History. exchanged, which secured at least suspension of arms during the space of six years. From A. D. 363. to A. D. 395. Accession of Gratianus A D. 375. * Valentinianus, the Emperor of the West, left two sons, the elder of whom, whose name was Gratianus, had for several years been associated in the Empire, and invested with the title and dignity of Augustus. The younger, the fruit of a second marriage, inherited the name of his father, and afterwards succeeded to the throne under the same appellation. At the death of and Valen- their parent, Gratianus was at Treves superintending the tinianus II. administration of Gaul; while his brother, only four years old, was in Illyricum with the Empress Justina, who had accompanied her husband on his march towards the Danube. This combination of circumstances afforded an opportunity to the ambitious leaders, Mellobaudes and Equitius, who commanded the Illyrian and Italian Legions, to establish their own power in opposition to that of the rightful heir. They prevailed upon the troops to proclaim the young Valentinianus as Emperor of the West, and to decorate him with the ensigns of supreme power. Gratianus, whose claims and power could not be questioned, continued the exercise of his authority in Gaul; determined to seize the first occasion for punishing the authors of a conspiracy by which his dominions were curtailed, and who obviously intended to reign under the name of an infant Monarch. Meantime he cheerfully received his youthful brother as a colleague; and advised the Empress to take up her residence at Milan, where she could attend to the education of her son, reserving to himself the defence of the Rhine, and of the fruitful Provinces to which it proved a natural rampart. Policy of Valens. Inroads of The demise of Valentinianus would have presented to an ambitious mind a temptation to extend the power, exercised at Constantinople, to the Provinces of the West; but Valens, who found his arms and councils sufficiently employed by the numerous enemies who hemmed in his dominions on the East and North, allowed his two nephews to exercise jointly the undisputed government of Rome. At either extremity of the Empire, indeed, there was a heavy pressure of barbarous nations, who, impatient of their ancient boundaries, and now accustomed in part to the more refined enjoyments of a civilized country, threatened, from time to time, to transfer their whole population into the Roman territory, and to take forcible possession of the cities as well as of the richest lands. The Eastern Emperor had recently established Peace with his Gothic neighbours, on the basis of mutual concession, and hoped that the experience of the various miseries which attend the progress of hostile armies, had created in the minds of all the wandering Tribes which hung upon his frontier a salutary dread of war, and a firm resolve to abstain from future aggression. In this feeling he repaired to Antioch, to enjoy the blessings of tranquillity, which he prized more highly than the triumphs of the most successful campaign; to give countenance to the reviving power of Armenia; and to observe the motions of the Persian Monarch, the most subtle and inveterate of all the enemies of Rome.† Little more than a year had elapsed when Valens the Huns. was informed that the Visigoths, impelled by a victorious enemy more barbarous than themselves, had advanced to the banks of the Danube, and were now A. D. 376. * Anm. Mar. lib. xxvii. c. 5. Zosim. lib. iv. c. 20. Amm. Mar. lib. xxxi. c. 10. Poman From A. D. 363. to A. D. 395. Valens per mits the Visigoths t cross the craving the protection of the Empire. The Huns, disturbed in their possession of Northern Asia, had, during Empire. a long period, been gradually approaching the shores of the Euxine; and, accordingly, in the year 376, they were found to have extended their migration beyond the Palus Mæotis, and even to have touched the borders of Dacia. In their progress they had conquered the Alani, a powerful people, who occupied the plains which stretch between Mount Caucasus and the rivers Don and Volga, as also the Ostrogoths, who dwelt near the Cimmerian Bosphorus; and as they established a permanent residence in every Country which they subdued, the former inhabitants, unless they consented to become their slaves, were reduced to the necessity of seeking new lands, either as warriors or as supplicants. On the present occasion, the Gothic nations, who had so lately met the Legions of Valens in the field, saw the propriety of using entreaty rather than force. They sent ambassadors, who loudly deplored the misfortunes Danube. of their countrymen, importuned the Roman Government to grant them an asylum in the nearest Province, and gave assurance in the name of all the Visigoths, that they would obey the laws, and protect the frontier of the Commonwealth. The Emperor was induced to comply with their request. The Governor of Thrace was instructed to receive them, and upon the express condition of delivering up their arms and their