Delphi Complete Works of Procopius

by Procopius of Caesarea

  [7] [1] These things, then, were done by the Emperor Justinian in Tzanica. In the land beyond this which lies along the Euxine Sea there is a city named Trapezus; and since there was a scarcity of water in that city, the Emperor Justinian built an aqueduct which they call the Aqueduct of the martyr Eugenius, and thus he put an end to the scarcity for the inhabitants of this place. [2] Both there and in Amaseia he restored most of the churches, which had been damaged by the long passage of time. [3] And beyond the confines of Trapezus there is a place called Rhizaeum which he restored himself, throwing about it a novel system of defences which surpass any description or report of them. [4] For it was so fashioned as to be inferior in point of size and safety to no one of the cities on the Persian frontier.

  [5] He also built a fortress in Lazica named Losorium, and he fortified the mountain-passes of the country which they are wont to call cleisurae, with the purpose, of course, that the enemy might be shut off from the entrance into Lazica. [6] Nay more, he restored the Christian church in Lazica, which was old and had become weakened in its masonry. [7] He likewise founded Petra in Lazica, an admirable city, which the Lazi through their own folly handed over to the Persians, bringing Chosroes there with a great army; but the Romans prevailed over the Persians in the struggle and killed a part of the enemy and made the rest captive and razed the city, so that the barbarians might not again be able, by coming there, to work mischief, all of which has been set forth by me in the Books on the Wars. [8] In the same place I have explained how the Romans dismantled two fortresses, Sebastopolis and Pityûs, on the opposite coast as one goes from Lazica to the Maeotic Lake, because they had heard that Chosroes was eager to send an army with men to take possession of these fortresses. [9] But at a later time the Emperor Justinian restored the whole of Sebastopolis and made it impregnable by means of its circuit-wall and other defences, adorned it with streets and with various buildings besides, and produced the present city, which is remarkable among the cities of the world for its beauty and its size.

  [10] Moreover, in the case of the coastal cities Bosporus and Chersôn, which lie on the shore there beyond the Maeotic Lake and the Taurians and Tauroscythians, at the extremity of the Roman Empire, he found that the walls had fallen completely into ruin, and he made them remarkably beautiful and thoroughly safe. [11] In that region he built two fortresses, that called Aloustou and the one among the Gorzoubitae. [12] He strengthened the defences of Bosporus particularly, which in ancient times had been a barbarous city lying under the power of the Huns, but which he himself had brought under Roman sway. [13] And there is a certain region along the coast there called Dory, where Goths have lived from ancient times, those namely who had not followed Theoderic when he went into Italy, but remained there of their own accord, and even up to my day they are on terms of alliance with the Romans. And they march with the Romans against their enemies whenever the Emperor so wishes. [14] Their number comes to three thousand, and they are both excellent soldiers and skilfull tillers of the soil, and the most hospitable people in the world. [15] The land of Dory itself lies on high ground, yet it is neither rough nor hard, but good soil and productive of the best crops. [16] However, Emperor built no city or fortress in any part of this land, since the men of the country would not suffer themselves to be confined in any fortified places but always lived most happily in an open plain. [17] But wherever the region seemed easily accessible to assailants, he shut off these approaches with long walls and thereby freed the Goths from fear of invasion. So much, then, for this.

  [18] There is a certain city on the coast of the Euxine Sea, inhabited by Thracians, Anchialus by name, which properly we should mention in describing the land of Thrace. [19] But since in the present place our treatise has enumerated the buildings of this Emperor along the shore of the Euxine Sea, it is in no way inappropriate to describe at this point in our narrative what he built at this town of Anchialus. [20] At that place, then, natural springs of warm water bubble forth, not far from the city, providing natural baths for the people there. [21] The Emperors of earlier times used to allow this place to remain unwalled from ancient times, though such a host of barbarians dwelt near by; [22] and sick persons used to visit the place, gaining relief at the cost of danger. [23] Therefore the Emperor Justinian made it a walled city, as it now is, and thus made the cure free from danger. [24] So the strongholds of the East, as well as those of Armenia and Tzanica, and those on both shores of the Euxine Sea, were thus built by the Emperor Justinian. [25] From this point we must proceed to the buildings which he erected in the rest of Europe.

