Chapter XIV: Six Emperors At The Same Time, Reunion Of The

Empire.—Part III.

When Hannibal marched from Gaul into Italy, he was obliged, first
to discover, and then to open, a way over mountains, and through
savage nations, that had never yielded a passage to a regular
army. 53 The Alps were then guarded by nature, they are now
fortified by art. Citadels, constructed with no less skill than
labor and expense, command every avenue into the plain, and on
that side render Italy almost inaccessible to the enemies of the
king of Sardinia. 54 But in the course of the intermediate
period, the generals, who have attempted the passage, have seldom
experienced any difficulty or resistance. In the age of
Constantine, the peasants of the mountains were civilized and
obedient subjects; the country was plentifully stocked with
provisions, and the stupendous highways, which the Romans had
carried over the Alps, opened several communications between Gaul
and Italy. 55 Constantine preferred the road of the Cottian Alps,
or, as it is now called, of Mount Cenis, and led his troops with
such active diligence, that he descended into the plain of
Piedmont before the court of Maxentius had received any certain
intelligence of his departure from the banks of the Rhine. The
city of Susa, however, which is situated at the foot of Mount
Cenis, was surrounded with walls, and provided with a garrison
sufficiently numerous to check the progress of an invader; but
the impatience of Constantine’s troops disdained the tedious
forms of a siege. The same day that they appeared before Susa,
they applied fire to the gates, and ladders to the walls; and
mounting to the assault amidst a shower of stones and arrows,
they entered the place sword in hand, and cut in pieces the
greatest part of the garrison. The flames were extinguished by
the care of Constantine, and the remains of Susa preserved from
total destruction. About forty miles from thence, a more severe
contest awaited him. A numerous army of Italians was assembled
under the lieutenants of Maxentius, in the plains of Turin. Its
principal strength consisted in a species of heavy cavalry, which
the Romans, since the decline of their discipline, had borrowed
from the nations of the East. The horses, as well as the men,
were clothed in complete armor, the joints of which were artfully
adapted to the motions of their bodies. The aspect of this
cavalry was formidable, their weight almost irresistible; and as,
on this occasion, their generals had drawn them up in a compact
column or wedge, with a sharp point, and with spreading flanks,
they flattered themselves that they could easily break and
trample down the army of Constantine. They might, perhaps, have
succeeded in their design, had not their experienced adversary
embraced the same method of defence, which in similar
circumstances had been practised by Aurelian. The skilful
evolutions of Constantine divided and baffled this massy column
of cavalry. The troops of Maxentius fled in confusion towards
Turin; and as the gates of the city were shut against them, very
few escaped the sword of the victorious pursuers. By this
important service, Turin deserved to experience the clemency and
even favor of the conqueror. He made his entry into the Imperial
palace of Milan, and almost all the cities of Italy between the
Alps and the Po not only acknowledged the power, but embraced
with zeal the party, of Constantine. 56

53 (return) [ The three principal passages of the Alps between
Gaul and Italy, are those of Mount St. Bernard, Mount Cenis, and
Mount Genevre. Tradition, and a resemblance of names, (Alpes
Penninoe,) had assigned the first of these for the march of
Hannibal, (see Simler de Alpibus.) The Chevalier de Folard
(Polyp. tom. iv.) and M. d’Anville have led him over Mount
Genevre. But notwithstanding the authority of an experienced
officer and a learned geographer, the pretensions of Mount Cenis
are supported in a specious, not to say a convincing, manner, by
M. Grosley. Observations sur l’Italie, tom. i. p. 40, &c. ——The
dissertation of Messrs. Cramer and Wickham has clearly shown that
the Little St. Bernard must claim the honor of Hannibal’s
passage. Mr. Long (London, 1831) has added some sensible
corrections re Hannibal’s march to the Alps.—M]

54 (return) [ La Brunette near Suse, Demont, Exiles,
Fenestrelles, Coni, &c.]

55 (return) [ See Ammian. Marcellin. xv. 10. His description of
the roads over the Alps is clear, lively, and accurate.]

56 (return) [ Zosimus as well as Eusebius hasten from the passage
of the Alps to the decisive action near Rome. We must apply to
the two Panegyrics for the intermediate actions of Constantine.]

