Amida per celsos aggeres muris proximos temptatur a Persis ac invaditur. Marcellinus post captam urbem nocte evadit, ac fuga Antiochiam petit.

[1] Verum nocte proelia dirimente, somno per breve otium capto, nitescente iam luce, ad potiunda sperata ira et dolore exundans, nec fas ullum prae oculis habiturus, gentes in nos excitabat. Cumque crematis operibus (ut docuimus), pugna per aggeres celsos muris proximos temptaretur, ex aggestis erectis intrinsecus, quantum facere nitique poterant, nostri aequis viribus per ardua resistebant.

[2] Et diu cruentum proelium stetit, nec metu mortis quisquam ex aliqua parte a studio propugnandi removebatur, eoque producta contentione, cum sors partium eventu regeretur indeclinabili, diu laborata moles illa nostrorum, velut terrae quodam tremore quassata¹ procubuit, et tamquam itinerario aggere, vel superposito ponte, complanatum spatium, quod inter murum² congestamque forinsecus struem hiabat, patefecit hostibus transitum, nullis obicibus impeditum, et pars pleraque militum deiectorum oppressa vel debilitata cessavit.³

[3] Concursum est tamen undique ad propulsationem periculi tam abrupti, et festinandi studio aliis impedientibus alios, audacia hostium ipso successu crescebat.

[4] Accitis igitur regis imperio proeliatoribus⁴ universis, strictoque comminus ferro, cum sanguis utrubique immensis caedibus funderetur, oppilatae⁵ sunt corporibus fossae latiorque via ideo pandebatur, et concursu copiarum ardenti iam civitate oppleta, cum omnis defendendi vel fugiendi spes esset abscisa, pecorum ritu armati et imbelles sine sexus discrimine truncabantur.

[5] Itaque vespera tenebrante, cum adhuc licet iniqua reluctante fortuna, multitudo nostrorum manu conserta distringeretur, in abstrusa quadam parte oppidi cum duobus aliis latens, obscurae praesidio noctis postica per quam nihil servabatur evado, et squalentum peritia locorum, comitumque adiutus celeritate, ad decimum lapidem tandem perveni.

[6] In qua statione lenius recreati, cum ire protinus pergeremus, et incedendi nimietate iam superarer, ut insuetus ingenuus, offendi dirum aspectum, sed fatigato mihi lassitudine gravi levamen impendio tempestivum.

[7] Fugaci equo nudo et infreni calonum quidam sedens (ne labi possit) ex more habenam qua ductabatur sinistra manu artius illigavit, moxque decussus, vinculi nodum abrumpere nequiens, per avia saltusque membratim discerptus, iumentum exhaustum cursu pondere cadaveris detinebat, cuius dorsuali⁶ comprensi servitio usus in tempore, cum eisdem sociis ad fontes sulphureos aquarum, suapte natura calentium, aegre perveni.

[8] Et quia per aestum arida siti reptantes, aquam diu quaeritando, profundum bene⁷ vidimus puteum, et neque descendendi prae altitudine, nec restium aderat copia, necessitate docente postrema, indumenta lintea, quibus tegebamur,⁸ in oblongos discidimus pannulos, unde explicato fune ingenti, centonem quem sub galea unus ferebat e nostris, ultimae aptavimus summitati, qui per⁹ funem coniectus, aquasque hauriens ad peniculi modum, facile sitim qua urgebamur¹⁰ exstinxit.

[9] Unde citi ferebamur ad flumen Euphratem, ulteriorem ripam petituri per navem, quam transfretandi causa iumenta et homines, in eo tractu diuturna consuetudo locarat.

[10] Ecce autem Romanum agmen cum equestribus signis disiectum, eminus cernimus, quod persequebatur multitude Persarum, incertum unde impetu tam repentino terga viantum aggressa.

[11] Quo exemplo terrigenas illos, non sinibus terrae emersos, sed exuberanti pernicitate credimus natos, qui quoniam inopini per varia visebantur, σπαρτοί vocitati, humo exsiluisse, vetustate rem¹¹ fabulosius extollente, sunt aestimati.

[12] Hoc malo¹² conciti, cum omne iam esset in celeritate salutis praesidium, per dumeta et silvas montes petimus celsiores, exindeque Melitinam minoris Armeniae oppidum venimus, mox¹³ repertum ducem comitatique¹⁴ iam profecturum, Antiochiam revisimus insperati.¹⁵

Res Gestae. Ammianus Marcellinus. John C. Rolfe (Translator). Cambridge, MA. 1935-1940.

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Current edition Perseus

Res Gestae (Ammianus Marcellinus. Ammianus Marcellinus, with an English translation, Vols. I-III. Rolfe, John C., editor. Cambridge, MA; London: Harvard University Press; W. Heinemann, 1935-1940 (printing).)

Translations (1)

History Perseus (Ammianus Marcellinus. Ammianus Marcellinus, with an English translation, Vols. I-III. Rolfe, John C., translator. Cambridge, MA; London: Harvard University Press; W. Heinemann, 1935-1940 (printing).) — 19.8 focus

[1] But night put an end to the conflict; and having taken a nap during the brief period of rest, the king, as soon as dawn appeared, boiling with wrath and resentment and closing his eyes to all right, aroused the barbarians against us, to win what he hoped for; and when the siege-works had been burned (as I have shown) they attempted battle over high mounds close to the walls, whereupon our men erected heaps of earth on the inside as well as they could with all their efforts, and under difficulties resisted with equal vigour.

