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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:40:37 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:40:37 -0700 |
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diff --git a/12745-h/12745-h.htm b/12745-h/12745-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4cb0383 --- /dev/null +++ b/12745-h/12745-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,10924 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> +<head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" + content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> + <title>The World's Greatest Books XI</title> + <style type="text/css"> + + body + {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + + p + {text-align: justify;} + + blockquote + {text-align: justify;} + + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 + {text-align: center;} + + hr + {text-align: center; width: 50%;} + + html>body hr + {margin-right: 25%; margin-left: 25%; width: 50%;} + + hr.full + {width: 100%;} + html>body hr.full + {margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 0%; width: 100%;} + + pre + {font-size: 0.7em; color: #000; background-color: #FFF;} + + .poetry + {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 0%; + text-align: left;} + + .footnote + {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; + font-size: 0.9em;} + + .index + {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; + text-align: center;} + + .figure + {margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%; + text-align: center; font-size: 0.8em;} + .figure img + {border: none;} + + .date + {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; + text-align: right;} + + span.rightnote + {position: absolute; left: 92%; right: 1%; + font-size: 0.7em; border-bottom: solid 1px;} + + span.leftnote + {position: absolute; left: 1%; right: 92%; + font-size: 0.7em; border-bottom: solid 1px;} + + span.linenum + {float:right; + text-align: right; font-size: 0.7em;} + </style> +</head> + +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12745 ***</div> + +<center> <h1>THE WORLD'S</h1> <h1>GREATEST</h1> <h1>BOOKS</h1> + +<h2>JOINT EDITORS</h2> + +<h3>ARTHUR MEE</h3> <h3>Editor and Founder of the Book of Knowledge</h3> + +<h3>J.A. HAMMERTON</h3> <h3>Editor of Harmsworth's Universal +Encyclopædia</h3> + +<h2>VOL. XI</h2> + +<h3>ANCIENT HISTORY</h3> <h3>MEDIÆVAL HISTORY</h3> +</center> + +<hr /> + + + + +<h1>Table of Contents</h1> + +<b><a href='#Ancient_History'>ANCIENT HISTORY</a></b><br /> +<br /> + EGYPT<br /> +<br /> + <a +href='#GASTON_MASPERO'>MASPERO, GASTON</a><br /> + <a +href='#The_Dawn_of_Civilisation'>Dawn of Civilization</a><br /> + <a +href='#The_Struggle_of_the_Nations'>Struggle of the Nations</a><br /> + <a +href='#The_Passing_of_the_Empires'>Passing of the Empires</a><br /> +<br /> + JEWS<br /> +<br /> + <a +href='#FLAVIUS_JOSEPHUS'>JOSEPHUS, FLAVIUS</a><br /> + <a +href='#The_Antiquities_of_the_Jews'>Antiquities of the Jews</a><br /> + <a +href='#The_Wars_of_the_Jews'>Wars of the Jews</a><br /> +<br /> + <a +href='#HENRY_MILMAN_DD'>MILMAN, HENRY</a><br /> + <a +href='#History_of_the_Jews'>History of the Jews</a><br /> +<br /> + GREECE<br /> +<br /> + <a +href='#HERODOTUS'>HERODOTUS</a><br /> + <a +href='#History'>History</a><br /> +<br /> + <a +href='#THUCYDIDES'>THUCYDIDES</a><br /> + <a +href='#The_Peloponnesian_War'>Peloponnesian War</a><br /> +<br /> + <a +href='#XENOPHON'>XENOPHON</a><br /> + <a +href='#Anabasis'>Anabasis</a><br /> +<br /> + <a +href='#GEORGE_GROTE'>GROTE, GEORGE</a><br /> + <a +href='#History_of_Greece'>History of Greece</a><br /> +<br /> + <a +href='#HEINRICH_SCHLIEMANN'>SCHLIEMANN, HEINRICH</a><br /> + <a +href='#Troy_and_Its_Remains'>Troy and Its Remains</a><br /> +<br /> + ROME<br /> +<br /> + <a +href='#JULIUS_CAESAR'>CÆSAR, JULIUS</a><br /> + <a +href='#Commentaries_on_the_Gallic_War'>Commentaries on the Gallic +War</a><br /> +<br /> + <a href='#TACITUS'>TACITUS, +PUBLIUS CORNELIUS</a><br /> + <a +href='#Annals'>Annals</a><br /> +<br /> + <a href='#SALLUST'>SALLUST, +CATOS CRISPUS</a><br /> + <a +href='#The_Conspiracy_of_Catiline'>Conspiracy of Catiline</a><br /> +<br /> + <a +href='#EDWARD_GIBBON1'>GIBBON, EDWARD</a><br /> + <a +href='#Decline_and_Fall_of_the_Roman_Empire__I'>Decline and Fall of the +Roman Empire</a><br /> +<br /> + <a +href='#THEODOR_MOMMSEN'>MOMMSEN, THEODOR</a><br /> + <a +href='#History_of_Rome'>History of Rome</a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#Mediaeval_History'>MEDIÆVAL HISTORY</a><br /> +<br /> + HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE<br /> +<br /> + <a +href='#EDWARD_GIBBON2'>GIBBON, EDWARD</a><br /> + <a +href='#The_Holy_Roman_Empire'>The Holy Roman Empire</a><br /> +<br /> + EUROPE<br /> +<br /> + <a +href='#FRANCOIS_GUIZOT'>GUIZOT, F.P.G.</a><br /> + <a +href='#History_of_Civilisation_in_Europe'>History of Civilization in +Europe</a><br /> +<br /> + <a +href='#HENRY_HALLAM'>HALLAM, HENRY</a><br /> + <a +href='#View_of_the_State_of_Europe_During_the_Middle_Ages'>View of the +State of Europe During the Middle Ages</a><br /> +<br /> + EGYPT<br /> +<br /> + <a +href='#STANLEY_LANE_POOLE'>LANE-POOLE, STANLEY</a><br /> + <a +href='#Egypt_in_the_Middle_Ages'>Egypt in the Middle Ages</a><br /> +<br /> + ENGLAND<br /> +<br /> + <a +href='#RAPHAEL_HOLINSHED'>HOLINSHED, RAPHAEL</a><br /> + <a +href='#Chronicles_of_England_Scotland_and_Ireland'>Chronicles of England, +Scotland and Ireland</a><br /> +<br /> + <a +href='#EDWARD_A_FREEMAN'>FREEMAN, E.A.</a><br /> + <a +href='#The_Norman_Conquest_of_England'>Norman Conquest of England</a><br /> +<br /> + <a +href='#JAMES_ANTHONY_FROUDE'>FROUDE, JAMES ANTHONY</a><br /> + <a +href='#History_of_England'>History of England</a><br /> + +<p>A Complete Index of THE WORLD'S GREATEST BOOKS will be found at the end +of Volume XX.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h1>Acknowledgment</h1> + + +<blockquote><p> Acknowledgment and thanks for permitting the use of the +following selections--"The Dawn of Civilisation," "The Struggle of the +Nations" and "The Passing of the Empires," by Gaston Maspero--which appear +in this volume, are hereby tendered to the Society for Promoting Christian +Knowledge, of London, England. </p></blockquote> + +<hr /> + + + + +<h1><a name='Ancient_History'></a>Ancient History</h1> + + +<h2><a name='GASTON_MASPERO'></a>GASTON MASPERO</h2> + + +<h3><a name='The_Dawn_of_Civilisation'></a>The Dawn of Civilisation</h3> + + +<blockquote><p> Gaston Camille Charles Maspero, born on June 23, 1846, in +Paris, is one of the most renowned of European experts in philology and +Egyptology, having in great part studied his special subjects on Oriental +ground. After occupying for several years the Chair of Egyptology in the +École des Hautes Études at the Sorbonne in Paris, he became, +in 1874, Professor of Egyptian Philology and Archæology at the +Collège de France. From 1881 to 1886 he acted in Egypt as director +of the Boulak Museum. It was under his superintendence that this museum +became enriched with its choicest antique treasures. Dr. Maspero retired in +1886, but in 1899 again went to Egypt as Director of Excavations. His works +are of the utmost value, his skill in marshalling facts and deducting +legitimate inferences being unrivalled. His masterpiece is an immense work, +with the general title of "History of the Ancient Peoples of the Classic +East," divided into three parts, each complete in itself: (1) "The Dawn of +Civilisation"; (2) "The Struggle of the Nations"; (3) "The Passing of the +Empires." </p></blockquote> + + +<h4><i>I.--The Nile and Egypt</i></h4> + + +<p>A long, low, level shore, scarcely rising above the sea, a chain of +vaguely defined and ever-shifting lakes and marshes, then the triangular +plain beyond, whose apex is thrust thirty leagues into the land--this, the +Delta of Egypt, has gradually been acquired from the sea, and is, as it +were, the gift of the Nile. Where the Delta ends, Egypt proper begins. It +is only a strip of vegetable mould stretching north and south between +regions of drought and desolation, a prolonged oasis on the banks of the +river, made by the Nile, and sustained by the Nile. The whole length of the +land is shut in by two ranges of hills, roughly parallel at a mean distance +of about twelve miles.</p> + +<p>During the earlier ages the river filled all this intermediate space; +and the sides of the hills, polished, worn, blackened to their very +summits, still bear unmistakable traces of its action. Wasted and shrunken +within the deeps of its own ancient bed, the stream now makes a way through +its own thick deposits of mud. The bulk of its waters keep to the east, and +constitutes the true Nile, the "Great River" of the hieroglyphic +inscriptions. At Khartoum the single channel in which the river flowed +divides, and two other streams are opened up in a southerly direction, each +of them apparently equal in volume to the main stream.</p> + +<p>Which is the true Nile? Is it the Blue Nile, which seems to come down +from the distant mountains? Or is it the White Nile, which has traversed +the immense plains of equatorial Africa? The old Egyptians never knew. The +river kept the secret of its source from them as obstinately as it withheld +it from us until a few years ago. Vainly did their victorious armies follow +the Nile for months together, as they pursued the tribes who dwelt upon its +banks, only to find it as wide, as full, as irresistible in its progress as +ever. It was a fresh-water sea--<i>iauma, ioma</i> was the name by which +they called it. The Egyptians, therefore, never sought its source. It was +said to be of supernatural origin, to rise in Paradise, to traverse burning +regions inaccessible to man, and afterwards to fall into a sea whence it +made its way to Egypt.</p> + +<p>The sea mentioned in all the tales is, perhaps, a less extravagant +invention than we are at first inclined to think. A lake, nearly as large +as the Victoria Nyanza, once covered the marshy plain where the +Bahr-el-Abiad unites with the Sobat and with the Bahr-el-Ghazal. Alluvial +deposits have filled up all but its deepest depression, which is known as +Birket Nu; but in ages preceding our era it must still have been vast +enough to suggest to Egyptian soldiers and boatmen the idea of an actual +sea opening into the Indian Ocean.</p> + +<p>Everything is dependent upon the river--the soil, the produce of the +soil, the species of animals it bears, the birds which it feeds--and hence +it was the Egyptians placed the river among their gods. They personified it +as a man with regular features, and a vigorous but portly body, such as +befits the rich of high lineage. Sometimes water springs from his breast; +sometimes he presents a frog, or libation of vases, or bears a tray full of +offerings of flowers, corn, fish, or geese. The inscriptions call him +"Hapi, father of the gods, lord of sustenance, who maketh food to be, and +covereth the two lands of Egypt with his products; who giveth life, +banisheth want, and filleth the granaries to overflowing."</p> + +<p>He is evolved into two personages, one being sometimes coloured red, the +other blue. The former, who wears a cluster of lotus-flowers on his head, +presides over Egypt of the south; the latter has a bunch of papyrus for his +headdress, and watches over the Delta. Two goddesses, corresponding to the +two Hapis--Mirit Qimait for the Upper, and Mirit-Mihit for the Lower +Egypt--personified the banks of the river. They are represented with +outstretched arms, as though begging for the water that should make them +fertile.</p> + + + +<h4><i>II.--The Gods of Egypt</i></h4> + + +<p>The incredible number of religious scenes to be found represented on the +ancient monuments of Egypt is at first glance very striking. Nearly every +illustration in the works of Egyptologists shows us the figure of some +deity. One would think the country had been inhabited for the most part by +gods, with just enough men and animals to satisfy the requirements of their +worship. Each of these deities represented a function, a moment in the life +of man or of the universe. Thus, Naprit was identified with the ripe ear of +wheat; Maskhonit appeared by the child's cradle at the very moment of its +birth; and Raninit presided over the naming and nurture of the newly +born.</p> + +<p>In penetrating this mysterious world we are confronted by an actual +jumble of gods, many being of foreign origin; and these, with the +indigenous deities, made up nations of gods. This mixed pantheon had its +grades of noble princes and kings, each of its members representing one of +the forces constituting the world. Some appeared in human form; others as +animals; others as combinations of human and animal forms.</p> + +<p>The sky-gods, like the earth-gods, were separated into groups, the one +composed of women: Hathor of Denderah, or Nit of Sais; the other composed +of men identical with Horus, or derived from him: Anhuri-Shu of Sebennytos +and Thinis; Harmerati, or Horus, of the two eyes, at Pharbæthos; +Har-Sapedi, or Horus, of the zodiacal light, in the Wady Tumilat; and, +finally, Harhuditi at Edfu. Ra, the solar disc, was enthroned at +Heliopolis; and sun-gods were numerous among the home deities. Horus the +sun, and Ra the sun-god of Heliopolis, so permeated each other that none +could say where the one began and the other ended.</p> + +<p>Each of the feudal gods representing the sun cherished pretensions to +universal dominion. The goddesses shared in supreme power. Isis was +entitled lady and mistress of Buto, as Hathor was at Denderah, and as Nit +was at Sais. The animal-gods shared omnipotence with those in human form. +Each of the feudal divinities appropriated two companions and formed a +trinity; or, as it is generally called, a triad. Often the local deity was +content with one wife and one son, but often he was united to two +goddesses. The system of triads enhanced, rather than lowered, the prestige +of the feudal gods. The son in a divine triad had of himself but limited +authority. When Isis and Osiris were his parents, he was generally an +infant Horus, whose mother nursed him, offering him her breast. The gods +had body and soul, like men; they had bones, muscles, flesh and blood; they +hungered and thirsted, ate and drank; they had our passions, griefs, joys +and infirmities; and they were subject to age, decrepitude and death, +though they lived very far beyond the term of life of men.</p> + +<p>The <i>sa</i>, a mysterious fluid, circulated through their members, and +carried with it divine vigour; and this they could impart to men, who thus +might become gods. Many of the Pharaohs became deities. The king who wished +to become impregnated with the divine <i>sa</i> sat before the statue of +the god in order that this principle might be infused into him. The gods +were spared none of the anguish and none of the perils which death so +plentifully bestows on men. The gods died; each nome possessed the mummy +and the tomb of its dead deity. At Thinis there was the mummy of Anhuri in +its tomb, at Mendes the mummy of Osiris, at Heliopolis that of Tumu. +Usually, by dying, the god became another deity. Ptah of Memphis became +Sokaris; Uapuaitu, the jackal of Siut, was changed into Anubis. Osiris +first represented the wild and fickle Nile of primitive times; but was soon +transformed into a benefactor to humanity, the supremely good being, +Unnofriu, Onnophris. He was supposed to assume the shapes not only of man, +but of rams and bulls, or even of water-birds, such as lapwings, herons, +and cranes. His companion goddess was Isis, the cow, or woman with cow's +horns, who personified the earth, and was mother of Horus.</p> + +<p>There were countless gods of the people: trees, serpents and family +fetishes. Fine single sycamores, flourishing as if by miracle amid the +sand, were counted divine, and worshipped by Egyptians of all ranks, who +made them offerings of figs, grapes, cucumbers, vegetables and water. The +most famous of them all, the Sycamore of the South, used to be regarded as +the living body of Hathor on earth. Each family possessed gods and +fetishes, which had been pointed out by some fortuitous meeting with an +animal or an object; perhaps by a dream and often by sudden intuition.</p> + + +<h4><i>III.--Legendary History of Egypt</i></h4> + + +<p>The legendary history of Egypt begins with the Heliopolitan Enneads, or +traditions of the divine dynasties of Ra, Shu, Osiris, Sit and Horus. Great +space is taken up with the fabulous history of Ra, the first king of Egypt, +who allows himself to be duped and robbed by Isis, destroys rebellious men, +and ascends to heaven. He dwelt in Heliopolis, where his court was mainly +composed of gods and goddesses. In the morning he went forth in his barque, +amid the acclamations of the crowd, made his accustomed circuit of the +world, and returned to his home at the end of twelve hours after the +journey. In his old age he became the subject of the wiles of Isis, who +poisoned him, and so secured his departure from earth. He was succeeded by +Shu and Sibu, between whom the empire of the universe was divided.</p> + +<p>The fantastic legends concocted by the priests go on to relate how at +length Egypt was civilised by Osiris and Isis. By Osiris the people were +taught agriculture; Isis weaned them from cannibalism. Osiris was slain by +the red-haired and jealous demon, Sit-Typhon, and then Egypt was divided +between Horus and Sit as rivals; and so it consisted henceforth of two +kingdoms, of which one, that of the north, duly recognised Horus, son of +Isis, as its patron deity; the other, that of the south, placed itself +under the supreme protection of Sit-Nubiti, the god of Ombos.</p> + +<p>Elaborate and intricate and hopelessly confused are the fables relating +to the Osirian embalmment, and to the opening of the kingdom of Osiris to +the followers of Horus. Souls did not enter it without examination and +trial, as it is the aim of the famous Book of the Dead to show. Before +gaining access to this paradise each of them had to prove that it had +during earthly life belonged to a friend or to a vassal of Osiris, and had +served Horus in his exile, and had rallied to his banner from the very +beginning of the Typhonian wars.</p> + +<p>To Menes of Thinis tradition ascribes the honour of fusing the two +Egypts into one empire, and of inaugurating the reign of the human +dynasties. But all we know of this first of the Pharaohs, beyond his +existence, is practically nothing, and the stories related of him are mere +legends. The real history of the early centuries eludes our researches. The +history as we have it is divided into three periods: 1. The Memphite +period, which is usually called the "Ancient Empire," from the First to the +Tenth dynasty: kings of Memphite origin were rulers over the whole of Egypt +during the greater part of this epoch. 2. The Theban period, from the +Eleventh to the Twentieth dynasty. It is divided into two parts by the +invasion of the Shepherds (Sixteenth dynasty). 3. Saite period, from the +Twenty-first to the Thirtieth dynasty, divided again into two parts by the +Persian Conquest, the first Saite period, from the Twenty-first to the +Twenty-sixth dynasty; the second Saite Period, from the Twenty-eighth to +the Thirtieth dynasty.</p> + + +<h4><i>IV.--Political Constitution of Egypt</i></h4> + + +<p>Between the Fayum and the apex of the Delta, the Libyan range expands +and forms a vast and slightly undulating table-land, which runs parallel to +the Nile for nearly thirty leagues. The great Sphinx Harmakhis has mounted +guard over its northern extremity ever since the time of the followers of +Horus. In later times, a chapel of alabaster and rose granite was erected +alongside the god; temples were built here and there in the more accessible +places, and round these were grouped the tombs of the whole country. The +bodies of the common people, usually naked and uncoffined, were thrust into +the sand at a depth of barely three feet from the surface. Those of the +better class rested in mean rectangular chambers, hastily built of yellow +bricks, without ornaments or treasures; a few vessels, however, of coarse +pottery contained the provisions left to nourish the departed during the +period of his existence. Some of the wealthy class had their tombs cut out +of the mountain-side; but the great majority preferred an isolated tomb, a +"mastaba," comprised of a chapel above ground, a shaft, and some +subterranean vaults.</p> + +<p>During the course of centuries, the ever-increasing number of tombs +formed an almost uninterrupted chain, are rich in inscriptions, statues, +and in painted or sculptured scenes, and from the womb, as it were, of +these cemeteries, the Egypt of the Memphite dynasties gradually takes new +life and reappears in the full daylight of history. The king stands out +boldly in the foreground, and his tall figure towers over all else. He is +god to his subjects, who call him "the good-god," and "the great-god," +connecting him with Ra through the intervening kings. So the Pharaohs are +blood relations of the sun-god, the "divine double" being infused into the +royal infant at birth.</p> + +<p>The monuments throw full light on the supernatural character of the +Pharaohs in general, but tell us little of the individual disposition of +any king in particular, or of their everyday life. The royal family was +very numerous. At least one of the many women of the harem received the +title of "great spouse," or queen. Her union with the god-king rendered her +a goddess. Children swarmed in the palace, as in the houses of private +citizens, and they were constantly jealous of each other, having no bond of +union except common hatred of the son whom the chances of birth had +destined to be their ruler.</p> + +<p>Highly complex degrees of rank are revealed to us on the monuments of +the people who immediately surrounded the Pharaoh. His person was, as it +were, minutely subdivided into compartments, each requiring its attendants +and their appointed chiefs. His toilet alone gave employment to a score of +different trades. The guardianship of the crowns almost approached the +dignity of a priesthood, for was not the urseus, which adorned each one, a +living goddess? Troops of musicians, singers, dancers, buffoons and dwarfs +whiled away the tedious hours. Many were the physicians, chaplains, +soothsayers and magicians. But vast indeed was the army of officials +connected with the administration of public affairs. The mainspring of all +this machinery was the writer, or, as we call him, the scribe, across whom +we come in all grades of the staff.</p> + +<p>The title of scribe was of no particular value in itself, for everyone +was a scribe who knew how to read and write, was fairly proficient in +wording the administrative formulas, and could easily apply the elementary +rules of book-keeping. "One has only to be a scribe, for the scribe takes +the lead of all," said the wise man. Sometimes, however, a talented scribe +rose to a high position, like the Amten, whose tomb was removed to Berlin +by Lepsius, and who became a favourite of the king and was ennobled.</p> + + +<h4><i>V.--The Memphite Empire</i></h4> + + +<p>At that time "the Majesty of King Huni died, and the Majesty of King +Snofrui arose to be a sovereign benefactor over this whole earth." All we +know of him is contained in one sentence: he fought against the nomads of +Sinai, constructed fortresses to protect the eastern frontier of the Delta, +and made for himself a tomb in the form of a pyramid. Snofrui called the +pyramid "Kha," the Rising, the place where the dead Pharaoh, identified +with the sun, is raised above the world for ever. It was built to indicate +the place in which lies a prince, chief, or person of rank in his tribe or +province. The worship of Snofrui, the first pyramid-builders, was +perpetuated from century to century. His popularity was probably great; but +his fame has been eclipsed in our eyes by that of the Pharaohs of the +Memphite dynasty who immediately followed him--Kheops, Khephren and +Mykerinos.</p> + +<p>Khufui, the Kheops of the Greeks, was probably son of Snofrui. He +reigned twenty-three years, successfully defended the valuable mines of +copper, manganese and turquoise of the Sinaitic peninsula against the +Bedouin; restored the temple of Hathor at Dendera; embellished that of +Babastis; built a sanctuary to the Isis of the Sphinx; and consecrated +there gold, silver and bronze statues of Horus and many other gods. Other +Pharaohs had done as much or more; but the Egyptians of later dynasties +measured the magnificence of Kheops by the dimensions of his pyramid at +Ghizel. The Great Pyramid was called Khuit, the "Horizon," in which Kheops +had to be swallowed up, as his father, the sun, was engulfed every evening +in the horizon of the west. Of Dadufri, his immediate successor, we can +probably say that he reigned eight years; but Khephren, the next son who +succeeded to the throne, erected temples and a gigantic pyramid, like his +father. He placed it some 394 feet to the south-west of that of Kheops, and +called it Uiru the Great. It is much smaller than its neighbour, but at a +distance the difference in height disappears. The pyramid of Mykerinos, son +and successor of Khephren, was considerably inferior in height, but was +built with scrupulous art and refined care.</p> + +<p>The Fifth dynasty manifested itself in every respect as the sequel and +complement of the Fourth. It reckons nine Pharaohs, who reigned for a +century and a half, and each of them built pyramids and founded cities, and +appear to have ruled gloriously. They maintained, and even increased, the +power and splendour of Egypt. But the history of the Memphite Empire +unfortunately loses itself in legend and fable, and becomes a blank for +several centuries.</p> + + +<h4><i>VI.--The First Theban Empire</i></h4> + + +<p>The principality of the Oleander--Naru--comprised the territory lying +between the Nile and the Bahr Yusuf, a district known to the Greeks as the +island of Heracleopolis. It, moreover, included the whole basin of the +Fayum, on the west of the valley. Attracted by the fertility of the soil, +the Pharaohs of the older dynasties had from time to time taken up their +residence in Heracleopolis, the capital of the district of the Oleander, +and one of them, Snofrui, had built his pyramid at Medum, close to the +frontier of the nome. In proportion as the power of the Memphites declined, +so did the princes of the Oleander grow more vigorous and enterprising; and +When the Memphite kings passed away, these princes succeeded their former +masters and eventually sat "upon the throne of Horus."</p> + +<p>The founder of the Ninth dynasty was perhaps Khiti I., who ruled over +all Egypt, and whose name has been found on rocks at the first cataract. +His successors seem to have reigned ingloriously for more than a century. +The history of this period seems to have been one of confused struggle, the +Pharaohs fighting constantly against their vassals, and the nobles warring +amongst themselves. During the Memphite and Heracleopolitan dynasties +Memphis, Elephantiné, El-Kab and Koptos were the principal cities of +the country; and it was only towards the end of the Eighth dynasty that +Thebes began to realise its power. The revolt of the Theban. princes put an +end to the Ninth dynasty; and though supported by the feudal powers of +Central and Northern Egypt, the Tenth dynasty did not succeed in bringing +them back to their allegiance, and after a struggle of nearly 200 years the +Thebans triumphed and brought the two divisions of Egypt under their +rule.</p> + +<p>The few glimpses to be obtained of the early history of the first Theban +dynasty give the impression of an energetic and intelligent race. The kings +of the Eleventh dynasty were careful not to wander too far from the valley +of the Nile, concentrating their efforts not on conquest of fresh +territory, but on the remedy of the evils from which the country had +suffered for hundreds of years. The final overthrow of the Heracleopolitan +dynasty, and the union of the two kingdoms under the rule of the Theban +house, are supposed to have been the work of that Monthotpu, whose name the +Egyptians of Rameside times inscribed in the royal lists as that of the +founder and most illustrious representative of the Eleventh dynasty.</p> + +<p>The leader of the Twelfth dynasty, Amenemhait I., was of another stamp, +showing himself to be a Pharaoh conscious of his own divinity and +determined to assert it. He inspected the whole land, restored what he +found in ruins, crushed crime, settled the bounds of towns, and established +for each its frontiers. Recognising that Thebes lay too far south to be a +suitable place of residence for the lord of all Egypt, Amenemhait proceeded +to establish himself in the heart of the country in imitation of the +glorious Pharaohs from whom he claimed descent. He took up his abode a +little to the south of Dashur, in the palace of Titoui. Having restored +peace to his country, the king in the twentieth year of his reign, when he +was growing old, raised his son Usirtasen, then very young, to the +co-regency with himself.</p> + +<p>When, ten years later, the old king died, his son was engaged in a war +against the Libyans. He reigned alone for thirty-two years. The Twelfth +dynasty lasted 213 years; and its history can be ascertained with greater +certainty and completeness than that of any other dynasty which ruled +Egypt, although we are far from having any adequate idea of its great +achievements, for unfortunately the biographies of its eight sovereigns and +the details of their interminable wars are very imperfectly known.</p> + +<p>Uncertainty again shrouds the history of the country after the reign of +Sovkhoptu I. The Twentieth dynasty contained, so it is said, sixty kings, +who reigned for a period of over 453 years. The Nofirhoptus and Sovkhoptus +continued to all appearances both at home and abroad the work so ably begun +by the Amenemhaits and the Usirtasens.</p> + +<p>During the Thirteenth dynasty art and everything else in Egypt were +fairly prosperous, but wealth exercised an injurious effect on artistic +taste. During this dynasty we hear nothing of the inhabitants of the +Sinaitic Peninsula to the east, or of the Libyans to the west; it was in +the south, in Ethiopia, that the Pharaohs expended all their superfluous +energy. The middle basin of the Nile as far as Gebel-Barkal was soon +incorporated with Egypt, and the population became quickly assimilated. +Sovkhoptu III., who erected colossal statues of himself at Tanis, Bubastis +and Thebes, was undisputed master of the whole Nile valley, from near the +spot where it receives its last tributary to where it empties itself into +the sea. The making of Egypt was finally accomplished in his time. The +Fourteenth dynasty, however, consists of a line of seventy-five kings, +whose mutilated names appear on the Turin Papyrus. These shadowy Pharaohs +followed each other in rapid sequence, some reigning only a few months, +others for certainly not more than two and three years.</p> + +<p>Meantime, during what appears to have been an era of rivalries between +pretenders, mutually jealous of and deposing one another, usurpers in +succession seizing the crown without strength to keep it, the feudal lords +displayed more than their old restlessness. The nomad tribes began to show +growing hostility on the frontier, and the peoples of the Tigris and +Euphrates were already pushing their vanguards into Central Syria. While +Egypt had been bringing the valley of the Nile and the eastern corner of +Africa into subjection, Chaldæa had imposed not only language and +habits, but also her laws upon the whole of that part of Eastern Asia which +separated her from Egypt. Thus the time was rapidly approaching when these +two great civilised powers of the ancient world would meet each other face +to face and come into fierce and terrible collision.</p> + + +<h4><i>VII.--Ancient Chaldæa</i></h4> + + +<p>The Chaldæan account of Genesis is contained on fragments of +tablets discovered and deciphered in 1875 by George Smith. These tell +legends of the time when "nothing which was called heaven existed above, +and when nothing below had as yet received the name of earth. Apsu, the +Ocean, who was their first father, and Chaos-Tiamat, who gave birth to them +all, mingled their waters in one, reeds which were not united, rushes which +bore no fruit. In the time when the gods were not created, Lakhmu and +Lakhamu were the first to appear and waxed great for ages."</p> + +<p>Then came Anu, the sunlit sky by day, the starlit firmament by night; +Inlil-Bel, the king of the earth; Ea, the sovereign of the waters and the +personification of wisdom. Each of them duplicated himself, Anu into Anat, +Bel into Belit, Ea into Damkina, and united himself to the spouse whom he +had produced from himself. Other divinities sprang from these fruitful +pairs, and, the impulse once given, the world was rapidly peopled by their +descendants. Sin, Samash and Ramman, who presided respectively over the +sun, moon and air, were all three of equal rank; next came the lords of the +planets, Ninib, Merodach, Nergal, Ishtar, the warrior-goddess, and Nebo; +then a whole army of lesser deities who ranged themselves around Anu as +around a supreme master.</p> + +<p>Discord arose. The first great battle of the gods was between Tiamat and +Merodach. In this fearful conflict Tiamat was destroyed. Splitting her body +into halves, the conqueror hung up one on high, and this became the +heavens; the other he spread out under his feet to form the earth, and made +the universe as men have known it. Merodach regulated the movements of the +sun and divided the year into twelve months.</p> + +<p>The heavens having been put in order, he set about peopling the earth. +Many such fables concerning the cosmogony were current among the races of +the lower Euphrates, who seem to have belonged to three different types. +The most important were the Semites, who spoke a dialect akin to Armenian, +Hebrew and Phoenician. Side by side with these the monuments give evidence +of a race of ill-defined character, whom we provisionally call Sumerians, +who came, it is said, from some northern country, and brought with them a +curious system of writing which, adopted by ten different nations, has +preserved for us all that we know in regard to the majority of the empires +which rose and fell in Western Asia before the Persian conquest. The cities +of these Semites and Sumerians were divided into two groups, one in the +south, near the sea, the other more to the north, where the Euphrates and +the Tigris are separated by a narrow strip of land. The southern group +consisted of seven, Eridu lying nearest the coast. Uru was the most +important. Lagash was to the north of Eridu. The northern group consisted +of Nipur, "the incomparable," Borsip, Babylon (gate of the god and +residence of life, the only metropolis of the Euphrates region of which +posterity never lost reminiscence), Kishu, Kuta, Agade, and, lastly, the +two Sipparas, that of Shamash, and that of Annuit.</p> + +<p>The earliest Chaldæan civilisation was confined almost to the +banks of the lower Euphrates; except at the northern boundary it did not +reach the Tigris and did not cross the river. Separated from the rest of +the world, on the east by the vast marshes bordering on the river, on the +north by the Mesopotamian table-land, on the west by the Arabian desert, it +was able to develop its civilisation as Egypt had done, in an isolated +area, and to follow out its destiny in peace.</p> + +<p>According to Ferossasi the first king was Aloros of Babylon. He was +chosen by the god Oannes, and reigned supernaturally for ten sari, or +36,000 years, each saros being 3,600 years. Nine kings follow, each in this +mythical record reigning an enormous period. Then took place the great +deluge, 691,000 years after the creation, in consequence of the wickedness +of men, who neglected the worship of the gods, and excited their wrath. +Shamashnapishtim, king at this time in Shurippak, was saved miraculously in +a great ship. Concerning him and his voyage strange fables are recorded. +After the deluge, 86 kings ruled during 34,080 years. One of these was +Nimrod, the mighty hunter of the Bible, who appears as Gilgamesh, King of +Uruk, and is the hero of extraordinary adventures.</p> + +<p>History proper begins with Sargon the Elder, king at the first in Agade, +who soon annexed Babylon, Sippara, Kishu, Uruk, Kuta and Nipur. His +brilliant career was like an anticipation of that of the still more +glorious life of Sargon of Nineveh. His son, Naramsin, succeeded him about +3750 B.C. He conquered Elam and was a great builder. After him the most +famous king of that epoch was Gudea, of Lagash, the prince of whom we +possess the greatest number of monuments. But in these records we have but +the dust of history rather than history itself. The materials are scanty in +the extreme and the framework also is wanting.</p> + + +<h4><i>VIII.--The Temples and the Gods of Chaldæa</i></h4> + + +<p>The cities of the Euphrates attract no attention, like those of Egypt, +by the magnificence of their ruins. They are merely heaps of rubbish in +which no architectural outline can be traced--mounds of stiff greyish clay, +containing the remains of the vast structures that were built of bricks set +in mortar or bitumen. Stone was not used as in Egypt. While the Egyptian +temple was spread superficially over a large area, the Chaldæan +temple strove to attain as high an elevation as possible. These "ziggurats" +were composed of several immense cubes piled up on one another, and +diminishing in size up to the small shrine by which they were crowned, and +wherein the god himself was supposed to dwell.</p> + +<p>The gods of the Euphrates, like those of the Nile, constituted a +countless multitude of visible and invisible beings, distributed into +tribes and empires throughout all the regions of the universe; but, whereas +in Egypt they were, on the whole, friendly to man, in Chaldæa they +for the most part pursued him with an implacable hatred, and only seemed to +exist in order to destroy him. Whether Semite or Sumerian, the gods, like +those of Egypt, were not abstract personages, but each contained in himself +one of the principal elements of which our universe is composed--earth, +air, sky, sun, moon and stars. The state religion, which all the +inhabitants of the same city were solemnly bound to observe, included some +dozen gods, but the private devotion of individuals supplemented this cult +by vast additions, each family possessing its own household gods.</p> + +<p>Animals never became objects of worship as in Egypt; some of them, +however, as the bull and the lion, were closely allied to the gods. If the +idea of uniting all these gods into a single supreme one ever crossed the +mind of a Chaldæan theologian, it never spread to the people as a +whole. Among all the thousands of tablets or inscribed stones on which we +find recorded prayers, we have as yet discovered no document containing the +faintest allusion to a divine unity. The temples were miniature +reproductions of the arrangements of the universe. The "ziggurat" +represented in its form the mountain of the world, and the halls ranged at +its feet resembled approximately the accessory parts of the world; the +temple of Merodach at Babylon comprised them all up to the chambers of +fate, where the sun received every morning the tablets of destiny.</p> + +<p>Every individual was placed, from the very moment of his birth, under +the protection of a god or goddess, of whom he was the servant, or rather +the son. These deities accompanied him by day and by night to guard him +from the evil genii ready to attack him on every side. The Chaldæans +had not such clear ideas as to what awaited them in the other world as the +Egyptians possessed.</p> + +<p>The Chaldæan hades is a dark country surrounded by seven high +walls, and is approached by seven gates, each guarded by a pitiless warder. +Two deities rule within it--Nergal, "the lord of the great city," and +Peltis-Allat, "the lady of the great land," whither everything which has +breathed in this world descends after death. A legend relates that Allat +reigned alone in hades and was invited by the gods to a feast which they +had prepared in heaven. Owing to her hatred of the light she refused, +sending a message by her servant, Namtar, who acquitted himself, with such +a bad grace, that Anu and Ea were incensed against his mistress, and +commissioned Nergal to chastise her. He went, and finding the gates of hell +open, dragged the queen by her hair from the throne, and was about to +decapitate her, but she mollified him by her prayers and saved her life by +becoming his wife.</p> + +<p>The nature of Nergal fitted him well to play the part of a prince of the +departed; for he was the destroying sun of summer, and the genius of +pestilence and battle. His functions in heaven and earth took up so much of +his time that he had little leisure to visit his nether kingdom, and he was +consequently obliged to content himself with the rôle of providing +subjects for it by dispatching thither the thousands of recruits which he +gathered daily from the abodes of men or from the field of battle.</p> + + +<h4><i>IX.--Chaldæan Civilisation</i></h4> + + +<p>The Chaldæan kings, unlike their contemporaries, the Pharaohs, +rarely put forward any pretension to divinity. They contented themselves +with occupying an intermediate position between their subjects and the +gods. While the ordinary priest chose for himself a single deity as master, +the priest-king exercised universal sacerdotal functions. He officiated for +Merodach here below, and the scrupulously minute devotions daily occupied +many hours. On great days of festival or sacrifice they laid aside all +insignia of royalty and were clad as ordinary priests.</p> + +<p>Women do not seem to have been honoured in the Euphratean regions as in +Egypt, where the wives of the sovereign were invested with that semi-sacred +character that led the women to be associated with the devotions of the +man, and made them indispensable auxiliaries in all religious ceremonies. +Whereas the monuments on the banks of the Nile reveal to us princesses +sharing the throne of their husbands, whom they embrace with a gesture of +frank affection, in Chaldæa, the wives of the prince, his mother, +sisters, daughters and even his slaves, remain absolutely invisible to +posterity. The harem in which they were shut up by force of custom rarely, +if ever, opened its doors; the people seldom caught sight of them; and we +could count on our fingers the number of these whom the inscriptions +mention by name.</p> + +<p>Life was not so pleasant in Chaldæa as in Egypt. The innumerable +promissory notes, the receipted accounts, the contracts of sale and +purchase--these cunningly drawn-up deeds which have been deciphered by the +hundred, reveal to us a people greedy of gain, exacting, litigious, and +almost exclusively absorbed in material concerns. The climate, too, +variable and oppressive in summer and winter alike, imposed on the +Chaldæan painful exactions, and obliged him to work with an energy of +which the majority of Egyptians would not have felt themselves capable. And +the plague of usury raged with equal violence in city and country.</p> + +<p>In proportion, however, as we are able to bring this wonderful +civilisation to light we become more and more conscious that we have indeed +little or nothing in common with it. Its laws, customs, habits and +character, its methods of action and its modes of thought, are so far apart +from those of the present day that they seem to belong to a humanity +utterly different from our own. It thus happens that while we understand to +a shade the classical language of the Greeks and of the Romans, and can +read their works almost without effort, the great primitive literatures of +the world, the Egyptian and Chaldæan, have nothing to offer us for +the most part but a sequence of problems to solve or of enigmas to unriddle +with patience.</p> + +<hr /> + + + + +<h3><a name='The_Struggle_of_the_Nations'></a>The Struggle of the +Nations</h3> + + +<blockquote><p> Maspero in this work gives us the second volume of his +great historical trilogy. He shows in parallel views the part played in the +history of the ancient world by the first Chaldæan Empire, by Syria, +by the Hyksos, or shepherd kings, of Egypt, and by the first Cossæan +kings who established the greatness of Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire. The +great Theban dynasty is then exhibited in its romantic rise under the +Pharaohs. Maspero writes not as a mere chronicler or reciter of events, but +as a philosophical historian. He makes the reader understand how fatally +the chronic militarism of these competing empires drained each of its +manhood and brought Babylon and Assyria simultaneously into a hopeless +condition of national anæmia. Equally pathetic is the picture drawn +of the gradual but sure decay of the grand empire of the Pharaohs. Maspero, +with masterly skill, passes a processional of these despots before our +eyes. </p></blockquote> + + +<h4><i>I.--The Chaldæan Empire and the Hyksos</i></h4> + + +<p>Some countries seem destined from their origin to become the +battlefields of the contending nations which environ them. Into such +regions neighbouring peoples come to settle their quarrels, and bit by bit +they appropriate it, so that at best the only course open to the +inhabitants is to join forces with one of the invaders. From remote +antiquity this was the experience of Syria, which was thus destined to +become subject to foreign rule. Chaldæa, Egypt, Assyria and Persia in +turn presided over its destinies. Semites dwelt in the south and the +centre, while colonies from beyond the Taurus occupied the north. The +influence of Egypt never penetrated beyond the provinces lying nearest the +Dead Sea. The remaining populations looked rather to Chaldæa, and +received the continuous impress of the kingdoms of the Euphrates.</p> + +<p>The lords of Babylon had, ordinarily, a twofold function, the priest at +first taking precedence of the soldier, but gradually yielding to the +latter as the city increased in power. Each ruler was obliged to go in +state to the temple of Bel Merodach within a year of his accession, there +to do homage to the divine statue. The long lists of early kings contain +semi-legendary names, including those of mythical heroes. Towards the end +of the twenty-fifth century, however, before the Christian era, a dynasty +arose of which all the members come within the range of history.</p> + +<p>The first of these kings, Sumuabim, has left us some contracts bearing +the dates of one or other of the fifteen years of his reign. Of the ten +kings who followed during the period embraced between the years 2416 B.C. +and 2112 B.C., the one who ruled for the longest term was the. famous and +fortunate Khammurabi (son of Sinmuballit), who was on the throne for +fifty-five years.</p> + +<p>While thus the first Chaldean Empire was being established, Egypt, +separated from her confines only by a narrow isthmus, loomed on the +horizon, and appeared to beckon to her rival. But she had strangely +declined from her former greatness, and had been attacked and subdued by +invaders appearing like a cloud of locusts on the banks of the Nile, to +whom was applied the name Hiq Shausu, from which the Greeks derived the +term Hyksos for this people. Modern scholars have put forward many +conflicting hypotheses as to the identity of this race of conquerors. The +monuments represent them with the Mongoloid type of feature. The problem +remains unsolved, and the origin of the Hyksos is as mysterious as +ever.</p> + +<p>About this time took place that entrance into Egypt of the Beni-Isræl, +or Isrælites, which has since acquired a unique position in the world's +history. A comparatively ancient tradition relates that the Hebrews arrived +in Egypt during the reign of Aphobis, a Hyksos king, doubtless one of the +Apopi. The Hyksos were ousted by a hero named Ahmosis after a war of five +years. The XVIIIth Dynasty was inaugurated by the Pharaohs, whose policy +was so aggressive that Egypt, attacked by enemies from various quarters, +and roused, as it were, to warlike frenzy, hurled her armies across all her +frontiers simultaneously, and her sudden appearance in the heart of Syria +gave a new turn to human history. The isolation of the kingdoms of the +ancient world was at an end; and the conflict of the nations was about to +begin.</p> + + +<h4><i>II.--Beginning of the Egyptian Conquest</i></h4> + + +<p>The Egyptians had no need to anticipate Chaldæan interference +when, forsaking their ancient traditions, they penetrated for the first +time into the heart of Syria. Babylonian rule ceased to exercise direct +control when the line of sovereigns who had introduced it disappeared. When +Ammisatana died, about the year 2099 B.C., the dynasty of Khammurabi became +extinct, and kings of the semi-barbarous Cossæan race gained the +throne which had been occupied since the days of Khammurabi by +Chaldæans of the ancient stock.</p> + +<p>The Cossæan king who seized on Babylon was named Gandish. He and +his tribe came from the mountainous regions of Zagros, on the borders of +Media. The Cossæan rule over the countries of the Euphrates was +doubtless similar in its beginnings to that which the Hyksos exercised at +first over the nomes of Egypt. The Cossæan kings did not merely bring +with them their army, but their whole nation, who spread over the whole +land. As in the case of the Hyksos, the barbarian conquerors thus became +merged in the more civilised people which they had subdued. But the +successors of Gandish were unable permanently to retain their ascendancy +over all the districts and provinces, and several of these withdrew their +allegiance. Thus in Syria the authority of Babylon was no longer supreme +when the encroachments of Egypt began, and when Thutmosis entered the +region the native levies which he encountered were by no means +formidable.</p> + +<p>The whole country consisted of a collection of petty states, a complex +group of peoples and territories which the Egyptians themselves never +completely succeeded in disentangling. We are, however, able to distinguish +at the present time several of these groups, all belonging to the same +family, but possessing different characteristics--the kinsfolk of the +Hebrews, the children of Ishmæl and Edom, the Moabites and Ammonites, the +Arameans, the Khati and the Canaanites. The Canaanites were the most +numerous, and had they been able to confederate under a single king, it +would have been impossible for the Egyptians to have broken through the +barrier thus raised between them and the rest of Asia.</p> + + +<h4><i>III.--The Eighteenth Theban Dynasty</i></h4> + + +<p>The account of the first expedition undertaken by Thutmosis I. in Asia, +a region at that time new to the Egyptians, would be interesting if we +could lay our hands on it. We know that this king succeeded in reaching on +his first campaign a limit which none of his successors was able to +surpass. The results of the campaign were of a decisive character, for +Southern Syria accepted its defeat, and Gaza was garrisoned as the secure +door of Asia for future invasions. Freed from anxiety in this quarter, +Pharaoh gave his whole time to the consolidation of his power in Ethiopia, +where rebellion had become rife. Subduing this southern region and thus +extending the supremacy of Egypt in the regions of the upper Nile, +Thutmosis was able to end his days in the enjoyment of profound peace. +Thutmosis II. did not long survive him. His chief wife, Queen Hatshopsitu, +reigned for many years with great ability while the new Pharaoh, Thutmosis +III., was still a youth.</p> + +<p>After the death of Hatshopsitu, the young Pharaoh set out with his army. +It was at the beginning of the twenty-fourth year of his reign that he +reached Gaza. Marching forward he reached the spurs of Mount Carmel and won +a decisive victory at Megiddo over the allied Syrian princes. The +inscriptions at Karnak contain long lists of the titles of the king's +Syrian subjects. The Pharaoh had now no inclination to lay down his arms, +and we have a record of twelve military expeditions of this king. When the +Syrian conquest had been effected, Egypt gave permanency to its results by +means of a series of international decrees, which established the +constitution of her empire, and brought about her concerted action with the +Asiatic powers. She had already occupied an important position among them +when Thutmosis III. died in the fifty-fifth year of his reign.</p> + +<p>Of his successors the most prosperous was the renowned Amenothes III., +who is immortalised by the wonderful monumental relics of his long and +peaceful reign. Amenothes devoted immense energy to the building of +temples, palaces and shrines, and gave very little of his time to war.</p> + + +<h4><i>IV.--The Last Days of the Theban Empire</i></h4> + + +<p>When the male line failed, there was no lack of princesses in Egypt, of +whom any one who happened to come to the throne might choose a consort +after her own heart, and thus become the founder of a new dynasty. By such +a chance alliance Harmhabi, himself a descendant of Thutmosis III., was +raised to the kingly office as first Pharaoh of the XIXth Dynasty. He +displayed great activity both within Egypt and beyond it, conducting mighty +building enterprises and also undertaking expeditions against recalcitrant +tribes along the Upper Nile.</p> + +<p>Rameses I., who succeeded Harmhabi, was already an old man at his +accession. He reigned only six or seven years, and associated his son, Seti +I., with himself in the government from his second year of power. No sooner +had Seti celebrated his father's obsequies than he set out for war against +Southern Syria, then in open revolt. He captured Hebron, marched to Gaza, +and then northward to Lebanon, where he received the homage of the +Phoenicians, and returned in triumph to Egypt, bringing troops of +captives.</p> + +<p>By Seti I. were built the most wonderful of the halls at Karaak and +Luxor, which render his name for ever illustrious. He associated with him +his son, still very young, who became renowned as Ramses II., one of the +greatest warriors and builders amongst all the rulers of Egypt The +monuments and temples erected by this king also are among the wonders of +the world. He married a Hittite princess when he was more than sixty. This +alliance secured a long period of peace and prosperity. Syria once more +breathed freely, her commerce being under the combined protection of the +two Powers who shared her territory.</p> + +<p>Ramses II. was, in his youth, the handsomest man of his time, and old +age and death did not succeed in marring his face sufficiently to disfigure +it, as may be seen in his mummy to-day. Ramses the Great, who was thus the +glory of the XIXth Dynasty, reigned sixty-eight years, and lived to the age +of 100, when he passed away peacefully at Thebes. Under his successors, +Minephtah, Seti II., Amenemis and Siphtah, the nation became decadent, +though there were transient gleams of prosperity, as when Minephtah won a +great victory over the Libyans. But after the death of Siphtah, there were +many claimants for the Crown, and anarchy prevailed from one end of the +Nile valley to the other.</p> + + +<h4><i>V.--The Rise of the Assyrian Empire</i></h4> + + +<p>Ramses III., a descendant of Ramses II., was the founder of the last +dynasty which was able to retain the supremacy of Egypt over the Oriental +world. He took for his hero Ramses the Great, and endeavoured to rival him +in everything, and for a period the imperial power revived. In the fifth +year of his reign he was able to repulse the confederated Libyans with +complete success. Victories over other enemies followed, and also peace and +prosperity.</p> + +<p>The cessation of Egyptian authority over those countries in which it had +so long prevailed did not at once do away with the deep impression it had +made on their constitution and customs. Syria and Phoenicia had become, as +it were, covered with an African veneer, both religion and language being +affected by Egyptian influence. But the Phoenicians became absorbed in +commercial pursuits, and failed to aspire to the inheritance which the +Egyptians were letting slip. Coeval with the decline of the power of the +latter was that of the Hittites.</p> + +<p>The Babylonian Empire likewise degenerated under the Cossæan +kings, and gave way to the ascendancy of Assyria, which came to regard +Babylon with deadly hatred. The capitals of the two countries were not more +than 185 miles apart. The line of demarcation followed one of the many +canals between the Tigris and Euphrates. It then crossed the Tigris and was +formed by one of the rivers draining the Iranian table-land--the Upper Zab, +the Radanu, or the Turnat. Each of the two states strove by every means in +its power to stretch its boundary to the farthest limits, and the narrow +area was the scene of continual war.</p> + +<p>Assyria was but a poor and insignificant country when compared with that +of her rival. She occupied, on each side of the middle course of the +Tigris, the territory lying between the 35th and 37th parallels of +latitude. This was a compact and healthy district, well watered by the +streams running from the Iranian plateau, which were regulated by a network +of canals and ditches for irrigation of the whole region. The provinces +thus supplied with water enjoyed a fertility which passed into a proverb. +Thus Assyria was favoured by nature, but she was not well wooded. The most +important of the cities were Assur, Arbeles, Kalakh and Nineveh.</p> + +<p>Assur, dedicated to the deity from which it took its name, placed on the +very edge of the Mesopotamian desert, with the Tigris behind it, was, +during the struggle with the Chaldæan power, exposed to the attacks +of the Babylonian armies; while Nineveh, entrenched behind the Tigris and +the Zab, was secure from any sudden assault. Thus it became the custom for +the kings to pass at Nineveh the trying months of the year, though Assur +remained the official capital and chief sanctuary of the empire, which +began its aggrandisement under Assurballit, by his victory over the +Cossæan kings of Babylon. But the heroic age comes before us in the +career of Shalmaneser I., a powerful sovereign who in a few years doubled +the extent of his dominions. He beautified Assur, but removed his court to +Kalakh. His son, Tukulti-ninip I., made himself master of Babylon, and was +the first of his race who was able to assume the title of King of Sumir and +Akkad.</p> + +<p>This first conquest of Chaldæa did not produce lasting results, for the +sons of the hero fought each other for the Crown, and Assyria became the +scene of civil wars. The fortunes of Babylon rose again, but the depression +of Assyria did not last long. Nineveh had become the metropolis. Confusion +was increased in the whole of this vast region of Asia by the invasion and +partial triumph of the Elamites over Babylon. But these were driven back +when Nebuchadrezzar arose in Babylon. To Merodach he prayed, and "his +prayer was heard," and he invaded Elam, taking its king by surprise and +defeating him.</p> + +<p>Nebuchadrezzar no longer found any rival to oppose him save the king of +Assyria, whom he attacked; but now his aggression was checked, for though +his forces were successful at first, they were ultimately sent flying +across the frontiers with great loss, through the prowess of Assurishishi, +who became a mighty king in Nineveh. But his son, Tiglath-pileser, is the +first of the great warrior kings of Assyria to stand out before us with any +definite individuality. He immediately, on his accession, began to employ +in aggressive wars the well-equipped army left by his father, and in three +campaigns he regained all the territories that Shalmaneser I. had lost, and +also conquered various regions of Asia Minor and Syria. In a rising of the +Chaldæans he met with a severe defeat, which he did not long survive, +dying about the year 1100 B.C.</p> + +<p>There is only one gleam in the murky night of this period. A certain +Assurirba seems to have crossed Northern Syria, and, following in the +footsteps of his great ancestor, to have penetrated as far as the +Mediterranean; on the rocks of Mount Amanus, facing the sea, he left a +triumphal inscription in which he set forth the mighty deeds he had +accomplished. His good fortune soon forsook him. The Arameans wrested from +him the fortresses of Pitru and Mutkinu, which commanded both banks of the +Euphrates near Carchemish.</p> + +<p>What were the causes of this depression from which Babylon suffered at +almost regular intervals, as though stricken with some periodic malady? The +main reason soon becomes apparent if we consider the nature of the country +and the material conditions of its existence. Chaldæa was neither +extensive nor populous enough to afford a solid basis for the ambition of +her princes. Since nearly every man capable of bearing arms was enrolled in +the army, the Chaldæan kings had no difficulty in raising, at a +moment's notice, a force which could be employed to repel an invasion, or +to make a sudden attack on some distant territory; it was in schemes that +required prolonged and sustained effort that they felt the drawbacks of +their position. In that age of hand-to-hand combats, the mortality in +battle was very high; forced marches through forests and across mountains +entailed a heavy loss of men, and three or four campaigns against a +stubborn foe soon reduced the army to a condition of weakness.</p> + +<p>When Nebuchadrezzar I. made war on Assurishishi, he was still weak from +the losses he had incurred during the campaign against Elam, and could not +conduct his attack with the same vigour as had gained him victory on the +banks of the Ulai. In the first year he only secured a few indecisive +advantages; in the second he succumbed.</p> + +<p>The same reasons which explain the decadence of Babylon show us the +causes of the periodic eclipses undergone by Assyria after each outburst of +her warlike spirit. The country was now forced to pay for the glories of +Assurishishi and of Tiglath-pileser by falling into an inglorious state of +languor and depression. And ere long newer races asserted themselves which +had gradually come to displace the nations over which the dynasties of +Thutmosis and Ramses had held sway as tributary to them. The Hebrews on the +east, and the Philistines on the southwest, were about to undertake the +conquest of Kharu, as the land which is known to us as Canaan was styled by +the Egyptians.</p> + +<hr /> + + + + +<h3><a name='The_Passing_of_the_Empires'></a>The Passing of the +Empires</h3> + + +<blockquote><p> Maspero, in the third volume of his great archæological +trilogy, completing his "History of the Ancient Peoples of the Classic +East," deals with the passing in succession of the supremacies of the +Babylonian, Assyrian, Chaldæan, Medo-Persian and Iranian Empires. The +period dealt with in this graphic narrative covers fully five centuries, +from 850 B.C. to 330 B.C. M. Maspero in cinematographic style passes before +us the actors in many of the most thrilling of historic dramas. One +excellent feature of his method is his balancing of evidences. Where +Xenophon and Herodotus absolutely differ he tells what each asserts. With +consummate skill also he arranges his recital like a series of dissolving +views, showing how epochs overlap, and how as Babylon is fading Assyria is +rising, and as the latter in turn is waning Media is looming into sight. We +are, in this third instalment of Maspero's monumental work, brought to +understand how the decline of one mighty Asiatic empire after another, +culminating in the overthrow of the Persian dominion by Alexander, prepared +at length for the entry of Western nations on the stage, and how Europe +became the heir of the culture and civilisation of the Orient. +</p></blockquote> + + +<h4><i>I.--The Assyrian Revival</i></h4> + + +<p>Since the extinction of the race of Nebuchadrezzar I. Babylon had been a +prey to civil discord and foreign invasion. It was a period of calamity and +distress, during which the Arabs or the Arameans ravaged the country, and +an Elamite usurper overthrew the native dynasty and held authority for +seven years. This intruder having died about the year 1030 B.C., a +Babylonian of noble extraction expelled the Elamites and succeeded in +bringing the larger part of the dominion under his rule. Five or six of his +descendants passed away and another was feebly reigning when war broke out +afresh with Assyria, and the two armies encountered each other again on +their former battlefield between the Lower Zab and the Turnat. The +Assyrians were victorious under their king, Tukulti-ninip II., who did not +live long to enjoy his triumph. His son, Assur-nazir-pal, inherited a +kingdom which embraced scarcely any of the countries that had paid tribute +to former sovereign, for most of these had gradually regained their +liberty.</p> + +<p>Nearly the whole empire had to be re-conquered under much the same +conditions as in the first instance, but Assyria had recovered the vitality +and elasticity of its earlier days. Its army now possessed a new element. +This was the cavalry, properly so called, as an adjunct to the chariotry. +But it must be remembered that the strength and discipline which the +Assyrian troops possessed in such high degree were common to the military +forces of all the great states--Elam, Damascus, Nairi, the Hittites and +Chaldea. Thus, the armies of all these states being, as a rule, both in +strength and numbers much on a par, no single power was able to inflict on +any of the rest such a defeat as would be its destruction. Twice at least +in three centuries a king of Assyria had entered Babylon, and twice the +Babylonians had forced the intruder back.</p> + +<p>Profiting by the past, Assur-nazir-pal resolutely avoided those +conflicts in which so many of his predecessors had wasted their lives. He +was content to devote his attention to less dangerous enemies than the +people of Babylonia. Invading Nummi, he quickly captured its chief cities, +then subdued the Kirruri, attacked the fortress of Nishtu, and pillaged +many of the cities around. Bubu, the Chief of Nishtu, was flayed alive. +After a reign of twenty-five years he died in 860 B.C.</p> + +<p>A summary of the events in the reign of thirty-five years of his +successor, Shalmaneser III., is contained on the Black Obelisk of Nimroud, +discovered by Layard and preserved in the British Museum. He conquered the +whole country round Lake Van, ravaging the country "as a savage bull +ravages and tramples under his feet the fertile fields." An attack on +Damascus led to a terrible but indecisive battle, Benhadad, King of Syria, +proving himself fully a match for the invader. But a war with Babylon, +lasting for a period of two years, ended with victory for Assyria, and +Shalmaneser, entering the city, went direct to the temple of E-shaggil, +where he offered worship to the local gods.</p> + +<p>Memorable events followed, first in connection with Damascus, Ahab, King +of Isræl, Benhadad's ally, and other confederates, had not been faithful +to his suzerainty. Ahab had by treaty agreed to surrender the city of +Ramoth-gilead to the Syrian monarch and had not fulfilled his pledge. He +and Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, had concluded an alliance against Benhadad, +who seized the disputed fortress, and the two had organised an expedition, +which led to the death of Ahab in battle. Isræl lapsed once more into the +position of a vassal to Benhadad, and long remained in that subjection.</p> + +<p>The last days of Shalmaneser were embittered by the revolt of his son, +Assur-dain-pal, and his death occurred in 824 B.C. The kingdom was shaken +by the struggle that ensued between his sons. Samsi-ramman IV., the brother +of Assurdain-pal, reigned for twelve years; his son, Ramman-nirari III., +had married the Babylonian princess Sammuramat, and so had secured peace. +He was an energetic and capable ruler. To him at length Damascus made +submission and paid tribute. But Menuas, a bold and able King of Urartu, +proved himself a thorn in the side of the Assyrian king, for he delivered +from the yoke of Nineveh the tribes on the borders of Lake Urmiah and all +the adjacent regions.</p> + +<p>Everywhere along the Lower Zab, and on the frontier as far as the +Euphrates, the Assyrian outposts were driven back by Menuas, who also +overcame the Hittites and by his campaigns formed that kingdom of Van, or +Armenia, which was quite equal in size to Assyria. He died shortly before +the death of Ramman-nirari, in 784 B.C. His son, Argistis, spent the first +few years of his reign in completing his conquests in the country north of +the Araxes. He was attacked by Shalmaneser IV., son of Ramman-nirari, but +defeated the Assyrians.</p> + +<p>Misfortunes accumulated for the rulers and people who had exercised so +wide a sway, and the end of the Second Assyrian Empire was not far off. +Syria was lost under Assur-nirari III., who was also driven from Calah by +sedition in 746 B.C. He died some months later and the dynasty came to an +end, and in 745 a usurper, the leader of the revolt at Calah, proclaimed +himself king under the name of Tiglath-pileser III. The Second Empire had +lasted rather less than a century and a half.</p> + + +<h4><i>II.--To the Destruction of Babylon</i></h4> + + +<p>Events proved that, at this period at any rate, the decadence of Assyria +was not due to any exhaustion of the race or impoverishment of the country, +but was owing Mainly to the incapacity of its kings and the lack of energy +displayed by their generals. The Assyrian troops had lost none of their +former valour, but their leaders had shown less foresight and skill. As +soon as Tiglath-pileser assumed leadership, the armies regained their +former prestige and supremacy.</p> + +<p>The empire still included the original patrimony of Assur and its +ancient colonies on the Upper Tigris, but the buffer provinces, containing +the tribes on the borders of Syria, Namri, Nairi, Melitene, had thrown off +the yoke, as had the Arameans, while Menuas of Armenia and his son Argistis +had by their invasions laid waste the Median territory. Sharduris III., son +of Argistis, succeeded to the throne of Armenia about 760, and at once +overran the district of Babilu, carrying by storm three royal castles, 23 +cities, and 60 villages. He also captured the castles of the mountaineers +of Melitene. Crossing Mount Taurus about 756, he forced the Hittites to +swear allegiance.</p> + +<p>It was in the middle of this eighth century B.C., in the days of +Tiglath-pileser III. of Assyria, and Sharduris III. of Armenia, that +Isræl, under Jehoash, and his son Jeroboam II.; inspired by the +exhortations of Elisha the prophet, was rehabilitated for a season, winning +victories over the Syrians and taking vengeance on Damascus, and then +attacking the Moabites. The sudden collapse of Damascus led to the decline +of Syria, but though Jeroboam II. seemed to be firmly seated as king in +Samaria, the downfall of Isræl and Judah alike, as well as of Tyre, Edom, +Gaza, Moab, and Ammon, was foretold by the prophet Amos, while from the +midst of Ephraim the priest-seer, Hosea, was never weary of reproaching the +tribes with their ingratitude and of predicting their coming +desolation.</p> + +<p>Ere long, Tiglath-pileser began his campaigns against them by attacking +the Arameans, dwelling on the banks of the Tigris. He overthrew them at the +first encounter. Nabunazir, then king in Babylon, bowed before him and +swore fidelity to him, and he visited Sippar, Nipur, Babylon, Borsippa, +Kuta, Kishu, Dilbat and Uruk, Babylonian "cities without a peer," and +offered sacrifices to all their gods--to Bel Zirbanit, Nebo, Tashmit, and +Nir-gal. This settlement took place in 745 B.C.</p> + +<p>His next exploit was the rapid conquest of the mountainous and populous +regions on the shores of the Caspian. And now he ventured to try +conclusions with Armenia and to attack the famous kingdom of Urartu in the +difficult fastnesses round Lakes Van and Urumiah. Crossing the Euphrates in +the spring of 743 B.C., he captured Arpad, and soon afterwards marched +forth to meet the great army of Sharduris. The rout of the latter was +complete, and he fled, after losing 73,000 men. The victor was covered with +glory; yet the triumph cost him dear, for the forces left him were not +sufficient to finish the campaign, nor to extort allegiance from the Syrian +princes who had allied themselves with Sharduris.</p> + +<p>After spending the winter in Nineveh, reorganising his troops, the +Assyrian inaugurated a campaign which ended in the subjugation of Northern +Syria and its incorporation in the empire. Only one difficulty foiled +Tiglath-pileser. He failed to capture the impregnable fortress of Dhuspas, +in which Sharduris had taken refuge. This capital of Urartu held out +against a long siege, and at length the Assyrian army withdrew. Sharduris +remained king as before, but he was utterly spent, and his power had +received a blow from which it never recovered. Since then, Armenia has more +than once challenged fortune, but always with the same result; it fared no +better under Tigranes in the Roman epoch than under Sharduris in the time +of the Assyrians.</p> + +<p>As for Egypt at this period, it was ruled over by what is known as the +Bubastite dynasty, so called from the city of Bubastis, in the Delta, where +the Pharaohs of the time, Osorkon I., his son Takeloti I., and his +grandson, Osorkon II., for an interval of fifty years chiefly resided, +abstaining from politics, so that the country enjoyed an interval of +profound peace. But the old cause brought about the fall of this dynasty +also. Military feudalism again developed and Egypt split up into many petty +states. The sceptre at length passed to another dynasty, this time of +Tanite origin. Petubastis was the first of the line, but the power was +really in the hands of the priests, one of whom, Auiti, actually declared +himself king, together with Pharaoh.</p> + +<p>Sensational events followed. The weakness of Egypt tempted an uprising +of the Ethiopians, who overran a great part of the country. And it was at +this period that Tiglath-pileser crushed the kingdom of Isræl, King Pekah +being compelled to flee from Samaria into the mountains, while the +inhabitants of Naphtali and Gilead were carried into captivity.</p> + +<p>Nabonazir, King of Babylon, who had never swerved from the fidelity he +had sworn to his mighty ally after the events of 745, died in 734 B.C., and +was succeeded by his son Nabunadinziri, who at the end of two years was +assassinated in a popular rising, and one of his sons, Nabushumukin, who +was concerned in the rising, usurped the crown. He wore it for two months +and twelve days, and then abdicated in favour of a certain Ukinzir, an +Aramean chief.</p> + +<p>But Tiglath-pileser gave the new dynasty no time to settle itself firmly +on the throne. The year after his return from Syria he marched against it. +After two years of fighting Ukinzir was overcome and captured. +Tiglath-pileser entered Babylon as conqueror, and caused himself to be +proclaimed King of Sumir and Akkad within its walls. Many centuries had +passed since the two empires had been united under one ruler. His +Babylonian subjects seem to have taken a liking for him; but he did not +long survive his triumph, dying after having reigned eighteen years over +Assyria, and less than two years over Babylon and Chaldæa.</p> + +<p>The next great Assyrian name is that of Sargon II., whose origin is not +clear. And the incidents of the revolution which raised him to the throne +are also unknown. The first few years of his reign, which commenced in 722 +B.C., were harassed by revolts among many of the border tribes, but these +he resolutely faced at all points, inflicting overwhelming defeats on the +Medes and the Armenians. The Philistines were cowed by the storming of +Ashdod, and Sargon subdued Phoenicia, carrying his arms to the sea. This +great monarch, while wars raged round him, found time for extensive works +of a peaceful character, completing the system of irrigation, and erecting +buildings at Calah and Nineveh, and raising a magnificent palace at +Dur-Sharrukin.</p> + +<p>And here he intended in peace to build a great city, but he was, in 105 +B.C., assassinated by an alien soldier. Sennacherib, his son, fighting on +the frontier, was recalled and proclaimed immediately. He either failed to +inherit his father's good fortune, or lacked his ability. Instead of +conciliating the vanquished, he massacred entire tribes, and failed to +re-people these with captive exiles from other nations. So, towards the end +of his reign--which terminated in 681 B.C.--he found himself ruling over a +sparsely inhabited desert where his father had left him flourishing and +populous cities. Phoenicia and Judah formed an alliance with each other and +with Egypt. Sennacherib bestirred himself and Tyre perished. The Assyrian +invader then attacked Judah and besieged Jerusalem, where Hezekiah was king +and Isaiah was prophesying. Whatever was the cause, half the army perished +by pestilence, and Sennacherib led back the remnants of his force to +Nineveh.</p> + +<p>The disaster was terrible, but not irreparable, for another and an equal +host could be raised. And it was needed to quell a great Babylonian revolt +led by Merodachbaladan, who had given the signal of rebellion to the +mountain tribes also. After a series of terrible conflicts, Babylon was +taken. And now Sennacherib, who had shown leniency after two previous +revolts, displayed unbounded fury in his triumph. The massacre lasted +several days, none being spared of the citizens. Piles of corpses filled +the streets. The temples and palaces were pillaged, and finally the city +was burnt.