Of the Buildings of Justinian

by Procopius

BOOK III.

I. The Emperor Justinian fortified the eastern country in the manner which I have described in a former part of this work. Now as I started from the Persian frontier in my description of his work upon the fortresses, I think it will be convenient to proceed from thence to that of Armenia, which skirts the Persian territory from the city of Amida as far as that of Theodosiopolis. Before describing the buildings in that quarter, I think it would be advisable to give some account of how our Emperor brought the Armenians out of a condition of danger and terror into their present state of settled security; for he did not preserve these his subjects by buildings alone, but also by his foresight in other matters, as I shall presently explain. To do this I must refer for a short time to ancient history.

In old times the Armenians had a king of their own nation, as we are told by the historians of remotest antiquity. When, however, Alexander of Macedon overthrew the King of Persia, the Persians remained quiet under his yoke, but the Parthians revolted against the Macedonians, conquered them in war, drove them out of their country, and pushed their frontier as far as the river Tigris. Subsequently the Persians remained subject to them for five hundred years, up to the time when Alexander, the son of Mamæa, ruled over the Romans. At this time one of the kings of the Parthians made his brother, named Arsaces, King of the Armenians, as the history of the Armenians tells us; for let no one suppose that the Arsacidæ are Armenians. Now for five hundred years there was peace between them in consequence of their relationship. The King of the Armenians dwelt in what is called Greater Armenia, having been from ancient times subject to the Emperor of the Romans; but afterwards one Arsaces, King of Armenia, had two sons, named Tigranes and Arsaces. When this King was about to die, he made a will by which he left the succession to his kingdom to both his sons, not dividing its power equally between them, but giving a fourfold greater share to Tigranes. The elder Arsaces, after making this division of his kingdom, passed away, but Arsaces his son, grieved and enraged at the inferiority of his position, laid the matter before the Roman Empire, hoping that by using all means in his power he might drive his brother from the kingdom, and render his father’s unjust wishes of no effect. At this time Theodosius, the son of Arcadius, ruled over the Romans, being still a child. Tigranes, fearing the Emperor’s vengeance, put himself in the hands of the Persians and handed over his kingdom to them, preferring to live as a private man amongst the Persians, rather than to make an equitable arrangement with his brother, and rule jointly over the Armenians with him in good faith and honour. Arsaces, being equally afraid of the attacks of the Persians and of his brother, abdicated his own kingdom in favour of the Emperor Theodosius, on certain conditions, which I have explained at length in my History of the Wars. For some time the country of the Armenians was an object of contention between the Romans and the Persians, but they finally agreed that the Persians should possess the share of Tigranes, and the Romans that of Arsaces. Both parties signed a treaty on these conditions, and henceforth the Emperor of the Romans appointed whom he pleased, and at what time he thought proper, to rule over the Armenians. This ruler was called the Count of Armenia down to my own time.

However, since such a kingdom as this was not capable of repelling the incursions of the enemy, because it possessed no regular army, the Emperor Justinian, perceiving that Armenia was always in a disorderly condition, and therefore was an easy prey to the barbarians, put an end to this form of government, and placed a general in command of the Armenians, giving him a sufficient number of regular soldiers to repel the invasions of the enemy. This was the arrangement which he adopted for what is called Greater Armenia; but the remainder of Armenia, that which reaches from this side of the river Euphrates as far as the city of Amida, was governed by five Armenian satraps, whose offices were hereditary and tenable for life; however, they received the insignia of their office from the hands of the Roman Emperor alone. It is worth while to explain what these insignia were, since they will never again be seen by men: they were a cloak made of wool, not such as grows on sheep, but such as is gathered from the sea. The animal on whom this wool grows is called ‘pinna.’ The cloak was of purple, covered with gold at that part where it was fastened together; there was a gold brooch upon the cloak, containing a precious stone, from which three amethysts were suspended by loose golden chains. The tunic was of silk, entirely covered with the golden ornaments known as ‘feather-work;’ the boots were red-coloured, reaching to the knee, such as it is not lawful for anyone to wear except the Roman Emperors and the Kings of Persia.

No Roman soldiers were ever employed either by the King of Armenia or the satraps, but they trusted exclusively to their own resources in war. In later times, however, during the reign of the Emperor Zeno, when Illus and Leontius openly revolted against the Emperor, certain of the satraps took their side; wherefore the Emperor Zeno, after his victory over Illus and Leontius, allowed one of the satraps, whose satrapy—that of the country called Belabitis—was the weakest and least important, to retain his former possession, but deposed all the others, and did not allow these governments any longer to be held by hereditary descent, but filled them by persons chosen by the Emperor, as is the custom with all the other Roman governments. Yet even then Roman soldiers were not placed in them, but Armenian soldiers, as had formerly been customary, and who were quite unable to defend them against the attacks of the enemy. Perceiving this, the Emperor Justinian abolished the title of satrap for all time to come, and appointed two rulers over these nations, with the title of Dukes, giving them a large number of regular Roman soldiers, in order that with them they might defend the Roman frontier. He also built for them strong places, as follows.

