Obvious printer errors have been corrected. Hyphenation has been rationalised.

The Corrigenda at the end include references to Volume I as well as to this volume.

LONDON: GEORGE BELL AND SONS

PORTUGAL ST. LINCOLN'S INN, W.C.

CAMBRIDGE: DEIGHTON, BELL & CO.

NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN CO.

BOMBAY: A. H. WHEELER & CO.

THE AGE OF JUSTINIAN AND THEODORA
A HISTORY OF THE SIXTH CENTURY A.D.

BY
WILLIAM GORDON HOLMES

VOL. II
SECOND EDITION

LONDON
G. BELL AND SONS, LTD.
1912

CHISWICK PRESS: CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND CO.
TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON.

CONTENTS

THE AGE OF JUSTINIAN
AND THEODORA

CHAPTER V
THE PERSIANS AND JUSTINIAN'S FIRST WAR WITH THEM

ON the death of Justin the absolute control of the Empire became centred in the hands of Justinian. Nine years of virtual sovereignty during the lifetime of his uncle had familiarized him with Imperial procedure, and nullified the influence of a bureaucracy which might aspire to govern vicariously by taking advantage of his ignorance of affairs. His tutors in the art of autocracy were dead or superannuated, and his present subordinates owed their elevation to his favour and judgment. The new Emperor was a man of middle stature, spare rather than stout, and on the verge of becoming bald and gray. His features were sufficiently regular, his face was round, his complexion florid, and he wore neither beard nor moustache.[1] Those whom he impressed unfavourably were fond of pointing out that he bore a striking resemblance to Domitian.[2] He affected a pleasant demeanour, appeared always with a set smile,[3] and was so studious of personal popularity that even the meanest of his subjects might hope for an audience of his sovereign. With an unbounded belief in his own capacity for discrimination, he was always ready to listen, but never to be convinced. His assurance communicated itself to those with whom he came in contact, and his associates rarely ventured to dispute his opinions.[4] His mode of life tended strongly towards asceticism, and he yielded no indulgence to his natural appetites. In his diet he restricted himself to the barest necessaries, he seemed to exist almost without sleep, and there is no evidence that he was ever attracted sexually by any woman except Theodora. Without commanding abilities, his mental activity was incessant, and he was perpetually busy in every department of the state.[5] He plunged into politics, law, and theology, with the conviction that he could master every detail and deal effectively with all questions which might arise for decision. Yet he was credulous and lent a willing ear to those who brought in doubtful reports, which he was generally prone to act upon without due inquiry as to their authenticity.[6]

The Empress Theodora,[7] after her elevation, still presented in most aspects of her life and character a marked contrast to Justinian. She was devoted to the care of her person, and a great part of each day was given over to the mysteries of her toilet.[8] She trusted especially to sleep for the preservation of her beauty, and passed an excessive number of hours, both day and night, upon her couch. Gratification of the senses absorbed most of her time, and she indulged herself in the luxury of a table always spread with the rarest delicacies. The air of the city was uncongenial to her, and she resided during the greater part of the year at the Heraion,[9] a palace over against the capital on the Asiatic shore of the Bosphorus, where a second centre of Imperial state was maintained for her benefit with lavish magnificence. But she was ever vigilant in preserving the closest relationship with the machinery of government, and in her retirement she meditated persistently on the exigencies of the autocracy. Her numerous emissaries were to be observed continually passing and repassing the strait which separated the Heraion from Constantinople, regardless of tempestuous weather, and even of a ferocious whale which had long infested the vicinity and made a practice of attacking the small craft sailing in those waters, often with fatal result to the occupants.[10] The personal relations of the royal partners during the whole course of their joint reign, continued to be of the most intimate description. Justinian not only deferred habitually to the judgment of his consort, but took every opportunity of making a public profession of his indebtedness to her co-operation. In Imperial acts and edicts she appeared constantly as the "revered wife whom God had granted to him as the participator of his counsels."[11] It may, indeed, be assumed as certain that the resolution and verve to be found in the character of Theodora supplied some real deficiencies in the imperturbable and less acute nature of her husband;[12] and Justinian was well inclined to justify his extraordinary marriage by insisting that exceptional advantages accrued to the state from his choice of so able a consort. Although the spectacle of a Roman empress electing to lead the life of a prostitute was almost a familiar one in previous history,[13] that an actual courtesan should be raised to the throne, was a unique event in the annals of the empire. Nor was Theodora at all exercised to veil her ascendancy in the affairs of government; on the contrary, she scarcely refrained from proclaiming publicly that her will was predominant in the work of the administration.[14] Her pretensions were generally allowed, and those who sought preferment through Court influence regularly crowded her ante-chamber, with the assurance that success depended on winning her favourable regard. Unlike Justinian, Theodora made herself difficult of access, and an assiduous attendance for many days was an indispensable preliminary to obtaining an audience of the Empress.[15] Doubtless but a small portion of each day could be spared from the seclusion she imposed on herself for the nurture and elaboration of her person. As both Emperor and Empress by an un-hoped for chance had leaped to the Imperial seat from the obscurity of plebeian life, they were proportionately jealous of their authority in the lofty position to which they had attained without the qualifications of rank or lineage. Hence they exacted the most servile respect from all who approached them, and emphasized more than at any former time humility of speech and abject prostration in the presence of the sovereign. Any subject, without the exception of patricians or even of foreign ambassadors, on arriving at the foot of the throne was compelled to extend himself on the ground with his face to the floor and then to kiss both feet of the monarch before he was privileged to deliver his message or to make a request.[16] On such occasions the titles of "emperor" and "empress," as expressing a merely official hegemony, were considered to be insufficient, and it was expected that, by substituting the terms "master" and "mistress," the subject should confess himself to be the actual slave of his sovereign.[17] In previous reigns the forms of adoration had been reserved for the Emperor, but Theodora ignored such precedents and claimed for herself all the homage due to an independent potentate. In one respect only did the conjugal harmony of the Imperial couple appear to be seriously disturbed; while Justinian was strictly orthodox in religion, Theodora gave an uncompromising support to the Monophysites. The public, however, refused to believe in the reality of this dissension, and attributed the seeming discord to an astute policy which obliged the conflicting sects to give their united support to the throne.[18]

The war with Persia, which had developed in a desultory fashion under Justin, began to be waged with determination at the outset of Justinian's reign. A thousand years before this date the Persian Empire, founded by Cyrus the Achaemenian, had reached from the frontiers of India to the shores of the Mediterranean, and had even held Egypt precariously as an integral province. Diverse nationalities marched under her standard, and immense hosts of Asiatics were habitually mustered for the achievement of foreign conquest. But this monarchy proved to be short-lived, and was destroyed in less than two centuries, after the invasion of Greece by Darius and Xerxes had disclosed the fact that a few thousands of patriotic Hellenes were of more martial worth than the vast and heterogeneous armies led by the Persian king. Less than ten years of actual warfare sufficed to bring the Achaemenian Empire and its dependencies under the rule of Alexander; and the indigenous races were kept in subjection by the Graeco-Macedonian invaders for a longer period than the kindred dynasty established by Cyrus had endured. The Persian Empire, in its widest extent, as it existed under the Achaemenidae, was never restored; nor did any subsequent conqueror issue from the west to repeat the exploits of Alexander. The Asiatic successors of that monarch, the Seleucidae,[19] were gradually ousted from their dominions by a wild race which attacked them from the north, and became known historically as the Parthians. Under their native rulers, the Arsacidae, they might have restored the empire of Cyrus, but the simultaneous growth of the Latin power in Asia Minor and Syria for ever confined the Parthians to the eastern bank of the Euphrates. The policy of Rome, as defined by Augustus, forbade the extension of the empire beyond the limits assigned to it after the battle of Actium; but at least one emperor, the indomitable Trajan, was ambitious of emulating the prowess of Alexander and designed to advance on India. Although not uniformly victorious, he transformed the kingdom of Armenia into a Roman province, and almost reduced Parthia to the condition of a vassal state.[20] Death, or the more pressing claims of home affairs, imposed a term to his activity in the field, and his great schemes of conquest were never again entertained; but several later emperors, notably Severus, Carus, and Galerius, often demonstrated the superiority of the Roman forces under competent generalship over their Oriental antagonists.[21] But after the Graeco-Roman supremacy had declined to the stagnant mediocrity of Byzantinism this ascendancy could no longer be maintained; and as often as East and West came into collision the honours of war almost invariably rested with the Asiatic power.

For more than five centuries after the overthrow of Darius by the armies of Macedon the remnants of the Persian race languished in the Province of Persis, a small state lying east of the Persian Gulf, to which was allowed a semi-independence by the supreme government. Here was the original home of Cyrus, and here he matured his plans for the conquest of Media. From thence was derived the name of Persia, which was applied by the western nations to the whole land of Iran, the native appellation of the extensive plateau ranging from the Hindu Kush to the river Tigris. In Persis was situated Persepolis, the traditional capital of the Persians, where the sacred fires of the Zoroastrians was kept perpetually alight in a temple by the Magi. In a drunken freak, or perhaps as a signal to all Asia that he had succeeded to the sovreignty of Iran, the ancient city had been committed to the flames by Alexander;[22] but eventually a capital was reinstated on the old site, and in later centuries became known as Istakhr.[23] About 200 A.D. a reawakening of Persian aspirations became apparent, and a new Cyrus arose at Istakhr to lead his nation to the reconquest of their former empire. Ardeshír was the grandson of Sásán, who by a fortunate marriage had united the pre-eminence of the priestly caste with that of the princely house of Persis. Having gained possession of the local throne by his superior energy, he began to exercise himself in active warfare by attacking the neighbouring states, whose princes, like himself, were the vassals of the Parthian king. At first his operations were disregarded, and not until he had made himself the lord of a considerable territory was he summoned by his suzerain to explain his encroachments. His reply was a defiance and a challenge to battle. In the war which ensued Artabanus was overthrown by Ardeshír, and the Parthian dynasty of the Arsacidae was replaced by that of the Sassanidae (c. 227). The Persian now assumed the title of Shahinshah, that is "King of Kings," which had usually been affected by the potentates of all Iran, and established himself at the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon on the Tigris, a position more suitable for the seat of government than the remote Persepolis. The empire thus regenerated by the Sassanians, held its own among the surrounding powers for four hundred years, until the general irruption over Asia of the fanatical hosts of Islam.[24]

The dominions of Ardeshír and his successors covered an area almost equal to that of the Eastern Empire, but were probably much less populous. The table-land of Iran is far from being so well adapted for the sustentation of animal and vegetable life as the countries amalgamated into a single state by the Roman arms. More than a fourth of the surface is occupied by desert and salt swamps;[25] while the greater portion of the remainder is broken up by immense mountain ranges, some of which rise to a height of 18,000 feet. The prevailing population of this region within the historic period has always been a division of the Aryan race, of the great Indo-Germanic family of mankind, who at some early epoch spread themselves across two continents, from the frontiers of Burmah to the Atlantic seaboard of Europe. Originally the possessors of a common language, the elements of their speech are to be found in the Sanskrit, once colloquial throughout the valley of the Ganges, and in the Erse of the Irish peasant, who inhabits the wilds of Connemara. Although the face of the country has been scarred by the march of numerous invaders, and even by religious revolution, the sociological condition of these Eastern lands has scarcely changed at all during the millenniums of recorded history; and the Persian citizen or rustic of to-day is almost a counterpart of those who looked out on the progresses of Darius and Xerxes.[26] The primitive Iranians were an agricultural people, and as such showed an attachment to the cattle which composed their farm stock almost amounting to veneration. But the tiller of the soil in Iran was often exposed to harsh conditions in the effort to draw his livelihood from the ground. The land was not uniformly fertile, climatic severity not seldom hampered the labourer, and predatory bands of nomads, who raided the country from the north, were a frequent cause of disaster.[27] Life was a series of vicissitudes, circumstances of time and place were in general sharply contrasted, and the normal activities of nature seemed to the peaceful native to be the outcome of perpetual strife between spirits of good and evil. In Bactria, the north-eastern tract of Iran, all these conditions were most typically presented. About 1000 B.C. that region was ruled by King Vistaspa,[28] under whom flourished the prophet Zarathushtra, the original redactor of the religion and ethical system accepted by the Persians. He gave a distinct expression to the philosophical tendencies of his age, and refined the loose polytheistic conceptions at first held by the Aryans to the complete dualism in which Ahura-Mazda, the Lord of Wisdom, and Angra-Mainyu, the Devisor of Evil, became the essential factors of a definite theological faith.[29] On this foundation an Avesta or Bible of Mazdeism was elaborated, which laid down the law for the whole conduct of human life.[30] Among the primitive deities most reverence had been paid to Mithra, the sun-god, to Spenta Aramaiti, the earth spirit, and to Anahita, the goddess of the waters.[31] As subordinates of Ahura-Mazda, these divinities still held an established place, and were made the immediate objects of the rites and ceremonies imposed on the pious Iranian. Hence the sanctity of fire, earth, and water became an article of faith, and it was believed to be a heinous crime to contaminate them with any impurity. Whatever was evil was esteemed to be impure, and, therefore, the work of Angra-Mainyu. The Druj Nasu, a female demon, personifying the lie, was regarded as his universal agent, and as being present imminently under all adverse circumstances. Such were the principles of Mazdeism, the rigid application of which, and they were rigidly applied by the Magi, was productive of many curious sociological phenomena strangely at variance with the customs of other nations.[32] Death was considered to be the greatest of calamities, and hence a corpse became possessed of the Druj, and the most active of all sources of contamination. That so foul an object should be placed in intimate contact with the holy elements of fire, earth, or water, was sacrilege in the highest degree. Cremation and burial were, therefore, held in abhorrence, and a deceased person had to be borne to some isolated spot, far from fire and water, there to be exposed on an elevated bier with the intention that the flesh should be devoured by wild dogs, birds, etc.[33] Disease was, of course, a grade of demoniacal obsession, so that sympathy for the sick was almost alienated by superstition. If an ordinary soldier were taken ill on the march he was abandoned by the wayside, some provisions being left with him, and also a stick, with which to beat off any carnivorous animals. Should he recover, on his reappearance all fled from him as from an apparition risen out of the infernal regions; nor could he resume intercourse with his relations until he had undergone a rigorous purification by the Magi.[34] Owing to the holiness of water great reverence was felt for rivers, which were protected by law from all defilement; and no good Zoroastrian would travel by ship lest he should pollute the sea with his normal excrement.[35] For purposes of cleansing water was used very charily, and it was sinful to take a bath.[36] The vegetable productions of the earth were viewed with profound admiration, wherefore the cultivation of gardens and parks was among the greatest delights of the Persians.[37] The estimation in which cattle were held was the cause of some singular legislation and ritual enactments. Thus the urine of the cow was habitually collected and made use of daily for the purification of the body by washing.[38] The sheep-dog was an object of extreme solicitude, so much so that the penalty exacted for manslaughter was only half as onerous as that inflicted for the crime of giving bad food to such a precious animal,[39] but even the latter was a mild offence compared with the infamy of killing a water-dog, the name by which the otter was identified, as the wretch convicted was sentenced to be beaten to death.[40] On the other hand, noxious animals were regarded as the creation of Angra-Mainyu, and the Magi made it a religious duty to kill them with their own hands, especially ants, serpents, reptiles in general, and certain birds.[41] In some cases it was permitted to the subject to take the law into his own hands and to slay the guilty person on the spot. Such culprits were the highwayman, the sodomite, the prostitute, and anyone caught in the act of burning a corpse.[42] On the whole, however, capital punishment was infrequent, and almost any trespass, even murder, could be atoned for by making a money payment to the Magi.[43]

In the sociology of Mazdeism the strangest phenomenon that developed itself was the tenet that affinity by blood was the highest requisite in a marriage contract. This principle was inculcated by the priests to an extreme degree, so that the closer the relationship the more acceptable was the union affirmed to be in the eyes of the Deity. Not only could brother and sister marry under religious sanction, but even father and daughter;[44] and, most repugnant of all to the common inclinations of humanity, the nuptials of mother and son were expressly enjoined as a righteous act by the Avesta. This anomalous association of the sexes was justified partly by the false analogy of certain physiological facts supplied by the animal kingdom, and partly by an appeal to precedents to be found in the Iranian mythology. Hybrids were notoriously infertile, and the congress of horses with asses engendered mules who were impotent to propagate their kind. Hence the mingling of family blood was indicated as essential to preserving the integrity of the race. Further, it was pointed out that the primaeval man, Gaya Maretan, impregnated Spenta Aramaiti; that is, his mother earth, the result of this conjunction being a son and a daughter. By this union the brother and sister became the progenitors of the whole human race. At least one Parthian, and probably several of the Achaemenian and Sassanian kings, may be noted as having chosen their own mother for their consort on the throne.[45] Such marriages were not merely ceremonial, although in some instances the chief inducement may have been to insure the support of the Magi for a disputed succession.[46] Incestuous offspring were not unknown, and the case of Sisimithres, a provincial potentate subdued by Alexander, is specially mentioned as that of one whose mother-wife had borne him two sons.[47] Rich Persians indulged themselves with several wives, besides maintaining numerous concubines, but, as monogamy only was contemplated by the Avesta, the senior wife was the undisputed mistress of the household.[48]

The Parthians found it politic to assimilate their supremacy to that of the Greeks whom they had displaced; and thus to attract to themselves the influence which had so recently been predominant throughout Iran. They, therefore, distinguished themselves by the epithet of "Philhellen," and continued to impress their coins in Greek characters with that affix, even after the Romans had become most potent in the East. By degrees, however, the memory of the Greek dominion faded, and before the middle of the second Christian century orientalism was completely re-established. Legends in the Pahlavi, or Parthian language, were adopted for the superscription of the currency, upon which the Hellenized Serapis now yielded his place to Mithras or the Mazdean fire-altar.[49] As a scion of the house of Sásán, Ardeshír was naturally much swayed by priestly influence, and relied on the support of the Magi as the chief element of his power. By his edicts and inscriptions he proclaimed himself to be a Mazdayasn, or devout servant of Ahura-Mazda, and the dynasty he founded was always noted for its firm adherence to the national religion.[50] On his accession Ardeshír undertook the restoration of the Avesta, a great part of which had been neglected or altogether lost, and under the supervision of the Magi he caused a purification or reformation of the faith of Zarathushtra to be begun.[51] This work was continued by his successors, but, as no canon of scripture had been formed, there were many conflicting sects, and not until the reign of Sapor II[52] (c. 330) was the text of the sacred book fixed beyond dispute. Then Adarbâd, a holy man, produced his recension of the Avesta among the assembled Magi, and offered to submit himself to the ordeal of fire in proof of its strict orthodoxy. Molten brass was poured upon his breast, he passed the test unscathed, and his reading of the tenets of Mazdeism was never afterwards contested.[53]

Ardeshír did not, however, base his message of fortune solely on an appeal to the mystical emotions of his nation; but he also sought to attach them to himself by stimulating their patriotism. He professed that he would avenge the murder of Darius on the inheritors of Alexander, and asserted himself to be the rightful ruler of all western Asia, which had been unlawfully wrested from his ancestors. Thus the Persian empire, as restored by the Sassanians, was inspired with sentiments which urged it to maintain an inveterate conflict with Rome.[54]

Although there is evidence of constant religious commotion in Persia under the Sassanidae, it does not appear that any considerable number of the historical adherents of Zarathushtra ever swerved from their faith. The numerous priestly tribe of the Magi not only surrounded the throne, but were fully disseminated throughout the provinces as the guardians of Mazdeism. The valley of the Euphrates and Tigris, however, the most densely populated district of the empire, was the site of a very heterogeneous ethnology, with archaeological records which extend backwards for some thousands of years prior to the descent of the Arians into Iran. There had existed the kingdoms of Sumer and Akkad, having an ancient mythology of their own, which was liable to be diversified by the infiltration of Semitic elements from the south-west.[55] In this region Mani flourished and was enabled to spread his doctrines, but as soon as he threatened to pervert the loyal Zoroastrians his downfall was brought about by the resentment of the Magi.[56] Here also Christianity essayed to penetrate into Persia, but with the same result, and we possess some details of the cruel persecution to which Christians were subjected whenever they came into collision with the established religion of the state.[57] In some instances, however, Roman heretics, such as the Nestorians who fled before the face of an orthodox Emperor, were accorded an asylum in Persia by a politic Shah.[58]

