AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS THE LATER ROMAN EMPIRE (A.D. 354-378) Selected and translated by Walter Hamilton with an Introduction and Notes by Andrew Wal/ace-Hadri/1 PENGUIN BOOKS PENGUIN BOOKS Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England Penguin Putnam Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014,USA Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2 Penguin Books India (P) Ltd, II Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi- 110 017, India Penguin Books (NZ) Ltd, Cnr Rosedale and Airborne Roads, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England www.penguin.com This translation first published 1986 18 Translation copyright© Walter Hamilton, 1986 Introduction and Notes copyright© Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, 1986 All rights reserved Printed in England by Clays Ltd, St Ives pic Filmset in Monophoto I0/12pt Ehrhardt Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser BOOK 3 I I. Omens of the de ath of Valens and of the imminent Gothic di saster. Meanwhile a rapid turn of fortune's wheel, which is perpetually alternating adversity and prosperity, was arming Bellona and her attendant Furies and bringing sad calamity upon the East. Its approach was plainly foreshadowed by omens and portents. Besides many true predictions from seers and augurs, dogs howled in answer to wolves, night-birds burst into doleful shrieks, and gloomy dawns dimmed the bright light of morning. At Antioch, where quarrels and riots among the populace were common, it became the habit for anyone who thought himself wronged to shout boldly: 'Burn Valens alive.' Criers could be heard constantly urging people to collect combustibles to set fire to the Baths of Valens, which had been built at the instance of the emperor himself. This indicated almost in so many words the manner of his death. In addition, the ghostly likeness of the king of Armenia and the pathetic shades of the victims in the recent affair of Theodorus made the night hideous with dirge-like howls, and inspired dire terror. A heifer was found lying dead with its throat cut, and this was a sign of widespread misery and death among the public. Lastly, when the old walls of Chalcedon were being taken down to provide material for a bath at Constantinople, the removal of the stone revealed a square block hidden in the fabric, on which were inscribed in Greek the following verses, a clear indication of what was to come: When through the city's street with garlands crowned Fresh maidens whirl rejoicing in the dance, And what was once a city wall shall serve- 0 what a mournful change - to guard a bath, Then countless hordes of men from lands afar Shall cross fair Ister's river, lance in hand, And lay all Scythia and Mysia waste; 410 OMENS OF GOTHIC DISASTER Next on Paeonia turn their mad career, To spread there likewise nought but death and strife. 2. The nature ofthe Huns and Alans. The seed-bed and origin· of all this destruction and of the various calamities inflictedby the wrath of Mars, which raged everywhere with unusual fury, I find to be this. The people of the Huns, who are mentioned only cursorily in ancient writers and who dwell beyond the Sea of Azov (Palus Maeotis) near the frozen ocean, are quite abnormally savage. From the moment of birth they make deep gashes in their children's cheeks, so that when in due course hair appears its growth is checked by the wrinkled scars; as they grow older this gives them the unlovely appearance of beardless eunuchs. They have squat bodies, strong limbs, and thick necks, and are so prodigiously ugly and bent that they might be two-legged animals, or the figures crudely carved from stumps which are seen on the parapets of bridges. Still, their shape, however disagreeable, is human; but their way of life is so rough that they have no use for fire or seasoned food, but live on the roots of wild plants and the half-raw flesh of any sort of animal, which they warm a little by placing it between their thighs and the backs .of their horses. They have no buildings to shelter them, but avoid anything of the kind as carefully as we avoid living in the neighbourhood of tombs; not so much as a hut thatched with reeds is to be found among them. They roam at large over mountains and forests, and are inured from the cradle to cold, hunger, and thirst. On foreign soil only extreme necessity can persuade them to come under a roof, since they believe that it is not safe for them to do so. They wear garments of linen or of the skins of field-mice stitched together, and there is no difference between their clothing whether they are at home or abroad. Once they have put their necks into some dingy shirt they never take it off or change it till it rots and falls to pieces from incessant wear. They have round caps of fur on their heads, and protect their hairy legs with goatskins. Their shapeless shoes are not made on a last and make it hard to walk easily. In consequence they are ill-fitted to fight on foot, and remain glued to their horses, hardy but ugly beasts, on which they sometimes sit like women to perform their everyday business. Buying or selling, eating or drinking, are all done by day or night on horseback, 41 I BOOK 31 2.6 and they even bow forward over their beasts' narrow necks to enjoy a deep and dreamy sleep. When they need to debate some important matter they conduct their conference in the same posture. They are not subject to the authority of any king, but break through any obstacle in their path under the improvised command of their chief men. They sometimes fight by challenging their fo es to single combat, but when they join battle they advance in packs, uttering their various war­ cries. Being lightly equipped and very sudden in their movements they can deliberately scatter and gallop about at random, inflicting tremendous slaughter; their extreme nimbleness enables them to force a rampart or pillage an enemy's camp before one catches sight of them. What makes them the most formidable of all warriors is that they shoot from a distance arrows tipped with sharp splinters of bone instead of the usual heads; these are joined to the shafts with wonderful skill. At close quarters they fight without regard for their lives, and while their opponents are guarding against sword-thrusts they catch their limbs in lassos of twisted cloth which make it impossible for them to ride or walk. None of them ploughs or ever touches a plough-handle. They have no fixed abode, no home or law or settled manner of life, but wander like refugees with the wagons in which they live. In these their wives weave their filthyclothing, mate with their husbands, give birth to their children, and rear them to the age of puberty. No one if asked can tell where he comes from, having been conceived in one place, born somewhere else, and reared even further off. You cannot make a truce with them, because they are quite unreliable and easily swayed by any breath of rumour which promises advantage; like unreasoning beasts they are entirely at the mercy of the maddest impulses. They are totally ignorant of the distinction between right and wrong, their speech is shifty and obscure, and they are under no restraint from religion or superstition. Their greed for gold is prodigious, and they are so fickle and prone to anger that often in a single day they will quarrel with their allies without any provocation, and then make it up again without anyone attempting to reconcile them. This wild race, moving without encumbrances and consumed by a savage passion to pillage the property of others, advanced robbing and slaughtering over the lands of their neighbours till they reached the Alans. The Alans are the ancient Massagetae, and at this point it is relevant to discuss their origin and situation. This is a problem that has 412 2.12 EXCURSUS ON HUNS AND ALANS perplexed geographers, who have, however, after much dis cussi on fo und a re liable soluti on. The Danube, swollen by the waters of a number of tributaries, flows past the territory of the Sarmatians, which extends as fa r as the river Don (Tanais), the boundary between Europe and Asia. Beyond this the Alans inhabit the immense deserts of Scythia, deriving their name fr om the mountains. By repeated victories they gradually wore down the people next to them, and, like the Persians, incorporated them into a single nation bearing their own name. Of these the Nervi occupy the interior of the country near high peaks whose steep sides are fr ozen hard and swept by north winds. Next to them are the savage tribes of the Vidini and Geloni, who flay the skin fr om their dead enemies and make coverings of it for themselves and their chargers.