</p> + +<p>In the midst of his costly and absorbing wars we may well wonder how +Sennacherib found time and means for building villas and temples; yet he +is, nevertheless, the Assyrian king who has left us the largest number of +monuments.</p> + +<p>His last years were embittered by the fierce rivalry of his sons. One of +these he nominated his successor, Esarhaddon, son of a Babylonian wife. +During his absence from Nineveh, on the 20th day of Teleth, 681, his +father, Sennacherib, when praying before the image of his god, was +assassinated by two other sons, Sharezer and Adrammelech. Esarhaddon, +hearing of this tragedy, gathered an army, and in a battle defeated +Sharezer and established himself on the throne.</p> + + +<h4><i>III.--The Crisis of the Assyrian Power</i></h4> + + +<p>Esarhaddon was personally inclined for peace, for he delighted in +building; but unfortunate disturbances did not permit him to pursue his +favourite occupation without interruption, and, like his warlike +predecessors, he was constrained to pass most of his life on the +battlefield. He began his reign by quelling an insurrection of the +Cimmerians in the territories on the border of the Black Sea. Sidon +rebelled ungratefully, although his father had saved her from desolation by +Tyre. He stormed and burnt the city. The Scythian tribes came on the field +in 678 B.C., but they were diplomatically conciliated.</p> + +<p>Now followed a memorable event. Babylon was rebuilt. Esarhaddon used all +the available captives taken in war on the foundations and the fabrication +of bricks, erected walls, rebuilt all the temples, and lavishly devoted +gold, silver, costly stones, rare woods, and plates of enamel to +decoration. The canals were made good for the gardens, and the people, who +had been scattered in various provinces, were encouraged to return to their +homes.</p> + +<p>But fresh foreign complications arose through the support given +continually to recalcitrant states in the south of Egypt. Esarhaddon was +provoked to undertake the first actual invasion of Egypt in force by +Assyria for the purpose of subduing the country. Over a great combination +of the Egyptians and Ethiopians he won a crushing victory. Memphis was +taken and sacked. Henceforth, Esarhaddon, in his pride, styled himself King +of Egypt, and King of the Kings of Egypt, of the Said, and of Ethiopia. But +he was not very long permitted to enjoy the glory of his triumph; a +determined revolt of the conquered country demanded a fresh campaign. He +set out, but was in bad health, and, his malady increasing, he died on the +journey in the twelfth year of his reign.</p> + +<p>Before starting on the expedition, he had realised the impossibility of +a permanent amalgamation of Assyria and Babylon, notwithstanding his +personal affection for Babylon. Accordingly, he designated as his +successors his two sons. Assurbanipal was to be King of Assyria, and +Shamash-shumukin King of Babylon, under the suzerainty of his brother. As +soon as Esarhaddon had passed away, the separation he had planned took +place automatically, the two sons proclaiming themselves respectively kings +of Assyria and Babylon. Thus Babylon regained half its independence. But +the Assyrian Empire was now at its zenith. Egypt was quelled by the army of +Esarhaddon, and to Assurbanipal submitted in vassalage the nations of the +Mediterranean coast.</p> + +<p>Now followed years of exhausting warfare and of victory after victory, +which fatally wasted the strength of Assyria. Never had the empire been so +respected; never had so many nations united under one sceptre. But troubles +accumulated. Mutiny in Egypt called for another expedition, which led to +the capture and sacking of Thebes. Next came a war with Elam, ending in its +subjection to Assyria, for the first time in history.</p> + +<p>But with success. Assurbanipal grew arrogant in his attitude to his +brother, the King of Babylon, and a fratricidal war resulted in the defeat +and death of Shamash-shumukin and the capture of the rival capital. But +Assyria was now near one of its recurrent periods of exhaustion, and foes +were rising for a formidable attack.</p> + + +<h4><i>IV.--Fall of Media and Chaldæa</i></h4> + + +<p>At the very height of his apparent grandeur and prosperity Assurbanipal +was attacked by Phraortes, King of the Medes, who paid for his temerity +with his life, being left dead, with the greater part of his army, on the +field. But the sequel was unexpected, for Cyaxares, son of the slain Mede, +stubbornly continued the conflict, patiently reorganising his army, until +he won a great victory over the Assyrian generals, and shut up the remnant +of their forces in Nineveh.</p> + +<p>Assurbanipal, after a reign of forty-two years, died about 625 B.C., and +was succeeded by his son, Assuretililani. Against his brother and +successor, Sinsharishkin, the standard of rebellion was raised by +Nabopolassar, the governor of Babylon, who declared himself independent, +and assumed the title of king, but his reign not long after ended with his +death, in 605 B.C. Nebuchadrezzar was proclaimed king in Babylon.</p> + +<p>His reign was long and prosperous, and, on the whole, a peaceful one. +The most notable event in the career of Nebuchadrezzar II., was the capture +and destruction of Jerusalem, in consequence of a revolt of Tyre and Judea. +The unfortunate king, Zedekiah, saw his sons slain in his presence, and +then, his eyes having been put out, he was loaded with chains, and sent to +Babylon.</p> + +<p>Nebuchadrezzar died in 562 B.C. after a reign of fifty-five years. His +successors were weak rulers, and their reigns were brief and inglorious. +The army was suffered to dwindle, and the dynasty founded by Nabopolassar +came to an end in 555 B.C., when Labashi-marduk, the last of the line, +after reigning only nine months, was murdered by Nabonidus, a native +Babylonian. This usurper witnessed the rapid rise of the new Iranian power +which was to destroy him and Babylon. In 553 B.C., Cyrus, a Persian +general, revolted against Astyages, defeated him, and destroyed the Median +Empire at one blow.</p> + +<p>The only army that was a match for that of Cyrus was the Lydian host +under King Croesus. A conflict took place between the two, ending in the +defeat of the most powerful potentate of Asia Minor. But Cyrus treated +Croesus with consideration, and the Lydian king is said to have become the +friend of the mighty Persian. From that day neither Egypt nor Chaldæa +had any chance of victory on the battlefield. Nabonidus became a mere +vassal of Cyrus, and lived more or less inactively in his palace at Tima, +leaving the direction of power at Babylon in the hands of his son, +Bel-sharuzu.</p> + +<p>At length the Babylonians grew weary of their king. Nabonidus had never +been popular, and the discontent of the people at length called for the +intervention of the suzerain. In 538 Cyrus moved against Babylon, and +Nabonidus now retreated into the city with his troops, and prepared for a +siege. But Cyrus, taking advantage of the time of the year when the waters +were lowest, diverted the Tigris, so that his soldiers were able to enter +the city without striking a blow. Nabonidus surrendered, and Belsharuzur +was slain. With him perished the second Chaldæan Empire.</p> + +<p>The sagacious conqueror did not pillage the city, and treated the +citizens with clemency. Cyrus associated his son Cambyses with himself, +making him King of Babylon. Nothing in Babylon was changed, and she +remained what she had been since the fall of Assyria, the real capital of +the regions between the Mediterranean and the Zapcos. The Persian dominion +extended undisputed as far as the Isthmus of Suez. Under Cyrus took place +the first return of the Jews to Jerusalem.</p> + +<p>According to Xenophon, the great Persian, in 529 B.C., died peaceably on +his bed, surrounded by his children, and edifying them by his wisdom; but +Herodotus declares that he perished miserably in fighting with the +barbarian hosts of the Massagetæ, on the steppes of Turkestan, beyond +the Arxes. He had believed that his destiny was to found an empire in which +all other ancient empires should be merged, and he all but accomplished the +stupendous task. When he passed away, Egypt alone remained to be conquered. +Cambyses succeeded, took up the enterprise against Egypt; but after a +series of successes met with reverses in Ethiopia, which affected his mind, +and he is said to have ended his own life. Power fell into the hands of a +chief of one of the seven great clans, the famous Darius, son of Hystaspes, +whose rival was Nebuchadrezzar III., then King of Babylon.</p> + +<p>Once more, in his reign, Babylon was besieged and fell, Nebuchadrezzar +being executed. He was an impostor who had pretended to be the son of the +great Nebuchadrezzar. And now approached the last days of the greatness of +the Eastern world, for the eve of the Macedonian conquest of the Near East +had arrived.</p> + +<hr /> + + + + +<h2><a name='FLAVIUS_JOSEPHUS'></a>FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS</h2> + + +<h3><a name='The_Antiquities_of_the_Jews'></a>The Antiquities of the +Jews</h3> + + +<blockquote><p> Josephus's "Antiquities of the Jews" traces the whole +history of the race down to the outbreak of the great war. He also wrote an +autobiography (see Lives and Letters) and a polemical treatise, "Flavius +Josephus against Apion." His style is so classically elegant that critics +have called him the Greek Livy. The following summary of the "Antiquities +of the Jews" contains the substance of the really valuable sections, other +portions being little else than a paraphrase of the histories embodied in +the Old Testament. </p></blockquote> + + +<h4><i>I.--From Alexander to Antiochus</i></h4> + + +<p>After Philip, King of Macedon, had been treacherously slain by +Pausanias, he was succeeded by his son Alexander, who, passing over the +Hellespont, overcame the army of Darius, King of Persia, at Granicum. So he +marched over Lydia, subdued Ionia, overran Caria and Pamphylia, and again +defeated Darius at Issus. The Persian king fled into his own land, and his +mother, wife, and children were captured. Alexander besieged and took first +Tyre, and then Gaza, and next marched towards Jerusalem.</p> + +<p>At Sapha, in full view of the city, he was met by a procession of the +priests in fine linen, and a multitude of the citizens in white, the +high-priest, Jaddua, being at their head in his resplendent robes. +Graciously responding to the salutations of priests and people, Alexander +entered Jerusalem, worshipped and sacrificed in the Temple, and then +invited the people to ask what favours they pleased of him; whereupon the +high-priest desired that they might enjoy the laws of their forefathers, +and pay no tribute on the seventh year. All their requests were granted, +and Alexander led his army into the neighbouring cities.</p> + +<p>Now, when Alexander was dead and his government had been divided among +many, Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, by treachery seized Jerusalem, and took +away many captives to Egypt, and settled them there. His successor, Ptolemy +Philadelphus, restored to freedom 120,000 Jews who had been kept in slavery +at the instance of Aristeus, one of his most intimate friends. He also +dedicated many gifts to God, and showed great friendship to the Jews in his +dominions.</p> + +<p>Other kings in Asia followed the example of Philadelphus, conferring +honours on Jews who became their auxiliaries, and making them citizens with +privileges equal to those enjoyed by the Macedonians and Greeks. In the +reign of Antiochus the Great the Jews suffered greatly while he was at war +with Ptolemy Philopater, and with his son, called Epiphanes. When Antiochus +had beaten Ptolemy, he seized on Judea, but ultimately he made a league +with Ptolemy, gave him his daughter Cleopatra to wife, and yielded up to +him Celesyria, Samaria, Judea, and Phoenicia by way of dowry. Onias, son of +Simon the Just, was then high-priest. He greatly provoked the king by +neglecting to pay his taxes, so that Ptolemy threatened to settle his +soldiers in Jerusalem to live on the citizens.</p> + +<p>But Joseph, the nephew of Onias, by his wisdom brought all things right +again, and entered into friendship with the king, who lent him soldiers and +sent him to force the people in various cities to pay their taxes. Many who +refused were slain. Joseph not only thus gathered great wealth for himself, +but sent much to the king and to Cleopatra, and to powerful men at the +court of Egypt. He had a son named Hyrcanus, who became noted for his +ability, and crossed the Jordan with many followers; he made war +successfully on the Arabians, built a magnificent stone castle, and ruled +over all the region for seven years, even all the time that Seleucus was +king of Syria. But when Seleucus was dead, his brother Antiochus Epiphanes +took the kingdom, and Hyrcanus, seeing that Antiochus had a great army, +feared he should be taken and punished for what he had done to the +Arabians. So he took his own life, Antiochus seizing his possessions.</p> + + +<h4><i>II.--To the Death of Judas</i></h4> + + +<p>Antiochus, despising the son of Ptolemy as being but weak, and coveting +the possession of Egypt, conducted an expedition against that country with +a great force; but was compelled to withdraw by a declaration of the +Romans. On his way back from Alexandria he took the city of Jerusalem, +entering it without fighting in the 143d year of the kingdom of the +Seleucidæ. He slew many of the citizens, plundered the city of much +money, and returned to Antioch.</p> + +<p>After two years he again came up against Jerusalem, and this time left +the Temple bare, taking away the golden altar and candlesticks, the table +of shewbread, and the altar of burnt offering, and all the secret +treasures. He slew some of the people, and carried off into captivity about +ten thousand, burnt the finest buildings, erected a citadel, and therein +placed a garrison of Macedonians. Building an idol altar in the Temple, he +offered swine on it, and he compelled many of the Jews to raise idol altars +in every town and village, and to offer swine on them every day. But many +disregarded him, and these underwent bitter punishment. They were tortured +or scourged or crucified.</p> + +<p>Now, at this time there dwelt at Modin a priest named Mattathias, a +citizen of Jerusalem. He had five sons, one of whom, Judas, was called +Maccabæus. Mattathias and his sons not only refused to sacrifice as +Antiochus commanded, but, with his sons, attacked and slew an apostate +Jewish worshipper and Apelles, the king's general, and a few of his +soldiers. Then the priest and his five sons overthrew the idol altar, and +fled into the desert, followed by many of their followers with their wives +and children. About a thousand of these who had hidden in caves were +overtaken and destroyed; but many who escaped joined themselves to +Mattathias, and appointed him to be the ruler, who taught them to fight, +even on the Sabbath. Gathering a great army, he overthrew the idol altars, +and slew those who broke the laws. But after ruling one year, he fell into +a distemper, and committed to his sons the conduct of affairs. He was +buried at Modin, all the people making great lamentation. His son Judas +took upon himself the administration of affairs in the 146th year, and with +the help of his brothers and others, cast their enemies out of the country +and purified the land of its pollutions. Judas celebrated in the Temple at +Jerusalem the festival of the restoration of the sacrifices for eight +days.</p> + +<p>From that time we call the yearly celebration the Feast of Lights. Judas +also rebuilt the wall and reared towers of great height. When these things +were over he made excursions against adversaries on every side, he and his +brothers Simon and Jonathan subduing in turn Idumæa, Gilead, Jazer, +Tyre, and Ashdod. Antiochus died of a distemper which overtook him as he +was fleeing from Elymais, from which he was driven during an attack upon +its gates. Before he died he called his friends about him, and confessed +that his calamities had come upon him for the miseries he had brought upon +the Jewish nation.</p> + +<p>Antiochus was succeeded by his son, Antiochus Eupator, a boy of tender +age, whose guardians were Philip and Lysias. He reigned but two years, +being put to death, together with Lysias, by order of the usurper +Demetrius, the son of Seleucus, who fled from Rome, and, landing in Syria, +gathered an army, and was joyfully received by the people. Against +Jerusalem, Demetrius sent an expedition commanded by his general, +Bacchides. Judas Maccabæus, fighting with great courage, but having +with him only 800 men, fell in the battle. His brothers Simon and Jonathan, +receiving his body by treaty from the enemy, carried it to the village of +Modin, and there buried him. He left behind him a glorious reputation, by +gaining freedom for his nation and delivering them from slavery under the +Macedonians. He died after filling the office of high-priest for three +years.</p> + + +<h4><i>III.--To the Roman Dominion</i></h4> + + +<p>Jonathan and his brother Simon continued the war against Bacchides. They +were assisted by Alexander, the son of Antiochus Epiphanes, who, in the +160th year, came up into Syria against Demetrius, and defeated and slew him +in a great battle near Ptolemais. But the son of Demetrius, named after his +father, in the 165th year, after Alexander had seated himself on the throne +and had gained in marriage Cleopatra, daughter of Ptolemy Philometor, came +from Crete with a great number of mercenary soldiers. Jonathan and Simon, +brothers of Judas Maccabæus, entering into league with Demetrius, who +offered them very great advantages, defeated at Ashdod the army sent by +Alexander under Apollonius.</p> + +<p>A breach took place between Alexander and Ptolemy through the treachery +of Ammonius, a friend of the former, and the Egyptian king took away his +daughter Cleopatra from her husband, and immediately sent to Demetrius, +offering to make a league of mutual assistance and friendship with him, to +give him his daughter in marriage and to restore him to the principality of +his fathers. These overtures were joyfully accepted, and Ptolemy came to +Antioch and persuaded the people to receive Demetrius. Alexander was beaten +in a battle by the two allies and fled into Arabia, where, however, his +head was speedily cut off by Zabdiel, a prince of the country, and sent to +Ptolemy. But that king, through wounds caused by falling from his horse, +died a few days afterwards.</p> + +<p>Demetrius, being secure in power, disbanded a great part of his army, +but this action greatly irritated the soldiers. Furthermore, he was hated, +as his father had been, by the people of Syria. A revolt was raised by an +Apanemian named Trypho, who overcame Demetrius in a fight, and took from +him both his elephants and the city of Antioch. Demetrius on this defeat +retired into Cilicia, and Trypho delivered the kingdom to Antiochus, the +youthful son of Alexander, who quickly sent ambassadors to Jonathan and +made him his confederate and friend, confirming him in the high-priesthood +and yielding up to him four prefectures which had been added to Judea. +Accordingly, Jonathan promptly joined him in a war against Demetrius, who +was again defeated.</p> + +<p>Soon after Demetrius had been carried into captivity Trypho deserted +Antiochus, who had now reigned four years. He usurped power, which he +basely abused; and Antiochus Soter, brother of Demetrius, raised a force +against him and drove him away to Apamea, where he was put to death, his +term of power having lasted only three years. Antiochus Soter then attacked +Simon, who successfully resisted, established peace, and ruled in all for +eight years. His death also was the result of treachery, his son-in-law +Ptolemy playing him false. His son Hyrcanus became high-priest, and +speedily ejected the forces of Ptolemy from the land. Subduing all +factions, he ruled justly for thirty-one years, leaving five sons.</p> + +<p>The eldest, Aristobulus, purposed to change the government into a +kingdom, and placed a diadem on his own head; but his mother, to whom the +supremacy had been entrusted, disputed his authority. He cast her into +prison, where she was starved to death; and next he compassed the death of +his brother Antigonus, but was soon attacked by a painful disease. He +reigned only one year. His widow, Alexandra, let his brothers out of prison +and made Alexander Janneus king.</p> + +<p>His reign was one of war and disorder. With savage cruelty he repressed +rebellion, condemning hundreds of Jews to crucifixion. While these were yet +living, their wives and children were slain before their eyes. His life was +ended by a sickness which lasted three years, and after his death civil war +broke out between his two sons, Aristobulus and Hyrcanus, in which great +barbarities were committed. The conflict was terminated by the intervention +of the Romans under Scarus. The two brothers appealed to Pompey after he +came to Damascus; but that Roman general marched against Jerusalem and took +it by force. Thus we lost our liberty as a nation and became subject to the +Romans.</p> + + +<h4><i>IV.--The Jews and the Romans</i></h4> + + +<p>Crassus next came with Roman troops into Judea and pillaged the Temple, +and then marched into Parthia, where both he and his army perished. Then +Cassius obtained Syria, and checked the Parthians. He passed on to Judea, +fell on Tarichæa, and took it, and carried away 3,000 Jewish captives. A +wealthy Idumean named Antipater, who had been a great friend of Hyrcanus, +and had helped him against Aristobulus, was a very active and seditious +man. He had married Cypros, a lady of his own Idumean race, by whom he had +four sons, Phaselus, and Herod, who afterwards became king, and Joseph, and +Pheroras; and a daughter, Salome. He cultivated friendship with other +potentates, especially with the King of Arabia, to whom he committed the +care of his children while he fought against Aristobulus. But when +Cæsar had taken Rome, and after Pompey and the senate had fled beyond +the Ionian Sea, Aristobulus was set free from the bonds in which he had +been laid. Cæsar resolved to send him with two legions into Syria to +set matters right; but Aristobulus had no enjoyment of this trust, for he +was poisoned by Pompey's party. But Scipio, sent by Pompey to slay +Alexander, son of Aristobulus, cut off his head at Antioch. And Ptolemy, +son of Menneus, ruler of Chalcis, took Alexander's brethren to him, and +sent his son Philippion to Askelon to Aristobulus's wife, and desired her +to send back with him her son Antigonus and her daughters; the one of whom, +Alexandra, Philippion fell in love with, and married her; though afterwards +his father Ptolemy slew him, and married Alexandra.</p> + +<p>Now, after Pompey was dead, and after the victory Cæsar had gained +over him, Antipater, who had managed the Jewish affairs, became very useful +to Cæsar when he made war against Egypt, and that by the order of +Hyrcanus. He brought over to the side of Cæsar the principal men of +the Arabians, and also Jamblicus, the ruler of the Syrians, and Ptolemy, +his son, and Tholomy, the son of Sohemus, who dwelt at Mount Libanus, and +almost all the cities, and with 3,000 armed Jews he joined Mithradates of +Pergamus, who was marching with his auxiliaries to aid Cæsar. +Antipater and Mithradates together won a pitched battle against the +Egyptians, and Cæsar not only then commended Antipater, but used him +throughout that war in the most hazardous undertakings, and finally, at the +end of that campaign, made him procurator of Judea, at the same time +appointing Hyrcanus high-priest. Antipater, seeing that Hyrcanus was of a +slow and slothful temper, made his eldest son, Phaselus, governor of +Jerusalem; but committed Galilee to his next son, Herod, who was only +fifteen, but was a youth of great mind, and soon proved his courage, and +won the love of the Syrians by freeing their country of a nest of robbers, +and slaying the captain of these, one Hezekias.</p> + +<p>Thus Herod became known to Sextus Cæsar, a relation of the great +Cæsar, who was now president of Syria. Now, the growing reputation of +Antipater and his sons excited the envy of the principal men among the +Jews, especially as they saw that Herod was violent and bold, and was +capable of acting tyrannically. So they accused him before Hyrcanus of +encroaching on the government, and of transgressing the laws by putting men +to death without their condemnation by the sanhedrin. Protecting Herod, +whom he loved as his own son, from the sanhedrin when they would have +sentenced him to death, Hyrcanus aided him to flee to Damascus, where he +took refuge with Sextus Cæsar. When Herod received the kingdom, he +slew all the members of that sanhedrin excepting Sameas, whom he respected +because he persuaded the people to admit Herod into the city, and he even +slew Hyrcanus also.</p> + +<p>Now, when Cæsar was come to Rome, and was ready to sail into +Africa to fight against Scipio and Cato, Hyrcanus sent ambassadors to him, +desiring the ratification of the league of friendship between them. Not +only Cæsar but the senate heaped honours on the ambassadors, and +confirmed the understanding that subsisted. But during the disorders that +arose after the death of Cæsar, Cassius came into Syria and disturbed +Judea by exacting great sums of money. Antipater sought to gather the great +tax demanded from Judea, and was foully slain by a collector named +Malichus, on whom Herod quickly took vengeance for the murder of his +father. By his energy in obtaining the required tax, Herod gained new +favour with Cassius.</p> + + +<h4><i>V.--The Herodian Era</i></h4> + + +<p>In order to secure his position, Herod made an obscure priest from +Babylon, named Ananelus, high-priest in place of Hyrcanus. This offended +Alexandra, daughter of Hyrcanus and wife of Alexander, son of Aristobulus +the king. She had ten children, among whom were Mariamne, the beautiful +wife of Herod, and Aristobulus. She sent an appeal to Cleopatra, queen of +Egypt, in order by her intercession to gain from Antony the high-priesthood +for this son. At the instance of Antony, Herod took the office from +Ananelus, and gave it to Aristobulus, but took care that the youth should +soon be murdered. Then, from causeless jealousy, he put to death his uncle +Joseph and threw Mariamne into prison. Victory in a war with Arabia +enhanced his power. Cruelly slaying Hyrcanus, he hasted away to Octavian, +who had beaten Antony at Actium, and obtained also from him, the new +Cæsar, Augustus, the kingdom, thus being confirmed in his +position.</p> + +<p>Women of the palace who hated Mariamne for her beauty, her high birth, +and her pride, falsely accused her to Herod of gross unfaithfulness. He +loved her passionately, but, giving ear to these traducers, ordered her to +be tried. She was condemned to death, and showed great fortitude as she +went to the place of execution, even though her own mother, Alexandra, in +order to make herself safe from the wrath of the king, basely, and +publicly, and violently upbraided her, while the people, pitying her, +mourned at her fate. Herod was also attacked by a tormenting distemper. He +ordered the execution of Alexandra and of several of his most intimate +friends.</p> + +<p>By his persistent introduction of foreign customs, which corrupted the +constitution of the country, Herod incurred the deep hatred of very many +eminent citizens. He erected servile trophies to Cæsar, and prepared +costly games in which men were condemned to fight with wild beasts. Ten men +who conspired against him were betrayed, and were tortured horribly, and +then slain. But the people seized the spy who had informed against them, +tore him limb from limb, and flung the body in pieces to the dogs. By +constant and relentless severity Herod still strengthened his rule.</p> + +<p>But now fearful disturbances arose in his family. His sister Salome and +his brother Pheroras displayed virulent hatred against Alexander and +Aristobulus, sons of the murdered Mariamne, and, on their part, the two +young men were incensed at the partiality shown by Herod to his eldest son, +Antipater. This prince was continually using cunning strategy against his +brethren, while feigning affection for them. He so worked on the mind of +the king by false accusations against Alexander that many of the friends of +this youth were tortured to death in the attempts made to force disclosures +from them.</p> + +<p>A traitor named Eurycles fanned the flame by additional accusations, all +utterly groundless, so that Herod wrote letters to Rome concerning the +treacherous designs of his sons against him, and asking permission of +Cæsar to bring them to trial. This was granted, and they were accused +before an assembly of judges at Berytus and condemned. By their father's +command they were starved to death. For his share in bringing about this +tragedy Antipater was hated by the people. But the secret desire of this +eldest son was to see the end of his father, whom he deeply hated, though +he now governed jointly with him and was no other than a king already.</p> + +<p>Herod by this time had nine wives and many children and grandchildren. +The latter he brought up with much care. Antipater was sent on a mission to +Rome, and during his absence his plots were discovered, and on his return, +Herod, amazed at his wickedness, condemned him to death. The king now +altered his testament, dividing the territory among several of his sons. He +died on the fifth day after the execution of Antipater, having reigned +thirty-four years after procuring the death of Antigonus. Archelaus, his +son, was appointed by Cæsar, in confirmation of Herod's will, +governor of one-half of the country; but accusation of enemies led to his +banishment to Vienna, in Gaul. Cyrenaicus, a Roman senator and magistrate, +was sent by Cæsar to make taxation in Syria and Judea, and Caponius +was made procurator of Judea. Philip, a son of Herod, built cities in +honour of Tiberius Cæsar. When Pontius Pilate became procurator he +removed the army from Cassarea to Jerusalem, abolished Jewish laws, and in +the night introduced Cæsar's effigies on ensigns.</p> + +<p>About this time Jesus, a wise man, a doer of wonderful works, drew over +to him many Jews and Gentiles. He was Christ; and when Pilate, at the +suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, +those that loved him did not forsake him, for he appeared to them again +alive at the third day, as the prophets had foretold; and the tribe of +Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day. John, who was +called the Baptist, was slain by Herod the tetrarch at his castle at +Machserus, by the Dead Sea. The destruction of his army by Aretas, king of +Arabia, was ascribed by the Jews to God's anger for this crime.</p> + +<p>Agrippa, grandson of Herod the Great, became the most famous of his +descendants. On him Claudius Cæsar bestowed all the dominions of his +grandfather with the title of king. But pride overcame him. Seated on a +throne at a great festival at Cæsarea, arrayed in a magnificent robe, +he was stricken by a disease, and died.</p> + +<p>He was succeeded by his son Agrippa, during whose time Felix and Festus +were procurators in Judea, while Nero was Roman emperor. This Agrippa +finished the Temple by the work of 18,000 men. The war of the Jews and +Romans began through the oppression by Gessius Florus, who secured the +procuratorship by the friendship of his wife Cleopatra with Poppea, wife of +Nero. Florus filled Judea with intolerable cruelties, and the war began in +the second year of his rule and the twelfth of the reign of Nero. What +happened will be known by those who peruse the books I have written about +the Jewish war.</p> + +<hr /> + + + + +<h3><a name='The_Wars_of_the_Jews'></a>The Wars of the Jews</h3> + + +<blockquote><p> Josephus, in his "Wars of the Jews," gives the only full +and reliable account of the tragic siege and destruction of Jerusalem by +the Romans under Titus. Excepting in the opening, he writes throughout in +the third person, although he was present in the Roman camp as a prisoner +during the siege, and before then had been, as governor of Galilee, the +brave and energetic antagonist of the Romans. Becoming the friend of Titus, +and despairing of the success of his compatriots, he was employed in +efforts to conciliate the leaders of the rebellion during the siege, and he +was for three years a privileged captive in the camp of the besiegers. His +recital is one of the most thrilling samples of romantic realism in the +whole range of ancient literature, and its veracity and honesty have never +been impugned. In his autobiography, Josephus tells how, after the war, he +was invited by Titus to sail with him to Rome, and how on his arrival there +the Emperor Vespasian entertained him in his own palace, bestowed on him a +pension, and conferred on him the honours of Roman citizenship. The +Emperors Titus and Domitian treated this remarkable Jew with continued +favour. </p></blockquote> + + +<h4><i>I.--Beginning of the Great Conflict</i></h4> + + +<p>Whereas the war which the Jews made against the Romans hath been the +greatest of all times, while some men who were not concerned themselves +have written vain and contradictory stories by hearsay, and while those +that were there have given false accounts, I, Joseph, the son of Matthias, +by birth a Hebrew, and a priest also, and who at first fought against the +Romans myself, and was forced to be present at what was done afterwards, am +the author of this book.</p> + +<p>Now, the affairs of the Romans were in great disorder after the death of +Nero. At the decease of Herod Agrippa, his son, who bore the same name, was +seventeen years old. He was considered too young to bear the burden of +royalty, and Judea relapsed into a Roman province. Cuspius Fadus was sent +as governor, and administered his office with firmness, but found civil war +disturbing the district beyond Jordan. He cleared the country of the robber +bands; and his successor, Tiberius Alexander, during a brief rule, put down +disturbances which broke out in Judea. The province was at peace till he +was superseded by Cumanus, during whose government the people and the Roman +soldiery began to show mutual animosity. In a terrible riot 20,000 people +perished, and Jerusalem was given up to wailing and lamentation.</p> + +<p>It was in Cæsarea that the events took place which led to the +final war. This magnificent city was inhabited by two races--the Syrian +Greeks, who were heathens, and the Jews. The two parties violently +contended for the pre-eminence. The Jews were the more wealthy; but the +Roman soldiery, levied chiefly in Syria, took part with their countrymen. +Tumults and bloodshed disturbed the streets. At this time a procurator +named Gessius Florus was appointed, and he, by his barbarities, forced the +Jews to begin the war in the twelfth year of the reign of Nero and the +seventeenth of the reign of Agrippa.</p> + +<p>But the occasion of the war was by no means proportioned to those heavy +calamities that it brought upon us. The fatal flame finally broke out from +the old feud at Cæsarea. The decree of Nero had assigned the +magistracy of that city to the Greeks. It happened that the Jews had a +synagogue, the ground around which belonged to a Greek. For this spot the +Jews offered a much higher price than it was worth. It was refused, and to +annoy them as much as possible, the owner set up some mean buildings and +shops upon it, and so made the approach to the synagogue as narrow and +difficult as possible. The more impetuous of the Jewish youth interrupted +the workmen. Then the men of greater wealth and influence, and among them +John, a publican, collected the large sum of eight talents, and sent it as +a bribe to Florus, that he might stop the building. He received the money, +made great promises, and at once departed for Sebaste from Cæsarea. +His object was to leave full scope for the riot.</p> + +<p>On the following day, while the Jews were crowding to the synagogue, a +citizen of Cæsarea outraged them by oversetting an earthen vessel in +the way, over which he sacrificed birds, as done by the law in cleansing +lepers, and thus he implied that the Jews were a leprous people. The more +violent Jews, furious at the insult, attacked the Greeks, who were already +in arms. The Jews were worsted, took up the books of the law, and fled to +Narbata, about seven miles distant. John, the publican, and twelve men of +eminence went to Samaria to Florus, implored his aid, and reminded him of +the eight talents he had received. He threw them into prison and demanded +seventeen talents from the sacred treasury under pretence of Cæsar's +necessities. This injustice and oppression caused violent excitement in +Jerusalem when the news reached that city. The people assembled around the +Temple with the loudest outcries; but it was the purpose of Florus to drive +the people to insurrection, and he gave his soldiers orders to plunder the +upper market and to put to death all whom they met. Of men, women, and +children there fell that day 3,600.</p> + +<p>When Agrippa attempted to persuade the people to obey Florus till +Cæsar should send someone to succeed him, the more seditious cast +reproaches on him, and got the king excluded from the city; nay, some had +the impudence to fling stones at him. At the same time they excited the +people to go to war, and some laid siege to the Roman garrison in the +Antonio; others made an assault on a certain fortress called Masada. They +took it by treachery, and slew the Romans. One, Menahem, a Galilean, became +leader of the sedition, and went to Masada and broke open Herod's armoury, +and gave arms not only to his own people, but to other robbers, also. These +he made use of for a bodyguard, and returned in state to Jerusalem, and +gave orders to continue the siege of the Antonio.</p> + +<p>The tower was undermined, and fell, and many soldiers were slain. Next +day the high-priest Ananias, and his brother Hezekiah, were slain by the +robbers. By these successes Menahem was puffed up and became barbarously +cruel; but he was slain, as were also the captains under him, in an attack +led on by Eleazar, a bold youth who was governor of the Temple.</p> + + +<h4><i>II.--The Gathering of Great Storms</i></h4> + + +<p>And now great calamities and slaughters came on the Jews. On the very +same day two dreadful massacres happened. In Jerusalem the Jews fell on +Netilius and the band of Roman soldiers whom he commanded after they had +made terms and had surrendered, and all were killed except the commander +himself, who supplicated for mercy, and even agreed to submit to +circumcision. On that very day and hour, as though Providence had ordained +it, the Greeks in Cæsarea rose, and in a single hour slew over 20,000 +Jews, and so the city was emptied of its Jewish inhabitants. For Florus +caught those who escaped, and sent them to the galleys. By this tragedy the +whole nation was driven to madness. The Jews rose and laid waste the +villages all around many cities in Syria, and they descended on Gadara, +Hippo, and Gaulonitus, and burnt and destroyed many places. Sebaste and +Askelon they seized without resistance, and they razed Anthedon and Gaza to +the ground, pillaging the villages all around, with great slaughter.</p> + +<p>When thus the disorder in all Syria had become terrible, Cestius Gallus, +the Roman commander at Antioch, marched with an army to Ptolemais and +overran all Galilee and invested Jerusalem, expecting that it would be +surrendered by means of a powerful party within the walls. But the plot was +discovered, and the conspirators were flung headlong from the walls, and an +attack by Cestius on the north side of the Temple was repulsed with great +loss. Seeing the whole country around in arms, and the Jews swarming on all +the heights, Cestius withdrew his army and retired in the night, leaving +400 of his bravest men to mount guard in the camp and to display their +ensigns, that the Jews might be deceived.</p> + +<p>But at break of day it was discovered that the camp was deserted by the +army, and the Jews rushed to the assault and slew all the Roman band. This +happened in the twelfth year of the reign of Nero.</p> + + +<h4><i>III.--Judea in Rebellion Against Rome</i></h4> + + +<p>Nero was at this time in Achaia. To him, as ambassador, Cestius, sent in +order to lay the blame on Florus, Costobar and Saul, two brothers of the +Herodian family, who, with Philip, the son of Jacimus, the general of +Agrippa, had escaped from Jerusalem. Meantime, a great massacre of the Jews +took place at Damascus. Then those in Jerusalem who had pursued after +Cestius called a general assembly in the Temple, and elected their +governors and commanders. Their choice fell on Joseph, the son of Gorion, +and Ananus, the chief priest, who were invested with absolute authority in +the city; but Eleazar was passed over, for he was suspected of aiming at +kingly power, as he went about attended by a bodyguard of zealots. But as +commanding within the Temple he had made himself master of the public +treasures, and in a short time the need of money and his extreme subtlety +won over the multitude, and all real authority fell into his hands. To the +other districts they sent the men most to be trusted for courage and +fidelity.</p> + +<p>Josephus was appointed to the command of Galilee, with particular charge +of the strong city of Gamala. He raised in that province in the north an +army of more than a hundred thousand young men, whom he armed and exercised +after the Roman manner; and he formed a council of seventy, and appointed +seven judges in each city. He sought to unite the people and to win their +goodwill. But great trouble arose from the treachery of his enemy, John of +Gischala, who surpassed all men in craft and deceit. He gathered a force of +4,000 robbers and wasted Galilee, while he inflamed the dissensions in the +cities, and sent messengers to Jerusalem accusing Josephus of tyranny. +Tiberias and several cities revolted, but Josephus suppressed the risings, +severely punishing many of the leaders. John retired to the robbers at +Masada, and took to plundering Idumsea.</p> + + +<h4><i>IV.--Vespasian and Josephus</i></h4> + + +<p>Nero, on learning from the messengers the state of affairs, at first +regarded the revolt lightly; but presently grew alarmed, and appointed to +the command of the armies in Syria, and the task of subduing the Jews, +Vespasian, who had pacified the West when it was disordered by the Germans, +and had also recovered Britain for the Romans. He came to Antioch in the +early spring, and was there joined by Agrippa and all his forces. He +marched to Ptolemais, where he was met by his son Titus, who had, with +expedition unusual in the winter season, sailed from Achaia to Alexandria. +So the Roman army now numbered 60,000 horsemen and footmen, besides large +numbers of camp followers who were also accustomed to military service and +could fight on occasion.</p> + +<p>The war was now opened. Josephus attempted no resistance in the open +field, and the people had been directed to fly to the fortified cities. The +strongest of all these was Jotapata, and here Josephus commanded in person. +Being very desirous of demolishing it, Vespasian besieged it with his whole +army. It was defended with the greatest vigour, but was, after fierce +conflicts, taken in the thirteenth year of the reign of Nero, on the first +day of the month Panemus (July). During this dreadful siege, and at the +capture, 40,000 men fell. The Romans sought in vain for the body of +Josephus, their stubborn enemy. He had leaped down the shaft of a dry well +leading to a long cavern. A woman betrayed the hiding-place, and Josephus +was taken and brought before the conqueror, of whom he had demanded from +his captors a private conference. To Vespasian he announced that he and his +son would speedily attain the imperial dignity. Vespasian was conciliated +by the speech of his prisoner, whom he treated with kindness; for though he +did not release him from his bonds, he bestowed on him suits of clothes and +other precious gifts.</p> + +<p>Joppa, Tiberias, Taricheæ, and Gamala were taken, both Romans and +Jews perishing in the conflicts. Soon afterwards, by the capture of +Gischala, all Galilee was subdued, John of Gischala fleeing to +Jerusalem.</p> + + +<h4><i>V.--The Prelude to the Great Siege</i></h4> + + +<p>While the cities of Galilee thus arrested the course of the Roman +eagles, Jotapata and Gamala setting the example of daring resistance, the +leaders of the nation in Jerusalem, instead of sending out armies to the +relief of the besieged cities, were engaged in the most dreadful civil +conflicts.</p> + +<p>The fame of John of Gishala had gone before him to Jerusalem, and the +multitude poured forth to do him honour. He falsely represented the Roman +forces as being very greatly weakened, and declared that their engines had +been worn out in the sieges in Galilee. He was a man of enticing eloquence, +to whom the young men eagerly gave heed. So the city now began to be +divided into hostile factions, and the whole of Judea had before set to the +people of Jerusalem the fatal example of discord. For every city was torn +to pieces by civil animosities. Not only the public councils, but even +numerous families were distracted by the peace and war dispute. Through all +Judea the youth were ardent for war, while the elders vainly endeavoured to +allay the frenzy. Bands of desperate men began to spread over the land, +plundering houses, while the Roman garrisons in the towns, rather rejoicing +in their hatred to the race than wishing to protect the sufferers, afforded +little help.</p> + +<p>Large numbers of these evil men stole into the city and grew into a +daring faction, who robbed houses openly, and many of the most eminent +citizens were murdered by these Zealots, as they were called, from their +pretence that they had discovered a conspiracy to betray the city to the +Romans. They dismissed many of the sanhedrin from office and appointed men +of the lowest degree, who would support them in their violence, till the +leaders of the people became slaves to their will.</p> + +<p>At length resistance was provoked, led by Ananus, oldest of the chief +priests, a man of great wisdom, and the robber Zealots took refuge in the +Temple and fortified it more strongly than before. They appointed as +high-priest one Phanias, a coarse and clownish rustic, utterly ignorant of +the sacerdotal duties, who when decked in the robes of office caused great +derision. This sport and pastime for the Zealots caused the more religious +people to shed tears of grief and shame; and the citizens, unable to endure +such insolence, rose in great numbers to avenge the outrage on the sacred +rites. Thus a fierce civil war broke out in which very many were slain.</p> + +<p>Then John of Gischala with great treachery, outwardly siding with +Ananus, and secretly aiding the Zealots, sent messengers inviting the +Idumæans to come to his help, of whom 20,000 broke into the city +during a stormy night, and slew 8,500 of the people.</p> + + +<h4><i>VI.--The Siege and Fall of Jerusalem</i></h4> + + +<p>Nero died after having reigned thirteen years and eight days, and +Vespasian, being informed of the event, waited for a whole year, holding +his army together instead of proceeding against Jerusalem. Galba was made +emperor, and slain, as was also Otho, his successor; and then, after the +defeat and death of the emperor Vitellius, Vespasian was proclaimed by the +East. He had preferred to leave the Jews to waste their strength by their +internal feuds while he sent his lieutenants with forces to reduce various +surrounding districts instead of attacking Jerusalem. When he became +emperor, he released Josephus from his bonds, honouring him for his +integrity. Hastening his journey to Rome, Vespasian commanded Titus to +subdue Judea.</p> + +<p>At Jerusalem were now three factions raging furiously. Eleazar, son of +Simon, who was the first cause of the war, by persuading the people to +reject the offerings of the emperors to the Temple, and had led the Zealots +and seized the Temple, pretended to cherish righteous wrath against John of +Gishala for the bloodshed he had occasioned. But he deserted the Zealots +and seized the inner court of the Temple, so that there was war between him +and Simon, son of Gioras. Thus Eleazar, John, and Simon each led a band in +constant fightings, and the Temple was everywhere defiled by murders.</p> + +<p>Now, as Titus was on his march he chose out 600 select horsemen, and +went to take a view of the city, when suddenly an immense multitude burst +forth from the gate over against the monuments of Queen Helena and +intercepted him and a few others. He had on neither helmet nor breastplate, +yet though many darts were hurled at him, all missed him, as if by some +purpose of Providence, and, charging through the midst of his foes, he +escaped unhurt. Part of the army now advanced to Scopos, within a mile of +the city, while another occupied a station at the foot of the Mount of +Olives.</p> + +<p>Seeing this gathering of the Roman forces, the factions within Jerusalem +for the first time felt the necessity for concord, as Eleazar from the +summit of the Temple, John from the porticoes of the outer court, and Simon +from the heights of Sion watched the Roman camps forming thus so near the +walls. Making terms with each other, they agreed to make an attack at the +same moment. Their followers, rushing suddenly forth along the valley of +Jehoshaphat, fell with violence on the 10th legion, encamped at the foot of +the Mount of Olives, and working there unarmed at the entrenchments. The +soldiers fell back, many being killed. Witnessing their peril, Titus, with +picked troops, fell on the flank of the Jews and drove them into the city +with great loss.</p> + +<p>The Roman commander now carefully pushed forward his approaches, +leveling the whole plain of Scopos to the outward wall and destroying all +the beautiful gardens with their fountains and water-courses, and the army +took up a position all along the northern and the western wall, the footmen +being drawn up in seven lines, with the horsemen in three lines behind, and +the archers between. Jerusalem was fortified by three walls. These were not +one within the other, for each defended one of the quarters into which the +city was divided.</p> + +<p>The first, or outermost, encompassed Bezetha, the next protected the +citadel of the Antonia and the northern front of the Temple, and the third, +or old, and innermost wall was that of Sion. Many towers, 35 feet high and +35 feet broad, each surmounted with lofty chambers and with great tanks for +rain water, guarded the whole circuit of the walls, 90 being in the first +wall, 14 in the second, and 60 in the third. The whole circuit of the city +was about 33 stadia (four miles). From their pent-houses of wicker the +Romans, with great toil day and night, discharged arrows and stones, which +slew many of the citizens.</p> + +<p>At three different places the battering rams began their thundering +work, and at length a corner tower came down, yet the walls stood firm, for +there was no breach. Suddenly the besieged sallied forth and set fire to +the engines. Titus came up with his horsemen and slew twelve Jews with his +own hands. One was taken prisoner and was crucified before the walls as an +example, being the first so executed during the siege. The Jews now +retreated to the second wall, abandoning the defence of Bezetha, which the +Romans entered. Titus instantly ordered the second wall to be attacked, and +for five days the conflict raged more fiercely than ever. The Jews were +entirely reckless of their own lives, sacrificing themselves readily if +they could kill their foes. On the fifth day they retreated from the second +wall, and Titus entered that part of the lower city which was within it +with I,000 picked men.</p> + +<p>But, being desirous of winning the people, he ordered that no houses +should be set on fire and no massacres should be committed. The seditious, +however, slew everyone who spoke of peace, and furiously assailed the +Romans. Some fought from the walls, others from the houses, and such +confusion prevailed that the Romans retired; then the Jews, elated, manned +the breach, making a wall of their own bodies.</p> + +<p>Thus the fight continued for three days, till Titus a second time +entered the wall. He threw down all the northern part and strongly +garrisoned the towers on the south. The strong heights of Sion, the citadel +of the Antonia, and the fortified Temple still held out Titus, eager to +save so magnificent a place, resolved to refrain for a few days from the +attack, in order that the minds of the besieged might be affected by their +woes, and that the slow results of famine might operate. He reviewed his +army in full armour, and they received their pay in view of the city, the +battlements being thronged by spectators during this splendid defiling, who +looked on in terror and dismay. Then Titus sent Josephus to address them +and to persuade them to yield, but the Zealots reviled him and hurled darts +at him; but many began to desert, Titus permitted them to come in +unmolested. John and Simon in their anger watched every outlet and executed +any whom they suspected of designing to follow.</p> + +<p>The famine increased, and the misery of the weaker was aggravated by +seeing the stronger obtaining food. All natural affection was extinguished, +husbands and wives, parents and children snatching the last morsel from +each other. Many wretched men were caught by the Romans prowling in the +ravines by night to pick up food, and these were scourged, tortured, and +crucified. In the morning sometimes 500 of these victims were seen on +crosses before the walls. This was done to terrify the rest, and it went on +till there was not wood enough for crosses. Terrible crimes were committed +in the city. The aged high-priest, Matthias, was accused of holding +communication with the enemy. Three of his sons were killed in his +presence, and he was executed in sight of the Romans, together with sixteen +other members of the sanhedrin, and the parents of Josephus were thrown +into prison. The famine grew so woeful that a woman devoured the body of +her own child. At length, after fierce fighting, the Antonia was scaled, +and Titus ordered its demolition.</p> + +<p>Titus now promised that the Temple should be spared if the defenders +would come forth and fight in any other place, but John and the Zealots +refused to surrender it. For several days the outer cloisters and outer +court were attacked with rams, but the immense and compact stones resisted +the blows. As many soldiers were slain in seeking to storm the cloisters, +Titus ordered the gates to be set on fire. A soldier flung a blazing brand +into a gilded door on the north side of the chambers. The Jews, with cries +of grief and rage, grasped their swords and rushed to take revenge on their +enemies or perish in the ruins.</p> + +<p>The slaughter was continued while the fire raged. Soon no part was left +but a small portion of the outer cloisters. Titus next spent eighteen days +in preparations for the attack on the upper city, which was then speedily +captured. And now the Romans were not disposed to display any mercy, night +alone putting an end to the carnage. During the whole of this siege of +Jerusalem, 1,100,000 were slain, and the prisoners numbered 97,000.</p> + +<hr /> + + + + +<h2><a name='HENRY_MILMAN_DD'></a>HENRY MILMAN, D.D.</h2> + + +<h3><a name='History_of_the_Jews'></a>History of the Jews</h3> + + +<blockquote><p> Henry Hart Milman, D.D., was born in London on February 10, +1791, died on September 24, 1868, and was buried in St. Paul's Cathedral, +of which for the last nineteen years of his life he was Dean. He was the +youngest son of Sir Francis Milman, physician to George III, and was +educated at Greenwich, Eton and Oxford. Although as a scholarly poet he had +a considerable reputation, his literary fame rests chiefly on his fine +historical works, of which fifteen volumes appeared, including the "History +of the Jews," the "History of Christianity to the Abolition of Paganism in +the Roman Empire," and the "History of Latin Christianity to the +Pontificate of Nicholas V." The appearance of the "History of the Jews" in +1830 caused no small consternation among the orthodox, but among the Jews +themselves it was exceptionally well received. Dean Milman wrote several +hymns, including "Ride on, ride on in majesty," "When our heads are bowed +in woe." Although this history carries the Jewish race down to modern +times, it is included in the section of THE WORLD'S GREATEST BOOKS treating +of ancient history, as it is the history of an ancient race, not of a +definite country. </p></blockquote> + + +<h4><i>I.--Dissolution of the Jewish States</i></h4> + + +<p>By the destruction of Jerusalem and of the fortified cities of Machærus +and Masada, which had held out after it, the political existence of the +Jewish nation was annihilated; it was never again recognised as one of the +states or kingdoms of the world. We have now to trace a despised and +obscure race in almost every region of the world. We are called back, +indeed, for a short time to Palestine, to relate new scenes of revolt, +ruin, and persecution. Not long after the dissolution of the Jewish state +it revived again in appearance, under the form of two separate +communities--one under a sovereignty purely spiritual, the other partly +spiritual and partly temporal, but each, comprehending all the Jewish +families in the two great divisions of the world. At the head of the Jews +on this side of the Euphrates appeared the Patriarch of the West; the chief +of the Mesopotamian communities, assumed the striking but more temporal +title of Resch-Glutha, or Prince of the Captivity.</p> + +<p>That Judaism should have thus survived is one of the most marvellous of +historic phenomena. But, for the most part, the populous cities beyond the +Jordan, the dominions of Agrippa, and Samaria escaped the devastation; and, +according to tradition, the sanhedrin was spared in the general wreck.</p> + +<p>After a brief interval of peace for the Jews scattered through the world +during the reign of Nerva, their settlements in Babylonia, Egypt, Cyrene, +and Judea broke out in rebellion against the intolerant religious policy of +the otherwise sagacious and upright Trajan. Great atrocities were committed +by revolting Jews in Egypt, and the retaliation was terrible. It is said +that 220,000 Jews fell before the remorseless vengeance of their enemies. +The flame spread to Cyprus, where it was quenched by Hadrian, afterwards +emperor. He expelled the Jews from the island. When Hadrian ascended the +throne, in 117 A.D., he issued an edict which was tantamount to the total +suppression of Judaism, for it interdicted circumcision, the reading of the +law, and the observance of the Sabbath.</p> + +<p>At this momentous juncture, when universal dismay prevailed, it was +announced that the Messiah had appeared. He had come in power and glory. +His name fulfilled the prophecy of Balaam. Barcochab, the Son of the Star, +was that star which was to "arise out of Jacob." Wonders attended on his +person; he breathed flames from his mouth which, no doubt, would burn up +the strength of the proud oppressor, and wither the armies of the +tyrannical Hadrian. Above all, Akiba, the greatest of the rabbins, the +living oracle of divine truth, espoused the claims of the new Messiah; he +was called the standard-bearer of the Son of the Star. Of him also wondrous +stories were told. The first expedition of Barcochab was to the ruins of +Jerusalem, where a rude town had sprung up. Here he openly assumed the +title of king. But he and his followers avoided a battle in the open field. +On the arrival of the famous Julius Severus to take command of the Roman +forces, the rebel Jews were in possession of fifty of the strongest castles +and nearly a thousand villages. Severus attacked the strongholds in detail, +reducing them by famine, and gradually brought the war to a close.</p> + +<p>Over half a million Jews perished during the struggle, and the whole of +Judea was a desert in which wolves and hyenas howled through the streets of +the desolate cities. Hadrian established a new city on the site of +Jerusalem, which he called Ælia Capitolina, and peopled with a colony +of foreigners. An edict was issued prohibiting any Jew from entering the +new city on pain of death, and the more effectually to enforce the edict, +the image of a swine was placed over the gate leading to Bethlehem.</p> + + +<h4><i>II.--Judaism and Christianity</i></h4> + + +<p>For the fourth time the Jewish people seemed on the brink of +extermination. Nebuchadrezzar, Antiochus, Titus, and Hadrian had +successively exerted their utmost power to extinguish their existence as a +separate people. Yet in less than sixty years after the war under Hadrian, +before the close of the second century after Christ, the Jews present the +extraordinary spectacle of two separate and regularly organised +communities--one under the Patriarch of Tiberias, comprehending all of +Isrælitish descent who inhabited the Roman Empire; the other under the +Prince of the Captivity, to whom all the eastern Jews paid allegiance. By +the mild temper of Antoninus Pius, the Jews were restored to their ancient +privileges. Though still forbidden to enter Jerusalem, they were permitted +to acquire the freedom of Rome, to establish many settlements in Italy, and +to enjoy municipal honours.</p> + +<p>This gentle treatment assuaged the stern temper of the race. Awakened +from their dream of prophecy and conquest, they assumed the behaviour of +peaceable and industrious subjects. The worship of the synagogue became the +great bond of racial union, and through centuries held the scattered nation +in the closest uniformity.</p> + +<p>The middle of the third century beheld all Isræl incorporated into +their two communities, under their patriarch and their caliphate. The +Resch-Glutha, or Prince of the Captivity, lived in all the state and +splendour of an oriental potentate, far outshining in his pomp his rival +sovereign in Tiberias. The most celebrated of the rabbinical sovereigns was +Jehuda, sometimes called the nasi or patriarch. His life was of such +spotless purity that he was named the Holy. He was the author of a new +constitution for the Jewish people, for he embodied in the celebrated +Mischna all the authorised traditions of the schools and courts, and all +the authorised interpretations of the Mosaic law. Both in the East and the +West the Jews maintained their seclusion from the rest of the world. The +great work called the Talmud, formed of the Mischna and the Gemara (or +compilation of comments), was composed during a period of thirty years of +profound peace for the masters of the Babylonian schools, under Persian +rule. This remains a monumental token of learning and industry of the +eastern Jewish rabbins of the third and fourth centuries.</p> + +<p>The formal establishment of Christianity by Constantine the Great, in +the early part of the fourth century, might have led to Jewish apprehension +lest the Synagogue should be eclipsed by the splendour of its triumphant +rival, the Christian Church; but the Rabbinical authority had raised an +insurmountable barrier around the Synagogue. And, unhappily, the Church had +lost its most effective means of conversion--its miraculous powers, its +simple doctrine, and the blameless lives of its believers. Constantine +enacted severe laws against the Jews, which seem in great part to have been +occasioned by their own fiery zeal. But, still earlier than these +enactments, Spain had given the signal for hostility towards the Jews. A +decree was passed at the Council of Elvira prohibiting Jewish and Christian +farmers and peasants from mingling together at harvest home and other +festivals.</p> + +<p>In Egypt, during the reign of Constantius, who succeeded his father +Constantine, the hot-headed Jews of Alexandria provoked the enactment by +that emperor of yet severer laws, by mingling themselves in the factions of +Arians and Athanasians, which distracted that restless city. They joined +with the pagans on the side of the Arian bishop, and committed frightful +excesses. An insurrection in Judea, which terminated in the destruction of +Dio Cæsarea, gave further pretext for exaction and oppression. But +the apostasy of the emperor for a time revived the hopes of the race, +especially when he issued his memorable edict decreeing the rebuilding of +the Temple on Mount Moriah, and the restoration of the Jewish worship in +its original splendour.</p> + +<p>The whole Jewish world was now in commotion. Julian entrusted the +execution of the project to his favourite, Alypius, while he advanced with +his ill-fated army to the East. The Jews crowded from the most distant +quarters to assist in the work. But terrible disappointment ensued. Fire +destroyed the work, and various catastrophes frustrated the enterprise, and +the death of Julian rendered it hopeless.</p> + +<p>The irruption of the Northern Barbarians during the latter half of the +fourth to about the end of the fifth century so completely disorganised the +whole frame of society that the condition of its humblest members could not +but be powerfully influenced thereby. The Jews were widely dispersed in all +those countries on which the storm fell--in Belgium, the Rhine districts, +Germany, where it was civilised, Gaul, Italy, and Spain. Not only did the +Jews in their scattered colonies engage actively in mercantile pursuits, +but one great branch of commerce fell chiefly into their hands--the +internal slave-trade of Europe.</p> + +<p>The Church beheld this evil with grief and indignation, and popes issued +rescripts and interdicts. Fierce hostility grew up between Church and +Synagogue. The Church had not then the power--it may be hoped it had not +the will--to persecute. It was fully occupied with the task of seeking to +impart to the fierce conquerors--the Vandals; Goths, and other +Barbarians--the humanising and civilising knowledge of Christianity.</p> + +<p>A great enemy arose in the person of the Emperor Justinian, who was +provoked by savage conflicts between the Jews and the Samaritans to issue +severe enactments against both, which led to the fall of the patriarchate. +In the East, under the rule during the same period of the Persian king, +Chosroes the Just, or Nushirvan, who began his reign in 531 A.D., the +position was not more favourable for the Jews of Babylonia.</p> + + +<h4><i>III.--The Golden Age of Judaism</i></h4> + + +<p>During the conflict between Persian and Roman emperors a power was +rapidly growing up in the secret deserts of Arabia which was to erect its +throne on the ruins of both. The Jews were the first opponents and the +first victims of Mohammed. At least a hundred and twenty years before +Christ, Jewish settlers had built castles in Sabæa and established an +independent kingdom, known as Homeritis, which was subdued by an Arab +chieftain and came to an end. But the Jews were still powerful in the +Arabian peninsula. Mohammed designed to range all the tribes under his +banner; but his overtures were scorned, and he ordered a massacre of all +who refused to accept the Koran.</p> + +<p>On one day 700 Jews were slain in Medina while the Prophet looked on +without emotion. But the persecution of the Jews by the Mohammedans was +confined to Arabia, for under the empire of the caliphs they suffered no +further oppression than the payment of tribute. Spain had maintained its +odious distinction in the West, and it is not surprising that the suffering +Jews by active intrigue materially assisted the triumphant invasion of the +country by the Saracens. And in France the Jews became numerous and +wealthy, and traded with great success.</p> + +<p>We enter on a period which may be described as the Golden Age of the +modern Jews. The religious persecutions of this race by the Mohammedans +were confined within the borders of Arabia. The Prophet was content with +enforcing uniformity of worship within the sacred peninsula which gave him +birth. The holy cities of Medina and Mecca were not to be profaned by the +unclean footstep of the unbeliever. His immediate successors rose from +stern fanatics to ambitious conquerors. Whoever would submit to the +dominion of the caliph might easily evade the recognition of the Prophet's +title. The Jews had reason to rejoice in the change of masters. An Islamite +sovereign would not be more oppressive than a Byzantine on the throne of +Constantinople or a Persian on the throne of Ctesiphon. In every respect +the Jew rose in the social scale under his Mohammedan rulers. Provided he +demeaned himself peaceably, and paid his tribute, he might go to the +synagogue rather than to the mosque.</p> + +<p>In the time of Omar, the second caliph, the coinage, already a trust of +great importance, had been committed to the care of a Jew. And the Jews +acted as intermediate agents in the interworking of European civilisation, +its knowledge, arts, and sciences, into the oriental mind, and in raising +the barbarian conquerors from the chieftains of wild, marauding tribes into +magnificent and enlightened sovereigns. The caliph readily acknowledged as +his vassal the Prince of the Captivity, who maintained his state as +representative of the Jewish community. And in the West, during the reigns +of Pepin and Charlemagne, the treatment of Jews became much more liberal +than before. Their superior intelligence and education, in a period when +nobles and kings, and even the clergy, could not always write their names, +pointed them out for offices of trust. They were the physicians, the +ministers of finance, to monarchs. They even became ambassadors. The Golden +Age of the Jews endured in increasing prosperity during the reign of Louis +the Débonnaire, or the Pious, at whose court they were so powerful +that their interest was solicited by the presents of kings. In the reign of +Charles the Bald, the Jews maintained their high estate, but dark signs of +the approaching Age of Iron began to lower around.</p> + + +<h4><i>IV.--The Iron Age of Judaism</i></h4> + + +<p>Our Iron Age commences in the East, where it witnessed the extinction of +the Princes of the Captivity by the ignominious death of the last +sovereign, the downfall of the schools, and the dispersion of the +community, which from that period remained an abject and degraded part of +the population. During the ninth and tenth centuries the Caliphate fell +into weakness and confusion, and split up into several kingdoms under +conflicting sovereigns, and at the same time Judaism in the East was +distracted by continual disputes between the Princes of the Captivity and +the masters of the schools. The tribunals of the civil and temporal powers +of the Eastern Jewish community were in perpetual collision, so that this +singular state was weakened internally by its own dissensions.</p> + +<p>When a violent and rapacious caliph, Ahmed Kader, ascended the throne, +he cast a jealous look on the powers of his vassal sovereign, and, without +pretext, he seized Scherira, the prince of the community, now a hundred +years old, imprisoned him and his son Hai, and confiscated their wealth. +Hai escaped to resume his office and to transmit its honours and its +dangers to Hezekiah, who was elected chief of the community, but after a +reign of two years was arrested with all his family by order of the caliph +Abdallah Kaim ben Marillah (A.D. 1036). The schools were closed. Many of +the learned fled to Spain, where the revulsion under the Almohades had not +yet taken place; all were dispersed. Among the rest two of the sons of the +unfortunate Prince of the Captivity effected their escape to Spain, while +the last of the House of David who reigned over the Jews of the Dispersion +in Babylonia perished on the scaffold.</p> + +<p>The Jewish communities in Palestine suffered a slower but more complete +dissolution. Benjamin of Tudela in the compilation of his travels in the +twelfth century gives a humiliating account of the few brethren who still +clung, in dire poverty and meanness, to their native land. In Tyre he found +400 Jews, mostly glass-blowers. There were in Jerusalem only 200, almost +all dyers of wool. Ascalon contained 153 Jews; Tiberias, the seat of +learning, and of the kingly patriarchate, but fifty. In the Byzantine +Empire the number of Jews had greatly diminished.</p> + +<p>We pursue our dark progress to the West, where we find all orders +gradually arrayed in fierce and implacable animosity against the race of +Isræl. Every passion was in arms against them. In that singular structure, +the feudal system, which rose like a pyramid from the villeins, or slaves +attached to the soil, to the monarch who crowned the edifice, the, Jews +alone found no proper place. In France and England they were the actual +property of the king, and there was nowhere any tribunal to which they +could appeal.</p> + +<p>The Jew, often acquiring wealth in commerce, might become valuable +property of some feudatory lord. He was granted away, he was named in a +marriage settlement, he was pawned, he was sold, he was stolen. Even +Churchmen of the highest rank did not disdain such lucrative property. +Louis, King of Provence, granted to the Archbishop of Aries all the +possessions which his predecessors have held of former kings, including the +Jews. Philip the Fair bought of his brother, Charles of Valois, all the +Jews of his dominions and lordships.</p> + +<p>The Jew, making money as he knew how to do by trade and industry, was a +valuable source of revenue, and was tolerated only as such, but he was a +valuable possession. Chivalry, the parent of so much good and evil, was a +source of unmitigated wretchedness to the Jew--for religious fanaticism and +chivalry were inseparable, the knight of the Middle Ages being bound with +his good sword to extirpate all the enemies of Christ and His Virgin +Mother. The power of the clergy tended greatly to increase this general +detestation against the unhappy Jew. And when undisciplined fanatics of the +lowest order, under the guidance of Peter the Hermit and Walter the +Penniless, were fired with the spirit of the Crusades, fearful massacres of +Jews were perpetrated in Treves, Metz, Spiers, Worms, and Cologne. +Everywhere the tracks of the Crusaders were deeply marked with Jewish +blood.</p> + +<p>Half a century after the shocking massacres of Jews during the First +Crusade, another storm gathered, as the monk Rodolph passed through Germany +preaching the duty of wreaking vengeance on all the enemies of God. The +terrible cry of "Hep!"--the signal for the massacre of Isrælites--ran +through the cities of the Rhine. Countless atrocities took place as the +Crusaders passed on, as the Jews record with triumph, to perish by plague, +famine, and the sword.</p> + + +<h4><i>V.--The Jews in England</i></h4> + + +<p>In the Dark Ages England was not advanced beyond the other nations of +Europe in the civil or religious wisdom of toleration. There were Jews in +England under the Saxons. And during the days of the Norman kings they were +established in Oxford and in London. They taught Hebrew to Christian as +well as to Jewish students. But they increased in both wealth and +unpopularity, false tales about atrocities committed by them being bruited +abroad. In many towns furious rabbles at different times attacked the +Jewish quarters, burnt the dwellings, and put the inmates cruelly to death, +as at York, where hundreds perished during a riot in the reign of Richard +I. King John by cruel measures extorted large sums from wealthy Jews.</p> + +<p>The Church was also their implacable enemy, securing many repressive +enactments against them. Jewish history has a melancholy +sameness--perpetual exactions, the means of enforcing them differing only +in their cruelty. When parliament refused to maintain the extravagant royal +expenditure, nothing remained but still further to drain Hebrew veins. In +the reign of Henry III. a tale was spread of the crucifixion of a Christian +child, called Hugh of Lincoln. The story refutes itself, but it created +horror throughout the country. For this crime eighteen of the richest Jews +of Lincoln were hanged, and many more flung into dungeons.</p> + +<p>The death of Henry brought no respite, for Edward acted with equal +harshness. At length he issued the famous irrevocable edict of total +expulsion from the realm. Their departure was fixed for October 10, 1290. +All who delayed were to be hanged without mercy. The Jews were pursued +from, the kingdom with every mark of popular triumph in their sufferings. +In one day 16,511 were exiled; all their property, debts, obligations, +mortgages were escheated to the king. A like expulsion had been effected in +France; and Spain, where the Jews were of a far nobler rank, was not to be +outdone in bigotry.</p> + +<p>During the reign of John I., in 1388 A.D., a fierce popular preacher of +Seville, Ferdinand Martinez, Arch-deacon of Ecija, excited the populace to +excesses against the Jews. The streets of the noble city ran with blood, +and 4,000 victims perished. The cruel spirit spread through the kingdom, +and appalling massacres followed in many cities. A series of intermittent +persecutions followed both in Spain and Portugal, in reign after reign. +Jews and Protestants together went through awful ordeals at the hands of +the Inquisition. When her glory had declined, Spain, even in her lowest +decrepitude, indulged in what might seem the luxury of persecution.