BOOK III

THE VANDALIC WAR

I

Such, then, was the final outcome of the Persian War for the Emperor

Justinian; and I shall now proceed to set forth all that he did against

the Vandals and the Moors. But first shall be told whence came the host

of the Vandals when they descended upon the land of the Romans. After

Theodosius, the Roman Emperor, had departed from the world, having

proved himself one of the most just of men and an able warrior, his

kingdom was taken over by his two sons, Arcadius, the elder, receiving

the Eastern portion, and Honorius, the younger, the Western. [Jan. 17,

395 A.D.] But the Roman power had been thus divided as far back as the

time of Constantine and his sons; for he transferred his government to

Byzantium, and making the city larger and much more renowned, allowed it

to be named after him.

Now the earth is surrounded by a circle of ocean, either entirely or for

the most part (for our knowledge is not as yet at all clear in this

matter); and it is split into two continents by a sort of outflow from

the ocean, a flow which enters at the western part and forms this Sea

which we know, beginning at Gadira[1] and extending all the way to the

Maeotic Lake.[2] Of these two continents the one to the right, as one

sails into the Sea, as far as the Lake, has received the name of Asia,

beginning at Gadira and at the southern[3] of the two Pillars of

Heracles. Septem[4] is the name given by the natives to the fort at that

point, since seven hills appear there; for "septem" has the force of

"seven" in the Latin tongue. And the whole continent opposite this was

named Europe. And the strait at that point separates the two

continents[5] by about eighty-four stades, but from there on they are

kept apart by wide expanses of sea as far as the Hellespont. For at this

point they again approach each other at Sestus and Abydus, and once more

at Byzantium and Chalcedon as far as the rocks called in ancient times

the "Dark Blue Rocks," where even now is the place called Hieron. For at

these places the continents are separated from one another by a distance

of only ten stades and even less than that.

Now the distance from one of the Pillars of Heracles to the other, if

one goes along the shore and does not pass around the Ionian Gulf and

the sea called the Euxine but crosses from Chalcedon[6] to Byzantium and

from Dryous[7] to the opposite mainland,[8] is a journey of two hundred

and eighty-five days for an unencumbered traveller. For as to the land

about the Euxine Sea, which extends from Byzantium to the Lake, it would

be impossible to tell everything with precision, since the barbarians

beyond the Ister River, which they also call the Danube, make the shore

of that sea quite impossible for the Romans to traverse--except, indeed,

that from Byzantium to the mouth of the Ister is a journey of twenty-two

days, which should be added to the measure of Europe by one making the

computation. And on the Asiatic side, that is from Chalcedon to the

Phasis River, which, flowing from the country of the Colchians, descends

into the Pontus, the journey is accomplished in forty days. So that the

whole Roman domain, according to the distance along the sea at least,

attains the measure of a three hundred and forty-seven days' journey,

if, as has been said, one ferries over the Ionian Gulf, which extends

about eight hundred stades from Dryous. For the passage across the

gulf[9] amounts to a journey of not less than four days. Such, then, was

the size of the Roman empire in the ancient times.

And there fell to him who held the power in the West the most of Libya,

extending ninety days' journey--for such is the distance from Gadira to

the boundaries of Tripolis in Libya; and in Europe he received as his

portion territory extending seventy-five days' journey--for such is the

distance from the northern[10] of the Pillars of Heracles to the Ionian

Gulf.[11] And one might add also the distance around the gulf. And the

emperor of the East received territory extending one hundred and twenty

days' journey, from the boundaries of Cyrene in Libya as far as

Epidamnus, which lies on the Ionian Gulf and is called at the present

time Dyrrachium, as well as that portion of the country about the Euxine

Sea which, as previously stated, is subject to the Romans. Now one day's

journey extends two hundred and ten stades,[12] or as far as from Athens

to Megara. Thus, then, the Roman emperors divided either continent

between them. And among the islands Britain, which is outside the

Pillars of Heracles and by far the largest of all islands, was counted,

as is natural, with the West; and inside the Pillars, Ebusa,[13] which

lies in the Mediterranean in what we may call the Propontis, just inside

the opening where the ocean enters, about seven days' journey from the

opening, and two others near it, Majorica and Minorica, as they are

called by the natives, were also assigned to the Western empire. And

each of the islands in the Sea itself fell to the share of that one of

the two emperors within whose boundaries it happened to lie.

II

Now while Honorius was holding the imperial power in the West,

barbarians took possession of his land; and I shall tell who they were

and in what manner they did so. [395-423 A.D.] There were many Gothic

nations in earlier times, just as also at the present, but the greatest

and most important of all are the Goths, Vandals, Visigoths, and

Gepaedes. In ancient times, however, they were named Sauromatae and

Melanchlaeni;[14] and there were some too who called these nations

Getic. All these, while they are distinguished from one another by their

names, as has been said, do not differ in anything else at all. For they

all have white bodies and fair hair, and are tall and handsome to look

upon, and they use the same laws and practise a common religion. For

they are all of the Arian faith, and have one language called Gothic;

and, as it seems to me, they all came originally from one tribe, and

were distinguished later by the names of those who led each group. This

people used to dwell above the Ister River from of old. Later on the

Gepaedes got possession of the country about Singidunum[15] and

Sirmium,[16] on both sides of the Ister River, where they have remained

settled even down to my time.

But the Visigoths, separating from the others, removed from there and at

first entered into an alliance with the Emperor Arcadius, but at a later

time (for faith with the Romans cannot dwell in barbarians), under the

leadership of Alaric, they became hostile to both emperors, and,

beginning with Thrace, treated all Europe as an enemy's land. Now the

Emperor Honorius had before this time been sitting in Rome, with never a

thought of war in his mind, but glad, I think, if men allowed him to

remain quiet in his palace. But when word was brought that the

barbarians with a great army were not far off, but somewhere among the

Taulantii,[17] he abandoned the palace and fled in disorderly fashion to

Ravenna, a strong city lying just about at the end of the Ionian Gulf,

while some say that he brought in the barbarians himself, because an

uprising had been started against him among his subjects; but this does

not seem to me trustworthy, as far, at least, as one can judge of the

character of the man. And the barbarians, finding that they had no

hostile force to encounter them, became the most cruel of all men. For

they destroyed all the cities which they captured, especially those

south of the Ionian Gulf, so completely that nothing has been left to my

time to know them by, unless, indeed, it might be one tower or one gate

or some such thing which chanced to remain. And they killed all the

people, as many as came in their way, both old and young alike, sparing

neither women nor children. Wherefore even up to the present time Italy

is sparsely populated. They also gathered as plunder all the money out

of all Europe, and, most important of all, they left in Rome nothing

whatever of public or private wealth when they moved on to Gaul. But I

shall now tell how Alaric captured Rome.

After much time had been spent by him in the siege, and he had not been

able either by force or by any other device to capture the place, he

formed the following plan. Among the youths in the army whose beards had

not yet grown, but who had just come of age, he chose out three hundred

whom he knew to be of good birth and possessed of valour beyond their

years, and told them secretly that he was about to make a present of

them to certain of the patricians in Rome, pretending that they were

slaves. And he instructed them that, as soon as they got inside the

houses of those men, they should display much gentleness and moderation

and serve them eagerly in whatever tasks should be laid upon them by

their owners; and he further directed them that not long afterwards, on

an appointed day at about midday, when all those who were to be their

masters would most likely be already asleep after their meal, they

should all come to the gate called Salarian and with a sudden rush kill

the guards, who would have no previous knowledge of the plot, and open

the gates as quickly as possible. After giving these orders to the

youths, Alaric straightway sent ambassadors to the members of the

senate, stating that he admired them for their loyalty toward their

emperor, and that he would trouble them no longer, because of their

valour and faithfulness, with which it was plain that they were endowed

to a remarkable degree, and in order that tokens of himself might be

preserved among men both noble and brave, he wished to present each one

of them with some domestics. After making this declaration and sending

the youths not long afterwards, he commanded the barbarians to make

preparations for the departure, and he let this be known to the Romans.

