Of the Buildings of Justinian

by Procopius

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.

BOOK IV.

I. I count it a toilsome and perilous task, to cross a great ocean in a crazy vessel; and it is the same thing to describe the buildings of the Emperor Justinian in a feeble narrative; for this Emperor, one may say, showed greatness of mind in all that he did, and in his buildings performed works surpassing description. In Europe especially, wishing to construct works on a scale worthy of the need which existed for them, his buildings are difficult, nay, almost impossible to describe, being worthy of their position in the neighbourhood of the river Danube and the barbarian tribes beyond it, whose invasions they are intended to repel; for along its banks dwell the nations of the Huns and the Goths, and the empire is threatened by the tribes of the Tauri and the Scythians, the Sclavonians and the rest, whom the ancient historians call the ‘dwellers in waggons’ or Sauromatæ, and all the other wild tribes which either inhabit or roam through that region. With all these tribes, ever eager for war, Justinian was forced to contend, so that he could neglect no point, but was forced to construct a chain of innumerable fortresses, establish in them numberless garrisons of soldiers, and do everything else in his power to hold in check a foe, with whom neither truce nor intercourse could be held; for these enemies were accustomed to make war without any pretext or declaration, and not to terminate it by any treaty, or cease fighting after a time, but to take up arms without any cause only to lay them down when compelled by main force. However, let us proceed to what remains of our description; for when a work is begun, it is better to bring it to an end in any fashion whatever, rather than to give it up and leave it unfinished; besides which, we might reasonably be blamed if our Emperor could construct such works, and we were to shrink from the labour of describing them. Now that I am about to enumerate the buildings of this our Emperor in Europe, it is worth while before doing so to make a few remarks about the country.

From what is called the Adriatic Sea a branch extends straight into the continent, apart from the rest of the sea, so as to divide the country and form the Ionian Gulf, having on its right bank the Epirotes and the other nations in that quarter, and on the left the Calabrians. Compressed into a long and narrow inlet, it embraces almost the whole of the continent. Above this sea and running over against it, the river Danube forms the land of Europe into a peninsula. Here our Emperor constructed many admirable works; for he fortified the whole of Europe so securely as to render it inaccessible to the barbarians who dwell beyond the river Danube.

I ought, however, to begin with the native country of the Emperor, which must occupy the first place in my narrative, as it does in all other respects; for it alone may rejoice and pride itself upon the glory of having bred and furnished the Romans with an Emperor, whose works are so great that they can neither be described in language nor set down in writing.

In the country of the European Dardani, who dwell beyond the frontier of the citizens of Epidamnus, near the fort called Bederiana, is a place named Tauresium, from whence came the Emperor Justinian, the Founder of the Universe.[72] This place he hastily fortified in a quadrangular form, placing a tower at each angle, and gave it from its shape the name of Tetrapyrgia, or the ‘Four Towers.’ Close to this place he built a most noble city, which he named Justiniana Prima (this word in the Latin language means ‘First’), thus repaying his debt to the country which bred him, though this duty ought to have been shared by all the Romans, since this place furnished a preserver for them all alike. Here he constructed an aqueduct and supplied the city with a perpetual flow of water, and erected many other works, magnificent and surpassing all description, worthy of the founder of the city; it is not easy to enumerate the churches, and it is impossible for language to describe the dwellings of the magistrates, the size of the porticos, the beauty of the market-places, the fountains, the streets, the baths, and the shops. In a word, the city is great, populous, flourishing, and worthy to be the metropolis of the whole country, to which dignity it has been raised. In addition to this, it is the seat of the Archbishop of Illyria, all the other cities yielding to it as being the greatest in size; so that it in turn reflects glory upon the Emperor; for the city prides itself upon the Emperor which it has bred, while the Emperor glories in having constructed the city. Let the above description of it suffice; for to describe it all, in exact detail, is impossible, because all language must fall short of a city worthy of such an Emperor.

Besides this, he entirely rebuilt the fort of Bederiana, and rendered it much stronger than before. There was an ancient city in the country of the Dardani, named Ulpiana. He demolished the greater part of the wall of this place, which was very unsafe and altogether useless, and brought it to its present magnificent appearance, decorated it with many other beautiful buildings, and gave it the name of Justiniana Secunda. (Secunda in the Latin language signifies ‘Second.’) He also built a new city in its neighbourhood, which he named Justinopolis, after the name of his uncle Justin. He restored the walls of Sardica, Naïsopolis, Germana and Pantalia, which he found dilapidated by age, so as to make them secure and impregnable. Between these cities he built three small towns, Cratiscara, Quimedaba, and Rumisiana. Thus he restored these cities from their foundations; and, wishing to render the river Danube a very strong bulwark to them and to the whole of Europe, he covered the whole course of the river with numerous forts, as I shall shortly afterwards describe, and established on all parts of its banks garrisons of soldiers, sufficient to restrain the barbarians from crossing the river in that quarter. When, however, he had completed all these works, remembering the insecurity of all human designs, and reflecting that, should the enemy succeed in passing the river by any means, they would ravage the unguarded country, carry off all the inhabitants for slaves, and plunder all their property, he did not leave them to trust to the forts along the course of the river alone for their protection, but gave them means of defence of their own; for he constructed such a number of fortifications in these regions, that every field either possesses a castle or is near to some walled place, both here and in New and Old Epirus. Here also he built the city of Justinianopolis, which formerly was called Adrianopolis.