advanced some fifty miles, but the purpose of the
expedition was defeated and the Emperor returned disappointed to
Trier.
Meanwhile in the East time only served to shew the futility of
Jovian's peace with Persia. Rome had sacrificed much but had settled
nothing. Sapor claimed that under the treaty he could do as he would
with Armenia, which still remained the apple of discord as before, and
that Rome had relinquished any right to interfere. But it was precisely
this claim that Rome could never in the last resort allow-Armenia
under Persian rule was far too great a menace. The chronology of the
events which followed the treaty must remain to some extent a matter of
conjecture, but from the first Sapor seems to have enforced his conception
of his rights, seeking in turn by bribes and forays to reduce Armenia to
Persian vassalage. Valens as early as 365 was on his way to the Persian
frontier when he was recalled by the revolt of Procopius. At the close
of the year 368, or at the beginning of 369, Sapor got possession of King
Arsaces, whom he put to death some years later. In 369, it would
appear, Persia interfered in the affairs of Hiberia : Sauromaces, ruling
under Roman protection, was expelled, and Aspacures, a Persian
nominee, was made king. In Armenia the fortress of Artagherk
(Artogerassa) where the queen Pharrantsem had taken refuge was
besieged (369), while her son Pap, acting on his mother's counsel, fled
to the protection of Valens ; in his flight he was assisted by Cylaces and
Artabannes, Armenian renegades, who now proved disloyal to their
Persian master. The exile was well received, and accorded a home at
Neocaesarea. But when Muschegh, the Armenian general, prayed that
the Emperor would take effective action and stay the ravages of Persia,
Valens hesitated : he felt that his hands were tied by the terms of the
peace of Jovian. Terentius, the Roman dux, accompanied Pap on his
return to Armenia, but without the support of the legions the prince
was powerless. Artagherk fell in the fourteenth month of the siege
(winter 370), Pharrantsem was hurried away to her death, and Pap was
forced to flee into the mountains which lay between Lazica and the
Roman frontier: Here he remained in hiding for five months ; Persian
pillage and massacre proceeded unchecked, until Sapor could leave his
generals in command of the army, while two Armenian nobles were
entrusted with the civil government of the country and with the in-
troduction of the Magian religion. At length Valens took action, and
the Count Arinthaeus, acting in concert with Terentius and Addaeus,
was sent to Armenia to place Pap upon the throne and to prevent the
commission of further outrage by Persia. In May 371 the Emperor
himself left Constantinople, slowly journeying towards Syria. Sapor's
C. YED, H. VOL. I. CH. vii.
15
## p. 226 (#256) ############################################
-
226
The Conspiracy of Theodorus
(371–374
next move was an attempt to win Pap by promises of alliance, counsel-
ing him to be no longer the puppet of his ministers; the ruse was
successful and the king put to death both Cylaces and Artabannes.
Meanwhile a Persian embassy complained that the protection of Armenia
by Rome was a breach of her obligations under the treaty.
In April
372 Valens reached Antioch. His answer to Persia was further in-
terference in Hiberia. While Muschegh invaded Persian territory,
Terentius with twelve legions restored Sauromaces as ruler over the
country bordering on Lazica and Armenia, Sapor on his side making
great preparations for a campaign in the following spring, raising levies
from the surrounding tribes and hiring mercenaries. In 373 Trajan
and Vadomar marched to the East with a formidable army, having
strict orders not to break the peace but to act on the defensive. The
Emperor himself moved to Hierapolis in order to superintend the
operations from that city. At Vagobanta (Bagavan) the Romans were
forced to engage and in the result were victorious. A truce was con-
cluded at the end of the summer, and while Sapor retired to Ctesiphon,
Valens took up his residence in Antioch.
Here in the following year 374, so far as we can judge from the
vague chronology of our authorities, a widespread conspiracy was
discovered in which Maximus, Julian's master, Eutropius the historian,
and many other leading philosophers and heathens were implicated.
Anxious to discover who was to succeed Valens, some daring spirits had
suspended a ring over a consecrated table upon which was placed a
round metal dish ; about the rim of the dish was engraved the alphabet.
The ring had spelt out the letters THEO—when with one voice all
present exclained that Theodorus was clearly destined for Empire.
Born in Gaul of an old and honourable family, he had enjoyed
a liberal education and already held the second place among the
imperial notaries ; distinguished for his humanity and moderation, in
every post alike his merits outshone his office. Absent from Antioch
at the time, he was at once recalled, and the enthusiasm of his friends
seems to have shaken his loyalty. The life of Valens had previously
been threatened by would-be assassins, and when the conspirators' secret
was betrayed the Emperor's vengeance knew no bounds; he swept the
whole of the Roman East for victims and, as at the fall of Procopius,
now his avarice ruled unchecked. If the accused's life was spared,
proscription in bitter mockery posed as clemency and the banishment of
the innocent as an act of royal grace. For years the trials continued :
“We all crept about as though in Cimmerian darkness," writes an
eyewitness, "the sword of Damocles hung suspended over our heads.
Of Western affairs during those years when the long drawn game
of
plot and counterplot was being played between Valens and Sapor we
know but little. Valentinian remained in Gaul (autumn 371-spring
373), doubtless busied with his schemes for the maintenance of security
SO
## p. 227 (#257) ############################################
363–367]
Count Romanus in Africa
227
upon the frontiers, but detailed information we have none. Where
Valentinian governed in person we hear of no rebellions: the constitu-
tions even shew that a limited relief was granted from taxation and that
measures were taken to check oppression, but elsewhere on every hand
the Emperor's good intentions were betrayed by his agents. In Britain
a disorganised army and a harassed population could offer no effective
resistance to the invader : gross misgovernment in the Pannonian
provinces made it doubtful whether the excesses of imperial officers or
the forays of the barbarian enemy were more to be dreaded, while the
story of the woes of Africa only serves to shew how terrible was the cost
which the Empire paid for its unscrupulous bureaucracy. Under Jovian
(363-4) the Austoriani had suddenly invaded the province of Tripolis,
intending to avenge the death of one of their tribesmen who had been
burned alive for plotting against the Roman power. They laid waste
the rich countryside around Leptis, and when the city appealed for help
to the commander-in-chief, Count Romanus, he refused to take any
action unless supplied with a vast store of provisions and four thousand
camels. The demand could not be met, and after forty days the general
departed, while the despairing provincials at the regular annual assembly
of their city council elected an embassy to carry statues of victory to
Valentinian and to greet him upon his accession. At Milan (364-5)
the ambassadors gave (as it would seem) a full report of the sufferings of
Leptis, but Remigius, the magister officiorum, a relative and confederate
of Romanus, was forewarned and contradicted their assertions, while he
was successful in securing the appointment of Romanus upon the
commission of inquiry which was ordered by the Emperor. The
military command was given for a time to the governor Ruricius, but
was shortly after once more put into the hands of Romanus.
not long before news of a fresh invasion of Tripolis by the barbarians
reached Valentinian in Gaul (A. D. 365). The African army had not yet
received the customary donative upon the Emperor's accession; Palladius
was accordingly entrusted with gold to distribute amongst the troops,
and was instructed to hold a complete and searching inquiry into the
affairs of the province. Meanwhile for the third time the desert
clansmen had spread rapine and outrage through Roman territory, and
for eight days had laid formal siege to the city of Leptis itself. A
second embassy consisting of Jovinus and Pancratius was sent to the
Emperor who was found at Trier (winter 367). On the arrival of
Palladius in Africa, Romanus induced the officers to relinquish their
share of the donative and to restore it to the imperial commissioner, as
a mark of their personal respect. The inquiry then proceeded ; much
evidence was taken and the complaints against Romanus proved up
the hilt; the report for the Emperor was already prepared when the
Count threatened, if it were not withdrawn, to disclose the personal profit
of Palladius in the matter of the donative. The commissioner yielded
It was
to
CH, VIII.
15--2
## p. 228 (#258) ############################################
228
Death of Count Theodosius
[ 369-376
and went over to the side of Romanus; on his return to the Court he
found nothing to criticise in the administration of the province.
Pancratius had died at Trier but Jovinus was sent back to Africa with
Palladius, the latter being directed to hold a further examination as to
the truth of the allegations made by the second embassy. Men who on
the shewing of the Emperor's representative had given false witness on
the inquiry were to have their tongues cut from their mouths. By
threats, trickery and bribes Romanus once more achieved his end. The
citizens of Leptis denied that they had ever given any authority to
Jovinus to act on their behalf, while he, endeavouring to save his life, was
forced to confess himself a liar. It was to no purpose: together with
Ruricius the governor and others he was put to death by order of the
Emperor (369? ).
