Dio's Rome Volume VI Part 3

[Sidenote:--14--] These were some of the grounds that led many persons to find fault with him. Another was his elevation of Adventus. Adventus had drawn pay as one of the spies and detectives, had left his position there and served among the letter-carriers, had later been appointed cubicularius, and still later was advanced to a position as procurator.

Now although old age prevented him from seeing, lack of education from reading, and want of experience from being able to accomplish anything, the emperor made him senator, fellow-consul, and prefect of the city.

This upstart had dared to say to the soldiers after the death of Caracalla: "The sovereignty properly belongs to me, since I am elder than Macrinus: but inasmuch as I am extremely old, I make way for him."

His behavior was regarded as nonsensical, as was also that of Macrinus, in granting the greatest dignity of the senate to such a man, who could not when consul carry on a plain conversation with anybody in the senate, and consequently on the day of elections pretended to be sick.

Hence, before long Macrinus a.s.signed the direction of the city to Marius Maximus in his stead. It looked as if he had made him praefectus urbi with the sole purpose of polluting the senate-house. And this pollution took place not only in virtue of the fact that he had served in the mercenary force and had performed the duties belonging to executioners, scouts, and centurions, but in that he had secured control of the city prior to fulfilling the demands of the consuls.h.i.+p. In other words, he became city prefect before senator. Macrinus connived at his promotion with the definite intention of blinding the public in regard to his own record, which would have shown that he had seized the imperial office while yet a knight.

[Sidenote:--15--] Besides these not unmerited censures that some pa.s.sed upon him, he also attracted adverse criticism for designating as prefects Ulpius Julia.n.u.s and Julia.n.u.s Nestor, who possessed no particular excellence and had not been tested in many undertakings, but had become quite notorious for rascality in Caracalla's reign; for, being at the head of the late prince's messengers [Footnote: Mommsen thinks that by this expression Dio probably means the position of _princeps peregrinorum_.] they had been of great a.s.sistance to him in his unholy meddling. However, only a few citizens took account of these details, which did not tend wholly to encourage them. The majority of individuals, in view of their having recently got rid of Tarautas, which was more than they could have hoped, and comparing the new ruler in the few indications afforded with the old, and in view of all the other considerations and expectations, did not deem it fitting to condemn him so soon. And for this reason they mourned him exceedingly when he was killed, though they would certainly have felt hatred for him had he lived longer.]

For he began to live rather more luxuriously and he took official notice of those who reproved him. His putting Maternia.n.u.s and Datus out of the way was not reasonable,--for what wrong had they done in being attentive to their emperor?--but it was not unlike human nature, since he had been involved in great danger. But he made a mistake in venting his wrath upon the rest, who were suspected of disliking his low birth and his unexpected attempt upon the sovereign power. He ought to have done precisely the opposite; realizing what he had been at the outset and what his position then was, he should not have been supercilious, but should have behaved moderately, cultivated the genius of his household, and encouraged men by good deeds and a display of excellence unchanged by circ.u.mstances.

[Sidenote:--16--] These things [lacuna] in regard to him [lacuna] have been said by me [lacuna] in detail [lacuna] of any [lacuna] just as [lacuna] nominally throughout his entire reign [lacuna] of all [lacuna]

of it [lacuna] that he said in conversation with the soldiers [lacuna]

it was proved [lacuna] and he dared to utter not a few laudations of himself and to send still more of them in letters, saying among other things: "I have been quite sure that you also would agree with the legions, since I enjoy the consciousness of having conferred many benefits upon the commonwealth." He subscribed himself in the letter as Caesar and emperor and Severus, adding to the name of Macrinus the t.i.tles of Pious, and Fortunate, and Augustus, and Proconsul, of course without awaiting any vote on our part. He sent the letter without being ignorant that he was, on his own responsibility, a.s.suming so many and great designations nor [lacuna] name [lacuna] of Pretorians as formerly some [lacuna] not but what [lacuna] so wrote [lacuna] in the beginning [lacuna] war chiefly [lacuna] of barbarians [lacuna] near [lacuna] in the letter he used simply the same terms as the emperors before Caracalla, and this he did the whole year through [lacuna] memoranda found among the soldiers. Thus [lacuna] of things accustomed to be said with a view to flattery and not inspired by truthfulness they became so suspicious as to ask that they be made public, and he sent them to us, and the quaestor read them aloud, as he did other similar doc.u.ments in their turn. And a certain praetor, as the senate was then in session and none of the quaestors was present, also read an epistle once composed by Macrinus himself.

