Delphi Complete Works of Procopius

by Procopius of Caesarea

  XXXVI

  [549 A.D.] TOTILA now led his whole army against Rome, and establishing himself there entered upon a siege. But Belisarius had selected three thousand men noted for their valour and appointed them to garrison Rome, placing in command of them Diogenes, one of his own spearmen, a man of unusual discretion and an able warrior. Consequently a long time was consumed in the blockade. For the besieged, on their part, shewed themselves, thanks to their extraordinary valour, a match for the entire Gothic army, while Diogenes was ever keeping a strict watch that no one should approach the wall to damage it; furthermore, he sowed grain in all parts of the city inside the circuit-wall and so brought it about that they had not the least shortage of food. Many times indeed the barbarians attempted to storm the fortifications and make trial of the circuit-wall, but they were always repulsed, being driven back from the wall by the valour of the Romans.

  They did, however, capture Portus, and thereafter held Rome under close siege. Such was the course of these events.

  As soon as the emperor saw Belisarius returned to Byzantium, he began to make plans for sending another commander with an army against the Goths and Totila. And if he had actually carried out this idea, I believe that, with Rome still under his power, and the soldiers in the city saved for him and enabled to unite with the relieving force from Byzantium, he would have overcome his opponents in the war. But in fact, after first selecting Liberius, one of the patricians from Rome, and ordering him to make himself ready, he later, perhaps because some other business claimed his attention, lost interest in the matter.

  After the siege of Rome had continued for a long time, some of the Isaurians who were keeping guard at the gate which bears the name of Paul the Apostle — men nursing a grievance because for many years nothing had been paid them by the emperor, and observing, at the same time, that those Isaurians who had previously surrendered Rome to the Goths had become the proud possessors of vast sums of money — very secretly opened negotiations with Totila and agreed to hand over the city, and a definite day was appointed for the transaction. So when the appointed day was come, Totila contrived the following plan. He launched in the Tiber River during the first watch of the night two long boats, placing on them men who understood the use of the trumpet. These he commanded to row straight across the Tiber, and when they came close to the circuit-wall to sound the trumpets there with all their might. Meanwhile he himself was holding the Gothic army in readiness close to the above-mentioned gate which bears the name of the Apostle Paul, unobserved by his enemy. And reasoning that, if any of the Roman army should succeed in escaping from the city, as they well might under cover of darkness, they would go to Centumcellae, for no other fortress was left to them anywhere among the towns of that region, he decided to guard the road leading thither by means of some ambuscades of warlike men, to whom he gave instructions to destroy the fugitives. So the men in the boats, upon getting near the city, immediately made use of their trumpets, as they had been instructed to do. Thereupon the Romans were thunderstruck, and falling into great fear and confusion suddenly abandoned for no sufficient reason their several posts and hastened on the run to give assistance at that point, supposing that the attempt was directed against that part of the wall. Thus the Isaurians who were betraying the city remained alone at their post, and they opened the gates at their leisure and received the enemy into the city. And there was great slaughter of those who fell into the hands of the enemy there, though many made off in flight through other gates, but those who went toward Centumcellae got into the ambuscades and perished. However, a few of them did escape with difficulty, Diogenes too, they say, being among them and securing his safety though wounded.

  Now there was in the Roman army one named Paulus, a Cilician by birth, who at first had been in charge of the household of Belisarius, but later went with the army to Italy in command of a cavalry troop, and had been appointed with Diogenes to command the garrison of Rome. This Paulus, during the capture of the city at that time, rushed with four hundred horsemen into the Tomb of Hadrian and seized the bridge leading to the church of the Apostle Peter. And while it was still dawn and a little daylight was about to appear, the Gothic army assailed these men, but they withstood their enemy most vigorously where they were and gained the upper hand; indeed they slew large numbers of the barbarians, seeing they were in a great throng and huddled together. When Totila saw this, he stopped the fighting immediately, and commanded the Goths quietly to blockade their enemy, thinking that he would capture the men by starvation. Consequently Paulus and the four hundred passed that day without food, and bivouacked during the night in the same condition. On the following day, however, they resolved to use some of the horses for food, but a feeling of reluctance owing to the unusual nature of this food prevented them until late afternoon, although exceedingly hard pressed by hunger. At that time, after long deliberation among themselves, and after exhorting one another to boldness, they came to the conclusion that the better course for them was to end their lives then and there by a glorious death. In fact their decision was to make a sudden rush upon their enemy, to kill as many of them as each man could, and thus each and every one of them to meet his death valiantly. Accordingly they rushed suddenly into each other’s arms, and kissing one another’s cheeks held their friends in a last embrace on the point of death, intending one and all to perish forthwith.

