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Patria et genus, mores, ac dignitates Procopii; deque eius sub Ioviano latebra: et qua ratione Constantinopoli imperator sit appellatus.

[1] Insigni genere Procopius in Cilicia natus et educatus, ea consideratione qua propinquitate Iulianum, postea principem, contingebat, a primo gradu eluxit, et ut vita moribusque castigatior, licet occultus erat et taciturnus, notarius diu perspicaciter militans, et tribunus, iamque summatibus proximus, post Constanti obitum in rerum conversion, velut imperatoris cognatus, altius anhelabat, adiunctus consortio comitum: et apparebat eum, si umquam potuisset, fore quietis publicae turbatorem.

[2] Hunc Iulianus Persidem ingrediens, consociato pari potestatis iure Sebastiano, in Mesopotamia cum manu militum reliquerat valida, mandaratque (ut susurravit obscurior fama, nemo enim dicti auctor exstitit verus), pro cognitorum ageret textu, et si subsidia rei Romanae languisse sensisset, imperatorem ipse se provideret ocius nuncupari.

[3] Qui iniuncta civiliter agens et caute, Iuliani letaliter vulnerati funus et ad regenda communia comperit Iovianum evectum, falsoque rumore disperso, inter abeuntis anhelitus animae eundem Iulianum verbo¹ mandasse, placere sibi Procopio clavos summae rei gerendae committi, veritus ne hac ex causa indemnatus occideretur, e medio se conspectu discrevit,² maxime post Ioviani territus necem, notariorum omnium primi, quem Iuliano perempto veluti dignum imperio paucis militibus nominatum, novaque exinde coeptare suspectum, cruciabiliter didicerat interfectum.

[4] Et³ quia se quaeri industria didicerat magna, vitans gravioris invidiae pondus, ad abdita longiusque remota, discessit. Cumque a Ioviano exploratius indagari latibula sua sentiret, et ferinae⁴ vitae iam fuisset pertaesum,—quippe a celsiore statu deiectus ad inferiora, etiam edendi penuria, in locis squalentibus, stringebatur, hominumque egebat colloquiis—postremae necessitatis impulsu, deviis itineribus ad Chalcedonos agrum pervenit.

[5] Ubi quoniam ei⁵ illud firmius visum est receptaculum, apud fidissimum amicorum delitescebat, Strategium quendam, ex palatino milite senatorem, Constantinopolim quantum fieri poterat clanculo saepe intermeans, ut indicio eiusdem Strategi Strategii⁶ patuit, postquam saepius in factionis conscios est inquisitum.

[6] Ritu itaque sollertissimi cuiusdam speculatoris, ignotus ob squalorem vultus et maciem, rumusculos colligebat tunc tune crebrescentes, ut sunt acerba semper instantia, incusantium multorum Valentem, quasi cupiditate aliena rapiendi succensum.

[7] Cuius diritati adiectum erat incentivum exitiale, socer Petronius, ex praeposito Martensium militum, promotus repentino saltu patricius, animo deformis et habitu, qui ad nudandos sine discretione cunctos immaniter flagrans, nocentes pariter et insontes, post exquisita tormenta quadrupli nexibus vinciebat, debita iam inde a temporibus principis Aureliani perscrutans, et impendio maerens, si quemquam absolvisset indemnem.

[8] Cuius morum intolerantiae, haec quoque pernicies accedebat,⁷ quod cum ditaretur luctibus alienis, erat inexorabilis et crudelis, et intrepido⁸ corde durissimus,⁹ nec reddendae nec accipiendae rationis umquam capax, invisior Cleandro, quem agentem sub imperatore Commodo praefecturam, sublata vecordia, diversas legimus vexasse fortunas, et onerosior Plautiano, qui praefectus itidem sub Severo, ultra mortalem¹⁰ tumens cuncta confuderat, ni gladio perisset ultore.

[9] Haec lacrimosa, quae incitante Petronio, sub Valente clausere multas paupertinas et nobiles domos, impendentiumque spes atrocior provincialium, et militum paria gementium, sensibus imis haerebant, et votis, licet obscuris et tacitis permutatio status praesentis ope numinis summi concordi gemitu poscebatur.

