Delphi Complete Works of Procopius

by Procopius of Caesarea

  IV

  TOTILA, upon learning what had taken place at Verona, summoned many of the Goths from that city, and upon their arrival moved with his whole army, amounting to five thousand men, against his opponents. Now when the commanders of the Roman army learned this, they began to deliberate over their situation. And Artabazes came forward and spoke as follows: “Fellow-commanders, let no one of you think fit at the present time to despise the enemy because they are inferior to us in number, nor, because he is fighting against men enslaved by Belisarius, let him advance against them in a reckless frame of mind. For many a man, deceived by a false estimate of a situation, has brought about his own downfall, while others who have been filled with unjustified contempt of their foes have seen their whole power ruined thereby; and even apart from this, the very fact of their previous ill fortune lures these men on to attain a fairer lot. For when fortune has reduced a man to despair and robbed him of his fair hopes, it changes his nature and leads him to feel an extraordinary degree of daring. And it is not because I am moved by mere suspicion that I have made these statements before you, but because of the thorough acquaintance I have recently made with the daring of these men while engaged in mortal combat with them. And let no one think that I now marvel at their power because I was defeated along with a handful of men. For it is to those who shall come to blows with them that men’s valour becomes revealed, whether those men are superior in number or inferior. My opinion then is that it will be more to our advantage to watch for the crossing of the river by the barbarians, and, while the crossing is in progress, and about half their men are across, to engage with them then, rather than after they have already assembled, all in one body. And let no man consider such a victory inglorious. For the outcome of events alone is wont to decide whether a deed shall be named glorious or inglorious, and it is the victors whom men are accustomed to praise without investigating the manner of the victory.” So spoke Artabazes. But the commanders, owing to the divergence of their opinions, did nothing that they should, but continued to remain where they were and lose their opportunity by delay.

  And now the army of the Goths had come very near, and when they were about to cross the river, Totila called them all together and exhorted them as follows: “My kinsmen, all other battles give promise, as a general thing, of a contest that will be more or less even and thereby incite the contending armies to the struggle, but we are entering this combat, not on an equality with our enemy as regards the advantages of fortune, but facing a very different situation. For they, even in case of a possible defeat, will be able after no long time to renew the fight against us. For there is left behind for them a numerous army quartered in the strongholds throughout the whole of Italy, and, furthermore, it is not at all improbable that another army will at a very early date come to their assistance from Byzantium. But if we, on the other hand, suffer this same fate, there will be a final end of the name and hopes of the Goths. For from an army of two hundred thousand we have been reduced in the course of events to five thousand men. Having made such a preface, I think it not inappropriate to recall to your minds this fact also, that when you decided to take up arms with Ildibadus against the emperor, the number of your band amounted to no more than one thousand men, while your entire territory consisted of the city of Ticinum. But since you came off victors in the engagement, both our army and our territory have increased. So that if you are willing in this battle to display the same spirit of manly courage, I am hopeful that, as the war goes on, following its natural course, we shall accomplish the complete defeat of our opponents. For it always proves true that the victors increase both in numbers and in power. Let each one of you, therefore, be eager to join battle with the enemy with all your strength, understanding clearly that if we do not succeed in the present battle, it will be impossible to renew the struggle against our opponents. It is reasonable, furthermore, for us to grapple with the enemy with high hopes, taking courage from the unjust acts committed by them. For such has been their conduct towards their subjects that the Italians at the present time need no further punishment for the flagrant treason which they dared to commit against the Goths; so true is it that every form of evil, to put all in a word, has fallen to their lot from the hands of those whom they cordially received. And what enemy could be more easy to overcome than men whose deeds, even those done in God’s name, are utterly wicked? Nay more, the very fear we inspire in them should properly be a further cause for confidence on our part as we enter the struggle. For those against whom we proceed are no other men than those who recently first penetrated into the middle of Verona, then abandoned it for no good reason, and, although not a man pursued them, yet even so rushed off in a disgraceful flight.”

  After delivering this exhortation Totila commanded three hundred of his troops to cross the river at a distance of about twenty stades from where he stood and get behind the enemy’s camp, and when the battle should come to close quarters, to fall upon their rear, harassing them with their missiles and assailing them with all their strength, in order that the Romans might be thrown into confusion and abandon all thought of resistance. He himself, meanwhile, with the rest of the army straightway crossed the river and advanced directly upon his opponents; and the Romans immediately came out to meet him. And when, as both armies advanced, they came nearer to each other, a Goth, Valaris by name, tall of stature and of most terrifying mien, an active man withal and a good fighter, rode his horse out before the rest of the army and took his stand in the open space between the armies, clad in a corselet and wearing a helmet on his head; and he challenged all the Romans, if anyone was willing to do battle with him. Whereupon all remained quiet, being stricken with terror, save Artabazes alone, who advanced to fight the man. So they rode their horses toward each other, and when they came close, both thrust their spears, but Artabazes, anticipating his opponent, delivered the first blow and pierced the right side of Valaris. And the barbarian, mortally wounded, was about to fall backward to the earth, but his spear, resting on the ground behind him and being braced against a rock, did not permit him to fall. As for Artabazes, he continued to press forward still more vigorously, driving the spear into the man’s vitals; for as yet he did not suppose that he had already suffered a mortal wound. Thus it came about that Valaris’ spear stood practically upright and its iron point encountered the corselet of Artabazes, and first, entering little by little, it went clear through the corselet, and then, slipping further, grazed the skin of Artabazes’ neck. And by some chance the iron, as it pushed forward, cut an artery which lies in that region, and there was immediately a great flow of blood. However, the man experienced no feeling of pain, and he rode back to the Roman army, while Valaris fell dead on the spot. But the flow of blood from Artabazes’ wound did not abate and on the third day afterwards he departed from among men; and this mishap shattered all the hopes of the Romans, since he was rendered unfit for fighting in the engagement which followed, and himself injured their cause in no small degree. For while he went out of range of missiles and was caring for his wound, the two armies engaged with each other.