</p> + +<p>It was in the reign of Charles II. that the Jews found opportunity to +steal insensibly back into England. Cromwell had felt very favourably +disposed towards them, but had not dared to permit the re-establishment +which they had openly sought. But the necessities of Charles and his +courtiers quietly accomplished the, change, and the race has ever since +maintained its footing, and no doubt contributed a fair share to the +national wealth. Russia throughout her history adhered to her hostility to +the Jews, but expulsion became impossible with such vast numbers. It is +estimated that Russia contains half the Jewish population of the world, +notwithstanding that Russia proper from ancient times has been sternly +inhospitable to the Jewish race, while Poland has ever been hospitable.</p> + +<p>The most important measures of amelioration in the lot of the Jews in +England were passed in 1723, when they acquired the right to possess land; +in 1753, when parliament enacted the Naturalisation Bill; in 1830, when +they were admitted to civic corporations; in 1833, when they were admitted +to the profession of advocates; in 1845, when they were rendered eligible +for the office of alderman and lord mayor; and in 1858, when the last and +crowning triumph of the principle was achieved by the admission of Jews +into parliament.</p> + +<p>In Asia, the Jews are still found in considerable numbers on the verge +of the continent; in China, they are now found in one city alone, and +possess only one synagogue. In Mesopotamia and Assyria the ancient seats of +the Babylonian Jews are still occupied by 5,270 families. But England and +Anglo-Saxon countries generally have been the most favourable to the race. +Perhaps the most remarkable fact in the history of modern Judaism is the +extension of the Jews in the United States. Writing in 1829, I stated, on +the best authority then attainable, their numbers at 6,000. They are now +[in 1863] reckoned at 75,000.</p> + +<hr /> + + + + +<h2><a name='HERODOTUS'></a>HERODOTUS</h2> + + +<h3><a name='History'></a>History</h3> + + +<blockquote><p> The "Father of History," as Herodotus has been styled, was +born at Halicarnassus, the centre of a Greek colony in Asia Minor, between +the years 490 and 480 B.C., and lived probably to sixty, dying about the +year 425 B.C. A great part of his life was occupied with travels and +investigations in those lands with which his history is mainly concerned. +His work is the earliest essay in history in a European language. It is a +record primarily of the causes and the course of the first great contest +between East and West; and is a storehouse of curious and delightful +traveller's gossip as well as a faithful record of events. The canons of +evidence in his day were defective, for obvious reasons; a miscellaneous +divine interposition in human affairs was taken for granted, and science +had not yet reduced incredible marvels to ordinary natural phenomena. +Nevertheless, Herodotus was a shrewd and careful critic, honest, and by no +means remarkably credulous. If he had not acquired the conception of +history as an exact science, he made it a particularly attractive form of +literature, to which his simplicity of style gives a slight but pleasant +archaic flavour. This epitome has been specially prepared far THE WORLD'S +GREATEST BOOKS from the Greek text. </p></blockquote> + + +<h4><i>I.--The Rise of Persian Power</i></h4> + + +<p>I will not dispute whether those ancient tales be true, of Io and Helen, +and the like, which one or another have called the sources of the war +between the Hellenes and the barbarians of Asia; but I will begin with +those wrongs whereof I myself have knowledge. In the days of Sadyattes, +king of Lydia, and his son Alyattes, there was war between Lydia and +Miletus. And Croesus, the son of Alyattes, made himself master of the lands +which are bounded by the river Halys, and he waxed in power and wealth, so +that there was none like to him. To him came Solon, the Athenian, but would +not hail him as the happiest of all men, saying that none may be called +happy until his life's end.</p> + +<p>Thereafter trouble fell upon Croesus by the slaying of his son when he +was a-hunting. Then Cyrus the Persian rose up and made himself master of +the Medes and Persians, and Croesus, fearing his power, was fain to go up +against him, being deceived by an oracle; but first he sought to make +alliance with the chief of the states of Hellas. In those days, Pisistratus +was despot of Athens; but Sparta was mighty, by the laws of Lycurgus. +Therefore Croesus sent envoys to the Spartans to make alliance with them, +which was done very willingly. But when Croesus went up against Cyrus, his +army was put to flight, and Cyrus besieged him in the city of Sardis, and +took it, and made himself lord of Lydia. He would have slain Croesus, but, +finding him wise and pious, he made him his counsellor.</p> + +<p>Now, this Cyrus had before overthrown the Median king, Astyages, whose +daughter was his own mother. For her father, fearing a dream, wedded her to +a Persian, and when she bore a child, he gave order for its slaying. But +the babe was taken away and brought up by a herdsman of the hill-folk. But +in course of time the truth became known to Astyages, and to Harpagus, the +officer who had been bidden to slay the babe, and to Cyrus himself. Then +Harpagus, fearing the wrath of Astyages, bade Cyrus gather together the +Persians--who in those days were a hardy people of the mountains--and made +himself king over the Medians; which things Cyrus did, overthrowing his +grandfather Astyages. And in this wise began the dominion of the +Persians.</p> + +<p>The Ionian cities of Asia were zealous to make alliance with Cyrus when +he had overthrown Croesus. But he held them of little account, and +threatened them, and the Lacedæmonians also, who sent him messengers +warning him to let the Ionians alone. And he sent Harpagus against the +cities of the Ionians, of whom certain Phocæans and Teians sailed +away to Rhegium and Abdera rather than become the slaves of the barbarians; +but the rest, though they fought valiantly enough, were brought to +submission by Harpagus.</p> + +<p>While Harpagus was completing the subjugation of the West, Cyrus was +making conquest of Upper Asia, and overthrew the kingdom of Assyria, of +which the chief city was Babylon, a very wonderful city, wherein there had +ruled two famous queens, Semiramis and Nitocris. Now, this queen had made +the city wondrous strong by the craft of engineers, yet Cyrus took it by a +shrewd device, drawing off the water of the river so as to gain a passage. +Thus Babylon also fell under the sway of the Persian. But when Cyrus would +have made war upon Tomyris, the queen of the Massagetæ, who dwelt to +the eastward, there was a very great battle, and Cyrus himself was slain +and the most part of his host. And Cambyses, his son, reigned in his +stead.</p> + + +<h4><i>II.--Wars of Egypt and Persia</i></h4> + + +<p>Cambyses set out to conquer Egypt, taking in his army certain of the +Greeks. But of all that I shall tell about that land, the most was told to +me by the priests whom I myself visited at Memphis and Thebes and +Heliopolis. They account themselves the most ancient of peoples. If the +Ionians are right, who reckon that Egypt is only the Nile Delta, this could +not be. But I reckon that the whole Egyptian territory is. Egypt, from the +cataracts and Elephantiné down to the sea, parted into the Asiatic +part and the Libyan part by the Nile.</p> + +<p>For the causes of the rising and falling of the Nile, the reasons that +men give are of no account. And of the sources whence the river springs are +strange stories told of which I say not whether they be true or false: but +the course of it is known for four months' journey by land and water, and +in my opinion it is a river comparable to the Ister.</p> + +<p>The priests tell that the first ruler of Egypt was Menes, and after him +were three hundred and thirty kings, counting one queen, who was called +Nitocris. After them came Sesostris, who carried his conquest as far as the +Thracians and Scythians; and later was Rhampsinitus, who married his +daughter to the clever thief who robbed his treasure-house; and after him +Cheops, who built the pyramid, drawing the stones from the Arabian mountain +down to the Nile. Chephren also, and Mycerinus built pyramids, and the +Greeks have a story--which is not true--that another was built by Rhodopis. +And in the reign of Sethon, Egypt was invaded by Sennacherib the Assyrian, +whose army's bowstrings were eaten by field-mice.</p> + +<p>A thing more wonderful than the pyramids is the labyrinth near Lake +Moeris, and still more wonderful is Lake Moeris itself, all which were made +by the twelve kings who ruled at once after Sethon. And after them, +Psammetichus made himself the monarch; and after him his great grandson +Apries prospered greatly, till he was overthrown by Amasis. And Amasis also +prospered, and showed favour to the Greeks. But for whatever reason, in his +day Cambyses made his expedition against Egypt, invading it just when +Amasis had died, and his son Psammenitus was reigning.</p> + +<p>Cambyses put the Egyptian army to rout in a great battle, and conquered +the country, making Psammenitus prisoner. Yet he would have set him up as +governor of the province, according to the Persian custom, but that +Psammenitus was stirred up to revolt, and, being discovered, was put to +death. Thereafter Cambyses would have made war upon Carthage, but that the +Phoenicians would not aid him; and against the Ethiopians, who are called +"long-lived," but his army could get no food; and against the Ammonians, +but the troops that went were seen no more.</p> + +<p>Now, madness came upon Cambyses, and he died, having committed many +crimes, among which was the slaying of his brother Smerdis. And there rose +up one among the Magi who pretended to be Smerdis, and was proclaimed king. +But this false Smerdis was one whose ears had been cut off, and he was thus +found out by one of his wives, the daughter of a Persian nobleman, Otanes. +Then seven nobles conspired together, since they would not be ruled over by +one of the Magi; and having determined that it was best to have one man for +ruler, rather than the rule of the people or of the nobles, they slew +Smerdis and made Darius, the son of Hystaspes, their king.</p> + +<p>Then Darius divided the Persian empire into twenty satrapies, whereof +each one paid its own tribute, save Persia itself, and he was lord of all +Asia, and Egypt also.</p> + +<p>In the days of Cambyses, Polycrates was despot of Samos, being the first +who ever thought to make himself a ruler of the seas. And he had prospered +marvellously. But Oroetes, the satrap of Sardis, compassed his death by +foul treachery, and wrought many other crimes; whom Darius in turn put to +death by guile, fearing to make open war upon him. And not long afterwards, +he sent Otanes to make conquest of Samos. And during the same days there +was a revolt of the Babylonians; and Darius went up against Babylon, yet +for twenty months he could not take it. Howbeit, it was taken by the act of +Zopyrus, who, having mutilated himself, went to the Babylonians and told +them that Darius had thus evilly entreated him, and so winning their trust, +he made easy entry for the Persian army, and so Babylon was taken the +second time.</p> + + +<h4><i>III.--Persian Arms in Europe</i></h4> + + +<p>Now, Darius was minded to make conquest of the Scythians--concerning +which people, and the lands beyond those which they inhabit, there are many +marvels told, as of a bald-headed folk called Argippæi; and the +Arimaspians or one-eyed people; and the Hyperborean land where the air is +full of feathers. Of these lands are legends only; nothing is known. But +concerning the earth's surface, this much is known, that Libya is +surrounded by water, certain Phoenicians having sailed round it. And of the +unknown regions of Asia much was searched out by order of Darius.</p> + +<p>The Scythians themselves have no cities; but there are great rivers in +Scythia, whereof the Ister is the greatest of all known streams, being +greater even than the Nile, if we reckon its tributaries. The great god of +the Scythians is Ares; and their war customs are savage exceedingly, and +all their ways barbarous. Against this folk Darius resolved to march.</p> + +<p>His plan was to convey his army across the Bosphorus on a bridge of +boats, while the Ionian fleet should sail up to the Ister and bridge that, +and await him. So he crossed the Bosphorus and marched through Thrace, +subduing on his way the Getse, who believe that there is no true death. But +when he passed the Ister, he would have taken the Ionians along with him; +but by counsel of Coes of Mitylene, he resolved to leave them in charge of +the bridge, giving order that, after sixty days, they might depart home, +but no sooner.</p> + +<p>Then the Scythians, fearing that they could not match the great king's +army, summoned the other barbaric peoples to their aid; among whom were the +Sauromatians, who are fabled to be the offspring of the Amazons. And some +were willing, but others not. Therefore the Scythians retired before +Darius, first towards those peoples who would not come to their help; and +so enticed him into desert regions, yet would in no wise come to battle +with him.</p> + +<p>Now, at length, Darius found himself in so evil a plight that he began +to march back to the Ister. And certain Scythians came to the Ionians, and +counselled them to destroy the bridge, the sixty days being passed. And +this Miltiades, the Athenian despot of the Chersonese, would have had them +do, so that Darius might perish with all his army; but Histiæus of Miletus +dissuaded them, because the rule of the despots was upheld by Darius. And +thus the Persian army was saved, Megabazus being left in Europe to subdue +the Hellespontines. When Megabazus had subdued many of the Thracian +peoples, who, indeed, lack only union with each other to make them the +mightiest of all nations, he sent an embassy to Amyntas, the king of +Macedon, to demand earth and water. But because those envoys insulted the +ladies of the court, Alexander, the son of Amyntas, slew them all, and of +them or all their train was never aught heard more.</p> + +<p>Now Darius, with fair words, bade Histiseus of Miletus abide with him at +the royal town of Susa. Then Aristagoras, the brother of Histiæus, having +failed in an attempt to subdue Naxos, and fearing both Artaphernes, the +satrap of Sardis, and the Persian general Megabazus, with whom he had +quarrelled, sought to stir up a revolt of the Ionian cities; being incited +thereto by secret messages from Histiseus.</p> + +<p>To this end, he sought alliance with the Lacedæmonians; but they +would have nothing to do with him, deeming the venture too remote. Then he +went to Athens, whence the sons of Pisistratus had been driven forth just +before. For Hipparchus had been slain by Harmodius and Aristogiton, and +afterwards Hippias would hardly have been expelled but that his enemies +captured his children and so could make with him what terms they chose. But +the Pisistratidse having been expelled, the city grew in might, and changes +were made in the government of it by Cleisthenes the Alcmæonid. But +the party that was against Cleisthenes got aid from Cleomenes of Sparta; +yet the party of Cleisthenes won.</p> + +<p>Then, since they reckoned that there would be war with Sparta, the +Athenians had sought friendship with Artaphernes at Sardis; but since he +demanded earth and water they broke off. But because Athens was waxing in +strength, the Spartans bethought them of restoring the despotism of the +Pisistratidæ. But Sosicles, the Corinthian, dissuaded the allies of +Sparta from taking part in so evil a deed. Then Hippias sought to stir up +against the Athenians the ill-will of Artaphernes, who bade them take back +the Pisistratidæ, which they would not do.</p> + +<p>Therefore, when Aristagoras came thither, the Athenians were readily +persuaded to promise him aid. And he, having gathered the troops of the +Ionians, who were at one with him, marched with them and the Athenians +against Sardis and took the city, which by a chance was set on fire. But +after that the Athenians refused further help to the Ionians, who were +worsted by the Persians. But the ruin of the Ionians was at the sea-fight +of Lade, where the men of Chios fought stoutly; but they of Samos and +Lesbos deserting, there was a great rout.</p> + + +<h4><i>IV.--Marathon and Thermopylæ</i></h4> + + +<p>Thereafter King Darius, being very wroth with the Athenians for their +share in the burning of Sardis, sent a great army across the Hellespont to +march through Thrace against Athens, under his young kinsman Mardonius. But +disaster befell these at the hands of the Thracians, and the fleet that was +to aid them was shattered in a storm; so that they returned to Asia without +honour. Then Darius sent envoys to demand earth and water from the Greek +states; and of the islanders the most gave them, and some also of the +cities on the mainland; and among these were the Aeginetans, who were at +feud with Athens.</p> + +<p>But of those who would not give the earth and water were the Eretrians +of Eubcea. So Darius sent a great armament by sea against Eretria and +Athens, led by Datis and Artaphernes, which sailed first against Eretria. +The Athenians, indeed, sent aid; but when they found that the counsels of +the Eretrians were divided, so that no firm stand might be made, they +withdrew. Nevertheless, the Eretrians fought valiantly behind their walls, +till they were betrayed on the seventh day. But the Persians, counselled by +Hippias, sailed to the bay of Marathon.</p> + +<p>Then the Athenians sent the strong runner Pheidippides to call upon the +Spartans for aid; who promised it, yet for sacred reasons would not move +until the full moon. So the Athenian host had none to aid them save the +loyal Platæans, valiant though few. Yet in the council of their +generals the word of Miltiades was given for battle, whereto the rest +consented. Then the Athenians and Platæans, being drawn up in a long +line, charged across the plain nigh a mile, running upon the masses of the +Persians; and, breaking them upon the wings, turned and routed the centre +also after long fighting, and drove them down to the ships, slaying as they +went; and of the ships they took seven. And of the barbarians there fell +6,400 men, and of the Athenians, 192. But as for the story that the +Alcmæonidæ hoisted a friendly signal to the Persians, I credit it not at +all.</p> + +<p>Now, Darius was very wroth with the Greeks when he heard of these +things, and made preparation for a mighty armament to overthrow the Greeks, +and also the Egyptians, who revolted soon afterwards. But he died before he +was ready, and Xerxes, his son, reigned in his stead. Then, having first +crushed the Egyptians, he, being ruled by Mardonius, gathered a council and +declared his intent of marching against the Hellenes; which resolution was +commended by Mardonius, but Artabanus, the king's uncle, spoke wise words +of warning. Then Xerxes would have changed his mind, but for a dream which +came to him twice, and to Artabanus also, threatening disaster if he ceased +from his project; so that Artabanus was won over to favour it.</p> + +<p>Then Xerxes made vast provision for his invasion for the building of a +bridge over the Hellespont, and the cutting of a canal through the +peninsula of Athos, where the fleet of Mardonius had been shattered. And +from all parts of his huge empire he mustered his hosts first in +Cappadocia, and marched thence by way of Sardis to the Hellespont. And +because, when the bridge was a building, a great storm wrecked it, he bade +flog the naughty waves of the sea. Then, the bridge being finished, he +passed over with his host, which took seven days to accomplish.</p> + +<p>And when they were come to Doriscus he numbered them, and found them to +be 1,700,000 men, besides his fleets. And in the fleet were 1,207 great +ships, manned chiefly by the Phoenicians and the Greeks of Asia, having +also Persian and Scythian fighting men on board. But when Demaratus, an +exiled king of Sparta, warned Xerxes of the valour of all the Greeks, but +chiefly of the Spartans, who would give battle, however few they might be, +against any foe, however many, his words seemed to Xerxes a jest, seeing +how huge his own army was.</p> + +<p>Now, Xerxes had sent to many of the Greek states heralds to demand earth +and water, which many had given; but to Athens and Sparta he had not sent, +because there the heralds of his father Darius had been evilly entreated. +And if it had not been for the resolution of the Athenians at this time, +all Hellas would have been forced to submit to the Great King; for they, in +despite of threatening oracles, held fast to their defiance, being urged +thereto by Themistocles, who showed them how those oracles must mean that, +although they would suffer evil things, they would be victorious by means +of wooden bulwarks, which is to say, ships; and thus they were encouraged +to rely upon building and manning a mighty fleet. And all the other cities +of Greece resolved to stand by them, except the Argives, who would not +submit to the leadership of the Spartans. And in like manner Gelon, the +despot of Syracuse in Sicily, would not send aid unless he were accepted as +leader. Nor were the men of Thessaly willing to join, since the other +Greeks could not help them to guard Thessaly itself, as the pass of Tempe +could be turned.</p> + +<p>Therefore the Greeks resolved to make their stand at Thermopylæ on +land, and at the strait of Artemisium by sea. But at the strong pass of +Thermopylæ only a small force was gathered to hold the barbarians in +check, there being of the Spartans themselves only 300, commanded by the +king Leonidas. And when the Persians had come thither and sought to storm +the pass, they were beaten back with ease, until a track was found by which +they might take the defenders in the rear. Then Leonidas bade the rest of +the army depart except his Spartans. But the Thespians also would not go; +and then those Spartans and Thespians went out into the open and died +gloriously.</p> + + +<h4><i>V.--Destruction of the Persian Hosts</i></h4> + + +<p>During these same days the Greek fleet at Artemisium fought three +several engagements with the Persian fleet, in which neither side had much +the better. And thereafter the Greek fleet withdrew, but was persuaded to +remain undispersed in the bay of Salamis. The Peloponnesians were no longer +minded to attempt the defence of Attica, but to fortify their isthmus, so +that the Athenians had no choice but either to submit or to evacuate +Athens, removing their families and their goods to Troezen or Aegina or +Salamis. In the fleet, their contingent was by far the largest and best, +but the commanding admiral was the Spartan Eurybiades. Then the Persians, +passing through Boeotia, but, being dispersed before Delphi by thunderbolts +and other portents, took possession of Athens, after a fierce fight with +the garrison in the Acropolis.</p> + +<p>Then the rest of the Greek fleet was fain to withdraw from Salamis, and +look to the safety of the Peloponnese only. But Themistocles warned them +that if they did so, the Athenians would leave them and sail to new lands +and make themselves a new Athens; and thus the fleet was persuaded to hold +together at Salamis. Yet he did not trust only to their goodwill, but sent +a messenger to the Persian fleet that the way of retreat might be +intercepted. For the Persian fleet had gathered at Phalerum, and now looked +to overwhelm the Grecian fleet altogether, despite the council of Queen +Artemisia of Halicarnassus, who would have had them not fight by sea at +all. When Aristides, called the Just, the great rival of Themistocles, came +to the Greeks with the news that their retreat by sea was cut off, then +they were no longer divided, but resolved to fight it out.</p> + +<p>In the battle, the Aeginetans and the Athenians did the best of all the +Greeks, and Themistocles best among the commanders; nor was ever any fleet +more utterly put to rout than that of the Persians, among whom Queen +Artemisia won praise unmerited. As for King Xerxes, panic seized him when +he saw the disaster to his fleet, and he made haste to flee. He consented, +however, to leave Mardonius behind with 300,000 troops in Thessaly, he +being still assured that he could crush the Greeks. And it was well for him +that Themistocles was over-ruled in his desire to pursue and annihilate the +fleet, then sail to the Hellespont and destroy the bridge.</p> + +<p>When the winter and spring were passed, Mardonius marched from Thessaly +and again occupied Athens, which the Athenians had again evacuated, the +Spartans having failed to send succour. But when at length the +Lacedæmonians, fearing to lose the Athenian fleet, sent forth an +army, the Persians fell back to Boeotia. So the Greek hosts gathered near +Platæa to the number of 108,000 men, but the troops of Mardonius were +about 350,000. Yet, by reason of doubtful auguries, both armies held back, +till Mardonius resolved to attack, whereof warning was brought to the +Athenians by Alexander of Macedon. But when the Spartan Pausanias, the +general of the Greeks, heard of this, he did what caused no little wonder, +for he proposed that the Athenians instead of the Lacedæmonians +should face the picked troops of the Persians, as having fought them at +Marathon. But Mardonius, seeing them move, moved his picked troops also. +Then Mardonius sent some light horse against the Greeks by a fountain +whence flowed the water for the army; which, becoming choked, it was +needful to move to a new position. But the move being made by night, most +of the allies withdrew into the town. But the Spartans, and Tegeans and +Athenians, perceiving this, held each their ground till dawn.</p> + +<p>Now, in the morning the picked Persian troops fell on the Spartans, and +their Grecian allies attacked the Athenians. But, Mardonius being slain, +the Persians fled to their camp, which was stormed by the Spartans and +Tegeans, and the Athenians, who also had routed their foes; and there the +barbarians were slaughtered, so that of 300,000 men not 3,000 were left +alive. But Artabazus, who, before the battle, had withdrawn with 40,000 +men, escaped by forced marches to the Hellespont.</p> + +<p>And on that same day was fought another fight by sea at Mycale in Ionia, +where also the barbarians were utterly routed, for the fleet had sailed +thither. And thence the Greeks sailed to Sestos, captured the place, and so +went home.</p> + +<hr /> + + + + +<h2><a name='THUCYDIDES'></a>THUCYDIDES</h2> + + +<h3><a name='The_Peloponnesian_War'></a>The Peloponnesian War</h3> + + +<blockquote><p> The Athenian historian, Thucydides, was born about 471 +B.C., within ten years of the great repulse of the Persian invasion. Before +he was thirty, the great political ascendancy of Pericles was completely +established at Athens, and the ascendancy of Athens among the Greek states +was unchallenged, except by Sparta. He was forty at the beginning of the +Peloponnesian War. Thucydides was appointed to a military command seven +years later, but his failure in that office caused his banishment. From +that time he remained an exiled spectator of events; the date of his death +is uncertain. His great work is the history of the Peloponnesian War to its +twentieth year, where his history is abruptly broken off. To Herodotus, +history presented itself as a drama; Thucydides views it with the eyes of a +philosophical statesman, but writes it also with extraordinary descriptive +power, not only in pregnant sentences which have never been effectively +rendered in translation, but in passages of sustained intensity, of which +it would be vain to reproduce fragments. The abridged translation given +here has been made direct from the Greek. </p></blockquote> + + +<h4><i>I.--The Beginning of the War</i></h4> + + +<p>I have written the account of the war between Athens and Sparta, since +it is the greatest and the most calamitous of all wars hitherto to the +Greeks. For the contest with the Medes was decided in four battles; but +this war was protracted over many years, and wrought infinite injury and +bloodshed.</p> + +<p>Of the immediate causes of the war the first is to be found in the +affairs of Epidamnus, Corcyra, and Corinth, of which Corcyra was a colony. +Of the Greek states, the most were joined either to the Athenian or the +Peloponnesian league, but Corcyra had joined neither. But having a quarrel +with Corinth about Epidamnus, she now formed an alliance with Athens, whose +intervention enraged the Corinthians.</p> + +<p>They then helped Potidæa, a Corinthian colony, but an Athenian +tributary, to revolt from Athens. Corinth next appealed to Sparta, as the +head of Hellas, to intervene ere it should be too late and check the +Athenian aggression, which threatened to make her the tyrant of all Greece. +At Sparta the war party prevailed, although King Archidamus urged that +sufficient pressure could be brought to bear without actual +hostilities.</p> + +<p>The great prosperity and development of Athens since the Persian war had +filled other states with fear and jealousy. She had rebuilt her city walls +and refortified the port of Piræus after the Persian occupation; +Sparta had virtually allowed her to take the lead in the subsequent stages +of the war, as having the most effective naval force at command. Hence she +had founded the Delian league of the maritime states, to hold the seas +against Persia. At first these states provided fixed contingents of ships +and mariners; but Athens was willing enough to accept treasure in +substitution, so that she might herself supply the ships and men.</p> + +<p>Thus the provision of forces by each state to act against Persia was +changed in effect into a tribute for the expansion of the Athenian fleet. +The continuous development of the power of Athens had been checked only +momentarily by her disastrous Egyptian expedition. Her nominal allies found +themselves actually her tributary dependencies, and various attempts to +break free from her yoke had made it only more secure and more +burdensome.</p> + +<p>Hence the warlike decision of Sparta was welcomed by others besides +Corinth. But diplomatic demands preceded hostilities. Sparta and Athens +sent to each other summons and counter-summons for the "expulsion of the +curse," that is of all persons connected with certain families which lay +under the curse of the gods.</p> + +<p>In the case of Athens, this amounted to requiring the banishment of her +greatest citizen and statesman, Pericles. To this the Spartans added the +demand that the Athenians should "restore the freedom of Hellas," and +should specifically remove certain trading disabilities imposed on the +people of Megara.</p> + +<p>At this crisis Pericles laid down the rules of policy on which Athens +ought to act--rules which required her to decline absolutely to submit to +any form of dictation from Sparta. When a principle was at stake, it made +no difference whether the occasion was trivial or serious. Athens could +face war with confidence. Her available wealth was far greater--a matter of +vital importance in a prolonged struggle. Her counsels were not divided by +the conflicting interests of allies all claiming to direct military +movements and policy. Her fleet gave her command of the sea, and enabled +her to strike when and where she chose. If Peloponnesian invaders ravaged +Attica, still no permanent injury would be done comparable to that which +the Athenians could inflict upon them. The one necessity was to concentrate +on the war, and attempt no extension of dominion while it was in +progress.</p> + +<p>War was not yet formally declared when the Thebans attempted to seize +Platæa, a town of Boeotia, which had long been closely allied to +Athens. The attempt failed, and the Thebans were put to death; but the +Platæans appealed to Athens for protection against their powerful +neighbour, and when the Athenian garrison was sent to them, this was +treated as a <i>casus belli</i>.</p> + +<p>Preparations were urged on both sides; Sparta summoned her allies to +muster their contingents on the Isthmus for the invasion of Attica, nearly +all the mainland states joining the Peloponnesian league. The islanders and +the cities in Asia Minor, on the other hand, were nearly all either +actually subject to Athens or in alliance with her.</p> + +<p>As Pericles advised, the Athenians left the country open to the ravages +of the invading forces, and themselves retired within the city. In spite of +the resentment of those who saw their property being laid waste, Pericles +maintained his ascendency, and persuaded the people to devote their +energies to sending out an irresistible fleet, and to establishing a great +reserve both of ships and treasure, which were to be an annual charge and +brought into active use only in the case of dire emergency. The fleet +sailed round the Peloponnese, and the ravages it was able to inflict, with +the alarm it created, caused the withdrawal of the forces in Attica.</p> + +<p>In that winter Pericles delivered a great funeral oration, or panegyric, +in memory of the Athenians who had so far fallen gloriously in defence of +their country, in which he painted the characteristic virtues of the +Athenian people in such a fashion as to rouse to the highest pitch the +patriotic pride of his countrymen, and their confidence in themselves, in +their future, and in their leader.</p> + + +<h4><i>II.--Early Successes of Athens</i></h4> + + +<p>In the second year of the war, Athens suffered from a fearful visitation +of the plague, which, however, made no way in the Peloponnese. It broke out +also among the reinforcements dispatched to Potidæa; and it required +all the skill of Pericles to reconcile the Athenians to the continuation of +the war, after seeing their territories overrun for the second time for six +weeks. By dint of dwelling on the supreme importance of their decisive +command of the sea, and on the vast financial resources which secured their +staying power, he maintained his ascendency until his death in the +following year, though he had to submit to a fine. The events which +followed his death only confirmed the profundity of his political judgment, +and the accuracy with which he had gauged the capacities of the state. In +that winter Potidæa was forced to capitulate to the Athenians.</p> + +<p>In the summer of the third year, the Lacedæmonians called on the +Platæans to desert the Athenian alliance. On their refusal, +Platæa was besieged by the allied forces of the Peloponnesians. With +splendid resolution, the Platæans defeated the attempt of the allies +to force an entry till they were able to complete and withdraw behind a +second and more easily tenable line of defence, when the Peloponnesians +settled down to a regular investment. The same year was marked by the +brilliant operations of the Athenian admiral Phormio in the neighbourhood +of Naupactus.</p> + +<p>On the other hand, a Peloponnesian squadron threatened the Piræus, +caused some temporary panic, and awakened the Athenians to the necessity of +maintaining a look-out, but otherwise effected little. The year is further +noted for the invasion of Macedonia by the Thracian or Scythian king +Sitalces, who was, however, induced to retire.</p> + +<p>In the next year, Lesbos revolted against the Athenian supremacy. As a +result, an Athenian squadron blockaded Mitylene. The Lacedaæonians +were well pleased to accept alliance with a sea-power which claimed to have +struck against Athens, not as being subject to her, but in anticipation of +attempted subjugation. The prompt equipment, however, of another Athenian +fleet chilled the naval enthusiasm of Sparta.</p> + +<p>During this winter the Platæans began to feel in straits from +shortage of supplies, and it was resolved that a party of them should break +through the siege lines, and escape to Athens, a feat of arms which was +brilliantly and successfully accomplished.</p> + +<p>In the next--the fifth--summer, Mitylene capitulated; the fate of the +inhabitants was to be referred to Athens. Here Cleon had now become the +popular leader, and he persuaded the Athenians to order the whole of the +adult males to be put to death. The opposition, however, succeeded in +getting this bloodthirsty resolution rescinded. The second dispatch, racing +desperately after the first, did not succeed in overtaking it, but was just +in time to prevent the order for the massacre from being carried out. +Lesbos was divided among Athenian citizens, who left the Lesbians in +occupation as before, but drew a large rental from them.</p> + +<p>In the same summer the remaining garrison of Platæa surrendered to +the Lacedæmonians, on terms to be decided by Lacedæmonian +commissioners. Before them the Platæans justified their resistance, +but the commissioners ignored the defence, and, on the pretext that the +only question was whether they had suffered any "wrong" at the hands of the +Platæans, and that the answer to that was obvious, put the +Platæans to death and razed the city to the ground.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, at Corcyra, the popular and the oligarchical parties, who +favoured the Athenians and Peloponnesians respectively, had reached the +stage of murderous hostility to each other. The oligarchs captured the +government, and were then in turn attacked by the popular party; and there +was savage faction fighting. An attempt was made by the commander of the +Athenian squadron at Naupactus to act as moderator; the appearance of a +Peloponnesian squadron and a confused sea-fight, somewhat in favour of the +latter, brought the popular party to the verge of a compromise. But the +Peloponnesians retired on the reported approach of a fresh Athenian fleet, +and a democratic reign of terror followed.</p> + +<p>"The father slew the son, and the supplicants were torn from the temples +and slain near them." And thus was initiated the peculiar horror of this +war--the desperate civil strife in one city after another, oligarchs hoping +to triumph by Lacedæmonian and democrats by Athenian, support, and +either party, when uppermost, ruling by terror. It was at this time also +that the Ionian and Dorian cities of Sicily, headed by Leontini and +Syracuse respectively, went to war with each other, and an Athenian +squadron was first induced to participate in the struggle.</p> + +<p>Among the operations of the next, or sixth, summer was a campaign which +the Athenian commander Demosthenes conducted in Ætolia--successful at +the outset, but terminating in disaster, which made the general afraid to +return to Athens. He seized a chance, however, of recovering his credit by +foiling a Lacedæmonian expedition against Naupactus; and in other +ways he successfully established a high military reputation, so that he was +no longer afraid to reappear at Athens.</p> + +<p>Next year, the Athenians dispatched a larger fleet with Sicily for its +objective. Demosthenes, however, who had a project of his own in view, was +given an independent command. He was thus enabled to seize and fortify +Pylos, a position on the south-west of Peloponnese, with a harbour +sheltered by the isle of Sphacteria. The Spartans, in alarm, withdrew their +invading force from Attica, and attempted to recover Pylos, landing over +400 of their best men on Sphacteria. The locality now became the scene of a +desperate struggle, which finally resulted in the Spartans on Sphacteria +being completely isolated.</p> + +<p>So seriously did the Lacedæmonians regard this blow that they +invited the Athenians to make peace virtually in terms of an equal +alliance; but the Athenians were now so confident of a triumphant issue +that they refused the terms--chiefly at the instigation of Cleon. Some +supplies, however, were got into Sphacteria, owing to the high rewards +offered by the Lacedæmonians for successful blockade-running. At this +moment, Cleon, the Athenian demagogue, having rashly declared that he could +easily capture Sphacteria, was taken at his word and sent to do it. He had +the wit, however, to choose Demosthenes for his colleague, and to take +precisely the kind of troops Demosthenes wanted; with the result that +within twenty days, as he had promised, the Spartans found themselves with +no other alternatives than annihilation or surrender. Their choice of the +latter was an overwhelming blow to Lacedæmonian prestige.</p> + + +<h4><i>III.--Victories of Lacedæmon</i></h4> + + +<p>The capture of the island of Cythera in the next summer gave the +Athenians a second strong station from which they could constantly menace +the Peloponnese. On the other hand, in this year the Sicilians were +awakening to the fact that Athens was not playing a disinterested part on +behalf of the Ionian states, but was dreaming of a Sicilian empire. At a +sort of peace congress, Hermocrates of Syracuse successfully urged all +Sicilians to compose their quarrels on the basis of <i>uti possidetis,</i> +and thus deprive the Athenians of any excuse for remaining. Thus for the +time Athenian aspirations in that quarter were checked.</p> + +<p>At Megara this year the dissensions of the oligarchical and popular +factions almost resulted in its capture by the Athenians. The +Lacedæmonian Brasidas, however--who had distinguished himself at +Pylos--effected an entry, so that the oligarchical and Peloponnesian party +became permanently established in power. The most important operations were +now in two fields. Brasidas made a dash through Thessaly into Macedonia, in +alliance with Perdiccas of Macedon, with the hope of stirring the cities of +Chalcidice to throw off the Athenian yoke; and the democrats of Boeotia +intrigued with Athens to assist in a general revolution. Owing partly to +misunderstandings and partly to treachery, the Boeotian democrats failed to +carry out their programme, the Athenians were defeated at Delium, and +Delium itself was captured by the Boeotians.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, Brasidas succeeded in persuading Acanthus to revolt, he +himself winning the highest of reputations for justice and moderation as +well as for military skill. Later in the year he suddenly turned his forces +against the Athenian colony of Amphipolis, which he induced to surrender by +offering very favourable terms before Thucydides, who was in command of +Thasos, arrived to relieve it. The further successes of Brasidas during +this winter made the Athenians ready to treat for peace, and a truce was +agreed upon for twelve months. Brasidas, however, continued to render aid +to the subject cities which revolted from Athens--this being now the ninth +year of the war--but he failed in an attempt to capture Potidæa.</p> + +<p>The period of truce terminating without any definite peace being arrived +at, the summer of the tenth year is chiefly notable for the expedition sent +under Cleon to recover Amphipolis, and for a recrudescence of the old +quarrel in Sicily between Leontini and Syracuse. Before Amphipolis, the +incompetent Cleon was routed by the skill of Brasidas; but the victor as +well as the vanquished was slain, though he lived long enough to know of +the victory. Their deaths removed two of the most zealous opponents of the +peace for which both sides were now anxious. Hence at the close of the +tenth year a definite peace was concluded.</p> + +<p>The Lacedæmonians, however, were almost alone in being fully +satisfied by the terms, and the war was really continued by an +anti-Laconian confederation of the former Peloponnesian allies, who saw in +the peace a means to the excessive preponderance of Athens and Sparta. +Argos was brought into the new confederacy in the hope of establishing her +nominal equality with Sparta. For some years from this point the +combinations of the states were constantly changing, while Athens and +Sparta remained generally on terms of friendliness, the two prominent +figures at Athens being the conservative Nicias and the restless and +ambitious young intriguer Alcibiades.</p> + +<p>In the fourteenth year there were active hostilities between Argos, with +which by this time Athens was in alliance, and Lacedæmon, issuing in the +great battle of Mantinea, where there was an Athenian contingent with the +Argives. This was notable especially as completely restoring the prestige +of the Lacedæmonian arms, their victory being decisive. The result +was a new treaty between Sparta and Argos, and the dissolution of the +Argive-Athenian alliance; but this was once more reversed in the following +year, when the Argive oligarchy was attacked successfully by the popular +party.</p> + +<p>The next year is marked by the high-handed treatment of the island of +Melos by the Athenians. This was one of the very few islands which had not +been compelled to submit to Athens, but had endeavoured to remain neutral. +Thither the Athenians now sent an expedition, absolutely without excuse, to +compel their submission.</p> + +<p>The Melians, however, refused, and gave the Athenians a good deal of +trouble before they could be subdued, when the adult male population was +put to death, and the women and children enslaved. At this time the +Athenians resolved, under colour of an appeal for assistance from the +Sicilian city of Egesta, deliberately to set about the establishment of +their empire in Sicily. The aggressive policy was vehemently advocated by +Alcibiades, and opposed by Nicias. Nevertheless, he, with Alcibiades and +Lamachus, was appointed to command the expedition, which was prepared on a +scale of unparalleled magnificence. It was on the point of starting, when +the whole city was stirred to frenzy by the midnight mutilation of the +sacred images called Hermæ, an act laid at the door of Alcibiades, +along with many other charges of profane outrages. Of set purpose, however, +the enemies of Alcibiades refused to bring him to trial. The expedition +sailed. The Syracusans were deaf to the warnings of Hermocrates until the +great fleet had actually arrived at Rhegium.</p> + +<p>Nicias was now anxious to find an excuse, in the evident falsity of +statements made by the Egestans, for the fleet to content itself with +making a demonstration and then returning home. The scheme of Alcibiades, +however, was adopted for gaining over the other Sicilian states in order to +crush Syracuse. But at this moment dispatches arrived requiring the return +of Alcibiades to stand trial. Athens was in a panic over the Hermæ +affair, which was supposed to portend an attempt to reestablish the +despotism which had been ended a hundred years before by the expulsion of +the Pisistratidæ. Alcibiades, however, made his escape, and for years +pursued a life of political intrigue against the Athenian government.</p> + +<p>Nicias and Lamachus, left in joint command, drew off the Syracusan +forces by a ruse, and were thus enabled to occupy unchecked a strong +position before Syracuse. Although, however, they inflicted a defeat on the +returned Syracusan forces, they withdrew into winter quarters; the +Syracusans were roused by Hermocrates to improve their military +organisation; and both sides entered on a diplomatic contest for winning +over the other states of Sicily. Alcibiades, now an avowed enemy of Athens, +was received by the Lacedæmonians, whom he induced to send an able +Spartan officer, Gylippus, to Syracuse, and to determine on the +establishment of a military post corresponding to that of Pylos on Attic +soil at Decelea.</p> + + +<h4><i>IV.--The Disaster of Syracuse</i></h4> + + +<p>In the spring the Athenians succeeded in establishing themselves on the +heights called Epipolæ, overlooking Syracuse, began raising a wall of +circumvallation, and carried by a surprise the counter-stockade which the +Syracusans were raising. In one of the skirmishes, while the building of +the wall was in progress, Lamachus was killed; otherwise matters went well +for the Athenians and ill for the Syracusans, till Gylippus was allowed to +land at Himera, force his way into Syracuse, and give new life. Nicias was +guilty of the blunder of allowing Gylippus to land at Himera, to aid the +defence, at the moment when it was on the point of capitulation. A long +contest followed, the Athenians endeavouring to complete the investing +lines, the Syracusans to pierce them with counterworks. Nicias sent to +Athens for reinforcements, while the Syracusans were energetically fitting +out a fleet and appealing for air in the Peloponnese. Nicias, in fact, was +extremely despondent and anxious to resign; the Athenians, however, +answered his dispatches by preparing a great reinforcement under the +command of Demosthenes, without accepting the resignation of Nicias. The +Lacedæmonians, however, also sent some reinforcements; at the same +time they formally declared war, and carried out the plan of occupying and +fortifying Decelea, which completely commanded the Athenian territory and +was the cause of untold loss and suffering.</p> + +<p>Now, at Syracuse the besieged took the offensive both by sea and land, +and were worsted on the water, but captured some of the Athenian forts, +commanding the entry to the besiegers' lines--a serious disaster. By the +time that Demosthenes with his reinforcements reached Sicily nearly the +whole island had come over to the side of Syracuse. Before this, the +Syracusans had again challenged an engagement both by sea and land, with +results indecisive on the first day but distinctly in their favour on the +second. At this juncture, Demosthenes arrived, and, seeing the necessity +for immediate action, made a night attack on the Syracusan lines; but, his +men falling into confusion after a first success, the attempt was +disastrously repulsed.</p> + +<p>Demosthenes was quick to realise that the whole situation was hopeless; +but Nicias lacked nerve to accept the responsibility of retiring, and also +had some idea that affairs within Syracuse were favourable. His obstinacy +gave Demosthenes and his colleague Eurymedon the impression that he was +guided by secret information. And now it became the primary object of +Gylippus and the Syracusans to keep the Athenians from retiring. Another +naval defeat reduced the Athenians to despair; they resolved that they must +cut their way out.</p> + +<p>The desperate attempt was made, but by almost hopeless men against an +enemy now full of confidence. To the excited, almost agonised, watchers on +shore, it seemed for a brief space that the ships might force a passage; +the fight was a frenzied scuffle; but presently the terrible truth was +realised--the Athenian ships were being driven ashore. The last hope of +escape by sea was gone, for, though there were still ships enough, the +sailors were too utterly demoralised to make the attempt.</p> + +<p>Hermocrates and Gylippus, sure that a retreat by land would not be +tried, succeeded by a trick in detaining the Athenians till they had +themselves sent out detachments to hold the roads. On the third day the +Athenians began their retreat in unspeakable misery, amid the lamentations +of the sick and wounded, whom they were forced to leave behind. For three +days they struggled on, short of food and perpetually harassed, cut off +from all communications. On the third day their passage was barred in a +pass, and they found themselves in a trap. On the third night they +attempted to break away by a different route, but the van and the rear lost +touch. Overtaken by the Syracusans, Demosthenes attempted to fight a +rearguard action, but in vain, and he was forced to surrender at discretion +with his whole force. Next day, Nicias with the van was overtaken, and, +after a ghastly scene of confusion and slaughter, the remnants of the +vanguard were forced to surrender also. Nicias and Demosthenes were put to +death; great numbers were seized as private spoil by their captors, the +rest of the prisoners--more than 7,000--were confined for weeks under the +most noisome conditions in the quarries, and finally the survivors were +sold as slaves. So pitiably ended that once magnificent enterprise in the +nineteenth year of the war.</p> + +<p>The terrific disaster filled every enemy of Athens with confident +expectation of her immediate and utter ruin. Lacedæmonians +anticipated an unqualified supremacy. At Athens there was a stubborn +determination to prepare for a desperate stand; but half the islanders were +intriguing for Lacedæmonian or Persian aid in breaking free, while +Alcibiades became extremely busy.</p> + +<p>The first Peloponnesian squadron which attempted to move was promptly +driven into Piræus by an Athenian fleet and blockaded. On the open +revolt of some of the states, the Athenians for the first time brought into +play their reserve fund and reserve navy--the emergency had arisen. While +one after another of the subject cities revolted, the Athenians struck hard +at Chios, and especially Miletus, and obtained marked successes. Meanwhile, +a revolution in Samos had expelled the oligarchy and re-established the +democracy, to which the Athenians accorded freedom, thereby securing an +ally. In Lesbos also they recovered their challenged supremacy.</p> + +<p>Phrynicus now came into prominence as a shrewd commander and a crafty +politician, while the intricate intrigues of Alcibiades, whose great object +was to recover his position at Athens, created perpetual confusion. These +events took place in the twentieth year of the war, and to them must be +added a Lacedæmonian treaty with Persia through the satrap +Tissaphernes. All the leading men, however, were engaged in playing fast +and loose, each of them having his personal ambitions in view. Of this +labyrinth of plots and counter-plots, the startling outcome was the sudden +abrogation of the constitution at Athens and the capture of the government +by a committee of five with a council of four hundred and a supplementary +assembly of five thousand--in place of the whole body of citizens as +formerly. The Five and the Four Hundred in effect were the Government, and +established a reign of terror.</p> + +<p>At Athens, the administration thus formed was effective; but the army +and fleet at Satnos repudiated the revolution and swore loyalty to the +democracy, claiming to be the true representatives of the Athenian state. +Moreover, they allied themselves with Alcibiades, expecting through him to +receive Persian support; and, happily for Athens, he succeeded in +restraining the fleet--which was still more than a match for all +adversaries--from sailing back to the Piræus to subvert the rule of +the Four Hundred. The more patriotic of the oligarchs saw, in fact, that +the best hopes for the state lay in the establishment of a limited +democracy; with the result that the extreme oligarchs, who would have +joined hands with the enemy, were overthrown, and the rule of the Five +Thousand replaced that of the Four Hundred, providing Athens with the best +administration it had ever known. A great naval victory was won by the +Athenian fleet, under the command of Thrasybulus, over a slightly larger +Peloponnesian fleet at Cynossema.</p> + +<hr /> + + + + +<h2><a name='XENOPHON'></a>XENOPHON</h2> + + +<h3><a name='Anabasis'></a>Anabasis</h3> + + +<blockquote><p> Xenophon was born at Athens about B.C. 430, and died +probably in 355. He was an Athenian gentleman who in his early-manhood was +an intimate member of the Socratic circle. In 401 he joined the expedition +of Cyrus, recorded in the "Anabasis," and did not again take up his +residence in Athens. The "Anabasis" must be introduced by an historical +note. In the year 404 B.C. the Peloponnesian war was brought to a close by +a peace establishing the Lacedæmonian supremacy consequent upon the +crowning disaster to the Athenians at Aegos Potami. In the same year the +Persian king Darius Nothus died, and was succeeded on the throne by his son +Artaxerxes. His younger son, Cyrus, determined to make a bid for the +throne. He had personal knowledge of the immense superiority of the Greek +soldiery and the Greek discipline over those of the Eastern nations. +Accordingly, he planned to obtain the services of a large contingent of +Greek mercenaries, who had become the more readily available since the +internecine struggle between the two leading states of Hellas had been +brought to an end. The term "Anabasis," or "going up," applies properly to +the advance into the interior; the retreat, with which the work is mainly +concerned, is the "Katabasis." The author writes his record in the third +person. This epitome has been specially adapted for THE WORLD'S GREATEST +BOOKS from the Greek text. </p></blockquote> + + +<h4><i>I.--The Going-up of Cyrus</i></h4> + + +<p>Cyrus, the younger brother of Artaxerxes the king, began his +preparations for revolt by gradually gathering and equipping an army on the +pretext of hostile relations between himself and another of the western +satraps, Tissaphernes. Notably, he secretly furnished Clearchus, a +Lacedæmonian, with means to equip a Greek force in Thrace; another +like force was ready to move from Thessaly under Aristippus; while a +Boeotian, Proxenus, and two others friends were commissioned to collect +more mercenaries to aid in the war with Tissaphernes.</p> + +<p>Next, an excuse for marching up-country, at the head of all these +forces, was found in the need of suppressing the Pisidians. He advanced +from Sardis into Phrygia, where his musters were completed at +Celænæ. A review was held at Tyriæum, where the Cilician +queen, who had supplied funds, was badly frightened by a mock charge of the +Greek contingent. When the advance had reached Tarsus, there was almost a +mutiny among the Greeks, who were suspicious of the intentions of Cyrus. +The diplomacy, however, of their principal general, Clearchus, the +Lacedæmonian, coupled with promises of increased pay, prevailed, +though it had long been obvious that Pisidia was not the objective of the +expedition.</p> + +<p>Further reinforcements were received at Issus, the eastern seaport of +Cilicia; Cyrus then marched through the Cilician gate into Syria. At +Myriandrus two Greek commanders, probably through jealousy of Clearchus, +deserted. Cyrus won popularity by refusing to presume thereon; and the +whole force now struck inland to Thapsacus, on the Euphrates.</p> + +<p>At Thapsacus, Cyrus announced his purpose. The Greek soldiers were angry +with their generals for having, as they supposed, wilfully misled them, but +were mollified by promise of large rewards. One of the commanders, Menon, +won the approval of Cyrus by being the first to lead his own contingent +across the Euphrates on his own initiative. The advance was now conducted +by forced marches through a painfully sterile country. In the course of +this, the troops of Clearchus and Menon very nearly came to blows; the +intervention of Proxenus only made matters worse; and order was restored by +the arrival of Cyrus, who pointed out that the whole expedition must be +ruined if the Greeks fell out among themselves.</p> + +<p>By this time, Artaxerxes had realised that the repeated warnings of +Tissaphernes and others were justified; and as the expedition neared +Babylonia, signs of the enemy became apparent in the deliberate devastation +of the country. Here Orontes, one of the principal Persian officers of +Cyrus, was convicted of treason and put to death.</p> + +<p>The army was again reviewed, the whole force amounting to some 100,000 +barbarians and nearly 14,000 Greeks; the enemy were reputed to number over +1,000,000, though not so many took part in the engagement. Cyrus now +advanced, expecting battle immediately at an entrenched pass; but, finding +this unoccupied, he did not maintain battle order; which was hurriedly +taken up on news of the approach of the royal forces. The Greeks, under +Clearchus, occupied the right wing, Cyrus being in the centre, and +Ariæus on the left. The king's army was so large that its centre +extended beyond the left of Cyrus.</p> + +<p>The Greeks advanced on the royalist left, which broke and fled almost +without a blow. Thinking that the Greeks might be intercepted and cut off, +Cyrus charged the centre in person with his bodyguard, and routed the +opposing troops; but dashing forward in the hope of capturing Artaxerxes, +was himself pierced by a javelin, and fell dead on the field. So ended the +career of the most brilliant Persian since Cyrus the Great had established +the Persian Empire; brave, accomplished, the mirror of honour, just himself +and the rewarder of justice in others, generous and most loyal to his +friends.</p> + + +<h4><i>II.--The Homeward March</i></h4> + + +<p>When Cyrus fell, the left wing, under Ariæus, broke and fled. The +Greeks had meantime poured on in pursuit of the royalist left, while the +main body of the royalists were in possession of the rebel camp, though a +Greek guard, which had been left there, held the Greek quarter. Artaxerxes, +however, had no mind to give battle to the returning Greek column.</p> + +<p>It was not till next day that Clearchus and his colleagues learned by +messengers from Ariæus that Cyrus was slain, and that Ariæus +had fallen back to the last halting-place, where he proposed to wait +twenty-four hours, and no more, before starting in his retreat westward. +Clearchus replied, that the Greeks, for their part, had been victorious, +and that if Ariæus would rejoin them they would win the Persian crown +for him, since Cyrus was dead. The next message was from Artaxerxes +inviting the Greeks to give up their arms; to which they replied that he +might come and take them if he could, but if he meant to treat them as +friends, they would be no use to him without their arms, if as enemies, +they would keep them to defend themselves.</p> + +<p>Though no formal appointment was made, the Greeks recognised Clearchus +as their leader. They fell back to join Ariæus, who declined the +proposal to seat him on the Persian throne; and it was agreed to follow a +new route in retreat to Ionia, the way by which the force had advanced +being now impracticable.</p> + +<p>Now, however, Artaxerxes began to negotiate through Tissaphernes, the +Greeks maintaining a bold and even contemptuous front, warranted by the +king's obvious fear of risking an engagement.</p> + +<p>Finally, an offer came to conduct the Greeks back to Grecian territory, +providing them, at their own cost, with necessaries. Prolonged delays, +however, aroused suspicions of treachery among the Greeks, who distrusted +Tissaphernes and Ariæus alike; but Clearchus held it better not to +break openly with the Persians. The march at last began along a northerly +route towards the Black Sea, the Greeks keeping rigidly apart from the +Persian forces which accompanied them, in readiness for an attack.</p> + +<p>At the crossing of the Tigris suspicion was particularly active, the +conduct of Ariæus being especially dubious; but still no overt +hostilities were attempted until the river Zabatus was reached, after three +weeks of marching. Here Clearchus endeavoured to end the extremely strained +relations between the Greeks and the barbarian commanders by an interview +with Tissaphernes. Both men carefully repudiated any idea of hostile +intentions, and the Persian invited Clearchus and the Greek officers +generally to attend a conference. Not all, but a considerable number--five +generals, including Clearchus, Proxenus, and Menon, with twenty more +officers and nearly two hundred others--attended. At a given signal all +were treacherously massacred; but a fugitive reached the Greek camp, where +the men sprang to arms. Ariæus, approaching with an escort, declared +that Clearchus had been proved guilty of treason, but was received with +fierce indignation, and withdrew.</p> + +<p>Of the murdered generals, Clearchus was a man of high military capacity, +but a harsh disciplinarian, feared and respected, but very unpopular; +Proxenus, a particular friend of Xenophon, was an amiable but not a strong +man; Menon, the Thessalian, was a crafty and hypocritical time-server, of +whom no good can be spoken.</p> + +<p>The ten thousand Greeks were now in an ugly predicament; they were a +thousand miles from home, while between them and the Black Sea lay the +mountains of Armenia. They were surrounded by hostile hordes, and were +without cavalry. They had no recognised chief, and their most trusted +leaders were gone. The whole company seemed paralysed under a universal +despondency. It was at this juncture that Xenophon, an Athenian +gentleman-volunteer, was stirred to action by a dream. He rose and roused +the officers of the contingent of Proxenus, to which he was attached. +Heartened by an address, in which he pointed out that, on the one hand they +had to depend on their own courage, skill, and resourcefulness, and, on the +other, were released from all obligation to the Persians, they unanimously +chose him their leader, and at his instigation roused the senior officers +of all the other contingents to assemble for deliberation.</p> + +<p>The council thus summoned, inspired again by the words of Xenophon, +vigorously backed up by other leaders, appointed new generals, among them +Xenophon himself, and set about actively to organise a retreat to the sea. +The contagion of resolute determination spread through the ranks of the +whole force. Cheirisophus the Lacedæmonian was given the chief +command, the two youngest generals, Xenophon and Timerion, were placed in +charge of the rear-guard. A troop of slingers was organised; all horses +with the arroy were sequestrated to form a cavalry squadron. The army +started on its march through the unknown, formed in a hollow square, which +was shortly so organised that the columns could be broadened or narrowed +according to the ground without creating confusion.</p> + +<p>They soon found themselves able to repulse without difficulty even +attacks in force by the troops of Tissaphernes, the enemy being entirely +outmatched in hand-to-hand fighting. The slingers and archers, however, +proved troublesome, and hostile forces, though keeping out of reach, were +never far off. At last Tissaphernes and Ariæus drew off altogether, +and the Greek generals having as alternative courses the march east upon +Susa, north upon Babylon, and west towards Ionia, decided to revert to the +course northwards to the Black Sea.</p> + + +<h4><i>III.--The Sea! The Sea!</i></h4> + + +<p>This route led at first through the country of the Carduchi, a very +warlike folk who had never been subjugated. Here there was a good deal of +hard fighting, the Carduchi being adepts in hill warfare, and particularly +expert archers. Such was the length and weight of their arrows that Greeks +collected them, and used them as javelins. Seven days of this brought the +retreating force to the river Centrites, which parts the Carduchian +mountains from the province of Armenia. With a barely fordable river, +troops in evidence on the other side, and the Carduchi hanging on their +rear, the passage offered great difficulties, solved by the discovery of a +much shallower ford. A feint at one point by the rearguard drew off the +enemy on the opposite bank, while the main body crossed at the shallows, +which the rearguard also managed to pass by a successful ruse which misled +the Carduchi.</p> + +<p>The Persian governor of Western Armenia, Tiribazus, offered safe passage +through his province, but scouts brought information that large forces were +collecting, and would dispute the passage of a defile through which the +army must pass. This point, however, was reached by a forced march, and the +enemy was put to rout.</p> + +<p>For some days after this the marching was very severe; the men had to +struggle forward on very nearly empty stomachs, through blizzards, +suffering terribly from frostbite and the blinding effect of the snow on +their eyes, so that at times nothing short of actual threats from the +officers could induce the exhausted men to toil forward; and all the time +the enemy's skirmishers were harassing the troops and cutting off +stragglers. These, however, were finally dispersed by a sudden onslaught of +the rearguard, and after this a more populous district was reached, where +food and wine abounded, and the Greeks, who were not ill-received, made +some days' halt to recuperate.</p> + +<p>Here a guide was obtained for the next stages; but on the third night he +deserted, because Cheirisophus had lost his temper and struck him. This +incident was the only occasion of a serious difference between Xenophon and +the elder commander. On the seventh day after this the river Phasis was +crossed; but two days later, on approaching a mountain pass, it was seen to +be occupied in force. A council of war was held, at which some jesting +passed, Xenophon remarking on the reputation of the Lacedæmonians as +adepts in thieving, a jibe which Cheirisophus retorted on the Athenians; as +the business in hand was to "steal a match" on the enemy, each encouraged +the other to act up to the national reputation. In the night, a detachment +of volunteers captured the ridge above the pass; the enemy facing the main +body beat a hasty retreat when they found their position turned.</p> + +<p>Another five days brought the army into the country of the Taochi, where +the Greeks had to rush a somewhat dangerous position in order to capture +supplies. A space of some twenty yards was open to such a storm of missiles +from above that it could only be passed by drawing the enemy's fire and +making a dash before fresh missiles were accumulated. When this was +accomplished, however, the foe offered no practical resistance, but flung +themselves over the cliffs.</p> + +<p>Eighteen days later the Greeks reached a town called Gymnise, where they +obtained a guide. Their course lay through tribes towards whom the governor +was hostile, and the Greeks had no objection to gratifying him by spoiling +and burning on their way. On the fifth day after leaving Gymnise, a +mountain pass was reached.</p> + +<p>When the van cleared the top of the mountain, there arose a great +shouting. And when Xenophon heard it, and they of the rear-guard, they +supposed that other enemies were ranged against them, for the men of the +land which had been ravaged were following behind; but when the clamour +grew louder and nearer, and the new arrivals doubled forward to where the +shouting was, so that it became greater and greater with the added numbers, +Xenophon thought this must be something of moment. Therefore, taking Lycias +and the horsemen, he rode forward at speed to give aid; and then suddenly +they were aware of the soldiers' shout, the word that rang through the +lines--"The sea! the sea!" Then every man raced, rear-guard and all, urging +horses and the very baggage-mules to the top of their speed, and when they +came to the top, they fell on each other's necks, and the generals, and +officers, too, with tears of delight. And in a moment, whoever it was that +passed the word, the men were gathering stones, and there they reared a +mighty column.</p> + +<p>And as for the lucky guide, he betook himself home laden with +presents.</p> + +<p>Of what befell between this point and the actual arrival of the army on +the coast of the Black Sea at the Grecian colony of Trapezus [Trebizond] +the most curious incident was that of the soldiers lighting upon great +quantities of honey, which not only made them violently ill, but had an +intoxicating effect, attributed to the herbs frequented by the bees in that +district. This necessitated a halt of some days. The second day's march +thence brought them to Trapezus, where they made sacrificial +thank-offerings to the gods, and further celebrated the occasion by holding +athletic games.</p> + + +<h4><i>IV.--The End of the Expedition</i></h4> + + +<p>But Trapezus was not Greece, and the problem of transport was serious. +The men, sick of marching, were eager to accomplish the rest of their +journey by sea. Cheirisophus the general, as being a personal friend of the +Lacedæmonian admiral stationed at Byzantium, was commissioned to +obtain ships from him to take the Greeks home.</p> + +<p>Cheirisophus departed. The army, which still numbered over ten thousand +persons, was willing enough to maintain its military organisation for +foraging and for self-defence; also to make such arrangements as were +practicable for collecting ships in case Cheirisophus should fail them; but +the men flatly refused to consider any further movement except by +water.</p> + +<p>So they stayed where they were, maintaining their supplies by raids on +the natives; but time passed, and there were no tidings of Cheirisophus. At +last, they saw nothing for it but to put the sick and other non-combatants +aboard of the vessels which had been secured, send them on by sea, and +themselves march by the coast to Cerasus, another Greek colony. Thence they +continued their westward progress, in which they met with considerable +resistance from the natives, who were barbarians of a primitive type, until +they came to Cotyora.</p> + +<p>This was another settlement from Sinope; but it received the Greeks very +inhospitably, so that the latter continued their practice of ravaging the +neighbouring territories. It was now eight months since the expedition had +started on its homeward march. Here a deputation arrived from Sinope to +protest against their proceedings; but Xenophon pointed out that while they +were perfectly willing to buy what they needed and behave as friends, if +they were not allowed to buy, self-preservation compelled them to take by +force. Ultimately, the deputation promised to send ships from Sinope to +convey them thither.</p> + +<p>During the time of waiting there was some risk of the force breaking +itself up, and some inclination to make attacks on the officers, including +Xenophon. The formulation of charges, however, enabled him amply to justify +the acts complained of, and order generally was restored. At last, however, +a sufficient number of ships were collected to convey the force to Sinope, +where also Cheirisophus put in his long-delayed appearance.</p> + +<p>Cheirisophus came practically without ships and with nothing but vague +promises from the admiral at Byzantium. At this point it occurred to the +army that it would be better to have a single commander for the whole than +a committee of generals each in control of his own division. Hence Xenophon +was invited to accept the position. On consulting the omens he declined, +recommending that, since Cheirisophus was a Lacedæmonian, it would be +the proper thing to offer him the command, which was accordingly done.</p> + +<p>The force now sailed from Sinope as far as Heraclea. Here the +contingents from Arcadia and Archæa--more than half the force--insisted on +requisitioning large supplies of money from Heraclea. Cheirisophus, +supported by Xenophon, refused assent; the Arcadians and Achæans +consequently refused to serve under their command any more, and appointed +captains for themselves. The other half of the army was also parted in two +divisions, commanded by Cheirisophus and Xenophon respectively.</p> + +<p>From Calpe the Arcadians and Archæans made an expedition into the +interior, which fared so ill that Xenophon, hearing by accident of what had +happened, was obliged to march to their relief. To his satisfaction, +however, it was found that the enemy had already dispersed, and the Greek +column was overtaken on the way back to Calpe. The general effect of the +episode was to impress upon the Arcadians and Archæans that it was +commonsense for the whole force to remain united.</p> + +<p>The usual operations were carried on for obtaining supplies, report +having arrived that Cleander, the Lacedæmonian governor of Byzantium, +was coming, which he presently did, with a couple of galleys but no +transports. From information received, Cleander was inclined to regard the +army as little better than a band of brigands; but this idea was +successfully dissipated by Xenophon. Cleander went back to Byzantium, and +the Greeks marched from Calpe to Chrysopolis, which faces Byzantium.</p> + +<p>Here the whole force was at last carried over to the opposite shore, and +once more found itself on European soil, having received promises of pay +from the admiral Anaxibius. Suspicions of his real intentions were aroused, +and Xenophon had no little difficulty in preventing his soldiery from +breaking loose and sacking Byzantium itself.</p> + +<p>Ultimately, the greater part of the force took service with the Thracian +king Seuthes. Seuthes, however, failed to carry out his promises as to +payments and rewards. But now the Lacedæmonians were engaged in a +quarrel with the western satraps, Tissaphernes and Artabazus; six thousand +veterans so experienced as those who had followed this famous march into +the heart of the Persian empire, had fought their way from Cunaxa to +Trapezus, and had supported themselves mainly by their military prowess in +getting from Trapezus to Europe, were a force by no means to be neglected, +and the bulk of the troops were not unwilling to be incorporated in the +Lacedæmonian armies. And so ends the story of the Retreat of the Ten +Thousand Greeks.</p> + +<hr /> + + + + +<h2><a name='GEORGE_GROTE'></a>GEORGE GROTE</h2> + + +<h3><a name='History_of_Greece'></a>History of Greece</h3> + + +<blockquote><p> George Grote, born at Beckenham, England, Nov. 17, 1794, +entered the bank founded by his grandfather, from which he withdrew in +1843. He joined the group of "philosophic Radicals," among whom James Mill +was a leader, and was a keen politician and reformer, and an ardent +advocate of the ballot. His determination to write a sound "History of +Greece" was ensured, if it was not inspired, by Mitford's history, a work +full of anti-democratic fervour and very antagonistic to the great Greek +democratic state of Athens. In some respects his work is a defence of the +Athenian democracy, at least as contrasted with Sparta; it appeared in +twelve volumes between 1846 and 1856, and covered Greek history from the +earliest times "till the close of the generation contemporary with +Alexander the Great." It at once occupied, and still holds, the field as +the classic work on the subject as a whole, though later research has +modified many of his conclusions. His methods were pre-eminently thorough, +dispassionate, and judicial; but he suffers from a lack of sympathetic +imagination. He died on June 18, 1871, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. +</p></blockquote> + + +<h4><i>I.