Chapter XXIV: Part III: , European Nations; of which only 1 volume, Greeks, has (16)

7. His young cousin and successor, M. Aurelius Alexander Severus, aged 14-27, who had been carefully educated under the direction of his mother Mammaea, proved one of the best princes in an age and upon a throne where virtues were more dangerous than vices. Under favour of his youth he endeavoured to effect a reform, in which he was supported by the cooperation of the guards, who had elevated him to the throne. He restored the authority of the senate, from among whom he chose, with rigid justice, his privy council of state, banishing the creatures of Heliogabalus from their places. The revolution in the Parthian empire, out of which was now formed the new Persian, was of so much importance to Rome, that it obliged Alexander to undertake a war against Artaxerxes, in which he was probably victorious. But while marching in haste to protect the frontiers against the advance of the Germans upon the Rhine, his soldiers, exasperated at the severity of his discipline, and incited by the Thracian Maximin, murdered him in his own tent. His praefect of the praetorian guard, Ulpian, had already, for the same cause, fallen a victim to this spirit of insubordination, which was not checked even by the immediate presence of the emperor himself.

The revolution in Parthia, whereby a new Persian empire was formed
(see above, p. 304.), became a source of almost perpetual war to Rome;
Artaxerxes I. and his successors, the Sassanides, claiming to be
descendants of the ancient kings of Persia, formed pretensions to the
possession of all the Asiatic provinces of the Roman empire.

AELII LAMPRIDII _Alexander Severus_, _in Script. Hist. Aug._

HEYNE _de Alexandro Severo Judicium_, Comment. i. ii. in _Opuscula
Academica_, vol. vi.

8. The death of A. Severus raised military despotism to the highest pitch, as it placed on the throne the half savage C. Julius Maximinus, by birth a Thracian peasant. At first he continued the war against the Germans with great success, repulsing them beyond the Rhine; and resolved, by crossing Pannonia, to carry the war even among the Sarmatians. But his insatiable rapacity, which spared neither the capital nor the provinces, made him hateful to all; and Gordian, proconsul of Africa, in his eightieth year, was, together with his son of the same name, proclaimed Augustus by the people, and immediately acknowledged by the senate. Upon this, Maximinus, eager to take vengeance on the senate, marched directly from Sirmium towards Italy. In the mean time, the legions of the almost defenceless Gordians were defeated in Africa, and themselves slain by Capellianus the governor of Numidia. Notwithstanding this, as the senate could expect no mercy, they chose as co-emperors the praefect of the city, Maximus Pupienus, and Clodius Balbinus, who, in conformity with the wishes of the people, created the young Gordian III. Caesar. In the meanwhile Maximinus, having besieged Aquileia, and the enterprise proving unsuccessful, was slain by his own troops. Pupienus and Balbinus now seemed in quiet possession of the throne; but the guards, who had already been engaged in a bloody feud with the people, and were not willing to receive an emperor of the senate's choosing, killed them both, and proclaimed as Augustus, Gordian, already created Caesar.

JUL. CAPITOLINI _Maximinus Gordiani tres, Pupienus et Balbinus_, _in
Script. Hist. August._

9. The reign of the young M. Antoninus Gordianus lasted from his twelfth to his eighteenth year. He was grandson of the proconsul who had lost his life in Africa, and in the early part of his reign, acquired a degree of firmness from the support of his father-in-law, Misitheus, praefect of the praetorian guard, as well as from the successful expedition which he undertook into Syria against the Persians, who had invaded that province. But after the death of Misitheus, Philip the Arabian, being made praefect of the guards in his stead, found means to gain the troops over to himself, and, after driving Gordian from the throne, caused him to be assassinated.

10. The reign of M. Julius Philippus was interrupted by several insurrections, especially in Pannonia; until at length Decius, whom he himself had sent thither to quell the rebellion, was compelled by the troops to assume the diadem. Philip was soon after defeated by him near Verona, where he perished, together with his son of the same name. In this reign the secular games, _ludi saeculares_, were celebrated, one thousand years from the foundation of the city.

11. Under the reign of his successor, Trajanus Decius, aged fifty, the Goths for the first time forced their way into the Roman empire by crossing the Danube; and although Decius in the beginning opposed them with success, he was at last slain by them in Thrace, together with his son, Cl. Herennius Decius, already created Caesar. Upon this the army proclaimed C. Trebonianus Gallus emperor, who created his son, Volusian, Caesar; and having invited Hostilian, the yet remaining son of Decius, with the ostensible purpose of securing his cooperation, he nevertheless soon contrived to get rid of him. He purchased a peace of the Goths; but, despised by his generals, he became involved in a war with his victorious lieutenant, Aemilius Aemilianus, in Moesia, and was slain, together with his son, by his own army. In three months, however, Aemilianus shared the same fate; Publius Licinius Valerianus, the friend and avenger of Gallus, advancing against him with the legions stationed in Gaul. Both the people and army hoped to see the empire restored under Valerian, already sixty years of age; but, although his generals defended the frontiers against the Germans and Goths, he himself had the misfortune to be defeated and taken prisoner by the superior forces of the Persians. Upon this event his son and associate in the empire, P. Licinius Gallienus, who knew everything except the art of governing, reigned alone. Under his indolent rule the Roman empire seemed on one hand ready to be split into a number of small states, while on the other it seemed about to fall a prey to the barbarians; for the lieutenants in most of the provinces declared themselves independent of a prince whom they despised, and to which, indeed, they were driven, like Posthumius in Gaul, for their own security.--There were nineteen of these; but as many of them named their sons Caesars, this period has been very improperly distinguished by the name of _the thirty tyrants_, although their intolerable oppressions might well justify the latter expression. The Persians at the same time were victorious in the east, and the Germans in the west.