  But when the engagement was hottest, the three hundred barbarians suddenly appeared advancing behind the Roman army; and when the Romans saw these men, supposing as they did that their assailants were a great multitude, they fell into a panic and straightway rushed off in flight, each man as best he could. And the barbarians kept up a slaughter of Romans as they fled in complete disorder, and many of them they captured and held under guard, and they captured all the standards besides, a thing which had never before happened to the Romans. As for the commanders, each one of them as he could fled with only a few men, and finding safety in whatever cities they happened to reach they continued to guard them.

  Χρόνῳ δὲ Τουτίλας οὐ πολλῷ ὕστερον στράτευμα ἐπί τε Ἰουστῖνον καὶ Φλωρεντίαν ἔπεμψεν, οἷς δὴ ἄρχοντας Γότθων τοὺς μαχιμωτάτους ἐπέστησε
, Βλέδαν καὶ Ῥουδέριχον καὶ Οὐλίαριν. οἵπερ ἐπειδὴ ἐς Φλωρεντίαν ἦλθον, ἐγκαθεζόμενοι ἀμφὶ τὸ τεῖχος ἐς πολιορκίαν καθίσταντο. [2] Ἰουστῖνος δὲ ξυνταραχθεὶς ἐπεὶ τῶν ἐπιτηδείων ἐσκομισάμενος οὐδὲν ἔτυχεν, ἔπεμψεν ἐς Ῥάβενναν πρὸς τοὺς τοῦ Ῥωμαίων στρατοῦ ἄρχοντας, [3] βοηθεῖν σφίσι κατὰ τάχος δεόμενος. νύκτωρ τε ὁ σταλεὶς τοὺς πολεμίους λαθὼν ἐς Ῥάβεννάν τε ἀφίκετο καὶ τὰ παρόντα σφίσιν ἀπήγγειλε. [4] διὸ δὴ στράτευμα Ῥωμαίων λόγου ἄξ̣̣̔̓ν εὐθὺς ἐς Φλωρεντίαν ᾔει, ὧν δὴ Βέσσας τε καὶ Κυπριανὸς καὶ Ἰωάννης ὁ Βιταλιανοῦ ἀδελφιδοῦς ἡγοῦντο ὅπερ ἐπεὶ Γότθοι πρὸς τῶν κατασκόπων ἐπύθοντο, [5] λύσαντες τὴν προσεδρείαν, ἀνεχώρησαν εἰς χωρίον Μουκέλλιν ὄνομα, Φλωρεντίας διέχον ἡμέρας ὁδόν. [6] ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ Ῥωμαίων στρατὸς Ἰουστίνῳ ξυνέμιξεν, ὀλίγους μέν τινας τῶν αὐτῷ ἑπομένων ἐπὶ φυλακῇ τῆς πόλεως αὐτοῦ εἴασαν, αὐτοὶ δὲ τοὺς ἄλλους ἐπαγόμενοι ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους ἐχώρουν. [7] Καὶ αὐτοῖς ὁδῷ πορευομένοις ξυμφορώτατον ἔδοξεν εἶναι τῶν ἀρχόντων ἕνα παντὸς τοῦ στρατοῦ τοὺς λογιμωτάτους ἀπολεξάμενον πρόσω ἰέναι καὶ αὐτὸν μὲν ἐξ ἐπιδρομῆς τοῖς πολεμίοις ἀπροσδόκητον ἐς χεῖρας ἐλθεῖν, τὸ δὲ ἄλλο στράτευμα σχολῇ βαδίζον ἐνταῦθα ἰέναι. κλήρους τε ἐπὶ τούτοις ἐμβεβλημένοι τὴν τῆς τύχης ἐκαραδόκουν ἐς τοῦτο γνώμην. [8] ὁ μὲν οὖν κλῆρος ἐκπεπήδηκεν ἐς Ἰωάννην, οὐκέτι δὲ βουλομένοις τοῖς ἄρχουσιν ἦν ἐπιτελεῖν τὰ ξυγκείμενα. [9] διὸ δὴ ξὺν τοῖς ἑπομένοις Ἰωάννης