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1. We have already mentioned that the barbarous nations which joined
in the destruction of the Roman empire, were invited to come within
its precincts through the weakness or folly of successive sovereigns
who recruited their armies from those hardy tribes, in preference to
their own subjects, enervated by luxury and indolence. The grants of
land, and the rich donations by which the emperors endeavoured to
secure the fidelity of these dangerous auxiliaries, encouraged them to
regard the Roman territories as their prey; and being alternately the
objects of lavish extravagance and wanton insult, their power was
increased at the same time that their resentment was provoked. 2.
Towards the close of the year 406, the Vandals, the Suevi, and the
Alans, first sounded the tocsin of invasion, and their example was
followed by the Goths, the Burgundians, the Alleman'ni, the Franks,
the Huns, the Angli, the Saxons, the Heruli, and the Longobar'di, or
Lombards. The chief of these nations, with the exception of the Huns
were of German origin. It is not easy in every instance to discover
the original seat of these several tribes, and trace their successive
migrations, because, being ignorant of letters, they only retained
some vague traditions of their wanderings.

THE VANDALS AND ALANS

3. This tribe was, like the Burgundians and Lombards, a branch of the
ancient Sue'vi, and inhabited that part of Germany which lies between
the Elbe and the Vis'tula. Being joined by some warriors from
Scandinavia, they advanced towards the south, and established
themselves in that part of Da'cia which included the modern province
of Transylva'nia, and part of Hungary. Being oppressed in their
new settlement by the Goths, they sought the protection of Constantine
the Great, and obtained from him a grant of lands in Pannonia, on
condition of their rendering military service to the Romans. 4. About
the commencement of the fifth century, they were joined by the ALANS,
a people originally from mount Cau'casus, and the ancient Scythia: a
branch of which having settled in Sarma'tia, near the source of the
Borysthenes _(Dnieper)_, had advanced as far as the Danube, and there
made a formidable stand against the Romans. In their passage through
Germany, the Vandals and Alans were joined by a portion of the Suevi,
and the confederate tribes entering Gaul, spread desolation over the
entire country.

5. From thence the barbarians passed into Spain and settled in the
province, from them named Vandalu'sia, since corrupted to Andalusia.
On the invitation of Count Boniface, the Vandals proceeded from Spain
to Africa, where they founded a formidable empire. After remaining
masters of the western Mediterranean for nearly a century, the eastern
emperor Justinian sent a formidable force against them under the
command of the celebrated Belisa'rius. This great leader not only
destroyed the power of these pirates, but erased the very name of
Vandals from the list of nations.

THE GOTHS.

6. The Goths, the most powerful of these destructive nations, are said
to have come originally from Scandina'via; but when they first began
to attract the notice of historians, we find them settled on the banks
of the Danube. Those who inhabited the districts towards the east, and
the Euxine sea, between the Ty'ras _(Dniester)_ the Borys'thenes
_(Dnieper)_ and the Tan'ais _(Don)_ were called Ostrogoths; the
Visigoths extended westwards over ancient Dacia, and the regions
between the Ty'ras, the Danube, and the Vistula.

7. Attacked in these vast countries by the Huns, as has been mentioned
in a preceding chapter, some were subjugated, and others compelled to
abandon their habitations. They obtained settlements from the
emperors, but being unwisely provoked to revolt, they became the most
formidable enemies of the Romans. After having twice ravaged Italy and
plundered Rome, they ended their conquests by establishing themselves
in Gaul and Spain.

8. The Spanish monarchy of the Visigoths, which in its flourishing
state comprised, besides the entire peninsula, the province of
Septima'nia (_Langucaoc_) in Gaul, and Mauritania, Tingeta'na,
(_north-western Africa_) on the opposite coasts of the Mediterranean,
lasted from the middle of the fifth to the commencement of the eighth
century, when it was overthrown by the Moors. 9. The Thuringians, whom
we find established in the heart of Germany, in the middle of the
fifth century, appear to have been a branch of the Visigoths.

THE FRANKS.

10. A number of petty German tribes having entered into a confederacy
to maintain their mutual independence, took the name of Franks, or
Freemen. The tribes which thus associated, principally inhabited the
districts lying between the Rhine and the Weser, including the greater
part of Holland and Westphalia. 11. In the middle of the third
century, they invaded Gaul, but were defeated by Aurelian, who
afterwards became emperor. In the fourth, and towards the beginning of
the fifth century, they permanently established themselves as a
nation, and gave the name of _Francia_, or _France_, to the provinces
lying between the Rhine, the Weser, the Maine, and the Elbe; but about
the sixth century that name was transferred to ancient Gaul, when it
was conquered by the Franks.