And they heard his words gladly, and receiving the gifts began to be

exceedingly happy, since they were completely ignorant of the plot of

the barbarian. For the youths, by being unusually obedient to their

owners, averted suspicion, and in the camp some were already seen moving

from their positions and raising the siege, while it seemed that the

others were just on the point of doing the very same thing. But when the

appointed day had come, Alaric armed his whole force for the attack and

was holding them in readiness close by the Salarian Gate; for it

happened that he had encamped there at the beginning of the siege. And

all the youths at the time of the day agreed upon came to this gate,

and, assailing the guards suddenly, put them to death; then they opened

the gates and received Alaric and the army into the city at their

leisure. [Aug. 24, 410 A.D.] And they set fire to the houses which were

next to the gate, among which was also the house of Sallust, who in

ancient times wrote the history of the Romans, and the greater part of

this house has stood half-burned up to my time; and after plundering the

whole city and destroying the most of the Romans, they moved on. At that

time they say that the Emperor Honorius in Ravenna received the message

from one of the eunuchs, evidently a keeper of the poultry, that Rome

had perished. And he cried out and said, "And yet it has just eaten from

my hands!" For he had a very large cock, Rome by name; and the eunuch

comprehending his words said that it was the city of Rome which had

perished at the hands of Alaric, and the emperor with a sigh of relief

answered quickly: "But I, my good fellow, thought that my fowl Rome had

perished." So great, they say, was the folly with which this emperor was

possessed.

But some say that Rome was not captured in this way by Alaric, but that

Proba, a woman of very unusual eminence in wealth and in fame among the

Roman senatorial class, felt pity for the Romans who were being

destroyed by hunger and the other suffering they endured; for they were

already even tasting each other's flesh; and seeing that every good hope

had left them, since both the river and the harbour were held by the

enemy, she commanded her domestics, they say, to open the gates by

night.

Now when Alaric was about to depart from Rome, he declared Attalus, one

of their nobles, emperor of the Romans, investing him with the diadem

and the purple and whatever else pertains to the imperial dignity. And

he did this with the intention of removing Honorius from his throne and

of giving over the whole power in the West to Attalus. With such a

purpose, then, both Attalus and Alaric were going with a great army

against Ravenna. But this Attalus was neither able to think wisely

himself, nor to be persuaded by one who had wisdom to offer. So while

Alaric did not by any means approve the plan, Attalus sent commanders to

Libya without an army. Thus, then, were these things going on.

And the island of Britain revolted from the Romans, and the soldiers

there chose as their king Constantinus, a man of no mean station. [407

A.D.] And he straightway gathered a fleet of ships and a formidable army

and invaded both Spain and Gaul with a great force, thinking to enslave

these countries. But Honorius was holding ships in readiness and waiting

to see what would happen in Libya, in order that, if those sent by

Attalus were repulsed, he might himself sail for Libya and keep some

portion of his own kingdom, while if matters there should go against

him, he might reach Theodosius and remain with him. For Arcadius had

already died long before, and his son Theodosius, still a very young

child,[18] held the power of the East. [408-450 A.D.] But while Honorius

was thus anxiously awaiting the outcome of these events and tossed amid

the billows of uncertain fortune, it so chanced that some wonderful

pieces of good fortune befell him. For God is accustomed to succour

those who are neither clever nor able to devise anything of themselves,

and to lend them assistance, if they be not wicked, when they are in the

last extremity of despair; such a thing, indeed, befell this emperor.

For it was suddenly reported from Libya that the commanders of Attalus

had been destroyed, and that a host of ships was at hand from Byzantium

with a very great number of soldiers who had come to assist him, though

he had not expected them, and that Alaric, having quarrelled with

Attalus, had stripped him of the emperor's garb and was now keeping him

under guard in the position of a private citizen. [411 A.D.] And

afterwards Alaric died of disease, and the army of the Visigoths under

the leadership of Adaulphus proceeded into Gaul, and Constantinus,

defeated in battle, died with his sons. However the Romans never

succeeded in recovering Britain, but it remained from that time on under

tyrants. And the Goths, after making the crossing of the Ister, at first

occupied Pannonia, but afterwards, since the emperor gave them the

right, they inhabited the country of Thrace. And after spending no great

time there they conquered the West. But this will be told in the

narrative concerning the Goths.

III

Now the Vandals dwelling about the Maeotic Lake, since they were pressed

by hunger, moved to the country of the Germans, who are now called

Franks, and the river Rhine, associating with themselves the Alani, a

Gothic people. Then from there, under the leadership of Godigisclus,

they moved and settled in Spain, which is the first land of the Roman

empire on the side of the ocean. At that time Honorius made an agreement

with Godigisclus that they should settle there on condition that it

should not be to the detriment of the country. But there was a law among

the Romans, that if any persons should fail to keep their property in

their own possession, and if, meanwhile, a time amounting to thirty

years should pass, that these persons should thenceforth not be entitled

to proceed against those who had forced them out, but they were excluded

by demurrer[19] from access to the court; and in view of this he

established a law that whatever time should be spent by the Vandals in

the Roman domain should not by any means be counted toward this

thirty-year demurrer. And Honorius himself, when the West had been

driven by him to this pass, died of disease. [Aug. 27, 423 A.D.] Now

before this, as it happened, the royal power had been shared by Honorius

with Constantius, the husband of Placidia, the sister of Arcadius and

Honorius; but he lived to exercise the power only a few days, and then,

becoming seriously ill, he died while Honorius was still living, [421

A.D.] having never succeeded in saying or in doing anything worth

recounting; for the time was not sufficient during which he lived in

possession of the royal power. Now a son of this Constantius,

Valentinian, a child just weaned, was being reared in the palace of

Theodosius, but the members of the imperial court in Rome chose one of

the soldiers there, John by name, as emperor. This man was both gentle

and well-endowed with sagacity and thoroughly capable of valorous deeds.

At any rate he held the tyranny five years[20] and directed it with

moderation, and he neither gave ear to slanderers nor did he do any

unjust murder, willingly at least, nor did he set his hand to robbing

men of money; but he did not prove able to do anything at all against

the barbarians, since his relations with Byzantium were hostile. Against

this John, Theodosius, the son of Arcadius, sent a great army and Aspar

and Ardaburius, the son of Aspar, as generals, and wrested from him the

tyranny and gave over the royal power to Valentinian, who was still a

child. And Valentinian took John alive, and he brought him out in the

hippodrome of Aquileia with one of his hands cut off and caused him to

ride in state on an ass, and then after he had suffered much ill

treatment from the stage-performers there, both in word and in deed, he

put him to death. [426 A.D.] Thus Valentinian took over the power of the

West. But Placidia, his mother, had reared this emperor and educated him

in an altogether effeminate manner, and in consequence he was filled

with wickedness from childhood. For he associated mostly with sorcerers

and those who busy themselves with the stars, and, being an

extraordinarily zealous pursuer of love affairs with other men's wives,

he conducted himself in a most indecent manner, although he was married

to a woman of exceptional beauty. [455 A.D.] And not only was this true,

but he also failed to recover for the empire anything of what had been

wrested from it before, and he both lost Libya in addition to the

territory previously lost and was himself destroyed. And when he

perished, it fell to the lot of his wife and his children to become

captives. Now the disaster in Libya came about as follows.

There were two Roman generals, Aetius and Boniface, especially valiant

men and in experience of many wars inferior to none of that time at

least. These two came to be at variance in regard to matters of state,

but they attained to such a degree of highmindedness and excellence in

every respect that if one should call either of them "the last of the

Romans" he would not err, so true was it that all the excellent

qualities of the Romans were summed up in these two men. One of these,

Boniface, was appointed by Placidia general of all Libya. Now this was

not in accord with the wishes of Aetius, but he by no means disclosed

the fact that it did not please him. For their hostility had not as yet

come to light, but was concealed behind the countenance of each. But

when Boniface had got out of the way, Aetius slandered him to Placidia,

saying that he was setting up a tyranny and had robbed her and the

emperor of all Libya, and he said that it was very easy for her to find

out the truth; for if she should summon Boniface to Rome, he would never

come. And when the woman heard this, Aetius seemed to her to speak well

and she acted accordingly. But Aetius, anticipating her, wrote to

Boniface secretly that the mother of the emperor was plotting against

him and wished to put him out of the way. And he predicted to him that

there would be convincing proof of the plot; for he would be summoned

very shortly for no reason at all. Such was the announcement of the

letter. And Boniface did not disregard the message, for as soon as those

arrived who were summoning him to the emperor, he refused to give heed

to the emperor and his mother, disclosing to no one the warning of

Aetius. So when Placidia heard this, she thought that Aetius was

exceedingly well-disposed towards the emperor's cause and took under

consideration the question of Boniface. But Boniface, since it did not

seem to him that he was able to array himself against the emperor, and

since if he returned to Rome there was clearly no safety for him, began

to lay plans so that, if possible, he might have a defensive alliance

with the Vandals, who, as previously stated, had established themselves

in Spain not far from Libya. There Godigisclus had died and the royal

power had fallen to his sons, Gontharis, who was born to him from his

wedded wife, and Gizeric,[21] of illegitimate birth. But the former was

still a child and not of very energetic temper, while Gizeric had been

excellently trained in warfare, and was the cleverest of all men.

