The revise the paper of the Eurasian nomad history

VALENS GRATIANUS VALENTINIANUS II

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,I 2. De Hunnorum et Alanorum, aliarumque SC'ythiae ! Asiaticae gentium sedibus et moribus. I I 1. Totius autem sementem exitii et cladum origin_

em diversarum, quas Martius furor incendio insolito I miscendo cuncta concivit, hanc comperimus causam. I Hunorum gcns monumentis veteribus leviter nota,i

ultra paludes Maeoticas glacialem oceanum accolens, omnem modum feritatis excedit. 2. Ubi quoniam ab ipsis nascendi primitiis infantum feno sulcantur altius genae, ut pilorum vigor tempestivus emergens, corrugatis cicatricibus hebetetur, senescunt im­ berbes absque ulla venustate, spadonibus similes, compactis omnes firmisque membris et opimis cervi­ cibus, prodigiose 4 deformes 5 et pandi, ut bipedes existimes bestias, vel quales in commarginandis pon­ tibus effigiati stipites dolantur incompte. 3. In hominum autem figura, licet insuavi, ita victu 6 sunt asperi, ut neque igni neque saporatis indigeant cibis,

1 (TTpwrPwvTat, Bent. ; GTporP6wvrat, Eyssen.; (T'TporPOWV'T€, V.i a orjPt~, Val.; SfjptV, Pet. ; STJP€tV, V. 3 insolito, Pet.;

incensio et solito, V. 4 pl'odigiose, V, Kell., Corn. 5 dejormes, A, Kell., Corn.; jOTmae, E; jormes, V. 6 ita uictu, Her.; ita uisi, Val.; ta nisi, V.

380

XXXI., I, 5-2, 1-3

5. When gaily through the cit.y's festal streets Shall whirl soft maidens in a happy dance, \Vhen mournfully a wall shall guard a bat,h, Then coun tless hordcs of men spread far and wide With warlike arms shall cross clear 1strus' stream To ravage Seythia's fields and Mysia's land. But mad with hope when they Pannollia raid, There battle and life's end their course shall check.

Of the homes and customs of the Huns, the Halani, and other nations of Asiatic Scythia.

1. Moreover, the seed and origin of all the ruin and various disasters that the wrath of Mars aroused, putting in turmoil all places with unwonted fires, we hav~ found to be this. The people of the Huns,l but little known from ancient records, dwelling beyond the Maeotic Sea near the ice-bound ocean, exceed every degree of savagery. 2. Since there the cheeks of the children are deeply furrowed with the steel 2 from their very birth, in order that the growth of hair, when it appears at the proper time, may be checked by the wrinkled scars, they grow old without beards and without any beauty, like eunuchs. They all have compact, strong limbs and thick necks, and are so monstrously ugly and misshapen, that one might take them for two-legged beasts or for the stumps, rough-hewn into images, that are used in putting sides to bridges.s 3. But although they have the form of men, however ugly, they are so hardy in their mode of life that they have no need

1 CL Zos, iv. 20; Sozom. vi. 37; Agathias, 5, 11 ft. a CL Sidonius, Paneg. ad Avitum, 243 ft. 3 Used for adorning t,he parapets of bridges. CL

J ordanes, 24. 381

, , I.. '