  BOOK IV.

  [1] [1] To cross a great sea in an ill-appointed ship is a miserable task, I think, beset with the greatest dangers. And it is the same thing to recount the buildings of the Emperor Justinian with impotent words. [2] For through the greatness of his mind this Emperor has accomplished things which surpass description, in buildings no less than in practically all other matters. [3] And in Europe, being consumed by the desire to make his services fit the magnitude of the need which existed for them, he has carried out works which are not easy to enumerate or simple to describe in writing. [4] For these works have been executed with due regard for the nearness of the Ister River and for the consequent necessity imposed by the barbarians who threaten the land. [5] For it has as neighbours nations of Huns and of Goths, and the regions of Taurus and of Scythia rise up again it, as well as the haunts of the Sclaveni and of sundry other tribes — whether they are called by the writers of the most ancient history Hamaxibian or Metanastic Sauromatae, and whatever other wild race of men really either roams about or leads a settled life in that region. [6] And in his determination to resist these barbarians who were endlessly making war, the Emperor Justinian, who did not take the matter lightly, was obliged to throw innumerable fortresses about the country, to assign to them untold garrisons of troops, and to set up all other possible obstacles to an enemy who attacked without warning and who permitted no intercourse. [7] Indeed it was the custom of these peoples to rise and make war upon their enemies for no particular cause, and to open hostilities without sending an embassy, and they did not bring their struggles to an end through any treaty or cease operations for any specified period, but they made their attacks without provocation and reached a decision by the sword alone. But still we must proceed owing to the remainder of our story. [8] For when we have begun a task it will be better to go through to the end in any fashion whatever than to depart leaving it unfinished. [9] Certainly my action would not be free from blame, if, after our Emperor has performed the work, I for my part, should shrink from telling of what he has done. [10] But now that we are on the point of enumerating the buildings of this Emperor in Europe, it is proper first to make a few observations regarding this land.

  [11] There is a narrow arm or bight which is pushed out from the Adriatic Sea, as it is called, and strays away from the remainder of the sea and goes up into the mainland, and dividing the continent for a great distance it forms the Ionian Gulf, having on the right the Epirotes and the other peoples of that region and on the left Calabria; then, being compressed into a narrow inlet for a very long way, the sea bounds practically the whole continent. [12] And the River Ister, flowing higher up, and opposite the sea, makes the land of Europe an island, as it were. [13] In that region this Emperor built many noteworthy buildings. [14] Indeed he fortified the whole of Europe so safely that he rendered it inaccessible to the barbarians who live beyond the Ister River.

  [15] But I must commence from the native land of the Emperor, to which of all places must be given first rank in all other respects, and with this I must begin my present account. [16] For to this land alone is it given to rejoice and swell with pride and enjoy the solemn dignity of having bred and presented to the Romans an Emperor whose works it is impossible to tell in words or to record in writing.