From Milan to Rome, the Æmilian and Flaminian highways offered an
easy march of about four hundred miles; but though Constantine
was impatient to encounter the tyrant, he prudently directed his
operations against another army of Italians, who, by their
strength and position, might either oppose his progress, or, in
case of a misfortune, might intercept his retreat. Ruricius
Pompeianus, a general distinguished by his valor and ability, had
under his command the city of Verona, and all the troops that
were stationed in the province of Venetia. As soon as he was
informed that Constantine was advancing towards him, he detached
a large body of cavalry, which was defeated in an engagement near
Brescia, and pursued by the Gallic legions as far as the gates of
Verona. The necessity, the importance, and the difficulties of
the siege of Verona, immediately presented themselves to the
sagacious mind of Constantine. 57 The city was accessible only by
a narrow peninsula towards the west, as the other three sides
were surrounded by the Adige, a rapid river, which covered the
province of Venetia, from whence the besieged derived an
inexhaustible supply of men and provisions. It was not without
great difficulty, and after several fruitless attempts, that
Constantine found means to pass the river at some distance above
the city, and in a place where the torrent was less violent. He
then encompassed Verona with strong lines, pushed his attacks
with prudent vigor, and repelled a desperate sally of Pompeianus.
That intrepid general, when he had used every means of defence
that the strength of the place or that of the garrison could
afford, secretly escaped from Verona, anxious not for his own,
but for the public safety. With indefatigable diligence he soon
collected an army sufficient either to meet Constantine in the
field, or to attack him if he obstinately remained within his
lines. The emperor, attentive to the motions, and informed of the
approach of so formidable an enemy, left a part of his legions to
continue the operations of the siege, whilst, at the head of
those troops on whose valor and fidelity he more particularly
depended, he advanced in person to engage the general of
Maxentius. The army of Gaul was drawn up in two lines, according
to the usual practice of war; but their experienced leader,
perceiving that the numbers of the Italians far exceeded his own,
suddenly changed his disposition, and, reducing the second,
extended the front of his first line to a just proportion with
that of the enemy. Such evolutions, which only veteran troops can
execute without confusion in a moment of danger, commonly prove
decisive; but as this engagement began towards the close of the
day, and was contested with great obstinacy during the whole
night, there was less room for the conduct of the generals than
for the courage of the soldiers. The return of light displayed
the victory of Constantine, and a field of carnage covered with
many thousands of the vanquished Italians. Their general,
Pompeianus, was found among the slain; Verona immediately
surrendered at discretion, and the garrison was made prisoners of
war. 58 When the officers of the victorious army congratulated
their master on this important success, they ventured to add some
respectful complaints, of such a nature, however, as the most
jealous monarchs will listen to without displeasure. They
represented to Constantine, that, not contented with all the
duties of a commander, he had exposed his own person with an
excess of valor which almost degenerated into rashness; and they
conjured him for the future to pay more regard to the
preservation of a life in which the safety of Rome and of the
empire was involved. 59

57 (return) [ The Marquis Maffei has examined the siege and
battle of Verona with that degree of attention and accuracy which
was due to a memorable action that happened in his native
country. The fortifications of that city, constructed by
Gallienus, were less extensive than the modern walls, and the
amphitheatre was not included within their circumference. See
Verona Illustrata, part i. p. 142 150.]

58 (return) [ They wanted chains for so great a multitude of
captives; and the whole council was at a loss; but the sagacious
conqueror imagined the happy expedient of converting into fetters
the swords of the vanquished. Panegyr. Vet. ix. 11.]

59 (return) [ Panegyr. Vet. ix. 11.]

While Constantine signalized his conduct and valor in the field,
the sovereign of Italy appeared insensible of the calamities and
danger of a civil war which reigned in the heart of his
dominions. Pleasure was still the only business of Maxentius.
Concealing, or at least attempting to conceal, from the public
knowledge the misfortunes of his arms, 60 he indulged himself in
a vain confidence which deferred the remedies of the approaching
evil, without deferring the evil itself. 61 The rapid progress of
Constantine 62 was scarcely sufficient to awaken him from his
fatal security; he flattered himself, that his well-known
liberality, and the majesty of the Roman name, which had already
delivered him from two invasions, would dissipate with the same
facility the rebellious army of Gaul. The officers of experience
and ability, who had served under the banners of Maximian, were
at length compelled to inform his effeminate son of the imminent
danger to which he was reduced; and, with a freedom that at once
surprised and convinced him, to urge the necessity of preventing
his ruin by a vigorous exertion of his remaining power. The
resources of Maxentius, both of men and money, were still
considerable. The Prætorian guards felt how strongly their own
interest and safety were connected with his cause; and a third
army was soon collected, more numerous than those which had been
lost in the battles of Turin and Verona. It was far from the
intention of the emperor to lead his troops in person. A stranger
to the exercises of war, he trembled at the apprehension of so
dangerous a contest; and as fear is commonly superstitious, he
listened with melancholy attention to the rumors of omens and
presages which seemed to menace his life and empire. Shame at
length supplied the place of courage, and forced him to take the
field. He was unable to sustain the contempt of the Roman people.
The circus resounded with their indignant clamors, and they
tumultuously besieged the gates of the palace, reproaching the
pusillanimity of their indolent sovereign, and celebrating the
heroic spirit of Constantine. 63 Before Maxentius left Rome, he
consulted the Sibylline books. The guardians of these ancient
oracles were as well versed in the arts of this world as they
were ignorant of the secrets of fate; and they returned him a
very prudent answer, which might adapt itself to the event, and
secure their reputation, whatever should be the chance of arms.
64