VALENS GRATIANUS VALENTINIANUS n XXXI., 2, 3-7

sed radieibus herbarum agrestium, et semieruda of fire nor of savory food, but eat the roots of wild euiusvis peeoris earne vescantur, quam inter femora plants and the half-raw flesh of any kind of animal sua equorumque 1 terga subsertam, fotu ealefaeiunt whatever, which they put between their thighs brevi. 4. Aedifieiis nullis umquam tecti, sed haec and the backs of their horses, and thus warm it velut ab usu communi disereta sepulcra declinant. a little. 4. They are never protected by any build­ Nee enim apud eos vel arundine fastigatum reperiri ings, but they avoid these like tombs, which are set tugurium potest. Sed vagi montes peragrantes et apart from everyday use. For not even a hut silvas, pruillas famem sitimque perferre ab incun­ thatched with reed can be found among them. But abulis adsuescunt. Peregre tecta (nisi adigente roaming at large amid the mountains and woods, maxima necessitate) non subeunt: nee enim 2 se tutos 3 they learn from the cradle to endure cold, hunger, existimant esse sub teetis morantes.4 5. Indumentis and thirst. When away from their homes they operiuntur linteis vel ex pellibus silvestrium murum nev~ enter a house unless compelled by extreme eonsareinatis; nee alia iIIis domestica vestis est, necessity; for they think they are not safe when alia forensis. Sed sernel obsoleti coloris tunica staying under a roof. 5. They dress in linen cloth eollo inserta, non ante deponitur aut mutatur, quam or in the skins of field-mice sewn together, and they diuturna carie in pannulos diffiuxerit 5 defrustata. wear the same clothing indoors and out. But when 6. Galeris incurvis capita tegunt, hirsuta crura coriis they have once put their necks into a faded tunic, munientes haedinis, eorumque calcei formuIis nullis it is not taken off or changed until by long wear and aptati, vetant incedere gressibus liberis. Qua 6 causa tear it has been reduced to rags and fallen from them ad pedestres parum adcommodati sunt pugnas, verum hit by bit. 6. They cover their heads with round equis prope affixi, duris quidern sed deformibus, et caps and protect their hairy legs with goatskins ; muliebriter eisdem non numquam insidentes, fun­ their shoes are formed upon no lasts, and so prevent guntur muneribus consuetis. Ex ipsis quivis in hac their walking with free step. For this reason they natione pernox et perdius emit et vendit, cibumque are not at all adapted to battles on foot, but they sumit et potum, et inclinatus cervici angustae iu­ are almost glued to their horses, which are hardy, rnenti, in altum soporem ad usque varietatem effun­ it is true, but ugly, and sometimes they sit them ditur somniorum. 7. Et deliberatione super rebus woman-fashion and thus perform their ordinary tasks.

1 equorumque, E, Gardt. ; uectorumque, Pet. (cf. Apuleius); From their horses by day or night everyone of that uaporumque, V. 2 em:m apud eos, V; apud eos del. nation buys and sells, eats and drinks, and bowed overC. F. W. M. (cf. § 4, line 3). 3 se tutos, C. F. W. M.; securos, EA; ecutos, V. 4 morantes, added by Novak; the narrow neck of the animal relaxes into a sleep lac. 10 letters, V. 5 diffiuxerit, Ernesti in Index; so deep as to be accompanied by many dreams. 7. defluxerit, EA; deffiuxerit, V. 6 qua, EA; qua ex, And when deliberation is called for about weightyClark; quas, V.

383 382

VALENS GRATIANUS VALENTINIANUS n proposita seriis, hoc habitu omnes in commune Con. sultant. Aguntur autem nulla severitate regali, sed tumultuario primatum ductu contenti, perrumpunt quicquid inciderit. 8. Et pugnarrt non 1 numqualll lacessiti, ineuntes 2 proelia cuneatim, variis vocibus sonantibus torvum. Utque ad pernicitatem Sunt leves et repentini, ita subito de industria dispersi incessunt,3 et <1 incomposita acie, cum caede vasta discurrunt, nee invadentes vallum, nec castra ini­ mica pilantes, prae nimia rapiditate cernuntur. 9. Eoque omnium acerrimos facile dixeris bellatores, quod procul missilibus telis, acutis ossibus pro sgicu­ lorum acumine, arte mira coagmentatis, et distantiis dccursis 5 comminus ferro sine sui respectu confli. gunt, hostisque dum mucronum noxias observant, contortis laciniis illigant, ut laqueatis resistentium membris, equitandi vel gradiendi adimant facul­ tatem. 10. Nemo apud eos arat nec stivam ali. quando eontingit. Omnes enim sine sedibus fixis, absque lare vel lege aut victu stabili dispalantur, semper fugientium similes, cum carpentis in quibus habitant: ubi coniuges taetra illis vestimenta con­ texunt, et coeunt cum maritis, et pariunt, et ad usque

1 non, deleted by Bent. 2 sed ineuntes, V; sed, deleted by Her. as correction of sed in § 7. 3 incessunt, Kellerbauer; uigescunt, W. Soisell; iugescunt, V. 4 et, V; ut, Her. 5 distantiis decursis, Brackman ; sed distint (lac. 13 letters), V.

1 I.e., on horseback. 2 I.e., of metal (bronze or iron). 3 This device was used also by the Sagartian nomads;'

see Hdt. vii. 85; Val. Flaccus, vi. 132 ff.; etc.

