XIV.

CHAP. them for the destruction of Licinius, whose advanced age and unpopular vices seemed to offer a very easy conquest *. But the old emperor, awakened by the approaching danger, deceived the expectations of his friends as well as of his enemies. Calling forth that spirit and those abilities, by which he had deserved the friendship of Galerius and the Imperial purple, he prepared himself for the contest, collected the forces of the East, and soon filled the plains of Hadrianople with his troops, and the Streights of the Hellespont with his fleet. The army consisted of one hundred and fifty thousand foot, and fifteen thousand horse; and as the cavalry was drawn, for the most part, from Phrygia and Cappadocia, we may conceive a more favourable opinion of the beauty of the horses, than of the courage and dexterity of their riders. The fleet was composed of three hundred and fifty gallies of three ranks of oars. An hundred and thirty of these were furnished by Egypt, and the adjacent coast of Africa. An hundred and ten sailed from the ports of Phoenicia and the isle of Cyprus; and the maritime countries of Bithynia, Ionia, and Caria, were likewise obliged to provide an hundred and ten gallies. The troops of Constantine were ordered to rendezvous at Thessalonica; they amounted to above an hundred

and

* Constantinus tamen, vir ingens, et omnia efficere nitens quæ animo præparasset, simul principatum totius orbis affectans, Licinio bellum intulit. Eutropius, x. 5. Zosimus, l. ii. p; 89. The reasons which they have assigned for the first civil war may, with more propriety, be applied to the second.

XIV.

and twenty thousand horse and foot *. Their CHA P. emperor was satisfied with their martial appearance, and his army contained more soldiers, though fewer men, than that of his eastern competitor. The legions of Constantine were levied in the warlike provinces of Europe; action had confirmed their discipline, victory had elevated their hopes, and there were among them a great number of veterans, who, after seventeen glorious campaigns under the same leader, prepared themselves to deserve an honourable dismission by a last effort of their valour †. But the naval preparations of Constantine were, in every respect, much inferior to those of Licinius. The maritime cities of Greece sent their respective quotas of men and ships to the celebrated harbour of Piræus, and their united forces consisted of no more than two hundred small vessels: A very feeble armament, if it is compared with those formidable fleets which were equipped and maintained by the republic of Athens during the Peloponnesian war . Since Italy was no longer VOL. II.

* Zosimus, 1. ii. p. 94, 95.

S

the

Constantine was very attentive to the privileges and comforts of his fellow-veterans, (Conveterani,) as he now began to stile them. See the Theodosian Code, 1. vii. tit. 20. tom. ii. P. 419. 429.

Whilst the Athenians maintained the empire of the sea, their fleet consisted of three, and afterwards of four hundred gallies of three ranks of oars, all completely equipped, and ready for immediate service. The arsenal in the port of Piræus had cost the republic a thousand talents, about two hundred and sixteen thousand pounds. See Thucydides de Bel. Pelopon. 1. ii. c. 13. and Meursius de Fortuna Attica, c. 19.

XIV.

CHA P. the seat of government, the naval establishments. of Misenum and Ravenna had been gradually neglected; and as the shipping and mariners of the empire were supported by commerce rather than by war, it was natural that they should the most abound in the industrious provinces of Egypt and Asia. It is only surprising that the Eastern emperor, who possessed so great a superiority at sea, should have neglected the opportunity of carrying an offensive war into the centre of his rival's dominions.

Battle of

ple.

July 3.

328.

Instead of embracing such an active resolution, Hadriano- which might have changed the whole face of the A. D. 929. War, the prudent Licinius expected the approach of his rival in a camp near Hadrianople, which he had fortified with an anxious care, that betrayed his apprehension of the event. Constantine directed his march from Thessalonica towards that part of Thrace, till he found himself stopped by the broad and rapid stream of the Hebrus, and discovered the numerous army of Licinius, which filled the steep ascent of the hill, from the river to the city of Hadrianople. Many days were spent in doubtful and distant skirmishes; but at length the obstacles of the passage and of the attack were removed, by the intrepid conduct of Constantine. In this place we might relate a wonderful exploit of Constantine, which, though it can scarcely be paralleled, either in poetry or romance, is celebrated, not by a venal orator, devoted to his fortune, but by an historian, the partial enemy of his fame. We are

assured.

assured, that the valiant emperor threw himself c H A P. into the river Hebrus, accompanied only by XIV. twelve horsemen, and that, by the effort or terror of his invincible arm, he broke, slaughtered, and put to flight, a host of an hundred and fifty thousand men. The credulity of Zosimus prevailed so strongly over his passion, that, among the events of the memorable battle of Hadrianople, he seems to have selected and embellished, not the most important, but the most marvellous. The valour and danger of Constantine are attested by a slight wound which he received in the thigh; but it may be discovered even from an imperfect narration, and, perhaps, a corrupted text, that the victory was obtained no less by the conduct of the general, than by the courage of the hero ; that a body of five thousand archers marched round to occupy a thick wood in the rear of the enemy, whose attention was diverted by the construction of a bridge; and that Licinius, perplexed by so many artful evolutions, was reluctantly drawn from his advantageous post to combat on equal ground in the plain. The contest was no longer equal. His confused multitude of new levies was easily vanquished by the experienced veterans of the West. Thirty-four thousand men are reported to have been slain. The fortified camp of Licinius was taken by assault the evening of the battle; the greater part of the fugitives, who had retired to the mountains, surrendered themselves the next day to the discretion of the conqueror; and his rival,

CHA P. who could no longer keep the field, confined XIV. himself within the walls of Byzantium *.

Siege of

naval vic

tory of Crispus.

The siege of Byzantium, which was immediByzan- ately undertaken by Constantine, was attended tium, and with great labour and uncertainty. In the late civil wars, the fortifications of that place, so justly considered as the key of Europe and Asia, had been repaired and strengthened; and as long as Licinius remained master of the sea, the garrison was much less exposed to the danger of famine than the army of the besiegers. The naval commanders of Constantine were summoned to his camp, and received his positive orders to force the passage of the Hellespont, as the fleet of Licinius, instead of seeking and destroying their feeble enemy, continued inactive in those narrow streights, where its superiority of numbers was of little use or advantage. Crispus, the emperor's eldest son, was intrusted with the execution of this daring enterprise, which he performed with so much courage and success, that he deserved the esteem, and most probably excited the jealousy, of his father. The engagement lasted two days; and, in the evening of the first, the contending fleets, after a considerable and mutual loss, retired into their respective harbours of Europe and Asia. The second day, about

66

Zosimus, 1. ii. p. 95, 96. This great battle is described in the Valesian Fragment, (p. 714.) in a clear, though concise manner. Licinius vero circum Hadrianopolin maximo exer"citu latera ardui montis impleverat; illuc toto agmine Con"stantinus inflexit. Cum bellum terrâ marique traheretur, "quamvis per arduum suis nitentibus, attamen disciplinâ mili"tari et felicitate, Constantinus Licinii confusum et sine or"dine agentem vicit exercitum ; leviter femore sauciatus."