Visigoths in peace and war; and the authority which they derived from
their birth was ratified by the free consent of the nation. In a season
of tranquility, their power might have been equal, as well as their
rank; but, as soon as their countrymen were exasperated by hunger and
oppression, the superior abilities of Fritigern assumed the military
command, which he was qualified to exercise for the public welfare. He
restrained the impatient spirit of the Visigoths till the injuries and
the insults of their tyrants should justify their resistance in the
opinion of mankind: but he was not disposed to sacrifice any solid
advantages for the empty praise of justice and moderation. Sensible
of the benefits which would result from the union of the Gothic powers
under the same standard, he secretly cultivated the friendship of the
Ostrogoths; and while he professed an implicit obedience to the
orders of the Roman generals, he proceeded by slow marches towards
Marcianopolis, the capital of the Lower MÊsia, about seventy miles from
the banks of the Danube. On that fatal spot, the flames of discord and
mutual hatred burst forth into a dreadful conflagration. Lupicinus had
invited the Gothic chiefs to a splendid entertainment; and their martial
train remained under arms at the entrance of the palace. But the gates
of the city were strictly guarded, and the Barbarians were sternly
excluded from the use of a plentiful market, to which they asserted
their equal claim of subjects and allies. Their humble prayers were
rejected with insolence and derision; and as their patience was now
exhausted, the townsmen, the soldiers, and the Goths, were soon involved
in a conflict of passionate altercation and angry reproaches. A blow was
imprudently given; a sword was hastily drawn; and the first blood that
was spilt in this accidental quarrel, became the signal of a long
and destructive war. In the midst of noise and brutal intemperance,
Lupicinus was informed, by a secret messenger, that many of his soldiers
were slain, and despoiled of their arms; and as he was already inflamed
by wine, and oppressed by sleep he issued a rash command, that their
death should be revenged by the massacre of the guards of Fritigern and
Alavivus. The clamorous shouts and dying groans apprised Fritigern of
his extreme danger; and, as he possessed the calm and intrepid spirit of
a hero, he saw that he was lost if he allowed a moment of deliberation
to the man who had so deeply injured him. "A trifling dispute," said the
Gothic leader, with a firm but gentle tone of voice, "appears to have
arisen between the two nations; but it may be productive of the most
dangerous consequences, unless the tumult is immediately pacified by the
assurance of our safety, and the authority of our presence." At these
words, Fritigern and his companions drew their swords, opened their
passage through the unresisting crowd, which filled the palace, the
streets, and the gates, of Marcianopolis, and, mounting their horses,
hastily vanished from the eyes of the astonished Romans. The generals
of the Goths were saluted by the fierce and joyful acclamations of
the camp; war was instantly resolved, and the resolution was executed
without delay: the banners of the nation were displayed according to
the custom of their ancestors; and the air resounded with the harsh and
mournful music of the Barbarian trumpet. The weak and guilty Lupicinus,
who had dared to provoke, who had neglected to destroy, and who still
presumed to despise, his formidable enemy, marched against the Goths, at
the head of such a military force as could be collected on this sudden
emergency. The Barbarians expected his approach about nine miles from
Marcianopolis; and on this occasion the talents of the general were
found to be of more prevailing efficacy than the weapons and discipline
of the troops. The valor of the Goths was so ably directed by the genius
of Fritigern, that they broke, by a close and vigorous attack, the
ranks of the Roman legions. Lupicinus left his arms and standards, his
tribunes and his bravest soldiers, on the field of battle; and their
useless courage served only to protect the ignominious flight of
their leader. "That successful day put an end to the distress of the
Barbarians, and the security of the Romans: from that day, the Goths,
renouncing the precarious condition of strangers and exiles, assumed the
character of citizens and masters, claimed an absolute dominion over the
possessors of land, and held, in their own right, the northern provinces
of the empire, which are bounded by the Danube." Such are the words of
the Gothic historian, who celebrates, with rude eloquence, the glory of
his countrymen. But the dominion of the Barbarians was exercised only
for the purposes of rapine and destruction. As they had been deprived,
by the ministers of the emperor, of the common benefits of nature, and
the fair intercourse of social life, they retaliated the injustice on
the subjects of the empire; and the crimes of Lupicinus were expiated
by the ruin of the peaceful husbandmen of Thrace, the conflagration
of their villages, and the massacre, or captivity, of their innocent
families. The report of the Gothic victory was soon diffused over the
adjacent country; and while it filled the minds of the Romans with
terror and dismay, their own hasty imprudence contributed to increase
the forces of Fritigern, and the calamities of the province. Some time
before the great emigration, a numerous body of Goths, under the command
of Suerid and Colias, had been received into the protection and service
of the empire. They were encamped under the walls of Hadrianople;
but the ministers of Valens were anxious to remove them beyond the
Hellespont, at a distance from the dangerous temptation which might so
easily be communicated by the neighborhood, and the success, of their
countrymen. The respectful submission with which they yielded to the
order of their march, might be considered as a proof of their fidelity;
and their moderate request of a sufficient allowance of provisions, and
of a delay of only two days was expressed in the most dutiful terms. But
the first magistrate of Hadrianople, incensed by some disorders which
had been committed at his country-house, refused this indulgence; and
arming against them the inhabitants and manufacturers of a populous
city, he urged, with hostile threats, their instant departure. The
Barbarians stood silent and amazed, till they were exasperated by
the insulting clamors, and missile weapons, of the populace: but when
patience or contempt was fatigued, they crushed the undisciplined
multitude, inflicted many a shameful wound on the backs of their flying
enemies, and despoiled them of the splendid armor, which they were
unworthy to bear. The resemblance of their sufferings and their actions
soon united this victorious detachment to the nation of the Visigoths;
the troops of Colias and Suerid expected the approach of the great
Fritigern, ranged themselves under his standard, and signalized their
ardor in the siege of Hadrianople. But the resistance of the garrison
informed the Barbarians, that in the attack of regular fortifications,
the efforts of unskillful courage are seldom effectual. Their general
acknowledged his error, raised the siege, declared that "he was at
peace with stone walls," and revenged his disappointment on the adjacent
country. He accepted, with pleasure, the useful reenforcement of hardy
workmen, who labored in the gold mines of Thrace, for the emolument,
and under the lash, of an unfeeling master: and these new associates
conducted the Barbarians, through the secret paths, to the most
sequestered places, which had been chosen to secure the inhabitants, the
cattle, and the magazines of corn. With the assistance of such guides,
nothing could remain impervious or inaccessible; resistance was fatal;
flight was impracticable; and the patient submission of helpless
innocence seldom found mercy from the Barbarian conqueror. In the course
of these depredations, a great number of the children of the Goths, who
had been sold into captivity, were restored to the embraces of their
afflicted parents; but these tender interviews, which might have revived
and cherished in their minds some sentiments of humanity, tended only
to stimulate their native fierceness by the desire of revenge. They
listened, with eager attention, to the complaints of their captive
children, who had suffered the most cruel indignities from the lustful
or angry passions of their masters, and the same cruelties, the same
indignities, were severely retaliated on the sons and daughters of the
Romans.
