Delphi Complete Works of Procopius

by Procopius of Caesarea

  XVIII

  AMONG the Romans, Ildiger and his men were the first to arrive at the enemy’s camp, and they made slaves of such of the Goths as had remained there suffering from sickness of one kind or another, and collected all the valuables which the Goths had left in their flight. And Belisarius with his whole army arrived at midday. And when he saw John and his men pale and dreadfully emaciated, he said to him, hinting at the rashness of his audacious deed, that he owed a debt of gratitude to Ildiger. But John said that he recognized his obligation, not to Ildiger, but to Narses, the emperor’s steward, implying, I suppose, that Belisarius had not come to his defence very -willingly, but only after being persuaded by Narses. And from that time both these men began to regard each other with great suspicion. It was for this reason that the friends of Narses even tried to prevent him from marching with Belisarius, and they sought to shew him how disgraceful it was for one who shared the secrets of the emperor not to be commander-in-chief of the army, but to take orders from a mere general. For they expressed the view that Belisarius would never willingly share with him the command of the army on equal terms, but that, if he wished to take command of the Roman army for himself, he would be followed by the greater part of the soldiers, and much the best ones too, together with their commanders. For the Eruli, they said, and Narses’ own spearmen and guards, and the troops commanded by Justinus and John himself, together with the forces of Aratius and the other Narses, amounted to not less than ten thousand men, brave soldiers and especially capable warriors, and they did not wish the subjugation of Italy to be reckoned to the credit of Belisarius alone, but desired that Narses too should carry off his share of the honour. For they supposed that he had left the society of the emperor, not that by facing danger himself he might establish the glory of Belisarius, but presumably in order that by making a display of deeds of wisdom and bravery he might become famous among all men. Furthermore, they said, even Belisarius would thenceforth be unable to accomplish anything without these troops. For the greater part of the forces which he commanded had already been left behind in fortresses and cities which he had himself captured, and they enumerated them all, starting at Sicily and naming them in order as far as Picenum.

  When Narses heard this, he was exceedingly pleased with the suggestion and could no longer restrain his mind or tolerate the existing arrangement. Often, therefore, when Belisarius thought proper to undertake some new enterprise, he would resort to different pretexts, now one and now another, and thus block the project he was urging. And Belisarius, perceiving this, called together all the commanders and spoke as follows:

  “It seems to me, fellow officers, that I do not have the same opinion regarding this war as you have. For you, I see, are contemptuous of the enemy as being completely vanquished. But my opinion is that by this confidence of yours we shall fall into a danger which can be foreseen, because I know that the barbarians have not been vanquished by us because of any lack of courage on their part or because of inferiority in numbers, but that it is by means of careful planning beforehand that they have been outgeneralled, and consequently have turned to flight from this place. And I fear that you may be deceived in regard to these facts because of your false estimate of the situation, and may thus do irreparable harm both to yourselves and to the cause of the Romans. For those who, accounting themselves victorious, are lifted up by their achievements are more readily destroyed than those who have indeed suffered an unexpected reverse, but thereafter are actuated by fear and abundant respect of their enemy. For while indifference has sometimes ruined men who were in good case, energy coupled with solicitude has often relieved those who had been unfortunate. For, on the one hand, when men allow themselves to drift into an attitude of unconcern, the measure of their strength is wont, as a rule, to be lessened, but, on the other hand, careful study of a situation is naturally calculated to instil vigour. Accordingly, let each one of you remember that Vittigis is in Ravenna with many tens of thousands of Goths, that Uraias is besieging Milan and has brought the whole of Liguria under his power, that Auximus is already filled with an array both numerous and formidable, and that many other places, as far as Urviventus, which is in the neighbourhood of Rome, are guarded by barbarian garrisons which are a match for us. Consequently the situation is more perilous for us at the present time than it formerly was, seeing that we have come to be, in a way, surrounded by the enemy. And this is not all, for I pass over the report that the Franks also have joined forces with them in Liguria, a thing which cannot fail to be remembered by all Romans with great fear. I state, therefore, as my opinion that a part of the army ought to be sent to Liguria and Milan, but that the rest should instantly proceed against Auximus and the enemy there, in order to accomplish whatever God permits; and afterwards we should also take in hand the other tasks of the war in whatever way seems best and most advantageous.” So spoke Belisarius.