children to the care of the Romans, to supply them with a sufficient extent of soil, on which they might raise corn and feed their cattle. Fear of the enemy, or a desire to seize the best land, occasioned a tumultuous embarkation. Many were swept away by the violence of the current, and drowned; and it was not until several days and nights of incessant labour, that the whole colony, including two hundred thousand warriors, under Alavivus and Fritigern, were safely conveyed across the swollen Danube. The Officers of Valens, more influenced by personal considerations than by a sense of duty, accepted the bribes which the Goths presented, in order to be allowed to retain their weapons; and, accordingly, when the latter mustered their strength on the Southern bank of the river, the Romans beheld a formidable army, ready either to cooperate with them in repelling invasion, or to strip them at once of their independence and of their territory. Aware, when it was too late, of the appalling danger to which he had thereby exposed the Mæsian Provinces, the Emperor refused a similar petition on the part of the Ostrogoths, who, under Alatheus and Saphrax, the guardians of the son of Hermanric, had likewise retreated before the overwhelming host of Huns, which seemed to cover the face of the earth.* 1 A wise people would have acted with liberality to- Their sub wards so large a body of foreigners whom they had quent illreceived into their bosom, and whom, as it was very usage. doubtful whether they could subdue them, it was the worst policy to irritate and treat unjustly. But the Imperial Lieutenants on the Northern borders of his dominions, could listen to no counsel which did not promise to gratify their avarice; and observing that the Barbarian fugitives were possessed of considerable wealth, they resolved to drain it from them by the most iniquitous measures. Lupicinius and Maximus exereised at that period the military government of Thrace, of whom, if any credit is to be given to contemporaneous History, it may be confidently asserted that a base regard Amm. Mar. lib. xxxi. c. 3. Zosim. lib. iv. c. 20. Eunap. in Excerp. Leg. Jornand. c. 25, 26. From A. D. 363. to History, to private emolument was the leading motive of their administration. They raised the price of provisions to such a rate that a slave was demanded for a loaf of bread, and ten pounds of silver for a small quantity of meat. The murmurs of the plundered Visigoths at length awakened the apprehensions of their oppressors; but while a plan was forming to scatter the warlike portion of them over the remoter districts of the Province, the Ostrogoths forced a passage across the Danube, and established their camp in the territory of the Empire.* A. D. 395. Their revolt A. D. The studied insults to which the followers of Alavivus and success. and Fritigern were continually exposed, soon led to a revolt. Å battle took place in the neighbourhood of 377. Marcianopolis, in which Lupicinius sustained a marked defeat. The victors, renouncing the dependent condition of strangers and exiles, assumed possession of their lands in right of conquest; and sending their martial hordes into the most fruitful parts of Thrace, they avenged upon the innocent inhabitants the injuries which they had received at the hands of the local Government. They were soon joined by additional bands of their countrymen, whom a feeling of wrong as well as the successes of Fritigern, had alienated from the Roman standard. Their children, too, who had been sold into bondage, recovered their freedom, and returned with delight into the society of their kindred; stimulating, at the same time, by an account of the sufferings which they had endured, the resentment which already glowed in the breast of every Goth.† Battle on The discomfiture of the Legions at Marcianopolis the Danube. roused Valens to some degree of activity. Instead, however, of attempting to soothe the rude soldiers who had been pillaged and insulted by his Generals, he resolved to crush them by superior numbers; for which purpose, he called in his best troops from the East, solicited reinforcements from his nephew Gratianus, and expressed a determination to march from the Capital of Syria to Constantinople, that he might direct in person the progress of the war. He confided the immediate command of this powerful army to Count Trajan and Profuturus; who, as soon as they could marshal the cohorts which were stationed in Thrace, issued orders to the inferior Officers to commence a general movement in search of the Barbarians. Fritigern, whose talents had raised him to the highest post in the Gothic camp, had collected his warriors in an extensive plain near the most Southern stream of the Danube; where, perceiving from the dispositions of the Imperial Commanders, that they meditated an attack, he awaited their approach with confidence and resolution. A sanguinary conflict ensued, which continued with various success from the dawn of day till the setting of the sun. Neither side could claim a victory, and both