Part 5

But when nobody would cooperate with her and letters came from Macrinus making certain announcements at which, in view of her circumstances, she felt herself depressed in spirits, she renounced her ambitions out of fear that she might be deprived of the title of Augusta and be forced to depart to her native land, and al [lacuna] drea [lacuna] wom [lacuna] ad [lacuna] eake [lacuna] and mos [lacuna] any one behol [lacuna] she decided to do just the reverse and submit lest she be forced eventually to return to Rome and be there compelled by Macrinus to remain at home for the future for appearing to be opposed to his policy. Afterwards, however, she was intending to take measures that would enable her to get away by ship, if possibility still offered, when he ordered her, etc.] as [lacuna] coöperated [lacuna] and letters [lacuna] of Macrinus [lacuna] some for which [lacuna] judgment [lacuna] fearing that she might be deprived of the title of Augusta and to [lacuna] native country be forced to return [lacuna] to fear [lacuna] go to Rome [lacuna] Macrinus [lacuna] seeming to do the opposite [lacuna] how [lacuna] might depart and he ordered her to depart from Antioch with all speed and go whithersoever she would. [And when she heard what was said in Rome about her son] she no longer cared to live. The cancer in her breast, which, for a very long time had remained stationary in its progress, had been made angry and inflamed by the blow which she struck her chest on hearing of her son's death; this helped to undermine her constitution and she made sure of her demise by voluntary starvation.

[Sidenote:--24--][And so this queen, sprung from a family of common people and raised to a high station, who had lived during her husband's reign in great unhappiness on account of Plautianus, who had beheld her younger son butchered in her own lap and had borne ill-will to her elder son while he lived, finally receiving such tidings of his assassination, withdrew from power while in the full flush of life and thereafter did herself to death. Hence a person reviewing her career could not deem infallibly happy all those who attain great authority; indeed, in no case unless some true and undefiled pleasure in life belongs to them, and unswerving, permanent good fortune.--This, then, was the fate of Julia. Her body was taken to Rome and placed in the tomb of Gaius and Lucius. Later, however, both her bones and those of Geta were transferred by her sister Mæsa to the precinct of Antoninus.

[Sidenote:--25--] Nor was Macrinus destined to survive for long,--a fact of which he doubtless had previous indications. A mule bore a mule in Rome and a sow had a little pig with four ears and two tongues and eight feet. A great earthquake occurred, blood flowed from a pipe, and bees formed honeycombs in the Forum Boarium. The hunting-theatre was smitten with thunderbolts on the very day of the Vulcanalia [Footnote: August twenty-third.] and such a blaze ensued that all its upper circumference and the whole circuit of construction and the ground-level were burned and thereupon the rest of it caught fire and fell in ruins. No human aid availed against the conflagration, though every possible stream of water was directed upon the blaze, nor could the downpour from the sky, which came in great amount and violence, accomplish anything. The force of both kinds of water was exhausted by the power of the thunderbolts, and to a certain extent, at least, the building only received additional injury; [Footnote: Reading [Greek: prosesineto](Bekker).] wherefore the gladiatorial spectacle was held in the stadium for many years.

This naturally seemed to foreshow what was to be. There were other fires besides and imperial possessions were burned especially often during his reign,--a thing which in itself has always been regarded as of ill omen; but the fact that it seemed to have overthrown the horse-race of Vulcan had a direct bearing upon the emperor. This accordingly gave rise to a feeling that something out of the ordinary was in process of consummation, and the idea was strengthened by the behavior on that same day of the Tiber, which rose until it invaded the Forum and the roads leading to it with such impetus as to sweep away even human beings. And a woman, as I have heard, grim and gigantic, was seen by some persons and declared that these disasters were insignificant as compared with what was destined to befall them.