--Early History</i></h4> + + +<p>The divine myths constitute the earliest matter of Greek history. These +may be divided into those which belong to the gods and to the heroes +respectively; but most of them, in point of fact, present gods, heroes, and +men in juxtaposition. Every community sought to trace its origin to some +common divine, or semi-divine, progenitor; the establishment of a pedigree +was a necessity; and each pedigree contains at some, point figures +corresponding to some actual historical character, before whom the pedigree +is imaginary, but after whom, in the main, actual. The precise point where +the legend fades into the mythical, or consolidates into the historical, is +not usually ascertainable.</p> + +<p>The legendary period culminates in the tale of Troy, which belongs to a +period prior to the Dorian conquest presented in the Herakleid legend; the +tale of Troy itself remaining the common heritage of the Greek peoples, and +having an actual basis in historical fact. The events, however, are of less +importance than the picture of an actual historical, political, and social +system, corresponding, not to the supposed date of the Trojan war, but to +the date of the composition of the Homeric poems. Later ages regarded the +myths themselves with a good deal of scepticism, and were often disposed to +rationalise them, or to find for them an allegorical interpretation. The +myths of other European peoples have undergone a somewhat similar +treatment.</p> + +<p>Greece proper, that is, the European territory occupied by the Hellenic +peoples, has a very extensive coast-line, covers the islands of the +Ægean, and is so mountainous on the mainland that communication +between one point and another is not easy. This facilitated the system +which isolated communities, compelling each one to develop and perfect its +own separate organisation; so that Greece became, not a state, but a +congerie of single separate city states--small territories centering in the +city, although in some cases the village system was not centralised into +the city system. On the other hand, the Hellenes very definitely recognised +their common affinity, looked on themselves as a distinct aggregate, and +very emphatically differentiated that entire aggregate from the +non-Hellenes, whom they designated as "barbarians."</p> + +<p>Of these states, the first to come into view--post-Homerically--is +Sparta, the head of the Dorian communities, governed under the laws and +discipline attributed to Lycurgus, with its special peculiarity of the dual +kingship designed to make a pure despotism impossible. The government lay +and remained in the hands of the conquering Spartan race--as for a time +with the Normans in England--which formed a close oligarchy, while within +the oligarchical body the organisation was democratic and communistic. For +Sparta, the eighth and seventh centuries B.C. were characterised by the two +Messenian wars; and we note that while the Hellenes generally recognised +her headship, Argos claimed a titular right to that position. As a general +rule, the primitive monarchical system portrayed in the Homeric poems was +displaced in the Greek cities by an oligarchical government, which in turn +was overthrown by an irregular despotism called <i>tyrannis</i>, primarily +established by a professed popular leader, who maintained his supremacy by +mercenary troops. One after another these usurping dynasties were again +ejected in favour either of a restored oligarchy or of a democracy. Sparta, +where the power of the dual kingship was extremely limited, was the only +state where the legitimate kingship survived. Corinth attained her highest +power Under the despot Periander, son of Cypselus. Of the Ionian section of +Greek states, the supreme type is Athens. Her early history is obscure. The +kingship seems to have ended by being, so to speak, placed in commission, +the royal functions being discharged by an elected body of Archons. +Dissensions among the groups of citizens issued in the democratic Solonian +constitution, which remained the basis of Athenian government, except +during the despotism of the house of Pisistratus in the latter half of the +sixth century B.C. But outside of Greece proper were the numerous Dorian +and Ionian colonies, really independent cities, planted in the coast +districts of Asia Minor, at Cyrene and Barka in Mediterranean Africa, in +Epirus (Albania), Southern Italy, Sicily, and even at Massilia in Gaul, and +in Thrace beyond the proper Hellenic area. These colonies brought the Greek +world in touch with Lydia and its king, Croesus, with the one sea-going +Semitic power, the Phoenicians, with the Egyptians, and more remotely with +the wholly Oriental empires of Assyria and Babylon, as well as with the +outer barbarians of Scythia.</p> + +<p>Between 560 and 510 B.C., Athens was generally under the rule of the +despot Pisistratus and his son Hippias. In 510, the Pisistratidæ were +expelled, and Athens became a pure democracy. Meanwhile, the Persian Cyrus +had seized the Median monarchy and overthrown every other potentate in +Western Asia; Egypt was added to the vast Persian dominion by his son +Cambyses. A new dynasty was established by Darius, the son of Hystaspes, +who organized the empire, but failed to extend it by an incursion into +European Scythia.</p> + +<p>The revolt of the Ionic cities in Asia Minor against the governments +established by the "great king" brought him in contact with the Athenians, +who sent help to Ionia. Demands for "earth and water," <i>i.e.,</i> the +formal recognition of Persian sovereignty, sent to the apparently +insignificant Greek states were insolently rejected. Darius sent an +expedition to punish Athens in particular, and the Athenians drove his army +into the sea at the battle of Marathon.</p> + +<p>Xerxes, son of Darius, organised an overwhelming force by land and sea +to eat up the Greeks. The invaders were met but hardly checked at +Thermopylæ, where Leonidas and the immortal three hundred fell; all +Greece north of the Isthmus of Corinth was in their hands, including +Athens. But their fleet was shattered to pieces, chiefly by the Athenians +under Themistocles and Aristides at Salamis, and the destruction of their +land forces was completed by the united Greeks at Platæa. A further +disaster was inflicted on the same day at Mycale.</p> + + +<h4><i>II.--The Struggles of Athens and Sparta</i></h4> + + +<p>Meanwhile, the Sicilian Greeks, led by Gelo of Syracuse, successfully +resisted and overthrew the aggression of Carthage, the issue being decided +at the battle of Himera. The part played by Athens under the guidance of +Themistocles in the repulse of Persia gave her a new position among the +Greek states and an indisputable naval leadership. As the maritime head of +Hellas she was chief of the naval Delian League, now formed ostensibly to +carry on the war against Persia. But the leaguers, who first contributed a +quota of ships, soon began to substitute money to provide ships, which in +effect swelled the Athenian navy, and turned the contributors into +tributaries. Thus, almost automatically, the Delian League converted itself +into an Athenian empire. In Athens itself an unparalleled personal +ascendancy was acquired by Pericles, who made the form of government and +administration more democratic than before. But this growing supremacy of +Athens aroused the jealous alarm of other Greek states. Sparta saw her own +titular hegemony threatened; the subject cities grew restive under the +Athenian yoke. Sparta came forward professedly as champion of the liberties +of Hellas; Athens, guided by Pericles, refused to submit to Spartan +dictation, and accepted the challenge which plunged Greece into the +Peloponnesian war.</p> + +<p>The Athenians concentrated on the expansion of their naval armaments, +left the open country undefended and gathered within the city walls, and +landed forces at will on the Peloponnese. Platsea, almost their sole ally +on land, held out valiantly for some time, but was forced to surrender; and +Athens herself suffered frightfully from a visitation of the plague. After +the death of Pericles, Cleon became the most prominent leader of the +aggressive and democratic party, Nicias, of the anti-democratic peace +party. Over most of Greece in each state the oligarchic faction favoured +the Peloponnesian league, the democratic, Athens. The general Demosthenes +at Pylos effected the surrender of a Lacedæmonian force, which +temporarily shattered Sparta's military prestige, a blow in some degree +counteracted by the brilliant operations of Brasidas in the north, where, +however, both he and Cleon were killed.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, Athens was awakening to the possibilities of a great +sea-empire, in consequence of her intervention having been invited in +disputes among the Sicilian states. As the outcome, incited by the +brilliant young Alcibiades, she resolved on the fatal Sicilian expedition. +The expedition, planned under command of Alcibiades and Nicias, was +dispatched in spite of the startling mutilation of the Hermæ, a +sacrilegious performance attributed to Alcibiades. It had hardly reached +Sicily when he was recalled, but made his escape and spent some years +mainly in intriguing against Athens. The siege of Syracuse was progressing +favourably, when the Spartan Gylippus was allowed to enter and put new life +into the defence. Disaster followed on disaster both by sea and land; +finally, the whole Athenian force was either cut to pieces or surrendered +at discretion, to become the slaves of the Syracusans, both Nicias and +Demosthenes being put to death.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, the truce between Athens and Sparta had been ended, and war +again declared. Sparta occupied permanently a post of the Attic territory, +Deceleia, with merciless effect. The Sicilian disaster moved the islanders, +notably Chios, to revolt, by Spartan help, against Athens. She, however, +renovated her navy with unexpected vigour. But, with her fleets away, +Alcibiades inspired oligarchical intrigues in the city; a <i>coup +d'état</i> gave the government to the leaders of a group of 400. The +navy stood by the democratic constitution, the 400 were overthrown, and an +assembly, nominally of 5,000, assumed the government. A great Athenian +triumph at Arginusæ was followed later by a still more overwhelming +disaster at Ægos Potami.</p> + +<p>The Spartan commander Lysander blockaded Athens; starvation forced her +to surrender. Lysander established the government known as that of the +Thirty Tyrants, who were headed by Kritias. Lysander's ascendancy created +in Sparta a party in opposition to him; in the outcome, the Spartan king +Pausanias helped in the overthrow of the Thirty at Athens by Thrasybulus, +and the restoration of the Athenian democracy. Throughout, the conduct of +the democratic party, at its best and its worst, contrasted favourably with +that of the oligarchical faction.</p> + +<p>These eighty years were the great period of Athenian literature and art: +of the Parthenon and Phidias; of Æschylus, the soldier of Marathon; +then Sophocles and Euripides and Aristophanes; finally, of Socrates, not +himself an author, but the inspirer of Plato, and the founder of ethical +science; according to popular ideas, the typical Sophist, but in fact +differing from the Sophists fundamentally.</p> + + +<h4><i>III.--The Blotting Out of Hellas</i></h4> + + +<p>The triumph of Sparta has established her empire among the Greeks; she +used her power with a tyranny infinitely more galling than the sway of +Athens. The Spartan character had become greatly demoralised. Agesilaus, +who succeeded to the kingship, set on foot ambitious projects for a Greek +conquest of Asia; but Greece began to revolt against the Spartan dominion. +Thebes and other cities rose, and called for help from Athens, their former +foe. In the first stages of the ensuing war, of which the most notable +battle was Coronea, Sparta maintained her supremacy within the +Peloponnesus, but not beyond. Athens obtained the countenance of Persia, +and the counter-diplomacy of Sparta produced the peace known by the name of +the Spartan Antalcidas, establishing generally the autonomy of Greek +cities. But this in effect meant the restoration of Spartan domination.</p> + +<p>In course of time, however, this brought about the defiance of Spartan +dictation by Thebes and the tremendous check to her power inflicted at the +battle of Leuctra, by Epaminondas the Theban, whose military skill and +tactical originality there overthrew the Spartan military prestige. As a +consequence, half the Peloponnese itself broke away from Sparta; a force +under Epaminondas aided the Arcadians, and the Arcadian federation was +established.</p> + +<p>Hellenic Sicily during these years was having a history of her own of +some importance. Syracuse, after her triumph over the Athenian forces, +continued the contest with her neighbours, which had been the ostensible +cause of the Athenian expedition. But this was closed by the advent of +fresh invaders, the Carthaginians, who renewed the attack repulsed at +Himera. Owing to the disaster to Athens, her fleets were no longer to be +feared by Carthage as a protection to the Hellenic world; and for two +centuries to come, her interventions in Sicily were incessant. Now, the +presence of a foreign foe in Sicily gave intriguers for power at Syracuse +their opportunity, of which the outcome was the subversion of the democracy +and the establishment of Dionysius as despot.</p> + +<p>His son, Dionysius II., succeeded, and was finally ejected by the +Corinthian Timoleon, who, after a brilliant career of victories as +Syracusan general against Carthage, acted as general liberator of Sicilian +cities from despotisms, laid down his powers, and was content with the +position, not of despot, but of counsellor, to the great prosperity of +Sicily as a whole.</p> + +<p>Going back to the north of Greece, the semi-Hellenic Macedon with a +Hellenic dynasty was growing powerful. Philip--father of Alexander the +Great--was now king, and was resolved to make himself the head of the Greek +world. His great opponent is found in the person of the Athenian orator +Demosthenes, who saw that Philip was aiming at ascendancy, but generally +failed to persuade the Athenians to recognise the danger in which they +stood. Philip gradually achieved his immediate end of being recognised as +the captain-general of the Hellenes, and their leader in a new Persian war, +when his life was cut short by an assassin, and he was succeeded by his +youthful son Alexander.</p> + +<p>The Greek states, awakening to their practical subjection, would have +thrown off the new yoke, but the young king with swift and overwhelming +energy swept down from Thrace upon Thebes, the centre of resistance, and +stamped it out. He had already conceived, in part at least, his vast +schemes of Asiatic conquest; while he lived, Greece had practically no +distinguishable history. She is merely an appendage to Macedon. Everything +is absorbed in the Macedon conqueror. With an army incredibly small for the +task before him, he entered Asia Minor, and routed the Persian forces on +the river Granicus. The Greek Memnon, the one able leader for the Persians, +would have organised against him a destructive naval power; but death +removed him.</p> + +<p>Alexander dispersed the armies of the Persian king Darius at the Issus, +captured Tyre after a remarkable siege, and took easy possession of Egypt, +where he founded Alexandria. Having organised the administration of the +conquered territories, he marched to the Euphrates, but did not engage the +enormous Persian hosts till he found and shattered them at the battle of +Gaugamela, also called Arbela. Darius fled, and Alexander swept on to +Babylon, to Susa, to Persepolis, assuming the functions of the "Great +King." The fugitive Darius was assassinated. Alexander henceforth assumed a +new and oriental demeanour; but he continued his conquests, crossing the +Hindoo Koosh to Bactria, and then bursting into the Punjab. But his +ambitions were ended by his death, and their fulfilment, not at all +according to his designs, was left to the "Diadochi," the generals among +whom the conquered dominions were parted. Athens led the revolt against +Macedonian supremacy, but in vain. Demosthenes, condemned by the conquering +Antipater, took poison. The remainder of the history is that of the +blotting out of Hellas and of Hellenism.</p> + +<hr /> + + + + +<h2><a name='HEINRICH_SCHLIEMANN'></a>HEINRICH SCHLIEMANN</h2> + + +<h3><a name='Troy_and_Its_Remains'></a>Troy and Its Remains</h3> + + +<blockquote><p> Heinrich Schliemann was born at Kalkhorst, a village in +Mecklenburg-Schwerin, on January 6, 1822, and died on December 27, 1890. +During his early childhood an old scholar, who had fallen upon evil days, +delighted him with stories of the great deeds of Homeric heroes. At the age +of fourteen he was apprenticed in a warehouse, but never lost his love for +antiquity, and unceasingly prayed to God that he might yet have the +happiness to learn Greek. An accident released him from his low position, +and he went to Holland and found a situation in an office. He now began to +study languages, suffering extraordinary denials so as to be able to afford +money for his studies. In 1846 he was sent by his firm to Russia, learning +Swedish and Polish, and next acquired Greek. Later, he travelled in Europe +and the East, making a voyage round the world. At last he realised the +dream of his life. Inaugurating a series of explorations in Greece and Asia +Minor, Dr. Schliemann gained fame by his discoveries at Tiryus, Mycenæ, +and Troy, largely solving the problems of antiquity and archæology +associated with these localities. "Troy and Its Remains" is published here +in order that, having read in the classical histories, we may see how the +ancient world is reconstructed for modern readers, by the records of one of +the most famous of archæologists. </p></blockquote> + + +<h4><i>I.--Searching for the Site of Troy</i></h4> + + +<p><i>Hissarlik, Plain of Troy, October</i> 18, 1871. In my work, "Ithaca, +the Peloponnesus, and Troy," published in 1869, I endeavored to prove, both +by my own excavations and by the statement of the Iliad, that the Homeric +Troy cannot possibly have been situated on the heights of Bunarbashi, to +which place most archæologists assign it. At the same time I endeavoured +to explain that the site of Troy must necessarily be identical with the +site of that town which, throughout all antiquity and down to its Complete +destruction at the end of the eighth or beginning of the ninth century +A.D., was called Ilium, and not until 1,000 years, after its +disappearance--that is, in 1788 A.D.--was christened Ilium Novum by +Lechevalier, who, as his work proves, can never have visited his Ilium +Novum.</p> + +<p>The site of Ilium is on a plateau 80 feet above the plain. Its +north-western corner is formed by a hill about 26 feet higher still, which +is about 705 feet in breadth and about 984 feet in length, and from its +imposing situation and natural fortifications, this hill of Hissarlik seems +specially suited to the acropolis of the town. Ever since my first visit I +never doubted that I should find the Pergamus of Priam in the depths of +this hill.</p> + +<p>On October 10, 1871, I started with my wife from the Dardanelles for the +Plain of Troy, a journey of eight hours, and next day commenced my +excavations where I had, a year previously, made some preliminary +explorations, and had found, among other things, at a depth of 16 feet, +walls about 6-1/2 feet thick, which belong to a bastion of the time of +Lysimachus.</p> + +<p>Hissarlik, the Turkish name of this imposing hill at the north-western +end of the site of Ilium, means "fortress," or "acropolis," and seems to +prove that this is the Pergamus of Priam; that here Xerxes in 480 B.C. +offered up 1,000 oxen to the Ilian Athena; that here Alexander the Great +hung up his armour in the temple of the goddess, and took away in its stead +some of the weapons therein dedicated, belonging to the time of the Trojan +war.</p> + +<p>I conjectured that this temple, the pride of the Ilians, must have stood +on the highest point of the hill, and I therefore decided to excavate this +locality down to the native soil, and I made an immense cutting on the face +of the steep northern slope, about 66 feet from my last year's work. +Notwithstanding the difficulties due to coming on immense blocks of stone, +the work advances rapidly. My dear wife, an Athenian lady, who is an +enthusiastic admirer of Homer, and knows almost the whole of the Iliad by +heart, is present at the excavations from morning to night. All of my +workmen are Greeks from the neighbouring village of Renkoi; only on Sunday, +a day on which the Greeks do not work, I employ Turks.</p> + +<p><i>Hissarlik, October</i> 26, 1871. Since my report of the 18th I have +continued the excavations with the utmost energy, with, on the average, 80 +workmen, and I have to-day reached an average depth of 13 feet. I found an +immense number of round articles of terra-cotta, red, yellow, grey, and +black, with two holes, without inscriptions, but frequently with a kind of +potter's stamp upon them. I cannot find any trace of their having been used +for domestic purposes, and therefore I presume they have served as <i>ex +votos</i> for hanging up in the temples.</p> + +<p>I found at a depth of about five feet three marble slabs with +inscriptions. One of these must, I think, from the character of the +writing, be assigned to the third century, the two others to the first +century B.C. A king spoken of in the third century writing must have been +one of the kings of Pergamus.</p> + +<p>The view from the hill of Hissarlik is magnificent. Before me lies the +glorious Plain of Troy, traversed from the south-east to the north-west by +the Scamander, which has changed its bed since ancient times.</p> + +<p><i>Hissarlik, November</i> 18, 1871. I have now reached a depth of 33 +feet. During these operations I was for a time deceived by the enormous +mass of stone implements which were dug up, and by the absence of any trace +of metal, and supposed that I had come upon the Stone Age. But since the +sixth of this month there have appeared many nails, knives, lances, and +battle-axes of copper of such elegant workmanship that they can have been +made only by a civilised people. I cannot even admit that I have reached +the Bronze Period, for the implements and weapons which I find are too well +finished.</p> + +<p>I must, however, observe that the deeper I dig the greater are the +indications of a higher civilisation. And as I thus find ever more and more +traces of civilisation the deeper I dig, I am now perfectly convinced that +I have not yet penetrated to the period of the Trojan war, and hence I am +more hopeful than ever of finding the site of Troy by further excavations; +for if ever there was a Troy--and my belief in this is firm--it can only +have been here, on the site of Ilium.</p> + + +<h4><i>II.--Trojan Life and Civilisation</i></h4> + + +<p><i>Hissarlik, April 5, 1872.</i> On the first of this month I resumed +the excavations which were discontinued at the end of November.</p> + +<p>In the ruins of houses I find, amongst other things, a great number of +small idols of very fine marble, with or without the symbols of the owl's +head and woman's girdle. Many Trojan articles found in the ruins have +stamped on them crosses of various descriptions, which are of the highest +importance to archæology. Such symbols were already regarded, thousands of +years before Christ, as religious tokens of the very greatest importance. +The figure of the cross represents two pieces of wood which were laid +crosswise upon one another before the sacrificial altars in order to +produce holy fire. The fire was produced by the friction of one piece of +wood against another.</p> + +<p>At all depths we find a number of flat idols of very fine marble; upon +many of them is the owl's face, and a female girdle with dots. I am firmly +convinced that all of the helmeted owls' heads represent a goddess, and the +important question now presents itself, what goddess is it who is here +found so repeatedly, and is, moreover, the only one to be found upon the +idols, drinking-cups, and vases? The answer is, she must necessarily be the +tutelary goddess of Troy; she must be the Ilian Athena, and this indeed +perfectly agrees with the statement of Homer, who continually calls her +<i>thea glaukopis Athene,</i> "the goddess with the owl's face."</p> + +<p><i>Hissarlik, June 18, 1872.</i> I had scarcely begun to extend a third +cutting into the hill when I found a block of triglyphs of Parian marble, +containing a sculpture in high relief which represents Phoebus Apollo, who, +in a long woman's robe with a girdle, is riding on the four immortal horses +which pursue their career through the universe. Nothing is to be seen of a +chariot. Above the head of the god is seen about two-thirds of the sun's +disc with twenty rays. The face of the god is very expressive, and the +folds of his robe are exquisitely sculptured; but my admiration is +specially excited by the four horses, which, snorting and looking wildly +forward, career through the universe with infinite power. Their anatomy is +so masterly that I confess I have never seen so masterly a work.</p> + +<p>It is especially remarkable to find the sun-god here, for Homer knows +nothing of a temple to the sun in Troy, and later history says not a word +about the existence of such a temple. However, the image of Phoebus Apollo +does not prove that the sculpture must have belonged to a temple of the +sun; in my opinion it may just as well have served as an ornament to any +other temple.</p> + +<p>I venture to express the opinion that the image of the sun, which I find +represented here thousands and thousands of times upon the whorls of +terra-cotta, must be regarded as the name or emblem of the town--that is, +Ilios. In like manner, this sun-god shone in the form of a woman upon the +propylæa of the temple of the Ilian Athena as a symbol of the +sun-city.</p> + +<p>This head of the sun-god appears to me to have so much of the +Alexandrian style that I must adhere to history, and believe that this work +of art belongs to the time of Lysimachus, who, according to Strabo, after +the time of Alexander the Great, built here the new temple of the Ilian +Athena, which Alexander had promised to the town of Ilium after the +subjugation of the Persian Empire.</p> + +<p>Were it not for the splendid terra-cottas which I find exclusively on +the primary soil and as far as 6-1/2 feet above it, I could swear that at a +depth of from 26 to 33 feet, I am among the ruins of the Homeric Troy. [The +reader should bear in mind that Dr. Schliemann finally came back to this +opinion.] For at this depth I have found a thousand wonderful objects; +whereas I find little in the lowest stratum, the removal of which gives +immense trouble. We daily find some of the whorls of very fine terra-cotta, +and it is curious that those which have no decorations at all are always of +the ordinary shape, and of the size of small tops, or like the craters of +volcanoes, while almost all those possessing decorations are flat, and in +the form of a wheel.</p> + +<p>Metals, at least gold, silver, and copper, were known to the Trojans, +for I found a copper knife highly gilded, a silver hairpin, and a number of +copper nails at a depth of forty-six feet. I found many small instruments +for use as pins; also a number of ivory needles, and some curious pieces of +ivory, one in the form of a paper-knife, the other in the shape of an +exceedingly neat dagger. We discovered one-edged or double-edged knives of +white silex in the form of saws in quantities, each about two inches long; +also many hand millstones of lava, and some beautiful red vases, cups, +vessels, jugs, and hand plates. In these depths we likewise find many bones +of animals; boars' tusks, small shells, horns of the buffalo, ram, and +stag, as well as the vertebræ of the shark.</p> + +<p>The houses and palaces in which the splendid terra-cottas were used were +large and spacious, for to them belong all the mighty heaps of stone, hewn +and unhewn, which cover them to the height of from 13 to 20 feet. These +buildings were easily destroyed, for the stones were only joined with +earth, and when the walls fell everything in the houses was crushed to +pieces by the immense blocks of stone. The primitive Trojan people +disappeared simultaneously with the destruction of their town. [Here, as +well as in what goes before, Dr. Schliemann writes on the supposition, +which he afterwards abandoned, that the remains in the lowest stratum are +those of the Trojans of the Iliad.]</p> + +<p>Upon the site of the destroyed city new settlers, of a different +civilisation, manners, and customs, built a new town; but only the +foundation of their houses consisted of stones joined with clay; all the +house-walls were built of unburnt bricks. I must draw attention to the fact +that I have found twice on fragments of pottery the curious symbol of the +<i>suastika</i>, or crossed angles, which proves that the primitive Trojans +belonged to the Aryan race. This is further proved by the symbols on the +round terra-cottas. The existence of the nation which preceded the Trojans +was likewise of long duration, for all the layers of <i>débris</i> +at the depth of from 33 to 23 feet belong to it. They also were of Aryan +descent, for they possessed innumerable Aryan religious symbols. Several of +the symbols belonged to the time when Germans, Pelasgians, Hindoos, +Persians, Celts, and Greeks still formed one nation.</p> + +<p>I found no trace of a double cup among this people, but instead of it +those curious cups which have a coronet below in place of a handle; then +those brilliant, fanciful goblets, in the form of immense champagne +glasses, and with two mighty handles on the sides; they are round below, so +that they can only stand on their mouths. Further, all those splendid +vessels of burnt earthenware, as, for instance, funeral, wine, or water +urns, five feet high; likewise, all of those vessels with a beak-shaped +mouth, bent back, and either short or long.</p> + +<p>I have met with many very curious vases in the shape of animals with +three feet. The mouth of the vessel is in the tail, which is upright and +very thick, and is connected with the back by a handle. In these strata we +also meet with an immense number of those round terra-cottas--the +whorls--embellished with beautiful and ingenious symbolical signs, amongst +which the sun-god always occupies the most prominent position. But the +fire-machine of our primeval ancestors, the holy sacrificial altar with +blazing flames, the holy soma-tree, or tree of life, and the <i>rosa +mystica</i>, are also very frequently met with here.</p> + +<p>This mystic rose, which occurs very often in the Byzantine sculptures, +and the name of which, as is well known, is employed to designate the Holy +Virgin in the Roman Catholic liturgies, is a very ancient Aryan symbol, as +yet, unfortunately, unexplained. It is very ancient, because I find it at a +depth of from 23 to 33 feet, in the strata of the successors to the +Trojans, which must belong to a period about 1,200 years before Christ.</p> + +<p>At a depth of 30-1/2 feet, among the yellow ashes of a house destroyed +by fire, I found silver-ware ornaments and also a very pretty gold +ear-ring, which has three lows of stars on both sides; then two bunches of +earrings of various forms, most of which are of silver and terminate in +five leaves.</p> + +<p>I now come to the strata of <i>débris</i> at a depth of from 23 +to 13 feet, which are evidently also the remains of a people of the Aryan +race, who took possession of the town built on the ruins of Troy, and who +destroyed it and extirpated the inhabitants; for in these strata of ten +feet thick I find no trace of metal, and the structure of the houses is +entirely different. All the house-walls consist of small stones joined with +clay. In these strata--at a depth of from 23 to 13 feet--not only are all +the stone implements much rougher, but all the terra-cottas are of a +coarser quality. Still, they possess a certain elegance.</p> + +<p>A new epoch in the history of Ilium commenced when the accumulation of +<i>débris</i> on this hill had reached a height of 13 feet below its +present surface; for the town was again destroyed, and the inhabitants +killed or driven out by a wretched tribe, which certainly must likewise +have belonged to the Aryan race, for upon the round terra-cottas I still +very frequently find the tree of life, and the simple cross and double +cross with the four nails. In these depths, however, the forms of the +whorls degenerate. Of pottery, however, much less is found, and all of it +is considerably less artistic than that which I have found in the preceding +strata. With the people to whom these strata belonged--from 13 to 6-1/2 +feet below the surface--the pre-Hellenic ages end, for henceforth we see +many ruined walls of Greek buildings, of beautifully hewn stones laid +together without cement, and the painted and unpainted terra-cottas leave +no doubt that a Greek colony took possession of Ilium when the surface of +this hill was much lower than it is now.</p> + +<p>It is impossible to determine when this new colonisation took place, but +it must have been much earlier than the visit of Xerxes reported by +Herodotus, which took place 480 years before Christ. The event may have +taken place 700 B.C.</p> + + +<h4><i>III.--Homeric Legends Verified</i></h4> + + +<p><i>Pergamus of Troy, August</i> 4, 1872. On the south side of the hill +where I made my great trench I discovered a great tower, 40 feet thick, +which obstructs my path and appears to extend to a great length. I have +uncovered it on the north and south sides along the whole breadth of my +trench, and have convinced myself that it is built on the rock at a depth +of 46-1/2 feet.</p> + +<p>This tower is now only 20 feet high, but must have been much higher. For +its preservation we have to thank the ruins of Troy, which entirely covered +it as it now stands. Its situation would be most interesting and imposing, +for its top would command not only a view of the whole plain of Troy, but +of the sea, with the islands of Tenedos, Imbros, and Samothrace. There is +not a more sublime situation in the whole area of the plain of Troy than +this.</p> + +<p>In the ashes of a house at the depth of 42-1/2 feet I found a tolerably +well preserved skeleton of a woman. The colour of the bones shows that the +lady, whose gold ornaments were near by, was overtaken by fire and burnt +alive. With the exception of the skeleton of an infant found in a vase, +this is the only skeleton of a human being I have ever met with in the +pre-Hellenic remains on this hill. As we know from Homer, all corpses were +burnt and the ashes placed in urns, of which I have found great numbers. +The bones were always burnt to ashes.</p> + +<p><i>Pergamus of Troy, August 14, 1872.</i> In stopping the excavations +for this year, and in looking back on the dangers to which we have been +exposed between the gigantic layers of ruins, I cannot but fervently thank +God for his great mercy, not only that no life has been lost, but that none +of us has been seriously hurt.</p> + +<p>As regards the result of my excavations, everyone must admit that I have +solved a great historical problem, and that I have solved it by the +discovery of a high civilisation and immense buildings upon the primary +soil, in the depths of an ancient town, which throughout antiquity was +called Ilium and declared itself to be the successor of Troy, the site of +which was regarded as identical with the site of the Homeric Ilium by the +whole world of that time. The situation of this town not only corresponds +perfectly with all the statements of the Iliad, but also with all the +traditions handed down to us by later authorities.</p> + +<p><i>Pergamus of Troy, March 22, 1873. </i>During this last week, with +splendid weather, and with 150 men on the average, I have got through a +good piece of work. On the north side of the excavation on the site of the +Temple of Athena I have already reached a depth of 26 feet, and have laid +bare the tower in several places.</p> + +<p>The most remarkable of the objects found this week is a large knob of +the purest and finest crystal, belonging to a stick, in the form of a +beautifully wrought lion's head. It seems probable that in remote antiquity +lions existed in this region. Homer could not so excellently have described +them had he not had the opportunities of watching them.</p> + +<p><i>Pergamus of Troy, May 10, 1873.</i> Although the Pergamus, whose +depths I have been ransacking, borders directly on the marshes formed by +the Simois, in which there are always hundreds of storks, yet none of them +ever settle down here. Though there are sometimes a dozen storks' nests on +one roof in the neighbouring Turkish villages, yet no one will settle on +mine, even though I have two comfortable nests made for them. It is +probably too cold and stormy for the little storks on <i>Ilios +anemoessa</i>.</p> + +<p>My most recent excavations have far surpassed my expectations, for I +have unearthed two large gates, standing 20 feet apart, in a splendid +street which proceeds from the chief building in the Pergamus. I venture to +assert that this great double gate must be the Homeric Scæan Gate. It +is in an excellent state of preservation.</p> + +<p>Here, therefore, by the side of the double gate, at Ilium's Great Tower, +sat Priam, the seven elders of the city, and Helen. From this spot the +company surveyed the whole plain, and saw at the foot of the Pergamus the +Trojan and Achæan armies face to face about to settle their agreement +to let the war be decided by a single combat between Paris and +Menelaus.</p> + +<p>I now positively retract my former opinion that Ilium was inhabited up +to the ninth century after Christ, and I must distinctly maintain that its +site has been desolate and uninhabited since the end of the fourth century. +But Troy was not large. I am extremely disappointed at being obliged to +give so small a plan of the city; nay, I had wished to be able to make it a +thousand times larger, but I value truth above everything, and I rejoice +that my three years' excavations have laid open the Homeric Troy, even +though on a diminished scale, and that I have proved the Iliad based upon +real facts.</p> + +<p>Homer is an epic poet, and not an historian; so it is quite natural that +he should have exaggerated everything with poetic licence. Moreover, the +events he describes are so marvellous that many scholars have long doubted +the very existence of Troy, and have considered the city to be a mere +invention of the poet's fancy. I venture to hope that the civilised world +will not only not be disappointed that the city of Priam has shown itself +to be scarcely a twentieth part as large as was to be expected from the +statements of the Iliad, but that, on the contrary, it will accept with +delight and enthusiasm the certainty that Ilium did really exist, that a +large portion of it has now been brought to light, and that Homer, even +though he exaggerates, nevertheless sings of events that actually +happened.</p> + +<p>Homer can never have seen Ilium's Great Tower, the surrounding wall of +Poseidon and Apollo, the Scæan Gate of the palace of King Priam, for +all these monuments lay buried deep in heaps of rubbish, and he could have +made no excavations to bring them to light. He knew of these monuments only +from hearsay and tradition, for the tragic fate of ancient Troy was then +still in fresh remembrance, and had already been for centuries in the mouth +of all minstrels.</p> + +<hr /> + + + + +<h2><a name='JULIUS_CAESAR'></a>JULIUS CÆSAR</h2> + + +<h3><a name='Commentaries_on_the_Gallic_War'></a>Commentaries on the Gallic +War</h3> + + +<blockquote><p> Caius Julius Cæsar was born on July 12, 100 B.C., of +a noble Roman family. His career was decided when he threw in his lot with +the democratic section against the republican oligarchy. Marrying Cornelia, +daughter of Lucius Cinna, the chief opponent of the tyrant dictator Sulla, +he incurred the implacable hatred of the latter, and was obliged to quit +Rome. For a season he studied rhetoric at Rhodes. Settling in Rome after +Sulla's death, Cæsar attached himself to the illustrious Pompey, +whose policy was then democratic. In B.C. 68 he obtained a quæstorship in +Spain, and on returning next year reconciled the two most powerful men in +Rome, Pompey and Crassus. With them he formed what became known as the +First Triumvirate. Being appointed to govern Gaul for five years, +Cæsar there developed his genius for war; but his brilliant success +excited the fears of the senate and the envy even of Pompey. Civil war +broke out. The conflict ended in the fall of Pompey, who was defeated in +the fateful battle of Pharsalia, and was afterwards murdered in Egypt. +Julius Cæsar now possessed supreme power. He lavished vast sums on +games and public buildings, won splendid victories in Gaul, Egypt, Pontus, +and Africa, and was the idol of the common people. But the jealousy of many +of the aristocrats led to the formation of a plot, and on March 15, 44 +B.C., Cæsar was assassinated in the Senate House. This summary +relates to the commentaries known to be by Cæsar himself, certain +other books having been added by other Latin writers. It will be noticed +that he writes in the third person. This epitome is prepared from the Latin +text. </p></blockquote> + + +<h4><i>I.--Subduing Celtic Gaul</i></h4> + + +<p>Gaul is divided into three parts, one of which the Belgæ inhabit; the +Aquitani another; those who in their own language are called Celts, in ours +Gauls, the third. All these differ from each other in language, customs, +and laws. Among the Gauls the Helvetii surpass the rest in valour, as they +constantly contend in battle with the Germans. When Messala and Piso were +consuls, Orgetorix, the most distinguished of the Helvetii, formed a +conspiracy among the nobility, persuading them that, since they excelled +all in valour, it would be very easy to acquire the supremacy of the whole +of Gaul. They made great preparations for the expedition, but suddenly +Orgetorix died, nor was suspicion lacking that he committed suicide.</p> + +<p>After his death, the Helvetii nevertheless attempted the exodus from +their territories. When it was reported to Cæsar that they were +attempting to make their route through our province, he gathered as great a +force as possible, and by forced marches arrived at Geneva.</p> + +<p>The Helvetii now sent ambassadors to Cæsar, requesting permission +to pass through the province, which he refused, inasmuch as he remembered +that Lucius Cassius, the consul, had been slain and his army routed, and +made to pass under the yoke by the Helvetii. Disappointed in their hope, +the Helvetii attempted to force a passage across the Rhone, but, being +resisted by the soldier, desisted.</p> + +<p>After the war with the Helvetii was concluded, ambassadors from almost +all parts of Gaul assembled to congratulate Cæsar, and to declare +that his victory had happened no less to the benefit of the land of Gaul +than of the Roman people, because the Helvetii had quitted their country +with the design of subduing the whole of Gaul.</p> + +<p>When the assembly was dismissed, the chiefs' of the Ædui and of +the Sequani waited upon Cæsar to complain that Ariovistus, the king +of the Germans, had seized a third of their land, which was the best in +Gaul, and was now ordering them to depart from another third part.</p> + +<p>To ambassadors sent by Cæsar, demanding an appointment of some +spot for a conference, Ariovistus gave an insolent reply, which was +repeated on a second overture. Hearing that the king of the Germans was +threatening to seize Vesontio, the capital of the Sequani, Cæsar, by +a forced march, arrived there and took possession of the city. Apprised of +this event, Ariovistus changed his attitude, and sent messengers intimating +that he agreed to meet Cæsar, as they were now nearer to each other, +and could meet without danger.</p> + +<p>The conference took place, but it led to no successful result, for +Ariovistus demanded that the Romans should withdraw from Gaul and his +conduct became afterwards so hostile that it led to war. A battle took +place about fifty miles from the Rhine. The Germans were routed and fled to +the river, across which many escaped, the rest being slain in pursuit. +Cæsar, having concluded two very important wars in one campaign, +conducted his army into winter quarters.</p> + + +<h4><i>II.--Taming the Rebellious Belgæ</i></h4> + + +<p>While Cæsar was in winter quarters in Hither Gaul frequent reports +were brought to him that all the Belgæ were entering into a +confederacy against the Roman people, because they feared that, after all +Celtic Gaul was subdued, our army would be led against them. Cæsar, +alarmed, levied two new legions in Hither Gaul, and proceeded to the +territory of the Belgæ. As he arrived there unexpectedly, and sooner +than anyone anticipated, the Remi, who are the nearest of the Belgæ +to Celtic Gaul, sent messages of submission and gave Cæsar full +information about the other Belgæ.</p> + +<p>Cæsar next learned that the Nervii, a savage and very brave +people, whose territories bordered those just conquered, had upbraided the +rest of the Belgæ who had surrendered themselves to the Roman people, +and had declared that they themselves would neither send ambassadors nor +accept any condition of peace. He was informed concerning them that they +allowed no access of any merchants, and that they suffered no wine and +other things tending to luxury to be imported, because they thought that by +their use the mind is enervated and the courage impaired.</p> + +<p>After he had made three days' march into their territory, Cæsar +discovered that all the Nervii had stationed themselves on the other side +of the River Sambre, not more than ten miles from his camp, and that they +had persuaded the Atrebates and the Veromandui to join with them, and that +likewise the Aduatuci were expected by them, and were on the march. The +Roman army proceeded to encamp in front of the river, on a site sloping +towards it. Here they were fiercely attacked by the Nervii, the assault +being so sudden that Cæsar had to do all things at one time. The +standard as the sign to run to arms had to be displayed, the soldiers were +to be called from the works on the rampart, the order of battle was to be +formed, and a great part of these arrangements was prevented by the +shortness of time and the sudden charge of the enemy.</p> + +<p>Time was lacking even for putting on helmets and uncovering shields. In +such an unfavorable state of affairs, various events of fortune followed. +The soldiers of the ninth and tenth legions speedily drove back the +Atrebates, who were breathless with running and fatigue. Many of them were +slain. In like manner the Veromandui were routed by the eighth and eleventh +legions; but as part of the camp was very exposed, the Nervii hastened in a +very close body, under Boduagnatus, their leader, to rush against that +quarter. Our horsemen and light-armed infantry were by the first assault +routed, and the enemy, rushing into our camp in great numbers, pressed hard +on the legions. But Cæsar, seizing a shield and encouraging the +soldiers, many of whose centurions had been slain, ordering them to extend +their companies that they might more freely use their swords.</p> + +<p>So great a change was soon effected that, though the enemy displayed +great courage, the battle was ended so disastrously for them that the +Nervii were almost annihilated. Scarcely five hundred were left who could +bear arms. Their old men sent ambassadors to Cæsar by the consent of +all who remained, surrendering themselves. The Aduatuci, before mentioned, +who were coming to the help of the Nervii, returned home when they heard of +this battle.</p> + +<p>All Gaul being now subdued, so high an opinion of this war was spread +among the barbarians that ambassadors were sent to Cæsar by those +nations that dwelt beyond the Rhine, to promise that they would give +hostages and execute his commands. He ordered these embassies to return to +him at the beginning of the following summer, because he was hastening into +Italy and Illyricum. Having led his legions into winter quarters among the +Carnutes, the Andes, and the Turones, which states were close to those in +which he had waged war, he set out for Italy, and a public thanksgiving of +fifteen days was decreed for these achievements, an honour which before +that time had been conferred on none.</p> + + +<h4><i>III.--War by Land and Sea in Gaul</i></h4> + + +<p>When Cæsar was setting out for Italy, he sent Servius Galba with +the twelfth legion and part of the cavalry against the Nantuates, the +Veragri, and the Seduni, who extend from the territories of the Allobroges +and the Lake of Geneva and the River Rhone to the top of the Alps. The +reason for sending him was that he desired that the pass along the Alps, +through which the Roman merchants had been accustomed to travel with great +danger, should be opened.</p> + +<p>Galba fought several successful battles, stormed some of their forts, +and concluded a peace. He then determined to winter in a village of the +Veragri, which is called Octodurus. But before the winter camp could be +completed the tops of the mountains were seen to be crowded with armed men, +and soon these rushed down from all parts and discharged stones and darts +on the ramparts.</p> + +<p>The fierce battle that followed lasted for more than six hours. During +the fight more than a third part of the army of 30,000 men of the Seduni +and the Veragri were slain, and the rest were put to flight, +panic-stricken. Then Galba, unwilling to tempt fortune again, after having +burned all the buildings in that village, hastened to return into the +province, urged chiefly by the want of corn and provision. As no enemy +opposed his march, he brought his forces safely into the country of the +Allobroges, and there wintered.</p> + +<p>These things being achieved, Cæsar, who was visiting Illyricum to +gain a knowledge of that country, had every reason to suppose that Gaul was +reduced to a state of tranquillity. For the Belgæ had been overcome, +the Germans had been expelled, and the Seduni and the Veragri among the +Alps defeated. But a sudden war sprang up in Gaul.</p> + +<p>The occasion of that war was this. P. Crassus, a young man, had taken up +his winter quarters with the seventh legion among the Andes, who border on +the Atlantic Ocean. As corn was scarce, he sent out officers among the +neighbouring states for the purpose of procuring supplies. The most +considerable of these states was the Veneti, who have a very great number +of ships with which they have been accustomed to sail into Britain, and +thus they excel the rest of the states in nautical affairs. With them arose +the beginning of the revolt.</p> + +<p>The Veneti detained Silius and Velanius, who had been sent among them, +for they thought they should recover by their means the hostages which they +had given Crassus. The neighbouring people, the Essui and the +Curiosolitæ, led on by the influence of the Veneti (as the measures +of the Gauls are sudden and hasty) detained other officers for the same +motive. All the sea-coast being quickly brought over to the sentiments of +these states, they sent a common embassy to P. Crassus to say "If he wished +to receive back his officers, let him send back to them their +hostages."</p> + +<p>Cæsar, being informed of these things, since he was himself so far +distant, ordered ships of war to be built on the River Loire; rowers to be +raised from the province; sailors and pilots to be provided. These matters +being quickly executed, he hastened to the army as soon as the season of +the year admitted.</p> + +<p>Cæsar at once ordered his army, divided into several detachments, +to attack the towns of the enemy in different districts. Many were stormed, +yet much of the warfare was vain and much labour was lost, because the +Veneti, having numerous ships specially adapted for such a purpose, their +keels being flatter than those of our ships, could easily navigate the +shallows and estuaries, and thus their flight hither and thither could not +be prevented.</p> + +<p>At length, in a naval fight, our fleet, being fully assembled, gained a +victory so signal that, by that one battle, the war with the Veneti and the +whole sea-coast was finished. Cæsar thought that severe punishment +should be inflicted, in order that for the future the rights of ambassadors +should be respected by barbarians; he therefore put to death all their +senate, and sold the rest for slaves.</p> + +<p>About the same time P. Crassus arrived in Aquitania, which, as was +already said, is, both from its extent and its number of population, a +third part of Gaul. Here, a few years before, L. Valerius Præconius, +the lieutenant, had been killed and his army routed, so that Crassus +understood no ordinary care must be used. On his arrival being known, the +Sotiates assembled great forces, and the battle that followed was long and +vigorously contested. The Sotiates being routed, they retired to their +principal stronghold, but it was stormed, and they submitted. Crassus then +marched into the territories of the Vocates and the Tarusites, who raised a +great host of men to carry on the war, but suffered total defeat, after +which the greater part of Aquitania of its own accord surrendered to the +Romans, sending hostages of their own accord from different tribes. A few +only--and those remote nations--relying on the time of year, neglected to +do this.</p> + + +<h4><i>IV.--The First Landing in Britain</i></h4> + + +<p>The following winter, this being the year in which Cn. Pompey and M. +Crassus were consuls [this was the year 699 after the building of Rome, 55 +before Christ; it was the fourth year of the Gallic war] the Germans, +called the Usipetes, and likewise the Tenchtheri, with a great number of +men, crossed the Rhine, not far from the place at which that river falls +into the sea. The motive was to escape from the Suevi, the largest and +strongest nation in Germany, by whom they had been for several years +harassed and hindered from agricultural pursuits.</p> + +<p>The Suevi are said to possess a hundred cantons, from each of which they +send forth for war a thousand armed men yearly, the others remaining at +home, and going forth in their turn in other years.</p> + +<p>Cæsar, hearing that various messages had been sent to them by the +Gauls (whose fickle disposition he knew) asking them to come forward from +the Rhine, and promising them all that they needed, set forward for the +army earlier in the year than usual. When he had arrived in the region, he +discovered that those things which he had suspected would occur, had taken +place, and that, allured by the hopes held out to them, the Germans were +then making excursions to greater distances, and had advanced to the +territories of the Euburones and the Condrusi, who are under the protection +of the Treviri. After summoning the chiefs of Gaul, Cæsar thought +proper to pretend ignorance of the things which he had discovered, and, +having conciliated and confirmed their minds, and ordered some cavalry to +be raised, resolved to make war against the Germans.</p> + +<p>When he had advanced some distance, the Germans sent ambassadors, +begging him not to advance further, as they had come hither reluctantly, +having been expelled from their country. But Cæsar, knowing that they +wished for delay only to make further secret preparations, refused the +overtures. Marshalling his army in three lines, and marching eight miles, +he took them by surprise, and the Romans rushed their camp. Many of the +enemy were slain, the rest being either scattered or drowned in attempting +to escape by crossing the Meuse in the flight.</p> + +<p>The conflict with the Germans being finished, Cæsar thought it +expedient to cross the Rhine. Since the Germans were so easily urged to go +into Gaul, he desired they should have fears for their own territories. +Therefore, notwithstanding the difficulty of constructing a bridge, owing +to the breadth, rapidity, and depth of the river, he devised and built one +of timber and of great strength, piles being first driven in on which to +erect it.</p> + +<p>The army was led over into Germany, advanced some distance, and burnt +some villages of the hostile Sigambri, who had concealed themselves in the +woods after conveying away all their possessions. Then Cæsar, having +done enough to strike fear into the Germans and to serve both honour and +interest, after a stay of eighteen days across the Rhine, returned into +Gaul and cut down the bridge.</p> + +<p>During the short part of the summer which remained he resolved to +proceed into Britain, because succours had been constantly furnished to the +Gauls from that country. He thought it expedient, if he only entered the +island, to see into the character of the people, and to gain knowledge of +their localities, harbours, and landing-places. Having collected about +eighty transport ships, he set sail with two legions in fair weather, and +the soldiers were attacked instantly on landing by the cavalry and +charioteers of the barbarians. The enemy were vanquished, but could not be +pursued, because the Roman horse had not been able to maintain their course +at sea and to reach the island. This alone was wanting to Cæsar's +accustomed success.</p> + + +<h4><i>V.--Cæsar on the Thames</i></h4> + + +<p>During the winter Cæsar commanded as many ships as possible to be +constructed, and the old repaired. About six hundred transports and twenty +ships of war were built, and, after settling some disputes in Gaul among +the chiefs, Cæsar went to Port Itius with the legions. He took with +him several of the leading chiefs of the Gauls, determined to retain them +as hostages and to keep them with him during his next expedition to +Britain, lest a commotion should arise in Gaul during his absence.</p> + +<p>Cæsar, having crossed to the shore of Britain and disembarked his +army at a convenient spot advanced about twelve miles and repelled all +attacks of the cavalry and charioteers of the enemy. Then he led his forces +into the territories of Cassivellaunus to the River Thames, which river can +be forded in one place only. Here an engagement took place which resulted +in the flight of the Britons. But Cassivellaunus had sent messengers to the +four kings who reigned over Kent and the districts by the sea, Cingetorix, +Carvilius, Taximaquilus, and Segonax, commanding them to collect all their +forces and assail the naval camp.</p> + +<p>In the battle which ensued the Romans were victorious, and when +Cassivellaunus heard of this disaster he sent ambassadors to Cæsar to +treat about a surrender. Cæsar, since he had resolved to pass the +winter on the continent, on account of sudden revolts in Gaul, demanded +hostages and prescribed what tribute Britain should pay each year to the +Roman people.</p> + +<p>Cæsar, expecting for many reasons greater commotion in Gaul, +levied additional forces. He saw that war was being prepared on all sides, +that the Nervii, Aduatuci, and Menapii, with the addition of all the +Germans on this side of the Rhine, were under arms; that the Senones did +not assemble according to his command, and were concerting measures with +Carnutes and the neighbouring states; and that the Germans were importuned +by the Treviri in frequent embassies. Therefore he thought that he ought to +take prompt measures for the war.</p> + +<p>Accordingly, before the winter was ended, he marched with four legions +unexpectedly into the territories of the Nervii, captured many men and much +cattle, wasted their lands, and forced them to surrender and give hostages. +He followed up his success by worsting the Senones, Carnutes, and Menapii, +while Labienus defeated the Treviri.</p> + +<p>Gaul being tranquil, Cæsar, as he had determined, set out for +Italy to hold the provincial assizes. There he was informed of the decree +of the senate that all the youth of Italy should take the military oath, +and he determined to hold a levy throughout the entire province. The Gauls, +animated by the opportunity afforded through his absence, and indignant +that they were reduced beneath the dominion of Rome, began to organise +their plans for war openly.</p> + +<p>Many of the nations confederated and selected as their commander +Vercingetorix, a young Avernian. On hearing what had happened, Cæsar +set out from Italy for Transalpine Gaul, and began the campaign by marching +into the country of the Helvii, although it was the severest time of the +year, and the country was covered with deep snow.</p> + +<p>The armies met, and Vercingetorix sustained a series of losses at +Vellaunodunum, Genabum, and Noviodunum. The Gauls then threw a strong +garrison into Avaricum, which Cæsar besieged, and at length +Cæsar's soldiers took it by storm. All the Gauls, with few +exceptions, joined in the revolt; and the united forces, under +Vercingetorix, attacked the Roman army while it was marching into the +country of the Sequani, but they suffered complete defeat. After struggling +vainly to continue the war, Vercingetorix surrendered, and the Gallic +chieftains laid down their arms. Cæsar demanded a great number of +hostages, sent his lieutenants with various legions to different stations +in Gaul, and determined himself to winter at Bibracte. A supplication of +twenty days was decreed at Rome by the senate on hearing of these +successes.</p> + +<hr /> + + + + +<h2><a name='TACITUS'></a>TACITUS</h2> + + +<h3><a name='Annals'></a>Annals</h3> + + +<blockquote><p> Publius Cornelius Tacitus was born perhaps at Rome, shortly +before the accession of the Emperor Nero in 54 A.D. He married the daughter +of Agricola, famous in the history of Britain, and died probably about the +time of Hadrian's accession to the empire, 117 A.D. He attained distinction +as a pleader at the bar, and in public life; but his fame rests on his +historical works. A man of strong prepossessions and prejudices, he allowed +them to colour his narratives, and particularly his portraits; but he +cannot be charged with dishonesty. The portraits themselves are singularly +powerful; his narrative is picturesque, vivid, dramatic; but the condensed +character of his style and the pregnancy of his phrases make his work +occasionally obscure, and particularly difficult to render in translation. +His "Germania" is a most valuable record of the early institutions of the +Teutonic peoples. His "Histories" of the empire from Galba to Domitian are +valuable as dealing with events of which he was an eye-witness. His +"Annals," covering practically the reigns from Tiberius to Nero, open only +some forty years before his own birth. Of the original sixteen books, four +are lost, and four are incomplete. The following epitome has been specially +prepared from the Latin text. </p></blockquote> + + +<h4><i>I.--Emperor and Nephew</i></h4> + + +<p>Tiberius, adopted son and actual stepson of Augustus, was summoned from +Illyria by his mother Livia to the bedside of the dying emperor at Nola. +Augustus left a granddaughter, Agrippina, who was married to Germanicus, +the nephew of Tiberius; and a grandson, Agrippa Postumus, a youth of evil +reputation. The succession of Tiberius was not in doubt; but his first act +was to have Agrippa Postumus put to death--according to his own statement, +by the order of Augustus. At Rome, consuls, senators, and knights hurried +to embrace their servitude. The nobler the name that each man bore, the +more zealous was he in his hypocrisy. The grave pretence of Tiberius that +he laid no claim to imperial honours was met by the grave pretence that the +needs of the state forbade his refusal of them, however reluctant he might +be. His mother, Livia Augusta, was the object of a like sycophancy. But the +world was not deceived by the solemn farce.</p> + +<p>The death of Augustus, however, was the signal for mutinous outbreaks +among the legions on the European frontiers of the empire; first in +Pannonia, then in Germany. In Pannonia, the ostensible motive was jealousy +of the higher pay and easier terms of service of the Prætorian guard. +So violent were the men, and so completely did the officers lose control, +that Drusus, the son of Tiberius, was sent to make terms with the +mutineers, and only owed his success to the reaction caused by the +superstitious alarm of the soldiery at an eclipse of the moon. Germanicus, +who was in command in Germany, was absent in Gaul. Here the mutiny of the +Lower Army, under Cæcina, was very serious, because it was clearly +organised, the men working systematically and not haphazard.</p> + +<p>News of the outbreak brought their popular general, Germanicus, to the +spot. The mutineers at once offered to make him emperor, a proposal which +he indignantly repudiated. The position, in a hostile country, made some +concession necessary; but fresh disturbances broke out when it was +suspected that the arrival of a commission from the senate meant that the +concessions would be cancelled. Here the reaction which broke down the +mutiny was caused by the shame of the soldiers themselves, when Germanicus +sent his wife and child away from a camp where their lives were in danger. +Of their own accord, the best of the soldiers turned on their former +ringleaders, and slew them. And the legions under Cæcina took similar +steps to recover their lost credit. Germanicus, however, saw that the true +remedy for the disaffection would be found in an active campaign. The +desired effect was attained by an expedition against the Marsi, conducted +with a success which Tiberius, at Rome, regarded with mixed feelings.</p> + +<p>The German tribe named the Cherusci favoured Arminius, the determined +enemy of Rome, in preference to Segestes, who was conspicuous for "loyalty" +to Rome. Germanicus advanced to support the latter, and Arminius was +enraged by the news that his wife, the daughter of Segestes, was a +prisoner. His call to arms, his declamations in the name of liberty, roused +the Cherusci, the people who had annihilated the legions of Varus a few +years before. A column commanded by Cæcina was enticed by Arminius +into a swampy position, where it was in extreme danger, and a severe +engagement took place. The scheme of Arminius was to attack the Romans on +the march; fortunately, the rasher counsels of his uncle, Inguiomerus, +prevailed; an attempt was made to storm the camp, and the Romans were thus +enabled to inflict a decisive defeat on the foe.</p> + +<p>It was at this time that the disastrous practice was instituted of +informers bringing charges of treason against prominent citizens on grounds +which Tiberius himself condemned as frivolous. The emperor began to make a +practice of attending trials, which indeed prevented corrupt awards, but +ruined freedom.</p> + +<p>Now arose disturbances in the east. The Parthians expelled their king, +Vonones, a former favourite of Augustus. Armenia became involved, and these +things were the source of serious complications later. Tiberius was already +meditating the transfer of Germanicus to these regions. That general, +however, was planning a fresh German campaign from the North Sea coast. A +great fleet carried the army to the mouth of the Ems; thence Germanicus +marched to the Weser and crossed it. Germanicus was gratified to find that +his troops were eager for the impending fray. A tremendous defeat was +inflicted on the Cherusci, with little loss to the Romans. Arminius, who +had headed a charge which all but broke the Roman line, escaped only with +the utmost difficulty.</p> + +<p>Nevertheless, the Germans rallied their forces, and a second furious +engagement took place, in which the foe fought again with desperate valour, +and were routed mainly through the superiority of the Roman armour and +discipline. The triumph was marred only by a disaster which befel the +legions which were withdrawn by sea. A terrific storm wrecked almost the +entire fleet, and it was with great difficulty that the few survivors were +rescued. The consequent revival of German hopes made it necessary for two +large armies to advance against the Marsi and the Catti respectively, +complete success again attending the Roman arms.</p> + +<p>Jealousy of his nephew's popularity and success now caused Tiberius to +insist on his recall. At this time informers charged with treason a young +man of distinguished family, Libo Drusus, mainly on the ground of his +foolish consultation of astrologers, with the result that Drusus committed +suicide. This story will serve as one among many which exemplify the +prevalent demoralisation. In the same year occurred the audacious +insurrection of a slave who impersonated the dead Agrippa Postumus; and +also the deposition of the king of Cappadocia, whose kingdom was annexed as +a province of the empire.</p> + +<p>A contest took place between the Suevi and the Cherusci, in which Rome +declined to intervene. Maroboduus, of the Suevi, was disliked because he +took the title of king, which was alien to the German ideas, being in this +respect contrasted with Arminius. The Cherusci had the better of the +encounter.</p> + + +<h4><i>II.--The Development of Despotism</i></h4> + + +<p>Germanicus on his recall was in danger, while in Rome, of being made the +head of a faction in antagonism to Drusus, the son of Tiberius. He was +dispatched, however, with extraordinary powers, to take control of the +East, where Piso, the governor of Syria, believed that he held his own +appointment precisely that he might be a thorn in the side of Germanicus. +The latter made a progress through Greece, settled affairs in Armenia and +Parthia, and continued his journey to Egypt.</p> + +<p>Piso's machinations, encouraged by the reports which reached him of the +emperor's displeasure at the conduct of Germanicus, caused the gravest +friction. Finally, on the return from Egypt through Syria, Germanicus +became desperately ill. He declared his own belief that Piso and his wife +had poisoned him; and, on his death, the rumour met general credence, +though it was unsupported by evidence. Agrippina returned to Rome, bent on +vengeance, and the object of universal sympathy. Piso attempted to make +himself master of Syria, but failed to win over the legions, and then +resolved to return to Rome and defy his accusers.</p> + +<p>About this time Arminius was killed in attempting to make himself king. +Shortly before, Tiberius had rejected with becoming dignity a rival chief's +offer to poison the national hero of German independence.</p> + +<p>On the arrival in Italy of Agrippina with the ashes of Germanicus, the +popular and official expressions of grief and sympathy were almost +unprecedented. This public display was not at all encouraged by Tiberius +himself. Drusus was instructed to emphasize the fact that Piso must not be +held either guilty or innocent, till the case had been sifted. Tiberius +insisted that not he, but the senate, must be the judge; the case must be +decided on its merits, not out of consideration for his own outraged +feelings. Piso was charged with having corrupted the soldiery, levied war +on the province of Syria, and poisoned Germanicus. All except the last +charge were proved up to the hilt; for that alone there was no evidence. +Piso, however, despaired, fearing less the ebullitions of popular wrath +than the emotionless implacability of the emperor. He was found dead in his +room; but whether by his own act or that of Tiberius, was generally +doubted. The penalties imposed on his wife and son were mitigated by the +emperor himself.</p> + +<p>A number of notorious scandals at this period emphasise the degradation +of morals and the disregard for the sanctity of the marriage tie in a +society where children were regarded as a burden, in spite of official +encouragement of the birth-rate. There was an instructive debate on a +proposal that magistrates appointed to provinces should not take their +wives with them.</p> + +<p>Risings in Gaul of the Treveri and Aedui created much alarm in Rome; the +composure of Tiberius was justified by their decisive suppression.</p> + +<p>In Africa, Blæms successfully suppressed, though he did not +finally curb, the brigand chief Tacfarinas, who had been building up a +nomad empire of his own. It was under Dolabella, the successor of +Blæms, that Tacfarinas was completely overthrown and slain.</p> + +<p>Hitherto the rule of Tiberius had been, on the whole, prosperous. But +the ninth year marks the establishment of the ascendancy of Ælius +Sejanus over the mind of the emperor, whereby his sway was transformed into +a foul tyranny. Not of noble birth, Sejanus had neglected no means, however +base, to secure his own favour with Tiberius and with the Prætorian +Guard, of which he held the command. He was now determined to get rid of +Drusus, the son of Tiberius, as the most dangerous obstacle to his +ambitions. He accomplished his purpose by administering a poison, of which +the operation was unsuspected till the facts were revealed many years later +by an accomplice. Then the young sons of Germanicus became the accepted +representatives of the imperial line, for the infant sons of Drusus died +very shortly afterwards. Accordingly, Sejanus now directed his attacks +against the more powerful persons who might be regarded as partisans of the +house of Germanicus.</p> + +<p>Despite the multiplications of prosecutions, it is to be noted that it +was still possible for a shrewd and tactful person, as exemplified by the +career of Marcus Lepidus, to uphold the principles of justice and liberty +without losing the favour of the emperor. Among other prosecutions, that of +Cremutius, whose crime was that of praising the memory of Brutus and +Cassius, demands attention, as the first of the kind.</p> + +<p>The ambitions of Sejanus received a check when he had the presumption to +request Tiberius to grant him the hand of the widow of Drusus in marriage. +In order the more surely to bring disgrace on the house of Germanicus, he +now implanted in the mind of Agrippina a conviction that Tiberius intended +to poison her. That such suspicions were mere commonplaces of that terrible +time is well illustrated by the story. Incapable of hiding her feelings, +the persistent gloom of her face and voice, and her refusal of proffered +dishes as she sat near Tiberius at dinner, attracted his attention; to test +her, he personally commended and pressed on her some apples; this only +intensified her suspicions, and she gave them to the attendants untasted. +Tiberius made no open comment, but observed to his mother that it would +hardly be surprising should he contemplate harsh measures towards one who +obviously took him for a poisoner.</p> + + +<h4><i>III.--Morbid Tyrant and Dotard</i></h4> + + +<p>It was at this time that Tiberius withdrew himself from the capital, and +took up his residence at a country seat where hardly anyone had access to +him except Sejanus; whether at the favourite's suggestion or not is +uncertain. The retreat finally selected was the island of Capræ.</p> + +<p>The monstrous lengths to which men of the highest rank were now prepared +to go to curry favour with Tiberius and Sejanus was exemplified in the ruin +of Sabinus, a loyal friend of the house of Germanicus. The unfortunate man +was tricked into speaking bitterly of Sejanus and Tiberius. Three senators +were actually hidden above the ceiling of the room where he was entrapped +into uttering unguarded phrases, and on this evidence he was condemned.</p> + +<p>The death of the aged Livia Augusta removed the last check on the +influence of Sejanus.</p> + +<p>[The account of his two years of unqualified supremacy, and of his +sudden and utter overthrow has been lost, two books of the "Annals" being +missing here.]</p> + +<p>From this time, the life of Tiberius at Capræ was one of morbid +and nameless debauchery. The condition of his mind may be inferred from the +opening words of one of his letters to the senate. "If I know what to +write, how to write it, what not to write, may the gods and goddesses +destroy me with a worse misery than the death I feel myself dying daily." +The end came when Macro, the prefect of the Prætorians, who, to save +his own life and secure the succession of Gaius Cæsar Caligula, the +surviving son of Germanicus, caused the old emperor to be smothered.</p> + +<p>[The record of the next ten years--the reign of Caligula, and the first +years of Claudius--is lost. When the story is taken up again, the wife of +Claudius, the infamous Messalina, was at the zenith of her evil +career.]</p> + +<p>While the doting pedant Claudius was adding new letters to the alphabet, +Messalina was parading with utter shamelessness her last and fatal passion +for Silius, and went so far as publicly to marry her paramour. It was the +freedman Narcissus who made the outrageous truth known to Claudius, and +practically terrorised him into striking. Half measures were impossible; a +swarm of Messalina's accomplices in vice were put to death. To her, +Claudius showed signs of relenting; but Narcissus gave the orders for her +death without his knowledge. When they told Claudius that she was dead, he +displayed no emotion, but went on with his dinner, and apparently forgot +the whole matter.</p> + +<p>A new wife had to be provided; Agrippina, the daughter of Germanicus, +niece of Claudius himself, and mother of the boy Domitius, who was to +become the emperor Nero, was the choice of the freedman Pallas, and proved +the successful candidate. Shortly after, her new husband adopted Nero +formally as his son. It was not long before she had assumed an air of +equality with her husband; and all men saw that she intended him to be +succeeded not by his own son Britannicus, but by hers, Nero.