Paulus Diaconus: HISTORIA ROMANA

1 Post hunc Maximinus ex corpore militari primus ad imperium accessit sola militum uoluntate, cum nulla senatus intercessisset auctoritas neque ipse senator esset. Is, bello aduersus Germanos feliciter gesto, cum a militibus imperator esset appellatus, a Puppieno Aquileia occisus est deserentibus eum militibus suis cum filio adhuc puero, cum quo imperauerat triennio et paucis diebus.

1 Afterwards Maximinus, the first from the military body, attained the imperial power by the sole will of the soldiers, no authority of the senate having intervened and he himself not being a senator. He, the war against the Germans having been successfully carried out, when he had been proclaimed emperor by the soldiers, was slain at Aquileia by Puppienus, his soldiers deserting him, together with his son still a boy, with whom he had ruled for three years and a few days.

2 Postea tres simul Augusti fuerunt, Puppienus, Balbinus, Gordianus, duo superiores obscurissimo genere, Gordianus nobilis, quippe cuius pater senior Gordianus consensu militum, cum proconsulatum Africae gereret, Maximiano imperante princeps fuisset electus. Itaque cum Romam uenissent, Balbinus et Puppienus in palatio interfecti sunt, soli Gordiano imperium reseruatum. Gordianus admodum puer cum Tranquillinam Romae duxisset uxorem, Ianum geminum aperuit et ad Orientem profectus Parthis bellum intulit, qui iam moliebantur erumpere.

2 Afterwards three Augusti were together: Puppienus, Balbinus, Gordianus — the two former of the most obscure origin, Gordianus noble, for whose father the elder Gordianus, by the consent of the soldiers, while he was holding the proconsulate of Africa, had been chosen princeps during the reign of Maximian. And so when they had come to Rome, Balbinus and Puppienus were slain in the palace, the imperial power reserved to Gordianus alone. Gordianus, very young, having taken Tranquillina as his wife at Rome, opened the twin Janus and, setting out for the East, waged war upon the Parthians, who were already preparing to break forth.

Quod quidem mox feliciter gessit proeliisque ingentibus Persas adflixit. Rediens haud longe Romanis finibus interfectus est fraude Philippi, qui post eum imperauit. Miles ei tumulum uicesimo miliario a Circesso, quod castrum nunc Romanorum est Eufrate inminens, aedificauit, exsequias Romam reuexit, ipsum diuum appellauit.

Which indeed he soon carried out successfully and by mighty battles struck down the Persians. Returning, not far from the Roman frontiers, he was killed by the treachery of Philippus, who ruled after him. A soldier built for him a tomb at the twentieth milestone from Circesium — which castle is now Roman and overhangs the Euphrates — carried his funeral rites back to Rome, and called him divus.

3 Philippi duo, filius ac pater, Gordiano occiso imperium inuaserunt atque exercitu incolumi reducto ad Italiam ex Suria profecti sunt. His imperantibus millesimus annus Romae urbis ingenti ludorum apparatu spectaculorumque celebratus est. Ambo deinde ab exercitu interfecti sunt, senior Philippus Veronae, Romae iunior.

3 Two Philippi, son and father, after Gordian was slain seized the empire, and with the army brought back unharmed they set out from Syria for Italy. While these ruled the thousandth year of the city of Rome was celebrated with a vast provision of games and spectacles. Both were then slain by the army, the elder Philippus at Verona, the younger at Rome.

Annis quinque imperauerunt. Inter diuos tamen relati sunt. Ex quibus iunior Philippus adeo seueri animi fuit, ut nullo cuiusquam commento ad ridendum solui potuerit patremque ludis saecularibus petulantius cacinnantem uultu auersato notauerit.

They ruled for five years. Yet they were afterward counted among the deified. The younger Philippus was of so severe a disposition that he could not be loosened to laughter by any one's jest, and he marked his father, who at the saecular games was cackling rather more petulantly, with his face turned away.

4 Post hunc Decius e Pannonia inferiore Bubaliae natus imperium sumpsit. Bellum ciuile, quod in Gallia motum fuerat, oppressit. Filium suum Caesarem fecit.

4 After him Decius, born at Bubalia in Lower Pannonia, assumed the empire. He crushed the civil war that had been stirred up in Gaul. He made his son Caesar.

Romae lauacrum aedificauit. Cum biennio imperassent ipse et filius, uterque in barbarico interfecti sunt. E quibus senior gurgite paludis submersus est ita ut nec cadauer eius potuerit inueniri; digno damnatus iudicio, qui persecutionem in Christianos mouens inter ceteros beatissimum leuitam et martyrem Laurentium extinxit.