THE ALLEMANNI.

12. The Alleman'ni were another confederation of German tribes, which
took its name from including a great variety of nations. It is
scarcely necessary to remark, that the name is compounded of the words
_all_ and _man_ which still continue unchanged in our language. Their
territories extended between the Danube, the Rhine, and the Maine, and
they rendered themselves formidable to the Romans by their frequent
inroads into Gaul and Italy during the third and fourth centuries.

THE SAXONS AND ANGLES.

13. The Saxons began to be conspicuous about the close of the second
century. They were then settled beyond the Elbe, in modern Holstein;
having for their neighbours the ANGLI, or ANGLES, inhabiting Sleswick.
These nations were early distinguished as pirates, and their
plundering expeditions kept the shores of western Europe in constant
alarm. Being invited by the Britons to assist in repelling the
invasions of the Picts, they subdued the southern part of the island,
which has ever since retained the name of England, from its conquerors
the An'gli. When the Franks penetrated into Gaul, the Saxons passed
the Elbe, and seizing on the vacated territory, gave the name of
Saxony to ancient France.

THE HUNS.

14. The Huns were the most ferocious and sanguinary of the barbarians.
They seem to have been originally Kalmuck or Mongolian Tartars, and,
during the period of their supremacy, seem never to have laid aside
the savage customs which they brought from their native deserts. 15.
After having expelled the Goths from the banks of the Danube, they
fell upon the eastern empire, and compelled the court of
Constantinople to pay them tribute. They then, under the guidance of
Attila, invaded Italy, and after devastating the peninsula, captured
and plundered Rome. After the death of Attila, the Huns were broken up
into a number of petty states, which maintained their independence
until the close of the eighth century, when they were subdued by
Charlemagne.

THE BURGUNDIANS.

16. The Burgundians were originally inhabitants of the countries
situated between the Oder and the Vistula. They followed nearly the
track of the Visigoths, and at the beginning of the fifth century had
established themselves on the Upper Rhine and in Switzerland. On the
dissolution of the empire, they seized on that part of Gaul, which
from them retains the name of Burgundy.

THE LOMBARDS, THE GEPIDAE, AND THE AVARS.

17. The Lombards, more properly called Longo-bardi, from the length of
their beards, are supposed by some to have been a branch of the
Sue'vi, and by others to have migrated from Scandina'via. They joined
with the Avars, a fierce Asiatic people, in attacking the Gep'idae,
then in possession of that part of Dacia lying on the left bank of the
Danube, but who are supposed to have come thither from some more
northern country. The Avars and Lombards triumphed, but the former
soon turned their arms against their allies, and compelled them to
seek new habitations. 18. About the middle of the sixth century they
invaded Italy, which the Eastern emperors had just before wrested
from the Turks, and made themselves masters of the northern part;
which has since borne the name of Lombardy.

THE SLA'VI.

19. These were the last of the barbarian hordes, and are not mentioned
by any author before the sixth century. They first appeared in the
east of Europe, and spreading themselves over the central provinces,
occupied the greater part of the countries that now constitute the
dominions of Austria. The Sla'vi warred chiefly against the Eastern
empire, and their contest with the Grecian forces on the Danube, in
the sixth and seventh centuries, shook the throne of Constantinople.
The VENE'DI and the AN'TES were tribes of the Slavi.

THE NORMANS.

20. The piratical inhabitants of Norway and Denmark were called by the
Franks, Normans, or, Men of the North; in Ireland they were named
Ostmen, or, Men of the East. Their depredations began to attract
notice early in the seventh century, but did not become formidable
before the ninth: when they obtained possession of that part of France
now called Normandy. In the two following centuries they wrested
England from the Saxons, and established kingdoms in Sicily and
southern Italy.

THE BULGARIANS.

21. The Bulgarians were of Scythian or Tartar origin, and became
formidable to the Eastern empire in the latter part of the seventh
century. In the beginning of the ninth, Cruni'nus, their king,
advanced to the gates of Constantinople; but the city proving too
strong, he seized Adrianople, and returned home loaded with booty. The
successors of Cruni'nus did not inherit his abilities, and the
Bulgarians soon sunk into comparative insignificance.

