XI. CHAP. lienus, induced him to name a deserving successor, and it was his last request, that the imperial ornament should be delivered to Claudius, who then commanded a detached army in the neighbourhood of Pavia. The report at least was diligently propagated, and the order cheerfully obeyed by the conspirators, who had already agreed to place Claudius on the throne. On the first news of the emperor's death, the troops expressed some suspicion and resentment, till the one was removed, and the other assuaged, by a donative of twenty pieces of gold to each soldier. They then ratified the election, and acknowledged the merit of their new sovereign2. Character and elevation of The obscurity which covered the origin of Claudius, though it was afterwards embellished by some flatterthe empe- ing fictions, sufficiently betrays the meanness of his ror Clau- birth. We can only discover that he was a native of dius. one of the provinces bordering on the Danube; that his youth was spent in arms, and that his modest valour attracted the favour and confidence of Decius. The senate and people already considered him as an excellent officer, equal to the most important trusts; and censured the inattention of Valerian, who suffered him to remain in the subordinate station of a tribune. But it was not long before that emperor distinguished the merit of Claudius, by declaring him general and chief of the Illyrian frontier, with the command of all the troops in Thrace, Mæsia, Dacia, Pannonia, and Dalmatia, the appointments of the præfect of Egypt, the establishment of the proconsul of Africa, and the sure prospect of the consulship. By his victories over the Goths, he deserved from the senate the honour of a statue, and excited the jealous apprehensions of Gallienus. It was impossible that a soldier could esteem so dissolute a sovereign, nor is it easy to conceal a 2 On the death of Gallienus, see Trebellius Pollio in Hist. August. p. 181. Zosimus, 1. i. p. 37. Zonaras, 1. xii. p. 634. Eutrop. ix. 11. Aurelius Victor in Epitom. Victor in Cæsar. I have compared and blended them all, but have chiefly followed Aurelius Victor, who seems to have had the best memoirs. 3 Some supposed him, oddly enough, to be a bastard of the younger Gordian. Others took advantage of the province of Dardania, to deduce his origin from Dardanus, and the ancient kings of Troy. 66 XI. just contempt. Some unguarded expressions which CHAP. dropt from Claudius, were officially transmitted to the royal ear. The emperor's answer to an officer of confidence, describes in very lively colours his own character and that of the times. "There is not any thing "capable of giving me more serious concern, than the "intelligence contained in your last despatch': that "some malicious suggestions have indisposed towards us the mind of our friend and parent Claudius. As ( you regard your allegiance, use every means to appease his resentment, but conduct your negociation "with secrecy; let it not reach the knowledge of the "Dacian troops; they are already provoked, and it "might inflame their fury. I myself have sent him "some presents: be it your care that he accept them "with pleasure. Above all, let him not suspect that I "am made acquainted with his imprudence. The fear "of my anger might urge him to desperate counsels", The presents which accompanied this humble epistle, in which the monarch solicited a reconciliation with his discontented subject, consisted of a considerable sum of money, a splendid wardrobe, and a valuable service of silver and gold plate. By such arts Gallienus softened the indignation, and dispelled the fears, of his Illyrian general; and, during the remainder of that reign, the formidable sword of Claudius was always drawn in the cause of a master whom he despised. At last, indeed, he received from the conspirators the bloody purple of Gallienus: but he had been absent from their camp and counsels; and however he might applaud the deed, we may candidly presume that he was innocent of the knowledge of it. When Claudius ascended the throne, he was about fifty-four years of age. The siege of Milan was still continued, and Aureo- Death lus soon discovered, that the success of his artifices Aureolus. 4 Notoria, a periodical and official despatch which the emperors received from the frumentarii, or agents dispersed through the provinces. Of these we may speak hereafter. 5 Hist. August. p. 208. Gallienus describes the plate, vestments, &c. like a man who loved and understood those splendid trifles. 6 Julian (Orat. i. p. 6) affirms that Claudius acquired the empire in a just and even holy manner. But we may distrust the partiality of a kinsman, VOL. I. T t XI. CHAP. had only raised up a more determined adversary. He attempted to negociate with Claudius a treaty of alliance and partition. "Tell him," replied the intrepid emperor," that such proposals should have been "made to Gallienus; he, perhaps, might have listen❝ed to them with patience, and accepted a colleague 66 as despicable as himself"." This stern refusal, and a last unsuccessful effort, obliged Aureolus to yield the city and himself to the discretion of the conqueror. The judgment of the army pronounced him worthy of death, and Claudius, after a feeble resistance, consented to the execution of the sentence. Nor was the zeal of the senate less ardent in the cause of their new sovereign. They ratified, perhaps, with sincere transport of zeal, the election of Claudius; and as his predecessor had shewn himself the personal enemy of their order, they exercised under the name of justice a severe revenge against his friends and family. The senate was permitted to discharge the ungrateful office of punishment, and the emperor reserved for himself the