Towards the end of the fifth century a serious ferment in the ranks of the Zoroastrians themselves was occasioned by the preaching of a fanatical demagogue named Mazdak. This reformer aimed at nothing less than a subversion of the existing sociological status by the induction of a communistic partage of women and property. All practical class distinctions were thus to be swept away, so that a level affluence should prevail throughout the land. It appears that in the early years of his reign Cavades found himself greatly hampered by the arrogant pretensions of his nobles, wherefore he lent a favourable ear to the new propaganda, and gave public encouragement to Mazdak. But the power of the throne was unequal for the achievement of such a revolution; the Magi and the nobles met in council, deposed Cavades, and, with some hesitation conceding to him his life, caused him to be imprisoned in a stronghold called the Castle of Oblivion. From this durance he was shortly released through the devotion of a handsome sister-wife, who seduced the fidelity of the gaoler by the promise of her person. Being allowed to sleep for one night in her brother's apartment, she had him carried out next morning enrolled in her bed-furniture, for the exemption of which from inspection she invented a plausible excuse.[59] Cavades now made good his escape to Bactria, where he spent a couple of years as a guest of the King of the Hephthalites. Ultimately he obtained the loan of an army from that monarch,[60] with which he drove his brother Jamâsp, who had been created king in the meantime, from the throne. As for Mazdak, it seems that for the next quarter of a century he was allowed a free hand to propagate his opinions, an attitude of neutrality being adopted by the Shah and the Magi. His gospel was accepted by an increasing number of the Iranians, whom he persuaded that his communism was the only mode of life which accorded with the precepts of Zarathushtra. At length the growing transformation of the social system began to be viewed with alarm; a generation of children had sprung up who were ignorant of their parentage, and in all directions the ownership of property was falling into abeyance.[61] It was resolved, therefore, by the Shah and priests in council that the Mazdakites should be extirpated by the sweeping Oriental device of a general massacre. In order to achieve this object an assemblage of all the members of the sect was convened by Chosroes, the designated heir to the crown, who had ingratiated himself with Mazdak and his disciples under the pretence of being a convert to their doctrines. It was represented that Cavades on a certain day would abdicate in favour of his son, who would at once reinstate the throne on the principle that for the future the Mazdakites should be its chief supporters. The ruse succeeded; Cavades received the leaders in state surrounded by the Magi, asserted his imminent retirement, and desired them to muster their whole following in a place apart. There Chosroes would join them and institute the new régime with due formality. They obeyed, and were immediately surrounded by a division of the army, who cut them to pieces. The remnants of the sect throughout the provinces were afterwards hunted down, and got rid of by burning at the stake.[62]

The moment we turn our attention to the Persian court, and begin to observe the material and ceremonial attributes of the monarch, we discover the prototype of almost the whole fabric of Byzantine state as displayed at Constantinople. In the East was found the model of those accretions which gradually transformed the unassuming Roman Emperor of the Tiber into the haughty autocrat who overawed his subjects with pageantry on the Bosphorus; but the native sobriety of Europe always stopped short of the pronounced extravagance and hyperbole of Orientalism. The throne of the Sassanians stood between four pillars which upheld a ciborium.[63] On sitting down, the Shahinshah inserted his head into the crown, a mass of precious metal and jewels suspended by a chain, too ponderous to be worn without extraneous support.[64] No epithet was too lofty for the Persian monarch to assume in his epistles; he was brother of the sun and moon, a god among men, and in merely mundane affairs the King of kings, the lord of all nations, as well as everything else expressive of unlimited power and success.[65] When he made a progress out of doors the streets were cleansed and decorated in the manner already described as customary during the passage of the Eastern Emperor.[66] Personal reverence was, of course, carried to the extreme point, and even officials of the highest rank kissed the ground before venturing to address the Shah.[67] The succession to the throne was strictly hereditary and, although several revolutions occurred during the four centuries of the Sassanian rule, in every instance the crown devolved to a prince of the blood of Ardeshír.[68]

A Persian army of this date was very similar to a Roman one, but there were some essential differences. With the exception of the Royal guards, which, like those of the Achaemenians, included a body of ten thousand, called "the Immortals,"[69] and necessary garrisons, a standing army was not maintained.[70] On each occasion, therefore, the fighting force had to be levied afresh whenever a campaign was in prospect, but, as a traditional part of Persian education was that every youth should be taught to ride and to become an efficient archer,[71] the new recruits were not necessarily deficient in military training. During a battle, in fact, they relied chiefly on their missiles, and a Persian horseman was provided with two bows and thirty arrows.[72] Less importance was attached to the infantry, but they also consisted of bands of archers. The cavalry were generally almost as numerous, and in addition a troop of elephants was often a prominent feature in a Persian army.[73]

The revenue of Persia previous to the sixth century was mainly derived from agricultural industry; and every inhabitant who cultivated the ground handed over to the state collectors a tithe of whatever economical growth his land produced. Cavades, however, from personal observation became impressed with the disadvantages of this system, which often seriously hampered his subjects in providing for their daily wants, and deprived them of the full benefit of the newly ripened crops.[74] Thus the rustic population feared to be accused of falsification if they ventured to supply their present needs before the arrival of an official whose duty it was to inspect the produce of the soil and of the fruit-bearing trees while still in position, and to deliver to them their note of assessment. Cavades, therefore, decided on the abolition of tithes in favour of a land-tax, a sweeping reform, beset with many difficulties, which engaged his attention for many years, and was only fully established by his successor.[75] With the inhabitants of towns and villages, who did not subsist by agriculture, the Persians adopted the usual expedient, in this age, of imposing a poll-tax.[76]

The Sassanian Empire did not distinguish itself in the realm of art; and the scanty remains which have been discovered indicate that their architectural productions owed much to Byzantine co-operation.[77] As temple worship was a minor feature of the Zoroastrian religion, which consisted almost wholly in forms of private devotion,[78] no ruins pertaining to buildings of that class have been found;[79] but in several places portions of dilapidated palaces exist, which enable us to estimate accurately the artistic proficiency of the Sassanians.[80] The residence of the Shahinshah was a quadrangular edifice built around a central court. Externally the walls were diversified by two or three superimposed rows of slender columns, those rising from the ground being much taller than the upper ranges. The distinctive part of the architectural design was an arched entrance, wide and lofty, which led into a great domical hall, from whence small doors gave access to the various chambers of the palace. All the apartments, at least those of any size, were covered with a domed roof. To the rather tasteless exterior decoration of these palaces the remains of an unfinished one discovered at Mashita, on the edge of the Syrian desert,[81] offers a striking exception. For several feet from the foundations the walls are covered with an intricate tracing of carving, in which lions, tigers, and doves, appear entangled amid the leaves and contorted branches of some luxuriant vegetation.[82] A considerable number of bas-reliefs have come to light among the ruins of Sassanian palaces, some of them illustrating the achievements of the dynasty during its wars with Rome and various powers, others representing hunting scenes in which are shown the methods of the chase and the magnificence of the monarch on such occasions amid his attendant throng of courtiers and guards. The execution of these works cannot be spoken of as art in the Hellenic sense, but in chiselling the forms of animal life some approach to excellence may sometimes be noted, especially in the case of elephants.[83] As for literature, it appears that the Sassanians produced little or nothing national, with the exception of priestly elaboration of the Mazdean scriptures, but in the last days of the empire, a crude history under the title of Shahnameh, that is, a Book of Kings, was compiled.[84]

The first important commission entrusted to Belisarius by Justinian, after his accession to undivided power, was the construction of a fort at Mindo, a village on the Roman frontier between Dara and Nisibis.[85] As soon as the news of this bold measure was announced to Cavades he determined to prevent the execution of the work by every means in his power. He had already despatched a considerable army under two of his sons through Persarmenia in order to make an incursion into Lazica. This force he now diverted from its original purpose, and directed them to march with all speed to the scene of the offensive operations.[86] Information of the impending attack was immediately transmitted to the Emperor. He promptly resolved to frustrate it by a counter-move of a similar kind. The troops posted in the province of Libanus under the brothers Cutzes and Butzes, two young Thracians, were therefore ordered to hasten northwards to strengthen the hands of Belisarius. Their arrival was well-timed, and the Persians found themselves intercepted before they could make an onslaught against the works. The Orientals halted and proceeded to encamp themselves methodically over against the Romans. They then took the precaution to cover their line secretly with a series of pits, at the bottom of which they fixed stakes, and afterwards restored the surface so as to give the appearance of unbroken ground.[87] The young Thracians, rash and inexperienced, neglected to observe the precise movements of the enemy, nor did they delay to take counsel with Belisarius, but pushed forwards impetuously to join battle with their opponents as soon as they were able to dispose their forces in order for an attack. The Persians calmly awaited the assault until the Byzantines had entered on the treacherous ground, and became disorganized by falling into the numerous traps which had been prepared for them. An indiscriminate slaughter then ensued, most of the officers being killed, but some of them were taken prisoners, among the latter being Cutzes. No effort could now avail to save the fort, which was at once abandoned by Belisarius, who, with the wreck of the army, made good his retreat to Dara.

Seat of JUSTINIAN'S WARS in the East

After this disaster Justinian promoted Belisarius to the rank of Master of the Forces in the East, and authorized him to levy an army of the greatest possible strength. In this task he joined with him Hermogenes, Master of the Offices, whom, with Rufinus, a patrician, he despatched to the theatre of war. The latter was well known as a legate at the Persian court, and he was directed to take advantage of the customary suspension of hostilities during the winter, which was now at hand, to make overtures to Cavades for the conclusion of a peace. An interchange of propositions on the subject was kept up for some months, during which the Shah maintained an equivocal attitude, until, on the approach of spring, scouts brought in the intelligence that the Persians were advancing with a great army, evidently counting on the capture of Dara. In a short time a taunting message was brought to Belisarius from Perozes, who was in chief command, charging him to prepare a bath in the town against his arrival on the following evening.[88] This Perozes was one of the elder sons of Cavades,[89] and his insolent confidence was inspired by the success of the recent action, in which he had borne the principal part. His notice was taken as a serious warning, and the Roman generals at once set about disposing their forces in order of battle, anticipating a decisive engagement on the following day. Their army consisted of about 25,000 men, most of whom were mounted, and they were drawn up within a stone's throw of the wall of Dara. Belisarius and Hermogenes, surrounded by their personal guards, posted themselves in the rear, next to the town. Immediately in front of them was ranged the main body of their troops, in a long line, made up of alternating squads of horse and foot. A little in advance of these, at each end, was stationed a battalion of six hundred Huns.[90] Such was the centre to which, but at some distance forward, wings were supplied, each one composed of about three thousand cavalry. A trench, interrupted at intervals for passage and dipping in to meet the centre, covered the whole of this formation in front, but excluding the two bodies of Hunnish horse standing at each reentrant angle.[91] Lastly, advantage was taken of a small hill lying on the extreme left to form an ambush of three hundred Herules under their native leader, Pharas.

As soon as the Persian host had established itself on the field, they were perceived to be much more numerous than the Romans, amounting to quite forty thousand men. The Mirrhanes, such was the military title borne by Perozes, drew up his forces in two lines with the design that when those in front were exhausted they should be replaced by fresh troops from behind, the movement to become alternating, if necessary, with intervening periods of rest for each line. The wings were composed of cavalry, the famous band of Immortals being stationed on the left, whilst Perozes himself led the van, supported by the heaviest mass of combatants. On the first day that the armies stood facing each other the Persians' left wing suddenly improvised a skirmish with those opposed to them, but retired after a brief collision with the loss of seven of their number. Later on a Persian youth of great prowess rode into the interspace and defied any Roman to meet him in single combat. No soldier seemed inclined to respond, but at length one Andrew, the tent-keeper of Buzes, lately a trainer of athletes at Constantinople, took up the challenge. The adversaries charged each other with poised lances, the Persian was unhorsed, and Andrew, quickly dismounting, cut his throat with a knife. The Romans shouted with delight, whilst the Persians, chagrined, determined to retrieve the mischance, and soon presented another champion. A horseman, middle-aged, but of great weight, advanced cracking his whip and calling out for some confident opponent. Still no response from the military on the Roman side. At last Andrew, despite the express prohibition of Hermogenes, advanced again and braced himself for the encounter. The pair charged, their lances glanced aside, but the horses crashed against each other breast to breast, and both animals rolled over on the turf. The riders essayed to rise, but the athlete anticipated his heavy opponent and despatched him before he could regain his feet. It was now almost nightfall, and both armies withdrew from their positions, the Persians to their encampment, the Romans within the walls of Dara.

Next day the troops were drawn out on both sides in the same order, but the Roman generals, relying on the peace proposals, which they considered to be still in progress, deemed it possible that a conflict might be avoided. They addressed a letter, therefore, to the Mirrhanes, representing the uselessness of further bloodshed at a time when their respective sovereigns were bent on the resumption of amicable relations. In his answer Perozes accused his adversaries of ill faith, and declared his disbelief in the genuineness of their overtures on behalf of peace. To this Belisarius replied that Rufinus would shortly be at hand with letters which would convict the Persians of a wanton rupture of their engagements, and that they should be fixed to the top of his standard at the outset of the battle. The rejoinder of the Mirrhanes closed the parley; he expressed unbounded confidence, and reiterated his mocking request that a bath and a suitable repast should be prepared for him forthwith within the city. His assurance was, in fact, increased at the moment, for, that very morning, a reinforcement of ten thousand men had joined him from Nisibis.[92]

As a prelude to the battle the opposing leaders mutually harangued their men. "The recent encounter," said the Byzantine generals, "has taught you that the Persians are not invincible. You are better soldiers than they, and it is easy to see that on former occasions you suffered because you disobeyed your officers. The enemy knew it, and came on here trusting to profit by your want of discipline, but since their arrival they have been awed by your firm array. You see before you an immense host, but the infantry are contemptible, wretched rustics, and mere camp-followers, fit only to dig beneath the walls or to strip the slain. They carry no arms to assault you with, and merely cover themselves with great shields to avoid our darts. Bear yourselves bravely, and the Persians will never again dare to invade our country." On the other side, Perozes bade his troops to take no heed of the skilful tactics now first observable among the Romans. "You think," said he, "that your adversaries have become more warlike because of this imposing formation. On the contrary, the ditch they have covered their positions with proves their increased timidity; nor have they, though thus protected, ventured to attack us. But never doubt that they will fall into their accustomed confusion the moment we assault them; and remember that your conduct will hereafter be judged of by the Shahinshah."

Shortly after midday[93] the action was begun by the Persian archers, and, until the quivers were exhausted, showers of arrows were discharged from each side so thick as to darken the sky. The rain of missiles from the Orientals was heaviest, but an adverse wind rendered it less effective, so that the Byzantines suffered no more than they inflicted. On its cessation several thousands of the Persians bore down on the left wing of the Romans and threw it into disorder. Already the flight had commenced, when the six hundred Huns held in reserve on that side charged the left flank of the enemy; and simultaneously the three hundred Herules, rushing down the slope of the hill from their ambush, fell upon them behind. Terrified by these unforseen attacks the Persians turned and fled indiscriminately, whereupon the Romans joined in a triple band to take the offensive, and inflicted on them a loss of fully three thousand before they could reach their own lines. Considering it unwise, however, to proceed too far, the Romans soon desisted from the pursuit, and retired to their original positions.

A moment later the Persian left wing, including the whole regiment of Immortals, made a fierce descent on those opposite them, and succeeded in beating them back to the wall of Dara. At the sight of this defeat, however, the Byzantine generals ordered the Hunnish reserve just returned from pursuit to join their fellows of the right wing, and launched the whole twelve hundred, together with their personal guards, against the enemy's flank. As a result that wing of the Persians was cut in two, the after portion being arrested in its charge, and among these happened to be the standard-bearer, who was slain on the spot. Alarmed at the collapse of the ensign, those who were fighting in advance, being the majority, now turned to attack the mass of troops who had gained possession of the ground in their rear. The discomfited right wing of the Byzantines, thus freed from danger, immediately rallied and dashed forward after their lately victorious adversaries. Simultaneously the general of the Persian wing in action fell before the lance of one of the leaders of the Roman reserves and disappeared from his saddle. A panic then seized on the Orientals, and they thought of nothing but escape by flight. From all sides the Romans rushed to make an onslaught on them, they became hemmed in by a circle of steel, and were slaughtered without resistance to the number of five thousand. A general rout of the Persian army ensued; the infantry, on seeing the destruction of the cavalry, threw away their shields and fled, but they were quickly overtaken, so that a great majority of them perished. Belisarius and his colleague, however, fearing lest the reaction of despair in so great a host might lead to some disaster, recalled their forces as soon as they judged the defeat of the enemy to be complete. Such was the victory of Dara, the achievement of which appears to have been due mainly to the military talents of Belisarius, whose age at this date (530) was probably under thirty.[94] For the rest of this war the Persians always avoided fighting a pitched battle with the Romans.[95]

During the succeeding summer desultory hostilities were carried on in Armenia, where, as a rule, the Byzantines had the advantage; and two fortified posts of some importance, Bolum and Pharangium,[96] in the Persian division of that country, fell into their hands. At the same time three Persarmenians, who held commands in the Persian service, deserted and fled to Constantinople. There they were received and provided for by a fellow-countryman of their own, the eunuch Narses, who at the moment filled the office of Count of the Privy Purse, the same who afterwards attained to great military celebrity.[97] This part of the war was conducted by Sittas, who had become the husband of Comito, the sister of Theodora.[98] He also had been promoted to the rank of a Master of Soldiers.

In the meantime Justinian was still desirous of concluding a peace, and towards the close of 530 his ambassador, Rufinus, succeeded in gaining an audience of Cavades. In reply to a general appeal the Persian monarch complained bitterly that the whole responsibility of guarding the Caspian Gates had been thrown on his shoulders, and that the fortress of Dara was maintained as a constant threat against his frontier. He also adverted to the fact that Persia was a poor country, and accused the Romans of penuriousness in money matters. "Either," said he, "let Dara be dismantled, or pay an equitable sum towards the upkeep of the Caspian Gates."[99] He showed no inclination, however, to agree to any specific terms, and dismissed the Roman emissaries in the evident expectation that some decisive success would enable him to dictate the articles of a treaty. He was encouraged by the fact that he was entertaining at the time several thousand refugees of the Samaritan sect, who had been driven from their homes in Palestine by religious persecution. Such internal disorders must lessen the offensive powers of his rival, whilst the expatriated sectarians were even anxious to bear arms against their late oppressor.[100]

In the beginning of spring (531) it became manifest that the Persians had been maturing a plan of campaign based on a strategical diversion, by which they hoped to surprise the enemy and possess themselves of a rich booty before their operations could be arrested. The originator of the scheme was Alamundar, his Saracenic ally, who pointed out to Cavades that if a descent were made on Euphratesia, the overlying province of Syria, they might advance to the walls of Antioch through a populous district teeming with wealthy towns but slightly guarded, and totally unapprehensive of their security being threatened. "Antioch itself," said he, "the richest city of the East, is always given over to public festivities and theatrical rivalries, and is divested of a garrison. Well might we capture it and make good our retreat to Persia without meeting with a hostile force. In Mesopotamia, to which the war has been confined hitherto, the enemy is prepared for us, and we can inflict no damage on them without engaging in a perpetual series of battles." His advice was acted upon, and a Persian general, Azarathes, invaded Euphratesia with fifteen thousand horse, supported by a numerous body of Saracenic auxiliaries. The news of their entry on Roman territory was speedily conveyed to Belisarius at Dara, and he resolved to proceed at once by forced marches to meet the raiders. His army consisted of about twenty thousand men, including cavalry and infantry, and he moved with such rapidity that he succeeded in bringing the enemy to a stand at Gabbulae, before they had had time to commit any serious depredations.[101] Azarathes and Alamundar were taken aback at this encounter, which falsified all their calculations. They were devoid of confidence in their power to resist a Roman force, especially when led by a general who had so lately proved his superiority; and they, therefore, decided to abandon the expedition and to retrace their steps with all haste to their own country. Belisarius, on his side, was well satisfied when he perceived that his adversaries were anxious only to beat a retreat, and he determined to leave them unmolested, but to follow their movements until he saw them safely over the border of the province. The two armies were separated from each other by about a day's march, and they proceeded for several days in an easterly direction along the bank of the Euphrates, which lay to the left of their route. Each evening the Byzantines spread their tents on the same camping ground which had been occupied by the Orientals during the previous night. They began to cross the northern extremity of the Syrian desert.[102] In the meantime, however, the Roman troops had become inflamed with the desire to attack an enemy whom they saw constantly flying before them; and at length they broke into open murmurs against their general who, from sloth and timidity, they exclaimed, was restraining them from a glorious success. Belisarius strove to repress their ardour by urging that no fruitful victory was possible under the conditions present, whereas the enemy, if driven to desperation, might inflict a defeat which would restore to them their liberty of action, and be attended with disastrous consequences to the surrounding country. He also represented to his men that their strength was sapped by incessant marching, and especially by the fasts imposed on them by the season of Lent, through which they were passing; finally, that a portion of the army had not yet arrived. At last he was overborne by their clamours, in which many of his officers joined, and even expressed his confidence that a general could not fail to conquer when in command of troops so eager to be led into action.[103]

On Easter Eve the Romans overtook the Persians, and the two armies encamped in sight of each other at a short distance from the town of Callinicus on the Euphrates. The day was observed as a strict fast, but nevertheless on the Sunday morning Belisarius drew out his forces and disposed them in order of battle. His infantry he placed on the left, so that their flank should be protected by the river. The centre was composed of cavalry, among whom he took up his own station, whilst the right wing was allocated to a body of Saracens under Arethas, a sheikh who had been induced to become an ally of the Empire as a counterpoise to the power of Alamundar. On the other side two divisions only were made, the Persians occupying the right and the Saracens the left. As usual the engagement was begun by the archers, who consumed nearly two-thirds of the day in emptying their quivers. The Persians, however, shot out weakly with relaxed strings, and their darts were to be seen continually leaping backwards after impinging on cuirasses, helmets, or shields. But the Byzantine bowmen, though much fewer in number, were more robust, and almost always succeeded in transfixing those whom they struck with their arrows. A determined charge on the Romans by the best troops of the enemy ensued, upon which the tribesmen led by Arethas, cowed by the superior prestige of Alamundar, fled almost without striking a blow. As a consequence Belisarius, with his cavalry, was surrounded on three sides, and subjected to a fierce attack which it was impossible to resist. A band of two thousand Isaurians, who had been among those most eager for a conflict, scarcely dared to use their weapons, and nearly all of them were slain on the spot. A large number of the centre, however, exhausted though they were with fasting, defended themselves strenuously, and inflicted great loss on their opponents. When at length Belisarius saw that there was no hope for the residue of his cavalry but annihilation, he drew them off rapidly to the left, and joined those of the infantry who still held their ground on the river's bank. There, with great presence of mind, he improvised a phalanx, dismounting himself and ordering all his horsemen to follow his example. With serried shields and projecting lances they formed an impenetrable mass which every effort of the enemy failed to break. Again and again the whole body of the Persian horse rode down upon the bristling phalanx; but the Romans drove them back with lance thrusts, and so terrified the animals by clashing their shields, that they shook their riders off. The conflict was only terminated by nightfall, when the Persians returned to their camp, and Belisarius, having obtained possession of a ferry-boat, transferred the remnant of the army to a safe retreat on an adjacent island of the river. Next day he summoned a batch of transports from Callinicus, and in a short time all were securely lodged within the town.[104]