Boniface accordingly sent to Spain those who were his own most intimate

friends and gained the adherence of each of the sons of Godigisclus on

terms of complete equality, it being agreed that each one of the three,

holding a third part of Libya, should rule over his own subjects; but if

a foe should come against any one of them to make war, that they should

in common ward off the aggressors. On the basis of this agreement the

Vandals crossed the strait at Gadira and came into Libya, and the

Visigoths in later times settled in Spain. But in Rome the friends of

Boniface, remembering the character of the man and considering how

strange his action was, were greatly astonished to think that Boniface

was setting up a tyranny, and some of them at the order of Placidia went

to Carthage. There they met Boniface, and saw the letter of Aetius, and

after hearing the whole story they returned to Rome as quickly as they

could and reported to Placidia how Boniface stood in relation to her.

And though the woman was dumbfounded, she did nothing unpleasant to

Aetius nor did she upbraid him for what he had done to the emperor's

house, for he himself wielded great power and the affairs of the empire

were already in an evil plight; but she disclosed to the friends of

Boniface the advice Aetius had given, and, offering oaths and pledges of

safety, entreated them to persuade the man, if they could, to return to

his fatherland and not to permit the empire of the Romans to lie under

the hand of barbarians. And when Boniface heard this, he repented of his

act and of his agreement with the barbarians, and he besought them

incessantly, promising them everything, to remove from Libya. But since

they did not receive his words with favour, but considered that they

were being insulted, he was compelled to fight with them, and being

defeated in the battle, he retired to Hippo[22] Regius, a strong city in

the portion of Numidia that is on the sea. There the Vandals made camp

under the leadership of Gizeric and began a siege; for Gontharis had

already died. And they say that he perished at the hand of his brother.

The Vandals, however, do not agree with those who make this statement,

but say that Gontharis' was captured in battle by Germans in Spain and

impaled, and that Gizeric was already sole ruler when he led the Vandals

into Libya. This, indeed, I have heard from the Vandals, stated in this

way. But after much time had passed by, since they were unable to secure

Hippo Regius either by force or by surrender, and since at the same time

they were being pressed by hunger, they raised the siege. And a little

later Boniface and the Romans in Libya, since a numerous army had come

from both Rome and Byzantium and Aspar with them as general, decided to

renew the struggle, and a fierce battle was fought in which they were

badly beaten by the enemy, and they made haste to flee as each one

could. And Aspar betook himself homeward, and Boniface, coming before

Placidia, acquitted himself of the suspicion, showing that it had arisen

against him for no true cause.

IV

So the Vandals, having wrested Libya from the Romans in this way, made

it their own. And those of the enemy whom they took alive they reduced

to slavery and held under guard. Among these happened to be Marcian, who

later upon the death of Theodosius assumed the imperial power. At that

time, however, Gizeric commanded that the captives be brought into the

king's courtyard, in order that it might be possible for him, by looking

at them, to know what master each of them might serve without

degradation. And when they were gathered under the open sky, about

midday, the season being summer, they were distressed by the sun and sat

down. And somewhere or other among them Marcian, quite neglected, was

sleeping. Then an eagle flew over him spreading out his wings, as they

say, and always remaining in the same place in the air he cast a shadow

over Marcian alone. And Gizeric, upon seeing from the upper storey what

was happening, since he was an exceedingly discerning person, suspected

that the thing was a divine manifestation, and summoning the man

enquired of him who he might be. And he replied that he was a

confidential adviser of Aspar; such a person the Romans call a

"domesticus" in their own tongue. And when Gizeric heard this and

considered first the meaning of the bird's action, and then remembered

how great power Aspar exercised in Byzantium, it became evident to him

that the man was being led to royal power. He therefore by no means

deemed it right to kill him, reasoning that, if he should remove him

from the world, it would be very clear that the thing which the bird had

done was nothing (for he would not honour with his shadow a king who was

about to die straightway), and he felt, too, that he would be killing

him for no good cause; and if, on the other hand, it was fated that in

later times the man should become king, it would never be within his

power to inflict death upon him; for that which has been decided upon by

God could never be prevented by a man's decision. But he bound Marcian

by oaths that, if it should be in his power, he would never take up arms

against the Vandals at least. [450 A.D.] Thus, then, Marcian was

released and came to Byzantium, and when at a later time Theodosius died

he received the empire. And in all other respects he proved himself a

good emperor, but he paid no attention at all to affairs in Libya. But

this happened in later times.

At that time Gizeric, after conquering Aspar and Boniface in battle,

displayed a foresight worth recounting, whereby he made his good fortune

most thoroughly secure. For fearing lest, if once again an army should

come against him from both Rome and Byzantium, the Vandals might not be

able to use the same strength and enjoy the same fortune, (since human

affairs are wont to be overturned by Heaven and to fail by reason of the

weakness of men's bodies), he was not lifted up by the good fortune he

had enjoyed, but rather became moderate because of what he feared, and

so he made a treaty with the Emperor Valentinian providing that each

year he should pay to the emperor tribute from Libya, and he delivered

over one of his sons, Honoric, as a hostage to make this agreement

binding. So Gizeric both showed himself a brave man in the battle and

guarded the victory as securely as possible, and, since the friendship

between the two peoples increased greatly, he received back his son

Honoric. And at Rome Placidia had died before this time, and after her,

Valentinian, her son, also died, having no male offspring, but two

daughters had been born to him from Eudoxia, the child of Theodosius.

And I shall now relate in what manner Valentinian died.

There was a certain Maximus, a Roman senator, of the house of that

Maximus[23] who, while usurping the imperial power, was overthrown by

the elder Theodosius and put to death, and on whose account also the

Romans celebrate the annual festival named from the defeat of Maximus.

This younger Maximus was married to a woman discreet in her ways and

exceedingly famous for her beauty. For this reason a desire came over

Valentinian to have her to wife. And since it was impossible, much as he

wished it, to meet her, he plotted an unholy deed and carried it to

fulfilment. For he summoned Maximus to the palace and sat down with him

to a game of draughts, and a certain sum was set as a penalty for the

loser; and the emperor won in this game, and receiving Maximus' ring as

a pledge for the agreed amount, he sent it to his house, instructing the

messenger to tell the wife of Maximus that her husband bade her come as

quickly as possible to the palace to salute the queen Eudoxia. And she,

judging by the ring that the message was from Maximus, entered her

litter and was conveyed to the emperor's court. And she was received by

those who had been assigned this service by the emperor, and led into a

certain room far removed from the women's apartments, where Valentinian

met her and forced her, much against her will. And she, after the

outrage, went to her husband's house weeping and feeling the deepest

possible grief because of her misfortune, and she cast many curses upon

Maximus as having provided the cause for what had been done. Maximus,

accordingly, became exceedingly aggrieved at that which had come to

pass, and straightway entered into a conspiracy against the emperor; but

when he saw that Aetius was exceedingly powerful, for he had recently

conquered Attila, who had invaded the Roman domain with a great army of

Massagetae and the other Scythians, the thought occurred to him that

Aetius would be in the way of his undertaking. And upon considering this

matter, it seemed to him that it was the better course to put Aetius out

of the way first, paying no heed to the fact that the whole hope of the

Romans centred in him. And since the eunuchs who were in attendance upon

the emperor were well-disposed toward him, he persuaded the emperor by

their devices that Aetius was setting on foot a revolution. And

Valentinian, judging by nothing else than the power and valour of Aetius

that the report was true, put the man to death. [Sept. 21, 454 A.D.]

Whereupon a certain Roman made himself famous by a saying which he

uttered. For when the emperor enquired of him whether he had done well

in putting Aetius to death, he replied saying that, as to this matter,

he was not able to know whether he had done well or perhaps otherwise,

but one thing he understood exceedingly well, that he had cut off his

own right hand with the other.