  [17] Among the Dardanians of Europe who live beyond the boundaries of the Epidamnians, close to the fortress which is called Bederiana
, there was a hamlet named Taurisium, whence sprang the Emperor Justinian, the founder of the civilised world. [18] He therefore built a wall of small compass about this place in the form of a square, placing a tower at each corner, and caused it to be called, as it actually is, Tetrapyrgia. [19] And close by this place he built a very notable city which he named Justiniana Prima (this means “first” in the Latin tongue), thus paying a debt of gratitude to the home that fostered him. [20] Yet all Romans should have shared this debt among themselves, for this land nourished a common saviour for all of them. [21] In that place also he constructed an aqueduct and so caused the city to be abundantly supplied with ever-running water. [22] And many other enterprises were carried out by the founder of this city — works of great size and worthy of especial note. [23] For to enumerate the churches is not easy, and it is impossible to tell in words of the lodgings for magistrates, the great stoas, the fine market-places, the fountains, the streets, the baths, the shops. [24] In brief, the city is both great and populous and blessed in every way — a city worthy to be the metropolis of the whole region, for it has attained this rank. [25] It has also been allotted to the Archbishop of Illyricum as his seat, the other cities conceding this honour to it, as being first in point of size. Thus this city has won honour for the Emperor in requital for his favour; [26] for while it prides itself upon its foster-son, he for his part takes a corresponding pride in that he built the city. But this will be enough for me to tell; [27] indeed it is impossible to describe everything in detail, for since the city is the Emperor’s own, any account of it necessarily falls short of the reality.

  [28] He also rebuilt the entire fortress of Bederiana and made it much stronger. And there was a certain city among the Dardanians, dating from ancient times, which was named Ulpiana; [29] he tore down most of its circuit-wall, for it was seriously damaged and altogether useless, and he added a very great number of improvements to the city, changing it to its present fair aspect; and he named it Justiniana Secunda [30] (secunda is the Latin word for second). Near it he built another city where none had existed before, which he called Justinopolis from his uncle’s name. [31] Furthermore, he found the walls of Sardica and Naïsopolis, as well as those of Germaê and of Pantalia, in ruins from the passage of time, and he built them up securely and made them such that they could defy the enemy. [32] Between these he built three small forts, Cratiscara and Quimedaba and Roumisiana. Thus he raised these cities from their foundations. [33] And wishing, as he did, to make the Ister River the strongest possible line of first defence before them and before the whole of Europe, he distributed numerous forts along the bank of the river, as I shall soon describe, and he placed garrisons of troops everywhere along the shore, in order to put the most rigid check upon the crossing of the barbarians there. [34] But even after he had completed all these precautions, he was still uneasy because of the uncertainty of human plans; and since he reflected that if it should ever be possible for the enemy to break through somehow, they would then fall upon fields which would be entirely unguarded, would enslave the whole population, from the youths upwards, and would plunder all their property, he did not leave their common safety to depend upon the forts along the river alone, but he also provided individual safeguards for them; [35] for he made the defences so continuous in the estates that each farm either has been converted into a stronghold or lies adjacent to one which is fortified; and he did this both here and in New Epirus, as it is called, and in Old Epirus. [36] Here too he built the city of Justinianopolis, which formerly was called Adrianopolis.

  [37] And he restored Nicopolis and Photicê and the place called Phoenicê. These two towns, namely Photicê and Phoenicê, stood on low-lying ground and were surrounded by stagnant water which collected there. [38] Consequently the Emperor Justinian, reasoning that it was impossible for walls to be built about them on foundations of solid construction, left them just as they were, but close to them he built forts on rising ground which is exceedingly steep. [39] There was a certain ancient city in this region, abundantly supplied with water and endowed with a name worthy of the place; for it was called Euroea from ancient times. [40] Not far from this Euroea a lake spreads out with an island in its midst upon which rises a hill. [41] And a break is left in the lake just large enough so that a kind of approach to the island remains. [42] The Emperor moved the inhabitants of Euroea to this place, built a very strong city, and put a wall about it.