384

"~\1f" '.~ ·c :~ .•...~ XXXI., 2, 7-10

matters, they all consult for a common object in that fashion'! They are subject to no royal restraint, but they are content with the disorderly government of their important men, and led by them they force their way through every obstacle. 8. They also sometimes fight whcn provoked, and then they enter the battle drawn up in wedge-shaped masses, while their medley of voices makes a savage noise. And as they are lightly equipped for swift motion, and unexpected in action, they purposely divide suddenly into scattered bands and attack, rushing about in disorder here and there, dealing terrific slaughter; and because of their extraordinary rapidity of ~ovementthey are never seen to attack a rampart or pillage an enemy's camp. 9. And on this account you would not hesitate to call them the most terrible of all warriors, because they fight from a distance with missiles having sharp hone, instead of their usual points,2 joined to the shafts with wonderful skill; then they gallop over the intervening spaces and fight hand to hand with swords, regardless of their own lives; and while the eIlemy are guarding against wounds from the sabre-thrusts, they throw strips of cloth plaited into nooses over their opponents and so entangle them that they fetter their limbs and take from them the power of riding or walking.3 10. No one in their country ever plows a field or touches a plow-handle. They are all without fixed abode, without hearth, or law, or settled mode of life, and keep roaming from place to place, like fugitives, accompanied by the wagons in which they live; in wagons their wives weave for them their hideous garments, in wagons they cohabit with their

385 VOl HI. BB

.

VALENS GRATIANUS VALENTINIANUS II

pubertatem nutriunt pueros. Nullusque apud eos interrogatus respondere unde oritur potest, alibi conceptus natusque procul, et longius educatus. n. Per indutias infidi et inconstantes,l ad omnem auram incidentis spei novae perquam mobiles, totum furori incitatissimo tribuentes. Inconsultorum ani. malium ritu, quid honestum inhonestumve sit, penitus ignorantes, flexiloqui et obscuri, nullius religionis vi superstitionis reverentia aliquando districti, auri cnpidine immensa flagrantes, adeo permutabiles et irasci faciles ut eodem aliquotiens die a sociis nullo ir­ ritante saepe desciscant, itidemque propitientur, nemine lerriente.

12. Hoc expeditum indomitumque hominum ge. nus, externa praeJ.:!nni aviditate flagrans immani, per rapinas finitimorum grassatum et caedes, ad usque Halanos pervenit, ,eteres Massagetas, qui unde sint vel quas incolant terras (quoniam huc res prolapsa est), consentaneum est demonstrare, geographica perplexitate monstrata, quae diu multi· moda tractans 2 et varia, tandem repperit veritatis interna.3

13. Abundans aquarum 4 Hister advenarum magni­ tudine fluenti Sauromatas praetermeat, ad usque amnem Tanaim pertinentes, qui Asiam terminat

1 et 'inconstante8, Clark; inconstante8, N2A; infidi (at end of line) constante8, V. 2 multimoda tractan8, Pet.; indagan8 acute, Pighius (cf. Cic., Verr. 2, 2, 135); lac. of 9 letters, V. 3 interna (lac. 14 letters) ad hi8ter, V.· 4 abundans, Gardt.; aquaT'um. added by Her. ; ad I ster, A; interna, amn1:um adauctu8 Hi8ter, Pighius (cf. xv. 4, 4; Mela, ii. 8, etc.).

386

XXXI., 2, 10-13

husbands, bear children, and rear them to the age of puberty. None of their offspring, when asked, call tell you where he comes from, since he was con­ ceived in one place, born far from tbere, and brought up still farther away. 11. In truces they are faith­ less and unreliable, strongly inclined to sway to the lllotion of every breeze of new hope that presents itself, and sacrificing every feeling to the mad impulse of the moment. Like unreasoning beasts, they are utterly ignorant of the difference between right and wrong; they are deceitful and ambiguous in speech, never bound by any reverence for religion or for superstition. They burn with an infinite thirst for gold, and they are so fickle and prone to anger, that they often quarrel with their allies without provocation, more than once on the same day, and make friends with them again without a mediator.

12. This race of untamed men, without encum­ brances, aflame with an inhuman desire for plunder­ ing others' property, made their violent way amid the rapine and slaughter of the neighbouring peoples as far as the Halani, once known as the Massagetae. And since we have come to this point, it is in place to tell of the origin and dwelling-place of this people also, and. to point out the confused opinions of geographers, who after many different attempts to deal with the subject have at last come upon the core of the truth.1

13. The Hister,2 filled to overflowing by a great number of tributaries, flows past the Sauromatians, and these extend as far as the river Tanai's,3 which

. 1 The passage is fragmentary and the exact meaning is uncertain. Only the general sense can be given.