The imprudence of Valens and his ministers had introduced into the heart
of the empire a nation of enemies; but the Visigoths might even yet have
been reconciled, by the manly confession of past errors, and the sincere
performance of former engagements. These healing and temperate measures
seemed to concur with the timorous disposition of the sovereign of
the East: but, on this occasion alone, Valens was brave; and his
unseasonable bravery was fatal to himself and to his subjects. He
declared his intention of marching from Antioch to Constantinople, to
subdue this dangerous rebellion; and, as he was not ignorant of the
difficulties of the enterprise, he solicited the assistance of his
nephew, the emperor Gratian, who commanded all the forces of the West.
The veteran troops were hastily recalled from the defence of Armenia;
that important frontier was abandoned to the discretion of Sapor;
and the immediate conduct of the Gothic war was intrusted, during
the absence of Valens, to his lieutenants Trajan and Profuturus, two
generals who indulged themselves in a very false and favorable opinion
of their own abilities. On their arrival in Thrace, they were joined by
Richomer, count of the domestics; and the auxiliaries of the West, that
marched under his banner, were composed of the Gallic legions, reduced
indeed, by a spirit of desertion, to the vain appearances of strength
and numbers. In a council of war, which was influenced by pride,
rather than by reason, it was resolved to seek, and to encounter, the
Barbarians, who lay encamped in the spacious and fertile meadows,
near the most southern of the six mouths of the Danube. Their camp was
surrounded by the usual fortification of wagons; and the Barbarians,
secure within the vast circle of the enclosure, enjoyed the fruits of
their valor, and the spoils of the province. In the midst of riotous
intemperance, the watchful Fritigern observed the motions, and
penetrated the designs, of the Romans. He perceived, that the numbers
of the enemy were continually increasing: and, as he understood their
intention of attacking his rear, as soon as the scarcity of forage
should oblige him to remove his camp, he recalled to their standard his
predatory detachments, which covered the adjacent country. As soon as
they descried the flaming beacons, they obeyed, with incredible speed,
the signal of their leader: the camp was filled with the martial crowd
of Barbarians; their impatient clamors demanded the battle, and their
tumultuous zeal was approved and animated by the spirit of their chiefs.
The evening was already far advanced; and the two armies prepared
themselves for the approaching combat, which was deferred only till the
dawn of day. While the trumpets sounded to arms, the undaunted courage
of the Goths was confirmed by the mutual obligation of a solemn oath;
and as they advanced to meet the enemy, the rude songs, which celebrated
the glory of their forefathers, were mingled with their fierce and
dissonant outcries, and opposed to the artificial harmony of the Roman
shout. Some military skill was displayed by Fritigern to gain the
advantage of a commanding eminence; but the bloody conflict, which began
and ended with the light, was maintained on either side, by the personal
and obstinate efforts of strength, valor, and agility. The legions of
Armenia supported their fame in arms; but they were oppressed by the
irresistible weight of the hostile multitude the left wing of the Romans
was thrown into disorder and the field was strewed with their mangled
carcasses. This partial defeat was balanced, however, by partial
success; and when the two armies, at a late hour of the evening,
retreated to their respective camps, neither of them could claim the
honors, or the effects, of a decisive victory. The real loss was more
severely felt by the Romans, in proportion to the smallness of their
numbers; but the Goths were so deeply confounded and dismayed by this
vigorous, and perhaps unexpected, resistance, that they remained seven
days within the circle of their fortifications. Such funeral rites, as
the circumstances of time and place would admit, were piously discharged
to some officers of distinguished rank; but the indiscriminate vulgar
was left unburied on the plain. Their flesh was greedily devoured by
the birds of prey, who in that age enjoyed very frequent and delicious
feasts; and several years afterwards the white and naked bones, which
covered the wide extent of the fields, presented to the eyes of Ammianus
a dreadful monument of the battle of Salices.
The progress of the Goths had been checked by the doubtful event of
that bloody day; and the Imperial generals, whose army would have been
consumed by the repetition of such a contest, embraced the more rational
plan of destroying the Barbarians by the wants and pressure of their own
multitudes. They prepared to confine the Visigoths in the narrow angle
of land between the Danube, the desert of Scythia, and the mountains of
HÊmus, till their strength and spirit should be insensibly wasted by
the inevitable operation of famine. The design was prosecuted with
some conduct and success: the Barbarians had almost exhausted their
own magazines, and the harvests of the country; and the diligence of
Saturninus, the master-general of the cavalry, was employed to improve
the strength, and to contract the extent, of the Roman fortifications.
His labors were interrupted by the alarming intelligence, that new
swarms of Barbarians had passed the unguarded Danube, either to
support the cause, or to imitate the example, of Fritigern. The just
apprehension, that he himself might be surrounded, and overwhelmed,
by the arms of hostile and unknown nations, compelled Saturninus to
relinquish the siege of the Gothic camp; and the indignant Visigoths,
breaking from their confinement, satiated their hunger and revenge by
the repeated devastation of the fruitful country, which extends above
three hundred miles from the banks of the Danube to the straits of the
Hellespont. The sagacious Fritigern had successfully appealed to the
passions, as well as to the interest, of his Barbarian allies; and the
love of rapine, and the hatred of Rome, seconded, or even prevented, the
eloquence of his ambassadors. He cemented a strict and useful alliance
with the great body of his countrymen, who obeyed Alatheus and Saphrax
as the guardians of their infant king: the long animosity of rival
tribes was suspended by the sense of their common interest; the
independent part of the nation was associated under one standard; and
the chiefs of the Ostrogoths appear to have yielded to the superior
genius of the general of the Visigoths. He obtained the formidable aid
of the TaifalÊ, * whose military renown was disgraced and polluted
by the public infamy of their domestic manners. Every youth, on his
entrance into the world, was united by the ties of honorable friendship,
and brutal love, to some warrior of the tribe; nor could he hope to
be released from this unnatural connection, till he had approved his
manhood by slaying, in single combat, a huge bear, or a wild boar of the
forest. But the most powerful auxiliaries of the Goths were drawn from
the camp of those enemies who had expelled them from their native seats.
The loose subordination, and extensive possessions, of the Huns and
the Alani, delayed the conquests, and distracted the councils, of that
victorious people. Several of the hords were allured by the liberal
promises of Fritigern; and the rapid cavalry of Scythia added weight and
energy to the steady and strenuous efforts of the Gothic infantry.
The Sarmatians, who could never forgive the successor of Valentinian,
enjoyed and increased the general confusion; and a seasonable irruption
of the Alemanni, into the provinces of Gaul, engaged the attention, and
diverted the forces, of the emperor of the West.
Chapter XXVI: Progress of The Huns.--Part IV.