60 (return) [ Literas calamitatum suarum indices supprimebat.
Panegyr Vet. ix. 15.]

61 (return) [ Remedia malorum potius quam mala differebat, is the
fine censure which Tacitus passes on the supine indolence of
Vitellius.]

62 (return) [ The Marquis Maffei has made it extremely probable
that Constantine was still at Verona, the 1st of September, A.D.
312, and that the memorable æra of the indications was dated from
his conquest of the Cisalpine Gaul.]

63 (return) [ See Panegyr. Vet. xi. 16. Lactantius de M. P. c.
44.]

64 (return) [ Illo die hostem Romanorum esse periturum. The
vanquished became of course the enemy of Rome.]

The celerity of Constantine’s march has been compared to the
rapid conquest of Italy by the first of the Cæsars; nor is the
flattering parallel repugnant to the truth of history, since no
more than fifty-eight days elapsed between the surrender of
Verona and the final decision of the war. Constantine had always
apprehended that the tyrant would consult the dictates of fear,
and perhaps of prudence; and that, instead of risking his last
hopes in a general engagement, he would shut himself up within
the walls of Rome. His ample magazines secured him against the
danger of famine; and as the situation of Constantine admitted
not of delay, he might have been reduced to the sad necessity of
destroying with fire and sword the Imperial city, the noblest
reward of his victory, and the deliverance of which had been the
motive, or rather indeed the pretence, of the civil war. 65 It
was with equal surprise and pleasure, that on his arrival at a
place called Saxa Rubra, about nine miles from Rome, 66 he
discovered the army of Maxentius prepared to give him battle. 67
Their long front filled a very spacious plain, and their deep
array reached to the banks of the Tyber, which covered their
rear, and forbade their retreat. We are informed, and we may
believe, that Constantine disposed his troops with consummate
skill, and that he chose for himself the post of honor and
danger. Distinguished by the splendor of his arms, he charged in
person the cavalry of his rival; and his irresistible attack
determined the fortune of the day. The cavalry of Maxentius was
principally composed either of unwieldy cuirassiers, or of light
Moors and Numidians. They yielded to the vigor of the Gallic
horse, which possessed more activity than the one, more firmness
than the other. The defeat of the two wings left the infantry
without any protection on its flanks, and the undisciplined
Italians fled without reluctance from the standard of a tyrant
whom they had always hated, and whom they no longer feared. The
Prætorians, conscious that their offences were beyond the reach
of mercy, were animated by revenge and despair. Notwithstanding
their repeated efforts, those brave veterans were unable to
recover the victory: they obtained, however, an honorable death;
and it was observed that their bodies covered the same ground
which had been occupied by their ranks. 68 The confusion then
became general, and the dismayed troops of Maxentius, pursued by
an implacable enemy, rushed by thousands into the deep and rapid
stream of the Tyber. The emperor himself attempted to escape back
into the city over the Milvian bridge; but the crowds which
pressed together through that narrow passage forced him into the
river, where he was immediately drowned by the weight of his
armor. 69 His body, which had sunk very deep into the mud, was
found with some difficulty the next day. The sight of his head,
when it was exposed to the eyes of the people, convinced them of
their deliverance, and admonished them to receive with
acclamations of loyalty and gratitude the fortunate Constantine,
who thus achieved by his valor and ability the most splendid
enterprise of his life. 70

65 (return) [ See Panegyr. Vet. ix. 16, x. 27. The former of
these orators magnifies the hoards of corn, which Maxentius had
collected from Africa and the Islands. And yet, if there is any
truth in the scarcity mentioned by Eusebius, (in Vit. Constantin.
l. i. c. 36,) the Imperial granaries must have been open only to
the soldiers.]