So after the death of Aetius,[24] Attila, since no one was a match for

him, plundered all Europe with no trouble and made both emperors

subservient and tributary to himself. For tribute money was sent to him

every year by the emperors. At that time, while Attila was besieging

Aquileia, a city of great size and exceedingly populous situated near

the sea and above the Ionian Gulf, they say that the following good

fortune befell him. For they tell the story that, when he was able to

capture the place neither by force nor by any other means, he gave up

the siege in despair, since it had already lasted a long time, and

commanded the whole army without any delay to make their preparations

for the departure, in order that on the morrow all might move from there

at sunrise. And the following day about sunrise, the barbarians had

raised the siege and were already beginning the departure, when a single

male stork which had a nest on a certain tower of the city wall and was

rearing his nestlings there suddenly rose and left the place with his

young. And the father stork was flying, but the little storks, since

they were not yet quite ready to fly, were at times sharing their

father's flight and at times riding upon his back, and thus they flew

off and went far away from the city. And when Attila saw this (for he

was most clever at comprehending and interpreting all things), he

commanded the army, they say, to remain still in the same place, adding

that the bird would never have gone flying off at random from there with

his nestlings, unless he was prophesying that some evil would come to

the place at no distant time. Thus, they say, the army of the barbarians

settled down to the siege once more, and not long after that a portion

of the wall--the very part which held the nest of that bird--for no

apparent reason suddenly fell down, and it became possible for the enemy

to enter the city at that point, and thus Aquileia was captured by

storm. Such is the story touching Aquileia.

Later on Maximus slew the emperor with no trouble and secured the

tyranny, and he married Eudoxia by force. [455 A.D.] For the wife to

whom he had been wedded had died not long before. And on one occasion in

private he made the statement to Eudoxia that it was all for the sake of

her love that he had carried out all that he had done. And since she

felt a repulsion for Maximus even before that time, and had been

desirous of exacting vengeance from him for the wrong done Valentinian,

his words made her swell with rage still more against him, and led her

on to carry out her plot, since she had heard Maximus say that on

account of her the misfortune had befallen her husband. And as soon as

day came, she sent to Carthage entreating Gizeric to avenge Valentinian,

who had been destroyed by an unholy man, in a manner unworthy both of

himself and of his imperial station, and to deliver her, since she was

suffering unholy treatment at the hand of the tyrant. And she impressed

it upon Gizeric that, since he was a friend and ally and so great a

calamity had befallen the imperial house, it was not a holy thing to

fail to become an avenger. For from Byzantium she thought no vengeance

would come, since Theodosius had already departed from the world and

Marcian had taken over the empire. [Mar. 17, 455 A.D.]

V

And Gizeric, for no other reason than that he suspected that much money

would come to him, set sail for Italy with a great fleet. And going up

to Rome, since no one stood in his way, he took possession of the

palace. Now while Maximus was trying to flee, the Romans threw stones at

him and killed him, and they cut off his head and each of his other

members and divided them among themselves. But Gizeric took Eudoxia

captive, together with Eudocia and Placidia, the children of herself and

Valentinian, and placing an exceedingly great amount of gold and other

imperial treasure[25] in his ships sailed to Carthage, having spared

neither bronze nor anything else whatsoever in the palace. He plundered

also the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, and tore off half of the roof.

Now this roof was of bronze of the finest quality, and since gold was

laid over it exceedingly thick, it shone as a magnificent and wonderful

spectacle.[26] But of the ships with Gizeric, one, which was bearing the

statues, was lost, they say, but with all the others the Vandals reached

port in the harbour of Carthage. Gizeric then married Eudocia to

Honoric, the elder of his sons; but the other of the two women, being

the wife of Olybrius, a most distinguished man in the Roman senate, he

sent to Byzantium together with her mother, Eudoxia, at the request of

the emperor. Now the power of the East had by now fallen to Leon, who

had been set in this position by Aspar, since Marcian had already passed

from the world. [457 A.D.]

Afterwards Gizeric devised the following scheme. He tore down the walls

of all the cities in Libya except Carthage, so that neither the Libyans

themselves, espousing the cause of the Romans, might have a strong base

from which to begin a rebellion, nor those sent by the emperor have any

ground for hoping to capture a city and by establishing a garrison in it

to make trouble for the Vandals. Now at that time it seemed that he had

counselled well and had ensured prosperity for the Vandals in the safest

possible manner; but in later times when these cities, being without

walls, were captured by Belisarius all the more easily and with less

exertion, Gizeric was then condemned to suffer much ridicule, and that

which for the time he considered wise counsel turned out for him to be

folly. For as fortunes change, men are always accustomed to change with

them their judgments regarding what has been planned in the past. And

among the Libyans all who happened to be men of note and conspicuous for

their wealth he handed over as slaves, together with their estates and

all their money, to his sons Honoric and Genzon. For Theodorus, the

youngest son, had died already, being altogether without offspring,

either male or female. And he robbed the rest of the Libyans of their

estates, which were both very numerous and excellent, and distributed

them among the nation of the Vandals, and as a result of this these

lands have been called "Vandals' estates" up to the present time. And it

fell to the lot of those who had formerly possessed these lands to be in

extreme poverty and to be at the same time free men; and they had the

privilege of going away wheresoever they wished. And Gizeric commanded

that all the lands which he had given over to his sons and to the other

Vandals should not be subject to any kind of taxation. But as much of

the land as did not seem to him good he allowed to remain in the hands

of the former owners, but assessed so large a sum to be paid on this

land for taxes to the government that nothing whatever remained to those

who retained their farms. And many of them were constantly being sent

into exile or killed. For charges were brought against them of many

sorts, and heavy ones too; but one charge seemed to be the greatest of

all, that a man, having money of his own, was hiding it. Thus the

Libyans were visited with every form of misfortune.

The Vandals and the Alani he arranged in companies, appointing over them

no less than eighty captains, whom he called "chiliarchs,"[27] making it

appear that his host of fighting men in active service amounted to

eighty thousand. And yet the number of the Vandals and Alani was said in

former times, at least, to amount to no more than fifty thousand men.

However, after that time by their natural increase among themselves and

by associating other barbarians with them they came to be an exceedingly

numerous people. But the names of the Alani and all the other

barbarians, except the Moors, were united in the name of Vandals. At

that time, after the death of Valentinian, Gizeric gained the support of

the Moors, and every year at the beginning of spring he made invasions

into Sicily and Italy, enslaving some of the cities, razing others to

the ground, and plundering everything; and when the land had become

destitute of men and of money, he invaded the domain of the emperor of

the East. And so he plundered Illyricum and the most of the Peloponnesus

and of the rest of Greece and all the islands which lie near it. And

again he went off to Sicily and Italy, and kept plundering and pillaging

all places in turn. And one day when he had embarked on his ship in the

harbour of Carthage, and the sails were already being spread, the pilot

asked him, they say, against what men in the world he bade them go. And

he in reply said: "Plainly against those with whom God is angry." Thus

without any cause he kept making invasions wherever chance might lead

him.

VI

And the Emperor Leon, wishing to punish the Vandals because of these

things, was gathering an army against them; and they say that this army

amounted to about one hundred thousand men. And he collected a fleet of

ships from the whole of the eastern Mediterranean, shewing great

generosity to both soldiers and sailors, for he feared lest from a

parsimonious policy some obstacle might arise to hinder him in his

desire to carry out his punishment of the barbarians. Therefore, they

say, thirteen hundred centenaria[28] were expended by him to no purpose.

But since it was not fated that the Vandals should be destroyed by this

expedition, he made Basiliscus commander-in-chief, the brother of his

wife Berine, a man who was extraordinarily desirous of the royal power,

which he hoped would come to him without a struggle if he won the

friendship of Aspar. For Aspar himself, being an adherent of the Arian

faith, and having no intention of changing it for another, was unable to

enter upon the imperial office, but he was easily strong enough to

establish another in it, and it already seemed likely that he would plot

against the Emperor Leon, who had given him offence. So they say that

since Aspar was then fearful lest, if the Vandals were defeated, Leon

should establish his power most securely, he repeatedly urged upon

Basiliscus that he should spare the Vandals and Gizeric.

[467 A.D.] Now before this time Leon had already appointed and sent

Anthemius, as Emperor of the West, a man of the senate of great wealth

and high birth, in order that he might assist him in the Vandalic war.

And yet Gizeric kept asking and earnestly entreating that the imperial

power be given to Olybrius, who was married to Placidia, the daughter of

Valentinian, and on account of his relationship[29] well-disposed toward

him, and when he failed in this he was still more angry and kept

plundering the whole land of the emperor. Now there was in Dalmatia a

certain Marcellianus, one of the acquaintances of Aetius and a man of

repute, who, after Aetius had died in the manner told above,[30] no

longer deigned to yield obedience to the emperor, but beginning a

revolution and detaching all the others from allegiance, held the power

of Dalmatia himself, since no one dared encounter him. But the Emperor

Leon at that time won over this Marcellianus by very careful wheedling,

and bade him go to the island of Sardinia, which was then subject to the

Vandals. And he drove out the Vandals and gained possession of it with

no great difficulty. And Heracleius was sent from Byzantium to Tripolis

in Libya, and after conquering the Vandals of that district in battle,

he easily captured the cities, and leaving his ships there, led his army

on foot toward Carthage. Such, then, was the sequence of events which

formed the prelude of the war.