THE SARACENS MOORS AND TURKS.

22. In concluding this chapter, it may be proper to give some account
of the subverters of the Eastern empire, and of their irruption into
Europe. The Arabs, called in the middle ages Saracens, are supposed to
be descended from Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar. During all
the changes of dynasties and empires in the eastern and western
world, they retained their independence, though almost constantly at
war with the surrounding states. "Their hand was against every man,
and every man's hand was against them." In the beginning of the
seventh century, Mohammed, a native of Mecca, descended from a noble
family, laid claim to the title of a prophet, and being aided by a
renegade Christian, formed a religious system, which, after
encountering great opposition, was finally adopted by the principal
tribes of Arabia. The successors of Mohammed, called Caliphs, resolved
to propagate the new religion by the sword, and conquered an empire,
more extensive than that of the Romans had been. The entire of central
and southern Asia, including Persia, India, and the provinces of the
Eastern empire owned their sway; northern Africa was soon after
subdued, and in the beginning of the eighth century, the Saracenic
Moors established their dominion in Spain. 23. It is probable, even,
that all Europe would have submitted to their yoke, if the French
hero, Charles Martel,[1] had not arrested their victorious career, and
defeated their numerous armies on the plains of _Poitiers_, A.D.
732.[2]

24. The empire of the Caliphs soon declined from its original
splendour, and its ruin finally proceeded from the same cause that
produced the downfall of Rome, the employment of barbarian
mercenaries. The soldiers levied by the Caliphs, were selected from
the Tartar tribes that had embraced the religion of Mohammed; they
were called Turcomans or Turks, from Turkistan, the proper name of
western Tartary. These brave, but ferocious warriors, soon wrested the
sceptre from the feeble caliphs, and completed the conquest of western
Asia. The crusades for a time delayed the fate of the Greek empire,
but finally the Turks crossed the Hellespont, and having taken
Constantinople, (A.D. 1453,) established their cruel despotism over
the fairest portion of Europe.

_Questions for Examination._

1. How were the barbarians first brought into the Roman empire?

2. When did the first great movement of the Northern tribes take
place?

3. Where did the Vandals first settle?

4. From whence did the Alans come?

5. In what countries did the Vandals establish their power?

6. Where did we first find the Goths settled?

7. To what countries did the Goths remove?

8. How long did the kingdom of the Visigoths continue?

9. What branch of the Goths settled in Germany?

10. From what did the Franks derive their name?

11. Which was the ancient, and which the modern France?

12. What is the history of the Allemanni?

13. In what countries did the Saxons and Angles settle?

14. Whence did the Huns come?

15. How far did their ravages extend?

16. What territory did the Burgundians seize?

17. How did the alliance between the Lombards and Avars injure the
former people?

18. Where was the kingdom of the Lombards established?

19. What is told respecting the Slavi?

20. Who were the Normans?

21. What is the history of the Bulgarians?

22. What great conquests were achieved by the Arabs under Mohammed and
his successors?

23. By whom was the Saracenic career of victory checked?

24. How was the empire of the Turks established?

FOOTNOTES:

[1] See Taylor's History of France.

[2] Here also the heroic Black Prince took John, king of France,
prisoner. See Taylor's France.

* * * * *




CHAPTER XXVIII.

THE PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY.

Waft, waft, ye winds, his story,
And you, ye oceans, roll,
Till, like a sea of glory,
It spreads from pole to pole.--_Heber_.

1. Judea became a Roman province some years before the birth of Jesus
Christ, and the Jews, who had hitherto been conspicuous for their
attachment to their native land, were induced, by the spirit of trade,
to spread themselves over the empire. 2. The exclusive nature of their
religion kept them in a marked state of separation from their fellow
subjects; the worshipper of Osi'ris scrupled not to offer sacrifices
to Jupiter; the Persian, the Indian, and the German, bowed before the
Roman altars; but the sons of Abraham refused to give the glory of
their God to graven images, and were regarded by their idolatrous
neighbours at first with surprise, and afterwards with contempt. 3.
The appearance of the Messiah in Palestine, and the miraculous
circumstances of his life, death, and resurrection, did not fill the
world with their fame, because his preaching was principally addressed
to his countrymen, the first object of his mission being "the lost
sheep of the house of Israel."

