Procopius - History of the Wars, Books I and II (of 8)

P >> Procopius >> History of the Wars, Books I and II (of 8)

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21

At a later time Chosroes was making an invasion into the land of Colchis
with a great army, as will be told in the following narrative[30]. And
he was followed by the son of this same chanaranges, Varrames, who took
with him a number of his servants, and among them the one who shared
with him the knowledge of what had happened to Cabades; while there
Varrames told the king everything regarding Cabades, and he brought
forward the servant agreeing with him in every particular. When Chosroes
learned this he was forthwith exceedingly angry, and he counted it a
dreadful thing that he had suffered such things at the hand of a man who
was his slave; and since he had no other means of getting the man under
his hand he devised the following plan. When he was about to return
homeward from the land of Colchis, he wrote to this chanaranges that he
had decided to invade the land of the Romans with his whole army, not,
however, by a single inroad into the country, but making two divisions
of the Persian army, in order that the attack might be made upon the
enemy on both sides of the River Euphrates. Now one division of the army
he himself, as was natural, would lead into the hostile land, while to
no one else of his subjects would he grant the privilege of holding
equal honour with the king in this matter, except to the chanaranges
himself on account of his valour. It was necessary, therefore, that the
chanaranges should come speedily to meet him as he returned, in order
that he might confer with him and give him all the directions which
would be of advantage to the army, and that he should bid his attendants
travel behind him on the road. When the chanaranges received this
message, he was overjoyed at the honour shown him by the king, and in
complete ignorance of his own evil plight, he immediately carried out
the instructions. But in the course of this journey, since he was quite
unable to sustain the toil of it (for he was a very old man), he relaxed
his hold on the reins and fell off his horse, breaking the bone in his
leg. It was therefore necessary for him to remain there quietly and be
cared for, and the king came to that place and saw him. And Chosroes
said to him that with his leg in such a plight it was not possible that
he make the expedition with them, but that he must go to one of the
fortresses in that region and receive treatment there from the
physicians. Thus then Chosroes sent the man away on the road to death,
and behind him followed the very men who were to destroy him in the
fortress,--a man who was in fact as well as in name an invincible
general among the Persians, who had marched against twelve nations of
barbarians and subjected them all to King Cabades. After
Adergoudounbades had been removed from the world, Varrames, his son,
received the office of chanaranges. Not long after this either Cabades
himself, the son of Zames, or someone else who was assuming the name of
Cabades came to Byzantium; certainly he resembled very closely in
appearance Cabades, the king. And the Emperor Justinian, though in doubt
concerning him, received him with great friendliness and honoured him as
the grandson of Cabades. So then fared the Persians who rose against
Chosroes.

Later on Chosroes destroyed also Mebodes for the following reason. While
the king was arranging a certain important matter, he directed
Zaberganes who was present to call Mebodes. Now it happened that
Zaberganes was on hostile terms with Mebodes. When he came to him, he
found him marshalling the soldiers under his command, and he said that
the king summoned him to come as quickly as possible. And Mebodes
promised that he would follow directly as soon as he should have
arranged the matter in hand; but Zaberganes, moved by his hostility to
him, reported to Chosroes that Mebodes did not wish to come at present,
claiming to have some business or other. Chosroes, therefore, moved with
anger, sent one of his attendants commanding Mebodes to go to the
tripod. Now as to what this is I shall explain forthwith. An iron tripod
stands always before the palace; and whenever anyone of the Persians
learns that the king is angry with him, it is not right for such a man
to flee for refuge to a sanctuary nor to go elsewhere, but he must seat
himself by this tripod and await the verdict of the king, while no one
at all dares protect him. There Mebodes sat in pitiable plight for many
days, until he was seized and put to death at the command of Chosroes.
Such was the final outcome of his good deeds to Chosroes.