  But Totila, observing this, began to fear that men who were setting their faces toward death, having now no further hope as regards safety, would inflict irreparable harm upon the Goths. He therefore sent to them and offered them a choice of two alternatives, either to leave their horses and arms there, take an oath not again to fight against the Goths, and thus to depart for Byzantium without experiencing any harm, or, on the other hand, to keep their own possessions and fight thereafter in the Gothic army, enjoying full and complete equality with the Goths. These proposals were heard gladly by the Romans. And at first, to be sure, all were for choosing to go to Byzantium, but later, being ashamed to make their withdrawal on foot and without arms, and dreading also that they would fall into some ambuscades on the homeward journey and thus be destroyed, and bearing a grudge, furthermore, because the Roman State owed them pay for a long period, they all mingled voluntarily with the Gothic army, except indeed that Paulus and one of the Isaurians, Mindes by name, came before Totila and prayed him to send them to Byzantium. For they stated that they had children and wives in their native land, and apart from these they were unable to live. And Totila received the request of these men with favour, believing that they were speaking the truth, and he released them after presenting them with travelling money and sending an escort with them. There were others also of the Roman army, those, namely, who had chanced to take refuge in the sanctuaries of the city, about three hundred in number, who received pledges and went over to Totila. As for Rome itself, Totila was unwilling thereafter either to dismantle or to abandon it; instead he decided to establish in residence there both Goths and Romans, not only members of the senate, but also all the others, for the following reason.