II. I shall begin with the country of Mesopotamia, in order to connect my account with what has been described above. He established one of these rulers of the Armenian tribes, who have the title of Duke, in the city which is called Martyropolis,[58] and the other in a fortress which is named Citharizon. I will now describe in what part of the Roman Empire these places are situated. The city of Martyropolis is situated in that part of Armenia which is called Sophanene, close to the river Nymphius, and bordering closely on the enemy’s country; for at that place the river Nymphius divides the Roman and Persian territory. Beyond the river lies the country named Arxanes, which from ancient times has belonged to the Persians. Yet this city was always neglected by the Romans, and lay exposed to the attacks of these barbarians; so that Cabades, the King of the Persians, in the reign of the Emperor Anastasius, invaded the country of the Romans, and led an army through Martyropolis, which is distant from Amida a little more than a day’s journey for a lightly equipped traveller. As a mere incident and unimportant part of his invasion he took this city without any siege, assault, or beleaguerment, but simply by giving out that he was coming; for the inhabitants, who knew well that they could not hold out for a single moment of time against his army, as soon as they saw the Median host near at hand, at once went over to Cabades, with Theodorus—who at that time was satrap of Sophanene—at their head, dressed in the insignia of his office, and delivered themselves and the city of Martyropolis up to him, taking with them the public revenue for two years. Cabades, pleased with this, refrained from ravaging the city and the entire country, which he regarded as part of the Persian Empire. He dismissed the people unhurt, and neither did any injury to them nor altered anything in their city, but replaced Theodorus—whom he regarded as a wise man—as satrap over them, placing in his hands the symbols of authority, and trusting him to protect the Persian territory. After this he led his army onwards, took Amida by a siege, and retired into the Persian territory, as I have described in my ‘History of the Wars.’ The Emperor Anastasius, perceiving that it was not possible for the city of Martyropolis to defend itself without any fortifications against the attacks of the enemy, not only was not angry with Theodorus and the people of Sophanene, but declared that he was very thankful to them for their action. The wall of the city of Martyropolis was in thickness about four feet, and in height about twenty feet; so that it could not only be easily captured by an enemy, who employed siege operations and brought battering engines against it, but could easily be escaladed.

In consequence of this, the Emperor Justinian proceeded as follows. He dug a trench outside the walls, laid foundations in it, and built a new wall of a thickness of four feet, at a distance of four feet from the old wall. He raised this wall also to a height of twenty feet, making it in all respects equal in size to the old one; he then filled up the space between the two walls with stones and mortar, thus forming the whole work into one wall twelve feet in thickness. He then raised it, keeping the thickness the same, to a height twice as great as that which it formerly possessed; moreover, he built an admirable outwork round the city, and built all the other defences of a fortified place.

III. On the west side of Martyropolis is a place named Phison, which also is situated in that part of Armenia which is called Sophanene, and is distant from Martyropolis a little more than one day’s journey. About eight miles beyond this place lie precipitous and altogether impassable mountains, between which are two narrow passes, situated close to one another, which are called Clisuræ. Travellers from Persian Armenia to Sophanene, whether they proceed from the Persian territory or by way of the fortress of Citharizon, must necessarily proceed through these two passes, of which the one is called by the natives Illyrisis, and the other Saphchæ. Each of these ought to be fortified with the utmost care, in order to bar the way against the enemy; in former times, however, they remained entirely unguarded. But the Emperor Justinian, by placing admirable fortifications both at Phison and in the passes, and by establishing sufficient garrisons in them, rendered it altogether impossible for the barbarians to invade the country. These were the works of the Emperor Justinian in that part of the country of Armenia which is called Sophanene.

In Citharizon, which is in the province called Asthianene, he built a new fort on a hilly spot, of great size, and completely impregnable. This place he furnished with a sufficient supply of water, and all other conveniences for its inhabitants, and placed in command of it, as I said before, the other Duke of Armenia with a sufficient garrison of soldiers, thus rendering the tribes of Armenia secure in this quarter also.