XXIV

[Jan. 1, 532] At this same time an insurrection broke out unexpectedly
in Byzantium among the populace, and, contrary to expectation, it proved
to be a very serious affair, and ended in great harm to the people and
to the senate, as the following account will shew. In every city the
population has been divided for a long time past into the Blue and the
Green factions; but within comparatively recent times it has come about
that, for the sake of these names and the seats which the rival factions
occupy in watching the games, they spend their money and abandon their
bodies to the most cruel tortures, and even do not think it unworthy to
die a most shameful death. And they fight against their opponents
knowing not for what end they imperil themselves, but knowing well that,
even if they overcome their enemy in the fight, the conclusion of the
matter for them will be to be carried off straightway to the prison, and
finally, after suffering extreme torture, to be destroyed. So there
grows up in them against their fellow men a hostility which has no
cause, and at no time does it cease or disappear, for it gives place
neither to the ties of marriage nor of relationship nor of friendship,
and the case is the same even though those who differ with respect to
these colours be brothers or any other kin. They care neither for things
divine nor human in comparison with conquering in these struggles; and
it matters not whether a sacrilege is committed by anyone at all against
God, or whether the laws and the constitution are violated by friend or
by foe; nay even when they are perhaps ill supplied with the necessities
of life, and when their fatherland is in the most pressing need and
suffering unjustly, they pay no heed if only it is likely to go well
with their "faction"; for so they name the bands of partisans. And even
women join with them in this unholy strife, and they not only follow the
men, but even resist them if opportunity offers, although they neither
go to the public exhibitions at all, nor are they impelled by any other
cause; so that I, for my part, am unable to call this anything except a
disease of the soul. This, then, is pretty well how matters stand among
the people of each and every city.

But at this time the officers of the city administration in Byzantium
were leading away to death some of the rioters. But the members of the
two factions, conspiring together and declaring a truce with each other,
seized the prisoners and then straightway entered the prison and
released all those who were in confinement there, whether they had been
condemned on a charge of stirring up sedition, or for any other unlawful
act. And all the attendants in the service of the city government were
killed indiscriminately; meanwhile, all of the citizens who were
sane-minded were fleeing to the opposite mainland, and fire was applied
to the city as if it had fallen under the hand of an enemy. The
sanctuary of Sophia and the baths of Zeuxippus, and the portion of the
imperial residence from the propylaea as far as the so-called House of
Ares were destroyed by fire, and besides these both the great colonnades
which extended as far as the market place which bears the name of
Constantine, in addition to many houses of wealthy men and a vast amount
of treasure. During this time the emperor and his consort with a few
members of the senate shut themselves up in the palace and remained
quietly there. Now the watch-word which the populace passed around to
one another was Nika[31], and the insurrection has been called by this
name up to the present time.

The praetorian prefect at that time was John the Cappadocian, and
Tribunianus, a Pamphylian by birth, was counsellor to the emperor; this
person the Romans call "quaestor." One of these two men, John, was
entirely without the advantages of a liberal education; for he learned
nothing while attending the elementary school except his letters, and
these, too, poorly enough; but by his natural ability he became the most
powerful man of whom we know. For he was most capable in deciding upon
what was needful and in finding a solution for difficulties. But he
became the basest of all men and employed his natural power to further
his low designs; neither consideration for God nor any shame before man
entered into his mind, but to destroy the lives of many men for the sake
of gain and to wreck whole cities was his constant concern. So within a
short time indeed he had acquired vast sums of money, and he flung
himself completely into the sordid life of a drunken scoundrel; for up
to the time of lunch each day he would plunder the property of his
subjects, and for the rest of the day occupy himself with drinking and
with wanton deeds of lust. And he was utterly unable to control himself,
for he ate food until he vomited, and he was always ready to steal money
and more ready to bring it out and spend it. Such a man then was John.
Tribunianus, on the other hand, both possessed natural ability and in
educational attainments was inferior to none of his contemporaries; but
he was extraordinarily fond of the pursuit of money and always ready to
sell justice for gain; therefore every day, as a rule, he was repealing
some laws and proposing others, selling off to those who requested it
either favour according to their need.

Now as long as the people were waging this war with each other in behalf
of the names of the colours, no attention was paid to the offences of
these men against the constitution; but when the factions came to a
mutual understanding, as has been said, and so began the sedition, then
openly throughout the whole city they began to abuse the two and went
about seeking them to kill. Accordingly the emperor, wishing to win the
people to his side, instantly dismissed both these men from office. And
Phocas, a patrician, he appointed praetorian prefect, a man of the
greatest discretion and fitted by nature to be a guardian of justice;
Basilides he commanded to fill the office of quaestor, a man known among
the patricians for his agreeable qualities and a notable besides.
However, the insurrection continued no less violently under them. Now on
the fifth day of the insurrection in the late afternoon the Emperor
Justinian gave orders to Hypatius and Pompeius, nephews of the late
emperor, Anastasius, to go home as quickly as possible, either because
he suspected that some plot was being matured by them against his own
person, or, it may be, because destiny brought them to this. But they
feared that the people would force them to the throne (as in fact fell
out), and they said that they would be doing wrong if they should
abandon their sovereign when he found himself in such danger. When the
Emperor Justinian heard this, he inclined still more to his suspicion,
and he bade them quit the palace instantly. Thus, then, these two men
betook themselves to their homes, and, as long as it was night, they
remained there quietly.