[10] Quae Procopius latenter accipiens, arbitratusque ubi felicius acciderit fatum, negotio levi ad apicem summae potestatis assumi, subsidebat ut praedatrix bestia viso, quod capi potuerit,¹¹ protinus eruptura.

[11] Cui in haec¹² quae maturabat ardenti, fors hanc materiam dedit impendio tempestivam. Consumpta hieme festinans ad Syriam Valens, iamque fines Bithynorum ingressus docetur relationibus ducum, gentem Gothorum, ea tempestate intactam, ideoque saevissimam, conspirantem in unum, ad pervadenda parari collimitia Thraciarum: hocque cognito, ut impraepedite¹³ ipse pergeret quo tendebat, sufficiens equitum adiumentum et peditum, mitti iussit ad loca, in quibus barbarici timebantur excursus.

[12] Dimoto itaque longius principe, Procopius aerumnis diuturnis attritus, et vel atrocem mortem clementiorem ratus malis quibus afflictabatur, aleam periculorum omnium iecit abrupte, et¹⁴ extrema iam perpeti nequaquam timens, praeeunte perdita ratione, facinus adoritur audacissimum; Divitenses, Tungricanosque¹⁵ Iuniores, ad procinctum urgentem per Thracias inter alios celerare dispositos, et Constantinopoli moraturos sollemniter biduum, per quosdam ex eisdem numeris notos sollicitare properans (quia cum omnibus loqui, periculosum erat et arduum), fidem paucorum elegit.

[13] Qui pellecti spe praemiorum ingentium, sub consecratione iuris iurandi, promisere se quae vellet cuncta facturos, favorem quoque polliciti conturmalium, inter quos ipsi potiorem locum obtinebant in suadendo, stipendiis excellentes et meritis.

[14] Utque condictum est,¹⁶ ubi excanduit radiis dies, idem Procopius, diductus in cogitationes varias, Anastasianas balneas petit, a sorore Constantini cognominatas, ubi locata noverat signa, doctusque per arcanorum conscios omnes in eius studium consensisse, societate coita nocturna, fide salutis data libenter, admissus constipatione vendibilium militum, cum honore quidem, sed in modum tenebatur obsessi, qui ut praetoriani quondam, post Pertinacis necem licitantem imperii praemia, Iulianum susceperant, ipsi quoque Procopium, infausti dominatus exordia molientem, attenti ad omne compendium defenderunt.

[15] Stetit itaque subtabidus—excitum putares ab inferis,—nusquam reperto paludamento, tunica auro distincta, ut regius minister, indutus, a calce in pubem, in paedagogiani pueri speciem, purpureis opertus tegminibus pedum, hastatusque purpureum itidem pannulum laeva manu gestabat, ut in theatrali scaena simulacrum quoddam insigne per aulaeum vel mimicam cavillationem subito putares emersum.

[16] Ad hoc igitur dehonestamentum honorum omnium ludibriose sublatus, et ancillari adulatione, beneficii allocutus auctores, opesque pollicitus amplas et dignitates, ob principatus primitias, processit in publicum multitudine stipatus armorum,¹⁷ signisque sublatis erectius ire pergebat, circumclausus horrendo fragore scutorum, lugubre concrepantium, quae metuentes ne a celsioribus tectis, saxis vel tegularum fragmentis conflictaretur,¹⁸ densius ipsis galearum cristis aptabant.

[17] Huic intimidius incedenti, nec resistebat populus nec favebat; accendebatur tamen insita plerisque vulgarium, novitatis repentina iucunditate, ea re potius incitante, quod Petronium (ut praediximus) divitias violenter augentem, omnes eadem mente detestabantur, qui sepulta iam dudum negotia, et redivivas nebulas debitorum, in diversos ordines excitabat.

