{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_14809/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_14809","id":"gutenberg_14809","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14809","summary":null,"tags":["Attila, -453","Category: History - Ancient","Category: History - European","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Germanic peoples","Goths"],"text":"Transcriber's Note:\n\nThe numbers in the right margin of the text are from the original book;\nalthough nothing in the book says so, it appears that they might be\npage numbers from the manuscript of which this is a translation. They\nare preserved in this transcription in the hope that they are indeed\npage numbers.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE ORIGIN AND DEEDS OF THE GOTHS\n\nby\n\nJORDANES\n\nin English Version\n\nPart of a Thesis Presented to the Faculty of Princeton University\nfor the degree of Doctor of Philosophy\n\nby CHARLES C. MIEROW\n\nPrinceton\n\n1908\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTE\n\nFor the first time the story of the Goths recorded in\nthe _Getica_ of Jordanes, a Christian Goth who wrote his\naccount in the year 551, probably in Constantinople, is\nnow put in English form, as part of an edition of the\n_Getica_ prepared by Mr. Mierow. Those who care for the\nromance of history will be charmed by this great tale of a\nlost cause and will not find the simple-hearted exaggerations\nof the eulogist of the Gothic race misleading. He\npictured what he believed or wanted to believe, and his\nemployment of fable and legend, as well as the na\u00efve\nexhibition of his loyal prejudices, merely heightens the\ninterest of his story. Those who want coldly scientific\nnarrative should avoid reading Jordanes, but should likewise\nremember the truthful, words of Delbr\u00fcck: \"Legende\nund Poesie malen darum noch nicht falsch, weil sie\nmit anderen Farben malen als die Historie. Sie reden\nnur eine andere Sprache, und es handelt sich darum,\naus dieser richtig ins Historische zu \u00fcbersetzen.\"\n\nANDREW F. WEST.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nThe following version of the Getica of Jordanes is\nbased upon the text of Mommsen, as found in the\nMonumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores\nAntiquissimi 5 (Berlin 1882). I have\nadhered closely to his spelling of proper names, especially\nthe Gothic names, except in the case of a very few words\nwhich are in common use in another form (such as\nGaiseric and Belisarius).\n\nI wish to express my sincere thanks to Dean Andrew F.\nWest of the Princeton Graduate School for his unfailing\ninterest in my work. It was in one of his graduate\ncourses that the translation was begun, three years ago,\nand at his suggestion that I undertook the composition\nof the thesis in its present form. He has read the entire\ntreatise in the manuscript, and has been my constant\nadviser and critic. Thanks are also due to Dr. Charles\nG. Osgood of the English Department of Princeton\nUniversity for reading the translation.\n\nCHARLES C. MIEROW.\n\n\n    Classical Seminary,\n        Princeton University,\n            July 1908.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE ORIGIN AND DEEDS OF THE GOTHS\n\n(Preface)\n\n\nThough it had been my wish to glide in my little boat     1\nby the shore of a peaceful coast and, as a certain writer\nsays, to gather little fishes from the pools of the ancients,\nyou, brother Castalius, bid me set my sails toward the\ndeep. You urge me to leave the little work I have in\nhand, that is, the abbreviation of the Chronicles, and to\ncondense in my own style in this small book the twelve\nvolumes of the Senator on the origin and deeds of the\nGetae from olden time to the present day, descending\nthrough the generations of the kings. Truly a hard command,     2\nand imposed by one who seems unwilling to realize\nthe burden of the task. Nor do you note this, that my\nutterance is too slight to fill so magnificent a trumpet of\nspeech as his. But above every burden is the fact that\nI have no access to his books that I may follow his\nthought. Still--and let me lie not--I have in times past\nread the books a second time by his steward's loan for a\nthree days' reading. The words I recall not, but the\nsense and the deeds related I think I retain entire. To     3\nthis I have added fitting matters from some Greek and\nLatin histories. I have also put in an introduction and\na conclusion, and have inserted many things of my own\nauthorship. Wherefore reproach me not, but receive and\nread with gladness what you have asked me to write. If\naught be insufficiently spoken and you remember it, do\nyou as a neighbor to our race add to it, praying for me,\ndearest brother. The Lord be with you. Amen.\n\n(Geographical Introduction)\n\n[Sidenote: Ocean and Its Lesser Isles.]\n\nI Our ancestors, as Orosius relates, were of the     4\nopinion that the circle of the whole world was surrounded\nby the girdle of Ocean on three sides. Its three parts\nthey called Asia, Europe and Africa. Concerning this\nthreefold division of the earth's extent there are almost\ninnumerable writers, who not only explain the situations\nof cities and places, but also measure out the number of\nmiles and paces to give more clearness. Moreover they\nlocate the islands interspersed amid the waves, both the\ngreater and also the lesser islands, called Cyclades or\nSporades, as situated in the vast flood of the Great Sea.\nBut the impassable farther bounds of Ocean not only has     5\nno one attempted to describe, but no man has been allowed\nto reach; for by reason of obstructing seaweed and\nthe failing of the winds it is plainly inaccessible and is\nunknown to any save to Him who made it. But the     6\nnearer border of this sea, which we call the circle of the\nworld, surrounds its coasts like a wreath. This has\nbecome clearly known to men of inquiring mind, even\nto such as desired to write about it. For not only is the\ncoast itself inhabited, but certain islands off in the sea\nare habitable. Thus there are to the East in the Indian\nOcean, Hippodes, Iamnesia, Solis Perusta (which though\nnot habitable, is yet of great length and breadth), besides\nTaprobane, a fair island wherein there are towns or\nestates and ten strongly fortified cities. But there is yet     7\nanother, the lovely Silefantina, and Theros also. These,\nthough not clearly described by any writer, are nevertheless\nwell filled with inhabitants. This same Ocean has\nin its western region certain islands known to almost\neveryone by reason of the great number of those that\njourney to and fro. And there are two not far from the\nneighborhood of the Strait of Gades, one the Blessed\nIsle and another called the Fortunate. Although some\nreckon as islands of Ocean the twin promontories of\nGalicia and Lusitania, where are still to be seen the\nTemple of Hercules on one and Scipio's Monument on\nthe other, yet since they are joined to the extremity of\nthe Galician country, they belong rather to the great land\nof Europe than to the islands of Ocean. However, it     8\nhas other islands deeper within its own tides, which are\ncalled the Baleares; and yet another, Mevania, besides\nthe Orcades, thirty-three in number, though not all inhabited.\nAnd at the farthest bound of its western expanse     9\nit has another island named Thule, of which the\nMantuan bard makes mention:\n\n      \"And Farthest Thule shall serve thee.\"\n\nThe same mighty sea has also in its arctic region, that is\nin the north, a great island named Scandza, from which\nmy tale (by God's grace) shall take its beginning. For\nthe race whose origin you ask to know burst forth like a\nswarm of bees from the midst of this island and came\ninto the land of Europe. But how or in what wise we\nshall explain hereafter, if it be the Lord's will.\n\n(BRITAIN)\n\n[Sidenote: Caesar's two invasions of Britain B.C. 55-54]\n\nII But now let me speak briefly as I can concerning     10\nthe island of Britain, which is situated in the bosom of\nOcean between Spain, Gaul and Germany. Although\nLivy tells us that no one in former days sailed around\nit, because of its great size, yet many writers have held\nvarious opinions of it. It was long unapproached by\nRoman arms, until Julius Caesar disclosed it by battles\nfought for mere glory. In the busy age which followed\nit became accessible to many through trade and by other\nmeans. Thus it revealed more clearly its position, which\nI shall here explain as I have found it in Greek and Latin\nauthors. Most of them say it is like a triangle pointing     11\nbetween the north and west. Its widest angle faces the\nmouths of the Rhine. Then the island shrinks in breadth\nand recedes until it ends in two other angles. Its long\ndoubled side faces Gaul and Germany. Its greatest\nbreadth is said to be over two thousand three hundred\nand ten stadia, and its length not more than seven thousand\none hundred and thirty-two stadia. In some parts     12\nit is moorland, in others there are wooded plains, and\nsometimes it rises into mountain peaks. The island is\nsurrounded by a sluggish sea, which neither gives readily\nto the stroke of the oar nor runs high under the blasts\nof the wind. I suppose this is because other lands are\nso far removed from it as to cause no disturbance of the\nsea, which indeed is of greater width here than anywhere\nelse. Moreover Strabo, a famous writer of the Greeks,\nrelates that the island exhales such mists from its soil,\nsoaked by the frequent inroads of Ocean, that the sun is\ncovered throughout the whole of their disagreeable sort\nof day that passes as fair, and so is hidden from sight.\n\nCornelius also, the author of the Annals, says that in     13\nthe farthest part of Britain the night gets brighter and\nis very short. He also says that the island abounds in\nmetals, is well supplied with grass and is more productive\nin all those things which feed beasts rather than men.\nMoreover many large rivers flow through it, and the\ntides are borne back into them, rolling along precious\nstones and pearls. The Silures have swarthy features\nand are usually born with curly black hair, but the inhabitants\nof Caledonia have reddish hair and large loose-jointed\nbodies. They are like the Gauls or the Spaniards,\naccording as they are opposite either nation. Hence some     14\nhave supposed that from these lands the island received\nits inhabitants, alluring them by its nearness. All the\npeople and their kings are alike wild. Yet Dio, a most\ncelebrated writer of annals, assures us of the fact that\nthey have all been combined under the name of Caledonians\nand Maeatae. They live in wattled huts, a shelter\nused in common with their flocks, and often the woods\nare their home. They paint their bodies with iron-red,\nwhether by way of adornment or perhaps for some other\nreason. They often wage war with one another, either     15\nbecause they desire power or to increase their possessions.\nThey fight not only on horseback or on foot, but even\nwith scythed two-horse chariots, which they commonly\ncall _essedae_. Let it suffice to have said thus much on the\nshape of the island of Britain.\n\n(SCANDZA)\n\nIII Let us now return to the site of the island of     16\nScandza, which we left above. Claudius Ptolemaeus, an\nexcellent describer of the world, has made mention of it\nin the second book of his work, saying: \"There is a\ngreat island situated in the surge of the northern Ocean,\nScandza by name, in the shape of a juniper leaf with\nbulging sides that taper down to a point at a long end.\"\nPomponius Mela also makes mention of it as situated in\nthe Codan Gulf of the sea, with Ocean lapping its shores.\n\nThis island lies in front of the river Vistula, which rises     17\nin the Sarmatian mountains and flows through its triple\nmouth into the northern Ocean in sight of Scandza, separating\nGermany and Scythia. The island has in its\neastern part a vast lake in the bosom of the earth, whence\nthe Vagus river springs from the bowels of the earth and\nflows surging into the Ocean. And on the west it is surrounded\nby an immense sea. On the north it is bounded\nby the same vast unnavigable Ocean, from which by\nmeans of a sort of projecting arm of land a bay is cut off\nand forms the German Sea. Here also there are said to     18\nbe many small islands scattered round about. If wolves\ncross over to these islands when the sea is frozen by\nreason of the great cold, they are said to lose their sight.\nThus the land is not only inhospitable to men but cruel\neven to wild beasts.\n\nNow in the island of Scandza, whereof I speak, there     19\ndwell many and divers nations, though Ptolemaeus mentions\nthe names of but seven of them. There the honey-making\nswarms of bees are nowhere to be found on\naccount of the exceeding great cold. In the northern part\nof the island the race of the Adogit live, who are said\nto have continual light in midsummer for forty days and\nnights, and who likewise have no clear light in the winter\nseason for the same number of days and nights. By     20\nreason of this alternation of sorrow and joy they are like\nno other race in their sufferings and blessings. And why?\nBecause during the longer days they see the sun returning\nto the east along the rim of the horizon, but on the shorter\ndays it is not thus seen. The sun shows itself differently\nbecause it is passing through the southern signs, and\nwhereas to us the sun seem to rise from below, it seems\nto go around them along the edge of the earth. There\nalso are other peoples. There are the Screrefennae, who     21\ndo not seek grain for food but live on the flesh of wild\nbeasts and birds' eggs; for there are such multitudes of\nyoung game in the swamps as to provide for the natural\nincrease of their kind and to afford satisfaction to the\nneeds of the people. But still another race dwells there,\nthe Suehans, who, like the Thuringians, have splendid\nhorses. Here also are those who send through innumerable\nother tribes the sappherine skins to trade for Roman\nuse. They are a people famed for the dark beauty of\ntheir furs and, though living in poverty, are most richly\nclothed. Then comes a throng of various nations, Theustes,     22\nVagoth, Bergio, Hallin, Liothida. All their habitations\nare in one level and fertile region. Wherefore they\nare disturbed there by the attacks of other tribes. Behind\nthese are the Ahelmil, Finnaithae, Fervir and Gauthigoth,\na race of men bold and quick to fight. Then come the\nMixi, Evagre, and Otingis. All these live like wild animals\nin rocks hewn out like castles. And there are beyond     23\nthese the Ostrogoths, Raumarici, Aeragnaricii, and\nthe most gentle Finns, milder than all the inhabitants of\nScandza. Like them are the Vinovilith also. The Suetidi\nare of this stock and excel the rest in stature. However,\nthe Dani, who trace their origin to the same stock, drove\nfrom their homes the Heruli, who lay claim to pre\u00ebminence\namong all the nations of Scandza for their tallness.\nFurthermore there are in the same neighborhood the     24\nGrannii, Augandzi, Eunixi, Taetel, Rugi, Arochi and\nRanii, over whom Roduulf was king not many years ago.\nBut he despised his own kingdom and fled to the embrace\nof Theodoric, king of the Goths, finding there what he\ndesired. All these nations surpassed the Germans in size\nand spirit, and fought with the cruelty of wild beasts.\n\n(The United Goths)\n\n[Sidenote: HOW THE GOTHS CAME TO SCYTHIA]\n\nIV Now from this island of Scandza, as from a hive     25\nof races or a womb of nations, the Goths are said to have\ncome forth long ago under their king, Berig by name.\nAs soon as they disembarked from their ships and set\nfoot on the land, they straightway gave their name to the\nplace. And even to-day it is said to be called Gothiscandza.\nSoon they moved from here to the abodes of\nthe Ulmerugi, who then dwelt on the shores of Ocean,     26\nwhere they pitched camp, joined battle with them and\ndrove them from their homes. Then they subdued their\nneighbors, the Vandals, and thus added to their victories.\nBut when the number of the people increased greatly and\nFilimer, son of Gadaric, reigned as king--about the fifth\nsince Berig--he decided that the army of the Goths with\ntheir families should move from that region. In search     27\nof suitable homes and pleasant places they came to the\nland of Scythia, called Oium in that tongue. Here they\nwere delighted with the great richness of the country,\nand it is said that when half the army had been brought\nover, the bridge whereby they had crossed the river fell\nin utter ruin, nor could anyone thereafter pass to or fro.\nFor the place is said to be surrounded by quaking bogs\nand an encircling abyss, so that by this double obstacle\nnature has made it inaccessible. And even to-day one\nmay hear in that neighborhood the lowing of cattle and\nmay find traces of men, if we are to believe the stories\nof travellers, although we must grant that they hear these\nthings from afar.\n\nThis part of the Goths, which is said to have crossed     28\nthe river and entered with Filimer into the country of\nOium, came into possession of the desired land, and there\nthey soon came upon the race of the Spali, joined battle\nwith them and won the victory. Thence the victors hastened\nto the farthest part of Scythia, which is near the sea\nof Pontus; for so the story is generally told in their early\nsongs, in almost historic fashion. Ablabius also, a famous\nchronicler of the Gothic race, confirms this in his\nmost trustworthy account. Some of the ancient writers     29\nalso agree with the tale. Among these we may mention\nJosephus, a most reliable relator of annals, who everywhere\nfollows the rule of truth and unravels from the\nbeginning the origin of causes;--but why he has omitted\nthe beginnings of the race of the Goths, of which I have\nspoken, I do not know. He barely mentions Magog\nof that stock, and says they were Scythians by race and\nwere called so by name.\n\nBefore we enter on our history, we must describe the\nboundaries of this land, as it lies.\n\n[Sidenote: SCYTHIA]\n\nV Now Scythia borders on the land of Germany as     30\nfar as the source of the river Ister and the expanse of the\nMorsian Swamp. It reaches even to the rivers Tyra,\nDanaster and Vagosola, and the great Danaper, extending\nto the Taurus range--not the mountains in Asia but\nour own, that is, the Scythian Taurus--all the way to\nLake Maeotis. Beyond Lake Maeotis it spreads on the\nother side of the straits of Bosphorus to the Caucasus\nMountains and the river Araxes. Then it bends back to\nthe left behind the Caspian Sea, which comes from the\nnorth-eastern ocean in the most distant parts of Asia, and\nso is formed like a mushroom, at first narrow and then\nbroad and round in shape. It extends as far as the Huns,\nAlbani and Seres. This land, I say,--namely, Scythia,     31\nstretching far and spreading wide,--has on the east the\nSeres, a race that dwelt at the very beginning of their\nhistory on the shore of the Caspian Sea. On the west are\nthe Germans and the river Vistula; on the arctic side,\nnamely the north, it is surrounded by Ocean; on the south\nby Persis, Albania, Hiberia, Pontus and the farthest\nchannel of the Ister, which is called the Danube all the\nway from mouth to source. But in that region where     32\nScythia touches the Pontic coast it is dotted with towns\nof no mean fame:--Borysthenis, Olbia, Callipolis, Cherson,\nTheodosia, Careon, Myrmicion and Trapezus. These\ntowns the wild Scythian tribes allowed the Greeks to build\nto afford them means of trade. In the midst of Scythia is\nthe place that separates Asia and Europe, I mean the\nRhipaeian mountains, from which the mighty Tanais\nflows. This river enters Maeotis, a marsh having a circuit\nof one hundred and forty-four miles and never subsiding\nto a depth of less than eight fathoms.\n\nIn the land of Scythia to the westward dwells, first of     33\nall, the race of the Gepidae, surrounded by great and\nfamous rivers. For the Tisia flows through it on the\nnorth and northwest, and on the southwest is the great\nDanube. On the east it is cut by the Flutausis, a swiftly\neddying stream that sweeps whirling into the Ister's\nwaters. Within these rivers lies Dacia, encircled by the     34\nlofty Alps as by a crown. Near their left ridge, which\ninclines toward the north, and beginning at the source of\nthe Vistula, the populous race of the Venethi dwell, occupying\na great expanse of land. Though their names are\nnow dispersed amid various clans and places, yet they are\nchiefly called Sclaveni and Antes. The abode of the     35\nSclaveni extends from the city of Noviodunum and the\nlake called Mursianus to the Danaster, and northward as\nfar as the Vistula. They have swamps and forests for\ntheir cities. The Antes, who are the bravest of these\npeoples dwelling in the curve of the sea of Pontus, spread\nfrom the Danaster to the Danaper, rivers that are many\ndays' journey apart. But on the shore of Ocean, where     36\nthe floods of the river Vistula empty from three mouths,\nthe Vidivarii dwell, a people gathered out of various\ntribes. Beyond them the Aesti, a subject race, likewise\nhold the shore of Ocean. To the south dwell the Acatziri,\na very brave tribe ignorant of agriculture, who subsist\non their flocks and by hunting. Farther away and above     37\nthe Sea of Pontus are the abodes of the Bulgares, well\nknown from the wrongs done to them by reason of our\noppression. From this region the Huns, like a fruitful\nroot of bravest races, sprouted into two hordes of people.\nSome of these are called Altziagiri, others Sabiri; and\nthey have different dwelling places. The Altziagiri are\nnear Cherson, where the avaricious traders bring in the\ngoods of Asia. In summer they range the plains, their\nbroad domains, wherever the pasturage for their cattle\ninvites them, and betake themselves in winter beyond the\nSea of Pontus. Now the Hunuguri are known to us from\nthe fact that they trade in marten skins. But they have\nbeen cowed by their bolder neighbors.\n\n[Sidenote: THE THREE ABODES OF THE GOTHS]\n\nWe read that on their first migration the Goths dwelt     38\nin the land of Scythia near Lake Maeotis. On the second\nmigration they went to Moesia, Thrace and Dacia, and\nafter their third they dwelt again in Scythia, above the\nSea of Pontus. Nor do we find anywhere in their\nwritten records legends which tell of their subjection to\nslavery in Britain or in some other island, or of their\nredemption by a certain man at the cost of a single horse.\nOf course if anyone in our city says that the Goths had an\norigin different from that I have related, let him object.\nFor myself, I prefer to believe what I have read, rather\nthan put trust in old wives' tales.\n\nTo return, then, to my subject. The aforesaid race of     39\nwhich I speak is known to have had Filimer as king while\nthey remained in their first home in Scythia near Maeotis.\nIn their second home, that is in the countries of Dacia,\nThrace and Moesia, Zalmoxes reigned, whom many writers\nof annals mention as a man of remarkable learning in\nphilosophy. Yet even before this they had a learned man\nZeuta, and after him Dicineus; and the third was Zalmoxes\nof whom I have made mention above. Nor did\nthey lack teachers of wisdom. Wherefore the Goths have     40\never been wiser than other barbarians and were nearly\nlike the Greeks, as Dio relates, who wrote their history\nand annals with a Greek pen. He says that those of noble\nbirth among them, from whom their kings and priests\nwere appointed, were called first Tarabostesei and then\nPilleati. Moreover so highly were the Getae praised that\nMars, whom the fables of poets call the god of war, was\nreputed to have been born among them. Hence Virgil\nsays:\n\n      \"Father Gradivus rules the Getic fields.