[Sidenote:--26--] And so it proved, for the evil did not confine itself to the City alone, but took possession of the whole world under its dominion, with whose inhabitants the theatre was customarily filled. The Romans, defeated, gave up their war against the barbarians and likewise received great detriment from the greed and factional differences of the soldiers. The progress of both these evils I am now to describe.] Macrinus, seeing that Artabanus was exceedingly angry at the way he had been treated and had invaded Mesopotamia with a large force, at first of his own accord sent him the captives and used friendly language, urging him to accept peace and laying the blame for the past upon Tarautas. But the other would not entertain his proposition and furthermore bade him build up the forts and demolished cities, abandon Mesopotamia entirely and offer satisfaction in general, but particularly for the damage to the royal tombs. [For, trusting in the large force that he had gathered and despising Macrinus as an unworthy emperor, he gave reign to his wrath and expected that even without the Roman's consent he could accomplish whatever he wished.] Macrinus had no opportunity to think it over, but, meeting the enemy already on the way to Nisibis, was defeated in a battle begun by the soldiers about water, while encamped opposite each other. And he came very near losing the rampart itself, but some armor-bearers and baggage-carriers happened along and saved it. In their confidence, they had started out ahead and made a rush upon the barbarians; and the unexpectedness of their sally was of advantage to them, making them appear to be armed soldiers and not mere helpers. But the [lacuna] both was not present then and [lacuna] the night [lacuna] the camps [lacuna] and the Romans followed on. The enemy, perceiving the noise that they made in going out, suspected [lacuna] flight, but seeing them at a glance [lacuna] the Romans barbarians [lacuna] forced by their [lacuna] and the flight of Macrinus, they became dejected and were conquered. And as a result [lacuna] from Mesopotamia especially [lacuna] they overran Syria [lacuna] he abandoned.

[Sidenote: A.D. 218 (_a.u._ 971)] This took place at the season under consideration: but in the autumn and winter, during which Macrinus and Adventus became consuls, they no longer came to blows with each other but kept up an interchange of envoys and heralds until they had reached an agreement.

[Sidenote:--27--] For Macrinus, through native cowardice (being a Moor he was tremendously timorous) and by reason of the soldiers' lack of discipline, did not dare to begin a war. On the contrary] he expended for the sake of peace enormous amounts, in the shape of both gifts and money, to Artabanus himself and to his assistants in the government, so that the entire outlay came to five thousand myriads. [And the emperor was not unwilling to effect a reconciliation, both for the reasons mentioned and because his soldiers were extremely restive,--a condition due to their having been away from home an unusual length of time, as well as to the scarcity of food. No supplies were to be had from stores, since there were no stores ready, nor from the country itself, because part had been devastated and part was controlled by forts. Macrinus, however, did not forward an exact account of all their proceedings to the senate and consequently triumphal sacrifices were voted him and the name of Parthicus was bestowed. But this he would not accept, being apparently ashamed to adopt the appellation of an enemy by whom he had been defeated.

Moreover, the war that had been waged in the regions of the Armenian king subsided. Tiridates received the diadem sent him by Macrinus, and got back his mother (whom Tarautas had confined in prison eleven months), together with the booty captured from Armenia and all the territory that his father possessed in Cappadocia, with hopes of obtaining the annual payment often furnished by the Romans. And the Dacians, after damaging parts of Dacia, held their hands in spite of a desire for further conflict, and got back the hostages that Caracalla, under the name of an alliance, had taken from them. This was the course of these events.

[Sidenote:--28--] But a new war broke upon the heads of the Romans, and no longer a foreign but a civil strife. It was the soldiers who were responsible for the outbreak. They were somewhat irritated by their setbacks, but their behavior was owing still more to the fact that they would no longer endure any hard work if they could help it, but were thoroughly out of training in every respect and wanted to have no emperor that ruled with a firm hand but demanded that they get everything without stint, and chose to perform no task that was fitting for them. They were further angered by the cutting off of their pay and the deprivation of prizes and exemptions (these last among the privileges of the military), which they had gained from Tarautas, even though they personally were not destined to be affected by these measures. Their resolution was definitely strengthened by the delay which they had undergone in practically one and the same spot while wintering in Syria on account of the war. It should be stated that Macrinus seemed to have shown good generalship and to have acted sensibly in debarring the men in arms from no privilege, but preserving to them intact all the rights allowed by his predecessor, whereas he gave notice to such as intended to enlist anew that they would be enrolled only upon the old schedule published by Severus. He hoped that these recruits, entering the army a few at a time, would hold aloof from rebellion, at first through peaceful inclinations and fear and later through the influence of time and custom, and that by having no corrupting effect upon the rest they would quiet them.