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, there had been a great revolt in Britain against the +proprætor Ostorius. First the Iceni took up arms, then the Brigantes; +then--a still more serious matter--the Silures, led by the most brilliant +of British warriors, Caractacus. Even his skill and courage, however, were +of no avail against the superior armament of the Roman legions; his forces +were broken up, and he himself, escaping to the Brigantes, was by them +betrayed to the Romans. The famous warrior was carried to Rome, where by +his dignified demeanour he won pardon and liberty. In the Far East, +Mithridates was overthrown by his nephew Rhadamistus, and Parthia and +Armenia remained in wild confusion. The reign of Claudius was brought to an +end by poison--the notorious Locusta was employed by Agrippina for the +purpose--and he was succeeded by Nero, to whom his mother's artifices gave +the priority over Britannicus.</p> + + +<h4><i>IV.--The Infamies of Nero</i></h4> + + +<p>At the outset the young emperor was guided by Seneca and Burrus; his +first speech--put into his mouth by Seneca, for he was no orator--was full +of promise. But he was encouraged in a passion for Acte, a freed-woman, by +way of counterpoise to the influence of his mother, Agrippina. The latter, +enraged at the dismissal of Pallas, threatened her son with the legitimate +claims of Britannicus, son of Claudius; Nero had the boy poisoned. In +terror now of his mother, he would have murdered her, but was checked by +Burrus. Nero's private excesses and debaucheries developed, while the +horrible system of delation flourished, and prosecutions for treason +abounded.</p> + +<p>About this time the emperor's passion for Poppæa Sabina, the wife +of Otho, became the source of later disaster. Beautiful, brilliant, utterly +immoral, but complete mistress of her passions, she had married Nero's boon +companion. Otho was dispatched to Lusitania, and Poppæa remained at +Rome. Poppæa was bent on the imperial crown for herself, and urged +Nero against his mother. A mock reconciliation took place, but it was only +the preliminary to a treacherous plot for murdering the former empress. The +plot failed; her barge was sunk, but she escaped to shore. Nero, however, +with the shameful assent of Burrus and Seneca, dispatched assassins to +carry out the work, and Agrippina was slaughtered.</p> + +<p>For a moment remorse seized Nero, but it was soon soothed; Burrus headed +the cringing congratulations of Roman society, to which Thrasea Pætus +was alone in refusing to be a party. The emperor forthwith began to plunge +into the wild extravagances on which his mother's life had been some check. +He took cover for his passion for chariot-driving and singing by inducing +men of noble birth to exhibit themselves in the arena; high-born ladies +acted in disreputable plays; the emperor himself posed as a mime, and +pretended to be a patron of poetry and philosophy. The wildest licence +prevailed, and there were those who ventured even to defend it.</p> + +<p>About this time the Roman governor in Britain, Suetonius, crossed the +Menai Strait and conquered the island of Anglesea. But outrages committed +against Boadicea, queen of the Iceni, stirred that tribe to fierce revolt. +Being joined by the Trinobantes, they fell upon the Romans at Camulodunum +and massacred them. Suetonius, returning hastily from the west, found the +Roman population in panic. The troops, however, inspired by the general's +resolution, won a decisive victory, in which it is said that no fewer than +80,000 Britons, men and women, were slaughtered.</p> + +<p>Not long after, Burrus died--in common belief, if not in actual fact, of +poison; and Seneca found himself driven into retirement, while Tigellinus +became Nero's favourite and confidant. Nero then capped his matricide by +suborning the same scoundrel who had murdered Agrippina to bring foul and +false charges against his innocent wife, Octavia; who was thus done to +death when not yet twenty, that her husband might be free to marry +Poppæa. As a matter of course, the crime was duly celebrated by a +public thanksgiving.</p> + +<p>The dispatch of an incompetent general into Asia resulted in a most +inglorious Parthian campaign. Nero, however, was more interested first in +extravagant rejoicings at the birth of a daughter to Poppæa, and then +in equally extravagant mourning over the infant's death. It was well that +Corbulo, marching from Syria, restored the Roman prestige in the Far +East.</p> + +<p>These events were followed by the famous fire which devastated Rome; +whether or no it was actually Nero's own work, rumour declared that he +appeared on a private stage while the conflagration was raging, and chanted +appropriately of the fall of Troy. He planned rebuilding on a magnificent +scale, and sought popularity by throwing the blame of the fire--and putting +to the most exquisite tortures--a class hated for their abominations, +called Christians, from their first leader, Christus, who had suffered the +extreme penalty under Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judæa, in the +reign of Tiberius.</p> + +<p>A very widespread conspiracy was now formed against Nero, in favour of +one Gaius Calpurnius Piso; Fænius Rufus, an officer of the +Prætorians, who had been subordinated to Tigellinus, being one of the +leaders. The plot, however, was betrayed by a freedman of one of the +conspirators.</p> + +<hr /> + + + + +<h2><a name='SALLUST'></a>SALLUST</h2> + + +<h3><a name='The_Conspiracy_of_Catiline'></a>The Conspiracy of +Catiline</h3> + + +<blockquote><p> The Roman historian Caius Crispus Sallust, who was born at +Amiternum in 86 B.C., and died in 34 B.C., lived throughout the active +career of Julius Cæsar, and died while Anthony and Octavian were +still rivals for the supreme power. It might be supposed from his works +that he was a person of eminent virtue, but this was merely a literary +pose. He was probably driven into private life, in the first place, on +account of the scandals with which he was associated. He became a partisan +of Cæsar in the struggle with Pompey, and to this he owed the +pro-consulship of Numidia, on the proceeds of which he retired into +leisured ease. Sallust aspired with very limited success to assume the +mantle of Thucydides, and the rôle of a philosophic historian. He +displays considerable political acumen on occasion, but his assumption of +stern impartiality is hardly less a pose than his pretense of elevated +morality. His "Conspiracy of Catiline"--the first of his historical +essays--was probably written, in part at least, with the object of +dissociating Cæsar from it; the lurid colors in which he paints the +conspirator are probably exaggerated. But whether true or false, the +picture presented is a vivid one. This epitome is adapted specially from +the Latin text. </p></blockquote> + + +<h4><i>I.--The Plotting</i></h4> + + +<p>I esteem the intellectual above the physical qualities of man; and the +task of the historian has attracted me because it taxes the writer's +abilities to the utmost Personal ambition had at first drawn me into public +life, but the political atmosphere, full of degradation and corruption, was +so uncongenial that I resolved to retire and devote myself to the +production of a series of historical studies, for which I felt myself to be +the better fitted by my freedom from the influences which bias the +political partisan. For the first of these studies I have selected the +conspiracy of Catiline.</p> + +<p>Lucius Catilina [commonly called Catiline] was of high birth, richly +endowed both in mind and body, but of extreme depravity; with extraordinary +powers of endurance, reckless, crafty, and versatile, a master in the arts +of deception, at once grasping and lavish, unbridled in his passions, ready +of speech, but with little true insight Of insatiable and inordinate +ambitions, he was possessed, after Sulla's supremacy, with a craving to +grasp the control of the state, utterly careless of the means, so the end +were attained. Naturally headstrong, he was urged forward by his want of +money, the consciousness of his crimes, and the degradation of morals in a +society where luxury and greed ruled side by side.</p> + +<p>The wildest, the most reckless, the most prodigal, the most criminal, +were readily drawn into the circle of Catiline's associates; in such a +circle those who were not already utterly depraved very soon became so +under the sinister and seductive influence of their leader. This man, who +in the pursuit of his own vices had done his own son to death, did not +hesitate to encourage his pupils in every species of crime; and with such +allies, and the aid of the disbanded Sullan soldiery swarming in Italy, he +dreamed of subverting the Roman state while her armies, under Gnæus +Pompeius, were far away.</p> + +<p>The first step was to secure his own election as consul. One plot of his +had already failed, because Catiline himself had attempted to move +prematurely; but the conspirators remained scatheless. Those who were now +with Catiline included members of the oldest families and of equestrian +rank. Crassus himself was suspected of complicity, owing to his rivalry +with Pompeius. The assembled conspirators were addressed by Catiline in a +speech of the most virulent character. He urged these social outcasts to +rise against a bloated plutocracy battening on the ill-gotten wealth to +which his audience had just as good a title. He promised the cancellation +of all debts, the proscription of the wealthy, and the general application +of the rule of "the spoils to the victors." He had friends at the head of +the armies in Spain and Mauritania, if Gaius Antonius were the other +successful candidate for the consulship, his co-operation, too, could be +secured. Such was the purport of his speech; but I do not credit the +popular fiction that the conspirators were solemnly pledged in a bowl of +mingled wine and blood.</p> + +<p>Rumours of the plot, however, began to leak out through a certain +Fulvia, mistress of Quintus Curio, a man who had been expelled from the +senatorial body on account of his iniquities; and this probably caused many +of the nobility to support, for the consulship, Cicero, whom, as a "new +man," they would otherwise have religiously opposed. The result was that +Catiline's candidature failed, and Cicero was elected with Gaius Antonius +for his colleague.</p> + +<p>At length Cicero, seeing that the ferment was everywhere increasing to +an extent with which the ordinary law could not cope, obtained from the +senate the exceptional powers for dealing with a national emergency which +they had constitutional authority to grant. Thus, when news came that a +Catilinarian, Gaius Manlius, had risen in Etruria at the head of an armed +force, prompt administrative measures were taken to dispatch adequate +military forces to various parts of the country. Catiline himself had taken +no overt action; he now presented himself in the senate, was openly +assailed by Cicero, responded with insults which were interrupted by cries +of indignation, and flung from the house with the words "Since I am beset +by enemies and driven out, the fire you have kindled about me shall be +crushed out by the ruin of yourselves."</p> + +<p>Seeing that delay would be fatal, he started at once for the camp of +Manlius, leaving Cethegus and Lentulus to keep up the ferment in Rome. To +several persons of position he sent letters announcing that he was retiring +to Marseilles; but, with misplaced confidence, he sent one of a different +and extremely compromising tenor to Quintus Catullus, which the recipient +read to the senate. It was next reported that he had assumed the consular +attributes and joined Manlius; whereupon he was proclaimed a public enemy, +a general levy was decreed, Antonius was appointed to take the field, while +Cicero was to remain in the capital.</p> + + +<h4><i>II.--The Downfall</i></h4> + + +<p>Meanwhile, Lentulus at Rome, among his various plots, intrigued to +obtain the support of the Allobroges, a tribe of Gauls from whom there was +at the time an embassy in Rome. The envoys, however, took the advice of +Quintus Fabius Sanga, and while he kept Cicero supplied with information, +themselves pretended to be at one with the conspirators.</p> + +<p>Risings were now taking place all over Italy, though they were +ill-concerted. At Rome, the plan was that when Catiline's army was at +Fæsulæ, the tribune Lucius Bestia should publicly accuse Cicero of +having caused the war; and this was to be the signal for an organised +massacre, while the city itself was to be fired at twelve points +simultaneously. The insurgents were then to march out and join Catiline at +Fæsulæ.</p> + +<p>The Allobroges were now departing, carrying with them letters from +Lentulus to Catiline; but according to a concerted plan, they were +arrested. This provided Cicero with evidence which warranted the arrest of +Lentulus and other ringleaders in Rome; and its publication created a +popular revulsion--the lower classes were not averse from plunder, but saw +no benefit to themselves in a general conflagration of Rome.</p> + +<p>A certain Lucius Tarquinius was now captured, who gave information +tallying with what was already published, but further incriminated Crassus. +Crassus, however, was so wealthy, and had so many of the senate in his +power, that even those who believed the charge to be true, thought it +politic to pronounce it a gross fabrication. The danger of an attempted +rescue of Lentulus brought on a debate as to what should be done with the +prisoners. Cæsar, from whatever motive, spoke forcibly against any +unconstitutional action which, however justified by the enormity of the +prisoners' guilt, might become a dangerous precedent. In his opinion, the +wise course would be to confiscate the property of the prisoners, and to +place their persons in custody not in Rome, but in provincial towns.</p> + +<p>Cæsar's humanitarian statesmanship was answered by the grave +austerity of Cato. "The question for us is not that of punishing a crime, +but of preserving the state--or of what the degenerate Roman of to-day +cares for more than the state, our lives and property. To speak of clemency +and compassion is an abuse of terms only too common, when vices are +habitually dignified with the names of virtues. Let us for once act with +vigour and decision, and doom these convicted traitors to the death they +deserve." The decree of death was carried to immediate execution. In the +meantime, Catiline had raised a force numbering two legions, but not more +than a quarter of them were properly armed. He remained in the hills, +refusing to give battle to Antonius.</p> + +<p>On hearing the fate of Lentulus and the rest, he attempted to retreat to +Gaul, but this movement was anticipated and intercepted by Metellus Celer, +who was posted at Picenum with three legions. With Antonius pressing on his +rear, Catiline resolved to hazard all on a desperate engagement. In +exhorting his troops, he dwelt on the fact that men fighting for life and +liberty were more than a match for a foe who had infinitely less at +stake.</p> + +<p>Thus brought to bay, Catiline's soldiers met the attack of the +government troops with furious valour, their leader setting a brilliant +example of desperate daring, and the most vigilant and vigorous +generalship. But Petreius, on the other side, directed his force against +the rebel centre, shattered it, and took the wings in flank. Catiline's +followers stood and fought till they fell, with their wounds in front; he +himself hewed his way through the foe, and was found still breathing at a +distance from his own ranks. No quarter was given or taken; and among the +rebels there were no survivors. In the triumphant army, all the stoutest +soldiers were slain or wounded; mourning and grief mingled with the elation +of victory.</p> + +<hr /> + + + + +<h2><a name='EDWARD_GIBBON1'></a>EDWARD GIBBON</h2> + + +<h3><a name='Decline_and_Fall_of_the_Roman_Empire__I'></a>Decline and Fall +of the Roman Empire--I</h3> + + +<blockquote><p> Edward Gibbon, son of a Hampshire gentleman, was born at +Putney, near London, April 27, 1737. After a preliminary education at +Westminster, and fourteen "unprofitable" months at Magdalen College, +Oxford, a whim to join the Roman church led to his banishment to Lausanne, +where he spent five years, and acquired a mastery of the French language, +formed his taste for literary expression, and settled his religious doubts +in a profound scepticism. He served some years in the militia, and was a +member of parliament. It was in 1764, while musing amidst, the ruins of the +Capitol of Rome, that the idea of writing "The Decline and Fall" of the +city first started into his mind. The vast work was completed in 1787. "A +Study in Literature," written in French, and his "Miscellaneous Works," +published after his death, which include "The Memoirs of his Life and +Writings," complete the list of his literary labours. He died of dropsy on +January 16, 1794. The portion of the work which is epitomized here covers +the period from the reign of Commodus to the era of Charlemagne, and +includes the famous portion of the work dealing with the growth of the +Christian church. </p></blockquote> + + +<h4><i>I.--Rome, Mistress of the World</i></h4> + + +<p>In the second century of the Christian era, the Empire of Rome +comprehended the fairest part of the earth, and the most civilised portion +of mankind. On the death of Augustus, that emperor bequeathed, as a +valuable legacy to his successors, the advice of confining the empire +within those limits which nature seemed to have placed as its permanent +bulwarks and boundaries--on the west the Atlantic Ocean, the Rhine and +Danube on the north, the Euphrates on the east, and towards the south the +sandy deserts of Arabia and Africa. The subsequent settlement of Great +Britain and Dacia supplied the two exceptions to the precepts of Augustus, +if we omit the transient conquests of Trajan in the east, which were +renounced by Hadrian.</p> + +<p>By maintaining the dignity of the empire, without attempting to enlarge +its limits, the early emperors caused the Roman name to be revered among +the most remote nations of the earth. The terror of their arms added weight +and dignity to their moderation. They preserved peace by a constant +preparation for war. The soldiers, though drawn from the meanest, and very +frequently from the most profligate, of mankind, and no longer, as in the +days of the ancient republic, recruited from Rome herself, were preserved +in their allegiance to the emperor, and their invincibility before the +enemy, by the influences of superstition, inflexible discipline, and the +hopes of reward. The peace establishment of the Roman army numbered some +375,000 men, divided into thirty legions, who were confined, not within the +walls of fortified cities, which the Romans considered as the refuge of +pusillanimity, but upon the confines of the empire; while 20,000 chosen +soldiers, distinguished by the titles of City Cohorts and Prætorian +Guards, watched over the safety of the monarch and the capitol.</p> + +<p>"Wheresoever the Roman conquers he inhabits," was a very just +observation of Seneca. Colonies, composed for the most part of veteran +soldiers, were settled throughout the empire. Rich and prosperous cities, +adorned with magnificent temples and baths and other public buildings, +demonstrated at once the magnificence and majesty of the Roman system. In +Britain, York was the seat of government. London was already enriched by +commerce, and Bath was celebrated for the salutary effects of its medicinal +waters.</p> + +<p>All the great cities were connected with each other, and with the +capital, by the public highway, which, issuing from the Forum of Rome, +traversed Italy, pervaded the provinces, and was terminated only by the +frontiers of the empire. This great chain of communications ran in a direct +line from city to city, and in its construction the Roman engineers snowed +little respect for the obstacles, either of nature or of private property. +Mountains were perforated and bold arches thrown over the broadest and most +rapid streams. The middle part of the road, raised into a terrace which +commanded the adjacent country, consisted of several strata of sand, +gravel, and cement, and was paved with granite or large stones. Distances +were accurately computed by milestones, and the establishment of +post-houses, at a distance of five or six miles, enabled a citizen to +travel with ease a hundred miles a day along the Roman roads.</p> + +<p>This freedom of intercourse, which was established throughout the Roman +world, while it extended the vices, diffused likewise the improvements of +social life. Rude barbarians of Gaul laid aside their arms for the more +peaceful pursuits of agriculture. The cultivation of the earth produced +abundance in every portion of the empire, and accidental scarcity in any +single province was immediately relieved by the plentifulness of its more +fortunate neighbours. Since the productions of nature are the materials of +art, this flourishing condition of agriculture laid the foundation of +manufactures, which provided the luxurious Roman with those refinements of +conveniency, of elegance, and of splendour which his tastes demanded. +Commerce flourished, and the products of Egypt and the East were poured out +in the lap of Rome.</p> + +<p>Though there still existed within the body of the Roman Empire an +unhappy condition of men who endured the weight, without sharing the +benefits of society, the position of a slave was greatly improved in the +progress of Roman development. The power of life and death was taken from +his master's hands and vested in the magistrate, to whom he had a right to +appeal against intolerable treatment. These magistrates exercised the +authority of the emperor and the senate in every quarter of the empire, +inflexibly maintaining in their administration, as in the case of military +government, the use of the Latin tongue. Greek was the natural idiom of +science, Latin that of government.</p> + + +<h4><i>II.--The Seeds of Dissolution</i></h4> + + +<p>But while Roman society persisted in a state of peaceful security, it +already contained within itself the seeds of dissolution. The long peace +and uniform government of the Romans introduced a slow and secret poison +into the vitals of the empire. The minds of men were gradually reduced to +the same level, the fire of genius was extinguished, and even the military +spirit evaporated. The citizens received laws and covenants from the will +of their sovereign, and trusted for their defence to a mercenary army. Of +their ancient freedom nothing remained except the name, and that Augustus, +sensible that mankind is governed by names, was careful to preserve.</p> + +<p>It was by the will of the senate the emperor ruled. It was from the +senate that he received the ancient titles of the republic--of consul, +tribune, pontiff, and censor. Even his title of <i>imperator</i> was +decreed him, according to the custom of the republic, only for a period of +ten years. But this specious pretence, which was preserved until the last +days of the empire, did not mask the real autocratic authority of the +emperor. The fact that he nominated citizens to the senate was proof, if +proof were needed, that the independence of that body was destroyed; for +the principles of a free constitution are irrecoverably lost when the +legislative power is nominated by the executive.</p> + +<p>Moreover, the dependence of the emperor on the legions completely +subverted the civil authority. To keep the military power, which had given +him his position, from undermining it, Augustus had summoned to his aid +whatever remained in the fierce minds of his soldiers of Roman prejudices, +and interposing the majesty of the senate between the emperor and the army, +boldly claimed their allegiance as the first magistrate of the republic. +During a period of 220 years, the dangers inherent to a military government +were in a great measure suspended by this artful system. The soldiers were +seldom roused to that fatal sense of their own strength and of the weakness +of the civil authority which afterwards was productive of such terrible +calamities.</p> + +<p>The emperors Caligula and Domitian were assassinated in their palace by +their own domestics. The Roman world, it is true, was shaken by the events +that followed the death of Nero, when, in the space of eighteen months, +four princes perished by the sword. But, excepting this violent eruption of +military licence, the two centuries from Augustus to Commodus passed away +unstained with civil blood and undisturbed by revolution. The Roman +citizens might groan under the tyranny, from which they could not hope to +escape, of the unrelenting Tiberius, the furious Caligula, the profligate +and cruel Nero, the beastly Vitellius, and the timid, inhuman Domitian; but +order was maintained, and it was not until Commodus, the son of Marcus +Aurelius Antoninus, the philosopher, succeeded to the authority that his +father had exercised for the benefit of the Roman Empire that the army +fully realised, and did not fail to exercise, the power it had always +possessed.</p> + +<p>During the first three years of his reign the vices of Commodus affected +the emperor rather than the state. While the young prince revelled in +licentious pleasures, the management of affairs remained in the hands of +his father's faithful councillors; but, in the year 183, the attempt of his +sister Lucilla to assassinate him produced fatal results. The assassin, in +attempting the deed, exclaimed, "The senate sends you this!" and though the +blow never reached the body of the emperor, the words sank deep into his +heart.</p> + +<p>He turned upon the senate with relentless cruelty. The possession of +either wealth or virtue excited the tyrant's fury. Suspicion was equivalent +to proof; trial to condemnation, and the noblest blood of the senate was +poured out like water.</p> + +<p>He has shed with impunity the noblest blood of Rome; he perished as soon +as he was dreaded by his own domestics. A cup of drugged wine, delivered by +his favourite concubine, plunged him in a deep sleep. At the instigation of +Lætus, his Prætorian prefect, a robust youth was admitted into +his chamber, and strangled him without resistance. With secrecy and +celerity the conspirators sought out Pertinax, the prefect of the city, an +ancient senator of consular rank, and persuaded him to accept the purple. A +large donative secured them the support of the Prætorian guard, and +the joyous senate eagerly bestowed upon the new Augustus all the titles of +imperial power.</p> + +<p>For eighty-six days Pertinax ruled the empire with firmness and +moderation, but the strictness of the ancient discipline that he attempted +to restore in the army excited the hatred of the Prætorian guards, +and the new emperor was struck down on March 28, 193.</p> + + +<h4><i>III.--An Empire at Auction</i></h4> + + +<p>The Prætorians had violated the sanctity of the throne by the +atrocious murder of Pertinax; they dishonored the majesty of it with their +subsequent conduct. They ran out upon the ramparts of the city, and with a +loud voice proclaimed that the Roman world was to be disposed of to the +best bidder by public auction. Sulpicianus, father-in-law of Pertinax, and +Didius Julianus, bid against each other for the prize. It fell to Julian, +who offered upwards of £1,000 sterling to each of the soldiers, and +the author of this ignominious bargain received the insignia of the empire +and the acknowledgments of a trembling senate.</p> + +<p>The news of this disgraceful auction was received by the legions of the +frontiers with surprise, with indignation, and, perhaps, with envy. +Albinus, governor of Britain, Niger, governor of Syria, and Septimius +Severus, a native of Africa, commander of the Pannonian army, prepared to +revenge the death of Pertinax, and to establish their own claims to the +vacant throne. Marching night and day, Severus crossed the Julian Alps, +swept aside the feeble defences of Julian, and put an end to a reign of +power which had lasted but sixty-six days, and had been purchased with such +immense treasure. Having secured the supreme authority, Severus turned his +arms against his two competitors, and within three years, and in the course +of two or three battles, established his position and brought about the +death of both Albinus and Niger.</p> + +<p>The prosperity of Rome revived, and a profound peace reigned throughout +the world. At the same time, Severus was guilty of two acts which were +detrimental to the future interests of the republic. He relaxed the +discipline of the army, increased their pay beyond the example of former +times, re-established the Prætorian guards, who had been abolished +for their transaction with Julian, and welded more firmly the chains of +tyranny by filling the senate with his creatures. At the age of sixty-five +in the year 211, he expired at York of a disorder which was aggravated by +the labours of a campaign against the Caledonians.</p> + +<p>Severus recommended concord to his sons, Caracalla and Geta, and his +sons to the army. The government of the civilised world was entrusted to +the hands of brothers who were implacable enemies. A latent civil war +brooded in the city, and hardly more than a year passed before the +assassins of Caracalla put an end to an impossible situation by murdering +Geta. Twenty thousand persons of both sexes suffered death under the vague +appellation of the friends of Geta. The fears of Macrinus, the controller +of the civil affairs of the Prætorian prefecture, brought about his +death in the neighbourhood of Carrhæ in Syria on April 8, 217.</p> + +<p>For a little more than a year his successor governed the empire, but the +necessary step of reforming the army brought about his ruin. On June 7, +218, he succumbed to the superior fortune of Elagabulus, the grandson of +Severus, a youth trained in all the superstitions and vices of the +East.</p> + +<p>Under this sovereign Rome was prostituted to the vilest vices of which +human nature is capable. The sum of his infamy was reached when the master +of the Roman world affected to copy the dress and manners of the female +sex. The shame and disgust of the soldiers resulted in his murder on March +10, 222, and the proclamation of his cousin, Alexander Severus.</p> + +<p>Again the necessity of restoring discipline within the army led to the +ruin of the emperor, and, despite thirteen years of just and moderate +government, Alexander was murdered in his tent on March 19, 235, on the +banks of the Rhine, and Maximin, his chief lieutenant, a Thracian, reigned +in his stead.</p> + + +<h4><i>IV.--Tyranny and Disaster</i></h4> + + +<p>Fear of contempt, for his origin was mean and barbarian, made Maximin +one of the cruellest tyrants that ever oppressed the Roman world. During +the three years of his reign he disdained to visit either Rome or Italy, +but from the banks of the Rhine and the Danube oppressed the whole state, +and trampled on every principle of law and justice. The tyrant's avarice +ruined not only private citizens, but seized the municipal funds of the +cities, and stripped the very temples of their gold and silver +offerings.</p> + +<p>Maximus and Balbinus, on July 9, 237, were declared emperors. The +Emperor Maximus advanced to meet the furious tyrant, but the stroke of +domestic conspiracy prevented the further eruption of civil war. Maximin +and his son were murdered by their disappointed troops in front of +Aquileia.</p> + +<p>Three months later, Maximus and Balbinus, on July 15, 238, fell victims +to their own virtues at the hands of the Prætorian guard, Gordian +became emperor. At the end of six years, he, too, after an innocent and +virtuous reign, succumbed to the ambition of the prefect Philip, while +engaged in a war with Persia, and in March 244, the Roman world recognized +the sovereignty of an Arabian robber.</p> + +<p>Returning to Rome, Philip celebrated the secular games, on the +accomplishment of the full period of a thousand years from the foundation +of Rome. From that date, which marked the fifth time that these rites had +been performed in the history of the city, for the next twenty years the +Roman world was afflicted by barbarous invaders and military tyrants, and +the ruined empire seemed to approach the last and fatal moment of its +dissolution. Six emperors in turn succeeded to the sceptre of Philip and +ended their lives, either as the victims of military licence, or in the +vain attempt to stay the triumphal eruption of the Goths and the Franks and +the Suevi. In three expeditions the Goths seized the Bosphorus, plundered +the cities of Bithynia, ravaged Greece, and threatened Italy, while the +Franks invaded Gaul, overran Spain and the provinces of Africa.</p> + +<p>Some sparks of their ancient virtue enabled the senate to repulse the +Suevi, who threatened Rome herself, but the miseries of the empire were not +assuaged by this one triumph, and the successes of Sapor, king of Persia, +in the East, seemed to foreshadow the immediate downfall of Rome. Six +emperors and thirty tyrants attempted in vain to stay the course of +disaster. Famine and pestilence, tumults and disorders, and a great +diminution of the population marked this period, which ended with the death +of the Emperor Gallienus on March 20, 268.</p> + + +<h4><i>V.--Restorers of the Roman World</i></h4> + + +<p>The empire, which had been oppressed and almost destroyed by the +soldiers, the tyrants, and the barbarians, was saved by a series of great +princes, who derived their obscure origin from the martial provinces of +Illyricum. Within a period of about thirty years, Claudius, Aurelian, +Probus, Diocletian and his colleagues triumphed over the foreign and +domestic enemies of the state, re-established, with a military discipline, +the strength of the frontier, and deserved the glorious title of Restorers +of the Roman world.</p> + +<p>Claudius gained a crushing victory over the Goths, whose discomfiture +was completed by disease in the year 269. And his successor, Aurelian, in a +reign of less than five years, put an end to the Gothic war, chastised the +Germans who invaded Italy, recovered Gaul, Spain, and Britain from the +Roman usurpers, and destroyed the proud monarchy which Zenobia, Queen of +Palmyra, had erected in the East on the ruins of the afflicted empire.</p> + +<p>The murder of Aurelian in the East (January 275) led to a curious +revival of the authority of the senate. During an interregnum of eight +months the ancient assembly at Rome governed with the consent of the army, +and appeared to regain with the election of Tacitus, one of their members, +all their ancient prerogatives. Their authority expired, however, with the +death of his successor, Probus, who delivered the empire once more from the +invasions of the barbarians, and succumbed to the too common fate of +assassination in August 282.</p> + +<p>Carus, who was elected in his place, maintained the reputation of the +Roman arms in the East; but his supposed death by lightning, by delivering +the sceptre into the hands of his sons Carinus and Numerian (December 25, +283), once more placed the Roman world at the mercy of profligacy and +licentiousness. A year later, the election of the Emperor Diocletian +(September 17, 284) founded a new era in the history and fortunes of the +empire.</p> + +<p>It was the artful policy of Diocletian to destroy the last vestiges of +the ancient constitution. Dividing his unwieldly power among three other +associates--Maximian, a rough, brutal soldier, who ranked as Augustus; and +Galerius and Constantius, who bore the inferior titles of Cæsar--the +emperor removed the centre of government by gradual steps from Rome. +Diocletian and Maximian held their courts in the provinces, and the +authority of the senators was destroyed by spoliation and death.</p> + + +<h4><i>VI.--Reign of the Six Emperors</i></h4> + + +<p>For twenty-one years Diocletian held sway, establishing, with the +assistance of his associates, the might of the Roman arms in Britain, +Africa, Egypt, and Persia; and then, on May 1, 305, in a spacious plain in +the neighborhood of Nicomedia, divested himself of the purple and abdicated +the throne. On the same day at Milan, Maximian reluctantly made his +resignation of the imperial dignity.</p> + +<p>According to the rules of the new constitution, Constantius and Galerius +assumed the title of Augustus, and nominated Maximin and Severus as +Cæsars. The elaborate machinery devised by Diocletian at once broke +down. Galerius, who was supported by Severus, intrigued for the possession +of the whole Roman world. Constantine, the son of Constantius, on account +of his popularity with the army and the people, excited his suspicion, and +only the flight of Constantine saved him from death. He made his way to +Gaul, and, after taking part in a campaign with his father against the +Caledonians, received the title of Augustus in the imperial palace at York +on the death of Constantius.</p> + +<p>Civil war once more raged. Maxentius, the son of Maximian, was declared +Emperor of Rome, and, with the assistance of his father, who broke from his +retirement, defended his title against Severus, who was taken prisoner at +Ravenna and executed at Rome in February 307. Galerius, who had raised +Licinius to fill the post vacated by the death of Severus, invaded Italy to +reestablish his authority, but, after threatening Rome, was compelled to +retire.</p> + +<p>There were now six emperors. Maximian and his son Maxentius and +Constantine in the West; in the East, Gelerius, Maximin, and Licinius. The +second resignation of Maximian, and his renewed attempt to seize the +imperial power by seducing the soldiers of Constantine, and his subsequent +execution at Marseilles in February 310, reduced the number to five. +Galerius died of a lingering disorder in the following year, and the civil +war that broke out between Maxentius and Constantine, culminating in a +battle near Rome in 312, placed the sceptre of the West in the hands of the +son of Constantius. In the East, the alliance between Licinius and Maximin +dissolved into discord, and the defeat of the latter on April 30, 313, +ended in his death three or four months later.</p> + +<p>The empire was now divided between Constantine and Licinius, and the +ambition of the two princes rendered peace impossible. In the years 315 and +323 civil conflict broke out, ending, after the battle of Adrianople and +the siege of Byzantium, in a culminating victory for Constantine in the +field of Chrysopolis, in September. Licinius, taken prisoner, laid himself +and his purple at the feet of his lord and master, and was duly +executed.</p> + +<p>By successive steps, from his first assuming the purple at York, to the +resignation of Licinius, Constantine had reached the undivided sovereignty +of the Roman world. His success contributed to the decline of the empire by +the expense of blood and treasure, and by the perpetual increase as well of +the taxes as of the military establishments. The foundation of +Constantinople and the establishment of the Christian religion were the +immediate and memorable consequences of this revolution.</p> + +<hr /> + + + + +<h3><a name='Decline_and_Fall_of_the_Roman_Empire__II'></a>Decline and Fall +of the Roman Empire--II</h3> + + +<h4><i>I.--Decay of the Empire under Constantine</i></h4> + + +<p>The unfortunate Licinius was the last rival who opposed the greatness of +Constantine. After a tranquil and prosperous reign, the conqueror +bequeathed to his family the inheritance of the Roman Empire; a new +capital, a new policy, and a new religion; and the innovations which he +established have been embraced, and consecrated, by succeeding +generations.</p> + +<p>Byzantium, which, under the more august name of Constantinople, was +destined to preserve the shadow of the Roman power for nearly a thousand +years after it had been extinguished by Rome herself, was the site selected +for the new capital. Its boundary was traced by the emperor, and its +circumference measured some sixteen miles. In a general decay of the arts +no architect could be found worthy to decorate the new capital, and the +cities of Greece and Asia were despoiled of their most valuable ornaments +to supply this want of ability. In the course of eight or ten years the +city, with its beautiful forum, its circus, its imperial palace, its +theatres, baths, churches, and houses, was completed with more haste than +care. The dedication of the new Rome was performed with all due pomp and +ceremony, and a population was provided by the expedient of summoning some +of the wealthiest families in the empire to take up their residence within +its walls.</p> + +<p>The gradual decay of Rome had eliminated that simplicity of manners +which was the just pride of the ancient republic. Under the autocratic +system of Diocletian, a hierarchy of dependents had sprung up. The rank of +each was marked with the most scrupulous exactness, and the purity of the +Latin language was debased by the invention of the deceitful titles of your +Sincerity, your Excellency, your Illustrious and Magnificent Highness.</p> + +<p>The officials of the empire were divided into three classes of the +Illustrious, Respectable, and Honourable. The consuls were still annually +elected, but obtained the semblance of their ancient authority, not from +the suffrages of the people, but from the whim of the emperor. On the +morning of January 1 they assumed the ensigns of their dignity, and in the +two capitals of the empire they celebrated their promotion to office by the +annual games. As soon as they had discharged these customary duties, they +retired into the shade of private life, to enjoy, during the remainder of +the year, the undisturbed contemplation of their own greatness. Their names +served only as the legal date of the year in which they had filled the +chair of Marius and of Cicero. The ancient title of Patrician became now an +empty honour bestowed by the emperor. Four prefects held jurisdiction over +as many divisions of the empire, and two municipal prefects ruled Rome and +Constantinople. The proconsuls and vice-prefects belonged to the rank of +Respectable, and the provincial magistrates to the lower class of +Honourable. In the military system, eight master-generals exercised their +jurisdiction over the cavalry and the infantry, while thirty-five military +commanders, with the titles of counts and dukes, under their orders, held +sway in the provinces. The army itself was recruited with difficulty, for +such was the horror of the profession of a soldier which affected the minds +of the degenerate Romans that compulsory levies had frequently to be made. +The number of the barbarian auxiliaries enormously increased, and they were +included in the legions and the troops that surrounded the throne. Seven +ministers with the rank of Illustrious regulated the affairs of the palace, +and a host of official spies and torturers swelled the number of the +immediate followers of the sovereign.</p> + +<p>The general tribute, or indiction, as it was called, was derived largely +from the taxation of landed property. Every fifteen years an accurate +census, or survey, was made of all lands, and the proprietor was compelled +to state the true facts of his affairs under oath, and paid his +contribution partly in gold and partly in kind. In addition to this land +tax there was a capitation tax on every branch of commercial industry, and +"free gifts" were exacted from the cities and provinces on the occasion of +any joyous event in the family of the emperor. The peculiar "free gift" of +the senate of Rome amounted to some $320,000.</p> + +<p>Constantine celebrated the twentieth year of his reign at Rome in the +year 326. The glory of his triumph was marred by the execution, or murder, +of his son Crispus, whom he suspected of a conspiracy, and the reputation +of the emperor who established the Christian religion in the Roman world +was further stained by the death of his second wife, Fausta. With a +successful war against the Goths in 331, and the expulsion of the +Sarmatians in 334, his reign closed. He died at Nicomedia on May 22, +337.</p> + + +<h4><i>II.--The Division of East and West</i></h4> + + +<p>The unity of the empire was again destroyed by the three sons of +Constantine. A massacre of their kinsmen preceded the separation of the +Roman world between Constantius, Constans, and Constantine. Within three +years, civil war eliminated Constantine. The conflict among the emperors +resulted in a doubtful war with Persia, and the almost complete extinction +of the Christian monarchy which had been founded for fifty-six years in +Armenia.</p> + +<p>Constantius was left sole emperor in 353. He associated with himself +successively as Cæsars the two nephews of the great Constantine, +Gallus and Julian. The first, being suspected, was destroyed in 354; the +second succeeded to the purple in 361.</p> + +<p>Trained in the school of the philosophers, and proved as a commander in +a series of successful campaigns against the German hordes, Julian brought +to the throne a genius which, in other times, might have effected the +reformation of the empire. The sufferings of his youth had associated in a +mind susceptible of the most lively impressions the names of Christ and of +Constantius, the ideas of slavery and religion. At the age of twenty he +renounced the Christian faith, and boldly asserted the doctrines of +paganism. His accession to the supreme power filled the minds of the +Christians with horror and indignation. But instructed by history and +reflection, Julian extended to all the inhabitants of the Roman world the +benefits of a free and equal toleration, and the only hardship which he +inflicted on the Christians was to deprive them of the power of tormenting +their fellow subjects, whom they stigmatised with the odious titles of +idolaters and heretics.</p> + +<p>While re-establishing and reforming the old pagan system and attempting +to subvert Christianity, he held out a hand of succour to the persecuted +Jews, asked to be permitted to pay his grateful vows in the holy city of +Jerusalem, and was only prevented from rebuilding the Temple by a supposed +preternatural interference. He suppressed the authority of George, +Archbishop of Alexandria, who had infamously persecuted and betrayed the +people under his spiritual care, and that odious priest, who has been +transformed by superstition into the renowned St. George of England, the +patron of arms, of chivalry, and of the Garter, fell a victim to the just +resentment of the Alexandrian multitude.</p> + +<p>The Persian system of monarchy, introduced by Diocletian, was +distasteful to the philosophic mind of Julian; he refused the title of lord +and master, and attempted to restore in all its pristine simplicity the +ancient government of the republic. In a campaign against the Persians he +received a mortal wound, and died on June 26, 363.</p> + +<p>The election of Jovian, the first of the domestics, by the acclamation +of the soldiers, resulted in a disgraceful peace with the Persians, which +aroused the anger and indignation of the Roman world, and the new emperor +hardly survived this act of weakness for nine months (February 17, 364). +The throne of the Roman world remained ten days without a master. At the +end of that period the civil and military powers of the empire solemnly +elected Valentinian as emperor at Nice in Bithynia.</p> + +<p>The new Augustus divided the vast empire with his brother Valens, and +this division marked the final separation of the western and eastern +empires. This arrangement continued, until the death of Valentinian in 375, +when the western empire was divided between his sons, Gratian and +Valentinian II.</p> + +<p>His reign had been notable for the stemming of the invasion of the +Alemanni of Gaul, the incursions of the Burgundians and the Saxons, the +restoration of Britain from the attacks of the Picts and Scots, the +recovery of Africa by the emperor's general, Theodosius, and the diplomatic +settlement with the approaching hordes of the Goths, who already swarmed +upon the frontiers of the empire.</p> + +<p>Under the three emperors the Roman world began to feel more severely the +gradual pressure exerted by the hordes of barbarians that moved westward. +In 376 the Goths, pursued by the Huns, who had come from the steppes of +China into Europe, sought the protection of Valens, who succoured them by +transporting them over the Danube into Roman territory. They repaid his +clemency by uniting their arms with those of the Huns, and defeating and +killing him at the battle of Hadrianople in 378.</p> + +<p>To save the provinces from the ravages of the barbarians, Gratian +appointed Theodosius, son of his father's general, emperor of the East, and +the wisdom of his choice was justified by the success of one who added a +new lustre to the title of Augustus. By prudent strategy, Theodosius +divided and defeated the Goths, and compelled them to submit.</p> + +<p>The sons of Theodosius, Arcadius and Honorius succeeded respectively to +the government of the East and the West in 395. The symptoms of decay, +which not even the wise rule of Theodosius had been able to remove, had +grown more alarming. The luxury of the Romans was more shameless and +dissolute, and as the increasing depredations of the barbarians had checked +industry and diminished wealth, this profuse luxury must have been the +result of that indolent despair which enjoys the present hour and declines +the thoughts of futurity.</p> + +<p>The secret and destructive poison of the age had affected the camps of +the legions. The infantry had laid aside their armour, and, discarding +their shields, advanced, trembling, to meet the cavalry of the Goths and +the arrows of the barbarians, who easily overwhelmed the naked soldiers, no +longer deserving the name of Romans. The enervated legionaries abandoned +their own and the public defence, and their pusillanimous indolence may be +considered the immediate cause of the downfall of the empire.</p> + + +<h4><i>III.--Ruin by Goth, Vandal, and Hun</i></h4> + + +<p>The genius of Rome expired with Theodosius. His sons within three months +had once more sharply divided the empire. At a time when the only hope of +delaying its ruin depended on the firm union of the two sections, the +subject of Arcadius and Honorius were instructed by their respective +masters to view each other in a hostile light, to rejoice in their mutual +calamity, and to embrace as their faithful allies the barbarians, whom they +incited to invade the territories of their countrymen.</p> + +<p>Alarmed at the insecurity of Rome, Honorius about this time fixed the +imperial residence within the naturally fortified city of Ravenna--an +example which was afterwards imitated by his feeble successors, the Gothic +kings and the Exarchs; and till the middle of the eighth century Ravenna +was considered as the seat of government and the capital of Italy.</p> + +<p>The reign of Arcadius in the East marked the complete division of the +Roman world. His subjects assumed the language and manners of Greeks, and +his form of government was a pure and simple monarchy. The name of the +Roman republic, which so long preserved a faint tradition of freedom, was +confined to the Latin provinces. A series of internal disputes, both civil +and religious, marked his career of power, and his reign may be regarded as +notable if only for the election of St. John Chrysostom to the head of the +church of Constantinople. Arcadius died in May 408, and was succeeded by +his supposed son, Theodosius, then a boy of seven, the reins of power being +first held by the prefect Anthemius, and afterwards by his sister +Pulcheria, who governed the eastern empire--in fact, for nearly forty +years.</p> + +<p>The wisdom of Honorius, emperor of the West, in removing his capital to +Ravenna, was soon justified by events. Alaric, king of the Goths, advanced +in 408 to the gates of Rome, and completely blockaded the city. In the +course of a long siege, thousands of Romans died of plague and famine, and +only a heavy ransom, amounting to $1,575,000, relieved the citizens from +their terrible situation in the year 409. In the same year Alaric again +besieged Rome, after fruitless negotiations with Honorius, and his attempt +once more proving successful, he created Attilus, prefect of the city, +emperor. But the imprudent measures of his puppet sovereign exasperated +Alaric. Attilus was formally deposed in 410, and the infuriated Goth +besieged and sacked Rome, and ravaged Italy. The spoil that the barbarians +carried away with them comprised nearly all the movable wealth of the +city.</p> + +<p>The ancient capital was devastated, the exquisite works of art +destroyed, and nearly all the monuments of a glorious past sacrificed to +the insatiate greed of the conquerors. Fire helped to complete the ruin +wrought by the Goths, and it is not easy to compute the multitude of +citizens who, from an honourable station and a prosperous fortune, were +suddenly reduced to the miserable condition of captives and exiles.</p> + +<p>The complete ruin of Italy was prevented by the death of Alaric in +410.</p> + +<p>During the reign of Honorius, the Goths, Burgundians, and Franks were +settled in Gaul. The maritime countries, between the Seine and the Loire, +followed the example of Britain in 409, and threw off the yoke of the +empire. Aquitaine, with its capital at Aries, received, under the title of +the seven provinces, the right of convening an annual assembly for the +management of its own affairs.</p> + +<p>Honorius died in 423, and was succeeded by Valentinian III. His long +reign was marked by a series of disasters, which foretold the rapidly +approaching dissolution of the western empire.</p> + +<p>Genseric, king of the Vandals, in 429 crossed into Africa, conquered the +province, and set up in the depopulated territory, with Carthage as his +capital, a new rule and government. Italy was filled with fugitives from +Africa, and a barbarian race, which had issued from the frozen regions of +the north, established their victorious reign over one of the fairest +provinces of the empire. Two years later, in 441, a new and even more +terrible danger threatened the empire.</p> + +<p>The Goths and Vandals, flying before the Huns, had oppressed the western +World. The hordes of these barbarians, now gathering strength in their +union under their king, Attila, threatened an attack upon the eastern +empire. In appearance their chieftain was terrible in the extreme; his +portrait exhibits the genuine deformity of a modern Calmuck: a large head, +a swarthy complexion, small, deep-seated eyes, a flat nose, a few hairs in +the place of a beard, broad shoulders, and a short, square body of nervous +strength, though of a disproportionate form. He had a custom of fiercely +rolling his eyes, as if he wished to enjoy the terror which he +inspired.</p> + +<p>This savage hero, who had subdued Germany and Scythia, and almost +exterminated the Burgundians of the Rhine, and had conquered Scandinavia, +was able to bring into the field 700,000 barbarians. An unsuccessful raid +into Persia induced him to turn his attention to the eastern empire, and +the enervated troops of Theodosius the Younger dissolved before the fury of +his onset. He ravaged up to the very gates of Constantinople, and only a +humiliating treaty preserved his dominion to the "invincible Augustus" of +the East.</p> + +<p>After the death of Theodosius the Younger, and the accession of Marcian, +the husband of Pulcheria, Attila threatened, in 450, both empires. An +incursion of his hordes into Gaul was rendered abortive by the conduct of +the patrician, Ætius, who, uniting all the various troops of Gaul and +Germany, the Saxons, the Burgundians, the Franks, under their Merovingian +prince, and the Visigoths under their king, Theodoric, after two important +battles, induced the Huns to retreat from the field of Chalons. Attila, +diverted from his purpose, turned into Italy, and the citizens of the +various towns fled before the savage destroyer. Many families of Aquileia, +Padua, and the adjacent towns, found a safe refuge in the neighbouring +islands of the Adriatic, where their place of refuge evolved, in time, into +the famous Republic of Venice.</p> + +<p>Valentinian fled from Ravenna to Rome, prepared to desert his people and +his empire. The fortitude of Ætius alone supported and preserved the +tottering state. Leo, Bishop of Rome, in his sacerdotal robes, dared to +demand the clemency of the savage king, and the intervention of St. Peter +and St. Paul is supposed to have induced Attila to retire beyond the +Danube, with the Princess Honoria as his bride. He did not long survive +this last campaign, and in 453 he died, and was buried amidst all the +savage pomp and grief of his subjects. His death resolved the bonds that +had united the various nations of which his subjects were composed, and in +a very few years domestic discord had extinguished the empire of the +Huns.</p> + +<p>Genseric, king of the Vandals, sacked and pillaged the ancient capital +in June 455.</p> + +<p>The vacant throne was filled by the nomination of Theodoric, king of the +Goths. The senate of Rome bitterly opposed the elevation of this stranger, +and though Avitus might have supported his title against the votes of an +unarmed assembly, he fell immediately he incurred the resentment of Count +Ricimer, one of the chief commanders of the barbarian troops who formed the +military defence of Italy. At a distance from his Gothic allies, he was +compelled to abdicate (October 16, 456), and Majorian was raised to fill +his place.</p> + + +<h4><i>IV.--The Last Emperor of the West</i></h4> + + +<p>The successor of Avitus was a great and heroic character, such as +sometimes arise in a degenerate age to vindicate the honour of the human +species. In the ruin of the Roman world he loved his people, sympathised +with their distress, and studied by judicial and effectual remedies to +allay their sufferings. He reformed the most intolerable grievances of the +taxes, attempted to restore and maintain the edifices of Rome, and to +establish a new and healthier moral code. His military abilities and his +fortune were not in proportion to his merits. An unsuccessful attempt +against the Vandals to recover the lost provinces of Africa resulted in the +loss of his fleet, and his return from this disastrous campaign terminated +his reign. He was deposed by Ricimer, and five days later died of a +reported dysentery, on August 7, 461.</p> + +<p>At the command of Ricimer, the senate bestowed the imperial title on +Libius Severus, who reigned as long as it suited his patron. The increasing +difficulties, however, of the kingdom of Italy, due largely to the naval +depredation of the Vandals, compelled Ricimer to seek the assistance of the +emperor Leo, who had succeeded Marcian in the East in 457. Leo determined +to extirpate the tyranny of the Vandals, and solemnly invested Anthemius +with the diadem and purple of the West (467).</p> + +<p>In 472, Ricimer raised the senator Olybrius to the purple, and, +advancing from Milan, entered and sacked Rome and murdered Anthemius (July +11, 472). Forty days after this calamitous event, the tyrant Ricimer died +of a painful disease, and two months later death also removed Olybrius.</p> + +<p>The emperor Leo nominated Julius Nepos to the vacant throne. After +suppressing a rival in the person of Glycerius, Julius succumbed, in 475, +to a furious sedition of the barbarian confederates, who, under the command +of the patrician Orestes, marched from Rome to Ravenna. The troops would +have made Orestes emperor, but when he declined they consented to +acknowledge his son Augustulus as emperor of the West.</p> + +<p>The ambition of the patrician might have seemed satisfied, but he soon +discovered, before the end of the first year, that he must either be the +slave or the victim of his barbarian mercenaries. The soldiers demanded a +third part of the land of Italy. Orestes rejected the audacious demand, and +his refusal was favourable to the ambition of Odoacer, a bold barbarian, +who assured his fellow-soldiers that if they dared to associate under his +command they might extort the justice that had been denied to their dutiful +petition. Orestes was executed, and Odoacer, resolving to abolish the +useless and expensive office of the emperor of the West, compelled the +unfortunate Augustulus to resign.</p> + +<p>So ended, in the year 476, the empire of the West, and the last Roman +emperor lived out his life in retirement in the Lucullan villa on the +promontory of Misenum.</p> + +<hr /> + + + + +<h3><a name='Decline_and_Fall_of_the_Roman_Empire__III'></a>Decline and +Fall of the Roman Empire--III</h3> + + +<h4><i>I.--The Growth of the Christian Church</i></h4> + + +<p>The policy of the emperors and the senate, as far as it concerned +religion, was happily seconded by the reflections of the enlightened, and +by the habits of the superstitious part of their subjects. The various +modes of worship which prevailed in the Roman world were all considered by +the people as equally true; by the philosopher as equally false; by the +magistrate as equally useful. Under this spirit of toleration the Christian +church grew with great rapidity. Five main causes effectually favoured and +assisted this development.</p> + +<p>1. The inflexible and intolerant zeal of the Christians, purified from +the narrow and unsocial spirit of the Jewish religion.</p> + +<p>2. The doctrine of a future life, improved by every additional +circumstance which could give weight and efficacy to that important +theory.</p> + +<p>3. The miraculous powers ascribed to the primitive Church.</p> + +<p>4. The pure and austere morals of the early Christians.</p> + +<p>5. The union and discipline of the Christian republic, which gradually +formed an independent and increasing state in the heart of the Roman +Empire.</p> + +<p>The early Christians of the mother church at Jerusalem subscribed to the +Mosaic law, and the first fifteen bishops of Jerusalem were all circumcised +Jews. But the Gentile church rejected the intolerable weight of Mosaic +ceremonies, and at length refused to their more scrupulous brethren the +same toleration which at first they had humbly solicited for their own +practise. After the ruin of the temple of the city, and of the public +religion of the Jews, the Nazarenes, as the Christian Jews of Jerusalem +were called, retired to the little town of Pella, from whence they could +make easy and frequent pilgrimages to the Holy City. When the Emperor +Hadrian forbade the Jewish people from approaching the precincts of the +city, the Nazarenes escaped from the common proscription by disavowing the +Mosaic law. A small remnant, however, still combined the Mosaic ceremonies +with the Christian faith, and existed, until the fourth century, under the +name of Ebeonites.</p> + +<p>The immortality of the soul had been held by a few sages of Greece and +Rome, who were unwilling to confound themselves with the beasts of the +field, or to suppose that a being for whose dignity they entertained the +most sincere admiration could be limited to a spot of earth, and to a few +years of duration. But reason could not justify the specious and noble +principles of the disciples of Plato.</p> + +<p>To the Christians alone the authority of Christ gave a certainty of a +future life, and when the promise of eternal happiness was proposed to +mankind on condition of adopting the faith, and of observing the precepts +of the Gospel, it is no wonder that so advantageous an offer should have +been accepted by great numbers of every religion, of every rank, and of +every province in the Roman Empire. The immediate expectation of the second +coming of Christ, and the reign of the Son of God with His saints for a +thousand years, strengthened the ancient Christians against all trials and +sufferings.</p> + +<p>The supernatural gifts which even in this life were ascribed to the +Christians above the rest of mankind must have conduced to their own +comfort, and very frequently to the conviction of infidels. The gift of +tongues, of vision, and of prophecy, the power of expelling demons, of +healing the sick, and of raising the dead, were prodigies claimed by the +Christian Church at the time of the apostles and their first disciples.</p> + +<p>Repentance for their past sins, and the laudable desire of supporting +the reputation of the society in which they were engaged, rendered the +lives of the primitive Christians much purer and more austere than those of +their pagan contemporaries or their degenerate successors. They were +insistent in their condemnation of pleasure and luxury, and, in their +search after purity, were induced to approve reluctantly that institution +of marriage which they were compelled to tolerate. A state of celibacy was +regarded as the nearest approach to the divine perfection, and there were +in the primitive church a great number of persons devoted to the profession +of perpetual chastity.</p> + +<p>The government of the primitive church was based on the principles of +freedom and equality. The societies which were instituted in the cities of +the Roman Empire were united only by the ties of faith and charity. The +want of discipline and human learning was supplied by the occasional +assistance of the "prophets "--men or women who, as often as they felt the +divine impulse, poured forth the effusions of the spirit in the assembly, +of the faithful. In the course of time bishops and presbyters exercised +solely the functions of legislation and spiritual guidance. A hundred years +after the death of the apostles, the bishop, acting as the president of the +presbyterial college, administered the sacrament and discipline of the +Church, managed the public funds, and determined all such differences as +the faithful were unwilling to expose before the tribunal of an idolatrous +judge.</p> + +<p>Every society formed within itself a separate and independent republic, +and towards the end of the second century, realizing the advantages that +might result from a closer union of their interests and designs, these +little states adopted the useful institution of a provincial synod. The +bishops of the various churches met in the capital of the province at +stated periods, and issued their decrees or canons. The institution of +synods was so well suited to private ambition and to public interest that +it was received throughout the whole empire. A regular correspondence was +established between the provincial councils, which mutually communicated and +approved their respective proceedings, and the Catholic Church soon assumed +the form and acquired the strength of a great federative republic.</p> + +<p>The community of goods which for a short time had been adopted in the +primitive church was gradually abolished, and a system of voluntary gifts +was substituted. In the time of the Emperor Decius it was the opinion of +the magistrates that the Christians of Rome were possessed of very +considerable wealth, and several laws, enacted with the same design as our +statutes of mortmain, forbade real estate being given or bequeathed to any +corporate body, without special sanctions. The bishops distributed these +revenues, exercised the right of exclusion or excommunication of +recalcitrant members of the Church, and maintained the dignity of their +office with ever increasing pomp and circumstance.</p> + + +<h4><i>II.--The Days of Persecution</i></h4> + + +<p>The persecution of Christians by the Roman emperors must at first sight +seem strange, when one considers their inoffensive mode of faith and +worship. When one remembers the scepticism that prevailed among the pagans, +and the tolerant view of all religions which was characteristic of the +Roman citizen in the early years of the empire, this harshness seems all +the more remarkable. It can be explained partly by the misapprehension +which existed in the mind of the pagan world as to the principles of the +Christian faith, and partly by the organization of the sect. The Jews were +allowed the exercise of their unsocial and exclusive faith. But the Jews +were a nation; the Christians were a sect. Moreover, the Christians were +regarded as apostates from the ancient faith of Moses, and, worshipping no +visible god, were held to be atheists.</p> + +<p>The Roman policy also viewed with the utmost jealousy and distrust any +association among its subjects, and the secret and nocturnal meetings of +the Christians appeared peculiarly dangerous in the eyes of the law.</p> + +<p>They were oppressed by the Emperor Domitian. Trajan protected their +meetings by requiring definite evidence of these illegal assemblies, and an +informer who failed in his proofs was subject to a severe or capital +penalty. But the edicts of Hadrian and Antoninus Pius protected the Church +from the danger of popular clamour in times of disaster, declaring that the +voice of the multitude should never be admitted as legal evidence to +convict or to punish those unfortunate persons who had embraced the +enthusiasm of the Christians.</p> + +<p>The authority of Origen and Dionysius annihilates that formidable army +of martyrs, whose relics, drawn for the most part from the catacombs of +Rome, have replenished so many churches, and whose marvellous achievements +have been the subject of so many volumes of holy romance.</p> + +<p>The martyrdom of Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, on September 14, 258, was +one of the most notable of that period. Under Marcus Antoninus, the +Christians were treated harshly, but the tyrant Commodus protected them by +his leniency. After a temporary period of persecution during the reign of +Severus, the Christians enjoyed a calm from 211 to 249. The storms gathered +again under Decius, and so vigorous was the persecution that the bishops of +the most considerable cities were removed by exile or death.</p> + + +<h4><i>III.--The Church under Constantine</i></h4> + + +<p>From 284 to 303, during the reign of Diocletian, the Christian Church +enjoyed peace and prosperity, but in the latter year Galerius persuaded the +emperor to renew the persecution of the sect. An edict on February 24 +enacted that all churches throughout the empire should be demolished, and +the punishment of death was pronounced against all who should presume to +hold any secret assemblies for the purposes of religious worship. Many +suffered martyrdom under this cruel enactment. Churches everywhere were +burnt, and sacred books destroyed. Three more edicts published before March +304 led to the imprisonment of all persons of the ecclesiastical order, +compelled the magistrates to exercise torture to subvert the religion of +their Christian prisoners, and made it the duty, as well as the interest, +of the imperial officers to discover, to pursue, and to torment the most +obnoxious among the faithful.</p> + +<p>But after six years of persecution, the mind of Galerius, softened by +salutary reflection, induced him to attempt some reparation. In the edict +of toleration which he published on April 30, 311, he expresses the hope +"that our indulgence will engage the Christians to offer up their prayers +to the Deity whom they adore for our safety and prosperity, and for that of +the Republic."</p> + +<p>The triumph of the great Constantine established the security of the +Christian Church from the attacks of the pagans. Converted in 306, +Constantine, as soon as he had achieved the conquest of Italy, issued the +Edict of Milan (313), declaring that the places of worship which had been +confiscated should be restored to the Church without dispute, without +delay, and without expense. Though himself never received by baptism into +the Church, until his last moments, his powerful patronage of the +Christians, and his edicts of toleration, removed all the temporal +disadvantages which had hitherto retarded the progress of Christianity.</p> + +<p>The faith of Christ became the national religion of the empire. The +soldiers bore upon their helmets and upon their shields the sacred emblem +of the Cross. All the machinery of government was employed to propagate the +faith, not only within the empire, but beyond its borders. Confirmed in his +new religion by the miraculous vision of the Cross, Constantine, who was +the master of the world, consented to recognise the superiority of the +ecclesiastical orders in all spiritual matters, while retaining himself the +temporal power.</p> + +<p>The persecution of heresy was carried out by Constantine with all the +ardour of a convert. An edict confiscated the public property of the +heretics to the use either of the revenue or the Catholic Church, and the +penal regulations of Diocletian against the Christians were now employed +against the schismatics. The Donatists, who maintained the apostolic +succession of Donatus, primate of Carthage, as opposed to Cæcilian, +were suppressed in Africa, and a general synod attempted to regulate the +faith of the Church.</p> + +<p>The subject of the nature of the divine Trinity had early given rise to +discussion. Of the three main heretical views, that of Arius and his +disciples was the most prevalent. He held in effect that the Son, by whom +all things were made, though He had been begotten before all worlds, yet +had not always existed. He shone only with the reflected light of His +Almighty Father, and, like the sons of the Roman emperors, who were +invested with the titles of Cæsar or Augustus. He governed the +universe.</p> + +<p>The Tritheists advocated a system which seemed to establish three +independent deities, while the Sabellian theory allowed only to the man +Jesus the inspiration of the divine wisdom. The consubstantiality of the +Father and of the Son had been established by the Council of Nicæa in +325, but the East ranged itself for the most part under the banner of the +Arian heresy. At first indifferent, Constantine at last persecuted the +Arians, who later, under Constantius, were received into favour.</p> + +<p>Constantinople, which for forty years was the stronghold of Arianism, +was converted to the orthodox faith under Theodosius by Gregory +Nazianzen.</p> + + +<h4><i>IV.--The Conversion of the World</i></h4> + + +<p>The pagan religion was finally destroyed about the year 390, and the +faintest vestiges of it were not visible thirty years later. Its influence, +however, might be observed in many of the ceremonies which were introduced +into the Church, and the worship of martyrs and relics seemed to revive a +system of polytheism by the worship of a hierarchy of saints. Among the +most famous of the dignitaries of the Church at this period was the +Archbishop of Constantinople, who was distinguished by the epithet of +Chrysostom, or the Golden Mouth. He attempted to purify the eastern empire, +excited the animosity of the Empress Eudoxia, and died in exile in 407.</p> + +<p>The monastic system had been founded by Antony, an illiterate youth, in +the year 305, by the establishment on Mount Cobyim, near the Red Sea, of a +colony of ascetics, who renounced all the business and pleasures in life as +the price of eternal happiness. A long series of hermits, monks, and +anachorets propagated the system and, patronised by Athanasius, it spread +to all parts of the world.</p> + +<p>The monastic profession was an act of voluntary devotion, and the +inconstant fanatic was threatened with the eternal vengeance of the God +whom he deserted. The monks had to give a blind submission to the commands +of their abbot, however absurd, and the freedom of the mind, the source of +every generous and rational sentiment, was destroyed by the habits of +credulity and submission. In their dress and diet they preserved the most +rigorous simplicity, and they subsisted entirely by their own manual +exertions. But in the course of time this simplicity vanished, and, +enriched by the offerings of the faithful, they assumed the pride of +wealth, and at last indulged in the luxury of extravagance.</p> + +<p>The conversion of the barbarians followed upon their invasion of the +Roman world; but they were involved in the Arian heresy, and from their +advocacy of that cause they were characterised by the name of heretics, an +epithet more odious than that of barbarian. The bitterness engendered by +this reproach confirmed them in their faith, and the Vandals in Africa +persecuted the orthodox Catholic with all the vigour and cruel arts of +religious tyranny.</p> + +<hr /> + + + + +<h3><a name='Decline_and_Fall_of_the_Roman_Empire__IV'></a>Decline and Fall +of the Roman Empire--IV</h3> + + +<h4><i>I.--Theodoric the Ostrogoth</i></h4> + + +<p>After the fall of the Roman Empire in the West, an interval of fifty +years, until the memorable reign of Justinian, is faintly marked by the +obscure names and imperfect annals of Zeno, Anastasius, and Justin, who +successively ascended the throne of Constantinople. During the same period +Italy revived and nourished under the government of a Gothic king, who +might have deserved a statue among the best and bravest of the ancient +Romans.</p> + +<p>Theodoric the Ostrogoth, the fourteenth in lineal descent of royal line +of the Amali, was born (455) in the neighbourhood of Vienna two years after +the death of Attila. The murmurs of the Goths, who complained that they +were exposed to intolerable hardships, determined Theodoric to attempt an +adventure worthy of his courage and ambition. He boldly demanded the +privilege of rescuing Italy and Rome from Odoacer, and at the head of his +people forced his way, between the years 488 and 489, through hostile +country into Italy. In three battles he triumphed over Odoacer, forced that +monarch to capitulate on favourable terms at Ravenna (493), and after +pretending to allow him to share his sovereignty of Italy, assassinated him +in the same year.