had suffered so much as to be afraid to renew the contest. The Goths remained on the ground which they had previously occupied, surrounded as usual with their fortification of cars and waggons; while the Romans, whose diminished ranks suggested a different mode of warfare, adopted the plan of confining the Barbarians between the river and the adjoining mountains, in the hope of starving them into an unconditional submission. A line of ramparts, and a strong body of horsemen under Saturninus the Master-General of the Cavalry, Amm. Mar. lib. xxxi. c. 46. Oros. lib. vii. c. 33. + Amm. Mar. lib. xxxi. c. 5. Jornand. de reb. Get, c. 26. Amm. Mar. lib. xxxi. c. 6, 7. From A. D. 363. to A. D. 395. But hardly was this scheme arranged when intelligence arrived that new swarms had crossed the Danube, prepared to support the brave Fritigern, and to share the lands which he had conquered. Saturninus, apprehensive of being surrounded by these unex- Retreat of pected invaders, judged it expedient to retire; while the Romans. the chief of the Visigoths, equally anxious to provide against future events, cultivated an alliance with Alatheus and Saphrax, the Regents of the Ostrogoths, who had now a common interest with their former enemies. He obtained the aid also of some hordes of Huns and of Alani, who had found their way into Masia; to whom were soon united a strong detachment of Sarmatians, animated by revenge and the love of rapine.* The A. D. 378.. against them In the manner now described did the year 377 pass away. The firm footing established by the Barbarians in two important Provinces of the Empire, called into Valens exercise the little energy which belonged to the cha- proceeds racter of Valens. Upon his arrival the following year in person. at Constantinople, he was accused by the multitude as the author of that unwise measure which had filled their country with hungry and merciless savages; and urged, at the same moment, to lead forth the army which garrisoned the Capital, in order to deliver Thrace from the ravages of a cruel and detestable foe. He possessed not sufficient independence of character to despise this popular remonstrance; but assembling such troops as were at hand, he left his Palace, and proceeded to the camp which was pitched under the walls of Adrianople. His Generals, meantime, particularly Sebastianus, the Commander of the Cavalry, were engaged in frequent actions with the enemy; and although, upon the whole, the Roman arms were successful, it had become apparent to all classes of the soldiery, that the Gothic war, whatever might be its issue, could not be terminated without a great effusion of blood. more considerate among the superior Officers, accordingly, whose opinion the Emperor condescended to ask, dissuaded him from a hasty attack upon the encampment of the Barbarians, and urged him rather to exhaust their strength by keeping them constantly under arms, and by intercepting their supplies, until his nephew Gratianus, who was on his march at the head of the flower of the Western Legions, should have time to join him. Those officers, on the other hand, who wished to flatter the vanity of their master, and to soothe his jealousy, represented to him the advantages of a spirited onset, while the enemy were yet under the impression made upon them by the valour of Sebastianus, and also the injury that might result to his reputation, were the honour of victory to be divided with the youthful Emperor of Rome. The infatuation of Valens was further encouraged by the deep policy of Fritigern, who, feigning a mixed sentiment of penitence and alarm, professed his readiness to return to his duty as a vassal of the Empire, provided certain waste lands in Thrace were granted to his followers, with a sufficient allowance of corn and cattle to support them, till their fields should be brought into cultivation. The counsel of Sebastianus, whose abilities fitted him for the field rather than for the cabinet, prevailed, Amm. Mar. lib. xxxi. c. 6-9. From 363. · to A. D. 395. Total defeat of the Ro mans near Kistory. and the Emperor issued orders to prepare for battle. It was on the 9th of August, 378, that Valens proceeded from his camp at Adrianople to attack the Goths who lay at the distance of about twelve miles; a day, it has been justly observed, which may be ranked among the most inauspicious that ever influenced the fortunes of Rome. The march, though not long, was performed under a sultry sun; while a mistake on the part of the subordinate Officers occasioned so much delay and confusion before the troops could be arranged on the field, Adrianople. that many of the men were quite exhausted, and the confidence of the greater number of them very much depressed. In this crisis, when an active commander would either have withdrawn his squadrons from the presence of the enemy, or instantly led them on to the attack, Valens had recourse to negotiation, and even condescended to despatch an ambassador to the Gothic camp. But hardly had his commissioner departed, when the battle