Ammianus: RES GESTAE A FINE CORNELI TACITI

Sapor, dum Amidenses ad deditionem hortatur, a praesidiariis sagittis et tragulis petitur. Idem dum temptat Grumbates rex, filius eius interficitur.

Sapor, while he urges the Amidenses to surrender, is assailed by the garrison-men with arrows and javelins. The same man, while he attacks King Grumbates, has his son killed.

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1 Hoc miserae nostrorum captivitatis eventu rex laetus successusque operiens similes, egressus exinde paulatimque incedens Amidam die tertio venit.

1 By this event of our miserable captivity the king, glad and concealing his successes, departed thence and, proceeding slowly, arrived at Amid on the third day.

2 Cumque primum aurora fulgeret, universa quae videri poterant armis stellantibus coruscabant ac ferreus equitatus campos opplevit et colles.

2 And when at first the dawn flashed, all things that could be seen glittered with gleaming arms, and the iron cavalry filled the fields and the hills.

3 Insidens autem equo ante alios celsior ipse praeibat agminibus cunctis, aureum capitis arietini figmentum interstinctum lapillis pro diademate gestans, multiplici vertice dignitatum et gentium diversarum comitatu sublimis. Satisque eum constabat conloquio tenus defensores moenium temptaturum, aliorsum Antonini consilio festinantem.

3 Sitting moreover upon a horse, taller than the others, he himself led forward all the columns, bearing a golden ram‑head ornament of the head, sprinkled with little stones as a diadem, exalted by a manifold summit of dignities and by the retinue of diverse peoples. And it was sufficiently clear to him, from conference, that the defenders of the walls would make an attempt, and he, hastening elsewhere by Antoninus’s counsel.

4 verum caeleste numen ut Romanae rei totius aerumnas intra unius regionis concluderet ambitum, adegerat in immensum se extollentem credentemque, quod viso statim obsessi omnes metu exanimati supplices venirent in preces,

4 but the heavenly numen, so that it might enclose the hardships of the whole Roman state within the compass of a single region, had driven him, exalting himself into the immense and believing that, at the sight, all the besieged, struck senseless with fear, would immediately come as suppliants into prayers,

5 Portis obequitabat comitante cohorte regali, qui dum se prope confidentius inserit, ut etiam vultus eius possit aperte cognosci, sagittis missilibusque ceteris ob decora petitus insignia corruisset, ni pulvere iaculantium adimente conspectum parte indumenti tragulae ictu discissa editurus postea strages innumeras evasisset.

5 At the gates he passed, a royal cohort accompanying him; who, while he thrust himself forward rather confidently, so that even his face might be openly known, would have fallen, struck down by arrows, missiles, and the rest because of his splendid insignia, had he not, by the dust of those hurling weapons obscuring the view and by a lance‑blow that tore away part of his garment, escaped and afterward gone on to bring countless slaughters.

6 Hinc quasi in sacrilegos violati saeviens templi temeratumque tot regum et gentium dominum praedicans eruendae urbis apparatu nisibus magnis instabat, et orantibus potissimis ducibus, ne profusus in iram a gloriosis descisceret coeptis, leni summatum petitione placatus postridie quoque super deditione moneri decreverat defensores.

6 From there, raging as if against sacrilegious violators of the temple and proclaiming the rashly harmed lord of so many kings and peoples, he pressed on with great apparatus and exertions for the city’s liberation; and with the foremost leaders beseeching that, prodigal in anger, he might not withdraw from his glorious undertakings, placated by a mild petition offered, he had decreed that the defenders should be warned concerning the surrender even on the next day.

7 Ideoque cum prima lux advenisset, rex Chionitarum Grumbates fidenter suam operam navaturus tendebat ad moenia cum manu promptissima stipatorum, quem ubi venientem iam telo forte contiguum contemplator peritissimus advertisset, contorta ballista filium eius primae pubis adulescentem lateri paterno haerentem thorace cum pectore perforato perfodit proceritate et decore corporis aequalibus antestantem.

7 And therefore when first light had arrived, the king of the Chionitae, Grumbates, confidently bent to ply his own exertion, was making for the walls with a hand most ready of attendants; and when a sentinel, most skilled, had noticed him coming now perhaps near with a weapon, a twisted bolt of a ballista pierced his son, a youth in the first bloom of puberty, clinging to his father's side, perforating thorax and breast, he who, equal to his father in stature and comeliness, stood before him.

8 Cuius occasu in fugam dilapsi populares eius omnes moxque, ne raperetur, ratione iusta regressi numerosas gentes ad arma clamoribus dissonis concitarunt, quarum concursu ritu grandinis hinc inde convolantibus telis atrox committitur pugna.

8 With his fall, his whole populace scattered into flight, and soon, lest it be plundered, having returned with just cause they roused numerous peoples to arms with discordant shouts; at the gathering of which, in the manner of a hailstorm with missiles converging here and there, a fierce battle was joined.

9 Et post interneciva certamina ad usque finem diei protenta cum iam noctis esset initium, per acervos caesorum et scaturigines sanguinis aegre defensum caligine tenebrarum extrahitur corpus, ut apud Troiam quondam super comite Thessali ducis exanimi acies Marte acerrimo conflixerunt.

9 And after internecine combats stretched out to the very end of the day, when now it was the beginning of night, the body is with difficulty drawn forth from the heaps of the slain and the gushings of blood, defended by the gloom of darkness, as once at Troy upon the companion of the Thessalian leader the lifeless ranks clashed under most fierce Mars.

10 Quo funere regia maesta et optimatibus universis cum parente subita clade perculsis indicto iustitio iuvenis nobilitate commendabilis et dilectus ritu nationis propriae lugebatur. Itaque ut armari solebat elatus in amplo quodam suggestu locatur et celso, circaque eum lectuli decem sternuntur figmenta vehentes hominum mortuorum, ita curate pollincta, ut imagines essent corporibus similes iam sepultis, ac per dierum spatium septem, viri quidem omnes per contubernia et manipulos epulis indulgebant saltando et cantando tristia quaedam genera naeniarum regium iuvenem lamentantes.

10 With that funeral the royal house, sorrowful, and all the nobles, struck together with the father by the sudden calamity, with a public holiday proclaimed, bewailed the youth—commendable for his nobility and beloved according to the rite of his own nation. And so, as he was wont to be armed, he was set up raised on a certain wide and lofty platform, and around him ten little couches were laid out bearing effigies of dead men, so carefully dressed that the images were like bodies already buried; and for the space of seven days all the men, by camps and maniples, indulged at banquets, dancing and singing certain sad sorts of lamentations, mourning the royal youth.

11 Feminae vero miserabili planctu in primaevo flore succisam spem gentis solitis fletibus conclamabant, ut lacrimare cultrices Veneris saepe spectantur in sollemnibus Adonidis sacris, quod simulacrum aliquod esse frugum adultarum religiones mysticae docent.

11 The women, however, with pitiable lamentation bewailed, with their accustomed tears, the hope of the people cut down in its first bloom, crying aloud just as the cultresses of Venus are often seen to weep in the solemn rites of Adonis, because the mystical religions teach that some image represents the fruits when fully grown.

Amida circumsidetur, et intra biduum bis oppugnatur a Persis.

Amida is besieged, and within two days is attacked twice by the Persians.

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1 Post incensum corpus ossaque in argenteam urnam conlecta, quae ad gentem humo mandanda portari statuerat pater, agitata summa consiliorum placuerat busto urbis subversae expiare perempti iuvenis manes; nec enim Grumbates inulta unici pignoris umbra ire ultra patiebatur.

1 After the burning, the body and bones being gathered into a silver urn, which the father had resolved should be carried to the people to be committed to the earth, it was agreed, after the highest deliberations had been weighed, to expiate by burial the manes of the slain youth for the overthrow of the city; for Grumbates would not suffer the unavenged shade of his only pledge to go further.

2 Biduoque ad otium dato ac missis abunde qui pacis modo patentes agros pingues cultosque vastarent, quinquiens ordine multiplicato scutorum cingitur civitas ac tertiae principio lucis corusci globi turmarum impleverunt cuncta quae prospectus humanus potuit undique contueri, et sorte loca divisa clementi gradu incedentes ordines occuparunt.

2 And with two days’ leisure granted, and those who, under the pretense of peace, were ravaging the open, rich, and cultivated fields being abundantly sent away, the city is girded fivefold with ranks of shields, and at the first breaking of the third light the glittering spheres of the troop-formation filled all that human sight could behold on every side, and, the places having been divided by lot, they, advancing with an orderly step, took up the ranks.

3 Persae omnes murorum ambitus obsidebant. Pars, quae orientem spectabat, Chionitis evenit qua funestus nobis ceciderat adulescens . . . . meridiano lateri sunt destinati, tractum servabant septentrionis Albani, occidentali portae oppositi sunt Segestani, acerrimi omnium bellatores, cum quibus elata in arduum specie elephantorum agmina rugosis horrenda corporibus leniter incedebant armatis onusta, ultra omnem diritatem taetri spectaculi formidanda, ut rettulimus saepe.

3 All the Persae were besieging the circuit of the walls. The part which faced the east fell to the Chionites, by whom the ill‑fated youth had died . . . . to the southern flank were assigned others; the tract was held by the Albani of the north; opposite the western gate were the Segestani, the fiercest warriors of all, with whom the columns of elephantorum, raised into the air in spectacle, with wrinkled, dreadful bodies, gently marched forward, loaded with the armed; a sight to be feared beyond all savageness of a foul spectacle, as we have often related.

4 Cernentes populos tam indimensos ad orbis Romani incendium diu quaesitos in nostrum conversos exitium, salutis rata desperatione gloriosos vitae exitus deinde curabamus, iamque omnibus nobis optatos.

4 Seeing peoples so immense, long sought as a flame against the Roman orb and turned upon us for destruction, with hope of safety having been judged vain we then concerned ourselves with glorious exits of life, now already desired by every one of us.

5 A sole itaque orto usque diei ultimum acies immobiles stabant ut fixae nullo variato vestigio nec sonitu vel equorum audito hinnitu, eademque figura digressi qua venerant, cibo recreati et somno, cum superesset exiguum noctis, aeneatorum clangore ductante urbem ut mox casuram terribili corona cinxerunt.

5 Therefore from the rising of the sun until the last hour of the day the battle-line stood immobile, as if fixed with no altered trace, nor by any sound nor by the neighing of horses heard, and having broken camp in the same formation in which they had come, refreshed by food and sleep, when a little of the night remained, with the clangor of trumpeters leading they encompassed the city with a terrible ring about to fall.

6 vixque ubi Grumbates hastam infectam sanguine ritu patrio nostrique more coniecerat fetialis, armis exercitus concrepans involat muros confestimque lacrimabilis belli turbo crudescit, rapido turmarum processu in procinctum alacritate omni tendentium, et contra acri intentaque occursatione nostrorum.

6 and scarcely had the fetial — as was the paternal rite and our custom — hurled the spear stained with blood which Grumbates had thrust, when the army, clashing in arms, flew at the walls, and immediately the lamentable whirlwind of war grew fierce, by the swift advance of the squadrons into the battle-line with all the alacrity of those making ready, and against them with the keen, intent onset of our men.