pleasure and merit of obtaining by his intercession a general act of indemnity. Clemency Such ostentatious clemency discovers less of the and jus- real character of Claudius, than a trifling circumClaudius. stance in which he seems to have consulted only the tice of dictates of his heart. The frequent rebellions of the provinces had involved almost every person in the guilt of treason, almost every estate in the case of confiscation; and Gallienus often displayed his liberality, by distributing among his officers the property of his subjects. On the accession of Claudius, an old woman threw herself at his feet, and complained that a general of the late emperor had obtained an arbitrary grant of her patrimony. This general was Claudius himself, who had not entirely escaped the contagion of the times. The emperor blushed at the reproach, but deserved the confidence which she had reposed in 7 Hist. August. p. 203. There are some trifling differences concerning the circumstances of the last defeat and death of Aureolus. 8 Aureolus Victor in Gallien. The people loudly prayed for the damnation of Gallienus. The senate decreed that his relations and servants should be thrown down headlong from the Gemonian stairs. An obnoxious officer of the revenue had his eyes torn out whilst under examination. his equity. The confession of his fault was accom- CHAP. panied with immediate and ample restitution. XI. tion of the In the arduous task which Claudius had undertaken, He underof restoring the empire to its ancient splendour, it was takes the first necessary to revive among his troops a sense of reformaorder and obedience. With the authority of a veteran army. commander, he represented to them, that the relaxation of discipline had introduced a long train of disorders, the effects of which were at length experienced by the soldiers themselves; that a people ruined by oppression, and indolent from despair, could no longer supply a numerous army with the means of luxury, or even of subsistence; that the danger of each individual had increased with the despotism of the military order, ⚫ since princes who tremble on the throne, will guard their safety by the instant sacrifice of every obnoxious subject. The emperor expatiated on the mischiefs of a lawless caprice which the soldiers could only gratify at the expense of their own blood; as their seditious elections had so frequently been followed by civil wars, which consumed the flower of the legions either in the field of battle or in the cruel abuse of victory. He painted in the most lively colours the exhausted state of the treasury, the desolation of the provinces, the disgrace of the Roman name, and the insolent triumph of rapacious barbarians. It was against those barbarians he declared, that he intended to point the first effort of their arms. ~ Tetricus might reign for a while over the West, and even Zenobia might perserve the dominion of the East10 These usurpers were his personal adversaries; nor could he think of indulging any private resentment till he had saved an empire, whose impending ruin would, unless it was timely prevented, crush both the army and the people. The various nations of Germany and Sarmatia, A. D. 269. who fought under the Gothic standard, had already The Goths collected an armament more formidable than any empire. 9 Zonaras, 1. xii. p. 137. 10 Zonaras on this occasion mentions Posthumus; but the registers of the senate (Hist. August. p. 203.) prove that Tetricus was already emperor of the western provinces. invade the XI. CHAP. which had yet issued from the Euxine. On the banks of the Niester, one of the great rivers that discharge themselves into that sea, they constructed a fleet of two thousand, or even of six thousand vessels"; numbers which, however incredible they may seem, would have been insufficient to transport their pretended army of three hundred and twenty thousand barbarians. Whatever might be the real strength of the Goths, the vigour and success of the expedition were not adequate to the greatness of the preparations. In their passage through the Bosphorus, the unskilful pilots were overpowered by the violence of the current; and while the multitude of their ships were crowded in a narrow channel, many were dashed against each other, or against the shore. The barbarians made several descents on the coasts both of Europe and Asia; but the open country was already plundered, and they were repulsed with shame and loss from the fortified citieswhich they assaulted. A spirit of discouragement and division arose in the fleet, and some of their chiefs sailed away towards the islands of Crete and Cyprus; but the main body pursuing a more steady course, anchored at length near the foot of mount Athos, and assaulted the city of Thessalonica, the wealthy capital of all the Macedonian provinces. Their attacks, in which they displayed a fierce but artless bravery, were soon interrupted by the rapid approach of Claudius, hastening to a scene of action that deserved the presence of a warlike prince at the head of the remaining powers of the empire. Impatient for battle, the Goths immediately broke up their camp, relinquished the siege of Thessalonica, left their navy at the foot of mount Athos, traversed the hills of Macedonia, and pressed forwards to engage the last defence of Italy. Distress ness of We still possess an original letter addressed by and firm Claudius to the senate and people on this memorable Claudius. occasion. "Conscript fathers," says the emperor, "know that three hundred and twenty thousand "Goths have invaded the Roman territory. If I van. 11 The Augustan history mentions the smaller, Zonaras the larger, number; the lively fancy of Montesquieu induced him to prefer the latter. |