began by the advance of his own troops. A body of auxiliaries, under the direction of Bucarius, an Iberian Chief, discharged their arrows upon a detachment of light horse which happened to pass their line; but not being supported by the rest of the army, who had received no orders to engage, they fell back with precipitation from the charge of the Gothic spears, and spread confusion and dismay throughout the wing to which they were attached. The action soon became general, and terminated in the entire defeat of the Romans. The Emperor was wounded, and either was crushed under a heap of dead bodies, so as not to be recognised by friend or foe, or, as is more commonly conjectured, he was carried to a cottage in the neighbourhood, in which he and his attendants perished by fire. The loss of the vanquished was very great. A large proportion of their bravest officers fell in the field; and more than two-thirds of the common soldiers shared the same fate, or were reduced to the most wretched servitude. Since the battle of Cannæ, says Ammianus, no such disaster befell the Roman people; and could he have foreseen the fatal effects which resulted from it, his lamentation would have been still deeper, and his regret more poignant.* Death of Valens. Ravages of The victorious Goths, following up their success, laid the Goths. siege to Adrianople; but they soon found here, as they had experienced on former occasions, that the arms which enabled them to conquer in the field, were of no avail against strong walls and fortifications; and also that troops who turned their backs in the open plain, were formidable antagonists when stationed behind a rampart. After a fruitless attempt, therefore, to possess themselves of that city, they shifted their camp to the suburbs of the Eastern Capital; but perceiving that the obstacles to which they had just yielded at Adrianople, presented themselves in tenfold greater power on the shores of the Bosphorus, they abandoned the hope of the rich plunder which had excited their avidity, and spread themselves over the defenceless Provinces of Macedonia, Thrace, and Illyricum. The ravages which they committed in these Countries, made a deep impression on the minds of those who witnessed them, and are recorded in the pages of several authors, both Ecclesiastical and Civil, as the severest punishment with which Providence had visited the human race for many generations. St. Jerome relates that the fury of the Goths extended to the beasts of the field, the fowls of Amm, Mar. lib. xxxi. 9-12. Zosim, lib. iv. c. 22, 23. the air, and even to the fishes of the sea; all of which diminished in number before the insatiable rapacity and Empire. destructive habits of the enraged Barbarians. making every allowance for the exaggeration of writers, whose natural feelings were as much injured as their property, it cannot be concealed that the Provincials were subjected, during a long course of years, to all the indignities and privations which the arms of a rude people never fail to inflict on civilized Countries.* to A. D. 395. To prevent a similar catastrophe in the more Eastern Massacre parts of the Empire, a measure was resorted to by the the Gothic local Governors, which cannot be contemplated without youth. horror and detestation. Upon the stipulation made with the Visigoths, when they were first received into Mesia, their sons were sent into the cities of Asia Minor; where they were instructed in the polite Arts, and in those branches of literature which were thought best fitted to refine their manners and to subdue the natural fierceness of their temper. Twelve years had now elapsed since their migration across the Danube; in which period many of them had grown up to manhood, and had become acquainted, at the same time, with the events of the several campaigns which had taken place in the European Provinces. Fears were entertained that the daring youths would embrace the earliest opportunity to assert their rank, and to imitate the example of their fathers, who had just annihilated a Roman army, and slain an Emperor in the field of battle. It was therefore resolved to ward off this contingent evil, by putting them all to death. An order was accordingly set forth by Julius the Master-General, that all the young men of the Gothic nation should assemble in the principal city of their respective Provinces; and as it was insidiously reported that the object of this meeting was to confer upon the most distinguished of their number gifts of land and other marks of public approbation, the summons was universally obeyed with the utmost alacrity. On the day appointed, a body of troops was prepared in the several towns to which the sons of the Goths were invited; who, upon a signal given by the officers in command, fell upon their unarmed victims and left not one of them alive. This bloody deed, so unworthy of a great people, relieved the Provincials, perhaps, from immediate alarm; but, in the end, it was retaliated with the utmost severity, while, in the eyes of impartial posterity, it