The Gothic nation increases in its march. The fame of a great enterprise excited the bravest warriors from all the Vandalic states of Germany, many of whom are seen a few years afterwards combating under the common standard of the Goths." The first motions of the emigrants carried them to the banks of the Prypec, a river universally conceived by the ancients to be the southern branch of the Borysthenes." The windings of that great stream through the plains of Poland and Russia gave a direction to their line of march, and a constant supply of fresh water and pasturage to their numerous herds of cattle. They followed the unknown course of the river, confident in their valor, and careless of whatever power might oppose their progress. The Bastarnæ and the Venedi were the first who presented themselves; and the flower of their youth, either from choice or compulsion, increased the Gothic army. The Bastarnæ dwelt on the northern side of the Carpathian Mountains; the immense tract of land that separated the Bastarnæ from the savages of Finland was possessed, or rather wasted, by the Venedi; we have some reason to believe that the first of these nations, which distinguished itself in the Macedonian war," and was afterwards divided into the formidable tribes of the Peucini, the Borani, the Carpi, etc., derived its origin from the Germans.a With better authority a Sarmatian extraction may be assigned to the Venedi, who 22 The Heruli, and the Uregundi or Burgundi, are particularly mentioned. See Mascou's History of the Germans, 1. v. A passage in the Augustan History, p. 28 [Capitol. M. Ant. Phil. c. 14], seems to allude to this great emigration. The Marcomannic war was partly occasioned by the pressure of barbarous tribes, who fled before the arms of more northern barbarians. 23 D'Anville, Géog. Ancienne, and the third part of his incomparable map of Europe. 24 Tacit. Germ. c. 46. 25 Cluver. Germ. Antiqua, l. iii. c. 43. It has been disputed between German and French philologists to which race of people the Bastarna belonged. Strabo (vii. p. 306), Pliny (iv. 14, s. 28), and Tacitus (Germ. c. 46) call them Germans. But, on the other hand, Polybius (xxvi. 9) calls them Gauls; and Livy, in one passage, calls Clondicus leader, of the Bastarna (xl. 58), and, in another, leader of the Gauls (xliv. 26). Plutarch (Emil. Paul. c. 9, 12, 13) and Diodorus Siculus (de Virtutibus et Vitiis, vol. ii. p. 580, ed. Wesseling) likewise call them Gauls. Dion Cassius vaguely names them Scythians (li. 23, p. 656). Whether Germans or Gauls, the Bastarnæ must have been immigrants, for the district in which we find them was no part of either the German or Celtic area. See Niebuhr, Kleine Schriften, vol. i. p. 385 seq.; Zeuss, Die Deutschen und die Nachbarstämme, p. 127 seq.-S. Distinction of Sarmatians. а rendered themselves so famous in the Middle Ages." But the confusion of blood and manners on that doubtGermans and ful frontier often perplexed the most accurate ob27 servers. As the Goths advanced near the Euxine Sea they encountered a purer race of Sarmatians, the Jazyges, the Alani, and the Roxolani; and they were probably the first Germans who saw the mouths of the Borysthenes and of the Tanais. If we inquire into the characteristic marks of the people of Germany and of Sarmatia, we shall discover that those two great portions of humankind were principally distinguished by fixed huts or movable tents, by a close dress or flowing garments, by the marriage of one or of several wives, by a military force consisting, for the most part, either of infantry or cavalry; and, above all, by the use of the Teutonic or of the Sclavonian language; the last of which has been diffused by conquest from the confines of Italy to the neighborhood of Japan. Description of the Ukraine. The Goths were now in possession of the Ukraine, a country of considerable extent and uncommon fertility, intersected with navigable rivers, which from either side. discharge themselves into the Borysthenes; and interspersed with large and lofty forests of oaks. The plenty of game and fish, the innumerable beehives deposited in the hollow of old trees and in the cavities of rocks, and forming, even in that rude age, a valuable branch of commerce, the size of the cattle, the temperature of the air, the aptness of the soil for every species of grain, and the luxuriancy of the vegetation, all displayed the liberality of Nature and tempted the industry of man." But the Goths withstood. 26 The Venedi, the Slavi, and the Antes were the three great tribes of the same people. Jornandes, c. 23. 27 Tacitus most assuredly deserves that title, and even his cautious suspense a proof of his diligent inquiries. 28 Genealogical History of the Tartars, p. 593. Mr. Bell (vol. ii. p. 379) traversed the Ukraine in his journey from Petersburg to Constantinople. The modern face of the country is a just representation of the ancient, since, in the hands of the Cossacks, it still remains in a state of nature. a On the Alani see ch. xxvi. note 55.-S. all these temptations, and still adhered to a life of idleness, of poverty, and of rapine. The Goths invade the Roman provinces. The Scythian hordes, which, towards the east, bordered on the new settlements of the Goths, presented nothing to their arms, except the doubtful chance of an unprofitable victory. But the prospect of the Roman territories was far more alluring; and the fields of Dacia were covered with rich harvests, sown by the hands of an industrious, and exposed to be gathered by those of a warlike, people. It is probable that the conquests of Trajan, maintained by his successors less for any real advantage than for ideal dignity, had contributed to weaken the empire on that side. The new and unsettled province of Dacia was neither strong enough to resist, nor rich enough to satiate, the rapaciousness of the barbarians. As long as the remote banks of the Dniester were considered as the boundary of the Roman power, the fortifications of the Lower Danube were more carelessly guarded, and the inhabitants of Mæsia