Church History 1 part 28/28

But when he was already about to set out on the journey, Stilicho persuaded Honorius to remain in Italy, saying that this was necessary, since a certain Constantine had lately seized tyrannical power at Arles.

And having received one of the two standards, which the Romans call the labarum, and letters of the emperor permitting his arrival in the East, he was about to set out abroad, taking with him four numeri of soldiers.

Meanwhile a rumor spread abroad that he was plotting against the emperor and, with the cooperation of the powerful, preparing tyranny for his son; whereupon the soldiers, rising in mutiny, killed the prefect of Italy and the prefect of the Gauls, and the generals, and the others who administered the offices at court.

And he himself too was killed by the soldiers at Ravenna—a man who, if ever any other, had attained to great power, having, one might say, virtually all barbarians and Romans obedient to him.

Stilicho, then, having been suspected of bearing ill will toward the imperial house, perished in this manner.

And Eucherius, his son, was also killed.

At the same time it also happened that the Huns, who were encamped in Thrace, though no one was fighting or pursuing them, retreated shamefully, having lost the greater part of their number.

For when Uldis, the leader of the barbarians beyond the Danube, crossed the river with a very great army, he encamped within the borders of Thrace.

Having taken Moesia by treachery, he then overran the rest of Thrace, and in his arrogance would not consent to make a treaty with the Romans.

And when the commander of the Thracian forces was negotiating with him about peace, pointing to the rising sun he said that it would not be difficult for him, should he wish, to subdue all the land which it beheld.

But while he boasted of such things and imposed as much tribute as he wished, requiring the Romans to agree either to have peace on these terms or to await war, and the situation being desperate, God displayed the providence which he has for the present empire.

For not long after, words were exchanged with Uldis's retainers and captains concerning the Roman state and the emperor's benevolence, and of what kind and how many honors he deems the best and good men worthy.

And not without God's help, having conceived a longing for these things, they went over to the Romans and encamped together with them, along with those arrayed under them.

But Uldis himself barely escaped safely to the other side of the river, having lost many men, and utterly lost those called the Sciri (a barbarian nation quite populous before it fell into such a disaster).

For having lagged behind in the flight, some of them were slain, while others, taken captive, were sent as prisoners to Constantinople.

The officials, having decided to distribute these men, lest, being numerous, they should attempt some revolt, sold some of them for small prices and handed others over to serve many masters without payment, on condition that they should set foot neither in Constantinople nor in all of Europe, and that they should be separated by the intervening sea from the regions known to them.

And of these, the multitude that remained unsold was assigned to dwell scattered, some in one place, some in another.

And I myself have seen many of them in Bithynia, dwelling scattered near the mountain called Olympus, and cultivating the foothills and hills there.

The affairs of the empire in the East, then, were freed from enemies and were governed with great order, beyond everyone's expectation.

But in the West things were in disorder, with many tyrants rising up.

For after the killing of Stilicho, Alaric, the leader of the Goths, having sent an embassy to Honorius concerning peace, failed to obtain it.

And having seized Rome, he besieged it, stationing many barbarians along the river Tiber, so that supplies could not be brought in to those in the city from the Port (for so they call the seaport of the Romans).

And as the siege dragged on, and famine and pestilence pressed hard upon the city, and many slaves, especially those of barbarian stock, were deserting to Alaric, it seemed necessary to those senators who followed the Hellenic religion to offer sacrifice on the Capitol and in the other temples.

For certain Tuscans, summoned for this purpose by the prefect of the city, promised to drive away the barbarians by means of lightning bolts and thunder.

And they boasted that they had accomplished such a thing also at Larnia, a city of Tuscany, which Alaric, passing by on his way to Rome, did not capture.

But the outcome showed that none of these things would be of any benefit to the city.

For to those of sound judgment it was evident that these things were happening to the Romans through divine wrath, as a penalty for the sins which they had previously committed, through much self-indulgence and licentiousness, unjustly and impiously, against both citizens and strangers.

It is said, at any rate, that a certain good monk in Italy, when Alaric was hastening against Rome, exhorted him to spare the city and not to become the cause of such great evils.