He built a bath at Rome. After they had ruled for two years, he and his son were both killed among the barbarians. Of these the elder was plunged into the whirlpool of a swamp so that not even his cadaver could be found; justly condemned by judgment, he who, fomenting a persecution against the Christians, extinguished among others the most blessed deacon and martyr Lawrence.

5 Mox imperatores creati sunt Gallus Hostilianus et Galli filius Volusianus. Sub his Aemilianus in Moesia res nouas molitus est; ad quem opprimendum cum ambo profecti essent, Interamnae interfecti sunt non completo biennio. Nihil omnino clarum gesserunt.

5 Soon Gallus Hostilianus and Gallus’s son Volusianus were made emperors. Under them Aemilianus in Moesia set in motion new affairs (a revolt); to suppress him, when both had marched forth, they were slain at Interamna in less than a full two years. They accomplished nothing at all illustrious.

Sola pestilentia et morbis atque egritudinibus notus eorum principatus fuit.

Their principate was known only for pestilence and for diseases and ailments.

6 Aemilianus obscurissime natus obscurius imperauit, siquidem Maurus fuerat, ac tertio mense extinctus est.

6 Aemilianus, most obscurely born, ruled yet more obscurely, since he had been a Moor, and was slain in the third month.

7 Hinc Licinius Valerianus in Retia et Norico agens ab exercitu imperator et mox Augustus est factus. Gallienus quoque Romae a senatu Caesar est appellatus. Horum imperium Romano nomini perniciosum et paene exitiabile fuit, ut uel infelicitate principum uel ignauia Germani Rauennam usque uenirent.

7 Hence Licinius Valerian, operating in Rhaetia and Noricum, was proclaimed emperor by the army and soon made Augustus. Gallienus likewise at Rome was named Caesar by the senate. The rule of these men was pernicious and almost ruinous to the Roman name, so that, whether by the misfortune of the princes or by the sluggishness of the Germans, they came as far as Ravenna.

Valerianus in Mesopotamiam bellum gerens a Sapore Persarum rege superatus est, mox etiam captus apud Parthos ignobili seruitute consenuit. Nam, quamdiu uixit, rex eiusdem prouinciae, incuruato eo, pedem ceruicibus eius inponens, solitus erat equum conscendere.

Valerianus, waging war in Mesopotamia, was overcome by Sapore, king of the Persians; soon moreover, taken among the Parthians, he grew old in ignoble servitude. For as long as he lived the king of that province, with him bent over, placing his foot upon his neck(s), was wont to mount a horse.

8 Gallienus cum adolescens factus esset Augustus, imperium primum feliciter, mox commode, ad ultimum perniciose gessit. Nam iuuenis in Gallia et in Illyrico multa strenue fecit occiso apud Mursam Ingenuo, qui purpuram sumpserat, et Trebelliano. Diu placidus et quietus, mox in omnem lasciuiam dissolutus tenendae rei publicae abenas probrosa ignauia et desperatione laxauit: Alamanni uastatis Gallis in Italiam penetrauerunt, Dacia quae a Traiano ultra Danuuium fuerat adiecta tum amissa est, Grecia, Macedonia, Pontus, Asia uastata per Gothos, Pannonia a Sarmatis Quadisque populata est, Germani usque ad Hispanias penetrauerunt, Parthi Mesopotamia occupata Suriam sibi coeperant uindicare.

8 When Gallienus, having become young Augustus, held the imperium at first successfully, soon commodiously, and at last perniciously. For the youth in Gaul and in Illyricum did many things strenuously, having killed at Mursa Ingenuus, who had assumed the purple, and Trebellianus. Long placid and quiet, soon dissolved into all licentiousness, he relaxed the duties of upholding the res publica by shameful sloth and despair: the Alamanni, the Gauls having been laid waste, penetrated into Italy; Dacia, which had been added beyond the Danubius by Trajan, was then lost; Greece, Macedonia, Pontus, Asia devastated by the Goths; Pannonia was peopled by the Sarmatians and the Quadi; the Germani penetrated even to the Hispanias; the Parthians, Mesopotamia having been occupied, had begun to claim Syria for themselves.

9 Tam desperatis rebus et deleto paene imperio Romano, Postumius in Gallia obscurissime natus purpuram sumpsit et per annos decem ita imperauit, ut consumptas paene prouincias ingenti uirtute moderatione reparauerit. Qui seditione militum interfectus est, quod Magontiacum, qui aduersus eum rebellauerat, Lolliano res nouas moliente, diripiendam militibus tradere noluisset. Post eum Marius uilissimus opifex purpuram accepit et secundo die interfectus est.