2 The Dg,nube. 3 The Don. 387

BB 2

VALENS GRATIANUS VALENTINIANUS II

ab Europa. Hoc transito in immensum extentas .Scythiae solitudines Halani inhabitant, ex montiu1l1..

appellatione cognominati, paulatimque nationel'j conterminas crebritate victoriarum attritas ad:;:~­ gentilitatem sui vocabuli traxerunt (ut Persae).}~f I 14. Inter hos Nervi mediterranea incolunt loea;,,; 1 vicini verticibus celsis, quos praeruptos geluque.,: I torpentes, aquilones adstringunt. Post quos Vid:in{,~~; sunt et Geloni, perquam feri, qui detractis peremp~;';:!;" torum hostium cutibus, indumenta sibi equisqucof< tegmina conficiunt bellatoria. Gelonis AgathyrsiI.;.,,;; collimitant, interstincti 1 colore caeruleo corpora;';,' simul et crines, et humiles quidem minutis atque~i raris, nobiles vero latius 2 fucatis et densioribu8~~; notis.. 15. Post hos Melanchlaenas et pophagos

2 latius, Bent. ;

Anthro_

of Herodotus

palari accepimus per diversa, humanis cor­ poribus victitantes, quibus ob haec alimenta nefanda desertis, finitimi omnes longa petiere Ideoque plaga omnis orienti aestivo obiecta, dum venitur ad Seras, inhabitabilis 16. Parte alia prope Amazonum sedes, Halani

1 interstincti, Lind. ; interstincto, V. latis, V.

1 The Hister (Danube). 2 Alanos {"A,\avos}. 3 CL xxii. 8, 40; these are the Neuri

(iv. I05). 4 The Budini of Herodotus, iv. 108-9. • See Htd., iv. 104; Mela, ii. 1, 14. 6 This detail is not mentioned by Herodotus (iv. I04). 7 CL Pliny, N.H. iv. 80; Mela, ii. 1, 10. 8 According to Herodotus, iv. 107, they get their name

from their black clothing. 90riens aestivus, north-east (PlillY, N.H. xvii. 105), so

called because the sun rises in that quarter in summer.

3BB

XXXI., 2, 13-16

separates Asia from Europe. On the other side of this river 1 the Halani, so called from the mountain range of the same name,2 inhabit the measureless wastes of Scythia; and by repeated victories they gradually wore down the peoples whom they met and like the Persians incorporated them under their own national name. 14. Among these the Nervii 3 inhabit the interior of the country near the lofty, precipitous peaks nipped by the north winds and benumbed with ice and snoW. Behind these are the Vidini 4 and the Geloni, exceedingly savage races, who strip the skins from their slain enemies to make clothing for themselves and coverings for their horses in 'far. 5 On the frontier of the Geloni are the Agathyrsi, who checker their bodies and dye their hair with a blue colour 6-the common people with a few small marks, but the nobles with more and broader spots of dye. 7 15. Beyond these are the Melanchlaenae 8 and the Antllropophagi, who ac­ cording to report lead a nomadic life and feed upon human flesh; and because of this abominable food they are left to themselves and all their former neighbours have moved to distant parts of the earth. And so the entire north-eastern 9 tract, until one comes to the Seres,10 has remained uninhabitable. 16. In another part of the country, near the abodes of the Amazons, the Halani mount to the eastward, divided

Hibernus oriens for south-east also occurs, and occidens aestivus for north-west (Columella, i. 6, 2); o.h., Livy, xliv. 46,5. CL Gosner, Lex. Rusticum, s.v. aequinoc#alis oriens.

10" Chinese" of Central and E. Asia (see xxiii. 6, 64). The Sores and the Ganges are not mentioned by Herodotus, nor the Halani except perhaps as Massagetae (i. 204).

389

\ I i

i i

I i,

I

,-?l '-,.~""',.,."""""",.,,,.":' -~-

j. XXXI., 2, 16-19 ~ VALENS GRATIANUS VALENTINIANUS II

orienti acclines,l diffusi per populosas gentes et

,

.1 ,I far as Asia, and, as I havc heard, stretch all the way I into populous and extensive nations; these reach as

amplas, Asiaticos vergentes in tractus, quas dilatari to the river Ganges, which flows through the terri­ \

I ad usque Gangen accepi, fluvium intersecantclll terras Indorum, mareque inundantem australe.

17. Hi bipertiti 2 per utramque mundi plagalll

tories of India and empties into the southern ocean. 17. Thus the Halani (whose various peoples it is

Halani, quorum gentes varias nunc recensere non unnecessary now to enumerate) are divided between the two 1 parts of the earth, but although widely

rcfert, licet dirempti spatiis longis, per pagos (ut Nomades) vagantur immensos, aevi tamen pro.'