7 Proinde diffractis capitibus multos hostium scorpionum iactu moles saxeae colliserunt, alii traiecti sagittis, pars confixi tragulis humum corporibus obstruebant, vulnerati alii socios fuga praecipiti repetebant.

7 Therefore, with heads shattered, the rocky masses, by the casting of scorpions, struck down many of the enemy; others, pierced by arrows; some, transfixed by javelins, strewed the ground with their bodies; the wounded others sought their comrades in headlong flight.

8 Nec minores in civitate luctus aut mortes, sagittarum creberrima nube auras spissa multitudine obumbrante tormentorumque machinis, quae direpta Singara possederant Persae, vulnera inferentibus plura.

8 Nor were the lamentations or deaths in the city any less, a very dense cloud of arrows, overshadowing the airs with a thick multitude, and the siege-machines—which the Persians, having plundered Singara, had possessed—inflicting many additional wounds.

9 Namque viribus collectis propugnatores omissa vicissim certamina repetentes in maximo defendendi ardore saucii perniciose cadebant, aut laniati volvendo stantes proxime subvertebant, aut certe spicula membris infixa viventes adhuc vellendi peritos quaeritabant.

9 For with their strength gathered the defenders, abandoning their contests in turn and resuming them, in the greatest ardor of defence, wounded, fell fatally; or, mangled and rolling, they overthrew those standing nearest; or indeed, with spears fixed in their limbs, still living, they sought men skilled in pulling them forth.

10 Ita strages stragibus inplicatas et ad extremum usque diei productas ne vespertinae quidem hebetaverunt tenebrae ea re, quod obstinatione utrimque magna decernebatur.

10 Thus slaughter entangled with slaughter, and prolonged even to the last hour of the day, was not blunted even by the evening darkness on account of that thing, because great obstinacy on both sides was being adjudged.

11 Agitatis itaque sub onere armorum vigiliis resultabant altrinsecus exortis clamoribus colles nostris virtutes Constanti Caesaris extollentibus ut domini rerum et mundi, Persis Saporem saansaan appellantibus et pirosen, quod rex regibus imperans et bellorum victor interpretatur.

11 Thus, shaken beneath the weight of arms and by watches, our hills on both sides resounded with shouts rising up, our forces extolling the virtues of Constans Caesar as lord of affairs and of the world, the Persians calling him Saporem saansaan and pirosen, which is interpreted as “king of kings” and “victor in wars.”

12 Ac priusquam lux occiperet, signo per lituos dato ad fervorem similium proeliorum excitae undique inaestimabiles copiae in modum alitum ferebantur, unde longe ac late prospici poterat campis et convallibus nihil praeter arma micantia ferarum gentium demonstrantibus.

12 And before light began, with the signal given through the lituus, roused to the fervor of like engagements innumerable forces were borne together from all sides in the manner of winged creatures, whence far and wide one could behold over the fields and valleys nothing but the gleaming arms of savage nations.

13 Moxque clamore sublato cunctis temere prorumpentibus telorum vis ingens volabat e muris, utque opinari dabatur, nulla frustra mittebantur inter hominum cadentia densitatem. Tot enim nos circumstantibus malis non obtinendae causa salutis, ut dixi, sed fortiter moriendi studio flagrabamus, et a diei principio ad usque lucem obscuram neutrubi proelio inclinato ferocius quam consultius pugnabatur. Exurgebant enim ruentium ferientiumque clamores ut prae alacritate consistere sine vulnere vix quisquam possit.

13 And soon, with a shout raised and all rushing forth rashly, a vast force of missiles flew from the walls, and, as was supposed, none were sent in vain into the density of men falling. For amid so many evils surrounding us we burned not with the aim of obtaining safety, as I said, but with a zeal for dying bravely; and from the day’s beginning to the dim light at evening, the battle, inclined to neither side, was fought more ferociously than prudently. For the cries of those rushing and striking rose up, so that from eagerness scarcely anyone can stand without a wound.

14 tandemque nox finem caedibus fecit et satias aerumnarum indutias partibus dederat longiores. Ubi enim quiescendi nobis tempus est datum, exiguas quae supererant vires continuus cum insomnia labor absumpsit sanguine et pallente exspirantium facie perterrente, quibus ne suprema quidem humandi solacia tribui sinebant angustiae spatiorum, intra civitatis ambitum non nimium amplae legionibus septem et promiscua advenarum civiumque sexus utriusque plebe et militibus aliis paucis ad usque numerum milium centum viginti cunctis inclusis.

14 and at last night made an end to the slaughter and granted longer respites to the parts of our sufferings. For when time was given us for resting, the little strength that remained was consumed by continual labor with sleeplessness, by blood and by the pale, terrifying faces of those expiring, to whom even the last consolations of burial were not allowed without the narrowness of space; within the city's circuit, not very ample, seven legions and, mingled together, strangers and citizens of both sexes, the populace and a few other soldiers up to the total number of one thousand one hundred twenty were all enclosed.

15 Medebatur ergo suis quisque vulneribus pro possibilitate vel curantium copia, cum quidam graviter saucii cruore exhausto spiritus reluctantes efflarent, alii confossi mucronibus prostratique humi animis in ventum solutis proiciebantur extincti, aliquorum foratis undique membris mederi periti vetabant ne offensionibus cassis animae vexarentur adflictae, non nulli vellendis sagittis in ancipiti curatione graviora morte supplicia perferebant.

15 Therefore each tended his own wounds as far as possible, or as the supply of those caring allowed; when some, gravely wounded, with blood spent, their spirits resisting, breathed their last, others, pierced through with points and prostrate on the ground, were cast away, their souls released into the wind, dead; the healers skilled in mending forbade treating some whose limbs were pierced everywhere, lest the afflicted, bereft of protection, be harried by the assaults of their wounds; and not a few, by the pulling out of arrows in a two‑edged cure, endured more grievous death‑torments.

Ursicinus noctu obsidentibus supervenire frustra conatur, Sabiniano magistro militum repugnante.

Ursicinus attempts by night, in vain, to come to the besieged, Sabinianus the magister militum opposing.

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1 Dum apud Amidam hac partium destinatione pugnatur, Ursicinus maerens, quod ex alterius pendebat arbitrio, auctoritatis tunc in regendo milite potioris Sabinianum etiam tum sepulcris haerentem crebro monebat, ut compositis velitaribus cunctis per imos pedes montium occultis itineribus properarent, quo levium armorum auxilio, siqua fors iuvisset, stationibus interceptis nocturnas hostium adgrederentur excubias, quae ingenti circumitu vallaverant muros, aut lacessitionibus crebris occuparent obsidioni fortiter adhaerentes.

1 While the fighting at Amida continued with this deployment of forces, Ursicinus, grieving because matters hung on another's decision, repeatedly warned Sabinianus—then the man of superior authority in commanding the soldiery, and even then clinging to the sepulchres—to hasten, once all the light troops (velites) were arranged, by the hidden paths along the lowest feet of the mountains, so that, with the aid of light arms, if fortune should favor them, having cut off the pickets they might fall upon the enemy’s nocturnal watches, which had encircled and fortified the walls with a great circumvallation, or by frequent provocations seize them, steadfastly adhering to the siege.

2 Quibus Sabinianus renitebatur ut noxiis, palam quidem litteras imperiales praetendens, intacto ubique milite quicquid geri potuisset impleri debere aperte iubentes, clam vero corde altissimo retinens saepe in comitatu sibi mandatum ut amplam omnem adipiscendae laudis decessori suo ardenti studio gloriae circumcideret etiam ex re publica processuram.

2 Sabinianus opposed these things as noxious, openly indeed alleging imperial letters and openly ordering that, with the soldiery everywhere intact, whatever could be done should be carried out; but secretly, keeping in the very deepest part of his heart and often commanding his retinue, he resolved by an ardent zeal for glory to truncate all ample praise to be won by his successor, even that which would proceed from the res publica.

3 Adeo vel cum exitio provinciarum festinabatur, ne bellicosus homo memorabilis alicuius facinoris auctor nuntiaretur aut socius. Ideoque his attonitus malis exploratores ad nos saepe mittendo, licet ob custodias artas nullus facile oppidum poterat introire, et utilia agitando complura nihil proficiens visebatur ut leo magnitudine corporis et torvitate terribilis inclusos intra retia catulos periculo ereptum ire non audens unguibus ademptis et dentibus.

3 He was so hastening even to the provinces’ destruction that no warlike man might be reported as the author or ally of any memorable deed. And so, struck dumb by these evils and often sending exploratores to us—although because of the close custodies no one could easily enter the town—and pursuing many utilia he seemed to profit nothing, like a lion, terrible in magnitude of body and in torvitate, with his claws and teeth taken away, not daring to go to rescue the pups enclosed within nets from danger.

Pestilentia Amidae orta, intra decimum diem exiguo imbre sedatur. Et de causis acgeneribus pestilentiae.

A pestilence having arisen at Amida was quelled within ten days by a slight shower. And concerning the causes and the kinds of the pestilence.

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1 Sed in civitate ubi sparsorum per vias cadaverum multitudo humandi officia superaret, pestilentia tot malis accessit verminantium corporum lue tabifica, vaporatis aestibus varioque plebis languore nutrita, quae genera morborum unde oriri solent breviter explicabo.

1 But in the city, where the multitude of corpses scattered through the streets outstripped the offices of burial, pestilence came in addition to so many evils — a tabific pestilence of bodies gnawed by vermin, fed by stifling heats and by the various languor of the populace; which kinds of maladies are wont to arise from these causes I will briefly explain.

2 Nimietatem frigoris aut caloris vel umoris vel siccitatis pestilentias gignere philosophi et illustres medici tradiderunt. Unde accolentes loca palustria vel humecta tusses et oculares casus et similia perferunt, contra confines caloribus tepore febrium arescunt. Sed quanto ignis materies ceteris est efficacior, tanto ad perimendum celerior siccitas.

2 Philosophers and illustrious physicians have taught that excess of cold or heat or moisture or dryness generates pestilences. Hence those inhabiting marshy or damp places endure coughs and ocular afflictions and the like; toward the borders warmed by heats they parch with fevers. But insofar as the matter of fire is more potent than the others, so much the swifter is destruction by dryness.

3 Hinc cum decennali bello Graecia desudaret ne peregrinus poenas dissociati regalis matrimonii lucraretur, huius modi grassante pernicie telis Apollinis periere conplures, qui sol aestimatur.

3 Thus, when Greece sweat through a ten‑year war so that a foreigner would not enjoy the spoils of a separated royal marriage, with such a pestilence raging many perished by the shafts of Apollo, who is regarded as the sun.

4 Atque ut Thucydides exponit, clades illa, quae in Peloponnesiaci belli principiis Athenienses acerbo genere morbi vexavit, ab usque ferventi Aethiopiae plaga paulatim proserpens Atticam occupavit.

4 And as Thucydides explains, that calamity which in the beginnings of the Peloponnesian War vexed the Athenians with a bitter kind of disease, from the ever‑fervent scourge of Ethiopia, creeping forward little by little, occupied Attica.

5 Aliis placet auras, ut solent, aquasque vitiatas faetore cadaverum vel similibus salubritatis violare maximam partem, vel certe aeris permutationem subitam aegritudines parere leviores.

5 Some prefer, as they are wont, to violate the airs and waters—tainted by the fetor of corpses or like things—for the most part the salubrity, or at least hold that a sudden permutation of the air begets milder illnesses.