And he replied that he was not undertaking these things of his own will, but that someone kept troubling him continually and compelling him, and commanding him to sack Rome.

While he was besieging the city, having received very many gifts, he lifted the siege for a time, the Romans having agreed to persuade the emperor to receive him into peace.

But when an embassy was sent concerning this matter, those at court who worked against Alaric obstructed the peace.

...the city of Ariminum, distant two hundred and ten stades from Ravenna.

And while he had his tents pitched there before the walls, Jovius, the prefect of Italy, came to a conference with him, and reported to the emperor Alaric's request, and that it was necessary to honor him with letters patent as general of both forces.

But the emperor gave the prefect Jovius authority regarding the money and grain rations which Alaric requested, but declared in reply that he would never grant him the rank.

But Jovius, unwisely waiting in Alaric's tent for the messenger sent from the palace, ordered him to read out, in the presence of the barbarians, what the emperor had decided.

And Alaric, angered at the refusal of the rank, as one who had been insulted, immediately gave the signal with the trumpet and marched against Rome.

But Jovius, fearing lest he be suspected by the emperor of favoring Alaric, falling into an even more unwise course than before, himself swore by the emperor's safety, and induced the other officials also to swear, that they would never make peace with Alaric.

But not long afterward, the barbarian, having repented, declared that he had no need at all of ranks, but that he would offer himself as an ally in return for a moderate allotment of grain and for dwelling in places not greatly valued by the Romans.

But when he had twice failed, having sent embassies concerning this through certain bishops, he came to Rome and besieged the city.

And having taken the Port on one side, he compelled the Romans to vote Attalus, who was then prefect of the city, as emperor.

And when Romans had been put forward for the other offices, Alaric was appointed general of both forces, and Ataulf, the brother of his wife, commander of the cavalry called the domestici.

And Attalus, having convened the senate, delivered a long speech, most splendidly composed, promising to preserve for the senate its ancestral customs, and to make Egypt and the whole empire ruled in the East subject to the Italians.

And he, having thus boasted, was not destined to be called emperor for even one whole year.

But led astray by certain soothsayers who promised that he would hold Africa without a fight, he was persuaded neither by Alaric, who proposed sending a moderate force to Carthage for the destruction of Honorius's officials, should they set themselves in array against him, nor by John, whom he had set over the royal ranks about him, who said that it was necessary that Constans, whom he had appointed to go abroad to Libya, should, as one sent by Honorius, by the customary letter which they call an edict, remove from office Heraclian, who at that time had been entrusted with command of the forces in Africa.

And perhaps this too would have succeeded.

For the events concerning Attalus had not yet become known to those in Libya.

But when Constans, this having seemed good to the soothsayers, sailed to Carthage, Attalus was so far damaged in his mind that he did not even deign to doubt, but was convinced that he held the Africans as subjects according to the prediction of the soothsayers, and he marched against Ravenna.

And as soon as it was reported that he had arrived at Ariminum with the army of Romans and barbarians, Honorius wrote to him as to an emperor, and sent an embassy through those about him who held the highest offices, saying that he would gladly have him as partner in the empire.

But Attalus refused the partnership in power.

And he made known to Honorius that he would choose whatever island or place he wished, and live there by himself, being accorded every royal attendance.

While affairs stood in this state, so that he kept ships ready, in order that, should it be necessary, he might sail off to his nephew, unexpectedly, in six numeri, about four thousand soldiers sailed by night to Ravenna from the East.

To these he entrusted the guarding of the walls, fearing the readiness of the local soldiers toward treachery.

Meanwhile Heraclian, having put Constans to death, set guards at the harbors and along the coasts of Africa, and prevented the merchant ships from sailing to Rome.

And when famine, as a result, overtook the Romans, they sent an embassy to Attalus concerning this.

...to Rome, as one who would take counsel with the senate.

And when the famine had grown so severe that the people used chestnuts instead of grain, and some were even suspected of having tasted human flesh, Alaric advised sending five hundred barbarians against Heraclian, but to the senate and...

...it seemed to Attalus that Africa ought not to be entrusted to barbarians.