One of the most dangerous inconveniences of the introduction of the
Barbarians into the army and the palace, was sensibly felt in their
correspondence with their hostile countrymen; to whom they imprudently,
or maliciously, revealed the weakness of the Roman empire. A soldier, of
the lifeguards of Gratian, was of the nation of the Alemanni, and of the
tribe of the Lentienses, who dwelt beyond the Lake of Constance. Some
domestic business obliged him to request a leave of absence. In a
short visit to his family and friends, he was exposed to their curious
inquiries: and the vanity of the loquacious soldier tempted him to
display his intimate acquaintance with the secrets of the state, and the
designs of his master. The intelligence, that Gratian was preparing to
lead the military force of Gaul, and of the West, to the assistance of
his uncle Valens, pointed out to the restless spirit of the Alemanni the
moment, and the mode, of a successful invasion. The enterprise of some
light detachments, who, in the month of February, passed the Rhine upon
the ice, was the prelude of a more important war. The boldest hopes
of rapine, perhaps of conquest, outweighed the considerations of timid
prudence, or national faith. Every forest, and every village, poured
forth a band of hardy adventurers; and the great army of the Alemanni,
which, on their approach, was estimated at forty thousand men by the
fears of the people, was afterwards magnified to the number of seventy
thousand by the vain and credulous flattery of the Imperial court. The
legions, which had been ordered to march into Pannonia, were immediately
recalled, or detained, for the defence of Gaul; the military command
was divided between Nanienus and Mellobaudes; and the youthful emperor,
though he respected the long experience and sober wisdom of the former,
was much more inclined to admire, and to follow, the martial ardor of
his colleague; who was allowed to unite the incompatible characters of
count of the domestics, and of king of the Franks. His rival Priarius,
king of the Alemanni, was guided, or rather impelled, by the same
headstrong valor; and as their troops were animated by the spirit of
their leaders, they met, they saw, they encountered each other, near the
town of Argentaria, or Colmar, in the plains of Alsace. The glory of
the day was justly ascribed to the missile weapons, and well-practised
evolutions, of the Roman soldiers; the Alemanni, who long maintained
their ground, were slaughtered with unrelenting fury; five thousand only
of the Barbarians escaped to the woods and mountains; and the glorious
death of their king on the field of battle saved him from the reproaches
of the people, who are always disposed to accuse the justice, or policy,
of an unsuccessful war. After this signal victory, which secured the
peace of Gaul, and asserted the honor of the Roman arms, the emperor
Gratian appeared to proceed without delay on his Eastern expedition; but
as he approached the confines of the Alemanni, he suddenly inclined to
the left, surprised them by his unexpected passage of the Rhine, and
boldly advanced into the heart of their country. The Barbarians opposed
to his progress the obstacles of nature and of courage; and still
continued to retreat, from one hill to another, till they were
satisfied, by repeated trials, of the power and perseverance of their
enemies. Their submission was accepted as a proof, not indeed of their
sincere repentance, but of their actual distress; and a select number of
their brave and robust youth was exacted from the faithless nation, as
the most substantial pledge of their future moderation. The subjects of
the empire, who had so often experienced that the Alemanni could neither
be subdued by arms, nor restrained by treaties, might not promise
themselves any solid or lasting tranquillity: but they discovered,
in the virtues of their young sovereign, the prospect of a long and
auspicious reign. When the legions climbed the mountains, and scaled the
fortifications of the Barbarians, the valor of Gratian was distinguished
in the foremost ranks; and the gilt and variegated armor of his guards
was pierced and shattered by the blows which they had received in their
constant attachment to the person of their sovereign. At the age of
nineteen, the son of Valentinian seemed to possess the talents of peace
and war; and his personal success against the Alemanni was interpreted
as a sure presage of his Gothic triumphs.
While Gratian deserved and enjoyed the applause of his subjects, the
emperor Valens, who, at length, had removed his court and army from
Antioch, was received by the people of Constantinople as the author
of the public calamity. Before he had reposed himself ten days in the
capital, he was urged by the licentious clamors of the Hippodrome to
march against the Barbarians, whom he had invited into his dominions;
and the citizens, who are always brave at a distance from any real
danger, declared, with confidence, that, if they were supplied with
arms, they alone would undertake to deliver the province from the
ravages of an insulting foe. The vain reproaches of an ignorant
multitude hastened the downfall of the Roman empire; they provoked the
desperate rashness of Valens; who did not find, either in his reputation
or in his mind, any motives to support with firmness the public
contempt. He was soon persuaded, by the successful achievements of his
lieutenants, to despise the power of the Goths, who, by the diligence
of Fritigern, were now collected in the neighborhood of Hadrianople. The
march of the TaifalÊ had been intercepted by the valiant Frigerid:
the king of those licentious Barbarians was slain in battle; and the
suppliant captives were sent into distant exile to cultivate the
lands of Italy, which were assigned for their settlement in the vacant
territories of Modena and Parma. The exploits of Sebastian, who was
recently engaged in the service of Valens, and promoted to the rank of
master-general of the infantry, were still more honorable to himself,
and useful to the republic. He obtained the permission of selecting
three hundred soldiers from each of the legions; and this separate
detachment soon acquired the spirit of discipline, and the exercise
of arms, which were almost forgotten under the reign of Valens. By the
vigor and conduct of Sebastian, a large body of the Goths were surprised
in their camp; and the immense spoil, which was recovered from their
hands, filled the city of Hadrianople, and the adjacent plain. The
splendid narratives, which the general transmitted of his own exploits,
alarmed the Imperial court by the appearance of superior merit; and
though he cautiously insisted on the difficulties of the Gothic war,
his valor was praised, his advice was rejected; and Valens, who listened
with pride and pleasure to the flattering suggestions of the eunuchs
of the palace, was impatient to seize the glory of an easy and assured
conquest. His army was strengthened by a numerous reenforcement of
veterans; and his march from Constantinople to Hadrianople was conducted
with so much military skill, that he prevented the activity of the
Barbarians, who designed to occupy the intermediate defiles, and to
intercept either the troops themselves, or their convoys of provisions.
The camp of Valens, which he pitched under the walls of Hadrianople,
was fortified, according to the practice of the Romans, with a ditch and
rampart; and a most important council was summoned, to decide the fate
of the emperor and of the empire. The party of reason and of delay was
strenuously maintained by Victor, who had corrected, by the lessons
of experience, the native fierceness of the Sarmatian character; while
Sebastian, with the flexible and obsequious eloquence of a courtier,
represented every precaution, and every measure, that implied a doubt
of immediate victory, as unworthy of the courage and majesty of their
invincible monarch. The ruin of Valens was precipitated by the deceitful
arts of Fritigern, and the prudent admonitions of the emperor of the
West. The advantages of negotiating in the midst of war were
perfectly understood by the general of the Barbarians; and a Christian
ecclesiastic was despatched, as the holy minister of peace, to
penetrate, and to perplex, the councils of the enemy. The misfortunes,
as well as the provocations, of the Gothic nation, were forcibly and
truly described by their ambassador; who protested, in the name of
Fritigern, that he was still disposed to lay down his arms, or to employ
them only in the defence of the empire; if he could secure for his
wandering countrymen a tranquil settlement on the waste lands of Thrace,
and a sufficient allowance of corn and cattle. But he added, in a
whisper of confidential friendship, that the exasperated Barbarians were
averse to these reasonable conditions; and that Fritigern was doubtful
whether he could accomplish the conclusion of the treaty, unless he
found himself supported by the presence and terrors of an Imperial army.
About the same time, Count Richomer returned from the West to announce
the defeat and submission of the Alemanni, to inform Valens that
his nephew advanced by rapid marches at the head of the veteran and
victorious legions of Gaul, and to request, in the name of Gratian and
of the republic, that every dangerous and decisive measure might be
suspended, till the junction of the two emperors should insure the
success of the Gothic war. But the feeble sovereign of the East was
actuated only by the fatal illusions of pride and jealousy. He disdained
the importunate advice; he rejected the humiliating aid; he secretly
compared the ignominious, at least the inglorious, period of his own
reign, with the fame of a beardless youth; and Valens rushed into
the field, to erect his imaginary trophy, before the diligence of his
colleague could usurp any share of the triumphs of the day.