separated from each other and roaming over vast tracts, as Nomads do, yet in the course of time they

gressu, ad unum concessere vocabulum, et summa. have united under one name, and are, for short, all tim omnes Halani cognominantur, ob 3 mores et called Halani because of the similarity in their modum efferatum vivendi,4 eandemque armaturam.5 customs, their savage mode of life, and their 18. N ec enim ulla sunt illis vel 6 tuguria, aut ver. sandi vomeris cura, sed carne et copia victitant

weapons. 18. For they have no huts and care nothing for. using the plowshare, but they live upon flesh and

lactis, plaustris supersidentes, quae operimentis curvatis corticum per solitudines conferunt sine an abundance of milk, and dwell in wagons, which

they cover with rounded canopies of bark and drivefine distentas. Cumque ad graminea venerint, over the boundless wastes. And when they come toin orbiculatam figuram locatis sarracis,7 ferino ritu

vescuntur, absumptisque pabulis velut carpentis a place rich in grass, they place their carts in a circle and feed like wild beasts. As soon as the fodder iscivitates impositas vehunt, maresque supra cum used up, they place their cities, as we might call them,feminis coeunt, et nascuntur in his et educantur on the wagons and so convey them: in the wagonsinfantes, et habitacula sunt haec illis perpetua,

et quocumque ierint, illic genuinum existimant the males have intercourse with the women, and in larem. 19. Armenta prae se agentes, cum gregibus the wagons their babes are born and reared; wagons pascunt, maximeque equini pecoris est eis sollicitior cura. Ibi campi semper herbescunt, intersitis pomiferis locis: atque ideo transeuntes quolibet,

1 acclines, Lind.; adcliues, EA; declines, V. 2 hi bipertiti, Her.; bipertiti, Gardt.; ibi pertiti, V. 3 ob, added by Val. ; Vomits. 4 modum efferatum uiuendi; Gardt. ; media et efferatam uiuendis, V. 6 eandemque armaturam, Gardt.; similem et armaturam, Val.; lac. indic. by\Vagner, Eyssen.; etiaminmatarum, V. 6 illis uel, Her. (cL 2, 4); illisce, W A; illi8 celtu gurria, V. 7 sarracis, Lind.; sarraclis, V.

390

form their permanent dwellings, and wherever they come, that place they look upon as their natural

. home. 19. Driving their plow-cattle before them, they pasture them with their flocks, and they give particular attention to breeding horses. In that land the fields are always green, and here and there are places set thick with fruit trees. Hence, wherever

1 I.e., Europe and Asia, in which Africa was often in­

cluded. 391

VALENS GRATIANUS VALENTINIANUS II

nec alimentis nec pabulis indigent, quod efficit umectum solum et crebri fluminum praetermeantiulU cursus. 20. Omnis igitur aetas et sexus imbelIis, circa vehicula ipsa versatur,l muniisque distringitnr mollibus: iuventus vero equitandi usu a prima·· pueritia coalescens, incedere pedibus existimat vile, ,. et omlles multiplici disciplina prudentes Sunt bellatores. Unde etiam Persae, qui sunt originitus Scythae, pugnandi sunt peritissimi.

21. Proceri autem Halani paene sunt omnes et pulchri, crinibus mediocriter flavis, oculorum tern. perata torvitate terribiles, et armorum levitate veloces, Hunisque per omnia suppares, verum victu mitiores et cultu, latrocinando et venando ad usque Maeotica stagna, et Cimmerium Bosporum, iti. demque Armenios discurrentes, et Mediam. 22. Utque hominibus quietis et placidis otium est voluptabile, ita illos pericula iuvant et bella. Iudi­ catur ibi beatus, qui in proelio profuderit animam, senescentes enim et fortuitis mortibus mundo di­ gressos, ut degeneres et ignavos conviciis atrocibus insectantur, nec quicquam est quod ~latius iactent, quam homine quolibet occiso, proque exuviis gloriosis interfectorum, avulsis capitibus, detractas pelIes pro phaleris iumentis accommodant belIa­ toriis. 23. Nec templum apud eos visitur aut

1 uer8at1~r, V; uersatu8, Her.

1 That is, the Parthians; for their Scythian origin, cf. Q. Curtius, vi. 2, 11, etc.

2 This seems to be the meaning with the punctuation of the text, based on the clausulae. The skins are COm­ monly understood to be those of the head (i.e. scalps),

392

XXXI., 2, 19-23

they go, they lack neither food for themselves nor fodder for their cattle, because of the moist soil and the numerous courses of rivers that flow hard by them. 20. Therefore, all those who through age or sex are unfit for war remain close by the wagons and are occupied in light tasks; but the young men grow

. up in the habit of riding from their earliest boyhood and regard it as contemptible to go on foot; and by various forms of training they are all skilled warriors. From the same causes the Persians 1 also, who are Scythians by origin, are highly expert in fighting.