Not even this sacrifice of innocent lives gave peace to Africa.
Firmus, a Moorish prince, on the death of his father Nebul, had slain his
brother; that brother however had enjoyed the favour of Romanus, and
the machinations of the Roman general drove Firmus into rebellion.
He assumed the purple, while persecuted Donatists and exasperated
soldiers and provincials gladly rallied round him. Theodosius, fresh
from his successes in Britain and Gaul, was despatched to Africa by
Valentinian as commander-in-chief, charged with the task of reasserting
imperial authority. On examining his predecessor's papers, a chance
reference caused the discovery of the plots of the last eight years, but it
was not till the reign of Gratian that the subsequent inquiries were
concluded. Palladius and Remigius both committed suicide, but the
arch-offender Romanus was protected by the influence of Merobaudes.
The whole story needs no comment: before men's eyes the powerlessness
of the Emperor and the might of organised corruption stood luridly
revealed.
For at least two years Theodosius fought and struggled against odds
in Africa ; at length discipline was restored amongst the troops, the
Moors were defeated with great loss and the usurper driven to take his
own life: the Roman commander entered Sitifis in triumph (374? ).
Hardly however was his master Valentinian removed by death when
Theodosius fell a victim to the intrigues of his enemies (at Carthage,
A. D. 375-6); baptised at the last hour and thus cleansed of all sin, he
walked calmly to the block. We do not know the ostensible charge
upon which he was beheaded, nor do our authorities name his accuser.
But the evidence points to Merobaudes, the all-powerful minister of
Gratian. Theodosius had superseded Romanus and disclosed his schemes,
and Romanus was the friend and protégé of Merobaudes, while it is
clear that Gratian held in his own hands the entire West including
Africa, for as yet (376), the youthful Valentinian II was not permitted
to exercise any independent authority? Possibly Merobaudes may have
1 Rauschen, Jahrbücher, p. 23.
## p. 229 (#259) ############################################
373–375]
The last Campaigns of Valentinian I
229
been assisted in the attainment of his ends by timely representations
from the East, for the general's name began with the same letters which
had only recently (374? ) proved fatal to Theodorus.
In 373 Valentinian had left Gaul for Milan, but returned in the
following year (May 374), and after a raid upon the Alemanni, while
at the fortress of Robur near Basel, he learned in late autumn that the
Quadi and Sarmatae had burst across the frontier. The Emperor with
his passion for fortress-building had given orders for a garrison station
to be erected on the left bank of the Danube within the territory of the
Quadi, while at the same time the youthful Marcellianus through the
influence of his father Maximinus, the ill-famed praefect of Illyricum',
had succeeded the able general Aequitius as magister armorum. Gabinius,
king of the Quadi, came to the Roman camp to pray that this violation
of his rights might cease. The newly appointed general treacherously
murdered his guest, and at the news the barbarians flew to arms, poured
across the Danube upon the unsuspecting farmers, and all but captured
the daughter of Constantius who was on her journey to meet Gratian
her future husband. Sarmatae and Quadi devastated Moesia and Pan-
nonia, the praetorian praefect Probus was stupefied into inactivity, and
the Roman legionaries at feud between themselves were routed in con-
fusion. The only successful resistance was offered by the younger
Theodosius--the future Emperor-who compelled one of the invading
Sarmatian hosts to sue for peace. Valentinian desired to march eastward
forthwith, but was dissuaded by those who urged the hardships of a
winter campaign and the danger of leaving Gaul while the leader of
the Alemanni was still unsubdued. Both Romans and barbarians were,
however, alike weary of the ceaseless struggle, and during the winter
Valentinian and Macrian concluded an enduring peace. In the late
spring of 375 the Emperor left Gaul; from June to August he was at
Carnuntum, endeavouring to restore order within the devastated province,
and thence marched to Acincum, crossed the Danube and wasted the
territory of the invading tribesmen. Autumn surprised him while still
in the field: he retired to Sabaria and took up his winter quarters at
Bregetio. The Quadi, conscious of the hopelessness of further resistance,
sent an embassy excusing their action and pleading that the Romans
were in truth the aggressors. The Emperor, passionately enraged
at this freedom of speech, was seized in the paroxysm of his anger
with an apoplectic fit and carried dying from the audience hall
(17 November 375).
High-complexioned, with a strong and muscular body cast in a noble
and majestic mould, his steel-blue eyes scanning men and things with
a gaze of sinister intensity, the Emperor stands before us as an imposing
and stately figure. Yet his stern and forbidding nature awakes but
little sympathy, and it is easy to do less than justice to the character and
· For his cruelty wheu acting as praefect of Rome, cf. Ammianus, xxvIII. 1. 5.
CH.
VIII.
## p. 230 (#260) ############################################
230
The Character and Work of Valentinian I
work of Valentinian. With a strong hand Diocletian had endeavoured
by his administrative system and by the enforcement of hereditary
duties to weld together the Roman Empire which had been shattered
by the successive catastrophes of the third century; to Valentinian it
seemed as though the same iron constraint could alone check the process
of dissolution. If it were possible, he would make life for the provincials
worth the living, for then resistance to the invader would be the more
resolute: he would protect them with forts and garrisons upon their
frontiers, would lighten (if he dare) the weight of taxation, would accord
them liberty of conscience and freedom for their varied faiths, and
would to the best of his power appoint honest and capable men as his
representatives: but a spirit of dissatisfaction and discontent among his
subjects was not merely disloyalty, it was a menace to the Empire,
for it tended to weaken the solidarity of governors and governed :
to remove an official for abusing his trust was in Valentinian's eyes to
prejudice men's respect for the State, and thus the strain of brutality
in his nature declared itself in his refusal to check stern measures or
pitiless administration : to save the Roman world from disintegration
it must be cowed into unity. Without mercy to others he never
spared himself; as a restless and untiring leader with no mean gifts of
generalship and strategy it was but natural that he should give prefer-
ment to his officers, till contemporaries bitterly complained that never
before had civilians been thus neglected or the army so highly privileged.
It could indeed hardly be otherwise, for with every frontier threatened
it was the military captain who was indispensable. The Emperor's
efforts to suppress abuses were untiring ; simplicity characterised his
Court and strict economy was practised. His laws in the Theodosian
Code are a standing witness to his passion for reform. He regulated
the corn supply and the transport of the grain by sea, he made less bur-
densome the collection of the taxes levied in kind on the provincials,
he exerted himself to protect the curials and the members of municipal
senates, he settled barbarians as colonists on lands which were passing
out of cultivation, he endeavoured to put a stop to the debasement of
the coinage, while in the administration of justice he attempted to check
the misuse of wealth and favour by insisting upon publicity of trial and
by granting greater facilities for appeals. As a contemporary observes,
Valentinian's one sore need was honest agents and upright administrators,
and these he could not secure : men only sought for power in order
to abuse it. Had the Emperor been served by more nien of the stamp
of Theodosius, the respect of posterity might have given place to
admiration.
Even as it was, in later days when men praised Theodoric
they compared him with two great Emperors of the past, with Trajan-
and Valentinian.
At the time of the Emperor's death Gratian was far distant at Trier,
and there was a general fear that the fickle Gallic troops now encamped
## p. 231 (#261) ############################################
375–377]
Gratian
231
on the left bank of the Danube might claim to raise to the throne
some candidate whom they themselves had chosen, perhaps Sebastianus-
a man by nature inactive but high in the favour of the army. Merobaudes,
the general in command, was therefore recalled as though by order of
Valentinian on a pretext of fresh disturbances upon the Rhine, and after
prolonged consultation it was decided to summon the late Emperor's
four year old son Valentinian. The boy's uncle covered post-haste the
hundred Roman miles which lay between Bregetio and the country house
of Murocincta, where the young prince was living with his mother
Justina. Valentinian was carried back to the camp in a litter, and six
days after his father's death was solemnly proclaimed Augustus.
Gratian's kindly nature soon dispelled any fear that he would refuse
to recognise this hurried election: the elder brother always shewed
towards the younger a father's care and affection. No partition of the
West however took place at this time, and there could as yet be no
question of the exercise of independent power by Valentinian II; Gratian
ruled over all those provinces which had been subject to Valentinian I,
and his infant colleague's name is not even mentioned in the constitutions
before the year 379. Of the government of Gratian however we know
but little; its importance lies mainly in the fact that he was determined
to be first and foremost an orthodox Christian Emperor, and even
refused to wear the robe or assume the title of Pontifex Maximus
(probably 375).
