V
And Gizeric, for no other reason than that he suspected that much money would come to him, set sail for Italy with a great fleet. And going up to Rome, since no one stood in his way, he took possession of the palace. Now while Maximus was trying to flee, the Romans threw stones at him and killed him, and they cut off his head and each of his other members and divided them among themselves. But Gizeric took Eudoxia captive, together with Eudocia and Placidia, the children of herself and Valentinian, and placing an exceedingly great amount of gold and other imperial treasure in his ships sailed to Carthage, having spared neither bronze nor anything else whatsoever in the palace. He plundered also the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, and tore off half of the roof. Now this roof was of bronze of the finest quality, and since gold was laid over it exceedingly thick, it shone as a magnificent and wonderful spectacle. But of the ships with Gizeric, one, which was bearing the statues, was lost, they say, but with all the others the Vandals reached port in the harbour of Carthage. Gizeric then married Eudocia to Honoric, the elder of his sons; but the other of the two women, being the wife of Olybrius, a most distinguished man in the Roman senate, he sent to Byzantium together with her mother, Eudoxia, at the request of the emperor. Now the power of the East had by now fallen to Leon, who had been set in this position by Aspar, since Marcian had already passed from the world. [457 A.D.]
Afterwards Gizeric devised the following scheme. He tore down the walls of all the cities in Libya except Carthage, so that neither the Libyans themselves, espousing the cause of the Romans, might have a strong base from which to begin a rebellion, nor those sent by the emperor have any ground for hoping to capture a city and by establishing a garrison in it to make trouble for the Vandals. Now at that time it seemed that he had counselled well and had ensured prosperity for the Vandals in the safest possible manner; but in later times when these cities, being without walls, were captured by Belisarius all the more easily and with less exertion, Gizeric was then condemned to suffer much ridicule, and that which for the time he considered wise counsel turned out for him to be folly. For as fortunes change, men are always accustomed to change with them their judgments regarding what has been planned in the past. And among the Libyans all who happened to be men of note and conspicuous for their wealth he handed over as slaves, together with their estates and all their money, to his sons Honoric and Genzon. For Theodorus, the youngest son, had died already, being altogether without offspring, either male or female. And he robbed the rest of the Libyans of their estates, which were both very numerous and excellent, and distributed them among the nation of the Vandals, and as a result of this these lands have been called “Vandals’ estates” up to the present time. And it fell to the lot of those who had formerly possessed these lands to be in extreme poverty and to be at the same time free men; and they had the privilege of going away wheresoever they wished. And Gizeric commanded that all the lands which he had given over to his sons and to the other Vandals should not be subject to any kind of taxation. But as much of the land as did not seem to him good he allowed to remain in the hands of the former owners, but assessed so large a sum to be paid on this land for taxes to the government that nothing whatever remained to those who retained their farms. And many of them were constantly being sent into exile or killed. For charges were brought against them of many sorts, and heavy ones too; but one charge seemed to be the greatest of all, that a man, having money of his own, was hiding it. Thus the Libyans were visited with every form of misfortune.
The Vandals and the Alani he arranged in companies, appointing over them no less than eighty captains, whom he called “chiliarchs,” making it appear that his host of fighting men in active service amounted to eighty thousand. And yet the number of the Vandals and Alani was said in former times, at least, to amount to no more than fifty thousand men. However, after that time by their natural increase among themselves and by associating other barbarians with them they came to be an exceedingly numerous people. But the names of the Alani and all the other barbarians, except the Moors, were united in the name of Vandals. At that time, after the death of Valentinian, Gizeric gained the support of the Moors, and every year at the beginning of spring he made invasions into Sicily and Italy, enslaving some of the cities, razing others to the ground, and plundering everything; and when the land had become destitute of men and of money, he invaded the domain of the emperor of the East. And so he plundered Illyricum and the most of the Peloponnesus and of the rest of Greece and all the islands which lie near it. And again he went off to Sicily and Italy, and kept plundering and pillaging all places in turn. And one day when he had embarked on his ship in the harbour of Carthage, and the sails were already being spread, the pilot asked him, they say, against what men in the world he bade them go. And he in reply said: “Plainly against those with whom God is angry.” Thus without any cause he kept making invasions wherever chance might lead him.