6 Adfirmant etiam aliqui terrarum halitu densiore crassatum aera emittendis corporis spiraminibus resistentem necare non nullos, qua causa animalia praeter homines cetera iugiter prona Homero auctore et experimentis deinceps multis, cum talis incesserit labes, ante novimus interire.

6 Some likewise affirm that the air, thickened by the breath of the lands, kills not a few by resisting the body's spiramina for emitting air; for this reason, with Homer as authority and many subsequent experiments, we know that all animals other than humans lie continually prone and, when such a pestilence has advanced, perish sooner.

7 Et prima species luis pandemus adpellatur, quae efficit in aridioribus locis agentes caloribus crebris interpellari, secunda epidemus, quae tempore ingruens acies hebetat luminum et concitat periculosos humores, tertia loemodes, quae itidem temporaria est sed volucri velocitate letabilis.

7 And the first species is called lues pandemus, which brings about that in drier places those acting amid frequent heats are interrupted; the second, epidemus, which, pressing in at the season, dulls the sharpness of the eyes and agitates dangerous humors; the third, loemodes, which likewise is temporary but deadly with a bird-like swiftness.

8 Hac exitiali peste quassati, paucis intemperanti aestu consumptis, quos multitudo angebat, tandem nocte, quae diem consecuta est decimum, exiguis imbribus disiecto concreto spiritu et crassato sospitas retenta est corporum firma.

8 Shaken by this ruinous pestilence, with a few consumed by immoderate heat, whom the multitude was distressing, at last on the night which followed the tenth day, with slight rains having fallen that scattered the condensed vapour and the thickened air, the firm preservation of the bodies was retained.

Amida hinc circum muros, inde per subterraneos fornices duce transfuga oppugnatur.

Amida is attacked on this side about the walls, and on that side through subterranean vaults, with a deserter as leader.

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1 Verum inter haec inquies Persa vimineis civitatem pluteis circumdabat et erigi aggeres coepti turresque fabricabantur frontibus ferratis excelsae, quarum fastigiis ballistae locatae sunt singulae, ut a propugnaculis propellerent defensores, levia tamen per funditores et sagittarios proelia ne puncto quidem brevi cessabant.

1 But meanwhile a restless Persian was surrounding the city with wicker mantlets and they began to raise ramparts and to build lofty towers with iron-clad fronts, on the summits of which single ballistae were placed, so that from the bulwarks they might hurl back the defenders; nevertheless light engagements by slingers and archers did not cease for even a brief instant.

2 Erant nobiscum duae legiones Magnentiacae recens e Galliis ductae, ut praediximus, virorum fortium et pernicium ad planarios conflictus aptorum, ad eas vero belli artes, quibus stringebamur, non modo inhabiles sed contra nimii turbatores, qui cum neque in machinis neque in operum constructione iuvarent aliquem, stolidius erumpentes dimicantesque fidentissime minuto numero revertebant, tantum proficientes quantum in publico, ut aiunt, incendio aqua unius hominis manu adgesta.

2 There were with us two Magnentiac legions newly drawn from the Gauls, as we foretold, men of brave spirit and swiftness apt for plain-field conflicts, but with regard to those arts of war by which we were pressed they were not only unfit but rather excessive disturbers; for since they aided no one either in engines nor in the construction of works, bursting forth and fighting more foolishly they returned most confidently in small number, accomplishing only as much as, as they say, a public fire is checked by the water brought by the hand of one man.

3 Postremo obseratis portis praecaventibusque tribunis egredi nequeuntes frendebant ut bestiae. Verum secutis diebus efficacia eorum eminuit ut docebimus.

3 At last, the gates being fastened and the tribunes preventing egress, unable to go out, they gnashed like beasts. But, with the following days having passed, their efficacy diminished, as we shall show.

4 In summoto loco partis meridianae murorum, quae despectat fluvium Tigrim, turris fuit in sublimitatem exurgens, sub qua hiabant rupes abscisae ut despici sine vertigine horrenda non posset, unde cavatis fornicibus subterraneis per radices montis scalae ad usque civitatis ducebant planitiem, quo ex amnis alveo haurirentur aquae furtim, ut in omnibus per eas regiones munimentis, quae contingunt flumina, vidimus, fabre politae.

4 In a set-back spot of the southward part of the walls, which looks down on the river Tigris, there stood a tower soaring into the height, beneath which cliffs were cut away and gaped so that one could not peer down without a dreadful vertigo; from thence, with subterranean fornicules hollowed out, stairs led through the roots of the mountain all the way to the city’s plain, to which waters were secretly drawn up from the river’s channel, as we saw, skilfully fashioned in all the bulwarks that touch the rivers.

5 Per has tenebras ob dirupta neglectas oppidano transfuga quodam ductante, qui ad diversam partem desciverat, septuaginta sagittarii Persae ex agmine regio arte fiduciaque praestantes, silentio summoti loci defensi, subito singuli noctis medio ad contignationem turris tertiam ascenderunt, ibique occultati mane sago punicei coloris elato, quod erat subeundae indicium pugnae, cum ex omni parte circumveniri urbem suis copiis inundantibus advertissent, exinanitis proiectisque ante pedes pharetris clamoris ululabilis incendio tela summa peritia dispergebant. Moxque acies omnes densae petebant multo infestius quam antea civitatem.

5 Through these darknesses, because the town gates had been broken and neglected, a certain townsman-deserter leading them, who had withdrawn to a different quarter, and seventy Persian archers, outstanding from the royal host in craft and confidence, having been removed into the secrecy of a secluded spot and defended, suddenly each in the middle of the night climbed to the third tier of the tower’s framing, and there hidden, with a purple cloth lifted in the morning— which was the signal of the fight about to be undertaken — when they noticed the city being encompassed on every side by their forces pouring in, having emptied and cast down their quivers at their feet, with a howling shout and fire they dispersed missiles with the utmost skill. Soon the dense ranks all pressed upon the city far more fiercely than before.

6 Inter incertos nos et ancipites quibus occurri deberet, instantibus supra an multitudini transcensu scalarum iam propugnacula ipsa prensanti, dividitur opera, et translatae leviores quinque ballistae contra turrim locantur, quae ocius lignea tela fundentes non numquam binos forabant, e quibus pars graviter vulnerati ruebant, alii machinarum metu stridentium praecipites acti laniatis corporibus interibant.

6 Between us—uncertain and ambivalent as to whom we ought to meet—and those pressing from above, the multitude having mounted the ladders and already seized the very bulwarks, the labour is divided, and five lighter ballistae, having been moved, are set against the tower; which, swiftly casting wooden missiles, would not infrequently pierce two at once, of whom some, grievously wounded, fell, others, driven headlong by fear of the machines’ shrieking, perished with their bodies torn to pieces.

7 Quibus hac celeritate confectis relatisque ad loca sueta tormentis, paulo securius moenia omnium concursu defendebantur.

7 When these things had been accomplished with that speed and the engines had been borne back to their accustomed places, the walls were defended a little more securely by the gathering of all.

8 Et quoniam augebat curas militum scelestum facinus perfugae, quasi decurrentes in planum ita iaculantes diversa missilia lacertis fortibus incumbebant, ut vergente in meridiem die gentes vulnerum acri repulsa disiectae, lacrimantes complurium mortes, tentoria repeterent metu.

8 And since the deserter’s wicked crime increased the soldiers’ cares, as if running down onto the plain they hurled diverse missiles and, leaning with strong arms, pressed forward, so that with the day turning toward midday the ranks, shattered by the sharp repulse of wounds, weeping the deaths of many, returned to their tents in fear.

Gallicanarum legionum eruptio Persis exitiabilis.

The sally of the Gallican legions, ruinous to the Persians.

[6]

1 Adspiravit auram quandam salutis fortuna innoxio die cum hostili clade emenso, cuius reliquo tempore ad quietem reficiendis corporibus dato, posterae lucis initio ex arce innumeram cernimus plebem, quae Ziata capto castello ad hosticum ducebatur, quem in locum ut capacissimum et munitum - spatio quippe decem stadiorum ambitur - promiscua confugerat multitudo.

1 Fortune breathed a certain breeze of salvation upon the innoxious day after the hostile slaughter had been expended, and, the remaining time being given to restore the bodies to repose, at the beginning of the next light we discern from the citadel an innumerable populace, which, Ziata castle having been captured, was being led off to the enemy, to that place — as most capacious and fortified, for it is encompassed by a space of ten stadia — to which a promiscuous multitude had fled.

2 Nam etiam alia munimenta isdem diebus capta sunt et incensa, unde hominum milia extracta complura servituri sequebantur, inter quos multi senecta infirmi et mulieres iam grandaevae, cum ex variis deficerent causis itineris longinquitate offensae, abiecta vivendi cupiditate suris vel suffraginibus relinquebantur exsectis.

2 For likewise other fortifications were taken and burned in those same days, whence many and several thousands of men, dragged out, followed destined for servitude, among whom many infirm with old age and women already very aged, when from diverse causes they failed on the march, offended by the long distance of the journey, having cast off the desire to live and with crutches or supports cut away, were left behind.

3 Has miserabiles turmas Galli milites contuentes rationabili quidem sed intempestivo motu conserendae cum hostibus manus copiam sibi dari poscebant, mortem tribunis vetantibus primisque ordinibus minitantes si deinceps prohiberent.

3 The Gaulish soldiers, beholding these miserable throngs, with a rational yet untimely impulse to engage the enemies, were demanding that a force of hands be granted them to join battle; and, forbidding the tribunes, they threatened the first ranks with death if they should thereafter prohibit them.

4 Utque dentatae in caveis bestiae taetro paedore acerbius efferatae evadendi spe repagulis versabilibus inliduntur, ita gladiis portas caedebant, quas supra diximus obseratas, admodum anxii, ne urbe excisa ipsi quoque sine ullo specioso facinore deleantur, aut exuta periculis nihil egisse operae pretium pro magnanimitate Gallica memorentur, licet antea saepe egressi structoresque aggerum confossis quibusdam impedire conati, paria pertulerunt.

4 And as toothed beasts in cages, expelled more bitterly by their foul breath, are dashed against the movable bars in hope of escape, so with swords they cut the gates, which we said above were fastened, being greatly anxious that, if the city were razed, they themselves might not likewise be destroyed without any specious crime, or, freed from perils, have nothing to recall as a deed worthy of Gallic magnanimity; although oft before they had sallied forth and, with some of the rampart-builders having been stabbed while trying to hinder them, had endured like things.

5 Inopes nos consilii et quid opponi deberet saevientibus ambigentes id potissimum aegre isdem adsentientibus tandem elegimus ut, quoniam ultra ferri non poterant, paulisper morati custodias adgredi permitterentur hostiles, quae non procul erant a coniectu locatae telorum, ut eis perruptis pergerent prorsus. Apparebat enim eos, si inpetrassent, strages maximas edituros.

5 Poor in counsel and wavering about what ought to be opposed to the raging men, we at last, with those very same men reluctantly assenting, chose chiefly this: that, since they could no longer be borne off, having delayed a little they be permitted to attack the enemy guard-posts, which were not far off and placed within missile range, so that, once these were broken through, they might go on unimpeded. For it was plain that, if they gained them, they would inflict very great slaughter.