  And Narses replied as follows: “In other respects, General, no one could deny that everything has been spoken by you with truth. But that the emperor’s whole army here should be divided between Milan and Auximus alone I consider to be utterly inexpedient. It would not be at all unreasonable for you, on your part, to lead against these places such of the Romans as you yourself might wish, but we, on our part, shall take possession for the emperor of the territory of Aemilia, which the Goths are making the greatest effort to win for themselves, and we shall harass Ravenna in such a way that you will crush the enemy before you as you wish, while they are excluded from the hope of armies to support them. For if we should elect to join you in carrying on a siege at Auximus, the barbarians, I fear, will come upon us from Ravenna, with the result that we shall become exposed to the enemy on both sides and, being at a distance from our base of supplies, we shall be destroyed on the spot.” Such were the words of Narses.

  But Belisarius feared that, if the Romans should go against many places at once, it would come about that the emperor’s cause would be weakened and finally ruined by the confusion resulting therefrom, and so he shewed a letter from the Emperor Justinian which he had written to the commanders of the army, conveying the following message: “We have not sent our steward Narses to Italy in order to command the army; for we wish Belisarius alone to command the whole army in whatever manner seems to him to be best, and it is the duty of all of you to follow him in the interest of our state.” Such was the purport of the emperor’s letter. But Narses, laying hold of the final words of the letter, declared that Belisarius at the present time was laying plans contrary to the interest of the state; for this reason, he said, it was unnecessary for them to follow him.