9 With affairs so desperate and the Roman empire almost destroyed, Postumius, most obscurely born in Gaul, took the purple and ruled for 10 years so successfully that he restored provinces almost consumed by great courage and moderation. He was slain by a mutiny of the soldiers, because he had refused to hand over Magontiacum, which had rebelled against him under Lollianus, to be plundered by the troops who were plotting a new regime. After him Marius, a very lowly workman, received the purple and was killed on the second day.

Victorinus postea Galliarum accepit imperium, uir strenuissimus, sed cum nimiae libidinis esset et matrimonia aliena corrumperet, Agrippinae occisus est, actuario quodam dolum machinante, imperii sui anno secundo.

Victorinus afterwards took the rule of the Gauls, a very valiant man, but being of excessive lust and corrupting other men's marriages, he was killed at Agrippina's instigation, a certain actary contriving the deceit, in the second year of his reign.

10 Huic successit Tetricus senator, qui Aquitaniam honore praesidis administrans, absens a militibus imperator electus est et apud Burdigalam purpuram sumpsit. Seditiones multas militum pertulit. Sed dum haec in Gallia geruntur, in Oriente per Odenachum Persae uicti sunt.

10 To him succeeded Tetricus, a senator, who, administering Aquitaine with the honor of a praeses, being absent was chosen emperor by the soldiers and at Burdigala took the purple. He endured many mutinies of the soldiery. But while these things were being done in Gaul, in the East the Persians were defeated by Odenachus.

Defensa Suria, recepta Mesopotamia usque ad Tesifontem Odenachus penetrauit.

Syria defended, Mesopotamia recovered up to the Tisiphon (the Tigris), Odenachus penetrated forward.

11 Ita Gallieno rem publicam deserente Romanum imperium in Occidente per Postumum, per Odenachum in Oriente seruatum est. Gallienus interea fraude Aureoli ducis sui Mediolani cum Valeriano fratre occisus est imperii anno nono, Claudiusque ei successit a militibus electus, a senatu appellatus Augustus. Hic Gothos Illyricum Macedoniamque uastantes ingenti proelio uicit.

11 Thus, Gallienus, deserting the res publica, the Roman empire in the West was preserved through Postumus, and in the East through Odenachus. Gallienus meanwhile, by the treachery of his duke Aureolus at Mediolanum and with his brother Valerian slain, was killed in the ninth year of his reign, and Claudius succeeded him, elected by the soldiers and by the senate called Augustus. He defeated the Goths, devastating Illyricum and Macedonia, in a great battle.

Parcus uir ac modestus et iusti tenax ac rei publicae gerendae idoneus, aduersus trecenta milia Alamannorum haut procul a lacu Benaco, in silua quae Ligana dicitur, dimicans tantam multitudinem fudit, ut aegre pars dimidia superfuerit. Qui tamen intra imperii biennium morbo interiit. Diuus appellatus est.

A sparing man and modest, tenacious of justice and fit for the governance of the res publica, while fighting against three hundred thousand Alamanni not far from Lake Benacus, in the wood called Ligana, routed so great a host that scarcely half survived. He nevertheless died of disease within two years of the empire. He was called divine.

Senatus eum ingenti honore decorauit, scilicet ut in curia clipeus ipsi aureus, item in Capitolio statua aurea poneretur.

The Senate adorned him with immense honour, namely that in the Curia a golden shield be set up for him, and likewise in the Capitol a golden statue be placed.

12 Quintillius post eum Claudii frater consensu militum imperator electus est, unicae moderationis uir et ciuilitatis, aequandus fratri uel praeferendus; consensu senatus appellatus Augustus. Septimo decimo imperii die occisus est.

12 Quintillus, after him, brother of Claudius, by the consent of the soldiers was elected emperor, a man of singular moderation and civility, to be matched with his brother or even preferred to him; by the consent of the senate he was called Augustus. On the 17th day of his reign he was slain.

13 Post eum Aurelianus suscepit imperium, Dacia Ripensi oriundus, uir in bello potens, animi tamen inmodici et ad crudelitatem propensioris quique Gothos strenuissime uicit. Haut dissimilis fuit Magno Alexandro seu Caesari dictatori; nam Romanum orbem triennio ab inuasoribus receptauit, cum Alexander annis tredecim per uictorias ingentes ad Indiam peruenerit et Gaius Caesar decennio subegerit Gallos aduersum ciues quadriennio congressus; iste in Italia tribus proeliis uictor fuit apud Placentiam, iuxta amnem Metaurum ac Fanum Fortunae, postremum Ticinensibus campis. Huius tempore apud Dalmatas Septiminus imperator effectus mox a suis obtruncatur.