</p> + +<p>The long reign of Theodoric (493-526) was marked by a transient return +of peace and prosperity to Italy. His domestic and foreign policy were +dictated alike by wisdom and necessity. His people were settled on the +land, which they held by military tenure. A series of matrimonial alliances +secured him the support of the Franks, the Burgundians, the Visigoths, the +Vandals, and the Thuringians, and his sword preserved his territory from +the incursions of rival barbarians and the two disastrous attacks (505 and +508) that envy prompted the Emperor Anastasius to attempt.</p> + + +<h4><i>II.--Justinian the Great</i></h4> + + +<p>The death of the Emperor Anastasius had raised to the throne a Dardanian +peasant, who by his arts secured the suffrage of the guards, despoiled and +destroyed his more powerful rivals, and reigned under the name of Justin I. +from 518 to 527. He was succeeded by his nephew, the great Justinian, who +for thirty-eight years directed the fortunes of the Roman Empire.</p> + +<p>The Empress Theodora, who before her marriage had been a theatrical +wanton, was seated, by the fondness of the emperor, on the throne as an +equal and independent colleague in the sovereignty. Her rapacity, her +cruelty, and her pride were the subject of contemporary writings, but her +benevolence to her less fortunate sisters, and her courage amidst the +factions and dangers of the court, justly entitle her to a certain nobility +of character.</p> + +<p>Constantinople in the age of Justinian was torn by the factions of the +circus. The rival bands of charioteers, who wore respectively liveries of +green and blue, created in the capital of the East, as they had created in +Rome, two factions among the populace. Justinian's support of the blues led +to a serious sedition in the capital. The two factions were united by a +common desire for vengeance, and with the watchword of "Nika" (vanquish) +(January 532), raged in tumult through Constantinople for five days. At the +command of Theodora 3,000 veterans who could be trusted marched through the +burning streets to the Hippodrome, and there, supported by the repentant +blues, massacred the unresisting mob.</p> + +<p>The Eastern Empire, after Rome was barbarous, still embraced the nations +whom she had conquered beyond the Adriatic, and as far as the frontiers of +Ethiopia and Persia. Justinian reigned over 64 provinces and 935 cities. +The arts and agriculture flourished under his rule, but the avarice and +profusion of Justinian oppressed the people. His expensive taste for +building almost exhausted the resources of the empire. Heavy custom tolls, +taxes on the food and industry of the poor, the exercise of intolerable +monopolies, were not excused or compensated for by the parsimonious saving +in the salaries of court officials, and even in the pay of the soldiers. +His stately edifices were cemented with the blood and treasures of his +people, and the rapacity and luxury of the emperor were imitated by the +civil magistrates and officials.</p> + +<p>The schools of Athens, which still kept alight the sacred flame of the +ancient philosophy, were suppressed by Justinian. The academy of the +Platonics, the Lyceum of the Peripatetics, the Portico of the Stoics, and +the Garden of the Epicureans had long survived.</p> + +<p>With the death of Simplicius and his six companions, who terminate the +long list of Grecian philosophers, the golden chain, as it was fondly +styled, of the Platonic succession was broken, and the Edict of Justinian +(529) imposed a perpetual silence on the schools of Athens.</p> + +<p>The Roman consulship was also abolished by Justinian in 541; but this +office, the title of which admonished the Romans of their ancient freedom, +still lived in the minds of the people. They applauded the gracious +condescension of successive princes by whom it was assumed in the first +year of their reign, and three centuries elapsed after the death of +Justinian before that obsolete office, which had been suppressed by law, +could be abolished by custom.</p> + +<p>The usurpation by Gelimer (530) of the Vandalic crown of Africa, which +belonged of right to Hilderic, first encouraged Justinian to undertake the +African war. Hilderic had granted toleration to the Catholics, and for this +reason was held in reproach by his Arian subjects. His compulsory +abdication afforded the emperor of the East an opportunity of interfering +in the cause of orthodoxy. A large army was entrusted to the command of +Belisarius, one of those heroic names which are familiar to every age and +to every nation. Proved in the Persian war, Belisarius was given unlimited +authority. He set sail from Constantinople with a fleet of six hundred +ships in June 533. He landed on the coast of Africa in September, defeated +the degenerate Vandals, reduced Carthage within a few days, utterly +vanquished Gelimer, and completed the conquest of the ancient Roman +province by 534. The Vandals in Africa fled beyond the power or even the +knowledge of the Romans.</p> + + +<h4><i>III.--Gothic Italy</i></h4> + + +<p>Dissensions in Italy excited the ambition of Justinian. Belisarius was +sent with another army to Sicily in 535, and after subduing that island and +suppressing a revolt in Africa, he invaded Italy in 536. Policy dictated +the retreat of the Goths, and Belisarius entered Rome (December 536). In +March, Vitiges, the Gothic ruler, returned with a force of one hundred and +fifty thousand men. The valour of the Roman general supported a siege of +forty-one days and the intrigues of the Pope Silverius, who was exiled by +his orders; and, finally, with the assistance of a seasonable +reinforcement, Belisarius compelled the barbarians to retire in March of +the following year. The conquests of Ravenna and the suppression of the +invasion of the Franks completed the subjugation of the Gothic kingdom by +December 539.</p> + +<p>The success of Belisarius and the intrigues of his secret enemies had +excited the jealousy of Justinian. He was recalled, and the eunuch Narses +was sent to Italy, as a powerful rival, to oppose the interests of the +conqueror of Rome and Africa. The infidelity of Antonina, which excited her +husband's just indignation, was excused by the Empress Theodora, and her +powerful support was given to the wife of the last of the Roman heroes, +who, after serving again against the Persians, returned to the capital, to +be received not with honour and triumph, but with disgrace and contempt and +a fine of $600,000.</p> + +<p>The incursions of the Lombards, the Slavonians, and the Avars and the +Turks, and the successful raids of the King of Persia were among the number +of the important events of the reign of Justinian. To maintain his position +in Africa and Italy taxed his resources to their utmost limit. The +victories of Justinian were pernicious to mankind; the desolation of Africa +was such that in many parts a stranger might wander whole days without +meeting the face of either a friend or an enemy.</p> + +<p>The revolts of the Goths, under their king, Totila (541), once more +demanded the presence of Belisarius, and, a hero on the banks of the +Euphrates, a slave in the palace of Constantinople, he accepted with +reluctance the painful task of supporting his own reputation and retrieving +the faults of his successors. He was too late to save Rome from the Goths, +by whom it was taken in December 546; but he recovered it in the following +February. After his recall by his envious sovereign in September 548, Rome +was once more taken by the Goths. The successful repulse of the Franks and +Alemanni finally restored the kingdom to the rule of the emperor. +Belisarius died on March 13, 565.</p> + +<p>The emperor survived his death only eight months, and passed away, in +the eighty-third year of his life and the thirty-eighth of his reign, on +November 14, 565. The most lasting memorial of his reign is to be found +neither in his victories nor his monuments, but in the immortal works of +the Code, the Pandects, and the Institutes, in which the civil +jurisprudence of the Romans was digested, and by means of which the public +reason of the Romans has been silently or studiously transfused into the +domestic institutions of the whole of Europe.</p> + + +<h4><i>IV.--Gregory the Great</i></h4> + + +<p>Justinian was succeeded by his nephew, Justin II., who lived to see the +conquest of the greater part of Italy by Alboin, king of the Lombards +(568-570), the disaffection of the exarch, Narses, and the ruin of the +revived glories of the Roman world.</p> + +<p>During a period of 200 years Italy was unequally divided between the +king of the Lombards and the exarchate of Ravenna. Rome relapsed into a +state of misery. The Campania was reduced to the state of a dreary +wilderness. The stagnation of a deluge caused by the torrential swelling of +the Tiber produced a pestilential disease, and a stranger visiting Rome +might contemplate with horror the solitude of the city. Gregory the Great, +whose pontificate lasted from 590 to 604, reconciled the Arians of Italy +and Spain to the Catholic Church, conquered Britain in the name of the +Cross, and established his right to interfere in the management of the +episcopal provinces of Greece, Spain, and Gaul. The merits of Gregory were +treated by the Byzantine court with reproach and insult, but in the +attachment of a grateful people he found the purest reward of a citizen and +the best right of a sovereign.</p> + +<p>The short and virtuous reign of Tiberius (578-582), which succeeded that +of Justin, made way for that of Maurice. For twenty years Maurice ruled +with honesty and honour. But the parsimony of the emperor, and his attempt +to cure the inveterate evil of a military despotism, led to his undoing, +and in 602 he was murdered with his children. A like fate befell the +Emperor Phocas, who succumbed in 610 to the fortunes of Heraclius, the son +of Crispus, exarch of Africa. For thirty-two years Heraclius ruled the +Roman world. In three campaigns he chastised the rising power of Persia, +drove the armies of Chosroes from Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, rescued +Constantinople from the joint siege of the Avars and Persians (626), and +finally reduced the Persian monarch to the defence of his hereditary +kingdom. The deposition and murder of Chosroes by his son Siroes (628) +concluded the successes of the emperor.</p> + +<p>A treaty of peace was arranged, and Heraclius returned in triumph to +Constantinople, where, after the exploits of six glorious campaigns, he +peacefully enjoyed the sabbath of his toils. The year after his return he +made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem to restore the true Cross to the Holy +Sepulchre. In the last eight years of his reign Heraclius lost to the Arabs +the same provinces which he had rescued from the Persians.</p> + +<p>Heraclius died in 612. His descendants continued to fill the throne in +the persons of Constantine III. (641), Heracleonas (641), Constans II. +(641), Constantine IV. (668), Justinian II. (685), until 711, when an +interval of six years, divided into three reigns, made way for the rise of +the Isaurian dynasty.</p> + + +<h4><i>V.--The New Era of Charlemagne</i></h4> + + +<p>Leo III. ascended the throne on March 25, 718, and the purple descended +to his family, by the rights of heredity, for three generations. The +Isaurian dynasty is most notable for the part it played in ecclesiastical +history.</p> + +<p>The introduction of images into the Christian Church had confused the +simplicity of religious worship. The education of Leo, his reason, perhaps +his intercourse with Jews and Arabs, had inspired him with a hatred of +images. By two edicts he proscribed the existence, as well as the use, of +religious pictures. This heresy of Leo and of his successors and +descendants, Constantine V. (741), Leo IV. (775), and Constantine VI. +(780), whose blinding by his mother Irene is one of the most tragic stories +of Roman history, justified the popes in rebelling against the authority of +the emperor, and in restoring and establishing the supremacy of Rome.</p> + +<p>Gregory II. saved the city from the attacks of the Lombards, who had +seized Ravenna and extinguished the series of Greek exarchs in 751. He +secured the assistance of Pepin, and the real governor of the French +monarchy--Charles Martel, who, by his signal victory over the Saracens, had +saved Europe from the Mohammedan yoke. Twice--in 754 and 756--Pepin marched +to the relief of the city. His son Charlemagne, in 774, seemed to secure +the permanent safety of the ancient capital by the conquest of Lombardy, +and for twenty-six years he ruled the Romans as his subjects. The people +swore allegiance to his person and his family, and the elections of the +popes were examined and authorised by him. The senate exercised its rights +by proclaiming him patrician and of the power of the emperor; nothing was +lacking except the title.</p> + +<p>A document, known as the Forged Decretals, which assigned the free and +perpetual sovereignty of Rome, Italy, and the provinces of the West to the +popes by Constantine, was presented by Pope Hadrian I. to Charlemagne. This +document served to absolve the popes from their debt of gratitude to the +French monarch, and excused the revolt of Rome from the authority of the +eastern empire.</p> + +<p>Though Constantinople returned, under Irene, to the employment of +images, and the seventh general council of Nicæa, September 24, 787, +pronounced the worship of the Greeks as agreeable to scripture and reason, +the division between the East and the West could not be avoided. The pope +was driven to revive the western empire in order to secure the gift of the +exarchy, to eradicate the claims of the Greeks, and to restore the majesty +of Rome from the debasement of a provincial town. The emperors of the West +would receive their crown from the successor of St. Peter, and the Roman +Church would require a zealous and respectable advocate.</p> + +<p>Inspired by these motives, Pope Leo, who had nearly fallen a victim to a +conspiracy (788), and had been saved and reinstated by Charlemagne, took +the opportunity presented by the French king's visit to Rome to crown him +emperor. On the festival of Christmas (800), in the church of St. Peter, +Leo, after the celebration of the Holy Mysteries, suddenly placed a +precious crown on his head. The dome resounded with the acclamations of the +people, his head and body were consecrated with the royal unction, and he +was saluted, or adored, by the pontiff after the example of the +Cæsars.</p> + +<p>Europe dates a new era from his restoration of the western empire.</p> + +<hr /> + + + + +<h2><a name='THEODOR_MOMMSEN'></a>THEODOR MOMMSEN</h2> + + +<h3><a name='History_of_Rome'></a>History of Rome</h3> + + +<blockquote><p> Theodor Mommsen was born at Garding in Schleswig on +November 30, 1817. He studied at Kiel University for three years, examined +Roman inscriptions in France and Italy from 1844 to 1847, and attained his +first professorship at Leipzig in 1848, and the Berlin Chair of Ancient +History in 1858. His greatest work was the "History of Rome," published in +1854, and its successor, the "Roman Provinces." On this work he brought to +bear a research and a scholarship of almost unparalleled range and +completeness. He was a man capable of vehement and occasionally +unreasonable partisanship, and a strict and cold-blooded impartiality would +have tempered the enthusiasm of some of his portraits and the severity of +others. These defects, however, are less obvious when his history is +condensed in small compass. There are cases in which his judgments are open +to adverse criticism. But at the present day it may safely be affirmed that +there is no extant history of Rome down to the establishment of the empire +which can be regarded as rivalling that here presented. Upwards of 900 +separate publications remain as a monument of Mommsen's industry. He died +on November 1, 1903. </p></blockquote> + + +<p>Iapygians, Etruscans, and Italians, the last certainly Indo-Europeans, +are the original stocks of Italy proper. Of the Italians there are two +divisions, the Latin and the Umbro-Sabellian. Central Italy was occupied by +the Latins, who were established in cantons formed of village groups; which +cantons at an early age formed themselves into the loose Latin League, with +Alba at its head.</p> + +<p>The Roman canton, on both banks of the Tiber, concentrated itself on the +city earlier than others. The citizens consisted of the families which +constituted the larger groups of clans or gentes, formed into those tribes. +The remainder of the population were their dependents or slaves. At the +head of the family was the father, and the whole community had its king, +standing to it in the same relation as the father to the family. His power, +within the law, was absolute; but he could not override it or change it on +his own authority. This required the formal assent of the assembled +citizens. The heads of the clans formed a separate body--the Senate--which +controlled the appointment of the king, and could veto legislation.</p> + +<p>By admission of aliens and absorption of other communities, swelling the +number of dependents, was gradually created a great body of plebeians, +non-citizens, who began to demand political rights; and whom it was +necessary to organise for military purposes which was done by the "Servian +Constitution." Gradually Rome won a supremacy in the Latin League, a +position of superiority over the aggregate of the other cantons.</p> + +<p>In this community arose three political movements: (1) On the part of +the full citizen, patricii, to limit the power not of the state, but of the +kings; (2) of the non-citizens, to acquire political rights; (3) of +antagonism between the great landholders and the land-interests opposed to +them. The first resulted in the expulsion of the monarchs, and the +substitution of a dual kingship held for one year only. But in many +respects their joint power was curtailed as compared with that of the +monarch, while for emergencies they could appoint a temporary dictator. The +change increased the power of the General Assembly, to which it became +necessary to admit the non-citizen freeholders who were liable to military +duties. The life tenure of the members of the Senate greatly increased the +powers of that body, and intensified the antagonism of the patriarch and +the plebeians.</p> + +<p>At the same time, a landed nobility was developing; and when fresh land +was acquired by the state, the Patricians claimed to control it. But the +great agricultural population could not submit to this process of land +absorption, and the consequent strife took the form of a demand for +political recognition, which issued in the appointment of Tribunes of the +Plebs, with power of administrative veto.</p> + +<p>The struggle over privileges lasted for two hundred years. First the +Canuleian law made marriage valid between patricians and plebeians, and +instituted for a time military tribunes. The Licinian law, eighty years +later, admitted plebeians to the consulship, and also required the +employment of free labour in agriculture. The decisively democratic measure +was the Horticunian law, after another seventy years, giving the +exclusively plebeian assembly full legislative power. The practical effect +of the changes was to create a new aristocracy, semi-plebeian in origin, +and to reduce the personal power of the chief officers of state, while +somewhat increasing that of the remodelled Senate; rendering it a body +selfish indeed in internal matters, but essentially patriotic as well as +powerful.</p> + + +<h4><i>I.--The Description of Italy</i></h4> + + +<p>During the period of this long constitutional struggle, Rome and her +kinsfolk had first been engaged in a stubborn and ultimately successful +contest with the non-Aryan Etruscan race; and then Italy had been attacked +by the migrating Aryan hordes of the Celts, known as Gauls, who sacked +Rome, but retired to North Italy; events giving birth to many well-known +stories, probably in the main mythical. But the practical effect was to +impose a greater solidarity of the Latin and kindred races, and a more +decisive acceptance of Roman hegemony.</p> + +<p>That hegemony, however, had to be established by persistent compulsion, +and there were three stages in its completion. First, the subjection of the +Latins and Campanians; then the struggle of Rome with the Umbrian-Samnites; +finally, the decisive repulse of the Epirote invader Pyrrhus--in effect a +Hellenic movement. The Roman supremacy established through the exhaustion +of the valiant Samnites required to be confirmed by stern repression of +attempts to recover liberty. But the Hellenic element in Italy, +antagonistic to the growing Roman power, in effect invited the intervention +of the Epirote chief. But his scheme was not that of an imperial statesman, +but of a chivalrous and romantic warrior. His own political blunders and +the iron determination of the Romans, destroyed his chances of conquest. +His retirement left Rome undisputed lord of Italy; which in part shared +full citizenship, in part possessed only the more restricted Latin rights, +and in part only rights conceded under varying treaties.</p> + +<p>A sense of common Italian nationality was developing. But if Rome was +queen of Italy, Carthage was queen of the seas. Maritime expansion was +precluded, though Rome's position fitted her for it. Carthage was the one +Phoenician state which developed political as well as commercial power. The +commercial cities of North Africa were in subordination to her, in the +Western Mediterranean she had no rivals, her domestic government was +oligarchical.</p> + +<p>Roman intervention in the affairs of Sicily, where Carthage was the +dominant power, produced the rupture between the two great states which was +bound to come sooner or later. Sicily itself was the scene of the initial +struggle, which taught Rome that her victories on land were liable to be +nullified by the Carthaginian sea power. She resolved to build a navy, on +the plan of adopting boarding tactics which would assimilate a naval +engagement to a battle on land. These tactics were successful enough to +equalise the fighting value of the respective fleets. The Romans were +enabled to land an invading army under Regulus in Africa.</p> + +<p>Though superior on land, the general's blundering led to a disaster, and +for some time misfortune by sea and failure by land dogged the Romans. But +Carthage failed to use her opportunity; she did not attempt to strike a +crushing blow when she could have done so. But the private energy of Roman +patriots at last placed on the seas a fleet which once more turned the +scale, whereas it was on land that the brilliant Carthaginian Hamilcar had +displayed his genius and daring. The first Punic War gave Rome predominance +in Sicily, and a position of maritime equality. Sardinia was added to the +Roman dominion, and her provincial administration came into being.</p> + +<p>She was carrying her expansion farther over Celtic regions, when +Hannibal, the son of Hamilcar, hurled himself against her, and came near to +destroying her. Hamilcar had conceived the idea of imperial expansion, and +given it shape by creating a dominion in Spain; he had looked forward to +the life-and-death struggle with Rome that was destined to his son; for +which Spain was to be the base. Hannibal, left in control in Spain, +deliberately challenged Rome to war.</p> + +<p>The challenge was accepted, war was declared, and Hannibal accomplished +the amazing feat of leading an army of 60,000 men from Spain and effecting +the passage of the Alps, while the Romans were landing an army in Spain. In +a brilliant campaign, he defeated the stubborn Roman legions at +Vercellæ and the Trebia.</p> + +<p>But success depended not on the winning of victories by an isolated +force, but on the disruption of Italy. His superiority in the field was +again demonstrated at Trasimenus, but no Italian allies came in. He +outwitted Fabius, and then utterly shattered at Cannæ a Roman force of +double his own numbers. For a moment it seemed that Italian cohesion was +weakening; but the Roman Senate and people were stirred only to a more +dogged resolution.</p> + +<p>Cannæ failed to break up the Roman confederation. Generalship unaided +could accomplish no more. In Spain, where young Scipio was soon winning +renown, the Roman arms were in the ascendant, and in Sicily. No effective +aid was coming from Macedon, though war was declared between her and Rome. +Hannibal's activities began to be paralysed; by slow degrees he was forced +into the south. Hannibal succeeded in crossing the Alps with fresh forces, +but by a brilliant operation was annihilated on the Metaurus. The time had +come when Scipio could disregard Hannibal and strike at Carthage herself. +Even Hannibal's return could not save her. The victory of Zama decided the +issue. Carthage became virtually a tributary and subject state. Spain was a +Roman province, and North Africa a sort of protectorate.</p> + +<p>The threatening extension of Macedonian power now demanded the +protecting intervention of Rome; an honest act of liberation for the +Greeks, but entailing presently the war with Antiochus of Syria. Antiochus +had left Phillip and Macedon in the lurch; now he sought to impose his own +yoke in place of theirs. The practical outcome was his decisive overthrow +at the battle of Magnesia, and the cession to Rome of Asia Minor. Pergamus, +under the house of Actalus, was established as a protected kingdom, as +Numidia under Masinissa had been. The Greek states, however, were becoming +conscious that their freedom was hardly more than a name; Perseus of +Macedon once more challenged Rome, not without Greek support. Macedon was +finally crushed by Aemilius Paullus at Pydna. From that moment, Rome +dropped the policy of maintaining free states beyond the seas, which had +manifestly failed. Virtually, the known world was divided into subjects and +dependencies of Rome, so vast was the change in the forty years between the +battles of the Metaurus and Pydna.</p> + +<p>Rapid extension of dominion by conquest had demoralising results; the +ruling race was exposed to strong temptations in the provinces, and the +city remained the seat of government, while the best of the burgesses were +distributed elsewhere. Hence, the popular assembly became virtually the +city mob, while the ruling families tended more and more to form a close +and greedy and plutocratic oligarchy. The demoralisation was very +inadequately checked by the austerity of the censorship as exercised by +Cato.</p> + +<p>In the provinces, the Spanish natives revolted, and were only repressed +after severe fighting. In Greece, Asia and Africa, the Roman rule gave +neither freedom nor strong government. In Africa, the disturbances led to +the wiping out of Carthage; in Greece to the complete subjection of the +dependent states; in the Far East, a new Parthian power arose under +Mithridates. The Mediterranean was allowed to be infested by pirates. +Revolution was at hand. Politics had become reduced to a process of +intrigue for office emoluments, involving a pandering to the city mob for +its suffrages.</p> + + +<h4><i>II.--The Revolution</i></h4> + + +<p>Socially, the most patent evil was the total disappearance of the free +agricultural class, the absorption of all the land into huge estates under +slave labour. The remedy proposed by Tiberius Gracchus was the partial +state resumption of land and its re-allotment. He adopted unconstitutional +methods for carrying his proposals, and was murdered in a riot led by the +oligarchs. Appeals to the Roman populace were not, unfortunately, appeals +to the Roman nation.</p> + +<p>His brother, Gaius, deliberately designed a revolution. He proposed to +work through the antagonism of the aristocrats and the wealthy +non-senatorial equestrian order; and by concentrating power in the hands of +the tribunate, hitherto checked by the restrictions on re-election. In +effect, he meant to destroy the oligarchy by making the Tribune a perpetual +dictator, and thus to carry through social reforms; to establish also legal +equality first for the Italians, then for the provinces also. But these +reforms were not particularly attractive to the city mob, and the other +side could play the demagogue. The condition of Cæsarism is the +control of physical force; Gaius Gracchus fell because he had not that +essential control. The oligarchy remained supreme. The plans of Gracchus +for planting colonies and distributing allotments were nullified.</p> + +<p>The evils of slave labour multiplied, and issued in servile +insurrections. In Numidia, the able Masimissa had been succeeded by +Micipsa. On Micipsa's death, the rule was usurped by his illegitimate +nephew Jugurtha, whose story has been told by Sallust. The war was at least +terminated less by the low-born general in command, Marius, than his +brilliant lieutenant Sulla. But Marius re-organised the army on the basis +which was to make a military despotism practicable, as it made a +professional instead of a citizen army.</p> + +<p>But now a new foe appears; the first Teutonic (not Celtic) hordes of the +Cimbri and Teutones; to meet with an overwhelming check at the hands of +Marius at Aquæ Sextiæ and Vercellæ. The successful +soldier allied himself with the popular leader Saturninus; the programme of +Gaius Gracchus was resuscitated. But Marius, a political incapable, +separated from the demagogues, and by helping to crush them, effaced +himself. Livius Drusus attempted to carry out the Gracchan social reform, +with the senate instead of the tribunate as the controlling power; the +senatorial party themselves wrecked his schemes, and the antagonistic power +of the equestrian order was advanced.</p> + +<p>But the immediate outcome was the revolt of the Italians, the +<i>socii</i> (whence the name social war). They were not citizens, not on +an equal footing with the citizens before the law. The revolt was +suppressed, but the legions were completely out of hand. The attempt of +Sulpicius to head the reform movement was answered by Sulla, who for the +first time led a Roman army against Rome, crushed Sulpicius, prescribed +some of his adherents, and placed the power of the senate on a stronger +footing by legal enactment. Then he went to the East, to conduct the war +against Mithridates.</p> + +<p>While Sulla was conducting his operations, military and diplomatic, with +skill and success in the East, his arrangements at Rome had left discontent +and disappointment seething. There was another revolution, led by Cinna, +Marius and Sertorius; it mastered Rome. Marius spilt seas of blood, but +soon died. For three years Cinna was supreme, but he had no constructive +policy.</p> + +<p>But now Sulla had finished his work in the East. He was returning at the +head of a body of veterans devoted to him; and his diplomacy won over half +Italy to his side. The struggle with the revolutionary government was not +greatly prolonged, and it was decisive.</p> + +<p>In plain terms, the Roman constitution had gone utterly to wreck; Sulla +was in something of the same position as Oliver Cromwell. He had to +reconstruct under conditions which made a constitutional restoration +impracticable; but his control of the efficient military force gave him the +necessary power. That any system introduced must be arbitrary and find its +main sanction in physical force--that it should partake of terrorism--was +inevitable.</p> + +<p>Sulla obtained the formal conferment on himself of absolute power. He +began by applying this rule of terror not vindictively, but with impersonal +mercilessness, against the lives and property of the opposition. In the +constitution which he promulgated the senatorial body was alone recognised +as a privileged class; the senate itself was increased, it recovered full +control of the judiciary and of legislation; no power was left of +cancelling membership. The tribunician power was curtailed.</p> + +<p>The civil and military functions of consuls and prætors were separated. +They were to hold civil power in Italy proper during their year of office; +they were then to have a second year in military control of a province. The +planting of military colonies provided numerous garrisons whose interests +were associated with the new constitution. When Sulla had done his work, he +resigned his extraordinary powers with entire indifference. In a little +more than a year he died.</p> + +<p>The Sullan constitution saved the Roman empire from imminent collapse; +but it was impossible that it should be more than a makeshift, like +Cromwell's protectorate. There were huge classes with perpetual grievances; +the removal of the military forces to the provinces left the city of Rome +without adequate governors of the provinces themselves. And there was no +man of the hour of supreme ability to carry on work demanding a master.</p> + + +<h4><i>III.--Pompey and Cæsar</i></h4> + + +<p>The young Graccus Pompeius was the most distinguished of the Sullan +party; Crassus was the wealthiest and most powerful of the Equestrian +group; Lepidus was the popular leader. A popular insurrection which he +headed was suppressed, and he disappeared, but Sertorius, once an associate +of Marius, had obtained a remarkable personal ascendancy in Spain, and, in +league with the Mediterranean pirates, threatened to be a formidable foe of +the new constitution. For some years he maintained a gradually waning +resistance against the arms of Pompeius, but finally was assassinated.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile Tigranes, King of Armenia, had been developing a powerful +monarchy; and mutual distrust had brought on another war with Mithridates, +successfully conducted by Lucullus. Out of this war arose a struggle with +Tigranes, on whom an overwhelming defeat was inflicted at Tigranocerta. But +the brilliant achievements of Lucullus were nullified by the mutinous +conduct of the troops, and the factious conduct of the home government. The +gross inefficiency of that government was shown by the immense extension of +organised piracy, and by the famous slave revolt under Spartacus, which +seriously endangered the state.</p> + +<p>Pompeius on his return from Spain was barred on technical grounds from +the triumph and the consulship which he demanded. He was thus driven into +an alliance with the democratic party, and with Crassus. The result was the +fall of the Sullan constitution, and the restoration of checks on the power +of the senate. Pompeius might have grasped a military despotism; he did +not, but he did receive extraordinary powers for dealing with the whole +Eastern question, and when that work was settled successfully, he would be +able to dictate his own terms.</p> + +<p>Pompeius began his task by a swift and crushing blow against the pirate +cities and fleets, which broke up the organisation. He crushed Mithridates +in one campaign, and received the submission of Tigranes; Mithridates soon +after fell by his own hand, the victim of an insurrection. Anarchy in Syria +warranted Pompeius in annexing the Seleucid dominion. The whole of the +nearer East was now a part of the Roman empire; and was thenceforth ruled +not as protectorates, but as a group of provinces. Egypt alone was not +incorporated.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, the democratic party at Rome were dominant, though their +policy was inconsistent and opportunist. Probably the leading men, such as +Crassus and the rising Gaius, Julius Cæsar, stood aside from the +wilder schemes, such as the Catilinarian conspiracies, but secretly +fostered them. Catiline's projects were betrayed, and the illegal execution +of the captured conspirators by the consul Cicero was hailed by Cato and +the senatorial party as a triumph of patriotic statesmanship. Catiline +himself was crushed in the field.</p> + +<p>The definite fact emerged, that neither the senatorial nor the +democratic party could establish a strong government; that would be +possible only for a military monarchy--a statesman with a policy and an +irresistible, force at his back. But Pompeius lacked the courage and skill. +Cæsar, as yet, lacked the military force. Pompeius, on his return +from the East, again allied himself with Crassus and Cæsar, whose +object was to acquire for himself the opportunity which Pompeius would not +grasp. The alliance gave Pompeius the land allotments he required for his +soldiers, and to Cæsar the consulship followed by a prolonged +governorship of Gaul.</p> + +<p>The conquest and organisation of Gaul was an end in itself, a necessary +defence against barbarian pressure. Cæsar's operations there were +invaluable to the empire; incidentally, they enabled him to become master +of it. Cæsar has left his own record. Gaul was transformed into a +barrier against the Teutonic migration. But Pompeius, nominally holding a +far greater position, proved incapable of controlling the situation in +Rome; he could not even suppress the demagogue Clodius, while the prestige +of his military exploits was waning. Fear of the power of the Triumvirate +was driving moderate men to the senatorial part; that party, without an +efficient leader, began to find in Pompeius rather in ally against the more +dangerous Cæsar than an enemy.</p> + +<p>But they would not concede him the powers he required; which might yet +be turned to the uses of his colleagues in the Triumvirate; he could not +afford to challenge Cæsar; and Cæsar adroitly used the +situation to secure for himself a prolongation of his Gallic command. The +completion of his work there was to have precedence of his personal +ambitions. Crassus was sent to the Eastern command; and Pompeius remained +in Italy, while nominally appointed to Spain.</p> + +<p>Pompeius, indeed, attained a predominance in Rome which enabled him to +secure temporarily dictatorial powers which were employed to counteract the +electoral machinery of the republican party; but he had not the +qualifications or the inclination to play the demagogue, and could not +unite his aspirations as a restorer of law and order with effective party +leadership. Crassus disappeared; his armies in the East met with a complete +disaster at Carrhæ, and he took his own life. Cæsar and +Pompeius were left; Pompeius was not content that Cæsar should stand +on a real equality with him, and the inevitable rupture came.</p> + +<p>In effect Pompeius used his dictatorship to extend his own military +command and to curtail Cæsar's. The position resolved itself into a +rivalry between the two; Cæsar declaring as always for the democracy, +Pompeius now assuming the championship of the aristocracy, and the +guardianship of the constitution.</p> + +<p>For Cæsar the vital point now was that his own command should not +terminate till he exchanged it for a fresh consulship. As the law now +stood, he could not obtain his election without resigning his command +beforehand. But he succeeded in forcing Pompeius to break the law; and in +making the official government responsible for declaring war. He offered a +compromise, perhaps, in the certainty that it would be rejected--as it was. +He was virtually declared a public enemy; and he struck at once.</p> + +<p>At the head of his devotedly loyal veterans he crossed the Rubicon. His +rapid and successful advance caused Pompeius to abandon Italy and fall back +on the Eastern Provinces. The discipline preserved, and the moderation +displayed by Cæsar won him unexpected favour. Having secured Italy, +he turned next on Spain, and secured that. Swift and decisive action was +pitted against inertness. When Cæsar entered Epirus the odds against +him on paper were enormous; but the triumphant victory of Phansalus +shattered the Pompeian coalition. Pompeius hurried to Egypt, but was +assassinated while landing. The struggle, however, was not over till after +the battle of Thapsus nearly two years after Phansalus.</p> + +<p>Cæsar was now beyond question master of the whole Roman world. He +had made himself one of the mightiest of all masters of the art of war; but +he was even more emphatically unsurpassed as a statesman. In the brief time +that was left him he laid the foundation of the new monarchy which replaced +the ancient Republic of Rome.</p> + +<hr /> + + + + +<h1><a name='Mediaeval_History'></a>Mediæval History</h1> + + +<h2><a name='EDWARD_GIBBON2'></a>EDWARD GIBBON</h2> + + +<h3><a name='The_Holy_Roman_Empire'></a>The Holy Roman Empire</h3> + + +<blockquote><p> The third of Gibbon's divisions of his great history was +devoted to that period which is comprised between the establishment of the +Holy Roman Empire in 800 and the final extinction of the Eastern Empire +with the conquest of Constantinople by Mahomet II. in 1453. Although this +was the longest period, Gibbon devoted much less space to it than to the +preceding parts of his history. This fact was partly due to the gradual +diminution of Roman interests, for the dominions of the empire became +contracted to the limits of a single city, and also to the fact that the +material which the most painstaking search placed at his disposal was +distinctly limited. But though the conquest of the Normans, to instance one +section, has been dealt with inadequately in the light of modern research, +the wonderful panorama that Gibbon's genius was able to present never fails +in its effect or general accuracy. The Holy Roman Empire is, of course, +properly classified under Mediæval History, which accounts for its +separation from the rest of Gibbon's work. </p></blockquote> + + +<h4><i>I.--Birth and Sway of the Empire</i></h4> + + +<p>The Western Empire, or Holy Roman Empire, as it has been called, which +was re-established by Charlemagne (and lasted in shadow until the +abdication of Francis II. under the pressure of Napoleon in 1806), was not +unworthy of its title.</p> + +<p>The personal and political importance of Charlemagne was magnified by +the distress and division of the rest of Europe. The Greek emperor was +addressed by him as brother instead of father; and as long as the imperial +dignity of the West was usurped by a hero, the Greeks respectfully saluted +the <i>august</i> Charlemagne with the acclamations of "Basileus" and +"Emperor of the Romans." Lewis the Pious (814-840) possessed the virtue of +his father but not the power. When both power and virtue were extinct, the +Greeks despoiled Lewis II. of his hereditary title, and with the barbarous +appellation of <i>Rex</i> degraded him amongst the crowd of Latin +princes.</p> + +<p>The imperial title of the West remained in the family of Charlemagne +until the deposition of Charles the Fat in 884. His insanity dissolved the +empire into factions, and it was not until Otho, King of Germany, laid +claim to the title, with fire and sword, that the western empire was +restored (962). His conquest of Italy and delivery of the pope for ever +fixed the imperial crown in the name and nation of Germany. From that +memorable era two maxims of public jurisprudence were introduced by force +and ratified by time: (1) That the prince who was elected in the German +Diet acquired from that instant the subject kingdoms of Italy and Rome; (2) +but that he might not legally assume the titles of Emperor and Augustus +till he had received the crown from the hands of the Roman pontiff.</p> + +<p>The nominal power of the Western emperors was considerable. No pontiff +could be legally consecrated till the emperor, the advocate of the Church, +had graciously signified his approbation and consent. Gregory VII., in +1073, usurped this power, and fixed for ever in the college of cardinals +the freedom and independence of election. Nominally, also, the emperors +held sway in Rome, but this supremacy was annihilated in the thirteenth +century. In the fourteenth century the power derived from his title was +still recognised in Europe; the hereditary monarchs confessed the +pre-eminence of his rank and dignity.</p> + +<p>The persecution of images and their votaries in the East had +separated-Rome and Italy from the Byzantine throne, and prepared the way +for the conquests of the Franks. The rise and triumph of the Mahometans +still further diminished the empire of the East. The successful inroads of +the Bulgarians, Hungarians, and Russians, who assaulted by sea or by land +the provinces and the capital, seemed to advance the approach of its final +dissolution. The Norman adventurers, who founded a powerful kingdom in +Apulia and Sicily, shook the throne of Constantinople (1146), and their +hostile enterprises did not cease until the year 1185.</p> + + +<h4><i>II.--Latin Rulers of Constantinople</i></h4> + + +<p>Under the name of the Latins, the subjects of the pope, the nations of +the West, enlisted under the banner of the Cross for the recovery or the +release of the Holy Sepulchre. The Greek emperors were terrified and +preserved by the myriads of pilgrims who marched to Jerusalem with Godfrey +of Bouillon (1095-99) and the peers of Christendom. The second (1147) and +the third (1189) crusades trod in the footsteps of the first. Asia and +Europe were mingled in a sacred war of two hundred years; and the Christian +powers were bravely resisted and finally expelled (1291) by Saladin +(1171-93) and the Mamelukes of Egypt.</p> + +<p>In these memorable crusades a fleet and army of French and Venetians +were diverted from Syria to the Thracian Bosphorus; they assaulted the +capital (1203), they subverted the Greek monarchy; and a dynasty of Latin +princes was seated near three-score years on the throne of Constantine.</p> + +<p>During this period of captivity and exile, which lasted from 1204 to +1261, the purple was preserved by a succession of four monarchs, who +maintained their title as the heirs of Augustus, though outcasts from their +capital. The <i>de facto</i> sovereigns of Constantinople during this +period, the Latin emperors of the houses of Flanders and Courtenay, +provided five sovereigns for the usurped throne. By an agreement between +the allied conquerors, the emperor of the East was nominated by the vote of +twelve electors, chosen equally from the French and Venetians. To him, with +all the titles and prerogatives of the Byzantine throne, a fourth part of +the Greek monarchy was assigned; the remaining portions were equally snared +between the republic of Venice and the barons of France.</p> + +<p>Under this agreement, Baldwin, Count of Flanders and Hainault, was +created emperor (1204-05). The idea of the Roman system, which, despite the +passage of centuries devoted to the triumphs of the barbarians, had +impressed itself on Europe, was seen in the emperor's letter to the Roman +pontiff, in which he congratulated him on the restoration of his authority +in the East.</p> + +<p>The defeat and captivity of Baldwin in a war against the Bulgarians, and +his subsequent death, placed the crown on the head of his brother Henry +(1205-16). With him the imperial house of Flanders became extinct, and +Peter of Courtenay, Count of Auxerre (1217-19), assumed the empire of the +East. Peter was taken captive by Theodore, the legitimate sovereign of +Constantinople, and his sons Robert (1221-28) and Baldwin II. (1228-37) +reigned in succession. The gradual recovery of their empire by the +legitimate sovereigns of the East culminated in the capture of +Constantinople by the Greeks (1261). The line of Latin sovereigns was +extinct. Baldwin lived the remainder of his life a royal fugitive, +soliciting the Catholic powers to join in his restoration. He died in +1272.</p> + +<p>From the days of the Emperor Heraclius the Byzantine Empire had been +most tranquil and prosperous when it could acquiesce in hereditary +succession. Five dynasties--the Heraclian, Isaurian, Amorian, Basilian, and +Comnenian families--enjoyed and transmitted the royal patrimony during +their respective series of five, four, three, six, and four generations. +The imperial house of Comnenius, though its direct line in male descent had +expired with Andronicus I. (1185), had been perpetuated by marriage in the +female line, and had survived the exile from Constantinople, in the persons +of the descendants of Theodore Lascaris.</p> + +<p>Michael Palæologus, who, through his mother, might claim perhaps a +prior right to the throne of the Comnenii, usurped the imperial dignity on +the recovery of Constantinople, cruelly blinded the young Emperor John, the +legitimate heir of Theodore Lascaris, and reigned until 1282. His career of +authority was notable for an attempt to unite the Greek and Roman +churches--a union which was dissolved in 1283--and his instigation of the +revolt in Sicily, which ended in the famous Sicilian Vespers (March 30, +1282), when 8,000 French were exterminated in a promiscuous massacre.</p> + +<p>He saved his empire by involving the kingdoms of the West in rebellion +and blood. From these seeds of discord uprose a generation of iron men, who +assaulted and endangered the empire of his son, Andronicus the Elder +(1282-1332). Thousands of Genoese and Catalans, released from the wars that +Michael had aroused in the West, took service under his successor against +the Turks. Other mercenaries flocked to their standard, and, under the name +of the Great Company, they subverted the authority of the emperor, defeated +his troops, laid waste his territory, united themselves with his enemies, +and, finally, abandoning the banks of the Hellespont, marched into Greece. +Here they overthrew the remnant of the Latin power, and for fourteen years +(1311-1326) the Great Company was the terror of the Grecian states.</p> + +<p>Their factions drove them to acknowledge the sovereignity of the house +of Arragon; and, during the remainder of the fourteenth century, Athens as +a government or an appanage was successfully bestowed by the kings of +Sicily. Conquered in turn by the French and Catalans, Athens at length +became the capital of a state that extended over Thebes, Argos, Corinth, +Delphi, and a part of Thessaly, and was ruled by the family of Accaioli, +plebeians of Florence (1384-1456). The last duke of this dynasty was +strangled by Mahomet II., who educated his sons in the discipline of the +seraglio.</p> + +<p>During the reign of John Palæologus, son of Andronicus the Younger, +which began in 1355, the eastern empire was nearly subverted by the +Genoese. On the return of the legitimate sovereign to Constantinople, the +Genoese, who had established their factories and industries in the suburb +of Galata, or Pera, were allowed to remain. During the civil wars the +Genoese forces took advantage of the disunion of the Greeks, and by the +skilful use of their power exacted a treaty by which they were granted a +monopoly of trade, and almost a right of dominions. The Roman Empire (I +smile in transcribing the name) might soon have sunk into a province of +Genoa if the ambition of the republic had not been checked by the ruin of +her freedom and naval power. Yet the spirit of commerce survived that of +conquest; and the colony of Pera still awed the capital and navigated the +Euxine till it was involved by the Turks in the final servitude of +Constantinople itself.</p> + + +<h4><i>III.--End of the Roman World</i></h4> + + +<p>Only three more sovereigns ruled the remnants of the Roman world after +the reign of John Palæologus, but the final downfall of the empire was +delayed above fifty years by a series of events that had sapped the +strength of the Mahometan empire. The rise and triumph of the Moguls and +Tartars under their emperors, descendants of Zingis Khan, had shaken the +globe from China to Poland and Greece (1206-1304). The sultans were +overthrown, and in the general disorder of the Mahometan world a veteran +and adventurous army, which included many Turkoman hordes, was dissolved +into factions who, under various chiefs, lived a life of rapine and +plunder. Some of these engaged in the service of Aladin (1219-1236), Sultan +of Iconium, and among these were the obscure fathers of the Ottoman +line.</p> + +<p>Orchan ruled from 1326 to 1360, achieved the conquest of Bithynia, and +first led the Turks into Europe, and in 1353 established himself in the +Chersonesus, and occupied Gallipoli, the key of the Hellespont. Orchan was +succeeded by Amurath I. (1389-1403). Bajazet carried his victorious arms +from the Danube to the Euphrates, and the Roman world became contracted to +a corner of Thrace, between the Propontis and the Black Sea, about fifty +miles in length and thirty in breadth, a space of ground not more extensive +than the lesser principalities of Germany or Italy, if the remains of +Constantinople had not still represented the wealth and populousness of a +kingdom.</p> + +<p>Under Manuel (1391-1425), the son and successor of John Palteologus, +Constantinople would have fallen before the might of the Sultan Bajazet had +not the Turkish Empire been oppressed by the revival of the Mogul power +under the victorious Timour, or Tamerlane. After achieving a conquest of +Persia (1380-1393), of Tartary (1370-1383), and Hindustan (1398-1399), +Timour, who aspired to the monarchy of the world, found himself at length +face to face with the Sultan Bajazet. Bajazet was taken prisoner in the war +that followed. Kept, probably only as a precaution, in an iron cage, +Bajazet attended the marches of his conqueror, and died on March 9, 1403. +Two years later, Timour also passed away on the road to China. Of his +empire to-day nothing remains. Since the reign of his descendant +Aurungzebe, his empire has been dissolved (1659-1707); the treasures of +Delhi have been rifled by a Persian robber; and the riches of their kingdom +is now possessed by the Christians of a remote island in the northern +ocean.</p> + +<p>Far different was the fate of the Ottoman monarchy. The massive trunk +was bent to the ground, but no sooner did the hurricane pass away than it +again rose with fresh vigour and more lively vegetation. After a period of +civil war between the sons of Bajazet (1403-1421), the Ottoman Empire was +once more firmly established by his grandson, Amurath II. (1421-1451).</p> + +<p>One of the first expeditions undertaken by the new sultan was the siege +of Constantinople (1422), but the fortune rather than the genius of the +Emperor Manuel prevented the attempt. Amurath was recalled to Asia by a +domestic revolt, and the siege was raised.</p> + +<p>While the sultan led his Janizaries to new conquests, the Byzantine +Empire was indulged in a servile and precarious respite of thirty years. +Manuel sank into the grave, and John Palæologus II. (1425-1448) was +permitted to reign for an annual tribute of 300,000 aspers and the +dereliction of almost all that he held beyond the suburbs of +Constantinople.</p> + +<p>On November 1, 1448, Constantine, the last of the Roman emperors, +assumed the purple of the Cæsars. For three years he was allowed to +indulge himself in various private and public designs, the completion of +which were interrupted by a Turkish war, and finally buried in the ruins of +the empire.</p> + + +<h4><i>IV.--The Great Siege of Constantinople</i></h4> + + +<p>Mahomet II. succeeded his father Amurath on February 9, 1451. His +hostile designs against the capital were immediately seen in the building +of a fortress on the Bosphorus, which commanded the source whence the city +drew her supplies. In the following year a quarrel between some Greeks and +Turks gave him the excuse of declaring war. His cannon--for the use of +gunpowder, for some time the monopoly of the Christian world, had been +betrayed to Amurath by the Genoese--commanded the port, and a tribute was +exacted from all ships that entered the harbour. But the actual siege was +delayed until the ensuing spring of 1453.</p> + +<p>Mahomet, in person, surveyed the city, encouraged his soldiers, and +discussed with his generals and engineers the best means of making the +assault. By his orders a huge cannon was built in Hadrianople. It fired a +ball one mile, and to convey it to its position before the walls, a team of +sixty oxen and the assistance of 200 men were employed. The Emperor +Constantine, unable to excite the sympathy of Europe, attempted the best +defence of which he was capable, with a force of 4,970 Romans and 2,000 +Genoese. A chain was drawn across the mouth of the harbour, and whatever +supplies arrived from Candia and the Black Sea were detained for the public +service.</p> + +<p>The siege of Constantinople, in which scarcely 7,000 soldiers had to +defend a city sixteen miles in extent against the powers of the Ottoman +Empire, commenced on April 6, 1453. The last Constantine deserves the name +of a hero; his noble band of volunteers was inspired with Roman virtue, and +the foreign auxiliaries supported the honour of the Western chivalry. But +their inadequate stock of gunpowder was wasted in the operations of each +day. Their ordnance was not powerful either in size or number; and if they +possessed some heavy cannon, they feared to plant them on the walls, lest +the aged structure should be shaken and overthrown by the explosion.</p> + +<p>The great cannon of Mahomet could only be fired seven times in one day, +but the weight and repetition of the shots made some impression on the +walls. The Turks rushed to the edge of the ditch, attempted to fill the +enormous chasm and to build a road to the assault. In the attack, as well +as in the defence, ancient and modern artillery was employed. Cannon and +mechanical engines, the bullet and the battering-ram, gunpowder and Greek +fire, were engaged on both sides.</p> + +<p>Christendom watched the struggle with coldness and apathy. Four ships, +which successfully forced an entrance into the harbour, were the limit of +their assistance. None the less, Mahomet meditated a retreat. Unless the +city could be attacked from the harbour, its reduction appeared to be +hopeless. In this perplexity the genius of Mahomet executed a plan of a +bold and marvellous cast. He transported his fleet over land for ten miles. +In the course of one night four-score light galleys and brigantines +painfully climbed the hill, steered over the plain, and were launched from +the declivity into the shallow waters of the harbour, far above the +molestation of the deeper vessels of the Greeks. A bridge, or mole, hastily +built, formed a base for one of his largest cannon. The galleys, with +troops and scaling ladders, approached the most accessible side of the +walls, and, after a siege of forty days, the diminutive garrison, exhausted +by a double attack, could hope no longer to avert the fate of the +capital.</p> + +<p>On Monday, May 28, preparations were made for the final assault. Mahomet +had inspired his soldiers with the hope of rewards in this world and the +next. His camp re-echoed with the shouts of "God is God; there is but one +God, and Mahomet is the apostle of God"; and the sea and land, from Galata +to the Seven Towers, were illuminated with the blaze of the Moslem +fires.</p> + +<p>Far different was the state of the Christians. On that last night of the +Roman Empire, Constantine Palæologus, in his palace, addressed the noblest +of the Greeks and the bravest of the allies on the duties and dangers that +lay before them. It was the funeral oration of the Roman Empire. That same +night the emperor and some faithful companions entered the Dome of St. +Sofia, which, within a few hours, was to be converted into a mosque, and +devoutly received, with tears and prayers, the sacrament of the Holy +Communion. He reposed some moments in the palace, which resounded with +cries and lamentations, solicited the pardon of all whom he might have +injured, and mounted on horseback to visit the guards and explore the +motions of the enemy. The distress and fall of the last Constantine are +more glorious than the long prosperity of the Byzantine Cæsars.</p> + +<p>At daybreak on May 29 the Turks assaulted the city by sea and land. For +two hours the Greeks maintained the defence with advantage, and the voice +of the emperor was heard encouraging the soldiers to achieve by a last +effort the deliverance of their country. The new and fresh forces of the +Turks supplied the places of their wearied associates. From all sides the +attack was pressed.</p> + +<p>The number of the Ottomans was fifty, perhaps one hundred, times +superior to that of the Christians, the double walls were reduced by the +cannons to a heap of ruins, and at last one point was found which the +besiegers could penetrate. Hasan, the Janizary, of gigantic stature and +strength, ascended the outward fortification. The walls and towers were +instantly covered with a swarm of Turks, and the Greeks, now driven from +the vantage ground, were overwhelmed by increasing multitudes.</p> + +<p>Amidst these multitudes, the emperor, who accomplished all the duties of +a general and a soldier, was long seen and finally lost. His mournful +exclamation was heard, "Cannot there be found a Christian to cut off my +head?" and his last fear was that of falling alive into the hands of the +infidels. The prudent despair of Constantine cast away the purple. Amidst +the tumult he fell by an unknown hand, and his body was buried under a +mountain of the slain.</p> + +<p>After his death, resistance and order were no more. Two thousand Greeks +were put to the sword, and more would have perished had not avarice soon +prevailed over cruelty.</p> + +<p>It was thus, after a siege of fifty-three days, that Constantinople, +which had defied the power of Chosroes and the caliphs, was irretrievably +subdued by the arms of Mahomet II. Sixty thousand Greeks were driven +through the streets like cattle and sold as slaves. The nuns were torn from +the monasteries and compelled to enter the harems of their conquerors. The +churches were plundered, and the gold and silver, the pearls and jewels, +the vases and sacerdotal ornaments of St. Sofia were most wickedly +converted to the service of mankind.</p> + +<p>The cathedral itself, despoiled of its images and ornaments, was +converted into a mosque, and Mahomet II. performed the <i>namaz</i> of +prayer and thanksgiving at the great altar, where the Christian mysteries +had so lately been celebrated before the last of the Cæsars. The body +of Constantine was discovered under a heap of slain, by the golden eagles +embroidered on his shoes, and after exposing the bloody trophy, Mahomet +bestowed on his rival the honours of a decent funeral. Constantinople, +desolated by bloodshed, was re-peopled and re-adorned by Mahomet. Its +churches were shared between the two religions, and the Greeks were +attracted back to their ancient capital by the assurance of their lives and +the free exercise of their religion.</p> + +<p>The grief and terror of Europe when the fall of Constantinople became +known revived, or seemed to revive, the old enthusiasm of the crusades. +Pius II. attempted to lead Christendom against the Turks, but on the very +day on which he embarked his forces drew back, and he was compelled to +abandon the attempt. The siege and sack of Otranto by the Turks put an end +to all thoughts of a crusade, and the general consternation was only +allayed by the death of Mahomet II. in the fifty-first year of his age.</p> + +<p>His lofty genius aspired to the conquest of Italy; he was possessed of a +strong city and a capacious harbour, and the same reign might have been +decorated with the trophies of the New and the Ancient Rome.</p> + +<hr /> + + + + +<h2><a name='FRANCOIS_GUIZOT'></a>FRANÇOIS GUIZOT</h2> + + +<h3><a name='History_of_Civilisation_in_Europe'></a>History of Civilisation +in Europe</h3> + + +<blockquote><p> François Pierre Guillaume Guizot, French historian +and statesman, was born of Huguenot parents at Nimes on October 4, 1787. +The liberal opinions of his family did not save his father from the +guillotine in 1794, and the mother fled to Geneva, where Guizot was +educated. He went to Paris in the later days of the Empire, and engaged +himself at once in literature and politics. His lectures on the History of +Civilisation delivered in 1828, 1829, and 1830, during his professorship at +the University of Paris, revealed him as a historian with a rare capacity +for mastering the broad essential truths of history, co-ordinating them, +and expounding them with vigour and impressiveness. His first series of +lectures was on "The History of Civilisation in Europe," a masterly +abstract of a colossal subject; the second on "The History of Civilisation +in France." From 1830 to 1848 Guizot occupied high offices of State, +ultimately becoming prime minister; in 1848, like his master Louis +Philippe, he had to fly the country. He died on September 12, 1874. +</p></blockquote> + + +<h4><i>I.--The Nature of Civilisation</i></h4> + + +<p>The subject I propose to consider is the civilisation of Europe--its +origins, its progress, its aims, its character. The fact of civilisation +belongs to what is called the philosophic portion of history; it is a +vague, obscure, complex fact, very difficult, I admit, to explain and +describe, but none the less requiring explanation and description. It is, +indeed, the greatest historical fact, to which all others contribute; it is +a kind of ocean which makes the wealth of a people, and in the bosom of +which all the elements of the people's life, all the forces of its +existence, are joined in unity.</p> + +<p>What, then, is civilisation--this grave, far-reaching precious reality +that seems the expression of the entire life of a people? It seems to me +that the first and fundamental fact conveyed by the word civilisation is +the fact of progress, of development. But what is this progress? What is +this development? Here is the greatest difficulty of all.</p> + +<p>The etymology of the word civilisation seems to provide an easy answer. +It tells us that civilisation is the perfecting of civil life, the +development of society properly so called, of the relations of men to men. +But is this all? Have we exhausted the natural and usual sense of the word? +France, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, was acknowledged to be +the most civilised country in Europe; yet in respect of purely civil +progress France was then greatly inferior to some other European countries, +Holland and England, for example. Another development, then, reveals +itself--the development of individual life, of the man himself, of his +faculties, sentiments, and ideas.</p> + +<p>These two notions that are comprehended in the broad notion of +civilisation--that of the development of social activity and that of the +development of individual activity--are intimately related to each other. +Their relationship is upheld by the instinctive conviction of men; it is +proved by the course of the world's history--all the great moral and +intellectual advances of man have profited society, all the great social +advances have profited the individual mind.</p> + +<p>So much for civilisation in general. It is now necessary to point out +the essential difference between modern European and other civilisations. +The characteristic of other civilisations has been unity; they seem to have +emanated from a single fact, a single idea. In Egypt and India, for +example, the theocratic principle was dominant; in the Greek and Phoenician +republics, the democratic principle. The civilisation of modern Europe, on +the contrary, is diverse, confused, stormy; all the forms and principles of +social organisation theocratic, monarchical, aristocratic, democratic, +co-exist in it; there are infinite gradations of liberty, wealth, +influence. All the various forces are in a state of constant struggle; yet +all of them have a certain family resemblance, as it were, that we cannot +but recognise.</p> + +<p>These diverse elements, for all their conflict, cannot any one of them +extinguish any other; each has to dwell with the rest, make a compromise +with the rest. The outcome, then, of this diversity and struggle is +liberty; and here is the grand and true superiority of the European over +the other civilisations. European civilisation, if I may say so, has +entered into eternal truth; it advances in the ways of God.</p> + + +<h4><i>II.--Feudalism</i></h4> + + +<p>It would be an important confirmation of my assertion as to the diverse +character of our civilisation if we should find in its very cradle the +causes and the elements of that diversity. And indeed, at the fall of the +Roman empire, we do so find it. Three forms of society, each entirely +different from the other, are visible at this time of chaos. The +municipalities survived, the last remnant of the Imperial system. The +Christian Church survived. And in the third place there were the +Barbarians, who brought with them a military organisation, and a hardy +individual independence, that were wholly new to the peoples who had dwelt +under the shelter of the empire. The Barbarian epoch was the chaos of all +the elements, the infancy of all the systems, a universal hubbub in which +even conflict itself had no definite or permanent effects.</p> + +<p>Europe laboured to escape from this confusion; at some times, and in +some places, it was temporarily checked--in particular by the great +Charlemagne in his revival of the imperial power; but the confusion did not +cease until its causes no longer acted. These causes were two--one +material, one moral. The material cause was the irruption of fresh +Barbarian hordes. The moral cause was the lack of any ideas in common among +men as to the structure of society. The old imperial fabric had +disappeared; Charlemagne's restoration of it depended wholly on his own +personality, and did not survive him; men had no ideas of any new +structure--their intellectual horizon was limited to their own affairs. By +the beginning of the tenth century the Barbarian invasions ended, and as +the populations settled down a new system appeared, based partly on the +Barbarians' love of independence, partly on their plans of military +gradation--the system of feudalism.</p> + +<p>A sound proof that in the tenth century the feudal system was necessary, +and the only social state possible, lies in the universality of its +establishment. Everywhere society was dismembered; everywhere there was +formed a multitude of small, obscure, isolated societies, consisting of the +chief, his family, his retainers, and the wretched serfs over whom he ruled +without restraint, and who had no appeal against his whim. The power he +exercised was the power of individual over individual, the domination of +personal will and caprice; and this is perhaps the only kind of tyranny +that man, to his eternal honour, is never willing to endure. Hence the +prodigious and invincible hatred that the people have at all times +entertained for feudal rule, for the memories of it, for its very name.</p> + +<p>The narrow concentrated life of the feudal lord lent, undoubtedly, a +great preponderance to domesticity in his affairs. The lord had his wife +and children for his permanent society; they continually shared his +interests, his destiny. It was in the bosom of the feudal family that woman +gained her importance in civilisation. The system excited development of +private character and passion that were, all things considered, noble. +Chivalry was the daughter of feudalism.</p> + +<p>But from the social point of view feudalism failed to provide either +legal order or political security. It contained elaborate obligations +between the higher and the lower orders of the feudal hierarchy, duties of +protection on the one side and of service on the other. But these +obligations could never be established as institutions. There was no +superior force to which all had to submit; there was public opinion to make +itself respected. Hence the feudal system was without political guarantee +to sustain it. Might alone was right. Feudalism was as much opposed to the +establishment of general order as to the extension of general liberty. It +was indispensable for the reconstruction of European society, but +politically it was in itself a radically bad system.</p> + + +<h4><i>III.--The Church</i></h4> + + +<p>Meanwhile the Church, adhering to its own principles, had steadily +advanced along the route that it had marked out for itself in the early +days of its organisation. It was during the feudal epoch the only power +that made for civilised development. All education was ecclesiastical; all +the arts were in the service of the Church. It had, during the Dark Ages, +won the Barbarians to its fold by the gorgeous solemnity of its ritual; +and, to protect itself against secular interference, it had declared the +spiritual power to be independent of the temporal--the first great +assertion, in the history of European civilisation, of the liberty of +thought.</p> + +<p>In one set of respects the Church during the feudal epoch satisfied the +conditions of good government; in another, it did not. Its power was +uniformly distributed, it drew its recruits from all classes, and entrusted +the rule to the most capable. It was in close touch with every grade of +mankind; every colony of serfs, even, had its priest. It was the most +popular and most accessible society of the time, the most open to all +talents and all noble ambitions. But, on the other hand, it failed in that +all-important requisite of good government, respect for liberty. It denied +the rights of individual reason in spiritual matters, and it claimed the +right to compel belief--a claim that placed it in some dependence upon the +temporal powers, since as a purely spiritual body, governing by influence +and not by force, it could not persecute without the aid of the secular +arm.</p> + +<p>To sum up, the Church exerted an immense and on the whole a beneficent +influence on ideas, sentiments, and conduct; but from the political point +of view the Church was nearly always the interpreter and defender of the +theocratic system and the Roman Imperial system--that is, of religious and +civil despotism.</p> + + +<h4><i>IV.--The Towns</i></h4> + + +<p>Like the Church, the municipalities survived the downfall of the Roman +empire. Their history varied greatly in different parts of Europe, but none +the less some observations can be made that are broadly accurate with +respect to most of them.</p> + +<p>From the fifth to the tenth century, the state of the towns was a state +neither of servitude nor of liberty. They suffered all the woes that are +the fate of the weak; they were the prey of continual violence and +depredation; yet, in spite of the fearful disorders of the time, they +preserved a certain importance. When feudalism was established, the towns +lost such independence as they had possessed; they found themselves under +the heel of feudal chiefs. But feudalism did bring about a sort of peace, a +sort of order; and with the slightest gleam of peace and order a man's hope +revives, and on the revival of hope he takes to work. So it was with the +towns. New wants were created; commerce and industry arose to satisfy them; +wealth and population slowly returned.</p> + +<p>But industry and commerce were absolutely without security; the townsmen +were exposed to merciless extortion and plundering at the hands of their +feudal overlords. Nothing irritates a man more than to be harassed in his +toil, thus deprived of its promised fruits. The only way in which the towns +could defend themselves from the violence of their masters was by using +violence themselves. So in the eleventh century we find town after town +rising in revolt against its despot, and winning from him a charter of +liberty.</p> + +<p>Although the insurrection was in a sense general, it was in no way +concerted--it was not a rising of the combined citizens against the +combined feudal aristocracy. All the towns found themselves exposed to much +the same evils, and rescued themselves in much the same manner. But each +town acted for itself--did not go to the help of any other town. Hence +these detached communities had no ambitions, no aspirations to national +importance; their outlook was limited to themselves. But at the same time +the emancipation of the towns created a new class, a class of citizens +engaged in the same pursuits, with the same interests and the same modes of +life; a class that would in time unite and assert itself, and prevent the +domination of a single order of society that has been the curse of +Asia.</p> + +<p>Although it may be broadly asserted that the emancipation did not alter +the relations of the citizens with the general government, that assertion +must be modified in one respect. A link was established between the +citizens and the king. Sometimes they appealed for his aid against their +lord, sometimes the lord invoked him as judge; in one way or another a +relation was established between the king and the towns, and the citizens +thus came into touch with the centre of the State.</p> + + +<h4><i>V.--The Crusades</i></h4> + + +<p>From the fifth to the twelfth century, society, as we have seen, +contained kings, a lay aristocracy, a clergy, citizens, peasantry, the +germs, in fact, of all that goes to make a nation and a government; yet--no +government, no nation. We have come across a multitude of particular +forces, of local institutions, but nothing general, nothing public, nothing +properly speaking political.</p> + +<p>In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, on the contrary, all the +classes and the particular forces have taken a secondary place, are shadowy +and almost effaced; the stage of the world is occupied by two great +figures, government and people.</p> + +<p>Here, if I am not mistaken, is the essential distinction between +primitive Europe and modern Europe. Here is the change that was +accomplished in the period extending from the thirteenth to the sixteenth +century. Viewed by itself, that period seems a characterless one of +confusion without cause, of movement without direction, of agitation +without result. Yet, in relation to the period that followed, this period +had a tendency and a progress of its own; it slowly accomplished a vast +work. It was the second period of European civilisation--the period of +attempt and experiment, succeeding that of origins and formation, and +preparing the way for that of development properly so called.