  Ταῦτα ἀκούσας Βελισάριος Περάνιον μὲν ἐς Οὐρβιβεντὸν ξὺν πολλῇ στρατιᾷ, ἐφ̓ ᾧ πολιορκήσουσιν αὐτήν, ἔπεμψεν, αὐτὸς δὲ ἐπὶ Οὐρβῖνον τὸ στράτευμα ἐπῆγε, πόλιν τε ἐχυρὰν καὶ Γότθων φρουρὰν διαρκῆ ἔχουσαν ῾ἀπέχει δὲ αὕτη Ἀριμίνου πόλεως ἡμέρας ὁδὸν εὐζώνῳ ἀνδρἴ, καί οἱ τῆς στρατιᾶς ἐξηγουμένῳ Ναρσῆς τε καὶ Ἰωάννης καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι ξύμπαντες εἵποντο. [2] τῆς τε πόλεως ἀγχοῦ ἐλθόντες παρὰ τοῦ λόφου τὸν πρόποδα ἐστρατοπέδευσαν δίχα: οὐ γάρ πη ἀλλήλοις ξυνετετάχατο, ἀλλ̓ οἱ μὲν ἀμφὶ Βελισάριον τὰ πρὸς ἕω τῆς πόλεως εἶχον, οἱ δὲ ἀμφὶ Ναρσῆν τὰ πρὸς ἑσπέραν. [3] κεῖται δὲ Οὐρβῖνος ἐπὶ λόφου περιφεροῦς τε καὶ ὑψηλοῦ λίαν. οὐ μέντοι ὁ λόφος οὔτε κρημνώδης οὔτε παντάπασιν ἀπόρευτός ἐστι, μόνον δὲ δύσοδος τῷ ἀνάντης ἐς ἄγαν εἶναι, ἄλλως τε καὶ τῆς πόλεως ἀγχοτάτω ἰόντι. [4] μίαν δὲ εἴσοδον ἐν τ�
� ὁμαλεῖ ἔχει πρὸς βορρᾶν ἄνεμον. Ῥωμαῖοι μὲν οὖν ἐς τὴν πολιορκίαν ἐτετάχατο ὧδε. Βελισάριος δὲ ῥᾷον σφίσι προσχωρήσειν ὁμολογίᾳ τοὺς βαρβάρους οἰόμενος ἅτε κατωρρωδηκότας τὸν κίνδυνον, πρέσβεις τε παῤ αὐτοὺς ἔπεμψε καὶ πολλὰ ὑποσχόμενος αὐτοῖς ἀγαθὰ ἔσεσθαι κατηκόους βασιλέως γενέσθαι παρῄνει. [5] οἱ μὲν οὖν πρέσβεις τῶν πυλῶν ἀγχοῦ γενόμενοι ῾οὐ γὰρ τῇ πόλει σφᾶς ἐδέξαντο οἱ πολέμιοἰ πολλά τε καὶ λίαν ἐπαγωγὰ εἶπον, οἱ δὲ Γότθοι χωρίου τε ἰσχύϊ θαρροῦντες καὶ τῶν ἐπιτηδείων τῇ ἀφθονίᾳ τοὺς μὲν λόγους ἥκιστα ἐνεδέχοντο, κατὰ τάχος δὲ Ῥωμαίους ἐνθένδε ἐκέλευον ἀπαλλάσσεσθαι. [6] Βελισάριος οὖν ταῦτα ἀκούσας ῥάβδους παχείας τῷ στρατῷ ξυλλέγειν ἐπήγγελλε, στοάν τε ἀπ̓ αὐτῶν ποιεῖσθαι μακράν. [7] ἧς δὴ ἐντὸς κρυπτόμενοι ἔμελλον τῶν τε πυλῶν ξὺν αὐτῇ ἀγχοτάτω ἰέναι, ᾗ μάλιστα ὁ χῶρος ὁμαλός ἐστι, καὶ τῇ ἐς τὸ τεῖχος ἐπιβουλῇ χρῆσθαι. καὶ οἱ μὲν κατὰ ταῦτα ἐποίουν. [8] Ναρσῇ δὲ ξυγγενόμενοι τῶν ἐπιτηδείων τινές, ἀπέραντά τε ποιεῖν Βελισάριον καὶ τὰ ἀμήχανα ἐπινοεῖν ἔφασκον. ἤδη γὰρ Ἰωάννην τοῦ χωρίου ἀποπειρασάμενον, καὶ ταῦτα ὀλίγων τινῶν τηνικαῦτα φρουρὰν ἔχοντος, ἀνάλωτον αὐτὸ ᾐσθῆσθαι παντάπασιν εἶναι ῾καὶ ἦν δὲ οὕτως᾿, ἀλλ̓ αὐτὸν χρῆναι βασιλεῖ ἀνασώσασθαι τὰ ἐπὶ Αἰμιλίας χωρία. [9] ταύτῃ ὁ Ναρσῆς τῇ ὑποθήκῃ ἀναπεισθεὶς νύκτωρ τὴν προσεδρείαν διέλυσε, καίπερ Βελισαρίου πολλὰ λιπαροῦντος μένειν τε αὐτοῦ καὶ Οὐρβῖνον πόλιν σφίσι ξυνελεῖν. [10] οὗτοι μὲν ἐς Ἀρίμινον κατὰ τάχος ξὺν τῷ ἄλλῳ στρατῷ ἵκοντο. Μώρας δὲ καὶ οἱ βάρβαροι ἐπεὶ κατὰ ἥμισυ τοὺς πολεμίους ἀναχωρήσαντας ἅμα ἡμέρᾳ εἶδον, ἐτώθαζον ἀπὸ τοῦ περιβόλου τοὺς μεμενηκότας ἐρεσχελοῦντες. [11] Βελισάριος δὲ τῇ λειπομένῃ στρατιᾷ τειχομαχεῖν ἤθελε. καί οἱ ταῦτα βουλευομένῳ εὐτύχημα γενέσθαι ξυνηνέχθη θαυμάσιον οἷον. [12] μία τις ἦν ἐν Οὐρβίνῳ πηγή, ἐξ ἧς δὴ πάντες οἱ ταύτῃ οἰκοῦντες ὑδρεύοντο. αὕτη κατὰ βραχὺ ἀπὸ ταὐτομάτου ἀποξηρανθεῖσα ὑπέληγεν. [13] ἔν τε ἡμέραις τρισὶν οὕτως αὐτὴν τὸ ὕδωρ ἀπέλιπεν ὥστε ξὺν τῷ πηλῷ ἐνθένδε αὐτὸ οἱ βάρβαροι ἀρυόμενοι ἔπινον. διὸ δὴ Ῥωμαίοις προσχωρεῖν ἔγνωσαν. [14] Βελισάριος δὲ ταῦτα μὲν οὐδαμῆ πεπυσμένος ἤθελεν ἀποπειράσασθαι τοῦ περιβόλου. καὶ τὸ μὲν ἄλλο στράτευμα ἐξοπλίσας κύκλῳ ἀμφὶ τὸν λόφον ἅπαντα ἔστησε, τινὰς δὲ ἐκέλευσεν ἐν τῷ ὁμαλεῖ τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν ῥάβδων ἐπάγειν στοάν: [15] οὕτω γὰρ καλεῖν τὴν μηχανὴν νενομίκασι ταύτην. οἱ δὲ αὐτῆς ἐντὸς ὑποδύντες ἐβάδιζόν τε καὶ τὴν στοὰν ἐφεῖλκον τοὺς πολεμίους λανθάνοντες. [16] οἱ μὲν οὖν βάρβαροι χεῖρας τὰς δεξιὰς ἀπὸ τῶν ἐπάλξεων προτεινόμενοι ἐδέοντο τῆς εἰρήνης τυχεῖν. Ῥωμαῖοι δὲ οὐκ εἰδότες τι τῶν ἀμφὶ τῇ πηγῇ ξυμπεπτωκότων τόν τε πόλεμον αὐτοὺς καὶ τὴν μηχανὴν δεδιέναι ὑπώπτευον. ἀμφότεροι γοῦν τῆς μάχης ἄσμενοι ἀπέσχοντο. [17] καὶ Γότθοι Βελισαρίῳ σφᾶς τε αὐτοὺς καὶ τὴν πόλιν ὁμολογίᾳ παρέδοσαν, ἐφ̓ ᾧ κακῶν ἀπαθεῖς μείνωσι, βασιλέως κατήκοοι ξὺν τῷ Ῥωμαίων στρατῷ ἐπὶ τῇ ἴσῃ καὶ ὁμοίᾳ γεγενημένοι. [18] Ναρσῆς δὲ ταῦτα ἀκούσας ἐν θαύματί τε καὶ ξυμφορᾷ τὸ πρᾶγμα ἐποιεῖτο. [19] καὶ αὐτὸς μὲν ἐν Ἀριμίνῳ ἔτι ἡσύχαζεν, Ἰωάννην δὲ τῷ παντὶ στρατῷ ἐπὶ Καισῆναν ἐξηγεῖσθαι ἐκέλευεν. οἱ δὲ κλίμακας φέροντες ᾔεσαν. [20] ἐπεὶ δὲ ἄγχιστα τοῦ φρουρίου ἐγένοντο, προσέβαλλόν τε καὶ τοῦ περιβόλου ἀπεπειρῶντο. καρτερῶς δὲ τῶν βαρβάρων ἀμυνομένων ἄλλοι τε πολλοὶ αὐτοῦ ἔπεσον καὶ Φανίθεος ὁ τῶν Ἐρούλων ἡγούμενος. [21] Ἰωάννης δὲ Καισήνης τότε τοῦ φρουρίου ἀποτυχὼν ἀποπειρᾶσθαι οὐκέτι ἠξίου, ἐπεί οἱ ἀνάλωτον ἔδοξεν εἶναι, ξύν τε Ἰουστίνῳ καὶ τῷ ἄλλῳ στρατῷ πρόσω ἤλαυνε. [22] καὶ πόλιν μὲν ἀρχαίαν ἐκ τοῦ αἰφνιδίου κατέλαβεν ἣ Φοροκορνήλιος ὠνόμασται, τῶν δὲ βαρβάρων οἱ ἀεί τε ὑποχωρούντων καὶ οὐδαμῆ ἐς χεῖρας ἰόντων, ξύμπασαν βασιλεῖ τὴν Αἰμιλίαν ἀνεσώσατο. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐφέρετο τῇδε.