Meanwhile in the East the fidelity of Pap grew suspect in the eyes
of Rome. The unfavourable despatches of Terentius, the murder of
the Katholikos Nerses, and the consecration of his successor by the king
without the customary appeal to Caesarea (Mazaca) led Valens to invite
Pap to Tarsus, where he remained virtually a prisoner. Escaping to
his own country he fell a victim to Roman treachery (375? ). Still
Rome and Persia negotiated, and at length (376) Valens despatched
Victor and Arbicius with an ultimatum; the Emperor demanded that
the fortresses which of right belonged to Sauromaces should be evacuated
by the beginning of 377. The claims of Rome were ignored, and Valens
was planning at Hierapolis (July-August 377) a great campaign against
Persia when the news from Europe made it imperative to withdraw
the Roman army of occupation from Armenia. For several years the
European crisis engaged all the Emperor's energies, and he was unable
to interfere effectually in Eastern affairs. The Huns had burst into
Europe, had conquered the Alans, subjected the East Goths (Ostrogoths)
and driven the West Goths (Visigoths) to crave admission within the
territory of Rome. Athanarich and Fritigern had become leaders of
two distinct parties among the West Goths; Athanarich, driven before
the Huns, had lost much of his wealth, and, as he was unable to support
his followers, the greater number deserted their aged leader and joined
Fritigern. It seems possible too that religious differences may have
CH. VIII.
## p. 232 (#262) ############################################
232
The Goths and the Empire
(377
.
played their part in these dissensions : Athanarich may have stood at
the head of those who were loyal to the old religion, Fritigern may have
been willing to secure any advantage which the profession of the
Christian faith might win from a devout Emperor. Whether this be
so or not, it was the tribesmen of Fritigern who appealed to Valens.
It was no unusual request: the settling of barbarians as colonists on
Roman soil was of frequent occurrence, while the provision of barbarian
recruits for the Roman army was a constant clause in the treaties of the
fourth century. Valens and his ministers congratulated themselves that,
without their seeking, so admirable an opportunity had presented itself
of infusing new life and vigour into the northern provinces of the Empire.
The conditions for the reception of the Goths were that they should
give up their arms and surrender many of their sons as hostages. The
church historians add the stipulation that the Goths should adopt the
Christian faith, but this would seem to have been only a pious hope and
not a condition for the passage of the Danube, although it was only
natural that the Goths should affect to have assumed the religion of
their new fellow-countrymen. The conditions were stern enough, but
the fate which threatened the barbarians at the hands of the Huns
seemed even more unrelenting. The Goths accepted the terms: but
for the Romans the enforcement of their own requisitions was a work
which demanded extraordinary tact and unremitting forethought.
In face of this immense and sobering responsibility, which should
have summoned forth all the energy and loyalty of which men were
capable, the ministers of Valens (so far as we can see) did nothing-
they left to chance alone the feeding of a multitude which none could
number. It is not in their everyday peculations, nor in their habitual
violence and oppression of the provincials, that the degradation of the
bureaucracy of the Empire is seen in its most hideous form : the weightiest
count in the indictment is that when met by an extraordinary crisis
which imperilled the existence of the Empire itself the agents of the
State with the danger in concrete form before their very eyes failed to
check their lust or bridle their avarice.
(Valens). . . [in fidem recepto rege Athanjarico, victis superatisque Gothis. . . hunc
burgum) ad defensionem rei publicae extruxit. . . .
CH. VII.
## p. 214 (#244) ############################################
214
Athanarich and Fritigern
[A. D. 370—376
ferocity against all Christians, without distinction of high or low, Arian,
Catholic, or Audian, with the avowed intention of extirpating
Christianity as dangerous to the State and deleterious to the strength
and vigour of the nation.
Probably in connexion with this, there arose (c. 370) a violent
conflict between the two most influential chiefs, Athanarich and Fritigern,
which finally led to an open schism between two portions of the race.
Fritigern was worsted, retired with his whole following into Roman
territory and placed himself under the protection of the Emperor, who
readily accorded him all possible succour and support. This step had
an important result for the cause of the persecuted Christians, inasmuch
as Fritigern with all his followers went over to Christianity and adopted
the Arian creed. This conversion of Fritigern to Christianity, and,
moreover, to Arian Christianity, powerfully influenced the further
development of events, since, on the one hand, it prepared the way for
the wider extension and final victory of Christianity among the Goths,
and on the other hand it became a serious danger to the political existence
of the nation when Arianism had been suppressed among the Romans,
for it had acquired a virtually national significance for the Goths.
The sojourn of Fritigern in Roman territory was not of long
duration. Confident in the support of the Roman government, he
returned with his followers to his own country and succeeded in main-
taining his position against Athanarich; there seems indeed to have
been a reconciliation between the rivals. Alongside of them, though
doubtless inferior to them in power and influence, a whole series of
important chiefs are mentioned by name in this period, among them
Alavio, Munderich, Eriwulf and Fravitta. At the same time, however,
Athanarich continued to exercise a certain primacy, although his
position was not in any sense constitutionally defined—among the
Romans he always bears the title of judex not rex.
The East Goths, of whom we have so long lost sight, had in the
meantime extended their dominions far and wide. A mighty empire
extending from the Don to the Dniester, from the Black Sea to the
marshes of the Pripet and the head-waters of the Dnieper and the
Volga, had emerged from their continual wars of conquest against their
neighbours, Germanic (such as the Heruli), Slavonic, and Finnish. The
main portion of these conquests is doubtless to be ascribed to King
Ermanarich, who had ruled over the Greutungi since the middle of the
century. In contrast with the West Goths who, as we have seen, down
to the end of their residence on the Danube, were ruled according to
ancient Germanic custom by principes or local chiefs, the East Goths had
early developed a monarchy embracing the whole nation. It is doubtless
to the inner strength which belongs to a firm and undivided exercise of
authority, that we are to attribute the rapid rise of the young Ostro-
gothic State under its kings from Ostrogotha to Ermanarich, a monarch
## p. 215 (#245) ############################################
A. D. 370–376]
The Huns
215
under whose vigorous rule it enjoyed its period of greatest prosperity-
and also met its fall.
Such was the state of affairs when a nation of untamed
savages,
horrible
in aspect and terrible from their countless numbers and ferocious courage,
broke forth from the interior of Asia and threatened the whole of the
West with destruction. These were the Huns. They were doubtless of
Mongolian race, and were probably natives of the great expanse of
steppes which lies to the north and east of the Caspian Sea. Soon after
370 they penetrated into Europe, and threw themselves with irresistible
fury upon the peoples which came in their way. The Alani, who had to
,
bear the first brunt of their attack, were soon overpowered, and com-
pelled to join their conquerors, and the same fate befel the smaller
peoples whose settlements lay further north, on the right bank of the
Volga.
The fate of the Ostrogothic Empire was now imminent. For a con-
siderable time they succeeded in holding the enemy at the sword's point,
but finally their strength broke down before the weight of the Asiatic
hordes. Ermanarich himself died by his own hand rather than live to see
the downfall of his kingdom ; his successor, Withimir, after several bloody
defeats, met his death on the field of battle. All resistance ceased, and
the whole people surrendered itself to the Huns.
The invading flood rolled westward to encounter the Tervingi (375).
At the first tidings of the events in the neighbouring country, Athanarich
called his people to arms and marched with a part of his forces to meet
the Huns. The Gothic leader took his stand on the bank of the
Dniester ; but finding himself compelled to abandon this position by a
crafty turning-movement of the enemy, Athanarich gave up thence-
forward all thought of resistance in the field, and betook himself to the
impenetrable ravines of the Transylvanian highlands. But only some of
the Goths followed him thither. The mass of the people, weary of
hardship and privation, separated themselves and resolved to abandon
their country. Under the leadership of their local chiefs Alavio and
Fritigern they mustered their forces in the spring of 376 on the north
bank of the Danube and besought permission to enter the Roman
Empire, in the hope of finding a dwelling-place in the rich plains of
Thrace. The Emperor Valens graciously received their request and gave
orders to the commanders on the frontier to take measures for the
shelter and provisioning of this huge mass of people. The Goths passed
the river. In boats, and rafts, and hollowed tree-trunks they made their
way across and covered all the country round"like the rain of ashes from
an eruption of Etna. ” At first all went well. The new-comers maintained
an exemplary attitude: not so the Roman officials—the chief of whom
was the Thracian comes Lupicinus. They used the precarious position
of the barbarians to their own profit, taking advantage of them in every
CH. VII.