seems to afford some degree of justification for the atrocities perpetrated by the conquerors of the Empire.t It has been mentioned that Gratianus was on his march towards the theatre of war when his uncle came to the resolution of attacking the Goths single-handed. At the moment he reached the confines of Macedonia he learned that Valens had fallen, and that the greater part of his army was cut in pieces; upon which he intermitted his progress into a hostile country, in order that he might consult for the preservation of the Empire, and name a successor to the throne of Constantinople equal to the arduous duties which now attached to the sovereignty of the East. He meant that his choice should confer the Purple on a person equally distinguished by talent and by virtue; and although at the age of nineteen he could not derive much assistance from his experience of human character, the selection which he made at once proved his discernment and has Amm. Mar. lib. xxxi. c. 18, 19. Zosim. lib. iv. c. 24. † Eunap. in Excerpt. Legat. Amm. Mar. lib. xxxi, c. 16. From A. D. 363. to A. D. History. secured for him the praise of future Ages. About the middle of January, in the year 379, he presented to the army of Illyricum his new colleague, who was forthwith invested with the title and powers of Augustus. As the successor of Valens his jurisdiction extended to Asia, Egypt, and Thrace, to which, as Gratianus found himself closely pressed by the Alemanni on either bank of the Rhine, were now added the adjacent Provinces of Dacia and Macedonia. Pacatus assures us that the young Emperor reluctantly accepted the honours to which he was elevated, and that his objections were expressed in such a manner as showed that he sincerely wished to shun the distinction for which so many others longed as the greatest earthly felicity.* 395. The Alemanni threaten the Western Empire. They cross the Rhine, Before we proceed to narrate the events which throw a lustre on the reign of Theodosius, we shall resume very briefly the History of the Western Empire, under Gratianus and his brother, the young Valentinianus, in which several occurrences took place, during the years 378 and 379, which had no slight influence on the declining fortunes of Rome. The elder of these Princes, as we have already stated, reserved for his own maturer genius the government of Gaul, of Spain, and of Britain; while he committed to the nominal superintendence of the son of Justina the more tranquil Countries of Italy, Africa, and Illyricum. The victories gained by his father over the Quadi and Sarmatians did not secure for Gratianus the enjoyment of a lasting Peace; for we find that, almost immediately after his accession to the throne, these restless Barbarians poured down upon the Rhine and threatened even the seat of Government at Treves. The Alemanni, too, at a somewhat later period, renewed their inroads upon the Empire. Receiving intelligence from one of their countrymen, who had been promoted to the Imperial Guards, that a large body of troops was about to march for Pannonia to assist Valens against the Goths, they resolved to seize the favourable moment, to elude the vigilance of the Officers stationed at the forts along the frontier, and to push their bands into the heart of the Province.† An army, accordingly, numbering from forty to and are de- seventy thousand men, crossed the Rhine and began feated by their usual devastations on the property and dwellings Gratianus, of the Provincials; but as the Legions had not yet proceeded to any great distance, they were speedily recalled and were soon in a condition to check the advance of their barbarous enemy. Gratianus was assisted on this occasion by the experience of Nannienus and Mallobandes, the latter of whom was at once King of the Franks and Count of that class of household troops who were called the Domestics. The Sovereign of the Alemanni did not shun the engagement which the Roman Emperor sought to bring on. The hostile armies met at Argentaria, in the district of Alsatium, and attacked each other with the utmost impetuosity. Long did the valour of the invaders withstand the more disciplined charge of the Legions, who darted amongst them showers of missile weapons, but, at length, their King being slain and the best of their warriors either killed or wounded, they turned their backs and fled to the nearest woods for safety. Gratianus pursued them Oros. lib. vii. c. 24. Pacat. Panegyr. lib. xii. c. 10-13. Themist. Orat. xiv. Vict. in Epit. Soz. lib. vii. c. 2-4. Amm. Mar. lib. xxxi. c. 10. Oros. lib. vii. c. 33. Vict. Epit. Jerom in Chron. Auson. Cons. p. 378. Amm. Mar. ibid. Docet arcessitu Valentis patrui Gratianum Orientem versus mox signa moturum. VOL. XI. From A. D. 363. to across the Rhine, followed their retreat from hill to hill Roman and from forest to forest, into the very centre of their Empire. country, and had, in a short time, the satisfaction to see them lay down their arms and implore his clemency. He yielded to their prayer on condition of their delivering up to him a certain number of their young men, who might serve in his army in Illyricum, or be retained in Gaul in the capacity of hostages. Having thus afforded a brilliant proof of his perseverance and determination, not less than of his military skill, the young Emperor at once secured the tranquillity of Gaul, and impressed the German Tribes with a deep respect for his Government.