Soon after the battle on the Euphrates Justinian recalled Belisarius to Constantinople and entrusted him with the organization of an expedition which he contemplated against the Vandals in the west. The chief command in the east then devolved on Sittas.[105] As for the Persian generals who had been opposed to Belisarius in the two leading engagements of the war, they incurred almost equal odium in the eyes of their royal master. The Mirrhanes was deprived of the rich insignia of an order of nobility which conferred a dignity second only to that of the throne; whilst Azarathes, who claimed the honours of a victorious general on his reappearance at court, could produce no evidence of his success and, after a muster of the troops, was upbraided by Cavades for having lost the half of his army.[106]

At this juncture Justinian seems almost to have despaired of obtaining a peace on any equitable terms from Persia, although he kept his legates, Rufinus and Hermogenes, on the confines of both empires in continual readiness to institute negotiations. He began, therefore, to devise some means of neutralizing the injurious effect of being in perpetual conflict with his impracticable neighbour. To provoke a hostile incursion against his antagonist from some remote frontier might force him to suspend his assaults on the Empire; whilst the serious interference with Byzantine commerce due to the import of silk across his enemy's dominions being in abeyance would disappear if the trade in that indispensable commodity could be diverted to some friendly route. The geographical and political situation of Aethiopia or Axum and the amicable relations of that kingdom with the Empire seemed to satisfy all the conditions essential to the success of this project. The civilization of Axum and part of its population had originally been derived from the Arabian province of Yemen, on the opposite side of the Red Sea. In the course of time the offspring prospered and turned upon its parent; and by the middle of the fourth century the Negus[107] of Axum had become the overlord of his less powerful neighbour, the king of the Homerites or Himyarites, as the inhabitants of that district of Arabia were called in this age. Christian missions began to penetrate these regions shortly after the reign of Constantine, and at the present time the Axumites were enthusiastic votaries of that religion and of Rome. Himyar, however, was full of Jews who had fled before Hadrian and his predecessors after the subjection of Palestine and the destruction of Jerusalem, and, therefore, of religious dissension; and the championship of the Cross more than once furnished an occasion for the Aethiopian despot to carry his arms into the Arabian kingdom for the maintenance of his rather precarious suzerainty. Only recently, in the reign of Justin (c. 524), the Negus of the day, Elesbaas,[108] had crossed the gulf, expelled a Jewish ruler, and established Esimphaeus, a Christian, in his stead.[109]

To Elesbaas, therefore, Justinian determined to apply, and forthwith detached an ambassador named Julian to enlist his aid against Persia. The embassy, provided with a letter and suitable presents, took ship for Alexandria, navigated the Nile to Coptos, crossed the desert to Berenice, and from thence sailed down the Red Sea to Adule.[110] The Negus was transported with joy as soon as he heard that a party of Roman delegates was approaching Axum, and advanced from his capital to meet them sustained by all the excess of barbaric state. He was standing on a lofty car adorned with plates of gold, which was drawn by four elephants. His guards crowded around him, each one armed with a pair of gilded spears and a small gilt shield, and a company of musicians blew with exultant strains on their shrill pipes. The dusky potentate himself was almost devoid of clothing proper, but was decked from head to foot with a profusion of precious ornaments. On his head he wore a white turban interwoven with gold thread and four golden chains hung from it on each side. A linen mantle weighted with pearls and golden nails, open in front, flowed from his shoulders; and a kilt seamed with precious metal was dependent from his girdle. A necklace and bracelets of gold, with arms similar to those borne by his guards, completed his equipment.[111]

Julian knelt and presented his letter, but was immediately bidden to rise, whilst the Negus kissed the seal of the missive, and listened to its contents as read by an interpreter. He at once promised compliance with all Justinian's requests; an army of his vassal Saracens should march against the Sassanian realm, and the cargoes of silk from Malabar should be diverted from the Persian Gulf to be discharged at Adule.[112] After the lapse of a year another envoy was despatched from Constantinople, and Nonnosus, one of a family of legates, familiarized with these regions by constant visits, traversed not only Axum, but Yemen, in order to stimulate the execution of these important schemes.[113] In the end, however, the project failed of achievement; the tribes of Himyar shrunk from entering on a long and arduous journey over the sandy wastes to attack an enemy whom they believed to be more bellicose than themselves, while the shipmasters could not be induced to avoid the Persian ports, where they found eager buyers for all the silk they could procure.[114] The death of Elesbaas occurred shortly afterwards, but not before an interior revolt had freed Himyar for a time from the Aethiopian supremacy.[115]

In the next phase of the war, martial activity centred around Martyropolis, a fortified town of Roman Armenia, situated on the river Nymphius. A considerable Persian army, under several veteran generals, beset the stronghold with all the engines proper to a determined siege in the warfare of the period. At the same time Cavades, octogenarian though he was, resolute in his purpose to do all the damage possible to his adversaries, provoked an artificial irruption of the Huns into Roman territory, and opened the Caspian Gates to a great host of those barbarians. At his instigation they carried their depredations rapidly to the south, and in the autumn of 531 effected a junction with the Persian forces around Martyropolis. Buzes and Bessas commanded the garrison of the town, but without confidence in their powers of resistance to the assault; for not only were the walls easily surmountable in many places, but the beleaguered were ill supplied with sustenance, and with warlike machines to repel the assaults of the enemy.[116] Nor had the Byzantines any troops in the field with whom they could hope to raise the siege; and Sittas, though posted at only one day's march from the scene of hostilities, feared to approach nearer with the slender army at his disposal.[117] From time to time successful sallies were made by the besieged, and Bessas, who was a bold cavalry leader, now, as on former occasions, found opportunities of inflicting considerable loss on the foe; but nevertheless it was felt that a crisis disastrous to the Romans could not long be delayed.[118] In this impass a stratagem was concerted and carried out effectively, which blunted the ardour of the siege and eventually saved the town. As in all ages, it was the practice to maintain spies in an enemy's camp; and between both nations there was a habitual interchange of renegades who were anxious to betray the secrets of their country, attracted by the substantial rewards which generally accrued to such treason. A man of this class was now at hand, one whose reliability had been tested by the Emperor himself, and he was instructed to reveal to the Persian generals with professed good faith his pretended discovery that the Huns, corrupted by Byzantine gold, only awaited an opportune moment to change sides in their warfare. The spy executed his commission faithfully, and his communication was listened to with consternation by the military council.[119] The Orientals, distrustful of their uncongenial allies, relaxed their energies, and the siege was protracted until the severity of the weather compelled a cessation of arms for the season. The Persians gladly agreed to a truce and retired into winter quarters, but the Huns, now freed from control, began to work their way towards the south with Antioch as their goal, plundering every assailable habitation which lay in their track. They were pursued unremittingly by Bessas, who cut up marauding bands, captured their spoils, and finally succeeded in chasing the survivors out of the country.[120]

In the meantime an event had occurred which produced an immediate change in the relations of the two empires, and virtually ended the war before the advent of spring called for a resumption of hostilities. Early in September Cavades was suddenly prostrated by illness, whereupon he summoned Chosroes, and caused him to be crowned hastily at his bedside. A few days afterwards he expired, at the age of eighty-two in the forty-fourth year of his reign.[121] As usual in Oriental successions the new Shah was unable to seat himself firmly on the throne without making away with several of his near relatives who formed a nucleus around whom malcontents might cluster.[122] Preoccupied, therefore, with his domestic affairs, he was anxious to be relieved from the onus of a foreign war, and signified shortly to the Roman legates his willingness to negotiate a treaty.[123] Rufinus was credited with being a peculiarly grateful personage to Chosroes owing to his having consistently advised Cavades, during his long intimacy with him, to elevate his third son to the throne. It was also reported that the Persian queen-mother was in secret sympathy with Christianity and, therefore, used her influence over her son to promote peaceful relations with the Byzantines.[124] But the lessons of the war had not been lost on Chosroes, and he felt strong enough to impose conditions so exacting that the Roman plenipotentiaries were unable to accept them on their own responsibility. Invasion of the empire in force had been the distinctive feature of every campaign and, while Persian territory had been subjected only to some desultory raids, the brunt of the war had been borne by the Byzantines on their own ground. Under an obligation to perform the double journey in seventy days, Rufinus posted to Constantinople to hold a special conference with Justinian. He returned with a virtual consent to all the effective demands of Chosroes, and in less than a year after the death of Cavades a treaty was ratified under the reassuring title of "the Perpetual Peace." By this convention the substantial captures made by each party were to be exchanged; the fugitive Iberians were to be allowed the option of residing peacefully in their own country or of remaining under the protection of Justinian; Dara was not to be demolished, but the military Duke of Mesopotamia was to remove his headquarters from thence to an unimportant town at some distance from the frontier;[125] and the Caspian Gates were to be left in the sole charge of Persia. The two last articles were concessions on the part of the Shahinshah, to counterbalance which the Romans agreed to pay an indemnity of one hundred and ten centenaries of gold (£440,000).[126] Rufinus deposited the amount in specie at Nisibis, and the war was thus terminated with some military glory to the Byzantines, but with no inconsiderable loss of their material possessions, which accrued for the most part to the advantage of the Orientals.

During the whole of this period the barbarians to the north of the Danube and Euxine were kept in a state of active commotion by various influences; and, if at any moment the countless wild hordes, who peopled that immense region, could have been moved by a unanimous impulse to hurl their combined force against the Empire, it seems impossible but that the Byzantine administration must have succumbed at once and finally to the irresistible shock. But there were always three forces in being which co-operated to avert such a catastrophe, and saved the Empire for many centuries from sudden annihilation. Its lengthened preservation in this connection was due to the diverse powers of arms, of wealth, and of religion. Conversion to Christianity was continually inspiring a proportion of these semi-savage races with a desire to enter into amicable relations with the Roman Emperor, in whom they saw the prime source of the mystical lore which they had just been taught to regard with awe. Rich presents were despatched to the most accessible of the barbarian rulers, who were thus induced to pledge their allegiance to the Byzantine state.[127] These various influences not only protected the Empire from many impending assaults, but, by animating the barbarians with invidious feelings against each other, often caused dissentient tribes to engage in the work of mutual self-destruction. Lastly, the residue who actually crossed the frontier with hostile intent were met by the Masters of Soldiers, and with varying success checked in their advance, or cut to pieces.

The influence of religion, at the same time conjunctive and disruptive, has already been exemplified in connection with Lazica and Iberia; and a couple of nearly similar instances, occurring shortly after the accession of Justinian, will be noticed explicitly in a future chapter.[128] An illustration of the advantage derived by the Emperor from the judicious bestowal of treasure on barbarian potentates is also brought before us during this war with Persia.[129] Two Hunnish kings, subsidized by Cavades, were on the march to join the Persian army with an auxiliary force amounting to twenty thousand men. But a queen of the Sabirian Huns, named Boarex, who had been the recipient of Justinian's liberality, was able to put a hundred thousand of her nation under arms. This martial female did not hesitate to attack her kindred; but, falling on them before they could reach their destination, destroyed the expeditionary force, slew one of the leaders, and sent the other to Constantinople, where he was impaled on the shore at Sycae, by order of the Emperor.[130] On the Illyrian frontier the Masters of the Forces in that region were in almost perpetual conflict with barbarian raiders. Previous to 529 the command on the Danube had been entrusted to Ascum, a Christian Hun, but, being captured by a marauding band of his own race during a skirmish, he was carried off and permanently retained by them in their native abodes. He was succeeded by Mundus, a Gepœd of royal race, who had formerly been in the service of Italy. After the death of Theodoric, however, he placed his sword at the disposal of Justinian, to whom he proved a faithful servant not only in the defence of Illyricum, but shortly afterwards at a critical period of his reign in the capital.[131]

[1] The minute description of Justinian's personal appearance is due to Procopius (Anecd., 8), and Malala (xviii, p. 425), whose descriptions seem to correspond fairly. There are several representations of Justinian, but it is doubtful whether any of them rise to actual portraiture. Those found on a large gold medal formerly in a museum at Paris (stolen 1835) were probably the best (reproduced by Isambert, op. cit.; Diehl, op. cit., p. 23). He appears in the great mosaics at Ravenna (see p. 91), and also in a half-length figure in St. Apollinare of the same town. Further there is a MS. sketch at CP. (Mordtmann, op. cit., p. 65). In addition there is the current coinage, especially the copper, on which his image is impressed. Generally the face is pronouncedly round, but, one and all, these likenesses are too crude to convey any physiognomical information. See also p. 308.

[2] Procopius, Anecd., 8. He relates that after the butchery of Domitian all his statues were broken to pieces, but his wife afterwards fitted the fragments of his body together and caused a new figure to be sculptured from them. There is an almost perfect statue of Domitian in the Vatican, which may be the one he alludes to, if there is any truth in his story.

[3] Jn. Malala, xviii, p. 425; Chron. Paschal, an. 566. "You would have taken him for a man with the mind of a sheep," says Procopius, Anecd., 13.

[4] His character and manners can be collected from Procopius (Anecd., 6, 8, 10, 13, 15, 22, etc.) and Zonaras, xiv, 8. His personal influence is well illustrated by the incident already related (p. 303) of his rescuing a patrician from the mob although at the time he was only a Candidate; and by his deliberate mésalliance with Theodora being permitted without a murmur from Church or State. His stolid conviction may be compared to that of Robespierre, of whom, when he first began to speak on public affairs, Mirabeau remarked, "That young man will go far; he believes every word he says."

[5] Procopius, Anecd., 8; 13. In many of his enactments he emphasizes his unremitting assiduity in the interest of his subjects, e.g.: "We shun no difficulties, continually watching, fasting, and labouring for our subjects, even beyond what can be borne by the human frame"; Nov. xxx, 11; cf. viii, pf.; lxxx, pf., etc.

[6] Procopius, Anecd., 22. "He was excessively senseless and like a dull ass that follows whoever holds the bridle," ibid., 8. "As to his opinions he was lighter than dust, and at the mercy of those who wished to urge him to one side or the other," ibid., 13.

[7] There is but one representation of Theodora, that in the companion mosaic to the one above-mentioned at Ravenna, but the face is too unfinished and expressionless to give any idea of her features or character.

[8] Procopius, Anecd., 12.

[9] Procopius, Anecd., 15.

[10] Procopius, Anecd., 15. This Porphyrio, such was the popular name bestowed on the monster, must have been a cachalot or sperm whale, which inhabits tropical and sub-tropical seas. It grows to a length of 50 or 60 feet. The males fight viciously among themselves. Small ships have been damaged by the animal when provoked by an attack.

[11] Nov. viii, 1. Officials, on taking office, had to swear to Justinian and Theodora conjointly; ibid., jusjur.; cf. Nov. xxviii, 5; xxix, 4; xxx, 6, 11. Zonaras remarks, "In the time of Justinian there was not a monarchy, but a dual reign. His partner for life was not less potent, perhaps even more so than himself," xiv, 6; cf. Paul Silent., i, 62. The reign has been compared to that of Louis XIV; but the character of that monarch was more evident in Theodora than in her husband.

[12] "In fact she was much abler than he was and highly ingenious in finding new and varied expedients." Zonaras, loc. cit.

[13] As Messalina, the elder Faustina, Soaemias, etc.; see chap. iv.

[14] Procopius, Anecd., 2.

[15] Ibid., 15.

[16] Procopius, Anecd., 30.

[17] Ibid.

[18] Ibid., 10; Evagrius, iv, 10; Victor Ton.

[19] See Bevan's House of Seleucus, Lond., 1902.

[20] The campaigns of Trajan are very imperfectly recorded in the only extant account, that of Dion Cassius as preserved in the careless epitome of Xiphilinus; Zonaras, xi, 21. It is certain that he took the twin capitals of Parthia, Seleucia and Ctesiphon, which faced each other from opposite sides of the Euphrates, and advanced to the Persian Gulf. He marched into Arabia, but the evidence that he penetrated to the Indian Ocean, as Tillemont thinks, is insufficient.

[21] The capture of Seleucia by Avidius Cassius (165), and his brutal massacre of 300,000 of its inhabitants, mostly Greeks, is often alluded to as an irreparable blow to Western civilization in the East; Dion Cas., lxxi, 2, etc. Severus took Ctesiphon in 199; Herodian; Hist. August. In 283 Carus also took Ctesiphon; Hist. August.; Aurelius Vict. Under Diocletian, Galerius extended the Empire beyond the Tigris; Aurel. Vict.; Eutropius, ix.

[22] See Plutarch's account of the affair and his general remarks on it; Vit. Alex.

[23] In the vicinity of Shiraz; described by modern travellers as a garden of fertility.

[24] Most information as to the rise, etc., of Ardeshír (Artakhshathr on coins, that is, Artaxerxes as adapted to their language by the Greeks), will be found in Tabari with Nöldeke's commentary; op. cit.; cf. Zotenberg, op. cit., ii, 40. The great value of Nöldeke's book consists not so much in the flimsy text as in his notes and excursuses which bring together all collateral information to be found in other writers of the period. Zotenberg's version is, of course, from the Persian, the translation of a translation.

[25] The Great Salt Desert in the interior of Persia is somewhat triangular, each of the sides measuring about 400 miles.

[26] Modern Orientalists are of opinion that the pictures of Persian life given by James Morier (Hajji Baba of Ispahan, 1824, etc.) may be applied without much loss of truth even to the age of the Achaemenians. When we reflect that till 1888 Persia had no railway, and now only eight miles, the verisimilitude of the statement will be apparent.

[27] See the first Fargard of the Vendidâd where the "Kine's soul," representing mankind, bewails her hard lot before the supreme being. Generally the primitive conditions of life in Iran are well set forth by Max Duncker, Hist. of Antiquity, Lond. 1881, vol. v.

[28] His actual date is unknown, and his existence at any time not certain, but Duncker surmises this period.

[29] The Iranian mythology is summarized at length by Duncker, but the person of Zoroaster is altogether shadowy, and his date can only be fixed by conjecture. He is, of course, done away with altogether by some Orientalists, e.g. Darmsteter. In later times, as among the modern Persians (Parsees), the names of the opposing gods were abbreviated to Ormuzd and Ahriman.

[30] The Persian Bible is written in a language without a name, and, it may be added, without an alphabetical character. The name Zend, however, is now firmly attached to it among Western scholars through a mistake of the first investigators, who, always finding it coupled with Avesta, thought it must apply to the language of the sacred text. It actually means commentary. Zend is a sister tongue of that spoken in the same age across the Indus, and the oldest specimens (the Gáthas of the Avesta) by slight systematic alterations can be turned into good old Sanskrit. The alphabet applied to it, as now preserved, is that of the Middle Persian or Pahlavi, which was the language spoken by the Sassanians. Old Persian, the speech of Darius and Xerxes, was written in cuneiform (Behistun inscription, etc.), like the impressions on the well-known clay tablets, etc., of the long-previous literature of Babylonia. The Avesta originally consisted of twenty-one nasks or books, but less than a quarter is now extant. There is, however, an epitome of it in the Dinkard, a religious compilation of the eighth century. The book was unknown to the Greeks and Romans, but Pausanias (v, 27) mentions that the Magi had a volume from which they read. Darmsteter (Sacred Books of the East, Lond., 1895, Introd. to Vendidâd) considers that the composition is almost in its entirety of a date subsequent to Alexander. The sacred books of the Parsees, as far as they have been translated, are to be found in Max Müller's series (Lond., 1880, etc.), just mentioned, vols. iv, xxiii, xxxi (Zend-Avesta), and v, xviii, xxiv, xxxviii (religious treatises in Pahlavi).

[31] Mithra, so-named, long enjoyed a supremacy among the Aryans both in India and Persia. Spenta Aramaiti is one of the Amesha Spentas (later Amshaspands, that is, "Holy Immortals," or Council of Ormuzd, but, although they appear in the Avesta, Darmsteter (loc. cit.) argues a Platonic and, therefore, late origin for them. Thus Vohu Manô ("Good Thought"), their chief and the premier of Ormuzd, appears to be an exact counterpart of the Philonic Logos. Anahita stands for the Vedic Varuna, the waters of the sky, but the name is that of the Babylonian Venus, and her attributes are partly of the concupiscent type.

[32] The Vendidâd ("laws against the evil ones") is the nask which contains all the legislation respecting rites and ceremonies, offences, crimes, etc., punishments to be inflicted, means of expiation, etc. Like parts of the Pentateuch, it is all in the form of a dialogue between the prophet and the Deity.

[33] These Dakhmas, or "Towers of Silence," for the disposal of the dead are well-known to the Anglo-Indians who have resided at Bombay, which almost all Parsees, the present-day Zoroastrians, have adopted as their native city. They number about 60,000.

[34] This account is due to Agathias, ii, 23; cf. Herodotus, i, 138.