\"     41\n\nNow Mars has always been worshipped by the Goths\nwith cruel rites, and captives were slain as his victims.\nThey thought that he who is the lord of war ought to be\nappeased by the shedding of human blood. To him they\ndevoted the first share of the spoil, and in his honor arms\nstripped from the foe were suspended from trees. And\nthey had more than all other races a deep spirit of religion,\nsince the worship of this god seemed to be really\nbestowed upon their ancestor.\n\nIn their third dwelling place, which was above the Sea     42\nof Pontus, they had now become more civilized and, as I\nhave said before, were more learned. Then the people\nwere divided under ruling families. The Visigoths served\nthe family of the Balthi and the Ostrogoths served the\nrenowned Amali. They were the first race of men to     43\nstring the bow with cords, as Lucan, who is more of a\nhistorian than a poet, affirms:\n\n      \"They string Armenian bows with Getic cords.\"\n\n[Sidenote: THE RIVER DON]\n\n[Sidenote: THE DNIEPER]\n\nIn earliest times they sang of the deeds of their ancestors\nin strains of song accompanied by the cithara; chanting\nof Eterpamara, Hanala, Fritigern, Vidigoia and\nothers whose fame among them is great; such heroes as\nadmiring antiquity scarce proclaims its own to be. Then,     44\nas the story goes, Vesosis waged a war disastrous to\nhimself against the Scythians, whom ancient tradition\nasserts to have been the husbands of the Amazons. Concerning\nthese female warriors Orosius speaks in convincing\nlanguage. Thus we can clearly prove that Vesosis\nthen fought with the Goths, since we know surely that he\nwaged war with the husbands of the Amazons. They\ndwelt at that time along a bend of Lake Maeotis, from\nthe river Borysthenes, which the natives call the Danaper,\nto the stream of the Tanais. By the Tanais I mean the      45\nriver which flows down from the Rhipaeian mountains\nand rushes with so swift a current that when the neighboring\nstreams or Lake Maeotis and the Bosphorus are\nfrozen fast, it is the only river that is kept warm by the\nrugged mountains and is never solidified by the Scythian\ncold. It is also famous as the boundary of Asia and\nEurope. For the other Tanais is the one which rises in\nthe mountains of the Chrinni and flows into the Caspian\nSea. The Danaper begins in a great marsh and issues     46\nfrom it as from its mother. It is sweet and fit to drink\nas far as half-way down its course. It also produces fish\nof a fine flavor and without bones, having only cartilage\nas the frame-work of their bodies. But as it approaches\nthe Pontus it receives a little spring called Exampaeus,\nso very bitter that although the river is navigable for the\nlength of a forty days' voyage, it is so altered by the\nwater of this scanty stream as to become tainted and\nunlike itself, and flows thus tainted into the sea between\nthe Greek towns of Callipidae and Hypanis. At its mouth\nthere is an island named Achilles. Between these two\nrivers is a vast land filled with forests and treacherous\nswamps.\n\n[Sidenote: DEFEAT OF VESOSIS (SESOSTRIS)]\n\nVI This was the region where the Goths dwelt when     47\nVesosis, king of the Egyptians, made war upon them.\nTheir king at that time was Tanausis. In a battle at the\nriver Phasis (whence come the birds called pheasants,\nwhich are found in abundance at the banquets of the great\nall over the world) Tanausis, king of the Goths, met\nVesosis, king of the Egyptians, and there inflicted a\nsevere defeat upon him, pursuing him even to Egypt.\nHad he not been restrained by the waters of the impassable\nNile and the fortifications which Vesosis had long\nago ordered to be made against the raids of the Ethiopians,\nhe would have slain him in his own land. But\nfinding he had no power to injure him there, he returned\nand conquered almost all Asia and made it subject and\ntributary to Sornus, king of the Medes, who was then his\ndear friend. At that time some of his victorious army,\nseeing that the subdued provinces were rich and fruitful,\ndeserted their companies and of their own accord\nremained in various parts of Asia.\n\nFrom their name or race Pompeius Trogus says the     48\nstock of the Parthians had its origin. Hence even to-day\nin the Scythian tongue they are called Parthi, that is,\nDeserters. And in consequence of their descent they are\narchers--almost alone among all the nations of Asia--and\nare very valiant warriors. Now in regard to the\nname, though I have said they were called Parthi because\nthey were deserters, some have traced the derivation of\nthe word otherwise, saying that they were called Parthi\nbecause they fled from their kinsmen. Now when this\nTanausis, king of the Goths, was dead, his people worshipped\nhim as one of their gods.\n\n[Sidenote: THE AMAZONS IN ASIA MINOR]\n\nVII After his death, while the army under his successors     49\nwas engaged in an expedition in other parts, a\nneighboring tribe attempted to carry off women of the\nGoths as booty. But they made a brave resistance, as\nthey had been taught to do by their husbands, and routed\nin disgrace the enemy who had come upon them. When\nthey had won this victory, they were inspired with greater\ndaring. Mutually encouraging each other, they took up\narms and chose two of the bolder, Lampeto and Marpesia,\nto act as their leaders. While they were in command,     50\nthey cast lots both for the defense of their own country\nand the devastation of other lands. So Lampeto remained\nto guard their native land and Marpesia took a company\nof women and led this novel army into Asia. After conquering\nvarious tribes in war and making others their\nallies by treaties, she came to the Caucasus. There she\nremained for some time and gave the place the name Rock\nof Marpesia, of which also Virgil makes mention:\n\n      \"Like to hard flint or the Marpesian Cliff.\"\n\nIt was here Alexander the Great afterwards built gates\nand named them the Caspian Gates, which now the tribe\nof the Lazi guard as a Roman fortification. Here, then,     51\nthe Amazons remained for some time and were much\nstrengthened. Then they departed and crossed the river\nHalys, which flows near the city of Gangra, and with\nequal success subdued Armenia, Syria, Cilicia, Galatia,\nPisidia and all the places of Asia. Then they turned to\nIonia and Aeolia, and made provinces of them after their\nsurrender. Here they ruled for some time and even\nfounded cities and camps bearing their name. At Ephesus\nalso they built a very costly and beautiful temple for\nDiana, because of her delight in archery and the chase--arts\nto which they were themselves devoted. Then these     52\nScythian-born women, who had by such a chance gained\ncontrol over the kingdoms of Asia, held them for almost\na hundred years, and at last came back to their own kinsfolk\nin the Marpesian rocks I have mentioned above,\nnamely the Caucasus mountains.\n\n[Sidenote: THE CAUCASUS]\n\nInasmuch as I have twice mentioned this mountain-range,\nI think it not out of place to describe its extent and\nsituation, for, as is well known, it encompasses a great\npart of the earth with its continuous chain. Beginning     53\nat the Indian Ocean, where it faces the south it is warm,\ngiving off vapor in the sun; where it lies open to the\nnorth it is exposed to chill winds and frost. Then bending\nback into Syria with a curving turn, it not only sends\nforth many other streams, but pours from its plenteous\nbreasts into the Vasianensian region the Euphrates and\nthe Tigris, navigable rivers famed for their unfailing\nsprings. These rivers surround the land of the Syrians\nand cause it to be called Mesopotamia, as it truly is. Their\nwaters empty into the bosom of the Red Sea. Then turning     54\nback to the north, the range I have spoken of passes\nwith great bends through the Scythian lands. There it\nsends forth very famous rivers into the Caspian Sea--the\nAraxes, the Cyrus and the Cambyses. It goes on in continuous\nrange even to the Rhipaeian mountains. Thence\nit descends from the north toward the Pontic Sea, furnishing\na boundary to the Scythian tribes by its ridge, and\neven touches the waters of the Ister with its clustered\nhills. Being cut by this river, it divides, and in Scythia\nis named Taurus also. Such then is the great range,     55\nalmost the mightiest of mountain chains, rearing aloft its\nsummits and by its natural conformation supplying men\nwith impregnable strongholds. Here and there it divides\nwhere the ridge breaks apart and leaves a deep gap, thus\nforming now the Caspian Gates, and again the Armenian\nor the Cilician, or of whatever name the place may be.\nYet they are barely passable for a wagon, for both sides\nare sharp and steep as well as very high. The range has\ndifferent names among various peoples. The Indian calls\nit Imaus and in another part Paropamisus. The Parthian\ncalls it first Choatras and afterward Niphates; the Syrian\nand Armenian call it Taurus; the Scythian names it Caucasus\nand Rhipaeus, and at its end calls it Taurus. Many\nother tribes have given names to the range. Now that we\nhave devoted a few words to describing its extent, let us\nreturn to the subject of the Amazons.\n\n[Sidenote: THE AMAZONS]\n\nVIII Fearing their race would fail, they sought marriage     56\nwith neighboring tribes. They appointed a day for\nmeeting once in every year, so that when they should\nreturn to the same place on that day in the following year\neach mother might give over to the father whatever male\nchild she had borne, but should herself keep and train for\nwarfare whatever children of the female sex were born.\nOr else, as some maintain, they exposed the males, destroying\nthe life of the ill-fated child with a hate like\nthat of a stepmother. Among them childbearing was\ndetested, though everywhere else it is desired. The terror     57\nof their cruelty was increased by common rumor; for\nwhat hope, pray, would there be for a captive, when it\nwas considered wrong to spare even a son? Hercules,\nthey say, fought against them and overcame Menalippe,\nyet more by guile than by valor. Theseus, moreover, took\nHippolyte captive, and of her he begat Hippolytus. And\nin later times the Amazons had a queen named Penthesilea,\nfamed in the tales of the Trojan war. These women\nare said to have kept their power even to the time of\nAleander the Great.\n\n[Sidenote: REIGN OF TELEFUS AND EURYPYLUS]\n\nIX But say not \"Why does a story which deals with     58\nthe men of the Goths have so much to say of their women?\"\nHear, then, the tale of the famous and glorious\nvalor of the men. Now Dio, the historian and diligent\ninvestigator of ancient times, who gave to his work the\ntitle \"Getica\" (and the Getae we have proved in a previous\npassage to be Goths, on the testimony of Orosius\nPaulus)--this Dio, I say, makes mention of a later king\nof theirs named Telefus. Let no one say that this name\nis quite foreign to the Gothic tongue, and let no one who\nis ignorant cavil at the fact that the tribes of men make\nuse of many names, even as the Romans borrow from the\nMacedonians, the Greeks from the Romans, the Sarmatians\nfrom the Germans, and the Goths frequently from\nthe Huns. This Telefus, then, a son of Hercules by     59\nAuge, and the husband of a sister of Priam, was of\ntowering stature and terrible strength. He matched his\nfather's valor by virtues of his own and also recalled the\ntraits of Hercules by his likeness in appearance. Our\nancestors called his kingdom Moesia. This province has\non the east the mouths of the Danube, on the south\nMacedonia, on the west Histria and on the north the\nDanube. Now this king we have mentioned carried on     60\nwars with the Greeks, and in their course he slew in battle\nThesander, the leader of Greece. But while he was making\na hostile attack upon Ajax and was pursuing Ulysses,\nhis horse became entangled in some vines and fell. He\nhimself was thrown and wounded in the thigh by a javelin\nof Achilles, so that for a long time he could not be healed.\nYet, despite his wound, he drove the Greeks from his\nland. Now when Telefus died, his son Eurypylus succeeded\nto the throne, being a son of the sister of Priam,\nking of the Phrygians. For love of Cassandra he sought\nto take part in the Trojan war, that he might come to the\nhelp of her parents and his own father-in-law; but soon\nafter his arrival he was killed.\n\n[Sidenote: Cyrus the Great B.C. 559-529]\n\n[Sidenote: QUEEN TOMYRIS AND CYRUS B.C. 529]\n\nX Then Cyrus, king of the Persians, after a long     61\ninterval of almost exactly six hundred and thirty years\n(as Pompeius Trogus relates), waged an unsuccessful\nwar against Tomyris, Queen of the Getae. Elated by his\nvictories in Asia, he strove to conquer the Getae, whose\nqueen, as I have said, was Tomyris. Though she could\nhave stopped the approach of Cyrus at the river Araxes,\nyet she permitted him to cross, preferring to overcome\nhim in battle rather than to thwart him by advantage of     62\nposition. And so she did. As Cyrus approached, fortune\nat first so favored the Parthians that they slew the son\nof Tomyris and most of the army. But when the battle\nwas renewed, the Getae and their queen defeated, conquered\nand overwhelmed the Parthians and took rich\nplunder from them. There for the first time the race of\nthe Goths saw silken tents. After achieving this victory\nand winning so much booty from her enemies, Queen\nTomyris crossed over into that part of Moesia which is\nnow called Lesser Scythia--a name borrowed from great\nScythia,--and built on the Moesian shore of Pontus the\ncity of Tomi, named after herself.\n\n[Sidenote: DARIUS B.C. 521-485]\n\n[Sidenote: DARIUS REPELLED]\n\nAfterwards Darius, king of the Persians, the son of     63\nHystaspes, demanded in marriage the daughter of Antyrus,\nking of the Goths, asking for her hand and at the\nsame time making threats in case they did not fulfil his\nwish. The Goths spurned this alliance and brought his\nembassy to naught. Inflamed with anger because his\noffer had been rejected, he led an army of seven hundred\nthousand armed men against them and sought to avenge\nhis wounded feelings by inflicting a public injury. Crossing\non boats covered with boards and joined like a bridge\nalmost the whole way from Chalcedon to Byzantium, he\nstarted for Thrace and Moesia. Later he built a bridge\nover the Danube in like manner, but he was wearied by\ntwo brief months of effort and lost eight thousand armed\nmen among the Tapae. Then, fearing the bridge over the\nDanube would be seized by his foes, he marched back to\nThrace in swift retreat, believing the land of Moesia\nwould not be safe for even a short sojourn there.\n\n[Sidenote: Xerxes B.C. 485-465]\n\nAfter his death, his son Xerxes planned to avenge his     64\nfather's wrongs and so proceeded to undertake a war\nagainst the Goths with seven hundred thousand of his\nown men and three hundred thousand armed auxiliaries,\ntwelve hundred ships of war and three thousand transports.\nBut he did not venture to try them in battle, being\noverawed by their unyielding animosity. So he returned\nwith his force just as he had come, and without righting\na single battle.\n\n[Sidenote: Philip of Macedon B.C. 359-336]\n\n[Sidenote: SIEGE OF ODESSUS]\n\nThen Philip, the father of Alexander the Great, made     65\nalliance with the Goths and took to wife Medopa, the\ndaughter of King Gudila, so that he might render the\nkingdom of Macedon more secure by the help of this\nmarriage. It was at this time, as the historian Dio relates,\nthat Philip, suffering from need of money, determined\nto lead out his forces and sack Odessus, a city of\nMoesia, which was then subject to the Goths by reason of\nthe neighboring city of Tomi. Thereupon those priests\nof the Goths that are called the Holy Men suddenly\nopened the gates of Odessus and came forth to meet them.\nThey bore harps and were clad in snowy robes, and\nchanted in suppliant strains to the gods of their fathers\nthat they might be propitious and repel the Macedonians.\nWhen the Macedonians saw them coming with such confidence\nto meet them, they were astonished and, so to\nspeak, the armed were terrified by the unarmed. Straight-way\nthey broke the line they had formed for battle and\nnot only refrained from destroying the city, but even\ngave back those whom they had captured outside by right\nof war. Then they made a truce and returned to their\nown country.\n\nAfter a long time Sitalces, a famous leader of the     66\nGoths, remembering this treacherous attempt, gathered a\nhundred and fifty thousand men and made war upon the\nAthenians, fighting against Perdiccas, King of Macedon.\nThis Perdiccas had been left by Alexander as his successor\nto rule Athens by hereditary right, when he drank his\ndestruction at Babylon through the treachery of an attendant.\nThe Goths engaged in a great battle with him\nand proved themselves to be the stronger. Thus in return\nfor the wrong which the Macedonians had long before\ncommitted in Moesia, the Goths overran Greece and laid\nwaste the whole of Macedonia.\n\n[Sidenote: Sulla's Dictatorship B.C. 82-79]\n\n[Sidenote: THE WISE RULE OF DICINEUS]\n\n[Sidenote: Caesar's Dictatorship B.C. 49-44]\n\n[Sidenote: Tiberius A.D. 14-37]\n\nXI Then when Buruista was king of the Goths,     67\nDicineus came to Gothia at the time when Sulla ruled the\nRomans. Buruista received Dicineus and gave him almost\nroyal power. It was by his advice the Goths ravaged\nthe lands of the Germans, which the Franks now possess.     68\nThen came Caesar, the first of all the Romans to assume\nimperial power and to subdue almost the whole world,\nwho conquered all kingdoms and even seized islands lying\nbeyond our world, reposing in the bosom of Ocean. He\nmade tributary to the Romans those that knew not the\nRoman name even by hearsay, and yet was unable to prevail\nagainst the Goths, despite his frequent attempts.\nSoon Gaius Tiberius reigned as third emperor of the\nRomans, and yet the Goths continued in their kingdom\nunharmed. Their safety, their advantage, their one hope     69\nlay in this, that whatever their counsellor Dicineus advised\nshould by all means be done; and they judged it\nexpedient that they should labor for its accomplishment.\nAnd when he saw that their minds were obedient to him\nin all things and that they had natural ability, he taught\nthem almost the whole of philosophy, for he was a skilled\nmaster of this subject. Thus by teaching them ethics he\nrestrained their barbarous customs; by imparting a knowledge\nof physics he made them live naturally under laws\nof their own, which they possess in written form to this\nday and call _belagines_. He taught them logic and made\nthem skilled in reasoning beyond all other races; he\nshowed them practical knowledge and so persuaded them\nto abound in good works. By demonstrating theoretical\nknowledge he urged them to contemplate the twelve signs\nand the courses of the planets passing through them, and\nthe whole of astronomy. He told them how the disc of\nthe moon gains increase or suffers loss, and showed them\nhow much the fiery globe of the sun exceeds in size our\nearthly planet. He explained the names of the three hundred\nand forty-six stars and told through what signs in\nthe arching vault of the heavens they glide swiftly from\ntheir rising to their setting. Think, I pray you, what     70\npleasure it was for these brave men, when for a little\nspace they had leisure from warfare, to be instructed in\nthe teachings of philosophy! You might have seen one\nscanning the position of the heavens and another investigating\nthe nature of plants and bushes. Here stood one\nwho studied the waxing and waning of the moon, while\nstill another regarded the labors of the sun and observed\nhow those bodies which were hastening to go toward the\neast are whirled around and borne back to the west by\nthe rotation of the heavens. When they had learned the     71\nreason, they were at rest. These and various other matters\nDicineus taught the Goths in his wisdom and gained\nmarvellous repute among them, so that he ruled not only\nthe common men but their kings. He chose from among\nthem those that were at that time of noblest birth and\nsuperior wisdom and taught them theology, bidding them\nworship certain divinities and holy places. He gave the\nname of Pilleati to the priests he ordained, I suppose\nbecause they offered sacrifice having their heads covered\nwith tiaras, which we otherwise call _pillei_. But he bade\nthem call the rest of their race Capillati. This name the     72\nGoths accepted and prized highly and they retain it to\nthis day in their songs.\n\nAfter the death of Dicineus, they held Comosicus in     73\nalmost equal honor, because he was not inferior in knowledge.\nBy reason of his wisdom he was accounted their\npriest and king, and he judged the people with the greatest\nuprightness.\n\n[Sidenote: DACIA]\n\nXII When he too had departed from human affairs,\nCoryllus ascended the throne as king of the Goths and for\nforty years ruled his people in Dacia. I mean ancient\nDacia, which the race of the Gepidae now possess. This\ncountry lies across the Danube within sight of Moesia,     74\nand is surrounded by a crown of mountains. It has only\ntwo ways of access, one by way of the Boutae and the\nother by the Tapae. This Gothia, which our ancestors\ncalled Dacia and now, as I have said, is called Gepidia,\nwas then bounded on the east by the Roxolani, on the west\nby the Iazyges, on the north by the Sarmatians and Basternae\nand on the south by the river Danube. The Iazyges\nare separated from the Roxolani by the Aluta river only.\n\n[Sidenote: THE DANUBE]\n\nAnd since mention has been made of the Danube, I     75\nthink it not out of place to make brief notice of so excellent\na stream. Rising in the fields of the Alamanni, it\nreceives sixty streams which flow into it here and there\nin the twelve hundred miles from its source to its mouths\nin the Pontus, resembling a spine inwoven with ribs like\na basket. It is indeed a most vast river. In the language\nof the Bessi it is called the Hister, and it has profound\nwaters in its channel to a depth of quite two hundred feet.\nThis stream surpasses in size all other rivers, except the\nNile. Let this much suffice for the Danube. But let us\nnow with the Lord's help return to the subject from which\nwe have digressed.\n\n[Sidenote: Domitian A.D. 81-96]\n\n[Sidenote: WAR WITH DOMITIAN]\n\nXIII Now after a long time, in the reign of the     76\nEmperor Domitian, the Goths, through fear of his avarrice,\nbroke the truce they had long observed under other\nemperors. They laid waste the bank of the Danube, so\nlong held by the Roman Empire, and slew the soldiers and\ntheir generals. Oppius Sabinus was then in command of\nthat province, succeeding Agrippa, while Dorpaneus held\ncommand over the Goths. Thereupon the Goths made\nwar and conquered the Romans, cut off the head of\nOppius Sabinus, and invaded and boldly plundered many\ncastles and cities belonging to the Emperor. In this plight     77\nof his countrymen Domitian hastened with all his might\nto Illyricum, bringing with him the troops of almost\nthe entire empire. He sent Fuscus before him as his\ngeneral with picked soldiers. Then joining boats together\nlike a bridge, he made his soldiers cross the river\nDanube above the army of Dorpaneus. But the Goths     78\nwere on the alert. They took up arms and presently overwhelmed\nthe Romans in the first encounter. They slew\nFuscus, the commander, and plundered the soldiers' camp\nof its treasure. And because of the great victory they\nhad won in this region, they thereafter called their leaders,\nby whose good fortune they seemed to have conquered,\nnot mere men, but demigods, that is Ansis. Their\ngenealogy I shall run through briefly, telling the lineage\nof each and the beginning and the end of this line. And\ndo thou, O reader, hear me without repining; for I speak\ntruly.