66 (return) [ Maxentius... tandem urbe in Saxa Rubra, millia
ferme novem ægerrime progressus. Aurelius Victor. See Cellarius
Geograph. Antiq. tom. i. p. 463. Saxa Rubra was in the
neighborhood of the Cremera, a trifling rivulet, illustrated by
the valor and glorious death of the three hundred Fabii.]

67 (return) [ The post which Maxentius had taken, with the Tyber
in his rear is very clearly described by the two Panegyrists, ix.
16, x. 28.]

68 (return) [ Exceptis latrocinii illius primis auctoribus, qui
desperata venia ocum quem pugnæ sumpserant texere corporibus.
Panegyr. Vet 17.]

69 (return) [ A very idle rumor soon prevailed, that Maxentius,
who had not taken any precaution for his own retreat, had
contrived a very artful snare to destroy the army of the
pursuers; but that the wooden bridge, which was to have been
loosened on the approach of Constantine, unluckily broke down
under the weight of the flying Italians. M. de Tillemont (Hist.
des Empereurs, tom. iv. part i. p. 576) very seriously examines
whether, in contradiction to common sense, the testimony of
Eusebius and Zosimus ought to prevail over the silence of
Lactantius, Nazarius, and the anonymous, but contemporary orator,
who composed the ninth Panegyric. * Note: Manso (Beylage, vi.)
examines the question, and adduces two manifest allusions to the
bridge, from the Life of Constantine by Praxagoras, and from
Libanius. Is it not very probable that such a bridge was thrown
over the river to facilitate the advance, and to secure the
retreat, of the army of Maxentius? In case of defeat, orders were
given for destroying it, in order to check the pursuit: it broke
down accidentally, or in the confusion was destroyed, as has not
unfrequently been the case, before the proper time.—M.]

70 (return) [ Zosimus, l. ii. p. 86-88, and the two Panegyrics,
the former of which was pronounced a few months afterwards,
afford the clearest notion of this great battle. Lactantius,
Eusebius, and even the Epitomes, supply several useful hints.]

In the use of victory, Constantine neither deserved the praise of
clemency, nor incurred the censure of immoderate rigor. 71 He
inflicted the same treatment to which a defeat would have exposed
his own person and family, put to death the two sons of the
tyrant, and carefully extirpated his whole race. The most
distinguished adherents of Maxentius must have expected to share
his fate, as they had shared his prosperity and his crimes; but
when the Roman people loudly demanded a greater number of
victims, the conqueror resisted, with firmness and humanity,
those servile clamors, which were dictated by flattery as well as
by resentment. Informers were punished and discouraged; the
innocent, who had suffered under the late tyranny, were recalled
from exile, and restored to their estates. A general act of
oblivion quieted the minds and settled the property of the
people, both in Italy and in Africa. 72 The first time that
Constantine honored the senate with his presence, he
recapitulated his own services and exploits in a modest oration,
assured that illustrious order of his sincere regard, and
promised to reëstablish its ancient dignity and privileges. The
grateful senate repaid these unmeaning professions by the empty
titles of honor, which it was yet in their power to bestow; and
without presuming to ratify the authority of Constantine, they
passed a decree to assign him the first rank among the three
_Augusti_ who governed the Roman world. 73 Games and festivals
were instituted to preserve the fame of his victory, and several
edifices, raised at the expense of Maxentius, were dedicated to
the honor of his successful rival. The triumphal arch of
Constantine still remains a melancholy proof of the decline of
the arts, and a singular testimony of the meanest vanity. As it
was not possible to find in the capital of the empire a sculptor
who was capable of adorning that public monument, the arch of
Trajan, without any respect either for his memory or for the
rules of propriety, was stripped of its most elegant figures. The
difference of times and persons, of actions and characters, was
totally disregarded. The Parthian captives appear prostrate at
the feet of a prince who never carried his arms beyond the
Euphrates; and curious antiquarians can still discover the head
of Trajan on the trophies of Constantine. The new ornaments which
it was necessary to introduce between the vacancies of ancient
sculpture are executed in the rudest and most unskilful manner.
74

71 (return) [ Zosimus, the enemy of Constantine, allows (l. ii.
p. 88) that only a few of the friends of Maxentius were put to
death; but we may remark the expressive passage of Nazarius,
(Panegyr. Vet. x. 6.) Omnibus qui labefactari statum ejus
poterant cum stirpe deletis. The other orator (Panegyr. Vet. ix.
20, 21) contents himself with observing, that Constantine, when
he entered Rome, did not imitate the cruel massacres of Cinna, of
Marius, or of Sylla. * Note: This may refer to the son or sons of
Maxentius.—M.]