But Basiliscus with his whole fleet put in at a town distant from

Carthage no less than two hundred and eighty stades (now it so happened

that a temple of Hermes had been there from of old, from which fact the

place was named Mercurium; for the Romans call Hermes "Mercurius"), and

if he had not purposely played the coward and hesitated, but had

undertaken to go straight for Carthage, he would have captured it at the

first onset, and he would have reduced the Vandals to subjection without

their even thinking of resistance; so overcome was Gizeric with awe of

Leon as an invincible emperor, when the report was brought to him that

Sardinia and Tripolis had been captured, and he saw the fleet of

Basiliscus to be such as the Romans were said never to have had before.

But, as it was, the general's hesitation, whether caused by cowardice or

treachery, prevented this success. And Gizeric, profiting by the

negligence of Basiliscus, did as follows. Arming all his subjects in the

best way he could, he filled his ships, but not all, for some he kept in

readiness empty, and they were the ships which sailed most swiftly. And

sending envoys to Basiliscus, he begged him to defer the war for the

space of five days, in order that in the meantime he might take counsel

and do those things which were especially desired by the emperor. They

say, too, that he sent also a great amount of gold without the knowledge

of the army of Basiliscus and thus purchased this armistice. And he did

this, thinking, as actually did happen, that a favouring wind would rise

for him during this time. And Basiliscus, either as doing a favour to

Aspar in accordance with what he had promised, or selling the moment of

opportunity for money, or perhaps thinking it the better course, did as

he was requested and remained quietly in the camp, awaiting the moment

favourable to the enemy.

But the Vandals, as soon as the wind had arisen for them which they had

been expecting during the time they lay at rest, raised their sails and,

taking in tow the boats which, as has been stated above, they had made

ready with no men in them, they sailed against the enemy. And when they

came near, they set fire to the boats which they were towing, when their

sails were bellied by the wind, and let them go against the Roman fleet.

And since there were a great number of ships there, these boats easily

spread fire wherever they struck, and were themselves readily destroyed

together with those with which they came in contact. And as the fire

advanced in this way the Roman fleet was filled with tumult, as was

natural, and with a great din that rivalled the noise caused by the wind

and the roaring of the flames, as the soldiers together with the sailors

shouted orders to one another and pushed off with their poles the

fire-boats and their own ships as well, which were being destroyed by

one another in complete disorder. And already the Vandals too were at

hand ramming and sinking the ships, and making booty of such of the

soldiers as attempted to escape, and of their arms as well. But there

were also some of the Romans who proved themselves brave men in this

struggle, and most of all John, who was a general under Basiliscus and

who had no share whatever in his treason. For a great throng having

surrounded his ship, he stood on the deck, and turning from side to side

kept killing very great numbers of the enemy from there, and when he

perceived that the ship was being captured, he leaped with his whole

equipment of arms from the deck into the sea. And though Genzon, the son

of Gizeric, entreated him earnestly not to do this, offering pledges and

holding out promises of safety, he nevertheless threw himself into the

sea, uttering this one word, that John would never come under the hands

of dogs.

So this war came to an end, and Heracleius departed for home; for

Marcellianus had been destroyed treacherously by one of his

fellow-officers. And Basiliscus, coming to Byzantium, seated himself as

a suppliant in the sanctuary of Christ the Great God ("Sophia"[31] the

temple is called by the men of Byzantium who consider that this

designation is especially appropriate to God), and although, by the

intercession of Berine, the queen, he escaped this danger, he was not

able at that time to reach the throne, the thing for the sake of which

everything had been done by him. For the Emperor Leon not long

afterwards destroyed both Aspar and Ardaburius in the palace, because he

suspected that they were plotting against his life. [471 A.D.] Thus,

then, did these events take place.

VII

[Aug. 11, 472 A.D.] Now Anthemius, the emperor of the West, died at the

hand of his son-in-law Rhecimer, and Olybrius, succeeding to the throne,

a short time afterward suffered the same fate. [Oct. 10, 472 A.D.] And

when Leon also had died in Byzantium, the imperial office was taken over

by the younger Leon, the son of Zeno and Ariadne, the daughter of Leon,

while he was still only a few days old. And his father having been

chosen as partner in the royal power, the child forthwith passed from

the world. [474 A.D.] Majorinus also deserves mention, who had gained

the power of the West before this time. For this Majorinus, who

surpassed in every virtue all who have ever been emperors of the Romans,

did not bear lightly the loss of Libya, but collected a very

considerable army against the Vandals and came to Liguria, intending

himself to lead the army against the enemy. For Majorinus never showed

the least hesitation before any task and least of all before the dangers

of war. But thinking it not inexpedient for him to investigate first the

strength of the Vandals and the character of Gizeric and to discover how

the Moors and Libyans stood with regard to friendship or hostility

toward the Romans, he decided to trust no eyes other than his own in

such a matter. Accordingly he set out as if an envoy from the emperor to

Gizeric, assuming some fictitious name. And fearing lest, by becoming

known, he should himself receive some harm and at the same time prevent

the success of the enterprise, he devised the following scheme. His

hair, which was famous among all men as being so fair as to resemble

pure gold, he anointed with some kind of dye, which was especially

invented for this purpose, and so succeeded completely in changing it

for the time to a dark hue. And when he came before Gizeric, the

barbarian attempted in many ways to terrify him, and in particular,

while treating him with engaging attention, as if a friend, he brought

him into the house where all his weapons were stored, a numerous and

exceedingly noteworthy array. Thereupon they say that the weapons shook

of their own accord and gave forth a sound of no ordinary or casual

sort, and then it seemed to Gizeric that there had been an earthquake,

but when he got outside and made enquiries concerning the earthquake,

since no one else agreed with him, a great wonder, they say, came over

him, but he was not able to comprehend the meaning of what had happened.

So Majorinus, having accomplished the very things he wished, returned to

Liguria, and leading his army on foot, came to the Pillars of Heracles,

purposing to cross over the strait at that point, and then to march by

land from there against Carthage. And when Gizeric became aware of this,

and perceived that he had been tricked by Majorinus in the matter of the

embassy, he became alarmed and made his preparations for war. And the

Romans, basing their confidence on the valour of Majorinus, already

began to have fair hopes of recovering Libya for the empire. [461 A.D.]

But meantime Majorinus was attacked by the disease of dysentery and

died, a man who had shewn himself moderate toward his subjects, and an

object of fear to his enemies. [July 24, 474 A.D.] And another emperor,

Nepos, upon taking over the empire, and living to enjoy it only a few

days, died of disease, and Glycerius after him entered into this office

and suffered a similar fate. [474-475 A.D.] And after him Augustus

assumed the imperial power. There were, moreover, still other emperors

in the West before this time, but though I know their names well, I

shall make no mention of them whatever. For it so fell out that they

lived only a short time after attaining the office, and as a result of

this accomplished nothing worthy of mention. Such was the course of

events in the West.

But in Byzantium Basiliscus, being no longer able to master his passion

for royal power, made an attempt to usurp the throne, and succeeded

without difficulty, since Zeno, together with his wife, sought refuge in

Isauria, which was his native home. [471 A.D.] And while he was

maintaining his tyranny for a year and eight months he was detested by

practically everyone and in particular by the soldiers of the court on

account of the greatness of his avarice. And Zeno, perceiving this,

collected an army and came against him. And Basiliscus sent an army

under the general Harmatus in order to array himself against Zeno. But

when they had made camp near one another, Harmatus surrendered his army

to Zeno, on the condition that Zeno should appoint as Caesar Harmatus'

son Basiliscus, who was a very young child, and leave him as successor

to the throne upon his death. And Basiliscus, deserted by all, fled for

refuge to the same sanctuary as formerly. And Acacius, the priest of the

city, put him into the hands of Zeno, charging him with impiety and with

having brought great confusion and many innovations into the Christian

doctrine, having inclined toward the heresy of Eutyches. And this was

so. And after Zeno had thus taken over the empire a second time, he

carried out his pledge to Harmatus formally by appointing his son

Basiliscus Caesar, but not long afterwards he both stripped him of the

office and put Harmatus to death. And he sent Basiliscus together with

his children and his wife into Cappadocia in the winter season,

commanding that they should be destitute of food and clothes and every

kind of care. And there, being hard pressed by both cold and hunger,

they took refuge in one another's arms, and embracing their loved ones,

perished. And this punishment overtook Basiliscus for the policy he had

pursued. These things, however, happened in later times.