\n\n[Sidenote: GENEALOGY OF THE ANSIS OR AMALI]\n\nXIV Now the first of these heroes, as they themselves     79\nrelate in their legends, was Gapt, who begat\nHulmul. And Hulmul begat Augis; and Augis begat\nhim who was called Amal, from whom the name of the\nAmali comes. This Amal begat Hisarnis. Hisarnis\nmoreover begat Ostrogotha, and Ostrogotha begat Hunuil,\nand Hunuil likewise begat Athal. Athal begat\nAchiulf and Oduulf. Now Achiulf begat Ansila and\nEdiulf, Vultuulf and Hermanaric. And Vultuulf begat\nValaravans and Valaravans begat Vinitharius. Vinitharius\nmoreover begat Vandalarius; Vandalarius begat     80\nThiudimer and Valamir and Vidimer; and Thiudimer\nbegat Theodoric. Theodoric begat Amalasuentha; Amalasuentha\nbore Athalaric and Mathesuentha to her husband\nEutharic, whose race was thus joined to hers in\nkinship. For the aforesaid Hermanaric, the son of     81\nAchiulf, begat Hunimund, and Hunimund begat Thorismud.\nNow Thorismud begat Beremud, Beremud begat\nVeteric, and Veteric likewise begat Eutharic, who married\nAmalasuentha and begat Athalaric and Mathesuentha.\nAthalaric died in the years of his childhood, and\nMathesuentha married Vitiges, to whom she bore no\nchild. Both of them were taken together by Belisarius to\nConstantinople. When Vitiges passed from human affairs,\nGermanus the patrician, a cousin of the Emperor\nJustinian, took Mathesuentha in marriage and made her\na Patrician Ordinary. And of her he begat a son, also\ncalled Germanus. But upon the death of Germanus, she\ndetermined to remain a widow. Now how and in what\nwise the kingdom of the Amali was overthrown we shall\nkeep to tell in its proper place, if the Lord help us.\n\nBut let us now return to the point whence we made our     82\ndigression and tell how the stock of this people of whom\nI speak reached the end of its course. Now Ablabius the\nhistorian relates that in Scythia, where we have said that\nthey were dwelling above an arm of the Pontic Sea, part\nof them who held the eastern region and whose king was\nOstrogotha, were called Ostrogoths, that is, eastern\nGoths, either from his name or from the place. But the\nrest were called Visigoths, that is, the Goths of the western\ncountry.\n\n[Sidenote: MAXIMINUS, THE GOTH WHO BECAME A ROMAN EMPEROR]\n\n[Sidenote: Septimius Severus A.D. 193-211]\n\n[Sidenote: Antoninus Caracalla A.D. 198-217]\n\n[Sidenote: Macrinus A.D. 217-218]\n\n[Sidenote: Antoninus Elagabalus A.D. 218-222]\n\n[Sidenote: Alexander A.D. 222-235]\n\n[Sidenote: Maximinus A.D. 235-238]\n\n[Sidenote: Pupienus A.D. 238]\n\nXV As already said, they crossed the Danube and     83\ndwelt a little while in Moesia and Thrace. From the\nremnant of these came Maximinus, the Emperor succeeding\nAlexander the son of Mama. For Symmachus relates\nit thus in the fifth book of his history, saying that\nupon the death of Caesar Alexander, Maximinus was\nmade Emperor by the army; a man born in Thrace of\nmost humble parentage, his father being a Goth named\nMicca, and his mother a woman of the Alani called\nAbaba. He reigned three years and lost alike his empire\nand his life while making war on the Christians. Now     84\nafter his first years spent in rustic life, he had come from\nhis flocks to military service in the reign of the Emperor\nSeverus and at the time when he was celebrating his\nson's birthday. It happened that the Emperor was giving\nmilitary games. When Maximinus saw this, although he\nwas a semi-barbarian youth, he besought the Emperor in\nhis native tongue to give him permission to wrestle with     85\nthe trained soldiers for the prizes offered. Severus marvelling\nmuch at his great size--for his stature, it is said,\nwas more than eight feet,--bade him contend in wrestling\nwith the camp followers, in order that no injury might\nbefall his soldiers at the hands of this wild fellow. Thereupon\nMaximinus threw sixteen attendants with so great\nease that he conquered them one by one without taking\nany rest by pausing between the bouts. So then, when\nhe had won the prizes, it was ordered that he should be\nsent into the army and should take his first campaign with\nthe cavalry. On the third day after this, when the Emperor\nwent out to the field, he saw him coursing about\nin barbarian fashion and bade a tribune restrain him and\nteach him Roman discipline. But when he understood\nit was the Emperor who was speaking about him, he came     86\nforward and began to run ahead of him as he rode. Then\nthe Emperor spurred on his horse to a slow trot and\nwheeled in many a circle hither and thither with various\nturns, until he was weary. And then he said to him \"Are\nyou willing to wrestle now after your running, my little\nThracian?\" \"As much as you like, O Emperor,\" he\nanswered. So Severus leaped from his horse and ordered\nthe freshest soldiers to wrestle with him. But he threw\nto the ground seven very powerful youths, even as before,\ntaking no breathing space between the bouts. So he alone\nwas given prizes of silver and a golden necklace by Caesar.\nThen he was bidden to serve in the body guard of\nthe Emperor. After this he was an officer under Antoninus     87\nCaracalla, often increasing his fame by his deeds,\nand rose to many military grades and finally to the centurionship\nas the reward of his active service. Yet afterwards,\nwhen Macrinus became Emperor, he refused military\nservice for almost three years, and though he held\nthe office of tribune, he never came into the presence of\nMacrinus, thinking his rule shameful because he had won\nit by committing a crime. Then he returned to Eliogabalus,     88\nbelieving him to be the son of Antoninus, and\nentered upon his tribuneship. After his reign, he fought\nwith marvellous success against the Parthians, under\nAlexander the son of Mama. When he was slain in an\nuprising of the soldiers at Mogontiacum, Maximinus\nhimself was made Emperor by a vote of the army, without\na decree of the senate. But he marred all his good\ndeeds by persecuting the Christians in accordance with\nan evil vow and, being slain by Pupienus at Aquileia, left\nthe kingdom to Philip. These matters we have borrowed\nfrom the history of Symmachus for this our little book,\nin order to show that the race of which we speak attained\nto the very highest station in the Roman Empire. But\nour subject requires us to return in due order to the point\nwhence we digressed.\n\n[Sidenote: KING OSTROGOTHA WARS WITH PHILIP]\n\n[Sidenote: Philip pater A.D. 244-249 \"The Arabian\"]\n\n[Sidenote: Philip filius A.D. 247-249]\n\nXVI Now the Gothic race gained great fame in the     89\nregion where they were then dwelling, that is in the\nScythian land on the shore of Pontus, holding undisputed\nsway over great stretches of country, many arms of the\nsea and many river courses. By their strong right arm\nthe Vandals were often laid low, the Marcomanni held\ntheir footing by paying tribute and the princes of the\nQuadi were reduced to slavery. Now when the aforesaid\nPhilip--who, with his son Philip, was the only Christian\nemperor before Constantine--ruled over the Romans, in\nthe second year of his reign Rome completed its one\nthousandth year. He withheld from the Goths the tribute\ndue them; whereupon they were naturally enraged and\ninstead of friends became his foes. For though they dwelt\napart under their own kings, yet they had been allied to\nthe Roman state and received annual gifts. And what     90\nmore? Ostrogotha and his men soon crossed the Danube\nand ravaged Moesia and Thrace. Philip sent the senator\nDecius against him. And since he could do nothing\nagainst the Getae, he released his own soldiers from military\nservice and sent them back to private life, as though\nit had been by their neglect that the Goths had crossed the\nDanube. When, as he supposed, he had thus taken vengeance\non his soldiers, he returned to Philip. But when\nthe soldiers found themselves expelled from the army\nafter so many hardships, in their anger they had recourse\nto the protection of Ostrogotha, king of the Goths. He     91\nreceived them, was aroused by their words and presently\nled out three hundred thousand armed men, having as\nallies for this war some of the Taifali and Astringi and\nalso three thousand of the Carpi, a race of men very ready\nto make war and frequently hostile to the Romans. But\nin later times when Diocletian and Maximian were Emperors,\nthe Caesar Galerius Maximianus conquered them\nand made them tributary to the Roman Empire. Besides\nthese tribes, Ostrogotha had Goths and Peucini from the\nisland of Peuc\u00eb, which lies in the mouths of the Danube\nwhere they empty into the Sea of Pontus. He placed in\ncommand Argaithus and Guntheric, the noblest leaders     92\nof his race. They speedily crossed the Danube, devastated\nMoesia a second time and approached Marcianople,\nthe famed metropolis of that land. Yet after a long siege\nthey departed, upon receiving money from the inhabitants.\n\n[Sidenote: MARCIANOPLE]\n\n[Sidenote: THE GEPIDAE AND THEIR DEFEAT BY OSTROGOTHA]\n\nNow since we have mentioned Marcianople, we may     93\nbriefly relate a few matters in connection with its founding.\nThey say that the Emperor Trajan built this city\nfor the following reason. While his sister's daughter\nMarcia was bathing in the stream called Potamus--a\nriver of great clearness and purity that rises in the midst\nof the city--she wished to draw some water from it and\nby chance dropped into its depths the golden pitcher she\nwas carrying. Yet though very heavy from its weight\nof metal, it emerged from the waves a long time afterwards.\nIt surely is not a usual thing for an empty vessel\nto sink; much less that, when once swallowed up, it should\nbe cast up by the waves and float again. Trajan marvelled\nat hearing this and believed there was some divinity\nin the stream. So he built a city and called it Marcianople\nafter the name of his sister.\n\nXVII From this city, then, as we were saying, the     94\nGetae returned after a long siege to their own land, enriched\nby the ransom they had received. Now the race\nof the Gepidae was moved with envy when they saw them\nladen with booty and so suddenly victorious everywhere,\nand made war on their kinsmen. Should you ask how\nthe Getae and Gepidae are kinsmen, I can tell you in a\nfew words. You surely remember that in the beginning\nI said the Goths went forth from the bosom of the island\nof Scandza with Berig, their king, sailing in only three\nships toward the hither shore of Ocean, namely to\nGothiscandza. One of these three ships proved to be     95\nslower than the others, as is usually the case, and thus is\nsaid to have given the tribe their name, for in their\nlanguage _gepanta_ means slow. Hence it came to pass\nthat gradually and by corruption the name Gepidae was\ncoined for them by way of reproach. For undoubtedly\nthey too trace their origin from the stock of the Goths,\nbut because, as I have said, _gepanta_ means something\nslow and stolid, the word Gepidae arose as a gratuitous\nname of reproach. I do not believe this is very far\nwrong, for they are slow of thought and too sluggish for\nquick movement of their bodies.\n\nThese Gepidae were then smitten by envy while they     96\ndwelt in the province of Spesis on an island surrounded\nby the shallow waters of the Vistula. This island they\ncalled, in the speech of their fathers, Gepedoios; but it is\nnow inhabited by the race of the Vividarii, since the\nGepidae themselves have moved to better lands. The\nVividarii are gathered from various races into this one\nasylum, if I may call it so, and thus they form a nation.\nSo then, as we were saying, Fastida, king of the Gepidae,     97\nstirred up his quiet people to enlarge their boundaries by\nwar. He overwhelmed the Burgundians, almost annihilating\nthem, and conquered a number of other races also.\nHe unjustly provoked the Goths, being the first to break\nthe bonds of kinship by unseemly strife. He was greatly\npuffed up with vain glory, but in seeking to acquire new\nlands for his growing nation, he only reduced the numbers\nof his own countrymen. For he sent ambassadors     98\nto Ostrogotha, to whose rule Ostrogoths and Visigoths\nalike, that is, the two peoples of the same tribe, were still\nsubject. Complaining that he was hemmed in by rugged\nmountains and dense forests, he demanded one of two\nthings,--that Ostrogotha should either prepare for war\nor give up part of his lands to them. Then Ostrogotha,     99\nking of the Goths, who was a man of firm mind, answered\nthe ambassadors that he did indeed dread such a\nwar and that it would be a grievous and infamous thing\nto join battle with their kin,--but he would not give up\nhis lands. And why say more? The Gepidae hastened\nto take arms and Ostrogotha likewise moved his forces\nagainst them, lest he should seem a coward. They met\nat the town of Galtis, near which the river Auha flows\nand there both sides fought with great valor; indeed the\nsimilarity of their arms and of their manner of fighting\nturned them against their own men. But the better cause\nand their natural alertness aided the Goths. Finally night     100\nput an end to the battle as a part of the Gepidae were\ngiving way. Then Fastida, king of the Gepidae, left the\nfield of slaughter and hastened to his own land, as much\nhumiliated with shame and disgrace as formerly he had\nbeen elated with pride. The Goths returned victorious,\ncontent with the retreat of the Gepidae, and dwelt in\npeace and happiness in their own land so long as Ostrogotha\nwas their leader.\n\n[Sidenote: KING CNIVA AT WAR WITH DECIUS]\n\n[Sidenote: Decius A.D. 249-251]\n\n[Sidenote: Capture of Philippopolis A.D. 250]\n\n[Sidenote: Death of Decius at Abrittus A.D. 251]\n\nXVIII After his death, Cniva divided the army into     101\ntwo parts and sent some to waste Moesia, knowing that it\nwas undefended through the neglect of the emperors.\nHe himself with seventy thousand men hastened to\nEuscia, that is, Novae. When driven from this place by\nthe general Gallus, he approached Nicopolis, a very famous\ntown situated near the Iatrus river. This city\nTrajan built when he conquered the Sarmatians and\nnamed it the City of Victory. When the Emperor Decius\ndrew near, Cniva at last withdrew to the regions of\nHaemus, which were not far distant. Thence he hastened\nto Philippopolis, with his forces in good array. When     102\nthe Emperor Decius learned of his departure, he was\neager to bring relief to his own city and, crossing Mount\nHaemus, came to Beroa. While he was resting his horses\nand his weary army in that place, all at once Cniva and\nhis Goths fell upon him like a thunderbolt. He cut the\nRoman army to pieces and drove the Emperor, with a\nfew who had succeeded in escaping, across the Alps again\nto Euscia in Moesia, where Gallus was then stationed\nwith a large force of soldiers as guardian of the frontier.\nCollecting an army from this region as well as from\nOescus, he prepared for the conflict of the coming war.\nBut Cniva took Philippopolis after a long siege and then,     103\nladen with spoil, allied himself to Priscus, the commander\nin the city, to fight against Decius. In the battle that\nfollowed they quickly pierced the son of Decius with an\narrow and cruelly slew him. The father saw this, and\nalthough he is said to have exclaimed, to cheer the hearts\nof his soldiers: \"Let no one mourn; the death of one\nsoldier is not a great loss to the republic\", he was yet\nunable to endure it, because of his love for his son. So\nhe rode against the foe, demanding either death or vengeance,\nand when he came to Abrittus, a city of Moesia,\nhe was himself cut off by the Goths and slain, thus making\nan end of his dominion and of his life. This place\nis to-day called the Altar of Decius, because he there\noffered strange sacrifices to idols before the battle.\n\n(THE GOTHS IN THE TIME OF GALLUS, VOLUSIANUS AND AEMILIANUS)\n\n[Sidenote: Gallus A.D. 251-253]\n\n[Sidenote: Volusianus A.D. 252-253]\n\n[Sidenote: Aemilianus A.D. 253]\n\n[Sidenote: The Plague A.D. 252-267]\n\n[Sidenote: Gallienus A.D. 253-268]\n\nXIX Then upon the death of Decius, Gallus and     104\nVolusianus succeeded to the Roman Empire. At this\ntime a destructive plague, almost like death itself, such\nas we suffered nine years ago, blighted the face of the\nwhole earth and especially devastated Alexandria and all\nthe land of Egypt. The historian Dionysius gives a\nmournful account of it and Cyprian, our own bishop and\nvenerable martyr in Christ, also describes it in his book\nentitled \"On Mortality\". At this time the Goths frequently\nravaged Moesia, through the neglect of the Emperors.\nWhen a certain Aemilianus saw that they were     105\nfree to do this, and that they could not be dislodged by\nanyone without great cost to the republic, he thought that\nhe too might be able to achieve fame and fortune. So he\nseized the rule in Moesia and, taking all the soldiers he\ncould gather, began to plunder cities and people. In the\nnext few months, while an armed host was being gathered\nagainst him, he wrought no small harm to the state.\nYet he died almost at the beginning of his evil attempt,\nthus losing at once his life and the power he coveted.\nNow though Gallus and Volusianus, the Emperors we     106\nhave mentioned, departed this life after remaining in\npower for barely two years, yet during this space of two\nyears which they spent on earth they reigned amid universal\npeace and favor. Only one thing was laid to their\ncharge, namely the great plague. But this was an accusation\nmade by ignorant slanderers, whose custom it is\nto wound the lives of others with their malicious bite.\nSoon after they came to power they made a treaty with\nthe race of the Goths. When both rulers were dead, it\nwas no long time before Gallienus usurped the throne.\n\n[Sidenote: THE GOTHS PLUNDER ASIA MINOR A.D. 262 or 263]\n\nXX While he was given over to luxurious living of     107\nevery sort, Respa, Veduc and Thuruar, leaders of the\nGoths, took ship and sailed across the strait of the Hellespont\nto Asia. There they laid waste many populous\ncities and set fire to the renowned temple of Diana at\nEphesus, which, as we said before, the Amazons built.\nBeing driven from the neighborhood of Bithynia, they\ndestroyed Chalcedon, which Cornelius Avitus afterwards\nrestored to some extent. Yet even to-day, though it is\nhappily situated near the royal city, it still shows some\ntraces of its ruin as a witness to posterity. After their     108\nsuccess, the Goths recrossed the strait of the Hellespont,\nladen with booty and spoil, and returned along the same\nroute by which they had entered the lands of Asia, sacking\nTroy and Ilium on the way. These cities, which had\nscarce recovered a little from the famous war with Agamemnon,\nwere thus destroyed anew by the hostile sword.\nAfter the Goths had thus devastated Asia, Thrace next\nfelt their ferocity. For they went thither and presently\nattacked Anchiali, a city at the foot of Haemus and not\nfar from the sea. Sardanapalus, king of the Parthians,\nhad built this city long ago between an inlet of the sea\nand the base of Haemus. There they are said to have     109\nstayed for many days, enjoying the baths of the hot\nsprings which are situated about twelve miles from the\ncity of Anchiali. There they gush from the depths of\ntheir fiery source, and among the innumerable hot springs\nof the world they are esteemed as specially famous and\nefficacious for their healing virtues.\n\n(THE TIMES OF DIOCLETIAN)\n\n[Sidenote: Diocletian 284-305]\n\n[Sidenote: Masimian 284-305]\n\nXXI After these events, the Goths had already returned     110\nhome when they were summoned at the request\nof the Emperor Maximian to aid the Romans against the\nParthians. They fought for him faithfully, serving as\nauxiliaries. But after Caesar Maximian by their aid had\nrouted Narseus, king of the Persians, the grandson of\nSapor the Great, taking as spoil all his possessions, together\nwith his wives and his sons, and when Diocletian\nhad conquered Achilles in Alexandria and Maximianus\nHerculius had broken the Quinquegentiani in Africa, thus\nwinning peace for the empire, they began rather to neglect\nthe Goths.\n\n[Sidenote: Constantine I 306-337]\n\n[Sidenote: Licinius 307-323]\n\nNow it had long been a hard matter for the Roman     111\narmy to fight against any nations whatsoever without\nthem. This is evident from the way in which the Goths\nwere so frequently called upon. Thus they were summoned\nby Constantine to bear arms against his kinsman\nLicinius. Later, when he was vanquished and shut up\nThessalonica and deprived of his power, they slew him\nwith the sword of Constantine the victor. In like manner     112\nit was the aid of the Goths that enabled him to build the\nfamous city that is named after him, the rival of Rome,\ninasmuch as they entered into a truce with the Emperor\nand furnished him forty thousand men to aid him against\nvarious peoples. This body of men, namely, the Allies,\nand the service they rendered in war are still spoken of in\nthe land to this day. Now at that time they prospered\nunder the rule of their kings Ariaric and Aoric. Upon\ntheir death Geberich appeared as successor to the throne,\na man renowned for his valor and noble birth.\n\n[Sidenote: GEBERICH CONQUERS THE VANDALS 336]\n\nXXII For he was the son of Hilderith, who was the     113\nson of Ovida, who was the son of Nidada; and by his\nillustrious deeds he equalled the glory of his race. Soon\nhe sought to enlarge his country's narrow bounds at the\nexpense of the race of the Vandals and Visimar, their\nking. This Visimar was of the stock of the Asdingi,\nwhich is eminent among them and indicates a most warlike\ndescent, as Dexippus the historian relates. He states\nfurthermore that by reason of the great extent of their\ncountry they could scarcely come from Ocean to our frontier\nin a year's time. At that time they dwelt in the land\nwhere the Gepidae now live, near the rivers Marisia,\nMiliare, Gilpil and the Grisia, which exceeds in size all\npreviously mentioned. They then had on the east the     114\nGoths, on the west the Marcomanni, on the north the\nHermunduli and on the south the Hister, which is also\ncalled the Danube. At the time when the Vandals were\ndwelling in this region, war was begun against them by\nGeberich, king of the Goths, on the shore of the river\nMarisia which I have mentioned. Here the battle raged\nfor a little while on equal terms. But soon Visimar himself,\nthe king of the Vandals, was overthrown, together\nwith the greater part of his people. When Geberich, the     115\nfamous leader of the Goths, had conquered and spoiled\nVandals, he returned to his own place whence he had\ncome. Then the remnant of the Vandals who had escaped,\ncollecting a band of their unwarlike folk, left their\nill-fated country and asked the Emperor Constantine for\nPannonia. Here they made their home for about sixty\nyears and obeyed the commands of the emperors like\nsubjects. A long time afterward they were summoned\nthence by Stilicho, Master of the Soldiery, Ex-Consul and\nPatrician, and took possession of Gaul. Here they plundered\ntheir neighbors and had no settled place of abode.