4. The disciples, after their Divine Master was taken from them,
proceeded to fulfil his last commandments, by preaching the gospel "to
every nation," and an opportunity of spreading its blessings was
afforded by Jewish synagogues having been previously established in
most of the great cities through the empire. Independent of the
sustaining providence of its Almighty Author, there were many
circumstances that facilitated the progress and prepared the way for
the final triumph of Christianity. 5. In the first place, Paganism had
lost its influence; men secretly laughed at the fabulous legends about
Jupiter and Rom'ulus, the sacrifices had become idle forms, and the
processions a useless mockery. Philosophers had not scrupled to cover
with ridicule the whole system of Heathenism, and there were not a few
who professed themselves Atheists. 6. Without some system of religion
society cannot exist; for a sanction stronger than human laws is
necessary to restrain the violence of passion and ardent desires. The
innate feeling that our existence is not dependent on our mortal
frame, disposes men to search for some information respecting a future
state; the heathen system was at once obscure and absurd; the
philosophers avowedly spoke from conjecture; but by the Gospel, "life
and immortality were brought to light." 7. The influence of a purer
faith was discernible in the lives and actions of the first
Christians; they lived in an age of unparalleled iniquity and
debauchery, yet they kept themselves "unspotted from the world;" those
who were once conspicuous for violence, licentiousness, and crime,
became, when they joined the new sect, humble, temperate, chaste, and
virtuous; the persons who witnessed such instances of reformation were
naturally anxious to learn something of the means by which so great a
change had been effected. 8. A fourth cause was, that Christianity
offered the blessings of salvation to men of every class; it was its
most marked feature, that "to the poor the gospel was preached," and
the wretch who dared not come into the pagan temple, because he had no
rich offering to lay upon the altar, was ready to obey the call of him
who offered pardon and love "without money and without price."

9. In the course of the first century of the Christian era churches
were established in the principal cities of the empire, but more
especially in Asia Minor; and the progress of Christianity, which had
been at first disregarded, began to attract the notice of the ruling
powers. Too indolent to investigate the claims of Christianity,
and by no means pleased with a system which condemned their vices, the
Roman rulers viewed the rapid progress of the new religion with
undisguised alarm. The union of the sacerdotal and magisterial
character in the Roman policy, added personal interest to the motives
that urged them to crush this rising sect; and the relentless Ne'ro at
length kindled the torch of persecution. 10. But "the blood of the
martyrs proved the seed of the Church;" the constancy with which they
supported the most inhuman tortures, their devotion and firm reliance
on their God in the moments of mortal agony, increased the number of
converts to a religion which could work such a moral miracle.
Persecution also united the Christians more closely together, and when
the reign of terror ended with the death of Nero, it was found that
Christianity had derived additional strength from the means taken to
insure its destruction.

11. The successive persecutions inflicted by the policy or the bigotry
of the following emperors had precisely the same results; and at
length the Christians had acquired such strength, that their aid, as a
body, became a matter of importance in contests for the empire.

12. The mild administration of Constantino, while he was only prefect
of Gaul, the protection which he afforded to the Christians, and the
favour that he showed to their religion, induced them to aid him with
all their might in his struggle for the throne. Brought thus into
contact with the professors of the new doctrine, Constantine was
induced to examine the foundations of its high claims--perfect
conviction was the result, and on his accession to the imperial
purple, the Christian church was legally established. 13. During the
reign of the apostate Julian, Christianity was discouraged, but not
persecuted; his premature death, however, removed the last impediment
to its final triumph, which was consummated in the reign of the great
Theodo'sius. 14. Under that emperor the last vestiges of the pagan
worship were destroyed, its idols overthrown, its altars demolished,
and its temples closed. The world had become ripe for such a
revolution, as the temples had been long before almost universally
abandoned.

15. Since that period Christianity has prevailed in Europe, and formed
the great bond of the social happiness and the great source of the
intellectual eminence enjoyed in that quarter of the globe. Let us
hope that the exertions now made to diffuse its blessings over
the benighted portions of the earth will prove successful, and that
"peace and happiness, truth and justice, religion and piety" will
prevail from pole to pole.