[Sidenote:--17--] The first letter having been read, appropriate measures were pa.s.sed with reference to both Macrinus and his son. He was designated Patrician, and Princeps Iuventutis, and Caesar. He accepted everything save the horse-race voted in honor of the beginning of his reign; from this he begged to be excused, saying that the event had been sufficiently honored by the spectacle on the birthday of Severus. Of Tarautas he made no mention at this time, in the way of either honor or dishonor, save only that he called him Emperor. He ventured to term him neither Hero nor Foe, and, as I conjecture, it was because the deeds of his predecessor and the hatred of much of mankind made him shrink from the former epithet, and the thought of the soldiers restrained him from the latter. Some suspected that it was because he wanted the disgracing to be the act of the senate and the people rather than his own, especially since he was in the midst of the legions. He did say that Tarautas by his wrongdoing had been chiefly responsible for the war and had terribly burdened the public treasury by increasing the money given to the barbarians, inasmuch as it was of equal amount with the pay of the soldiers under arms. No one dared, however, to give utterance publicly to any such statement against him and vote that he was an enemy, for fear of immediate annihilation at the hands of the soldiers in the City. Still, they abused him in their own fas.h.i.+on and heaped insults upon him as much as they could, going over the list of his b.l.o.o.d.y deeds, with the name of each victim, and ranging him alongside all the evil tyrants that had ever held sway over them.

[Sidenote:--18--] At the same time the public demanded that the horse-race given on his birthday be abolished, that absolutely all the statues, both gold and silver, erected [Footnote: Supplying, with Reiske, [Greek: hidruthentas].] in his honor be melted down, and that those who had served with him in any capacity as informers be made known and punished with the utmost speed. For great numbers, not only slaves and freedmen and soldiers and Caesarians, but likewise knights and senators and numerous very distinguished women, were believed to have given secret hints during his reign and to have blackmailed various persons.

And although they did not attach to Antoninus the name of Enemy, they did keep vociferating that Martialius (on account of the similarity of his name to that of Mars, as they pretended,) ought to be honored with enconiums and with statues for wors.h.i.+p. They also showed for the moment no indication of annoyance at Macrinus], the reason being that they were so overwhelmed by joy on account of the death of Tarautas as not to have leisure to think anything about his humble origin, and they were glad to accept him as emperor. They were less concerned about whose slaves they should be next than about whose yoke they had shaken off, and were impressed with the idea that any chance comer who might present himself would be preferable to their former master. [All the unusual expenditures were rehea.r.s.ed that had been made, not only by the Roman Treasury but privately for any persons and on the part of any foreign nations as a result of the former sovereign's direction: and thus the overthrow of those charged with carrying out the enactments made by him and the hope that in the future nothing similar would be done inclined people to be satisfied with the existing arrangement.

[Sidenote:--19--] However, they soon learned that Aurelia.n.u.s was dead and that Diadumenia.n.u.s, son of Macrinus, had been appointed Caesar. This last was nominally the act of the soldiers, through whose ranks he pa.s.sed when summoned from Antioch to meet his father, but really it was accomplished by Macrinus. People further learned that their ruler had a.s.sumed the name of Antoninus. (He had done this to win the favor of the soldiers, partly to avoid seeming to dishonor his predecessor's memory entirely, especially in view of the fact that he had secretly thrown down some of the statues offered to him in Rome by Alexander and set on pedestals by Antoninus himself: and again he wanted to get an excuse for promising them seven hundred and fifty denarii more.) So persons began to think differently and reflected that previously they had held him in no esteem. Taking account, furthermore, of all the additional ign.o.ble manifestations on his part that they suspected and thought likely, they began to be ashamed and did not [lacuna] Caracalla any more than [lacuna] things pertaining to him differently [lacuna] by deprecating the [lacuna] of Severus [lacuna] of Antoninus [lacuna] they displayed [lacuna] and hero and what befitted his reign, not to be sure [lacuna]

and wholly the judgments of all men in Rome [lacuna] underwent a change [lacuna] senate [lacuna] to him [lacuna] me [lacuna] however, when all were questioned man by man regarding his honors, both others answered ambiguously and [lacuna] Saturninus [lacuna] in a way attributing [lacuna] praetors [lacuna] that it was not permissible for him to put any vote about anything, in order that they might avoid the consul's jealousy. This procedure was contrary to precedent, for it was not lawful that there should take place in the senate-chamber an inquiry into any matter, except at the command of the emperor.

