On his arrival at Ravenna Peter found Theodahad beset by a cabal who demanded the death of the ex-queen as essential to their own and his safety; and, notwithstanding the preponderant presence of the Imperial legate with his special mandate to the point, it was shortly made public that Amalasuntha had been privately executed. Peter denounced the act with vehemence, and apprized the Emperor, who promptly resolved on war. In the year of his Consulship (535) Belisarius sailed for Sicily with a moderate force, professing, however, that he was on his way to Carthage. Such was the prestige of his name that the Goths evacuated the island almost without striking a blow.[520] On the last day of the year the Roman general entered Syracuse to lay down his Consulship, which he did with much popular applause and scattering of largess. At the same time Mundus, the master of soldiers in Illyricum, had been commissioned to attack the enemy in Dalmatia, where he quickly achieved a success by the capture of Salona. Justinian now declared himself openly as the regenerator of Italy against the Arian heretics, who had wrested it by force from the Empire; and he sent letters to the Franks, who were Orthodox, claiming their assistance in his enterprise. The specific permission granted to Theodoric by Zeno, and the ratification of his title by Anastasius were ignored, and the Goths were presented in the same light as the heterogeneous horde of barbarians whom they had displaced. As in the case of Africa the religious sympathies of the native population in this war were on the side of the Byzantines.
Notwithstanding this state of active warfare, Peter had attached himself to Theodahad, seeking an opportunity to extract from him a formal deed of abdication. During these negotiations the Gothic King showed himself to be a vacillating and incapable administrator. He signed a treaty in the most abject terms, reserving to himself merely the name of King, and dismissed the ambassadors. He became fearful, saw himself in the place of Gelimer, recalled them, and tendered a second document, in which his abdication was made absolute; but he imposed an oath on Peter not to reveal it unless his first terms should be rejected. Justinian, however, was soon made aware of the alternative proposals, whereupon he chartered a commission to take over the government of Italy. But in the meantime the Goths had massed their forces in Dalmatia, defeated and killed Mundus, and regained their ascendency in that province. This success effected a reversal in the attitude of Theodahad; he received the Byzantine deputies haughtily, cited historical precedents to show that the person of an ambassador was not always strictly inviolable, and finally committed them to custody on the charge of harbouring treasonable designs against the head of the State.
The conquest of Italy was now undertaken in earnest, and, while a new general repaired the Roman disaster in Dalmatia, Belisarius crossed over to the continent and laid siege to Naples. Having drawn up his fleet and army in a threatening position, he called on the citizens to surrender the town. Colloquies were held by the townspeople, and, while one party urged that the example of Sicily be followed, another argued that the vengeance of the Goths, to whom they had given hostages, was more to be dreaded than the attack of Belisarius. Ultimately it was decided to defend the city, and messengers were sent to solicit extraneous aid from Theodahad. More than a fortnight had been consumed in futile assaults and repulses, when the chance observation of an Isaurian soldier suggested a means of capture by surprise. While curiously exploring the aqueduct he noticed that the water entered the town through a natural mass of solid rock, which had been bored to give it admission. The channel, however, was too narrow to allow the passage of an armed man, but would do so readily if slightly enlarged. A few men, therefore, repaired to the place secretly, and, by dint of working away the stone noiselessly with sharp tools, they opened a passage of sufficient width into the city. Under cover of night four hundred select men entered the channel, and followed the course of the aqueduct through the town in quest of a place of exit. The waterway was a vaulted gallery roofed with brick, but at length they arrived at a point from whence they could see the sky. On each side, however, they were confined by high walls not easy to scale. With some difficulty a man, stripped of his armour, clambered up, and noticed a mean house close by, inhabited by a solitary old woman. He reached it by the aid of a tree, which grew alongside, and terrified the occupant into silence. He then attached a rope to the tree, and threw the free end into the aqueduct. One by one the soldiers drew themselves up and descended, till all had arrived safely on the ground. The party then made a sudden onslaught on two towers of the south wall, according to a prearranged plan, slaughtered the guards, and took possession of their posts. In the meantime Belisarius and the army were keeping watch outside, where they strove to monopolize the attention of the garrison by shouting to them continually to capitulate. Suddenly a clangor of trumpets rang out; it was the preconcerted signal, and announced that a portion of the wall was occupied by the surprise party. A rush with ladders was made to the place, several bands ascended, gates were seized and thrown open, the whole army poured in, and Naples was at the mercy of the Byzantines. On the spur of the moment a massacre was begun, especially by the auxiliary Huns, who burst into houses and captured women and youths, but Belisarius soon succeeded in imposing a check on the inflamed soldiery, and peace was established within the walls before the outrages had time to become general.