[35] Agathias, ii, 24; Herodotus, loc. cit. Contrary to former belief (Rawlinson, etc.), the Parthians were pious Mazdeites, as Darmsteter has shown. Thus, when Tiridates visited Nero, he and his retinue, including several priests, journeyed overland to avoid defiling the sea; Justin, xli; Pliny, Hist. Nat., xxx, 17.

[36] One Shah, Balâsh, was, in fact, dethroned by the Mohbeds (Magi) for having erected public bath-houses; Jos. Stylites, op. cit. (Wright).

[37] Xenophon, Oeconom., iv, 13; Xerxes, on his way to Greece, arriving at a handsome plane tree, adorned it with jewels of gold, and left one of his personal guards as a custodian of it; Herodotus, vii, 31.

[38] The Bareshnûm, or great ceremony of purification, lasted nine days and consisted chiefly in the systematic application of nirung or gomez (urine of kine) to different parts of the body; see West's translation of the rubric, Sacr. Bks. of the East, xviii, 431.

[39] Vendidâd, xiii, 24 (63). The manslaughterer got off with sixty stripes, but the bad feeder became a peshotanu and received two hundred, the maximum, it seems, actually inflicted.

[40] Ibid., xiv, 1; iv, 40 (106).

[41] Vendidâd, xiv, 5 (9). Part of the expiation for the murder of an otter was to kill 10,000 of every sort of noxious animal. The punishments, or tasks imposed in lieu of, are sometimes so extravagant, that they can only be intended to emphasize the heinousness of the sin, a useful principle to elevate the authority of the priesthood; cf. Herodotus, i, 140.

[42] Vendidâd, viii, 26 (74); 74 (233); xviii, 61 (123); cf. iii, 38 (130); iv, 47 (130). As will be seen from these passages a proselyte to Mazdeism began a new life with a clean slate. Thus a member of an alien faith could commute the severest penalty by announcing himself as a convert to the religion of Zerdusht.

[43] Vendidâd, xiv, 2; cf. Herodotus, i, 137; vii, 194. Punishment was inflicted with a sraosha (sort of whip), and each stripe was valued at six rupees. In practice the maximum was 200 stripes for a peshotanu or culprit of the worst class, whatever the nature of the crime, but when it was really meant to decree the death penalty the allotted number was much greater, even up to 10,000; see Darmsteter, op. cit., p. lxxxv. In the entourage of the monarch, however, the same cruel punishments were maintained as have always been associated with Oriental despotism, viz., flaying alive (Ammianus, xxiii, 6; Agathias, iv, 23), and even "the boat" (Plutarch, Artaxerxes; Damascius, Vit. Isidori).

[44] See Herodotus, iii, 81; Plutarch, Artaxerxes.

[45] Phraates V of Parthia. His mother was Thea Urania Musa, an Italian slave girl presented to his father by Augustus; Josephus, Antiq., xviii, 2. The relations of Parysatis to Artaxerxes and of Sisygambis to Darius Cod. were very close, but are not known to have been actually conjugal.

[46] These filio-maternal marriages have been generally discredited by modern historians (Rawlinson, Oriental Monarchies, ii, 351; even partly by Max Duncker, op. cit., v, 220) through their not being in possession of all the classical evidence and having apparently none of the Oriental. Probably the first to make the practice known in the West was Quintus Curtius, and lastly Agathias. But the evidence of Chrysostom alone, a Syrian reared on the borders of Persia, would be conclusive. As usual, he anatomizes the subject. Preaching against sexual abandonment, he says: "Love, you maintain, is not a matter of will.... Whence does it arise, then? From a beautiful form which strikes the wound, you answer. Your excuse is an idle one.... Were not Joseph and David handsome, the latter especially so in the eyes, which is the most attractive style of beauty? But was any man enamoured of them? By no means, for love does not arise from mere admiration. Many have mothers most distinguished for their beauty, but do their sons, therefore, fall in love with them? Perish the thought! They admire them, but do not yield to a disgraceful passion. Ah! you will urge, this is a law of nature. Of what nature, tell me? Because they are our mothers, you say. Do you not know that the Persians, without any compulsion, cohabit with their mothers? Not one or two, but the whole nation. Whence it is evident that this disease is not inspired by beauty, but by a vice of the mind"; In Epist. ii ad Cor. Hom. vii, 6 (in Migne, x, 451). Contemporary Parsees also wish to repudiate the idea that their forefathers solemnized these incestuous nuptials, and treat it as a libel of the Greeks, as modern Mazdeism yields to no closer union than that of first cousins. The whole question, however, of consanguineous marriage has been threshed out from the evidence of the Pahlavi texts by West (Sacr. Bks. of the East, xviii, 389 et seq.), who shows how strenuously the Mohbeds laboured to inculcate the practice as a pious duty. A special term in Pahlavi, Khvêtûk-das, meaning literally "a giving of one's own," was applied to it. There is no clear reference to the custom in the extant part of the Avesta, but in the Dinkard epitome (ix, 60; Sacr. Bks. of the East, xxxvii) great stress is laid on the merit of adhering to it, and in the same theological compilation a long chapter (iii, 82, 431) is devoted to the defence and exposition of Khvêtûk-das. As West observes, however, it is evident from the amount of space and argument expended on the subject that the priesthood had some difficulty in bending an unwilling laity to comply with their injunctions. We may note that the Persians were not the only race addicted to such marriages. According to Strabo (IV, v, 4), they were habitual among the Irish of his time ("mothers and sisters"); and even the aboriginal Macedonians favoured them, so that when the Oedipus Rex of Sophocles was played in that country the audience jeered at the distress of the titular character. An amusing dialogue between actor and audience then ensued; see Tertullian, Ad Nat., 16.

[47] Quintus Curtius, viii, 4 (19).

[48] Herodotus, iii, 68, 88; Athenaeus, xiii, 3, etc.; Ammianus, xxiii, 6. As usual in the East, women were kept out of sight; Plutarch, Themistocles. Still, Queen Statira used to drive about openly in public; ibid., Artaxerxes. Cf. Max Duncker, op. cit., v, 219.

[49] See Gardner's Parthian Coinage, Lond., 1877; cf. Mordtmann, Zeits. f. Numis., iv, vii.

[50] See the letter of Tansar to the king of Tabaristân (Ilyrcania); Journal asiatique, 1894, i (text and French transl.). This, according to Darmsteter, is the earliest and most authentic document of Zoroastrianism. The best MS. is in the East India House. From it we learn that under the Parthians the unity of Iran was gradually dissolved into a number of principalities, in which each king claimed a practical independence and set up a fire-altar of his own. Ardeshír extinguished all these subordinate fire-altars and made himself supreme in his capital of Istakhr. The letter has been largely interpolated at a later date, especially by the long apologue of the King of the Apes. Partly against Darmsteter see Mills' Zoroastrianism, 1905, etc.

[51] He treated the traditions of the old religion pretty freely and abolished whatever did not accord with his scheme of restoring the empire of the Persians; ibid.

[52] Properly Shahpûr, meaning "king's son."

[53] See Darmsteter, op. cit., p. xlvii. The story of Arda Viraf's visit to heaven and hell (part of the lost Spend Nask) under the influence of a narcotic in the presence of a great conventicle of the Magi, in search of spiritual guidance for the restoration of Mazdeism, seems to be a mere legend to be referred to the sixth century rather than to the times and intention of Ardeshír. It has been cited as serious history by some former writers.

[54] Letter of Tansar, ut supra, cf. Herodian, vi, 3. H. is generally treated as a romancer, but in this instance he is confirmed by independent evidence. His statement that Ardeshír had the best of it in a great battle with Alex. Severus is rejected in favour of that of Lampridius (Hist. Aug.), who says the Roman was the victor. The war on this occasion, as often subsequently, was probably quite indecisive.

[55] See Sayce's Babylonians, etc., Lond., 1900, and other works of that class which condense the results of the excavations in progress on that site.

[56] See p. 267. Fragments of the Manichaean Bible recently discovered in Central Asia show that Mani was a native of Babylon.

[57] Sozomen, ii, 9; Theodoret, v, 39. Some were partly flayed, on the face and the hands, or the back. Others were thrown bound into pits with mice, etc. The first of these persecutions seems to have sprung from the religious fervour caused by Sapor's zeal for the faith; the second was originated by a fanatical Christian bishop, who attacked and destroyed a Pyreum or Fire-temple. See Hoffmann's Akt. Pers. Märt., Leipsic, 1880.

[58] Asseman, Bibl. Orient., iii, 2. They had the ear of the Shah as against any of the Orthodox in Persia; John Eph. Com. (Land, etc.), p. 52.

[59] Nöldeke, op. cit., p. 145; Zotenberg, op. cit., ii, 148. They were soiled by her menstrual flux, she said. To touch anything of the kind would have subjected him to a ceremony of purification and, perhaps, a flogging; Vendidâd, xviii, 5. The scene reminds us of that in The Merry Wives of Windsor, where Falstaff is carried out in the foul-clothes basket. Procopius relates that she changed clothes with him, and the Shah walked out disguised as a woman; De Bel. Pers., i, 6.

[60] This was not his first sojourn with the Hephthalites. His father Peroz, who ultimately perished in a battle with these Huns, had left him in Bactria as a hostage for the payment of an indemnity. In Tabari the story goes that on his journey thither he stopped incognito at the house of a noble (N.) or peasant (Z.), where he was accommodated with a daughter of the family as an informal wife. When Balâsh was dethroned (see p. 379), he returned to take up the succession by the same route and found that the girl had become the mother of a boy, the same who was afterwards known as Chosroes, his favourite son (see p. 314).

[61] "Hence he set the lower against the upper classes; wretches of every sort were mingled with the best blood; and it became usual for those who coveted other people's goods to seize on them; for the disorderly to riot around; and for libertines to gratify their passions and approach the noblest women, whom previously they never had a thought of intimacy with"; Tabari, p. 154 (N.). This passage with the context is not in Zotenberg.

[62] The details of this affair are incompletely known. The Greeks seem never to have heard of Mazdak, but confound his followers with the Manichaeans. The above account is based on that of Theophanes, modified so as to accord with Nöldeke's views; op. cit., p. 457 (Excurs.). He thinks the surname of Nushirvan ("the blessed") was bestowed on Chosroes for the part he played in this massacre. Existing Manichaeans were also involved in it.

[63] Theophylact. Sim., iv, 7; cf. Athenaeus, xii, 8.

[64] Nöldeke, op. cit., p. 221. He was concealed with "clothes" until he settled himself in a dignified position. But in Zotenberg (p. 205) the clothes become merely a covering to keep the dust off the jewels. Such differences are perpetual throughout the two versions of Tabari. On coins and sculptures the Shah wears a crown surmounted by a pedunculated ball of considerable size. At the siege of Amida (359) Sapor wore a golden ram's head instead of a crown; Ammianus, xix, 1. Theophylactus (who is noted for his turgidity) gives a description of Hormidz IV sitting in state on his throne (590). "He was clad with a regal robe of precious material. His tiara of gold and jewels was brilliant with the effulgence of carbuncles. A profusion of pearls glittered around the crest, scintillating on a sea of smaragdite, so that the eyes were almost blinded by the dazzling exuberance of the gems. His trousers, a priceless sample of the weaver's art, were embroidered on cloth of gold"; iv, 3. Cedrenus (i, 721) also furnishes some curious details as what was found when Heraclius broke into the treasure city of Gazaca and rifled the palace of Chosroes Parviz (622). The contents of a private fire-temple astonished them. "On entering the spherical chamber he found the impious effigy of Chosroes sitting, as it were, in the heavens among the sun, moon, and stars, whom the fanatic worshipped as gods. Sceptre-bearing angels stood around, and the wretch had devised machines which discharged water like rain, and emitted a sound as of thunder. All this was consumed by fire."

[65] Ammianus, xxiii, 6; cf. Menander, Leg., p. 335; Theophylact., iv, 8; letters in which Chosroes, Nush. and Parviz, assume all their titles.

[66] Herodotus, vii, 54; Q. Curtius, v, 1 (20).

[67] Nöldeke, op. cit., p. 222; Zotenberg, op. cit., p. 231, etc.

[68] As evidenced notably in the struggle between the successful rebel general, Bahram, and Chosroes Parviz; Theophylact. Sim., iv.

[69] Herodotus, vii, 83; Procopius, De Bel. Pers., i, 14, etc.

[70] Jn. Lydus, De Magist., iii, 34.

[71] Herodotus, i, 136. Jn. Lydus (loc. cit.) says the whole nation was trained to arms, and always ready to enter on a campaign.

[72] Tabari (N.), p. 245. In Zotenberg (p. 228) the number is given as eight score, which would probably weigh the horse too heavily. Some injunctions as to armour are given in Vendidâd, xiv (32). Here also thirty arrows are recommended. For slingers, thirty stones each man is the fixed number. The horse and his rider were so well shielded with metal that Ammianus speaks of them as an "iron cavalry"; xix, 1; cf. xxv, i.

[73] Ammianus, xxv, 1; Procopius, De Bel. Goth., iv, 13; Aedif., ii, 1.

[74] In Zotenberg, the reason why Kavádh was led to reform the taxation is accounted for by an anecdote (p. 241). One day while hunting he became separated from his party, and sat down to rest himself near a peasant's cottage. While there, he noticed a child bringing two or three grapes to its mother, who at once seized them and with great concern ran to attach them again to the vine, exclaiming that the inspector had not yet been round to assess the amount of the crop. The absurdity and harshness of the tithe law was thus practically exemplified to the Shah. Both versions relate that a strange scribe who ventured to dispute the soundness of the proposed financial change in an assembly convened to hear it announced, being convicted of starting a futile objection by Cavades, was thereupon, at a nod from the monarch, belaboured by his fellow scribes with their ink-horns till he expired. His point was that the relations of the land and its owners would vary continually, and he was met by the statement that there would be a yearly survey to readjust the burdens.

[75] Tabari (N.), pp. 152, 222; Ibid. (Z.), p. 241.

[76] Zachariah Myt., ix, 6.

[77] Besides the objective evidence, there is a direct statement of the fact; Theophylactus Sim., v, 6.

[78] The practical application of the doctrine of the Avesta has been described at considerable length by Max Duncker (op. cit., v), but the school of Darmsteter would aver that his exposition applies with more accuracy to the age of the Sassanians than to that of the Achaemenians, whom alone he deals with.

[79] Some remains, almost certainly those of fire-temples, exist, but they are architecturally insignificant, being, in fact, merely low stone towers a few feet square. The interior was only a cell with just room enough to accommodate a small altar, on which a perpetual fire was kept up; see Ferguson, Hist. Archit., Lond., 1874, i, 202; cf. Perrot and Chipiez, Persian Art, i, 892.

[80] The chief work which gives representations of Sassanian architecture is that of Flandin and Coste, Voyage en Perse, Paris, 1851. Many have been copied by Rawlinson, op. cit.

[81] About twenty miles due east of the northern end of the Dead Sea.

[82] See Tristram's Land of Moab, Lond., 1873, and for a restoration, Ferguson, op. cit., i, 392. The slabs have now been removed to a Berlin museum, where they are attributed to the Ghassanides, an Arab dynasty.

[83] See the reproductions in Flandin and Coste, etc., op. cit.

[84] The work on which the well-known poem of Firdausi was founded (c. 1,000). There is much theological exegesis in Pahlavi, but, except the Avesta and its commentaries, this is post-Mohammedan. Much of it has been translated by West, as stated above. The chief works in the collection are the Dinkard, a sheaf of treatises in nine books; the Bundahish, or "Story of Creation," a sort of Iranian Genesis, but of greater length; and the Sad-Dar, a controversial work, in which the follower of Mazda is taught to refute the "twaddle" of Christians and, guardedly, of Mohammedans.

[85] For the details of this war we have the first-rate account of Procopius (De Bel. Pers., i, 12-22), an eye-witness of a great part of it. Additional information on some events can be gleaned from Zachariah Myt. (ix, 1-7) and Jn. Malala, both nearly contemporary. The later chronicles are practicably negligible.

[86] Jn. Malala, xviii, 441; the inference may be drawn by comparing the passage with Procopius.

[87] Zachariah Myt., ix, 2. The exact wording of the sentence is doubtful, but the intention is clear.

[88] Procopius, loc. cit., 13.

[89] Malala calls him the eldest son, but in Procopius Caoses is the name given to the eldest; loc. cit., 11; see p. 314.

[90] Hunnish Foederati. According to Ammianus (xxxi, 2) they almost lived on horseback, often not dismounting even to sleep.

[91] See Oman (op. cit., 28) for a plan of the battle with remarks. It does not quite accord with the phraseology of Procopius, but I find it impossible to understand him in any other way.

[92] Procopius, loc. cit., 14.

[93] The enemy, says Procopius, kept the Romans standing in line all the forenoon to prevent their having their midday meal; they themselves did not eat till sundown.

[94] Bury (op. cit.) makes him only twenty-five, but later, in 562, represents him as being near seventy. His age can only be guessed at from Procopius, De Bel. Pers., i, 12.

[95] If we adopt Oman's interpretation of the tactics of Belisarius (which requires the interchange of "ἀριστερᾷ" and "δεξιᾷ" the subsequent evolutions of the battle become quite clear. Following the text as it stands it seems to me that they would have been impossible. But in the first case "left" is due to an evidently stupid emendation of Maltretus ("δεξιᾷ"" now restored by Haury).

[96] Gold mines worked by the Persians were at Pharangium, and the place was betrayed by the commandant in order that he might embezzle the stock of ore which he happened to have in hand; Procopius, loc. cit., 15. Jn. Malala (p. 455) seems to be partly in conflict with the above. He says the output was formerly divided between both nations, but in the time of Anastasius was wholly ceded to the Romans.

[97] Procopius, loc. cit., 15.

[98] Jn. Malala, xviii, p. 430: "He became engaged to her at the house of Antiochus, near the Hippodrome." This was probably an Imperial appanage or the house of some noble to whose guardianship the sisters had been confided on the elevation of Theodora.

[99] Cf. Procopius (loc. cit., 16), with Malala (pp. 449-450). He harked back to the old quarrel with Anastasius over the loan; see p. 176.

[100] Jn. Malala, pp. 445, 455; Procopius, Anecd., 11, 18. I pass over events in which religion was the chief question at issue, as the whole can be treated most instructively in a special chapter; see below, chap. xiv.

[101] Procopius, loc. cit., 18; cf. Malala, p. 462. The latter gives some details as to the mischief already done by the marauders, and states that the Antiocheans began to fly in terror to the sea coast. Gabbulae was about ninety miles east of Antioch.

[102] They were at this time almost exactly on the track of Xenophon when he accompanied Cyrus nearly a thousand years previously through a country then strange to the Greeks, but now become a part of their native land. His description is familiar to those of the old school: "In this place the earth was smooth all over, like the sea, and full of wormwood. Every other kind of shrub or reed was sweet-smelling and of the class of aromatics, but there was nothing in the way of a tree.... With the Euphrates on the right we arrived at Pylae. In these stages many of the beasts of burden perished of hunger; for there was no grass, nor any sort of tree, but the whole country was bare," etc.; Anabasis, i, 5. He adds that the only occupation the inhabitants had was digging up mill-stones, which they took to Babylon for sale.

[103] Hermogenes was also present at this time, but only through having fallen in with the army as he was on his way to Hierapolis, where Rufinus was constantly stationed as the most convenient post from which to open up diplomatic relations with Ctesiphon. Zachariah Myt. relates that Azarathes begged Belisarius to postpone the battle on account of the "Nazarenes and Jews" in the Persian army, who were also keeping the fast.

[104] Malala (p. 464), however, shows up Belisarius in a very unfavourable light. As soon as he saw that the day was lost, he seized his standard, jumped into a boat, and rowed away with all speed to Callinicus. But Sunicas, the leader of the cavalry he had abandoned, dismounted and sustained the attack of the enemy as described by Procopius. It is safest to believe the latter.

[105] Here again Zachariah and Malala (p. 466) differ from Procopius, and assert that Belisarius was superseded on account of his failure on the Euphrates. But subsequent events show that P. is more to be trusted, and that Justinian attached small blame to Belisarius.

[106] Procopius, loc. cit., 18.

[107] "Nejâshi" is the nearest transliteration of the Semitic title; see Nöldeke, op. cit., p. 195; Zotenberg, op. cit., p. 182, etc.

[108] Ela-Atsbeha is the correct name as found on coins; see Schlumberger, Rev. Numismat., 1886.

[109] Most information about these nations will be found in Godefroy ad Cod. Theod., XII, xii, 2, and Act. Sanct. (Bol.) lviii, 660-762 (Mart. Arethas). For a clue to recent additions see Diehl, op. cit., p. 392 et seq., and below, chap. xiv.

[110] Jn. Malala (p. 457) indicates that the regular route to Axume was still the same as that described above from earlier writers when I was sketching the commercial activities of the age; see p. 190. He places the embassy before the action on the Euphrates, but his chronological sequence is often wrong. From Procopius (loc. cit., 19, et seq.) it seems to have been before or at least about the same time. The Berenice mentioned by Procopius (De Aedif., vi, 2) is not that on the Red Sea (see p. 190), but on the Great Syrtis.

[111] We owe this description of Soudanese pageantry to Jn. Malala (xviii, p. 457), who professes to be copying a report published by the ambassador himself.

[112] Procopius, loc. cit., 20; Malala, loc. cit.

[113] The abstract of Nonnosus's own account has been preserved by Photius.

[114] Procopius, loc. cit., 20.

[115] Ibid., 19. Further details in Tabari, for which see chap. xiv below.

[116] Procopius, loc. cit., 21. It should be noted that P. is not now relating his own experiences, as he returned to Constantinople with Belisarius.