The German nations which were now become so formidable to the Roman
empire, were: 1. The great confederation of tribes under the name of
_Franks_, who spread over Gaul along the whole extent of the Lower
Rhine. 2. The allied nations of the Alemanni on the Upper Rhine. 3.
The Goths, the most powerful of all, who had formed a monarchy upon
the banks of the Lower Danube and the northern coasts of the Black
sea, which soon extended from the Boristhenes to the Don; and who
became formidable, not only by their land forces, but also by their
naval power, especially after they had captured the peninsula of Crim
Tartary (_Chersonesus Taurica_); and by means of their fleets they not
only kept the Grecian, but likewise the Asiatic provinces in a
continual state of alarm.

TREBELLI POLLIONIS _Valerianus, Gallieni duo, triginta tyranni_, _in
Script. Hist. Aug._

# _Concerning the thirty tyrants under the Roman emperor Gallienus_,
by J. C. F. MANSO; at the end of his _Life of Constantine_.

12. Gallienus losing his life before Milan, in the war against Aureolus an usurper, had nevertheless recommended M. Aurelius Claudius (aged 45-47) for his successor. The new Augustus reestablished in some degree the tottering empire; not only by taking Aureolus prisoner and defeating the Alemanni, but also by a decisive victory gained at Nissa over the Goths, who had invaded Moesia. He died, however, soon after, at Sirmium, of a pestilential disease, naming for his successor Aurelian, a hero like himself, who mounted the throne upon the death of Quintillus the late emperor's brother, who had at first proclaimed himself Augustus, but afterwards died by his own hand.

TREBELLII POLLIONIS _divus Claudius_, _in Script. Hist. Aug._

13. During the reign of L. Domitius Aurelianus, which lasted almost five years, those countries which had been partly or entirely lost to the empire were restored. Having first driven back the Goths and the Alemanni, who had advanced as far as Umbria, he undertook his expedition against the celebrated Zenobia, queen of Palmyra, who at that time possessed Syria, Egypt, and part of Asia Minor. These countries he again brought under the dominion of the empire, after having defeated Zenobia and made her prisoner. The western provinces of Gaul, Britain, and Spain, which since the time of Gallienus had been governed by separate rulers, and were now under the dominion of Tetricus, he reduced to their former obedience. Dacia, on the contrary, he willingly abandoned; and as he transported the Roman inhabitants across the Danube into Moesia, the latter henceforward bore the name of _Dacia Aureliani_. Hated for his severity, which in a warrior so easily degenerates into cruelty, he was assassinated in Illyria at the instigation of his private secretary Mnestheus.

FLAV. VOPISCI _divus Aurelianus_, _in Script. Hist. Aug._

Palmyra in the Syrian desert, enriched by the Indian trade, and one of
the most ancient cities in the world, became a Roman colony in the
time of Trajan. Odenatus, the husband of Zenobia, had acquired so much
celebrity by his victories over the Persians, that Gallienus had even
named him Augustus with himself. He was murdered, however, by his
cousin Maeonius, 267. Zenobia now took possession of the government for
her sons Vabalathus, Herennianus, and Timolaus, without, however,
being acknowledged at Rome. After this, in the time of Claudius, she
added Egypt to her dominions. Aurelian, having first defeated her near
Antioch and Emesa, soon afterwards took Palmyra, which, in consequence
of a revolt, he destroyed.--Even in its ruins Palmyra is still
magnificent.

_The Ruins of Palmyra_, by R. WOOD. London, 1753; and the _Ruins of
Balbec, otherwise Heliopolis_, by the same author, London, 1757, give
us clear and certain ideas of the splendour and magnitude of these
cities.

A. H. L. HEEREN, _de Commercio urbis Palmyrae vicinarumque urbium_, in
_Comment. recent. Soc. Gotting._ vol. vii. and the Appendix to
Heeren's Researches.

14. An interregnum of six months followed upon the death of Aurelian, till at length the senate, at the repeated solicitations of the army, ventured to fill up the vacant throne. The object of their choice, however, M. Claudius Tacitus, the worthiest of the senators, was unfortunately seventy-five years old, and perished after a short reign of six months, in an expedition against the Goths. Upon this event the army of Syria raised M. Aurelius Probus to the purple; while Florianus the brother of Tacitus, who had already been acknowledged at Rome, was put to death by his own people.

FLAV. VOPISCI _Tacitus; ejusd. Florianus_, _in Script. Hist. Aug._

15. The six years' reign of Probus was a warlike one. He defeated the Germans, and forced them beyond the Rhine and Danube; strengthening the frontiers by building a strong wall from the Danube, near Regensburg, to the Rhine. He also obliged the Persians to make peace. Nevertheless, the number of towns which he reestablished and peopled with prisoners of war, and the vineyards which he caused his soldiers to plant on the Rhine, are proofs that he had taste and inclination for the arts of peace. This policy, however, would not suit the legions! After he had perished, therefore, by the hands of his soldiers, they proclaimed the praefect of the praetorian guard, M. Aurelius Carus, emperor, who created his two sons Caesars--men very unlike each other in disposition, M. Aurelius Carinus being one of the greatest reprobates, while M. Aurelius Numerianus was gentle by nature, and had a mind well formed by study. The new emperor, having defeated the Goths, marched against the Persians, but was shortly afterwards killed, it is said, by a flash of lightning. Nor did his son Numerianus long survive him, being murdered by his own father-in-law, Arrius Aper, the praetorian praefect.

