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At this time
the ancient Roman empire was governed by the following princes: Zeno, reigning
in Constantinople, commanded the whole of the eastern empire; the Ostrogoths
ruled Mesia and Pannonia; the Visigoths, Suavi, and Alans, held Gascony and
Spain; the Vandals, Africa; the Franks and Burgundians, France; and the Eruli
and Turingi, Italy. The kingdom of the Ostrogoths had descended to Theodoric,
nephew of Velamir, who, being on terms of friendship with Zeno the eastern emperor,
wrote to him that his Ostrogoths thought it an injustice that they, being
superior in valor to the people thereabout, should be inferior to them in
dominion, and that it was impossible for him to restrain them within the limits
of Pannonia. So, seeing himself under the necessity of allowing them to take
arms and go in search of new abodes, he wished first to acquaint Zeno with it,
in order that he might provide for them, by granting some country in which they
might establish themselves, by his good favor with greater propriety and
convenience. Zeno, partly from fear and partly from a desire to drive Odoacer
out of Italy, gave Theodoric permission to lead his people against him, and
take possession of the country. Leaving his friends the Zepidi in Pannonia,
Theodoric marched into Italy, slew Odoacer and his son, and, moved by the same
reasons which had induced Valentinian to do so, established his court at
Ravenna, and like Odoacer took the title of king of Italy.
Theodoric
possessed great talents both for war and peace; in the former he was always
conqueror, and in the latter he conferred very great benefits upon the cities
and people under him. He distributed the Ostrogoths over the country, each
district under its leader, that he might more conveniently command them in war,
and govern them in peace. He enlarged Ravenna, restored Rome, and, with the
exception of military discipline, conferred upon the Romans every honor. He
kept within their proper bounds, wholly by the influence of his character, all
the barbarian kings who occupied the empire; he built towns and fortresses
between the point of the Adriatic and the Alps, in order, with the greater
facility, to impede the passage of any new hordes of barbarians who might
design to assail Italy; and if, toward the latter end of his life, so many
virtues had not been sullied by acts of cruelty, caused by various jealousies
of his people, such as the death of Symmachus and Boethius, men of great
holiness, every point of his character would have deserved the highest praise.
By his virtue and goodness, not only Rome and Italy, but every part of the
western empire, freed from the continual troubles which they had suffered from
the frequent influx of barbarians, acquired new vigor, and began to live in an
orderly and civilized manner. For surely if any times were truly miserable for
Italy and the provinces overrun by the barbarians, they were those which
occurred from Arcadius and Honorius to Theodoric. If we only consider the evils
which arise to a republic or a kingdom by a change of prince or of government;
not by foreign interference, but by civil discord (in which we may see how even
slight variations suffice to ruin the most powerful kingdoms or states), we may
then easily imagine how much Italy and the other Roman provinces suffered, when
they not only changed their forms of government and their princes, but also
their laws, customs, modes of living, religion, language, and name. Any one of
such changes, by itself, without being united with others, might, with thinking
of it, to say nothing of the seeing and suffering, infuse terror into the
strongest minds.
From these
causes proceeded the ruin as well as the origin and extension of many cities.
Among those which were ruined were Aquileia, Luni, Chiusi, Popolonia, Fiesole,
and many others. The new cities were Venice, Sienna, Ferrara, Aquila, with many
towns and castles which for brevity we omit. Those which became extended were
Florence, Genoa, Pisa, Milan, Naples, and Bologna; to all of which may be
added, the ruin and restoration of Rome, and of many other cities not
previously mentioned.
From this
devastation and new population arose new languages, as we see in the different
dialects of France, Spain and Italy; which, partaking of the native idiom of
the new people and of the old Roman, formed a new manner of discourse. Besides,
not only were the names of provinces changed, but also of lakes, rivers, seas,
and men; for France, Spain, and Italy are full of fresh names, wholly different
from the ancient; as, omitting many others, we see that the Po, the Garda, the
Archipelago, are names quite different from those which the ancients used;
while instead of Cæsar and Pompey we have Peter, Matthew, John, etc.