On the ninth of August, a day which has deserved to be marked among the
most inauspicious of the Roman Calendar, the emperor Valens, leaving,
under a strong guard, his baggage and military treasure, marched from
Hadrianople to attack the Goths, who were encamped about twelve miles
from the city. By some mistake of the orders, or some ignorance of the
ground, the right wing, or column of cavalry arrived in sight of
the enemy, whilst the left was still at a considerable distance; the
soldiers were compelled, in the sultry heat of summer, to precipitate
their pace; and the line of battle was formed with tedious confusion and
irregular delay. The Gothic cavalry had been detached to forage in
the adjacent country; and Fritigern still continued to practise his
customary arts. He despatched messengers of peace, made proposals,
required hostages, and wasted the hours, till the Romans, exposed
without shelter to the burning rays of the sun, were exhausted by
thirst, hunger, and intolerable fatigue. The emperor was persuaded to
send an ambassador to the Gothic camp; the zeal of Richomer, who alone
had courage to accept the dangerous commission, was applauded; and
the count of the domestics, adorned with the splendid ensigns of his
dignity, had proceeded some way in the space between the two armies,
when he was suddenly recalled by the alarm of battle. The hasty and
imprudent attack was made by Bacurius the Iberian, who commanded a body
of archers and targiteers; and as they advanced with rashness, they
retreated with loss and disgrace. In the same moment, the flying
squadrons of Alatheus and Saphrax, whose return was anxiously expected
by the general of the Goths, descended like a whirlwind from the hills,
swept across the plain, and added new terrors to the tumultuous, but
irresistible charge of the Barbarian host. The event of the battle of
Hadrianople, so fatal to Valens and to the empire, may be described in
a few words: the Roman cavalry fled; the infantry was abandoned,
surrounded, and cut in pieces. The most skilful evolutions, the
firmest courage, are scarcely sufficient to extricate a body of foot,
encompassed, on an open plain, by superior numbers of horse; but the
troops of Valens, oppressed by the weight of the enemy and their own
fears, were crowded into a narrow space, where it was impossible for
them to extend their ranks, or even to use, with effect, their swords
and javelins. In the midst of tumult, of slaughter, and of dismay, the
emperor, deserted by his guards and wounded, as it was supposed, with
an arrow, sought protection among the Lancearii and the Mattiarii,
who still maintained their ground with some appearance of order and
firmness. His faithful generals, Trajan and Victor, who perceived his
danger, loudly exclaimed that all was lost, unless the person of the
emperor could be saved. Some troops, animated by their exhortation,
advanced to his relief: they found only a bloody spot, covered with a
heap of broken arms and mangled bodies, without being able to discover
their unfortunate prince, either among the living or the dead. Their
search could not indeed be successful, if there is any truth in the
circumstances with which some historians have related the death of the
emperor. By the care of his attendants, Valens was removed from the
field of battle to a neighboring cottage, where they attempted to dress
his wound, and to provide for his future safety. But this humble retreat
was instantly surrounded by the enemy: they tried to force the door,
they were provoked by a discharge of arrows from the roof, till at
length, impatient of delay, they set fire to a pile of dry fagots,
and consumed the cottage with the Roman emperor and his train. Valens
perished in the flames; and a youth, who dropped from the window, alone
escaped, to attest the melancholy tale, and to inform the Goths of the
inestimable prize which they had lost by their own rashness. A great
number of brave and distinguished officers perished in the battle of
Hadrianople, which equalled in the actual loss, and far surpassed in the
fatal consequences, the misfortune which Rome had formerly sustained in
the fields of CannÊ. Two master-generals of the cavalry and infantry,
two great officers of the palace, and thirty-five tribunes, were found
among the slain; and the death of Sebastian might satisfy the world,
that he was the victim, as well as the author, of the public calamity.
Above two thirds of the Roman army were destroyed: and the darkness of
the night was esteemed a very favorable circumstance, as it served to
conceal the flight of the multitude, and to protect the more orderly
retreat of Victor and Richomer, who alone, amidst the general
consternation, maintained the advantage of calm courage and regular
discipline.
While the impressions of grief and terror were still recent in the minds
of men, the most celebrated rhetorician of the age composed the funeral
oration of a vanquished army, and of an unpopular prince, whose throne
was already occupied by a stranger. "There are not wanting," says the
candid Libanius, "those who arraign the prudence of the emperor, or who
impute the public misfortune to the want of courage and discipline in
the troops. For my own part, I reverence the memory of their former
exploits: I reverence the glorious death, which they bravely received,
standing, and fighting in their ranks: I reverence the field of battle,
stained with their blood, and the blood of the Barbarians. Those
honorable marks have been already washed away by the rains; but the
lofty monuments of their bones, the bones of generals, of centurions,
and of valiant warriors, claim a longer period of duration. The king
himself fought and fell in the foremost ranks of the battle. His
attendants presented him with the fleetest horses of the Imperial
stable, that would soon have carried him beyond the pursuit of the
enemy. They vainly pressed him to reserve his important life for the
future service of the republic. He still declared that he was unworthy
to survive so many of the bravest and most faithful of his subjects; and
the monarch was nobly buried under a mountain of the slain. Let none,
therefore, presume to ascribe the victory of the Barbarians to the fear,
the weakness, or the imprudence, of the Roman troops. The chiefs and
the soldiers were animated by the virtue of their ancestors, whom they
equalled in discipline and the arts of war. Their generous emulation was
supported by the love of glory, which prompted them to contend at the
same time with heat and thirst, with fire and the sword; and cheerfully
to embrace an honorable death, as their refuge against flight and
infamy. The indignation of the gods has been the only cause of the
success of our enemies." The truth of history may disclaim some parts of
this panegyric, which cannot strictly be reconciled with the character
of Valens, or the circumstances of the battle: but the fairest
commendation is due to the eloquence, and still more to the generosity,
of the sophist of Antioch.
The pride of the Goths was elated by this memorable victory; but their
avarice was disappointed by the mortifying discovery, that the richest
part of the Imperial spoil had been within the walls of Hadrianople.
They hastened to possess the reward of their valor; but they were
encountered by the remains of a vanquished army, with an intrepid
resolution, which was the effect of their despair, and the only hope of
their safety. The walls of the city, and the ramparts of the adjacent
camp, were lined with military engines, that threw stones of an enormous
weight; and astonished the ignorant Barbarians by the noise, and
velocity, still more than by the real effects, of the discharge. The
soldiers, the citizens, the provincials, the domestics of the palace,
were united in the danger, and in the defence: the furious assault of
the Goths was repulsed; their secret arts of treachery and treason were
discovered; and, after an obstinate conflict of many hours, they retired
to their tents; convinced, by experience, that it would be far more
advisable to observe the treaty, which their sagacious leader had
tacitly stipulated with the fortifications of great and populous cities.