As one goes from Citharizon[59] towards Theodosiopolis and Greater Armenia is the country of Corzane, which extends for a distance of about three days’ journey, without any lake, river or mountain to divide it from the country of the Persians, whose frontier is confused with it; so that the inhabitants of this region, whether they be Roman or Persian subjects, have no fear of one another, and never expect any attack, but intermarry with one another, have common markets for their produce, and cultivate the country together. When the rulers of either nation make an expedition against the other at the command of their prince, they always find their neighbours unprotected; for each of them has extremely populous places close to one another, while in former times there was no fortification whatever; so that it was possible for the King of Persia to invade the Roman territory in this quarter more easily than anywhere else, until the Emperor Justinian prevented his doing so, in the following manner. In the midst of this country there was a place named Artaleson, which he surrounded with a very strong wall, and made into an impregnable fortress; he placed a garrison of regular soldiers in it, and appointed a general over them, whom the Romans in the Latin language style ‘a Duke.’ Thus did he fortify the whole of that frontier.

IV. These were the works of the Emperor Justinian in that quarter. I now come to what he did in the rest of Armenia. The city of Satala was formerly in a perilous position, because it is not far distant from the enemy’s country, and is built upon low ground, surrounded by many hills, so that it ought in consequence of its position to possess impregnable fortifications. However, its defences were even more untrustworthy than its position, the works having been badly and carelessly constructed, and by lapse of time having fallen into ruin. The whole of these were demolished by the Emperor, who built a new wall round it of sufficient height to appear to overtop the neighbouring hills, and of sufficient thickness to support such an unusual height with safety. He built round it an outwork of an admirable character, and struck despair into the heart of the enemy. He also built a very strong fort not far from Satala, in the province of Osrhoene.

In this province there was an old fort built by the ancients upon the ridge of a precipitous hill, which was once taken by Pompeius, the Roman general, who, when he became master of the country, fortified it with great care, and named it Colonia. The Emperor Justinian exerted all his power in restoring this fort, which had fallen into decay after so long a time; moreover, he distributed enormous sums of money among the inhabitants of this region, and thus persuaded them to build new fortifications on their own ground, and to restore those which had fallen into ruin; so that nearly all the works situated in that country were built by the Emperor Justinian. There also he built the forts of Baiberdon and Arcon; he restored Lysiormum and Lutararizon;[60] he also built a new fort in the place which is called the Ditch of Germanus. Moreover, he restored the walls of Sebastia[61] and Nicopolis, which are cities of Armenia, which were on the point of falling, having become decayed through age. In them he built churches and monasteries. At Theodosiopolis he built a church dedicated to the Virgin, and restored the monasteries in the places named Petrius and Cucarizon. At Nicopolis[62] he built the monastery of the Forty-five saints, and a church of St. George the Martyr at Bizana. Near Theodosiopolis he restored the monastery named after the Forty Martyrs.

There was a place in what used to be called Lesser Armenia, not far from the river Euphrates, where formerly a regiment of Roman soldiers was stationed. The place was named Melitene, and the regiment was named Legion. Here the Romans in former times had built a square fortification on low ground, which was convenient for soldiers’ quarters and for the reception of their standards. Afterwards, by the orders of Trajan, the Roman Emperor, the place was raised to the dignity of a city, and became the capital of that nation. In the course of time the city of Melitene became large and populous; and since it was no longer possible for the inhabitants to dwell within the fortification, which, as I have said, enclosed but a small space of ground, they built their city in the plain near it, erecting thereon their churches, the dwellings of their magistrates, the market-place, and the shops of their merchants, the streets, porticos, baths, theatres, and all the other ornaments of a large city. In this manner Melitene became for the most part composed of suburbs. The Emperor Anastasius attempted to enclose the whole of it with a wall, but died before he had carried out his intention; however, the Emperor Justinian built a wall all round it, and rendered Melitene[63] a great defence and ornament to the Armenians.

V. These are the works of our Emperor in that part of Armenia which lies on the right bank of the Euphrates; I will now speak of what he did in Greater Armenia. When the Roman Emperor Theodosius obtained the kingdom of Arsaces, as I explained before, he built a castle on one of its hills, very liable to capture, which he called Theodosiopolis. This was taken by Cabades, the king of Persia, when he passed it as he was marching straight upon Amida. Not long afterwards the Roman Emperor Anastasius built a city there, enclosing within its walls the hill upon which Theodosius had placed his castle. Although he named the city after himself, yet he was not able to abolish the name of Theodosius, its former founder; for though the things in common use among mankind are constantly changing, yet it is not easy to alter their former names. The wall of Theodosiopolis was of a sufficient width, but was not raised to a proportional height, for it was only about thirty feet high, and therefore was very liable to capture by an enemy skilled in sieges, such as the Persians. It was weak in other respects also, for it was not defended by any outwork or ditch; moreover, some high ground close to the city overhung the wall. These defects the Emperor Justinian remedied in the following manner; in the first place he dug a very deep trench all round it, like the bed of a torrent among precipitous mountains: next, he cut up the overhanging hill into a mass of inaccessible precipices and pathless ravines; moreover, in order to make the wall very high, and unassailable by an enemy, he employed the same device as at the city of Dara. He contracted the battlements to the smallest size through which it was possible to shoot at the besiegers, laid stones over them so as to make another story round the entire circuit, and skilfully placed a second set of battlements upon it, enclosing the whole place within an outwork like that of the city of Dara, and making each tower into a strong castle. He established in this place all the forces of Armenia, with their general, and rendered the Armenians so strong that they no longer feared the attacks of the Persians.