6 Quae dum parantur, per varia certaminum genera defensabantur acriter muri laboribus et vigiliis et tormentis ad emittenda undique saxa telaque dispositis. Et expugnatio civitatis struebatur operibus lentis: duo tamen aggeres celsi Persarum peditum manu erecti, contra quos nostrorum quoque impensiore cura moles excitabantur altissimae, fastigio adversae celsitudinis aequatae, propugnatorum vel nimia pondera duraturae.

6 While these things were being prepared, they were fiercely defended in various kinds of conflict by the walls — with labours and vigils and with engines set everywhere for casting forth stones and missiles. And the assault of the city was being constructed by slow works: yet two mounds, lofty, raised by the infantry hand of the Persians, against which masses of our men likewise, with more eager care, were heaped up, made equal to the summit of the opposing height, to endure even the excessive weights of the defenders.

7 Inter haec Galli morarum impatientes securibus gladiisque succincti patefacta sunt egressi postica, observata nocte squalida et interluni, orantes caeleste praesidium ut propitium adesset et libens. Atque ipsum spiritum reprimentes cum prope venissent, conferti valido cursu quibusdam stationariis interfectis exteriores castrorum vigiles ut in nullo tali metu sopitos obtruncantes supervenire ipsi regiae, si prosperior iuvisset eventus, occulte meditabantur.

7 Meanwhile the Gauls, impatient of delay, girded with axes and swords, sallied forth openly at the rear, the squalid night and new moon observed, praying that the heavenly protection might be propitious and willing. And, restraining even their breath when they drew near, packed together in a vigorous rush, some posted sentries were slain, slaughtering the outer camp’s watchmen—who, in no such fear, lay sleeping—and they themselves secretly planned to fall upon the royal camp, had the event proved more favorable.

8 verum audito licet levi reptantium sonitu gemituque caesorum discusso somno, excitatis multis et ad arma pro se quoque clamitante steterunt milites vestigiis fixis progredi ultra non ausi; nec enim cautum deinde expergefactis, quos petebant insidiae, in apertum properare discrimen, cum iam undique frendentium catervae Persarum in proelia venirent accensae.

8 but with the slight rustle of those creeping heard and the groan of the slain driving away sleep, many having been roused and shouting likewise for arms, the soldiers stood with their feet fixed, not daring to advance further; for it was not safe then for those awakened—whom the ambush sought—to hurry into open peril, since now from every quarter bands of raging Persians, inflamed, were coming into the battles.

9 Contra Galli corporum robore audaciaque quoad poterant inconcussi, gladiis secantes adversos, parte suorum strata vel sagittarum undique volantium crebritate confixa, cum unum in locum totam periculi molem conversam et currentium hostium agmina advertissent, nullo terga vertente evadere festinabant et, velut repedantes sub modulis, sensim extra vallum protrusi, cum manipulos confertius invadentes sustinere non possent, tubarum perciti clangore castrensium discedebant.

9 Against them the Gauls, unshaken as far as they could by the strength of their bodies and their audacity, cutting down their foes with swords — some of their men lying prostrate or fixed by the thick flight of arrows from every side — when they had concentrated the whole mass of danger into one place and turned the ranks of the charging enemy there, hurried to escape with no one turning his back; and, as if retiring beneath the breastworks, they were gradually driven beyond the rampart, and, when they could not hold against the maniples attacking more closely, they withdrew at the clamorous sounding of the camp trumpets.

10 Et resultantibus e civitate lituis multis portae panduntur recepturae nostros si pervenire illuc usque valuissent, tormentorumque machinae stridebant sine iaculatione ulla telorum, ut stationibus praesidentes post interemptos socios, quae pone agerentur ignari, urbis appositi moenibus nudarent intuta et porta viri fortes susciperentur innoxii.

10 And with the lituuses of the city sounding back, the gates were thrown open to receive our men, if they had been able to reach even that place; and the engines of torment creaked without any casting of missiles, so that those standing at the sentries, after their comrades had been cut down, ignorant of what was being done behind them, exposed the city’s bulwarks and gate, and the brave men were received unharmed.

11 Hacque arte Galli portam prope confinia lucis introiere minuto numero, quidam perniciose, pars leviter vulnerati quadringentis ea nocte desideratis, qui non Rhesum nec cubitantes pro muris Iliacis Thracas, sed Persarum regem armatorum centum milibus circumsaeptum, ni obstitisset violentior casus, in ipsis tentoriis obtruncarant.

11 By this art the Gauls entered the gate near the confines of dawn in a small number, some perniciously; some lightly wounded, four hundred of them missing that night, who, had not a more violent chance opposed them, would—rather than Rhesus or the Thracians reclining by the Iliac walls—have slain the Persian king, surrounded by a hundred thousand armed men, right in his very tents.

12 Horum campidoctoribus ut fortium factorum antesignanis post civitatis excidium armatas statuas apud Edessam in regione celebri locari iusserat imperator, quae ad praesens servantur intactae.

12 As for these men, the emperor had ordered that, as front-signs of brave deeds, armed statues be set up at Edessa in that famed region after the city’s destruction, which to the present are preserved intact.

13 Retectis sequenti luce funeribus cum inter caesorum cadavera optimates invenirentur et satrapae clamores dissoni fortunam aliam alibi cum lacrimis indicabant, luctus ubique et indignatio regum audiebatur arbitrantium per stationes muris obiectas inrupisse Romanos: indutiisque ob haec tridui datis adsensu communi Ilos quoque spatium ad respirandum accepimus.

13 At the next light, when the funerals were uncovered and among the slain corpses noblemen were found, and the satraps with discordant cries reported elsewhere another fate with tears, mourning everywhere and the indignation of kings were heard—those judging that the Romans had burst in through the sentries placed against the walls—and, clothed for this and with three days granted by common assent, we also took Ilos for a space to breathe.

Turres et alia opera urbis muris admoventur; incenduntur a Romanis.

Towers and other works of the city are brought up to the walls; they are set aflame by the Romans.

[7]

1 Perculsae deinde novitate rei efferataeque gentes omissa omni cunctatione operibus, quoniam vis minime procedebat, decernere iam censebant et concito extremo belli ardore omnes oppetere gloriose iam properabant, aut ruina urbis animis litasse caesorum.

1 Struck then by the novelty of the matter and made efferate, the peoples, abandoning every hesitation about deeds, since force was least of all advancing, were already thinking to decide, and, with the last ardor of war stirred up, were now hastening to assault all gloriously, or to have appeased the spirits of the slain by the ruin of the city.

2 Iamque apparatu cunctorum alacritate perfecto, exsiliente lucifero operum variae species cum turribus ferratis admovebantur, quorum in verticibus celsis aptatae ballistae propugnatores agitantes humilius disiectabant.

2 And now, with the apparatus of all completed by the alacrity of the men, at the rising of the morning-star various kinds of siege-works, together with iron towers, were brought forward; on their lofty summits fitted ballistae, the defenders manipulating them, cast ruin upon those below.

3 Et albescente iam die ferrea munimenta membrorum caelum omne subtexunt densitataeque acies non inordinatim ut antea, sed tubarum sonitu leni ductante nullis procursantibus incedebant machinarum operti tegminibus cratesque vimineas praetendentes.

3 And with the day already whitening the iron bulwarks of their members overlaid the whole sky, and the densified battle-line, not disorderly as before but led by the gentle sound of trumpets, advanced with none running forward, covered by the coverings of the machines and holding forth wicker hurdles.

4 Cumque propinquantes ad coniectum venere telorum, oppositis scutis Persae pedites sagittas tormentis excussas e muris aegrius evitantes laxarunt aciem nullo paene iaculi genere in vanum cadente: etiam cataphracti hebetati et cedentes animos auxere nostrorum.

4 And when, drawing near to the cast-range of the missiles, the Persian footmen, with shields opposed, more hardly avoiding the arrows shaken from the engines on the walls, relaxed their line, almost every sort of javelin falling idle: even the cataphracti, dulled and giving ground, increased the spirits of our men.

5 tamen quia hostiles ballistae ferratis inpositae turribus in humiliora ex supernis valentes ut loco dispari ita eventu dissimili nostra multo cruore foedabant, ingruente iam vespera cum requiescerent partes, noctis spatium maius consumptum est, ut excogitari possit quid exitio ita atroci obiectaretur.

5 yet because the hostile ballistae, set upon towers clad in iron and reaching down from the heights to the lower ground, so that as they differed in place they differed also in effect, defiled our men with much gore, with evening already pressing on and the parties at rest a greater part of the night was consumed in contriving how so atrocious a destruction might be brought to bear.

6 Et tandem multa versantibus [nobis] sedit consilium, quod tutius celeritas fecit, quattuor isdem ballistis scorpiones opponi, qui dum translati e regione caute, quod artis est difficillimae, conlocantur, lux nobis advenit maestissima Persarum manipulos formidatos ostentans adiectis elephantorum agminibus, quorum stridore inmanitateque corporum nihil humanae mentes terribilius cernunt.

6 And at last, after much deliberation on our part, a plan was resolved, which speed made the safer: that four scorpions be set against the same ballistae, which, while being cautiously transported from the region — for the craft is most difficult — were emplaced; dawn came to us most mournful, displaying the dreaded divisions of the Persians with elephant host-units added, whose shriek and the monstrous bulk of their bodies no human minds behold more terrible.

7 Cumque omni ex latere armorum et operum beluarumque molibus urgeremur, per scorpionum ferreas fundas e propugnaculis subinde rotundi lapides acti dissolutis turrium coagmentis ballistas earumque tortores ita fudere praecipites, ut quidam citra vulnerum noxas, alii obtriti magnitudine ponderum interirent, elephantis vi magna propulsis, quos flammis coniectis undique circumnexos iam corporibus tactis gradientesque retrorsus retinere magistri non poterant, postque exustis operibus nulla quies certaminibus data.

7 And when we were pressed on every side by the masses of arms and works and beasts, by the iron slings of the scorpions from the ramparts round stones were repeatedly driven; with the joints of the towers unloosed the ballistae and their torsion-springs so hurled them headlong that some perished without the harm of wounds, others crushed by the magnitude of the weights died; the elephants were driven back with great force, which, with flames cast and bound on every side, their bodies already touched and, as they stepped backward, their handlers could not restrain; and after the works were burned no respite was given to the combats.

8 Rex enim ipse Persarum, qui numquam adesse certaminibus cogitur, his turbinum infortuniis percitus novo et nusquam antea cognito more proeliatoris militis ritu prosiluit in confertos, et quia conspectior tegentium multitudine procul speculantibus visebatur, petitus crebritate telorum multis stipatoribus stratis abscessit alternans regibilis acies, et ad extremum diei nec mortium truci visu nec vulnerum territus tandem tempus exiguum tribui quieti permisit.

8 For the king himself of the Persians, who is never compelled to be present at combats, struck by these whirlwinds of misfortune and in a manner new and nowhere before known, like a veteran fighter leapt into the throng; and because he seemed the more conspicuous to those watching from afar by the multitude of shield-bearers, he was assailed by the frequency of missiles, and with many attendants thrown down he withdrew, his battle-line alternating yet controllable, and at the close of day, terrified by neither the savage sight of the dead nor by the wounds, at last he allowed a scant space of time to be granted for rest.