But at that time Gizeric was plundering the whole Roman domain just as

much as before, if not more, circumventing his enemy by craft and

driving them out of their possessions by force, as has been previously

said, and he continued to do so until the emperor Zeno came to an

agreement with him and an endless peace was established between them, by

which it was provided that the Vandals should never in all time perform

any hostile act against the Romans nor suffer such a thing at their

hands. And this peace was preserved by Zeno himself and also by his

successor in the empire, Anastasius And it remained in force until the

time of the emperor Justinus. But Justinian, who was the nephew of

Justinus, succeeded him in the imperial power, and it was in the reign

of this Justinian that the war with which we are concerned came to pass,

in the manner which will be told in the following narrative. [477 A.D.]

Gizeric, after living on a short time, died at an advanced age, having

made a will in which he enjoined many things upon the Vandals and in

particular that the royal power among them should always fall to that

one who should be the first in years among all the male offspring

descended from Gizeric himself. So Gizeric, having ruled over the

Vandals thirty-nine years from the time when he captured Carthage, died,

as I have said.

VIII

And Honoric, the eldest of his sons, succeeded to the throne, Genzon

having already departed from the world. During the time when this

Honoric ruled the Vandals they had no war against anyone at all, except

the Moors. For through fear of Gizeric the Moors had remained quiet

before that time, but as soon as he was out of their way they both did

much harm to the Vandals and suffered the same themselves. And Honoric

shewed himself the most cruel and unjust of all men toward the

Christians in Libya. For he forced them to change over to the Arian

faith, and as many as he found not readily yielding to him he burned, or

destroyed by other forms of death; and he also cut off the tongues of

many from the very throat, who even up to my time were going about in

Byzantium having their speech uninjured, and perceiving not the least

effect from this punishment; but two of these, since they saw fit to go

in to harlots, were thenceforth no longer able to speak. And after

ruling over the Vandals eight years he died of disease; and by that time

the Moors dwelling on Mt. Aurasium[32] had revolted from the Vandals and

were independent (this Aurasium is a mountain of Numidia, about thirteen

days' journey distant from Carthage and fronting the south); and indeed

they never came under the Vandals again, since the latter were unable to

carry on a war against Moors on a mountain difficult of access and

exceedingly steep.

After the death of Honoric the rule of the Vandals fell to Gundamundus,

the son of Genzon, the son of Gizeric. [485 A.D.] For he, in point of

years, was the first of the offspring of Gizeric. This Gundamundus

fought against the Moors in numerous encounters, and after subjecting

the Christians to still greater suffering, he died of disease, being now

at about the middle of the twelfth year of his reign. [496 A.D.] And his

brother Trasamundus took over the kingdom, a man well-favoured in

appearance and especially gifted with discretion and highmindedness.

However he continued to force the Christians to change their ancestral

faith, not by torturing their bodies as his predecessors had done, but

by seeking to win them with honours and offices and presenting them with

great sums of money; and in the case of those who would not be

persuaded, he pretended he had not the least knowledge of what manner of

men they were.[33] And if he caught any guilty of great crimes which

they had committed either by accident or deliberate intent, he would

offer such men, as a reward for changing their faith, that they should

not be punished for their offences. And when his wife died without

becoming the mother of either male or female offspring, wishing to

establish the kingdom as securely as possible, he sent to Theoderic, the

king of the Goths, asking him to give him his sister Amalafrida to wife,

for her husband had just died. And Theoderic sent him not only his

sister but also a thousand of the notable Goths as a bodyguard, who were

followed by a host of attendants amounting to about five thousand

fighting men. And Theoderic also presented his sister with one of the

promontories of Sicily, which are three in number,--the one which they

call Lilybaeum,--and as a result of this Trasamundus was accounted the

strongest and most powerful of all those who had ruled over the Vandals.

He became also a very special friend of the emperor Anastasius. It was

during the reign of Trasamundus that it came about that the Vandals

suffered a disaster at the hands of the Moors such as had never befallen

them before that time.

There was a certain Cabaon ruling over the Moors of Tripolis, a man

experienced in many wars and exceedingly shrewd. This Cabaon, upon

learning that the Vandals were marching against him, did as follows.

First of all he issued orders to his subjects to abstain from all

injustice and from all foods tending towards luxury and most of all from

association with women; and setting up two palisaded enclosures, he

encamped himself with all the men in one, and in the other he shut the

women, and he threatened that death would be the penalty if anyone

should go to the women's palisade. And after this he sent spies to

Carthage with the following instructions: whenever the Vandals in going

forth on the expedition should offer insult to any temple which the

Christians reverence, they were to look on and see what took place; and

when the Vandals had passed the place, they were to do the opposite of

everything which the Vandals had done to the sanctuary before their

departure. And they say that he added this also, that he was ignorant of

the God whom the Christians worshipped, but it was probable that if He

was powerful, as He was said to be, He should wreak vengeance upon those

who insulted Him and defend those who honoured Him. So the spies came to

Carthage and waited quietly, observing the preparation of the Vandals;

but when the army set out on the march to Tripolis, they followed,

clothing themselves in humble garb. And the Vandals, upon making camp

the first day, led their horses and their other animals into the temples

of the Christians, and sparing no insult, they acted with all the

unrestrained lawlessness natural to them, beating as many priests as

they caught and lashing them with many blows over the back and

commanding them to render such service to the Vandals as they were

accustomed to assign to the most dishonoured of their domestics. And as

soon as they had departed from there, the spies of Cabaon did as they

had been directed to do; for they straightway cleansed the sanctuaries

and took away with great care the filth and whatever other unholy thing

lay in them, and they lighted all the lamps and bowed down before the

priests with great reverence and saluted them with all friendliness; and

after giving pieces of silver to the poor who sat about these

sanctuaries, they then followed after the army of the Vandals. And from

then on along the whole route the Vandals continued to commit the same

offences and the spies to render the same service. And when they were

coming near the Moors, the spies anticipated them and reported to Cabaon

what had been done by the Vandals and by themselves to the temples of

the Christians, and that the enemy were somewhere near by. And Cabaon,

upon learning this, arranged for the encounter as follows. He marked off

a circle in the plain where he was about to make his palisade, and

placed his camels turned sideways in a circle as a protection for the

camp, making his line fronting the enemy about twelve camels deep. Then

he placed the children and the women and all those who were unfit for

fighting together with their possessions in the middle, while he

commanded the host of fighting men to stand between the feet of those

animals, covering themselves with their shields.[34] And since the

phalanx of the Moors was of such a sort, the Vandals were at a loss how

to handle the situation; for they were neither good with the javelin nor

with the bow, nor did they know how to go into battle on foot, but they

were all horsemen, and used spears and swords for the most part, so that

they were unable to do the enemy any harm at a distance; and their

horses, annoyed at the sight of the camels, refused absolutely to be

driven against the enemy. And since the Moors, by hurling javelins in

great numbers among them from their safe position, kept killing both

their horses and men without difficulty, because they were a vast

throng, they began to flee, and, when the Moors came out against them,

the most of them were destroyed, while some fell into the hands of the

enemy; and an exceedingly small number from this army returned home.

Such was the fortune which Trasamundus suffered at the hands of the

Moors. And he died at a later time, having ruled over the Moors

twenty-seven years.

IX

[523 A.D.] And Ilderic, the son of Honoric, the son of Gizeric, next

received the kingdom, a ruler who was easily approached by his subjects

and altogether gentle, and he shewed himself harsh neither to the

Christians nor to anyone else, but in regard to affairs of war he was a

weakling and did not wish this thing even to come to his ears. Hoamer,

accordingly, his nephew and an able warrior, led the armies against any

with whom the Vandals were at war; he it was whom they called the

Achilles of the Vandals. During the reign of this Ilderic the Vandals

were defeated in Byzacium by the Moors, who were ruled by Antalas, and

it so fell out that they became enemies instead of allies and friends to

Theoderic and the Goths in Italy. For they put Amalafrida in prison and

destroyed all the Goths, charging them with revolutionary designs

against the Vandals and Ilderic. However, no revenge came from

Theoderic, for he considered himself unable to gather a great fleet and

make an expedition into Libya, and Ilderic was a very particular friend

and guest-friend of Justinian, who had not yet come to the throne, but

was administering the government according to his pleasure; for his

uncle Justinus, who was emperor, was very old and not altogether

experienced in matters of state. And Ilderic and Justinian made large

presents of money to each other.