</p> + +<p>The first great event of this period was the Crusades--a universal +movement of all classes and all countries in moral unity--the truly heroic +event of Europe. Besides the religious impulse that led to the Crusades, +there was another impulse. They gave to me an opportunity of widening their +horizons, of indulging the taste for movement and adventure. The +opportunity, thus freely taken, changed the face of society. Men's minds +were opened, their ideas were extended, by contact with other races; +European society was dragged out of the groove along which it had been +travelling. Religious ideas remained unchanged, but religious beliefs were +no longer the only sphere in which the human intellect exercised itself. +The moral state of Europe was profoundly modified.</p> + +<p>The social state underwent a similar change. Many of the smaller feudal +lords sold their fiefs, or impoverished themselves by crusading, or lost +much of their power during their absence. Property and power came into +fewer hands; society was more centralised, no longer dispersed as it +formerly was. The citizens, on their part, were no longer content with +local industry and trade; they entered upon commerce on a grander scale +with countries oversea. Petty influence yielded place to larger influences; +the small existences grouped themselves round the great. By the end of the +Crusades, the march of society towards centralisation was in steady +progress.</p> + + +<h4><i>VI.--The Age of Centralisation</i></h4> + + +<p>Already, in the twelfth century, a new idea of kingship had begun, very +faintly, to make its appearance. In most European countries the king, under +the feudal system, had been a head who could not enforce his headship. But +there was, all the while, such a thing as kingship, and somebody bore the +title of king; and society, striving to escape from feudal violence and to +get hold of real order and unity, had recourse to the king in an +experimental way, to see, as one might say, what he could do. Gradually +there developed the idea of the king as the protector of public order and +justice and of the common interest as the paramount magistrate--the idea +that changed Europe society from a series of classes into a group of +centralised States.</p> + +<p>But the old order did not perish without efforts to perpetuate itself. +These efforts were of two kinds; a particular class sought predominance, or +it was proposed that the classes should agree to act in concert. To the +first kind belonged the design of the Church to gain mastery over Europe +that culminated with Pope Gregory VII. It failed for three reasons--because +Christianity is a purely moral force and not a temporal administrative +force; because the ambitions of the Church were opposed by the feudal +aristocracy; and because the celibacy of the clergy prevented the formation +of a caste capable of theocratic organisation. Attempts at democracy were +made, for a time with apparent means, by the Italian civic republics; but +they were a prey to internal disorder, their government tended to become +oligarchical, and their incapacity for uniting among themselves made them +the victims of foreign invaders. The Swiss Republican organisation was more +successful, but became aristocratic and immobile. The House Towns and the +towns of Flanders and the Rhine organised for pure defence; they preserved +their privileges, but remained confined within their walls.</p> + +<p>The effort at concerted action by the classes was manifested in the +States General of France, Spain, and Portugal, the Diet in Germany, and the +Parliament in England. All these, except the Parliament, were ineffective +and as it were accidental in their action; all they did was to preserve in +a manner the notion of liberty. The circumstances of England were +exceptional. The Parliament did not govern; but it became a mode of +government adopted in principle, and often indispensable in practice.</p> + +<p>Nothing, however, could arrest the march of centralisation. In France +the war of independence against England brought a sense of national unity +and purpose, and feudalism was finally overthrown, and the central power +made dominant, by the policy of Louis XI. Similar effects were brought +about in Spain by the war against the Moors and the rule of Ferdinand. In +England feudalism was destroyed by the Wars of the Roses, and was succeeded +by the Tudor despotism. In Germany, the House of Austria began its long +ascendancy. Thus in the fifteenth century the new principles prevailed; the +old forms, the old liberties were swept aside to make way for centralised +government under absolute rulers.</p> + +<p>At the same time another new fact entered into European history. The +kings began to enter into relations with each other, to form alliances; +diplomacy was created. Since it is in the nature of diplomacy to be +conducted more or less secretly by a few persons, and since the peoples did +not and would not greatly concern themselves in it, this development was +favourable to the strengthening of royalty.</p> + + +<h4><i>VII.--The Spiritual Revolt</i></h4> + + +<p>Although the Church until the sixteenth century had successfully +suppressed all attempts at spiritual independence, yet the broadening of +men's minds that began with the Crusades, and received a vigorous impetus +from the Renaissance, made its mark even in the fifteenth century upon +ecclesiastical affairs. Three main facts of the moral order are presented +during this period: the ineffectual attempts of the councils of Constance +and Bale to reform the Church from within; the most notable of which was +that of Huss in Bohemia; and the intellectual revolution that accompanied +the Renaissance. The way was thus prepared for the event that was +inaugurated when Luther burnt the Pope's Bull at Wittenberg in 1520.</p> + +<p>The Reformation was not, as its opponents contend, the result of +accident or intrigue; nor was it, as its upholders contend, the outcome of +a simple desire for the reform of abuses. It was, in reality, a revolt of +the human spirit against absolute power in spiritual affairs. The minds of +men were during the sixteenth century in energetic movement, consumed by +desire for progress; the Church had become inert and stationary, yet it +maintained all its pretensions and external importance. The Church, indeed, +was less tyrannical than it had formerly been, and not more corrupt. But it +had not advanced; it had lost touch with human thought.</p> + +<p>The Reformation, in all the lands that it reached, in all the lands +where it played a great part, whether as conqueror, or as conquered, +resulted in general, constant, and immense progress in liberty and activity +of thought, and tended towards the emancipation of the human spirit. It +accomplished more than it knew; more, perhaps, than it would have desired. +It did not attack temporal absolutism; but the collision between temporal +absolutism and spiritual freedom was bound to come, and did come.</p> + +<p>Spiritual movement in European history has always been ahead of temporal +movement. The Church began as a very loose society, without a +properly-constituted government. Then it placed itself under an +aristocratic control of bishops and councils. Then it came under the +monarchical rule of the Popes; and finally a revolution broke out against +absolutism in spiritual affairs. The ecclesiastical and civil societies +have undergone the same vicissitudes; but the ecclesiastical society has +always been the first to be changed.</p> + +<p>We are now in possession of one of the great facts of modern society, +the liberty of the human spirit. At the same time we see political +centralisation prevailing nearly everywhere. In the seventeenth century the +two principles were for the first time to be opposed.</p> + + +<h4><i>VIII.--The Political Revolt</i></h4> + + +<p>Their first shock was in England, for England was a country of +exceptional conditions both civil and religious. The Reformation there had +in part been the work of the kings themselves, and was incomplete; the +Reformers remained militant, and denounced the bishops as they had formerly +denounced the Pope. Moreover, the aspirations after civil liberty that were +stirred up by the emancipation of thought had means of action in the old +institution of the country--the charter, the Parliament, the laws, the +precedents. Similar aspirations in Continental countries had no such means +of action, and led to nothing.</p> + +<p>Two national desires coincided in England at this epoch--the desire for +religious revolution and liberty, and the desire for political liberty and +the overthrow of despotism. The two sets of reformers joined forces. For +the political party, civil freedom was the end; for the religious party, it +was only a means; but throughout the conflict the political party took the +lead, and the others followed. It was not until 1688 that the reformers +finally attained their aim in the abolition of absolute power spiritual and +temporal; and the accession of William of Orange in that year brought +England into the great struggle that was raging on the Continent between +the principle of despotism and the principle of freedom.</p> + +<p>England differed from other European countries in that the essential +diversity of European civilisation was more pronounced there than anywhere +else. Elsewhere, one element prevailed over the others until it was +overthrown; in England, even if one element was dominant, the others were +strong and important. Elizabeth had to be far more wary with her nobles and +commons than Louis XIV. with his. For this reason, Europe lagged behind +England in civil freedom. But there was another reason--the influence of +France.</p> + +<p>During the seventeenth century, the French Government was the strongest +in Europe, and it was a despotic government. During the eighteenth century, +French thought was the most active and potent in Europe, and it was +unboundedly free thought. Louis XIV. did not, as is sometimes supposed, +adopt as his principles the propagation of absolutism; his aim was the +strength and greatness of France, and to this end he fought and +planned--just as William of Orange fought and planned, not against +despotism, but against France. France presented herself at that age as the +most redoubtable, skilful, and imposing Power in Europe.</p> + +<p>Yet, after the death of Louis XIV., the government immediately +degenerated. This was inevitable. No system of government can be maintained +without institutions, and a despot dislikes institutions. The rule of Louis +XIV. was great, powerful, and brilliant, but it had no roots. The decrepit +remains of it were in the eighteenth century brought face to face with a +society in which free examination and free speculation had been carried to +lengths never imagined before. Freedom of thought once came to grips with +absolute power.</p> + +<p>Of the stupendous consequence of that collision it is not for me to +speak here; I have reached the end. But let me, before concluding, dwell +upon the gravest and most instructive part that is revealed to us by this +grand spectacle of civilisation. It is the danger, the insurmountable evil +of absolute power in any form--whether in a form of a despot like Louis +XIV. or in that of the untrammelled human spirit that prevailed at the +Revolution. Each human power has in itself a natural vice, a principle of +weakness, to which there has to be assigned a limit. It is only by general +liberty of all rights, interests and opinions that each power can be +restrained within its legitimate bounds, and intellectual freedom enabled +to exist genuinely and to the advantage of the whole community.</p> + +<hr /> + + + + +<h2><a name='HENRY_HALLAM'></a>HENRY HALLAM</h2> + + +<h3><a name='View_of_the_State_of_Europe_During_the_Middle_Ages'></a>View +of the State of Europe During the Middle Ages</h3> + + +<blockquote><p> Henry Hallam, the English historian, was born on July 9, +1777, at Windsor, his father being Canon of Windsor, and Dean of Bristol. +Educated at Eton and at Christ Church, Oxford, he was called to the English +bar, but devoted himself to the study and writing of history. He received +an appointment in the Civil Service, which, with his private means, placed +him in comfortable leisure for his wide researches. His son, Arthur Henry, +who died at the age of 22, is the subject of Tennyson's "In Memoriam." +Hallam died on January 21, 1859, and was buried at Clevedon, Somersetshire. +The "View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages," commonly known as +Hallam's "Middle Ages," was published by the author in 1818. Hallam was +already well known among the literary men of the day, but this was his +first important work. It is a study of the period from the appearance of +Clovis, the creator of the dominion of the Franks, to the close of the +Middle Ages, the arbitrary dividing line being drawn at the invasion of +Italy by Charles VIII. of France. </p></blockquote> + + +<h4><i>I.--France</i></h4> + + +<p>The Frankish dominion was established over the Roman province of Gaul by +Clovis at the opening of the sixth century. The Merovingian dynasty +degenerated rapidly; and the power passed into the hands of the Mayors of +the Palace--an office which became hereditary with Pepin Heristal and +Charles Martel. With the sanction of the Pope the Merovingian king was +deposed by Pepin, the son of Charles Martel, who was crowned king and +overthrew the Lombard power in Italy.</p> + +<p>Pepin was succeeded by Charlemagne, who completed the conquest of the +Lombards, carried his arms into Spain as far as the Ebro, and extended his +power eastwards over the Saxons as far as the Elbe. In his person the Roman +empire was revived, and he was crowned emperor at Rome on Christmas Day +A.D. 800. The great empire he had built up fell to pieces under his +successors, who adopted the disastrous plan of partition amongst +brothers.</p> + +<p>France fell to the share of one branch of the Carlovingians. The +Northmen were allowed to establish themselves in Normandy, and Germany was +completely separated from France. The Carlovingians were displaced by Hugh +Capet. The actual royal domain was small, and the kings of the House of +Capet exercised little control over their great feudatories until the reign +of Philip Augustus. That crafty monarch drew into his own hands the greater +part of the immense territories held by the kings of England as French +feudatories. After a brief interval the craft of Philip Augustus was +succeeded by the idealism of St. Louis, whose admirable character enabled +him to achieve an extraordinary ascendancy over the imagination of his +people. In spite of the disastrous failure of his crusading expeditions, +the aggrandisement of the crown continued, especially under Philip the +Fair; but the failure of the direct heirs after the successive reigns of +his three sons placed Philip of Valois on the throne according to the +"Salic" law of succession in 1328.</p> + +<p>On the pretext of claiming the succession for himself, Edward III. began +the great French war which lasted, interrupted by only one regular +pacification, for a hundred and twenty years. The brilliant personal +qualities of Edward and the Black Prince, the great resources of England, +and the quality of the soldiery, account for the English successes. After +the peace of Bretigny these triumphs were reversed, and the English lost +their possessions; but when Charles VI. ascended the throne disaster +followed. France was rent by the rival factions of Burgundy and Orleans, +the latter taking its more familiar name from the Court of Armagnac. The +troubled reigns of Richard II. and Henry IV. prevented England from taking +advantage of these dissensions; but Henry V. renewed the war, winning the +battle of Agincourt in his first campaign and securing the Treaty of Troyes +on his second invasion. After his death came that most marvellous +revolution wrought by Joan of Arc, and the expulsion of the English from +the country.</p> + +<p>In France the effect of the war was to strengthen the Crown as against +the Nobility, a process developed by the subtlety of Louis XI. Out of the +long contest in which the diplomatic skill of the king was pitted against +the fiery ambitions of Charles of Burgundy, Louis extracted for himself +sundry Burgundian provinces. The supremacy of the Crown was secured when +his son Charles VIII. acquired Brittany by marrying the Duchess Anne.</p> + +<p>The essential distinction of ranks in France was found in the possession +of land. Besides the National lands, there were lands reserved to the +Crown, which, under the name of benefices, were bestowed upon personal +followers of the king, held more or less on military tenure; and the king's +vassals acquired vassals for themselves by a similar process of +subinfeudation. On the other hand freeholders inclined, for the sake of +protection, to commend themselves, as the phrase was, to their stronger +neighbours and so to assume the relation of vassal to liege lord. The +essential principle was a mutual contract of support and fidelity, +confirmed by the ceremonies of homage, fealty, and investiture, which +conferred upon the lord the right to various reliefs, fines, and rights +capable of conversion into money payments.</p> + +<p>Gentility, now hereditary, was derived from the tenure of land; the idea +of it was emphasised by the adoption of surnames and armorial bearings. A +close aristocracy was created, somewhat modified by the right claimed by +the king of creating nobles. Prelates and abbots were in the same position +as feudal nobles, though the duty of personal service was in many cases +commuted for an equivalent. Below the gentle class were freemen, and the +remainder of the population were serfs or villeins. It was not impossible +for villeins to purchase freedom. In France the privileges possessed by the +vassals of the Crown were scarcely consistent with the sovereignty. Such +were the rights of coining money, of private war, and of immunity from +taxation.</p> + +<p>Such legislation as there was appears to have been effected by the king, +supported by a Royal Council or a more general assembly of the barons. It +was only by degrees that the Royal ordinances came to be current in the +fiefs of the greater vassals. It was Philip the Fair who introduced the +general assembly of the Three Estates. This assembly very soon claimed the +right of granting and refusing money as well as of bringing forward +grievances. The kings of France, however, sought to avoid convocation of +the States General by obtaining grants from provincial assemblies of the +Three Estates.</p> + +<p>The old system of jurisdiction by elected officers was superseded by +feudal jurisdiction, having three degrees of power, and acting according to +recognised local customs, varied by the right to ordeal by combat. The +Crown began to encroach on these feudal jurisdictions by the establishment +of Royal courts of appeal; but there also subsisted a supreme Court of +Peers to whom were added the king's household officers. The peers ceased by +degrees to attend this court, while the Crown multiplied the councillors of +inferior rank; and this body became known as the Parliament of Paris--in +effect an assembly of lawyers.</p> + +<p>The decline of the feudal system was due mainly to the increasing power +of the Crown on the one hand, and of the lower ranks on the other; more +especially from the extension of the privileges of towns. But the feudal +principle itself was weakened by the tendency to commute military service +for money, enabling the Crown to employ paid troops.</p> + + +<h4><i>II.--Italy and Spain</i></h4> + + +<p>After the disruption of Charlemagne's empire the imperial title was +revived from the German, Otto the Great of Saxony. His imperial supremacy +was recognised in Italy; the German king was the Roman emperor. Italian +unity had gone to pieces, but the German supremacy offended Italy. Still +from the time of Conrad of Franconia the election of the King of Germany +was assumed, at least my him, to convey the sovereignty of Italy. In the +eleventh century Norman adventurers made themselves masters of Sicily and +Southern Italy. In Northern Italy on the other hand the emperors favoured +the development of free cities, owning only the imperial sovereignty and +tending to self-government on Republican lines. The appearance on the scene +in the twelfth century of the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa introduced a +period characterised by a three-fold change: the victorious struggle of the +northern cities for independence; the establishment of the temporal +sovereignty of the Papacy in the middle provinces; and the union of the +kingdom of Naples to the dominions of the Imperial House. The first +quarrels with Milan led to the formation of the Lombard league, and a long +war in which the battle of Legnano gave the confederates a decisive +victory. The mutual rivalries of the States, however, prevented them from +turning this to good account. Barbarossa's grandson, Frederick II., was a +child of four when he succeeded to the Swabian inheritance, and through his +mother to that of Sicily.</p> + +<p>It was now that the powerful Pope Innocent III. so greatly extended the +temporal power of the Papacy, and that the rival parties of Guelfs and +Ghibelins, adherents the one of the Papacy, the other of the Empire, were +established as factions in practically every Italian city. When the young +Frederick grew up he was drawn into a long struggle with the Papacy which +ended in the overthrow of the Imperial authority. From this time the +quarrel of Guelfs and Ghibelins for the most part became mere family feuds +resting on no principles. Charles of Anjou was adopted as Papal champion; +the republics of the North were in effect controlled by despots for a brief +moment. Rome revived her republicanism under the leadership of Rienzi. In +the general chaos the principle interest attaches to the peculiar but +highly complicated form of democracy developed in Florence, where the old +Patrician families were virtually disfranchised. Wild and disorderly as was +the state of Florence, the records certainly point to the conditions having +been far worse in the cities ruled by the Visconti and their like.</p> + +<p>Of Genoa's wars with Pisa and with Venice a detailed account cannot be +given. Of all the northern cities Venice achieved the highest political +position; isolated to a great extent from the political problems of the +cities of Lombardy and Tuscany, she developed her wealth and her commerce +by the sea. Her splendour may, however, be dated from the taking of +Constantinople by the Latins in 1204, when she became effectively Queen of +the Adriatic and Mistress of the Eastern Mediterranean. In effect her +government was a close oligarchy; possessed of complete control over +elections which in theory were originally popular. The oligarchy reached +its highest and narrowest development with the institution of the famous +Council of Ten.</p> + +<p>Naples and Sicily came under the dominion of Charles of Anjou when he +was adopted as Papal champion. The French supremacy, however, was +overthrown when the Sicilians rose and carried out the massacre known as +the Sicilian Vespers. They offered the Crown to the King of Aragon. It was +not till 1409, however, that Sicily was definitely united to the Crown of +Aragon and a few years later the same king was able to assert successfully +a claim to Naples.</p> + +<p>When the Roman empire was tottering the Visigoths established their +dominion in Spain. In 712 Saracen invaders made themselves masters of the +greater part of the peninsula. The Christians were driven into the more +northern parts and formed a number of small States out of which were +developed the kingdoms of Navarre, Leon and Castille, and Aragon. Frontier +towns acquired large liberties while they were practically responsible for +defence against the Moors. During the thirteenth century great territories +were recovered from the Moors; but the advance ceased as the Moors were +reduced to the compact kingdom of Granada. In the fourteenth century the +struggle for Castille between Pedro the Cruel and his brother established +the house of Trastamare on the throne. The Crowns of Castille and Aragon +were united by the marriage of Isabella and Ferdinand.</p> + +<p>The government of the old Gothic monarchy was through the Crown and a +Council of Prelates and Nobles. At a comparatively early date, however, the +"Cortes" was attended by deputies from the town, though the number of these +was afterwards closely limited. The principle of taxation through +representatives was recognised; and laws could neither be made nor annulled +except in the Cortes. This form of constitutionalism was varied by the +claim of the nobles to assume forcible control when matters were conducted +in a fashion of which they disapproved.</p> + +<p>The union of Castille and Aragon led immediately to the conquest of +Granada completed in 1492; an event which in some respects counterbalanced +the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks.</p> + + +<h4><i>III.--The German Empire and the Papacy</i></h4> + + +<p>When the German branch of the Carlovingian dynasty became extinct the +five German nations--Franconia, Swabia, Bavaria, Saxony, and +Lorraine--resolved to make the German kingship elective. For some +generations the Crown was bestowed on the Saxon Ottos. On the extinction of +their house in 1024, it was succeeded by a Franconian dynasty which came +into collision with the Papacy under Pope Gregory VII. On the extinction of +this line in 1025 Germany became divided between the partisans of the +Houses of Swabia and Saxony, the Wibelungs and Welfs,--the origin of the +Hibelines and Guelfs. The Swabian House, the Hohenstauffen, gained the +ascendancy in the person of Frederick Barbarossa. The lineal +representatives of the Saxon Guelfs are found to-day in the House of +Brunswick.</p> + +<p>The rule of the Swabian House is most intimately connected with Italian +history. In the thirteenth century the principle that the right of election +of the emperor lay with seven electors was apparently becoming established. +There were the Archbishops of Mentz, Treves, and Cologne, the Duke of +Saxony, the Count Palatine of the Rhine, the King of Bohemia, and the +Margrave of Brandenburg. In all other respects, however, several other +dukes and princes were at least on an equality with the electors.</p> + +<p>In 1272 the election fell on the capable Rudolph of Hapsburg; and for +some time after this the emperors were chosen from the Houses of Austria, +Bavaria, or Luxemburg.</p> + +<p>Disintegration was greatly increased by the practice of the partition of +territories among brothers in place of primogeniture. A preponderating +authority was given to the electors by the Golden Bull of Charles IV. in +1355. The power of the emperor as against the princes was increased, as +that of the latter was counterbalanced by the development of free cities. +Considerable reforms were introduced at the close of our period mainly by +Maximilian.</p> + +<p>The depravity of the Greek empire would have brought it to utter ruin at +a much earlier date but for the degeneration which overtook Mohammedanism. +Incidentally the Crusades helped the Byzantine power at first to strengthen +its hold on some of its threatened possessions; but the so-called fourth +crusade replaced the Greek Empire by a Latin one with no elements of +permanency. When a Greek dynasty was re-established, and the crusading +spirit of Western Europe was already dead, the Byzantine Princes were left +to cope with the Turks single handed, and the last of the Cæsars died +heroically when the Ottomans captured Constantinople in 1453.</p> + +<p>Throughout the early middle ages the Church acquired enormous wealth and +Church lands were free from taxation. It was not till a comparatively late +period that the payment of tithes was enforced by law. Not infrequently the +Church was despoiled by violence, but the balance was more than recovered +by fraud. By the time of Charlemagne the clergy were almost exempt from +civil jurisdiction and held practically an exclusive authority in matters +of religion. The state, however, maintained its temporal supremacy. When +the strong hand of Charlemagne was removed ecclesiastical influence +increased.</p> + +<p>It was under Gregory the Great that the Papacy acquired its great +supremacy over the Provincial Churches. As the power of the Church grew +after the death of Charlemagne, partly from the inclination of weak kings +to lean on ecclesiastical support, the Papal claims to authority developed +and began to be maintained by the penalties of excommunication and +interdict.</p> + +<p>A period of extreme laxity in the tenth century was to be brought to a +close in the eleventh partly by the pressure brought to bear on the Papacy +by the Saxon emperors, but still bore by the ambitious resolution of +Gregory VII. This remarkable man was determined to assert the complete +supremacy of the Holy See over all secular powers. He refused to recognise +the right of secular princes to make ecclesiastical appointments within +their own dominions; and he emphasised the distinction between the +priesthood, as a cast having divine authority, and the laity, by enforcing +with the utmost strictness the ecclesiastical law of celibacy, which +completely separates the churchman from the normal interests and ambitions +which actuate the layman.</p> + +<p>In the contest between Gregory and the emperor, it seemed for the moment +as if the secular power had won the victory; but, in fact, throughout the +twelfth century; the claims which Gregory had put forward were becoming +practically effective partly from the great influence exercised through the +Crusades. These Papal pretensions reached their climax in the great Pope +Innocent III., who asserted with practical success the right to pronounce +absolutely on all disputes between princes or between princes and their +subjects, and to depose those who rejected his authority. Throughout the +thirteenth century Rome was once more mistress of the world.</p> + +<p>The Church derived great influence from the institution of mendicant +orders, especially those of St. Dominic and St. Francis which recovered +much of the esteem forfeited by the old Monastic orders. Another instrument +of Papal influence was the power of granting dispensations both with regard +to marriages and as to the keeping of oaths. If the clergy were free for +the most part from civil taxation, they were nevertheless severely mulcted +by the Papacy. The ecclesiastical jurisdiction encroached upon the secular +tribunals; the classes of persons with respect to whom it claimed exclusive +authority were persistently extended, in spite of the opposition of such +Princes as Henry II. and Edward I.</p> + +<p>At last, however, the Papal aggressor met his match in Philip the Fair. +When Boniface VIII. died, his successors first submitted to the French +monarchy and then became its nominees; while they resided at Avignon, +virtually under French control. The restoration of the pontificate to Rome +in 1375 was shortly followed by the Great Schism. For some years there were +two rival Popes, each of whom was recognised by one or the other half of +Western Christendom. This was terminated by the Council of Constance, which +incidentally affirmed the supremacy of general councils over the Pope. The +following council at Basle was distinctly anti-papal; but the Papacy had +the better of the contest.</p> + + +<h4><i>IV.--England</i></h4> + + +<p>The Anglo-Saxon polity limited the succession of the Crown to a +particular house but allowed a latitude of choice within that house. The +community was divided into Thames or gentry, Ceorls or freemen, and serfs. +The ceorls tended to sink to the position known later as villeinage. The +composition of the king's great council called the Witenagemot is doubtful. +The country was divided into shires, the shire into districts called +hundreds, and the hundreds into tithings. There appears to be no adequate +authority for the idea that trial by jury was practised; the prevailing +characteristic of justice was the system of penalty by fine, and the +responsibility of the tithing for the misdeeds of any of its members. There +is no direct evidence as to the extent to which feudal tenures were +beginning to be established before the Norman conquest.</p> + +<p>The Norman conquest involved a vast confiscation of property and the +exclusion of the native English from political privileges. The feudal +system of land tenure was established; but its political aspect here and in +France was quite different. There were no barons with territories +comparable to those of the great French feudataries. That the government +was extremely tyrannical is certain. The Crown derived its revenues from +feudal dues, customs duties, tallages--that is, special charges on +particular towns,--and the war tax called the Danegelt; all except the +first being arbitrary taxes. The violence of King John led to the demand of +the barons for the Great Charter, the keystone of English liberty, securing +the persons and property of all freemen from arbitrary imprisonment or +spoliation. Thenceforth no right of general taxation is claimed. The barons +held themselves warranted in refusing supplies.</p> + +<p>The King's Court was gradually separated into three branches, King's +Bench, Exchequer, and Common Pleas. The advance in the study of law had the +definite effect of establishing a fixed rule of succession to the Crown. +One point must still be noticed which distinguishes England from other +European countries; that the law recognises no distinction of class among +freemen who stand between the peers and villeins.</p> + +<p>The reign of Edward I. forms an epoch. The Confirmation of the Charters +put an end to all arbitrary taxation; and the type of the English +Parliament was fixed. In the Great Councils the prelates and greater barons +had assembled, and the lesser barons were also summoned; the term baron +being equivalent to tenant in chief. A system of representation is +definitely formulated in Montfort's Parliament of 1265. Whether the knights +were elected by the freemen of the shire or only by the tenants in chief, +is not clear. Many towns were self governing--independent, that is, of +local magnates--under charters from the Crown. Montfort's Parliament is the +first to which towns sent representatives. Edward established the practice +in his Model Parliament; probably in order to ensure that his demands for +money from the towns might in appearance at least receive their formal +assent.</p> + +<p>Parliament was not definitely divided into two houses until the reign of +Edward III. In this reign the Commons succeeded in establishing the +illegality of raising money without consent; the necessity that the two +houses should concur for any alterations in the law; and the right of the +Commons to enquire into public abuses and to impeach public counsellors. +Under the second heading is introduced a distinction between statutes and +ordinances; the latter being of a temporary character, and requiring to be +confirmed by Parliament before they acquire permanent authority. In the +next reign the Commons assert the right of examining the public +expenditure. Moreover the Parliaments more openly and boldly expressed +resentment at the acts of the king's ministers and claimed rights of +control. For a time, however, the king secured supremacy by a coup +d'état; which in turn brought about his deposition, and the +accession of Henry IV., despite the absurd weakness of his title to the +inheritance of the Crown.</p> + +<p>The rights thus acquired developed until the War of the Roses. Notably +redress of grievances became the condition of supply; and the inclination +of the Crown to claim a dispensing power is resolutely combated. It is also +to be remarked that the king's foreign policy of war or peace is freely +submitted to the approval of Parliament.</p> + +<p>This continues during the minority of Henry VI.; but the revival of +dissatisfaction with the government leads to a renewed activity in the +practice of impeachments; and Parliament begins to display a marked +sensitiveness on the question of its privileges. The Commons further +definitely express their exclusive right of originating money bills.</p> + +<p>At this time it is clear that at least all freeholders were entitled to +vote in the election of the knights of the shire. The selection of the +towns which sent up members, and the franchise under which their members +were elected, seems to have been to a considerable extent arbitrary. Nor +can we be perfectly certain of the principles on which writs were issued +for attendance in the upper house. We find that for some time the lower +clergy as well as the higher were summoned to attend Parliament; but +presently, sitting in a separate chamber, they ceased to take part in +Parliamentary business.</p> + +<p>We have seen the King's Court divided into three courts of justice. The +court itself, however, as the king's Council, continued to exercise a +juridical as well as a deliberative and administrative function. In spite +of the charter, it possessed an effective if illegal power of arbitrary +imprisonment.</p> + +<p>So far the essential character of our constitution appears to be a +monarchy greatly limited by law but swerving continually into irregular +courses which there was no constraint adequate to correct. There is +absolutely no warrant for the theory that the king was merely a hereditary +executive magistrate, the first officer of the State. The special advantage +enjoyed by England lay in the absence of an aristocracy with interests +antagonistic to those of the people. It would be truer to say that the +liberties of England were bought by money than by the blood of our +forefathers.</p> + +<p>The process by which the villein became a hired labourer is obscure and +an attempt was made to check it by the Statute of Labourers at the time of +the Black Death. This was followed by the peasant's revolt of 1382, which +corresponded to the far worse horrors of the French Jacquerie. Sharply +though this was suppressed, the real object of the rising seemed to have +been accomplished. Of the period of the Wars of the Roses it is here +sufficient to say that it established the principle embodied in a statute +of Henry VII. that obedience to the <i>de facto</i> government is not to be +punished on the ground that government is not also <i>de jure</i>.</p> + + +<h4><i>V.--Europe</i></h4> + + +<p>In spite of the Teutonic incursion, Latin remained the basis of language +as it survived in Italy, France, and Spain. But the pursuit of letters was +practically confined to the clergy and was by them employed almost +exclusively in the interests of clerical authority. To this end a multitude +of superstitions were encouraged; superstitions which were the cause of not +a few strange and irrational outbursts of fanaticism. The monasteries +served indeed a useful purpose as sanctuaries in days of general +lawlessness and rapine; but the huge weight of evidence is conclusive as to +the general corruption of morals among the clergy as among the laity. The +common diversion of the upper classes, lay and clerical, when not engaged +in actual war, was hunting. An extended commerce was impossible when +robbery was a normal occupation of the great.</p> + +<p>Gradually, however, a more orderly society emerged. Maritime commerce +developed in two separate areas, the northern and western, and the +Mediterranean. The first great commerce in the north arises from the +manufacture in Flanders of the wool exported from England. And in the +fourteenth century England herself began to compete in the woollen +manufacture. The German free manufacturing towns established the Great +Hanseatic League; but maritime commerce between the Northern and Southern +areas was practically non-existent till the fifteenth century, by which +time English ships were carrying on a fairly extensive traffic in the +Mediterranean. In that area the great seaports of Italy, and in a less +degree, of Catalonia and the French Mediterranean seaboard, developed a +large commerce. Naturally, however, the law which it was sufficiently +difficult to enforce by land was even more easily defied on the sea, and +piracy was extremely prevalent.</p> + +<p>Governments as well as private persons were under a frequent necessity +of borrowing, and for a long time the great money lenders were the Jews. +They, however, were later to a great extent displaced by the merchants of +Lombardy, and the fifteenth century witnesses the rise of the great +bankers, Italian and German.</p> + +<p>The structure and furniture of all buildings for private purposes made +exceedingly little provision for comfort, offering an extreme contrast to +the dignity of the public buildings and the sublimity of ecclesiastical +architecture.</p> + +<p>During the last three hundred years of our period it is clear that there +was a great diminution of the status of servitude and a great increase in +the privileges extended to corporate towns. Private warfare was checked and +lawless robbery to a considerable extent restrained. It is tolerably clear +that the rise of heretical sects were both the cause and the result of +moral dissatisfaction, tending to the adoption of higher moral standards. +Some of these sects were cruelly crushed by merciless persecution, as in +the case of the Albigenses. The doctrines of Wickliffe, however, were never +stamped out in England; and the form which they took in Bohemia among the +followers of the martyred John Huss had little about them that was +beneficial.</p> + +<p>The great moral school of the Middle Ages was the institution of +chivalry, which existed to animate and cherish the principle of honour. To +this a strong religious flavor was superadded, perhaps by the Crusades. To +valour and devotion was added the law of service to womanhood, and chivalry +may fairly claim to have developed generally the three virtues essential to +it, of loyalty, courtesy, and liberality. Resting, however, as it did on +the personal prowess and skill of the individual in single combat, the +whole system of chivalry was destroyed by the introduction on an extensive +scale of the use of firearms.</p> + +<p>We turn lastly to the intellectual improvement which may be referred to +four points: the study of civil laws the institution of universities; the +application of modern languages to literature, and especially to poetry; +and the revival of ancient learning. Education may almost be said to have +begun with the establishment of the great schools by Charlemagne out of +which sprang the European universities. For a long time of course all +studies were dominated by that of theology, and the scholastic philosophy +which pertained to it. Barren as these pursuits were, they kept alive an +intellectual activity which ultimately found fresh channels. The Romance +languages developed a new literature first on the tongues of the +troubadours and then in Italy--the Italy which gave birth to Dante and +Petrarch. It was about the fourteenth century that a new enthusiasm was +born for the study of classical authors, though Greek was still unknown. +And the final and decisive impulse was given when the invention of printing +made the great multiplication of books possible.</p> + +<hr /> + + + + +<h2><a name='STANLEY_LANE_POOLE'></a>STANLEY LANE-POOLE</h2> + + +<h3><a name='Egypt_in_the_Middle_Ages'></a>Egypt in the Middle Ages</h3> + + +<blockquote><p> Stanley Lane-Poole, born on December 18, 1845, studied +Arabic under his great-uncle, Lane, the Orientalist, and, before going up +to Oxford for his degree, began his "Catalogue of Oriental Coins in the +British Museum," which appeared in fourteen volumes between 1875 and 1892, +and founded his reputation as the first living authority on Arabic +numismatics. In 1883, 1896, and 1897 he was at Cairo officially employed by +the British Government upon the Mohammedan antiquities, and published his +treatise on "The Art of the Saracens in Egypt" in 1886, in which year he +visited Stockholm, Helsingfors, St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Constantinople +to examine their Oriental collections. He has written histories of the +"Moors in Spain," "Turkey," "The Barbary Corsairs," and "Mediæval India," +which have run to many editions; and biographies of Saladin, Babar, +Aurangzib; of Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, and Sir Harry Parkes. He has +also published a miniature Koran in the "Golden Treasury" series, and +written "Studies in a Mosque," besides editing three volumes of Lane's +"Arabic Lexicon." For five years he held the post of Professor of Arabic at +Trinity College, Dublin, of which he is Litt.D. Mohammedan Egypt, his +special subject, he has treated in several books on Cairo, the latest being +"The Story of Cairo." But his most complete work on this subject is "The +History of Egypt in the Middle Ages," here epitomised by the author. +</p></blockquote> + + +<h4><i>I.--A Province of the Caliphate</i></h4> + + +<p>Ever since the Arab conquest in 641 Egypt has been ruled by Mohammedans, +and for more than half the time by men of Turkish race. Though now and +again a strong man has gathered all the reins of control into his own hands +and been for a time a personal monarch, as a rule the government has been, +till recent years, a military bureaucracy.</p> + +<p>The people, of course, had no voice in the government. The Egyptians +have never been a self-governing race, and such a dream as constitutional +democracy was never heard of until a few years ago. By the Arab conquest in +the seventh century the people merely changed masters. They were probably +not indisposed to welcome the Moslems as their deliverers from the tyranny +of the Orthodox Church of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire, invincibly +intolerant of the native monophysite heresy; and when the conquest was +complete they found themselves, on the whole, better off than before. They +paid their taxes to officials with Arabic instead of Greek titles, but the +taxes were lighter and the amount was strictly laid down by law.</p> + +<p>The land-tax of about a pound per acre was not excessive on so fertile a +soil, and the poll-tax on nonconformity, of the same amount, was a moderate +price to pay for entire liberty of conscience and freedom in public worship +guaranteed by solemn treaty. The other taxes were comparatively +insignificant, and the total revenue in the eighth century was about +£7,000,000. The surplus went to the caliph, the head of the vast +Mohammedan empire, which then stretched from Seville to Samarkand, whose +capital was first Damascus and afterwards Baghdad.</p> + +<p>For over 200 years (till 868) Egypt was a mere province of this huge +caliphate, and was governed, like other provinces, with a sole view to +revenue. "Milk till the udder be dry and let blood to the last drop" was a +caliph's instructions to a governor of Egypt. As these governors were +constantly changed--there were sixty-seven in 118 years under the Abbasid +caliphs of Baghdad--and as a governor's main object was to "make hay while +the sun shines," the process of milking the Egyptian cow was often +accelerated by illegal extortion, and the governor's harvest was reaped +before it was due. Illegality was, however, checked to some extent by the +generally wise and just influence of the chief justice, or kadi, whose +probity often formed the best feature of the Arab government in Egypt.</p> + +<p>Nor did the caliphs extort taxes without giving something in return. The +development of irrigation works was always a main consideration with the +early Mohammedan rules, from Spain to India, and in Egypt, where irrigation +is the country's very life, it was specially cared for, with a +corresponding increase in the yield. Moreover, the governors usually held +to the agreement that the Christians should have liberty of conscience, and +protected them from the Moslem soldiery. As time went on, this toleration +abated, partly because the Moslems had gradually become the predominant +population. At the beginning the caliphs had taken anxious precautions +against the colonising of Egypt; they held it by an army, but they were +insistent that the army should not take root, but be always free to join +the caliph's standard. But it was inevitable that the Arabs should settle +in so fertile and pleasant a land. Each governor brought a small army as +his escort, and these Arab troops naturally intermarried with Egyptian +women, who were constitutionally inclined to such alliances. A few Arab +tribes also settled in Egypt.</p> + +<p>This gradual and undesigned Arabising of the country would lead to +oppression of the Christians, to the "squeezing" of wealthy natives, and +occasionally to the institution of humiliating distinctions of dress and +other vexations, and even to the spoiling of Coptic churches. Then +sometimes the Copts, as the Egyptian Christians are called, would rebel. +Their last and greatest rebellion, which occurred in the Delta in 830-832, +was ruthlessly trampled out by Turkish troops under Mamun, the only Abbasid +caliph who made a visit to Egypt. Many Copts now apostatised, and from this +time dates the predominance of the Moslem population and the settling of +Arabs in the villages and on the land, instead of as heretofore only in the +two or three large towns.</p> + +<p>The coming of the Turkish troops with the caliph Mamun was an ominous +event for the country. Up to 846 all the successive governors had been +Arabs, and many of them were related to the caliphs themselves. With some +unfortunate exceptions, they seem to have been men of simple habits--the +Arabs were never luxurious--and usually of strict Mohammedan principles. +They made money, honestly if possible, during their brief tenure; but they +did not harass the people much by their personal interference, and left the +local officials to manage matters in their own way, as had always been the +custom. They lived at the new capital, Fustat, which grew up on the site of +the conqueror's camp, and very near the modern Cairo; for Alexandria, the +symbol of Roman domination, was dismantled in 645 after the Emperor +Manuel's attempt at reconquest. If they did not do much active good, they +did little harm, and Egypt pursued her immemorial ways.</p> + +<p>The last Arab governor, Anbasa, was a man of fine character, and his +term of office was distinguished by the building of the fort of Damietta, +as a protection against Roman raids, and by a defeat of the tributary +Sudanis near Dongola.</p> + + +<h4><i>II.--Turkish Governors</i></h4> + + +<p>The Arabs have neither the ferocity nor the luxuriousness, nor, it +should be added, the courage and the genius for administration of the +Turkish race. In the arrival of Turkish troops in 830 we see a symptom of +what was going on all over the eastern caliphate. Turks were taking the +place of Arabs in the army and the provincial governments, just as the +Persians were filling up the civil appointments. The caliph's Turkish +bodyguard was the beginning of the dismemberment of the caliphate. It +became the habit of the caliphs to grant the government of Egypt, as a sort +of fief, to a leading Turkish officer, who usually appointed a deputy to do +his work and to pay him the surplus revenue. Such a deputy was +Ahmad-ibn-Tulun (868-884), the first of the many Turkish despots of Egypt. +Ibn-Tulun was the first ruler to raise Egypt from a mere tax-paying +appendage of the caliphate to a kingdom, independent save for the +recognition of the caliph on the coinage, and he was the first to found a +Moslem dynasty there. A man of fair Mohammedan education, iron will, and +ubiquitous personal attention to affairs, he added Syria to his dominions, +defeated the East Romans with vast slaughter near Tarsus (883), kept an +army of 30,000 Turkish slaves and a fleet of a hundred fighting ships.</p> + +<p>He beautified his capital by building a sumptuous palace and his +well-known mosque, which still stands in his new royal suburb of Katai; he +encouraged the small farmers and reduced the taxation, yet he left five +millions in the treasury when he died in 884. His son maintained his power, +and more than his luxury and artistic extravagance; but there were no +elements of stability in the dynasty, which depended solely upon the +character of the ruler. The next generation saw Egypt once more (905) a +mere province of the caliphate, but with this difference, that its +governors were now Turks, generally under the control of their own +soldiery, and much less dependent upon the ever-weakening power of the +Caliph of Baghdad. One of them, the Ikhshid, in 935 emulated Ibn-Tulun and +united part of Syria to Egypt; but the sons he left were almost children, +and the power fell into the hands of the regent Kafur, a black eunuch from +the Sudan, bought for £25, who combined a luxurious and cultivated +court with some military successes and real administrative capacity.</p> + + +<h4><i>III.--The Fatimid Caliphs</i></h4> + + +<p>The Mohammedan world is roughly divided into Sunnis and Shia. The Shia +are the idealists, the mystics of Islam; the Sunnis are the formalists, the +schoolmen. The Shia trace an apostolic succession from Ali, the husband of +the prophet Mohammed's daughter Fatima, hold doctrines of immanence and +illumination, adopt an allegorical interpretation of scripture, and believe +in the coming of a Mahdi or Messiah. The Sunnis adhere to the elective +historical caliphate descended from Mohammed's uncle, maintain the eternal +uncreated sufficiency of the Koran, literally interpreted, and believe in +no Messiah save Mohammed.</p> + +<p>The Shia, whatever their racial origin, form the Persian, the Aryan, +adaptation of Islam, which is an essentially Semitic creed. In the tenth +century they had established a caliph among the Berbers at Kayrawan (908). +They had thence invaded Egypt with temporary success in 914 and 919. When +the death of Kafur in 968 left the country a prey to rival military +factions, the fourth of the caliphs of Kayrawan--called the Fatimid +caliphs, because they claimed a very doubtful descent from Fatima--sent his +army into Egypt. The people, who had too long been the sport of Turkish +mercenaries, received the invaders as deliverers, just as the Copts had +welcomed the Arabs three centuries before. Gauhar, the Fatimid general, +entered Fustat (or Misr, as it was usually called, a name still applied +both to Egypt and to its capital) amid acclamations in 969, and immediately +laid the foundations of the fortified palace which he named, +astrologically, after the planet Mars (Kahir), El-Kahira, "the Martial," or +"the Victorious," which gradually expanded to the city of Cairo. He also +founded the great historic university mosque of the Azhar, which, begun by +the heretical Shia, became the bulwark of rigid scholasticism and the +theological centre of orthodox Islam.</p> + +<p>The theological change was abrupt. It was as though Presbyterian +Scotland had suddenly been put under the rule of the Jesuits. But, like the +Society of Jesus, the Shia were pre-eminently intellectual and recognised +the necessity of adapting their teaching to the capacities of their +hearers, and the conditions of the time. They did not force extreme Shia +doctrine upon the Egyptians. Their esoteric system, with its graduated +stages of initiation, permitted a large latitude, and they were content to +add their distinctive formulas to the ordinary Mohammedan ritual, and to +set them conspicuously on their coinage, without entering upon a +propaganda. The bulk of the Egyptian Moslems apparently preserved their +orthodoxy and suffered an heretical caliphate for two centuries with +traditional composure. The Christian Copts found the new +<i>régime</i> a marked improvement. Mysticism finds kindred elements +in many faiths, and the Fatimid caliphs soon struck up relations with the +local heads of the Christian religion.</p> + +<p>The second Egyptian caliph, Aziz (975-996), was greatly influenced by a +Christian wife, who encouraged his natural clemency. Bishop Severus +attended his court, and Coptic churches were rebuilt. Throughout the +Fatimid period we constantly find Christians and Jews, and especially +Armenians, advanced to the highest offices of state. This was partly due, +of course, to their special qualifications as scribes and accountants, for +Arabs and Turks were no hands at "sums." The land had rest under this wise +and tolerant caliph. If he set a dangerous example in his luxury and love +of display, he unquestionably maintained law, enforced equity, punished +corruption, and valiantly defended his kingdom. He fitted out a fleet of +600 sail at Maks (then the port of Cairo, on the Nile), which kept the +Emperor Basil at a distance and assured the caliph's ascendancy from end to +end of the Mediterranean Sea.</p> + +<p>After these two great rulers the Fatimid caliphate subsisted for nearly +two centuries by no virtue or energy of its own. The caliphs lived +secluded, like veiled prophets, in their huge palace at Cairo, given over +to sensual delights (Saladin found 12,000 women in the Great Palace when he +entered it in 1171), and wholly regardless of their kingdom, which they +left to the care of vezirs, who were chiefly bent on making their own +fortunes, though there were many able, and a few honest men amongst them. +The real power rested with the army, and the only check upon the tyranny +and debauchery of the army lay in its own jealous divisions. The fanatical +Berber regiments imported from Tunis, the bloody blacks recruited in the +Sudan, and the mutinous Turkish troops long established in the country, +were always at daggers drawn, and their rivalry was the vezirs' +opportunity. In such anarchy the country fell from bad to worse.</p> + +<p>The reign of Hakim, the frantic son of Aziz and his Christian wife, was +a personal despotism of the most eccentric kind, marked by apparently +unreasonable regulations, such as keeping the shops open by night instead +of by day, and confining all women to the house for seven years, as well as +by intermittent persecution of Christians and Jews; and also by enlightened +acts, such as the founding of the Hall of Science and the building of +mosques, for all the Fatimides were friends to the arts; and ending in the +proclamation of Hakim as the incarnation of the Divine Reason, in which +capacity he is still adored by the Druses of the Lebanon. This assumption +led to popular tumults and an orgy of carnage, in the midst of which Hakim +mysteriously disappeared (1021).</p> + +<p>His successors, Zahir (1021-1036), and Mustansir (1036-1096) did nothing +to retrieve the anarchic situation, of which the soldiers were the unruly +masters. Palace cliques, disastrous famines (one of which lasted seven +years, 1066-1072, and even led to the public selling of human joints as +butcher's meat), slave, or rather freedmen's, revolts, military tumults, +and the occasional temporary ascendancy of a talented vezir, sum up the +history of Egypt during most of the eleventh century. The wisdom and +firmness of two great Armenian vezirs, Bedr-el-Gemali (1073-1094) and his +son Afdal (1094-1121), brought a large degree of order, but the last years +of the Fatimid caliphate were blotted by savage murders both of caliphs and +vezirs, and by the loss of their Syrian dominions to Seljuks and +Crusaders.</p> + + +<h4><i>IV.--The House of Saladin</i></h4> + + +<p>It was a question whether Egypt would fall to the Christian king of +Jerusalem or the Moslem king of Damascus; but, after several invasions by +both, Nur-ed-din settled the problem by sending his Syrian army to Cairo in +1169, when the Crusaders withdrew without offering battle, and the Fatimid +caliphate came to an end in 1171.</p> + +<p>On the Syrian general's death, two months after the conquest, his +nephew, Salah-ed-din ibn-Ayyub (Saladin), succeeded to the vezirate, and +after Nur-ed-din's death, in 1174, he made himself independent sultan, not +only of Egypt but of Syria and Mesopotamia. Saladin was a Kurd from the +Tigris districts; but his training and his following were purely Turkish, +moulded on the Seljuk model, and recruited largely from the Seljuk lands. +His fame was won outside Egypt, and only eight of the twenty-four years of +his reign were spent in Cairo; the rest was passed in waging wars in Syria, +Mesopotamia, and Palestine, culminating in the catastrophic defeat of the +Crusaders near Tiberias in 1187, and the conquest of Jerusalem and all of +the Holy Land.</p> + +<p>The famous crusade of Richard I., though it resulted only in recovering +a strip of coast from Acre to Jaffa, and did not rescue Jerusalem, wore out +Saladin's strength, and in 1193 the chivalrous and magnanimous "Soldan" +died. In Egypt his chief work, after repressing revolts of black troops and +Shia conspiracies, and repelling successive naval attacks on Damietta and +Alexandria by the Eastern emperor and the kings of Jerusalem and Sicily, +was the building of the Citadel of Cairo after the model of Norman +fortresses in Syria, and the encouragement of Sunni orthodoxy by the +founding and endowment of medresas, or theological colleges. The people, +who had never been really converted to the Fatimid creed, accepted the +latest reformation with their habitual nonchalance. This was really the +greatest achievement of Saladin and his house. Cairo succeeded to Baghdad +and Cordova as the true metropolis of Islam, and Egypt has remained true to +the most narrow school of orthodoxy ever since.</p> + +<p>Saladin's kinsmen, known as the Ayyubid dynasty, ruled Egypt for over +half a century after the death of their great leader. First his politic +brother, Adil Seyf-ed-din ("Saphadin") carried on his fine tradition for a +quarter of a century, and then from 1218 to 1238 Seyf-ed-din's able son +Kamil, who had long been the ruler of Egypt during his father's frequent +absences, followed in his steps. The futile efforts of the discredited +Crusaders disturbed their peace. John of Brienne's seizure of Damietta was +a serious menace, and it took all Kamil's energy to defeat the "Franks" at +Mansura (1219) and drive them out of the country.</p> + +<p>On the other hand, he cultivated very friendly relations with the +Emperor Frederic II., who concluded a singular defensive alliance with him +in 1229, to the indignation of the Pope. He was tolerant to Christians, and +listened to the preaching of St. Francis of Assisi; he granted trading +concessions to the Venetians and Pisans, who established a consulate at +Alexandria. At the same time he notably encouraged Moslem learning, built +colleges, and developed the resources of the kingdom in every way. What had +happened to the dynasties of Tulun, Ikhshid, and the Fatimides, was +repeated on the death of Kamil. Two sons kept the throne successively till +1249, and then, in the midst of Louis IX's crusade, the salvation of Egypt +devolved on the famous Mamluks, or white slaves, who had formed the +<i>corps d'élite</i> of Saladin's army.</p> + + +<h4><i>V.--The Mamluks</i></h4> + + +<p>Political women have played a great rôle in Egypt from Hatshepsut +and Cleopatra to the Christian wife of Aziz, the princess royal who +engineered the downfall of Hakim, and the black mother who dominated +Mustansir; and it was a woman who was the first queen of the Mamluks. +Sheger-ed-durr ("Tree of Pearls"), widow of Salih, the last reigning +Ayyubid of Egypt, was the brain of the army which broke the chivalry of +France.</p> + +<p>At the second battle of Mansura in 1249, she took Louis prisoner. Then +she married a leading Mamluk emir, to conciliate Moslem prejudice against a +woman's rule, and thenceforth for more than two centuries and a half one +Mamluk after another seized the throne, held it as long as he could, and +sometimes transmitted it to his son. When it is noted that forty-eight +sultans (twenty-five Bahri Mamluks, or "white slaves of the river," so +called from the barracks on an island in the Nile, and twenty-three Burgis, +named after the burg, or citadel, where their quarters originally were), +succeeded one another from 1250 to 1517, it will be seen that their average +reign was but three and a half years. The throne, in fact, belonged to the +man with the longest sword.</p> + +<p>The bravest and richest generals and court officials surrounded +themselves with bands of warrior slaves, and reached a power almost equal +to the reigning sultan, who was, in fact, only <i>primus inter pares</i>, +and on his death--usually by assassination--they fought for his title. All +were alike slaves by origin, but this term implied no degradation. Any +slave with courage and address had the chance of becoming a freedman, +rising to influence, and climbing into his master's seat. Every man was +every other man's equal--if he could prove it; but the process of proving +it often turned Cairo into a shambles.</p> + +<p>The Mamluks were physically superb, a race of born soldiers, dashing +horsemen, skilled leaders, brilliant alike in battle and in all manly +sports. They were at the same time the most luxurious of men, heavy +drinkers, debauched sensualists, magnificent in their profusion, in their +splendid prodigality in works of art and luxury, and in the munificence +with which they filled their capital with noble monuments of the most +exquisite Saracenic architecture. Most of the beautiful mosques of Cairo +were built by these truculent soldiers, all foreigners, chiefly Turks, a +caste apart, with no thought for the native Egyptians whose lands they +received as fiefs from the sultan; with no mercy when ambition called for +secret assassination or wholesale massacre; yet fastidious in dress, +equipment, and manners, given to superb pageants, laborious in business, +and fond of music and poetry. Their orthodoxy is attested not only by their +innumerable religious foundations and endowments, but by their importing +into Cairo a line of Abbasid caliphs--<i>fainéants</i> indeed, but +in a manner representative of the great caliphs of Baghdad, extinguished by +the Mongols in 1258--and in maintaining them till the Ottoman sultan +usurped their very nominal authority as Commanders of the Faithful.</p> + +<p>The greatest of all the Mamluks was Beybars (1260-1277). He it was who +had charged St. Louis's knights at Mansura in 1249, and afterwards helped +to rout the Mongol hordes at the critical battle of Goliath's Spring in +1260; and he was the real founder of the Mamluk empire, and organised and +consolidated his wide dominions so skilfully and firmly that all the +follies and jealousies and crimes of his successors could not destroy the +fabric. He made his army perfect in discipline, built a navy, made canals, +roads, and bridges, annexed Nubia, organised a regular postal service, +built fortifications, mosques, colleges, halls of justice, and managed +everything, from the fourth cataract of the Nile and the Holy Cities of +Arabia to the Pyramus and the Euphrates, by his immense capacity for work +and amazing rapidity of movements.</p> + +<p>Egypt prospered exceedingly under his just, firm, and capable rule; he +was severe to immorality and strictly prohibited wine, beer, and hashish. +He entered into diplomatic relations with European powers to the great +advantage of his country's trade; and his bravery, munificence, and justice +have made him a popular hero in Arabic romances down to the present +day.</p> + +<p>None of his successors approached his high example Khalil indeed +recovered Acre and all that remained of the Crusader's possessions in +Palestine, and the Mamluks, who never lost their soldierly qualities +whoever happened to be their nominal ruler, handsomely defeated the Mongols +again in 1299 and 1303, and for ever saved Egypt from the unspeakable curse +of a Mongol conquest Nasir, whose reign covers most of the first half of +the fourteenth century, was a great builder, and so were many of the nobles +of his court. It was the golden age of Saracenic architecture, and Cairo is +still full of the monuments of Nasir's emirs. He encouraged agriculture, +stockbreeding, farming, falconry, as well as literature and art, +everything, in short, except vice, wine, and Christians.</p> + +<p>The Burgi, or Circassian Mamluks (1382-1517), were little more than +chief among the emirs. Widespread corruption, the open sale of high offices +and of "justice," and general debauchery characterised their rule. Yet they +built many of the loveliest mosques in Cairo, and the conquest of Cyprus, +long a nest of Mediterranean piracy, by Bars Bey in 1426 may be added to +their credit. Kait Bey (1468-1496) was a great builder, and in every way a +wise, brave, and energetic, public-spirited sovereign, and was an exception +to the general baseness.</p> + +<p>Egypt was rich in his day. The European trade had swelled enormously, +and the duties brought in a prodigious revenue. The Italian Republics had +their consulates or their marts in Alexandria, and Marseilles, Narbonne, +and Catalonia sent their representatives. The Indian trade was also very +considerable; we read of £36,000 paid at one time in customs dues at +Gidda, then an Egyptian port on the Red Sea. The Mamluk sultan took toll on +every bale of goods that passed between Europe and India in the palmy days +that preceded Vasco de Gama's discovery of the Cape route in 1497. It was +an immense monopoly, extortionately used, and it was not resigned without a +struggle. The Mamluk fleet engaged the Portuguese off Chaul in the Bay of +Bengal in 1508 and defeated them; but Almeida avenged the honour of his +country by a victory over the Mamluk admiral Hoseyn off Diu in the +following year, and the prolific transit trade of Egypt was to a great +extent lost.</p> + +<p>This final effort was made by the last great sultan of the Circassian +dynasty, Kansuh Ghuri (1501-1516), who also exerted himself manfully in +defending his country from the impending disaster of Ottoman invasion. But +the Othmanli Turks, greatly heartened by the conquest of Constantinople in +1453, had been steadily encroaching in Asia, and, after defeating the shah +of Persia, their advance upon Syria and Egypt was only a matter of time. +The victory was made easier by jealousies and treachery among the Mamluks. +Kansuh fell at the head of his gallant troops in a battle near Aleppo in +August 1516; a last desperate stand of the Mamluks under the Mukattam Hill +at Cairo in January 1517, was overcome, and Sultan Selim made Egypt a +province of the Turkish empire. Such it remains, formally, to this day.</p> + +<hr /> + + + + +<h2><a name='RAPHAEL_HOLINSHED'></a>RAPHAEL HOLINSHED</h2> + + +<h3><a name='Chronicles_of_England_Scotland_and_Ireland'></a>Chronicles of +England, Scotland, and Ireland</h3> + + +<blockquote><p> Raphael Holinshed, who was born about 1520, is one of the +most celebrated of English chroniclers. The "Chronicles of England, +Scotland, and Ireland," known by his name, cover a long period of English +history, beginning with a "Description" of Britain from the earliest times, +and carried on until the reign of Elizabeth, in the course of which, +between 1580 and 1584, Holinshed died. The work did good service to +Shakespeare, who drew from it much of the material for his historical +plays. The first edition, published in 1577, was succeeded in 1587 by +another, in which the "Chronicles" were continued by John Hooker and +others. An edition appeared in 1807, in the foreword to which the +"Chronicles" are described as containing "the most curious and authentic +account of the manners and customs of our island in the reign of Henry +VIII. and Elizabeth "; and being the work of a contemporary observer this +is not too much to claim for it. Owing to the great scope of this work, it +is impossible to convey an impression of the whole, which is best +represented by means of selected examples of the chronicler's method. Being +the work of so many different authors, the literary quality of the +"Chronicles" naturally varies; but the learning and research they show make +them an invaluable aid to the study of the manners and customs of early +England. </p></blockquote> + + +<h4><i>I.--Master Holinshed to his Good Lord and Master, Sir William +Brooke, Knight</i></h4> + + +<p>Being earnestlie required, Right Honorable, of divers my freends, to set +down some breefe discourse of some of those things which I had observed in +the reading of manifold antiquities, I was at first verie loth to yeeld to +their desires. But, they pressing their irksome sute, I condescended to it, +and went in hand with the work, with hopes of good, although no gaie +success. In the process of this Booke, if your Honor regard the substance +of that which is here declared, I must needs confess that it is none of +mine owne; but if your lordship have consideration of the barbarous +composition shewed herein, that I may boldlie claim and challenge for mine +owne. Certes, I protest before God and your Honor, that I never made any +choise of stile, or words, neither regarded to handle this Treatise in such +precise order and method as manie other would have done, thinking it +sufficient, truelie and plainelie to set forth such things as I minded to +intreat of, rather than with vain affectation of eloquence to paint out a +rotten sepulchre, a thing neither commendable in a writer, nor profitable +to the reader. But howsoever it be done, I have had an especial eye unto +the truth of things, and for the rest, I hope that this foule frizeled +Treatise of mine will prove a spur to others better learned to handle the +self-same argument, if in my life-time I doo not peruse it again.</p> + + +<h4><i>II.--Some Account of the Historie of Britaine</i></h4> + + +<p>As few or no nations can justlie boast themselves to have continued +sithence their countrie was first replenished, without anie mixture, more +or lesse, of forreine inhabitant mixture, more or lesse, of forreine +inhabitants; no more can this our Iland, whose manifold commodities have +oft allured sundrie princes and famous capteines of the world to conquer +and subdue the same unto their owne subjection. Manie sorts of people +therefore have come in hither and settled themselves here in this Ile, and +first of all other, a parcell of the lineage and posteritie of Japhet, +brought in by Samothes, in the 1910 after the creation of Adam. Howbeit in +process of time, and after they had indifferentlie replenished and +furnished this Iland with people, Albion, the giant, repaired hither with a +companie of his owne race proceeding from Cham, and not onelie annexed the +same to his owne dominion, but brought all such as he found here of the +line of Japhet, into miserable servitude and most extreame thraldome. After +him also, and within lesse than six hundred and two yeares, came Brute, the +son of Sylvius, with a great train of the posteritie of the dispersed +Trojans in 324 ships; who rendering the like courtesie unto Chemminits as +they had done before unto the seed of Japhet, brought them also wholie +under his rule and governance, and dispossessing them he divided the +countrie among such princes and capteines as he had led out of Grecia with +him.</p> + +<p>Then after some further space of time the Roman Emperours subdued the +land to their dominion; and after the coming of the Romans, it is hard to +say with how manie sorts of people we were dailie pestered. For their +armies did commonlie consist of manie sorts of people, and were (as I may +call them) a confused mixture of all other countries and nations then +living in the world. Howbeit I thinke it best, because they did all beare +the title of Romans, to retaine onelie that name for them all, albeit they +were wofull guests to this our Iland: sith that with them came all kinds of +vice, all riot and excess of behaviour into our countrie, which their +legions brought with them from each corner of their dominions.</p> + +<p>Then did follow the Saxons, and the Danes, and at last the Normans, of +whom it is worthilie doubted whether they were more hard and cruell to our +countrymen than the Danes, or more heavie and intollerable to our Iland +than the Saxons or the Romans. For they were so cruellie bent to our utter +subversion and overthrow, that in the beginning it was lesse reproach to be +accounted a slave than an Englishman, or a drudge in anie filthie businesse +than a Britaine: insomuch that everie French page was superiour to the +greatest Peere; and the losse of an Englishman's life but a pastime to such +of them as contended in their braverie who should give the greatest strokes +or wounds unto their bodies when their toiling and drudgerie could not +please them or satisfie their greedie humours. Yet such was our lot in +those daies by the divine appointed order, that we must needs obey such as +the Lord did set pyer us, and this all because we refused grace offered in +time, and would not heare when God by his preachers did call us so +favourablie unto him.</p> + +<p>By all this then we perceive, how from time to time this Hand hath not +onelie been a prey, but as it were a common receptacle for strangers, the +naturall homelings or Britons being still cut shorter and shorter, till in +the end they came not onelie to be driven into a corner of this region, but +in time also verie like utterlie to have been extinguished. Thus we see how +England hath been manie times subject to the reproach of conquest. And +whereas the Scots seeme to challenge manie famous victories also over us, +it shall suffice for answer, that they deale in this as in the most part of +their historie, which is to seeke great honour by lying, and great renown +by prating and craking. Indeed they have done great mischief in this Hand, +and with extreime crueltie; but as for anie conquest the first is yet to +heare of.</p> + +<p>But beside those conquests aforementioned, Huntingdon, the old +historiographer, speaketh of another, likelie (as he saith) to come one +daie out of the North, which is a wind that bloweth no man to good, sith +nothing is to be had in those parts, but hunger and much cold.</p> + + +<h4><i>III.