Amida per celsos aggeres muris proximos temptatur a Persis ac invaditur. Marcellinus post captam urbem nocte evadit, ac fuga Antiochiam petit.

Amida is assaulted by the Persians along lofty embankments and the neighbouring walls and is entered. Marcellinus, after the city was captured, slips out by night and, fleeing, makes for Antioch.

[8]

1 Verum nocte proelia dirimente, somno per breve otium capto, nitescente iam luce ad potiunda sperata ira et dolore exundans, nec fas ullum prae oculis habiturus gentes in nos excitabat. Cumque crematis operibus, ut docuimus, pugna per aggeres celsos muris proximos temptaretur, ex adgestis erectis intrinsecus, quantum facere nitique poterant, nostri aequis viribus per ardua resistebant.

1 But with the battles broken off at night, sleep seized me for a brief respite; with the light already dawning, overflowing with anger and with the hoped-for gains to be seized and with grief, and holding that no pious restraint would be before his eyes, he roused the peoples against us. And when, as we have shown, with the works burned the fight was attempted along the high ramparts near the walls, from the piled-up erections raised within, as much as they could do and strive, our men resisted the toils with equal strength.

2 Et diu cruentum proelium stetit nec metu mortis quisquam ex aliqua parte a studio propugnandi removebatur, eoque producta contentione cum sors partium eventu regeretur indeclinabili, diu laborata, moles illa nostrorum velut terrae quodam tremore quassata procubuit, et tamquam itinerario aggere vel superposito ponte conplanatum spatium, quod inter murum congestamque forinsecus struem hiabat, patefecit hostibus transitum nullis obicibus inpeditum, et pars pleraque militum deiectorum oppressa vel debilitata cessabat.

2 And for a long time the bloody battle stood, nor was anyone in any part removed from the zeal of defending by fear of death; and with the contest thus prolonged, when the lot of the parties was being governed by an undeclinable outcome, that mass of our men, long labored, as if shaken by a certain earthquake of the earth, collapsed, and like a causeway made level by an embankment or a bridge laid atop it opened up the space which yawned between the wall and the heap piled up on the outside, and disclosed to the enemies a passage unimpeded by any obstacles, and the greater part of the soldiers, having been thrown down, oppressed or weakened, gave way.

3 Concursum est tamen undique ad propulsationem periculi tam abrupti, et festinandi studio aliis inretientibus alios audacia hostium ipso successu crescebat.

3 There was, however, a rushing together on every side to repel a danger so abrupt, and with the zeal to hasten, some detaining others, the audacity of the enemy increased with the very success.

4 Accitis igitur regis imperio proeliatoribus universis strictoque comminus ferro cum sanguis utrubique inmensis caedibus funderetur, oppletae sunt corporibus fossae latiorque via ideo pandebatur, et concursu copiarum ardenti iam civitate oppleta cum omnis defendendi vel fugiendi spes esset abscisa, pecorum ritu armati et inbelles sine sexus discrimine truncabantur.

4 Called by the king’s command, all the fighters were summoned, and with sword drawn for close combat, while blood on both sides flowed in vast slaughter, the ditches were filled with bodies and the road was thereby spread wider; and with the city now aflame and heaving with the throng of forces, and every hope of defending or of flight cut off, the armed were hewn down like cattle and the unwarlike slain without any distinction of sex.

5 Itaque vespera tenebrante cum adhuc licet iniqua reluctante fortuna multitudo nostrorum manu conserta distringeretur, in abstrusa quadam parte oppidi cum duobus aliis latens obscurae praesidio noctis postica, per quam nihil servabatur, evado et squalentum peritia locorum comitumque adiutus celeritate ad decimum lapidem tandem perveni.

5 And so, evening growing dark, when yet it was permitted and adverse fortune was resisting, a multitude of our men, joined hand-to-hand, was being pressed; in a certain hidden part of the town, lying with two others in the obscure rear‑guard of the night by which nothing was kept, I escaped, and, helped by the squalid knowledge of the places and by the swiftness of my comrades, at last reached the tenth milestone.

6 In qua statione lenius recreati cum ire protinus pergeremus et incedendi nimietate iam superarer ut insuetus ingenuus, offendi dirum aspectum, sed fatigato mihi lassitudine gravi levamen impendio tempestivum.

6 At that station, somewhat more gently refreshed, when we were about to set out at once and were already overborne by an excess of marching as unaccustomed, freeborn men, I was met by a dire sight; yet to me, exhausted by heavy weariness, a timely relief was afforded by an expedient.

7 Fugaci equo nudo et infreni calonum quidam sedens, ne labi possit, ex more habenam, qua ductabatur, sinistra manu artius inligavit moxque decussus vinculi nodum abrumpere nequiens per avia saltusque membratim discerptus iumentum exhaustum cursu pondere cadaveris detinebat, cuius dorsuali conprensi servitio usus in tempore cum isdem sociis ad fontes sulphureos aquarum suapte natura calentium aegre perveni.

7 On a fleet horse, naked and unbridled, a certain groom sitting — so that he might not slip — by custom bound more tightly with his left hand the rein by which he was led; and soon, the crosswise knot of the fastening being unable to break, through byways and leaps the beast, torn limb by limb, exhausted by the course, was held back by the weight of the corpse, whose dorsal grasp having been seized and used in service, I with those same companions at length with difficulty reached the sulphurous springs of waters warm by their own nature.

8 Et quia per aestum arida siti reptantes aquam diu quaeritando profundum bene vidimus puteum et neque descendendi prae altitudine nec restium aderat copia, necessitate docente postrema indumenta lintea, quibus tegebamur, in oblongos discidimus pannulos, unde explicato fune ingenti centonem, quem sub galea unus ferebat e nostris, ultimae aptavimus summitati, qui per funem coniectus aquasque hauriens ad peniculi modum facile sitim, qua hauriebamur, extinxit.

8 And because, parched by thirst and crawling through the heat, we had long sought water and at last clearly saw a deep well, and there was neither means for descending because of its height nor any abundance of ropes, necessity teaching us, we tore our last linen garments, with which we were covered, into oblong rags; whence, with a great rope having been uncoiled, we fitted to its end a centone, which one of our men used to carry beneath his galea, and we fastened it to the summit — which, thrown down by the rope and sucking up waters, like a brush, easily quenched the thirst that we were drawing.

9 Unde citi ferebamur ad flumen Euphratem, ulteriorem ripam petituri per navem, quam transfretandi causa iumenta et homines in eo tractu diuturna consuetudo locarat.

9 From there we were soon borne to the river Euphrates, intending to seek the farther bank by ship, which long custom had placed on that crossing for the sake of ferrying beasts and men.

10 Ecce autem Romanum agmen cum equestribus signis disiectum eminus cernimus, quod persequebatur multitudo Persarum, incertum unde impetu tam repentino terga viantum adgressa.

10 But behold, we see from afar a Roman column with cavalry standards scattered, which a multitude of Persians was pursuing, uncertain from where with so sudden an onset it had assailed the backs of the travelers.

11 Quo exemplo terrigenas illos non sinibus terrae emersos, sed exuberanti pernicitate credimus natos, qui quoniam inopini per varia visebantur, spartoi vocitati humo exsiluisse, vetustate ut cetera fabulosius extollente, sunt aestimati.

11 By that example we reckon those earth-born not to have been produced from the wombs of the earth but born with exuberant vigor, who, since they were seen to appear unexpectedly in various places, were called spartoi as having sprung from the soil, and are held so, antiquity making the rest more fabulously exalted.

12 Hoc conciti, cum omne iam esset in celeritate salutis praesidium, per dumeta et silvas montes petimus celsiores exindeque Melitinam minoris Armeniae oppidum venimus, ubi repertum ducem comitatumque iam profecturum Antiochiam revisimus.

12 Thus urged on, since every bulwark of safety was now in swift motion, we sought the higher mountains through thickets and woods, and thence came to Melitene, a town of Lesser Armenia, where, having found the leader and his retinue already about to set out, we returned to Antioch.

Amidae ex ducibus Rom. alii supplicio affecti, alii vincti. Craugasius Nisibenus desiderio uxoris captivae transfugit ad Persas.

At Amida, among the Roman leaders some were afflicted by execution, others bound. Craugasius of Nisibis, moved by longing for his captive wife, fled over to the Persians.

[9]

1 Interea Sapor et Persae quia tendere iam introrsus autumno praecipiti haedorumque sidere exorto prohibebantur, captivos agentes et praedas remeare cogitabant ad sua.

1 Meanwhile Sapor and the Persians, since they were barred from advancing inward by the headlong autumn and by the rising of the star of the Kids, were thinking to return to their own lands, driving off captives and booty.

2 Inter haec tamen funera direptionesque civitatis excisae Aeliano comite et tribunis, quorum efficacia diu defensa sunt moenia stragesque multiplicatae Persarum, patibulis sceleste suffixis Iacobus et Caesius numerarii apparitionis magistri equitum aliique protectores post terga vinctis manibus ducebantur, Transtigritanis, qui sollicita quaerebantur industria, nullo infimi summique discrimine ad unum omnibus contruncatis.

2 Meanwhile, amidst these funerals and the pillagings of the city destroyed under Count Aelianus and the tribunes—whose efficacy long defended the walls and multiplied the slaughter of the Persians—Jacobus and Caesius, the numerarii (paymasters) of the muster of the magistri equitum and other protectors, were wickedly affixed to gibbets and led with their hands bound behind their backs; the Transtigritans, who were sought for their industriousness with anxious diligence, were all cut down to a man, without any distinction of low or high.

3 Uxor vero Craugasii quae retinens pudorem inviolatum ut matrona nobilis colebatur, maerebat velut orbem alium sine marito visura, quamquam sperabat documentis praesentibus altiora.

3 But the wife of Craugasus, who, preserving her modesty inviolate and honored as a noble matron, mourned as if about to behold another world without her husband, although she hoped, from present indications, for better things.

4 In rem itaque consulens suam et accidentia longe ante prospiciens anxietate bifaria stringebatur viduitatem detestans et nuptias. Ideo familiarem suum perquam fidum regionumque Mesopotamiae gnarum per Izalam montem inter castella praesidiaria duo Maride et Lorne introiturum Nisibin occulte dimisit mandatis arcanisque vitae secretioris maritum exorans ut auditis, quae contigerint, veniret secum beate victurus.

4 Therefore, deliberating on the matter and foreseeing events far ahead, he was constricted by a twofold anxiety, detesting both widowhood and nuptials. For this reason he secretly dispatched his very faithful intimate, familiar with the regions of Mesopotamia, to Nisibis, intending to enter by the Izala mountain between the two garrisoned fortresses Maride and Lorne, and, with secret orders and entreaties to the husband given to a more secretive life, beseeching that, when he had heard what had taken place, he would come with him to live happily.

5 Quibus contentus expeditus viator per saltuosos tramites et frutecta Nisibin passibus citis ingressus, causatusque se domina nusquam visa et forsitan interempta data evadendi copia castris hostilibus abscessisse, et ideo ut vilis neglectus docet Craugasium gesta: moxque accepta fide quod, si tuto licuerit, sequetur coniugem libens, evasit exoptatum mulieri nuntium ferens, quae hoc cognito per Tamsaporem ducem supplicaverat regi ut, si daretur facultas, antequam Romanis excederet finibus, in potestatem suam iuberet propitius maritum adscisci.