## p. 216 (#246) ############################################
216
Battle of Hadrianople
[A. D. 376–378
possible way. It was not long before their shameless injustice aroused
the deep resentment of the Teutons, among whom famine had already
set in.
Things soon came to open rupture. In the immediate neighbourhood
of Marcianople a bloody battle was fought between the infuriated
Teutons and the soldiers of Lupicinus. The Romans were almost
annihilated, their leader took refuge behind the strong walls of the town,
which was immediately invested by the main body of the Tervingian
forces. Other divisions scattered over the plains, plundering as they
went. All attempts of the barbarians failed to take the town by storm.
So Fritigern “made his peace with stone walls. ” A strong force remained
“
before the place as an army of observation, while the main body turned,
as detachments of it had done before, to the plundering of the adjoining
districts of Moesia. Once more the country suffered fearfully, and to
complete its misery other bands of plunderers now joined the Goths.
Taifali, Alani, and even Huns were drawn across the Danube by the hope
of plundering and ravaging these fertile provinces. This was in the
summer of 377.
Troops were hurried up from all sides for the defence of the threatened
provinces ; even Gratian sent aid from the West. Meanwhile the Goths
had overrun all Moesia. Not only had the bloody battle fought at a
place called Salices (late summer 377) been indecisive and cost the
Romans heavy losses, but a strong detachment of Roman troops under
the tribune Barzimeres, a Teuton by race, had been. cut to pieces at
Dibaltus. A success which the dux Frigeridus, likewise of Teutonic birth,
gained over the Taifali and a company of the Greutungi under their
chief Farnobius was not much to balance this and did not alter the fact
that Thrace, which after the battle of Salices had been overrun by the
Teutons, remained a prey to them.
Finally (30 May 378) Valens arrived at Constantinople. As soon
as Fritigern, who lay in the neighbourhood of Hadrianople, heard of the
Emperor's arrival, he gave the order for the widely scattered Gothic
forces to unite. From this point onward events followed in quick
succession. At first the fortune of war seemed to smile upon the
Romans. Making Hadrianople his base, Sebastianus, the commander
of reinforcements sent by Gratian, succeeded in inflicting a reverse upon
the Goths. Fritigern thereupon retired to the neighbourhood of Cabyle
and there concentrated his forces. Thereupon Valens, on his part,
advanced to Hadrianople, resolved to venture upon a decisive stroke.
He had set his heart upon meeting his nephew Gratian, who was
hastening up from the West, with the news of a great victory. And so
(9 Aug. 378) battle was joined near Hadrianople. It resulted in a
terrible defeat of the Romans, in which the Emperor himself was slain.
More than two-thirds of his army, the flower of the military forces of
the East, was left upon the field of battle.
## p. 217 (#247) ############################################
A. D. 378]
Battle of Hadrianople
217
It was in truth a second Cannae. The Empire rocked to its foun-
dations. Sheer panic fell upon all that bore the name of Rome. The
power and glory of the Empire seemed stamped into the dust by the
barbarian hordes. The struggle between Rome and the Teutons which
we have followed through five centuries was drawing to a close. The
battle of Hadrianople introduces the last act of the great drama, the
most pregnant with consequences which the history of the world has
ever seen.
CH. VII.
## p. 218 (#248) ############################################
218
CHAPTER VIII.
THE DYNASTY OF VALENTINIAN AND
THEODOSIUS THE GREAT.
a
The imperial throne was once more vacant (16-17 February 364),
but the army had learned the danger of a tumultuous election, and
after the troops had advanced by an eight days' march to Nicaea, both
the civil and military authorities weighed with anxious deliberation
the rival claims of possible candidates. Aequitius, tribune of the first
regiment of the scutarii, men knew to be harsh and uncultured,
Januarius, a relative of Jovian in supreme command in Illyricum, was
too far distant, and at length one and all agreed to offer the diadem
to Valentinian. The new Emperor had not marched from Ancyra with
the
army,
but had received orders to follow in due course with his regi-
ment, the second schola of scutarii ; thus, while messengers hastened his
journey, the Roman world was for ten days without a master. Valentinian
was a native of Pannonia; his father Gratian, a peasant rope-seller of
Cibalae, had early distinguished himself by his strength and bravery.
Risen from the ranks he had become successively protector, tribune and
general of the Roman forces in Africa ; accused of peculation, he re-
mained for a time under a cloud, only to be given later the command
of the legions of Britain. After his retirement, hospitality shewn to
Magnentius led to the confiscation of Gratian's property by Constantius,
but the services of the father made advancement easy for Valentinian.
In Gaul, however, when acting under Julian's orders he was dismissed
from the army by Barbatio, but on Julian's accession he re-enlisted.
Valentinian's military capacity outweighed even in the eyes of an
apostate emperor his pronounced Christianity, and an important com-
mand was given him in the Persian War. Later he had been sent on
a mission to the West, bearing the news of Jovian's election, and from
this journey he had but recently returned. The life story of Gratian
and Valentinian is one of the most striking examples of the splendid
career which lay open to talent in the Roman army.
The father,
a peasant unknown and without influence, by his ability rises to supreme
command over Britain, while his son becomes Emperor of Rome.
It is
## p. 219 (#249) ############################################
364–365]
Valens co-Emperor
219
hardly surprising that barbarians were ready to enter a service which
offered to the capable soldier such prospects of promotion. It may also
be noticed in passing that in the council at Nicaea only military officers
were considered as successors of Jovian: we do not hear of
any
civil
administrator as a possible candidate for the vacant throne.
From the very day of his accession the character of Valentinian was
declared. When the crowd bade him name at once a co-Augustus, he
replied that but an hour before they had possessed the right to command,
but that right now belonged to the Emperor of their own creation.
From the first the stern glance and majestic bearing of Valentinian
bowed men to his will. Through Nicomedia he advanced to Constanti-
nople, and here in the suburb of the Hebdomon on 28 March 364 he
created his brother Valens co-Emperor ; he looked for loyal subjection
and personal dependence, and he was not disappointed ; with the rank
of Augustus, Valens was content in effect to play the part of a
Caesar. At Naissus the military forces of the Empire were divided, and
many Pannonians were raised to high office. The new rulers were, how-
ever, careful to retain in their posts men who had been chosen both by
Julian and Jovian ; they wished to injure no susceptibilities by open
partisanship. But even though Valentinian remained true to his constant
principle of religious toleration and refused to favour the nominees either
of a Christian or a Pagan Emperor, yet men traced a secret distrust and
covert jealousy of those who had been Julian's intimates; Sallust, the all-
powerful praefect, was removed, and accusations were brought against the
philosopher Maximus. When both Emperors were attacked with fever,
a commission of high imperial officials was appointed to examine whether
the disease might not be due to secret arts. No shred of evidence of any
unholy design was discovered, but the common rumour ran that the only
object of the inquiry was to bring into disrepute the memory and the
friends of Julian. Those who had been loyal to the old dynasty began
.
to seek a leader.
At Sirmium the brothers parted, Valentinian for Milan, Valens for
Constantinople; they each entered on their first consulship in the
following year (365), and as soon as the winter was past Valens travelled
with all speed for Syria ; it would seem that already the terms of the
Thirty Years' Peace were giving rise to fresh difficulties; too many
questions remained open between Rome and Persia.
But as yet it was not foreign invasion but domestic rebellion which
was to endanger the life and throne of Valens. When Procopius had
laid the corpse of Julian to rest in Tarsus, he himself discreetly vanished
from the sight of kings and courtiers: it was a perilous distinction to
have enjoyed the peculiar favour of the dead Emperor? . Before long
however he grew weary of his fugitive existence : life as a hunted exile
in the Crimea was too dearly bought. In desperation he sailed secretly
1 Cf. p. 85.
a
CH. VII.
## p. 220 (#250) ############################################
220
The Revolt of Procopius
[365
for the capital where he found shelter in the friendly house of a senator
Strategius, while a eunuch, Eugenius by name, recently dismissed from
the imperial service, put unlimited funds at his disposal. As he wandered
unrecognised through the streets, on every hand he heard men muttering
of the cruelty and avarice of Petronius, the father-in-law of Valens. The
Emperor himself was no longer in Constantinople, and popular discontent
seemed only to need its champion. The regiments of the Divitenses and
the Tungritani Juniores, on their march from Bithynia for the defence of
Thrace, were at the moment in the city. For two days Procopius
negotiated with their officers; his gold and promises won their allegiance
and in their quarters at the Anastasian Baths the soldiers met under
cover of night and swore to support the usurpation. “Leaving the
inkpot and stool of the notary,” so ran the scornful phrase of the
Court rhetorician, this stage figure of an emperor, hesitating to the last,
assumed the purple and with stammering tongue harangued his followers.