[117] Ibid. He was at Attachae, not far from Amida; cf. Zachariah Myt., loc. cit., 6.

[118] The exploits of Bessas are dwelt on by Zachariah Myt., loc. cit., 5 et seq. Most details of the siege are given by Malala (p. 468 et seq.), which, however, I omit here as we shall have more interesting opportunities later on of studying the mode of procedure at sieges in this age.

[119] Procopius, loc. cit.

[120] He became rich through these successes, says Zachariah Myt. It seems that in such cases the spoils became the property of the army, and no attempt was made to restore what was recaptured to the former owners.

[121] Orientalists consider that Malala (p. 471) is best informed here. Procopius relates that Cavades left a will, on the strength of which Chosroes was elected Shah by an assembly of the nobles in opposition to the claim of the eldest son, Caoses; loc. cit., 21. Sometimes Theophanes seems to copy Malala, but in this case he is so ignorant as to make Chosroes succeed in 525!

[122] Some details of this dissension are given by Procopius; loc. cit., 23. A party conspired to set up a younger Cavades, grandson of the elder through his second son Zames, who was debarred by reason of his being blind of one eye. Ultimately this Kavádh fled to CP. (c. 546), and it is supposed that he is the authority whence Procopius derived his knowledge of Persian history. The historian, however, gives vent to his suspicion that this fugitive was an impostor, the real pretender having most probably perished.

[123] Procopius, loc. cit., 22; Jn. Malala, p. 471. According to the first the Roman legates sued for peace with cringing flattery, whereas Malala states that Justinian's reply to an announcement from Chosroes that he had ascended the throne was, "We do not acknowledge you as king of Persia, nor do we permit our legates to visit you." Moreover he taunted Chosroes with having invited the Huns, and only after the latter had repudiated all responsibility for their acts were diplomatic relations established.

[124] Zachariah Myt., ix, 6, 7. He says that she was privately a convert to Christianity after a cure wrought upon her by a hermit when physicians had failed.

[125] To Constantina: cf. De Aedif., ii, 5. A great deal of money was then spent in rendering it worthy of its increased importance. It appears to have been about eighty miles west of Dara.

[126] The terms of the peace are only clearly expressed by Procopius, loc. cit., 22; De Aedif., ii, 5.

[127] Justinian's policy is well exemplified in a letter said to have been written by him to a Hunnish chief: "I sent presents to you, intending to honour the most powerful of your nation, and taking you to be that one. But, while the presents were on their way, I hear that another has seized them, asserting himself to be the most potent among you. Now see to it that you prove yourself to be his superior. Take what you have been deprived of and revenge yourself on him. Otherwise we shall consider him to be the first, and he shall be favoured by us accordingly, and our presents will be lost to you." As a result of this attitude of the Emperor intestine wars broke out among the Huns, who thus mutually destroyed each other; Jn. Antioch. (Müller), fg. 217; Alemannus, p. 400.

[128] See ch. xiv, below.

[129] Jn. Malala, pp. 427, 430; Theophanes, an. 6,020, etc.

[130] Ibid. Malala says she was won over by "gifts of hospitality, a collection of silver vases, and a considerable present in money."

[131] Jn. Malala, p. 450; Procopius, De Bel. Pers., i, 24.

CHAPTER VI
THE SCHOOLS OF PHILOSOPHY AT ATHENS AND THEIR ABOLITION BY JUSTINIAN

THE systematic teaching of philosophy at Athens had its origin in the dialectic of Socrates, whose mental bias impelled him to a persistent search after the fundamental truths which underlie the sociological organization of mankind. His constant effort was to discover what principles should be instilled into young men in order to render them worthy members of the community; and in pursuit of this object he made a practice of perambulating the city intent on applying his method of question and argument to all persons accredited with any kind of knowledge. Thus he laboured unremittingly in earnest effort to elicit sound opinions or to convict of fallacy. Every Greek town was adorned with a gymnasium, and large cities, such as Athens, possessed several institutions of the kind. Established for the physical training and athletic development of youth, a gymnasium consisted of covered halls, of porticos provided with sculptured stone seats, and of a small park or exercise ground shaded with plane and olive trees.[132] Ultimately the gymnasiums assumed something of the form of the colleges of a modern university, and were resorted to habitually by teachers of young men, sophists, rhetoricians, and philosophers, in order to procure pupils, and to lecture to classes already formed. In such localities Socrates found most scope for his activities,[133] but, after his death by a judicial sentence in 399 B.C. as an innovator and theological sceptic, his system of inciting the youth to seek after genuine knowledge was not publicly professed for a number of years. In the course of a decade, however, the Athenians repented of their severity, and Plato, who had been his principal disciple, was allowed to resume Socratic instruction in a suburban gymnasium called the Academy,[134] situated on the north-west of the city. This institute proved to be the first permanent school of philosophy founded at Athens, and was always known as the Academy, although Plato soon removed his classes to a private garden which he acquired in the vicinity, where he built a Museum, or Hall of the Muses, for their accommodation.[135] Plato had numerous successors, all of whom continued to teach in the same garden, which was inherited regularly for many centuries by the chief of the Academy.[136]

The most remarkable pupil of the original Academy was Aristotle, a native of Stageira, but he, after protracted studies, finding that his thirst for knowledge remained unsatisfied by the dreamy and inconclusive philosophy of his master, determined to follow a more practical path of inquiry according to the bent of his own genius. Observation and correlation of facts, sociological, zoological, and physical, assumed the greatest importance in his eyes, and he thus became the founder of natural science in the widest sense. The Stagirite essayed to teach in various places, and was successful in impressing his views on many of those with whom he came in contact. His growing reputation attracted the attention of Philip of Macedon, who soon claimed his services for the tuition of his son Alexander, and embellished his native town as an inducement for him to open a school there.[137] In a few years, however, the young prince passed from his class-rooms to the throne, and Aristotle migrated to Athens, where he fixed on the Lyceum,[138] a gymnasium in the eastern suburbs, for the scene of his prelections (c. 355 B.C.). More than half a century had elapsed since the foundation of the Academy, and Plato had now been dead for many years. In the shady walks of the Lyceum Aristotle continued to give instruction for a dozen years, and it is understood that he usually kept on foot, moving about while discoursing with his disciples, whence the sect received the name of Peripatetics,[139] that is "promenaders."

The third philosophical school at Athens was established, about twenty-five years later than that of the Peripatetics, by Zeno of Citium, in Cyprus, who is reputed to have been inspired by reading treatises emanating from the followers of Socrates.[140] Zeno convened his disciples in the heart of the city, in a colonnade called the Painted Stoa or Porch, whence the name of Stoics became attached popularly to his philosophical coterie.[141] As the founder of Stoicism was an immigrant from the near East his mind was overcast by the Oriental sense of resignation under oppression;[142] and an ethical doctrine of doing and suffering in a world of adversity was the gift of the Porch to the humanity of the period. The circumstances of the times created and gradually increased the need for such a philosophy in the West. Grecian liberty passed under the despotic sway of Macedon, and later, under that of Rome, whilst the Latin Republic at length succumbed to the ambition of its military chiefs, and an arbitrary emperor usurped the place of a spirited democracy. Thus the tenets of all those ardent souls who shunned the servility of a court, and chafed under political restraints which they were powerless to throw off were derived from Zeno.[143]

The foregoing schools were essentially of a theological cast, and inculcated more or less dogmatically an attitude of veneration and piety in respect of a divine providence, but the leading feature of a fourth, founded about the same time as that of the Stoics, was a frank repudiation of any form of religious ritual. Epicurus was an Athenian by blood, but his youth had been passed abroad;[144] and he claimed to have originated, without the aid of a master,[145] the rule of life which he taught to his disciples. At the age of thirty-five he settled in his ancestral city (306 B.C.), within which he purchased a garden for the reception of those whose inclinations were in harmony with his peculiar doctrines.[146] The vanity of human effort, and the superiority of a simple life of ease and contentment, formed the burden of the Epicurean didactic. In seclusion the tranquil mind might apply itself to intellectual pleasures, as oblivious of the gods as they themselves evidently were of the restless race of mortals. Death was merely the term of life, and no anxiety as to a hereafter should ruffle the placidity of a man of philosophical temperament. As "Know thyself" was the germinal thought of the Socratic school, so "Live unknown" was that of the Epicurean. An asceticism of this hue, which advocated the suppression of all energy, whilst allowing a mild, but aesthetic indulgence of the passions, was extremely acceptable to the average man of the period, for whose sensuous nature it afforded the consolations of Stoicism without the strain inseparable from that vigorous doctrine.[147]

The philosophers of these four sects maintained their position at Athens as dictators of human thought for more than five centuries before their vitality began to be chilled into immobility by the new life which was arising in the widely Christianized Empire. When Marcus Aurelius halted at Athens in 176, on the return from his Asiatic expedition, he found the schools in a flourishing condition, and gave them a firmer constitution by bestowing a fixed salary of 10,000 drachmas (£400), payable by the Imperial treasury, on the heads of each of the four.[148] It is improbable that this subsidy was assured to them for long after the death of that emperor (180), or that they could have claimed it successfully in the disorganization of the Empire which followed the murder of his son Commodus (192). But Pagan philosophy was still independent of state aid, and the first step in the dissolution of these schools had its origin within when their individuality was submerged by the tide of eclecticism, upon which Neoplatonism rose to pre-eminence about the middle of the third century.[149] Henceforward Athens had a serious rival in Alexandria, and somewhat later in Pergamus,[150] whence the mysticism and theurgy of Plotinus and Iamblichus enthralled the senses of almost all non-Christians by the fervent hopes to which they gave birth. The teaching of the Academy, of the Peripatetics, and of the Porch, were the soul of Neoplatonism, but the Epicureans were abhorred by the new school as being most hostile to their vivid theistic aspirations, and at this juncture that sect must have rapidly become extinct.[151] Subsequently to 425, the year in which the Auditorium at Constantinople was founded by Theodosius II,[152] the Athenian rhetoricians, so famous in the youth of Julian and Gregory Nazianzen,[153] appear to have suffered greatly in prestige, but long before that date the teaching of philosophy was in the way of becoming a lost art at Athens. The disappointment of Synesius at finding no trace of the schools, when he landed in Attica about 410, has already been adverted to.[154] If, however, he had carried his investigations a little deeper he would have discovered that in at least one quarter the traffic in the honey of Mount Hymettus was not the sole care of the dwellers on the Cephisus. The garden of Plato, even at that date, was still possessed by the philosophic succession,[155] and the actual occupant, the venerable Plutarch,[156] had achieved a reputation which deserved the devotion of several eminent disciples. Yet the school was languishing, and even after the murder of Hypatia, the holder of the professorial seat, Syrianus, was apprehensive lest he should find no worthy successor.[157] But a movement of recuperation was at hand, and surviving Neoplatonists soon began to turn their eyes towards Athens as the appointed retreat of the sect. A new votary had arisen, gifted with the genius to revive their hopes, and to infuse a fresh enthusiasm into their almost moribund philosophy.

One evening in the summer of 431 a youth of nineteen, having made the voyage from Alexandria, disembarked at the Piraeus and was received on the shore by Nicolaus, a countryman of his own, and some other friends who had been apprised of his coming. Proclus belonged to a Lycian family, but was born at Constantinople, and he had already won a reputation as a student of extraordinary powers and promise. This youth was regarded as the last hope of the expiring school, and when the custodian at the entrance of the city exclaimed, "I should already have shut the gates, had I not seen you approaching," the utterance was hailed as an omen symbolical of its resuscitation. Before entering Athens, Proclus complained of thirst and fatigue, and by a fortuitous circumstance rested in a seat and had a drink from a fountain, which were known as those of Socrates. Such auspicious occurrences redoubled the expectations which were kindled by his advent, and even the aged Plutarch issued from his retirement to superintend the initiation of the new pupil.[158]

The general doctrines of Neoplatonism, as a practical religion, had been fixed by Plotinus and his immediate successors, and nothing remained for later devotees but to elaborate the details of the system by analysis and disquisition. The execution of this task fell to the Athenian school, and for more than a century its members busied themselves in spinning a fine web of scholasticism around the fundamental principles of their faith. Its roots were traced backwards to Plato and Aristotle, and the complexity of every fibre was demonstrated by the aid of certain mystic hymns, supposed to be of ancient date, termed Orphic and Chaldaean oracles.[159] Proclus, as had been anticipated, succeeded to Syrianus, and from his labours in this field resulted a second summer of Neoplatonism, which bloomed for fully fifty years.

The theology of Plotinus had been comparatively simple, but it became more complicated in the hands of Iamblichus, whilst in those of Proclus it assumed a comprehensiveness and extension which enabled it to find a place for all metaphysics and mythology within reach. The great conception of the Lycian philosopher was his ternary system, by which he succeeded in deducing the whole invisible world, as well as the objective universe, in a series of triads from the supreme One to the remote apogee of matter itself.[160] All these speculations he embodied in a number of vast treatises,[161] several of which are extant and have been rendered into modern languages by some thinkers of the last century, who found his cosmology more illuminating than that of the creed of Christendom.[162]

The life of Proclus was written by his disciple and successor Marinus; and from this document we gain some insight into the mode of life of a pious Neoplatonist. The Athens of that day seems to have retained at least the external aspect of the classical capital as it has been described by the early topographers. The principal monuments of polytheism were still erect, and Proclus had the satisfaction of occupying a house between the temples of Aesculapius and Dionysus, from which he could behold the Parthenon. The sect was strongly inclined to vegetarianism; and abstinence from animal food, though not strictly enforced, was advised in deference to the possibility of metempsychosis.[163] They worshipped the heavenly bodies and practised daily a set form of adoration to salute the sun and moon at their rising, meridian, and setting. Every month a ceremonial bath in the sea was considered to be essential as a tribute of respect to the divinity of that element, Poseidon. Although celibacy was not enjoined, it was approved by the example of the great lights of the sect, who never married, but they were not on that account precluded from illicit sexual indulgence to a moderate extent.[164] The life of Proclus was an exceptionally busy one owing to the interminable ritual he imposed on himself; for, in fact, he declared himself to be the "priest of all religions,"[165] and he laboured incessantly to act up to that character. As a teacher he was indefatigable, lecturing five times daily, apparently to crowded audiences in a theatre, whilst his evenings were devoted to philosophic colloquies. He was, of course, reputed to be highly favoured by the gods, and his biography is almost as full of marvels as a Christian Gospel. Celestial visions were frequently vouchsafed to him, especially on the occasion of the sacrilegious removal of the statue of Athena from the Parthenon by order of the state officials. The goddess incontinently appeared to Proclus and announced that henceforth she would dwell with him in his own house.[166] He was an adept at incantations, by means of which he procured a rainfall in time of drought and arrested the progress of an earthquake which threatened destruction to Athens. The sick were often restored by his prayers, which, however, he seems to have relied on merely for the purpose of invoking success on the orthodox medical treatment. Proclus attempted to wield some power in local politics, and at one time incurred the enmity of the predominant party, doubtless the Christians, so that he deemed it wise to retire into exile for a twelvemonth.[167] He died at the age of seventy-three (485) and was buried near Mount Lycabettus in a bilocular sepulchre with his master Syrianus, for whom he always entertained the greatest veneration.[168]

After the death of Proclus, the Neoplatonic school of Athens was probably somewhat eclipsed, but considerable activity was still maintained, and votaries continued to be drawn to it from Alexandria and other parts of the Empire.[169] Although it was recognized by the devotees that the evolution of metaphysical doctrine had reached its final stage, the endless task of commenting on Plato and Aristotle still kept their pens busy, and they continued to exercise their ingenuity in reconciling the views of those masters.[170] In 529, however, their labours were abruptly brought to a conclusion by a decree of Justinian that there should be no more teaching of Pagan philosophy at Athens.[171] The piety or enthusiasm of Proclus had led him to declare that he would welcome the destruction of all writings except the Timaeus of Plato and the oracular hymns,[172] a confession which reminds us that devotion to some special study is apt to blind our perceptions to the value of all extraneous knowledge. An Imperial Proclus would doubtless have emulated the example of the Emperor Julian and aimed at the suppression of Christianity. Justinian was a devout student of the Nicene theology, and arrogated to himself the chief place among the doctors of the Church.[173] He was naturally proclive to fanaticism, and it could scarcely be expected that his mind would be less warped by his restricted studies than that of the Pagan philosopher, nor that he would display a tolerant disposition on finding himself in the seat of power. It became his settled conviction that profane learning was an idle pursuit, and he decided to enrich his treasury by forfeiting the grants which still continued to be paid to physicians and professors of liberal education.[174] As the result of this policy a general illiteracy began to pervade the Empire,[175] but ultimately Justinian was induced to restore the stipends.[176]

When the philosophers of the day found themselves reduced to silence by an Imperial prohibition they took counsel together and resolved to desert an empire in which their only prospect for the future was isolation. As they glanced around them in search of a new sphere of activity, the West, almost relapsed into barbarism, presented no aspect hospitable to philosophy. From the East, however, a ray of illumination had recently penetrated to their classic retreat and warmed them with the hope of being received as welcome immigrants at the court of the Persian monarch. In that kingdom, it was rumoured, the posture of affairs was one of such ideal felicity that the dream of Plato,[177] as to the occupant of a throne being at once a prince and a philosopher, was fully realized. Everything was under the sway of the just and honourable; thieves and bandits and perpetrators of iniquity were no longer born there; so that the most precious property might be left unguarded in the desert with the certainty of its remaining intact until the owner should reclaim it. The youthful Chosroes, whose accession had lately been announced, was the author of this beatific revolution. An enthusiastic student of Greek literature, he had applied himself to the study of Aristotle with a zeal equal to that of Demosthenes when he made repeated transcriptions of Thucydides. The works of Plato were not less familiar to him; nor could the subtleties even of the Timaeus and the Parmenides escape the acuteness of his intelligence. This alluring picture determined the most eminent representatives of the proscribed school to seek their fortune in Persia. They formed a band of seven, the chief among them being Damascius and Simplicius, who are known to modern philosophers through some treatises of value which have survived to the present day.[178] But no sooner had they crossed the Euphrates than their disillusionment commenced. Everywhere criminals were numerous and crime was very imperfectly repressed. Those in authority showed themselves to be pompous and arrogant, and oppressed their inferiors without measure; whilst, although polygamy was permitted, the sexual instinct could scarcely be gratified without the added zest of adultery. Already they felt repentant of their migration, but they pushed onwards until they arrived at the court. There, indeed, they were received with marked distinction by the Shahinshah, who condescended to converse with them affably, and encouraged their attendance on his person. In philosophy, however, they found that he had tasted merely the rudiments, and had never approached the sublimities of their fine conceptions. The political views common to barbarian monarchs had been in no way modified by his superficial knowledge, nor did it avail to induce even a semblance of agreement during the discussions they held with him. Chosroes was proud of their apparent homage, and would have retained them with him at any cost, but the ethics of the Orient were insufferable in their eyes, and the party gave the most convincing proof of their sincerity by declining his generous proposals and electing to return to the precarious life of their native land. At the moment of their departure the peace negotiations with Justinian were pending, and Chosroes showed no little magnanimity by insisting that the treaty should contain a clause granting them the right to occupy their former abodes and to indulge their metaphysical speculations secure from official molestation.[179]

No long time elapsed before the Shahinshah was consoled for the loss of Damascius and his companions by another Byzantine immigrant, who was more fitted to play the part of court philosopher than the earnest Neoplatonists. A certain Uranius, nominally a physician, having skimmed the works of the philosophers, pretended to a profound acquaintance with them, and made a somewhat unenviable reputation at Constantinople by his garrulous and argumentative disposition, as well as by his usually dissolute mode of life. Having managed to attach himself to Areobindus, the ambassador elect to Persia, he arrived there in his suite, and soon captivated the ear of Chosroes by the glibness of his rhetoric and his pliability in adopting fulsomely the sentiments of the despot. He discoursed with the Magi, and flattered them by admitting that their ontology was in perfect accord with that of the deepest thinkers of the West. Chosroes avowed that he had never met with his equal, and made him the recipient of the unprecedented distinction of sharing his viands with him at the royal banquets. After Uranius returned to Constantinople the monarch opened a familiar correspondence with him, and retained him as his intellectual adviser. The glorification of this charlatan at the Persian court guides us to estimate accurately the extent of the philosophical acquirements of the Shahinshah, and indicates how far his amateur studies contributed to his mental elevation.[180]

The extinction of the Neoplatonists as a religious fraternity followed the compulsory closure of the Athenian school. The surviving members continued to work in seclusion at their favourite theses, and even produced some commentaries to which students still resort in order to elucidate the history of philosophy.[181] But, although Neoplatonism was objectively defunct, the soul of the movement was irrepressibly vital, and many of the Catholic ecclesiastics had long been in secret sympathy with the mystical tenets of the sect. Some of the Christian fathers had been nurtured in the same intellectual atmosphere as the first Neoplatonists, and had sat in the same class-room with Plotinus as hearers of Ammonius at Alexandria. A stealthy admirer of Proclus had adapted his ternary system with great ingenuity to the Christian hierarchy, and produced his treatise as the composition of Dionysius the Areopagite, who was known to have been a companion of St. Paul. The Pagan triads of the Athenian scholarch reappeared under Biblical names, and a long array of Cherubim, Thrones, Principalities, Virtues, Powers, Archangels, and Angels, were ranged in orderly sequence as a heavenly host proper to intervene between the homoousian Trinity and the earth.[182] The moment Neoplatonism became obsolete as a visible creed, the Greek fathers did not recoil from giving a welcome acceptance to this gorgeous fabric, which in due time travelled westwards to be promulgated among the Gallic churches by the famous Scotus Erigena. Throughout the Middle Ages the spirit of the Alexandrian School was rife among the German mystics,[183] and later even among English Platonists.[184] Nor scarcely was it repressed in the nineteenth century until the growth of physical science and evolutionary philosophy gave a deathblow to the belief that knowledge could be drawn from our inner consciousness by processes of mental incubation in the closet.