21. Moreover, almost all the Halani are tall and handsome, their hair inclines to blond, by the ferocity of tl}.eir glance they inspire dread, subdued though it is. They are light and active in the use of arms. In all respects they are somewhat like the Huns, but in their manner of life and their habits they are less savage. In their plundering and hunting expeditions they roam here and there as far as the Maeotic Sea and the Cimmerian Bosphorus, and also to Armenia and Media. 22. Just as quiet and peaceful men find pleasure in rest, so the Halani delight in danger and warfare. There the man is judged happy who has sacrificed his life in battle, while those who grow old and depart from the world by a natural death they assail with bitter reproaches, as degenerate and cowardly; and there is nothing in which they take more pride than in killing any man whatever: as glorious spoils of the slain they tear off their heads, then strip off their skins 2 and hang them upon their war.horses as trappings. 23. No temple or sacred

but apparently wrongly; cL 2, 14, above, of the Vidini and Geloni.

393

~f; J :', C 11 /.

;r;: l' J J-

If

VALENS GRATIANUS VALENTINIAN US II

delubrum, ne tugurium quidem culmo tectum cerni usquam potest, sed gladius barbarico ritu humi figitur nudus, eumque ut Martem, regionum quas circumcolunt 1 praesulem, verecundius colunt. 24. Futura miro praesagiunt modo. N am rectiores virgas vimineas colligentes, easque cum incanta. mentis quibusdam secretis, praestituto tempore discernentes, aperte quid portenditur 2 norunt. 25. Servitus quid sit ignorant,3 omnes generoso semine procreati, iudicesque etiam nunc eligunt diuturno bellandi usu spectatos. Sed ad reliqua textus propositi revertamur.

3. Hunni Alanos Tana'itas armis aut pactis sibi adiungunt, Gothosque invadunt, ac suis sedibus pellunt.

1. Igitur Huni pervasis Halanorum regionibus, quos Greuthungis confines Tanaitas consuetudo cognominavit,4 interfectisque multis et spoliatis, reliquos sibi concordandi fide pacta iunxerunt, eisque adhibitis 5 confidentius Ermenrichi late patentes et

1 circumcolunt, Her.; circumcircant, Voss ; ciTcumcircunt, V. 2 portenditur, Val.; portendatur, Hadr. Val.; portetur, V. 3 ignorant, Pet.; ignorabant, V. 4 cog­ nominauit, Her. c.c. ; nominauit, V. 5 adhibitis, Her.; adscitis, Pet.; adiuitis, V.

~f

XXXI., 2, 23-25-3, 1, BEFORE A.D. 376

1

I

place is to be seen in their country, not even a hut thatched with straw can be discerned anywhere, but after the manner of barbarians a naked sword is fixed in the ground and they reverently worship it as their god of war, the presiding deity of those lands over

I which they range.1 24. They have a remarkable way of divining the future; for they gather very straight twigs of osier and sort them out at an appointed time with certain secret incantations, and thus clearly learn what impends.2 25. They do not know the meaning of slavery, since all are born of noble blood, and even to-day they choose as chiefs 3 those

1 men who are conspicuous for long experience as t waIriors. But let us return to what remains of ourI chosen subject. ~

I I

3. The Huns compel the Halani on the Tana'is to join them, either by force of arms or by treaties ; they invade the Goths, and drive them from their homes.

1. The Huns, then, having overrun the territories of those Halani (bordering on the Greuthungi) to whom usage has given the surname Tanaites, killed and plundered many of them, and joined the survivors to themselves in a treaty of alliance; then in company with these they made the more boldly a sudden inroad into the extensive and rich cantons of Ermenrichus,4

2 Ammianus is too brief to be clear. The twigs were 1 Since the leader of the dance of the Salian priests of marked with certain signs (notae) from which the predic­

Mars was called praesul, the term is appropriate here. tions were made; see Hdt. iv. 67 ; Caesar, B.G. i. 50, 4-5 ; On this custom see Mela, ii. I, 15; cL Justinus, xliii. 3, ~. Tac., Germ. 10. ab origine rerum pro dis immortalibus hastas coluere, 3 CL iudex in § 4, below, and Introd., p. xxvi, note 2. Herodotus, iv. 62; and xvii. 12, 21 above (of the Quadi). f t 1 Called Ermanarich in J ordanes' Gothic History.