ἠνάγκαστο ἐπίπροσθεν ἰὼν ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους χωρεῖν. οἱ δὲ βάρβαροι τὴν τῶν ἐναντίων ἔφοδον γνόντες τὸ μὲν πεδίον, οὗ δὴ ἐνστρατοπεδευσάμενοι ἐτύγχανον, δέει πολλῷ ἀπολιπεῖν ἔγνωσαν, ἐς λόφον δὲ μέγαν τινὰ ὃς ταύτῃ ἀνέχει ξὺν θορύβῳ ἀνέδραμον. [10] ἐπεὶ δὲ οἱ ἀμφὶ τὸν Ἰωάννην ἐνταῦθα ἐγένοντο, ἀναδραμόντες καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους ἔργου εἴχοντο. [11] καρτερῶς δὲ τῶν βαρβάρων ἀμυνομένων ὠθισμός τε πολὺς γέγονε καὶ πολλοὶ ἑκατέρωθεν ἔργα ἐνδεικνύμενοι θαυμαστὰ ἔπιπτον. [12] Ἰωάννου δὲ κραυγῇ τε καὶ ταραχῇ πολλῇ ἐπὶ τοὺς κατ̓ αὐτὸν πολεμίους ὁρμήσαντος ξυνέβη τῶν δορυφόρων τῶν αὐτοῦ ἕνα πρός του τῶν πολεμίων ἀκοντίῳ βληθέντα πεσεῖν: ἀπ̓ αὐτοῦ τε Ῥωμαῖοι ἀποκρουσθέντες ὀπίσω ἐχώρουν. [13] Ἤδη δὲ καὶ ὁ λοιπὸς τῶν Ῥωμαίων στρατὸς ἐς τὸ πεδίον ἀφικόμενοι φάλαγγά τε ποιησάμενοι ἵσταντο. καὶ εἰ μὲν φυγόντας τοὺς ἀμφὶ τὸν Ἰωάννην ἐδέξαντο, ξὺν αὐτοῖς ἂν ὁμόσε τοῖς πολεμίοις χωρήσαντες ἐνίκησάν τε τῇ ξυμβολῇ καὶ σχεδόν τι ἅπαντας ἑλεῖν ἴσχυσαν. [14] ἀλλὰ τύχῃ τινὶ ξυνέβη ἐς τὸ Ῥωμαίων στρατόπεδον φήμην οὐκ ἀληθῆ περιφέρεσθαι, ὡς δὴ Ἰωάννης πρός του τῶν αὐτοῦ δορυφόρων ἐν τῷ ἔργῳ τούτῳ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἀφανισθείη. [15] ἐπεί τε ὁ λόγος ἐς τοὺς ἄρχοντας ἦλθε, μένειν ἐνταῦθα οὐκέτι ἠξίουν, ἀλλ̓ ἐς ὑπαγωγὴν αἰσχράν τινα ξύμπαντες ᾔεσαν. [16] οὐδὲ γὰρ ξυντεταγμένοι οὐδὲ κατὰ ξυμμορίας τινάς, ἀλλ̓ αὐτὸς ἕκαστος ὥς πη ἐδύνατο ἐς φυγὴν ὥρμητο. καὶ πολλοὶ μὲν ἐν τῇ φυγῇ ταύτῃ ἀπώλοντο, ὅσοι μέντοι διεσώθησαν ἡμέρας πολλὰς οὐδαμῆ διωκόμενοι ἔφευγον. [17] χρόνῳ τε ὕστερον ὡς ἑκάστῳ ἔτυχεν ἐς ὀχυρώματά τινα ἐσελθόντες ἄλλο οὐδὲν ἀπήγγελλον τοῖς ἐντυγχάνουσιν ἢ ὅτι τεθνεὼς Ἰωάννης εἴη. [18] καὶ ἀπ̓ αὐτοῦ οὔτε ξυνεμίγνυντο ἔτι ἀλλήλοις οὔτε ξυνίστασθαι τὸ λοιπὸν ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους διενοοῦντο, ἀλλ̓ ἕκαστος τοῦ κατ̓ αὐτὸν περιβόλου ἐντὸς ἔμενε καὶ τὰ ἐς πολιορκίαν ἡτοίμαζε, δεδιὼς μὴ οἱ βάρβαροι ἐπ̓ αὐτὸν ἴωσι. [19] Τουτίλας δὲ φιλοφροσύνην ἐς τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους πολλὴν ἐνδεικνύμενος, προσποιεῖσθαί τε αὐτοὺς ἴσχυσε καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν ἐθελούσιοι ξὺν αὐτῷ οἱ πλεῖστοι ἐπὶ Ῥωμαίους ἐστράτευον. καὶ ὁ χειμὼν ἔληγε, καὶ ἕβδομον ἔτος ἐτελεύτα τῷ πολέμῳ τῷδε, ὃν Προκόπιος ξυνέγραψεν.