than he turned his arms against Zenobia, the celebrated queen of Palmyra
and the East. Modern Europe has produced several illustrious women who
have sustained with glory the weight of empire; nor is our own age
destitute of such distinguished characters. But if we except the
doubtful achievements of Semiramis, Zenobia is perhaps the only female
whose superior genius broke through the servile indolence imposed on her
sex by the climate and manners of Asia. She claimed her descent from the
Macedonian kings of Egypt, equaled in beauty her ancestor Cleopatra, and
far surpassed that princess in chastity and valor. Zenobia was esteemed
the most lovely as well as the most heroic of her sex. She was of a dark
complexion (for in speaking of a lady these trifles become important).
Her teeth were of a pearly whiteness, and her large black eyes sparkled
with uncommon fire, tempered by the most attractive sweetness. Her voice
was strong and harmonious. Her manly understanding was strengthened and
adorned by study. She was not ignorant of the Latin tongue, but
possessed in equal perfection the Greek, the Syriac, and the Egyptian
languages. She had drawn up for her own use an epitome of Oriental
history, and familiarly compared the beauties of Homer and Plato under
the tuition of the sublime Longinus.
This accomplished woman gave her hand to Odenathus, who, from a private
station, raised himself to the dominion of the East. She soon became the
friend and companion of a hero. In the intervals of war, Odenathus
passionately delighted in the exercise of hunting; he pursued with ardor
the wild beasts of the desert,--lions, panthers, and bears; and the
ardor of Zenobia in that dangerous amusement was not inferior to his
own. She had inured her constitution to fatigue, disdained the use of a
covered carriage, generally appeared on horseback in a military habit,
and sometimes marched several miles on foot at the head of the troops.
The success of Odenathus was in a great measure ascribed to her
incomparable prudence and fortitude. Their splendid victories over the
Great King, whom they twice pursued as far as the gates of Ctesiphon,
laid the foundations of their united fame and power. The armies which
they commanded, and the provinces which they had saved, acknowledged
not any other sovereigns than their invincible chiefs. The Senate and
people of Rome revered a stranger who had avenged their captive emperor,
and even the insensible son of Valerian accepted Odenathus for his
legitimate colleague.
After a successful expedition against the Gothic plunderers of Asia, the
Palmyrenian prince returned to the city of Emesa in Syria. Invincible in
war, he was there cut off by domestic treason; and his favorite
amusement of hunting was the cause, or at least the occasion, of his
death. His nephew Maeonius presumed to dart his javelin before that of
his uncle; and though admonished of his error, repeated the same
insolence. As a monarch and as a sportsman, Odenathus was provoked, took
away his horse, a mark of ignominy among the barbarians, and chastised
the rash youth by a short confinement. The offense was soon forgot, but
the punishment was remembered; and Maeonius, with a few daring
associates, assassinated his uncle in the midst of a great
entertainment. Herod, the son of Odenathus, though not of Zenobia, a
young man of a soft and effeminate temper, was killed with his father.
But Maeonius obtained only the pleasure of revenge by this bloody deed.
He had scarcely time to assume the title of Augustus, before he was
sacrificed by Zenobia to the memory of her husband.
With the assistance of his most faithful friends, she immediately filled
the vacant throne, and governed with manly counsels Palmyra, Syria, and
the East, above five years. By the death of Odenathus, that authority
was at an end which the Senate had granted him only as a personal
distinction; but his martial widow, disdaining both the Senate and
Gallienus, obliged one of the Roman generals who was sent against her to
retreat into Europe, with the loss of his army and his reputation.
Instead of the little passions which so frequently perplex a female
reign, the steady administration of Zenobia was guided by the most
judicious maxims of policy. If it was expedient to pardon, she could
calm her resentment; if it was necessary to punish, she could impose
silence on the voice of pity. Her strict economy was accused of avarice;
yet on every proper occasion she appeared magnificent and liberal. The
neighboring States of Arabia, Armenia, and Persia dreaded her enmity and
solicited her alliance. To the dominions of Odenathus, which extended
from the Euphrates to the frontiers of Bithynia, his widow added the
inheritance of her ancestors, the populous and fertile kingdom of
Egypt. The Emperor Claudius acknowledged her merit, and was content that
while _he_ pursued the Gothic war, _she_ should assert the dignity of
the Empire in the East. The conduct however of Zenobia was attended with
some ambiguity, nor is it unlikely that she had conceived the design of
erecting an independent and hostile monarchy. She blended with the
popular manners of Roman princes the stately pomp of the courts of Asia,
and exacted from her subjects the same adoration that was paid to the
successors of Cyrus. She bestowed on her three sons a Latin education,
and often showed them to the troops adorned with the imperial purple.