Any sensation was grateful to the populace, and they were content to
accept without enthusiasm their new ruler. Those who had nothing
to lose were ready enough to share the spoils, but the upper classes
generally held aloof or fled to the Court of Valens ; none of them met
Procopius as he entered the deserted senate house. He relied for
support upon men's devotion to the family of Constantine; as reinforce-
ments bound for Thrace reached the capital, he came before them with
Faustina, the widow of Constantius, by his side, while he himself
bore her little daughter in his arms. He pleaded his own kinship
to Julian and the troops were won. Gumoarius and Agilo who had
served Constantius well were recalled from retirement and put at the
head of the army, while to Julian's friend Phronemius was given the
charge of the capital. Valentinian had advanced Pannonians, Procopius
chose Gauls, for the Gallic provinces had most reason to remember
Julian's services to the Empire. Nebridius, recently created praetorian
praefect through the influence of Petronius, was held a prisoner and
forced to write despatches recalling Julius who was in command in
Thrace; the stratagem succeeded and the province was won without
a blow. The embassy to Illyricum, however, bearing the newly minted
coinage of Procopius, was defeated by the vigilance of Aequitius, every
approach, whether through Dacia, Macedonia or the pass of Succi, being
effectually barred.
The news of the revolt reached Valens as he was leaving Bithynia for
Antioch, and he was only recalled from abject despair by the counsels of
his friends. Procopius with the Divitenses and a hastily collected force
had advanced to Nicaea, but before the approach of the Jovii and Victores
he retreated to Mygdus on the Sangarius. Once more the soldiers yielded
when he appealed to their loyalty to the house of Constantine: the
troops of Valens deserting “ the degenerate Pannonian," “ the drinker of
miserable barley beer,” went over to the usurper. One success followed
## p. 221 (#251) ############################################
366–369]
Fall of Procopius
221
another: Nicomedia was surprised by the tribune Rumitalca, who forth-
with marched to the north; Valens who was besieging Chalcedon was
taken unawares and forced to fly for his life to Ancyra. Thus Bithynia
was won for Procopius. His fleet under Marcellus attacked Cyzicus and
when once the chain across the harbour's mouth was broken the garrison
surrendered. With the fall of Cyzicus, Valens had lost the mastery of
the Hellespont, while he could expect no help from his brother, since
Valentinian had determined that the safety of the whole Roman Empire
demanded his presence on the western frontier. Thus during the early
months of 366, while Procopius endeavoured to raise funds for the future
conduct of the war, Valens could only await the arrival of Lupicinus.
The Emperor's final victory was indeed mainly due to an ill-considered
act of his rival. Arbitio, the retired general of Constantius, had supported
the usurper, but had declined an invitation to his court, pleading the
infirmities of old age and ill-health. Procopius replied by an order
that the general's house should be pillaged, thereby turning a friend
into a bitter foe. Arbitio on the appeal of Valens joined the camp of
Lupicinus ; his arrival at once inspired the Emperor with fresh hope
and courage, and gave the signal for wholesale defections from the
usurper's forces. In an engagement at Thyatira, Gumoarius procured
his own capture and carried with him many of his men. After the
march of Valens into Phrygia, Agilo in his turn deserted when the
armies met at Nacolia. The soldiers refused to continue the struggle
(26 May 366). Procopius was betrayed to the Emperor by two of his
own officers and was immediately put to death. Imperial suspicion and
persecution had once again goaded a loyal subject to treason and to
ruin. His severed head was borne beneath the walls of Philippopolis,
and the city surrendered to Aequitius. The ghastly trophy was even
carried to Valentinian through the provinces of Gaul, lest loyalty to the
memory of Julian should awake treason in the West. Valens could
now avenge his terror and sate his avarice. The suppression of the
rebellion was followed by a train of executions, burnings, proscriptions,
and banishments which caused men to curse the victory of the lawful
Emperor.
The plea of kinship with the family of Constantine had induced some
thousands of the Gothic tribesmen on the Danube to cross the Roman
frontier in support of Procopius. Valens refused to recognise their
defence, and depriving them of their weapons settled them in the cities
along the northern boundaries of the Empire. When discontent declared
itself, in fear of a general attack he acted on his brother's advice, and
marched in person to the Danube, and for the three succeeding years
(367–369) the Gothic campaign absorbed his attention. With Marci-
anople as his base of operations, he crossed the river in 367 and 369;
in the latter year he conquered Athanarich, and during the autumn
concluded an advantageous peace. The Emperor and the Gothic judex
CH, VIII.
## p. 222 (#252) ############################################
222
Valentinian I in Gaul
( 364–366
met on a ship in mid-stream, for Athanarich professed himself bound by
a fearful oath never to set foot upon Roman soil. During these years
Valens, pursuing in the East his brother's policy, strengthened the whole
of the Danube frontier line with forts and garrisons.
Valentinian may indeed be styled the frontier Emperor ; his title to
fame is his restoration of the defences of Rome in the West against the
surging barbarian hordes. He was a hard-worked soldier prince, and
the one purpose which inspires his reign is his fixed determination never
to yield an inch of Roman territory. He had always before his eyes the
terrible warning of his predecessor. In the year 364, when the Emperor
was still at Milan, ambassadors from the Alemanni came to greet him on
his accession, and to receive the tribute which Roman pride disguised
under the fairer name of gifts. Valentinian would not squander state
funds in bounty to barbarians; the presents were small, while Ursatius,
the magister officiorum, who took his cue from his master, treated the
messengers with scant courtesy. They returned indignant to their homes,
and in the early days of the new year, A. D. 365, the Alemanni burst
plundering and ravaging across the frontier. Charietto the count
commanding in both Germanies and the aged general Servianus,
stationed at Cabillona (Châlons-sur-Saône), both fell before the
barbarian onset. Gaul demanded Valentinian's presence; the Emperor
started for Paris in the month of October; and while on the march,
news reached him of the revolt of Procopius. The report gave no details
he did not know whether Valens were alive or dead. But with that strong
sense of imperial duty which dignifies the characters of the fourth
century emperors, he subordinated utterly the personal interest to the
common weal : “Procopius is but my brother's enemy and my own," he
repeated to himself; "the Alemanni are the foes of the Roman world. "
Arrived at Paris, it was from that city that he despatched Dagalaiphus
against the Alemanni. Autumn was fast giving place to winter, the
tribesmen had scattered, and the new general was dilatory and inactive;
he was recalled to become consul with the Emperor's son Gratian
(Jan. 366) and Jovinus, as magister equitum, took his place at the
head of the Roman troops.
Three successive victories virtually concluded
the campaign ; at Scarponna (Charpeigne) one band of barbarians was
surprised and defeated, while another was massacred on the Moselle. In
negligent security the Alemanni on the river bank were drinking,
washing and dyeing their hair red, when from the fringe of the forest
the Roman legionaries poured down upon them. Jovinus then under-
took a further march and pitched his camp at Châlons-sur-Marne ; here
there was a desperate engagement with a third force of the enemy. The
withdrawal during the battle of the tribune Balchobaudes seriously
endangered the army's safety, but at length the day was won. The
Alemanni lost six thousand killed and four thousand wounded; of the
Romans two hundred were wounded and twelve hundred killed; in
a
## p. 223 (#253) ############################################
366–369)
Count Theodosius in Britain
223
a
a
the pursuit Ascarii in the Roman service captured the barbarian king,
and in the heat of the moment he was struck dead. After a few lesser
encounters resistance was for the time at an end. It was probably his
interest in this campaign which had led Valentinian to spend the early
months of 366 at Rheims. He now returned to Paris and from the latter
city advanced (end of June 366 ? ) to meet his successful general, whom he
nominated for the consulship in the succeeding year. At the same time
the head of Procopius reached him from the East. But in the high tide
of success he was struck down with a serious illness (winter 366–7). The
Court was already considering possible candidates for the purple when
Valentinian recovered, but, realising the dangers for the West which
might arise from a disputed succession, at Amiens on 24 August 367
he procured from the troops the recognition of the seven year old Gratian
as co-Augustus. It may well have been the necessity for defending the
northern coast against raids of Franks and Saxons which had summoned
Valentinian to Amiens ; and now on his way from that town to Trier
tidings reached him of a serious revolt in Britain. Fullofaudes, the
Roman general, together with Nectaridus, the commander of the coast
line (count of the Saxon shore ? ), had both met their deaths. In the
autumn of 367 Severus, count of the imperial guards, was despatched to
the island only to be recalled. Jovinus, appointed in his place, sent Pro-
vertides in advance to raise levies, while in view of the constant reports
of fresh disasters the Count Theodosius (the father of Theodosius the
Great) was ordered to sail for Britain at the head of Gallic reinforcements.