13 After him Aurelian undertook the imperium, sprung from Dacia Ripensis, a man potent in war, yet of immoderate spirit and inclined to greater cruelty, who most vigorously conquered the Goths. He was not unlike Magnus Alexander or Caesar the dictator; for he recovered the Roman orb from invaders in three years, whereas Alexander in 13 years by mighty victories came to India, and Gaius Caesar in a decade subjugated the Gauls, having engaged against fellow-citizens for four years; this man in Italy was victor in three battles at Placentia, beside the river Metaurus and the Shrine of Fortune, the last on the Ticinus plains. In his time, among the Dalmatians, Septiminus was made emperor and was soon cut down by his own men.

Iste primus apud Romanos diadema capiti innexuit gemmisque et aurata omni ueste, quod adhuc fere incognitum Romanis moribus uisebatur, usus est. Hic muris ualidioribus et laxioribus Vrbem sepsit. Templum Soli aedificauit, in quo infinitum auri gemmarumque constituit.

He it was first among the Romans to bind a diadem to his head and to use gems and an all-golden vesture, a thing hitherto almost unknown in Roman mores. He hemmed the City in with stronger and more spacious walls. He built a Temple of the Sun, in which he placed an immense quantity of gold and gems.

Porcinae carnis usum populo instituit. Superauit in Gallia Tetricum apud Catalaunos ipso Tetrico prodente exercitum suum, cuius assiduas seditiones ferre non poterat; quin etiam per litteras occultas Aurelianum ita fuerat deprecatus, ut inter alia uersu Vergiliano uteretur: «Eripe me his, inuicte, malis». Quem Claudius correctorem Lucaniae prouexit aspergens hominem eleganti ioco, sublimius habendum regere aliquam Italiae partem quam trans Alpes regnare. Zenobiam quoque occiso Odenatho marito, qui Orientent tenebat, haut longe ab Antiochia sine graui proelio coepit ingressusque Romam nobilem triumphum quasi receptor Orientis Occidentisque egit praecedentibus currum Tetrico et Zenobia.

He established the use of pork meat for the people. He overcame Tetricus in Gaul at the Catalaunian fields, Tetricus himself betraying his army, whose continual seditions he could not endure; moreover by secret letters he had so entreated Aurelian that, among other things, he made use of a Virgilian verse—"Eripe me his, invicte, malis" (Deliver me from these evils, unconquered one). Claudius raised him to the office of corrector of Lucania, jeeringly reproaching the man with an elegant jest that he was more fit to govern some part of Italy than to rule beyond the Alps. And with Odenathus, her husband who held the East, slain, Zenobia he began to advance not far from Antioch without a fierce battle; and having entered Rome he celebrated a noble triumph as though restorer of East and West, with Tetricus and Zenobia preceding his chariot.

14 Hoc imperante etiam in Vrbe monetarii rebellauerunt uitiatis pecuniis et Felicissimo rationali interfecto, quos Aurelianus uictos ultima crudelitate compescuit. Plurimos nobiles capite damnauit. Saeuus et sanguinarius ac necessarius magis in quibusdam quam in ullo amabilis imperator.

14 While he was ruling, the moneyers in the City also rebelled with debased coin, and Felicissimus, the rationalis, was slain; Aurelian, when they had been defeated, quelled them with the utmost cruelty. He condemned very many nobles to death. A fierce and bloodthirsty, and in some respects more inexorable than any amiable emperor.

Trux omni tempore, etiam filii sororis interfector, disciplinae tamen militaris et morum dissolutorum magna ex parte corrector.

Truculent at all times, even the murderer of his sister’s son, yet in large part a corrector of military discipline and of dissolute morals.

15 Prouinciam Daciam, quam Traianus ultra Danubium fecerat, intermisit, uastata omni Illirico et Moesia, desperans eam posse retineri abductosque Romanos ex urbibus et agris Daciae in media Moesia collocauit appellauitque eam Daciam, quae nunc duas Moesias diuidit et est dextera Danubio in mare fluenti, cum antea fuerit in leua. Occiditur serui sui fraude, qui ad quosdam militares uiros amicos ipsius nomina pertulit adnotata, falso manum eius imitatus, tamquam Aurelianus ipsos pararet occidere; itaque ut praeueniretur, ab isdem interfectus est in itineris medio quod inter Constantinopolim et Eracliam est stratae ueteris; locus Cenofrurium appellatur. Mors tamen eius inulta non fuit.

15 He relinquished the province of Dacia, which Trajan had made beyond the Danube, having devastated all Illyricum and Moesia, despairing that it could be retained, and he relocated the Romans carried off from the cities and fields of Dacia into middle Moesia and called that region Dacia, which now divides the two Moesias and lies to the right of the Danube as it flows to the sea, whereas formerly it had been on the left. He is slain by the treachery of his own slave, who had brought to certain military men, friends of the emperor, their names noted down, and, having falsely imitated his hand, as if Aurelian himself were preparing to kill them; and therefore, to prevent this, he was killed by those same men in the midst of a journey on the old paved road between Constantinople and Heraclea; the place is called Cenofrurium. Yet his death was not left unavenged.