\n\n[Sidenote: CONQUEST OF THE HERCULI, VENETHI AND AESTI]\n\nXXIII Soon Geberich, king of the Goths, departed     116\nfrom human affairs and Hermanaric, noblest of the\nAmali, succeeded to the throne. He subdued many warlike\npeoples of the north and made them obey his laws,\nand some of our ancestors have justly compared him to\nAlexander the Great. Among the tribes he conquered\nwere the Golthescytha, Thiudos, Inaunxis, Vasinabroncae,\nMerens, Mordens, Imniscaris, Rogas, Tadzans, Athaul,     117\nNavego, Bubegenae and Coldae. But though famous\nfor his conquest of so many races, he gave himself no rest\nuntil he had slain some in battle and then reduced to his\nsway the remainder of the tribe of the Heruli, whose chief\nwas Alaric. Now the aforesaid race, as the historian\nAblabius tells us, dwelt near Lake Maeotis in swampy\nplaces which the Greeks call _hel[=e]_; hence they were named\nHeluri. They were a people swift of foot, and on that\naccount were the more swollen with pride, for there was     118\nat that time no race that did not choose from them its\nlight-armed troops for battle. But though their quickness\noften saved them from others who made war upon them,\nyet they were overthrown by the slowness and steadiness\nof the Goths; and the lot of fortune brought it to pass\nthat they, as well as the other tribes, had to serve Hermanaric,\nking of the Getae. After the slaughter of the     119\nHeruli, Hermanaric also took arms against the Venethi.\nThis people, though despised in war, was strong in numbers\nand tried to resist him. But a multitude of cowards\nis of no avail, particularly when God permits an armed\nmultitude to attack them. These people, as we started\nto say at the beginning of our account or catalogue of\nnations, though off-shoots from one stock, have now\nthree names, that is, Venethi, Antes and Sclaveni. Though\nthey now rage in war far and wide, in punishment for\nour sins, yet at that time they were all obedient to Hermanaric's\ncommands. This ruler also subdued by his     120\nwisdom and might the race of the Aesti, who dwell on\nthe farthest shore of the German Ocean, and ruled all the\nnations of Scythia and Germany by his own prowess\nalone.\n\n[Sidenote: ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE HUNS]\n\nXXIV But after a short space of time, as Orosius      121\nrelates, the race of the Huns, fiercer than ferocity itself,\nflamed forth against the Goths. We learn from old traditions\nthat their origin was as follows: Filimer, king of\nthe Goths, son of Gadaric the Great, who was the fifth in\nsuccession to hold the rule of the Getae after their departure\nfrom the island of Scandza,--and who, as we have\nsaid, entered the land of Scythia with his tribe,--found\namong his people certain witches, whom he called in his\nnative tongue Haliurunnae. Suspecting these women, he\nexpelled them from the midst of his race and compelled\nthem to wander in solitary exile afar from his army.\nThere the unclean spirits, who beheld them as they wandered     122\nthrough the wilderness, bestowed their embraces\nupon them and begat this savage race, which dwelt at\nfirst in the swamps,--a stunted, foul and puny tribe,\nscarcely human, and having no language save one which\nbore slight resemblance to human speech. Such was\nthe descent of the Huns who came to the country of the\nGoths.\n\nThis cruel tribe, as Priscus the historian relates, settled     123\non the farther bank of the Maeotic swamp. They\nwere fond of hunting and had no skill in any other\nart. After they had grown to a nation, they disturbed\nthe peace of neighboring races by theft and rapine. At\none time, while hunters of their tribe were as usual seeking\nfor game on the farthest edge of Maeotis, they\nsaw a doe unexpectedly appear to their sight and enter\nthe swamp, acting as guide of the way; now advancing\nand again standing still. The hunters followed and     124\ncrossed on foot the Maeotic swamp, which they had\nsupposed was impassable as the sea. Presently the\nunknown land of Scythia disclosed itself and the doe\ndisappeared. Now in my opinion the evil spirits, from\nwhom the Huns are descended, did this from envy of the\nScythians. And the Huns, who had been wholly ignorant     125\nthat there was another world beyond Maeotis, were now\nfilled with admiration for the Scythian land. As they\nwere quick of mind, they believed that this path, utterly\nunknown to any age of the past, had been divinely revealed\nto them. They returned to their tribe, told them\nwhat had happened, praised Scythia and persuaded the\npeople to hasten thither along the way they had found\nby the guidance of the doe. As many as they captured,\nwhen they thus entered Scythia for the first time, they\nsacrificed to Victory. The remainder they conquered\nand made subject to themselves. Like a whirlwind of     126\nnations they swept across the great swamp and at once\nfell upon the Alpidzuri, Alcildzuri, Itimari, Tuncarsi and\nBoisci, who bordered on that part of Scythia. The Alani\nalso, who were their equals in battle, but unlike them in\ncivilization, manners and appearance, they exhausted by\ntheir incessant attacks and subdued. For by the terror     127\nof their features they inspired great fear in those whom\nperhaps they did not really surpass in war. They made\ntheir foes flee in horror because their swarthy aspect was\nfearful, and they had, if I may call it so, a sort of shapeless\nlump, not a head, with pin-holes rather than eyes.\nTheir hardihood is evident in their wild appearance, and\nthey are beings who are cruel to their children on the\nvery day they are born. For they cut the cheeks of the\nmales with a sword, so that before they receive the nourishment\nof milk they must learn to endure wounds.\nHence they grow old beardless and their young men are     128\nwithout comeliness, because a face furrowed by the sword\nspoils by its scars the natural beauty of a beard. They\nare short in stature, quick in bodily movement, alert\nhorsemen, broad shouldered, ready in the use of bow and\narrow, and have firm-set necks which are ever erect in\npride. Though they live in the form of men, they have\nthe cruelty of wild beasts.\n\n[Sidenote: FIRST IRRUPTION OF THE HUNS as early as 375]\n\nWhen the Getae beheld this active race that had invaded     129\nmany nations, they took fright and consulted with\ntheir king how they might escape from such a foe. Now\nalthough Hermanaric, king of the Goths, was the conqueror\nof many tribes, as we have said above, yet while\nhe was deliberating on this invasion of the Huns, the\ntreacherous tribe of the Rosomoni, who at that time were\namong those who owed him their homage, took this\nchance to catch him unawares. For when the king had\ngiven orders that a certain woman of the tribe I have\nmentioned, Sunilda by name, should be bound to wild\nhorses and torn apart by driving them at full speed in\nopposite directions (for he was roused to fury by her\nhusband's treachery to him), her brothers Sarus and\nImmius came to avenge their sister's death and plunged\na sword into Hermanaric's side. Enfeebled by this blow,\nhe dragged out a miserable existence in bodily weakness.\nBalamber, king of the Huns, took advantage of his ill     130\nhealth to move an army into the country of the Ostrogoths,\nfrom whom the Visigoths had already separated\nbecause of some dispute. Meanwhile Hermanaric, who\nwas unable to endure either the pain of his wound or the\ninroads of the Huns, died full of days at the great age of\none hundred and ten years. The fact of his death enabled\nthe Huns to prevail over those Goths who, as we have\nsaid, dwelt in the East and were called Ostrogoths.\n\n(The Divided Goths: Visigoths)\n\n[Sidenote: Valentinian I 364-375]\n\n[Sidenote: THE VISIGOTHS SETTLE IN THRACE AND MOESIA 376]\n\n[Sidenote: Valens 364-378]\n\nXXV The Visigoths, who were their other allies and     131\ninhabitants of the western country, were terrified as their\nkinsmen had been, and knew not how to plan for safety\nagainst the race of the Huns. After long deliberation by\ncommon consent they finally sent ambassadors into Romania\nto the Emperor Valens, brother of Valentinian,\nthe elder Emperor, to say that if he would give them part\nof Thrace or Moesia to keep, they would submit themselves\nto his laws and commands. That he might have\ngreater confidence in them, they promised to become\nChristians, if he would give them teachers who spoke\ntheir language. When Valens learned this, he gladly and     132\npromptly granted what he had himself intended to ask.\nHe received the Getae into the region of Moesia and\nplaced them there as a wall of defense for his kingdom\nagainst other tribes. And since at that time the Emperor\nValens, who was infected with the Arian perfidy, had\nclosed all the churches of our party, he sent as preachers\nto them those who favored his sect. They came and\nstraightway filled a rude and ignorant people with the\npoison of their heresy. Thus the Emperor Valens made\nthe Visigoths Arians rather than Christians. Moreover     133\nfrom the love they bore them, they preached the gospel\nboth to the Ostrogoths and to their kinsmen the Gepidae,\nteaching them to reverence this heresy, and they invited\nall people of their speech everywhere to attach themselves\nto this sect. They themselves as we have said, crossed\nthe Danube and settled Dacia Ripensis, Moesia and\nThrace by permission of the Emperor.\n\n[Sidenote: FAMINE 376-377]\n\nXXVI Soon famine and want came upon them, as     134\noften happens to a people not yet well settled in a country.\nTheir princes and the leaders who ruled them in\nplace of kings, that is Fritigern, Alatheus and Safrac,\nbegan to lament the plight of their army and begged\nLupicinus and Maximus, the Roman commanders, to\nopen a market. But to what will not the \"cursed lust for\ngold\" compel men to assent? The generals, swayed by\navarice, sold them at a high price not only the flesh of\nsheep and oxen, but even the carcasses of dogs and unclean\nanimals, so that a slave would be bartered for a loaf\nof bread or ten pounds of meat. When their goods and     135\nchattels failed, the greedy trader demanded their sons in\nreturn for the necessities of life. And the parents consented\neven to this, in order to provide for the safety of\ntheir children, arguing that it was better to lose liberty\nthan life; and indeed it is better that one be sold, if he\nwill be mercifully fed, than that he should be kept free\nonly to die.\n\n[Sidenote: TREACHERY OF THE ROMANS]\n\nNow it came to pass in that troublous time that Lupicinus,\nthe Roman general, invited Fritigern, a chieftain\nof the Goths, to a feast and, as the event revealed,\ndevised a plot against him. But Fritigern, thinking    136\nevil came to the feast with a few followers. While\nhe was dining in the praetorium he heard the dying\ncries of his ill-fated men, for, by order of the general,\nthe soldiers were slaying his companions who were shut\nup in another part of the house. The loud cries of the\ndying fell upon ears already suspicious, and Fritigern at\nonce perceived the treacherous trick. He drew his sword\nand with great courage dashed quickly from the banqueting-hall,\nrescued his men from their threatening doom\nand incited them to slay the Romans. Thus these valiant     137\nmen gained the chance they had longed for--to be free to\ndie in battle rather than to perish of hunger--and immediately\ntook arms to kill the generals Lupicinus and\nMaximus. Thus that day put an end to the famine of the\nGoths and the safety of the Romans, for the Goths no\nlonger as strangers and pilgrims, but as citizens and lords,\nbegan to rule the inhabitants and to hold in their own\nright all the northern country as far as the Danube.\n\n[Sidenote: EMPEROR VALENS DEFEATED AND SLAIN A.D. 378]\n\nWhen the Emperor Valens heard of this at Antioch,     138\nhe made ready an army at once and set out for the country\nof Thrace. Here a grievous battle took place and the\nGoths prevailed. The Emperor himself was wounded and\nfled to a farm near Hadrianople. The Goths, not knowing\nthat an emperor lay hidden in so poor a hut, set fire\nto it (as is customary in dealing with a cruel foe), and\nthus he was cremated in royal splendor. Plainly it was\na direct judgment of God that he should be burned with\nfire by the very men whom he had perfidiously led astray\nwhen they sought the true faith, turning them aside from\nthe flame of love into the fire of hell. From this time the\nVisigoths, in consequence of their glorious victory, possessed\nThrace and Dacia Ripensis as if it were their native\nland.\n\n[Sidenote: Gratian 367-383]\n\n[Sidenote: HOSTILE RELATIONS WITH ROME ENDED BY A TRUCE]\n\n[Sidenote: Theodosius 379-305]\n\nXXVII  Now in the place of Valens, his uncle, the     139\nEmperor Gratian established Theodosius the Spaniard in\nthe Eastern Empire. Military discipline was soon restored\nto a high level, and the Goth, perceiving that the\ncowardice and sloth of former princes was ended, became\nafraid. For the Emperor was famed alike for his acuteness\nand discretion. By stern commands and by generosity\nand kindness he encouraged a demoralized army to\ndeeds of daring. But when the soldiers, who had obtained     140\na better leader by the change, gained new confidence,\nthey sought to attack the Goths and drive them\nfrom the borders of Thrace. But as the Emperor Theodosius\nfell so sick at this time that his life was almost\ndespaired of, the Goths were again inspired with courage.\nDividing the Gothic army, Fritigern set out to plunder\nThessaly, Epirus and Achaia, while Alatheus and Safrac\nwith the rest of the troops made for Pannonia. Now the     141\nEmperor Gratian had at this time retreated from Rome to\nGaul because of the invasions of the Vandals. When he\nlearned that the Goths were acting with greater boldness\nbecause Theodosius was in despair of his life, he quickly\ngathered an army and came against them. Yet he put no\ntrust in arms, but sought to conquer them by kindness and\ngifts. So he entered on a truce with them and made\npeace, giving them provisions.\n\n[Sidenote: PEACE CONFIRMED BY THEODOSIUS 380]\n\n[Sidenote: DEATH OF KING ATHANARIC AT CONSTANTINOPLE 381]\n\nXXVIII When the Emperor Theodosius afterwards     142\nrecovered and learned that the Emperor Gratian had\nmade a compact between the Goths and the Romans, as\nhe had himself desired, he took it very graciously and\ngave his assent. He gave gifts to King Athanaric, who\nhad succeeded Fritigern, made an alliance with him and\nin the most gracious manner invited him to visit him in\nConstantinople. Athanaric very gladly consented and     143\nas he entered the royal city exclaimed in wonder \"Lo,\nnow I see what I have often heard of with unbelieving\nears,\" meaning the great and famous city. Turning his\neyes hither and thither, he marvelled as he beheld the\nsituation of the city, the coming and going of the ships,\nthe splendid walls, and the people of divers nations gathered\nlike a flood of waters streaming from different regions\ninto one basin. So too, when he saw the army in\narray, he said \"Truly the Emperor is a god on earth, and\nwhoso raises a hand against him is guilty of his own\nblood.\" In the midst of his admiration and the enjoyment     144\nof even greater honors at the hand of the emperor,\nhe departed this life after the space of a few months.\nThe emperor had such affection for him that he honored\nAthanaric even more when he was dead than during his\nlife-time, for he not only gave him a worthy burial, but\nhimself walked before the bier at the funeral. Now when     145\nAthanaric was dead, his whole army continued in the\nservice of the Emperor Theodosius and submitted to the\nRoman rule, forming as it were one body with the imperial\nsoldiery. The former service of the Allies under the\nEmperor Constantine was now renewed and they were\nagain called Allies. And since the Emperor knew that\nthey were faithful to him and his friends, he took from\ntheir number more than twenty thousand warriors to\nserve against the tyrant Eugenius who had slain Gratian\nand seized Gaul. After winning the victory over this\nusurper, he wreaked his vengeance upon him.\n\n[Sidenote: ALARIC I KING OF THE GOTHS 395-410]\n\n[Sidenote: Stilicho and Aurelian Consuls in 400]\n\nXXIX But after Theodosius, the lover of peace and     146\nof the Gothic race, had passed from human cares, his\nsons began to ruin both empires by their luxurious living\nand to deprive their Allies, that is to say the Goths, of the\ncustomary gifts. The contempt of the Goths for the\nRomans soon increased, and for fear their valor would be\ndestroyed by long peace, they appointed Alaric king over\nthem. He was of a famous stock, and his nobility was\nsecond only to that of the Amali, for he came from the\nfamily of the Balthi, who because of their daring valor\nhad long ago received among their race the name _Baltha_,     147\nthat is, The Bold. Now when this Alaric was made king,\nhe took counsel with his men and persuaded them to seek\na kingdom by their own exertions rather than serve others\nin idleness. In the consulship of Stilicho and Aurelian\nhe raised an army and entered Italy, which seemed to be\nbare of defenders, and came through Pannonia and Sirmium\nalong the right side. Without meeting any resistance,\nhe reached the bridge of the river Candidianus at\nthe third milestone from the royal city of Ravenna.\n\n[Sidenote: DESCRIPTION OF RAVENNA]\n\nThis city lies amid the streams of the Po between     148\nswamps and the sea, and is accessible only on one side.\nIts ancient inhabitants, as our ancestors relate, were\ncalled _Ainetoi_, that is, \"Laudable\". Situated in a corner\nof the Roman Empire above the Ionian Sea, it is hemmed\nin like an island by a flood of rushing waters. On the     149\neast it has the sea, and one who sails straight to it from\nthe region of Corcyra and those parts of Hellas sweeps\nwith his oars along the right hand coast, first touching\nEpirus, then Dalmatia, Liburnia and Histria and at last\nthe Venetian Isles. But on the west it has swamps\nthrough which a sort of door has been left by a very\nnarrow entrance. To the north is an arm of the Po,\ncalled the Fossa Asconis. On the south likewise is the     150\nPo itself, which they call the King of the rivers of Italy;\nand it has also the name Eridanus. This river was turned\naside by the Emperor Augustus into a very broad canal\nwhich flows through the midst of the city with a seventh\npart of its stream, affording a pleasant harbor at its\nmouth. Men believed in ancient times, as Dio relates,\nthat it would hold a fleet of two hundred and fifty vessels\nin its safe anchorage. Fabius says that this, which was     151\nonce a harbor, now displays itself like a spacious garden\nfull of trees; but from them hang not sails but apples.\nThe city itself boasts of three names and is happily placed\nin its threefold location. I mean to say the first is called\nRavenna and the most distant part Classis; while midway\nbetween the city and the sea is Caesarea, full of luxury.\nThe sand of the beach is fine and suited for riding.\n\n[Sidenote: Honorius 393-423]\n\n[Sidenote: HONORIUS GRANTS THE GOTHS LANDS IN GAUL AND SPAIN]\n\nXXX But as I was saying, when the army of the     152\nVisigoths had come into the neighborhood of this city,\nthey sent an embassy to the Emperor Honorius, who\ndwelt within. They said that if he would permit the\nGoths to settle peaceably in Italy, they would so live with\nthe Roman people that men might believe them both to\nbe of one race; but if not, whoever prevailed in war\nshould drive out the other, and the victor should henceforth\nrule unmolested. But the Emperor Honorius feared\nto make either promise. So he took counsel with his\nSenate and considered how he might drive them from the\nItalian borders. He finally decided that Alaric and his     153\nrace, if they were able to do so, should be allowed to\nseize for their own home the provinces farthest away,\nnamely, Gaul and Spain. For at this time he had almost\nlost them, and moreover they had been devastated by the\ninvasion of Gaiseric, king of the Vandals. The grant\nwas confirmed by an imperial rescript, and the Goths,\nconsenting to the arrangement, set out for the country\ngiven them.\n\n[Sidenote: STILICHO'S TREACHEROUS ATTACK 402]\n\n[Sidenote: ALARIC I SACKS ROME A.D. 410]\n\nWhen they had gone away without doing any harm     154\nin Italy, Stilicho, the Patrician and father-in-law of\nthe Emperor Honorius,--for the Emperor had married\nboth his daughters, Maria and Thermantia, in succession,\nbut God called both from this world in their virgin\npurity--this Stilicho, I say, treacherously hurried\nto Pollentia, a city in the Cottian Alps. There he fell\nupon the unsuspecting Goths in battle, to the ruin of all\nItaly and his own disgrace. When the Goths suddenly     155\nbeheld him, at first they were terrified. Soon regaining\ntheir courage and arousing each other by brave shouting,\nas is their custom, they turned to flight the entire army\nof Stilicho and almost exterminated it. Then forsaking\nthe journey they had undertaken, the Goths with hearts\nfull of rage returned again to Liguria whence they\nhad set out. When they had plundered and spoiled it,\nthey also laid waste Aemilia, and then hastened toward\nthe city of Rome along the Flaminian Way, which runs\nbetween Picenum and Tuscia, taking as booty whatever     156\nthey found on either hand. When they finally entered\nRome, by Alaric's express command they merely\nsacked it and did not set the city on fire, as wild peoples\nusually do, nor did they permit serious damage to be done\nto the holy places. Thence they departed to bring like\nruin upon Campania and Lucania, and then came to\nBruttii. Here they remained a long time and planned to\ngo to Sicily and thence to the countries of Africa.\n\n[Sidenote: DEATH OF ALARIC I A.D. 410]\n\n[Sidenote: Athavulf 410-415]\n\nNow the land of the Bruttii is at the extreme southern\nbound of Italy, and a corner of it marks the beginning of\nthe Apennine mountains. It stretches out like a tongue\ninto the Adriatic Sea and separates it from the Tyrrhenian\nwaters. It chanced to receive its name in ancient times\nfrom a Queen Bruttia. To this place came Alaric, king of     157\nVisigoths, with the wealth of all Italy which he had\ntaken as spoil, and from there, as we have said, he intended\nto cross over by way of Sicily to the quiet land of\nAfrica. But since man is not free to do anything he\nwishes without the will of God, that dread strait sunk several\nof his ships and threw all into confusion. Alaric was\ncast down by his reverse and, while deliberating what he\nshould do, was suddenly overtaken by an untimely death\nand departed from human cares. His people mourned for     158\nhim with the utmost affection. Then turning from its\ncourse the river Busentus near the city of Consentia--for\nthis stream flows with its wholesome waters from the foot\nof a mountain near that city--they led a band of captives\ninto the midst of its bed to dig out a place for his grave.\nIn the depths of this pit they buried Alaric, together with\nmany treasures, and then turned the waters back into\ntheir channel. And that none might ever know the place,\nthey put to death all the diggers. They bestowed the\nkingdom of the Visigoths on Athavulf his kinsman, a\nman of imposing beauty and great spirit; for though not\ntall of stature, he was distinguished for beauty of face\nand form.\n\n[Sidenote: DEEDS OF KING ATHAVULF]\n\n[Sidenote: Marries Galla Placidia 414]\n\n[Sidenote: KING SEGERIC 415]\n\nXXXI When Athavulf became king, he returned     159\nagain to Rome, and whatever had escaped the first sack\nhis Goths stripped bare like locusts, not merely despoiling\nItaly of its private wealth, but even of its public\nresources. The Emperor Honorius was powerless to\nresist even when his sister Placidia, the daughter of the\nEmperor Theodosius by his second wife, was led away\ncaptive from the city. But Athavulf was attracted by her     160\nnobility, beauty and chaste purity, and so he took her to\nwife in lawful marriage at Forum Julii, a city of Aemilia.