I must not, however, omit to mention the manner in which Justinian
treated the soldiers. He appointed commissioners, called
Logothetae,[17] with directions to squeeze as much money as they could
out of them, a twelfth part of the sum thus obtained being assured to
them. The following was their mode of operation every year. It was an
established custom that the soldiers should not all have the same pay.
Those who were young, and had just joined, received less than those
who had undergone hardships in the field and were already half-way up
the list; while the veterans, whose term of service was all but over,
received a more considerable sum, that they might have sufficient to
live upon as private individuals, and, after their death, might be
able to leave a small inheritance by way of consolation to their
families. Thus, in course of time, the soldiers gradually rose in
rank, according as their comrades died or retired from the service,
and their pay from the public funds was regulated in accordance with
their seniority. But these commissioners would not allow the names of
those who had died or fallen in battle to be struck out, or the
vacancies to be filled, until a long interval had elapsed. The result
was, that the army was short of men, and the survivors, after the
death of the veterans, were kept in a position far inferior to their
merits, and received less pay than they ought to have done, while in
the meantime the commissioners handed over to Justinian the money they
thus purloined from the soldiers. In addition, they harassed the
soldiers with several other kinds of injustices, by way of recompense
for the dangers they had undergone in the field; they were taunted
with the name of Greeks, as if Greece could never produce a brave
soldier; others were cashiered, as not having been ordered by the
Emperor to serve, although they showed their commissions, the
genuineness of which the Logothetae did not hesitate to call in
question; others, again, were disbanded for having absented themselves
a short time from their quarters. Afterwards, some of the Palace
Guards were sent into every part of the Empire to take an exact
inventory of the soldiers who were or were not fit for service. Some
were deprived of their belts, as being useless and too old, and for
the future were obliged to solicit alms from the charitable in the
open market-place--a sad and melancholy spectacle to all beholders.
The rest were reduced to such a state of terror that, in order to
avoid similar treatment, they offered large sums of money to buy
themselves out, so that the soldiers, being thus rendered destitute
and in many ways enfeebled, conceived an utter aversion to the
service.
This endangered the authority of the Romans, especially in Italy.
Alexander, who was sent thither as commissioner, unhesitatingly
reproached the soldiers for this. He also exacted large sums of money
from the Italians, under the pretence of punishing them for their
negotiations with Theoderic and the Goths. The soldiers were not the
only persons who were reduced to poverty and privation by the
commissioners; but those who had accompanied the generals in different
capacities and had formerly enjoyed a high reputation, found
themselves in great distress, as they had no means of procuring the
ordinary necessaries. Since I am speaking of the soldiers, I will give
a few additional details. Preceding Emperors had, for a very long time
past, carefully posted upon all the frontiers of the Empire a large
military force to protect its boundaries, and particularly, in the
Eastern provinces, in order to repel the inroads of the Persians and
Saracens, they had established garrisons called "frontier troops."
Justinian at first treated these troops with such shameful neglect
that their pay was four, or even five years in arrear; and, when peace
was concluded between Rome and Persia, these unhappy individuals, who
expected to enjoy the advantages of peace, were obliged to make a
present to the treasury of the money due to them; and the Emperor
finally disbanded them most unjustly. Thus the frontiers of the Roman
Empire remained ungarrisoned, and the troops had nothing to subsist
upon except the benevolence of the charitable.
There was a certain body of soldiers, about 3,500 in number, called
"Scholares," who had been originally appointed as an imperial
palace-guard, and received a larger pay from the imperial treasury
than the rest of the army. They were first chosen according to merit
from the Armenians; but, from the reign of Zeno, anyone, however
cowardly and unwarlike, was allowed to enter this body. In course of
time, even slaves, on payment of a sum of money, were admitted to
their ranks. When Justin succeeded to the throne, Justinian enrolled a
large number on payment of considerable sums of money. When the list
was filled up, he added about 2,000 more who were called
"Supernumeraries," but disbanded them, when he himself came to the
throne, without any reimbursement. In regard to these "Scholares," he
invented the following plan: Whenever it was probable that an
expedition would be despatched to Italy, Libya, or Persia, he ordered
them to make ready to take part in the campaign, although he knew that
they were utterly unfit for war; and they, being afraid of this,
surrendered their salaries to the Emperor. This was a frequent
occurrence. When Peter was "Master of Offices," he daily harassed them
with monstrous thefts. This man, although he was of a mild and by no
means overbearing disposition, was the greatest thief in the world and
an absolute slave to sordid avarice. He it was who (as I have related)
contrived the murder of Amalasunta, the daughter of Theodoric.
There are in the imperial household other officers of much higher
rank, who, having purchased their positions for a larger sum, receive
better pay in proportion. These are called "Domestics" and
"Protectors." They have always been exempt from military service, and
are only reckoned members of the palace on account of their dignity
and rank. Some of them are constantly in Byzantium, while others have
long been established in Galatia or other provinces. Justinian
frightened these in the same manner into abandoning their salaries to
him. In conclusion, it was the custom that, every five years, the
Emperor should present each of the soldiers with a fixed sum in gold.
Accordingly, every five years, commissioners were despatched to all
parts of the Empire, to bestow five staters of gold upon every soldier
as a gift from the Emperor. This had long been an established and
inviolable practice. But, from the day that Justinian assumed the
management of affairs, he did nothing of the kind, and showed no
intention of doing so during the thirty-two years of his reign, so
that the custom was almost completely forgotten.