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were succeeded by a pestilence that seemed to have spread over the earth, and continued raging for several years; and all these by a civil war, which followed soon after, between Gallus and his general Æmilianus, who, having gained a victory over the Goths, was proclaimed emperor by his army. Gallus, hearing this, prepared to oppose his dangerous rival. Both armies met in Moesia, and a battle ensued, in which Emilianus was victorious, and Gallus, with his son, slain. He died in the forty-seventh year of his age, after an unhappy reign of two years and four months. Emilianus, after his victory over Gallus, expected to be acknowledged emperor; but was miserably disappointed. The senate refused to acknowledge him; and an army stationed near the Alps chose Valerian, their own commander, to succeed to the throne. Emilianus's soldiers began to consider their general as an obstacle to the public tranquillity, and slew him to avoid a civil war.

VALERIAN. Valerian being universally acknowledged as emperor, although arrived at the age of seventy, set about reforming the state with a spirit that seemed to mark a good mind and unabated vigor. But reformation was then grown almost impracticable. The disputes between the Pagans and Christians divided the empire as before; and a dreadful persecution of the latter ensued. The northern nations overran the Roman dominions in a more formidable manner than ever; and the empire began to be usurped by a multitude of petty leaders, each of whom, neglecting the general state, set up for himself. To add to these calamities, the Persians, under Sapor, invaded Syria; and, coming into Mesopotamia, took the unfortunate Valerian prisoner, as he was preparing to oppose them. Nothing can exceed the indignities and cruelties practised upon this unhappy monarch. Sapor used him as a footstool for mounting his horse, and, adding the bitterness of ridicule to his insults, observed that an attitude like that to which Valerian was reduced, was the best statue that could be erected in honor of his victory. This life of insult and suffering continued for seven years, and was at length terminated by the cruel Persian's commanding his prisoner's eyes to be plucked out, and causing him to be flead alive.

THE REIGN OF THE THIRTY TYRANTS.-The news of the defeat of the Roman army by the Persian, and the captivity of Valerian, no sooner reached the barbarous nations at war with Rome than they poured on all sides into the Roman territories in incredible multitudes. The Goths and Scythians ravaged Pontus and Asia, committing every where dreadful devastations; the Alemanni and Franks, having over-run Rhætia, advanced as far as Ravenna, putting all to fire and sword; the Quadi and Sarmatians seized on great part of Dacia and Pannonia; while other barbarous nations, invading Spain, made themselves masters of Tarraco, and other places in that province. In the mean time Gallienus, the son of Valerian, having promised to revenge his father's captivity, and repress the barbarians, was chosen emperor. He was then in Gaul; but hastened into Italy, whence he drove out the

barbarians. In Dacia and Pannonia, also, they were driven back by Regillianus, who gained several victories in one day. But in the mean time, one Ingenuus, a man of great reputation in war, and universally beloved both by the people and soldiery, caused himself to be proclaimed emperor in Pannonia, where he was generally acknowledged as well as in Mœsia. Gallienus no sooner heard of his revolt, than he marched from the neighbourhood of Ravenna, where he then was, into Illyricum, engaged Ingenuus, and put him to flight. Some say that Ingenuus was killed after the battle by his own soldiers; others affirm that he put an end to his own life to avoid falling into the hands of Gallienus, who used his victory with a cruelty hardly paralleled. His letter to Verianus Celer, one of his officers, will show his disposition:- I shall not be satisfied,' says he,' with your putting to death only such as have borne arms against me, and might have fallen in the field; you must in every city destroy all the males, old and young; spare none who have wished ill to me; none who have spoken ill of me the son of Valerian, the father and brother of princes. Ingenuus emperor! Tear, kill, cut in pieces without mercy; you understand me; do then as you know I would do, who have written to you with my own hand." In consequence of these cruel orders, a most dreadful havoc was made among that unhappy people; and, in several cities, not one male child was left alive. The troops who had formerly served under Ingenuus, and the inhabitants of Masia who had escaped the general slaughter, provoked by these cruelties, proclaimed Regillianus emperor. He was a Dacian by birth, descended from king Decebalus whom Trajan had conquered; and had, by several gallant actions, gained reputation in the Roman armies. After he was proclaimed emperor, he gained great advantages over the Sarmatians; but was soon after murdered by his own soldiers. These revolts were quickly followed by many others. Indeed it is not surprising, at a time when the reins of government were held with so loose a hand, that a crowd of usurpers should start up in every province of the empire. great number of usurpers who pretended to the empire about this time have been distinguished by the name of the thirty tyrants. There were, however, only twenty: viz. Cyriades, Macrinus, Balista, Odenatus, and Zenobia, in the east; in Gaul and the western provinces Posthumius, Lollianus, Victorinus and his mother Victoria, Marius, and Tetricus; in Illyricum, and on the confines of the Danube, Ingenuus, Regillianus, and Aureolus; in Pontus Saturninus; in Isauria Trebellianus; in Thessaly Piso; in Achaia Valens; in Egypt Emilianus; and in Africa Celsus. Several of these pretenders to the empire, however, though branded with the opprobrious appellation of tyrants, were eminent for virtue, and almost all of them possessed a considerable share of vigor and ability. The principal reason assigned for their revolt was the infamous character of Gallienus, whom neither officers nor soldiers could bear to serve. Many of them were forced by the soldiers to assume the imperial dignity much against their will. “You