For herself she reserved the diadem, with the splendid but doubtful
title of Queen of the East.
When Aurelian passed over into Asia against an adversary whose sex alone
could render her an object of contempt, his presence restored obedience
to the province of Bithynia, already shaken by the arms and intrigues of
Zenobia. Advancing at the head of his legions, he accepted the
submission of Ancyra, and was admitted into Tyana, after an obstinate
siege, by the help of a perfidious citizen. The generous though fierce
temper of Aurelian abandoned the traitor to the rage of the soldiers: a
superstitious reverence induced him to treat with lenity the countrymen
of Apollonius the philosopher. Antioch was deserted on his approach,
till the Emperor, by his salutary edicts, recalled the fugitives, and
granted a general pardon to all who from necessity rather than choice
had been engaged in the service of the Palmyrenian Queen. The unexpected
mildness of such a conduct reconciled the minds of the Syrians, and as
far as the gates of Emesa the wishes of the people seconded the terror
of his arms.
Zenobia would have ill deserved her reputation, had she indolently
permitted the Emperor of the West to approach within a hundred miles of
her capital. The fate of the East was decided in two great battles, so
similar in almost every circumstance that we can scarcely distinguish
them from each other, except by observing that the first was fought near
Antioch and the second near Emesa. In both the Queen of Palmyra animated
the armies by her presence, and devolved the execution of her orders on
Zabdas, who had already signalized his military talents by the conquest
of Egypt. The numerous forces of Zenobia consisted for the most part of
light archers, and of heavy cavalry clothed in complete steel. The
Moorish and Illyrian horse of Aurelian were unable to sustain the
ponderous charge of their antagonists. They fled in real or affected
disorder, engaged the Palmyrenians in a laborious pursuit, harassed them
by a desultory combat, and at length discomfited this impenetrable but
unwieldy body of cavalry. The light infantry, in the mean time, when
they had exhausted their quivers, remaining without protection against a
closer onset, exposed their naked sides to the swords of the legions.
Aurelian had chosen these veteran troops, who were usually stationed on
the Upper Danube, and whose valor had been severely tried in the
Alemannic war. After the defeat of Emesa, Zenobia found it impossible to
collect a third army. As far as the frontier of Egypt, the nations
subject to her empire had joined the standard of the conqueror, who
detached Probus, the bravest of his generals, to possess himself of the
Egyptian provinces. Palmyra was the last resource of the widow of
Odenathus. She retired within the walls of her capital, made every
preparation for a vigorous resistance, and declared, with the
intrepidity of a heroine, that the last moment of her reign and of her
life should be the same.
Amid the barren deserts of Arabia, a few cultivated spots rise like
islands out of the sandy ocean. Even the name of Tadmor, or Palmyra, by
its signification in the Syriac as well as in the Latin language,
denoted the multitude of palm-trees which afforded shade and verdure to
that temperate region. The air was pure, and the soil, watered by some
invaluable springs, was capable of producing fruits as well as corn.
A place possessed of such singular advantages, and situated at a
convenient distance between the Gulf of Persia and the Mediterranean,[C]
was soon frequented by the caravans which conveyed to the nations of
Europe a considerable part of the rich commodities of India. Palmyra
insensibly increased into an opulent and independent city, and
connecting the Roman and the Parthian monarchies by the mutual benefits
of commerce, was suffered to observe a humble neutrality, till at length
after the victories of Trajan the little republic sunk into the bosom of
Rome, and flourished more than one hundred and fifty years in the
subordinate though honorable rank of a colony. It was during that
peaceful period, if we may judge from a few remaining inscriptions, that
the wealthy Palmyrenians constructed those temples, palaces, and
porticos of Grecian architecture whose ruins, scattered over an extent
of several miles, have deserved the curiosity of our travelers. The
elevation of Odenathus and Zenobia appeared to reflect new splendor on
their country, and Palmyra for a while stood forth the rival of Rome:
but the competition was fatal, and ages of prosperity were sacrificed to
a moment of glory.
