Close by this city flows a river, which the natives from its form call Draco (the snake); for it winds in curves on either hand, often proceeding in opposite directions, bending its waters round in a crooked course, and flowing now to the right hand and now to the left; so that travellers coming to the city were obliged to cross it more than twenty times.[89] Many of them thus perished through the river suddenly rising in flood; besides which, a thick wood and masses of reeds, which encumbered its outfall into the sea, made it a source of trouble to the country; indeed, not very long ago, after much rain, it overflowed its banks and inundated a great part of the country, doing irreparable damage; for it swept away many fields, uprooted vines, olives, and numberless fruit-trees of all kinds, and also the houses which stood outside the walls of the city, besides doing other important damage to the inhabitants. The Emperor Justinian, out of pity for them, devised the following plan: he cleared away the woods, and cut down all the reeds, so as to enable the river to discharge itself freely into the sea, so that it would no longer be forced to overflow its banks. He also cut through the mountains which stand in that country, and made a carriage-road through places which formerly had been rough and precipitous. By this means he rendered it unnecessary for the greater part of the inhabitants to cross the river at all, whilst he threw two bridges of great width across it, so that henceforth they could pass over it without danger.
III. The excellent works which he constructed at Nicæa,[90] in Bithynia, are worthy of mention. In the first place, he restored the whole of the aqueduct, which had entirely fallen into ruin and become useless, and thus furnished the city with an abundant supply of water. Next he built churches and convents both for women and men. He carefully restored the whole of the palace there, some part of which was in ruins, and likewise a bath in the place which is called the ‘Couriers’ Lodgings,‘ and which had long been ruinous. Close to this city, on the west side, a torrent is wont to rush down, making the road in that direction entirely impassable. The ancients had constructed a bridge here, which in the course of time became unable to withstand the rush of the torrent, as it was not kept in proper repair, so that it yielded to the force of the stream, and was swept away, leaving no trace on the spot where it formerly stood. The Emperor Justinian built another bridge here, of such height and width that the former one seemed to bear no proportion to it whatever, which rises high above the torrent when at its fullest, and affords a safe passage to travellers.
SECTION and
PLAN OF THE CISTERN OF IMBAHER OR BATHS OF ANTONINUS.
Reduced from Texier’s Asia Minor. G.A.
At Nicomedia[91] he rebuilt the Baths of Antoninus, the most important part of which had fallen down, and from the vastness of its size seemed unlikely ever to be rebuilt. The great river which is now called the Sangaris,[92] which runs with an exceedingly swift current, is of great depth in the middle, and of width like a sea, and had never been spanned by a bridge since the creation; however, by lashing a number of boats together, and connecting them with each other like mat-work, foot-passengers ventured to cross it, as once the army of Medes crossed the Hellespont, fearing the wrath of Xerxes. This, however, they did not accomplish without danger, for the river often swept away all the boats, together with their fastenings, and made it impossible for travellers to cross it. Now, however, the Emperor Justinian has attempted to build a bridge over it. The work is begun, and he has already expended much labour upon it; so that I am sure that before long he will accomplish it, for I know that Heaven assists him in all his works, so that up to this time none of his projects have remained unaccomplished, although in many cases he at first seemed to be undertaking impossibilities.
BRIDGE ACROSS THE RIVER SANGARIS.
Reduced from Texier’s Asia Minor
There is a road in Bithynia leading thence into Phrygia, upon which in the winter season innumerable men and animals used to perish; for the ground, being soft, not only after great rains, or the melting of great quantities of snow, but even after slight showers, became deep, impassable mud, and turned the road into a swamp, in which travellers were frequently swallowed up. He, however, together with the Empress Theodora, with magnificent generosity, removed this source of danger to travellers; for they raised the thoroughfare safely upon enormous stones for a distance of half a day’s journey for a lightly-equipped traveller, and enabled passengers to proceed along a firm road. These were the works of the Emperor Justinian in this quarter.