Among so many
variations, that of religion was not of little importance; for, while combating
the customs of the ancient faith with the miracles of the new, very serious
troubles and discords were created among men. And if the Christians had been
united in one faith, fewer disorders would have followed; but the contentions
among themselves, of the churches of Rome, Greece, and Ravenna, joined to those
of the heretic sects with the Catholics, served in many ways to render the
world miserable. Africa is a proof of this; having suffered more horrors from
the Arian sect, whose doctrines were believed by the Vandals, than from any
avarice or natural cruelty of the people themselves. Living amid so many
persecutions, the countenances of men bore witness of the terrible impressions
upon their minds; for besides the evils they suffered from the disordered state
of the world, they scarcely could have recourse to the help of God, in whom the
unhappy hope for relief; for the greater part of them, being uncertain what
divinity they ought to address, died miserably, without help and without hope.
Having been the
first who put a stop to so many evils, Theodoric deserves the highest praise:
for during the thirty-eight years he reigned in Italy, he brought the country
to such a state of greatness that her previous sufferings were no longer
recognizable. But at his death, the kingdom descending to Atalaric, son of
Amalasontha, his daughter, and the malice of fortune not being yet exhausted,
the old evils soon returned; for Atalaric died soon after his grandfather, and
the kingdom coming into the possession of his mother, she was betrayed by
Theodatus, whom she had called to assist her in the government. He put her to
death and made himself king; and having thus become odious to the Ostrogoths,
the emperor Justinian entertained the hope of driving him out of Italy.
Justinian appointed Belisarius to the command of this expedition, as he had
already conquered Africa, expelled the Vandals, and reduced the country to the
imperial rule.
Belisarius took
possession of Sicily, and from thence passing into Italy, occupied Naples and
Rome. The Goths, seeing this, slew Theodatus their king, whom they considered
the cause of their misfortune, and elected Vitiges in his stead, who, after
some skirmishes, was besieged and taken by Belisarius at Ravenna; but before he
had time to secure the advantages of his victory, Belisarius was recalled by
Justinian, and Joannes and Vitalis were appointed in his place. Their
principles and practices were so different from those of Belisarius, that the
Goths took courage and created Ildovadus, governor of Verona, their king. After
Ildovadus, who was slain, came Totila, who routed the imperial forces, took
Tuscany and Naples, and recovered nearly the whole of what Belisarius had taken
from them. On this account Justinian determined to send him into Italy again;
but, coming with only a small force, he lost the reputation which his former
victories had won for him, in less time than he had taken to acquire it. Totila
being at Ostia with his forces, took Rome before his eyes; but being unable to
hold or to leave the city, he destroyed the greater part of it, drove out the
citizens, and took the senators away from him. Thinking little of Belisarius,
he led his people into Calabria, to attack the forces which had been sent from
Greece.
Belisarius,
seeing the city abandoned, turned his mind to the performance of an honourable
work. Viewing the ruins of Rome, he determined to rebuild her walls and recall
her inhabitants with as little delay as possible. But fortune was opposed to this
laudable enterprise; for Justinian, being at this time assailed by the
Parthians, recalled him; and his duty to his sovereign compelled him to abandon
Italy to Totila, who again took Rome, but did not treat her with such severity
as upon the former occasion; for at the entreaty of St. Benedict, who in those
days had great reputation for sanctity, he endeavored to restore her. In the
meantime, Justinian having arranged matters with the Parthians, again thought
of sending a force to the relief of Italy; but the Sclavi, another northern
people, having crossed the Danube and attacked Illyria and Thrace, prevented
him, so that Totila held almost the whole country. Having conquered the
Slavonians, Justinian sent Narses, a eunuch, a man of great military talent,
who, having arrived in Italy, routed and slew Totila. The Goths who escaped
sought refuge in Pavia, where they created Teias their king. On the other hand,
Narses after the victory took Rome, and coming to an engagement with Teias near
Nocera, slew him and routed his army. By this victory, the power of the Goths
in Italy was quite annihilated, after having existed for seventy years, from
the coming of Theodoric to the death of Teias.
No sooner was
Italy delivered from the Goths than Justinian died, and was succeeded by
Justin, his son, who, at the instigation of Sophia, his wife, recalled Narses,
and sent Longinus in his stead. Like those who preceded him, he made his abode
at Ravenna, and besides this, gave a new form to the government of Italy; for
he did not appoint governors of provinces, as the Goths had done, but in every
city and town of importance placed a ruler whom he called a duke. Neither in
this arrangement did he respect Rome more than the other cities; for having set
aside the consuls and senate, names which up to this time had been preserved,
he placed her under a duke, who was sent every year from Ravenna, and called
her the duchy of Rome; while to him who remained in Ravenna, and governed the
whole of Italy for the emperor, was given the name of Exarch. This division of
the country greatly facilitated the ruin of Italy, and gave the Lombards an
early occasion of occupying it. Narses was greatly enraged with the emperor,
for having recalled him from the government of the province, which he had won
with his own valor and blood; while Sophia, not content with the injury done by
withdrawing him, treated him in the most offensive manner, saying she wished
him to come back that he might spin with the other eunuchs. Full of
indignation, Narses persuaded Alboin, king of the Lombards, who then reigned in
Pannonia, to invade and take possession of Italy.