The fall of Naples provoked universal indignation among the Goths, and they became filled with resentment against Theodahad. They determined to depose him, and a military conventicle was held in the vicinity of Rome, where the bulk of their forces were encamped. Vitigis was elected King, a man of no birth, but a general of proved capacity, who had distinguished himself in wars with the outer barbarians under Theodoric. On the receipt of this news Theodahad fled hastily to Ravenna, but he was hotly pursued, on the part of the new monarch, by a Gothic officer, who owed him a private grudge. He was overtaken on the way and remorselessly slain by his personal enemy, and thus ended his career after a reign which had lasted three years (536). Vitigis now held a council of war, at which it was resolved to march northwards in order to effect an accommodation with the Franks, Venetians, and all external tribes with whom there were disputes, by making liberal concessions in each case. The Gothic troops occupied in such regions could then be withdrawn and concentrated into one great army, with which to return to the south and encounter Belisarius. Rome in the interval was to be entrusted to a small garrison of four thousand men, while the inhabitants were to be reminded that they had always been dealt with liberally by the Goths, and should therefore adhere to them loyally.
These resolutions were acted on, and, while Vitigis retreated northwards, the way was left open for Belisarius to march on Rome. The Byzantine general lost no time, and his progress through the Campania was soon announced. His reputation had preceded him, and the fate of Naples had struck terror into the citizens of the Capital of the West. A meeting of the Romans was convened by the municipality, and, chiefly at the instigation of Pope Silverius, it was decided to submit without resistance to the representative of Justinian. Thereupon the Gothic garrison, recognizing that their position was untenable, made up their minds to abandon the city and betake themselves to Ravenna. Belisarius was met by a deputation which invited him to take possession of Rome; and it happened that while the Imperial army entered the city from the south, by the Asinarian gate, that named the Flaminian was being kept open on the north to give egress to the Gothic brigade. The day was the ninth of December, in the year 536, and just sixty years since the metropolis had fallen into the hands of the barbarians led by Odovacar.[521] On this occasion the formality was gone through of sending the keys of the city to the Emperor at Constantinople.
Rome at this time, notwithstanding the vicissitudes it had experienced, had lost, to the superficial eye, but little of its Imperial splendour. A numerous population, amounting probably to more than one million,[522] still maintained itself in affluence within the ample circuit of walls built two centuries and a half previously by Aurelian.[523] The construction of those walls had been necessitated by the expansion the city had undergone since the age of the Republic and the first emperors. Fourteen principal gates provided for communication with the surrounding country, and an equal number of lofty aqueducts, in many situations architecturally decorative and imposing, supplied water to the interior from various outlying districts within a circumference extending to sixty miles.[524] The transformation of Rome from a city of dingy and tasteless aspect, which had arisen on the borderland of civilization, to a handsome capital adorned by all the resources of unapproachable Greek art, had been begun and almost accomplished by Augustus.[525] The pride and magnificence of his successors, in their spirit of absolutism and self-adulation, had continued his work lavishly until the seven hills, with their disjunctive valleys, were hidden beneath a labyrinth of sculptured stone and marble:—[526] pillared temples and palaces, great halls upheld by endless ranges of ornate columns, continuous porticoes, colonnaded squares occupied by lofty figured monuments and Egyptian obelisks, public baths of immense area decorated inside with fresco and mosaic,[527] theatres and circuses on a vast scale, stupendous triumphal arches spanning the main thoroughfares at frequent intervals, splendid fountains, a crowd of statues almost equalling in number the people to be seen moving along the streets,[528] and, lastly, even sepulchres of a magnitude and elaboration not surpassed by edifices intended for a concourse of the living.[529] In their private sphere the great nobles emulated the work of the emperors, and constructed such extensive and costly dwellings that they were compared to reproductions in miniature of the city without.[530] Beyond the walls the suxburban area was so thickly populated as scarcely to be distinguished from the fortified enclosure. In vain had Constantine striven to create a new Rome on the Bosphorus which should rival in grandeur the historic capital; to the last a native of Constantinople would be struck with wonder and admiration on beholding the city of the Tiber.