Meruit quoque inter diuos referri. Imperauit annos quinque menses sex.

He also deserved to be numbered among the gods. He reigned five years and six months.

16 Tacitus post hunc suscepit imperium, uir egregie moratus et rei publicae gerendae idoneus. Nihil tamen potuit ostendere intra sextum mensem imperii morte praeuentus. Florianus, qui Tacito successerat, duobus mensibus et diebus xx in imperio fuit neque quicquam dignum memoria egit.

16 Tacitus after him assumed the empire, a man of distinguished conduct and fit for the governing of the republic. He could, however, show nothing, being overtaken by death within the sixth month of his reign. Florianus, who had succeeded Tacitus, was in power for two months and 20 days and did nothing worthy of memory.

17 Post hunc Probus, uir inlustris gloria militari, ad administrationem rei publicae accessit. Gallias a barbaris occupatas ingenti proeliorum felicitate restituit, quosdam imperium usurpare conatos, scilicet Saturninum in Oriente, Proculum et Bonosum Agrippinae, certaminibus oppressit. Vineas Gallos et Pannonios habere permisit, opere militari Almam montem apud Sirmium et Aureum apud Moesiam superiorem uineis conseruit et prouincialibus colendos dedit.

17 After him Probus, a man illustrious in military glory, took up the administration of the republic. He restored the Gauls, occupied by the barbarians, with a great felicity of battles; he crushed certain men who attempted to usurp the empire, namely Saturninus in the East, Proculus and Bonosus of Agrippina, in combats. He permitted the Gauls and Pannonians to have vineyards; by military labor he planted the Alma mount near Sirmium and the Aureus near Upper Moesia with vines and gave them to the provincials to be cultivated.

Hic cum bella innumera gessisset, pace parata dixit breui milites necessarios non futuros. Vir acer, strenuus, iustus et qui Aurelianum aequaret gloria militari, morum autem ciuilitate superaret. Interfectus tamen est Sirmio tumultu militari in turri ferrata.

When he had waged innumerable wars and peace was prepared, he said that soldiers would shortly not be necessary. A keen, vigorous, and just man, who would equal Aurelianus in military gloria, yet surpassed him in civil civility of manners. He was, however, killed at Sirmio in a military tumult in an iron-plated tower.

Imperauit annos sex menses quattuor.

He reigned six years, four months.

18 Post hunc Carus est factus Augustus, Narbone natus in Gallia. Is confestim Carinum et Numerianum filios Caesares fecit, cum quibus regnauit annis duobus; sed dum bellum aduersus Sarmatas gerit, nuntiato Persarum tumultu ad Orientem profectus res contra Persas nobiles gessit; ipsos proelio fudit, Sohenen et Tesifontem urbes notissimas coepit. Et cum castra super Tigridem haberet, ui diuini fulminis periit.

18 After him Carus was made Augustus, born at Narbonne in Gaul. He at once made his sons Carinus and Numerian Caesars, with whom he reigned for two years; but while he waged war against the Sarmatians, having been informed of a Persian tumult he set out to the East and conducted notable operations against the Persians; he routed them in battle, and took the very famous cities Sohenen and Tesifontes. And while he held his camp upon the Tigris, he perished by the force of a divine thunderbolt.

Numerianus quoque filius eius, quem secum Caesarem ad Persas duxerat, adulescens egregiae indolis, cum oculorum dolore correptus in lecticula ueheretur, inpulsore Apro, qui socer eius erat, per insidias occisus est. Et cum dolo occultaretur ipsius mors quousque Aper inuadere possit imperium, foetore cadaueris prodita est; milites enim qui eum sequebantur, putore commoti, deductis lecticulae palliis post aliquod dies mortem eius notam habere potuerunt.

Numerianus also his son, whom he had taken with him as Caesar against the Persians, a youth of outstanding indole, having been seized by pain of the eyes and being borne in a little litter, was murdered by treachery at the instigation of Aper, who was his father‑in‑law. And since by guile his death was concealed until Aper could seize the imperium, it was betrayed by the stench of the corpse; for the soldiers who followed him, moved by the odor, having drawn back the coverings of the litter, after some days were able to learn of his death.

19 Interea Carinus, quem Caesarem ad Parthos proficiscens Carus in Illirico, Gallia, Italia reliquerat, omnibus se sceleribus inquinauit: plurimos innoxios fictis criminibus occidit, matrimonia nobilia corrupit, condiscipulis quoque qui eum in auditorio uerbi fatigatione taxauerunt perniciosus fuit; atque omnibus honoribus inuisus non multo post poenas dedit. Nam de Perside uictor exercitus rediens, cum Carum Augustum fulmine, Numerianum Caesarem insidiis perdidisset, Dioclitianum imperatorem creauit Dalmatia oriundum, uirum obscurissime natum, adeo ut a plerisque scribae filius, a nunnullis Anuli senatoris libertinus fuisse credatur.