FLAV. VOPISCI _Probus imper. ejusd. Carus, Numirianus et Carinus_, _in
Script. Hist. Aug._

16. Although this period gives us a finished picture of a complete military despotism, it is still evident that this was owing to the entire separation of the military order from the rest of the people, by the introduction of standing armies, and the extinction of all national spirit among the citizens. The legions decided because the people were unarmed. It was, indeed, only among them, situated far from the soft luxuries of the capital, and engaged in almost a continual struggle with the barbarians, that a remnant of the ancient Roman character was still preserved. The nomination of their leaders to the purple became a natural consequence, not only of the uncertainty of the succession, which could not be fixed by mere ordinances, but often of necessity, from their being in the field under the pressure of urgent circumstances. Thus a succession of distinguished generals came to the throne: what authority, indeed, would an emperor at that time have had who was not a general? All durable reform, however, was rendered quite impossible by the quick succession of rulers. Even the best among them could do but very little for the internal administration; as all their energies were required to protect the frontiers, and defend themselves against usurpers, who, with the exception of the formality of being acknowledged by the senate, had claims as well founded as their own.

17. The decline of the empire also became so much the more rapid, in proportion as in these days of terror luxury had increased not only in the splendour and profligate effeminacy of private life, but more particularly in public, to a pitch almost beyond belief. The latter was especially shown in the exhibitions of the amphitheatre and circus; by which not only every new ruler, but even every new magistrate was obliged to purchase the favour of the people. Thus these remnants of a free constitution served only to accelerate the general ruin! What enjoyments, indeed, could be found under the rod of despotism, except those of the grossest sensuality; and to satisfy this, the intellectual amusements of the theatre (mimes and pantomimes), and even those of rhetoric and poetry, were made to contribute.

18. Yet, during this general decay, the gradual spread of the Christian religion was working a reform altogether of a different nature. Before the end of this period it had opened itself a way into every province, and, notwithstanding the frequent persecutions, had made converts in every rank of society, and was now on the eve of becoming the predominant form of worship. We shall be better able to estimate its value, if we consider it as the vehicle by which civilization made its way among the rude nations that now appeared on the scene, than if we merely consider it as the means of improving the manners and morals of the Roman world. In a political view it became of the greatest importance on account of the hierarchy, the frame-work of which was now in a great measure constructed among its professors. It was afterwards adopted as a state religion; and although the ancient creed of Rome had formerly been on the same footing, yet it was only calculated for the republic, and not at all for the now existing monarchy. The overthrow of paganism was necessarily attended with some violent convulsions, yet its loss was nothing to be compared with the support which the throne afterwards found in the hierarchy.

The dispersion of the Jews, and especially the persecutions which were
renewed from time to time, after the reign of Nero, (but which only
served to kindle enthusiasm,) strongly cooperated in spreading the
Christian religion. These persecutions were principally called forth
against the Christians on account of their forming themselves into a
separate society, which caused them to be regarded as a dangerous sect
at Rome, notwithstanding the general toleration granted to every other
system of religious belief. Although towards the end of this period,
only a very small proportion of the inhabitants of the Roman empire as
yet professed the Christian faith, it nevertheless had followers in
every province.

# _History of the Social Constitution of the Christian Church_, by
D. G. J. PLANCK, 4 parts, 1800. It is the first part of this excellent
work which relates to this period.

THIRD SECTION.

_From Diocletian to the overthrow of the Roman empire in the west, A. C. 284-476._

SOURCES. It now becomes of importance to enquire whether the
historians were Christians or pagans. ZOSIMUS, the imitator of
Polybius, belonged to the last. He describes the fall of the Roman
state, as his model does the previous part. Of his _Histories_ only
five books and a half, to the time of Gratian, 410, have descended to
us. He was certainly a violent antagonist of the Christians, yet,
nevertheless, the best writer of this period. AMMIANI MARCELLINI
_Historiarum_, lib. xiv-xxxi. from the year 353-378 (the first
thirteen books are lost). Probably a Christian, but yet no flatterer;
and, notwithstanding his tiresome prolixity, highly instructive.
Together with the writers of general history already noticed at p.
437, we must here especially add to the abbreviators, PAULI OROSII
_Hist._ lib. vii. and ZONARAE _Annales_. The _Panegyrici Veteres_, from
Diocletian to Theodosius, can only be used with circumspection.--The
writers of church history, such as EUSEBIUS, in his _Hist. Eccles._
lib. x. and in his _Vita Constantini Magni_, lib. v. as well as his
continuators, SOCRATES, THEODORET, SOZOMENUS, and EVAGRIUS, are also
highly important for the political history of this period, though,
from their partiality towards the Christian emperors, they should
rather be classed with the panegyrists than the historians. To these
may be added another principal source, viz. the _Constitutions_ of the
emperors, which have been preserved in the _Codex Theodosianus_ and
_Justinianeus_, from the time of Constantine the Great.

Besides the works quoted at pages 411, 437, the Byzantine historians
here become of importance. We shall mention also:

_Histoire du Bas-Empire depuis Constantin_, _par_ M. LE BEAU,
_continuee par_ M. AMEILHON. Paris, 1824, 20 vols. 8vo. The first
seven parts only belong to this period.

# The German translation of GUTHRIE and GRAY'S _Universal History_,
5 sections, 1 vol. Leipsic, 1768. Rendered very useful by the
labours of Ritter.

_Histoire du Bas-Empire, depuis Constantin jusqu' a la prise de
Constantinople en 1453_, _par_ CARENTIN ROYOU. Paris, 1803, 4 vols.
8vo. A useful abridgement, without much research.