72 (return) [ See the two Panegyrics, and the laws of this and
the ensuing year, in the Theodosian Code.]

73 (return) [ Panegyr. Vet. ix. 20. Lactantius de M. P. c. 44.
Maximin, who was confessedly the eldest Cæsar, claimed, with some
show of reason, the first rank among the Augusti.]

74 (return) [ Adhuc cuncta opera quæ magnifice construxerat,
urbis fanum atque basilicam, Flavii meritis patres sacravere.
Aurelius Victor. With regard to the theft of Trajan’s trophies,
consult Flaminius Vacca, apud Montfaucon, Diarium Italicum, p.
250, and l’Antiquite Expliquee of the latter, tom. iv. p. 171.]

The final abolition of the Prætorian guards was a measure of
prudence as well as of revenge. Those haughty troops, whose
numbers and privileges had been restored, and even augmented, by
Maxentius, were forever suppressed by Constantine. Their
fortified camp was destroyed, and the few Prætorians who had
escaped the fury of the sword were dispersed among the legions,
and banished to the frontiers of the empire, where they might be
serviceable without again becoming dangerous. 75 By suppressing
the troops which were usually stationed in Rome, Constantine gave
the fatal blow to the dignity of the senate and people, and the
disarmed capital was exposed without protection to the insults or
neglect of its distant master. We may observe, that in this last
effort to preserve their expiring freedom, the Romans, from the
apprehension of a tribute, had raised Maxentius to the throne. He
exacted that tribute from the senate under the name of a free
gift. They implored the assistance of Constantine. He vanquished
the tyrant, and converted the free gift into a perpetual tax. The
senators, according to the declaration which was required of
their property, were divided into several classes. The most
opulent paid annually eight pounds of gold, the next class paid
four, the last two, and those whose poverty might have claimed an
exemption, were assessed, however, at seven pieces of gold.
Besides the regular members of the senate, their sons, their
descendants, and even their relations, enjoyed the vain
privileges, and supported the heavy burdens, of the senatorial
order; nor will it any longer excite our surprise, that
Constantine should be attentive to increase the number of persons
who were included under so useful a description. 76 After the
defeat of Maxentius, the victorious emperor passed no more than
two or three months in Rome, which he visited twice during the
remainder of his life, to celebrate the solemn festivals of the
tenth and of the twentieth years of his reign. Constantine was
almost perpetually in motion, to exercise the legions, or to
inspect the state of the provinces. Treves, Milan, Aquileia,
Sirmium, Naissus, and Thessalonica, were the occasional places of
his residence, till he founded a new Rome on the confines of
Europe and Asia. 77

75 (return) [ Prætoriæ legiones ac subsidia factionibus aptiora
quam urbi Romæ, sublata penitus; simul arma atque usus indumenti
militaris Aurelius Victor. Zosimus (l. ii. p. 89) mentions this
fact as an historian, and it is very pompously celebrated in the
ninth Panegyric.]

76 (return) [ Ex omnibus provinciis optimates viros Curiæ tuæ
pigneraveris ut Senatus dignitas.... ex totius Orbis flore
consisteret. Nazarius in Panegyr. Vet x. 35. The word
pigneraveris might almost seem maliciously chosen. Concerning the
senatorial tax, see Zosimus, l. ii. p. 115, the second title of
the sixth book of the Theodosian Code, with Godefroy’s
Commentary, and Memoires de l’Academic des Inscriptions, tom.
xxviii. p. 726.]

77 (return) [ From the Theodosian Code, we may now begin to trace
the motions of the emperors; but the dates both of time and place
have frequently been altered by the carelessness of
transcribers.]

