XX.

CHAP. cline and fall of the empire. Instead of leading the nations of Germany and Scythia to the banks of the Danube, or even to the gates of Constantinople, the aged monarch of the Goths resigned to the brave Athanaric the danger and glory of a defensive war, against an enemy, who wielded with a feeble hand the powers of a mighty state. A bridge of boats was established upon the Danube; the presence of Valens animated his troops; and his ignorance of the art of war was compensated by personal bravery, and a wise deference to the advice of Victor and Arintheus, his masters-general of the cavalry and infantry. The operations of the campaign were conducted by their skill and experience; but they found it impossible to drive the Visigoths from their strong posts in the mountains; and the devastation of the plains obliged the Romans themselves to repass the Danube on the approach of winter. The incessant rains, which swelled the waters of the river, produced a tacit suspension of arms, and confined the emperor Valens, during the whole course of the ensuing summer, to his camp of Marcianapolis. The third year of the war was more favourable to the Romans, and more pernicious to the Goths. The interruption of trade deprived the Barbarians of the objects of luxury, which they already confounded with the necessaries of life; and the desolation of a very extensive tract of country threatened them with the horrors of fa mine. Athanaric was provoked, or compelled, to risk a battle, which he lost, in the plains; and the pursuit was rendered more bloody by the cruel precau tion of the victorious generals, who had promised a large reward for the head of every Goth that was brought into the Imperial camp. The submission of the Barbarians appeased the resentment of Valens and his council; the emperor listened with satisfaction to the flattering and eloquent remonstrance of

XX.

the senate of Constantinople, which assumed, for the CHAP.
first time, a share in the public deliberations; and
the same generals, Victor and Arintheus, who had
successfully directed the conduct of the war, were em-
powered to regulate the conditions of peace. The
freedom of trade, which the Goths had hitherto en-
joyed, was restricted to two cities on the Danube;
the rashness of their leaders was severely punished by
the suppression of their pensions and subsidies; and
the exception, which was stipulated in favour of
Athanaric alone, was more advantageous than honour-
able to the Judge of the Visigoths. Athanaric, who,
on this occasion, appears to have consulted his private
interest, without expecting the orders of his sovereign,
supported his own dignity, and that of his tribe, in
the personal interview which was proposed by the
ministers of Valens. He persisted in his declaration,
that it was impossible for him, without incurring the
guilt of perjury, ever to set his foot on the territory
of the empire; and it is more than probable, that
his regard for the sanctity of an oath was confirmed
by the recent and fatal examples of Roman treachery.
The Danube, which separated the dominions of the
two independent nations, was chosen for the scene of
the conference. The emperor of the East, and the Judge
of the Visigoths, accompanied by an equal number of
armed followers, advanced in their respective barges
to the middle of the stream. After the ratification
of the treaty, and the delivery of hostages, Valens
returned in triumph to Constantinople; and the
Goths remained in a state of tranquillity about six
years; till they were violently impelled against the
Roman empire, by an innumerable host of Scythians,
who appeared to issue from the frozen regions of the
North *.

*The Gothic war is described by Ammianus (xxvii. 5.), Zosimus (1. iv. p. 211-214.), and Themistius (Orat. x. p. 129-141.).

CHAP.

XX.

A. D. 374.

The emperor of the West, who had resigned to his brother the command of the Lower Danube, reWar of the served for his immediate care the defence of the Rha Quadi and Sarmatian and Illyrian provinces, which spread so many tians, hundred miles along the greatest of the European rivers. The active policy of Valentinian was continually employed in adding new fortifications to the security of the frontier: but the abuse of this policy provoked the just resentment of the Barbarians. The Quadi complained, that the ground for an intended fortress had been marked out on their territories; and their complaints were urged with so much reason and moderation, that Equitius, master-general of Illyricum, consented to suspend the prosecution of the work, till he should be more clearly informed of the will of his sovereign. This fair occasion of injuring a rival, and of advancing the fortune of his son, was eagerly embraced by the inhuman Maximin, the præfect, or rather tyrant, of Gaul. The passions of Valentinian were impatient of control; and he credu lously listened to the assurances of his favourite, that if the government of Valeria, and the direction of the work, were intrusted to the zeal of his son Marcellinus, the emperor should no longer be importuned with the audacious remonstrances of the Barbarians. The subjects of Rome, and the natives of Germany, were insulted by the arrogance of a young and worthless minister, who considered his rapid elevation as the proof and reward of his superior merit. He affected, however, to receive the modest application of Gabinius, king of the Quadi, with some attention and regard: but this artful civility concealed a dark and bloody design, and the credulous prince was persuaded to accept the pressing invitation of Marcelli nus. I am at a loss how to vary the narrative of similar crimes; or how to relate, that, in the course of the same year, but in remote parts of the empire,