From Boulogne he landed at Rutupiae (Richborough: spring 368) and
was followed by the Batavi, Heruli, Jovii and Victores. Scenes of hope-
less confusion met him on his arrival; Dicalydones and Verturiones (the
two divisions of the Picts), Attacotti and Scotti (Irish) all ranged pillaging
over the countryside, while Frank and Saxon marauders swept down in
forays on the coast. Theodosius marched towards London, and it would
seem made this city his headquarters. Defeating the scattered troops
of spoil-laden barbarians, he restored the greater part of the booty to
the harassed provincials, while deserters were recalled to the standard by
promises of pardon. From London, where he spent the winter, Theodosius
prayed the Emperor to appoint men of wide experience to govern the
island—Civilis as pro-praefect and Dulcitius as general; in this year too,
he probably cooperated with imperial troops on the continent in the
suppression of Frank and Saxon pirates in the Low Countries and about
the mouths of the Rhine and Waal. Valentinian himself advanced as
far north as Cologne in the autumn of 368. In the year 369 Theodosius
everywhere surprised the barbarians and swept the country clear of their
robber bands. Town-fortifications were restored, forts rebuilt and
frontiers regarrisoned, while the Areani, a treacherous border militia,
were removed. Territory in the north was recovered, and a new fifth
province of Valentia or Valentinia created. The revolt of Valentinus,
CH, VIII.
## p. 224 (#254) ############################################
224
Valentinian I and Frontier Defence
[367—371
who had been exiled to Britain on a criminal charge, was easily crushed
by Theodosius, who repressed with a strong hand the treason trials which
usually followed the defeat of an unsuccessful usurper. When he sailed
for Gaul, probably in the spring of 370, he left the provincials “ leapin
for very joy. " On his return to the Court he was appointed to succeed
Jovinus as magister equitum (before end of May 370).
While his lieutenant had been restoring order in Britain, Valentinian
had been actively engaged in Gaul. The winter of 367–8 the Emperor
spent at Rheims preparing for his vengeance upon the disturbers of the
peace in the West.
But the new year opened with a disaster, for while
the Christian inhabitants of Mainz were keeping festival (Epiphany ? 368)
the Aleman prince Rando surprised and sacked the town. The Romans,
however, gained a treacherous advantage by the murder of King Withicab,
and in the summer of the same year the Emperor together with his son in-
vaded the territory between Neckar and Rhine. Our authorities give us no
certain information as to his route, perhaps he advanced by the Rhine
road and then turned off by Ettlingen and Pforzheim. Solicinium (near
Rottenburg on the left bank of the Neckar) was the scene of the decisive
struggle. The barbarians occupied a strong position on a precipitous
hill; the Romans experienced great difficulty in dislodging them but
were at length successful, and the enemy fled over the Neckar by
Lopodunum towards the Danube. The advantage thus gained was
secured by the building of a strong fort, apparently at Altrip, and for its
erection it seems possible that the ruins of Lopodunum were employed.
The Emperor spent the winter in Trier, and with the new year (369)
began his great work of frontier defence extending from the province of
Rhaetia to the ocean. Valentinian even sought to plant his fortresses
in the enemy's territory. This was regarded by the Alemanni as a breach
of treaty rights, and the Romans suffered a serious reverse at the Mons
Piri (Heidelberg? ). The Emperor accordingly entered into negotiations
with the Burgundians, who were to attack the Alemanni with the support
of the Roman troops. The Burgundians, long at feud with their neigh-
bours over the possession of some salt springs on their borders, gladly
accepted the Emperor's overtures and appeared in immense force on the
Rhine: the confederate seemed more terrible than the foe. Valentinian
was absent superintending the building of his new forts, and feared either
to accept or refuse the assistance of such dangerous allies. He sought to
gain time by inaction, and the Burgundians, infuriated at this betrayal,
were forced to withdraw, since the Alemanni threatened to oppose their
homeward march. Meanwhile Theodosius, newly arrived in Gaul from
Britain, swept upon the distracted Alemanni from Rhaetia, and after a
successful campaign was able to settle his captives as farmers in the valley
of the Po. Macrian, king of the Alemanni, had been the heart and soul
of his people's resistance to Rome; with the intention therefore of
capturing this dangerous enemy by a sudden surprise, in September 371
## p. 225 (#255) ############################################
365–371]
Rome and Armenia
225
-
Valentinian accompanied by Theodosius left Mainz for Aquae Mattiacae ;
but with the troops the opportunities for pillage outweighed the Emperor's
strictest orders. The smoke of burning homesteads betrayed the Roman
approach ; the army advanced some fifty miles, but the purpose of the
expedition was defeated and the Emperor returned disappointed to
Trier.
Meanwhile in the East time only served to shew the futility of
Jovian's peace with Persia. Rome had sacrificed much but had settled
nothing. Sapor claimed that under the treaty he could do as he would
with Armenia, which still remained the apple of discord as before, and
that Rome had relinquished any right to interfere. But it was precisely
this claim that Rome could never in the last resort allow-Armenia
under Persian rule was far too great a menace. The chronology of the
events which followed the treaty must remain to some extent a matter of
conjecture, but from the first Sapor seems to have enforced his conception
of his rights, seeking in turn by bribes and forays to reduce Armenia to
Persian vassalage. Valens as early as 365 was on his way to the Persian
frontier when he was recalled by the revolt of Procopius. At the close
of the year 368, or at the beginning of 369, Sapor got possession of King
Arsaces, whom he put to death some years later. In 369, it would
appear, Persia interfered in the affairs of Hiberia : Sauromaces, ruling
under Roman protection, was expelled, and Aspacures, a Persian
nominee, was made king. In Armenia the fortress of Artagherk
(Artogerassa) where the queen Pharrantsem had taken refuge was
besieged (369), while her son Pap, acting on his mother's counsel, fled
to the protection of Valens ; in his flight he was assisted by Cylaces and
Artabannes, Armenian renegades, who now proved disloyal to their
Persian master. The exile was well received, and accorded a home at
Neocaesarea. But when Muschegh, the Armenian general, prayed that
the Emperor would take effective action and stay the ravages of Persia,
Valens hesitated : he felt that his hands were tied by the terms of the
peace of Jovian. Terentius, the Roman dux, accompanied Pap on his
return to Armenia, but without the support of the legions the prince
was powerless. Artagherk fell in the fourteenth month of the siege
(winter 370), Pharrantsem was hurried away to her death, and Pap was
forced to flee into the mountains which lay between Lazica and the
Roman frontier: Here he remained in hiding for five months ; Persian
pillage and massacre proceeded unchecked, until Sapor could leave his
generals in command of the army, while two Armenian nobles were
entrusted with the civil government of the country and with the in-
troduction of the Magian religion. At length Valens took action, and
the Count Arinthaeus, acting in concert with Terentius and Addaeus,
was sent to Armenia to place Pap upon the throne and to prevent the
commission of further outrage by Persia. In May 371 the Emperor
himself left Constantinople, slowly journeying towards Syria. Sapor's
C. YED, H. VOL. I. CH. vii.
15
## p. 226 (#256) ############################################
-
226
The Conspiracy of Theodorus
(371–374
next move was an attempt to win Pap by promises of alliance, counsel-
ing him to be no longer the puppet of his ministers; the ruse was
successful and the king put to death both Cylaces and Artabannes.
Meanwhile a Persian embassy complained that the protection of Armenia
by Rome was a breach of her obligations under the treaty.
In April
372 Valens reached Antioch. His answer to Persia was further in-
terference in Hiberia. While Muschegh invaded Persian territory,
Terentius with twelve legions restored Sauromaces as ruler over the
country bordering on Lazica and Armenia, Sapor on his side making
great preparations for a campaign in the following spring, raising levies
from the surrounding tribes and hiring mercenaries. In 373 Trajan
and Vadomar marched to the East with a formidable army, having
strict orders not to break the peace but to act on the defensive. The
Emperor himself moved to Hierapolis in order to superintend the
operations from that city. At Vagobanta (Bagavan) the Romans were
forced to engage and in the result were victorious. A truce was con-
cluded at the end of the summer, and while Sapor retired to Ctesiphon,
Valens took up his residence in Antioch.