[132] Vitruvius (v, 11) is the source for the topography of the gymnasium, Becker-Göll's Charicles for the elaboration of scattered details.

[133] The liveliest picture of Socrates debating in a gymnasium will be found in Plato's Lysis.

[134] Diogenes Laert., Plato, 9, 14; Pausanias, i, 30; cf. Pliny, Hist. Nat., xii, i.

[135] Diogenes Laert., Speusippus, 3.

[136] Damascius, Vit. Isidori, 158; Suidas, Plato.

[137] Plutarch, Alexander, 5.

[138] Diogenes Laert. in Vita, 4, 7.

[139] Zeller, in his History of Philosophy, prefers this explanation of the name. It is also held that they were so designated merely because A. taught in the περίπατοζ or promenade of the gymnasium.

[140] Diogenes Laert., 3.

[141] Diogenes Laert., 6, 7.

[142] Cyprus was at first Phoenician; later at various times Greek, Egyptian, and Persian.

[143] The best known Roman Stoics are Cato of Utica, Seneca, Lucan the poet, Helvidius Priscus, Arrian, Epictetus, and the Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

[144] Diogenes Laert., Epicurus, 1.

[145] Ibid., 7.

[146] Diogenes Laert., Epicurus, 9, 10; Pliny, xix, 4.

[147] The chief Roman Epicureans were Lucretius, the poetical expositor of his system, Horace, Atticus, and the younger Pliny.

[148] Dio Cass., lxxxi, 31; Philostratus, Vit. Soph., ii, 2. The action in Lucian's "Eunuch" is laid at this time, and seems to represent a real contest. The castrate claimed one of the salaried positions, but an outcry arose in view of his emasculated condition. The most obvious objection taken appeared to be that a philosopher should be adorned with a long beard. "In that case," he retorted, "your best plan would be to elect a goat." The litigation had to be referred to Rome, but with what result we are not told.

[149] See p. 258 et seq.

[150] In the time of Julian Pergamus was the most active centre of Neoplatonism; and his principal tutors, Aedesius, Chrysanthius, and Maximus, taught there. For their ridiculous practices, half charlatanism, half fanaticism, see the lives by Eunapius.

[151] "Away with every word of Epicurus and Pyrrho!" exclaims Julian. "Thanks to the gods, most of their books are now lost." Frag. Epist. (H., p. 386).

[152] See p. 207.

[153] Among the most noted of these teachers was Proaeresius, who is described as a colossus, nine feet high. During a visit to Rome he made such an impression that a statue was erected to him with the inscription: "The Queen of Cities to the Prince of Eloquence." He, however, was a Christian, and, therefore, was forced to resign by Julian. By way of a set off to this giant, another very able rhetorician, Alypius, was a pigmy; see their lives by Eunapius.

[154] See p. 207.

[155] Damascius and Suidas, loc. cit.

[156] Usually referred to as the son of Nestorius to distinguish him from the well-known writer of lives, who lived under Trajan.

[157] Marinus, Vita Procli.

[158] Marinus, Vita Procli. The schools of rhetoric were not extinct at this date, as they are stated to have made overtures to Proclus, but he refused to engage himself to any of them.

[159] It is generally agreed among scholars that the writings of Orpheus now extant are spurious productions emanating from the Neoplatonists themselves, who, as a pious fraud, expanded very scanty relics to considerable bulk with the object of providing an old traditional basis for their theology. In this age the daughters of philosophers, like Hypatia, often worked with their fathers, and, when advanced enough, gave instruction to the classes. Thus Aclepigeneia, the daughter of Plutarch, was the only one versed in the so-called Chaldaean lore, and she in that department became the preceptress of Proclus; Marinus, op. cit. The work of Damascius (Vit. Isidor.) is dedicated to a certain Theodora who, with her sisters, had been pupils of himself and Isidorus. The course of study is shown to have been prolonged and comprehensive, extending sometimes over a decade or more. It included rhetoric, dialectic, literature in prose and verse, mathematics, and astronomy (Ptolemy's system), besides the philosophy of Plato, Aristotle, and the Neoplatonists; Photius, Cod., 181. From a passage in Olympiodorus (Creuzer, Frankf., 1820, ii, pp. xii, 141), it seems that to the last the school continued to be open free to students as in the days of Plato himself. The fact is also indicated by the anecdote related of Proaeresius and his friend Hephaestion. Armenians both of them, they arrived at Athens so destitute that they possessed between them only clothing sufficient for one person. When, therefore, one went out to hear a lecture, the other had to remain within wrapped up in some old bed coverlets; (Eunapius in Vit.). Presents must, however, have been received, as it is mentioned (Damascius and Suidas, loc. cit.) that under Proclus the funds of the Academy rose to the amount of 1,000 gold pieces.

[160] Vacherot has arranged a table, in which the numerous divinities admitted by Proclus are seen according to their roll of precedence; Ecole d'Alexandrie, Paris, 1846, ii, p. 378. A comprehensive work by Jules Simon with the same title came out almost simultaneously. Zeller (Philos. d. Griech., v, pp. 548, 808) defines the position of matter according to the views of Plotinus and Proclus. The first considers it to be the original evil, but with the latter it is neutral, and bad only in relation to that which is better. These notions, however, are embedded in pages of refinements, so that no real finality is attained.

[161] By the age of twenty-eight Proclus had finished his commentary on the Timaeus, which exceeded in bulk the whole writings of Plato. Half of it is lost, but the portion preserved makes a ponderous tome.

[162] Victor Cousin and Thomas Taylor. The latter professes himself to be a complete convert to the religion of Proclus, and the former, who was a leader of thought, almost goes as far. The difference in theological standpoint between Christians, Stoics, and Neoplatonists is explained by the historians of philosophy. The Christian triune God exists apart from the universe, which he produces by his own voluntary act. With the pantheistic Stoics the Deity is pervasive without limit, and in all best things most immanent. Thus the good man may be his most perfect manifestation, and in no degree less than Zeus himself. But the essence of Neoplatonism is the Oriental conception of emanation, and in this pantheism everything is viewed as progressively inferior in proportion to its distance from the transcendent source, i.e., the One. In this system the good man cannot be equal to the Deity; he can only endeavour to elevate himself to reunion with his source by ecstatic detachment from all lower grades. In the other systems the world had a beginning and end in time, but the eternity of the cosmos was a necessary dogma of Neoplatonism.

[163] See Porphyry's elaborate treatise, De Abstinentia ab Esu Carnium. He tries to prove the quasi-humanity of animals; they have a language of their own, which some men have understood, etc.

[164] Proclus, like Plotinus, acted the part of a father to all the young people of his acquaintance. Porphyry, somewhat late in life, married a widow named Marcella, stating that he only did so in order to fulfil the paternal office towards her children. Yet fornication was not a Neoplatonic sin, and even Proclus resorted to it restrainedly. A letter of Porphyry to Marcella, a condensed manual of ethics, is extant, and has recently appeared in an English dress.

[165] Or literally, "the hierophant of the whole world."

[166] Marinus also informs us that he was on terms of great cordiality with Pan, but according to another authority this god had died some centuries previously. Plutarch (De Defect. Orac., 17) tells us, on the report of "a well-known man of very sound character," that a vessel sailing in the Ambracian Gulf touched one evening at the Isle of Paxae. Shortly, a voice from the land thrice summoned Thames the Egyptian, one of the crew, and gave him the injunction, "When you come to Paloda, announce that the Great Pan is dead." The mandate was obeyed, they put in at a deserted spot, and Thames, standing in the bows, shouted the required information. Immediately the whole ship's company heard "a deep groan, proceeding as it were from a multitude of men." The news was carried to Rome, and Tiberius, after interviewing Thames, decided to hold an inquest. All the savants of the Court sat on the deceased, and, without viewing the body, pronounced him to be Pan, the son of Hermes and Penelope. The witness in this case was doubtless of the same class as those who from time to time contribute marvels to the reports of the Psychical Society and the Occult Review.

[167] The alumni of the school went and taught in other places; for instance, Agapius, a hearer of Proclus, under whom Jn. Lydus studied (De Magist., iii, 26), the same, perhaps, who was the "big wig" of the medical faculty at CP., about that time, and made a large fortune, as related by Damascius and Suidas. Damascius (Vit. Isidori) gives an account of the practice of Jacob Psychristus, an eminent physician of the latter part of the fifth century. He trusted chiefly to purgations, baths, and diets, used the knife and cautery sparingly, and repudiated bleeding. On visiting CP. he found the profession there neither experienced nor learned, but relying on a routine derived from their predecessors, which they followed in a blind and careless manner. Pamprepius, one of the ablest disciples of Proclus, deserted the Academy for the Byzantine court, and attached himself to Illus, the great rebel in the reign of Zeno; but ultimately he was executed by his patron for having ventured on predictions which were falsified by the event; Suidas, sb. nom. (Malchus); Theophanes, an. 5976, etc.

[168] Marinus, op. cit., ad fin.

[169] Of this period there is a sort of chronicle extant in the form of a life of Isidore of Gaza, who became scholarch next after Marinus. The whole work has been abridged from the original of Damascius by Photius (Cod. 242), and portions of it are given by Suidas, apparently in full, under various biographical headings, e.g. Aedesia, Archiadas, Asclepiodotus, Domninus, Hegias, Hermeias, Hierocles, Pamprepius, Salustius, Serapion, etc., all philosophers of this later time. The narrative is stuffed with nonsense to an even greater extent than the life by Marinus, and gives instances of prophecy by crystal-gazing, of casting out of devils, etc. Curiously enough, it contains some of the earliest recorded observations of electric phenomena, viz. an ass of Tiberius and a horse of Severus that emitted sparks; that fire issued from the body of Walamir, father of Theodoric the Goth, without singeing his clothing, etc.

[170] Syrianus had devoted himself particularly to this task, and his extant commentaries are a necessary part of the armament of the modern Aristotelian.

[171] Jn. Malala, xviii, 451. Alemannus (op. cit., p. 459) cites an anonymous Greek chronicle, in which astronomy as well as philosophy is prohibited.

[172] Marinus, op. cit., ad fin.

[173] Jn. Ephes. Com., p. 249.

[174] Procopius, Anecd., 26. Olympiodorus (op. cit.), writing probably just before the closure of the schools, notices that these confiscations had been going on for some time. It seems that Justinian began systematically to seize on the property of all teachers he disapproved of.

[175] Zonaras, xiv, 6.

[176] The Pragmatic Sanction addressed to Pope Vigilius (554) indicates the restoration; sect. 22. It would seem that state aid must have been in abeyance for twenty years or more, as the evidence of Procopius extends to 550.

[177] Republic, vi, etc.

[178] The commentaries of Simplicius on Aristotle, besides being of considerable bulk, are the most valuable of that class of writings which have come down to us. They have been repeatedly published since 1499.

[179] The narrative of this migration to Persia is due to Agathias (ii, 28, et seq.), who does not, however, mention that they were driven out by legislation, but represents them merely as dissatisfied with the religion of the Empire. He speaks of them with the greatest respect; they were the "fine flower" of the philosophy of his age.

[180] Agathias, loc. cit. Quicherat (ad calc. Dübner's Plotinus, Paris, 1855) endeavours to refute Agathias in respect of his low estimate of the intellectual attainments of Chosroes. In the first place he relies on a Syrian MS. discovered by Renan in the British Museum, which is an epitome of Aristotle's Logic, purporting to have been made by Paul the Persian, a Nestorian priest, for the use of Chosroes. This neutralizes the objection of A. that the niceties of Greek philosophy could not be rendered in the rude Pahlavi, it being known that the Shahinshah was obliged to have recourse to translations. Syriac, however, is a language of considerable literary refinement. Further he publishes a MS.—not long unearthed at St. Germains—a Latin version by Scotus Erigena(?) of the solutions given by Priscian, one of the seven, to certain "doubts" entertained by Chosroes. The work is incomplete, but nine of the questions which puzzled the monarch are dealt with, viz. the soul, sleep, dreams; the routine of the seasons; why doctors differ; the tides; rain and lightning; variation of animal and plants after removal to a different climate; and the venom of serpents. Indisputably Chosroes was a very able ruler, and it is clear that he evinced great curiosity in every department of knowledge, but that he could have studied with the assiduity necessary for the attainment of erudition is a scarcely tenable supposition; and the episode of Uranius falls in very aptly with what we should predicate as likely to be the outcome of his desultory inquisitiveness.

[181] Damascius profited by his Persian experiences to give an account of Babylonian dualism in one of his treatises. This work has received considerable attention of late. See books by Ruelle, Paris, 1889, and Chaignet, Paris, 1898.

[182] See Bigg's Neoplatonism, Lond., 1892, for a tabulated synopsis. There were also earthly triads, which included the sacraments and the various orders of priests, etc.

[183] Simon and Zeller stop short at the fall of the school of Athens, but Vacherot has devoted a third volume to tracing out the diffusion of Neoplatonic ideas in Western thought throughout the Middle Ages until recent times. Mystics such as Jacob Boehme, Molinos, Madame Guyon, etc. (Quietists), are connected with this stage of the fantasy.

[184] Cudworth, one of the "Cambridge Platonists," is the central figure of this group. In his True Intellectual System of the Universe (pp. 900, fol., 1678, an inceptive fragment of a larger(!) work never completed) he appears as a modern Plotinus labouring in the realm of metaphysics under the obsession of Hebrew and Orthodox mythology in which he had been nurtured, but in verbosity and expansiveness he well outdistances his prototype. He is inclined to believe in ghosts, and thence to draw a theistic proof of the existence of a "supreme ghost," i.e. the Deity. See Tulloch's Rational Theology in England in 17th Century, 1874, ii, p. 240 et seq.

CHAPTER VII
THE INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION OF THE EMPIRE: INSURRECTION OF THE CIRCUS FACTIONS IN THE CAPITAL

THE keystone of Justinian's administration was his lavish expenditure of money. Every enterprise that could engage the attention of a monarch incited him to emulation, and in arms, legislation, civil reform, public works, and religion, he aspired to equal the achievements of the greatest princes. Hence the persistent need for a well-filled treasury, and the constant injunction to the Rectors in the provinces. "Above all things apply yourselves to gathering in the imposts"; whilst the subject is urged by the frequent reminder, "Pay up your taxes promptly, our great undertakings cannot be accomplished without money."[185]

For centuries, as we have already seen,[186] a latent anarchy had prevailed throughout the Empire, but the evils of such a condition had always been less apparent under a quiescent administration. Moderation in the bureaucracy in the capital gave a measure to the proceedings of its deputies in the provinces, and doubtless had a restraining influence, at least that of example, over the rural aristocracy who almost arrogated to themselves a local sovereignity. The considerate, though firm rule of Anastasius, appears to have reduced to a minimum the most flagrant abuses, whilst his studied parsimony, which led to the accumulation of large reserves,[187] must have lessened the severity of fiscal oppression. The latter advantage was extended into the reign of Justin, and, while Justinian was dissipating the great funds left by his uncle's predecessor,[188] his reputation for benignancy was not imperilled by rapacity in collecting the tributes. Soon after his accession, however, to undivided power, he found himself without other resource than the property of his subjects for the supply of his financial requirements. Then the maintenance of the exchequer assumed the highest importance in his eyes, and every conceivable device for swelling the revenue was resorted to, while little or no regard was paid to the equity of the means employed.[189] As an inevitable result all the worst features of the Byzantine political system underwent an exacerbation during the first few years of Justinian's reign. The species of effectivity demanded by the Emperor induced the rise of the most unscrupulous persons to high office; a statesman became the equivalent of an extortioner, and the native venality of the governing class showed exuberant throughout all its grades. Assured of the Emperor's favour as long as he could be noted for his zeal in directing the flow of gold towards the treasury, every servant of the state grasped at private affluence by means of illicit exactions, or an overt accessibility to bribes.[190]

As a consequence of his unexpected advent to power, Justinian was scarcely affected by the prejudices peculiar to monarchs born in the purple; and hence, disregarding conventionalism, he usually chose the most direct and practical methods for carrying out his designs. He was willing on occasion to usurp the functions of any of his subordinates,[191] and, in the selection of his instruments, he promoted the most likely candidates to the highest posts without reference to their rank, seniority, or antecedents. Among his earliest coadjutors in the capital were two remarkable men, Tribonian, a lawyer, and John of Cappadocia, a financier, whose activities became the leading feature in the politics of the age. The former was a native of Pamphylia,[192] and began his career as an advocate in the praefectural courts of Constantinople.[193] As Master of the Agentes-in-rebus[194] he attracted the notice of the Emperor, who soon claimed him as his personal assessor, and raised him to the quaestorship.[195] Tribonian was a man of great learning in the law and an assiduous reader, whence he was led to form a library of legal books such as existed in no other custody at the time.[196] He was gifted with a remarkable suavity of manner, and was so artful a flatterer[197] that, although he had not become a convert to Christianity, and was even said to be an atheist,[198] Justinian deferred to him as his favourite minister. Tribonian, however, was beset by the vice of avarice, and, though his forensic erudition was invaluable to the Imperial council in relation to the subject, he resorted to it for no other purpose than to make a traffic of justice. His legal decisions were always at auction, and, under ordinary circumstances, his interpretation of the law was fitted ingeniously to meet the requirements of the highest bidder.[199]

The approach to the Imperial tribunal had to be sown with gold before a suitor could advance within sight of an adjudication on his appeal. To pass the sentries who were on guard at the portals necessitated the disbursement of a tangible sum.[200] Then the attention of the referendary, or attorney who put the case into shape prior to its being submitted to the court, could not be captured until he had been largely bribed.[201] Lastly, the Quaestor had to be satisfied pecuniarily in a ratio adequate to his assessment of the value to the claimant of a favourable decision. Justinian was initiated early in the artifices by which legal chicanery could be made to subserve to undue gains, and became a prime sharer in the profits to be drawn from this mercenary jactitation of the law.[202] Hence the venality of the Emperor's Court of Appeal soon incurred obloquy in the capital, and a resentment was kindled among the citizens against his administration.