1. The reign of C. Valerius Diocletian, aged 39-60, proclaimed emperor after the murder of Numerianus, by the troops in Chalcedon, begins a new section in Roman history. To the period of military despotism succeeded the period of partitions. After Diocletian had defeated Carinus the yet remaining Caesar, in Upper Moesia, where he was assassinated, he made M. Valerius Maximianus Herculius, a rough warrior who had hitherto been his comrade in arms, the sharer of his throne. Herculius now contended with the Alemanni and Burgundians on the banks of the Rhine, while Diocletian himself made head against the Persians. Nevertheless, the two Augusti soon found themselves unable to withstand the barbarians, who were pressing forward on every side, more especially as Carausius had usurped and maintained the title of Caesar in Britain. Each of them, therefore, created a Caesar: Diocletian chose C. Galerius, and Maximianus Flavius Constantius Chlorus, both of whom had distinguished themselves as generals, at that time the only road to advancement. The whole empire was now divided between these four rulers; so that each had certain provinces to govern and defend; without detriment, however, to the unity of the whole, or to the dependence in which a Caesar stood as the subordinate assistant and future successor of his Augustus.

In the partition, 292, Diocletian possessed the eastern provinces;
Galerius, Thrace, and the countries on the Danube (Illyricum);
Maximianus, Italy, Africa, and the islands; and Constantius, the
western provinces of Gaul, Spain, Britain, and Mauritania.

2. This new system could not but have a striking effect upon the spirit of the government. It was now not only in fact, but also in form, entirely in the hands of the rulers. By their continual absence from Rome they became freed from that moral restraint in which the authority of the senate, and the name of the republic, not yet entirely laid aside, had held before them. Diocletian formally assumed the diadem, and, with the ornaments of the east, introduced its luxuries into his court. Thus was laid the foundation of that structure which Constantine the Great had to complete.

3. The consequences of this new system became also oppressive to the provinces, inasmuch as they had now to maintain four rulers, with their courts, and as many armies. But however loud might be the complaints of the oppression occasioned thereby, it was, perhaps, the only means of deferring the final overthrow of the whole edifice. In fact, they succeeded not only in defeating the usurpers, Allectus in Britain (who had murdered Carausius in 293), Julian in Africa, and Achilleus in Egypt; but also in defending the frontiers, which, indeed, by the victories of Galerius over the Persians, they extended as far as the Tigris. Did not, however, the gloomy perspective present itself, that among so many rulers, and the undefined relations which existed between the Caesars and the emperors, the union could not be of long continuance?

4. Diocletian voluntarily abdicated the throne (although the growing power and encroaching disposition of Galerius might perhaps have had some influence), and obliged his colleague Maximianus to do the same. The two Caesars, Constantius and Galerius, were proclaimed Augusti, and altered the division of the empire, so that the former possessed all the western countries, of which, however, he freely ceded Italy and Africa to Galerius, who had all the remaining provinces. The latter, during the same year, created Flavius Severus, Caesar, and confided to him the government of Italy and Africa; as he did also C. Galerius Maximin, to whom he gave the Asiatic provinces. The administration of the two emperors, however, was very different; Constantius was as much beloved for his mild and disinterested government, as Galerius was hated for his harshness and prodigality. Constantius died very soon after at York, leaving his son Constantine heir to his dominions, who was immediately proclaimed Augustus by the legions, although Galerius would only acknowledge him as Caesar.

5. Thus Constantine, who afterwards obtained the surname of Great, began to rule, aged 33-64, though at first only over Britain, Spain, and Gaul; nevertheless, after seventeen years of violence and warfare, he succeeded in opening himself a way to the sole dominion of the empire. The rulers disagreed among themselves; and formidable usurpers started up and rendered war inevitable.

The history of the first seven years of Constantine, 306-313, is very
complicated; after that, he had only one rival to struggle with,
314-323. At his accession, Galerius, as Augustus, was in possession of
all the other provinces; of which, however, he had given to Caesar
Maximin the government of those of Asia, and to Caesar Severus, now
created Augustus, Italy and Africa. The latter, however, rendering
himself odious by his oppression, Maxentius, the son of the former
emperor, Maximianus, assumed the title of Augustus at Rome (Oct. 28,
306), and associated his father with himself in the government; so
that at this time there were six rulers: Galerius, Severus,
Constantine, Maximin, and the usurpers Maxentius and his father
Maximianus. But in the year 307, Severus, wishing to oppose Maxentius,
was abandoned by his own troops, upon which he surrendered himself to
Maximianus, who caused him to be executed. In his place Galerius
created his friend Licinius, Augustus; and Maximin obtained the same
dignity from his army in Asia. In the mean time, Maximianus, after
having endeavoured to supplant his own son in Rome, fled to
Constantine, who had crossed over into Gaul and there defeated the
Franks, 306; but having made an attempt upon the life of Constantine,
who had married his daughter Fausta, that emperor caused him to be put
to death, 310. As the excesses of Galerius soon brought him to the
grave, 311, there only remained Constantine, Licinius, and Maximin,
and the usurper Maxentius. The latter was soon defeated and slain,
312, before the gates of Rome, by Constantine, who thereby became
master of Italy and the capital. A war having broken out about the
same time between Maximin and Licinius, Maximin was defeated near
Adrianople, and then killed himself, 313. The year 314 brought on a
war between the two remaining emperors, Constantine and Licinius,
which, however, ended the same year in an accommodation, by which
Constantine obtained all the countries on the south bank of the
Danube, as well as Thrace and Moesia Inferior; it broke out again,
however, in 322, and was finally terminated by a decisive victory in
Bithynia, and the total overthrow of Licinius, whom Constantine put to
death, 324.