[18] Cum itaque tribunal idem escendisset Procopius, et cunctis stupore defixis, timeret¹⁹ silentium triste, procliviorem viam ad mortem (ut sperabat), existimans advenisse, per artus tremore diffuse, implicatior ad loquendum, diu tacitus stetit; pauca tamen interrupta et moribunda voce dicere iam exorsus, quibus stirpis propinquitatem imperatoriae praetendebat, leni paucorum susurro, pretio illectorum, deinde tumultuariis succlamationibus plebis, imperator appellatus incondite, petit curiam raptim. Ubi nullo clarissimorum sed ignobilium²⁰ paucitate inventa, palatium pessimo pede, festinatis passibus introiit.

[19] Mirantur quidam profecto irrisione digna principia incaute coepta et temere, ad ingemiscendas erupisse rei publicae clades, ignari forsitan²¹ exemplorum, accidisse primitus arbitrantes.

[20] Sic Adramytenus Andriscus, de genere quidam infimae sortis, ad usque Pseudophilippi nomen evectus, bellis Macedonicis tertium addidit grave. Sic Antiochiae Macrino imperatore agente, ab Emesa Heliogabalus exsiluit²² Antoninus. Ita inopino impetu Maximini, Alexander cum Mamaea matre confossus est. Ita²³ in Africa superior Gordianus in imperium raptus, adventantium periculorum angoribus implicatus vitam laqueo spiritu intercluso profundit.

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

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by Tufts University.

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).) — 26.6 focus

[1] Procopius was born in Cilicia¹ of a distinguished family and correspondingly educated, and for the reason that he was related to Julian,² who was afterwards emperor, he was conspicuous from his first entry into a public position; and as he was somewhat strict in his life and character, although retiring and silent, he served for a long time with distinction as state-secretary and tribune, and already had prospects of attaining the highest positions. But when after the death of Constantius he became through the change in the situation a relative of the emperor,³ he aimed higher and entered the order of counts; and it was evident that, if ever he had the opportunity, he would be a disturber of the public peace.

[2] When Julian invaded Persia, he left Procopius in Mesopotamia, in association with Sebastianus, who was given the same rank, with a strong force of soldiers,⁴ and ordered him (as rumour darkly whispered, for no one vouched for the truth of the report) to act in accordance with the conditions that arose, and if he learned that the Roman power in Persia was weakened, to take measures quickly to have himself named emperor.

[3] Procopius followed these directions with moderation and prudence, but when he learned that Julian had been mortally wounded and died, and that Jovian had been raised to the rule of the empire, and that the false report was circulated that Julian had with the last breath of his failing life declared that it was his wish that Procopius should be entrusted with the helm of the state, he feared that on that account he might be put to death without a trial. Accordingly, he withdrew from public sight; and he was in special fear after the death of Jovianus, the chief of all the secretaries, because he had learned that after Julian’s death Jovianus had been named by a few soldiers as worthy of imperial power, and that from that time on he had been suspected of rebellious designs and had suffered a cruel death.⁵

[4] And because Procopius had learned that he was being tracked with extreme care, in order to avoid the weight of greater hatred he retreated to still more remote and secret places. Then hearing that Jovianus was diligently hunting for his hiding-places, and being already thoroughly wearied of living the life of a wild beast—for being cast down from a lofty station to a lower condition and confined to desert places, he actually suffered from hunger and was deprived of intercourse with mankind—under the compulsion of extreme necessity he came by round-about ways to the vicinity of Chalcedon.

[5] There, since it seemed to him a safe refuge,⁶ he hid himself with the most loyal of his friends, a certain Strategius, a soldier of the court guards who rose to be a senator, often going as secretly as possible to Constantinople, as was afterwards known from the testimony of that same Strategius when frequent investigations were held of the accomplices in the cabal.

[6] And so, after the fashion of some clever spy, being unrecognizable because of his unkempt appearance and his leanness, he gathered the gossip, which was then becoming frequent, of many who, since men are always discontented with present conditions, were finding fault with Valens, as being inflamed with a desire of seizing the property of others.