5 Content with these things, the unencumbered traveller, by wooded paths and thickets, with quick steps entered Nisibis, and having alleged that his mistress was nowhere seen and perhaps slain, that an opportunity for escape had been given, had departed to the hostile camp, and thus, neglected as worthless, recounted Craugasium’s deeds: and soon, having obtained a pledge that, if it were permitted safely, he would gladly follow his wife, he brought the longed‑for message to the woman, who, this learned, had entreated the king through the leader Tamsapor that, if the chance were granted, before he left Roman borders, he would graciously order that her husband be admitted into his power.

6 Praeter spem itaque omnium digresso advena repentino, qui postliminio reversus statim sine ullius evanuit conscientia perculsus suspicione dux Cassianus praesidentesque ibi proceres alii minitantes ultima Craugasium incessebant, non sine eius voluntate vel venisse vel abisse hominem clamitantes.

6 Beyond the hope of all, therefore, with the stranger departed suddenly — he who, having returned by postliminy, was at once, his consciousness having vanished without any one’s knowledge, struck by suspicion — Duke Cassianus and the leading nobles presiding there, some menacing the worst, set upon Craugasium, crying out, not without his consent, that the man had either come or had gone.

7 Qui proditoris metuens crimen inpendioque sollicitus, ne transitione perfugae uxor eius superesse doceretur et tractari piissime, per simulationem matrimonium alterius splendidae virginis adfectavit. Et velut paraturus necessaria convivio nuptiali egressus ad villam octavo lapide ab urbe distantem, concito equo ad Persarum vastatorium globum, quem didicerat adventare, confugit susceptusque aventer, qui esset ex his cognitus quae loquebatur, Tamsapori post diem traditur quintum perque eum regi oblatus, opibus et necessitudine omni recuperata cum coniuge, quam paucos post menses amisit, erat secundi loci post Antoninum, ut ait poeta praeclarus "longo proximus intervallo".

7 Fearing the crime of treason and anxious about the impending penalty, lest by the desertion of the runaway his wife be found alive and be treated most piously, he feigned a marriage to another splendid virgin. And as if to prepare the necessary nuptial feast he set out to a villa eight milestones from the city, and, spurring his horse toward the ravaging host of the Persians, which he had learned was approaching, he fled; and, being received there and known from those things which he had said, he was delivered to Tamsapor on the fifth day, and, presented to the king, with all his riches and influence recovered along with his wife (whom he lost a few months later), he was of second rank after Antoninus, as the renowned poet says, "nearest by a long interval" (longo proximus intervallo).

8 Ille enim ingenio et usu rerum diuturno firmatus consiliis validis sufficiebat in cuncta quae conabatur, hic natura simplicior, nominis tamen itidem pervulgati. Et haec quidem haut diu postea contigerunt.

8 For he, strengthened by natural talent and by long practice in affairs, was sufficient by strong counsels for all the things he undertook; this one, simpler by nature, yet of a similarly widespread name. And these things indeed happened not long afterwards.

9 Rex vero licet securitatem praeferens vultu exultansque specie tenus urbis excidio videbatur, profundo tamen animi graviter aestuabat reputans in obsidionalibus malis saepe luctuosas se pertulisse iacturas multoque ampliores se ipsum populos perdidisse, quam e nostris ceperat vivos, vel certe per diversas fuderat pugnas, ut apud Nisibin aliquotiens evenit et Singaram, parique modo cum septuaginta tresque dies Amidam multitudine circumsedisset armorum, triginta milia perdidit bellatorum, quae paulo postea per Discenen tribunum et notarium numerata sunt hac discretione facilius, quod nostrorum cadavera mox caesorum fatiscunt et diffluvnt adeo, ut nullius mortui facies post quatriduum agnoscatur, interfectorum vero Persarum inarescunt in modum stipitum corpora, ut nec liquentibus membris nec sanie perfusa madescant, quod vita parcior facit et ubi nascuntur exustae caloribus terrae.

9 The king, indeed, though preferring security and with a countenance exulting in appearance, seemed to all outward show to be rejoicing in the ruin of the city; yet inwardly he boiled with a deep heat of mind, reckoning that in the besieging evils he had often borne sorrowful losses and by far greater losses had destroyed both himself and his peoples than those our men had taken alive, or at least had routed in sundry battles — as happened repeatedly at Nisibis and Singara; and in like fashion, when he had besieged Amid for seventy-three days with the multitude of arms, he lost thirty thousand warriors, which a little later were counted by the tribune Discenen and a notary with greater accuracy, because the bodies of our men soon fall and dissolve so that the face of no dead man is recognizable after four days, whereas the slain Persians dry up like a stack of wood, their bodies neither run with liquid nor soaked with gore, a sparer life making them so and because they are born burned by the heats of the earth.

Plebs Romana inopiam frumenti metuens, seditiones movet.

The Roman plebs, fearing a scarcity of grain, stirs up seditions.

[10]

1 Dum haec per varios turbines in orientis extimo festinantur, difficultatem adventantis inopiae frumentorum urbs verebatur aeterna, vique minacissimae plebis famem ultimum malorum omnium exspectantis subinde Tertullus vexabatur, ea tempestate praefectus, inrationabiliter plane, nec enim per eum steterat, quo m inus tempore congruo alimenta navibus veherentur, quas maris casus asperiores solitis ventorumque procellae reflantium delatas in proximos sinus introire portum Augusti discriminum magnitudine perterrebant.

1 While these things were driven by various whirlwinds to the far Orient, the eternal city feared the difficulty of the coming scarcity of grain, and Tertullus was continually vexed — the prefect at that season, plainly irrationally — for it had not been determined by him in what not-too-late time the provisions would be conveyed by ships, which, borne by sea mishaps harsher than usual and by storms of winds blowing back, terrified those entering the nearby bays and the port of Augustus by the magnitude of the dangers.

2 Quocirca idem saepe praefectus seditionibus agitatus ac plebe iam saeviente inmanius, quam urebat inpendens exitium, ab omni spe tuendae salutis exclusus, ut aestimabat, tumultuanti acriter populo sed accidentia considerare sueto prudenter obiecit parvulos filios et lacrimans

2 Therefore the same prefect, often agitated by seditions and with the populace now raging more savagely than he was wont, destruction hanging over him, excluded from all hope of preserving safety, as he judged, sharply opposed the tumultuous people, and, accustomed to consider events prudently, presented his little sons and, weeping,

3 "en" inquit "cives vestri - procul omen dii caelestes avertant - eadem perlaturi vobiscum ni fortuna adfulserit laetior. Si itaque his abolitis nil triste accidere posse existimatis, praesto in potestate sunt vestra". Qua miseratione vulgus ad clementia suapte natura proclive lenitum conticuit aequanimiter venturam operiens sortem.

3 "Behold," he said, "your fellow-citizens — may the heavenly gods avert the omen from afar — are to endure the same things with you, unless Fortune has shone more propitious. If therefore, with these removed, you think that nothing sad can befall, they are at hand in your power." With this compassion the crowd, softened by mercy from its own nature, fell silent and, with equanimity, covered the fate about to come.

4 Moxque divini arbitrio numinis, quod auxit ab incunabulis Romam perpetuamque fore respondit, dum Tertullus apud Ostia in aede sacrificat Castorum, tranquillitas mare mollivit, mutatoque in austrum placidum vento, velificatione plena portum naves ingressae frumentis horrea referserunt.

4 And soon, by the divine will of the numen, which had fostered Rome from its cradle and declared it would be perpetual, while Tertullus at Ostia was sacrificing to the Castores in the temple, calmness softened the sea, and with the wind changed to a placid south, with sails full the ships entered the harbor and replenished the granaries with grain.

Limigantes Sarmatae, dum simulata petitione pacis deceptum imperatorem invadunt, maxima suorum strage reprimuntur.

The Limigant Sarmatians, while by a simulated petition of peace attacking the deceived emperor, are repelled with the greatest slaughter of their people.

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1 Inter haec ita ambigua Constantium Sirmi etiam tum hiberna quiete curantem permovebant nuntii metuendi et graves indicantes id, quod tunc magnopere formidabat, Limigantes Sarmatas, quos expulisse paternis avitisque sedibus dominos suos ante monstravimus, paulatim posthabitis locis, quae eis anno praeterito utiliter sunt destinata, ne, ut sunt versabiles, aliquid molirentur inicum, regiones confines limitibus occupasse vagarique licentius genuino more, ni pellerentur, omnia turbaturos.

1 Meanwhile such ambiguous reports stirred Constantium at Sirmium, even then tending the winter quarters' quiet,—fearful and grave messengers indicating that which he greatly feared at that time: the Limigantes, a Sarmatian people, whom we previously showed to have driven out their lords from their paternal and ancestral seats, having gradually set aside the places which had been usefully allotted to them in the preceding year, were, being nomadic by nature, occupying border regions with boundary‑marks and roaming more freely in their native fashion; and lest, being versatile, they should attempt some unjust enterprise, if not expelled they would throw everything into disorder.

2 Quae superbius incitando prope diem imperator dilato negotio credens, coacta undique multitudine militis ad bella promptissimi, nec dum adulto vere ad procinctum egressus est gemina consideratione alacrior, quod expletus praedarum opimitate exercitus aestate nuper emensa similium spe fidenter in effectus animabitur prosperos, quodque Anatolio regente tunc per Illyricum praefecturam necessaria cuncta vel ante tempus coacta sine ullius dispendiis adfluebant.

2 Which, the emperor incited to greater pride and believing his business delayed for almost a day, with a force of soldiers gathered on every side most ready for war, and not yet fully come to true readiness to march, he was the more eager by a twofold consideration: because the army, filled with the opulence of plunder lately measured in summer, would confidently be stirred toward prosperous outcomes by the hope of similar gains; and because, Anatolius then governing the prefecture through Illyricum, all necessary supplies, even gathered before their time, flowed in without any loss.

3 Nec enim dispositionibus umquam alterius praefecturae, ut inter omnes constat, ad praesens Arctoae provinciae bonis omnibus floruerunt, correctione titubantium benivola et sollerti, vehiculariae rei iacturis ingentibus, quae clausere domos innumeras et censuali professione speciosa fiducia relevatae: indemnesque deinde et innoxii earum incolae partium querelarum sopitis materiis viverent, ni postea exquisitorum detestanda nomina titulorum per offerentes suscipientesque criminose in maius exaggerata, his propugnare sibi nitentibus potestates, illis adtenuatis omnium opibus se fore sperantibus tutos, ad usque proscriptiones miserorumque suspendia pervenerunt.

3 For never, by the arrangements of any other prefecture, as all agree, did the province of Arctoa prosper at present with all goods, through the kindly and crafty correction of the stumbling, with enormous losses in the vehicular business that closed innumerable homes and relieved them by the specious confidence of census enrolment; and then the inhabitants of those parts, unharmed and innocent, would have lived with the matter of complaints lulled, if afterwards the detestable names of inquisitions and charges, offered and taken up, had not been criminally exaggerated into greater things—with those striving to defend themselves by these empowering, and those, their resources all attenuated, hoping to be safe—so that they reached even to proscriptions and the hangings of the wretched.