6. However opposite may be the opinions formed respecting the reign of Constantine the Great, its consequences are perfectly plain. Although he annihilated military despotism, he established in its stead, if not completely, yet in great measure, the despotism of the court, and likewise the power of the hierarchy. He had already, during his expedition against Maxentius, decided in favour of the Christian religion; and since he thereby gained a vast number of partisans in all the provinces, and weakened at the same time the power of his co-emperors, or competitors, it was the surest way he could have taken to obtain sole dominion, the great object of his ambition. This change must nevertheless have had very considerable influence on every part of the government, as he found in the previously established hierarchy a powerful support of the throne; and since he, in concert with it, settled what was, and what was not the orthodox doctrine, he introduced a spirit of persecution heretofore unknown.

At a period in which religious parties must almost necessarily have
become political parties, we can by no means venture to judge of the
importance of the sect by the importance of their points of doctrine.
The quarrels of the Arians, which arose at this time, gave
Constantine, by the council of Nice, 325, the opportunity he wished
for, of making good his authority in religious legislation.

7. The removal of the seat of empire from Rome to Constantinople was connected with this change in the form of worship--as a Christian court would have been awkwardly situated in a city still altogether pagan--although the need there was of protecting the frontiers against the Goths and Persians had a considerable share therein. It did, indeed, become the principal means of establishing the despotism of the court; but those who regard it as one of the causes of the decline of the empire, should remember, that for an empire fallen so low as the Roman was at this time, despotism was almost the only support that remained.

The various partitions of the empire from the time of Diocletian, had
led the way to this change of the capital; because a natural result of
that system was, that the emperors and Caesars, when not with the army
as they usually were, would reside in different cities. The seat of
Diocletian's government was at Nicomedia; of Maximian's, at Milan;
even Constantine himself remained but very little at Rome. In these
new residences they felt themselves unfettered; and therefore,
although the Roman senate existed till after the time of Constantine,
its authority must have fallen of itself from the time of Diocletian.

8. We ought not, therefore, to wonder that the consequence of this removal was so complete a change in the whole form of government, that after a short time it seemed to be altogether a different state. A partition of the empire was made, which, though it might in part have been founded on those which had previously existed, was yet so different, that it not only changed the ancient divisions of the provinces, but completely altered their mode of government.--The court, with the exception of polygamy, assumed entirely the form of an eastern court.--A revolution also had taken place in the military system, by the complete separation of the civil and military authorities, which the praetorian praefects had hitherto possessed, but who now became merely civil governors.

According to the new division the whole empire was divided into four
_praefectures_, each of which had its _dioceses_, and each diocese its
_provinces_. The praefectures were: I. The eastern (_praefectura
Orientis_); it contained five dioceses; 1. _Orientis_; 2. _Aegypti_;
3. _Asiae_; 4. _Ponti_; 5. _Thraciae_; forming altogether forty-eight
provinces, and comprising all the countries of Asia and Egypt,
together with the frontier countries of Libya and Thrace. II.
_Praefectura Illyrici_, containing two dioceses; 1. _Macedoniae_; 2.
_Daciae_; forming eleven provinces, and comprising Moesia, Macedon,
Greece, and Crete. III. _Praefectura Italiae_, containing three
dioceses; 1. _Italiae_; 2. _Illyrici_; 3. _Africae_; forming twenty-nine
provinces, and comprising Italy, the countries on the south of the
Danube, as far as the boundaries of Moesia; the islands of Sicily,
Sardinia, and Corsica, and the African provinces of the Syrtis. IV.
_Praefectura Galliarum_, containing three dioceses; 1. _Galliae_; 2.
_Hispaniae_; 3. _Britanniae_; forming altogether twenty-eight provinces,
and comprising Spain and the Balearian islands, Gaul, Helvetia, and
Britain.--Each of these praefectures was under a _praefectus praetorio_
(praetorian praefect), but who was merely a civil governor, and had
under him _vicarios_, in the dioceses, as well as the _rectores
provinciarum_, of various ranks and titles. They were named
_proconsules praesides_, etc. Besides these, Rome and Constantinople,
not being included in any of the four praefectures, had each its
praefect.

As principal officers of state and the court (_s. cubiculi_), we now
for the first time meet with the _praepositus s. cubiculi_
(grand-chamberlain), under whom were all the _comites palatii_ and
_cubicularii_, in four divisions; these, at a later period, were
frequently eunuchs of great influence; the _magister officiorum_
(chancellor, minister of the interior); the _comes sacrarum
largitiorum_ (minister of the finances); the _quaestor_ (the organ of
the emperors in legislation; minister of justice and secretary of
state); the _comes rei principis_ (minister of the crown-treasury)
[privy-purse]; the two _comites domesticorum_ (commander of the
household guards), each of whom had his corps (_scholas_) under him.
The number of the state officers and courtiers was continually
increasing. If the good of a commonwealth consisted in forms, ranks,
and titles, the Roman empire must at this time have been truly happy!

At the head of the troops were the _magistri peditum_ (masters of the
infantry) and the _magistri equitum_ (masters of the horse), under the
_magister utriusque militae_ (general in chief of the whole army).
Their subordinate commanders were called _comites_ and _duces_.
Constantine considerably reduced the army. In the arrangement of the
troops he also made great alterations; these, however, were but of
slight consequence compared with that which was produced by admitting
into the service a continually increasing number of barbarians.

_Notitia dignitatem utriusque Imperii cum not._ PANCIROLLI GRAEV.
_Thesaur. Antiquitat. Rom._ vol. vii.

9. It would naturally be expected that these great changes should lead to others in the system of taxation. New taxes, or old ones revived, were added to those already existing, and became, by the manner in which they were collected, doubly oppressive. We shall particularly notice, _a._ The annual land-tax (_indictio_). _b._ The tax upon trade (_aurum lustrale_). _c._ The free gift (_don. gratuit._), now grown into an obligatory tax (_aurum coronarium_). To these we must add the municipal expenses, which fell entirely upon the citizens, and especially upon the civic officers (_decuriones_), places which must have been generally held by the rich, as Constantine had in great measure appropriated the wealth of the cities to the endowment of churches, and the support of the clergy.