[Sidenote:--20--] The crowd, because they could obscure their ident.i.ty at the contest and by their numbers, gained the greater boldness, raised a loud cry at the horse-race on the birthday of Diadumenia.n.u.s, which fell on the fourteenth of September: they uttered many lamentations, a.s.serting that they alone of all mankind were dest.i.tute of a leader, dest.i.tute of a king; and they invoked the name of Jupiter, declaring that he alone should be their leader and uttering aloud these words: "As a master thou wert angry, as a father take pity on us." Nor would they pay any heed at first to either the equestrian or the senatorial order [lacuna] and commending the emperor and the Caesar to the extent of [lacuna] in Greek saying: "Ah, what a glorious day is to-day! What n.o.ble kings!" and desiring that the others also should share their opinion.

But they stretched out their arms toward the sky and exclaimed: "[lacuna]. this is the Roman Augustus: having him we have all!" So true it is that among mankind respect is a distinct characteristic of the better element and contempt a characteristic of the worse. For these two now regarded Macrinus and Diadumenia.n.u.s as henceforth absolutely non-existent and trampled upon their claims as though they were already dead. This was one great reason why his soldiers despised him, and paid no heed to what was done to win their favor. Another still more important cause lay in the frequent and extraordinary insolence shown toward him by the Pergamenians, who were deprived of what they had formerly received from Tarautas; and for this conduct he imposed upon them public sentence of loss of citizens.h.i.+p. [Sidenote:--21--] The att.i.tude of the soldiers is straightway to be described. At this time Macrinus neither sent to the senate, as they were demanding, nor published otherwise any doc.u.ment of the informers, saying either truly or falsely (to avoid a great disturbance) that none such had been found in the royal residence. For Tarautas had either destroyed the majority of those containing any accusation or had returned them to the senders themselves, as I have stated, [Footnote: The pa.s.sage to which Dio refers is lost.] to the end that no proof of his baseness should be left. But he did reveal the names of three senators whom, from what he had himself discovered, he deemed to be especially deserving of hatred. These were Manilius and Julius, and moreover Sulpicius Arrhenia.n.u.s, who had blackmailed, among others, Ba.s.sus, the son of Pomponius, whose lieutenant he had been when Ba.s.sus was governor of Moesia. These men were banished to islands, as the emperor expressly forbade their being put to death. "We would avoid,"--he wrote--these were his very words,--"ourselves appearing to do the things for which we censure them."--And Lucius Priscillia.n.u.s [whose name was presented by the senate itself,] was as much renowned for his insulting behavior as he was for his killing of wild beasts. [He fought them at Tusculum every now and then, and contended with so many each time that he bore the scars of their bites.] Once he, una.s.sisted, joined battle with a bear and panther, a lioness and lion at once, but far more numerous were the men, both knights and senators, whom he destroyed as a result of his slanders. [For both of these achievements] he was greatly honored by Caracalla [was enrolled among the ex-praetors and became (contrary to precedent) governor of Achaea. He incurred the violent hatred of the senate, was summoned for trial] and was confined upon an island. These men, then, came to their end as described.

[Sidenote:--22--] And Flaccus was entrusted also with the dispensation of food stuffs,--an office which Manilius had formerly held,--for he had secured [Footnote: Reading [Greek: eilaephos] (Reimar).] it (with the added ratification of Macrinus) as a reward of his information against him; and he was subsequently made superintendent of the distribution of dole which took place at the games given by the major praetors, save those celebrated in honor of Flora [lacuna] moreover the iuridici possessing authority in Italy had to stop rendering decisions outside the traditional limits set by Marcus. [Footnote: The text of the early part of this chapter may be characterized as "jagged." The sentences lack clearness and the relation of the individual words is not always certain. The reader may be interested to see a translation of Hirschfeld's interpretation of the section, taken from his book ent.i.tled _Untersuchungen auf dem Gebiete der Roemischen Verwaltungsgeschichte_ (pp. 117-120).

a [Flaccus]--It is here a question of a high senatorial office, which can only be the _praefectura alimentorum_.

b [The iuridici]--Perhaps the person entrusted with the execution of this ruling was C. Octavius Sabinus, who had the t.i.tle of _electus ad corrigendum statum Italiae_.

c [The orphans]--Probably during the latter portion of Caracalla's reign, as also under Commodus, the funds for food had been available either not at all or at irregular intervals, and therefore the rest.i.tution of district prefects was determined upon.