  [2] [1] Beyond the whole of Epirus and Aetolia and Acarnania, as one skirts the coast, one comes to the Crisaean Gulf and the Isthmus and Corinth and the other parts of Greece. These regions made demands upon his very utmost wisdom. [2] And above all else one might wonder at the number of walled cities with which he fortified the Roman Empire. For he made provision for all of them and especially for the by-paths up the mountains at Thermopylae. [3] First of all he raised the walls there to a very great height. For the mountains which rise in that region were easy to capture, if one should assault them, they being not really walled, but simply supplied with what appeared to be a cornice of masonry. [4] On all these walls he even placed double battlements, and he likewise carried out this same improvement in the fortress which had stood there from an ancient date, carelessly constructed, as it was, by men of former times. [5] For he built it up to an adequate height and made the ramparts double. [6] In addition to this he also devised for the fort, which was entirely without water, a storage-cistern for rain-water. [7] Furthermore, he carefully walled off many paths up the mountains which previously had been both unguarded and unwalled. [8] One might marvel with good reason at the Persian King for spending so much time there and finding only a single narrow path, and that too with the help of Grecian traitors, while in fact there are many unwalled routes there which are practically waggon-roads. [9] The sea, washing the base of the mountains, continually made new ascents from this point; and since glens and impassable ravines abound there, it seemed to the men of ancient times impossible to close up thoroughly with walls the openings which had been made by nature; and because of their reluctance to undertake a difficult task, they carelessly abandoned their safety to chance, basing their hope of salvation on the assumption that the barbarians would be ignorant of the road. [10] For since men always shrink from hard work, they imagine that what has seemed very difficult to them will not be easy for any others. [11] So no man will any longer dispute the assertion that the Emperor Justinian has shewn himself most provident and most exceptionally careful as compared with all other men who have ever lived, seeing that even the sea, though it comes close to the mountains and surrounds them and beats against them, has not proved an obstacle sufficient to prevent the foundations from being securely laid in the midst of the surging water and on the wet sand, or to forestall the most striking union of the most opposite elements, which are thus forced to yield to man’s skill and to bow to his superior power. [12] Yet this Emperor, even after joining the forests and the glens to each other, and fastening the sea to the mountain, and encircling all Greece with strongholds, did not stop his zeal for his subjects, but he also constructed many forts inside the wall, planning for all the contingencies which sway man’s fortune, [13] so that if these walls in any manner or at any time chanced to be captured, the garrisons might still be maintained in the fortresses. [14] Furthermore, he placed granaries and reservoirs of water in safe places everywhere and established there about two thousand soldiers as a garrison, a thing which not one of the former Emperors has done in all time. [15] For these walls were entirely unguarded from early times even to my day, and some of the peasants from the neighbourhood, when the enemy came down, would suddenly change their mode of life, and becoming makeshift soldiers for the occasion, would keep guard there in turn; and because of their inexperience in the business they, together with Greece itself, proved an easy prey to the enemy, and on account of this niggardliness the country through its whole extent lay open to the oncoming barbarians.

  [16] Thus did the Emperor Justinian secure the def
ences at Thermopylae. And in all the cities outside the pass, which in that region are sufficiently numerous, he very carefully built strong walls, both at Saccus and Hypatê and Coracii and Unnum and Baleae and at Leontarium, as it is called. [17] At Heraclea he did as follows. As one descends from Illyricum into Greece, one is confronted by two mountains which rise very close together for a long distance, forming between them a narrow pass of the sort which they are wont to call cleisurae. [18] A small stream comes down between them, in the summer season flowing with pure drinking-water from the mountains which rise there and forming a tiny brook. [19] Whenever it rains, however, an exceedingly deep and very violent torrent billows down, gathering its volume chiefly from the streams which course down from the mountain peaks thereabout. [20] At that point it was possible for the barbarians with no difficulty to effect an entrance both against Thermopylae and into that part of Greece. [21] But on either side of the pass there had been two fortresses from early times, on the one side the city of Heraclea, which I have just mentioned, and on the other, separated by no small distance, Myropoles, as it is called. [22] Both these fortresses had lain in ruin from ancient times, so the Emperor Justinian rebuilt them and closed the pass with a very strong cross-wall which he made fast to each of the two mountains, thus blocking the entrance for the barbarians, and the stream when it is in flood is now forced to form a pond inside the wall and then to flow over it and go on wherever it chances.