[C] Five hundred and thirty-seven miles from Seleucia, two
hundred and three from the nearest coast of Syria, according
to Pliny.
In his march over the sandy desert between Emesa and Palmyra, the
Emperor Aurelian was perpetually harassed by the Arabs; nor could he
always defend his army, and especially his baggage, from those flying
troops of active and daring robbers who watched the moment of surprise
and eluded the slow pursuit of the legions. The siege of Palmyra was an
object far more difficult and important, and the Emperor, who with
incessant vigor pressed the attacks in person, was himself wounded with
a dart. "The Roman people," says Aurelian, in an original letter, "speak
with contempt of the war which I am waging against a woman. They are
ignorant both of the character and of the power of Zenobia. It is
impossible to enumerate her warlike preparations of stones, of arrows,
and of every species of missile weapons. Every part of the walls is
provided with two or three _balistae_, and artificial fires are thrown
from her military engines. The fear of punishment has armed her with a
desperate courage. Yet still I trust in the protecting deities of Rome,
who have hitherto been favorable to all my undertakings." Doubtful,
however, of the protection of the gods and of the event of the siege,
Aurelian judged it more prudent to offer terms of an advantageous
capitulation: to the Queen, a splendid retreat; to the citizens, their
ancient privileges. His proposals were obstinately rejected, and the
refusal was accompanied with insult.
The firmness of Zenobia was supported by the hope that in a very short
time famine would compel the Roman army to repass the desert, and by the
reasonable expectation that the kings of the East, and particularly the
Persian monarch, would arm in the defense of their most natural ally.
But fortune and the perseverance of Aurelian overcame every obstacle.
The death of Sapor, which happened about this time, distracted the
counsels of Persia, and the inconsiderable succors that attempted to
relieve Palmyra were easily intercepted either by the arms or the
liberality of the Emperor. From every part of Syria a regular succession
of convoys safely arrived in the camp, which was increased by the return
of Probus with his victorious troops from the conquest of Egypt. It was
then that Zenobia resolved to fly. She mounted the fleetest of her
dromedaries, and had already reached the banks of the Euphrates, about
sixty miles from Palmyra, when she was overtaken by the pursuit of
Aurelian's light horse, seized, and brought back a captive to the feet
of the Emperor. Her capital soon afterwards surrendered, and was treated
with unexpected lenity. The arms, horses, and camels, with an immense
treasure of gold, silver, silk, and precious stones, were all delivered
to the conqueror, who, leaving only a garrison of six hundred archers,
returned to Emesa and employed some time in the distribution of rewards
and punishments at the end of so memorable a war, which restored to the
obedience of Rome those provinces that had renounced their allegiance
since the captivity of Valerian.
When the Syrian Queen was brought into the presence of Aurelian he
sternly asked her, How she had presumed to rise in arms against the
emperors of Rome! The answer of Zenobia was a prudent mixture of respect
and firmness: "Because I disdained to consider as Roman emperors an
Aureolus or a Gallienus. You alone I acknowledge as my conqueror and my
sovereign." But as female fortitude is commonly artificial, so it is
seldom steady or consistent. The courage of Zenobia deserted her in the
hour of trial; she trembled at the angry clamors of the soldiers, who
called aloud for her immediate execution, forgot the generous despair of
Cleopatra which she had proposed as her model, and ignominiously
purchased life by the sacrifice of her fame and her friends. It was to
their counsels, which governed the weakness of her sex, that she imputed
the guilt of her obstinate resistance; it was on their heads that she
directed the vengeance of the cruel Aurelian. The fame of Longinus, who
was included among the numerous and perhaps innocent victims of her
fear, will survive that of the Queen who betrayed or the tyrant who
condemned him. Genius and learning were incapable of moving a fierce
unlettered soldier, but they had served to elevate and harmonize the
soul of Longinus. Without uttering a complaint he calmly followed the
executioner, pitying his unhappy mistress, and bestowing comfort on his
afflicted friends....