From these Food Prefects for a particular district those officials must be distinguished who bear the general t.i.tle of _praefectus alimentorum_ without any local limitation, and show a marked difference from the rest in that they are invariably of consular rank, whereas the position of district prefect, like that of curator of roads, was usually held by a candidate that had only pa.s.sed the praetors.h.i.+p. The inscriptions of these _consular_ prefects begin not earlier than the end of the reign of Marcus Aurelius, perhaps not till Commodus, and extend to the time of Macrinus, while during this whole time (a period, that is, of about forty years) all trace of the district prefects vanishes. Under these circ.u.mstances the conclusion seems to me inevitable that towards the end of the second century (probably from the first years of Marcus Aurelius on) the district prefecture was abolished and the administration was centralized in Rome under a consular _praefectus alimentorum_, whose authority extended over the whole of Italy.

Now very probably it was the introduction under Marcus Aurelius of the _iuridici_ which occasioned this change, even if not immediately, and that these duties of distribution, as well as other administrative functions, were placed in their hands; one thing that would seem to recommend this view particularly is that their position in general tended to make them official examiners of the affairs of the _municipia_. When, in addition, we have evidence that Macrinus in the year 217 reduced the authority of the _iundici_ to the limits originally imposed by Marcus Aurelius and that further the same emperor inst.i.tuted certain rulings for the amelioration of food distribution; when, moreover, we consider in connection with this the coincidence of the disappearance of the _consular food prefects_ for Italy on the one hand and the reappearance of the _pretorial district prefects_ on the other, it will not appear overbold to suppose that Macrinus, in the course of the reform affecting the _iuridici_, also detached from them the right to supervise foods, restored it to the curators of roads (as in the original arrangement) and abolished the central bureau in Rome.]--A certain Domitius Florus had formerly had charge of the senate records and ought to have been next appointed aedile, but before entering upon office had been deprived of all hope on account of Plautia.n.u.s; he now had recourse to sedulous office-seeking, recovered his lost standing and was appointed tribune. Anicius Faustus was sent into Asia to govern in place of Asper. The latter had at first obtained very great honor from Macrinus, who thought he could settle affairs in Asia: afterwards, when he was already _en route_ and was approaching the province (Macrinus had not accorded a favorable reception to the pet.i.tion forwarded to Caracalla and delivered to him, in which the inhabitants begged that Asper be not sent them as proconsul), the emperor offered him a terrible affront in rejecting him. It was reported to the prince that Asper had made some improper remarks, and moreover he affected to think that old age and disease const.i.tuted a second reason for relieving him of his duties, and therefore he delivered Asia into the keeping of Faustus, a man who had been overlooked in the order of allotment by Severus. As the time for him to govern turned out to be short, Macrinus bade him hold the office for the following year in place of Aufidius Fronto. To the latter he would entrust neither Africa (which he had drawn by lot), because the Africans begged that he be not allowed to come, nor yet Asia, though he had first transferred him thither. As a fitting recognition, however, Macrinus proposed that twenty-five myriads be given him to stay at home. Fronto, however, would not accept that, saying that he wanted not money but a position of authority, and accordingly later he received the province from Sardanapalus.

Besides these events aid was extended to the orphans, whose hopes of support were small, from the [lacuna] age of childhood to military years. [Footnote: See note 2c, page 58.]

[Sidenote:--23--] Now Julia, the mother of Tarautas, chanced to be in Antioch, and at the first information of her son's death she was so affected that she struck herself violently and undertook to starve herself to death. The presence of this very same man, whom she hated alive, became the object of her longings now that he had ceased to exist; yet not because she desired him to live, but because she was furious at having to return to private life; and this led her to abuse Macrinus also long and bitterly. Subsequently, as no change was made in her royal suite or in the guard of Pretorians attending her, and the new emperor sent her a kind message (not having yet heard what she had said), she took courage, laid aside her longing for death, and, without writing him any response, held some negotiations with the soldiers she had about her, especially [lacuna] and as they were angry with Macrinus [lacuna] as they had a pleasanter remembrance of her son, how she might attain the imperial position, rendering herself the peer of Semiramis and Nitocris, since she came in a way from the same regions as they; [Footnote: Boissevain's conjecture for the succeeding sentences (valuable, of course, only as the guess of an expert) is the following:

But when n.o.body would cooperate with her and letters came from Macrinus making certain announcements at which, in view of her circ.u.mstances, she felt herself depressed in spirits, she renounced her ambitions out of fear that she might be deprived of the t.i.tle of Augusta and be forced to depart to her native land, and al [lacuna] drea [lacuna] wom [lacuna] ad [lacuna] eake [lacuna] and mos [lacuna] any one behol [lacuna] she decided to do just the reverse and submit lest she be forced eventually to return to Rome and be there compelled by Macrinus to remain at home for the future for appearing to be opposed to his policy. Afterwards, however, she was intending to take measures that would enable her to get away by s.h.i.+p, if possibility still offered, when he ordered her, etc.]