Here in the following year 374, so far as we can judge from the
vague chronology of our authorities, a widespread conspiracy was
discovered in which Maximus, Julian's master, Eutropius the historian,
and many other leading philosophers and heathens were implicated.
Anxious to discover who was to succeed Valens, some daring spirits had
suspended a ring over a consecrated table upon which was placed a
round metal dish ; about the rim of the dish was engraved the alphabet.
The ring had spelt out the letters THEO—when with one voice all
present exclained that Theodorus was clearly destined for Empire.
Born in Gaul of an old and honourable family, he had enjoyed
a liberal education and already held the second place among the
imperial notaries ; distinguished for his humanity and moderation, in
every post alike his merits outshone his office. Absent from Antioch
at the time, he was at once recalled, and the enthusiasm of his friends
seems to have shaken his loyalty. The life of Valens had previously
been threatened by would-be assassins, and when the conspirators' secret
was betrayed the Emperor's vengeance knew no bounds; he swept the
whole of the Roman East for victims and, as at the fall of Procopius,
now his avarice ruled unchecked. If the accused's life was spared,
proscription in bitter mockery posed as clemency and the banishment of
the innocent as an act of royal grace. For years the trials continued :
“We all crept about as though in Cimmerian darkness," writes an
eyewitness, "the sword of Damocles hung suspended over our heads.
Of Western affairs during those years when the long drawn game
of
plot and counterplot was being played between Valens and Sapor we
know but little. Valentinian remained in Gaul (autumn 371-spring
373), doubtless busied with his schemes for the maintenance of security
SO
## p. 227 (#257) ############################################
363–367]
Count Romanus in Africa
227
upon the frontiers, but detailed information we have none. Where
Valentinian governed in person we hear of no rebellions: the constitu-
tions even shew that a limited relief was granted from taxation and that
measures were taken to check oppression, but elsewhere on every hand
the Emperor's good intentions were betrayed by his agents. In Britain
a disorganised army and a harassed population could offer no effective
resistance to the invader : gross misgovernment in the Pannonian
provinces made it doubtful whether the excesses of imperial officers or
the forays of the barbarian enemy were more to be dreaded, while the
story of the woes of Africa only serves to shew how terrible was the cost
which the Empire paid for its unscrupulous bureaucracy. Under Jovian
(363-4) the Austoriani had suddenly invaded the province of Tripolis,
intending to avenge the death of one of their tribesmen who had been
burned alive for plotting against the Roman power. They laid waste
the rich countryside around Leptis, and when the city appealed for help
to the commander-in-chief, Count Romanus, he refused to take any
action unless supplied with a vast store of provisions and four thousand
camels. The demand could not be met, and after forty days the general
departed, while the despairing provincials at the regular annual assembly
of their city council elected an embassy to carry statues of victory to
Valentinian and to greet him upon his accession. At Milan (364-5)
the ambassadors gave (as it would seem) a full report of the sufferings of
Leptis, but Remigius, the magister officiorum, a relative and confederate
of Romanus, was forewarned and contradicted their assertions, while he
was successful in securing the appointment of Romanus upon the
commission of inquiry which was ordered by the Emperor. The
military command was given for a time to the governor Ruricius, but
was shortly after once more put into the hands of Romanus.
not long before news of a fresh invasion of Tripolis by the barbarians
reached Valentinian in Gaul (A. D. 365). The African army had not yet
received the customary donative upon the Emperor's accession; Palladius
was accordingly entrusted with gold to distribute amongst the troops,
and was instructed to hold a complete and searching inquiry into the
affairs of the province. Meanwhile for the third time the desert
clansmen had spread rapine and outrage through Roman territory, and
for eight days had laid formal siege to the city of Leptis itself. A
second embassy consisting of Jovinus and Pancratius was sent to the
Emperor who was found at Trier (winter 367). On the arrival of
Palladius in Africa, Romanus induced the officers to relinquish their
share of the donative and to restore it to the imperial commissioner, as
a mark of their personal respect. The inquiry then proceeded ; much
evidence was taken and the complaints against Romanus proved up
the hilt; the report for the Emperor was already prepared when the
Count threatened, if it were not withdrawn, to disclose the personal profit
of Palladius in the matter of the donative. The commissioner yielded
It was
to
CH, VIII.
15--2
## p. 228 (#258) ############################################
228
Death of Count Theodosius
[ 369-376
and went over to the side of Romanus; on his return to the Court he
found nothing to criticise in the administration of the province.
Pancratius had died at Trier but Jovinus was sent back to Africa with
Palladius, the latter being directed to hold a further examination as to
the truth of the allegations made by the second embassy. Men who on
the shewing of the Emperor's representative had given false witness on
the inquiry were to have their tongues cut from their mouths. By
threats, trickery and bribes Romanus once more achieved his end. The
citizens of Leptis denied that they had ever given any authority to
Jovinus to act on their behalf, while he, endeavouring to save his life, was
forced to confess himself a liar. It was to no purpose: together with
Ruricius the governor and others he was put to death by order of the
Emperor (369? ).
Not even this sacrifice of innocent lives gave peace to Africa.
Firmus, a Moorish prince, on the death of his father Nebul, had slain his
brother; that brother however had enjoyed the favour of Romanus, and
the machinations of the Roman general drove Firmus into rebellion.
He assumed the purple, while persecuted Donatists and exasperated
soldiers and provincials gladly rallied round him. Theodosius, fresh
from his successes in Britain and Gaul, was despatched to Africa by
Valentinian as commander-in-chief, charged with the task of reasserting
imperial authority. On examining his predecessor's papers, a chance
reference caused the discovery of the plots of the last eight years, but it
was not till the reign of Gratian that the subsequent inquiries were
concluded. Palladius and Remigius both committed suicide, but the
arch-offender Romanus was protected by the influence of Merobaudes.
The whole story needs no comment: before men's eyes the powerlessness
of the Emperor and the might of organised corruption stood luridly
revealed.
For at least two years Theodosius fought and struggled against odds
in Africa ; at length discipline was restored amongst the troops, the
Moors were defeated with great loss and the usurper driven to take his
own life: the Roman commander entered Sitifis in triumph (374? ).
Hardly however was his master Valentinian removed by death when
Theodosius fell a victim to the intrigues of his enemies (at Carthage,
A. D. 375-6); baptised at the last hour and thus cleansed of all sin, he
walked calmly to the block. We do not know the ostensible charge
upon which he was beheaded, nor do our authorities name his accuser.
But the evidence points to Merobaudes, the all-powerful minister of
Gratian. Theodosius had superseded Romanus and disclosed his schemes,
and Romanus was the friend and protégé of Merobaudes, while it is
clear that Gratian held in his own hands the entire West including
Africa, for as yet (376), the youthful Valentinian II was not permitted
to exercise any independent authority? Possibly Merobaudes may have
1 Rauschen, Jahrbücher, p. 23.
## p. 229 (#259) ############################################
373–375]
The last Campaigns of Valentinian I
229
been assisted in the attainment of his ends by timely representations
from the East, for the general's name began with the same letters which
had only recently (374? ) proved fatal to Theodorus.
In 373 Valentinian had left Gaul for Milan, but returned in the
following year (May 374), and after a raid upon the Alemanni, while
at the fortress of Robur near Basel, he learned in late autumn that the
Quadi and Sarmatae had burst across the frontier. The Emperor with
his passion for fortress-building had given orders for a garrison station
to be erected on the left bank of the Danube within the territory of the
Quadi, while at the same time the youthful Marcellianus through the
influence of his father Maximinus, the ill-famed praefect of Illyricum',
had succeeded the able general Aequitius as magister armorum. Gabinius,
king of the Quadi, came to the Roman camp to pray that this violation
of his rights might cease. The newly appointed general treacherously
murdered his guest, and at the news the barbarians flew to arms, poured
across the Danube upon the unsuspecting farmers, and all but captured
the daughter of Constantius who was on her journey to meet Gratian
her future husband. Sarmatae and Quadi devastated Moesia and Pan-
nonia, the praetorian praefect Probus was stupefied into inactivity, and
the Roman legionaries at feud between themselves were routed in con-
fusion. The only successful resistance was offered by the younger
Theodosius--the future Emperor-who compelled one of the invading
Sarmatian hosts to sue for peace. Valentinian desired to march eastward
forthwith, but was dissuaded by those who urged the hardships of a
winter campaign and the danger of leaving Gaul while the leader of
the Alemanni was still unsubdued. Both Romans and barbarians were,
however, alike weary of the ceaseless struggle, and during the winter
Valentinian and Macrian concluded an enduring peace. In the late
spring of 375 the Emperor left Gaul; from June to August he was at
Carnuntum, endeavouring to restore order within the devastated province,
and thence marched to Acincum, crossed the Danube and wasted the
territory of the invading tribesmen. Autumn surprised him while still
in the field: he retired to Sabaria and took up his winter quarters at
Bregetio. The Quadi, conscious of the hopelessness of further resistance,
sent an embassy excusing their action and pleading that the Romans
were in truth the aggressors. The Emperor, passionately enraged
at this freedom of speech, was seized in the paroxysm of his anger
with an apoplectic fit and carried dying from the audience hall
(17 November 375).