\nWhen the barbarians learned of this alliance, they were\nthe more effectually terrified, since the Empire and the\nGoths now seemed to be made one. Then Athavulf set\nout for Gaul, leaving Honorius Augustus stripped of his\nwealth, to be sure, yet pleased at heart because he was\nnow a sort of kinsman of his. Upon his arrival the     161\nneighboring tribes who had long made cruel raids into\nGaul,--Franks and Burgundians alike,--were terrified\nand began to keep within their own borders. Now the\nVandals and the Alani, as we have said before, had been\ndwelling in both Pannonias by permission of the Roman\nEmperors. Yet fearing they would not be safe even here\nif the Goths should return, they crossed over into Gaul.\nBut no long time after they had taken possession of Gaul     162\nthey fled thence and shut themselves up in Spain, for they\nstill remembered from the tales of their forefathers what\nruin Geberich, king of the Goths, had long ago brought\non their race, and how by his valor he had driven them\nfrom their native land. And thus it happened that Gaul\nlay open to Athavulf when he came. Now when the     163\nGoth had established his kingdom in Gaul, he began to\ngrieve for the plight of the Spaniards and planned to\nsave them from the attacks of the Vandals. So Athavulf\nleft at Barcelona his treasures and the men who were\nunfit for war, and entered the interior of Spain with a\nfew faithful followers. Here he fought frequently with\nthe Vandals and, in the third year after he had subdued\nGaul and Spain, fell pierced through the groin by the\nsword of Euervulf, a man whose short stature he had\nbeen wont to mock. After his death Segeric was appointed\nking, but he too was slain by the treachery of his\nown men and lost both his kingdom and his life even more\nquickly than Athavulf.     164\n\n[Sidenote: KING VALIA 415-419]\n\nXXXII Then Valia, the fourth from Alaric, was\nmade king, and he was an exceeding stern and prudent\nman. The Emperor Honorius sent an army against him\nunder Constantius, who was famed for his achievements\nin war and distinguished in many battles, for he feared\nthat Valia would break the treaty long ago made with\nAthavulf and that, after driving out the neighboring\ntribes, he would again plot evil against the Empire.\nMoreover Honorius was eager to free his sister Placidia\nfrom the disgrace of servitude, and made an agreement\nwith Constantius that if by peace or war or any means\nsoever he could bring her back to the kingdom, he should\nhave her in marriage. Pleased with this promise, Constantius     165\nset out for Spain with an armed force and in\nalmost royal splendor. Valia, king of the Goths, met him\nat a pass in the Pyrenees with as great a force. Here-upon\nembassies were sent by both sides and it was decided\nto make peace on the following terms, namely that Valia\nshould give up Placidia, the Emperor's sister, and should\nnot refuse to aid the Roman Empire when occasion\ndemanded.\n\n[Sidenote: Constantine III 407-411]\n\n[Sidenote: Constans 407-411]\n\n[Sidenote: Jovinus 411-413]\n\n[Sidenote: Sebastian 412]\n\nNow at that time a certain Constantine usurped imperial\npower in Gaul and appointed as Caesar his son Constans,\nwho was formerly a monk. But when he had held\nfor a short time the Empire he had seized, he was himself\nslain at Arelate and his son at Vienne. Jovinus and\nSebastian succeeded them with equal presumption and\nthought they might seize the imperial power; but they\nperished by a like fate.\n\n[Sidenote: VALIA MOVES AGAINST THE VANDALS 427]\n\nNow in the twelfth year of Valia's reign the Huns     166\nwere driven out of Pannonia by the Romans and Goths,\nalmost fifty years after they had taken possession of it.\nThen Valia found that the Vandals had come forth with\nbold audacity from the interior of Galicia, whither Athavulf\nhad long ago driven them, and were devastating and\nplundering everywhere in his own territories, namely in\nthe land of Spain. So he made no delay but moved his\narmy against them at once, at about the time when Hierius\nand Ardabures had become consuls.\n\n[Sidenote: VALENTINIAN III 425-455]\n\n[Sidenote: THE VANDALS AND GAISERIC THEIR KING 427-477]\n\nXXXIII But Gaiseric, king of the Vandals, had already     167\nbeen invited into Africa by Boniface, who had\nfallen into a dispute with the Emperor Valentinian and\nwas able to obtain revenge only by injuring the empire.\nSo he invited them urgently and brought them across the\nnarrow strait known as the Strait of Gades, scarcely seven\nmiles wide, which divides Africa from Spain and unites\nthe mouth of the Tyrrhenian Sea with the waters of\nOcean. Gaiseric, still famous in the City for the disaster     168\nof the Romans, was a man of moderate height and lame\nin consequence of a fall from his horse. He was a man\nof deep thought and few words, holding luxury in disdain,\nfurious in his anger, greedy for gain, shrewd in\nwinning over the barbarians and skilled in sowing the\nseeds of dissension to arouse enmity. Such was he who,     169\nas we have said, came at the solicitous invitation of Boniface\nto the country of Africa. There he reigned for a\nlong time, receiving authority, as they say, from God\nHimself. Before his death he summoned the band of his\nsons and ordained that there should be no strife among\nthem because of desire for the kingdom, but that each\nshould reign in his own rank and order as he survived\nthe others; that is, the next younger should succeed his\nelder brother, and he in turn should be followed by his\njunior. By giving heed to this command they ruled their\nkingdom in happiness for the space of many years and\nwere not disgraced by civil war, as is usual among other\nnations; one after the other receiving the kingdom and\nruling the people in peace.\n\n[Sidenote: The six kings of the Vandals 427-534]\n\n[Sidenote: KINGDOM OF THE VANDALS MADE SUBJECT TO ROME]\n\nNow this is their order of succession: first, Gaiseric     170\nwho was father and lord, next, Huneric, the third\nGunthamund, the fourth Thrasamund, and the fifth\nIlderich. He was driven from the throne and slain\nby Gelimer, who destroyed his race by disregarding\nhis ancestor's advice and setting up a tyranny. But     171\nwhat he had done did not remain unpunished, for soon\nthe vengeance of the Emperor Justinian was manifested\nagainst him. With his whole family and that\nwealth over which he gloated like a robber, he was taken\nto Constantinople by that most renowned warrior Belisarius,\nMaster of the Soldiery of the East, Ex-Consul\nOrdinary and Patrician. Here he afforded a great spectacle\nto the people in the Circus. His repentance, when\nhe beheld himself cast down from his royal state, came\ntoo late. He died as a mere subject and in retirement,\nthough he had formerly been unwilling to submit to private     172\nlife. Thus after a century Africa, which in the\ndivision of the earth's surface is regarded as the third\npart of the world, was delivered from the yoke of the\nVandals and brought back to the liberty of the Roman\nEmpire. The country which the hand of the heathen had\nlong ago cut off from the body of the Roman Empire,\nby reason of the cowardice of emperors and the treachery\nof generals, was now restored by a wise prince and a\nfaithful leader and to-day is happily flourishing. And\nthough, even after this, it had to deplore the misery of\ncivil war and the treachery of the Moors, yet the triumph\nof the Emperor Justinian, vouchsafed him by God.\nbrought to a peaceful conclusion what he had begun. But\nwhy need we speak of what the subject does not require?\nLet us return to our theme.\n\n[Sidenote: MIGRATION or THE AMALI TO THE VISIGOTHS]\n\n[Sidenote: THEODORID I 419-451]\n\nNow Valia, king of the Goths, and his army fought so     173\nfiercely against the Vandals that he would have pursued\nthem even into Africa, had not such a misfortune recalled\nhim as befell Alaric when he was setting out for Africa.\nSo when he had won great fame in Spain, he returned\nafter a bloodless victory to Tolosa, turning over to the\nRoman Empire, as he had promised, a number of provinces\nwhich he had rid of his foes. A long time after this\nhe was seized by sickness and departed this life. Just at     174\nthat time Beremud, the son of Thorismud, whom we have\nmentioned above in the genealogy of the family of the\nAmali, departed with his son Veteric from the Ostrogoths,\nwho still submitted to the oppression of the Huns\nin the land of Scythia, and came to the kingdom of the\nVisigoths. Well aware of his valor and noble birth, he\nbelieved that the kingdom would be the more readily\nbestowed upon him by his kinsmen, inasmuch as he was\nknown to be the heir of many kings. And who would\nhesitate to choose one of the Amali, if there were an empty\nthrone? But he was not himself eager to make known\nwho he was, and so upon the death of Valia the Visigoths\nmade Theodorid his successor. Beremud came to     175\nhim and, with the strength of mind for which he was\nnoted, concealed his noble birth by prudent silence, for he\nknew that those of royal lineage are always distrusted by\nkings. So he suffered himself to remain unknown, that\nhe might not bring the established order into confusion.\nKing Theodorid received him and his son with special\nhonor and made him partner in his counsels and a companion\nat his board; not for his noble birth, which he\nknew not, but for his brave spirit and strong mind, which\nBeremud could not conceal.\n\n[Sidenote: Consulship of Theodosius 439]\n\n[Sidenote: FIRST BREACH BETWEEN THEODORID I AND THE ROMANS]\n\n[Sidenote: The Truce 439]\n\nXXXIV And what more? Valia (to repeat what we     176\nhave said) had but little success against the Gauls, but\nwhen he died the more fortunate and prosperous Theodorid\nsucceeded to the throne. He was a man of the\ngreatest moderation and notable for vigor of mind and\nbody. In consulship of Theodosius and Festus the\nRomans broke the truce and took up arms against him in\nGaul, with the Huns as their auxiliaries. For a band of\nthe Gallic Allies, led by Count Gaina, had aroused the\nRomans by throwing Constantinople into a panic. Now\nat that time the Patrician A\u00ebtius was in command of the\narmy. He was of the bravest Moesian stock, born of his\nfather Gaudentius in the city of Durostorum. He was a man\nfitted to endure the toils of war, born expressly to\nserve the Roman state; and by inflicting crushing defeats\nhe had compelled the proud Suavi and barbarous Franks\nto submit to Roman sway. So then, with the Huns as     177\nallies under their leader Litorius, the Roman army\nmoved in array against the Goths. When the battle\nlines of both sides had been standing for a long time\nopposite each other, both being brave and neither side the\nweaker, they struck a truce and returned to their ancient\nalliance. And after the treaty had been confirmed by\nboth and an honest peace was established, they both withdrew.\n\n[Sidenote: Embassy to Attila 448]\n\nDuring this peace Attila was lord over all the Huns     178\nand almost the sole earthly ruler of all the tribes of\nScythia; a man marvellous for his glorious fame among\nall nations. The historian Priscus, who was sent to him\non an embassy by the younger Theodosius, says this\namong other things: \"Crossing mighty rivers--namely,\nthe Tisia and Tibisia and Dricca--we came to the place\nwhere long ago Vidigoia, bravest of the Goths, perished\nby the guile of the Sarmatians. At no great distance\nfrom that place we arrived at the village where King\nAttila was dwelling,--a village, I say, like a great city\nin which we found wooden walls made of smooth-shining\nboards, whose joints so counterfeited solidity that the\nunion of the boards could scarcely be distinguished by\nclose scrutiny. There you might see dining halls of     179\nlarge extent and porticoes planned with great beauty,\nwhile the courtyard was bounded by so vast a circuit that\nits very size showed it was the royal palace.\" This was\nthe abode of Attila, the king of all the barbarian world;\nand he preferred this as a dwelling to the cities he\ncaptured.\n\n[Sidenote: CHARACTER OF ATTILA KING OF THE HUNS]\n\n[Sidenote: Attila and Bleda joint kings 433-445]\n\n[Sidenote: Attila sole king 445-453]\n\nXXXV Now this Attila was the son of Mundiuch,     180\nand his brothers were Octar and Ruas who are said to\nhave ruled before Attila, though not over quite so many\ntribes as he. After their death he succeeded to the throne\nof the Huns, together with his brother Bleda. In order\nthat he might first be equal to the expedition he was\npreparing, he sought to increase his strength by murder.\nThus he proceeded from the destruction of his own kindred\nto the menace of all others. But though he increased     181\nhis power by this shameful means, yet by the balance of\njustice he received the hideous consequences of his own\ncruelty. Now when his brother Bleda, who ruled over\na great part of the Huns, had been slain by his treachery,\nAttila united all the people under his own rule. Gathering\nalso a host of the other tribes which he then held\nunder his sway, he sought to subdue the foremost nations\nof the world--the Romans and the Visigoths. His army      182\nis said to have numbered five hundred thousand men.\nHe was a man born into the world to shake the nations,\nthe scourge of all lands, who in some way terrified all\nmankind by the dreadful rumors noised abroad concerning\nhim. He was haughty in his walk, rolling his eyes\nhither and thither, so that the power of his proud spirit\nappeared in the movement of his body. He was indeed\na lover of war, yet restrained in action, mighty in counsel,\ngracious to suppliants and lenient to those who were\nonce received into his protection. He was short of stature\nwith a broad chest and a large head; his eyes were\nsmall, his beard thin and sprinkled with gray; and he had\na flat nose and a swarthy complexion, showing the evidences\nof his origin. And though his temper was such     183\nthat he always had great self-confidence, yet his assurance\nwas increased by finding the sword of Mars, always\nesteemed sacred among the kings of the Scythians. The\nhistorian Priscus says it was discovered under the following\ncircumstances: \"When a certain shepherd beheld\none heifer of his flock limping and could find no cause\nfor this wound, he anxiously followed the trail of blood\nand at length came to a sword it had unwittingly trampled\nwhile nibbling the grass. He dug it up and took it\nstraight to Attila. He rejoiced at this gift and, being\nambitious, thought he had been appointed ruler of the\nwhole world, and that through the sword of Mars supremacy\nin all wars was assured to him.\"\n\n[Sidenote: GAISERIC INCITES HIM TO WAR WITH THE GOTHS]\n\nXXXVI Now when Gaiseric, king of the Vandals,     184\nwhom we mentioned shortly before, learned that his mind\nwas bent on the devastation of the world, he incited\nAttila by many gifts to make war on the Visigoths, for\nhe was afraid that Theodorid, king of the Visigoths,\nwould avenge the injury done to his daughter. She had\nbeen joined in wedlock with Huneric, the son of Gaiseric,\nand at first was happy in this union. But afterwards he\nwas cruel even to his own children, and because of the\nmere suspicion that she was attempting to poison him, he\ncut off her nose and mutilated her ears. He sent her\nback to her father in Gaul thus despoiled of her natural\ncharms. So the wretched girl presented a pitiable aspect\never after, and the cruelty which would stir even strangers\nstill more surely incited her father to vengeance.\nAttila, therefore, in his efforts to bring about the wars     185\nlong ago instigated by the bribe of Gaiseric, sent ambassadors\ninto Italy to the Emperor Valentinian to sow\nstrife between the Goths and the Romans, thinking to\nshatter by civil discord those whom he could not crush\nin battle. He declared that he was in no way violating\nhis friendly relations with the Empire, but that he had a\nquarrel with Theodorid, king of the Visigoths. As he\nwished to be kindly received, he had filled the rest of the\nletter with the visual flattering salutations, striving to win\ncredence for his falsehood. In like manner he despatched     186\na message to Theodorid, king of the Visigoths, urging\nhim to break his alliance with the Romans and reminding\nhim of the battles to which they had recently provoked\nhim. Beneath his great ferocity he was a subtle man,\nand fought with craft before he made war.\n\n[Sidenote: LEAGUE OF THE VISIGOTHS AND ROMANS AGAINST ATTILA 451]\n\nThen the Emperor Valentinian sent an embassy to the\nVisigoths and their king Theodorid, with this message:\n\"Bravest of nations, it is the part of prudence for us to     187\nunite against the lord of the earth who wishes to enslave\nthe whole world; who requires no just cause for battle,\nbut supposes whatever he does is right. He measures\nhis ambition by his might. License satisfies his pride.\nDespising law and right, he shows himself an enemy to\nNature herself. And thus he, who clearly is the common\nfoe of each, deserves the hatred of all. Pray remember--what     188\nyou surely cannot forget--that the Huns do not\noverthrow nations by means of war, where there is an\nequal chance, but assail them by treachery, which is a\ngreater cause for anxiety. To say nothing about ourselves,\ncan you suffer such insolence to go unpunished?\nSince you are mighty in arms, give heed to your own\ndanger and join hands with us in common. Bear aid\nalso to the Empire, of which you hold a part. If you\nwould learn how needful such an alliance is for us, look\ninto the plans of the foe.\"\n\n[Sidenote: THE FORCES OF THE ALLIES]\n\nBy these and like arguments the ambassadors of Valentinian     189\nprevailed upon King Theodorid. He answered\nthem, saying \"Romans, you have attained your desire;\nyou have made Attila our foe also. We will pursue\nhim wherever he summons us, and though he is puffed\nup by his victories over divers races, yet the Goths know\nhow to fight this haughty foe. I call no war dangerous\nsave one whose cause is weak; for he fears no ill on\nwhom Majesty has smiled.\" The nobles shouted assent     190\nto the reply and the multitude gladly followed. All were\nfierce for battle and longed to meet the Huns, their foe.\nAnd so a countless host was led forth by Theodorid, king\nof the Visigoths, who sent home four of his sons, namely\nFriderich and Eurich, Retemer and Himnerith, taking\nwith him only the two elder sons, Thorismud and Theodorid,\nas partners of his toil. O brave array, sure defense\nand sweet comradeship! having as its solace the\nperil of those whose one joy is the endurance of the same\ndangers.\n\nOn the side of the Romans stood the Patrician A\u00ebtius,     191\non whom at that time the whole Empire of the West depended;\na man of such wisdom that he had assembled\nwarriors from everywhere to meet them on equal terms.\nNow these were his auxiliaries: Franks, Sarmatians,\nArmoricians, Liticians, Burgundians, Saxons, Riparians\nOlibriones (once Roman soldiers and now the flower of\nthe allied forces), and some other Celtic or German tribes.\nAnd so they met in the Catalaunian Plains, which are     192\nalso called Mauriacian, extending in length one hundred\n_leuva_, as the Gauls express it, and seventy in width. Now\na Gallic _leuva_ measures a distance of fifteen hundred\npaces. That portion of the earth accordingly became\nthe threshing-floor of countless races. The two hosts\nbravely joined battle. Nothing was done under cover,\nbut they contended in open fight. What just cause can     193\nbe found for the encounter of so many nations, or what\nhatred inspired them all to take arms against each other?\nIt is proof that the human race lives for its kings, for it is\nat the mad impulse of one mind a slaughter of nations\ntakes place, and at the whim of a haughty ruler that\nwhich nature has taken ages to produce perishes in a\nmoment.\n\n[Sidenote: THE BEGINNING OF THE STRIFE]\n\nXXXVII But before we set forth the order of the     194\nbattle itself, it seems needful to relate what had already\nhappened in the course of the campaign, for it was not\nonly a famous struggle but one that was complicated and\nconfused. Well then, Sangiban, king of the Alani, smitten\nwith fear of what might come to pass, had promised\nto surrender to Attila, and to give into his keeping Aureliani,\na city of Gaul wherein he then dwelt. When Theodorid     195\nand A\u00ebtius learned of this, they cast up great earthworks\naround that city before Attila's arrival and kept\nwatch over the suspected Sangiban, placing him with his\ntribe in the midst of their auxiliaries. Then Attila, king\nof the Huns, was taken aback by this event and lost confidence\nin his own troops, so that he feared to begin the\nconflict. While he was meditating on flight--a greater\ncalamity than death itself--he decided to inquire into the\nfuture through soothsayers. So, as was their custom,     196\nthey examined the entrails of cattle and certain streaks in\nbones that had been scraped, and foretold disaster to the\nHuns. Yet as a slight consolation they prophesied that\nthe chief commander of the foe they were to meet should\nfall and mar by his death the rest of the victory and the\ntriumph. Now Attila deemed the death of A\u00ebtius a thing\nto be desired even at the cost of his own life, for A\u00ebtius\nstood in the way of his plans. So although he was disturbed\nby this prophecy, yet inasmuch as he was a man\nwho sought counsel of omens in all warfare, he began\nthe battle with anxious heart at about the ninth hour of\nthe day, in order that the impending darkness might come\nto his aid if the outcome should be disastrous.\n\n[Sidenote: BATTLE OF THE CATALAUNIAN PLAINS A.D. 451]\n\nXXXVIII The armies met, as we have said, in the     197\nCatalaunian Plains. The battle field was a plain rising\nby a sharp slope to a ridge, which both armies sought to\ngain; for advantage of position is a great help. The\nHuns with their forces seized the right side, the Romans,\nthe Visigoths and their allies the left, and then began a\nstruggle for the yet untaken crest. Now Theodorid with\nthe Visigoths held the right wing and A\u00ebtius with the\nRomans the left. They placed in the centre Sangiban\n(who, as said before, was in command of the Alani),\nthus contriving with military caution to surround by a\nhost of faithful troops the man in whose loyalty they had\nlittle confidence. For one who has difficulties placed in\nthe way of his flight readily submits to the necessity of     198\nfighting. On the other side, however, the battle line of\nthe Huns was so arranged that Attila and his bravest\nfollowers were stationed in the centre. In arranging\nthem thus the king had chiefly his own safety in view,\nsince by his position in the very midst of his race he\nwould be kept out of the way of threatening danger.\nThe innumerable peoples of divers tribes, which he had\nsubjected to his sway, formed the wings. Amid them     199\nwas conspicuous the army of the Ostrogoths under the\nleadership of the brothers Valamir, Thiudimer and Vidimer,\nnobler even than the king they served, for the might\nof the family of the Amali rendered them glorious. The\nrenowned king of the Gepidae, Ardaric, was there also\nwith a countless host, and because of his great loyalty to\nAttila, he shared his plans. For Attila, comparing them\nin his wisdom, prized him and Valamir, king of the Ostrogoths,\nabove all the other chieftains. Valamir was a     200\ngood keeper of secrets, bland of speech and skilled in\nwiles, and Ardaric, as we have said, was famed for his\nloyalty and wisdom. Attila might well feel sure that\nthey would fight against the Visigoths, their kinsmen.\nNow the rest of the crowd of kings (if we may call them\nso) and the leaders of various nations hung upon Attila's\nnod like slaves, and when he gave a sign even by a glance,\nwithout a murmur each stood forth in fear and trembling,\nor at all events did as he was bid. Attila alone was     201\nking of all kings over all and concerned for all.