as [lacuna] cooperated [lacuna] and letters [lacuna] of Macrinus [lacuna] some for which [lacuna] judgment [lacuna] fearing that she might be deprived of the t.i.tle of Augusta and to [lacuna] native country be forced to return [lacuna] to fear [lacuna] go to Rome [lacuna]

Macrinus [lacuna] seeming to do the opposite [lacuna] how [lacuna] might depart and he ordered her to depart from Antioch with all speed and go whithersoever she would. [And when she heard what was said in Rome about her son] she no longer cared to live. The cancer in her breast, which, for a very long time had remained stationary in its progress, had been made angry and inflamed by the blow which she struck her chest on hearing of her son's death; this helped to undermine her const.i.tution and she made sure of her demise by voluntary starvation.

[Sidenote:--24--][And so this queen, sprung from a family of common people and raised to a high station, who had lived during her husband's reign in great unhappiness on account of Plautia.n.u.s, who had beheld her younger son butchered in her own lap and had borne ill-will to her elder son while he lived, finally receiving such tidings of his a.s.sa.s.sination, withdrew from power while in the full flush of life and thereafter did herself to death. Hence a person reviewing her career could not deem infallibly happy all those who attain great authority; indeed, in no case unless some true and undefiled pleasure in life belongs to them, and unswerving, permanent good fortune.--This, then, was the fate of Julia. Her body was taken to Rome and placed in the tomb of Gaius and Lucius. Later, however, both her bones and those of Geta were transferred by her sister Maesa to the precinct of Antoninus.

[Sidenote:--25--] Nor was Macrinus destined to survive for long,--a fact of which he doubtless had previous indications. A mule bore a mule in Rome and a sow had a little pig with four ears and two tongues and eight feet. A great earthquake occurred, blood flowed from a pipe, and bees formed honeycombs in the Forum Boarium. The hunting-theatre was smitten with thunderbolts on the very day of the Vulca.n.a.lia [Footnote: August twenty-third.] and such a blaze ensued that all its upper circ.u.mference and the whole circuit of construction and the ground-level were burned and thereupon the rest of it caught fire and fell in ruins. No human aid availed against the conflagration, though every possible stream of water was directed upon the blaze, nor could the downpour from the sky, which came in great amount and violence, accomplish anything. The force of both kinds of water was exhausted by the power of the thunderbolts, and to a certain extent, at least, the building only received additional injury; [Footnote: Reading [Greek: prosesineto](Bekker).] wherefore the gladiatorial spectacle was held in the stadium for many years.

This naturally seemed to foreshow what was to be. There were other fires besides and imperial possessions were burned especially often during his reign,--a thing which in itself has always been regarded as of ill omen; but the fact that it seemed to have overthrown the horse-race of Vulcan had a direct bearing upon the emperor. This accordingly gave rise to a feeling that something out of the ordinary was in process of consummation, and the idea was strengthened by the behavior on that same day of the Tiber, which rose until it invaded the Forum and the roads leading to it with such impetus as to sweep away even human beings. And a woman, as I have heard, grim and gigantic, was seen by some persons and declared that these disasters were insignificant as compared with what was destined to befall them.

[Sidenote:--26--] And so it proved, for the evil did not confine itself to the City alone, but took possession of the whole world under its dominion, with whose inhabitants the theatre was customarily filled. The Romans, defeated, gave up their war against the barbarians and likewise received great detriment from the greed and factional differences of the soldiers. The progress of both these evils I am now to describe.]

Macrinus, seeing that Artaba.n.u.s was exceedingly angry at the way he had been treated and had invaded Mesopotamia with a large force, at first of his own accord sent him the captives and used friendly language, urging him to accept peace and laying the blame for the past upon Tarautas. But the other would not entertain his proposition and furthermore bade him build up the forts and demolished cities, abandon Mesopotamia entirely and offer satisfaction in general, but particularly for the damage to the royal tombs. [For, trusting in the large force that he had gathered and despising Macrinus as an unworthy emperor, he gave reign to his wrath and expected that even without the Roman's consent he could accomplish whatever he wished.] Macrinus had no opportunity to think it over, but, meeting the enemy already on the way to Nisibis, was defeated in a battle begun by the soldiers about water, while encamped opposite each other. And he came very near losing the rampart itself, but some armor-bearers and baggage-carriers happened along and saved it. In their confidence, they had started out ahead and made a rush upon the barbarians; and the unexpectedness of their sally was of advantage to them, making them appear to be armed soldiers and not mere helpers. But the [lacuna] both was not present then and [lacuna] the night [lacuna]

the camps [lacuna] and the Romans followed on. The enemy, perceiving the noise that they made in going out, suspected [lacuna] flight, but seeing them at a glance [lacuna] the Romans barbarians [lacuna] forced by their [lacuna] and the flight of Macrinus, they became dejected and were conquered. And as a result [lacuna] from Mesopotamia especially [lacuna]

they overran Syria [lacuna] he abandoned.