19 Meanwhile Carinus, whom Carus, setting out for the Parthians, had left as Caesar in Illyricum, Gallia, and Italia, stained himself with every wickedness: he put to death very many innocents by forged charges, corrupted noble marriages, and was pernicious even to his classmates who, in the auditorio verbi, had censured him for his irritability; and, hated by all honors, he not long after paid the penalties. For the army, victorious from Persia, returning—having lost Augustus Carus to a lightning bolt and Caesar Numerianus by treachery—made Diocletian emperor, a man sprung from Dalmatia, of the most obscure birth, so that by most he is thought the son of a scribe, and by some the freedman of Anulus the senator.

20 Is primum militi in contione iurauit Numerianum nullo suo dolo interfectum, et cum iuxta eum Aper, qui Numeriano insidias fecerat, constitisset, in conspectu exercitus manu Diocletiani percussus est gladio. Postea Carinum omnium odio et decertatione uiuentem apud Margum ingenti proelio uicit, proditum a se exercitu suo, quem fortiorem habebat, certe desertum, inter Viminacium atque Aureum montem. Ita rerum Romanorum potitus, cum tumultum rusticani in Gallia concitassent et factioni suae Bacaudarum nomen inponerent, duces autem haberent Amandum et Aelianum, ad subigendos eos Maximianum Herculium Caesarem misit, qui leuibus proeliis agrestes domuit et partem Galliae reformauit.

20 He first swore before the soldiery in assembly that Numerian had not been killed by any treachery of his own, and when Aper, who had laid ambushes for Numerian, stood beside him, he was struck with the sword by the hand of Diocletian in the sight of the army. Afterwards he conquered Carinus, hated by all and living in contentiousness, at Margus in a great battle, betrayed by his own army — which he had thought stronger, or at least deserted — between Viminacium and the Aureum mountain. Thus having gained possession of the affairs of the Romans, when a rural tumult had been stirred up in Gaul and they gave the name of Bacaudae to their faction, and held as leaders Amandus and Aelianus, he sent Maximianus Herculius Caesar to subdue them, who by light engagements tamed the rustics and restored part of Gaul.

21 Per haec tempora etiam Carausius, qui uilissime natus serenae militiae ordine famam egregiam fuerat consecutus, cum apud Bononiam per tractum Belgicae et Armorici pacandum mare accepisset, quod Franci et Saxones infestabant, multis barbaris saepe captis nec praeda integra aut prouincialibus reddita aut imperatoribus missa, cum suspicio esse coepisset consultu ab eo admitti barbaros, ut transeuntes cum praeda exciperet atque hac se occasione ditaret, a Maximiano iussus occidi purpuram sumpsit et Brittanias occupauit.

21 In these times also Carausius, who most meanly born had won an outstanding fame in the orderly service of the fleet, when at Bononia he had received the sea to be pacified along the tract of Belgica and Armorica, which the Franks and Saxons were harrying, with many barbarians often captured and the booty neither returned whole to the provincials nor sent to the emperors, when a suspicion began that barbarians were admitted by his counsel so that he might take passing men with their plunder and enrich himself by this occasion, being ordered by Maximian to be put to death, assumed the purple and occupied the Britains.

22 Ita cum per omnem orbem terrarum res turbatae essent, Carausius in Brittaniis rebellaret, Achilleus in Aegypto, Africam Quinquegentiani infestarent, Narseus Orienti bellum inferret, Dioclitianus Maximianum Herculium ex Caesare fecit Augustum, Constantium et Maximianum Caesares, quorum Constantius per filiam nepos Claudii traditur, Maximianum Galerium etiam adfinitate coniungeret, Constantius priuignam Herculi Theodoram accepit, ex qua postea sex liberos Constantini fratres habuit, Galerius filiam Dioclitiani Valeriam, ambo uxores habuerant repudiare conpulsi. Cum Carausio tamen, cum bella frustra temptata essent contra uirum rei militaris peritissimum, ad postremum pax conuenit. Eum post septennium Adlectus socius eius occidit, atque ipse post eum Brittanias triennio tenuit.