But, however in the treatment of his unfortunate rivals Aurelian might
indulge his pride, he behaved towards them with a generous clemency
which was seldom exercised by the ancient conquerors. Princes who
without success had defended their throne or freedom, were frequently
strangled in prison as soon as the triumphal pomp ascended the Capitol.
These usurpers, whom their defeat had convicted of the crime of treason,
were permitted to spend their lives in affluence and honorable repose.
The Emperor presented Zenobia with an elegant villa at Tibur, or Tivoli,
about twenty miles from the capital; the Syrian queen insensibly sunk
into a Roman matron, her daughters married into noble families, and her
race was not yet extinct in the fifth century.
FOUNDATION OF CONSTANTINOPLE
We are at present qualified to view the advantageous position of
Constantinople, which appears to have been formed by nature for the
centre and capital of a great monarchy. Situated in the forty-first
degree of latitude, the imperial city commanded from her seven hills the
opposite shores of Europe and Asia; the climate was healthy and
temperate, the soil fertile, the harbor secure and capacious; and the
approach on the side of the continent was of small extent and easy
defense. The Bosphorus and the Hellespont may be considered as the two
gates of Constantinople; and the prince who possessed those important
passages could always shut them against a naval enemy and open them to
the fleets of commerce. The preservation of the eastern provinces may in
some degree be ascribed to the policy of Constantine, as the barbarians
of the Euxine, who in the preceding age had poured their armaments into
the heart of the Mediterranean, soon desisted from the exercise of
piracy, and despaired of forcing this insurmountable barrier. When the
gates of the Hellespont and Bosphorus were shut, the capital still
enjoyed within their spacious inclosure every production which could
supply the wants or gratify the luxury of its numerous inhabitants. The
sea-coasts of Thrace and Bithynia, which languish under the weight of
Turkish oppression, still exhibit a rich prospect of vineyards, of
gardens, and of plentiful harvests; and the Propontis has ever been
renowned for an inexhaustible store of the most exquisite fish, that are
taken in their stated seasons without skill and almost without labor.
But when the passages of the straits were thrown open for trade, they
alternately admitted the natural and artificial riches of the North and
South, of the Euxine and of the Mediterranean. Whatever rude commodities
were collected in the forests of Germany and Scythia, as far as the
sources of the Tanais and the Borysthenes; whatsoever was manufactured
by the skill of Europe or Asia; the corn of Egypt, and the gems and
spices of the farthest India, were brought by the varying winds into the
port of Constantinople, which for many ages attracted the commerce of
the ancient world.
The prospect of beauty, of safety, and of wealth, united in a single
spot, was sufficient to justify the choice of Constantine. But as some
decent mixture of prodigy and fable has in every age been supposed to
reflect a becoming majesty on the origin of great cities, the Emperor
was desirous of ascribing his resolution, not so much to the uncertain
counsels of human policy as to the infallible and eternal decrees of
Divine wisdom. In one of his laws he has been careful to instruct
posterity that in obedience to the commands of God he laid the
everlasting foundations of Constantinople: and though he has not
condescended to relate in what manner the celestial inspiration was
communicated to his mind, the defect of his modest silence has been
liberally supplied by the ingenuity of succeeding writers, who describe
the nocturnal vision which appeared to the fancy of Constantine as he
slept within the walls of Byzantium. The tutelar genius of the city, a
venerable matron sinking under the weight of years and infirmities, was
suddenly transformed into a blooming maid, whom his own hands adorned
with all the symbols of imperial greatness. The monarch awoke,
interpreted the auspicious omen, and obeyed without hesitation the will
of Heaven. The day which gave birth to a city or colony was celebrated
by the Romans with such ceremonies as had been ordained by a generous
superstition; and though Constantine might omit some rites which savored
too strongly of their pagan origin, yet he was anxious to leave a deep
impression of hope and respect on the minds of the spectators. On foot,
with a lance in his hand, the Emperor himself led the solemn procession,
and directed the line which was traced as the boundary of the destined
capital; till the growing circumference was observed with astonishment
by the assistants, who at length ventured to observe that he had already
exceeded the most ample measure of a great city. "I shall still
advance," replied Constantine, "till HE, the invisible guide who marches
before me, thinks proper to stop." Without presuming to investigate the
nature or motives of this extraordinary conductor, we shall content
ourselves with the more humble task of describing the extent and limits
of Constantinople.