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have lost,' said Saturninus to his soldiers, when they invested him with the purple, a useful commander, and have made a wretched emperor.' The apprehensions of Saturninus were justified by the event. Of the twenty usurpers above-mentioned, not one died a natural death; and in Italy and Rome Gallienus alone continued to be acknowledged emperor. That prince indeed honored Odenatus prince of Palmyra with the title of Augustus, who continued to possess an independent sovereignty in the east all his lifetime, and on his death transmitted it to his wife Zenobia.

The consequences of these numerous usurpations were the most fatal that can be conceived. The elections of these precarious emperors, their life and death, were equally destructive to their subjects and adherents. The price of their elevation was instantly paid to the troops by an immense donative drawn from the exhausted people. When they fell, they involved armies and provinces in their fall; and, whilst the forces of the state were dispersed in private quarrels, the defenceless provinces lay exposed to every invader. The bravest usurpers were compelled, by the perplexity of their situation, to conclude dishonorable treaties with the barbarians, and even to submit to shameful tributes, and introduced such numbers of barbarians into the Roman service as seemed sufficient at once to overthrow the empire. But when the empire seemed thus ready to sink at once, it suddenly revived on the death of Gallienus, who was murdered by Martian, one of his own generals, while he besieged Aureolus, in Milan. His death gave general satisfaction to all, except his soldiers, who hoped to reap the reward of their treachery by the plunder of Milan. But, being in some measure kept within bounds by the largesses of Martian, Flavius Claudius was nominated to succeed, and joyfully accepted by all orders of the state, and his title confirmed by the senate and the people.

CLAUDIUS II.-Claudius, some say, was born in Dalmatia, and descended from an ancient family there; others that he was a Trojan; and others that he was son to the emperor Gordian. But, whatever might have been his descent, his merits were by no means doubtful. He was a man of great valor and conduct, having performed the most eminent services against the Goths, who had long continued to make irruptions into the empire. Now about fifty-five years old, he was equally remarkable for the strength of his body and the vigor of his mind. Thus endowed he once more seemed to restore the glory of Rome. His first success, upon being made emperor, was against Aureolus, whom he defeated near Milan. His next expedition was to oppose the Goths, against whom he led a very numerous army. These barbarians had made their principal and most successful irruptions into Thrace and Macedonia, swarmed over all Greece, and had pillaged the famous city of Athens, which had long been the school of all the polite arts to the Romans. The Goths, however, destroyed all monuments of taste and learning with the most savage alacrity. It was upon one of these occasions that, having heaped together a large

pile of books to burn them, one of the commanders dissuaded them from the design, alleging that the time which the Grecians wasted on books would only render them more unqualified for war. But the empire trembled not only on that side, but on every quarter. Above 300,000 of these barbarians (the Heruli, the Trutangi, the Viturgi, and many other uncivilised nations) came down the Danube with 2000 ships, spreading terror and devastation on every side. In this state of universal dismay Claudius alone continued unshaken. He marched his disproportioned army against the savage invaders; and though but ill prepared for such an engagement, as the forces of the empire were then employed in different parts of the world, he came off victorious, and made an incredible slaughter of the enemy. The whole of their great army was either cut to pieces or taken prisoners; houses were filled with their arms; and scarcely a province of the empire that was not furnished with slaves from those that survived the defeat. These successes were followed by many others in different parts of the empire; so that the Goths, for a considerable time after, made but a feeble opposition.' He some time after marched against the revolted Germans, and overthrew them with considerable slaughter. His last expedition was to oppose Tetricus and Zenobia, his two puissant rivals in the empire. But on his march, as he approached near Sirmium, in Pannonia, he was seized with a pestilential fever, of which he died in a few days, to the great regret of his subjects, and the irreparable loss of the empire. His reign, which was not quite two years' continuance, was active and successful; and such is the character given of him by historians that he is said to have united in himself the moderation of Augustus, the valor of Trajan, and the piety of Antoninus.