[531] From some elevated post, such as the Capitol, crowned with its massive temples, an observer might comprehend in a glance some of the main features of the world-subduing metropolis. His eye would be riveted in succession by the huge bulk of the Coliseum, girded with pillars and statues rising in four tiers to a height of one hundred and sixty feet; by the tall embossed columns of Trajan and Antonine projecting above their respective peristyles; by the expansive dome of the Pantheon sheathed with bronze tiles; by the Mausoleum of Hadrian, a commanding pile on the river side, also encircled by superimposed rows of pillars and statues; and by the tomb of Augustus, a lofty mound ascending from a cylindrical base by a slope planted with evergreen trees, and surmounted by a colossus of that emperor.[532] Yet were a Roman, who had lived in the age of the Caesars, to revisit the capital in the sixth century, he would be struck by some remarkable changes. Traces of the religious revolution which had culminated in the fourth century were everywhere apparent; Paganism effete, and Christianity bursting into bloom. Deserted temples, neglected and often verging to dilapidation, their columns tottering and sometimes fallen to the ground, offended the artistic sense. On the other hand Christian basilicas had sprung up, and in some localities were great and conspicuous objects. Below the Coelian hill the Lateran gardens were occupied by the Constantinean Cathedral of the Saviour; and the original basilica of St. Peter had taken possession of the Vatican mount. Without the walls, on the south, the great church of St. Paul had been built to supply the religious needs of the teeming population of the suburbs.[533]
An observant historian, resident in the West during the latter part of the fourth century, has left us a striking picture of Roman society in his time, which, with essential modifications, may be applied to illustrate the manners of the Italian capital under the rule of Theodoric. The national aspirations and energies of the Roman people, having been nurtured and gratified progressively by success during several centuries, arrived at the stage of inflorescence in the pre-Augustan age. The long-continued training and encouragement of intellectual activity was then producing those fruits which are characteristic of the highest degree of material prosperity; men experienced in war, habitual conquerors ambitious to rule; accumulations of wealth in the hands of numerous private persons; and a lively interest in literature and art. Hence sprang civil wars ending in despotism, boundless luxury, and new creations in the realm of poetry, history, painting, and sculpture. But the outcome of the autocracy was a cessation of mental activity, emulation became extinct, and a period of stagnation set in, tending gradually towards settled apathy and indifference to all purposive effort. About two centuries after the foundation of the Empire these results began to be fully apparent, and an aimless abandonment to pleasure became the distinctive mark of the age. Thus arose the sociological phenomena which at the end of the fourth century have been recorded by the historian of the period. The nobles revelled in the enjoyment of their great wealth; the lower orders became seditious unless they were provided with sustenance and amusement without having to earn them by work. The rich devoted their time to receptions at which they were waited on by a crowd of interested flatterers eager to win substantial proofs of their favour. They never tired of boasting to their audience of the extent of their possessions and the revenue they derived from them.[534] Through lack of any legitimate occupation their dormant energies could find no outlet except by taking an overwhelming interest in the routine of petty acts necessitated daily by physical existence. Meal-times, most of all, absorbed their attention; a multitude of servants stood around, and the introduction of every dish was an event of grave importance. Fish, birds, and dormice were the chief constituents of their fare; and as each cooked animal was placed on the table it was subjected to the keenest observation. Should anything excessive in the way of size or plumpness be apparent, all present ejaculated their admiration. A weighing-machine was sent for in order to ascertain how much it would scale, and a secretary brought a book in which to register the particulars of the astounding occurrence.[535] The intervals between their repasts were given over to gambling, less frequently to music, and on rare occasions to reading. A game of skill with dice was the favourite pastime, and one who had mastered all the shifts and trickeries of this diversion, even though of base origin, received universal homage as a man of eminence and distinction.[536] Musicians were often entertained with honour in rich houses, singers being in great request, as well as performers on the hydraulic organ or the lyre, which had been increased to such a size as to exceed the modern harp.[537] The era of light fiction had not begun, but some solace was found in perusing the satires of Juvenal, who attracted by his indecencies in spite of his ethics, and the compositions of Marius Maximus, the author of copious and scandalous biographies of the Caesars.