lived in supine security, fondly conceiving themselves at an inaccessible distance from any barbarian invaders. The irruptions of the Goths, under the reign of Philip, fatally convinced them of their mistake. The king, or leader, of that fierce nation, traversed with contempt the province of Dacia, and passed both the Dniester and the Danube without encountering any opposition capable of retarding his progress. The relaxed discipline of the Roman troops betrayed the most important posts where they were stationed, and the fear of deserved. punishment induced great numbers of them to enlist under the Gothic standard. The various multitude of barbarians appeared at length under the walls of Marcianopolis, a city built by Trajan in honor of his sister, and at that time the capital of the second Mæsia.20 The inhabitants consented to 29 In the sixteenth chapter of Jornandes, instead of secundo Mæsiam, we may venture to substitute secundam, the second Masia, of which Marcianopolis was certainly the capital (see Hierocles de Provinciis, and Wesseling ad locum, p. 636. Itinerar.). It is surprising how this palpable error of the scribe could escape the judicious correction of Grotius." Luden has observed that Jornandes mentions two passages over the Danube; this relates to the second irruption into Masia. Geschichte des T. V. ii. p. 448.—M. ransom their lives and property by the payment of a large sum of money, and the invaders retreated back into their deserts, animated, rather than satisfied, with the first success of their arms against an opulent but feeble country. Intelligence was soon transmitted to the Emperor Decius, that Cniva, King of the Goths, had passed the Danube a second time, with more considerable forces; that his numerous detachments scattered devastation over the province of Mæsia, whilst the main body of the army, consisting of seventy thousand Germans and Sarmatians, a force equal to the most daring achievements, required the presence of the Roman monarch, and the exertion of his military power. Various events of the Gothic war. A.D. 250. Decius found the Goths engaged before Nicopolis, on the Jatrus, one of the many monuments of Trajan's victories." On his approach they raised the siege, but with a design only of marching away to a conquest of greater importance, the siege of Philippopolis, a city of Thrace, founded by the father of Alexander, near the foot of Mount Hamus." Decius followed them through a difficult country, and by forced marches; but when he imag ined himself at a considerable distance from the rear of the Goths, Cniva turned with rapid fury on his pursuers. The camp of the Romans was surprised and pillaged, and for the first time their emperor fled in disorder before a troop of half-armed barbarians. After a long resistance Philippopolis, destitute of succor, was taken by storm. A hundred thousand persons are reported to have been massacred in the sack of that great city." Many prisoners of consequence became a valuable accession to the spoil; and Priscus, a brother of the late Emperor Philip, blushed not to assume the purple under the protection of the barbarous enemies of Rome." The time, however, consumed in that tedious siege enabled 30 The place is still called Nicop. D'Anville, Géographie Ancienne, tom. i. p. 307. The little stream on whose banks it stood falls into the Danube. 31 Stephan. Byzant. de Urbibus, p. 740. Wesseling, Itinerar. p. 136. Zonaras, by an odd mistake, ascribes the foundation of Philippopolis to the immediate predecessor of Decius. 32 Ammian, xxxi. 5. 33 Aurel. Victor [de Cæsar.] c. 29. Decius to revive the courage, restore the discipline, and recruit the numbers of his troops. He intercepted several parties of Carpi, and other Germans, who were hastening to share the victory of their countrymen," intrusted the passes of the mountains to officers of approved valor and fidelity," repaired and strengthened the fortifications of the Danube, and exerted his utmost vigilance to oppose either the progress or the retreat of the Goths. Encouraged by the return of fortune, he anxiously waited for an opportunity to retrieve, by a great and decisive blow, his own glory, and that of the Roman Decius re vives the office of censor of Valerian. At the same time when Decius was struggling with the violence of the tempest, his mind, calm and deliberate amidst the tumult of war, investigated the more general causes that, since the age of the Antonines, had so in the person impetuously urged the decline of the Roman greatness. He soon discovered that it was impossible to replace that greatness on a permanent basis, without restoring public virtue, ancient principles and manners, and the oppressed majesty of the laws. To execute this noble but arduous design, he first resolved to revive the obsolete office of censor; an office which, as long as it had subsisted in its pristine integrity, had so much contributed to the perpetuity of the State," till it was usurped and gradually neglected by the Cæsars. Conscious that the favor of the sovereign may 34 Victoria Carpica, on some medals of Decius, insinuate these advantages. 35 Claudius (who afterwards reigned with so much glory) was posted in the pass of Thermopyla with 200 Dardanians, 100 heavy and 160 light horse, 60 Cretan archers, and 1000 well-armed recruits. See an original letter from the emperor to his officer, in the Augustan History, p. 208. [Treb. Poll. in Claud. c. 16.] 36 Jornandes, c. 16-18. Zosimus, 1. i. [c. 23] p. 22. In the general account of this war it is easy to discover the opposite prejudices of the Gothic and the Grecian writer. In carelessness alone they are alike. 37 Montesquieu, Grandeur et Décadence des Romains, ch. viii. He illustrates the nature and use of the censorship with his usual ingenuity, and with uncommon precision. 38 Vespasian and Titus were the last censors (Pliny, Hist. Nat. vii. 49 [50]. Censorinus de Die Natali). The modesty of Trajan refused an honor which he deserved, and his example became a law to the Antonines. See Pliny's Panegyric, c. 45, 60. |