But on the following day at sunrise it became known to the people that
both men had quit the palace where they had been staying. So the whole
population ran to them, and they declared Hypatius emperor and prepared
to lead him to the market-place to assume the power. But the wife of
Hypatius, Mary, a discreet woman, who had the greatest reputation for
prudence, laid hold of her husband and would not let go, but cried out
with loud lamentation and with entreaties to all her kinsmen that the
people were leading him on the road to death. But since the throng
overpowered her, she unwillingly released her husband, and he by no will
of his own came to the Forum of Constantine, where they summoned him to
the throne; then since they had neither diadem nor anything else with
which it is customary for a king to be clothed, they placed a golden
necklace upon his head and proclaimed him Emperor of the Romans. By this
time the members of the senate were assembling,--as many of them as had
not been left in the emperor's residence,--and many expressed the
opinion that they should go to the palace to fight. But Origenes, a man
of the senate, came forward and spoke as follows: "Fellow Romans, it is
impossible that the situation which is upon us be solved in any way
except by war. Now war and royal power are agreed to be the greatest of
all things in the world. But when action involves great issues, it
refuses to be brought to a successful conclusion by the brief crisis of
a moment, but this is accomplished only by wisdom of thought and energy
of action, which men display for a length of time. Therefore if we
should go out against the enemy, our cause will hang in the balance, and
we shall be taking a risk which will decide everything in a brief space
of time; and, as regards the consequences of such action, we shall
either fall down and worship Fortune or reproach her altogether. For
those things whose issue is most quickly decided, fall, as a rule, under
the sway of fortune. But if we handle the present situation more
deliberately, not even if we wish shall we be able to take Justinian in
the palace, but he will very speedily be thankful if he is allowed to
flee; for authority which is ignored always loses its power, since its
strength ebbs away with each day. Moreover we have other palaces, both
Placillianae and the palace named from Helen, which this emperor should
make his headquarters and from there he should carry on the war and
attend to the ordering of all other matters in the best possible way."
So spoke Origenes. But the rest, as a crowd is accustomed to do,
insisted more excitedly and thought that the present moment was
opportune, and not least of all Hypatius (for it was fated that evil
should befall him) bade them lead the way to the hippodrome. But some
say that he came there purposely, being well-disposed toward the
emperor.

Now the emperor and his court were deliberating as to whether it would
be better for them if they remained or if they took to flight in the
ships. And many opinions were expressed favouring either course. And the
Empress Theodora also spoke to the following effect: "As to the belief
that a woman ought not to be daring among men or to assert herself
boldly among those who are holding back from fear, I consider that the
present crisis most certainly does not permit us to discuss whether the
matter should be regarded in this or in some other way. For in the case
of those whose interests have come into the greatest danger nothing else
seems best except to settle the issue immediately before them in the
best possible way. My opinion then is that the present time, above all
others, is inopportune for flight, even though it bring safety. For
while it is impossible for a man who has seen the light not also to die,
for one who has been an emperor it is unendurable to be a fugitive. May
I never be separated from this purple, and may I not live that day on
which those who meet me shall not address me as mistress. If, now, it is
your wish to save yourself, O Emperor, there is no difficulty. For we
have much money, and there is the sea, here the boats. However consider
whether it will not come about after you have been saved that you would
gladly exchange that safety for death. For as for myself, I approve a
certain ancient saying that royalty is a good burial-shroud." When the
queen had spoken thus, all were filled with boldness, and, turning their
thoughts towards resistance, they began to consider how they might be
able to defend themselves if any hostile force should come against them.
Now the soldiers as a body, including those who were stationed about the
emperor's court, were neither well disposed to the emperor nor willing
openly to take an active part in fighting, but were waiting for what the
future would bring forth. All the hopes of the emperor were centred upon
Belisarius and Mundus, of whom the former, Belisarius, had recently
returned from the Persian war bringing with him a following which was
both powerful and imposing, and in particular he had a great number of
spearmen and guards who had received their training in battles and the
perils of warfare. Mundus had been appointed general of the Illyrians,
and by mere chance had happened to come under summons to Byzantium on
some necessary errand, bringing with him Erulian barbarians.