Before Constantine marched into Italy, he had secured the
friendship, or at least the neutrality, of Licinius, the Illyrian
emperor. He had promised his sister Constantia in marriage to
that prince; but the celebration of the nuptials was deferred
till after the conclusion of the war, and the interview of the
two emperors at Milan, which was appointed for that purpose,
appeared to cement the union of their families and interests. 78
In the midst of the public festivity they were suddenly obliged
to take leave of each other. An inroad of the Franks summoned
Constantine to the Rhine, and the hostile approach of the
sovereign of Asia demanded the immediate presence of Licinius.
Maximin had been the secret ally of Maxentius, and without being
discouraged by his fate, he resolved to try the fortune of a
civil war. He moved out of Syria, towards the frontiers of
Bithynia, in the depth of winter. The season was severe and
tempestuous; great numbers of men as well as horses perished in
the snow; and as the roads were broken up by incessant rains, he
was obliged to leave behind him a considerable part of the heavy
baggage, which was unable to follow the rapidity of his forced
marches. By this extraordinary effort of diligence, he arrived
with a harassed but formidable army, on the banks of the Thracian
Bosphorus before the lieutenants of Licinius were apprised of his
hostile intentions. Byzantium surrendered to the power of
Maximin, after a siege of eleven days. He was detained some days
under the walls of Heraclea; and he had no sooner taken
possession of that city than he was alarmed by the intelligence
that Licinius had pitched his camp at the distance of only
eighteen miles. After a fruitless negotiation, in which the two
princes attempted to seduce the fidelity of each other’s
adherents, they had recourse to arms. The emperor of the East
commanded a disciplined and veteran army of above seventy
thousand men; and Licinius, who had collected about thirty
thousand Illyrians, was at first oppressed by the superiority of
numbers. His military skill, and the firmness of his troops,
restored the day, and obtained a decisive victory. The incredible
speed which Maximin exerted in his flight is much more celebrated
than his prowess in the battle. Twenty-four hours afterwards he
was seen, pale, trembling, and without his Imperial ornaments, at
Nicomedia, one hundred and sixty miles from the place of his
defeat. The wealth of Asia was yet unexhausted; and though the
flower of his veterans had fallen in the late action, he had
still power, if he could obtain time, to draw very numerous
levies from Syria and Egypt. But he survived his misfortune only
three or four months. His death, which happened at Tarsus, was
variously ascribed to despair, to poison, and to the divine
justice. As Maximin was alike destitute of abilities and of
virtue, he was lamented neither by the people nor by the
soldiers. The provinces of the East, delivered from the terrors
of civil war, cheerfully acknowledged the authority of Licinius.
79

78 (return) [ Zosimus (l. ii. p. 89) observes, that before the
war the sister of Constantine had been betrothed to Licinius.
According to the younger Victor, Diocletian was invited to the
nuptials; but having ventured to plead his age and infirmities,
he received a second letter, filled with reproaches for his
supposed partiality to the cause of Maxentius and Maximin.]

79 (return) [ Zosimus mentions the defeat and death of Maximin as
ordinary events; but Lactantius expatiates on them, (de M. P. c.
45-50,) ascribing them to the miraculous interposition of Heaven.
Licinius at that time was one of the protectors of the church.]

The vanquished emperor left behind him two children, a boy of
about eight, and a girl of about seven, years old. Their
inoffensive age might have excited compassion; but the compassion
of Licinius was a very feeble resource, nor did it restrain him
from _extinguishing_ the name and memory of his adversary. The
death of Severianus will admit of less excuse, as it was dictated
neither by revenge nor by policy. The conqueror had never
received any injury from the father of that unhappy youth, and
the short and obscure reign of Severus, in a distant part of the
empire, was already forgotten. But the execution of Candidianus
was an act of the blackest cruelty and ingratitude. He was the
natural son of Galerius, the friend and benefactor of Licinius.
The prudent father had judged him too young to sustain the weight
of a diadem; but he hoped that, under the protection of princes
who were indebted to his favor for the Imperial purple,
Candidianus might pass a secure and honorable life. He was now
advancing towards the twentieth year of his age, and the royalty
of his birth, though unsupported either by merit or ambition, was
sufficient to exasperate the jealous mind of Licinius. 80 To
these innocent and illustrious victims of his tyranny, we must
add the wife and daughter of the emperor Diocletian. When that
prince conferred on Galerius the title of Cæsar, he had given him
in marriage his daughter Valeria, whose melancholy adventures
might furnish a very singular subject for tragedy. She had
fulfilled and even surpassed the duties of a wife. As she had not
any children herself, she condescended to adopt the illegitimate
son of her husband, and invariably displayed towards the unhappy
Candidianus the tenderness and anxiety of a real mother. After
the death of Galerius, her ample possessions provoked the
avarice, and her personal attractions excited the desires, of his
successor, Maximin. 81 He had a wife still alive; but divorce was
permitted by the Roman law, and the fierce passions of the tyrant
demanded an immediate gratification. The answer of Valeria was
such as became the daughter and widow of emperors; but it was
tempered by the prudence which her defenceless condition
compelled her to observe. She represented to the persons whom
Maximin had employed on this occasion, “that even if honor could
permit a woman of her character and dignity to entertain a
thought of second nuptials, decency at least must forbid her to
listen to his addresses at a time when the ashes of her husband
and his benefactor were still warm, and while the sorrows of her
mind were still expressed by her mourning garments. She ventured
to declare, that she could place very little confidence in the
professions of a man whose cruel inconstancy was capable of
repudiating a faithful and affectionate wife.” 82 On this
repulse, the love of Maximin was converted into fury; and as
witnesses and judges were always at his disposal, it was easy for
him to cover his fury with an appearance of legal proceedings,
and to assault the reputation as well as the happiness of
Valeria. Her estates were confiscated, her eunuchs and domestics
devoted to the most inhuman tortures; and several innocent and
respectable matrons, who were honored with her friendship,
suffered death, on a false accusation of adultery. The empress
herself, together with her mother Prisca, was condemned to exile;
and as they were ignominiously hurried from place to place before
they were confined to a sequestered village in the deserts of
Syria, they exposed their shame and distress to the provinces of
the East, which, during thirty years, had respected their august
dignity. Diocletian made several ineffectual efforts to alleviate
the misfortunes of his daughter; and, as the last return that he
expected for the Imperial purple, which he had conferred upon
Maximin, he entreated that Valeria might be permitted to share
his retirement of Salona, and to close the eyes of her afflicted
father. 83 He entreated; but as he could no longer threaten, his
prayers were received with coldness and disdain; and the pride of
Maximin was gratified, in treating Diocletian as a suppliant, and
his daughter as a criminal. The death of Maximin seemed to assure
the empresses of a favorable alteration in their fortune. The
public disorders relaxed the vigilance of their guard, and they
easily found means to escape from the place of their exile, and
to repair, though with some precaution, and in disguise, to the
court of Licinius. His behavior, in the first days of his reign,
and the honorable reception which he gave to young Candidianus,
inspired Valeria with a secret satisfaction, both on her own
account and on that of her adopted son. But these grateful
prospects were soon succeeded by horror and astonishment; and the
bloody executions which stained the palace of Nicomedia
sufficiently convinced her that the throne of Maximin was filled
by a tyrant more inhuman than himself. Valeria consulted her
safety by a hasty flight, and, still accompanied by her mother
Prisca, they wandered above fifteen months 84 through the
provinces, concealed in the disguise of plebeian habits. They
were at length discovered at Thessalonica; and as the sentence of
their death was already pronounced, they were immediately
beheaded, and their bodies thrown into the sea. The people gazed
on the melancholy spectacle; but their grief and indignation were
suppressed by the terrors of a military guard. Such was the
unworthy fate of the wife and daughter of Diocletian. We lament
their misfortunes, we cannot discover their crimes; and whatever
idea we may justly entertain of the cruelty of Licinius, it
remains a matter of surprise that he was not contented with some
more secret and decent method of revenge. 85

80 (return) [ Lactantius de M. P. c. 50. Aurelius Victor touches
on the different conduct of Licinius, and of Constantine, in the
use of victory.]

81 (return) [ The sensual appetites of Maximin were gratified at
the expense of his subjects. His eunuchs, who forced away wives
and virgins, examined their naked charms with anxious curiosity,
lest any part of their body should be found unworthy of the royal
embraces. Coyness and disdain were considered as treason, and the
obstinate fair one was condemned to be drowned. A custom was
gradually introduced, that no person should marry a wife without
the permission of the emperor, “ut ipse in omnibus nuptiis
prægustator esset.” Lactantius de M. P. c. 38.]

82 (return) [ Lactantius de M. P. c. 39.]

83 (return) [ Diocletian at last sent cognatum suum, quendam
militarem æ potentem virum, to intercede in favor of his
daughter, (Lactantius de M. P. c. 41.) We are not sufficiently
acquainted with the history of these times to point out the
person who was employed.]

84 (return) [ Valeria quoque per varias provincias quindecim
mensibus plebeio cultu pervagata. Lactantius de M. P. c. 51.
There is some doubt whether we should compute the fifteen months
from the moment of her exile, or from that of her escape. The
expression of parvagata seems to denote the latter; but in that
case we must suppose that the treatise of Lactantius was written
after the first civil war between Licinius and Constantine. See
Cuper, p. 254.]

85 (return) [ Ita illis pudicitia et conditio exitio fuit.
Lactantius de M. P. c. 51. He relates the misfortunes of the
innocent wife and daughter of Discletian with a very natural
mixture of pity and exultation.]