22 Thus, while affairs were disturbed throughout the whole orb of lands, Carausius rebelled in the Britains, Achilleus in Egypt, the Quinquegentiani harassed Africa, Narseus waged war in the East; Diocletian made Maximian Herculius from Caesar into Augustus, and Constantius and Maximian were made Caesars, of whom Constantius is said to be a grandson through the daughter of Claudius; Maximian he also joined by affinity to Galerius; Constantius took as his stepdaughter Theodora of Herculius, by whom later he had six children, the brothers of Constantine; Galerius a daughter of Diocletian, Valeria — both were compelled to repudiate their wives. With Carausius, however, when wars had been attempted in vain against a man most skilled in military matters, at last peace was concluded. After seven years Adlectus, his colleague, killed him, and Adlectus himself held the Britains for three years thereafter.

Qui ductu Asclepiodoti praefecti praetorio oppressus est. Ita Brittaniae decimo anno receptae.

Who was crushed by the leadership of Asclepiodotus, the praetorian prefect. Thus Britain was recovered in the tenth year.

23 Per idem tempus a Constantio Caesare in Gallia bene pugnatum est. Circa Lingonas die una aduersam et secundam fortunam expertus est. Nam cum repente barbaris ingruentibus intra ciuitatem esset coactus tam praecipiti necessitate, ut clausis portis in murum funibus tolleretur, uix quinque horis mediis aduentante exercitu sexaginta fere milia Alamannorum cecidit.

23 At the same time, by Constantius Caesar, a good fight was fought in Gaul. Near the Lingones he experienced in one day both adverse and favorable fortune. For when, the barbarians suddenly pressing in, he was driven within the city by so pressing a necessity that, with the gates shut, he was hoisted up onto the wall by ropes, scarcely in five hours, with the army meanwhile advancing, about sixty thousand Alamanni fell.

Maximianus quoque Augustus bellum in Africa profligauit domitis Quinquegentianis et ad pacem redactis. Dioclitianus obsessum Alexandriae Achilleum octauo fere mense superauit eumque interfecit. Victoria acerbe usus est; totam Aegyptum grauibus proscriptionibus cedibusque foedauit.

Maximianus also, the Augustus, crushed the war in Africa, the Quinquegentians having been subdued and reduced to peace. Diocletian, besieging Alexandria, overcame Achilleus in about the eighth month and put him to death. He used his victory harshly; he polluted all Egypt with severe proscriptions and exactions.

Ea tamen occasione ordinauit prouide multa et disposuit quae ad nostram aetatem manent.

On that occasion, however, he providently ordered and disposed many things which remain to our age.

24 Galerius Maximianus primum aduersus Narseum proelium insecundum habuit inter Callinicum Carrasque congressus, cum inconsulte magis quam ignaue dimicasset; admodum enim parua manu cum copiosissimo hoste commisit. Pulsus igitur et ad Dioclitianum profectus cum ei in itinere occurrisset, tanta insolentia a Dioclitiano fertur exceptus, ut per aliquod passuum milia purpuratus tradatur ad uehiculum cucurrisse.

24 Galerius Maximianus at first suffered an unsuccessful engagement against Narses in a battle fought between Callinicum and Carrhae, having fought more inconsulte than ignave; for with a very small hand he engaged a most copious host. Thence beaten and proceeding to Diocletian, when he met him on the road he is said to have been received with so great insolence by Diocletian that, purpuratus, he is reported to have run for some thousands of passus to the vehicle.

25 Mox tamen per Illiricum Moesiamque contractis copiis rursus cum Narseo Hormisde et Saporis auo in Armenia maiore pugnauit successu ingenti nec minore consilio, simul fortitudine, quippe qui etiam speculatoris munus cum altero aut tertio equite susceperit. Pulso Narseo castra eius diripuit, uxores, sorores, liberos coepit, infinitam extrinsecus Persarum nobilitatem, gazam Persicam copiosissimam. Ipsum in ultimi regni solitudines egit.

25 Soon, however, with forces mustered through Illyricum and Moesia, he again fought with Narseus, Hormisdes and Sapor’s grandfather in Greater Armenia, with a huge success and no less counsel, together with bravery — for he even undertook the duty of a scout with one or two horsemen. Having routed Narseus he plundered his camp, seized wives, sisters, children, an innumerable outward nobility of the Persians, and a very copious Persian treasure. He drove him himself into the solitudes at the extremity of his kingdom.

Quare ad Dioclitianum in Mesopotamiam cum praesidiis tamen morantem ouans regressus ingenti honore susceptus est. Varia deinceps et simul et uiritim bella gesserunt, Carpis et Basternis subactis, Sarmatis uictis, quorum nationum ingentes captiuorum copias in Romanis finibus locauerunt.

Wherefore, rejoicing, he returned to Diocletian in Mesopotamia—Diocletian however remaining there with garrisons—and was received with great honor. Thenceforth they waged various wars both together and man by man, the Carpi and Basterni being subdued, the Sarmatians defeated, whose nations’ vast companies of captives they located within the Roman frontiers.