After the hasty and impolitic massacre of three hundred deserters, an
act of justice extremely useful to the discipline of the Roman armies,
the Goths indignantly raised the siege of Hadrianople. The scene of war
and tumult was instantly converted into a silent solitude: the multitude
suddenly disappeared; the secret paths of the woods and mountains were
marked with the footsteps of the trembling fugitives, who sought
a refuge in the distant cities of Illyricum and Macedonia; and the
faithful officers of the household, and the treasury, cautiously
proceeded in search of the emperor, of whose death they were still
ignorant. The tide of the Gothic inundation rolled from the walls
of Hadrianople to the suburbs of Constantinople. The Barbarians were
surprised with the splendid appearance of the capital of the East, the
height and extent of the walls, the myriads of wealthy and affrighted
citizens who crowded the ramparts, and the various prospect of the sea
and land. While they gazed with hopeless desire on the inaccessible
beauties of Constantinople, a sally was made from one of the gates by
a party of Saracens, who had been fortunately engaged in the service
of Valens. The cavalry of Scythia was forced to yield to the admirable
swiftness and spirit of the Arabian horses: their riders were skilled
in the evolutions of irregular war; and the Northern Barbarians were
astonished and dismayed, by the inhuman ferocity of the Barbarians of
the South. A Gothic soldier was slain by the dagger of an Arab; and the
hairy, naked savage, applying his lips to the wound, expressed a horrid
delight, while he sucked the blood of his vanquished enemy. The army of
the Goths, laden with the spoils of the wealthy suburbs and the adjacent
territory, slowly moved, from the Bosphorus, to the mountains which form
the western boundary of Thrace. The important pass of Succi was betrayed
by the fear, or the misconduct, of Maurus; and the Barbarians, who no
longer had any resistance to apprehend from the scattered and vanquished
troops of the East, spread themselves over the face of a fertile and
cultivated country, as far as the confines of Italy and the Hadriatic
Sea.
The Romans, who so coolly, and so concisely, mention the acts of justice
which were exercised by the legions, reserve their compassion, and their
eloquence, for their own sufferings, when the provinces were invaded,
and desolated, by the arms of the successful Barbarians. The simple
circumstantial narrative (did such a narrative exist) of the ruin of
a single town, of the misfortunes of a single family, might exhibit an
interesting and instructive picture of human manners: but the tedious
repetition of vague and declamatory complaints would fatigue the
attention of the most patient reader. The same censure may be applied,
though not perhaps in an equal degree, to the profane, and the
ecclesiastical, writers of this unhappy period; that their minds were
inflamed by popular and religious animosity; and that the true size and
color of every object is falsified by the exaggerations of their corrupt
eloquence. The vehement Jerom might justly deplore the calamities
inflicted by the Goths, and their barbarous allies, on his native
country of Pannonia, and the wide extent of the provinces, from the
walls of Constantinople to the foot of the Julian Alps; the rapes, the
massacres, the conflagrations; and, above all, the profanation of the
churches, that were turned into stables, and the contemptuous treatment
of the relics of holy martyrs. But the Saint is surely transported
beyond the limits of nature and history, when he affirms, "that, in
those desert countries, nothing was left except the sky and the earth;
that, after the destruction of the cities, and the extirpation of the
human race, the land was overgrown with thick forests and inextricable
brambles; and that the universal desolation, announced by the prophet
Zephaniah, was accomplished, in the scarcity of the beasts, the birds,
and even of the fish." These complaints were pronounced about twenty
years after the death of Valens; and the Illyrian provinces, which were
constantly exposed to the invasion and passage of the Barbarians, still
continued, after a calamitous period of ten centuries, to supply new
materials for rapine and destruction. Could it even be supposed, that
a large tract of country had been left without cultivation and without
inhabitants, the consequences might not have been so fatal to the
inferior productions of animated nature. The useful and feeble animals,
which are nourished by the hand of man, might suffer and perish, if
they were deprived of his protection; but the beasts of the forest,
his enemies or his victims, would multiply in the free and undisturbed
possession of their solitary domain. The various tribes that people the
air, or the waters, are still less connected with the fate of the human
species; and it is highly probable that the fish of the Danube would
have felt more terror and distress, from the approach of a voracious
pike, than from the hostile inroad of a Gothic army.
Chapter XXVI: Progress of The Huns.--Part V.
Whatever may have been the just measure of the calamities of Europe,
there was reason to fear that the same calamities would soon extend
to the peaceful countries of Asia. The sons of the Goths had been
judiciously distributed through the cities of the East; and the arts of
education were employed to polish, and subdue, the native fierceness
of their temper. In the space of about twelve years, their numbers had
continually increased; and the children, who, in the first emigration,
were sent over the Hellespont, had attained, with rapid growth, the
strength and spirit of perfect manhood. It was impossible to conceal
from their knowledge the events of the Gothic war; and, as those daring
youths had not studied the language of dissimulation, they betrayed
their wish, their desire, perhaps their intention, to emulate the
glorious example of their fathers The danger of the times seemed to
justify the jealous suspicions of the provincials; and these suspicions
were admitted as unquestionable evidence, that the Goths of Asia had
formed a secret and dangerous conspiracy against the public safety. The
death of Valens had left the East without a sovereign; and Julius, who
filled the important station of master-general of the troops, with a
high reputation of diligence and ability, thought it his duty to consult
the senate of Constantinople; which he considered, during the vacancy of
the throne, as the representative council of the nation. As soon as he
had obtained the discretionary power of acting as he should judge most
expedient for the good of the republic, he assembled the principal
officers, and privately concerted effectual measures for the execution
of his bloody design. An order was immediately promulgated, that, on a
stated day, the Gothic youth should assemble in the capital cities
of their respective provinces; and, as a report was industriously
circulated, that they were summoned to receive a liberal gift of lands
and money, the pleasing hope allayed the fury of their resentment, and,
perhaps, suspended the motions of the conspiracy. On the appointed day,
the unarmed crowd of the Gothic youth was carefully collected in the
square or Forum; the streets and avenues were occupied by the Roman
troops, and the roofs of the houses were covered with archers and
slingers. At the same hour, in all the cities of the East, the signal
was given of indiscriminate slaughter; and the provinces of Asia were
delivered by the cruel prudence of Julius, from a domestic enemy, who,
in a few months, might have carried fire and sword from the Hellespont
to the Euphrates. The urgent consideration of the public safety may
undoubtedly authorize the violation of every positive law. How far
that, or any other, consideration may operate to dissolve the natural
obligations of humanity and justice, is a doctrine of which I still
desire to remain ignorant.
The emperor Gratian was far advanced on his march towards the plains
of Hadrianople, when he was informed, at first by the confused voice
of fame, and afterwards by the more accurate reports of Victor and
Richomer, that his impatient colleague had been slain in battle, and
that two thirds of the Roman army were exterminated by the sword of the
victorious Goths. Whatever resentment the rash and jealous vanity of his
uncle might deserve, the resentment of a generous mind is easily subdued
by the softer emotions of grief and compassion; and even the sense of
pity was soon lost in the serious and alarming consideration of the
state of the republic. Gratian was too late to assist, he was too weak
to revenge, his unfortunate colleague; and the valiant and modest youth
felt himself unequal to the support of a sinking world. A formidable
tempest of the Barbarians of Germany seemed ready to burst over the
provinces of Gaul; and the mind of Gratian was oppressed and distracted
by the administration of the Western empire. In this important crisis,
the government of the East, and the conduct of the Gothic war, required
the undivided attention of a hero and a statesman. A subject invested
with such ample command would not long have preserved his fidelity to a
distant benefactor; and the Imperial council embraced the wise and manly
resolution of conferring an obligation, rather than of yielding to an
insult. It was the wish of Gratian to bestow the purple as the reward
of virtue; but, at the age of nineteen, it is not easy for a prince,
educated in the supreme rank, to understand the true characters of his
ministers and generals. He attempted to weigh, with an impartial hand,
their various merits and defects; and, whilst he checked the rash
confidence of ambition, he distrusted the cautious wisdom which
despaired of the republic. As each moment of delay diminished something
of the power and resources of the future sovereign of the East, the
situation of the times would not allow a tedious debate. The choice of
Gratian was soon declared in favor of an exile, whose father, only three
years before, had suffered, under the sanction of his authority, an
unjust and ignominious death. The great Theodosius, a name celebrated in
history, and dear to the Catholic church, was summoned to the Imperial
court, which had gradually retreated from the confines of Thrace to the
more secure station of Sirmium. Five months after the death of Valens,
the emperor Gratian produced before the assembled troops his colleague
and their master; who, after a modest, perhaps a sincere, resistance,
was compelled to accept, amidst the general acclamations, the diadem,
the purple, and the equal title of Augustus. The provinces of Thrace,
Asia, and Egypt, over which Valens had reigned, were resigned to the
administration of the new emperor; but, as he was specially intrusted
with the conduct of the Gothic war, the Illyrian prÊfecture was
dismembered; and the two great dioceses of Dacia and Macedonia were
added to the dominions of the Eastern empire.