But when it became clear that God was working against the reign of Attalus, Alaric, perceiving that he was laboring in vain over a matter not within his power, came to an agreement with Honorius concerning the deposing of Attalus's rule, having received promises concerning peace.

So when all had assembled before the city, Attalus laid aside the imperial insignia.

And his officials likewise laid aside their belts of office, and Honorius granted pardon to all for what had occurred, and not long after decreed by law that each should retain the honor and rank which he had previously held.

But Attalus, together with a boy (attendant), was staying with Alaric, thinking that meanwhile it was not safe to live among the Romans.

At this turn of events, the Greeks (pagans), as well as the Christians of the Arian heresy, were greatly distressed.

For the former, conjecturing from Attalus's disposition and his former upbringing, thought that he would openly turn to paganism and restore the ancestral temples, festivals, and sacrifices;

while those of the churches thought that they would again prevail as under Constantius and Valens, if he should securely obtain the empire, since he had also been baptized by Sigesarius, bishop of the Goths, and for this reason was pleasing both to them all and to Alaric.

Not long after, Alaric, having reached the Alps (a place about sixty stades distant from Ravenna), entered into negotiations with the emperor concerning peace.

A certain Sarus, barbarian by race but trained to the utmost in warfare, who had about him only some three hundred men, all loyal and excellent, being suspected by Alaric on account of a former enmity, reckoned that a treaty between the Romans and the Goths would not be to his advantage, and suddenly attacking with his own men, he slew some of the barbarians.

As a result of this, Alaric, filled with anger and fear, turned back along the same road;

and having besieged Rome, he took it through treachery, and permitted his own multitudes, each as he was able, to plunder the wealth of the Romans and pillage all the houses, but ordered that, out of reverence for the apostle Peter, the church around his tomb, which was large and encompassed a great space, should remain inviolate.

and this became the reason that Rome was not utterly destroyed;

for those who were saved there (and they were many) again resettled the city.

As is likely, since in the capture of so great a city many things occurred, I shall record that which then seemed to me worthy of being included in an ecclesiastical history.

For it shows the pious deed of a barbarian man and the courage of a Roman woman in preserving her chastity, both being Christians, yet not of the same persuasion, since he zealously held the faith of Arius, while she held that of the council at Nicaea.

A certain young soldier of Alaric's, seeing that she was very beautiful, was overcome by her beauty and tried to drag her into intercourse.

But when she resisted and struggled to suffer nothing indecent, he drew his sword and threatened to kill her;

and with restraint, as one who was enamored, he struck her neck only superficially;

but though streaming with much blood, she offered her neck to the sword, considering it preferable to die in chastity than to live after having known another man besides the one she had lawfully married.

But since the barbarian, struggling and pressing on more fiercely, accomplished nothing further, he, admiring her chastity, led her to the shrine of the apostle Peter, and, having handed her over to the guardian of the church, ordered him to keep six gold pieces for her husband, for her maintenance.

For first the soldiers in Britain, having mutinied, proclaimed Marcus as usurper, and after him Gratian, having slain Marcus;

but when this man too, before four months had passed, was murdered by them, they again appointed Constantine, thinking that, since he bore this name, he too would securely hold the empire.

For it appears that it was for such a reason that they had chosen the others too for the usurpation.

Constantine, having crossed over from Britain to Bononia, a city of Gaul situated by the sea, won over to himself the soldiers among the Gauls and the Aquitanians;

and he secured for himself the subjects there as far as the boundaries between Italy and Gaul, which the Romans call the Cottian Alps.

And Constans, the elder of his sons, whom he later clothed with the rank of emperor, he then proclaimed Caesar and sent to Spain;

and he, having reached that province, appointed his own officials.

who at first were at variance among themselves, but when they came into danger, they were reconciled;

and having gathered together a multitude of rustics and servants, they drew up together in battle array in Lusitania and slew many of the soldiers sent by the usurper to seize them.

But afterward, when reinforcements were added to their opponents, they were taken alive and led away together with their wives, and were later put to death.

But Theodosiolus and Lagodius, their brothers, who were residing in other provinces, fled their homeland;

and they escaped safely, Theodosiolus to Italy, to the emperor Honorius, and Lagodius to Theodosius in the East.