[2] For a long time the sanguinary battle remained undecided, and not a man anywhere through fear of death gave up his ardour for defence; and the contest had reached a point when the fate of both parties was governed by some unavoidable hap, when that mound of ours, the result of long toil, fell forward as if shattered by an earthquake. Thus the gulf which yawned between the wall and the heap built up outside was made a level plain, as if by a causeway or a bridge built across it, and opened to the enemy a passage blocked by no obstacles, while the greater part of the soldiers that were thrown down ceased fighting, being either crushed or worn out.

[3] Nevertheless others rushed to the spot from all sides, to avert so sudden a danger; but in their desire for haste they impeded one another, while the boldness of the enemy was increased by their very success.

[4] Accordingly, by the king’s command all the warriors were summoned and there was a hand-to-hand contest with drawn swords; blood streamed on all sides from the vast carnage; the trenches were blocked with bodies and so a broader path was furnished. And now the city was filled with the eager rush of the enemy’s forces, and since all hope of defence or of flight was cut off, armed and unarmed alike without distinction of sex were slaughtered like so many cattle.

[5] Therefore when the darkness of evening was coming on and a large number of our soldiers, although adverse fortune still struggled against them, were joined in battle and thus kept busy, I hid with two others in a secluded part of the city, and under cover of a dark night made my escape through a postern gate at which no guard was kept; and, aided by my familiarity with desert places and by the speed of my companions, I at length reached the tenth milestone.

[6] At the post-house there we got a little rest, and when we were making ready to go farther and I was already unequal to the excessive walking, to which as a gentleman I was unused, I met a terrible sight, which however furnished me a most timely relief, worn out as I was by extreme weariness.

[7] A groom, mounted on a runaway horse without saddle or bit, in order not to fall off had tied the rein by which, in the usual manner, the horse was guided, tightly to his left hand; and afterwards, being thrown off and unable to loose the knot, he was torn limb from limb as he was dragged through desert places and woods, while the animal, exhausted by running, was held back by the weight of the dead body; so I caught it and making timely use of the service of its back, with those same companions I with difficulty reached some springs of sulphurous water, naturally hot.

[8] And since the heat had caused us parching thirst, for a long time we went slowly about looking for water. And we fortunately found a deep well, but it was neither possible to go down into it because of its depth, nor were there ropes at hand; so taught by extreme need, we cut the linen garments in which we were clad¹ into long strips and from them made a great rope. To the extreme end of this we tied the cap which one of us wore under his helmet, and when this was let down by the rope and sucked up the water after the manner of a sponge, it readily quenched the thirst by which we were tormented.

[9] From there we quickly made our way to the Euphrates river, planning to cross to the farther bank by a boat which long continued custom had kept in that vicinity for the transport of men and animals.

[10] But lo! we saw afar off a scattered band of Romans with cavalry standards, pursued by a great force of Persians; and we could not understand how they appeared so suddenly behind us as we went along.

[11] Judging from this instance, we believe that the famous sons of earth did not come forth from the bosom of the land, but were born with extraordinary swiftness —those so-called sparti,² who, because they were seen unexpectedly in sundry places, were thought to have sprung from the earth, since antiquity gave the matter a fabulous origin.

[12] Alarmed by this danger, since now all hope of life depended upon speed, through thickets and woods we made for the higher mountains, and came from there to the town of Melitina in lesser Armenia, where we presently found and accompanied an officer, who was just on the point of leaving; and so we returned unexpectedly to Antioch.

Notes on the current edition

Res Gestae

1. quassata, EW 2G; quasina, V.

2. murum, G; muros, Kiessling; murorum, V; murorum ambitum, Her.

3. cessauit, Clark; cessabat, EBG; cessabit, V.

4. proeliatoribus, vulgo; praedatoribus, V. oppilatae, Gronov. pater;

5. oppletae, W 2; appellate, V.

6. dorsuali, Langen; dorsuatis, V.

7. bene, Lind.; paenae, V; pene, WBG.

8. tegebanur, BGA; tegebatur, V; lectulus tegebatur, Clark.

9. qui per, added in G (lac. indicated by Clark).

10. urgebamur, Her.; hauriebamur, EBG; hariebamur, V.

11. rem, Novák, Her.; materiem, Kiessling; ut cetera, G; rem viatere (see note 5), V.

12. malo (for viatere, Her.), put after hoc by G.

13. mox, Pet.; ubi, W 2, vulgo; uos, V.

14. comitatique, Her.; comitatumque, Gardt.; comitateque, V.

15. insperati. At, Her.; interea Sapor et, G; iam impetrata re, Clark; iamimperator et, V ( im, added by V 2).

Ammianus Marcellinus Res Gestae 19.8

John C. Rolfe (Translator)

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Amida per celsos aggeres muris proximos temptatur a Persis ac invaditur. Marcellinus post captam urbem nocte evadit, ac fuga Antiochiam petit.

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