The Roman world was now divided between Constantine and Licinius,
the former of whom was master of the West, and the latter of the
East. It might perhaps have been expected that the conquerors,
fatigued with civil war, and connected by a private as well as
public alliance, would have renounced, or at least would have
suspended, any further designs of ambition. And yet a year had
scarcely elapsed after the death of Maximin, before the
victorious emperors turned their arms against each other. The
genius, the success, and the aspiring temper of Constantine, may
seem to mark him out as the aggressor; but the perfidious
character of Licinius justifies the most unfavorable suspicions,
and by the faint light which history reflects on this
transaction, 86 we may discover a conspiracy fomented by his arts
against the authority of his colleague. Constantine had lately
given his sister Anastasia in marriage to Bassianus, a man of a
considerable family and fortune, and had elevated his new kinsman
to the rank of Cæsar. According to the system of government
instituted by Diocletian, Italy, and perhaps Africa, were
designed for his department in the empire. But the performance of
the promised favor was either attended with so much delay, or
accompanied with so many unequal conditions, that the fidelity of
Bassianus was alienated rather than secured by the honorable
distinction which he had obtained. His nomination had been
ratified by the consent of Licinius; and that artful prince, by
the means of his emissaries, soon contrived to enter into a
secret and dangerous correspondence with the new Cæsar, to
irritate his discontents, and to urge him to the rash enterprise
of extorting by violence what he might in vain solicit from the
justice of Constantine. But the vigilant emperor discovered the
conspiracy before it was ripe for execution; and after solemnly
renouncing the alliance of Bassianus, despoiled him of the
purple, and inflicted the deserved punishment on his treason and
ingratitude. The haughty refusal of Licinius, when he was
required to deliver up the criminals who had taken refuge in his
dominions, confirmed the suspicions already entertained of his
perfidy; and the indignities offered at Æmona, on the frontiers
of Italy, to the statues of Constantine, became the signal of
discord between the two princes. 87

86 (return) [ The curious reader, who consults the Valesian
fragment, p. 713, will probably accuse me of giving a bold and
licentious paraphrase; but if he considers it with attention, he
will acknowledge that my interpretation is probable and
consistent.]

87 (return) [ The situation of Æmona, or, as it is now called,
Laybach, in Carniola, (D’Anville, Geographie Ancienne, tom. i. p.
187,) may suggest a conjecture. As it lay to the north-east of
the Julian Alps, that important territory became a natural object
of dispute between the sovereigns of Italy and of Illyricum.]

The first battle was fought near Cibalis, a city of Pannonia,
situated on the River Save, about fifty miles above Sirmium. 88
From the inconsiderable forces which in this important contest
two such powerful monarchs brought into the field, it may be
inferred that the one was suddenly provoked, and that the other
was unexpectedly surprised. The emperor of the West had only
twenty thousand, and the sovereign of the East no more than five
and thirty thousand, men. The inferiority of number was, however,
compensated by the advantage of the ground. Constantine had taken
post in a defile about half a mile in breadth, between a steep
hill and a deep morass, and in that situation he steadily
expected and repulsed the first attack of the enemy. He pursued
his success, and advanced into the plain. But the veteran legions
of Illyricum rallied under the standard of a leader who had been
trained to arms in the school of Probus and Diocletian. The
missile weapons on both sides were soon exhausted; the two
armies, with equal valor, rushed to a closer engagement of swords
and spears, and the doubtful contest had already lasted from the
dawn of the day to a late hour of the evening, when the right
wing, which Constantine led in person, made a vigorous and
decisive charge. The judicious retreat of Licinius saved the
remainder of his troops from a total defeat; but when he computed
his loss, which amounted to more than twenty thousand men, he
thought it unsafe to pass the night in the presence of an active
and victorious enemy. Abandoning his camp and magazines, he
marched away with secrecy and diligence at the head of the
greatest part of his cavalry, and was soon removed beyond the
danger of a pursuit. His diligence preserved his wife, his son,
and his treasures, which he had deposited at Sirmium. Licinius
passed through that city, and breaking down the bridge on the
Save, hastened to collect a new army in Dacia and Thrace. In his
flight he bestowed the precarious title of Cæsar on Valens, his
general of the Illyrian frontier. 89

88 (return) [ Cibalis or Cibalæ (whose name is still preserved in
the obscure ruins of Swilei) was situated about fifty miles from
Sirmium, the capital of Illyricum, and about one hundred from
Taurunum, or Belgrade, and the conflux of the Danube and the
Save. The Roman garrisons and cities on those rivers are finely
illustrated by M. d’Anville in a memoir inserted in l’Academie
des Inscriptions, tom. xxviii.]

89 (return) [ Zosimus (l. ii. p. 90, 91) gives a very particular
account of this battle; but the descriptions of Zosimus are
rhetorical rather than military]