And Constans, having accomplished these things, returned to his father, having stationed a garrison drawn from the soldiers at the pass leading into Spain;

but he did not permit it to be guarded by the Spaniards according to the ancient custom, though they requested it.

This afterward became the cause of the destruction of the people of that region;

for when Constantine's power collapsed, the Vandals, the Suebi, and the Alans, barbarian nations, having recovered themselves, seized control of the pass, and took many fortresses and cities of the Spaniards and Gauls, together with the officials of the usurper.

Constantine, meanwhile appearing to act according to plan, having made his son Constans emperor instead of Caesar, resolved to invade Italy;

and having passed the Cottian Alps, he came to Verona, a city of Liguria.

But when he was about to cross the Eridanus, he turned back along the same road, having learned of the death of Alabichus;

this man, being a general of Honorius and suspected of intriguing with Constantine to secure the whole government of the West for him, happened at that time to be slain while riding in the vanguard, as was customary, when the emperor was returning from some procession;

at which the emperor immediately dismounted from his horse and publicly offered prayers of thanksgiving to God, as one delivered from a manifest conspirator.

Constantine, fleeing, took refuge in Arles, and at the same time so too did his son Constans, fleeing from Spain.

for when Constantine's power had collapsed, the Vandals, the Suebi, and the Alans, having recovered themselves, eagerly seized the Pyrenees mountains, having heard that the land was prosperous and very rich;

and since those entrusted by Constans with guarding the pass had grown negligent, they passed through into Spain.

Meanwhile Gerontius, the best of Constantine's generals, became hostile to him;

and considering his own dependent Maximus suited for usurpation, he clothed him in imperial garb and allowed him to reside in Tarragona;

and he himself marched against Constantine, having arranged, on the way, for Constans, his son, who was in Vienne, to be put to death;

he entrusted the guarding of the cities in that region to others.

And Gerontius, having marched against Arles, besieged the city; but not long after, when Honorius's army arrived against the usurper, led by Constantius, the father of the emperor Valentinian, he fled immediately with a few soldiers;

for the majority went over to the side of Constantius.

But the soldiers in Spain, considering Gerontius contemptible because of his flight, plotted to kill him;

and having surrounded his house by night, they rushed upon it.

But he, with one loyal Alan and a few servants, shooting arrows from above, killed more than three hundred soldiers.

but when the arrows ran out, the servants fled, lowering themselves secretly from the building.

But Gerontius, though able to escape in the same manner, did not choose to do so, being seized by love for Nonnichia, his wife.

But around dawn, when the soldiers had set fire to the house, having no further hope of safety, he cut off the head of the Alan who was with him, with his consent, and after this also that of his own wife, who was lamenting and, with tears, pressing herself upon the sword, begging to die at her husband's hand rather than fall into the hands of others, and entreating to receive this as a last gift from him.

And thus the brave woman died in a manner worthy of her religion (for she was a Christian), leaving to time a memory of herself stronger than oblivion;

Gerontius, having struck himself with the sword a third time, when he perceived that he had not received a fatal wound, drew the dagger from beside his thigh and drove it into his heart.

Constantine, while Honorius's army was besieging Arles, still held out against the siege, since it had been announced that Edobichus would come with a very great allied force.

and this greatly frightened Honorius's generals as well;

and when they had resolved to turn back to Italy and there attempt the war, and since this seemed good, when Edobichus was reported to be near, they crossed the river Rhone.

And Constantius, with the infantry, awaited the enemy as they advanced, while Ulfilas, Constantius's fellow general, having hidden not far off with the cavalry, remained undetected.

But when Edobichus's army, having passed by the ambush, was about to come to close quarters with Constantius's forces, at a given signal Ulfilas suddenly appeared and charged upon the rear of the enemy;

and a rout immediately ensued, some fleeing, others being slain;

while the majority, laying down their arms, asked for pardon and were granted mercy.

Edobichus, mounting a horse, fled to a certain estate belonging to Ecdicius, who had previously received many benefits from Edobichus himself and was regarded as a friend.

But he, cutting off Edobichus's head, brought it to Honorius's generals in hope of great gifts and honor.