* A. D. 395. Gratianus. But the leisure of Peace did not produce upon the Character of character of Gratianus the same happy effects which resulted from the vicissitudes and activity of War. Upon his return to Treves, after the settlement of the East, he gave himself up to amusements which, although untinctured with vice, did not accord with the martial spirit of the times, while they withdrew his attention from the more mighty concerns of Government. He spent in the most frivolous occupations, and especially in that of the chase, the greater part of every day; leaving the Provinces to the oppressive exactions of his ministers, and the army to the intrigues of certain ambitious spirits, who failed not to exasperate the minds of the soldiers and to inveigh against his general administration. The discontent of the military was not a little increased by the knowledge that the Emperor had received a band of Alani, a Scythian clan, to serve about the palace in the honourable situation of Guards, and that his partiality for these Barbarians had been excited not only by their dexterity as archers and agility as huntsmen, but even by their wild habits and savage dress, both of which he condescended to imitate. The purity of his morals, however, and the gentleness of his manners strengthened in the hearts of the great mass of the people an hereditary reverence for the son of Valentinianus; and it was not until the emissaries of rebellion from another Province unfurled the standard of war in Gaul that Gratianus was made aware of the full extent to which he had lost the confidence of the Empire.† The affairs of the East were conducted with great prudence and ability by Theodosius. This celebrated Prince had acquired under the eye of his father, the most distinguished General of the late reign, a full acquaintance with the Art of war, which he afterwards carried to a high degree of practical eminence in his various campaigns in Britain, Africa, and on the shores of the Western Ocean. On the death of Valentinianus he was appointed to command the army of Masia, where, by his consummate skill, he foiled a large host of the Barbarians and saved the adjoining Provinces. The fate which his parent underwent, in the first year of Gratianus, disgusted him so much with public employment that he retired into his native country, a district of Spain, where he spent his days in the pursuits of agriculture and in the improvement of his flocks. From this solitude he was invited by the Emperor of the West to succeed Valens on the Throne of Constantinople, and to recover from the arms or from the terror of the Goths and Huns, one of the fairest portions of the Roman territory. He was now in the thirty-third *Amm. Mar. lib. xxxi. c. 10. Mallobandem-domesticorum comitem, regemque Francorum. Auson. Cons. p. 378. Oros, lib. vii. c. 33. Amm. Mar. lib. xxxi. c. 10. Vict. in Epit. 2 H Accession of Theodosius. A. D. 374. From A. D. 363. to A. D. 395. His prudent policy in regard to the Goths. History. year of his age, possessed a manly countenance and fine figure, and was recommended to all classes of his subjects by an untainted character, as well as by the fame of warlike achievements seldom equalled by the oldest Generals.* When Theodosius first took the field as Emperor, he found the Legions of Thrace so deeply panic-struck by their recent defeat, that it was impossible all at once to inspire them with such confidence in their discipline and superior tactics as was necessary to ensure success in a great battle. He, therefore, deemed it expedient to act for some time on the defensive. Having fixed his head-quarters at Thessalonica, the principal city of Macedonia, he satisfied himself with watching, in the first instance, the movements of the Barbarians, and with strengthening the fortifications of the garrison towns throughout the Province. When his soldiers had gained repeated advantages over the predatory bands of the enemy, he led them forth to a general action; and although we have no details illustrative of his progress in the reconquest of this Country, there is no room for doubt that his success must have been frequent and decisive. It appears, however, that as long as Fritigern lived, the Goths maintained their ground to a considerable extent on the Southern bank of the Danube, and that, until his death had dissolved the confederacy of those powerful Tribes, Theodosius deemed it expedient to trust more to the cautious policy upon which he began the war, than to the valour of his troops, who were still unable to forget entirely the disaster of Adrianopolis. But after the event now alluded to had spread discord and