\n\nSo then the struggle began for the advantage of position\nwe have mentioned. Attila sent his men to take the\nsummit of the mountain, but was outstripped by Thorismud\nand A\u00ebtius, who in their effort to gain the top of the\nhill reached higher ground and through this advantage\nof position easily routed the Huns as they came up.\n\n[Sidenote: ATTILA ADDRESSES HIS MEN]\n\nXXXIX Now when Attila saw his army was thrown     202\ninto confusion by this event, he thought it best to encourage\nthem by an extemporaneous address on this wise:\n\"Here you stand, after conquering mighty nations and\nsubduing the world. I therefore think it foolish for me\nto goad you with words, as though you were men who\nhad not been proved in action. Let a new leader or an\nuntried army resort to that. It is not right for me to     203\nsay anything common, nor ought you to listen. For what\nis war but your usual custom? Or what is sweeter for a\nbrave man than to seek revenge with his own hand? It\nis a right of nature to glut the soul with vengeance. Let     204\nus then attack the foe eagerly; for they are ever the\nbolder who make the attack. Despise this union of discordant\nraces! To defend oneself by alliance is proof of\ncowardice. See, even before our attack they are smitten\nwith terror. They seek the heights, they seize the hills\nand, repenting too late, clamor for protection against\nbattle in the open fields. You know how slight a matter\nthe Roman attack is. While they are still gathering in\norder and forming in one line with locked shields, they\nare checked, I will not say by the first wound, but even\nby the dust of battle. Then on to the fray with stout     205\nhearts, as is your wont. Despise their battle line. Attack\nthe Alani, smite the Visigoths! Seek swift victory in\nthat spot where the battle rages. For when the sinews\nare cut the limbs soon relax, nor can a body stand when\nyou have taken away the bones. Let your courage rise\nand your own fury burst forth! Now show your cunning,\nHuns, now your deeds of arms! Let the wounded\nexact in return the death of his foe; let the unwounded     206\nrevel in slaughter of the enemy. No spear shall harm\nthose who are sure to live; and those who are sure to die\nFate overtakes even in peace. And finally, why should\nfortune have made the Huns victorious over so many\nnations, unless it were to prepare them for the joy of\nthis conflict. Who was it revealed to our sires the\npath through the Maeotian swamp, for so many ages\nclosed secret? Who, moreover, made armed men yield\nto you, when you were as yet unarmed? Even a mass of\nfederated nations could not endure the sight of the Huns.\nI am not deceived in the issue;--here is the field so many\nvictories have promised us. I shall hurl the first spear\nat the foe. If any can stand at rest while Attila fights,\nhe is a dead man.\" Inflamed by these words, they all\ndashed into battle.\n\n[Sidenote: FIERCE FIGHTING]\n\nXL And although the situation was itself fearful, yet     207\nthe presence of their king dispelled anxiety and hesitation.\nHand to hand they clashed in battle, and the fight\ngrew fierce, confused, monstrous, unrelenting--a fight\nwhose like no ancient time has ever recorded. There such\ndeeds were done that a brave man who missed this marvellous\nspectacle could not hope to see anything so wonderful\nall his life long. For, if we may believe our     208\nelders, a brook flowing between low banks through the\nplain was greatly increased by blood from the wounds\nof the slain. It was not flooded by showers, as brooks\nusually rise, but was swollen by a strange stream and\nturned into a torrent by the increase of blood. Those\nwhose wounds drove them to slake their parching thirst\ndrank water mingled with gore. In their wretched plight\nthey were forced to drink what they thought was the\nblood they had poured from their own wounds.\n\n[Sidenote: DEATH OF KING THEODORID I IN THE BATTLE]\n\nHere King Theodorid, while riding by to encourage     209\nhis army, was thrown from his horse and trampled under\nfoot by his own men, thus ending his days at a ripe old\nage. But others say he was slain by the spear of Andag\nof the host of the Ostrogoths, who were then under the\nsway of Attila. This was what the soothsayers had told\nto Attila in prophecy, though he understood it of A\u00ebtius.\nThen the Visigoths, separating from the Alani, fell upon     210\nthe horde of the Huns and nearly slew Attila. But he\nprudently took flight and straightway shut himself and\nhis companions within the barriers of the camp, which\nhe had fortified with wagons. A frail defence indeed;\nyet there they sought refuge for their lives, whom but a\nlittle while before no walls of earth could withstand.\nBut Thorismud, the son of King Theodorid, who with     211\nA\u00ebtius had seized the hill and repulsed the enemy from\nthe higher ground, came unwittingly to the wagons of\nthe enemy in the darkness of night, thinking he had\nreached his own lines. As he was fighting bravely, someone\nwounded him in the head and dragged him from his\nhorse. Then he was rescued by the watchful care of his\nfollowers and withdrew from the fierce conflict. A\u00ebtius     212\nalso became separated from his men in the confusion of\nnight and wandered about in the midst of the enemy.\nFearing disaster had happened, he went about in search\nof the Goths. At last he reached the camp of his allies\nand passed the remainder of the night in the protection\nof their shields.\n\nAt dawn on the following day, when the Romans\nsaw the fields were piled high with bodies and that\nthe Huns did not venture forth, they thought the victory\nwas theirs, but knew that Attila would not flee from\nthe battle unless overwhelmed by a great disaster. Yet\nhe did nothing cowardly, like one that is overcome, but\nwith clash of arms sounded the trumpets and threatened\nan attack. He was like a lion pierced by hunting\nspears, who paces to and fro before the mouth of his\nden and dares not spring, but ceases not to terrify the\nneighborhood by his roaring. Even so this warlike king\nat bay terrified his conquerors. Therefore the Goths and     213\nRomans assembled and considered what to do with the\nvanquished Attila. They determined to wear him out by\na siege, because he had no supply of provisions and was\nhindered from approaching by a shower of arrows from\nthe bowmen placed within the confines of the Roman\ncamp. But it was said that the king remained supremely\nbrave even in this extremity and had heaped up a funeral\npyre of horse trappings, so that if the enemy should attack\nhim, he was determined to cast himself into the\nflames, that none might have the joy of wounding him\nand that the lord of so many races might not fall into\nthe hands of his foes.\n\n[Sidenote: RESULTS OF THE BATTLE]\n\nXLI Now during these delays in the siege, the Visigoths     214\nsought their king and the king's sons their father,\nwondering at his absence when success had been attained.\nWhen, after a long search, they found him where the\ndead lay thickest, as happens with brave men, they honored\nhim with songs and bore him away in the sight of\nthe enemy. You might have seen bands of Goths shouting\nwith dissonant cries and paying the honors of death\nwhile the battle still raged. Tears were shed, but such\nas they were accustomed to devote to brave men. It was\ndeath indeed, but the Huns are witness that it was a\nglorious one. It was a death whereby one might well\nsuppose the pride of the enemy would be lowered, when\nthey beheld the body of so great a king borne forth with\nfitting honors. And so the Goths, still continuing the     215\nrites due to Theodorid, bore forth the royal majesty with\nsounding arms, and valiant Thorismud, as befitted a son,\nhonored the glorious spirit of his dear father by following\nhis remains.\n\nWhen this was done, Thorismud was eager to take\nvengeance for his father's death on the remaining Huns,\nbeing moved to this both by the pain of bereavement and\nthe impulse of that valor for which he was noted. Yet\nhe consulted with the Patrician A\u00ebtius (for he was an\nolder man and of more mature wisdom) with regard to\nwhat he ought to do next. But A\u00ebtius feared that if the     216\nHuns were totally destroyed by the Goths, the Roman\nEmpire would be overwhelmed, and urgently advised him\nto return to his own dominions to take up the rule which\nhis father had left. Otherwise his brothers might seize\ntheir father's possessions and obtain the power over the\nVisigoths. In this case Thorismud would have to fight\nfiercely and, what is worse, disastrously with his own\ncountrymen. Thorismud accepted the advice without\nperceiving its double meaning, but followed it with an\neye toward his own advantage. So he left the Huns and\nreturned to Gaul. Thus while human frailty rushes into     217\nsuspicion, it often loses an opportunity of doing great\nthings.\n\nIn this most famous war of the bravest tribes, one hundred\nand sixty five thousand are said to have been slain on\nboth sides, leaving out of account fifteen thousand of the\nGepidae and Franks, who met each other the night before\nthe general engagement and fell by wounds mutually received,\nthe Franks fighting for the Romans and the Gepidae\nfor the Huns.\n\nNow when Attila learned of the retreat of the Goths,     218\nhe thought it a ruse of the enemy,--for so men are wont\nto believe when the unexpected happens--and remained\nfor some time in his camp. But when a long silence followed\nthe absence of the foe, the spirit of the mighty\nking was aroused to the thought of victory and the anticipation\nof pleasure, and his mind turned to the old oracles\nof his destiny.\n\n[Sidenote: THORISMUD 451-453]\n\nThorismud, however, after the death of his father on\nthe Catalaunian Plains where he had fought, advanced in\nroyal state and entered Tolosa. Here although the throng\nof his brothers and brave companions were still rejoicing\nover the victory he yet began to rule so mildly that no one\nstrove with him for the succession to the kingdom.\n\n[Sidenote: THE SIEGE AND FALL OF AQUILEIA 452]\n\nXLII But Attila took occasion from the withdrawal     219\nof the Visigoths, observing what he had often desired\nthat his enemies were divided. At length feeling secure,\nhe moved forward his array to attack the Romans. As\nhis first move he besieged the city of Aquileia, the metropolis\nof Venetia, which is situated on a point or tongue\nof land by the Adriatic Sea. On the eastern side its walls\nare washed by the river Natissa, flowing from Mount\nPiccis. The siege was long and fierce, but of no avail,     220\nsince the bravest soldiers of the Romans withstood him\nfrom within. At last his army was discontented and\neager to withdraw. Attila chanced to be walking around\nthe walls, considering whether to break camp or delay\nlonger, and noticed that the white birds, namely, the\nstorks, who build their nests in the gables of houses, were\nbearing their young from the city and, contrary to their\ncustom, were carrying them out into the country. Being     221\na shrewd observer of events, he understood this and said\nto his soldiers: \"You see the birds foresee the future.\nThey are leaving the city sure to perish and are forsaking\nstrongholds doomed to fall by reason of imminent peril.\nDo not think this a meaningless or uncertain sign; fear,\narising from the things they foresee, has changed their\ncustom.\" Why say more? He inflamed the hearts of\nhis soldiers to attack Aquileia again. Constructing battering\nrams and bringing to bear all manner of engines\nof war, they quickly forced their way into the city, laid it\nwaste, divided the spoil and so cruelly devastated it as\nscarcely to leave a trace to be seen. Then growing bolder     222\nand still thirsting for Roman blood, the Huns raged\nmadly through the remaining cities of the Veneti. They\nalso laid waste Mediolanum, the metropolis of Liguria,\nonce an imperial city, and gave over Ticinum to a like\nfate. Then they destroyed the neighboring country in\ntheir frenzy and demolished almost the whole of Italy.\n\n[Sidenote: POPE LEO INTERVENES TO SAVE ROME 452]\n\nAttila's mind had been bent on going to Rome. But\nhis followers, as the historian Priscus relates, took him\naway, not out of regard for the city to which they were\nhostile, but because they remembered the case of Alaric,\nthe former king of the Visigoths. They distrusted the\ngood fortune of their own king, inasmuch as Alaric did\nnot live long after the sack of Rome, but straightway\ndeparted this life. Therefore while Attila's spirit was     223\nwavering in doubt between going and not going, and he\nstill lingered to ponder the matter, an embassy came to\nhim from Rome to seek peace. Pope Leo himself came\nto meet him in the Ambuleian district of the Veneti at the\nwell-travelled ford of the river Mincius. Then Attila\nquickly put aside his usual fury, turned back on the way\nhe had advanced from beyond the Danube and departed\nwith the promise of peace. But above all he declared and\navowed with threats that he would bring worse things\nupon Italy, unless they sent him Honoria, the sister of the\nEmperor Valentinian and daughter of Augusta Placidia,\nwith her due share of the royal wealth. For it was said     224\nthat Honoria, although bound to chastity for the honor\nof the imperial court and kept in constraint by command\nof her brother, had secretly despatched a eunuch to summon\nAttila that she might have his protection against he\nbrother's power;--a shameful thing, indeed, to get license\nfor her passion at the cost of the public weal.\n\n[Sidenote: MARCIAN 450-457]\n\n[Sidenote: ATTILA DEFEATED BY THORISMUD]\n\nXLIII So Attila returned to his own country, seeming     225\nto regret the peace and to be vexed at the cessation of\nwar. For he sent ambassadors to Marcian, Emperor of\nthe East, threatening to devastate the provinces, because\nthat which had been promised him by Theodosius, a former\nemperor, was in no wise performed, and saying that\nhe would show himself more cruel to his foes than ever.\nBut as he was shrewd and crafty, he threatened in one\ndirection and moved his army in another; for in the\nmidst of these preparations he turned his face toward the\nVisigoths who had yet to feel his vengeance. But here     226\nhe had not the same success as against the Romans.\nHastening back by a different way than before, he decided\nto reduce to his sway that part of the Alani which\nwas settled across the river Loire, in order that by attacking\nthem, and thus changing the aspect of the war, he\nmight become a more terrible menace to the Visigoths.\nAccordingly he started from the provinces of Dacia and\nPannonia, where the Huns were then dwelling with various\nsubject peoples, and moved his array against the\nAlani. But Thorismud, king of the Visigoths, with like     227\nquickness of thought perceived Attila's trick. By forced\nmarches he came to the Alani before him, and was well\nprepared to check the advance of Attila when he came\nafter him. They joined battle in almost the same way as\nbefore at the Catalaunian Plains, and Thorismud dashed\nhis hopes of victory, for he routed him and drove him\nfrom the land without a triumph, compelling him to flee\nto his own country. Thus while Attila, the famous leader\nand lord of many victories, sought to blot out the fame\nof his destroyer and in this way to annul what he had\nsuffered at the hands of the Visigoths, he met a second\ndefeat and retreated ingloriously. Now after the bands     228\nof the Huns had been repulsed by the Alani, without any\nhurt to his own men, Thorismud departed for Tolosa.\nThere he established a settled peace for his people and in\nthe third year of his reign fell sick. While letting blood\nfrom a vein, he was betrayed to his death by Ascalc, a\nclient, who told his foes that his weapons were out of\nreach. Yet grasping a foot-stool in the one hand he had\nfree, he became the avenger of his own blood by slaying\nseveral of those that were lying in wait for him.\n\n[Sidenote: THE REIGN OF KING THEODORID II 453-466]\n\n[Sidenote: Battle near the Ulbius 456]\n\nXLIV After his death, his brother Theodorid succeeded      229\nto the kingdom of the Visigoths and soon found\nthat Riciarius his kinsman, the king of the Suavi, was\nhostile to him. For Riciarius, presuming on his relationship\nto Theodorid, believed that he might seize almost the\nwhole of Spain, thinking the disturbed beginning of\nTheodorid's reign made the time opportune for his trick.\nThe Suavi formerly occupied as their country Galicia and    230\nLusitania, which extend on the right side of Spain along\nthe shore of Ocean. To the east is Austrogonia, to the\nwest, on a promontory, is the sacred Monument of the\nRoman general Scipio, to the north Ocean, and to the\nsouth Lusitania and the Tagus river, which mingles\ngolden grains in its sands and thus carries wealth in its\nworthless mud. So then Riciarius, king of the Suavi, set\nforth and strove to seize the whole of Spain. Theodorid,    231\nhis kinsman, a man of moderation, sent ambassadors to\nhim and told him quietly that he must not only withdraw\nfrom the territories that were not his own, but furthermore\nthat he should not presume to make such an attempt,\nas he was becoming hated for his ambition. But with\narrogant spirit he replied: \"If you murmur here and\nfind fault with my coming, I shall come to Tolosa where\nyou dwell. Resist me there, if you can.\" When he heard\nthis, Theodorid was angry and, making a compact with\nall the other tribes, moved his array against the Suavi.\nHe had as his close allies Gundiuch and Hilperic, kings\nof the Burgundians. They came to battle near the river     232\nUlbius, which flows between Asturica and Hiberia, and\nin the engagement Theodorid with the Visigoths, who\nfought for the right, came off victorious, overthrowing\nthe entire tribe of the Suavi and almost exterminating\nthem. Their king Riciarius fled from the dread foe and\nembarked upon a ship. But he was beaten back by another\nfoe, the adverse wind of the Tyrrhenian Sea, and\nso fell into the hands of the Visigoths. Thus though\nhe changed from sea to land, the wretched man did not\navert his death.\n\nWhen Theodorid had become the victor, he spared the     233\nconquered and did not suffer the rage of conflict to continue,\nbut placed over the Suavi whom he had conquered\none of his own retainers, named Agrivulf. But Agrivulf\nsoon treacherously changed his mind, through the persuasion\nof the Suavi, and failed to fulfil his duty. For\nhe was quite puffed up with tyrannical pride, believing\nhe had obtained the province as a reward for the valor\nby which he and his lord had recently subjugated it. Now\nhe was a man born of the stock of the Varni, far below\nthe nobility of Gothic blood, and so was neither zealous\nfor liberty nor faithful toward his patron. As soon as     234\nTheodorid heard of this, he gathered a force to cast him\nout from the kingdom he had usurped. They came\nquickly and conquered him in the first battle, inflicting a\npunishment befitting his deeds. For he was captured,\ntaken from his friends and beheaded. Thus at last he\nwas made aware of the wrath of the master he thought\nmight be despised because he was kind. Now when the\nSuavi beheld the death of their leader, they sent priests\nof their country to Theodorid as suppliants. He received\nthem with the reverence due their office and not only\ngranted the Suavi exemption from punishment, but was\nmoved by compassion and allowed them to choose a ruler\nof their own race for themselves. The Suavi did so,\ntaking Rimismund as their prince. When this was done\nand peace was everywhere assured, Theodorid died in\nthe thirteenth year of his reign.\n\n[Sidenote: KING EURICH 66-485]\n\n[Sidenote: THE WESTERN EMPIRE FROM THE DEATH OF VALENTINIAN III TO\nROMULUS AUGUSTULUS]\n\n[Sidenote: Maximus 455]\n\n[Sidenote: GAISERIC SACKS ROME 455]\n\n[Sidenote: Majorian 457-461]\n\n[Sidenote: Livius Severus 461-465]\n\n[Sidenote: Leo I 457-474]\n\n[Sidenote: Anthemius 467-472]\n\nXLV His brother Eurich succeeded him with such     235\neager haste that he fell under dark suspicion. Now while\nthese and various other matters were happening among\nthe people of the Visigoths, the Emperor Valentinian was\nslain by the treachery of Maximus, and Maximus himself,\nlike a tyrant, usurped the rule. Gaiseric, king of the\nVandals, heard of this and came from Africa to Italy\nwith ships of war, entered Rome and laid it waste.\nMaximus fled and was slain by a certain Ursus, a Roman\nsoldier. After him Majorian undertook the government     236\nof the Western Empire at the bidding of Marcian, Emperor\nof the East. But he too ruled but a short time.\nFor when he had moved his forces against the Alani who\nwere harassing Gaul, he was killed at Dertona near the\nriver named Ira. Severus succeeded him and died at\nRome in the third year of his reign. When the Emperor\nLeo, who had succeeded Marcian in the Eastern Empire,\nlearned of this, he chose as emperor his Patrician Anthemius\nand sent him to Rome. Upon his arrival he sent\nagainst the Alani his son-in-law Ricimer, who was an\nexcellent man and almost the only one in Italy at that\ntime fit to command the army. In the very first engagement\nhe conquered and destroyed the host of the Alani,\ntogether with their king, Beorg.\n\n[Sidenote: Olybrius 472]\n\nNow Eurich, king of the Visigoths, perceived the frequent     237\nchange of Roman Emperors and strove to hold\nGaul by his own right. The Emperor Anthemius heard\nof it and asked the Brittones for aid. Their King\nRiotimus came with twelve thousand men into the state\nof the Bituriges by the way of Ocean, and was received\nas he disembarked from his ships. Eurich, king of the     238\nVisigoths, came against them with an innumerable army,\nand after a long fight he routed Riotimus, king of the\nBrittones, before the Romans could join him. So when\nhe had lost a great part of his army, he fled with all the\nmen he could gather together, and came to the Burgundians,\na neighboring tribe then allied to the Romans. But\nEurich, king of the Visigoths, seized the Gallic city of\nArverna; for the Emperor Anthemius was now dead.\nEngaged in fierce war with his son-in-law Ricimer, he     239\nhad worn out Rome and was himself finally slain by his\nson-in-law and yielded the rule to Olybrius.\n\n[Sidenote: Glycerius 473]\n\n[Sidenote: Nepos 474]\n\nAt that time Aspar, first of the Patricians and a famous\nman of the Gothic race was wounded by the swords of\nthe eunuchs in his palace at Constantinople and died.\nWith him were slain his sons Ardabures and Patriciolus,\nthe one long a Patrician, and the other styled a Caesar\nand son-in-law of the Emperor Leo. Now Olybrius died\nbarely eight months after he had entered upon his reign,\nand Glycerius was made Caesar at Ravenna, rather by\nusurpation than by election. Hardly had a year been\nended when Nepos, the son of the sister of Marcellinus,\nonce a Patrician, deposed him from his office and ordained\nhim bishop at the Port of Rome.\n\n[Sidenote: Romulus Augustulus 476]\n\nWhen Eurich, as we have already said, beheld these     240\ngreat and various changes, he seized the city of Arverna,\nwhere the Roman general Ecdicius was at that time in\ncommand. He was a senator of most renowned family\nand the son of Avitus, a recent emperor who had usurped\nthe reign for a few days--for Avitus held the rule for a\nfew days before Olybrius, and then withdrew of his own\naccord to Placentia, where he was ordained bishop. His\nson Ecdicius strove for a long time with the Visigoths,\nbut had not the power to prevail. So he left the country\nand (what was more important) the city of Arverna to\nthe enemy and betook himself to safer regions. When    241\nthe Emperor Nepos heard of this, he ordered Ecdicius\nto leave Gaul and come to him, appointing Orestes in his\nstead as Master of the Soldiery. This Orestes thereupon\nreceived the army, set out from Rome against the\nenemy and came to Ravenna. Here he tarried while he\nmade his son Romulus Augustulus emperor. When\nNepos learned of this, he fled to Dalmatia and died there,\ndeprived of his throne, in the very place where Glycerius,\nwho was formerly emperor, held at that time the bishopric\nof Salona.