When Hypatius reached the hippodrome, he went up immediately to where
the emperor is accustomed to take his place and seated himself on the
royal throne from which the emperor was always accustomed to view the
equestrian and athletic contests. And from the palace Mundus went out
through the gate which, from the circling descent, has been given the
name of the Snail. Belisarius meanwhile began at first to go straight up
toward Hypatius himself and the royal throne, and when he came to the
adjoining structure where there has been a guard of soldiers from of
old, he cried out to the soldiers commanding them to open the door for
him as quickly as possible, in order that he might go against the
tyrant. But since the soldiers had decided to support neither side,
until one of them should be manifestly victorious, they pretended not to
hear at all and thus put him off. So Belisarius returned to the emperor
and declared that the day was lost for them, for the soldiers who
guarded the palace were rebelling against him. The emperor therefore
commanded him to go to the so-called Bronze Gate and the propylaea
there. So Belisarius, with difficulty and not without danger and great
exertion, made his way over ground covered by ruins and half-burned
buildings, and ascended to the stadium. And when he had reached the Blue
Colonnade which is on the right of the emperor's throne, he purposed to
go against Hypatius himself first; but since there was a small door
there which had been closed and was guarded by the soldiers of Hypatius
who were inside, he feared lest while he was struggling in the narrow
space the populace should fall upon him, and after destroying both
himself and all his followers, should proceed with less trouble and
difficulty against the emperor. Concluding, therefore, that he must go
against the populace who had taken their stand in the hippodrome--a vast
multitude crowding each other in great disorder--he drew his sword from
its sheath and, commanding the others to do likewise, with a shout he
advanced upon them at a run. But the populace, who were standing in a
mass and not in order, at the sight of armoured soldiers who had a great
reputation for bravery and experience in war, and seeing that they
struck out with their swords unsparingly, beat a hasty retreat. Then a
great outcry arose, as was natural, and Mundus, who was standing not far
away, was eager to join in the fight,--for he was a daring and energetic
fellow--but he was at a loss as to what he should do under the
circumstances; when, however, he observed that Belisarius was in the
struggle, he straightway made a sally into the hippodrome through the
entrance which they call the Gate of Death. Then indeed from both sides
the partisans of Hypatius were assailed with might and main and
destroyed. When the rout had become complete and there had already been
great slaughter of the populace, Boraedes and Justus, nephews of the
Emperor Justinian, without anyone daring to lift a hand against them,
dragged Hypatius down from the throne, and, leading him in, handed him
over together with Pompeius to the emperor. And there perished among the
populace on that day more than thirty thousand. But the emperor
commanded the two prisoners to be kept in severe confinement. Then,
while Pompeius was weeping and uttering pitiable words (for the man was
wholly inexperienced in such misfortunes), Hypatius reproached him at
length and said that those who were about to die unjustly should not
lament. For in the beginning they had been forced by the people against
their will, and afterwards they had come to the hippodrome with no
thought of harming the emperor. And the soldiers killed both of them on
the following day and threw their bodies into the sea. The emperor
confiscated all their property for the public treasury, and also that of
all the other members of the senate who had sided with them. Later,
however, he restored to the children of Hypatius and Pompeius and to all
others the titles which they had formerly held, and as much of their
property as he had not happened to bestow upon his friends. This was the
end of the insurrection in Byzantium.

XXV

Tribunianus and John were thus deprived of office, but at a later time
they were both restored to the same positions. And Tribunianus lived on
in office many years and died of disease, suffering no further harm from
anyone. For he was a smooth fellow and agreeable in every way and well
able by the excellence of his education to throw into the shade his
affliction of avarice. But John was oppressive and severe alike with all
men, inflicting blows upon those whom he met and plundering without
respect absolutely all their money; consequently in the tenth year of
his office he rightly and justly atoned for his lawless conduct in the
following manner.