Τῶνδε εἵνεκα τίσασθαι Βανδίλους βασιλεὺς Λέων βουλόμενος ξυνήγειρεν ἐπ̓ αὐτοὺς στράτευμα: τοῦδε δὲ τοῦ στρατεύματος λέγουσι τὸ πλῆθος ἐς δέκα μάλιστα μυριάδας γενέσθαι. στόλον δὲ νεῶν ἐξ ἁπάσης τῆς πρὸς ἕω θαλάσσης ἀθροίσας πολλὴν ἐπεδείξατο μεγαλοφροσύνην ἔς τε στρατιώτας καὶ ναύτας, δεδιὼς μή τί οἱ ἐκ μικρολογίας ἐμποδὼν γένηται προθυμουμένῳ ἐς τοὺς βαρβάρους ἐπιτελέσαι τὴν κόλασιν. [2] φασὶ γοῦν αὐτῷ τριακόσια καὶ χίλια κεντηνάρια ἐπ̓ οὐδενὶ ἔργῳ δεδαπανῆσθαι. ἀλλ̓ ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἔδει Βανδίλους τῷ στόλῳ τούτῳ ἀπολωλέναι, αὐτοκράτορα τοῦ πολέμου ποιεῖται Βασιλίσκον, Βηρίνης τῆς γυναικὸς ἀδελφὸν ὄντα καὶ τῆς βασιλείας ἐκτόπως ἐρῶντα, ἥν οἱ ἤλπισεν ἀμαχητὶ ἔσεσθαι τὴν Ἄσπαρος προσποιησαμένῳ φιλίαν. [3] αὐτὸς γὰρ Ἄσπαρ τῆς Ἀρείου δόξης μεταποιούμενος, ταύτην τε οὐκ ἐννοῶν μετατίθεσθαι, παρελθεῖν μὲν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν οὐχ οἷός τε ἦν, καταστήσασθαι δὲ ἐς αὐτὴν ἕτερον εὐπετῶς ἴσχυσεν, ἤδη τε Λέοντι τῷ βασιλεῖ ὡς ἐπιβουλεύσει προσκεκρουκότι ἐπίδοξος ἦν. [4] λέγουσιν οὖν Ἄσπαρα τότε δείσαντα μὴ Βανδίλων ἡσσημένων ὁ Λέων ὡς ἀσφαλέστατα τὴν βασιλείαν κρατύνηται, πολλὰ Βασιλίσκῳ ἐπισκήψαντα παρακαταθέσθαι οἱ Βανδίλους τε καὶ Γιζέριχον. [5] Λέων δὲ ἤδη πρότερον Ἀνθέμιον, ἄνδρα ἐκ γερουσίας, πλούτῳ τε καὶ γένει μέγαν, βασιλέα τῆς ἑσπερίας καταστησάμενος ἔπεμψεν, ὅπως οἱ τὰ ἐς τὸν Βανδιλικὸν συλλήψεται πόλεμον. [6] καίτοι Γιζέριχος ἔχρῃζε καὶ πολλὰ ἐλιπάρει Ὀλυβρίῳ παραδοθῆναι τὴν βασιλείαν Πλακιδίᾳ τῇ Βαλεντινιανοῦ παιδὶ ξυνοικοῦντι καὶ διὰ τὸ κῆδος εὐνοϊκῶς αὐτῷ ἔχοντι, ἐπειδή τε τούτου ἠτύχησεν, ἔτι μᾶλλον ὠργίζετο καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν βασιλέως γῆν ἐληίζετο. [7] ἦν δέ τις ἐν Δαλματίᾳ Μαρκελλιανὸς τῶν Ἀετίῳ γνωρίμων, ἀνὴρ δόκιμος, ὃς ἐπειδὴ Ἀέτιος ἐτελεύτησε τρόπῳ τῷ εἰρημένῳ, βασιλεῖ εἴκειν οὐκέτι ἠξίου, ἀλλὰ νεωτερίσας τε καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἅπαντας ἀποστήσας αὐτὸς εἶχ�
� τὸ Δαλματίας κράτος, οὐδενός οἱ ἐς χεῖρας ἰέναι τολμήσαντος. [8] τοῦτον δὴ τὸν Μαρκελλιανὸν τότε Λέων βασιλεὺς εὖ μάλα τιθασσεύων προσεποιήσατο, καὶ ἐς Σαρδὼ τὴν νῆσον ἐκέλευεν ἰέναι, Βανδίλων κατήκοον οὖσαν. ὁ δὲ αὐτὴν Βανδίλους ἐξελάσας οὐ χαλεπῶς ἔσχεν. [9] Ἡράκλειος δὲ σταλεὶς ἐκ Βυζαντίου εἰς Τρίπολιν τὴν ἐν Λιβύῃ νικήσας τε μάχῃ τοὺς ταύτῃ Βανδίλους