AURELIAN.-Immediately after the death of Claudius the army made unanimous choice of Aurelian, master of the horse, and esteemed the most valiant commander of his time. However his promotion was not without opposition on the part of the senate, as Quintillus, the brother of the deceased emperor, put in his claim, and was for a while acknowledged. But his authority was of very short duration; finding himself abandoned by those who at first instigated him to declare for the throne, he chose to prevent the severity of his rival by a voluntary death, and, causing his veins to be opened, expired, after having reigned but seventeen days. Aurelian, being now universally acknowledged, assumed the command with a greater show of power than his predecessors had for some time enjoyed. This active monarch was born of obscure parentage in Dacia, and was about fifty-five years old at his coming to the throne. He had spent the early part of his life in the army, and risen through all the gradations of military duty. He was of unshaken courage and amazing strength. In short, his valor and expedition were such, that he was compared to Julius Cæsar, and only wanted mildness and clemency to be every way his equal. The whole of his reign was spent in repressing the irruptions of the northern nations, in humbling every pretender to the empire, and punishing the monstrous ir

regularities of his subjects. He defeated the Marcomanni, that had invaded Italy, in three several engagements, and totally destroyed their army. He was not less successful against Zenobia, the queen of the east, a woman of the most heroic qualifications, who had long disclaimed the Roman power, and established an empire of her own. Aurelian having thus brought peace to the empire, endeavoured, by the rigors of justice, to bring back virtue also. Against the Christians, however, he drew up several letters and edicts, which showed that he intended a very severe persecution; but, if we may be lieve the historians of the times, he was diverted just as he was going to sign them by a thunderbolt, which fell so near his person that all the people judged him to be destroyed. It is certain that his severities, at last, were the cause of his destruction. Menesthus, his principal secretary, apprehending his displeasure, forged a roll of the names of several persons, whom he pretended the emperor had marked out for death. The scroll thus contrived was shown with an air of the utmost secrecy to some of the persons concerned; and as the emperor passed with a small guard from Uraclea, in Thrace, towards Byzantium, the conspirators set upon him and slew him with little resistance, in the sixtieth or sixty-third year of his age.

TACITUS. The army now referred the choice of emperor to the senate; and, on the other side, the senate declined it; so that a space of nearly eight months elapsed in these negociations. At length, the former made choice of Tacitus, a man of great merit, and no way ambitious of the honor. One of the first acts of his government was the punishment of those who had conspired against the late emperor. During this short reign, the senate seemed to have a large share of authority, and the historians of the times are liberal of their praises of such emperors as were thus willing to divide their power. Tacitus was fond of learning, and the memory of such men as had deserved well of their country. He particularly esteemed the works of Tacitus the historian, commanding that they should be placed in every public library throughout the empire. A reign begun

with such moderation and justice only wanted continuance to have made the empire happy; but, after enjoying the empire about six months, he died of a fever, in his march to oppose the Persians and Scythians, who had invaded the eastern parts of the empire.

PROBUS.--Upon the death of Tacitus the army was divided; one part of it chose Florianus, brother to the deceased; but the majority were for some time undetermined. At last Probus was called to the throne, being born of noble parentage at Sirmium in Pannonia, and bred up a soldier from his youth. He first repressed the Germans in Gaul, of whom he slew 400,000. He then marched into Dalmatia, to subdue the Sarmatians. Thence he led his forces into Thrace, and forced the Goths to sue for peace. He afterwards turned his arms towards Asia, subdued the province of Isauria, and, marching onward, conquered a people called the Blemyes. Narses also, king of Persia, submitted to him. His diligence was not less conspicuous in suppressing intestiné commotions. Proculus, a person remarkable only for his great attachment to women, set up against the emperor; but was compelled to fly, and at length delivered up by the Germans. At the same time Bonosus (a remarkable votary of Bacchus, being able to drink as much wine as ten could do) rebelled, and, being overcome, hanged himself in despair. Probus, when he saw him immediately after, said, there hangs not a man, but a cask.' The Goths and Vandals, however, finding the emperor engaged in quelling domestic disputes, renewed their accustomed inroads, but were conquered in several engagements. In his last expedition he led his soldiers against the Persians; and going through Sirmium, the place of his nativity, there employed several thousands in draining a fen that was incommodious to the inhabitants. The fatigues of this undertaking, and the great restraint that was laid upon the soldier's manners, produced a conspiracy, which ended in his ruin; for, taking the opportunity as he was marching into Greece, they set upon and slew him, after he had reigned six years and four months with general approbation.

J. Haddon, Printer, Finsbury.

END OF VOL. XVIII.

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