f394 t~ r, •f' r t

;~[r'ti'[l· .1 li:\rt:r[

L ---- ­ - --~~~

395

VALENS GRATIANUS VALENTINIANUS n

uberes pagos repentino impetu perruperunt, belli. cosissimi regis, et per multa variaque fortiter facta, vicinis nationibus formidati. 2. Qui vi subitae proccllae perculsus, quamvis manere fundatus et stabilis diu conatus est, impendentium tamen diritatem augente vulgatius fama, magnorum dis­ criminum metum voluntaria morte sedavit. 3. Cuius post obitum, rex Vithimiris creatus, res­ titit aliquantisper Halanis, H unis aliis fretus, quos mercede sociaverat partibus suis. Verum post multas quas pertulit clades, animam effudit in proelio, vi superatus armorum. Cuius parvi filii Viderichi nomine curam susceptam Alatheus tue. batur et Saphrax, duces exerciti et firmitate pec­ torum noti, qui cum tempore arto praeventi, abiecis­ sent fiduciam repugnandi, cautius discedentes, ad amnem Danastium pervenerunt, inter Histrum et Borysthenem, per camporum ampla spatia diffiuen­ tern. 4. Haec ita praeter spem accidisse doctus Athanarichus, Theruingorum iudex (in quem ut ante relatum est, ob auxilia missa Procopio, dudum Valens commoverat signa) stare gradu fixo tempta­ bat, surrecturus in vires, si ipse quoque lacesseretur, ut ceteri. 5. Castris denique prope Danastii 1 mar­ gines a Greuthungorum vallo 2 longius opportune metatis, Munderichum ducem postea limitis per Arabiam, cum Lagarimano et optimatibus aliis,

1 Danastii, Her.; Danasti, V. 2 a Greuthungorum Mallo, Pet.; agere ut ungoru uallem, V.

1 For vulgatius, cL xv. 3, 6; xvii. 4, 9. 2 Also called the Tyras, to-day the Dniester. 3 To-day the Dnieper. 4 CL xxvii. 5, 6.

396

"7- r XXXI., 3, 1-5, BEFORE A.D. 376

1 1­ !

a most warlike monarch, dreaded by the neighbour­ ing nations because of his many and varied deeds of valour. 2. He was struck with consternation at the violence of this sudden storm; for a long time he didj

I his best to maintain a firm and continued stand, but since rumour gave wide currency to 1 and exaggerated the horror of the impending dangers, he put an end to his fear of these great perils by a voluntary death.I 3. After his demise Vithimiris was made king and resisted the Halani for a time, relying on other Huns, whom he had paid to take his side. But after many defeats which he sustained, he was overcome by force of arms and died in battle. In the name of his little sOil, Viderichus, the management of affairs was undertaken by Alatheus and Saphrax, experienced generals known for their courage; but since the stress of circumstances compelled them to abandon confidence in resistance, they cautiously retreated until they came to the river Danastius,2 which flows through the wide extent of plain between the Hister and the Borysthenes.3 4. On learning of these unexpected events, Athanarichus, the chief of the Theruingi (against whom, as has been told before, 4

because of aid which he had sent to Procopius, Valens had recently taken the field) attempted to stand his ground, and if he too should be attacked like the rest, was ready to put forth all his strength. 5. Ac­ cordingly, he established his camp near the banks of the Danastius, conveniently at some distance from the stockade of the Greuthungi, and sent Munderichus, afterwards in charge of the frontier throughout Arabia, with Lagarimanus and some other men of high rank, to a distance of twenty miles in advance, to observe

397

VALENS GRATIANUS VALENTINIANUS II

ad usque vicensimum lapidem misit, hostium specu­ laturos adventum, ipse aciem nullo turbante, interim struens. 6. Verum longe aliter quam rebatur evenit. Huni enim (ut sunt in coniectura sagaces), multitudinem esse longius aliquam suspicati, prae. termissis quos viderant, in quietem tamquam nullo obstante compositis, rumpente noctis tenebras luna, vado fluminis penetrato, id quod erat potissi. mum elegerunt, et veriti ne praecursorius index procul agentes absterreat, Athanaricum ipsum ictu petivere veloci. 7. Eumque stupentem ad im. petum primum, amissis quibusdam suorum, coegerunt ad effugia properare montium praerup­ torum. Qua rei novitate, maioreque venturi pavore constrictus, a superciliis Gerasi fluminis ad usque Danubium, Taifalorum terras praestringens, muros altius erigebat: hac lorica diligentia celeri con­ summata, in tuto locandam securitatem suam existi­ mans et salutem. 8. Dumque efficax opera susci­ tatur, Huni passibus eum citis urgebant, et iam oppresserant adventantes, ni gravati praedarum onere destitissent.

Fama tamen late serpente per Gothorum reliquas gentes, quod invisitatum 1 antehac hominum genus, modo, nivium ut 2 turbo montibus celsis, ex ab­ dito sinu coortum apposita quaeque convellit et

1 inuisitatum, Bent., Ernesti; inusitatu, V. 2 modo niuium, Gronov; before ut V has modo nierum,. m. nim­ borum, Momm. ; modo ruinae, Her. after convellit, below.