\n\n[Sidenote: THE RULE OF ODOACER 476-493]\n\n[Sidenote: Death of Bracila 477]\n\nXLVI Now when Augustulus had been appointed     242\nEmperor by his father Orestes in Ravenna, it was not\nlong before Odoacer, king of the Torcilingi, invaded\nItaly, as leader of the Sciri, the Heruli and allies of\nvarious races. He put Orestes to death, drove his son\nAugustulus from the throne and condemned him to the\npunishment of exile in the Castle of Lucullus in Campania.\nThus the Western Empire of the Roman race, which     243\nOctavianus Augustus, the first of the Augusti, began to\ngovern in the seven hundred and ninth year from the\nfounding of the city, perished with this Augustulus in the\nfive hundred and twenty second year from the beginning\nof the rule of his predecessors and those before them,\nand from this time onward kings of the Goths held Rome\nand Italy. Meanwhile Odoacer, king of nations, subdued\nall Italy and then at the very outset of his reign slew\nCount Bracila at Ravenna that he might inspire a fear\nof himself among the Romans. He strengthened his\nkingdom and held it for almost thirteen years, even until\nthe appearance of Theodoric, of whom we shall speak\nhereafter.\n\n[Sidenote: Leo II 473-474]\n\n[Sidenote: Zeno 474-491]\n\n[Sidenote: Eurich killed 485]\n\n[Sidenote: ALARIC II LAST KING OF THE VISIGOTHS 485-507]\n\nXLVII But first let us return to that order from     244\nwhich we have digressed and tell how Eurich, king of the\nVisigoths, beheld the tottering of the Roman Empire and\nreduced Arelate and Massilia to his own sway. Gaiseric,\nking of the Vandals, enticed him by gifts to do these\nthings, to the end that he himself might forestall the plots\nwhich Leo and Zeno had contrived against him. Therefore\nhe stirred the Ostrogoths to lay waste the Eastern\nEmpire and the Visigoths the Western, so that while his\nfoes were battling in both empires, he might himself\nreign peacefully in Africa. Eurich perceived this with\ngladness and, as he already held all of Spain and Gaul\nby his own right, proceeded to subdue the Burgundians\nalso. In the nineteenth year of his reign he was deprived\nof his life at Arelate, where he then dwelt. He was succeeded     245\nby his own son Alaric, the ninth in succession\nfrom the famous Alaric the Great to receive the kingdom\nof the Visigoths. For even as it happened to the line of\nthe Augusti, as we have stated above, so too it appears in\nthe line of the Alarici, that kingdoms often come to an\nend in kings who bear the same name as those at the\nbeginning. Meanwhile let us leave this subject, and\nweave together the whole story of the origin of the Goths,\nas we promised.\n\n(The Divided Goths: Ostrogoths)\n\n[Sidenote: THE OSTROGOTHS AND THEIR SUBJECTION TO THE HUNS]\n\n[Sidenote: Death of Hermanaric 375 or 376]\n\nXLVIII Since I have followed the stories of my     246\nancestors and retold to the best of my ability the tale of\nthe period when both tribes, Ostrogoths and Visigoths,\nwere united, and then clearly treated of the Visigoths\napart from the Ostrogoths, I must now return to those\nancient Scythian abodes and set forth in like manner the\nancestry and deeds of the Ostrogoths. It appears that at\nthe death of their king, Hermanaric, they were made a\nseparate people by the departure of the Visigoths, and\nremained in their country subject to the sway of the\nHuns; yet Vinitharius of the Amali retained the insignia\nof his rule. He rivalled the valor of his grandfather     247\nVultuulf, although he had not the good fortune of Hermanaric.\nBut disliking to remain under the rule of the\nHuns, he withdrew a little from them and strove to show\nhis courage by moving his forces against the country of\nthe Antes. When he attacked them, he was beaten in the\nfirst encounter. Thereafter he did valiantly and, as a\nterrible example, crucified their king, named Boz, together\nwith his sons and seventy nobles, and left their bodies\nhanging there to double the fear of those who had surrendered.\nWhen he had ruled with such license for     248\nbarely a year, Balamber, king of the Huns, would no\nlonger endure it, but sent for Gesimund, son of Hunimund\nthe Great. Now Gesimund, together with a great\npart of the Goths, remained under the rule of the Huns,\nbeing mindful of his oath of fidelity. Balamber renewed\nhis alliance with him and led his army up against Vinitharius.\nAfter a long contest, Vinitharius prevailed in\nthe first and in the second conflict, nor can any say how\ngreat a slaughter he made of the army of the Huns. But     249\nin the third battle, when they met each other unexpectedly\nat the river named Erac, Balamber shot an arrow and\nwounded Vinitharius in the head, so that he died. Then\nBalamber took to himself in marriage Vadamerca, the\ngrand-daughter of Vinitharius, and finally ruled all the\npeople of the Goths as his peaceful subjects, but in such\na way that one ruler of their own number always held the\npower over the Gothic race, though subject to the Huns.\n\n[Sidenote: KING HUNIMUND]\n\n[Sidenote: KING THORISMUD KILLED 404]\n\nAnd later, after the death of Vinitharius, Hunimund     250\nruled them, the son of Hermanaric, a mighty king of\nyore; a man fierce in war and of famous personal beauty,\nwho afterwards fought successfully against the race of\nthe Suavi. And when he died, his son Thorismud succeeded\nhim, in the very bloom of youth. In the second\nyear of his rule he moved an army against the Gepidae\nand won a great victory over them, but is said to have\nbeen killed by falling from his horse. When he was dead,     251\nthe Ostrogoths mourned for him so deeply that for forty\nyears no other king succeeded in his place, and during all\nthis time they had ever on their lips the tale of his memory.\nNow as time went on, Valamir grew to man's\nestate. He was the son of Thorismud's cousin Vandalarius.\nFor his son Beremud, as we have said before, at\nlast grew to despise the race of the Ostrogoths because of\nthe overlordship of the Huns, and so had followed the\ntribe of the Visigoths to the western country, and it was\nfrom him Veteric was descended. Veteric also had a son\nEutharic, who married Amalasuentha, the daughter of\nTheodoric, thus uniting again the stock of the Amali\nwhich had divided long ago. Eutharic begat Athalaric\nand Mathesuentha. But since Athalaric died in the\nyears of his boyhood, Mathesuentha was taken to Constantinople\nby her second husband, namely Germanus, a\ncousin of the Emperor Justinian, and bore a posthumous\nson, whom she named Germanus.\n\n[Sidenote: KING VALAMIR 445?]\n\nBut that the order we have taken for our history may     252\nrun its due course, we must return to the stock of Vandalarius,\nwhich put forth three branches. This Vandalarius,\nthe son of a brother of Hermanaric and cousin of the\naforesaid Thorismud, vaunted himself among the race of\nthe Amali because he had begotten three sons, Valamir,\nThiudimer and Vidimer. Of these Valamir ascended the\nthrone after his parents, though the Huns as yet held the\npower over the Goths in general as among other nations.\nIt was pleasant to behold the concord of these three brothers;     253\nfor the admirable Thiudimer served as a soldier for\nthe empire of his brother Valamir, and Valamir bade\nhonors be given him, while Vidimer was eager to serve\nthem both. Thus regarding one another with common\naffection, not one was wholly deprived of the kingdom\nwhich two of them held in mutual peace. Yet, as has\noften been said, they ruled in such a way that they respected\nthe dominion of Attila, king of the Huns. Indeed\nthey could not have refused to fight against their kinsmen\nthe Visigoths, and they must even have committed parricide\nat their lord's command. There was no way whereby\nany Scythian tribe could have been wrested from the\npower of the Huns, save by the death of Attila,--an\nevent the Romans and all other nations desired. Now his\ndeath was as base as his life was marvellous.\n\n[Sidenote: DEATH OF ATTILA 453]\n\nXLIX Shortly before he died, as the historian Priscus     254\nrelates, he took in marriage a very beautiful girl named\nIldico, after countless other wives, as was the custom of\nhis race. He had given himself up to excessive joy at\nhis wedding, and as he lay on his back, heavy with wine\nand sleep, a rush of superfluous blood, which would ordinarily\nhave flowed from his nose, streamed in deadly\ncourse down his throat and killed him, since it was hindered\nin the usual passages. Thus did drunkenness put a\ndisgraceful end to a king renowned in war. On the following\nday, when a great part of the morning was spent,\nthe royal attendants suspected some ill and, after a great\nuproar, broke in the doors. There they found the death\nof Attila accomplished by an effusion of blood, without\nany wound, and the girl with downcast face weeping\nbeneath her veil. Then, as is the custom of that race,     255\nthey plucked out the hair of their heads and made their\nfaces hideous with deep wounds, that the renowned warrior\nmight be mourned, not by effeminate wailings and\ntears, but by the blood of men. Moreover a wondrous\nthing took place in connection with Attila's death. For\nin a dream some god stood at the side of Marcian, Emperor\nof the East, while he was disquieted about his\nfierce foe, and showed him the bow of Attila broken in\nthat same night, as if to intimate that the race of Huns\nowed much to that weapon. This account the historian\nPriscus says he accepts upon truthful evidence. For so\nterrible was Attila thought to be to great empires that\nthe gods announced his death to rulers as a special boon.\n\nWe shall not omit to say a few words about the many     256\nways in which his shade was honored by his race. His\nbody was placed in the midst of a plain and lay in state\nin a silken tent as a sight for men's admiration. The best\nhorsemen of the entire tribe of the Huns rode around in\ncircles, after the manner of circus games, in the place\nto which he had been brought and told of his deeds in a\nfuneral dirge in the following manner: \"The chief of the     257\nHuns, King Attila, born of his sire Mundiuch, lord of\nbravest tribes, sole possessor of the Scythian and German\nrealms--powers unknown before--captured cities and\nterrified both empires of the Roman world and, appeased\nby their prayers, took annual tribute to save the rest from\nplunder. And when he had accomplished all this by the\nfavor of fortune, he fell, not by wound of the foe, nor\nby treachery of friends, but in the midst of his nation at\npeace, happy in his joy and without sense of pain. Who\ncan rate this as death, when none believes it calls for\nvengeance?\" When they had mourned him with such     258\nlamentations, a _strava_, as they call it, was celebrated over\nhis tomb with great revelling. They gave way in turn to\nthe extremes of feeling and displayed funereal grief alternating\nwith joy. Then in the secrecy of night they buried\nhis body in the earth. They bound his coffins, the first\nwith gold, the second with silver and the third with the\nstrength of iron, showing by such means that these three\nthings suited the mightiest of kings; iron because he\nsubdued the nations, gold and silver because he received\nthe honors of both empires. They also added the arms\nof foemen won in the fight, trappings of rare worth,\nsparkling with various gems, and ornaments of all sorts\nwhereby princely state is maintained. And that so great\nriches might be kept from human curiosity, they slew\nthose appointed to the work--a dreadful pay for their\nlabor; and thus sudden death was the lot of those who\nburied him as well as of him who was buried.\n\n[Sidenote: DISSOLUTION OF THE KINGDOM OF THE HUNS 454]\n\n[Sidenote: Battle of Nedao 454]\n\nL After they had fulfilled these rites, a contest for     259\nthe highest place arose among Attila's successors,--for the\nminds of young men are wont to be inflamed by ambition\nfor power,--and in their rash eagerness to rule they all\nalike destroyed his empire. Thus kingdoms are often\nweighed down by a superfluity rather than by a lack of\nsuccessors. For the sons of Attila, who through the\nlicense of his lust formed almost a people of themselves,\nwere clamoring that the nations should be divided among\nthem equally and that warlike kings with their peoples\nshould be apportioned to them by lot like a family estate.\nWhen Ardaric, king of the Gepidae, learned this, he     260\nbecame enraged because so many nations were being\ntreated like slaves of the basest condition, and was the\nfirst to rise against the sons of Attila. Good fortune\nattended him, and he effaced the disgrace of servitude that\nrested upon him. For by his revolt he freed not only his\nown tribe, but all the others who were equally oppressed;\nsince all readily strive for that which is sought for the\ngeneral advantage. They took up arms against the destruction\nthat menaced all and joined battle with the\nHuns in Pannonia, near a river called Nedao. There an     261\nencounter took place between the various nations Attila\nhad held under his sway. Kingdoms with their peoples\nwere divided, and out of one body were made many\nmembers not responding to a common impulse. Being\ndeprived of their head, they madly strove against each\nother. They never found their equals ranged against\nthem without harming each other by wounds mutually\ngiven. And so the bravest nations tore themselves to\npieces. For then, I think, must have occurred a most\nremarkable spectacle, where one might see the Goths\nfighting with pikes, the Gepidae raging with the sword,\nthe Rugi breaking off the spears in their own wounds, the\nSuavi fighting on foot, the Huns with bows, the Alani\ndrawing up a battle-line of heavy-armed and the Heruli\nof light-armed warriors.\n\nFinally, after many bitter conflicts, victory fell unexpectedly\nto the Gepidae. For the sword and conspiracy     262\nof Ardaric destroyed almost thirty thousand men, Huns\nas well as those of the other nations who brought them\naid. In this battle fell Ellac, the elder son of Attila,\nwhom his father is said to have loved so much more than\nall the rest that he preferred him to any child or even to\nall the children of his kingdom. But fortune was not in\naccord with his father's wish. For after slaying many\nof the foe, it appears that he met his death so bravely\nthat, if his father had lived, he would have rejoiced at his\nglorious end. When Ellac was slain, his remaining     263\nbrothers were put to flight near the shore of the Sea of\nPontus, where we have said the Goths first settled. Thus\ndid the Huns give way, a race to which men thought the\nwhole world must yield. So baneful a thing is division,\nthat they who used to inspire terror when their strength\nwas united, were overthrown separately. The cause of\nArdaric, king of the Gepidae, was fortunate for the various\nnations who were unwillingly subject to the rule\nof the Huns, for it raised their long downcast spirits to\nthe glad hope of freedom. Many sent ambassadors to\nthe Roman territory, where they were most graciously\nreceived by Marcian, who was then emperor, and took the\nabodes allotted them to dwell in. But the Gepidae by their     264\nown might won for themselves the territory of the Huns\nand ruled as victors over the extent of all Dacia, demanding\nof the Roman Empire nothing more than peace and\nan annual gift as a pledge of their friendly alliance. This\nthe Emperor freely granted at the time, and to this day\nthat race receives its customary gifts from the Roman\nEmperor.\n\n[Sidenote: JORDANES]\n\nNow when the Goths saw the Gepidae defending for\nthemselves the territory of the Huns and the people of\nthe Huns dwelling again in their ancient abodes, they\npreferred to ask for lands from the Roman Empire\nrather than invade the lands of others with danger to\nthemselves. So they received Pannonia, which stretches\nin a long plain, being bounded on the east by Upper\nMoesia, on the south by Dalmatia, on the west by Noricum\nand on the north by the Danube. This land is\nadorned with many cities, the first of which is Sirmium\nand the last Vindobona. But the Sauromatae, whom we     265\ncall Sarmatians, and the Cemandri and certain of the\nHuns dwelt in Castra Martis, a city given them in the\nregion of Illyricum. Of this race was Blivila, Duke of\nPentapolis, and his brother Froila and also Bessa, a Patrician\nin our time. The Sciri, moreover, and the Sadagarii\nand certain of the Alani with their leader, Candac by\nname, received Scythia Minor and Lower Moesia. Paria,\nthe father of my father Alanoviiamuth (that is to say,      266\nmy grandfather), was secretary to this Candac as long\nas he lived. To his sister's son Gunthigis, also called\nBaza, the Master of the Soldiery, who was the son of\nAndag the son of Andela, who was descended from the\nstock of the Amali, I also, Jordanes, although an unlearned\nman before my conversion, was secretary. The\nRugi, however, and some other races asked that they\nmight inhabit Bizye and Arcadiopolis. Hernac, the\nyounger son of Attila, with his followers, chose a home\nin the most distant part of Lesser Scythia. Emnetzur and\nUltzindur, kinsmen of his, won Oescus and Utus and\nAlmus in Dacia on the bank of the Danube, and many of\nthe Huns, then swarming everywhere, betook themselves\ninto Romania, and from them the Sacromontisi and the\nFossatisii of this day are said to be descended.\n\n[Sidenote: Bishop Ulfilas about 311-381]\n\n[Sidenote: THE LESSER GOTHS]\n\nLI There were other Goths also, called the Lesser,     267\na great people whose priest and primate was Vulfila, who\nis said to have taught them to write. And to-day they\nare in Moesia, inhabiting the Nicopolitan region as far\nas the base of Mount Haemus. They are a numerous\npeople, but poor and unwarlike, rich in nothing save\nflocks of various kinds and pasture-lands for cattle and\nforests for wood. Their country is not fruitful in wheat\nand other sorts of grain. Certain of them do not know\nthat vineyards exist elsewhere, and they buy their wine\nfrom neighboring countries. But most of them drink\nmilk.\n\n[Sidenote: THE OSTROGOTHS IN PANNONIA]\n\n[Sidenote: BIRTH OF THEODORIC THE GREAT 454]\n\nLII Let us now return to the tribe with which we     268\nstarted, namely the Ostrogoths, who were dwelling in\nPannonia under their king Valamir and his brothers Thiudimer\nand Vidimer. Although their territories were\nseparate, yet their plans were one. For Valamir dwelt\nbetween the rivers Scarniunga and Aqua Nigra, Thiudimer\nnear Lake Pelso and Vidimer between them both.\nNow it happened that the sons of Attila, regarding the\nGoths as deserters from their rule, came against them as\nthough they were seeking fugitive slaves, and attacked\nValamir alone, when his brothers knew nothing of it. He     269\nsustained their attack, though he had but few supporters,\nand after harassing them a long time, so utterly overwhelmed\nthem that scarcely any portion of the enemy\nremained. The remnant turned in flight and sought\nthe parts of Scythia which border on the stream of the\nriver Danaper, which the Huns call in their own tongue\nthe Var. Thereupon he sent a messenger of good tidings\nto his brother Thiudimer, and on the very day the messenger\narrived he found even greater joy in the house of\nThiudimer. For on that day his son Theodoric was born,\nof a concubine Erelieva indeed, and yet a child of good\nhope.\n\n[Sidenote: HIS YOUTH SPENT AT CONSTANTINOPLE BEGINNING 461]\n\nNow after no great time King Valamir and his brothers     270\nThiudimer and Vidimer sent an embassy to the Emperor\nMarcian, because the usual gifts which they received\nlike a New Year's present from the Emperor, to\npreserve the compact of peace, were slow in arriving.\nAnd they found that Theodoric, son of Triarius, a man\nof Gothic blood also, but born of another stock, not of\nthe Amali, was in great favor, together with his followers.\nHe was allied in friendship with the Romans\nand obtained an annual bounty, while they themselves\nwere merely held in disdain. Thereat they were aroused     271\nto frenzy and took up arms. They roved through almost\nthe whole of Illyricum and laid it waste in their search\nfor spoil. Then the Emperor quickly changed his mind\nand returned to his former state of friendship. He sent\nan embassy to give them the past gifts, as well as those\nnow due, and furthermore promised to give these gifts\nin future without any dispute. From the Goths the\nRomans received as a hostage of peace Theodoric, the\nyoung child of Thiudimer, whom we have mentioned\nabove. He had now attained the age of seven years and\nwas entering upon his eighth. While his father hesitated\nabout giving him up, his uncle Valamir besought him to\ndo it, hoping that peace between the Romans and the\nGoths might thus be assured. Therefore Theodoric was\ngiven as a hostage by the Goths and brought to the city\nof Constantinople to the Emperor Leo and, being a\ngoodly child, deservedly gained the imperial favor.\n\n[Sidenote: THE GOTHS OVERWHELM THE REMNANT OF THE HUNS]\n\nLIII Now after firm peace was established between     272\nGoths and Romans, the Goths found that the possessions\nthey had received from the Emperor were not sufficient\nfor them. Furthermore, they were eager to display their\nwonted valor, and so began to plunder the neighboring\nraces round about them, first attacking the Sadagis who\nheld the interior of Pannonia. When Dintzic, king of the\nHuns, a son of Attila, learned this, he gathered to him\nthe few who still seemed to have remained under his\nsway, namely, the Ultzinzures, and Angisciri, the Bittugures\nand the Bardores. Coming to Bassiana, a city of\nPannonia, he beleaguered it and began to plunder its territory.\nThen the Goths at once abandoned the expedition     273\nthey had planned against the Sadagis, turned upon the\nHuns and drove them so ingloriously from their own\nland that those who remained have been in dread of the\narms of the Goths from that time down to the present\nday.\n\n[Sidenote: CONQUEST OF THE SUAVI]\n\n[Sidenote: Plot of Hunimund about 470]\n\nWhen the tribe of the Huns was at last subdued by the\nGoths, Hunimund, chief of the Suavi, who was crossing\nover to plunder Dalmatia, carried off some cattle of the\nGoths which were straying over the plains; for Dalmatia\nwas near Suavia and not far distant from the territory\nof Pannonia, especially that part where the Goths were\nthen staying. So then, as Hunimund was returning     274\nwith the Suavi to his own country, after he had devastated\nDalmatia, Thiudimer the brother of Valamir,\nking of the Goths, kept watch on their line of march.\nNot that he grieved so much over the loss of his cattle,\nbut he feared that if the Suavi obtained this plunder with\nimpunity, they would proceed to greater license. So in\nthe dead of night, while they were asleep, he made an\nunexpected attack upon them, near Lake Pelso. Here he\nso completely crushed them that he took captive and sent\ninto slavery under the Goths even Hunimund, their king,\nand all of his army who had escaped the sword. Yet\nas he was a great lover of mercy, he granted pardon\nafter taking vengeance and became reconciled to the\nSuavi. He adopted as his son the same man whom he\nhad taken captive, and sent him back with his followers\ninto Suavia. But Hunimund was unmindful of his     275\nadopted father's kindness. After some time he brought\nforth a plot he had contrived and aroused the tribe of the\nSciri, who then dwelt above the Danube and abode peaceably\nwith the Goths. So the Sciri broke off their alliance\nwith them, took up arms, joined themselves to Hunimund\nand went out to attack the race of the Goths. Thus war\ncame upon the Goths who were expecting no evil, because\nthey relied upon both of their neighbors as friends. Constrained\nby necessity they took up arms and avenged\nthemselves and their injuries by recourse to battle. In     276\nthis battle, as King Valamir rode on his horse before the\nline to encourage his men, the horse was wounded and\nfell, overthrowing its rider. Valamir was quickly pierced\nby his enemies' spears and slain. Thereupon the Goths\nproceeded to exact vengeance for the death of their king,\nas well as for the injury done them by the rebels. They\nfought in such wise that there remained of all the race of\nthe Sciri only a few who bore the name, and they with\ndisgrace. Thus were all destroyed.