26 Dioclitianus moratus callide fuit, sagax praeterea et admodum subtilis ingenio et qui seueritatem suam aliena inuidia uellet explere. Diligentissimus tamen et sollertissimus princeps, etsi imperio Romano primus regiae consuetudinis formam magis quam Romanae libertatis inuexerat, adorarique se iussit, cum ante eum cuncti salutarentur. Ornamenta gemmarum uestibus calciamentisque indidit.

26 Diocletian, when he lingered, was crafty, sagacious moreover and very subtle in genius, and one who wished to complete his severity with the envy of others. A most diligent and most adroit princeps nonetheless, although in the Roman imperium he first introduced the form of royal custom rather than Roman liberty, he ordered himself to be adored when all saluted before him. He bestowed ornaments of gems upon his garments and footwear.

Nam prius imperii insigne in clamide purpurea tantum erat, reliqua communia.

For formerly the insignia of the empire was only the purple cloak; the remaining marks were common.

27 Herculius autem propalam ferus et inciuilis ingenii, asperitatem suam etiam uultus horrore significans. Hic naturae suae indulgens, Dioclitiano in omnibus et saeuioribus consiliis obsecutus. Cum tamen ingrauescente aeuo parum se idoneum Dioclitianus moderando imperio esse sentiret, auctor Herculio fuit, ut in uitam priuatam concederent et stationem tuendae rei publicae uiridioribus iunioribusque mandarent; cui aegre collega obtemperauit.

27 But Herculius was openly savage and of uncivil temperament, his harshness marked even in the horror of his countenance. Indulging his nature, he was obsequious to Diocletian in all and the more cruel counsels. Yet when, with age growing heavy, Diocletian felt himself somewhat unfit to moderate the government, he was author to have Herculius retire into private life and to commit the station of guarding the res publica to younger and more vigorous men; to which the colleague reluctantly obeyed.

Tamen uterque uno die priuato habitu imperii insigne mutauit, Nicomediae Dioclitianus, Herculius Mediolani, post triumphum inclitum, quem Romae ex numerosis gentibus pompa ferculorum illustri, qua Narsei coniuges sororesque et liberi ante currum ducti sunt. Concesserunt tamen Salonam unus, aller in Licaonia.

Nevertheless each on the same day, in private dress, changed the insignia of empire: Diocletian at Nicomedia, Herculius at Milan, after the famed triumph — which in Rome, from numerous peoples, with a splendid pomp of fericula, in which Narses’ wives, sisters, and children were led before the chariot. They, however, granted Salona to one; the other received Lycaonia.

28 Dioclitianus priuatus in uilla, quae haud procul a Salonis est, praeclaro otio senuit. Qui dum ab Herculio atque Galerio ad recipiendum imperium rogaretur, tamquam pestem aliquam detestans in hunc modum respondit: «Vtinam Salonae possetis uisere olera nostris manibus instituta, profecto numquam istud temptandum iudicaretis». Vixit annos sexaginta octo, ex quis communi habitu prope nouem egit. Morte consumptus est, ut satis patuit, per formidinem uoluntariam; quippe cum a Constantino atque Licinio uocatus ad festa nuptiarum, per senectam, quominus interesse ualeret, excusauisset, rescriptis minacibus acceptis, quibus increpabatur Maxentio fauisse ac Maximino fauere, suspectans necem dedecorosam uenenum dicitur hausisse.

28 Diocletian, retired to a villa not far from Salona, grew old in illustrious leisure. He, while being entreated by Herculius and Galerius to resume the imperial office, as if abhorring some pestilence, answered thus: «Would that you could visit the vegetables at Salona planted by my own hands; assuredly you would never judge that this should be attempted.» He lived sixty-eight years, of which he spent almost nine in the common garb. He was consumed by death, as is sufficiently clear, through a voluntary fear; for when, having been summoned by Constantine and Licinius to the wedding festivities, he had excused himself, on account of old age, as being unable to attend, and after receiving threatening rescripts in which he was reproached for having favoured Maxentius and Maximian,—suspecting a dishonourable death, he is said to have drained poison.

Inusitata uirtute usus, ut solus omnium post conditum Romanum imperium ex tanto fastigio sponte ad priuatae uitae statum ciuilitatemque remearet; contigit igitur ei, quod nulli post natos hommes, ut, cum priuatus obisset, inter diuos tamen referretur.

By an unusual virtue, so that—alone of all since the Roman empire was founded—he of his own will descended from so great a summit to the condition of private life and civic standing; it therefore befell him, what to no men born afterwards, that although he died a private man he was nevertheless reckoned among the divine.

EXPLICIT HISTORIAE ROMANAE LIBER NONVS

HERE ENDS THE NINTH BOOK OF THE ROMAN HISTORY