4 Rem igitur emendaturus urgentem profectus cum instrumentis ambitiosis imperator, ut dictum est, Valeriam venit, partem quondam Pannoniae, sed ad honorem Valeriae Diocletiani filiae et institutam et ita cognominatam, sub pellibusque exercitu diffuso per Histri fluminis margines barbaros observabat ante adventum suum amicitiae velamento Pannonias furtim vastandas invadere hiemis durissimo cogitantes, cum nec dum solutae vernis caloribus nives amnem undique pervium faciunt nostrique pruinis subdivales moras difficile tolerabant.

4 Therefore, intent on setting the matter right, the emperor, advancing with ambitious implements, as has been said, came to Valeria, a region once of Pannonia, but instituted and so named in honor of Valeria, daughter of Diocletian; and, with his army spread under skins, he watched the barbarians along the banks of the river Histris, who, under the veil of friendship and thinking to ravage Pannonia secretly before his arrival, plotted to invade, while the snows, not yet loosened by the vernal heats, made the river passable everywhere, and our men, with wintery frosts, could scarcely endure the delays of encampment.

5 Confestim itaque missis ad Limigantes duobus tribunis cum interpretibus singulis explorabat modestius percunctando, quam ob rem relictis laribus post pacem et foedera petentibus adtributis ita palarentur per varia limitesque contra interdicta pulsarent.

5 Therefore immediately, two tribunes were sent to the Limigantes, each with interpreters, and he probed more temperately by questioning; wherefore, with hearths left behind and those seeking peace and assigned treaties, they were thus negotiated with across the various districts and they beat upon the interdicted frontiers.

6 Qui vana quaedam causantes et inrita, pavore adigente mentiri, principem exorabant in veniam obsecrantes ut simultate abolita transmisso flumine ad eum venire permitterentur docturi, quae sustinerent incommoda, paratique intra spatia orbis Romani, si id placuerit, terras suscipere longe discretas, ut diuturno otio involuti et Quietem colentes tamquam salutarem deam tributariorum onera subirent et nomen.

6 They, alleging certain vain and null causes and, driven by terror, lying, entreated the prince, beseeching pardon, that, with their feud abolished and the river crossed, they might be permitted to come to him — promising to endure whatever inconveniences they would meet, and ready, within the bounds of the Roman orb, if it should please him, to take up lands set far apart, so that, wrapped in long repose and cultivating Quietem as if a salutary goddess, they would assume both the burdens and the name of tributaries.

7 His post reditum tribunorum conpertis imperator exultans ut negotio, quod rebatur inexplicabile, sine ullo pulvere consummando cunctos admisit, aviditate plus habendi incensus, quam adulatorum cohors augebat id sine modo strepentium, quod externis sopitis et ubique pace conposita proletarios lucrabitur plures et tirocinia cogere poterit validissima: aurum quippe gratanter provinciales corporibus dabunt, quae spes rem Romanam aliquotiens adgravavit.

7 After the return of the tribunes and their reports having been ascertained, the emperor, exulting at the business which was reckoned inexplicable, admitted everyone to its consummation without any dust of delay, inflamed by a greater avidity of having more, which the cohort of flatterers increased with unmeasured clamour, because, with foreign foes lulled and peace established everywhere, it will win more proletarians and will be most powerful to compel recruits into training: for provincials will gladly give gold and bodies, a hope which has burdened the Roman res many times over.

8 Proinde vallo prope Acimincum locato celsoque aggere in speciem tribunalis erecto naves vehentes quosdam legionarios expeditos alveum fluminis proximum ripis observare sunt iussae cum Innocentio quodam agrimensore huius auctore consilii, ut si barbaros tumultuare sensissent, aliorsum intentos post terga pervaderent inprovisi.

8 Therefore, with a rampart placed near Acimincum and a lofty embankment raised as it were a tribunal, certain light-armed legionaries transporting ships were ordered to keep watch the river’s channel close to the banks, together with a certain surveyor Innocentius, the author of this plan, so that if they perceived the barbarians to be making a tumult, they might unexpectedly fall upon them in the rear while they were intent elsewhere.

9 Quae Limigantes licet properari sentirent, nihil tam praeceps fingentes stabant incurvi, longe alia, quam quae gestu praeferebant et verbis altis, mentibus perpensantes .

9 Which things, although the Limigantes perceived to be hurrying, they, feigning nothing so precipitate, stood bent over, far different from what they presented by gesture and lofty words, pondering them in their minds.

10 Visoque imperatore ex alto suggestu iam sermonem parante lenissimum, meditanteque adloqui velut morigeros iam futuros, quidam ex illis furore percitus truci, calceo suo in tribunal contorto "marha marha", quod est apud eos signum bellicum, exclamavit eumque secuta incondita multitudo vexillo elato repente barbarico ululans ferum in ipsum principem ferebatur.

10 And when the emperor was seen on the high rostra, already preparing a very gentle speech, and pondering to address them as though they were about to be obedient, one of those, struck with savage fury, hurled his shoe at the tribunal and cried "marha marha," which among them is a war‑signal; and an untrained multitude following him, with a standard raised, suddenly, howling barbarically, rushed fiercely upon the prince himself.

11 Qui cum ex alto despiciens plena omnia discurrentis turbae cum missilibus vidisset, retectisque gladiis et verrutis iam propinquam perniciem, externis mixtus et suis ignotusque dux esset an miles, quia neque cunctandi aderat tempus neque cessandi, equo veloci inpositus cursu effuso evasit.

11 Who, when from on high looking down he had seen everything full of a mob running about with missiles, and with swords and cudgels bared and ruin now near, mingled with outsiders and his own and the leader unknown whether (he was) a soldier; since there was neither time for hesitation nor for delay, placed on a swift horse he escaped by a headlong course.

12 Stipatores tamen pauci dum ignis more inundantes conabantur arcere, aut vulnerati interierunt aut ponderibus superruentium solis adflicti, sellaque regalis cum aureo pulvinari nullo vetante direpta est.

12 The few attendants, however, while, like a flood of fire, they tried to restrain it, either died wounded or were crushed beneath the weights of those overrunning them, and the royal seat with its golden cushion was seized and torn away with no one forbidding it.

13 Mox autem audito, quod ad ultimum paene tractus exitium in abrupto staret adhuc imperator, antiquissimum omnium exercitus ratus eum iuvare - nondum enim exemptum periculis aestimavit - salutis fastu fidentior, licet ob procursionem subitam semitectus, sonorum et Martium frendens barbarorum mori obstinatorum catervis semet inmersit.

13 Soon, however, when he heard that at the outermost stretch the impending ruin stood almost on a precipice and that the emperor still, deeming him the most ancient of all the army, would aid him — for he had not yet judged him freed from dangers — more confident in the pride of safety, though half-clad from the sudden sally, roaring with sonorous and Martian fury, plunged himself into the bands of barbarians resolved to die.

14 Et quia virtute dedecus purgatura ardens copia nostrorum erupit, iras in hostem perfidum parans, obvia quaeque obtruncabat sine parsimonia vivos conculcans et semineces et peremptos: et antequam exsatiaret caedibus barbaricis manus, acervi constipati sunt mortuorum.

14 And because, burning with a force to purge dishonor by virtue, a plentiful company of our men burst forth, preparing wrath against the perfidious enemy, they cut down whatever met them without sparing, trampling the living and the half-dead and the slain: and before their hands could be sated with barbarous slaughter, piles of the dead were crowded together.

15 Urgebantur enim rebelles aliis trucidatis, aliis terrore disiectis, quorum pars spem vitae cassis precibus usurpando multiplicatis ictibus caedebantur, postque deletos omnes in receptum canentibus lituis nostri quoque licet rari videbantur exanimes, quos impetus conculcaverat vehemens aut furori resistentes hostili lateraque nudantes intecta ordo fatalis absumpsit.

15 For the rebels were pressed — some slaughtered, others scattered by terror; of these a part, their hope of life vain, by entreaties multiplied and by repeated blows were cut down; and after all had been wiped out, at the trumpets sounding a retreat even ours, though few, seemed lifeless, whom a violent onrush had crushed or whom the fatal rank, pierced by hostile fury and laying bare their flanks as they resisted, consumed.

16 Mors tamen eminuit inter alios Cellae Scutariorum tribuni, qui inter confligendi exordia primus omnium in medios Sarmatarum globos se inmisit.

16 Death, however, stood out among the others in Cella, tribune of the Scutarii, who, at the very outset of the clash, first of all hurled himself into the midst of the Sarmatian throng.

17 Post quae tam saeva, digestis pro securitate limitum, quae rationes monebant urgentes, Constantius Sirmium redit ferens de hoste fallaci vindictam, et maturatis, quae necessitates temporis poscebant instantes, egressus exinde Constantinopolim petit, ut orienti iam proximus cladibus apud Amidam mederetur acceptis et redintegrato supplementis exercitu impetus regis Persarum pari virium robore cohiberet, quem constabat, ni caelestis ratio inpensiorque repelleret cura multorum, Mesopotamia relicta post terga per extenta spatia signa moturum.

17 After these so savage events, the lines of the frontiers having been arranged for the security which urgent considerations advised, Constantius returns to Sirmium bearing vengeance on the treacherous enemy, and the needs of the moment having been hastened, he thereupon set out for Constantinople, that, now near the East, he might remedy the disasters at Amida, and with reinforcements received and the army restored, with equal strength restrain the onset of the Persian king — which, it was agreed, unless heavenly providence or the more costly care of many should repel it, would set his standards in motion leaving Mesopotamia behind his back across extended spaces.

Laesae maiestatis multi arcessiti atque damnati.

Many were summoned and condemned for laesae maiestatis (lèse‑majesté).

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1 Inter has tamen sollicitudines velut ex recepto quodam antiquitus more ad vicem bellorum civilium inflabant litui quaedam colorata laesae crimina maiestatis, quorum exsecutor et administer saepe dictandus ille notarius missus est Paulus, qui peritus artium cruentarum ut lanista ex commerciis libitinae vel ludi, ipse quoque ex eculeo vel carnifice quaestum fructumque captabat.

1 Among these anxieties, however, as if by a certain anciently received custom in turn the trumpets raised up certain colorized charges of laesa maiestas in the civil wars, whose executor and minister—often called that notary—was sent Paulus, who, skilled in the bloody arts like a lanista from the commerces of libitina or the ludus, himself likewise from the eculeus or the carnifex seized profit and fruit.

2 ut enim erat obstinatum fixumque eius propositum ad laedendum, ita nec furtis abstinuit, innocentibus exitialis causas adfingens dum in calamitosis stipendiis versaretur.

2 for, since his purpose to injure was obstinate and fixed, so he did not abstain from thefts, inventing ruinous charges against the innocent while he busied himself in calamitous stipends.

3 Materiam autem in infinitum quaestionibus extendendis dedit occasio vilis et parva. Oppidum est Abydum in Thebaidis parte situm extrema. Hic Besae dei localiter adpellati oraculum quondam futura pandebat, priscis circumiacentium regionum caerimoniis solitum coli.

3 Moreover a cheap and small occasion gave material for extending questions to infinity. The town Abydus is situated at the extreme part of the Thebaid. Here Besae, locally addressed as a god, once by oracle disclosed future things, and was wont to be worshipped with the ancient ceremonies of the surrounding regions.