_Questions for Examination._

1. What was the state of the Jews at the coming of Christ?

2. How were the Jews preserved separate from other nations?

3. What probable cause may be assigned for the neglect of the
Christian miracles?

4. How did the dispersion of the Jews afford an opportunity for the
propagation of Christianity?

5. What was the state of paganism when Christianity was first
preached?

6. What great mystery is brought to light by the gospel?

7. How did the lives of the first Christians contribute to the rapid
progress of Christianity?

8. To what class of people was the gospel more particularly addressed?

9. What induced the rulers of the Roman empire to persecute
Christianity?

10. Was Christianity crushed by persecution?

11. What proves the great strength early acquired by Christians?

12. By whom was Christianity legally established?

13. Under whose government did it receive a slight check?

14. When were the last vestiges of paganism abolished?

15. What have been the political effects of the establishment of
Christianity?

* * * * *


CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX.

B.C.

1230 (Supposed) Pelasgic migration to Italy.

1184 (Supposed) Arrival of AEneas in Latium.

753 (Supposed) foundation of the city of Rome.

750 Union of the Romans and Sabines.

716 Death of Romulus.

714 Virtuous Administration of Numa.

671 Accession of Tullus Hostilius.

665 Duel between the Horatii and Curiatii--Destruction of Alba.

639 Accession of Ancus Martius.

616 {---- ---- Tarquinius Priscus.
{The Augurs acquire importance in the state.

578 {Death of Tarquinius Priscus.
{Accession of Servius Tullius.
{The establishment of the Centuries.

534 {Murder of Servius Tullius.
{Accession of Tarquinius Superbus.
{Gabii taken by stratagem.

509 {Expulsion of Tarquinius Superbus.
{Establishment of Consuls.

508 {Conspiracy for the restoration of the Tarquinii.
{Death of Brutus.

507 War with Porsenna.

498 Lartius the first Dictator created.

493 {The Roman populace retire to Mons Sacer.
{Tribunes of the people appointed.

487 {Exile of Coriolanus.
{Rome besieged by Coriolanus.
{His retreat and death.

484 Condemnation and death of Cassius.

459 First Dictatorship of Cincinnatus.

457 Second ditto.

454 The Romans send to Athens for Solon's laws.

451 The laws of the Twelve Tables--The Decemviri.

449 The expulsion of the Decemviri.

443 Military Tribunes chosen instead of Consuls.

442 The Censorship instituted.

439 Maelius murdered by Ahala.

406 The siege of Veii begun.

396 Veii taken by Camillus.

391 The Gauls invade Italy.

390 {The battle of Allia. Rome sacked by the Gauls.
{The Gauls defeated by Camillus.

383 Manlius put to death on a charge of treason.

361 Curtius devotes himself in the Forum.

342 Beginning of the Samnite war.

339 {Manlius puts his son to death for disobedience.
{Decius devotes himself for his country.

320 A Roman army forced to surrender to the Samnites in the
Caudine Forks.

280 Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, invades Italy.

272 ---- finally defeated by Curius Dentatus.

270 Tarentum surrendered to the Romans.

264 Commencement of the first Punic war.

260 The Carthaginian fleet defeated by Duilius.

256 Regulus defeated by Xantippus.

252 Regulus sent to negociate peace. His death.

241 End of the first Punic war.

234 {The temple of Janus shut, and Rome at peace, for
the first time since the death of Numa.
{Literature cultivated at Rome.

229 War with the Illyrians.

225 {The Gauls invade Italy a second time.
{---- ---- are defeated by Marcellus, who
gains the spolia opima.

218 {The second Punic war begins.
{Hanniball invades Italy.
{Battle of the Ticenus.
{ ---- of the Trebia.

217 ---- of the lake Thrasymene.

216 ---- of Cannae.

214 The Romans begin an auxiliary war against Philip of Macedon.

212 Syracuse taken by Marcellus.

207 Asdrubal defeated and slain.

202 Battle of Zama and end of the second Punic war.

197 Philip conquered by the Romans.

192 The Romans wage war against Antiochus.

189 Death of Hannibal.

171 Commencement of the second Macedonian war.

168 Macedon became a Roman province.

149 The third Punic war begins.

147 Carthage destroyed by Scipio, and Corinth by Munimius.

132 Sedition of Trius Gracchus.

126 Revolt of the slaves in Sicily.

122 Seditions of Caius Gracchus.

121 Murder of Caius Gracchus. Persecution of the popular party.

111 The Jugurthine war begins, and lasts five years.

91 The social war begins, and lasts three years.

89 The Mithridatic war begins, and lasts twenty-six years.

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