Now there was a certain man in the family of Gizeric, Gelimer, the son

of Geilaris, the son of Genzon, the son of Gizeric, who was of such age

as to be second only to Ilderic, and for this reason he was expected to

come into the kingdom very soon. This man was thought to be the best

warrior of his time, but for the rest he was a cunning fellow and base

at heart and well versed in undertaking revolutionary enterprises and in

laying hold upon the money of others. Now this Gelimer, when he saw the

power coming to him, was not able to live in his accustomed way, but

assumed to himself the tasks of a king and usurped the rule, though it

was not yet due him; and since Ilderic in a spirit of friendliness gave

in to him, he was no longer able to restrain his thoughts, but allying

with himself all the noblest of the Vandals, he persuaded them to wrest

the kingdom from Ilderic, as being an unwarlike king who had been

defeated by the Moors, and as betraying the power of the Vandals into

the hand of the Emperor Justinus, in order that the kingdom might not

come to him, because he was of the other branch of the family; for he

asserted slanderously that this was the meaning of Ilderic's embassy to

Byzantium, and that he was giving over the empire of the Vandals to

Justinus. And they, being persuaded, carried out this plan. [530 A.D.]

Thus Gelimer seized the supreme power, and imprisoned Ilderic, after he

had ruled over the Vandals seven years, and also Hoamer and his brother

Euagees.

[527 A.D.] But when Justinian heard these things, having already

received the imperial power, he sent envoys to Gelimer in Libya with the

following letter: "You are not acting in a holy manner nor worthily of

the will of Gizeric, keeping in prison an old man and a kinsman and the

king of the Vandals (if the counsels of Gizeric are to be of effect),

and robbing him of his office by violence, though it would be possible

for you to receive it after a short time in a lawful manner. Do you

therefore do no further wrong and do not exchange the name of king for

the title of tyrant, which comes but a short time earlier. But as for

this man, whose death may be expected at any moment, allow him to bear

in appearance the form of royal power, while you do all the things which

it is proper that a king should do; and wait until you can receive from

time and the law of Gizeric, and from them alone, the name which belongs

to the position. For if you do this, the attitude of the Almighty will

be favourable and at the same time our relations with you will be

friendly." Such was his message. But Gelimer sent the envoys away with

nothing accomplished, and he blinded Hoamer and also kept Ilderic and

Euagees in closer confinement, charging them with planning flight to

Byzantium. And when this too was heard by the Emperor Justinian, he sent

envoys a second time and wrote as follows: "We, indeed, supposed that

you would never go contrary to our advice when we wrote you the former

letter. But since it pleases you to have secured possession of the royal

power in the manner in which you have taken and now hold it, get from it

whatever Heaven grants. But do you send to us Ilderic, and Hoamer whom

you have blinded, and his brother, to receive what comfort they can who

have been robbed of a kingdom or of sight; for we shall not let the

matter rest if you do not do this. And I speak thus because we are led

by the hope which I had based on our friendship. And the treaty with

Gizeric will not stand as an obstacle for us. For it is not to make war

upon him who has succeeded to the kingdom of Gizeric that we come, but

to avenge Gizeric with all our power."

When Gelimer had read this, he replied as follows: "King Gelimer to the

Emperor Justinian. Neither have I taken the office by violence nor has

anything unholy been done by me to my kinsmen. For Ilderic, while

planning a revolution against the house of Gizeric, was dethroned by the

nation of the Vandals; and I was called to the kingdom by my years,

which gave me the preference, according to the law at least. Now it is

well for one to administer the kingly office which belongs to him and

not to make the concerns of others his own. Hence for you also, who have

a kingdom, meddling in other's affairs is not just; and if you break the

treaty and come against us, we shall oppose you with all our power,

calling to witness the oaths which were sworn by Zeno, from whom you

have received the kingdom which you hold." The Emperor Justinian, upon

receiving this letter, having been angry with Gelimer even before then,

was still more eager to punish him. And it seemed to him best to put an

end to the Persian war as soon as possible and then to make an

expedition to Libya; and since he was quick at forming a plan and prompt

in carrying out his decisions, Belisarius, the General of the East, was

summoned and came to him immediately, no announcement having been made

to him nor to anyone else that he was about to lead an army against

Libya, but it was given out that he had been removed from the office

which he held. And straightway the treaty with Persia was made, as has

been told in the preceding narrative.[35]

X

And when the Emperor Justinian considered that the situation was as

favourable as possible, both as to domestic affairs and as to his

relations with Persia, he took under consideration the situation in

Libya. But when he disclosed to the magistrates that he was gathering an

army against the Vandals and Gelimer, the most of them began immediately

to show hostility to the plan, and they lamented it as a misfortune,

recalling the expedition of the Emperor Leon and the disaster of

Basiliscus, and reciting how many soldiers had perished and how much

money the state had lost. But the men who were the most sorrowful of

all, and who, by reason of their anxiety, felt the keenest regret, were

the pretorian prefect, whom the Romans call "praetor," and the

administrator of the treasury, and all to whom had been assigned the

collection of either public or imperial[36] taxes, for they reasoned

that while it would be necessary for them to produce countless sums for

the needs of the war, they would be granted neither pardon in case of

failure nor extension of time in which to raise these sums. And every

one of the generals, supposing that he himself would command the army,

was in terror and dread at the greatness of the danger, if it should be

necessary for him, if he were preserved from the perils of the sea, to

encamp in the enemy's land, and, using his ships as a base, to engage in

a struggle against a kingdom both large and formidable. The soldiers,

also, having recently returned from a long, hard war, and having not yet

tasted to the full the blessings of home, were in despair, both because

they were being led into sea-fighting,--a thing which they had not

learned even from tradition before then,--and because they were sent

from the eastern frontier to the West, in order to risk their lives

against Vandals and Moors. But all the rest, as usually happens in a

great throng, wished to be spectators of new adventures while others

faced the dangers.

But as for saying anything to the emperor to prevent the expedition, no

one dared to do this except John the Cappadocian, the pretorian prefect,

a man of the greatest daring and the cleverest of all men of his time.

For this John, while all the others were bewailing in silence the

fortune which was upon them, came before the emperor and spoke as

follows: "O Emperor, the good faith which thou dost shew in dealing with

thy subjects enables us to speak frankly regarding anything which will

be of advantage to thy government, even though what is said and done may

not be agreeable to thee. For thus does thy wisdom temper thy authority

with justice, in that thou dost not consider that man only as loyal to

thy cause who serves thee under any and all conditions, nor art thou

angry with the man who speaks against thee, but by weighing all things

by pure reason alone, thou hast often shewn that it involves us in no

danger to oppose thy purposes. Led by these considerations, O Emperor, I

have come to offer this advice, knowing that, though I shall give

perhaps offence at the moment, if it so chance, yet in the future the

loyalty which I bear you will be made clear, and that for this I shall

be able to shew thee as a witness. For if, through not hearkening to my

words, thou shalt carry out the war against the Vandals, it will come

about, if the struggle is prolonged for thee, that my advice will win

renown. For if thou hast confidence that thou wilt conquer the enemy, it

is not at all unreasonable that thou shouldst sacrifice the lives of men

and expend a vast amount of treasure, and undergo the difficulties of

the struggle; for victory, coming at the end, covers up all the

calamities of war. But if in reality these things lie on the knees of

God, and if it behoves us, taking example from what has happened in the

past, to fear the outcome of war, on what grounds is it not better to

love a state of quiet rather than the dangers of mortal strife? Thou art

purposing to make an expedition against Carthage, to which, if one goes

by land, the journey is one of a hundred and forty days, and if one goes

by water, he is forced to cross the whole open sea and go to its very

end. So that he who brings thee news of what will happen in the camp

must needs reach thee a year after the event. And one might add that if

thou art victorious over thy enemy, thou couldst not take possession of

Libya while Sicily and Italy lie in the hands of others; and at the same

time, if any reverse befall thee, O Emperor, the treaty having already

been broken by thee, thou wilt bring the danger upon our own land. In

fact, putting all in a word, it will not be possible for thee to reap

the fruits of victory, and at the same time any reversal of fortune will

bring harm to what is well established. It is before an enterprise that

wise planning is useful. For when men have failed, repentance is of no

avail, but before disaster comes there is no danger in altering plans.