The Lombards,
as was said before, occupied those places upon the Danube which had been
vacated by the Eruli and Turingi, when Odoacer their king led them into Italy;
where, having been established for some time, their dominions were held by
Alboin, a man ferocious and bold, under whom they crossed the Danube, and
coming to an engagement with Cunimund, king of the Zepidi, who held Pannonia,
conquered and slew him. Alboin finding Rosamond, daughter of Cunimund, among
the captives, took her to wife, and made himself sovereign of Pannonia; and,
moved by his savage nature, caused the skull of Cunimund to be formed into a
cup, from which, in memory of the victory, he drank. Being invited into Italy
by Narses, with whom he had been in friendship during the war with the Goths,
he left Pannonia to the Huns, who after the death of Attila had returned to
their country. Finding, on his arrival, the province divided into so many
parts, he presently occupied Pavia, Milan, Verona, Vicenza, the whole of
Tuscany, and the greater part of Flamminia, which is now called Romagna. These
great and rapid acquisitions made him think the conquest of Italy already
secured; he therefore gave a great feast at Verona, and having become elevated
with wine, ordered the skull of Cunimund to be filled, and caused it to be
presented to the queen Rosamond, who sat opposite, saying loud enough for her
to hear, that upon occasion of such great joy she should drink with her father.
These words were like a dagger to the lady’s bosom and she resolved to have
revenge. Knowing that Helmichis, a noble Lombard, was in love with one of her
maids, she arranged with the young woman, that Helmichis, without being
acquainted with the fact, should sleep with her instead of his mistress. Having
effected her design, Rosamond discovered herself to Helmichis, and gave him the
choice either of killing Alboin, and taking herself and the kingdom as his
reward, or of being put to death as the ravisher of the queen. Helmichis
consented to destroy Alboin; but after the murder, finding they could not
occupy the kingdom, and fearful that the Lombards would put them to death for
the love they bore to Alboin, they seized the royal treasure, and fled with it
to Longinus, at Ravenna, who received them favorably.
During these
troubles the emperor Justinus died, and was succeeded by Tiberius, who,
occupied in the wars with the Parthians, could not attend to the affairs of
Italy; and this seeming to Longinus to present an opportunity, by means of
Rosamond and her wealth, of becoming king of the Lombards and of the whole of
Italy, he communicated his design to her, persuaded her to destroy Helmichis,
and so take him for her husband. To this end, having prepared poisoned wine,
she with her own hand presented it to Helmichis, who complained of thirst as he
came from the bath. Having drunk half of it, he suspected the truth, from the
unusual sensation it occasioned and compelled her to drink the remainder; so
that in a few hours both came to their end, and Longinus was deprived of the
hope of becoming king.
In the meantime
the Lombards, having drawn themselves together in Pavia, which was become the
principal seat of their empire, made Clefis their king. He rebuilt Imola,
destroyed by Narses, and occupied Remini and almost every place up to Rome; but
he died in the course of his victories. Clefis was cruel to such a degree, not
only toward strangers, but to his own Lombards, that these people, sickened of
royal power, did not create another king, but appointed among themselves thirty
dukes to govern the rest. This prevented the Lombards from occupying the whole
of Italy, or of extending their dominion further than Benevento; for, of the cities
of Rome, Ravenna, Cremona, Mantua, Padua, Monselice, Parma, Bologna, Faenza,
Forli, and Cesena, some defended themselves for a time, and others never fell
under their dominion; since, not having a king, they became less prompt for
war, and when they afterward appointed one, they were, by living in freedom,
become less obedient, and more apt to quarrel among themselves; which from the
first prevented a fortunate issue of their military expeditions, and was the
ultimate cause of their being driven out of Italy. The affairs of the Lombards
being in the state just described, the Romans and Longinus came to an agreement
with them, that each should lay down their arms and enjoy what they already
possessed.
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