[Sidenote:--29--] If this had been done after the members of the army had retired to their individual fortresses and were consequently scattered, it would have been a correct move. Perhaps some of them would not have shown indignation, believing that they would really be put at no disadvantage because temporarily they suffered no loss: and even if they had been vexed, yet, each body being few in number and subservient to the commanders sent by the senate, they could have accomplished no great harm. But, united in Syria, they suspected that they should be liable to innovations if they separated;--for the time being they could well believe they were being pampered on account of the demands of war. And again [lacuna] So the others killed certain soldiers and ravaged portions of Mesopotamia, and these men butchered not a few of their own number and also overthrew their emperor; and, what is still worse, they set up another similar ruler, by whom nothing was done save what was evil and base. [Sidenote:--30--] It seems to me that this occurrence had been foreshadowed more clearly, perhaps, than any previous event. A very distinct eclipse of the sun [had taken place] about that time, [and the comet-star was seen for a considerable period. And another] luminary, whose tail extended from the west to the east, for several nights caused us terrible alarm, so that this verse of Homer's was ever on our lips:

"Rang the vast welkin with clarion calls, and Zeus heard the tumult." [Footnote: From Homer's Iliad, XXI, verse 388.]

It was brought about in the following way:

Mæsa, the sister of Julia Augusta, had two daughters, Soæmias and Mammæa, by her husband Julius, an ex-consul. She had also two male grandchildren. One was Avitus, the child of Soæmias and Varius Marcellus, a man of the same race,--he was from Apamea,--who had been occupied in procuratorships, had been enrolled in the senate, and soon after died. The other was Bassianus, the child of Mammæa and Gessius Marcianus, who was himself also a Syrian, from a city called Arca, and had been assigned to various positions as procurator. Now Mæsa at home in Emesa her life [lacuna] her sister Julia, with whom she had made her abode during the entire period of the latter's reign, having perished. For Avitus, after governing in Asia, sent by Caracalla from Mesopotamia into Cyprus, was seen to be limited to the position of adviser to some magistrate who suffered from old age and sickness; and again [lacuna] him, when [lacuna] he died, one Eutychianus, that had given satisfaction in games and exercises, and for that reason [lacuna] who [lacuna] [Sidenote:--31--] [lacuna] upon [lacuna] becoming aware of the strong dislike of the soldiers for Macrinus [lacuna] wall [lacuna] and partly persuaded by the Sun, whom they name Elagabalus and worship devotedly, and by some other prophecies, he undertook to overthrow Macrinus and put up Avitus, the grandson of Mæsa and a mere child, as emperor in his stead. And he accomplished both projects, although he had himself as yet not fully reached manhood and had as helpers only a few freedmen and soldiers [lacuna] and Emesenian senators [lacuna] pretending that he was a natural son of Tarautas and arraying him in clothing which the latter had worn when a child, Cæsar by the [lacunæ] introduced into the camp at night, without the knowledge of his mother or his grandmother, and at dawn on the sixteenth of May he persuaded the soldiers, who were eager to get some starting-point for an uprising, to revolt. Julianus, the prefect, learning this (for he happened to be not far distant), caused both a daughter and a son-in-law of Marcianus, together with some others, to be assassinated. Then, after collecting as many of the soldiers remaining as he could in the short time at his disposal, he made an attack upon what was, to all intents and purposes, a most hostile fortress. [Sidenote:--32--] He might have taken it that very day, for the Moors sent to Tarautas according to the terms of alliance fought most valiantly for Macrinus, who was a countryman of theirs, and even broke through some of the gates. But he refused the opportunity, either because he was afraid to rush in or because he expected that he could win the men inside to surrender voluntarily. As no propositions were made to him, and they furthermore built up all the gates during the night, so that they were now in a securer position, he again assaulted the place but effected nothing. For they carried Avitus (whom they were already saluting as "Marcus Aurelius Antoninus") all about upon the ramparts, and exhibited some likeness of Caracalla when a child as bearing some resemblance to their new ruler, declaring that the latter was truly Caracalla's child and his proper successor in the imperial office. "Why do you do this, fellow-soldiers?" they exclaimed. "Why do you thus fight against your benefactor's son?" By this means they corrupted all the soldiers with Julianus, especially as the troops were anxious to have a change, so that the attackers killed their commanders, save Julianus (for he effected his escape), and surrendered themselves to the False Antoninus. For when an attempt to restrain them was made by their centurions and the other subordinates, and they were, as a result, hesitating, Eutychianus sent Festus (thus--according to the cubicularius of Tarautas--was one of the Cæsarians named) [Footnote: The text is emended in accordance with a tentative suggestion of Boissevain.] and persuaded them to kill all such officers and offered as a prize to each soldier who should slay his man the victim's property and military rank. The boy also harangued them from the wall with fictitious statements, praising his "father" and [lacuna] Macrinus, as [lacuna]

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[Sidenote:--33--] [lacuna] those left to be restored to their original property and status as citizens. But the most effective means by which he attached them to himself was his promise to give each and every one unlimited amounts of money, and to restore the exiles,--an act which would seem to make him out in truth a legitimate son of Tarautas [lacuna]

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[Fourteen lines are lacking.]

