CHAPTER 16
Introduction
The siege of Adrianople ended in a asco. After two days of heavy ghting at the cost of many lives, the Goths decided to raise the siege and to use Perinthus as a base for their predatory raids. Defectors, acting as guides, showed them the way to the riches of the region, which they plundered to their hearts’ content (§1). The inhabitants of Adrianople left the city by night and took the imperial treasure with them, in the hope to nd Valens, not knowing that the emperor had fallen during the battle against the Goths (§2). Fritigern persuaded Huns and Alans with promises of huge booty to join forces with the Goths. Together they ravaged the fertile country around Perinthus without meeting any resistance (§3). Since the fabulous wealth of Constantinople was close at hand, the barbarians made this city their next target. Taking all necessary precautions they advanced in force to the metropolis (§4). At that critical moment, however, the godhead intervened by means of a band of Saracen auxiliaries, who had recently arrived in Constantinople. These erce warriors joined battle with the Goths and their allies. Although the actual battle remained undecided, the fanaticism of one Saracen warrior made a stunning impression on the Goths. He plunged into the enemy lines, slit a man’s throat and sucked the blood out of the wound. That frightened the Goths to such a degree that from then on they lost much of their former audacity (§5–6). Moreover, the sight of the huge walls, the enormous dimensions and the density of the population of Constantinople made the barbarians lose heart. They gave up their plans for regular warfare, and decided to restrict themselves to looting in scattered bands throughout the northerly provinces (§7). In the eastern provinces the general Iulius managed to eliminate all the Gothic troops who were stationed there. He ordered their commanders—all of them Romans—to convene the Gothic soldiers on the same day, allegedly in order to pay them their stipendium. When the troops showed up they were killed to a man. Ammianus leaves his readers in no doubt that he considered this a praiseworthy, indeed exemplary action (§8). The events related in this chapter have in common that they ofer the reader some consolation for the disaster at Adrianople as well as some hope for the future. The barbarians had indeed been able to in ict a disastrous 278 commentary
defeat on the Romans, but the realisation that they were unable to capture cities, and were vulnerable when faced with equally or even more fanatical enemies, and with well planned and ruthless actions by Roman army com- manders showed that they were not invincible. Ammianus ends this chapter and with that his entire work, with a short epilogue (§9) in which every word counts. He presents himself with pride as a former o cer, fully quali ed to pass judgment on military matters, whilst at the same time being a cultured man, able to inform his readers on a wide range of topics. He has kept to the laws of historiography in telling the truth without suppressing awkward facts. Finally, he invites historians younger than himself, and erudite like himself, to continue his work in the grand manner.
16.1 Conversi post haec per omne tempus noctis ut aestivae non longum ad vul- nerum curas artesque medendi gentiles reddita luce in varias consiliorum vias diducebantur,quorsum tenderent, ambigentes As it was by now mid-August, the nights were short. About the medical care of the Goths (cf. for gentilis above, ad 31.7.7, p. 129) hardly anything is known. Wolfram, 1988, 114 with n. 501 points to the Gothic word for physician, ‘lekeis’ (cf. Lehmann, 1986, 232 and Köbler, 1989, 359). As was noted ad 20.11.24 imperator in varia sese consilia diducens et versans (p. 278), this is a Vergilianism (A. 5.720 in curas animo diducitur omnis). For the metaphor consilii via, “la via tracciata nel suo progetto” (tr. Viansino), see ad 26.2.11 (p. 57) and for ambigere ad 20.1.2 (p. 6).
multisque dictatis et controversis occupare statuunt Perinthum exindeque— divitiárum reférta docentibus omnia perfugis etiam domorum nedum urbium interna noscentes Elsewhere Amm. uses dictare in the meaning ‘to dictate’, as in 15.1.3 ipse dictando scribendoque propria manu, 15.5.12 longe alia, quam dictarat Silvanus…ascripta. Amm. is fond of intensiva/frequentativa; Blom- gren 172–173. Perinthus, modern Marmara Ereglisi,ˆ was in Antiquity also called Heraclea; Talbert 52 B3. See for this town, conveniently situated at the junction of the via Egnatia and the via militaris, ad 22.2.3 (pp. 13–14) and 27.4.12 (p. 98). Since Amm. writes exindeque ‘and from there’ no fewer than thirteen times, e.g. in §2 of this chapter (pars Philippopolim exindeque Serdicam, alia Macedoniam) it seems prudent to emend V’s exinde quae- in this sense. In view of the actions of the Goths against Constantinople as described in §4, with the reference to the wealth of that city, it is tempting to think that the name of Constantinople has dropped out in the lacuna indicated by Clark