The same province, and perhaps the same city, which had given to the
throne the virtues of Trajan, and the talents of Hadrian, was the
original seat of another family of Spaniards, who, in a less fortunate
age, possessed, near fourscore years, the declining empire of Rome. They
emerged from the obscurity of municipal honors by the active spirit of
the elder Theodosius, a general whose exploits in Britain and Africa
have formed one of the most splendid parts of the annals of Valentinian.
The son of that general, who likewise bore the name of Theodosius, was
educated, by skilful preceptors, in the liberal studies of youth; but
he was instructed in the art of war by the tender care and severe
discipline of his father. Under the standard of such a leader, young
Theodosius sought glory and knowledge, in the most distant scenes of
military action; inured his constitution to the difference of seasons
and climates; distinguished his valor by sea and land; and observed the
various warfare of the Scots, the Saxons, and the Moors. His own merit,
and the recommendation of the conqueror of Africa, soon raised him to a
separate command; and, in the station of Duke of MÊsia, he vanquished
an army of Sarmatians; saved the province; deserved the love of the
soldiers; and provoked the envy of the court. His rising fortunes were
soon blasted by the disgrace and execution of his illustrious father;
and Theodosius obtained, as a favor, the permission of retiring to a
private life in his native province of Spain. He displayed a firm and
temperate character in the ease with which he adapted himself to this
new situation. His time was almost equally divided between the town and
country; the spirit, which had animated his public conduct, was shown
in the active and affectionate performance of every social duty; and the
diligence of the soldier was profitably converted to the improvement of
his ample patrimony, which lay between Valladolid and Segovia, in the
midst of a fruitful district, still famous for a most exquisite breed of
sheep. From the innocent, but humble labors of his farm, Theodosius
was transported, in less than four months, to the throne of the Eastern
empire; and the whole period of the history of the world will not
perhaps afford a similar example, of an elevation at the same time so
pure and so honorable. The princes who peaceably inherit the sceptre of
their fathers, claim and enjoy a legal right, the more secure as it is
absolutely distinct from the merits of their personal characters. The
subjects, who, in a monarchy, or a popular state, acquire the possession
of supreme power, may have raised themselves, by the superiority either
of genius or virtue, above the heads of their equals; but their
virtue is seldom exempt from ambition; and the cause of the successful
candidate is frequently stained by the guilt of conspiracy, or civil
war. Even in those governments which allow the reigning monarch to
declare a colleague or a successor, his partial choice, which may be
influenced by the blindest passions, is often directed to an unworthy
object But the most suspicious malignity cannot ascribe to Theodosius,
in his obscure solitude of Caucha, the arts, the desires, or even the
hopes, of an ambitious statesman; and the name of the Exile would long
since have been forgotten, if his genuine and distinguished virtues had
not left a deep impression in the Imperial court. During the season
of prosperity, he had been neglected; but, in the public distress, his
superior merit was universally felt and acknowledged. What confidence
must have been reposed in his integrity, since Gratian could trust, that
a pious son would forgive, for the sake of the republic, the murder of
his father! What expectations must have been formed of his abilities
to encourage the hope, that a single man could save, and restore, the
empire of the East! Theodosius was invested with the purple in the
thirty-third year of his age. The vulgar gazed with admiration on the
manly beauty of his face, and the graceful majesty of his person, which
they were pleased to compare with the pictures and medals of the emperor
Trajan; whilst intelligent observers discovered, in the qualities of his
heart and understanding, a more important resemblance to the best and
greatest of the Roman princes.
It is not without the most sincere regret, that I must now take leave of
an accurate and faithful guide, who has composed the history of his
own times, without indulging the prejudices and passions, which usually
affect the mind of a contemporary. Ammianus Marcellinus, who terminates
his useful work with the defeat and death of Valens, recommends the
more glorious subject of the ensuing reign to the youthful vigor and
eloquence of the rising generation. The rising generation was not
disposed to accept his advice or to imitate his example; and, in the
study of the reign of Theodosius, we are reduced to illustrate the
partial narrative of Zosimus, by the obscure hints of fragments and
chronicles, by the figurative style of poetry or panegyric, and by the
precarious assistance of the ecclesiastical writers, who, in the heat of
religious faction, are apt to despise the profane virtues of sincerity
and moderation. Conscious of these disadvantages, which will continue
to involve a considerable portion of the decline and fall of the Roman
empire, I shall proceed with doubtful and timorous steps. Yet I may
boldly pronounce, that the battle of Hadrianople was never revenged by
any signal or decisive victory of Theodosius over the Barbarians: and
the expressive silence of his venal orators may be confirmed by the
observation of the condition and circumstances of the times. The fabric
of a mighty state, which has been reared by the labors of successive
ages, could not be overturned by the misfortune of a single day, if the
fatal power of the imagination did not exaggerate the real measure of
the calamity. The loss of forty thousand Romans, who fell in the plains
of Hadrianople, might have been soon recruited in the populous provinces
of the East, which contained so many millions of inhabitants. The
courage of a soldier is found to be the cheapest, and most common,
quality of human nature; and sufficient skill to encounter an
undisciplined foe might have been speedily taught by the care of the
surviving centurions. If the Barbarians were mounted on the horses, and
equipped with the armor, of their vanquished enemies, the numerous studs
of Cappadocia and Spain would have supplied new squadrons of cavalry;
the thirty-four arsenals of the empire were plentifully stored with
magazines of offensive and defensive arms: and the wealth of Asia might
still have yielded an ample fund for the expenses of the war. But the
effects which were produced by the battle of Hadrianople on the minds
of the Barbarians and of the Romans, extended the victory of the former,
and the defeat of the latter, far beyond the limits of a single day. A
Gothic chief was heard to declare, with insolent moderation, that, for
his own part, he was fatigued with slaughter: but that he was astonished
how a people, who fled before him like a flock of sheep, could still
presume to dispute the possession of their treasures and provinces.