_a._ The land-tax, or _indiction_, which if not first introduced by
Constantine was entirely regulated under him, was collected after an
exact register, or public valuation, of all the landed estates. Its
amount was yearly fixed and prescribed by the emperor (_indicebatur_),
and levied by the rectors of provinces and the decurions; an arbitrary
standard (_caput_) being taken as the rate of assessment.

As this register was probably reviewed every fifteen years, it gave
rise to the _cycle of indictions_ of fifteen years, which became the
common era, beginning from September 1, 312. In this manner the tax
included all those who were possessed of property. _b._ The tax on
commerce; which was levied on almost every kind of trade. It was
collected every four years, whence the _aurum lustrale_. _c._ The
_aurum coronarium_ grew out of the custom which obtained of
presenting the emperors with golden crowns on particular occasions;
the value of which was at last exacted in money. Every considerable
city was obliged to pay it.

10. The rapid spread of the Christian religion, the promulgation of which was enforced as a duty upon all its professors, was now accelerated by the endeavours of the court. Constantine forbade sacrifices, and shut up the temples; and the violent zeal of his successors unfortunately soon turned them into ruins.

_Histoire de Constantin-le-Grand_, _par le_ R. P. BERN. DE VARENNE.
Paris, 1778, 4to.

_Vita di Constantino il Grande dell'_ ABB. FR. GUSTA. Fuligno, 1786.
Both these works, especially the first, are written in a tone of
panegyric; the latest, and by far the best, is

# _Life of Constantine the Great_, by J. C. F. MANSO. Bresl. 1817.
With several very learned appendixes, which clear up some particular
points.

11. The three Caesars and sons of Constantine the Great, Constantine, 337-340; Constantius, 337-361; and Constans, 337-350; had been carefully educated, and yet resembled one another as much in their vices as they did in their names. They indeed divided the empire again upon the death of their father; but were so eager after territory, which neither of them was qualified to govern, that a series of wars followed for the next twelve years, till at last Constantius was left master of the whole; and by the murder of most of his relations secured the throne to himself.

In the partition of the empire Constantine obtained the _praefectura
Galliarum_, Constans the _praefectura Italiae et Illyrici_, and
Constantius the _praefectura Orientis_. But as Constantine desired to
add Italy and Africa to his portion, he attacked Constans, and
thereby lost his life, so that Constans came into thee possession of
the western countries. In consequence, however, of his wretched
misgovernment, Magnentius, a general, proclaimed himself emperor in
Gaul, and Constans was slain in endeavouring to escape, 350. A war
with Constantius, who was then occupied in the east, became
inevitable, and broke out 351. The usurper was defeated first at Mursa
in Pannonia, then retreating into Gaul he was again defeated, 353;
upon which he slew himself, together with his family.

12. As Constantius, however--sunk in effeminacy and debauchery, and surrounded and governed by eunuchs--was unable to sustain the weight of government alone, he took his cousin Constantius Gallus, hitherto a state prisoner, and whose father he had formerly slain, to his assistance, created him Caesar, and sent him into the east against the Parthians. But his excessive arrogance, which was fomented by his wife Constantina, rendered him so dangerous that Constantius recalled him, and caused him, upon his return, to be put to death in Istria. His younger brother Fl. Julian, from whom the suspicious Constantius believed he had nothing to fear, was promoted in his place, created Caesar, and sent to defend the frontiers on the Rhine. Although Julian passed suddenly from study to warfare, he not only fought against the Germans with success, but also made a deep inroad into their country. In the mean time Constantius, after his generals had been beaten by the Persians, who wished to reconquer the provinces they had ceded, was preparing an expedition against them in person, and with that view endeavoured gradually to withdraw the troops of Julian, in consequence of which the latter, suspecting his design, was induced to accept the diadem presented by his soldiers. While marching, however, along the Danube against Constantius, he received information of that prince's death in Asia.

13. Fl. Julian, (the apostate,) who reigned from his twenty-ninth to his thirty-second year, was the last and most highly gifted prince of the house of Constantine. Instructed by misfortunes and study, he yet had some faults, though certainly free from great vices. He began with reforming the luxury of the court. His abjuration of the religion now become dominant, and which he wished to annihilate by degrees, was an error in policy, which he must have discovered to his cost had his reign been prolonged. Wishing, however, to terminate the war against the Persians, he penetrated as far as the Tigris, where he lost his life in an engagement, after a reign of three years.

# _The Emperor Julian and his Times_, by AUGUST. NEANDER. Leipsic,
1812. An historical sketch.

14. Fl. Jovianus, now thirty-three years of age, was immediately raised to the purple by the army. He concluded a peace with the Persians, by which he restored them all the territory that had been conquered from them since the year 297. After a short reign of eight months he was carried off by a sudden disorder; and the army proclaimed Fl. Valentinian at Nice in his stead, Valentinian almost immediately associated his brother Valens with himself in the government, and divided the empire by giving him the _praefectura Orientis_, and retaining the rest for himself.

15. The reign of Valentinian I. in the east, who, in the year 367, created his son Gratian Augustus with himself, is distinguished by the system of toleration which he followed with regard to the affairs of religion, though in other respects a cruel prince. Nearly the whole of his reign was taken up in almost continual struggles with the German nations, who had recovered from the losses they had suffered under Julian. His first efforts were directed against the Franks, the Saxons, and the Alemanni on the Rhine; and afterwards against the Quadi and other nations on the Danube; where he died of apoplexy at Guntz in Hungary.