At Bizana the Emperor did nothing of this sort; for this place is situated upon flat country, surrounded by wide plains fit for the manœuvres of cavalry, and full of putrid pools of stagnant water; so that it was very easily stormed by an enemy, and was very unhealthy for its inhabitants; for these reasons, he neglected this place, and built a city elsewhere to which he gave his own name. It is a fine city and altogether impregnable, and stands in a place called Tzumina, distant three miles from Bizana, in a very healthy and airy position on high ground.

VI. These were the acts of the Emperor Justinian in Armenia. At this point of my narrative it appears convenient to describe what he did among the tribes of the Tzani, since they dwell next to the Armenians. In ancient times the Tzani were independent and without any rulers, living after the manner of wild beasts, regarding and worshipping as gods the woods and birds and other animals. They spent all their lives in lofty and thickly wooded mountains, and never cultivated the ground, but supported themselves by plundering and brigandage; for they themselves were unacquainted with agriculture, and their country, when it is not covered with precipitous mountains, is hilly: and the surface of these hills is not earthy, or capable of growing crops even if it were cultivated, but rough and hard, and altogether sterile. It is not possible to irrigate the ground, to reap a crop, or to find a meadow anywhere; and even the trees, with which the land of the Tzani is covered, bear no fruit, because for the most part there is no regular succession of seasons, and the land is not at one time subjected to cold and wet, and at another made fertile by the warmth of the sun, but is desolated by perpetual winter and covered by eternal snows. For this reason the Tzani, in ancient times, remained independent; but during the reign of our Emperor Justinian they were conquered by the Romans, under the command of Tzita; and, perceiving that resistance was impossible, at once submitted in a body, preferring an easy servitude to a dangerous freedom. They at once all changed their religion to the true faith, became Christians, and embraced a more civilized mode of life, renouncing brigandage, and serving in the Roman army, which was constantly at war with their enemies. However, the Emperor Justinian, fearing that the Tzani might at some time revert to their former wild mode of life, devised the following expedients.

The whole country of the Tzani is difficult, and quite impassable for horsemen, being everywhere surrounded with precipices and woods, as I said before; so that it was impossible for the Tzani to mix with their neighbours, but they lived by themselves in a savage manner, like wild beasts. He therefore cut down all the trees which hindered the making of roads, and levelled the rough ground, rendering it easily passable for horsemen, and thus made it possible for them to mix with the rest of mankind, and hold intercourse with their neighbours. Next he built a church for them in a place called Schamalinichon, in order that they might perform divine service, partake of the holy mysteries, gain the favour of God by prayers, perform the other duties of religion, and feel themselves to be human beings. He built forts in every part of the country, garrisoned them with regular Roman soldiers, and thus enabled the Tzani to mix without restraint with the rest of mankind. I shall now describe the parts of Tzania in which he built these forts.

There is there a place where the three frontiers of the Roman Empire, of Persian Armenia, and of the Tzani join; here he constructed a new and very powerful fort, named Oronon, which he made the chief guarantee of peace to the country; for at that point the Romans first entered Tzania. Here he established a garrison under a general with the title of Duke. At a place distant two days’ journey from Oronon, on the frontier of the Ocenite Tzani—for the Tzani are divided into many tribes—there was a fortress built in ancient times, which long before this had fallen into ruin by neglect, and was named Charton. The Emperor Justinian restored this, and placed in it a large garrison to keep the province in order. On the east of this place is a precipitous ravine stretching towards the north. Here he built a new fort named Barchon. Beyond this, at the skirts of the mountain, are stables where the Ocenite Tzani used to keep their cattle, not in order to plough the land,—for the Tzani, as I said before, are altogether idle, and know nothing of husbandry, and have no ploughed land, or other operations of farming,—but for a constant supply of milk and meat. Beyond the skirts of the mountain, to the westward of the place upon the plain, which is called Cena, stands the fort of Sisilisson, which was of ancient construction, but by length of time had fallen into ruin, and was restored by the Emperor Justinian, who established in it, as in all the others, a sufficient garrison of Roman soldiers. On the left, as one goes from thence in a northerly direction, is a place which the natives call the Ditch of Longinus; for in ancient times Longinus, a Roman general of the Isaurian nation, pitched his camp there during a campaign against the Tzani. Here our Emperor built a fort, named Burgum Noes, a day’s journey distant from Sisilisson, which, like the fort at Sisilisson described above, our Emperor very strongly fortified. Beyond this is the frontier of the Coxylini Tzani, where he placed two forts named Schimalinichon and Tzanzakon. Here he placed another officer with a garrison.