τάς τε πόλεις ῥᾳδίως εἷλε καὶ τὰς ναῦς ἐνταῦθα ἀπολιπὼν πεζῇ τὸ στράτευμα ἐς Καρχηδόνα ἦγε. τὰ μὲν οὖν τοῦ πολέμου προοίμια τῇδε ἐφέρετο. [10] Βασιλίσκος δὲ τῷ παντὶ στόλῳ ἐς πόλισμα κατέπλευσε, Καρχηδόνος διέχον οὐχ ἧσσον ἢ ὀγδοήκοντά τε καὶ διακοσίοις σταδίοις ῾Ἑρμοῦ δὲ νεὼς ἐνταῦθα ἐκ παλαιοῦ ἐτύγχανεν ὤν, ἀφ̓ οὗ δὴ καὶ Μερκούριον ὁ τόπος ἐκλήθη: οὕτω γὰρ τὸν Ἑρμῆν καλοῦσι Ῥωμαῖοἰ, καὶ εἰ μὴ ἐθελοκακήσας ἐμέλλησεν, ἀλλ̓ εὐθὺ ἐπεχείρησε Καρχηδόνος ἰέναι, αὐτήν τε ἂν αὐτοβοεὶ εἷλε καὶ Βανδίλους ἐς οὐδεμίαν ἀλκὴν τραπομένους κατεδουλώσατο: [11] οὕτω Γιζέριχος Λέοντα ὡς ἄμαχον βασιλέα κατωρρώδησεν, ἐπεί οἱ Σαρδώ τε καὶ Τρίπολις ἁλοῦσαι ἠγγέλλοντο καὶ τὸν Βασιλίσκου στόλον ἑώρα οἷος οὐδείς πω ἐλέγετο Ῥωμαίοις πρότερον γεγενῆσθαι. νῦν δὲ τοῦτο ἐκώλυσεν ἡ τοῦ στρατηγοῦ μέλλησις, εἴτε κακότητι εἴτε προδοσίᾳ προσγενομένη. [12] Γιζέριχος δὲ τῆς Βασιλίσκου ὀλιγωρίας ἀπολαύων ἐποίει τάδε. ὁπλίσας ἅπαντας ὡς ἄριστα εἶχε τοὺς ὑπηκόους ἐπλήρου τὰς ναῦς, ἄλλας τε κενὰς ἀνδρῶν καὶ ὡς τάχιστα πλεούσας ἐν παρασκευῇ εἶχε. [13] πέμψας δὲ πρέσβεις ὡς Βασιλίσκον ἐδεῖτο τὸν πόλεμον ἐς πέντε ἡμερῶν ὑπερβαλέσθαι χρόνον, ὅπως μεταξὺ βουλευσάμενος ἐκεῖνα ποιοίη ἃ δὴ μάλιστα βασιλεῖ βουλομένῳ εἴη. [14] λέγουσι δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ χρυσίου πολύ τι χρῆμα κρύφα τῆς Βασιλίσκου στρατιᾶς πέμψαντα ταύτην δὴ τὴν ἐκεχειρίαν ὠνήσασθαι. [15] ἔπρασσε δὲ ταῦτα οἰόμενος, ὅπερ ἐγένετο, πνεῦμα ἐπίφορον ἐν τούτῳ οἱ τῷ χρόνῳ γενήσεσθαι. [16] Βασιλίσκος δὲ ἢ Ἄσπαρι καθάπερ ὑπέστη χαριζόμενος ἢ τὸν καιρὸν χρημάτων ἀποδιδόμενος, ἢ καὶ βέλτιον αὐτῷ ἐνομίσθη, ἐποίει τε τὰ αἰτούμενα καὶ ἡσύχαζεν ἐν τῷ στρατοπέδῳ, τὴν εὐκαιρίαν προσδεχόμενος τῶν πολεμίων. [17] Οἱ δὲ Βανδίλοι, ἐπειδὴ σφίσι τάχιστα τὸ πνεῦμα ἐγεγόνει, ὃ δὴ τέως καραδοκοῦντες ἐκάθηντο, ἀράμενοί τε τὰ ἱστία καὶ τὰ πλοῖα ἀφέλκοντες ὅσα αὐτοῖς ἀνδρῶν κενά, ὥσπερ μοι πρότερον εἴρηται, παρεσκεύαστο, ἔπλεον ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους. [18] ὡς δὲ ἀγχοῦ ἐγένοντο, πῦρ ἐν τοῖς πλοίοις ἐνθέμενοι, ἃ δὴ αὐτοὶ ἐφέλκοντες ἦγον, κεκολπωμένων αὐτοῖς τῶν ἱστίων, ἀφῆκαν ἐπὶ τὸ τῶν Ῥωμαίων στρατόπεδον. [19] ἅτε δὲ πλήθους ὄντος ἐνταῦθα νηῶν, ὅπη τὰ πλοῖα ταῦτα προσπίπτοιεν, ἔκαιόν τε ῥᾳδίως καὶ αὐτὰ οἷς ἂν συμμίξαιεν ἑτοίμως ξυνδιεφθείροντο. [20] οὕτω δὲ τοῦ πυρὸς ἐπιφερομένου θόρυβός τε, ὡς τὸ εἰκός, εἶχε τὸν Ῥωμαίων στόλον καὶ κραυγῆς μέγεθος τῷ τε πνεύματι καὶ τῷ τῆς φλογὸς βόμβῳ ἀντιπαταγούσης μάλιστα, καὶ τῶν στρατιωτῶν ὁμοῦ τοῖς ναύταις ἀλλήλοις ἐγκελευομένων καὶ τοῖς κοντοῖς διωθουμένων τά τε πυρφόρα πλοῖα καὶ τὰς σφῶν αὐτῶν ναῦς ὑπ̓ ἀλλήλων διαφθειρομένας οὐδενὶ κόσμῳ. [21] ἤδη δὲ καὶ οἱ Βανδίλοι παρῆσαν ἐμβάλλοντές τε καὶ καταδύοντες καὶ αὐτοῖς ὅπλοις τοὺς διαφεύγοντας τῶν στρατιωτῶν ληιζόμενοι. [22] εἰσὶ δὲ οἳ καὶ ἄνδρες ἀγαθοὶ Ῥωμαίων ἐν τῷ πόνῳ τούτῳ ἐγένοντο, καὶ πάντων μάλιστα Ἰωάννης, ὑποστράτηγός τε ὢν Βασιλίσκου καὶ οὐδ̓ ὁπωστιοῦν τῆς ἐκείνου προδοσίας μεταλαχών. [23] περιστάντος γὰρ ὁμίλου πολλοῦ τὴν αὐτοῦ ναῦν, ἔκτεινε μὲν ἐπιστροφάδην ἀπὸ τοῦ καταστρώματος πολύ τι τῶν πολεμίων πλῆθος, ὡς δὲ ἁλισκομένης ᾔσθετο τῆς νεώς, ἥλατο ξὺν πάσῃ τῇ τῶν ὅπλων σκευῇ ἀπὸ τῶν ἰκρίων εἰς θάλασσαν. [24] πολλὰ μὲν οὖν αὐτὸν ἐλιπάρει Γένζων ὁ Γιζερίχου, πιστά τε παρεχόμενος καὶ σωτηρίαν προτεινόμενος, ὁ δὲ οὐδὲν ἧσσον ἐς θάλασσαν καθῆκε τὸ σῶμα, ἐκεῖνο μόνον ἀποφθεγξάμενος, ὡς οὐ μή ποτε Ἰωάννης ὑπὸ χερσὶ κυνῶν γένηται. [25] Ὁ μὲν δὴ πόλεμος οὗτος ἐς τοῦτο ἐτελεύτα καὶ Ἡράκλειος ἐπ̓ οἴκου ἀπεκομίσθη: Μαρκελλιανὸς γὰρ πρός του τῶν συναρχόντων ἀπώλετο δόλῳ. [26] Βασιλίσκος δὲ ἀφικόμενος ἐς Βυζάντιον ἱκέτης ἐκάθητο ἐς τὸ ἱερὸν Χριστοῦ τοῦ μεγάλου θεοῦ ῾Σοφίαν καλοῦσιν οἱ Βυζάντιοι τὸν νεών, ταύτην δὴ μάλιστα τῷ θεῷ πρέπειν τὴν ἐπωνυμίαν ἡγούμενοἰ, ἐξαιτησαμένης δὲ αὐτὸν Βηρίνης τῆς βασιλίδος τὸν μὲν κίνδυνον τοῦτον διέφυγεν, ἐς βασιλείαν δὲ τότε παρελθεῖν, ἧς δὴ ἕνεκα πάντα αὐτῷ εἴργαστο, οὐχ οἷός τε ἦν. [27] Λέων γὰρ βασιλεὺς οὐ πολλῷ ὕστερον Ἄσπαρά τε καὶ Ἀρδαβούριον ἐν παλατίῳ διέφθειρεν, ἐπεί οἱ θάνατον ἐπιβουλεύειν αὐτοὺς ὑπετόπησε. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐγένετο τῇδε.
VI
And the Emperor Leon, wishing to punish the Vandals because of these things, was gathering an army against them; and they say that this army amounted to about one hundred thousand men. And he collected a fleet of ships from the whole of the eastern Mediterranean, shewing great generosity to both soldiers and sailors, for he feared lest from a parsimonious policy some obstacle might arise to hinder him in his desire to carry out his punishment of the barbarians. Therefore, they say, thirteen hundred centenaria were expended by him to no purpose. But since it was not fated that the Vandals should be destroyed by this expedition, he made Basiliscus commander-in-chief, the brother of his wife Berine,