[7] To the emperor’s cruelty deadly incentive was given by his father-in- law⁷ Petronius, who from the command of the Martensian legion⁸ had by a sudden jump been promoted to the rank of patrician.⁹ He was a man ugly in spirit and in appearance, who, burning with an immoderate longing to strip everyone without distinction, condemned guilty and innocent alike, after exquisite tortures, to fourfold indemnities, looking up debts going back to the time of the emperor Aurelian,¹⁰ and grieving excessively if he was obliged to let any one escape unscathed.

[8] Along with his intolerable character he had this additional incentive to his devastations, that while he was enriching himself through the woes of others, he was inexorable, cruel, savage and fearlessly hardhearted, never capable of giving or receiving reason, more hated than Cleander,¹¹ who, as we read, when prefect under the emperor Commodus, in his haughty madness had ruined the fortunes of many men; more oppressive than Plautianus,¹² also a prefect under Severus, who with superhuman arrogance would have caused general confusion, if he had not perished by the avenging sword.

[9] These lamentable occurrences, which under Valens, aided and abetted by Petronius, closed the houses of the poor and the palaces of the rich in great numbers, added to the fear of a still more dreadful future, sank deeply into the minds of the provincials and of the soldiers, who groaned under similar oppression, and with universal sighs everyone prayed (although darkly and in silence) for a change in the present condition of affairs with the help of the supreme deity.

[10] All this Procopius observed from his hiding- place, and thinking that when a more favourable turn of fortune should occur, the crown of supreme power could be gained with little trouble, he lay in wait like a beast of prey, ready to leap forth at once on seeing anything which he could seize.

[11] And while he was burning with impatience to hasten his designs, fate offered him this most timely opportunity. For Valens at the end of winter hastened to Syria and had already crossed the frontier of Bithynia, when he learned from the reports of his generals that the Gothic tribes, at that time unassailed¹³ and therefore very savage, were conspiring together and making preparations to invade the Thracian provinces. On learning this, in order that he himself might reach his destination without hindrance, Valens ordered a sufficient reinforcement of cavalry and infantry to be sent to the places where inroads of the savages were feared.

[12] And so, since the emperor was removed to a distance, Procopius, worn out by long-continued troubles, and thinking that even a cruel death would be more merciful than the evils by which he was tormented, hazarded at one cast all perils whatsoever; and without fear now of suffering the worst, led by a desperate resolve he essayed the bold deed of hastening to tempt the legions of Divitenses and the Younger Tungricani,¹⁴ who had been ordered with other troops to hasten to the urgent service in Thrace, and as usual were to remain for two days in Constantinople.¹⁵ This he did by hastening to appeal to certain acquaintances that he had among those same troops; but because it would be dangerous and difficult to speak with all, he confided in only a few.

[13] These men, enticed by the hope of great rewards, promised under the sanctity of an oath that they would do everything that he wished, guaranteeing also the favour of their comrades, with whom they held an important place in giving advice, since they were the highest paid¹⁶ and the most deserving.

[14] So, as had been agreed, as soon as the sun’s rays illumined the day, the aforesaid Procopius, full of conflicting emotions, went to the Anastasian Baths, named for the sister of Constantine,¹⁷ where he knew that the legions had their quarters. There he learned from the confidants of his secrets that their whole number in a meeting by night had united in his support. Then, after a pledge of safety was willingly given him, he was received by the throng of venal soldiers and treated indeed with honour, although he seemed in a way to be held as a prisoner; for just as once before, after the death of Pertinax, the praetorians took up Julianus,¹⁸ when he was a bidder for the imperial power, so now also these troops, with an eye to every possible gain, defended Procopius, as he plotted to enter upon his ill-starred rule.

[15] So there he stood rather wasted (you would think that he had come up from the lower world), and because a purple robe could nowhere be found, he was dressed in a gold-embroidered tunic, like an attendant at court, but from foot to waist he looked like a page in the service of the palace¹⁹ ; he wore purple shoes on his feet, and bore a lance, and a small piece of purple cloth in his left hand; just as sometimes on the stage you might think that a splendidly decorated figure was suddenly made to appear as the curtain was raised, or through some mimic deception.²⁰

[16] Raised in a laughable manner to this dishonour of all honours,²¹ he ad- dressed his supporters with servile flattery, and promised them ample riches and dignities as the first-fruits of his principate. Then he appeared in public, surrounded by a number of armed men, and now advancing with more confidence and with upraised standards, attended with a fearful din of shields mournfully clashing together, which the soldiers from fear of his being pelted from housetops with stones or pieces of tile held closely joined together over the very crests of their helmets.