1 ef. cura constrictu8, xx, 4, 19. 2 To-day the Pruth on the eastern frontier of ancient

Dacia. 3 For lorica in this sense, cf. 15, 4, below.

XXXI., 3, 5-8, BEFORE A.D. 376

the advance of the enemy, while he himself in the meantime, disturbed by no one, was preparing his army for battle. 6. But the result was far other than he expected. For the Huns, who are shrewd in arriv­ ing at conclusions, suspecting that there was some large force farther off, disregarded the troops which they had seen, and who had disposed themselves to rest, as if there was nothing to disturb them; then, when the moon broke into the darkness of night, they chose what seemed to be the best course, crossed the river by a ford, and fearing lest some informer should get ahead of them and frighten off the enemy who were at a distance, they made a swift attack on Athanaricus himself. 7. As he was stunned by their first' onset, they forced him to take speedy refuge in the steep mountains, after losing a few of their own men. Athanaricus, troubled 1 by this unexpected attack and still more through fear of what might come, had walls built high, skirting the lands of the Taifali from the banks of the river Gerasus 2 as far as the Danube, thinking that by this hastily but diligently constructed barrier 3 his security and safety wo~ld be assured. 8. But while· this well-planned work was being pushed on, the Huns swiftly fell upon him, and would have crushed him at once on their arrival had they not been so loaded down with booty that they gave up the attempt.

Yet when the report spread widely among the other Gothic peoples, that a race of men hitherto unknown had now arisen from a hidden nook of the earth, like a tempest of snows from the high mountains, and was seizing or destroying everything in its way, the greater part of the people, who,

398 399

VALENS GRATIANUS VALENTINIANUS II

corrumpit: populi pars maior, quae AthanaricUlll attenuata necessariorum penuria deseruerat, quaeri. tabat domicilium remotum ab omni notitia bar. barorum, diuque deliberans, quas eligeret sedes cogitavit Thraciae receptaculum gemina ration; sibi conveniens, quod et caespitis est feracissimi et amplitudine fluentorum Histri distinguitur ab arvis patentibus iam peregrini fulminibus Martis: hoc quoque idem residui velut mente cogitavere communI.

4. Pars maior Gothorum cognomine Theruingorum finibus suis expulsa, permissu Valentis a: Romanis transportatur in Thraciam, obsequium et auxilia pollicita. Greuthungi quoque, pars altera Gothorum, furtim ratibus Histrum transeunt.

1. Itaque duce Alavivo I ripas occupavere Danubii, missisque oratoribus ad Valentem, suscipi se humili prece poscebant, et quiete yicturos se pollicentes, et daturos (si res flagitasset) auxilia. 2. Dum aguntur haec in externis, novos maioresque solitis casus versare gentes arctoas, rumores terribiles diffu· derunt: per omne quicquid ad Pontum a Mar. comannis praetenditur et 2 Quadis, multitudinem barbaram abditarum nationum, vi subita sedibus pulsam, circa flumen Histrum, vagari cum caritatibus

1 duce Alauiuo, Lind.; uiuo, V. 2 et, added by Lind.; -que after Quadis, BrakInan; Vomits connective.

1 Or perhaps war-god, since Mars was born in Thrace; see Manilius, iv. 691, Threce Martem sortita colonum,. cf. Arnobius, Adv. Gentes, iv. 25.

400

XXXI., 3, 8-4, 1-2, A.D. 376

worn out by lack of the necessities of life, had deserted Athanaricus, looked for a home removed from all knowledge of the savages; and after long deliberation what abode to choose they thought that Thrace offered them a convenient refuge, for two reasons: both because it has a very fertile soil, and because it is separated by the mighty flood of the Hister from the fields that were already exposed to the thunderbolts of a foreign war 1; and the rest of the nation as if with one mind agreed to this plan.

4. The greater part of the so-called Theruingian .. Goths, driven from their lands, are transported

to Thrace by the Romans with Valens' consent, after promising obedience and help in war. The Greuthungi also, another division of the Goths, secretly cross the Hister on rafts.

1. Therefore, under the lead of Alavivus, they 376 took possession of the banks of the Danube, and sending envoys to Valens, with humble entreaty begged to be received, promising that they would not only lead a peaceful life but would also furnish auxiliaries, if circumstances required. 2. While this was happening in foreign parts, terrifying rumours spread abroad that the peoples of the north were stirring up new and uncommonly· great commotions: that throughout the entire region which extends from the Marcomanni and the Quadi to the Pontus, a savage horde of unknown peoples, driven from their abodes by sudden violence, were roving about the river Hister in scattered

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