In the actual state of the city, the palace and gardens of the Seraglio
occupy the eastern promontory, the first of the seven hills, and cover
about one hundred and fifty acres of our own measure. The seat of
Turkish jealousy and despotism is erected on the foundations of a
Grecian republic; but it may be supposed that the Byzantines were
tempted by the conveniency of the harbor to extend their habitations on
that side beyond the modern limits of the Seraglio. The new walls of
Constantine stretched from the port to the Propontis across the enlarged
breadth of the triangle, at a distance of fifteen stadia from the
ancient fortification; and with the city of Byzantium they inclosed five
of the seven hills which, to the eyes of those who approach
Constantinople, appear to rise above each other in beautiful order.
About a century after the death of the founder, the new buildings,
extending on one side up the harbor and on the other along the
Propontis, already covered the narrow ridge of the sixth and the broad
summit of the seventh hill. The necessity of protecting those suburbs
from the incessant inroads of the barbarians engaged the younger
Theodosius to surround his capital with an adequate and permanent
inclosure of walls. From the eastern promontory to the Golden Gate, the
extreme length of Constantinople was about three Roman miles; the
circumference measured between ten and eleven, and the surface might be
computed as equal to about two thousand English acres. It is impossible
to justify the vain and credulous exaggerations of modern travelers, who
have sometimes stretched the limits of Constantinople over the adjacent
villages of the European, and even of the Asiatic coast. But the suburbs
of Pera and Galata, though situate beyond the harbor, may deserve to be
considered as a part of the city; and this addition may perhaps
authorize the measure of a Byzantine historian, who assigns sixteen
Greek (about fourteen Roman) miles for the circumference of his native
city. Such an extent may not seem unworthy of an imperial residence. Yet
Constantinople must yield to Babylon and Thebes, to ancient Rome, to
London, and even to Paris.
The master of the Roman world, who aspired to erect an eternal monument
of the glories of his reign, could employ in the prosecution of that
great work the wealth, the labor, and all that yet remained of the
genius of obedient millions. Some estimate may be formed of the expense
bestowed with imperial liberality on the foundation of Constantinople,
by the allowance of about two millions five hundred thousand pounds for
the construction of the walls, the porticos, and the aqueducts. The
forests that overshadowed the shores of the Euxine, and the celebrated
quarries of white marble in the little island of Proconnesus, supplied
an inexhaustible stock of materials, ready to be conveyed, by the
convenience of a short water carriage, to the harbor of Byzantium. A
multitude of laborers and artificers urged the conclusion of the work
with incessant toil; but the impatience of Constantine soon discovered
that, in the decline of the arts, the skill as well as numbers of his
architects bore a very unequal proportion to the greatness of his
designs. The magistrates of the most distant provinces were therefore
directed to institute schools, to appoint professors, and by the hopes
of rewards and privileges to engage in the study and practice of
architecture a sufficient number of ingenious youths who had received a
liberal education. The buildings of the new city were executed by such
artificers as the reign of Constantine could afford; but they were
decorated by the hands of the most celebrated masters of the age of
Pericles and Alexander. To revive the genius of Phidias and Lysippus
surpassed indeed the power of a Roman emperor; but the immortal
productions which they had bequeathed to posterity were exposed without
defense to the rapacious vanity of a despot. By his commands the cities
of Greece and Asia were despoiled of their most valuable ornaments. The
trophies of memorable wars, the objects of religious veneration, the
most finished statues of the gods and heroes, of the sages and poets of
ancient times, contributed to the splendid triumph of Constantinople,
and gave occasion to the remark of the historian Cedrenus, who observes
with some enthusiasm that nothing seemed wanting except the souls of the
illustrious men whom these admirable monuments were intended to
represent. But it is not in the city of Constantine, nor in the
declining period of an empire, when the human mind was depressed by
civil and religious slavery, that we should seek for the souls of Homer
and of Demosthenes.