  Τουτίλας οὐ πολλῷ πρότερον παρὰ τῶν Φράγγων τὸν ἄρχοντα πέμψας, τὴν παῖδά οἱ γυναῖκα ἐδεῖτο γαμετὴν δοῦναι. [2] ὁ δὲ τὴν αἴτησιν ἀπεσείσατο, Ἰταλίας αὐτὸν οὔτε εἶναι οὔτε ἔσεσθαί ποτε βασιλέα φάσκων, ὅς γε Ῥώμην ἑλὼν ἔχεσθαι μὲν αὐτῆς οὐδαμῆ ἴσχυσε, μοῖραν δὲ αὐτῆς καθελὼν τοῖς πολεμίοις μεθῆκεν αὖθις. [3] διὸ δὴ τὰ ἐπιτήδεια ἐν τῷ παρόντι ἐς αὐτὴν ἐσκομίζεσθαι διὰ σπουδῆς εἶχε καὶ ἀνοικοδομεῖσθαι ὅτι ταχιστα πάντα ἐκέλευεν, ὅσα καθελών τε καὶ πυρπολήσας αὐτὸς ἔτυχεν, ἡνίκα Ῥώμην τὸ πρότερον εἷλε: τῶν τε Ῥωμαίων
τοὺς ἐκ τῆς συγκλήτου βουλῆς καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἅπαντας οὕσπερ ἐπὶ Καμπανίας ἐφύλασσε μετεπέμπετο. [4] ἐνταῦθά τε ἀγῶνα τὸν ἱππικὸν θεασάμενος, τὴν στρατιὰν ἡτοίμαζε πᾶσαν, ὡς ἐπὶ Σικελίαν στρατεύσων. [5] ἅμα δὲ καὶ τὰ μακρὰ πλοῖα τετρακόσια ὡς ἐς ναυμαχίαν ἐν παρασκευῇ ἐποιεῖτο, καὶ στόλον νεῶν μεγάλων τε καὶ πολλῶν ἄγαν, ἅσπερ ἐκ βασιλέως ἐκ τῆς ἑῴας ἐνταῦθα σταλείσας αὐτοῖς ἀνδράσι τε καὶ φορτίοις πάντα τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον ἑλὼν ἔτυχε. [6] Στέφανόν τε ἄνδρα Ῥωμαῖον παρὰ βασιλέα πρεσβευτὴν ἔπεμψε, τὸν μὲν πόλεμον τόνδε καταλύειν αἰτῶν, ἐνσπόνδους δὲ Γότθους ποιεῖσθαι, ἐφ̓ ᾧ δὴ αὐτῷ ξυμμαχήσουσιν ἐπὶ πολεμίους τοὺς ἄλλους ἰόντι. [7] βασιλεὺς δὲ Ἰουστινιανὸς οὔτε τὸν πρεσβευτήν οἱ ἐς ὄψιν ἐλθεῖν ξυνεχώρησεν οὔτε τινὰ τῶν λεγομένων ἐντροπὴν τὸ παράπαν πεποίηται. [8] Ἅπερ ἐπεὶ Τουτίλας ἤκουσεν, αὖθις τὰ ἐς τὸν πόλεμον ἐν παρασκευῇ ἐποιεῖτο. ξύμφορον δέ οἱ ἔδοξεν εἶναι, Κεντουκελλῶν ἀποπειρασαμένῳ πρότερον οὕτω δὴ ἐπὶ Σικελίαν ἰέναι. [9] ἦρχε δὲ τότε τοῦ ἐνταῦθα φυλακτηρίου Διογένης, ὁ Βελισαρίου δορυφόρος, δύναμιν ἀξιόχρεων ξὺν αὑτῷ ἔχων. [10] καὶ ὁ μὲν Γότθων στρατός, ἐπειδὴ ἐς Κεντουκέλλας ἀφίκοντο, ἄγχιστα τοῦ περιβόλου ἐνστρατοπεδευσάμενοι ἐς πολιορκίαν καθίσταντο. [11] πρέσβεις δὲ πέμψας παρὰ Διογένην ὁ Τουτίλας αὐτόν τε προὐκαλεῖτο καὶ τοὺς ἀμφ̓ αὐτὸν στρατιώτας, ἢν μὲν σφίσι βουλομένοις ᾖ μάχῃ πρὸς αὐτοὺς διακρίνεσθαι, ἔργου ἔχεσθαι αὐτίκα δὴ μάλα. [12] ἐν ἐλπίδι τε παρῄνει μηδεμιᾷ ἔχειν, δύναμιν ἑτέραν τινὰ ἐκ βασιλέως σφίσιν ἀφίξεσθαι: [13] ἀδύνατον γὰρ Ἰουστινιανὸν τὸ λοιπὸν εἶναι πόλεμον πρὸς Γότθους τόνδε διενεγκεῖν, εἴ τῳ ἱκανὰ τεκμηριῶσαι τὰ χρόνου τοσούτου ἐπὶ τῆς Ῥώμης ξυμβάντα. [14] αἵρεσιν οὖν προὐτείνετο ἑλέσθαι ὁποτέραν ἂν αὐτοὶ βούλοιντο, ἢ ἐπὶ τῇ ἴσῃ καὶ ὁμοίᾳ τῷ Γότθων στρατῷ ἀναμίγνυσθαι, ἢ κακῶν ἀπαθέσιν ἐνθένδε ἀπαλλασσομένοις ἐπὶ Βυζαντίου κομίζεσθαι. [15] Ῥωμαῖοι δὲ καὶ Διογένης οὔτε μάχῃ διακρίνεσθαι βουλομένοις σφίσιν αὐτοῖς ἔφασκον εἶναι οὔτε μέντοι ἀναμίγνυσθαι τῷ Γότθων στρατῷ, ἐπεὶ παίδων τε καὶ γυναικῶν τῶν σφετέρων