[17] And as he advanced more boldly,²² the people neither opposed nor favoured him; nevertheless, they were aroused by the sudden charm of novelty which is inborn in most of the commons, and they were still more strongly moved because they one and all (as we have already said) hated Petronius, who was enriching himself by violence, and was reviving transactions that were long since buried, and debts of the misty past brought up again against all classes.²³

[18] Accordingly, when the said Procopius had mounted the tribunal,²⁴ and all were filled with amazement, fearing the gloomy silence, and believing (as indeed he had expected) that he had merely come to a steeper road to death, since a trembling which pervaded all his limbs hindered his speaking, he stood for a long time without a word. Finally, he beganwith broken and dying utterance to say a little, justifying his action by his relationship with the imperial family; then at first by the low whispers of a few, who had been hired for the purpose, later by the tumultuous acclamations of the people, he was hailed as emperor in disorderly fashion, and hastily went on to the Senate House. There finding none of the distinguished senators, but only a few persons of low rank, with rapid steps he hastened to the palace and entered it with ill-omened step.

[19] Certainly some may wonder that so laughable a reign, rashly and blindly begun, broke out into such lamentable disasters to the state, if perchance they are unacquainted with previous instances, and think that this happened for the first time.

[20] It was thus that Andriscus of Adramytium,²⁵ a man born to the lowest condition, raised himself to the title of a Pseudophilippus and added to the Macedonian wars a third, full of danger. It was thus, when the emperor Macrinus was living at Antioch, that Heliogabalus Antoninus²⁶ burst forth from Emesa.²⁷ Thus, by the unexpected uprising of Maximinus, Alexander²⁸ was murdered with his mother Mamaea. Thus in Africa the elder Gordian was hurried to the throne, but when he found himself entangled in the terror of coming dangers, ended his life with the noose.²⁹

Notes on the current edition

Res Gestae

1. verbo, Madvig; vero, VWB (G omits); sero, Eyssen.

2. discrevit, Lind.; disseruit, V.

3. et, added by G; V omits.

4. ferinae, EW 2 Pricaeus; formae, VG.

5. ei, Haupt; V and G omit.

6. Strategii, Clark, c.c.; Strategi, V.

7. accedebat, EAG; accidebat, V.

8. intrepido, Haupt; in * rapido (* formerly i), V; in rapido, EBG.

9. durissimus, Bent.; crudissimus, E 1B, Haupt; rudissimus, V.

10. mortalem, Pet.; mortale, V, defended by Fletcher (cf. xxviii. 4, 12). potuerit, sugg. by Clark, c.c.; poterit, C. F. W. M.; poterat, V.

11. potuerit, sugg. by Clark, c.c.; poterit, C. F. W. M.; poterat, V.

12. in haec, Clark; ad, C. F. W. M.; ad haec, Novák; cui haec, V.

13. impraepedite, Kellerbauer; inpraepedito, V.

14. et extrema, Pet.; extremaque, G; extrema, V.

15. Tungricanosque, Lind.; Tungritanosque, G; tune grecanosque, V.

16. est, vulgo; et, V.

17. armorum, V; armatorum, Gardt.

18. conflictaretur, Momm.; confrictarentur, V.

19. timeret, Her.; teneretur, E, Haupt; teneret, Momm.; timeretur, V.

20. ignobilium, Bent.; ignobili, BG; sedigno vilia, V.

21. forsitan, V; forsan, vulgo.

22. exiluit, Novák; exivit, EBG; exibi tantoninus, V.

23. ita, Clark; et, Günther; est, V.

Ammianus Marcellinus Res Gestae 26.6

John C. Rolfe (Translator)

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Patria et genus, mores, ac dignitates Procopii; deque eius sub Ioviano latebra: et qua ratione Constantinopoli imperator sit appellatus.

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