High-complexioned, with a strong and muscular body cast in a noble
and majestic mould, his steel-blue eyes scanning men and things with
a gaze of sinister intensity, the Emperor stands before us as an imposing
and stately figure. Yet his stern and forbidding nature awakes but
little sympathy, and it is easy to do less than justice to the character and
· For his cruelty wheu acting as praefect of Rome, cf. Ammianus, xxvIII. 1. 5.
CH.
VIII.
## p. 230 (#260) ############################################
230
The Character and Work of Valentinian I
work of Valentinian. With a strong hand Diocletian had endeavoured
by his administrative system and by the enforcement of hereditary
duties to weld together the Roman Empire which had been shattered
by the successive catastrophes of the third century; to Valentinian it
seemed as though the same iron constraint could alone check the process
of dissolution. If it were possible, he would make life for the provincials
worth the living, for then resistance to the invader would be the more
resolute: he would protect them with forts and garrisons upon their
frontiers, would lighten (if he dare) the weight of taxation, would accord
them liberty of conscience and freedom for their varied faiths, and
would to the best of his power appoint honest and capable men as his
representatives: but a spirit of dissatisfaction and discontent among his
subjects was not merely disloyalty, it was a menace to the Empire,
for it tended to weaken the solidarity of governors and governed :
to remove an official for abusing his trust was in Valentinian's eyes to
prejudice men's respect for the State, and thus the strain of brutality
in his nature declared itself in his refusal to check stern measures or
pitiless administration : to save the Roman world from disintegration
it must be cowed into unity. Without mercy to others he never
spared himself; as a restless and untiring leader with no mean gifts of
generalship and strategy it was but natural that he should give prefer-
ment to his officers, till contemporaries bitterly complained that never
before had civilians been thus neglected or the army so highly privileged.
It could indeed hardly be otherwise, for with every frontier threatened
it was the military captain who was indispensable. The Emperor's
efforts to suppress abuses were untiring ; simplicity characterised his
Court and strict economy was practised. His laws in the Theodosian
Code are a standing witness to his passion for reform. He regulated
the corn supply and the transport of the grain by sea, he made less bur-
densome the collection of the taxes levied in kind on the provincials,
he exerted himself to protect the curials and the members of municipal
senates, he settled barbarians as colonists on lands which were passing
out of cultivation, he endeavoured to put a stop to the debasement of
the coinage, while in the administration of justice he attempted to check
the misuse of wealth and favour by insisting upon publicity of trial and
by granting greater facilities for appeals. As a contemporary observes,
Valentinian's one sore need was honest agents and upright administrators,
and these he could not secure : men only sought for power in order
to abuse it. Had the Emperor been served by more nien of the stamp
of Theodosius, the respect of posterity might have given place to
admiration.
Even as it was, in later days when men praised Theodoric
they compared him with two great Emperors of the past, with Trajan-
and Valentinian.
At the time of the Emperor's death Gratian was far distant at Trier,
and there was a general fear that the fickle Gallic troops now encamped
## p. 231 (#261) ############################################
375–377]
Gratian
231
on the left bank of the Danube might claim to raise to the throne
some candidate whom they themselves had chosen, perhaps Sebastianus-
a man by nature inactive but high in the favour of the army. Merobaudes,
the general in command, was therefore recalled as though by order of
Valentinian on a pretext of fresh disturbances upon the Rhine, and after
prolonged consultation it was decided to summon the late Emperor's
four year old son Valentinian. The boy's uncle covered post-haste the
hundred Roman miles which lay between Bregetio and the country house
of Murocincta, where the young prince was living with his mother
Justina. Valentinian was carried back to the camp in a litter, and six
days after his father's death was solemnly proclaimed Augustus.
Gratian's kindly nature soon dispelled any fear that he would refuse
to recognise this hurried election: the elder brother always shewed
towards the younger a father's care and affection. No partition of the
West however took place at this time, and there could as yet be no
question of the exercise of independent power by Valentinian II; Gratian
ruled over all those provinces which had been subject to Valentinian I,
and his infant colleague's name is not even mentioned in the constitutions
before the year 379. Of the government of Gratian however we know
but little; its importance lies mainly in the fact that he was determined
to be first and foremost an orthodox Christian Emperor, and even
refused to wear the robe or assume the title of Pontifex Maximus
(probably 375).
Meanwhile in the East the fidelity of Pap grew suspect in the eyes
of Rome. The unfavourable despatches of Terentius, the murder of
the Katholikos Nerses, and the consecration of his successor by the king
without the customary appeal to Caesarea (Mazaca) led Valens to invite
Pap to Tarsus, where he remained virtually a prisoner. Escaping to
his own country he fell a victim to Roman treachery (375? ). Still
Rome and Persia negotiated, and at length (376) Valens despatched
Victor and Arbicius with an ultimatum; the Emperor demanded that
the fortresses which of right belonged to Sauromaces should be evacuated
by the beginning of 377. The claims of Rome were ignored, and Valens
was planning at Hierapolis (July-August 377) a great campaign against
Persia when the news from Europe made it imperative to withdraw
the Roman army of occupation from Armenia. For several years the
European crisis engaged all the Emperor's energies, and he was unable
to interfere effectually in Eastern affairs. The Huns had burst into
Europe, had conquered the Alans, subjected the East Goths (Ostrogoths)
and driven the West Goths (Visigoths) to crave admission within the
territory of Rome. Athanarich and Fritigern had become leaders of
two distinct parties among the West Goths; Athanarich, driven before
the Huns, had lost much of his wealth, and, as he was unable to support
his followers, the greater number deserted their aged leader and joined
Fritigern. It seems possible too that religious differences may have
CH. VIII.
## p. 232 (#262) ############################################
232
The Goths and the Empire
(377
.
played their part in these dissensions : Athanarich may have stood at
the head of those who were loyal to the old religion, Fritigern may have
been willing to secure any advantage which the profession of the
Christian faith might win from a devout Emperor. Whether this be
so or not, it was the tribesmen of Fritigern who appealed to Valens.
It was no unusual request: the settling of barbarians as colonists on
Roman soil was of frequent occurrence, while the provision of barbarian
recruits for the Roman army was a constant clause in the treaties of the
fourth century. Valens and his ministers congratulated themselves that,
without their seeking, so admirable an opportunity had presented itself
of infusing new life and vigour into the northern provinces of the Empire.
The conditions for the reception of the Goths were that they should
give up their arms and surrender many of their sons as hostages. The
church historians add the stipulation that the Goths should adopt the
Christian faith, but this would seem to have been only a pious hope and
not a condition for the passage of the Danube, although it was only
natural that the Goths should affect to have assumed the religion of
their new fellow-countrymen. The conditions were stern enough, but
the fate which threatened the barbarians at the hands of the Huns
seemed even more unrelenting. The Goths accepted the terms: but
for the Romans the enforcement of their own requisitions was a work
which demanded extraordinary tact and unremitting forethought.
In face of this immense and sobering responsibility, which should
have summoned forth all the energy and loyalty of which men were
capable, the ministers of Valens (so far as we can see) did nothing-
they left to chance alone the feeding of a multitude which none could
number. It is not in their everyday peculations, nor in their habitual
violence and oppression of the provincials, that the degradation of the
bureaucracy of the Empire is seen in its most hideous form : the weightiest
count in the indictment is that when met by an extraordinary crisis
which imperilled the existence of the Empire itself the agents of the
State with the danger in concrete form before their very eyes failed to
check their lust or bridle their avarice.