a man who was extraordinarily desirous of the royal power, which he hoped would come to him without a struggle if he won the friendship of Aspar. For Aspar himself, being an adherent of the Arian faith, and having no intention of changing it for another, was unable to enter upon the imperial office, but he was easily strong enough to establish another in it, and it already seemed likely that he would plot against the Emperor Leon, who had given him offence. So they say that since Aspar was then fearful lest, if the Vandals were defeated, Leon should establish his power most securely, he repeatedly urged upon Basiliscus that he should spare the Vandals and Gizeric.
[467 A.D.] Now before this time Leon had already appointed and sent Anthemius, as Emperor of the West, a man of the senate of great wealth and high birth, in order that he might assist him in the Vandalic war. And yet Gizeric kept asking and earnestly entreating that the imperial power be given to Olybrius, who was married to Placidia, the daughter of Valentinian, and on account of his relationship well-disposed toward him, and when he failed in this he was still more angry and kept plundering the whole land of the emperor. Now there was in Dalmatia a certain Marcellianus, one of the acquaintances of Aetius and a man of repute, who, after Aetius had died in the manner told above, no longer deigned to yield obedience to the emperor, but beginning a revolution and detaching all the others from allegiance, held the power of Dalmatia himself, since no one dared encounter him. But the Emperor Leon at that time won over this Marcellianus by very careful wheedling, and bade him go to the island of Sardinia, which was then subject to the Vandals. And he drove out the Vandals and gained possession of it with no great difficulty. And Heracleius was sent from Byzantium to Tripolis in Libya, and after conquering the Vandals of that district in battle, he easily captured the cities, and leaving his ships there, led his army on foot toward Carthage. Such, then, was the sequence of events which formed the prelude of the war.
Delphi Complete Works of Procopius Page 370