Yet the ills inflicted on the community by distorted judgements were slight and partial in comparison with the financial tyranny of John of Cappadocia after he had attained to the rank of Praetorian Praefect. Devoid of literary education, and even inefficient with the pen,[203] this man began his career in an unimportant clerical post under the government.[204] While serving in this capacity he came in contact with Justinian, whose favour he courted with an astuteness popularly supposed to be the distinguishing mark of natives of his province.[205] Having a singular aptitude for figures, and being extremely ready with expedients for solving any knotty question,[206] he won over the Emperor by laying before him many subtle schemes for amplifying the incidence of the taxes and proportionately swelling the revenue.[207] These allurements assured him a speedy promotion to the position of logothete, from which he ascended with little delay to the dignity of an Illustrious, and soon made an easy conquest of the praetorian prefecture of the East.[208] Once in the supreme seat of deputed power he had to justify his elevation to the Emperor by the signal success of his methods; but he was no less intent on making his potent office inordinately profitable to himself.[209] Every fiscal enactment which had ever passed into law was unearthed from the archives of the Empire, and applied factitiously to compass the transference of the money of the subject to the coffers of the state.[210] The discovery of a name sufficed for the creation of a claim, and demands were issued for an endless succession of duties, tolls, tallages, censuals, cess, and customs, together with arrearages and apportionments of unpaid imposts, which foreshadowed the reduction of every possessor of property to a common level of indigence.[211] All persons of means were noted by the agents of the fisc, and called on to pay according to the impression formed as to their resources. No excuses were accepted, protestations of inability were disbelieved, and, in order to meet the case of recalcitrant subjects, a torture chamber was fitted up in a secluded spot of the Praetorium. Here was collected an assortment of chains, manicles, pedicles, instruments of compression for the hands and feet, in short, every kind of apparatus which was suitable for subjecting the members to a state of painful strain or constraint. To this den defaulters were hurried, and by means of rackings and suspensions were forced to surrender whatever they possessed unless actually killed by the severity of the torture.[212] Such was John's method of procedure at his own headquarters, but for the provinces he picked out emissaries of approved brutality, and despatched them into all districts with injunctions to follow his example.[213] Under this régime the Court of Appeal of the Praetorian Prefect was, of course, as venal as that of the Emperor and Tribonian; and the formalities of a trial were almost dispensed with, so that a hasty dispatch of the cases might facilitate the gathering in of the bribes.[214]

The infamy of the Cappadocian, as an officer of state, was almost surpassed by his mode of life as a private citizen. He rapidly accumulated wealth, and at once applied himself to spend it in gastronomical and libidinous excesses of the most unbridled description.[215] His first care was to erect a palace of such vastness and magnificence that, in the hyperbolical language of an official of the period, it could only be characterized by the epithets which writers on the wonders of Egypt had applied to the architectural piles reared by Sesostris and the Pharaohs.[216] In the halls of this resplendent edifice he passed his time in a continuous round of feasting and sensuality, only terminating his orgies with the rise of Lucifer, whilst his attention to business was deferred until the appearance of Hesperus.[217] Surrounded by a throng of courtesans and debauched youths, he gorged himself with the most costly delicacies until his overloaded stomach ejected its contents over the marble pavements or the persons of those who sat next to him.[218] To glut his appetite the woods of the Euxine were depopulated of their pheasants, whilst the sea was raided for luscious fish to such an extent that, according to the conceit of the same author, the molluscs, expanding their shells to serve as wings, fled through the air instead of through the water, to escape the voracious Cappadocian.[219] As for his religion he made no account of Christianity, but pinned his faith to sorceries and incantations. If ever he appeared at church he did so in the habiliments of a pagan priest, and ministered to himself with the mummeries of some occult cabbalism instead of following the established ritual.[220]

The appointment of John to the office of Praefect of the East took place early in 530, and before the end of the following year his system resulted in producing a state of misery and destitution throughout the Empire unparalleled in any former age. The visitations of his agents became more dreaded among the rural population than an incursion of barbarians.[221] Everywhere the adaeratio of the annones[222] was carried to excess; and, while money was demanded instead of the contributions in kind as usually accepted, the agricultural produce was often left to perish on the ground.[223] Injudicious measures of retrenchment were the principal cause of this evil. By a false economy the public posts and the military train were in great part suppressed, with disastrous results. A limited supply of asses was substituted for the considerable number of horses, camels, and mules formerly maintained.[224] Hence, while the department of public intelligence and the commissariat of the army were seriously affected, the farmer also suffered from the greatly lessened demand for fodder. With the crops left unexpectedly on their hands, and the means of carriage almost abolished, the wretched rustics were driven to despair in their efforts to dispose of their stock. Thus the roads were constantly filled with straggling bands of women, heavily laden, and often with infants at the breast, obliged to cover a long route in order to effect a shipment at the sea-ports; whilst the wayside was littered with the unburied corpses of those who succumbed under the excessive toil.[225]

Such were the hardships the Byzantine population had to suffer as a consequence of the obligations imposed on them directly by the Imperial government, but these were largely aggravated by their being forced to minister to the private needs and even lustful passions of all those in power throughout the Empire. Every impost was augmented by an overplus which went into the pocket of the agent who exacted it or through whose hands it passed. The Rector of the province, generally an impecunious aspirant to place and fortune, had paid a large sum to the bureaucracy, and borrowed it at usury, for the bestowal of his codicil.[226] He proceeded, therefore, to his local seat of power accompanied by a body of creditors to whom he had guaranteed the liquidation of their claims out of the revenue of his vicegerency;[227] and he had, moreover, to make a provision from the artificially swollen taxes against the time when he hoped to retire from office into a position of leisured affluence.[228] When an army passed through a district, not only were the soldiers quartered on the inhabitants, who for the time being were expelled from their proper dwellings, but contributions for the support of the troops were levied under every sort of false pretence, even by persons who had no authority whatever to collect funds for the commissariat.[229] To all this was added the constant oppression by the local magnates of their weaker neighbours, whose lands they seized, advertising by notices fixed to the ground that they assumed them as their own property.[230] At the same time the owners were claimed as serfs, bound for the future in service to an overlord.[231] In the main these proceedings were quite arbitrary, and differed in no way from professed brigandage, but as a rule they were conducted under the shadow of legality by giving them the form of distraints or evictions in respect of money lent.[232] Attended by a numerous body of armed retainers the wealthy landowners made a descent on the coveted homestead, plundered the household, drove off the cattle, and abducted wives and daughters for the purpose of concubinage.[233] But not in all cases without resistance being offered; where such attacks were anticipated, the small farmers prepared for them, and with the aid of the local peasantry joined battle with the raiders. Thus the provinces were almost constantly the scene of a miniature warfare.[234] In the midst of these disorders the Rector held the balance of justice and inclined the scale towards whoever weighted it with the heaviest bribe. Often, in fact, he was himself one of the worst offenders; and in his capacity as collector of the revenue, or under the pretence of giving police protection, he plundered and committed outrages in every direction throughout the country.[235] And in such license he was usually afforded countenance and example by the logothetes and other officers, who were superior to him in authority, during their special visitations as agents of the fisc.[236] These harpies resorted to every imaginable device for embezzling money, and especially by presenting long bills to the decurions for public works which were never executed.[237] They also invented legal pretexts to commit outrages on the families of the debtors, and wives, virgins, and youths were regularly debauched by them.[238] In some localities even the collection of the tributes was regularly opposed and attended with bloodshed.[239] As for convicted criminals, even they could feel no assurance of having to suffer only the statutory punishments, but according to the temper of the judge they had to undergo a penalty, and hands and feet were lopped off continually, with little or no regard to law or humanity.[240]

All the evils and abuses of the Byzantine system were magnified and multiplied by the ruthless policy of John, and at Constantinople the widespread discontent began to show signs of tending to a crisis. Every class was more or less affected, and the numberless sufferers were increasingly associated in the capital. Advocates went without employment, since it was considered useless to protract trials by pleadings or the examination of witnesses.[241] The shipping interest was ruined by the imposition of onerous port dues and the establishment of custom-houses at the approaches to the city, both in the Hellespont and the Bosphorus.[242] As a result numbers of those engaged in maritime commerce burnt their vessels, and a shortage of foodstuffs distressed the inhabitants.[243] At all times the briskness of trade was sapped for the mercantile class by the privileges granted to the religious orders and their abuse of the concessions. Not only were there eleven hundred shops free of excise belonging to St. Sophia,[244] but all other churches, as well as monasteries, hospitals, poorhouses, and orphan homes, claimed a like immunity. Nor did the list end even here, for the three grades of nobles arrogated to themselves an equal right to trade with remitted taxes.[245]

The Blue Faction were favoured by Justinian and his consort, who accorded them such indulgence that they considered themselves to be above the law. Their affiliation to the throne caused them to enjoy great credit among the ordinary citizens, wherefore they decided to distinguish themselves objectively by adopting a peculiar uniform. Thus they discarded the use of the razor and wore full Persian beards, allowed their back hair to grow long, in imitation of the Huns, and donned richly embroidered tunics furnished with sleeves which bellied out in an extraordinary fashion from the wrist up to the shoulder. Secure of impunity for any excesses they might commit, the more vicious members carried weapons day and night, ostensibly for the purpose merely of chastising their sworn enemies, the Green Faction, but in reality with the intention of robbing and murdering peaceful inhabitants. Under the pretence of carrying on their historical feud, they assassinated in the streets, despoiled private houses of their valuables, and even outraged wives and daughters. Similar enormities on the part of the Greens were severely dealt with by the magistrates, but they were terrorized by the dominant Faction into ignoring their misdeeds. Those who defied the malefactors by acting impartially paid for their integrity with their lives. The better spirits of the Blue Deme bewailed the lawlessness of their fellows, and the Emperor made fitful efforts to repress the disorders, but Theodora resisted any attempt to restrict the licence of her favourite clan.[246] Numbers of the Greens were driven from their homes by the ceaseless persecution, and, finding themselves everywhere in discredit, avenged their wrongs on society in general by taking to the road and practising brigandage by the most merciless methods.[247] In a lesser degree every city of the Empire presented a scene of confusion similar to that which reigned at Constantinople.[248]

Into a capital thus agitated by numberless grievances of its own, a varied crowd of fugitives from the provinces began to pour, in the autumn of 531. Their proper abodes had been made uninhabitable for them, and they fled in terror from the local tyrants to seek redress at the hands of the autocrator. Peasant farmers with their wives, priests, monks, and nuns, often accompanied by their lawyers, thronged the city as they pressed onwards to lay their appeals at the foot of the throne.[249] They clamoured incessantly in all the public places, so that to meet the emergency it became necessary to revive a number of forgotten magistracies, praetors and quaesitors,[250] who might hear complaints and appease the rising tumult. On all sides the populace reviled the bureaucracy who had brought about such an impass, and, as the old year went out, a general feeling prevailed that the existing order of things must come to an end.[251]

With the opening of January, 532, the season of the Consular Festivals was at hand, but both in this year and the previous one ardour for parade had been deadened by political distraction, and the appointment of a consul was passed over. Preparations were made, however, for a display in the Circus, and it was hoped that something of the deepening gloom might be lifted by the diversion thus afforded. But the result disappointed expectation, and the assembly of the people in the vast area provided an opportunity for the actively smouldering discontent to work its way to the surface and to burst into flame. The possibility of the throne becoming vacant had been brooding in the minds of the Factions, and, as usual, when confronted with that contingency, there was a tendency to a temporary accord between the Blues and Greens.[252] On a Sunday, the eleventh day of the month, Justinian, with the customary pomp, took his seat in the Cathisma.[253] A protest against the administration had been previously concerted, and the Greens, as being frankly discountenanced by the Emperor, were most forward to evince their hostility. At first a respectful tone was adopted, and the Autocrator was acclaimed with the usual formulas, "Many years to Justinian Augustus! May you be victorious!" The Greens then raised a cry that the people were oppressed, and prayed to be delivered from their sufferings. A heated dialogue between the throne and the demagogy then ensued, which ended in bitter recriminations passing from side to side. On such occasions the Emperor made use of an officer called a Mandator as his mouthpiece, whilst the Demarch acted as spokesman for the Faction concerned. At the outset one Calopodius was named as the object of complaint, doubtless the executive officer of the Praefect of the City, whose brutality in preserving order had awakened the resentment of the masses: D. "I am oppressed; I can bear it no longer, God knows." M. "Who is in fault? we know of no one." D. "Thrice August, I fear to name him." M. "Of whom do you complain? We have no idea of the person meant." D. "Master of us all, it is Calopodius the centurion." M. "Calopodius is not in authority." D. "May the lot of Judas be his! God will pay him out." M. "You have come here to insult the magistrates, not to look on at the games." D. "I say, may he suffer like Judas!" M. "Hold your tongue, Jews, Manichaeans, Samaritans!" D. "Oh, you call us Jews and Samaritans! Holy Virgin, be with us!" M. "I do, and bid you all to get baptized in the name of the One."[254] D. "Oh, bring the water; let us be baptized as you say." M. "I will have your heads cut off." D. "Oh, we must not speak the truth for fear of losing our heads. Take no offence, Emperor, I have some right to liberty." M. "Rascals, will you risk your lives?" D. "Would that Sabbatius had never been born! Then a son of his would not have been a murderer. Who killed the wood-seller at the Zeugma?" M. "You killed him." D. "Who killed the son of Epagathus?" M. "You killed him also, and you say the Blues did it." So far the Blues had maintained a sullen silence, but at this suggestion some of them were roused to taunt the Greens. Presently the latter all trooped out of the Circus, exclaiming, "Goodbye to justice! We will turn Jews; better to be a Pagan than a Blue." Thus Justinian and the Blues were left alone at the performance.[255]

In the evening of the same day Justinian determined on an effort to quell the sedition by making an example of those who had been most insolent to him in the Hippodrome. Seven persons, drawn from both factions, were seized by Eudaemon, the Praefect of the city, and led off to execution. Four were decapitated and the remaining three were hung; but in the case of two of the latter the rope broke, and the culprits fell to the ground. At the sight of this moving accident the bystanders were greatly agitated, and an outcry for pardon arose, whereupon some monks interposed and carried off the men by boat to the monastery of St. Laurence. One of those rescued was a Blue, the other a Green; and the circumstance caused the union between the factions to be more firmly cemented. On hearing of the rescue, Eudaemon placed a guard of soldiers outside the sanctuary, but did not dare to violate it.[256] On the following Tuesday the spectacle was resumed in the Circus, and, during the whole time of the exhibition both factions clamoured conjointly to the Emperor for the release of the prisoners, intermingling cries of "Long years to the wretched Blues and Greens," with their prayers. But Justinian remained sternly irresponsive, and the assembly had to disperse without receiving any indication of Imperial sympathy.[257] The popular rancour now rose to fever-heat, and the leaders of the Demes counselled extreme measures. In order that all who were on the side of the insurgents might have a means of recognizing each other, the device of a countersign was adopted, and the word Nika, that is, "victory," was chosen for the purpose, whence the movement was known ever afterwards as the "Nika revolt."[258] First a rush was made to the Praetorium of the City Praefect to demand the removal of the guard from the monastery, but no answer could be obtained. At this moment a slight concession might have appeased the rage of the multitude, so that the ferment would have been modified for the time. Obduracy, however, inflamed their passions beyond measure, the Praetorium was set on fire, and an irruption was then made towards the Augusteum with the object of assailing Justinian himself. A number of soldiers encountered on the way were butchered by the mob,[259] firebrands were hurled into the Chalke, and soon the external chambers of the palace were all in flames. The conflagration spread rapidly, the principal buildings in the square became quickly involved, and during the evening the Baths of Zeuxippus, the Senate House, and the great church of St. Sophia were reduced to a heap of smoking ruins.[260]

On the following day the rioters came out early in greatly increased numbers, and all those who had previously been disaffected to the government now ranged themselves openly against it. At the same time people of every class who wished to stand aloof during the rebellion fled from the city and hid themselves in places of safety on the opposite continent.[261] The Demarchs convened a meeting in the Forum of Constantine,[262] where they were joined by a considerable body of nobles and senators. The ministers were denounced, the deposition of Justinian was agreed upon, and it was resolved that Probus, one of the nephews of Anastasius, should be proclaimed as Emperor. With the multitude surging after them the leaders then proceeded to the house of that general, which was situated near the harbour of Julian. His presence and acceptance of the dignity was demanded, whilst, as he was known to possess a private arsenal, cries arose from the throng that they should be supplied with arms. Probus, however, was found to have disappeared, and, on ascertaining the fact, the mob set fire to the premises and retired.[263] Simultaneously heralds were announcing, on the part of Justinian, that the games in the Hippodrome were to be continued; but the populace responded by injecting fire into the arena, and refused to enter, exclaiming that he merely wished to catch them in a trap.[264] The leaders were now at a loss what step to take, for Hypatius and Pompeius, the two other nephews of Anastasius, were not only believed to be loyal to the Emperor, but were actually on duty as members of his staff within the palace. The general concourse, however, did not hesitate as to how to act, but yielded to their lust for revenge, and rushed off shouting, "Down with Tribonian, John of Cappadocia, and Eudaemon," determined to seek them out and lynch them as soon as they could be found.[265]

The Emperor now became anxious as detailed information came in as to the havoc already wrought in the capital, and he began to realize the extent of the defection. The wild uproar, harping incessantly on a special note, reached his ears, and he sent an officer to ascertain what the people were vociferating.[266] As soon as an answer was brought to him he decided to yield, hoping that conciliation would induce an immediate calm. The three obnoxious officials were displaced from their posts, and others, popular for their well-known integrity, were appointed in their stead. Effective measures were taken to announce the change publicly, but the concession failed to appease the tumult.[267] The provisional government of the insurgents felt that they had gone too far to retreat with safety, whilst their secret emissaries had already been at work endeavouring to entice Hypatius from the palace with the promise of his elevation to the purple.

During the next three days the devastation of the metropolis continued, and Constantinople assumed the aspect of a city taken by the enemy.[268] The only hope for the government now lay in its being able to suppress the revolt by force, but the Byzantine soldiery showed signs of disaffection, and it was recognized that even the Excubitors, of whom Justinian himself had held the command, could not be trusted.[269] Within the precincts of the Palace there was, however, a considerable body of barbarian mercenaries, as well as several of the Imperial generals who remained loyal and were ready to act against the rioters.[270] On the Thursday Belisarius issued forth with a body of Goths and Herules, and a fierce battle ensued around the Milium and in the adjoining streets.[271] The rebels defended themselves furiously, and, while the men fought below, women, posted in the upper chambers of the houses, hurled stones and tiles through the windows on the heads of their military antagonists. Numbers of these Amazons were among the slain.[272] At a certain hour of the day an attempt was made to restore order by priestly intervention, and a train of ecclesiastics, presenting the sacred books and holy images to the eyes of the combatants, descended into the scene of the conflict. The Byzantines might have been influenced, but the barbarians took no account of their presence, and the strife raged without abatement.[273] The civil war in the streets was continued for the two succeeding days,[274] ineffectively on the part of the authorities, while the confidence of the insurgents increased. The work of incendiarism went on, and now on both sides, for the soldiers tried to dislodge those who assailed them from the domiciles and public edifices by firing the buildings.[275] The wind often assisted the conflagration by sweeping the flames along.[276] Among the architectural monuments consumed during this period of the sedition were the Octagon,[277] the church of St. Irene, [278] the Hospital of Sampson with its infirm inmates,[279] the House of Lamps with its rich wares,[280] the Palace of Lausus with its irreplaceable art treasures,[281] and the porticos ranging between the Augusteum and the Pavement.[282]

In the meantime Justinian and the Imperial party within the Palace began to despair of their fortunes. The Excubitors and the other corps of domestics did not break into open mutiny, but their faces appeared lowering and indifferent, and it was evident that their sympathies were veering steadily in the direction of the rebels. That the insurgents were intent on replacing him with Hypatius was well known to the Emperor, and he became apprehensive lest at any moment his own guards might consummate their wishes by the seizure of his person and the proclamation of his rival.[283] He summoned the nephews of Anastasius to his presence, and urged them to leave the palace in order to safeguard their own households. They protested that it was their duty to stand by their sovereign in such a crisis, but he suspected their loyalty and insisted peremptorily on their departure. They obeyed with reluctance, and quitted the Court on the Saturday evening.[284] At the same time Justinian, anticipating that a successful assault might be made on the Palace, heaped all his most precious possessions into a swift galley, which lay in the Imperial harbour, and held himself in readiness for a precipitate flight to the Thracian town of Heraclea.[285]

Early on Sunday morning the Emperor resolved on making a final effort to win back the allegiance of his subjects. By assuming an attitude of contrition, and proving his sincerity by a promise of universal amnesty, he might yet be able to save his throne. Holding the Gospels in his hand, he proceeded at dawn to the Hippodrome, and established himself in the regal seat. A proclamation was made, and the people, now confident in their own strength, came flocking in on all sides, attracted by the belief that something unusual was about to take place. Justinian advanced, and protending the sacred volume, adjured the assemblage: "By the might of this hallowed Word I condone everything that has happened. None of you shall be arrested; only be pacified. My sins have brought about this impass; no blame attaches to you. On me the guilt for not answering your appeal for mercy." Murmurs of approval were heard for a moment, but a general hooting quickly drowned them, and loud cries of "Ass, thou liest!" were repeated by a myriad of voices.[286] Finally the tumult resolved itself into persistent calls for Hypatius. The Emperor persevered no further, but retired in silence to the Palace.