4 Et quoniam quidam praesentes, pars per alios desideriorum indice missa scriptura supplicationibus expresse conceptis consulta numinum scitabantur, chartulae seu membranae, continentes quae petebantur, post data quoque responsa interdum remanebant in fano.

4 And since certain persons present — some sent by others as an index of their desires — were thought to discern the decrees of the gods from writings expressly composed of supplications, the little slips or parchments containing what was sought, even after the answers had been given, sometimes remained in the shrine.

5 Ex his aliqua ad imperatorem maligne sunt missa, qui, ut erat angusti pectoris, obsurdescens in aliis etiam nimium seriis in hoc titulo ima, quod aiunt, auricula mollior et suspicax et minutus acri felle concaluit: statimque ad orientem ocius ire monuit Paulum potestate delata, ut instar ducis rerum experientia clari ad arbitrium suum audiri efficeret causas.

5 Some of these were maliciously sent to the emperor, who, being of narrow heart and grown deaf even in other matters, in this office the lowest, as they say, with a little ear more lenient and suspicious and petty, seethed with bitter gall: and immediately he bade Paul go more quickly to the East, power having been conferred, that, like a commander renowned for experience in affairs, he might cause causes to be heard at his own discretion.

6 Datumque est negotium Modesto etiam tum per orientem comiti apto ad haec et similia. Hermogenes enim Ponticus ea tempestate praefectus praetorio ut lenioris ingenii spernebatur.

6 And the business was given to Modestus, even then fit as comes of the East for these and similar matters. For Hermogenes Ponticus, at that time praetorian prefect, was regarded as of a gentler temperament.

7 Perrexit, ut praeceptum est, Paulus funesti furoris et anhelitus plenus dataque calumniae indulgentia plurimi ducebantur ab orbe prope terrarum iuxta nobiles et obscuri, quorum aliquos vinculorum adflixerant nexus, alios claustra poenalia consumpserunt.

7 Paulus proceeded, as was commanded, full of deadly fury and panting; and with indulgence given to calumny, very many were led from almost every region of the earth, both noble and obscure, some of whom the bonds of chains had afflicted, others had consumed penal imprisonments behind bars.

8 Et electa est spectatrix suppliciorum feralium civitas in Palaestina Scythopolis, gemina ratione visa magis omnibus oportuna, quod secretior et inter Antiochiam Alexandriamque media, unde multi plerumque ad crimina trahebantur.

8 And the city of Scythopolis in Palestine was chosen as the spectator of the deadly punishments, deemed more fitting to all for a twofold reason, because it was more secluded and stood midway between Antioch and Alexandria, whence many were commonly brought on account of their crimes.

9 Ductus est itaque inter primos Simplicius Philippi filius ex praefecto et consule, reus hac gratia postulatus, quod super adipiscendo interrogasse dicebatur imperio, perque elogium principis torqueri praeceptus, qui in his casibus nec peccatum aliquando pi[et]ari dederat nec erratum, fato quodam arcente corpore inmaculato lata fuga damnatus est.

9 Thus among the first was led Simplicius, son of Philippus, from the praefect and consul, accused at that petition, because he was said to have inquired about obtaining the imperial power; and being ordered to be tormented through the prince’s elogium — who in such cases had never permitted fault to be piously excused nor error — he was by a certain fate, his spotless body restraining, condemned to wide exile.

10 Dein Parnasius ex praefecto Aegypti, homo simplicium morum, eo deductus periculi, ut pronuntiaretur capitis reus, itidem pulsus est in exilium, saepe auditus multo antehac rettulisse quod, cum Patras Achaicum oppidum, ubi genitus habuit larem, inpetrandae causa cuiusdam relinqueret potestatis, per quietem deducentia se habitus tragici figmenta viderat multa.

10 Then Parnasius, formerly prefect of Egypt, a man of simple morals, was brought to such a height of peril that he was proclaimed guilty of death; likewise he was driven into exile, and was often heard long before to have related that, when he left Patras, an Achaean town where he had his natal hearth, in order to obtain a certain relinquished power, during the quiet he had seen many tragic habit’s contrivances being paraded forth.

11 Andronicus postea studiis liberalibus et claritudine carminum notus in iudicium introductus, cum secura mente nullis suspicionibus urgeretur, purgando semper et fidentius absolutus est.

11 Andronicus afterwards, known for liberal studies and for the clarity (or renown) of his poems, was brought into judgment; since with a secure mind he was pressed by no suspicions, by continually clearing himself he was the more confidently acquitted.

12 Demetrius itidem Cythras cognomento philosophus, grandaevus quidem sed corpore durus et animo, sacrificasse aliquotiens confutatus, infitiari non potuit, adserens propitiandi causa numinis haec a prima adulescentia factitasse, non temptandi sublimiora scrutatis; nec enim quemquam id noverat adfectare. Diu itaque adhaerens eculeo cum fiducia gravi fundatus nequaquam varians eadem oraret intrepidus, Alexandriam, unde oriebatur, innoxius abire permissus est.

12 Demetrius likewise called Cythras by surname, a philosopher, indeed aged but hardy in body and spirit, having been accused several times of having sacrificed, could not deny it, asserting that he had performed these things from early youth for the propitiation of the numen, not to probe higher mysteries after examination; for he knew no one to aim at that. Therefore long cleaving to his staff and grounded in serious confidence, changing in no wise, he prayed the same things intrepidly, and was permitted to depart harmlessly for Alexandria, whence he came.

13 Et hos quidem aliosque paucos aequa sors veritatis adiutrix periculis eximit abruptis. Criminibus vero serpentibus latius per inplicatos nexus sine fine distentos quidam corporibus laniatis extinguebantur, alii poenis ulterioribus damnati sunt bonis ereptis Paulo succentore fabularum crudelium quasi e promptuaria cella fallaciarum et nocendi species suggerente conplures, cuius ex nutu prope dixerim pendebat incedentium omnium salus.

13 And these and indeed a few others the even lot of truth, as helper, delivered from perils when they were cut off. But with the serpents of accusations spreading more widely through entangled links stretched without end, some were put to death with their bodies mangled, others were condemned to further punishments and deprived of their goods, Paul acting as instigator and ally of cruel fictions, as from a ready storehouse of deceits and the appearance of harming suggesting many, on whose nod, I might almost say, the safety of all who advanced depended.

14 Nam siqui remedia quartanae vel doloris alterius collo gestaret, sive per monumentum transisse vesperum malivolorum argueretur indiciis, ut veneficus sepulchrorumque horrores et errantium ibidem animarum ludibria colligens vana pronuntiatus reus capitis interibat.

14 For if anyone wore remedies for quartan fever or for some other pain about the neck, or was by indications accused of having passed the evening at a monument among ill-wishers, then, as a sorcerer gathering the horrors of tombs and the mockeries of the souls wandering there, declared guilty of vain pronouncements, he suffered capital punishment.

15 Et prorsus ita res agebatur, quasi Clarum Dodonaeas arbores et effata Delphorum olim sollemnia in imperatoris exitium sollicitaverint multi.

15 And truly matters were carried on in such a way, as if many had incited Clarus, the Dodonaean trees, and the once‑uttered Delphic solemnities to the emperor’s ruin.

16 Unde blanditiarum taetra commenta palatina cohors exquisite confingens inmunem eum fore malorum communium adserebat, fatum eius vigens semper et praesens in abolendis adversa conantibus eluxisse vocibus magnis exclamans.

16 Whence the palatine cohort, exquisitely contriving foul fabrications of blandishments, asserted that he would be immune to common evils, exclaiming with loud voices that his fate, ever vigorous and present, had shone forth in abolishing those who strove to bring adversities.

17 Et inquisitum in haec negotia fortius nemo, qui quidem recte sapiat, reprehendit. nec enim abnuimus salutem legitimi principis propugnatoris bonorum et defensoris, unde salus quaeritur aliis, consociato studio muniri debere cunctorum; cuius retinendae causa validius ubi maiestas pulsata defenditur, a quaestionibus vel cruentis nullam Corneliae leges exemere fortunam.

17 And no one more vehemently blamed for meddling in these affairs, who indeed would be rightly wise. For we do not deny that the safety of the legitimate prince, the champion and defender of good men, from whom safety is sought by others, ought to be fortified by the combined zeal of all; for the sake of retaining which, where majesty, having been struck, is defended more vigorously, Cornelian laws have exempted no fortune even from bloody inquiries.

18 Sed exultare maestis casibus effrenate non decet, ne videantur licentia regi subiecti, non potestate. Imitandus sit Tullius cum parcere vel laedere potuisset, ut ipse adfirmat, ignoscendi quaerens causas, non puniendi occasiones, quod iudicis lenti et considerati est proprium.

18 But it is not fitting to exult unbridled over mournful misfortunes, lest they appear subject to licence rather than to power. Tullius is to be imitated: when he could have spared or harmed, as he himself affirms, he sought causes for pardoning, not occasions for punishing, which is proper to a slow and deliberate judge.

19 Tunc apud Daphnen amoenum illud et ambitiosum Antiochiae suburbanum visu relatuque horrendum natum est monstrum infans ore gemino cum dentibus binis et barba quattuorque oculis et brevissimis duabus auriculis, qui partus ita distortus praemonebat rem publicam in statum verti deformem.

19 Then at Daphne, that pleasant and ambitious suburb of Antioch, there was born a monster, an infant horrid to sight and report, with a twin mouth bearing two teeth and a beard, four eyes and two very short ears, whose birth so distorted foreshadowed the republic being turned into a deformed state.

20 Nascuntur huius modi saepe portenta indicantia rerum variarum eventus, quae quoniam non expiantur ut apud veteres publice, inaudita praetereunt et incognita.

20 Portents of this kind are often born, indicating the outcomes of various affairs, which, since they are not publicly expiated as among the ancients, pass by unheard-of and unrecognized.

Lauricius comes Isaurorum lactrocinia compescit.

Lauricius, comes of the Isaurians, represses latrociny (banditry).

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1 His temporibus Isauri diu quieti post gesta, quae superior continet textus, temptatumque Seleuciae civitatis obsidium paulatim reviviscentes, ut solent verno tempore foveis exilire serpentes, saltibus degressi scrupulosis et inviis confertique in cuneos densos per furta et latrocinia finitimos adflictabant, praetenturas militum ut montani fallentes perque rupis et dumeta ex usu facile discurrentes.

1 In those times the Isauri, long at rest after the deeds which the preceding text records, and the siege of the city of Seleucia having been tried and gradually reviving, as snakes in spring are wont to slip forth from pits, having descended into craggy and pathless glens and pressed together in dense wedges, by thefts and brigandage harried their neighbors, feigning to be soldiers yet deceiving as mountaineers, and easily scattering by habitual use over cliffs and thickets.

2 Ad quos vi vel ratione sedandos Lauricius adiecta comitis dignitate missus est rector, homo civilis prudentiae, qui minis potius quam acerbitate pleraque correxit, adeo ut eo diu provinciam obtinente nihil accideret quod animadversione dignum aestimaretur.

2 Against whom, to be repressed by force or by reason, Lauricius was sent as rector with the added dignity of comes, a civil man of prudence, who corrected most matters by threats rather than by severity, so that with him holding the province for a long time nothing occurred which he would have judged worthy of animadversion.