the inhospitable table of two Imperial generals was
stained with the royal blood of two guests and allies,
inhumanly murdered by their order, and in their pre-
sence. The fate of Gabinius, and of Para, was the
same but the cruel death of their sovereign was re-
sented in a very different manner by the servile tem-
per of the Armenians, and the free and daring spirit
of the Germans. The Quadi were much declined
from that formidable power, which, in the time of
Marcus Antoninus, had spread terror to the gates of
Rome. But they still possessed arms and courage;
their courage was animated by despair, and they ob-
tained the usual reinforcement of the cavalry of their
Sarmatian allies. So improvident was the assassin
Marcellinus, that he chose the moment when the
bravest veterans had been drawn away, to suppress
the revolt of Firmus; and the whole province was
exposed, with a very feeble defence, to the rage of
the exasperated Barbarians. They invaded Panno-
nia in the season of harvest; unmercifully destroyed
every object of plunder which they could not easily
transport; and either disregarded, or demolished,
the empty fortifications. The princess Constantia,
the daughter of the emperor Constantius, and the
grand-daughter of the great Constantine, very nar-
rowly escaped. That royal maid, who had innocently
supported the revolt of Procopius, was now the de-
stined wife of the heir of the Western empire.
traversed the peaceful province with a splendid and
unarmed train. Her person was saved from danger,
and the republic from disgrace, by the active zeal of
Messala, governor of the provinces. As soon as he
was informed that the village, where she stopped
only to dine, was almost encompassed by the Barba-
rians, he hastily placed her in his own chariot, and
drove full speed till he reached the gates of Sirmium,
which were at the distance of six-and-twenty miles.

She

CHAP.

XX.

XX.

CHAP. Even Sirmium might not have been secure, if the Quadi and Sarmatians had diligently advanced dur ing the general consternation of the magistrates and people. Their delay allowed Probus, the Prætorian præfect, sufficient time to recover his own spirits, and to revive the courage of the citizens. He skil fully directed their strenuous efforts to repair and strengthen the decayed fortifications; and procured the seasonable and effectual assistance of a company of archers, to protect the capital of the Illyrian provinces. Disappointed in their attempts against the walls of Sirmium, the indignant Barbarians turned their arms against the master-general of the frontier, to whom they unjustly attributed the murder of their king. Equitius could bring into the field no more than two legions; but they contained the veteran strength of the Mæsian and Pannonian bands. The obstinacy with which they disputed the vain honours of rank and precedency was the cause of their destruction; and while they acted with separate forces and divided councils, they were surprised and slaughtered by the active vigour of the Sarmatian horse. The success of this invasion provoked the emulation of the bordering tribes; and the province of Mæsia would infallibly have been lost, if young Theodosius, the duke, or military commander of the frontier, had not signa lized, in the defeat of the public enemy, an intrepid genius, worthy of his illustrious father, and of his future greatness.

The expedi

tion,

The mind of Valentinian, who then resided at Treves, was deeply affected by the calamities of Illy ricum; but the lateness of the season suspended the execution of his designs till the ensuing spring. He A. D. 375. marched in person, with a considerable part of the forces of Gaul, from the banks of the Moselle; and to the suppliant ambassadors of the Sarmatians, who met him on the way, he returned a doubtful answer,