16. In the mean time his brother Valens (aged 38-52 years) had to contend with a powerful insurrection which had broken out in the east. A certain Procopius had instigated the people to this, by taking advantage of the discontent occasioned by the oppression of Valens, who, having adopted the opinion of the Arians, was more disliked in the east than his brother was in the west. His war against the Persians ended with a truce. But the most important event that happened during his reign, was the entrance of the Huns into Europe, which took place towards its close. This in its turn gave rise to the great popular migration, by which the Roman empire in the west may properly be said to have been overthrown. The immediate consequence was the admission of the greater part of the Visigoths into the Roman empire, and this occasioned a war which cost Valens his life.

The Huns, a nomad people of Asia, belonged to the great Mongolian
race. Having penetrated to the Don, 373, they subdued the Goths upon
that river as far as the Theiss. The Goths, divided into Ostrogoths
and Visigoths, were separated from one another by the Dnieper. The
former, driven from their country, fell upon the Visigoths, in
consequence of which the emperor Valens was requested by the latter to
grant them admission into the Roman empire, and with the exception of
the Vandals, who had been seated in Pannonia from the time of
Constantine, they were the first barbarian nation that had been
settled within the boundaries of the empire. The scandalous oppression
of the Roman governor, however, drove them into rebellion; and as
Valens marched against them, he was defeated near Adrianople and lost
his life, 378.

17. During these events, Gratian (aged 16-24 years) succeeded his father Valentinian I. in the west, and immediately associated his brother, Valentinian II. (aged 5-21 years) with himself in the empire; giving him, though under his own superintendence, the _praefectura Italiae et Illyrici_. Gratian set forward to the assistance of his uncle Valens against the Goths, but receiving on his march an account of his defeat and death, and fearing the east might fall a prey to the Goths, he raised Theodosius, a Spaniard, who had already distinguished himself as a warrior, to the purple, and gave him the _praefectura Orientis et Illyrici_.

18. The indolent reign of Gratian led to the rebellion of Maximus, a commander in Britain, who, crossing into Gaul, was so strongly supported by the defection of the Gallic legions, that Gratian was obliged to seek safety in flight. He was, however, overtaken and put to death at Lyons. By this event Maximus found himself in possession of all the _praefectura Galliarum_; and by promising Theodosius not to interfere with the young Valentinian II. in Italy, he prevailed upon him to acknowledge him emperor. But having broken his promise by the invasion of Italy, he was defeated and made prisoner by Theodosius in Pannonia, and soon after executed. Upon this Valentinian II. a youth of whom great hopes were entertained, became again master of all the west. But, unfortunately, he was murdered by the offended Arbogast, his _magister militum_; who, thereupon, raised to the throne his own friend Eugenius, _magister officiorum_. Theodosius, however, so far from acknowledging, declared war against him and made him prisoner. He himself thus became master of the whole empire, but died in the following year.

19. The vigorous reign of Theodosius in the east, from his thirty-fourth to his fiftieth year, was not less devoted to politics than to religion. The dexterity with which he at first broke the power of the victorious Goths (though they still preserved their quarters in the provinces on the Danube), procured him considerable influence, which the strength and activity of his character enabled him easily to maintain. The blind zeal, however, with which he persecuted Arianism, now the prevailing creed in the east, and restored the orthodox belief, as well as the persecutions which he directed against the pagans and the destruction of their temples, occasioned the most dreadful convulsions. His efforts to preserve the boundaries of the empire, not a province of which was lost before his death, required an increase of taxes; and however oppressive this might be, we cannot impute it to the ruler as a crime. In an empire so enfeebled in itself, and which, nevertheless, had powerful foes on every side to contend with, it followed that every active reign would be oppressive. Yet never before had the internal depopulation of the empire made it necessary to take so many barbarians into Roman pay, as under this reign; whence naturally followed a change in the arms and tactics of the Roman armies.

P. ERASM. MULLER, _de genio saeculi Theodosiani_. Havniae, 1798, 2 vols.
A very learned and in every respect excellent description of the
deeply-decayed Roman world as it now stood.

20. Theodosius left two sons, between whom the empire was divided. Both parts, however, were certainly considered as forming but one empire--an opinion which afterwards prevailed, and even till late in the middle ages had important consequences--yet never since this period have they been reunited under one ruler. The eastern empire, comprising the _praefectura Orientis et Illyrici_, was allotted to the eldest son, Arcadius (aged 18-31) under the guardianship of Rufinus the Gaul. The western, or the _praefectura Galliarum et Italiae_, to the younger, Honorius, aged 11-39, under the guardianship of the Vandal Stilico.

21. The western empire, to the history of which we shall now confine ourselves, suffered such violent shocks during the reign of Honorius, as made its approaching fall plainly visible. The intrigues of Stilico to procure himself the government of the whole empire, opened a way for the Goths into its interior, just at a time when they were doubly formidable, fortune having given them a leader greatly superior to any they had hitherto had. Alaric king of the Visigoths established himself and his people in the Roman empire, became master of Rome, and mounted the throne: it was the mere effect of chance that he did not overthrow it altogether.