[Sidenote:--34--] [lacuna] Marcianus [lacuna] Macrinus [lacuna] (for Marcellus was dead) he put this person to death; but, lacking courage to proceed further on his own responsibility without Macrinus, he sent for the latter. Macrinus came quickly to the Alban soldiers at Apamea and appointed his son emperor in spite of the lad's being but ten years old, in order that with this excuse he might mollify the soldiers by various means, chief among which should be the promise of five thousand denarii; he assigned them a thousand each on the spot and restored to the rest complete allowances of food and everything else of which they had been deprived: in this way he hoped to appease them. With this same end in view he bestowed upon the populace a dinner worth one hundred and fifty denarii a head before revealing to them anything about the uprising; for he wanted it to be thought that he was banqueting them not because of that event but to show honor to his son. And on that occasion first one of the revolted soldiers approached him carrying the head of Julianus (who had been found somewhere in hiding and slain), in many linen cloths and tied up very strongly indeed with ropes, pretending it was the head of the False Antoninus. He had sealed the package with the finger ring of Julianus. After doing that the soldier ran out when the head was uncovered. Macrinus, upon discovering what had been done, no longer dared either to stay where he was or to assault the fortification, but returned to Antioch with all speed. So the Alban legion and the rest who were wintering in that region likewise revolted. The opposing parties continued their preparations and both sides sent messengers and letters to the provinces and to the legions. As a result perturbation was caused in many places by the first communication of each side about the other and by the constant messages contradicting each other. In the course of the uncertainty numerous letter-carriers on both sides lost their lives, and numbers of those who had slain the followers of Antoninus, or had not immediately attached themselves to their cause, were censured. Some perished on this account and some merely incurred a small loss. Hence I will pass over most of this (it is all very much alike and permits of no considerable description in detail) and will give a summary of what took place in Egypt.

[Sidenote:--35--] The governor of that country was Basilianus, whom Macrinus had also made prefect in place of Julianus. Some interests were managed also by Marius Secundus, although he had been created senator by Macrinus and was at the head of affairs in Phoenicia. In this way both of them were dependent upon Macrinus and for that reason put to death the runners of the False Antoninus. As long, therefore, as the outcome of the business was still in dispute, they and the soldiers and the individuals were in suspense, some wishing and praying and reporting one thing and others the opposite, as always in factional disturbances. When the news of the defeat of Macrinus arrived, a riot of some magnitude followed, in which many of the populace and not a few of the soldiers were destroyed. Secundus found himself in a dilemma; and Basilianus, fearing that he should lose his life instanter, effected his escape from Egypt. After coming to the vicinity of Brundusium in Italy he was discovered, having been betrayed by a friend in Rome to whom he had sent a secret message asking for food. So he was later taken back to Nicomedea and executed.

[Sidenote:--36--] Macrinus wrote also to the senate about the False Antoninus [as he did also to the governors everywhere], calling him "boy" and saying that he was mad. He wrote also to Maximus, the præfectus urbi, giving him such information as one might expect, and further stating that the soldiers recently enlisted insisted upon receiving all that they were wont to have before, and that the rest, who had been deprived of nothing, made common cause with them in their anger at what was withheld. And to omit a recital, he said, of all the many means devised by Severus and his son for the ruin of rigid discipline, it was impossible for the troops to be given their entire pay in addition to the donatives which they were receiving; for the increase in their pay granted by Tarautas amounted to seven thousand myriads annually, and could not be given, partly because the soldiers and again because [lacuna] righteous [lacuna] but the recognized expenditures [lacuna] and the [lacuna] could he himself and the child as [lacuna] himself [lacuna] and he commiserated himself upon having a son, but said that he found it a solace in his disaster to think that he had outlived the fratricide who attempted to destroy the whole world. He also added to the missive something like the following: "I know that there are many who are more anxious to have emperors killed than to have them live, but this is one thing I can not say in respect to myself, that any one could either desire or pray that I should perish." At which Fulvius Diogenianus exclaimed: "We have all prayed for it!"