The same terrors which the name of the Huns had spread among the Gothic
tribes, were inspired, by the formidable name of the Goths, among
the subjects and soldiers of the Roman empire. If Theodosius, hastily
collecting his scattered forces, had led them into the field to
encounter a victorious enemy, his army would have been vanquished by
their own fears; and his rashness could not have been excused by
the chance of success. But the great Theodosius, an epithet which he
honorably deserved on this momentous occasion, conducted himself as the
firm and faithful guardian of the republic. He fixed his head-quarters
at Thessalonica, the capital of the Macedonian diocese; from whence
he could watch the irregular motions of the Barbarians, and direct the
operations of his lieutenants, from the gates of Constantinople to the
shores of the Hadriatic. The fortifications and garrisons of the cities
were strengthened; and the troops, among whom a sense of order and
discipline was revived, were insensibly emboldened by the confidence of
their own safety. From these secure stations, they were encouraged
to make frequent sallies on the Barbarians, who infested the adjacent
country; and, as they were seldom allowed to engage, without some
decisive superiority, either of ground or of numbers, their enterprises
were, for the most part, successful; and they were soon convinced, by
their own experience, of the possibility of vanquishing their invincible
enemies. The detachments of these separate garrisons were generally
united into small armies; the same cautious measures were pursued,
according to an extensive and well-concerted plan of operations; the
events of each day added strength and spirit to the Roman arms; and
the artful diligence of the emperor, who circulated the most favorable
reports of the success of the war, contributed to subdue the pride of
the Barbarians, and to animate the hopes and courage of his subjects.
If, instead of this faint and imperfect outline, we could accurately
represent the counsels and actions of Theodosius, in four successive
campaigns, there is reason to believe, that his consummate skill would
deserve the applause of every military reader. The republic had formerly
been saved by the delays of Fabius; and, while the splendid trophies of
Scipio, in the field of Zama, attract the eyes of posterity, the camps
and marches of the dictator among the hills of the Campania, may claim
a juster proportion of the solid and independent fame, which the general
is not compelled to share, either with fortune or with his troops. Such
was likewise the merit of Theodosius; and the infirmities of his body,
which most unseasonably languished under a long and dangerous disease,
could not oppress the vigor of his mind, or divert his attention from
the public service.
The deliverance and peace of the Roman provinces was the work of
prudence, rather than of valor: the prudence of Theodosius was seconded
by fortune: and the emperor never failed to seize, and to improve, every
favorable circumstance. As long as the superior genius of Fritigern
preserved the union, and directed the motions of the Barbarians, their
power was not inadequate to the conquest of a great empire. The death of
that hero, the predecessor and master of the renowned Alaric, relieved
an impatient multitude from the intolerable yoke of discipline and
discretion. The Barbarians, who had been restrained by his authority,
abandoned themselves to the dictates of their passions; and their
passions were seldom uniform or consistent. An army of conquerors was
broken into many disorderly bands of savage robbers; and their blind
and irregular fury was not less pernicious to themselves, than to their
enemies. Their mischievous disposition was shown in the destruction of
every object which they wanted strength to remove, or taste to enjoy;
and they often consumed, with improvident rage, the harvests, or
the granaries, which soon afterwards became necessary for their own
subsistence. A spirit of discord arose among the independent tribes
and nations, which had been united only by the bands of a loose and
voluntary alliance. The troops of the Huns and the Alani would naturally
upbraid the flight of the Goths; who were not disposed to use with
moderation the advantages of their fortune; the ancient jealousy of
the Ostrogoths and the Visigoths could not long be suspended; and the
haughty chiefs still remembered the insults and injuries, which they had
reciprocally offered, or sustained, while the nation was seated in the
countries beyond the Danube. The progress of domestic faction abated
the more diffusive sentiment of national animosity; and the officers of
Theodosius were instructed to purchase, with liberal gifts and promises,
the retreat or service of the discontented party. The acquisition
of Modar, a prince of the royal blood of the Amali, gave a bold and
faithful champion to the cause of Rome. The illustrious deserter
soon obtained the rank of master-general, with an important command;
surprised an army of his countrymen, who were immersed in wine and
sleep; and, after a cruel slaughter of the astonished Goths, returned
with an immense spoil, and four thousand wagons, to the Imperial camp.
In the hands of a skilful politician, the most different means may be
successfully applied to the same ends; and the peace of the empire,
which had been forwarded by the divisions, was accomplished by the
reunion, of the Gothic nation. Athanaric, who had been a patient
spectator of these extraordinary events, was at length driven, by the
chance of arms, from the dark recesses of the woods of Caucaland. He no
longer hesitated to pass the Danube; and a very considerable part of the
subjects of Fritigern, who already felt the inconveniences of anarchy,
were easily persuaded to acknowledge for their king a Gothic Judge,
whose birth they respected, and whose abilities they had frequently
experienced. But age had chilled the daring spirit of Athanaric; and,
instead of leading his people to the field of battle and victory, he
wisely listened to the fair proposal of an honorable and advantageous
treaty. Theodosius, who was acquainted with the merit and power of his
new ally, condescended to meet him at the distance of several miles
from Constantinople; and entertained him in the Imperial city, with
the confidence of a friend, and the magnificence of a monarch. "The
Barbarian prince observed, with curious attention, the variety of
objects which attracted his notice, and at last broke out into a sincere
and passionate exclamation of wonder. I now behold (said he) what I
never could believe, the glories of this stupendous capital! And as
he cast his eyes around, he viewed, and he admired, the commanding
situation of the city, the strength and beauty of the walls and public
edifices, the capacious harbor, crowded with innumerable vessels, the
perpetual concourse of distant nations, and the arms and discipline of
the troops. Indeed, (continued Athanaric,) the emperor of the Romans is
a god upon earth; and the presumptuous man, who dares to lift his hand
against him, is guilty of his own blood." The Gothic king did not long
enjoy this splendid and honorable reception; and, as temperance was not
the virtue of his nation, it may justly be suspected, that his mortal
disease was contracted amidst the pleasures of the Imperial banquets.
But the policy of Theodosius derived more solid benefit from the death,
than he could have expected from the most faithful services, of his
ally. The funeral of Athanaric was performed with solemn rites in the
capital of the East; a stately monument was erected to his memory;
and his whole army, won by the liberal courtesy, and decent grief,
of Theodosius, enlisted under the standard of the Roman empire. The
submission of so great a body of the Visigoths was productive of the
most salutary consequences; and the mixed influence of force, of reason,
and of corruption, became every day more powerful, and more extensive.
Each independent chieftain hastened to obtain a separate treaty, from
the apprehension that an obstinate delay might expose him, alone and
unprotected, to the revenge, or justice, of the conqueror. The general,
or rather the final, capitulation of the Goths, may be dated four years,
one month, and twenty-five days, after the defeat and death of the
emperor Valens.