VII. These were the works of the Emperor Justinian among the Tzani. In the country beyond them, on the banks of the Euxine Sea, is a city called Trapezus.[64] As there was a scarcity of water at this place, the Emperor Justinian constructed an aqueduct, called by the name of the Martyr Eugenius, by which he relieved the wants of the inhabitants. Both here and at Amasea[65] he restored the greater part of the churches, which had become ruinous by lapse of time. Beyond the frontier of the city of Trapezus is a place named Rhizeum,[66] which he in person restored and surrounded with fortifications magnificent beyond description and belief; for the city is second to none of those on the Persian frontier in size and strength.

He also built a fort in Lazica, named Losorium, and fortified the passes in that country, which are named the Clisuræ, in order to shut out the enemy from the country of the Lazi.[67] He also restored an ancient and ruinous church of the Christian Lazi, and founded a noble city, named Petra,[68] which the Lazi by their own negligence allowed to fall into the hands of the Persians, when Chosroes came thither with a great army; but the Romans conquered the Persians in battle, killed some of them, took the rest prisoners, and razed the city to the ground, that the Persians might not be able to return thither and do any more mischief—all of which has been described in my ‘History of the Wars’—where also is a description of how, on the Continent opposite the territory of the Lazi, as one goes towards the Mæotic Lake,[69] the Romans destroyed two forts, named Sebastopolis[70] and Pityous, because they heard that Chosroes meditated sending an army to occupy them. Now, however, the Emperor Justinian entirely rebuilt Sebastopolis, which before was only a small fort, making it impregnable by the strength of its walls and other defences, and ornamenting it with streets and buildings, so as to render it one of the first of cities, both for size and beauty.

Moreover, finding that the walls of the cities of Bosporus and Cherson, which are situated upon the sea-shore in that region, beyond the Mæotic Lake and the Tauri and the Tauroscythi, on the frontier of the Roman Empire, had quite fallen into ruin, he restored them to a condition of great beauty and strength. In the same region he built the fort of Alustus, and one in the country of the Gorzubiti. He especially strengthened the fortifications of Bosporus, which, in ancient times, had fallen into the power of the barbarians, and which he captured from the Huns and annexed to the Roman Empire. There is here a country by the sea-shore, named Doru, which has been long inhabited by those Goths, who would not follow Theoderic on his expedition to Italy, but of their own accord remained there, and have been in alliance with the Romans down to my own time, joining the Roman armies when they march against the enemy, at the pleasure of the Emperor; their numbers are about three thousand; they are excellent warriors, industrious husbandmen, and most hospitable to strangers. Their country, Doru, is situated on high ground, yet is not rough or sterile, but good soil, producing the best of crops. The Emperor built no city or fort anywhere in this country, as its inhabitants cannot endure to be confined within walls, but love to dwell in the open country. He did, however, fortify with long walls the passes by which an enemy could enter the country, and thus freed the Goths from foreign invasion. These were his works in this quarter.

There is a maritime town of the Thracians on the borders of the Euxine Sea, named Anchialus,[71] which it would be more proper to mention in my description of Thrace; since, however, the course of my narrative has led me to speak of the works of our Emperor on the shores of the Euxine Sea, it will be well at this point to describe the buildings which he erected at Anchialus. At this place, fountains of warm water, which spring up not far from the city, supply the inhabitants with natural baths. This place was neglected and left unfortified by the former Emperors, although so many tribes of barbarians dwell in the neighbourhood of it, so that the sick persons, who resorted to it, could not enjoy its benefits without considerable danger; however, the Emperor Justinian has now fortified it, and enabled them to be healed in safety. These were the fortifications built in the East, in Armenia, in the country of the Tzani, and on the shores of the Euxine Sea, by the Emperor Justinian. Let us now proceed from this region to the buildings which he has constructed in the rest of Europe.