Therefore it will be of advantage above all else to make fitting use of

the decisive moment."

Thus spoke John; and the Emperor Justinian, hearkening to his words,

checked his eager desire for the war. But one of the priests whom they

call bishops, who had come from the East, said that he wished to have a

word with the emperor. And when he met Justinian, he said that God had

visited him in a dream, and bidden him go to the emperor and rebuke him,

because, after undertaking the task of protecting the Christians in

Libya from tyrants, he had for no good reason become afraid. "And yet,"

He had said, "I will Myself join with him in waging war and make him

lord of Libya." When the emperor heard this, he was no longer able to

restrain his purpose, and he began to collect the army and the ships,

and to make ready supplies of weapons and of food, and he announced to

Belisarius that he should be in readiness, because he was very soon to

act as general in Libya. Meanwhile Pudentius, one of the natives of

Tripolis in Libya, caused this district to revolt from the Vandals, and

sending to the emperor he begged that he should despatch an army to him;

for, he said, he would with no trouble win the land for the emperor. And

Justinian sent him Tattimuth and an army of no very great size. This

force Pudentius joined with his own troops and, the Vandals being

absent, he gained possession of the land and made it subject to the

emperor. And Gelimer, though wishing to inflict punishment upon

Pudentius, found the following obstacle in his way.

There was a certain Godas among the slaves of Gelimer, a Goth by birth,

a passionate and energetic fellow possessed of great bodily strength,

but appearing to be well-disposed to the cause of his master. To this

Godas Gelimer entrusted the island of Sardinia, in order both to guard

the island and to pay over the annual tribute. But he neither could

digest the prosperity brought by fortune nor had he the spirit to endure

it, and so he undertook to establish a tyranny, and he refused to

continue the payment of the tribute, and actually detached the island

from the Vandals and held it himself. And when he perceived that the

Emperor Justinian was eager to make war against Libya and Gelimer, he

wrote to him as follows:

"It was neither because I yielded to folly nor because I had suffered

anything unpleasant at my master's hands that I turned my thoughts

towards rebellion, but seeing the extreme cruelty of the man both toward

his kinsmen and toward his subjects, I could not, willingly at least, be

reputed to have a share in his inhumanity. For it is better to serve a

just king than a tyrant whose commands are unlawful. But do thou join

with me to assist in this my effort and send soldiers so that I may be

able to ward off my assailants."

And the emperor, on receiving this letter, was pleased, and he sent

Eulogius as envoy and wrote a letter praising Godas for his wisdom and

his zeal for justice, and he promised an alliance and soldiers and a

general, who would be able to guard the island with him and to assist

him in every other way, so that no trouble should come to him from the

Vandals. But Eulogius, upon coming to Sardinia, found that Godas was

assuming the name and wearing the dress of a king and that he had

attached a body-guard to his person. And when Godas read the emperor's

letter, he said that it was his wish to have soldiers, indeed, come to

fight along with him, but as for a commander, he had absolutely no

desire for one. And having written to the emperor in this sense, he

dismissed Eulogius.

XI

The emperor, meanwhile, not having yet ascertained these things, was

preparing four hundred soldiers with Cyril as commander, who were to

assist Godas in guarding the island. And with them he also had in

readiness the expedition against Carthage, ten thousand foot-soldiers,

and five thousand horsemen, gathered from the regular troops and from

the "foederati." Now at an earlier time only barbarians were enlisted

among the foederati, those, namely, who had come into the Roman

political system, not in the condition of slaves, since they had not

been conquered by the Romans, but on the basis of complete equality.[37]

For the Romans call treaties with their enemies "foedera." But at the

present time there is nothing to prevent anyone from assuming this name,

since time will by no means consent to keep names attached to the things

to which they were formerly applied, but conditions are ever changing

about according to the desire of men who control them, and men pay

little heed to the meaning which they originally attached to a name. And

the commanders of the foederati were Dorotheus, the general of the

troops in Armenia, and Solomon, who was acting as manager for the

general Belisarius; (such a person the Romans call "domesticus." Now

this Solomon was a eunuch, but it was not by the devising of man that he

had suffered mutilation, but some accident which befell him while in

swaddling clothes had imposed this lot upon him); and there were also

Cyprian, Valerian, Martinus, Althias, John, Marcellus, and the Cyril

whom I have mentioned above; and the commanders of the regular cavalry

were Rufinus and Aïgan, who were of the house of Belisarius, and

Barbatus and Pappus, while the regular infantry was commanded by

Theodorus, who was surnamed Cteanus, and Terentius, Zaïdus, Marcian, and

Sarapis. And a certain John, a native of Epidamnus, which is now called

Dyrrachium, held supreme command over all the leaders of infantry. Among

all these commanders Solomon was from a place in the East, at the very

extremity of the Roman domain, where the city called Daras now stands,

and Aïgan was by birth of the Massagetae whom they now call Huns; and

the rest were almost all inhabitants of the land of Thrace. And there

followed with them also four hundred Eruli, whom Pharas led, and about

six hundred barbarian allies from the nation of the Massagetae, all

mounted bowmen; these were led by Sinnion and Balas, men endowed with

bravery and endurance in the highest degree. And for the whole force

five hundred ships were required, no one of which was able to carry more

than fifty thousand medimni,[38] nor any one less than three thousand.

And in all the vessels together there were thirty thousand sailors,

Egyptians and Ionians for the most part, and Cilicians, and one

commander was appointed over all the ships, Calonymus of Alexandria. And

they had also ships of war prepared as for sea-fighting, to the number

of ninety-two, and they were single-banked ships covered by decks, in

order that the men rowing them might if possible not be exposed to the

bolts of the enemy. Such boats are called "dromones"[39] by those of the

present time; for they are able to attain a great speed. In these sailed

two thousand men of Byzantium, who were all rowers as well as fighting

men; for there was not a single superfluous man among them. And

Archelaus was also sent, a man of patrician standing who had already

been pretorian prefect both in Byzantium and in Illyricum, but he then

held the position of prefect of the army; for thus the officer charged

with the maintenance of the army is designated. But as general with

supreme authority over all the emperor sent Belisarius, who was in

command of the troops of the East for the second time. And he was

followed by many spearmen and many guards as well, men who were capable

warriors and thoroughly experienced in the dangers of fighting. And the

emperor gave him written instructions, bidding him do everything as

seemed best to him, and stating that his acts would be final, as if the

emperor himself had done them. The writing, in fact, gave him the power

of a king. Now Belisarius was a native of Germania, which lies between

Thrace and Illyricum. These things, then, took place in this way.

Gelimer, however, being deprived of Tripolis by Pudentius and of

Sardinia by Godas, scarcely hoped to regain Tripolis, since it was

situated at a great distance and the rebels were already being assisted

by the Romans, against whom just at that moment it seemed to him best

not to take the field; but he was eager to get to the island before any

army sent by the emperor to fight for his enemies should arrive there.

He accordingly selected five thousand of the Vandals and one hundred and

twenty ships of the fastest kind, and appointing as general his brother

Tzazon, he sent them off. And so they were sailing with great enthusiasm

and eagerness against Godas and Sardinia. In the meantime the Emperor

Justinian was sending off Valerian and Martinus in advance of the others

in order to await the rest of the army in the Peloponnesus. And when

these two had embarked upon their ships, it came to the emperor's mind

that there was something which he wished to enjoin upon them,--a thing

which he had wished to say previously, but he had been so busied with

the other matters of which he had to speak that his mind had been

occupied with them and this subject had been driven out. He summoned

them, accordingly, intending to say what he wished, but upon considering

the matter, he saw that it would not be propitious for them to interrupt

their journey. He therefore sent men to forbid them either to return to

him or to disembark from their ships. And these men, upon coming near

the ships, commanded them with much shouting and loud cries by no means

to turn back, and it seemed to those present that the thing which had

happened was no good omen and that never would one of the men in those

ships return from Libya to Byzantium. For besides the omen they

suspected that a curse also had come to the men from the emperor, not at

all by his own will, so that they would not return. Now if anyone should

so interpret the incident with regard to these two commanders, Valerian

and Martinus, he will find the original opinion untrue. But there was a

certain man among the body-guards of Martinus, Stotzas by name, who was

destined to be an enemy of the emperor, to make an attempt to set up a

tyranny, and by no means to return to Byzantium, and one might suppose

that curse to have been turned upon him by Heaven. But whether this

matter stands thus or otherwise, I leave to each one to reason out as he

wishes. But I shall proceed to tell how the general Belisarius and the

army departed.

XII