Constantius ordered that the head be accepted, saying that the state owed Ecdicius thanks for his unfriendly deed;

but when Ecdicius was eager to remain in his company, he ordered him to depart, considering that the companionship of a wicked host would be of no benefit to him or to the army.

And so he, having dared to commit the most unholy murder of a friend and guest who was in misfortune, went away, as the saying goes, gaping in vain.

After the victory, when Honorius's army had crossed back again toward the city, Constantine, having learned that Edobichus had been slain, himself laid aside the purple robe and the insignia of the empire;

and, having taken refuge in the church, he was ordained presbyter.

And those within the walls, having first received oaths of assurance, opened the gates, and all were granted mercy.

And from that time forward the territory that was subject here returned again to the dominion of Honorius, and obeyed the governors under him.

But Constantine, sent along with his son Julian into Italy, was killed on the way before he could arrive.

Not long after, Jovinus and Maximus, the aforementioned usurpers, were unexpectedly put to death, along with Sarus and very many others who had conspired against the sovereignty of Honorius.

But to recount these matters in detail does not belong to the present occasion.

Nevertheless I have of necessity made mention of them, so that we might know that it suffices an emperor, for the preservation of his rule, to honor the divine with diligence — such as this emperor too proved to be.

With him also was Galla Placidia, his half-sister by the same father, who likewise took great care for religion and for the churches.

She was taken in marriage by Constantius, who had put down the usurpation of Constantine, a man most warlike and skilled in generalship.

The emperor, honoring him for his sister's sake, distinguished him with the crown, the purple robe, and a share in the sovereignty.

But he survived only a short time and then died, leaving as his children Valentinian, the successor of Honorius, and Honoria.

Meanwhile, the eastern regions of the empire had been freed from enemies, and affairs there were governed in great good order, contrary to everyone's expectation.

God seemed manifestly to be well pleased with the present reign, not only ordering the affairs of war in this unexpected manner, but also bringing to light the sacred bodies of many who had long ago been renowned for piety.

Such indeed was what happened at that time in the case of Zechariah, the ancient prophet, and of Stephen the deacon, who had been ordained by the apostles.

Since the discovery of each was extraordinary and divine, it is necessary to relate the manner of it.

I shall begin with the prophet.

Caphar Zacharia is a village within the borders of Eleutheropolis in Palestine.

This estate was managed by a certain Calemerus, a fellow-slave attached to the property — well disposed toward its owner, but harsh and difficult, and unjust toward the neighboring peasants.

While he was such a man, the prophet appeared to him in a waking vision and made himself known.

And pointing out a certain garden, he said, "Come now, dig here, measuring two cubits from the stone wall into the garden, beside the road that leads to the village of Bethtereb."

"And you will find a double coffin, a wooden one within a leaden one on the outside, and around the coffin a glass vessel full of water, and two snakes of moderate size, gentle and harmless, so as to seem tame." In accordance with the prophet's instruction, Calemerus, coming to the place indicated, eagerly set about the work.

When the sacred coffin had been uncovered beneath the aforesaid tokens, the divine prophet appeared, clothed in a tunic and a white garment, inasmuch, I suppose, as he was also a priest.

Beneath his feet, outside the coffin, lay a child who had been deemed worthy of a royal burial.

For he had a golden crown upon his head, golden sandals, and a precious garment.

As the priests and learned men of that time were at a loss concerning this child — who he was, whence he came, and for what reason he was arrayed thus — it is said that Zacharias, the superior of the monastic community at Gerara, came upon an ancient Hebrew writing, not one of those read in church.

It showed that, when Joash, king of Judaea, killed the prophet Zechariah, not long afterward a grievous calamity befell his house.

For on the seventh day after the killing of the prophet, his son, who was very dear to him, suddenly perished.

Concluding that he had fallen into such a calamity by divine wrath, he buried the boy beneath the prophet's feet, thereby making atonement for the wrong he had done him.

But the prophet, although he had lain beneath the earth for very many generations, appeared intact — his hair cropped close, his nose straight, having a beard of moderate length, his head rather small, and his eyes somewhat deep-set, covered by his brows.