The provinces of the Danube had been already relieved from the
oppressive weight of the Gruthungi, or Ostrogoths, by the voluntary
retreat of Alatheus and Saphrax, whose restless spirit had prompted them
to seek new scenes of rapine and glory. Their destructive course was
pointed towards the West; but we must be satisfied with a very obscure
and imperfect knowledge of their various adventures. The Ostrogoths
impelled several of the German tribes on the provinces of Gaul;
concluded, and soon violated, a treaty with the emperor Gratian;
advanced into the unknown countries of the North; and, after an interval
of more than four years, returned, with accumulated force, to the banks
of the Lower Danube. Their troops were recruited with the fiercest
warriors of Germany and Scythia; and the soldiers, or at least
the historians, of the empire, no longer recognized the name and
countenances of their former enemies. The general who commanded the
military and naval powers of the Thracian frontier, soon perceived that
his superiority would be disadvantageous to the public service; and that
the Barbarians, awed by the presence of his fleet and legions, would
probably defer the passage of the river till the approaching winter. The
dexterity of the spies, whom he sent into the Gothic camp, allured
the Barbarians into a fatal snare. They were persuaded that, by a bold
attempt, they might surprise, in the silence and darkness of the night,
the sleeping army of the Romans; and the whole multitude was hastily
embarked in a fleet of three thousand canoes. The bravest of the
Ostrogoths led the van; the main body consisted of the remainder
of their subjects and soldiers; and the women and children securely
followed in the rear. One of the nights without a moon had been selected
for the execution of their design; and they had almost reached the
southern bank of the Danube, in the firm confidence that they should
find an easy landing and an unguarded camp. But the progress of the
Barbarians was suddenly stopped by an unexpected obstacle a triple line
of vessels, strongly connected with each other, and which formed an
impenetrable chain of two miles and a half along the river. While they
struggled to force their way in the unequal conflict, their right flank
was overwhelmed by the irresistible attack of a fleet of galleys, which
were urged down the stream by the united impulse of oars and of the
tide. The weight and velocity of those ships of war broke, and sunk, and
dispersed, the rude and feeble canoes of the Barbarians; their valor
was ineffectual; and Alatheus, the king, or general, of the Ostrogoths,
perished with his bravest troops, either by the sword of the Romans, or
in the waves of the Danube. The last division of this unfortunate fleet
might regain the opposite shore; but the distress and disorder of the
multitude rendered them alike incapable, either of action or counsel;
and they soon implored the clemency of the victorious enemy. On this
occasion, as well as on many others, it is a difficult task to reconcile
the passions and prejudices of the writers of the age of Theodosius. The
partial and malignant historian, who misrepresents every action of his
reign, affirms, that the emperor did not appear in the field of battle
till the Barbarians had been vanquished by the valor and conduct of his
lieutenant Promotus. The flattering poet, who celebrated, in the court
of Honorius, the glory of the father and of the son, ascribes the
victory to the personal prowess of Theodosius; and almost insinuates,
that the king of the Ostrogoths was slain by the hand of the emperor.
The truth of history might perhaps be found in a just medium between
these extreme and contradictory assertions.
The original treaty which fixed the settlement of the Goths, ascertained
their privileges, and stipulated their obligations, would illustrate the
history of Theodosius and his successors. The series of their history
has imperfectly preserved the spirit and substance of this single
agreement. The ravages of war and tyranny had provided many large tracts
of fertile but uncultivated land for the use of those Barbarians who
might not disdain the practice of agriculture. A numerous colony of
the Visigoths was seated in Thrace; the remains of the Ostrogoths were
planted in Phrygia and Lydia; their immediate wants were supplied by
a distribution of corn and cattle; and their future industry was
encouraged by an exemption from tribute, during a certain term of years.
The Barbarians would have deserved to feel the cruel and perfidious
policy of the Imperial court, if they had suffered themselves to be
dispersed through the provinces. They required, and they obtained,
the sole possession of the villages and districts assigned for their
residence; they still cherished and propagated their native manners
and language; asserted, in the bosom of despotism, the freedom of their
domestic government; and acknowledged the sovereignty of the emperor,
without submitting to the inferior jurisdiction of the laws and
magistrates of Rome. The hereditary chiefs of the tribes and families
were still permitted to command their followers in peace and war; but
the royal dignity was abolished; and the generals of the Goths were
appointed and removed at the pleasure of the emperor. An army of forty
thousand Goths was maintained for the perpetual service of the empire of
the East; and those haughty troops, who assumed the title of Federati,
or allies, were distinguished by their gold collars, liberal pay, and
licentious privileges. Their native courage was improved by the use
of arms and the knowledge of discipline; and, while the republic was
guarded, or threatened, by the doubtful sword of the Barbarians, the
last sparks of the military flame were finally extinguished in the minds
of the Romans. Theodosius had the address to persuade his allies, that
the conditions of peace, which had been extorted from him by prudence
and necessity, were the voluntary expressions of his sincere friendship
for the Gothic nation. A different mode of vindication or apology was
opposed to the complaints of the people; who loudly censured these
shameful and dangerous concessions. The calamities of the war were
painted in the most lively colors; and the first symptoms of the return
of order, of plenty, and security, were diligently exaggerated. The
advocates of Theodosius could affirm, with some appearance of truth and
reason, that it was impossible to extirpate so many warlike tribes, who
were rendered desperate by the loss of their native country; and that
the exhausted provinces would be revived by a fresh supply of soldiers
and husbandmen. The Barbarians still wore an angry and hostile aspect;
but the experience of past times might encourage the hope, that they
would acquire the habits of industry and obedience; that their manners
would be polished by time, education, and the influence of Christianity;
and that their posterity would insensibly blend with the great body of
the Roman people.
Notwithstanding these specious arguments, and these sanguine
expectations, it was apparent to every discerning eye, that the Goths
would long remain the enemies, and might soon become the conquerors
of the Roman empire. Their rude and insolent behavior expressed their
contempt of the citizens and provincials, whom they insulted with
impunity. To the zeal and valor of the Barbarians Theodosius was
indebted for the success of his arms: but their assistance was
precarious; and they were sometimes seduced, by a treacherous and
inconstant disposition, to abandon his standard, at the moment when
their service was the most essential. During the civil war against
Maximus, a great number of Gothic deserters retired into the morasses
of Macedonia, wasted the adjacent provinces, and obliged the intrepid
monarch to expose his person, and exert his power, to suppress the
rising flame of rebellion. The public apprehensions were fortified
by the strong suspicion, that these tumults were not the effect of
accidental passion, but the result of deep and premeditated design. It
was generally believed, that the Goths had signed the treaty of
peace with a hostile and insidious spirit; and that their chiefs had
previously bound themselves, by a solemn and secret oath, never to
keep faith with the Romans; to maintain the fairest show of loyalty and
friendship, and to watch the favorable moment of rapine, of conquest,
and of revenge. But as the minds of the Barbarians were not insensible
to the power of gratitude, several of the Gothic leaders sincerely
devoted themselves to the service of the empire, or, at least, of the
emperor; the whole nation was insensibly divided into two opposite
factions, and much sophistry was employed in conversation and dispute,
to compare the obligations of their first, and second, engagements. The
Goths, who considered themselves as the friends of peace, of justice,
and of Rome, were directed by the authority of Fravitta, a valiant and
honorable youth, distinguished above the rest of his countrymen by the
politeness of his manners, the liberality of his sentiments, and the
mild virtues of social life. But the more numerous faction adhered
to the fierce and faithless Priulf, * who inflamed the passions, and
asserted the independence, of his warlike followers. On one of the
solemn festivals, when the chiefs of both parties were invited to the
Imperial table, they were insensibly heated by wine, till they forgot
the usual restraints of discretion and respect, and betrayed, in the
presence of Theodosius, the fatal secret of their domestic disputes.
The emperor, who had been the reluctant witness of this extraordinary
controversy, dissembled his fears and resentment, and soon dismissed the
tumultuous assembly. Fravitta, alarmed and exasperated by the insolence
of his rival, whose departure from the palace might have been the signal
of a civil war, boldly followed him; and, drawing his sword, laid
Priulf dead at his feet. Their companions flew to arms; and the faithful
champion of Rome would have been oppressed by superior numbers, if he
had not been protected by the seasonable interposition of the Imperial
guards. Such were the scenes of Barbaric rage, which disgraced the
palace and table of the Roman emperor; and, as the impatient Goths could
only be restrained by the firm and temperate character of Theodosius,
the public safety seemed to depend on the life and abilities of a single
man. End of Vol. 2