Both Honorius and Arcadius, especially the latter, belonged to that
class of men who never come to years of maturity; their favourites and
ministers therefore governed according to their own inclination.
Stilico, who made Honorius his son-in-law, was not deficient, indeed,
in abilities for governing; and his endeavour to obtain the management
of the whole empire, arose, perhaps, from the conviction that it was
necessary he should have it. He could not, however, gain his object by
intrigue; for after the murder of Rufinus; 395, he found a still more
powerful opponent in the eunuch Eutropius, his successor in the east.
Under the regency of Stilico, Gaul, in consequence of its troops being
withdrawn to oppose Alaric, 400, was inundated by German tribes--by
Vandals, Alani, and Suevi--who from thence penetrated even into Spain.
Nevertheless, he preserved Italy from their attacks by the victory
which he gained, 403, over Alaric at Verona; and again over
Radagaisus, 405, who had advanced with other German hordes as far as
Florence. But Stilico, having entered into a secret alliance with
Alaric, for the purpose of wresting eastern Illyrica from the empire
of the east, was overreached by the intrigues of the new favourite
Olympius, whose cabal knew how to take advantage of the weakness of
Honorius, and of the jealousy of the Roman and foreign soldiers.
Stilico was accused of aspiring to the throne, and was executed August
23, 408. Rome lost in him the only general that was left to defend
her. Alaric invaded Italy the same year, 408, and the besieged Rome
was obliged to purchase peace; the conditions, however, not being
fulfilled, he was again, 409, before Rome, became master of the city,
and created Attalus, the praefect of the city, emperor instead of
Honorius, who had shut himself up in Ravenna. In 410 he assumed the
diadem; and, making himself master of the city by force, gave it up to
be plundered by his troops. Soon afterwards, while projecting the
capture of Sicily and Africa, he died in lower Italy. His
brother-in-law and successor, Adolphus, together with his Goths, left
Italy, now completely exhausted, 412, went into Gaul, and from thence
proceeding into Spain, founded there the empire of the Visigoths: he
carried with him, however, Placidia the sister of Honorius, either as
prisoner or as hostage, and married her in Gaul. During these events
an usurper arose in Britain and Gaul named Constantine, 407: he was
vanquished, and put to death, 411, by Constantius, one of Honorius's
generals. This latter prince not only gave Constantius his sister
Placidia, who had become a widow and was restored in 417, in marriage,
but also named him Augustus in 421. He died, however, a few months
after, so that Placidia henceforward had a considerable share in the
government. She went nevertheless, 423, to Constantinople, where she
remained until the death of Honorius.

# _Fl. Stilico, or the Wallenstein of Antiquity_, by CHR. FR. SCHULZE,
1805. Not written by way of comparison.

22. In this manner was a great part of Spain, and part of Gaul, cut off from the Roman empire during the reign of Honorius. After his death the secretary John usurped the government, but was defeated by the eastern emperor Theodosius II. The nephew of Honorius, Valentinian III. a minor (aged 6-36), was then raised to the throne, under the guardian care of his mother Placidia (! 450). Under his miserable reign the western empire was stripped of almost all her provinces with the exception of Italy. Yet the government of his mother, and afterwards his own incapacity, were as much the cause as the stormy migration of barbarous tribes, which now convulsed all Europe.

Britain had been voluntarily left by the Romans since 427. In Africa,
the governor Boniface having been driven into rebellion by the
intrigues of the Roman general Aetius, who possessed the ear of
Placidia, invited the Vandals from Spain, under the command of
Genseric, to come to his assistance. The latter then obtained
possession of the country, 429-439; indeed, even as early as 435,
Valentinian was obliged to make a formal cession of it to them.
Valentinian's wife Eudoxia, a Grecian princess, was purchased by the
cession of western Illyricum (Pannonia, Dalmatia, and Noricum); so
that of all the countries south of the Danube there now only remained
those which belonged to the praefecture of Italy: Rhaetia and
Vindelicia. On the south-east of Gaul was formed, 435, the kingdom of
the Burgundians, which, besides the south-east part of France,
comprised also Switzerland and Savoy. The south-west was under the
dominion of the Visigoths. There remained only the territory north of
the Loire which still submitted to the Roman governors; the last of
whom, Syagrius, survived the fall of the empire itself; holding out
till the year 486, when he was defeated near Soissons by Clodovicus,
or Clovis, king of the Franks.

23. But while the western empire seemed thus of itself almost to fall to pieces, another impetuous rush of nations took place, which threatened the whole of western Europe. The victorious hordes of Huns who now occupied the territory formerly the seat of the Goths, between the Don and the Theiss, and even as far as the Volga, had united themselves, since the year 444, under one common chief, Attila; who, by this union and his own superior talents as a warrior and ruler, became the most powerful prince of his time. The eastern empire having bought a peace by paying him a yearly tribute, he fell with a mighty army upon the western provinces. The united forces, however, of the Romans under Aetius and the Visigoths, obliged him near Chalons (_in campis Catalaunicis_) to retreat. Nevertheless, the following year he again invaded Italy, where he had a secret understanding with the licentious Honoria, Valentinian's sister. The cause of his second retreat, which was soon followed by his death, is unknown. The miserable Valentinian soon after deprived the Roman empire of its best general, being led by his suspicions to put Aetius to death. He himself, however, was soon doomed to undergo the punishment of his debaucheries, being murdered in a conspiracy formed by Petronius Maximus, whose wife he had dishonoured, and some friends of Aetius, whom he had executed.

24. The twenty years which intervened between the assassination of Valentinian, and the final destruction of the Roman empire in the west, was nearly one continued series of intestine revolutions. No less than nine sovereigns rapidly succeeded one another. These changes, indeed, were but of little importance in this troublesome period, compared to the terror with which Genseric king of the Vandals filled the Roman empire: he by his naval power having become master of the Mediterranean and Sicily, could ravage the coasts of the defenceless Italy at his pleasure, and even capture Rome itself. While in Italy, the German Ricimer, general of the foreign troops in Roman pay, permitted a series of emperors to reign in his name. It would have been his lot to put an end to this series of Augusti, but for mere accident, which reserved that glory for his son and successor, Odoacer, four years after his father's death.