[538] In their excursions out of doors both men and women of the wealthy classes assumed the pomp of a royal progress. The noble occupant of an ornate gilded coach was attended by stewards who marshalled all the servile members of the household in a lengthy procession. First came the handsome and finely-dressed slaves addicted to light employments; then a grimy crew of those who were busied about the kitchen; and lastly a company of eunuchs in two bands, those in front being old men with wrinkled and distorted features, and behind a troop of boy castrates who were prized for their fresh appearance.[539] Costly apparel was the special extravagance of a certain class; and when walking they displayed themselves clad in layer upon layer of fine mantles, held at the neck only by a jewelled clasp, so that the loose folds constantly flying open might exhibit their variegated embroideries picturing the forms of different animals.[540] While such men would pass an ordinary citizen without notice or with a supercilious glance of recognition, a noted courtesan would be greeted with effusive compliments and caressed with flatteries as if she were Semiramis or Cleopatra.[541] No section of the community was more esteemed than the dancing-girls, and of these three thousand were constantly figuring on the boards of the theatres. On one occasion, when a dearth of provisions seemed imminent, and foreigners, including many professors of the liberal arts, were suddenly expelled from the city, the question of dismissing these sylphs, together with their trainers and slaves, in number much greater than themselves, was never once brought up for consideration.[542] In such a state of intellectual torpor the slightest journey was regarded as an enterprise demanding extraordinary fortitude; and if a noble paid a visit to his provincial estates or undertook a short voyage in a painted pleasure-boat to the watering places of Baiae or Cajeta, he afterwards extolled his achievement as if he had performed something worthy of Alexander or Caesar.[543] As for their religion, although they scoffed at every formal belief, they were earnest votaries of magic, and apprenticed slaves to professed sorcerers in order to encompass the art of injuring or influencing other persons by means of mystical operations.[544] Nor were they willing to arrange their meal-times, their baths, or their appearances in public, without consulting an almanac with the view of ascertaining the station of Mercury or the position of the moon among the constellations.[545] In the reign of Valentinian I an epidemic of poisoning became rife, and all inconvenient relatives were got rid of by the administration of deleterious drugs.[546] These excesses were rigorously repressed by that irascible emperor, who even executed some men of senatorial rank for being concerned in magical practices.[547] At the same time adultery and seduction were dealt with by capital punishment, and both men and women of noble rank perished for these crimes.[548] As for the common people, they were indolent and dissolute, spent their time in wine-shops and brothels, were addicted to gambling, and in their lower sphere imitated the pride of their masters by pretending to high-sounding names and descent from illustrious families, even though without shoes to their feet. Their devotion to the games of the Circus was as intense as that of the Constantinopolitans, but the factions of the Blues and Greens were not of such political weight or such breeders of riot as their fellows of the Byzantine capital.[549] But the Roman populace were more expectant of public gratifications in the way of amusements, largess, and bread, and broke into violent seditions when there was any prospect of their being limited or withheld. If the corn-fleet were delayed their animosity was directed against the Praefect of the City; if the public spectacles were parsimoniously provided for, against the Praetor of the Games; and, unless those officials found means to assuage the tumult, their houses were liable to be attacked and burnt by an infuriated mob.[550]
Such was Rome at the beginning of the fifth century. Secluded in the heart of Italy, her tranquillity had never been disturbed by the commotions which the turbulent barbarians were for ever exciting on the distant frontiers. But in 410 the Visigoths raided Italy, and Alaric forced Rome to capitulate. Forty-five years later the city succumbed to Genseric, but in these cases, beyond the abstraction of a large amount of treasure, it does not appear that any material damage was inflicted. At the nominal fall of the Western Empire the capital was peacefully transferred to Odovacar, and under Theodoric the Senate was maintained in its privileges,[551] whilst the municipal officers continued to be selected and appointed with studious regularity.[552] Repairs of the walls and public buildings were executed systematically,[553] and the Circus was kept up as formerly under governmental supervision.[554] But Roman pride must have been sullied by the frequent submissions to barbarian hosts; and the settlement of the intruders all over Italy on private estates must have reduced the affluence of the nobles to moderate proportions. The glowing picture of Roman life, as it comes from the hand of the fourth-century historian, must therefore be received with large abatement before it can be accepted as delineating society in the capital as it was when entered by the Byzantines.