χωρὶς βιοτεύειν οὐκ ἂν δύναιντο. [16] πόλιν δέ, ἧσπερ φυλακὴν ἔχουσιν, ἐν μὲν τῷ παρόντι λόγῳ τινὶ εὐπρεπεῖ ἐνδοῦναι οὐδαμῆ ἔχειν, ἐπεὶ οὐδέ τις σκῆψις αὐτοῖς, ἄλλως τε καὶ παρὰ βασιλέα στέλλεσθαι βουλομένοις, τανῦν πάρεστιν: [17] ἐς χρόνον δὲ ἀναβαλέσθαι τινὰ τὴν πρᾶξιν ἐδέοντο, ἐφ̓ ᾧ βασιλεῖ μὲν ἐν τούτῳ τὰ σφίσι παρόντα σημήνωσιν, οὐδεμιᾶς δὲ μεταξὺ βοηθείας ἐκ βασιλέως ἐνταῦθα ἰούσης οὕτω δὴ ἀπαλλάσσοιντο, Γότθοις μὲν τὴν πόλιν ἐνδόντες, οὐκ ἀπροφάσιστον δὲ αὐτοὶ τὴν ἀναχώρησιν ποιησάμενοι. [18] ταῦτα ἐπεὶ Τουτίλαν ἤρεσκε, τακτὴ ἡμέρα ξυνέκειτο, ἄνδρες δὲ τριάκοντα ἑκατέρωθεν ἐν ὁμήρων λόγῳ ἐπὶ τῇ ὁμολογίᾳ δέδονται ταύτῃ καὶ Γότθοι τὴν προσεδρείαν διαλύσαντες ἐπὶ Σικελίας ἐχώρησαν. [19] Ἐπεὶ δὲ ἀφίκοντο ἐς τὸ Ῥήγιον, οὐ πρότερον διέβησαν τὸν τῇδε πορθμόν, ἕως φρουρίου τοῦ ἐν Ῥηγίῳ ἀπεπειράσαντο. [20] ἦρχον δὲ τοῦ ἐνταῦθα φυλακτηρίου Θουριμούθ τε καὶ Ἱμέριος, οὕσπερ Βελισάριος ἐνταῦθα καταστησάμενος ἔτυχεν. [21] οἵπερ ἐπεὶ πολλούς τε καὶ ἀρίστους ξὺν αὑτοῖς εἶχον, τειχομαχοῦντάς τε ἀπεκρούσαντο τοὺς πολεμίους καὶ ἐπεξελθόντες τὸ πλέον ἐν ξυμβολῇ ἔσχον. [22] ὕστερον μέντοι πλήθει τῶν ἐναντίων παρὰ πολὺ ἐλασσούμενοι ἐντὸς τοῦ περιβόλου κατακλεισθέντες ἡσύχαζον. [23] Τουτίλας δὲ μοῖραν μὲν τοῦ Γότθων στρατοῦ αὐτοῦ εἴασε φρουρᾶς ἕνεκα, τῶν ἐπιτηδείων τῇ ἀπορίᾳ χρόνῳ ὑστέρῳ ἐξαιρήσειν καραδοκῶν τοὺς ταύτῃ Ῥωμαίους, ἐς δὲ Ταραντηνοὺς στράτευμα πέμψας τὸ ἐκείνῃ φρούριον παρεστήσατο οὐδενὶ πόνῳ: καὶ Γότθοι δὲ οὕσπερ ἐλίπετο ἐν Πικηνῶν τῇ χώρᾳ πόλιν Ἀρίμινον τηνικάδε προδοσίᾳ εἷλον. [24] Ταῦταἀκούσας Ἰουστινιανὸς βασιλεὺς Γερμανὸν τὸν ἀνεψιὸν τὸν αὑτοῦ αὐτοκράτορα ἐβούλευσε πολέμου τοῦ πρὸς Γότθους τε καὶ Τουτίλαν καταστήσασθαι, καί οἱ ἐν παρασκευῇ ἐπέστελλεν εἶναι. ἐπεί τε ὁ περὶ τούτου λόγος ἐς Ἰταλίαν ἦλθε, Γότθοι μὲν ἐν φροντίδι μεγάλῃ ἐγένοντο: δεξιὰ γάρ τις ἡ ἀμφὶ Γερμανῷ δόξα ἐς πάντας ἀνθρώπους οὖσα ἐτύγχανεν. [25] εὐέλπιδες δὲ Ῥωμαῖοί τε γεγενημένοι εὐθὺς ἅπαντες καὶ οἱ τοῦ βασιλέως στρατοῦ τῷ τε κινδύνῳ καὶ τῇ ταλαιπωρίᾳ πολλῷ ἔτι μᾶλλον ἀντεῖχον. [26] ἀλλὰ βασιλεὺς οὐκ οἶδα ὅπως μεταμαθὼν Λιβέριον ἄνδρα Ῥωμαῖον, οὗπερ ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν λόγοις ἐμνήσθην, ἐς τὸ ἔργον καταστήσασθαι ἀντὶ Γερμανοῦ ἔγνω. [27] καὶ ὁ μὲν παρασκευασάμενος ὡς τάχιστα, ὅτι δὴ αὐτίκα ξὺν στρατῷ ἀποπλεύσει ἐπίδοξος ἦν. ἀλλ̓ ἐπεὶ βασιλεῖ μετέμελεν αὖθις, ἡσυχῆ καὶ αὐτὸς ἔμενε. [28] τότε δὴ Βῆρος ξὺν ἀνδράσιν οὓς ἀγείρας μαχιμωτάτους ἀμφ̓ αὑτὸν ἔτυχε Γότθοις τοῖς ἐν Πικηνῷ οὖσιν ἐς χεῖρας ἐλθὼν πόλεως Ῥαβέννης οὐ πολλῷ ἄποθεν, τῶν τε ἑπομένων πολλοὺς ἀποβάλλει καὶ αὐτὸς θνήσκει, ἀνὴρ ἀγαθὸς ἐν τῷ πόνῳ τούτῳ γενόμενος.