\n\n[Sidenote: SUCCESS OF THE GOTHS UNDER HIUDIMER ABOUT 470]\n\nLIV The kings [of the Suavi], Hunimund and     277\nAlaric, fearing the destruction that had come upon the\nSciri, next made war upon the Goths, relying upon the\naid of the Sarmations, who had come to them as auxiliaries\nwith their kings Beuca and Babai. They summoned\nthe last remnants of the Sciri, with Edica and Hunuulf,\ntheir chieftains, thinking they would fight the more desperately\nto avenge themselves. They had on their side\nthe Gepidae also, as well as no small reinforcements from\nthe race of the Rugi and from others gathered here\nand there. Thus they brought together a great host at\nthe river Bolia in Pannonia and encamped there. Now     278\nwhen Valamir was dead, the Goths fled to Thiudimer,\nhis brother. Although he had long ruled along with his\nbrothers, yet he took the insignia of his increased authority\nand summoned his younger brother Vidimer and\nshared with him the cares of war, resorting to arms under\ncompulsion. A battle was fought and the party of the\nGoths was found to be so much the stronger that the\nplain was drenched in the blood of their fallen foes and\nlooked like a crimson sea. Weapons and corpses, piled\nup like hills, covered the plain for more than ten miles.\nWhen the Goths saw this, they rejoiced with joy unspeakable,     279\nbecause by this great slaughter of their foes they\nhad avenged the blood of Valamir their king and the\ninjury done themselves. But those of the innumerable\nand motley throng of the foe who were able to escape,\nthough they got away, nevertheless came to their own\nland with difficulty and without glory.\n\n[Sidenote: THIUDIMER AGAIN WARS WITH THE SUAVI]\n\n[Sidenote: THEODORIC SENT BACK TO HIS OWN PEOPLE 472]\n\n[Sidenote: Capture of Belgrade]\n\nLV After a certain time, when the wintry cold was     280\nat hand, the river Danube was frozen over as usual. For\na river like this freezes so hard that it will support like\na solid rock an army of foot-soldiers and wagons and\ncarts and whatsoever vehicles there may be,--nor is there\nneed of skiffs and boats. So when Thiudimer, king of\nthe Goths, saw that it was frozen, he led his army across\nthe Danube and appeared unexpectedly to the Suavi from\nthe rear. Now this country of the Suavi has on the east\nthe Baiovari, on the west the Franks, on the south the\nBurgundians and on the north the Thuringians. With     281\nthe Suavi there were present the Alamanni, then their\nconfederates, who also ruled the Alpine heights, whence\nseveral streams flow into the Danube, pouring in with a\ngreat rushing sound. Into a place thus fortified King\nThiudimer led his army in the winter-time and conquered,\nplundered and almost subdued the race of the Suavi as\nwell as the Alamanni, who were mutually banded together.\nThence he returned as victor to his own home in\nPannonia and joyfully received his son Theodoric, once\ngiven as hostage to Constantinople and now sent back by\nthe Emperor Leo with great gifts. Now Theodoric had     282\nreached man's estate, for he was eighteen years of age\nand his boyhood was ended. So he summoned certain of\nhis father's adherents and took to himself from the people\nhis friends and retainers,--almost six thousand men.\nWith these he crossed the Danube, without his father's\nknowledge, and marched against Babai, king of the Sarmatians,\nwho had just won a victory over Camundus, a\ngeneral of the Romans, and was ruling with insolent\npride. Theodoric came upon him and slew him, and\ntaking as booty his slaves and treasure, returned victorious\nto his father. Next he invaded the city of Singidunum,\nwhich the Sarmatians themselves had seized, and\ndid not return it to the Romans, but reduced it to his own\nsway.\n\n[Sidenote: VIDIMER THE YOUNGER GOES TO GAUL 473]\n\nLVI Then as the spoil taken from one and another     283\nof the neighboring tribes diminished, the Goths began\nto lack food and clothing, and peace became distasteful\nto men for whom war had long furnished the\nnecessaries of life. So all the Goths approached their\nking Thiudimer and, with great outcry, begged him to\nlead forth his army in whatsoever direction he might\nwish. He summoned his brother and, after casting lots,\nbade him go into the country of Italy, where at this time\nGlycerius ruled as emperor, saying that he himself as the\nmightier would go to the east against a mightier empire.\nAnd so it happened. Thereupon Vidimer entered the     284\nland of Italy, but soon paid the last debt of fate and\ndeparted from earthly affairs, leaving his son and namesake\nVidimer to succeed him. The Emperor Glycerius\nbestowed gifts upon Vidimer and persuaded him to go\nfrom Italy to Gaul, which was then harassed on all sides\nby various races, saying that their own kinsmen, the\nVisigoths, there ruled a neighboring kingdom. And\nwhat more? Vidimer accepted the gifts and, obeying\nthe command of the Emperor Glycerius, pressed on to\nGaul. Joining with his kinsmen the Visigoths, they\nagain formed one body, as they had been long ago. Thus\nthey held Gaul and Spain by their own right and so\ndefended them that no other race won the mastery there.\n\n[Sidenote: THIUDIMER IN MACEDONIA]\n\nBut Thiudimer, the elder brother, crossed the river     285\nSavus with his men, threatening the Sarmatians and their\nsoldiers with war if any should resist him. From fear of\nthis they kept quiet; moreover they were powerless in the\nface of so great a host. Thiudimer, seeing prosperity\neverywhere awaiting him, invaded Naissus, the first city\nof Illyricum. He was joined by his son Theodoric and\nthe Counts Astat and Invilia, and sent them to Ulpiana\nby way of Castrum Herculis. Upon their arrival the     286\ntown surrendered, as did Stobi later; and several places\nof Illyricum, inaccessible to them at first, were thus made\neasy of approach. For they first plundered and then\nruled by right of war Heraclea and Larissa, cities of\nThessaly. But Thiudimer the king, perceiving his own\ngood fortune and that of his son, was not content with\nthis alone, but set forth from the city of Naissus, leaving\nonly a few men behind as a guard. He himself advanced\nto Thessalonica, where Hilarianus the Patrician, appointed\nby the Emperor, was stationed with his army.\nWhen Hilarianus beheld Thessalonica surrounded by an     287\nentrenchment and saw that he could not resist attack, he\nsent an embassy to Thiudimer the king and by the offer\nof gifts turned him aside from destroying the city. Then\nthe Roman general entered upon a truce with the Goths\nand of his own accord handed over to them those places\nthey inhabited, namely Cyrrhus, Pella, Europus, Methone,\nPydna, Beroea, and another which is called Dium.\nSo the Goths and their king laid aside their arms, consented     288\nto peace and became quiet. Soon after these\nevents, King Thiudimer was seized with a mortal illness\nin the city of Cyrrhus. He called the Goths to himself,\nappointed Theodoric his son as heir of his kingdom and\npresently departed this life.\n\n[Sidenote: Zeno 491]\n\n[Sidenote: Theodoric the Great 526]\n\n[Sidenote: THEODORIC HONORED BY ZENO 528]\n\nLVII When the Emperor Zeno heard that Theodoric     289\nhad been appointed king over his own people, he received\nthe news with pleasure and invited him to come and visit\nhim in the city, appointing an escort of honor. Receiving\nTheodoric with all due respect, he placed him among the\nprinces of his palace. After some time Zeno increased\nhis dignity by adopting him as his son-at-arms and gave\nhim a triumph in the city at his expense. Theodoric was\nmade Consul Ordinary also, which is well known to be\nthe supreme good and highest honor in the world. Nor\nwas this all, for Zeno set up before the royal palace an\nequestrian statue to the glory of this great man.\n\n[Sidenote: ASKS TO THE EMPIRE FOR HIS RULE]\n\n[Sidenote: THEODORIC SETS OUT FOR ITALY 488]\n\nNow while Theodoric was in alliance by treaty with     290\nthe Empire of Zeno and was himself enjoying every\ncomfort in the city, he heard that his tribe, dwelling as\nwe have said in Illyricum, was not altogether satisfied or\ncontent. So he chose rather to seek a living by his own\nexertions, after the manner customary to his race, rather\nthan to enjoy the advantages of the Roman Empire in\nluxurious ease while his tribe lived in want. After pondering\nthese matters, he said to the Emperor: \"Though I\nlack nothing in serving your Empire, yet if Your Piety\ndeem it worthy, be pleased to hear the desire of my\nheart.\" And when as usual he had been granted permission     291\nto speak freely, he said: \"The western country, long\nago governed by the rule of your ancestors and predecessors,\nand that city which was the head and mistress of\nthe world,--wherefore is it now shaken by the tyranny\nof the Torcilingi and the Rugi? Send me there with my\nrace. Thus if you but say the word, you may be freed\nfrom the burden of expense here, and, if by the Lord's\nhelp I shall conquer, the fame of Your Piety shall be\nglorious there. For it is better that I, your servant and\nyour son, should rule that kingdom, receiving it as a\ngift from you if I conquer, than that one whom you do\nnot recognize should oppress your Senate with his tyrannical\nyoke and a part of the republic with slavery. For if\nI prevail, I shall retain it as your grant and gift; if I am\nconquered, Your Piety will lose nothing--nay, as I have\nsaid, it will save the expense I now entail.\" Although the     292\nEmperor was grieved that he should go, yet when he\nheard this he granted what Theodoric asked, for he was\nunwilling to cause him sorrow. He sent him forth enriched\nby great gifts and commended to his charge the\nSenate and the Roman People.\n\n[Sidenote: HE CONQUERS ODOACER AND PUTS HIM TO DEATH 493]\n\nTherefore Theodoric departed from the royal city and\nreturned to his own people. In company with the whole\ntribe of the Goths, who gave him their unanimous consent,\nhe set out for Hesperia. He went in straight march\nthrough Sirmium to the places bordering on Pannonia\nand, advancing into the territory of Venetia as far as\nthe bridge of the Sontius, encamped there. When he     293\nhad halted there for some time to rest the bodies of\nhis men and pack-animals, Odoacer sent an armed force\nagainst him, which he met on the plains of Verona and\ndestroyed with great slaughter. Then he broke camp\nand advanced through Italy with greater boldness. Crossing\nthe river Po, he pitched camp near the royal city\nof Ravenna, about the third milestone from the city in\nthe place called Pineta. When Odoacer saw this, he\nfortified himself within the city. He frequently harassed\nthe army of the Goths at night, sallying forth stealthily\nwith his men, and this not once or twice, but often; and\nthus he struggled for almost three whole years. But he     294\nlabored in vain, for all Italy at last called Theodoric its\nlord and the Empire obeyed his nod. But Odoacer, with\nhis few adherents and the Romans who were present, suffered\ndaily from war and famine in Ravenna. Since he\naccomplished nothing, he sent an embassy and begged for\nmercy. Theodoric first granted it and afterwards deprived     295\nhim of his life.\n\n[Sidenote: THEODORIC FOUNDS THE OSTROGOTHIC KINGDOM IN ITALY 493]\n\nIt was in the third year after his entrance into Italy,\nas we have said, that Theodoric, by advice of the Emperor\nZeno, laid aside the garb of a private citizen and\nthe dress of his race and assumed a costume with a royal\nmantle, as he had now become the ruler over both Goths\nand Romans. He sent an embassy to Lodoin, king of the\nFranks, and asked for his daughter Audefleda in marriage.     296\nLodoin freely and gladly gave her, and also his\nsons Celdebert and Heldebert and Thiudebert, believing\nthat by this alliance a league would be formed and that\nthey would be associated with the race of the Goths. But\nthat union was of no avail for peace and harmony, for\nthey fought fiercely with each other again and again for\nthe lands of the Goths; but never did the Goths yield to\nthe Franks while Theodoric lived.\n\n[Sidenote: OF THE INCREASE OF HIS POWER]\n\n[Sidenote: Amalaric 507-531]\n\nLVIII Now before he had a child from Audefleda,     297\nTheodoric had children of a concubine, daughters begotten\nin Moesia, one named Thiudigoto and another Ostrogotho.\nSoon after he came to Italy, he gave them in marriage\nto neighboring kings, one to Alaric, king of the\nVisigoths, and the other to Sigismund, king of the Burgundians.\nNow Alaric begat Amalaric. While his grandfather     298\nTheodoric cared for and protected him--for he\nhad lost both parents in the years of childhood--he\nfound that Eutharic, the son of Veteric, grandchild of\nBeremud and Thorismud, and a descendant of the race\nof the Amali, was living in Spain, a young man strong in\nwisdom and valor and health of body. Theodoric sent\nfor him and gave him his daughter Amalasuentha in\nmarriage. And that he might extend his family as much     299\nas possible, he sent his sister Amalafrida (the mother of\nTheodahad, who was afterwards king) to Africa as wife\nof Thrasamund, king of the Vandals, and her daughter\nAmalaberga, who was his own niece, he united with Herminefred,\nking of the Thuringians.\n\nNow he sent his Count Pitza, chosen from among the     300\nchief men of his kingdom, to hold the city of Sirmium.\nHe got possession of it by driving out its king Thrasaric,\nson of Thraustila, and keeping his mother captive. Thence\nhe came with two thousand infantry and five hundred\nhorsemen to aid Mundo against Sabinian, Master of the\nSoldiery of Illyricum, who at that time had made ready to\nfight with Mundo near the city named Margoplanum,\nwhich lies between the Danube and Margus rivers, and\ndestroyed the Army of Illyricum. For this Mundo, who     301\ntraced his descent from the Attilani of old, had put to\nflight the tribe of the Gepidae and was roaming beyond\nthe Danube in waste places where no man tilled the soil.\nHe had gathered around him many outlaws and ruffians\nand robbers from all sides and had seized a tower called\nHerta, situated on the bank of the Danube. There he\nplundered his neighbors in wild license and made himself\nking over his vagabonds. Now Pitza came upon him\nwhen he was nearly reduced to desperation and was already\nthinking of surrender. So he rescued him from\nthe hands of Sabinian and made him a grateful subject of\nhis king Theodoric.\n\n[Sidenote: Thiudis 531-548]\n\n[Sidenote: Thiudigisclus 548-549]\n\n[Sidenote: Agil 549-554]\n\n[Sidenote: Athanagild 554-567]\n\nTheodoric won an equally great victory over the     302\nFranks through his Count Ibba in Gaul, when more than\nthirty thousand Franks were slain in battle. Moreover,\nafter the death of his son-in-law Alaric, Theodoric appointed\nThiudis, his armor-bearer, guardian of his grandson\nAmalaric in Spain. But Amalaric was ensnared by\nthe plots of the Franks in early youth and lost at once his\nkingdom and his life. Then his guardian Thiudis, advancing\nfrom the same kingdom, assailed the Franks and\ndelivered the Spaniards from their disgraceful treachery.\nSo long as he lived he kept the Visigoths united. After    303\nhim Thiudigisclus obtained the kingdom and, ruling but\na short time, met his death at the hands of his own followers.\nHe was succeeded by Agil, who holds the kingdom\nto the present day. Athanagild has rebelled against\nhim and is even now provoking the might of the Roman\nEmpire. So Liberius the Patrician is on the way with\nan army to oppose him. Now there was not a tribe in\nthe west that did not serve Theodoric while he lived,\neither in friendship or by conquest.\n\n[Sidenote: THEODORIC THE GREAT DIES 526]\n\n[Sidenote: KING ATHALARIC 526-534]\n\nLIX When he had reached old age and knew that he    304\nshould soon depart this life, he called together the Gothic\ncounts and chieftains of his race and appointed Athalaric\nas king. He was a boy scarce ten years old, the son of\nhis daughter Amalasuentha, and he had lost his father\nEutharic. As though uttering his last will and testament,\nTheodoric adjured and commanded them to honor their\nking, to love the Senate and Roman People and to make\nsure of the peace and good will of the Emperor of the\nEast, as next after God.\n\n[Sidenote: AMALASUENTHA]\n\n[Sidenote: Theodahad 534-536]\n\n[Sidenote: 534]\n\nThey kept this command fully so long as Athalaric     305\ntheir king and his mother lived, and ruled in peace for\nalmost eight years. But as the Franks put no confidence\nin the rule of a child and furthermore held him in contempt,\nand were also plotting war, he gave back to them\nthose parts of Gaul which his father and grandfather had\nseized. He possessed all the rest in peace and quiet.\nTherefore when Athalaric was approaching the age of\nmanhood, he entrusted to the Emperor of the East both\nhis own youth and his mother's widowhood. But in a\nshort time the ill-fated boy was carried off by an untimely\ndeath and departed from earthly affairs. His mother     306\nfeared she might be despised by the Goths on account of\nthe weakness of her sex. So after much thought she decided,\nfor the sake of relationship, to summon her cousin\nTheodahad from Tuscany, where he led a retired life at\nhome, and thus she established him on the throne. But\nhe was unmindful of their kinship and, after a little time,\nhad her taken from the palace at Ravenna to an island\nof the Bulsinian lake where he kept her in exile. After\nspending a very few days there in sorrow, she was\nstrangled in the bath by his hirelings.\n\n[Sidenote: Justinian 527-565]\n\n[Sidenote: JUSTINIAN SENDS BELISARIUS TO AVENGE THE DEATH OF HIS WARDS\n534]\n\n[Sidenote: Vitiges King 536-540]\n\nLX When Justinian, the Emperor of the East, heard     307\nthis, he was aroused as if he had suffered personal injury\nin the death of his wards. Now at that time he had won\na triumph over the Vandals in Africa, through his most\nfaithful Patrician Belisarius. Without delay he sent his\narmy under this leader against the Goths at the very time\nwhen his arms were yet dripping with the blood of the\nVandals. This sagacious general believed he could not     308\novercome the Gothic nation, unless he should first seize\nSicily, their nursing-mother. Accordingly he did so. As\nsoon as he entered Trinacria, the Goths, who were besieging\nthe town of Syracuse, found that they were not succeeding\nand surrendered of their own accord to Belisarius,\nwith their leader Sinderith. When the Roman general\nreached Sicily, Theodahad sought out Evermud, his\nson-in-law, and sent him with an army to guard the strait\nwhich lies between Campania and Sicily and sweeps from\na bend of the Tyrrhenian Sea into the vast tide of the\nAdriatic. When Evermud arrived, he pitched his camp     309\nby the town of Rhegium. He soon saw that his side was\nthe weaker. Coming over with a few close and faithful\nfollowers to the side of the victor and willingly casting\nhimself at the feet of Belisarius, he decided to serve the\nrulers of the Roman Empire. When the army of the\nGoths perceived this, they distrusted Theodahad and\nclamored for his expulsion from the kingdom and for the\nappointment as king of their leader Vitiges, who had been\nhis armor bearer. This was done; and presently Vitiges     310\nwas raised to the office of king on the Barbarian Plains.\nHe entered Rome and sent on to Ravenna the men most\nfaithful to him to demand the death of Theodahad. They\ncame and executed his command. After King Theodahad\nwas slain, a messenger came from the king--for he was\nalready king in the Barbarian Plains--to proclaim Vitiges\nto the people.\n\n[Sidenote: THE OSTROGOTHS OVERCOME BY BELISARIUS]\n\n[Sidenote: Siege of Rome 537-538]\n\n[Sidenote: Surrender of Vitiges 540]\n\n[Sidenote: Death of Vitiges 542]\n\n[Sidenote: Mathesuentha marries Germanus 542]\n\nMeanwhile the Roman army crossed the strait and     311\nmarched toward Campania. They took Naples and\npressed on to Rome. Now a few days before they arrived,\nKing Vitiges had set forth from Rome, arrived at\nRavenna and married Mathesuentha, the daughter of\nAmalasuentha and grand-daughter of Theodoric, the former\nking. While he was celebrating his new marriage and\nholding court at Ravenna, the imperial army advanced\nfrom Rome and attacked the strongholds in both parts of\nTuscany. When Vitiges learned of this through messengers,\nhe sent a force under Hunila, a leader of the Goths,\nto Perusia which was beleaguered by them. While they     312\nwere endeavoring by a long siege to dislodge Count\nMagnus, who was holding the place with a small force,\nthe Roman army came upon them, and they themselves\nwere driven away and utterly exterminated. When Vitiges\nheard the news, he raged like a lion and assembled\nall the host of the Goths. He advanced from Ravenna\nand harassed the walls of Rome with a long siege. But\nafter fourteen months his courage was broken and he\nraised the siege of the city of Rome and prepared to overwhelm\nAriminum. Here he was baffled in like manner     313\nand put to flight; and so he retreated to Ravenna. When\nbesieged there, he quickly and willingly surrendered himself\nto the victorious side, together with his wife Mathesuentha\nand the royal treasure.\n\nAnd thus a famous kingdom and most valiant race,\nwhich had long held sway, was at last overcome in almost\nits two thousand and thirtieth year by that conquerer of\nmany nations, the Emperor Justinian, through his most\nfaithful consul Belisarius. He gave Vitiges the title of\nPatrician and took him to Constantinople, where he dwelt\nfor more than two years, bound by ties of affection to the\nEmperor, and then departed this life. But his consort     314\nMathesuentha was bestowed by the Emperor upon the\nPatrician Germanus, his cousin. And of them was born\na son (also called Germanus) after the death of his\nfather Germanus. This union of the race of the Anicii\nwith the stock of the Amali gives hopeful promise, under\nthe Lord's favor, to both peoples.\n\n(Conclusion)\n\nAnd now we have recited the origin of the Goths, the     315\nnoble line of the Amali and the deeds of brave men. This\nglorious race yielded to a more glorious prince and surrendered\nto a more valiant leader, whose fame shall be\nsilenced by no ages or cycles of years; for the victorious\nand triumphant Emperor Justinian and his consul Belisarius\nshall be named and known as Vandalicus, Africanus\nand Geticus.\n\nThou who readest this, know that I have followed the     316\nwritings of my ancestors, and have culled a few flowers\nfrom their broad meadows to weave a chaplet for him\nwho cares to know these things. Let no one believe that\nto the advantage of the race of which I have spoken--though\nindeed I trace my own descent from it--I have\nadded aught besides what I have read or learned by\ninquiry. Even thus I have not included all that is written\nor told about them, nor spoken so much to their praise as\nto the glory of him who conquered them.","title":"The Origin and Deeds of the Goths","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":33191}