After the departure of Vitigis, Belisarius sent his lieutenants Bessas and Constantine into Tuscany to test the attitude of the inhabitants, and they soon had the good fortune to receive several submissions, among them the towns of Varnia, Perusia, and Spoleto. During this period he himself was busy in repairing the walls and replenishing the granaries of Rome. In the meantime the Gothic king had established himself at the court of Ravenna, where he took active measures to consolidate the affairs of his nation. The Franks, who had already given pledges to Justinian, were won over to a secret alliance by the cession of Gallia;[555] and he repaired his defect of birth by coercing Matasuentha, a maiden in her teens, the daughter of the late queen, into a hasty marriage with him. He now infused all his energies into the war, and, having despatched a fleet with reinforcements to Dalmatia, marched on Rome at the head of one hundred and fifty thousand men. As the forces under Belisarius were reported not to exceed a tithe of that number, he advanced with great confidence, his only fear being that before his arrival the Byzantine general should have saved himself by flight. While he was on his way, Bessas and Constantine, at the call of their chief, returned to Rome with their brigades, having left a small garrison in each of the captured towns.[556]
The first collision with the enemy was brought about by Belisarius himself, who went out to reconnoitre their approach accompanied by a thousand horse. Having blocked the Milvian bridge over the Tiber, a mile and a half to the north of the city, with a tower, he expected that Vitigis would be delayed for some days before he could improvise means for crossing the river. But the guards of the tower fled at the first sight of the enemy, who at once broke through and poured into the plain. Hence before he could effect a retreat he found himself confronted by their cavalry in force, and a desperate encounter immediately ensued. Mounted on a dark charger dashed with white over the forehead, the Master of Soldiers, more admirable than prudent in his conduct, threw himself into the fight with the utmost ardour. The horse, trained for the battle-field, shared his rider's zeal. Belisarius was soon recognized by some deserters, and the word ran through the Gothic ranks that the fortunes of the war were identified with the most conspicuous combatant. He at once became the central mark for javelins and spears, while the bravest of the Goths rode to the spot, eager to fell him with their swords. With untiring energy, wielding his sword, now on this side, now on that, he struck down all who came within reach of his arm, while his guards, with irresistible bravery, closed around him and repelled the assailants. At length their unyielding determination won the victory; the Goths broke and fled to their camp, leaving nearly a thousand of their number on the field. The Romans pursued them, but were soon driven back by a mass of infantry, and with difficulty regained the walls of the city. There they clamoured loudly for admittance, but those within were afraid to open the gates lest the enemy should enter along with the fugitive band. It was now nightfall, and the hero of the day, who was reported fallen, was unrecognizable in the dusky air under a coating of blood and dust. Belisarius now rallied his men, and they turned with a great shout against the attacking party, who thus received the impression that reinforcements had issued from the city and beat a hasty retreat. They were permitted to depart unmolested, and then, the gates being opened, all were enabled to reach their quarters in safety. Notwithstanding his titanic exertions Belisarius had escaped without a wound.