The Empress Theodora hated him above all others. And while he gave
offence to the woman by the wrongs he committed, he was not of a mind to
win her by flattery or by kindness in any way, but he openly set himself
in opposition to her and kept slandering her to the emperor, neither
blushing before her high station nor feeling shame because of the
extraordinary love which the emperor felt for her. When the queen
perceived what was being done, she purposed to slay the man, but in no
way could she do this, since the Emperor Justinian set great store by
him. And when John learned of the purpose of the queen regarding him, he
was greatly terrified. And whenever he went into his chamber to sleep,
he expected every night that some one of the barbarians would fall upon
him to slay him; and he kept peeping out of the room and looking about
the entrances and remained sleepless, although he had attached to
himself many thousands of spearmen and guards, a thing which had been
granted to no prefect before that time. But at daybreak, forgetting all
his fears of things divine and human, he would become again a plague to
all the Romans both in public and in private. And he conversed commonly
with sorcerers, and constantly listened to profane oracles which
portended for him the imperial office, so that he was plainly walking on
air and lifted up by his hopes of the royal power. But in his rascality
and the lawlessness of his conduct there was no moderation or abatement.
And there was in him absolutely no regard for God, and even when he went
to a sanctuary to pray and to pass the night, he did not do at all as
the Christians are wont to do, but he clothed himself in a coarse
garment appropriate to a priest of the old faith which they are now
accustomed to call Hellenic, and throughout that whole night mumbled out
some unholy words which he had practised, praying that the mind of the
emperor might be still more under his control, and that he himself might
be free from harm at the hands of all men.

At this time Belisarius, after subjugating Italy, came to Byzantium at
the summons of the emperor with his wife Antonina, in order to march
against the Persians[32]. And while in the eyes of all others he was an
honoured and distinguished person, as was natural, John alone was
hostile to him and worked actively against him, for no other reason than
that he drew the hatred of all to himself, while Belisarius enjoyed an
unequalled popularity. And it was on him that the hope of the Romans
centred as he marched once more against the Persians, leaving his wife
in Byzantium. Now Antonina, the wife of Belisarius, (for she was the
most capable person in the world to contrive the impossible,) purposing
to do a favour to the empress, devised the following plan. John had a
daughter, Euphemia, who had a great reputation for discretion, but a
very young woman and for this reason very susceptible; this girl was
exceedingly loved by her father, for she was his only child. By treating
this young woman kindly for several days Antonina succeeded most
completely in winning her friendship, and she did not refuse to share
her secrets with her. And on one occasion when she was present alone
with her in her room she pretended to lament the fate which was upon
her, saying that although Belisarius had made the Roman empire broader
by a goodly measure than it had been before, and though he had brought
two captive kings and so great an amount of wealth to Byzantium, he
found Justinian ungrateful; and in other respects she slandered the
government as not just. Now Euphemia was overjoyed by these words, for
she too was hostile to the present administration by reason of her fear
of the empress, and she said: "And yet, dearest friend, it is you and
Belisarius who are to blame for this, seeing that, though you have
opportunity, you are not willing to use your power." And Antonina
replied quickly: "It is because we are not able, my daughter, to
undertake revolutions in camp, unless some of those here at home join
with us in the task. Now if your father were willing, we should most
easily organize this project and accomplish whatever God wills." When
Euphemia heard this, she promised eagerly that the suggestion would be
carried out, and departing from there she immediately brought the matter
before her father. And he was pleased by the message (for he inferred
that this undertaking offered him a way to the fulfilment of his
prophecies and to the royal power), and straightway without any
hesitation he assented, and bade his child arrange that on the following
day he himself should come to confer with Antonina and give pledges.
When Antonina learned the mind of John, she wished to lead him as far as
possible astray from the understanding of the truth, so she said that
for the present it was inadvisable that he should meet her, for fear
lest some suspicion should arise strong enough to prevent proceedings;
but she was intending straightway to depart for the East to join
Belisarius. When, therefore, she had quit Byzantium and had reached the
suburb (the one called Rufinianae which was the private possession of
Belisarius), there John should come as if to salute her and to escort
her forth on the journey, and they should confer regarding matters of
state and give and receive their pledges. In saying this she seemed to
John to speak well, and a certain day was appointed to carry out the
plan. And the empress, hearing the whole account from Antonina,
expressed approval of what she had planned, and by her exhortations
raised her enthusiasm to a much higher pitch still.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21