[Sidenote: A.D. 218 (_a.u._ 971)] This took place at the season under consideration: but in the autumn and winter, during which Macrinus and Adventus became consuls, they no longer came to blows with each other but kept up an interchange of envoys and heralds until they had reached an agreement.

[Sidenote:--27--] For Macrinus, through native cowardice (being a Moor he was tremendously timorous) and by reason of the soldiers' lack of discipline, did not dare to begin a war. On the contrary] he expended for the sake of peace enormous amounts, in the shape of both gifts and money, to Artaba.n.u.s himself and to his a.s.sistants in the government, so that the entire outlay came to five thousand myriads. [And the emperor was not unwilling to effect a reconciliation, both for the reasons mentioned and because his soldiers were extremely restive,--a condition due to their having been away from home an unusual length of time, as well as to the scarcity of food. No supplies were to be had from stores, since there were no stores ready, nor from the country itself, because part had been devastated and part was controlled by forts. Macrinus, however, did not forward an exact account of all their proceedings to the senate and consequently triumphal sacrifices were voted him and the name of Parthicus was bestowed. But this he would not accept, being apparently ashamed to adopt the appellation of an enemy by whom he had been defeated.

Moreover, the war that had been waged in the regions of the Armenian king subsided. Tiridates received the diadem sent him by Macrinus, and got back his mother (whom Tarautas had confined in prison eleven months), together with the booty captured from Armenia and all the territory that his father possessed in Cappadocia, with hopes of obtaining the annual payment often furnished by the Romans. And the Dacians, after damaging parts of Dacia, held their hands in spite of a desire for further conflict, and got back the hostages that Caracalla, under the name of an alliance, had taken from them. This was the course of these events.

[Sidenote:--28--] But a new war broke upon the heads of the Romans, and no longer a foreign but a civil strife. It was the soldiers who were responsible for the outbreak. They were somewhat irritated by their setbacks, but their behavior was owing still more to the fact that they would no longer endure any hard work if they could help it, but were thoroughly out of training in every respect and wanted to have no emperor that ruled with a firm hand but demanded that they get everything without stint, and chose to perform no task that was fitting for them. They were further angered by the cutting off of their pay and the deprivation of prizes and exemptions (these last among the privileges of the military), which they had gained from Tarautas, even though they personally were not destined to be affected by these measures. Their resolution was definitely strengthened by the delay which they had undergone in practically one and the same spot while wintering in Syria on account of the war. It should be stated that Macrinus seemed to have shown good generals.h.i.+p and to have acted sensibly in debarring the men in arms from no privilege, but preserving to them intact all the rights allowed by his predecessor, whereas he gave notice to such as intended to enlist anew that they would be enrolled only upon the old schedule published by Severus. He hoped that these recruits, entering the army a few at a time, would hold aloof from rebellion, at first through peaceful inclinations and fear and later through the influence of time and custom, and that by having no corrupting effect upon the rest they would quiet them.

[Sidenote:--29--] If this had been done after the members of the army had retired to their individual fortresses and were consequently scattered, it would have been a correct move. Perhaps some of them would not have shown indignation, believing that they would really be put at no disadvantage because temporarily they suffered no loss: and even if they had been vexed, yet, each body being few in number and subservient to the commanders sent by the senate, they could have accomplished no great harm. But, united in Syria, they suspected that they should be liable to innovations if they separated;--for the time being they could well believe they were being pampered on account of the demands of war.

And again [lacuna] So the others killed certain soldiers and ravaged portions of Mesopotamia, and these men butchered not a few of their own number and also overthrew their emperor; and, what is still worse, they set up another similar ruler, by whom nothing was done save what was evil and base. [Sidenote:--30--] It seems to me that this occurrence had been foreshadowed more clearly, perhaps, than any previous event. A very distinct eclipse of the sun [had taken place] about that time, [and the comet-star was seen for a considerable period. And another]

luminary, whose tail extended from the west to the east, for several nights caused us terrible alarm, so that this verse of Homer's was ever on our lips:

"Rang the vast welkin with clarion calls, and Zeus heard the tumult."

[Footnote: From Homer's Iliad, XXI, verse 388.]