The news spread rapidly that the disinherited princes were at liberty, and the revolutionaries immediately thronged to their residence. Hypatius was demanded, and in despite of the outcry of his wife, who foreboded disaster, was forced along to the Forum of Constantine. There the usual forms of a coronation were enacted; he was hoisted on a shield and crowned with a golden necklace. Exulting in this achievement, a wave of excitement swept over the crowd, and all clamoured that the new Emperor should be borne in triumph to the Circus and installed in the Cathisma, whilst a determined effort was being made for the capture of the Palace. A senator named Origen protested warmly against this move as being too rash and hasty. "Have patience for the present," said he, "let us fortify ourselves in another palace, of which there are several in the city. Whilst his resources are being frittered away, Justinian will be tired out and fly of his own accord; or at some opportune moment we shall be able to take him without risk." His prudent counsel was, however, cried down; Hypatius was hurried along reluctantly, and compelled to usurp the Imperial seat, whilst the people thronged the arena and acclaimed him with reckless enthusiasm.[287] But he contemplated his sudden rise with dismay, and felt profoundly insecure in his new position. Taking his opportunity, he privately despatched a Candidate to assure Justinian that he was involuntarily acting a part, and was only too anxious to repudiate the unwelcome honours thrust upon him. In a short time his messenger returned with a joyous air; as he strove to enter the Palace, the chief physician had accosted him: "Where are you going," said he, "there is no one within, the Emperor has taken his departure." "Master," exclaimed the Candidate, "God wishes you to reign; Justinian has fled and the Palace is empty." At this announcement Hypatius resigned himself with some confidence to his fortune.[288] The populace went on applauding him tumultuously, whilst they were loud in their vituperation of Justinian and Theodora.[289]

The report that Justinian had virtually abdicated by abandoning his post was false, but the author of it may have supposed that he was speaking an imminent truth, as that event seemed on the point of being realized. Hesitating to commit himself to the irrevocable step, the Emperor paused to throw a last glance at the situation. He initiated a debate, but his advisers were despondent, and their opinions half-hearted and divergent. Of all those concerned Theodora felt most deeply the ignominy of flight, and, unable to restrain her indignation at their halting resolution, burst into a passionate remonstrance. She deprecated the assurance of a woman in presuming to address a body of men, and pleaded the exigences of the moment as her excuse. "Even at this adverse crisis," said she, "I think the alternative of flight is out of the question. Though he may be permitted to live in safety as an exile, the master of an empire should not survive the loss of his dignity. As for myself, may I never live to see the day when this purple mantle shall fall from me, and people no longer salute me as Empress. I hold no sentiment so dear as that old saying, 'Royalty is a fine thing to be buried in.'"[290]

By this bold speech Theodora infused her own intrepid spirit into the Imperial party. No longer wavering in their counsels, they resolved to assume the offensive, and thought only of how to strike with most effect at the usurper and the rebels who supported him. The barbarian mercenaries congregated in the Palace still amounted to three or four thousand men, and several reliable officers were at hand to lead them. These troops were divided into two brigades and placed under the command of Belisarius and Mundus the Goth respectively.[291] At the same time Narses, the Chief Eunuch, opened negotiations with the Blue Faction, and by extensive bribery succeeded in detaching a large number of them from their associates. Some dissension in the Hippodrome resulted, voices were raised in favour of Justinian, and Hypatius was no longer the object of unalloyed enthusiasm.[292] And now Belisarius, supported by his colleague, determined to make a direct onslaught on the Cathisma, which was crowded with the improvised guards of the newly constituted emperor.[293] He essayed to pass by the Cochlea, but found the way blocked by the Excubitors, who had adopted a neutral attitude, and decided to be deaf to all orders as long as the fortunes of the rival parties hung in the balance. Seeing that any effort in that direction would be futile, he abandoned the scheme and, somewhat disheartened, returned to consult Justinian. A different plan of attack was then concerted with Mundus. Both generals made their way out with some difficulty over the ruins of the Chalke, and drew up their men in a compact body in the Augusteum. Marching around from thence they inspected all the inlets of the Circus, but saw that those on the north were held in force by the armed adherents of Hypatius. On arriving at the sphendone, however, Belisarius noticed that the way lay open into the arena, where the unarmed mob were collected in a dense throng. With a sudden impulse he called his men to arms and rushed on the crowd with vengeful determination. A remorseless massacre followed, and was continued as long as the barbarians found any living being within their reach. As for Mundus, the moment he perceived how Belisarius had become engaged, he swept rapidly round the southern circuit of the Hippodrome and made a similar irruption through the opposite entry, that called the Gate of the Dead. The doomed people, thus caught between the two brigades of infuriated troops, were cut off from all chance of escape; and, when at length the slaughter ceased, it was computed that at least thirty-five thousand citizens had been slain in this military execution.[294]

At the sight of the massacre consternation seized on the immediate partisans of Hypatius, and their confident union was completely dissolved. All felt that the cause of the upstart emperor was lost, and thought only of falling off from his perilous proximity in order to ensure their individual safety. A corresponding sense of assurance quickly spread among the inmates of the Palace as soon as they became aware that the rebels massed in the Hippodrome were undergoing extermination. Justus and Boraides, two young relatives of Justinian,[295] seeing their opportunity, placed themselves at the head of a small body of faithful guards and made an impetuous rush to the Cathisma. No one daring to withstand them, they ascended at once, seized on Hypatius and his brother, and hurried them before the Emperor. They were submitted to a brief examination, during which Hypatius maintained a dignified attitude, and asserted his consistent loyalty, asseverating that they had merely acted under popular compulsion. On the other hand, Pompeius, a man less experienced in affairs, broke down utterly, and abjectly bewailed his misfortune. Justinian remanded them in custody, and consulted with his ministers as to their fate.[296] He suggested clemency, but the Empress intervened with her usual vehemence, and insisted on the infliction of the death penalty.[297] She bore down all opposition, and next morning they were handed over to the soldiery, who executed them and threw their bodies into the sea. Their property was confiscated to the state, as well as that of the other men of rank who had associated themselves to the Nika, but after a short time a partial restitution was made to their families.[298] That Justinian, though often severe, and even reckless in punishments, was not vindictive, is shown by an incident which occurred in connection with Probus, who just escaped being involved in the insurrection. A few years previously he was accused of treasonable utterances against the Emperor, whereupon a court of inquiry was held, at which the charge was brought home to him. The finding of the judges was delivered in writing to Justinian, but he, tearing up the document in the presence of the delinquent, said, "Probus, I forgive you; pray to God that he may do likewise."[299] Some years after the riot, John, a son of the unfortunate Pompeius, was in favour at Court, and married into the Imperial family.[300]

By the fortuitous suppression of the Nika revolt the despotism of Justinian was established on a foundation unassailable by any popular commotion. A few thousands of barbarian mercenaries maintained in the heart of New Rome had sufficed to coerce the democracy in the capital, and to stifle the indignation of the whole Empire against a shameless and rapacious tyranny. Justinian's first care was to proclaim his victory over the usurpers and the rabble who supported them throughout the provinces,[301] and then to restore the bureaucracy to its former efficiency for fiscal exaction.[302] The ministers nominated under compulsion of the vulgar outcry were soon displaced, and Tribonian and John returned to their seats at the heads of their respective departments, where they reverted to their old methods of statecraft and extortion.[303] The infamous Cappadocian resumed his sway over the Emperor and the Empire, and during the next decade almost all public Acts were headed with the superscription, "To John, the Most Glorious Praefect of the Sacred Praetorium of the Orient, ex-Consul and Patrician."[304]

Theodora, on her side, to express her sense of assured supremacy, made a triumphal progress through the country to the hot-baths of Pythia,[305] in Bithynia. A crowd of patricians, illustrious officials, eunuchs, and officers of rank attended her, constituting a retinue amounting in all to over four thousand persons. At every halting place she made munificent donations to the public institutions of the vicinity; and churches, monasteries, and hospitals benefited largely by her ostentatious liberality.[306]

We should certainly do Justinian less than justice if we asserted that his regard for the welfare of his subjects was limited to a desire that no one should plunder them but himself. That statement, however, might not be an unfair definition of his objective attitude towards them. Three years after the rebellion he began the issue of a series of enactments intended to work a complete administrative reform throughout the Empire. He had in the meantime waged a successful war in the West, and for the moment the treasury was redundant with the rich spoils. His scheme of reform was doubtless influenced by this fact, and he legislated in the temporary belief that for the future the national burdens might be lightened.[307] His measures were directed to three principal requirements, viz., (1) to fortify the authority of his local vicegerents; (2) to elevate their ethical motives by abolishing venality; and (3) to invigorate the collection of the taxes.

1. In order to achieve the first of these objects he began to reverse, in great part, the provincial policy elaborated by Diocletian and Constantine.[308] In a number of provinces he dispensed with the dual control, and united both civil and military power in the hands of the Rector.[309] Enhanced rank naturally followed this increase of authority, and thus the former Clarissimus rose to be a Spectabilis, whilst, at the same time, he was granted the emoluments of both offices.[310] A loftier official title was also necessitated by these changes, and hence a simple Praeses or Judex became a Moderator, Praetor, or Count, and in three instances was elevated to the almost regal dignity of a Proconsul.[311] In some of these cases, however, the promotion of the Rector was due chiefly to the extension of his authority over a wider area. Some of the smaller provinces lying adjacent were annexed to each other, and received a single governor, especially those which had been previously known as "First" and "Second" of the same name.[312] In general the power of those Rectors who did not take over the military command was augmented by granting them an official guard sufficient to render them incontestably superior to such of the local magnates as had previously terrorized the district by the multitude of their armed retainers.[313] As the ordinary judge, the Rector's position was also improved by opening his tribunal to lawsuits in which greater pecuniary interests were at stake.[314] Some control was also conferred on them over agents of the fiscs, whom they were enjoined to restrain from collection of funds for public works, unless they presented an imperial commission for doing so.[315] Justinian further directed his vicegerents as to the official pageantry by which they were properly distinguished, and urged them not to be lax in the matter of public display. They were reminded of their right to wear a purple robe of a certain form and hue, to sit in a silver chariot and to be preceded in their progresses by an officer bearing the axe and fasces.[316] The Emperor himself was, indeed, unusually prone to ostentation, and when instituting these reforms he showed no little pride by enacting that all the newly created dignities should be denoted by the epithet "Justinian."[317]

Another sweeping change made by Justinian at this time increased the importance of the individual Rectors by limiting their subservience to intermediary authorities, and placing them in more direct dependence on the bureaucracy of the capital. He abolished the division of the Empire into dioceses, and the six groups of provinces which had hitherto obeyed an administrator in chief ceased to be regarded officially as being thus connected. The title of Vicar became obsolete, and the four vicegerents who had borne it were resolved into simple Rectors of their residential provinces.[318] The magnificent Count of the East was detached from his great array of provinces, and restricted to the governorship of Syria,[319] still an enviable charge, since he reckoned Antioch as his capital; and the Augustal Praefect resigned the control of all Egypt for that of Alexandria and the adjacent country.[320]

2. The foregoing reconstruction was neither difficult to conceive nor inapplicable in practice, but when Justinian determined to quell the greed for illicit gains among his subordinates he struck at the most vital part of Byzantine officialism. With no halting judgement he began by directing the lethal weapon against his own breast, and decreed that in future no candidate should be permitted to secure an appointment as Rector by purchasing the interest of any of his great officers of state or their dependents.[321] Henceforward the Rector, having won his commission simply by proving his fitness for office, would proceed to his government unhampered by debt, and no longer compelled to despoil the tributaries in order to liquidate his heavy obligations. With paternal benignancy he would mete out strict justice, and administer his charge with "pure hands,"[322] eschewing sordid gains, and content with the stipend allotted to him by the state.[323] He would show no mercy to homicides, adulterers, or abductors of virgins; would sternly suppress brigandage, and never quail before the most potent and wealthy delinquent in his province.[324] Titles affixed to a neighbour's land, when found, were forthwith to be detracted and broken over the head of the offender, whether agent or principal.[325] Before his departure from the capital he was obliged to attest his allegiance to the Emperor and Empress by a solemn oath, swearing at the same time that he had not obtained his post by bribery, and that his conduct should be in every way exemplary towards the subjects committed to his care.[326] On arriving at his seat of government he was enjoined to convene the clergy and laity, and read to them the Imperial ordinances under which he had accepted office, a copy of the same to be posted also in every district under his jurisdiction.[327]

Justinian did not, however, confine himself to exhortation and verbal obligations to ensure the observance of his precepts, but he also had recourse to material precautions against the Rector's deviating from the path of rectitude. In the first place local supervision of his actions was provided for in three different quarters. Primarily the bishops were authorized to receive complaints against the Rector, and even to test their validity by sitting on the bench with him to hear causes in which his ruling had been impugned.[328] A mandate was also addressed to the Defenders of the Cities, whose office had fallen into disrepute, reviving and extending their powers and animating their energies.[329] The Rector was deprived of the right of dismissing them from their posts, and they were directed to report him at headquarters if he presumed to interfere with their functions.[330] Lastly the Emperor gave full force to the old injunction of Zeno that a retiring governor should remain for fifty days within his province, exposing himself to the accusations of all who should deem themselves aggrieved by his improbity.[331]

Nor did Justinian dispense with a system of rewards and punishments to encourage the upright, or to deter the faithless Rector. Having won golden opinions from his official superiors, the former should expect to retain his position for a longer period and subsequently to be promoted to a higher charge with authority over a greater population.[332] On the other hand, confiscation and exile, stripes and torture, were to be inflicted on the transgressor as the penalty of his misdeeds.[333]

Still further to safeguard the welfare of his subjects the Emperor enacted comprehensive measures to facilitate the administration of justice. In the provinces the legal status of the Defenders of the Cities was raised, and the inhabitants were directed to bring all minor cases before them instead of crowding to the Rector's court from the outlying districts.[334] At the same time courts of appeal were multiplied by conferring on the Spectabiles intermediate jurisdiction between the Rectors of lesser rank, the Clarissimi, and the illustrious functionaries of the capital.[335] Thus the overwhelming influx of the provincials into the Imperial city, to lay their grievances before the supreme courts, was materially diminished. Similarly at Constantinople the activity of the puisne judges was much increased, and they were required to sit in the Royal Basilica "morning, noon, and evening" to determine lawsuits of lesser import.[336] A permanent Quaesitor was also appointed to deal specially with the throng of immigrants, to ascertain the propriety of their appeals and direct them to the proper courts; or, should it appear that they had come on a futile errand, to relegate them back to their provinces with letters commending them to the notice of the Rector.[337]

With a view to the repression of crime and the moral depuration of the capital Justinian also took some active measures, in which Theodora co-operated with him as far as the feminine element was concerned. Under the title of "Praetor of the People" the office of Praefect of the Watch, formerly an important post in the Roman municipality, was restored, and a posse of soldiers and firemen was placed at his disposition.[338] To this praetor, who might be a noble of illustrious rank, was assigned the duty of organizing a patrol of the streets day and night for the protection of life and property. At this time the traffic in prostitution had grown to enormous dimensions, and the country was overrun by panders who bought young maidens from poor parents for a small sum in order to devote them to public debauchery. Girls in their tenth year and upwards were enticed by promises of fine clothes and ornaments to become inmates of proprietary brothels, and were even paraded about the streets as decoys for the dissolute. The newly appointed praetors now received a mandate from the Emperor to suppress these vile habitations and to drive those who maintained them from the city.[339] The Empress herself had been for some time engaged in the work of reclaiming these unfortunates, whom she redeemed from their owners by paying a stipulated price in each case.[340] A disused palace on the Bosphorus was converted into a Magdalen asylum, which she called "the Penitentiary"; and here a considerable number of former courtesans were immured in the hope of their moral reformation. Some scandal, however, was occasioned by the conduct of several of those rescued, who, driven to despair by the monotony of their new life, preferred to throw themselves from the windows at night into the water to enduring the unaccustomed restraint; but we may assume the comparative rarity of this untoward result.[341] Justinian also pronounced very sternly against paederasty, and even made a public example of certain bishops who were convicted of that offence.[342] He further forbade the making of eunuchs within the Empire, threatening confiscation, exile, and retaliative castration against those who infringed his prohibition.[343] Consistently he ordained that eunuchs of servile condition should for the reason alone of their defect become free men.[344]

3. In the midst of his most earnest efforts at reform Justinian never failed to impress on all concerned that with himself and his Imperial partner the rights of the crown and the maintenance of the revenue were of paramount importance.[345] At the head of their codicils the Rectors were admonished to make it their study above all things to expedite the fiscal exactions; whilst the tributaries were warned that no matter how vehemently their governor had enforced payment of the imposts, no cause of action was granted to them against him.[346] On the contrary, they were to conduct him with all deference from the province at the end of his term, and, should they presume to molest him during his fifty days of postponed departure on that account, they would be subjected to penalties of exceptional severity.[347] The Emperor deplores the diminution of Roman territory which has resulted from the inactivity of former rulers, and calls attention to his own energy and prowess by which the repair of their errors has been begun.[348] Military operations, however, are expensive, and hostile incursions can only be repelled if people respond freely to the demands of the tax collectors.[349] Justinian asserts that he disdains to imitate the example of his predecessors who sold the offices of the state, thus depriving themselves of the right to expostulate with unjust administrators who embezzled the national funds.[350] But a new era has now dawned, government with pure hands is assured for the future, and liability will be limited strictly to the legitimate imposts. Therefore let all alike sing hymns of praise to God and the Saviour for the passing of these new laws.[351]

Justinian, notwithstanding his professions, was mainly influenced by the hope of pecuniary gain when he essayed to reverse the administrative system of his predecessors. He calculated that the rooted abuses which they had tolerated for centuries were a cause that only one third, possibly, indeed, not more than a fourth, of the taxes collected found their way to the Imperial treasury.[352] Hence his ministry of the interior soon resolved itself into a mere organization for the invention of legislation which would conduce to the raising of money.[353] The devices which suggested themselves from time to time as financial expedients were multifarious and of the most unrelated character. Some of these have been already alluded to,[354] but a few others which were productive of more signal changes require particular notice. Roman Armenia was joined to the less important region of that name on the west of the Euphrates and reduced to the level of an ordinary province, with a Proconsul for its principal Rector.[355] Consequently taxes were imposed, and the inhabitants found themselves racked for payments which they had previously escaped.[356] In the time of Justin, Justinian added four troops to the Scholars of the Palace, and received from each new member a premium for his position in the force. Soon after his accession he disbanded them as a measure of retrenchment, but retained the purchase money. Subsequently he made a practice of ordering these carpet soldiers for active service, with the understanding that they would buy themselves off the dreaded prospect by surrendering a quota of their pay.[357] Every opportunity was taken to consolidate trade monopolies to the advantage of the government;[358] and this was especially the case with respect to silk. Justinian pretended to be indignant when a rise of price was operated by the deficient supply, and decreed that the maximum retail cost should be eight solidi (£4 10s.) the pound.[359] Confiscation was the penalty for contravening this regulation, but the traffic was still carried on in secret. Here Theodora found an opening for the exercise of her talents, and through private channels succeeded in discovering the merchants who were implicated. Thereupon a fine of 100 lb. of gold (£4,000) was imposed on each of them.[360] Soon the factories at Tyre and Berytus, the headquarters of the commerce, began to languish, the operatives were thrown out of work, and ultimately the Praetorian Praefect possessed himself of the whole manufacture. Exorbitant prices were then fixed which yielded an immense profit to the Imperial exchequer, but numberless persons were ruined during the process of transfer.[361] Like results obtained in relation to the corn supply of Egypt through manœuvres at Alexandria, by which the Praefect of the City was constituted the sole purveyor of that commodity. A scarceness and dearness of bread was the natural consequence of this innovation.[362] Another fiscal move, far-reaching in its effects, was the diversion of the separate revenues of the municipalities[363] into the hands of the Emperor. The local curiae being no longer permitted to deal with them, public works were neglected and the inhabitants ceased to be entertained by the popular spectacles.[364] A blight seemed to fall on the Empire, says the contemporary historian, and people had no resource but the discussion of present calamities and the expression of their fears for the future.[365] Related to this policy was the formal abolition of the Consulship with its attendant train of festivities which enlivened the opening of each year. During the space of a decade the office had only been filled in a desultory manner, but the last Consul was actually seen in 541, and soon afterwards that link between the Byzantines and the glories of the old Republic was severed by a definite Act.[366] To tamper with the currency has always been an inviting procedure with needy princes, and Justinian did not resist having recourse to this artifice. By giving a fictitious value to copper he managed to rake in the gold coinage at about five-sixths of its actual worth.[367] Such are the chief methods by which in this reign the revenue was inflated beyond its normal proportions, and, to complete the list, reference may be made to ill-advised economies effected by the suppression of pay and pensions usually granted by a state and to forfeitures of private property constantly decreed on slight pretexts.[368]

If Justinian's studied scheme of reform could have been applied successfully in practice, it is possible that fiscal oppression might have been banished from the Empire. But the Autocrator at Constantinople was scarcely more than a suzerain in the provinces, and his fiat was but slightly regarded by those who occupied any position of power in districts remote from the capital.[369] Doubtless his technical enactments as to the rank and territorial jurisdiction of diverse Rectors were received as indisputable, but at the same time they marked the limits of his power to work a change in methods of local rule which had been practised for centuries. Once invested with authority, the provincial governor departed to tread in the footsteps of his predecessors, while the same futile prohibitions continued to issue periodically from the mouth of the Emperor, secluded in his distant Court.[370] Before the lapse of a twelvemonth Justinian resigned himself to ignoring his own self-denying ordinance, and a candidate for office was noted only in relation to his ability to pay at the moment, and the magnitude of his promises for the future.[371] His repeated denunciations of the venality of his vicegerents represented no more than his formal recognition of the lamentations which continually reached his tribunal, or his exasperation at a prospective loss of revenue from the flagrant excesses of some reckless extortioner.[372] He was also extremely parsimonious in remitting arrears of taxation, even in districts which had suffered from hostile invasions or other calamities. Thus numbers of the small landowners were allowed to languish under the apprehension that at any moment their whole property might be seized in order to wipe out their liabilities.[373]

A river of wealth flowed through the Byzantine exchequer at the bidding of the Emperor. The sources were exhausted, and the reservoir was discharged under the influence of the same will. The people, who formed the well-head, suffered untold miseries in contributing under compulsion to the supply, but they possessed no control over the ultimate distribution of the stream. These activities have now been sufficiently considered on the one side; it remains for us to turn our attention to the other. During the twenty years which followed the Nika rebellion the reign of Justinian was distinguished by a series of magnificent achievements both at home and abroad; great works were accomplished within the Empire; beyond its borders aggressive wars were waged and a moiety of the Western Empire was restored to the dominion of the East. But the background of this brilliant scene was always of the same gloomy tint, such as has been described in the present chapter, and these splendid successes were obtained at the cost, but not to the advantage of the Greek nation in general. While Justinian went on adding magniloquent epithets to his name indicative of conquest and triumph over alien races in the West,[374] his immediate subjects continued to be afflicted by the harshness and rapacity of the administration, as well as by the tyranny of the local aristocracy. Concomitantly the barbarians in Europe and the Persians in Asia sapped the vitals of the Empire and impoverished or enslaved its inhabitants. Victory and acquisition abroad by the aid of mercenary troops were nullified by defeat and exhaustion at home; and the extended Empire which Justinian handed down to his successors was inferior in political vigour and sociological prosperity to the smaller dominions which he had inherited from Anastasius.

[185] Nov. viii, 8, 10; xvii, 1; xxx, 11, etc.

[186] See p. 198 et seq.

[187] See p. 162.

[188] Jn. Lydus (De Magistr., iii, 51) confirms the statement of Procopius (Anecd., 19) that the immense savings of Anastasius were dissipated during the reign of Justin. He supplies a reason, viz., that the Emperor and his nephew were averse to bearing hardly on their subjects. There seems, however to have been a sinking fund kept up under the name of Anastasius, which continued to exist as a small reserve; Jn. Ephes. (Smith, Oxford, 1860), p. 358.

[189] "He spared no expense, still less did he spare the property of his subjects"; Zonaras, xiv, 6.

[190] "Justinian was insatiable in his lust after gold, and coveted his subjects' property to such an extent that he sold them all in a body to his officials and tax-collectors"; Evagrius, iv, 30; cf. Procopius, Anecd., 21 et passim.

[191] Procopius, Anecd., 14.

[192] Procopius, De Bel. Pers., i, 24.

[193] Suidas, sb. nom. Two separate notices, apparently of the same Tribonian, but there is some discrepancy.

[194] De Nov. Cod. Fac. (528), and De Confirm. (529).

[195] Cod., I, xvii, 1; Procopius, loc. cit.