jealousy among the leaders, the Emperor found little difficulty in purchasing the services of some and the neutrality of others. By the aid of a Chief of the Amali, who was induced to join his ranks, he obtained an easy victory over a large army of that people, who, with their allies, the Huns, had learned so far to despise the Romans as to indulge in careless dissipation in the neighbourhood of their camp. Athanaric, too, the King of the Visigoths, who had long experienced the caprice of fortune, expressed his readiness to accept the friendship of the Empire. Theodosius met him at the distance of several miles from Constantinople, conducted him with pomp into the Capital of the East, and entertained him there with the utmost kindness and magnificence. The aged Monarch was not destined to leave the Imperial city. A mortal disease terminated his eventful life, while a guest in the palace of him who had succeeded his bitterest enemy, and who was raised to the throne with the express intention of rooting out his nation and family. Policy, not less than a feeling of a more generous nature, induced Theodosius to bestow upon him a splendid funeral and even to erect a monument to his memory; a measure which was so much applauded as the proof of a liberal spirit, that the whole army of Visigoths made an offer of their services to the Imperial Government.† Death of Athanaric. Roman From A. D. 363. to A. D. 395. commanding a strong fleet and numerous army on the Lower Danube, succeeded, by means of some trusty Empire. spies, in prevailing upon the Barbarians to attempt a passage in the night, while the Romans, as they were taught to believe, would be entirely off their guard and buried in sleep. The followers of Alatheus, accustomed to conquer and impatient of delay, embraced with avidity a proposal which seemed to gratify all their hopes. They accordingly embarked in three thousand small boats the bravest in the van, and pushed for the opposite shore; nor had they any suspicion of the snare which was laid for them, until they were attacked by the Roman galleys, which dispersed and sunk the greater part of their flotilla. The King with the best of his troops perished either in the water or by the sword. The remainder of the multitude on the Northern bank, being deprived of their leaders, and finding themselves incapable of resistance, resolved to imitate their old rivals the Visigoths, and strove to obtain by negotiation that which they could no longer hope to extort by arms. They offered their allegiance and services to Rome, provided they were to receive, in return, a sufficient extent of vacant land to accommodate the survivors of their nation, and, instead of being scattered over the Provinces and mixed with the inhabitants, that they should be permitted to live together, and occupy exclusively the districts and villages which might be assigned to them.* ceived into A. D. 386. The Emperor, aware that his savage enemy had They are rerecently improved in arms and discipline, judged it unwise to provoke their desperation, and thereby to hazard Phrygia and Lydia. the tranquillity of a frontier which had been already so dreadfully ravaged. He acceded to their wishes, and promised to them an asylum in the fertile Countries of Phrygia and Lybia. Corn was supplied to meet their present necessities, while, to encourage them in the pursuits of agriculture, they were exempted, for several years, from the usual tribute paid by the occupiers of land. The Goths accepted these benefactions as due to their character and prowess, rather than as offerings made to the call of humanity. They refused not, indeed, to acknowledge the sovereignty of the Emperor, but they insisted, at the same time, upon the privilege of living according to their own laws, and of restricting their obedience, in War as well as in Peace, to the authority of their native Commanders. Forty thousand of them were at all times prepared to discharge their military obligations to Theodosius; but, as they were soldiers by profession and accustomed to earn an abundant livelihood at the point of the sword, they did not conceal their expectations that the pay, clothing, and other appointments provided by the head of the Government would prove suitable to the rank which they made bold to claim, as the defenders of the Empire.† In fact, it soon appeared that the armed colonists, whom the successor of Valens had received into the bosom of his dominions, might declare themselves, at no distant day, the masters and conquerors of his people. The unwarlike Provincials were treated by them with the utmost contempt and insolence, as unfit to bear arms, Zos. lib. iv. c. 35. 38. Themist. Orat. xvi. Zos. lib. iv. c. 3840. Synes. de Reg. p. 25, 26. Tillemont (tom. v. p. 218) expresses his regret that the Goths were not separated. Il eut été à souhaiter que l'on eût dispersé ces Barbares en divers endroits, pour en être tout-à-fait maitre: but he himself assigns a sufficient reason why they did not consent to it. Zos. lib. iv. c. 40. Themist. Orat. xvi. |