It was brought about in the following way:

Maesa, the sister of Julia Augusta, had two daughters, Soaemias and Mammaea, by her husband Julius, an ex-consul. She had also two male grandchildren. One was Avitus, the child of Soaemias and Varius Marcellus, a man of the same race,--he was from Apamea,--who had been occupied in procurators.h.i.+ps, had been enrolled in the senate, and soon after died. The other was Ba.s.sia.n.u.s, the child of Mammaea and Gessius Marcia.n.u.s, who was himself also a Syrian, from a city called Arca, and had been a.s.signed to various positions as procurator. Now Maesa at home in Emesa her life [lacuna] her sister Julia, with whom she had made her abode during the entire period of the latter's reign, having perished.

For Avitus, after governing in Asia, sent by Caracalla from Mesopotamia into Cyprus, was seen to be limited to the position of adviser to some magistrate who suffered from old age and sickness; and again [lacuna]

him, when [lacuna] he died, one Eutychia.n.u.s, that had given satisfaction in games and exercises, and for that reason [lacuna] who [lacuna]

[Sidenote:--31--] [lacuna] upon [lacuna] becoming aware of the strong dislike of the soldiers for Macrinus [lacuna] wall [lacuna] and partly persuaded by the Sun, whom they name Elagabalus and wors.h.i.+p devotedly, and by some other prophecies, he undertook to overthrow Macrinus and put up Avitus, the grandson of Maesa and a mere child, as emperor in his stead. And he accomplished both projects, although he had himself as yet not fully reached manhood and had as helpers only a few freedmen and soldiers [lacuna] and Emesenian senators [lacuna] pretending that he was a natural son of Tarautas and arraying him in clothing which the latter had worn when a child, Caesar by the [lacunae] introduced into the camp at night, without the knowledge of his mother or his grandmother, and at dawn on the sixteenth of May he persuaded the soldiers, who were eager to get some starting-point for an uprising, to revolt. Julia.n.u.s, the prefect, learning this (for he happened to be not far distant), caused both a daughter and a son-in-law of Marcia.n.u.s, together with some others, to be a.s.sa.s.sinated. Then, after collecting as many of the soldiers remaining as he could in the short time at his disposal, he made an attack upon what was, to all intents and purposes, a most hostile fortress. [Sidenote:--32--] He might have taken it that very day, for the Moors sent to Tarautas according to the terms of alliance fought most valiantly for Macrinus, who was a countryman of theirs, and even broke through some of the gates. But he refused the opportunity, either because he was afraid to rush in or because he expected that he could win the men inside to surrender voluntarily. As no propositions were made to him, and they furthermore built up all the gates during the night, so that they were now in a securer position, he again a.s.saulted the place but effected nothing. For they carried Avitus (whom they were already saluting as "Marcus Aurelius Antoninus") all about upon the ramparts, and exhibited some likeness of Caracalla when a child as bearing some resemblance to their new ruler, declaring that the latter was truly Caracalla's child and his proper successor in the imperial office. "Why do you do this, fellow-soldiers?" they exclaimed. "Why do you thus fight against your benefactor's son?" By this means they corrupted all the soldiers with Julia.n.u.s, especially as the troops were anxious to have a change, so that the attackers killed their commanders, save Julia.n.u.s (for he effected his escape), and surrendered themselves to the False Antoninus. For when an attempt to restrain them was made by their centurions and the other subordinates, and they were, as a result, hesitating, Eutychia.n.u.s sent Festus (thus--according to the cubicularius of Tarautas--was one of the Caesarians named) [Footnote: The text is emended in accordance with a tentative suggestion of Boissevain.] and persuaded them to kill all such officers and offered as a prize to each soldier who should slay his man the victim's property and military rank.

The boy also harangued them from the wall with fict.i.tious statements, praising his "father" and [lacuna] Macrinus, as [lacuna]

[Fourteen lines are lacking.]

[Sidenote:--33--] [lacuna] those left to be restored to their original property and status as citizens. But the most effective means by which he attached them to himself was his promise to give each and every one unlimited amounts of money, and to restore the exiles,--an act which would seem to make him out in truth a legitimate son of Tarautas [lacuna]

[Fourteen lines are lacking.]

[Sidenote:--34--] [lacuna] Marcia.n.u.s [lacuna] Macrinus [lacuna] (for Marcellus was dead) he put this person to death; but, lacking courage to proceed further on his own responsibility without Macrinus, he sent for the latter. Macrinus came quickly to the Alban soldiers at Apamea and appointed his son emperor in spite of the lad's being but ten years old, in order that with this excuse he might mollify the soldiers by various means, chief among which should be the promise of five thousand denarii; he a.s.signed them a thousand each on the spot and restored to the rest complete allowances of food and everything else of which they had been deprived: in this way he hoped to appease them. With this same end in view he bestowed upon the populace a dinner worth one hundred and fifty denarii a head before revealing to them anything about the uprising; for he wanted it to be thought that he was banqueting them not because of that event but to show honor to his son. And on that occasion first one of the revolted soldiers approached him carrying the head of Julia.n.u.s (who had been found somewhere in hiding and slain), in many linen cloths and tied up very strongly indeed with ropes, pretending it was the head of the False Antoninus. He had sealed the package with the finger ring of Julia.n.u.s. After doing that the soldier ran out when the head was uncovered. Macrinus, upon discovering what had been done, no longer dared either to stay where he was or to a.s.sault the fortification, but returned to Antioch with all speed. So the Alban legion and the rest who were wintering in that region likewise revolted. The opposing parties continued their preparations and both sides sent messengers and letters to the provinces and to the legions. As a result perturbation was caused in many places by the first communication of each side about the other and by the constant messages contradicting each other. In the course of the uncertainty numerous letter-carriers on both sides lost their lives, and numbers of those who had slain the followers of Antoninus, or had not immediately attached themselves to their cause, were censured. Some perished on this account and some merely incurred a small loss. Hence I will pa.s.s over most of this (it is all very much alike and permits of no considerable description in detail) and will give a summary of what took place in Egypt.

[Sidenote:--35--] The governor of that country was Basilia.n.u.s, whom Macrinus had also made prefect in place of Julia.n.u.s. Some interests were managed also by Marius Secundus, although he had been created senator by Macrinus and was at the head of affairs in Phoenicia. In this way both of them were dependent upon Macrinus and for that reason put to death the runners of the False Antoninus. As long, therefore, as the outcome of the business was still in dispute, they and the soldiers and the individuals were in suspense, some wis.h.i.+ng and praying and reporting one thing and others the opposite, as always in factional disturbances. When the news of the defeat of Macrinus arrived, a riot of some magnitude followed, in which many of the populace and not a few of the soldiers were destroyed. Secundus found himself in a dilemma; and Basilia.n.u.s, fearing that he should lose his life instanter, effected his escape from Egypt. After coming to the vicinity of Brundusium in Italy he was discovered, having been betrayed by a friend in Rome to whom he had sent a secret message asking for food. So he was later taken back to Nicomedea and executed.

[Sidenote:--36--] Macrinus wrote also to the senate about the False Antoninus [as he did also to the governors everywhere], calling him "boy" and saying that he was mad. He wrote also to Maximus, the praefectus urbi, giving him such information as one might expect, and further stating that the soldiers recently enlisted insisted upon receiving all that they were wont to have before, and that the rest, who had been deprived of nothing, made common cause with them in their anger at what was withheld. And to omit a recital, he said, of all the many means devised by Severus and his son for the ruin of rigid discipline, it was impossible for the troops to be given their entire pay in addition to the donatives which they were receiving; for the increase in their pay granted by Tarautas amounted to seven thousand myriads annually, and could not be given, partly because the soldiers and again because [lacuna] righteous [lacuna] but the recognized expenditures [lacuna] and the [lacuna] could he himself and the child as [lacuna]

himself [lacuna] and he commiserated himself upon having a son, but said that he found it a solace in his disaster to think that he had outlived the fratricide who attempted to destroy the whole world. He also added to the missive something like the following: "I know that there are many who are more anxious to have emperors killed than to have them live, but this is one thing I can not say in respect to myself, that any one could either desire or pray that I should perish." At which Fulvius Diogenia.n.u.s exclaimed: "We have all prayed for it!"

[Sidenote:--37--] The speaker was one of the ex-consuls, but not of very sound mind, and consequently he caused himself as much exasperation as he did other people. He also [lacuna] the subscription [lacuna] of letter [lacuna] and to the [lacuna] leather it had been entrusted to read [lacuna] and those [lacuna] and [lacuna] others and also [lacuna]

be sent [lacuna] directly as [lacuna] hesitating [lacuna] ordering [lacuna] by the [lacuna] and both to others [lacuna] of foremost to the [lacuna] any care for the common preserver [lacuna] over [lacuna] that the False Antoninus finding in the chests of Macrinus not yet [lacuna]

he himself voluntarily [lacuna] published [lacuna] calumny [lacuna]

making with reference to the soldiers. And he marched so quickly against him that Macrinus could with difficulty encounter him in a village of the Antiochians one hundred and fifty stades distant from the city.