--Of King Richard, the First, and his Journie to the Holie +Land</i></h4> + + +<p>Richard the First of that name, and second sonne of Henrie the Second, +began his reign over England the sixt day of Julie, in the yere of our Lord +1189. He received the crowne with all due and accustomed sollemnitie, at +the hands of Baldwin, the archbishop of Canterburie, the third daie of +September.</p> + +<p>Upon this daie of King Richard's coronation, the Jewes that dwelt in +London and in other parts of the realme, being there assembled, had but +sorie hap, as it chanced. For they meaning to honour the same coronation +with their presence, and to present to the king some honourable gift, +whereby they might declare themselves glad for his advancement, and procure +his freendship towards them, for the confirming of their privileges and +liberties; he of a zealous mind to Christes religion, abhorring their +nation (and doubting some sorcerie by them to be practised) commanded that +they should not come within the church when he should receive the crowne, +nor within the palace whilest he was at dinner.</p> + +<p>But at dinner-time, among other that pressed in at the palace gate, +diverse of the Jews were about to thrust in, till one of them was striken +by a Christian, who alledging the king's commandment, kept them backe from +comming within the palace. Which some of the unrulie people, perceiving, +and supposing it had been done by the king's commandement, tooke lightlie +occasion thereof, and falling upon the Jewes with staves, bats, and stones, +beat them and chased them home to their houses and lodgings. Then did they +set fire on the houses, and the Jewes within were either smoldred and +burned to death within, or else at their comming forth most cruellie +received upon the points of speares, billes, and swords of their +adversaries that watched for them verie diligentlie. This great riot well +deserved sere and grievous punishment, but yet it passed over without +correction, because of the hatred generallie conceived against the +obstinate frowardnesse of the Jewes. Finallie, after the tumult was ceased, +the king commanded that no man should hurt or harm any of the Jewes, and so +they were restored to peace after they had susteined infinit damage.</p> + +<p>No great while after this his coronation, the king sought to prepare +himself to journey to the holie land, and to this end he had great need of +money. Therefore he made such sale of things appertaining to him, as well +in right of the crowne, as otherwise, that it seemed to divers that he made +his reckoning never to return agan, in so much that some of his councillors +told him plainelie, that he did not well in making things awaie so freelie; +unto whom he answered "that in time of need it was no evill policie for a +man to help himself with his owne." and further, "that if London at that +time of need would be bought, he would surelie sell it, if he might meet +with a convenient merchant that were able to give him monie enough for +it."</p> + +<p>Then all things being readie, King Richard set forth, and, after great +hindrance by tempests, and at the hands of the men of Cyprus, who warred +against him and were overcome, he came to the citie of Acres, which then +was besieged by the Christian armie. Such was the valiancie of King Richard +shown in manfull constraining of the citie, that his praise was greatly +bruted both amongst the Christians and also the Saracens.</p> + +<p>At last, on the twelfth date of Julie, in the yeare of grace 1192, the +citie of Acres was surrendered into the Christian men's hands. These things +being concluded, the French King Philip, upon envie and malice conceived +against King Richard (although he pretended sickness for excuse) departed +homewards. Now touching this departure, divers occasions are remembered by +writers of the emulation and secret spite which he should bear towards King +Richard. But, howsoever, it came to passe, partlie through envie (as hath +beene thought) conceived at the great deeds of King Richard, whose mightie +power and valiantnesse he could not well abide, and partlie for other +respects him moving, he took the sea with three gallies of the Genevois, +and returned into Italie, and so home into France, having promised first +unto King Richard in the holie land, and after to pope Celestine at Rome, +that he would not attempt any hurtfull enterprise against the English +dominions, till King Richard should be returned out of the holie land. But +this promise was not kept, for he sought to procure Earle John, King +Richard's brother, to rebell against him, though he then sought it in +vaine.</p> + +<p>Yet were matters nowise peacefull within the realme of England, and +because of this, and likewise because the froward humours of the French so +greatlie hindered him in warring against the Saracens, King Richard +determined fullie to depart homewards, and at last there was a peace +concluded with Saladin. But on his journie homewards the King had but sorie +hap, for he made shipwracke on the coast of Istria, and then fell into +captivitie; and this was the manner that it came to passe.</p> + + +<h4><i>IV.--Of King Richard's Captivitie</i></h4> + + +<p>King Richard, doubting to fall into the hands of those who might bear +him ill-will, made the best shift he could to passe through quietlie, yet +were many of his servants made captive, and he himself came with but three +men to Vienna. There causing his servants to provide meat for him more +sumptuous and fine than was thought requisite for so meane a person as he +counterfeited then, he was straightway remarked, and some gave knowledge to +the Duke of Austrich named Leopold, who loved him not for some matter that +had passed in the holie land. Moreover, his page, going about the towne to +change gold, and buy vittels, bewraied him, having by chance the King's +gloves under his girdle: whereupon, being examined, for fear of tortures he +confessed the truth.</p> + +<p>The Duke sent men to apprehend him, but he, being warie that he was +descried, got him to his weapon; but they alledging the Duke's +commandement, he boldly answered, "that sith he must be taken, he being a +King, would yeeld himselfe to none of the companie but to the Duke alone." +The Duke hearing of this, speedilie came unto him, whom he meeting, +delivered up his sword, and committed him unto his custodie. Then was he +brought before the princes and lords of the empire, in whose presence the +emperour charged him with diverse unlawfull doings. King Richard +notwithstanding the vaine and frivolous objections laid to his charge, made +his answers always so pithilie and directlie to all that could be laid +against him, and excused himself e in everie point so thoroughlie, that the +emperour much marvelled at his high wisdom and prudence, and not onelie +greatlie commended him for the same, but from thenceforth used him more +courteously. Yet did King Richard perceive that no excuses would serve, but +that he must paie to his covetous host some great summe of monie for his +hard entertainment. Therefore he sent the bishop of Salisburie into England +to provide for the paiment of his ransome.</p> + +<p>Finallie the King, after he had beene prisoner one yeare, six weekes, +and three daies, was set at libertie on Candle-mass day, and then with long +and hastie journies, not keeping the high waies, he hasted forth towards +England. It is reported that if he had lingered by the way, he had beene +eftsoones apprehended. For the emperour being incensed against him by +ambassadors that came from the French king, immediatlie after he was set +forward, began to repent himselfe in that he had suffered him so soon to +depart from him, and hereupon sent men after him with all speed to bring +him backe if they could by any means overtake him, meaning as then to have +kept him in perpetual prison. But these his knavish tricks being in the +good providence of God defeated, King Richard at length in good safetie +landed at Sandwich, and the morrow after came to Canterburie, where he was +received with procession. From thence he came unto London, where he was +received with great joy and gladnesse of the people, giving heartie thanks +to almightie God for his safe return and deliverance.</p> + +<p>The same yeare that King Richard was taken by the Duke of Austrich, one +night in the month of Januarie about the first watch of the night, the +northwest side of the element appeared of such a ruddie colour as though it +had burned, without any clouds or other darknesse to cover it, so that the +stars showed through that redness and might be verie well discerned. +Diverse bright strakes appeared to flash upwards now and then, dividing the +rednesse, through the which the stars seemed to be of a bright sanguine +colour.</p> + +<p>In Februarie next insuing, one night after midnight the like wonder was +seene and shortlie after newes came that the king was taken in Almaigne. +And the same daie and selfe houre that the king arrived at Sandwich, +whitest the sunne shone verie bright and cleare, there appeared a most +brightsome and unaccustomed clearnesse, not farre distant from the sunne, +as it were to the length and breadth of a man's personage, having a red +shining brightnesse withall, like to the rainbow, which strange sight when +manie beheld, there were that prognosticated the king alreadie to be +arrived.</p> + + +<h4><i>V.--Of Good Queen Elisabeth, and How She Came into Her +Kingdom</i></h4> + + +<p>After all the stormie, tempestuous, and blustering windie weather of +Queene Marie was overblowne, the darksome clouds of discomfort dispersed, +the palpable fogs and mists of most intollerable miserie consumed, and the +dashing showers of persecution overpast, it pleased God to send England a +calm and quiet season, a cleare and lovelie sunshine, and a world of +blessings by good Queene Elisabeth, into whose gracious reign we are now to +make an happie entrance as followeth.</p> + +<p>On her entering the citie of London, she was received of the people with +prayers, wishes, welcomings, cries, and tender words, all which argued a +wonderfull earnest love of most obedient subjects towards their sovereign. +And on the other side, her grace, by holding up her hands, and merrie +countenance to such as stood farre off, and most tender and gentle language +to those that stood nigh unto her grace, did declare herselfe no lesse +thankfullie to receive her people's good will, than they lovinglie offered +it to her. And it was not onelie to those her subjects who were of noble +birth that she showed herself thus verie gracious, but also to the poorest +sort. How manie nose gaies did her grace receive at poore women's hands? +How oftentimes staid she her chariot, when she saw anie simple bodie offer +to speake to her grace? A branch of rosemarie given her grace with a +supplication about Fleetbridge, was seene in her chariot till her grace +came to Westminster, not without the marvellous wondering of such as knew +the presenter, and noted the queene's most gracious receiving and keeping +the same. Therefore may the poore and needie looke for great hope at her +grace's hand, who hath shown so loving a carefulnesse for them.</p> + +<p>Moreover, because princes be set in their seat by God's appointing, and +they must therefore first and chieflie tender the glorie of Him from whom +their glorie issueth; it is to be noted in her grace that for so much as +God hath so wonderfullie placed her in the seat of government of this +realme, she in all her doings doth show herselfe most mindful of His +goodness and mercie shewed unto her. And one notable signe thereof her +grace gave at the verie time of her passage through London, for in the +Tower, before she entered her chariot, she lifted up her eies to Heaven and +saith as followeth:</p> + +<p>"O Lord Almightie and everlasting God, I give Thee most heartie thanks +that Thou hast beene so mercifull unto me as to spare me to behold this joy +full daie. And I acknowledge that Thou hast dealt as wonderfullie and as +mercifullie with me as Thou diddest with Thy true and faithfull servant +Daniell Thy prophet, whom Thou deliveredst out of the den from the crueltie +of the greedie and raging lions; even so was I overwhelmed, and onlie by +Thee delivered. To Thee, therefore, onlie be thankes, honor, and praise, +for ever. Amen."</p> + +<p>On Sundaie, the five and twentieth daie of Januarie, her majestie was +with great solemnitie crowned at Westminster, in the Abbey church there, by +doctor Oglethorpe bishop of Carlisle. She dined in Westminster hall, which +was richlie hung, and everything ordered in such royall manner, as to such +a regall and most solemn feast appertained. In the meane time, whilst her +grace sat at dinner, Sir Edward Dimmocke, knight, her champion by office, +came riding into the hall in faire complete armour, mounted upon a +beautifull courser, richlie trapped in cloth of gold, and in the midst of +the hall cast downe his gauntlet, with offer to fight in her quarell with +anie man that should denie her to be the righteous and lawfull queene of +this realme. The queene, taking a cup of gold full of wine, dranke to him +thereof, and sent it to him for his fee. Finallie, this feast being +celebrated with all due and fitting royall ceremonies, tooke end with great +joy and contentation to all the beholders.</p> + +<p>Yet, though there was thus an end of the ceremonies befitting the +queene's coronation, her majesty was everywhere received with brave shows, +and with pageants, all for the love and respect that her subjects bare her. +Thus on Whitsundaie, in the first year of her reign, the citizens of London +set forth a muster before the queene's majestie at Greenwich in the parke +there, of the number of 1,400 men, whereof 800 were pikes, armed in fine +corselets, 400 shot in shirts of mail, and 200 halberdiers armed in Almaine +rivets; these were furnished forth by the crafts and companies of the +citie. To everie hundred two wifflers were assigned, richlie appointed and +apparelled for the purpose. There were also twelve wardens of the best +companies mounted on horsebacke in coates of blacke velvet, to conduct +them, with drums and fifes, and sixe ensigne all in lerkins of white sattin +of Bridges, cut and lined with black sarsenet, and caps, hosen, and scarfs +according. The sergeant-majors, captaine Constable, and captaine Sanders, +brought them in order before the queene's presence, placing them in battell +arraie, even as they should have fought; so the shew was verie faire, the +emperour's and the French king's ammbassadors being present.</p> + +<p>Verilie the queene hath ever shown herself forward and most willing that +her faithfull subjects should be readie and skilfull in war as in peace. +Thus in the fourteenth yeare of her reign, by order of her council, the +citizens of London, assembling in their several halles, the masters chose +out the most likelie and active persons of their companies to be pikemen +and shot. To these were appointed diverse valiant captaines, who to train +them up in warlike feats, mustered them thrice everie weeke, sometimes in +the artillerie yard, teaching the gunners to handle their pieces, sometimes +at the Miles end, and in saint George's field, teaching them to +skirmish.</p> + +<p>In the arts of peace likewise, she is greatlie pleased with them who are +good craftsmen, and shews them favour. In government we have peace and +securitie, and do not greatlie fear those who may stir up wicked rebellion +within our land, or may come against us from beyond the sea.</p> + +<p>In brief, they of Norwich did say well, when the queene's majestie came +thither, and in a pageant in her honour, one spake these words:</p> + +<blockquote> +"Dost them not see the joie of all this flocke?<br /> + Vouchsafe to view their passing gladsome cheere,<br +/> +Be still (good queene) their refuge and their rocke,<br /> + As they are thine to serve in love and feare;<br /> +So fraud, nor force, nor forreine foe may stand<br /> + Against the strength of thy most puissant hand."<br +/> +</blockquote> + +<hr /> + + + + +<h2><a name='EDWARD_A_FREEMAN'></a>EDWARD A. FREEMAN</h2> + + +<h3><a name='The_Norman_Conquest_of_England'></a>The Norman Conquest of +England</h3> + + +<blockquote><p> Edward Augustus Freeman was born at Harborne, +Staffordshire, England, Aug. 2, 1823. His precocity as a child was +remarkable; at seven he read English and Roman history, and at eleven he +had acquired a knowledge of Greek and Latin, and had taught himself the +rudiments of Hebrew. An increase in fortune in 1848 enabled him to settle +down and devote himself to historical research, and from that time until +his death on March 17, 1892, his life was one spell of literary +strenuousness. His first published work, other than a share in two volumes +of verse, was "A History of Architecture," which appeared in 1849. +Freeman's reputation as historian rests principally on his monumental +"History of the Norman Conquest." It was published in fifteen volumes +between 1867 and 1876, and, in common with all his works, is distinguished +by critical ability, exhaustiveness of research, and an extraordinary +degree of insight. His historical scenes are remarkably clear and vivid, as +though, according to one critic "he had actually lived in the times." +</p></blockquote> + + +<h4><i>Preliminary Events</i></h4> + + +<p>The Norman Conquest is important, not as the beginning of English +history, but as its chief turning point. Its whole importance is that which +belongs to a turning point. This conquest is an event which stands by +itself in the history of Europe. It took place at a transitional period in +the world's development. A kingdom which had hitherto been only Teutonic, +was brought within the sphere of the laws, manners, and speech of the +Romance nations.</p> + +<p>At the very moment when Pope and Cæsar held each other in the +death grasp, a church which had hitherto maintained a sort of insular and +barbaric independence was brought into a far more intimate connection with +the Roman See. The conquest of England by William wrought less immediate +change than when the first English conquerors slew, expelled, or enslaved +the whole nation of the vanquished Britons or than when Africa was subdued +by Genseric. But it wrought a greater immediate change than the conquest of +Sicily by Charles of Anjou. It brought with it not only a new dynasty, but +a new nobility. It did not expel or transplant the English nation or any +part of it; but it gradually deprived the leading men and families of +England of their land and offices, and thrust them down into a secondary +position under the alien intruders.</p> + +<p>It must not be forgotten that the old English constitution survived the +Norman Conquest. What the constitution had been under the Saxon Eadgar, +that it remained under William. The laws, with a few changes in detail, and +also the language of the public documents, remained the same. The powers +vested in King William and his Witan remained constitutionally the same as +those which had been vested in King Eadgar and his Witan a hundred years +before. Immense changes ensued in social condition and administration, and +in the relation of the kingdom to foreign lands. There was also a vast +increase of royal power, and new relations were introduced between the king +and every class of his subjects; but formal constitutional changes there +were none.</p> + +<p>I cannot too often repeat, for the saying is the very summing up of the +whole history, that the Norman Conquest was not the wiping out of the +constitution, the laws, the language, the national life of Englishmen. The +English kingship gradually changed from the old Teutonic to the later +mediæval type; but the change began before the Norman Conquest. It +was hastened by that event; it was not completed till long after it, and +the gradual transition, was brought to perfection by Henry II.</p> + +<p>Certain events indicate the remoter causes of the Norman Conquest. The +accession of Eadward at once brings us among the events that led +immediately to that conquest, or rather we may look on the accession of +this Saxon king as the first stage of the conquest itself. Swend and Cnut, +the Danes, had shown that it was possible for a foreign power to overcome +England by force of arms.</p> + +<p>The misgovernment of the sons of Cnut hindered the formation of a +lasting Danish dynasty in England. The throne of Cerdic was again filled by +a son of Woden; but there can be no doubt that the shock given to the +country by the Danish Conquest, especially the way in which the ancient +nobility was cut off in the long struggle with Swend and Cnut, directly +opened the way for the coming of the Norman. Eadward did his best, +wittingly or unwillingly, to make his path still easier. This he did by +accustoming Englishmen to the sight of strangers--not national kinsmen like +Cnut's Danes, but Frenchmen, men of utterly alien speech and +manners--enjoying every available place of honour or profit in the +country.</p> + +<p>The great national reaction under Godwine and Harold made England once +more England for a few years. But this change, happy as it was, could not +altogether do away with the effects of the French predilections of Eadward. +With Eadward, then, the Norman Conquest really begins. The men of the +generation before the Conquest, the men whose eyes were not to behold the +event itself, but who were to do all that they could do to advance or +retard it, are now in the full maturity of life, in the full possession of +power.</p> + +<p>Eadward is on the throne of England; Godwine, Leofric, and Siward divide +among them the administration of the realm. The next generation, the +warriors of Stamfordbridge and Senlac, of York and Ely, are fast growing +into maturity. Harold Hadrada is already pursuing his wild career of +night-errantry in distant lands, and is astonishing the world by his +exploits in Russia and Sicily, at Constantinople and at Jerusalem.</p> + +<p>The younger warriors of the Conquest, Eadwine and Morcere and Waltheof +and Hereward, were probably born, but they must still have been in their +cradles or in their mothers' arms. But, among the leaders of Church and +State, Ealdred, who lived to place the crown on the head both of Harold and +of William, is already a great prelate, abbot of the great house of +Tewkesbury, soon to succeed Lyfing in the chair of Worcester.</p> + +<p>Tostig must have been on the verge of manhood; Swegen and Harold were +already men, bold and vigorous, ready to march at their father's bidding, +and before long to affect the destiny of their country for evil and for +good. Beyond the sea, William, still a boy in years but a man in conduct +and counsel, is holding his own among the storms of a troubled minority, +and learning those arts of the statesman and the warrior which fitted him +to become the wisest ruler of Normandy, the last and greatest conqueror of +England.</p> + +<p>The actors in the great drama are ready for their parts; the ground is +gradually preparing for the scene of their performance. The great struggle +of nations and tongues and principles in which each of them had his share, +the struggle in which William of Normandy and Harold of England stand forth +as worthy rivals of the noblest of prizes, will form the subject of the +next, the chief and central portion of my history.</p> + +<p>The struggle between Normans and Englishmen began with the accession of +Eadward in 1042, although the actual subjugation of England by force of +arms was still twenty-four years distant. The thought of another Danish +king was now hateful. "All folk chose Eadward to King." As the son of +Æthelred and Emma, the brother of the murdered and half-canonised +Alfred, he had long been-familiar to English imaginations. Eadward, and +Eadward alone, stood forth as the heir of English royalty, the +representative of English nationality. In his behalf the popular voice +spoke out at once, and unmistakably. His popular election took place in +June, immediately on the death of Harthacnut, and even before his burial. +Eadward, then, was king, and he reigned as every English king before him +had reigned, by that union of popular election and royal descent which +formed the essence of all ancient Teutonic kingship. He was crowned at +Winchester, April 3, 1043. But by virtue of his peculiar character, his +natural place was not on the throne of England, but at the head of a Norman +abbey, for all his best qualities were those of a monk. Like him father, he +was constantly under the dominion of favourites.</p> + +<p>It was to the evil choice of his favourites during the early part of his +reign that most of the misfortunes of his time were owing, and that a still +more direct path was opened for the ambition of his Norman kinsman. In the +latter part of his reign, either by happy accident or returning good sense, +led him to a better choice. Without a guide he could not reign, but the +good fortune of his later years gave him the wisest and noblest of all +guides.</p> + +<p>We have now reached the first appearance of the illustrious man round +whom the main interest of this history will henceforth centre. The second +son of Godwine lived to be the last of our kings, the hero and martyr of +our native freedom. The few recorded actions of Harold, Earl of the East +Angles, could hardly have enabled me to look forward to the glorious career +of Harold, Earl of the West Saxons, King of the English.</p> + +<p>Tall in stature, beautiful in countenance, of a bodily strength whose +memory still lives in the rude pictorial art of his time, he was foremost +alike in the active courage and in the passive endurance of the warrior. It +is plain that in him, no less than in his more successful, and, therefore, +more famous, rival, we have to admire not only the mere animal courage, but +that true skill of the leader of armies which would have placed both Harold +and William high among the captains of any age.</p> + +<p>Great as Harold was in war, his character as a civil ruler is still more +remarkable, still more worthy of admiration. The most prominent feature in +his character is his singular gentleness and mercy. Never, either in +warfare or in civil strife, do we find Harold bearing hardly upon an enemy. +From the time of his advancement to the practical government of the kingdom +there is not a single harsh or cruel action with which he can be +charged.</p> + +<p>Such was the man who, seemingly in the fourth year of Eadward, in the +twenty-fourth of his own age, was invested with the rule of one of the +great divisions of England, who, seven years later, became the virtual +ruler of the kingdom; who, at last, twenty-one years from his first +elevation, received, alone among English kings, the crown of England as the +free gift of her people, and, alone among English kings, died axe in hand +on her soil in the defence of England against foreign invaders.</p> + +<p>William of Normandy bears a name which must for ever stand forth among +the foremost of mankind. No man that ever trod this earth was endowed with +greater natural gifts; to no man was it ever granted to accomplish greater +things. No man ever did his work more effectually at the moment; no man +ever left his work behind him as more truly an abiding possession for all +time. In his character one feature stands out pre-eminently above all +others. Throughout his career we admire in him the embodiment in the +highest degree that human nature will allow of the fixed purpose and the +unbending will.</p> + +<p>We are too apt to look upon William as simply the conqueror of England. +But so to do is to look at him only in his most splendid, but at the same +time his least honourable, aspect. William learned to become the conqueror +of England only by first becoming the conqueror of Normandy and the +conqueror of France. He found means to conquer Normandy by the help of +France, and to conquer France by the help of Normandy. He came to his duchy +under every disadvantage. At once bastard and minor, with competitors for +his coronet arising at every moment, he was throughout the whole of his +early life beset by troubles, none of which were of his own making, and he +came honourably out of all.</p> + +<p>In 1052, William paid his memorable visit to England. At that time both +Normandy and England were at rest, enjoying peace. Visits of mere +friendship and courtesy among sovereign princes were rare in those days. +Such visits as those which William and Eustace of Boulogne paid at this +time to this country were altogether novelties, and unlikely to be +acceptable to the English mind. We may be sure that every patriotic +Englishman looked with an evil eye on any French-speaking prince who made +his way to the English court.</p> + +<p>William came with a great following; he tarried awhile in his cousin's +company; he went away loaded with gifts and honours. And he can hardly +doubt that he went away encouraged by some kind of promise of succeeding to +the kingdom which he now visited as a stranger. Direct heirs were lacking +to the royal house, and William was Eadward's kinsman. The moment was in +every way favourable for suggesting to William on the one hand, to Eadward +on the other, the idea of an arrangement by which William should succeed to +the English crown on Eadward's death. The Norman writers are full of +Eadward's promise to William, and also of some kind of oath that Harold +swore to him. Had either the promise or the oath been a pure Norman +invention, William could never have paraded both in the way that he did in +the eyes of Europe. I admit, then, some promise of Eadward, some oath of +Harold. But when the time came for Eadward the Confessor to make his final +recommendation of a successor, he certainly changed his purpose; for his +last will, so far as such an expression can be used, was undoubtedly in +favour of Harold.</p> + +<p>There is not the slightest sign of any intention on the part of Eadward +during his later years to nominate William to the Witan as future king. The +two streams of English and Norman history were joined together in the year +when the two sovereigns met for the only time in their reigns. Those +streams again diverged. England shook off the Norman influence to all +outward appearance, and became once more the England of Æthelstan and +Eadgar. But the effects of Eadgar's Norman tendencies were by no means +wholly wiped away. Normans still remained in the land, and circumstances +constituted secondary causes of the expedition of William.</p> + +<p>It was in the year 1051 that the influence of strangers reached its +height. During the first nine years of Eadward's reign we find no signs of +any open warfare between the national and the Normanising parties. The +course of events shows that Godwine's power was being practically +undermined, but the great earl was still Jutwardly in the enjoyment of +royal favour, and his fast possessions were still being added to by royal +grants. But soon England began to feel how great is the evil when a king +and those immediately around him are estranged from the mass of his people +in feeling.</p> + +<p>To the French favourites who gradually crowded the court of Eadward the +name, the speech, and the laws of England were things on which their +ignorant pride looked with utter contempt.</p> + +<p>Count Eustace of Boulogne, now brother-in-law of the king of the +English, presently came, like the rest of the world, to the English Court. +The king was spending the autumn at Gloucester. Thither came Count Eustace, +and, after his satisfactory interview with the king, he turned his face +homewards. When a few miles from Dover he felt himself, in a region +specially devoted to Godwine, to be still more thoroughly in an enemy's +country than in other parts of England, and he and all his company took the +precaution of putting on their coats of mail.</p> + +<p>The proud Frenchmen expected to find free quarters at Dover, and they +attempted to lodge themselves at their pleasure in the houses of the +burghers. One Englishman resisted, and was struck dead on the spot. The +count's party then rode through the town, cutting and slaying at pleasure. +In a skirmish which quickly ensued twenty Englishmen and nineteen Frenchmen +were slain.</p> + +<p>Count Eustace and the remnant of the party hastened back to Gloucester, +and told the story after their own fashion. On the mere accusation of a +stranger, the English king condemned his own subjects without a hearing. He +sent for Godwine, as earl of the district in which lay the offending town, +and commanded him to inflict chastisement on Dover. The English champion +was then in the midst of a domestic rejoicing. He had, like the king, been +strengthening himself by a foreign alliance, and had just connected his +house with that of a foreign prince. Tostig, the third son of Godwine, had +just married Judith, the daughter of Baldwin of Flanders.</p> + +<p>Godwine, however, bidden without the least legal proof of offence, to +visit with all the horrors of fire and sword, was not long in choosing his +course. Official duty and public policy, no less than abstract justice and +humanity, dictated a distinct refusal. Now or never a stand was to be made +against strangers, and the earl demanded a legal trial for the burghers of +Dover.</p> + +<p>But there were influences about Eadward which cut off all hope of a +peaceful settlement of the matter. Eustace probably still lingered about +the king, and there was another voice ever at the royal ear, ever ready to +poison the royal mind against the people of England and their leader. It +was the voice of a foreign monk, Archbishop Robert. Godwine and three other +earls summoned their followers and demanded the surrender of Eustace, but +the frightened king sent for the Northern Earls Siward, Leofric, and Ralph, +bidding them bring a force strong enough to keep Godwine in check. Thus the +northern and southern sections were arrayed against each other.</p> + +<p>There were, however, on the king's side, men who were not willing to see +the country involved in civil war. Leofric, the good Earl of Mercia, stood +forth as the champion of compromise and peace, and it was agreed that +hostilities should be avoided and that the witenagemot should assemble at +Michaelmas in London.</p> + +<p>Of this truce King Eadward and his foreign advisers took advantage to +collect an army, at the head of which they appeared in London. Godwine and +his son Harold were summoned to the gemot, but refused to appear without a +security for a safe conduct. The hostages and safe-conduct were refused. +The refusal was announced by Bishop Stigand to the earl as he sat at his +evening meal. The bishop wept; the earl sprang to his feet, overthrew the +table, leaped on his horse, and, with his sons, rode for his life all that +night. In the morning the king held his witenagemot, and by a vote of the +king and his whole army, Godwine and his sons were declared outlaws, but +five days were allowed them to get out of the land. Godwine, Swegen, +Tostig, and Gyrth, together with Gytha and Judith, the newly-married wife +of Tostig, set sail for Bruges in a ship laden with as much treasure as it +would hold. They reached the court of Flanders in safety, were honourably +received by the count, and passed the whole winter with him.</p> + +<p>Two of Godwine's sons, however, sought another refuge. Harold and his +younger brother Leofwine determined on resistance, and resolved to seek +shelter among the Danish settlers in Ireland, where they were cordially +received by King Diarmid. For the moment the overthrow of the patriotic +leaders in England was complete, and the dominion of the foreigners over +the feeble mind of the king was complete. It was while Godwine dwelt as an +exile at Bruges, and Harold was planning schemes of vengeance in the +friendly court of Dublin, that William the Bastard, afterwards known as +William the Conqueror, paid his memorable visit to England, that visit +which has already been referred to as a stage, and a most important one, +among the immediate causes of the Norman Conquest.</p> + +<p>Stirring events followed in quick succession. General regret was felt +among all patriotic Englishmen at the absence of Godwine. The common voice +of England soon began to call for the return of the banished earl, who was +looked to by all men as the father of his country. England now knew that in +his fall a fatal blow had been dealt to her own welfare and freedom. And +Godwine, after sending many petitions to the king, vainly petitioning for a +reconciliation, determined to return by force, satisfied that the great +majority of Englishmen would be less likely to resist him than to join his +banners.</p> + +<p>Harold sailed from Ireland to meet his father by way of the English +Channel. Godwine sailed up the Thames, and London declared for him. Panic +reigned among the favourites of King Eadward. The foreigners took to +flight, among the fugitives being Archbishop Robert and Bishop Ulf. The +gemot met and decreed the restoration of the earl and the outlawry of many +Normans. The king yielded, and accorded to Godwine the kiss of peace, and a +revolution was accomplished of which England may well be proud.</p> + +<p>But a tragedy soon followed, in the death of the most renowned +Englishman of that generation. During a meal at the Easter festival Godwine +fell from his seat, and died after lying insensible for three days. Great +was the grief of the nation. Harold, in the years that followed, became so +increasingly popular that he was virtually chief ruler of England, even +before the death of Eadward, which happened on January 5, 1066. His burial +was followed by the coronation of Harold. But the moment of struggle was +now come. The English throne had become vacant, and the Norman duke knew +how to represent himself as its lawful heir, and to brand the king of the +nation's choice as an usurper. The days of debate were past, and the sword +alone could decide between England and her enemy.</p> + +<p>William found one Englishman willing to help him in all his schemes, in +the person of Tostig, Harold's brother, who had been outlawed at the demand +of the nation, owing to his unfitness to rule his province as Earl of +Northumberland. He had sunk from bad to worse. Harold had done all he could +for his fallen brother, but to restore him was impossible. Tostig was at +the Norman court, urging William to the invasion of England. At his own +risk, he was allowed to make an incursion on the English coast. Entering +the Humber, he burned several towns and slew many men. But after these +ravages Tostig repaired to ask help of Harold Hardrada, whom he induced to +prepare a great expedition.</p> + +<p>Harold Hardrada and Tostig landed and marched towards York. A battle was +fought between the Mercians and Norwegians at Fulford, in which the former +were worsted, but Harold was marching northward. In the fearful battle of +Stamford Bridge both Harold Hardrada and Tostig were slain, and the Viking +host was shattered. The victorious English king was banqueting in +celebration of the great victory, when a messenger appeared who had come at +fleetest pace from the distant coast of Sussex.</p> + +<p>One blow had been warded off, but another still more terrible had +fallen. Three days after the fight at Stamford Bridge, William, Duke of the +Normans, once the peaceful guest of Edward, had again, but in quite another +guise, made good his landing on the shores of England. It was in August +1066 that the Norman fleet had set sail on its great enterprise. For +several weeks a south wind had been waited for at the mouth of the River +Dive, prayers and sacred rites of every kind being employed to move Heaven +to send the propitious breeze. On September 28 the landing was effected at +Pevensey, the ancient Anderida. There were neither, ships nor men to resist +the landing. The first armed man who set foot on English ground was Duke +William himself, whose foot slipped, so that he fell with both hands on the +ground.</p> + +<p>A loud cry of grief was raised at the evil omen. But the ready wit of +William failed him not. "By the splendour of God," he cried, "I have taken +seizin of my kingdom; the earth of England is in my hands." The whole army +landed in order, but only one day was spent at Pevensey. On the next day +the army marched on eastward and came to Hastings, which was fixed on as +the centre of the operations of the whole campaign.</p> + +<p>It was a hard lot for the English king to be compelled to hasten +southward to dislodge the new enemy, after scarcely a moment's rest from +the toils and glories of Stamford Bridge. But the heart of Harold failed +him not, and the heart of England beat in unison with the heart of her +king. As soon as the news came, King Harold held a council of the leaders +of Stamford Bridge, or perhaps an armed gemot. He told them of the landing +of the enemy; he set before them the horrors which would come upon the land +if the invader succeeded in his enterprise. A loud shout of assent rose +from the whole assembly. Every man pledged his faith rather to die in arms +than to acknowledge any king but Harold.</p> + +<p>The king thanked his loyal followers, and at once ordered an immediate +march to the south, an immediate muster of the forces of his kingdom. +London was the trysting-place. He himself pressed on at once with his +immediate following. And throughout the land awoke a spirit in every +English heart which has never died out to this day. The men from various +shires flocked eagerly to the standard of their glorious king. Harold seems +to have reached London on October 5, about ten days after the fight at +Stamford Bridge, and a week after the Norman landing at Pevensey. Though +his royal home was now at Westminster, he went, in order to seek divine +help and succour, to pray at Waltham, the home of his earlier days, +devoting one day to a pilgrimage to the Holy Cross which gave England her +war-cry.</p> + +<p>Harold and William were now both eager for the battle. The king set out +from London on October 12. His consummate generalship is nowhere more +plainly shown than in this memorable campaign. He formed his own plan, and +he carried it out. He determined to give battle, but only on his own +ground, and after his own fashion. The nature of the post shows that his +real plan was to occupy a position where the Normans would have to attack +him at a great disadvantage.</p> + +<p>William constrained Harold to fight, but Harold, in his turn, +constrained William to fight on ground of Harold's own choosing. The latter +halted at a point distant about seven miles from the headquarters of the +invaders, and pitched his camp upon the ever-memorable heights of Senlac. +It was his policy not to attack. He occupied and fortified a post of great +natural strength, which he speedily made into what is distinctly spoken of +as a castle.</p> + +<p>The hill of Senlac, now occupied by the abbey and town of Battle, +commemorates in its later name the great event of which it was the +scene.</p> + +<p>The morning of the decisive day, Saturday, October 14, at last had come. +The duke of the Normans heard mass, and received the communion in both +kinds, and drew forth his troops for their march against the English post. +Then in full armour, and seated on his noble Spanish war-horse, William led +his host forth in three divisions. The Normans from the hill of Telham +first caught sight of the English encamped on the opposite height of +Senlac.</p> + +<p>First in each of the three Norman divisions marched the archers, +slingers, and cross-bow men, then the more heavily-armed infantry, lastly +the horsemen. The reason of this arrangement is clear. The light-armed were +to do what they could with their missiles to annoy the English; the heavy +infantry were to strive to break down the palisades of the English camp, +and so to make ready the way for the charge of the horse.</p> + +<p>Like the Normans, the English had risen early. The king, after exhorting +his troops to stand firm, rode to the royal post; he there dismounted, took +his place on foot, and prayed to God for help. The battle began at nine in +the morning--one of the sacred hours of the church. The trumpet sounded, +and a flight of arrows from all three Norman divisions--right, centre, and +left,--was the prelude to the onslaught of the heavy-armed foot. The real +struggle now began. The French infantry had to toil up the hill, and to +break down the palisade, while a shower of stones and javelins disordered +their approach, and while club, sword and axe greeted all who came within +the reach of hand-strokes.</p> + +<p>Both sides fought with unyielding valour. The war-cries rose on either +side. The Normans shouted "God help us!" the English called on the "Holy +Cross." The Norman infantry had soon done its best, but that best had been +in vain. The choicest chivalry of Europe now pressed on to the attack. The +knights of Normandy and of all lands from which men had flocked to +William's standard, now pressed on, striving to make what impression they +could with the whole strength of themselves and their horses on the +impenetrable fortress of timber, shields, and living warriors.</p> + +<p>But all was in vain. The English had thus far stood their ground well +and wisely, and the tactics of Harold had so far completely answered. Not +only had every attack failed, but the great mass of the French army +altogether lost heart. The Bretons and the other auxiliaries on the left +were the first to give way. Horse and foot alike, they turned and fled. The +whole of William's left wing was thrown into utter confusion.</p> + +<p>The strong heart of William, however, failed him not, and by his single +prowess and presence of mind he recalled the fleeing troops. Order was soon +restored, and the Norman host pressed on to a second and more terrible +attack. The duke himself, his relics round his neck, sought out Harold. A +few moments more, and the two might have come face to face, but Gyrth, the +noble brother of the English king, hurled a spear at William. The missile +narrowly missed the duke, but slew the Spanish steed, the first of three +that died under him that day. But William could not fight on foot as well +as on horseback. He rose to his feet, pressed straight to seek the man who +had so nearly slain him, and the earl fell, crushed beneath the blow of +William's mace. Nor did he fall alone, for his brother, Earl Leofwine, was +smitten to the earth by an unknown assailant.</p> + +<p>The second attack, however, failed, for the English lines were as +unyielding as ever. Direct attack was unavailing. In the Norman character +fox and lion were equally blended, as William now showed. He ventured on +the daring stratagem of ordering a pretended flight, and the unwary English +rushed down the slope, pursuing the fugitive with shouts of delight. The +error was fatal to England. The tide was turned; the duke's object was now +gained; and the main end of Harold's skilful tactics was frustrated. The +English were no longer entrenched, and the battle fell into a series of +single combats. As twilight was coming on an arrow, falling like a bolt +from heaven, pierced Harold's right eye, and he sank in agony at the foot +of the standard. Round that standard the fight still raged, till the +highest nobility, the most valiant soldiery of England were slaughtered to +a man.</p> + +<p>Had Harold lived, had another like him been ready to take his place, we +may well doubt whether, even after Senlac, England would have been +conquered at all. As it was, from this moment her complete conquest was +only a matter of time. From that day forward the Normans began to work the +will of God upon the folk of England, till there were left in England no +chiefs of the land of English blood, till all were brought down to bondage +and sorrow, till it was a shame to be called an Englishman, and the men of +England were no more a people.</p> + +<hr /> + + + + +<h2><a name='JAMES_ANTHONY_FROUDE'></a>JAMES ANTHONY FROUDE</h2> + + +<h3><a name='History_of_England'></a>History of England</h3> + + +<blockquote><p> James Anthony Froude was born at Darlington, England, April +23, 1818, and died on Oct. 20, 1894. He was educated at Westminster, and +Oriel College, Oxford. Taking Holy Orders, he was, for a time, deeply +influenced by Newman and the Tractarian movement, but soon underwent the +radical revolution of thought revealed by his first treatise, the "Nemesis +of Faith," which appeared in 1849, and created a sensation. Its tendency to +skepticism cost him his fellowship, but its profound pathos, its accent of +tenderness, and its fervour excited wide admiration. Permanent fame was +secured by the appearance, in 1856, of the first two instalments of his +magnificent work, "The History of England, from the Fall of Wolsey to the +Defeat of the Armada," the last volume appearing in 1870. This treatise on +the middle Tudor period is one of the most fascinating historical treatises +in the whole range of literature. It is written in a vivid and graphic +prose, and with rare command of the art of picturesque description. Froude +never accepted the doctrine that history should be treated as a science; +rather he claimed that the historian should concern himself with the +dramatic aspect of the period about which he writes. The student may +disagree with many of Froude's points of view and portraitures, yet his men +and women breathe with the life he endows them, and their motives are +actuated by the forces he sets in motion. Of his voluminous works perhaps +the most notable, with the exception of the "History," are his "History of +Ireland in the Eighteenth Century," 1871-74, and his "Short Studies on +Great Subjects," the latter aptly exhibiting Froude's gifts of masterful +prose and glittering paradox. </p></blockquote> + + +<h4><i>I.--The Condition of England</i></h4> + + +<p>In periods like the present, when knowledge is every day extending, and +the habits and thoughts of mankind are perpetually changing under the +influence of new discoveries, it is no easy matter to throw ourselves back +into a time in which for centuries the European world grew upon a single +type, in which the forms of the father's thoughts were the forms of the +son's, and the late descendant was occupied in treading into paths the +footprints of his ancestors.</p> + +<p>So absolutely has change become the law of our present condition, that +to cease to change is to lose place in the great race. Looking back over +history, we see times of change and progress alternating with other times +when life and thought have settled into permanent forms. Such was the +condition of the Greeks through many ages before the Persian wars, and +such, again, became the condition of Europe when the Northern nations +grafted religion and the laws of the Western empire on their own hardy +natures.</p> + +<p>A condition of things differing alike both inwardly and outwardly from +that into which a happier fortune has introduced ourselves, is necessarily +obscure to us. In the alteration of our own characters we have lost the key +which would interpret the characters of our fathers. But some broad +conclusions as to what they were are, however, at least possible to us. A +rough census taken at the time of the Armada shows that it was something +under five millions.</p> + +<p>The feudal system, though practically modified, was still the organising +principle of the nation, and the owner of land was bound to military +service at home whenever occasion required. All land was held upon a +strictly military principle. The state of the working classes can best be +determined by a comparison of their wages with the price of food. Both were +as far as possible regulated by Act of Parliament. Wheat in the fourteenth +century averaged 10d. the bushel; beef and pork were 1/2d. a pound; mutton +was 3/4d. The best pig or goose could be bought for 4d.; a good capon for +3d.; a chicken for 1d.; a hen for 2d. Strong-beer, which now costs 1s. 6d. +a gallon, was then a 1d. a gallon, and table beer was less than 1/2d.</p> + +<p>A penny at the time of which we write must have been nearly equal in the +reign of Henry VIII. to the present shilling. For a penny the labourer +could buy as much bread, beef, beer, and wine as the labourer of to-day can +for a shilling. Turning then to the question of wages, by the 3d of the 6th +of Henry VIII., it was enacted that the master, carpenters, masons, +bricklayers, tilers, plumbers, glaziers, joiners, and others, employers of +skilled workmen should give to each of their journeymen, if no meat and +drink was allowed, sixpence a day for the half year, fivepence a day for +the other half; or fivepence-half penny for the yearly average. The common +labourers were to receive fourpence a day for the half year; for the +remaining half, threepence.</p> + +<p>The day labourer received what was equivalent to something near twenty +shillings a week, the wages at present paid in English colonies; and this +is far from being a full account of his advantages. The agricultural +labourer held land in connection with his house, while in most parishes +there were large ranges of common and unenclosed forest land, which +furnished fuel to him gratis, where pigs might range, and ducks and geese, +and where, if he could afford a cow, he was in no danger of being unable to +feed it; and so important was this privilege considered, that when the +commons began to be largely enclosed, Parliament insisted that the working +man should not be without some piece of ground on which he could employ his +own and his family's industry.</p> + +<p>By the 7th of the 31st of Elizabeth it was ordered that no cottage +should be built for residence without four acres of land at lowest being +attached to it for the sole use of the occupants of such cottage.</p> + +<p>The incomes of the great nobles cannot be determined for they varied +probably as much as they do now. Under Henry IV. the average income of an +earl was estimated at £2,000 a year. Under Henry VIII. the great Duke +of Buckingham, the wealthiest English peer, had £6,000. And the +income of the Archbishop of Canterbury was rated at the same amount. But +the establishments of such men were enormous. Their retinues in time of +peace consisted of several hundred persons, and in time of war a large +share of the expenses was paid often out of private purses.</p> + +<p>Passing down to the body of the people, we find that £20 a year +and heavy duties to do for it, represented the condition of the squire of +the parish. By the 2nd of Henry V. "the wages" of a parish priest were +limited to £5 6s. 8d., except in cases where there was a special +license from the bishop, when they might be raised as high as £6. +Both squire and priest had sufficient for comfort. Neither was able to +establish any steep difference between himself and the commons among whom +he lived, so far as concerned outward advantages.</p> + +<p>The habits of all classes were free, open, and liberal. In frank style +the people lived in "merry England," displaying the "glory of hospitality," +England's pre-eminent boast, by the rules according to which all tables +were open to all comers without reserve. To every man, according to his +degree, who chose to ask for it, there was free fare and free lodging. The +people hated three things with all their hearts--idleness, want, and +cowardice.</p> + +<p>A change, however, was coming upon the world, the meaning and direction +of which even still is hidden from us, a change from era to era. Chivalry +was dying; the abbey and castle were soon together to crumble into ruins; +and all the forms, desires, beliefs, and convictions of the old world were +passing away never to return. A new continent had arisen beyond the western +sea. The floor of heaven, inlaid with stars, had sunk back into an infinite +abyss of immeasurable space; and the firm earth itself, unfixed from its +foundations, was seen to be but a small atom in the awful vastness of the +universe. In the fabric of habit which they had so laboriously built for +themselves mankind were to remain no longer.</p> + + +<h4><i>II.--The Fall of Wolsey's Policy</i></h4> + + +<p>Times were changed in England since the second Henry walked barefoot +through the streets of Canterbury, and knelt while the monks flogged him on +the pavement in the Chapter House, doing penance for Becket's murder. The +clergy had won the battle in the twelfth century because they deserved it. +They were not free from fault and weakness, but they felt the meaning of +their profession. Their hearts were in their vows, their authority was +exercised more justly, more nobly, than the authority of the crown; and +therefore, with inevitable justice, the crown was compelled to stoop before +them.</p> + +<p>The victory was great, but, like many victories, it was fatal to the +conquerors. It filled them with the vanity of power; they forgot their +duties in their privileges, and when, a century later, the conflict +recommenced, the altering issue proved the altering nature of the +conditions under which it was fought. The nation was ready for sweeping +remedies. The people felt little loyalty to the pope. The clergy pursued +their course to its end. They sank steadily into that condition which is +inevitable from the constitution of human nature, among men without faith, +wealthy, powerful, and luxuriously fed, yet condemned to celibacy and cut +off from the common duties and common pleasures of ordinary life.</p> + +<p>Many priests spent their time in hawking or hunting, in lounging at +taverns, in the dissolute enjoyment of the world. If, however, there were +no longer saints among the clergy, there could still arise among them a +remarkable man. In Cardinal Wolsey the king found an adviser who was +essentially a transition minister, holding a middle place between an +English statesman and a Catholic of the old order. Under Wolsey's +influence, Henry made war with Louis of France in the pope's quarrel, +entered the polemic lists with Luther, and persecuted the English +Protestants.</p> + +<p>Yet Wolsey could not blind himself to the true condition of the church, +before which lay the alternative of ruin or amendment. Therefore he +familiarised Henry with sense that a reformation was inevitable. Dreaming +that it could be effected from within, by the church itself inspired with a +wiser spirit, he himself fell the first victim of a convulsion which he had +assisted to create, and which he attempted too late to stay.</p> + +<p>Wolsey talked of reformation, but delayed its coming. The monasteries +grew worse and worse. Favoured parish clergy held as many as eight +benefices. Bishops accumulated sees, and, unable to attend to all, attended +to none. Wolsey himself, the church reformer (so little did he really know +what a reformation means), was at once Archbishop of York, Bishop of +Winchester and of Durham, and Abbot of St. Albans. Under such +circumstances, we need not be surprised to find the clergy sunk low in the +respect of the English people.</p> + +<p>Fish's famous pamphlet shows the spirit that was seething. He spoke of +what he had seen and knew. The monks, he tells the king, "be they that have +made a hundred thousand idle dissolute women in your realm." But Wolsey +could interfere with neither bishops nor monks without a special +dispensation from the pope. A new trouble arose from the nation in the +desire of Henry to divorce Catherine of Aragon, who had been his deceased +brother's wife, was six years older than himself, and was an obstacle to +the establishment of the kingdom. Her sons were dead, and she was beyond +the period when more children could be expected. Though descent in the +female line was not formally denied, no queen regent had ever, in fact, sat +upon the throne; nor was the claim distinctly admitted, or the claim of the +House of York would have been unquestionable. It was, therefore, with no +little anxiety that the council of Henry VIII. perceived his male children, +on whom their hopes were centred, either born dead, or dying one after +another within a few days of their birth.</p> + +<p>The line of the Princess Mary was precarious, for her health was weak +from her childhood. If she lived, her accession would be a temptation to +insurrection; if she did not live, and the king had no other children, a +civil war was inevitable. The next heir in blood was James of Scotland, and +gravely as statesmen desired the union of the two countries, in the +existing mood of the people, the very stones in London streets, it was +said, would rise up against a king of Scotland who entered England as +sovereign.</p> + +<p>So far were Henry and Catherine alike that both had imperious tempers, +and both were indomitably obstinate; but Henry was hot and impetuous, +Catherine cold and self-contained. She had been the wife of Prince Arthur, +eldest son of Henry VII., but the death of that prince occurred only five +months after the marriage. The uncertainty of the laws of marriage, and the +innumerable refinements of the Roman canon law, affected the legitimacy of +the children and raised scruples of conscience in the mind of the king. The +loss of his children must have appeared as a judicial sentence on a +violation of the Divine law. The divorce presented itself to him as a moral +obligation, when national advantage combined with superstition to encourage +what he secretly desired.</p> + +<p>Wolsey, after thirty years' experience of public life, was as sanguine +as a boy. Armed with this little lever of divorce, he saw himself in +imagination the rebuilder of the Catholic faith and the deliverer of Europe +from ecclesiastical revolt and from innovations of faith. The mass of the +people hated Protestantism as he, a true friend of the Catholic cult, +sincerely detested the reformation of Luther. He believed that the old +life-tree of Catholicism, which in fact was but cumbering the ground, might +bloom again in its old beauty. But a truer political prophet than Wolsey +would have been found in the most ignorant of those poor men who were +risking death and torture in disseminating the pernicious volumes of the +English Testament.</p> + +<p>Catherine being a Spanish princess, Henry, in 1527, formed a league with +Francis I., with the object of breaking the Spanish alliance. The pope was +requested to make use of his dispensing power to enable the King of England +to marry a wife who could bear him children. Deeply as we deplore the +outrage inflicted on Catherine, and the scandal and suffering occasioned by +the dispute, it was in the highest degree fortunate that at the crisis of +public dissatisfaction in England with the condition of the church, a cause +should have arisen which tested the whole question of church authority in +its highest form. It was no accident which connected a suit for divorce +with the reformation of religion.</p> + + +<h4><i>Anne Boleyn</i></h4> + + +<p>The Spanish emperor, Charles V., gave Catherine his unwavering support, +and refused to allow the pope to pass a judicial sentence of divorce. +Catherine refused to yield. Another person now comes into conspicuous view. +It has been with Anne Boleyn as with Catherine of Aragon--both are regarded +as the victims of a tyranny which Catholics and Protestants unite to +remember with horror, and each has taken the place of a martyred saint in +the hagiology of the respective creeds. Anne Boleyn was second daughter of +Sir Thomas Boleyn, a gentleman of noble family. She was educated in Paris, +and in 1525 came back to England to be maid of honour to Queen Catherine, +and to be distinguished at the court by her talents, accomplishments, and +beauty.</p> + +<p>The fortunes of Anne Boleyn were unhappily linked with those of men to +whom the greatest work ever yet accomplished in this country was committed. +In the memorable year 1529, after the meeting of parliament, events moved +apace. In six weeks, for so long only the session lasted, the astonished +church authorities saw bill after bill hurried up before the lords, by +which successively the pleasant fountains of their incomes would be dried +up to flow no longer. The Great Reformation had commenced in earnest.</p> + +<p>The carelessness of the bishops in the discharge of their most immediate +duties obliged the legislature to trespass in the provinces most purely +spiritual, and to undertake the discipline of the clergy. Bill after bill +struck hard and home on the privileges of the recreant clergy. The aged +Bishop of Rochester complained to the lords that in the lower house the cry +was nothing but "Down with the church." Yet, so frightful were the abuses +that called for radical reform, that even persons who most disapprove of +the reformation will not at the present time wonder at their enactment, or +disapprove of their severity. The king treated the bishops, when they +remonstrated, with the most contemptuous disrespect. Archbishop Cranmer now +adopted a singular expedient. He advised Henry to invite expressions from +all the chief learned authorities throughout Europe as to the right of the +pope to grant him a dispensation of dissolution of his marriage. The +English universities, to escape imputations of treasons and to avoid +exciting Henry's wrath, gave replies such as would please him, that of +Oxford being, however, the more decided of the two. Most of the continental +authorities declined to pronounce any dictum as to the powers of the +pope.</p> + + +<p><i>The Fall of the Great Chancellor</i></p> + + +<p>The fall of Wolsey was at hand. His enemies accused him of treason to +the constitution by violating a law of the realm. He had acted as papal +legate within the realm. The parliaments of Edward I., Edward III., Richard +II., and Henry IV. had by a series of statutes pronounced illegal all +presentations by the pope to any office or dignity in the Anglican Church, +under a penalty of premunire. Henry did not feel himself called on to +shield his great minister, although the guilt extended to all who had +recognised Wolsey in the capacity of papal legate. Indeed, it extended to +the archbishops, bishops, the privy council, the two houses of parliament, +and indirectly to the nation itself. The higher clergy had been encouraged +by Wolsey's position to commit those acts of despotism which had created so +deep animosity among the people. The overflow of England's last +ecclesiastical minister was to teach them that the privileges they had +abused were at an end.</p> + +<p>In February, 1531, Henry assumed the title which was to occasion such +momentous consequences, of "Protector and only Supreme Head of the Church +and Clergy of England." The clergy were compelled to assent. Further +serious steps marked the great breach with Rome. The annates, or first +fruits, were abolished. Ever since the crusades a practice had existed in +all the churches of Europe that bishops and archbishops, on presentation to +their sees, should transmit to the pope one year's income. This impressive +impost was not abrogated. It was a sign of the parting of the ways.</p> + +<p>Henry laid his conduct open to the world, declaring truly what he +desired, and seeking it by open means. He was determined to proceed with +the divorce, and also to continue the reformation of the English church. +And he was in no small measure aided in the former resolve by the +recommendation of Francis, for the French king advised him to act on the +general opinion of Europe that his marriage with Catherine, as widow of his +elder brother Arthur, was null, and at once made Anne Boleyn his wife. This +counsel was administered at an interview between the two kings at Boulogne, +in October, 1532.</p> + +<p>The pope had trifled for six years with the momentous question, and +Henry was growing old. At the outset of the discussion the pope had said: +"Marry freely; fear nothing, and all shall be arranged as you desire." But +the pontiff, reduced to a dilemma by various causes, had fallen back on his +Italian cunning, and had changed his attitude, listening to the appeals of +Catherine and her powerful friends. And now he threatened Henry with +excommunication.</p> + +<p>Henry entered privately into matrimonial relations with Anne in +November, 1532, and the marriage was solemnly celebrated, with a gorgeous +pageant, at Westminster Abbey in the following January. On July 24 the +people gathering to church in every parish read, nailed to the church +doors, a paper signed Henry R., setting forth that Lady Catherine of Spain, +heretofore called Queen of England, was not to be called by that title any +more, but was to be called princess dowager, and so to be held and +esteemed. The triumph of Anne was to last but three short years.</p> + + +<h4><i>Protestantism</i></h4> + + +<p>Wycliffe's labour had left only the Bible as the seed of a future life, +and no trace remained in the sixteenth century of the Lollardry of the +fourteenth. But now Protestantism recommenced its enterprise in the growing +desire for a nobler, holier insight into the will of God. In the year 1525 +was enrolled in London a society calling itself "The Association of +Christian Brothers." Its paid agents went up and down the land carrying +tracts and Testaments with them, and enrolling in the order all who dared +risk their lives in such a cause.</p> + +<p>The Protestants thus isolated were waiting for direction, and men in +such a temper are seldom left to wait in vain. Luther had kindled the +spark, which was to become a conflagration in Germany, at Wittemberg, on +October 31, 1517, by his denunciation of indulgences. His words found an +echo, and flew from lip to lip all through Western Europe. Tyndal, an +Oxford student, went to Germany, saw Luther, and under his direction +translated into English the Gospels and Epistles. This led to the formation +of the "association" in London. The authorities were alarmed. The bishops +subscribed to buy up the translations of the Bible, and these were burned +before a vast concourse in St. Paul's Churchyard. But Wolsey had for two +years been suppressing the smaller monasteries. Simultaneously, Protestants +were persecuted wherever they could be detected and seized. "Little" +Bilney, or "Saint" Bilney, a distinguished Cambridge student, was burnt as +a heretic at the stake, as were James Bainham, a barrister of the Middle +Temple, and several other members of the "association." These were the +first paladins of the reformation, and the struggle went bravely forward. +They were the knights who slew the dragons and made the earth habitable for +common flesh and blood.</p> + +<p>As yet but two men of the highest order of power were on the side of +Protestantism--Latimer and Cromwell. These were now to come forward, +pressed by circumstances which could no longer dispense with them. When the +breach with the pope was made irreparable, and the papal party at home had +assumed an attitude of suspended insurrection, the fortunes of the +Protestants entered into a new phase. The persecution ceased, and those who +were but lately its likely victims, hiding for their lives, passed at once +by a sudden alternation into the sunshine of political favour.</p> + +<p>Cromwell and Latimer together caught the moment as it went by, and +before it was over a work had been done in England which, when it was +accomplished once, was accomplished for ever. The conservative party +recovered their power, and abused it as before; but the chains of the +nation were broken, and no craft of kings or priests or statesmen could +weld the magic links again, Latimer became famous as a preacher at +Cambridge, and was heard of by Henry, who sent for him and appointed him +one of the royal chaplains. He was accused by the bishops of heresy, but +was on trial absolved and sent back to his parish. Soon after the tide +turned, and the reformation entered into a new phase.</p> + +<p>Thomas Cromwell, like Latimer of humble origin, was the "malleus +monachorum." Wolsey discovered his merit, and employed him in breaking up +the small monasteries, which the pope had granted for the foundation of the +new colleges. Cromwell remained with the great cardinal till his fall. It +was then that the truly noble nature which was in him showed itself. The +lords had passed a bill of impeachment against Wolsey--violent, vindictive, +and malevolent. It was to be submitted to the commons. Cromwell prepared an +opposition, and conducted the defence from his place in parliament so +skilfully that he threw out the bill, saved Wolsey, and gained such a +reputation that he became Henry's secretary, representing the government in +the House of Commons, and was on the highroad to power.</p> + +<p>The reformation was blotted with a black and frightful stain. Towards +the end of April, 1536, certain members of the Privy Council were engaged +in secretly collecting evidence which implicated the queen in adultery. In +connection with the terrible charge, as her accomplices five gentlemen were +arrested--Sir William Brereton, Mark Smeton, a court musician, Sir Henry +Norris, Sir Francis Weston, and, the accusation in his case being the most +shocking, Lord Rochford, the queen's brother. The trial was hastily pushed +forward, and all were executed. The queen, who vehemently and piteously +appealed to Henry, passionately protesting that she was absolutely +innocent, was also condemned, and was beheaded in public on Tower Hill.</p> + +<p>Henry immediately after the tragedy married Jane, daughter of Sir John +Seymour. The indecent haste is usually considered conclusive of the cause +of Anne Boleyn's ruin. On December 12, 1537, a prince, so long and +passionately hoped for, was born; but a sad calamity followed, for the +queen took cold, and died on October 24.</p> + +<p>In 1539 monastic life came to an end in England. The great monasteries +were dissolved; the abbey lands were distributed partly amongst the old +nobility and partly amongst the chapters of six new bishoprics. On January +6, 1540, was solemnised the marriage of Henry with Anne, daughter of the +Duke of Cleves, and sister-in-law of the Elector of Saxony. This event was +brought about by the negotiations of Cromwell. The king was deeply +displeased with the ungainly appearance of his bride when he met her on her +landing, but retreat was impossible. Though Henry was personally kind to +the new queen, the marriage made him wretched.</p> + +<p>Cromwell's enemies speedily hatched a conspiracy against the great +statesman. He was arrested on a charge of high treason, was accused of +corruption and heresy, of gaining wealth by bribery and extortion, and, in +spite of Cranmer's efforts to save him, passed to the scaffold on July 28, +1540. For eight years Cromwell, who had been ennobled as Earl of Essex, was +supreme with king, parliament, and convocation, and the nation, in the +ferment of revolution, was absolutely controlled by him.</p> + +<p>Convocation had already dissolved the marriage of Henry and Anne, +setting both free to contract and consummate other marriages without +objection or delay. The queen had placidly given her consent. Handsome +settlements were made on her in the shape of estates for her maintenance +producing nearly three thousand a year. In August of the same year the King +married, without delay of circumstance, Catherine, daughter of Lord Edmond +Howard. Brief, indeed, was her reign. In November, 1541, she was charged +with unfaithfulness to her marriage vows. The king was overwhelmed. Some +dreadful spirit pursued his married life, tainting it with infamy.</p> + +<p>Two gentlemen confessed their guilty connection with the queen. They +were hanged at Tyburn, and the queen and Lady Rochford, who had been her +confidential companion, suffered within the Tower. Once more the king +ventured into marriage. Catherine, widow of Lord Latimer, his last choice, +was selected, not in the interest of politics or religion, but by his own +personal judgment; and this time he found the peace which he desired.</p> + +<p>The great event of 1542 was the signal victory of the English over a +Scottish army of ten thousand men at Solway Moss. King James of Scotland +had undertaken, at the instigation of the pope and of the King of France to +attack the English as heretics. The Scottish clergy were ready to proclaim +a pilgrimage of grace. But the English borderers, though only shepherds and +agriculturists, as soon as they mounted their horses, were instantly the +finest light cavalry in Europe. They so disastrously defeated the Scots +that all the latter either perished in the morass by the Solway, or were +captured.</p> + +<p>Henry died on January 28, 1547. He was attended in his last moments by +Cranmer, having sent specially for the archbishop.</p> + +<p>The king did not leave the world without expressing his views on the +future with elaborate explicitness. He spent the day before his death in +conversation with Lord Hertford and Sir William Paget on the condition of +the country. By separate and earnest messages he commended Prince Edward to +the care both of Charles V. and of Francis I. The earl, on the morning of +Henry's death, hastened off to bring up the prince, who was in +Hertfordshire with the Princess Elizabeth, and in the afternoon of Monday, +the 31st, he arrived at the Tower with Edward. The Council was already in +session, and Hertford was appointed protector during the minority of +Edward. Thus, the reforming Protestant party was in full power. Cranmer set +the willing example, and the other prelates consented, or were compelled to +imitate him, in an acknowledgment that all jurisdiction, ecclesiastical as +well as secular, within the realm, only emanated from the sovereign. On +February it was ordered in council that Hertford should be Duke of +Somerset, and that his brother, Sir Thomas Seymour, should be Lord Seymour +of Sudleye; Lord Parr was to be Marquis of Northampton; Lord Wriothesley, +the chancellor, Earl of Southampton; and Viscount Lisle was to be Earl of +Warwick. The Duke of Somerset was the young king's uncle, and the real +power was at once in his hands. But if he was ambitious, it was only--as he +persuaded himself--to do good.</p> + + +<h4><i>Edward's Guardian</i></h4> + + +<p>Under his rule the spirit of iconoclasm spread fast, and the reformation +proceeded to completion. Churches were cleared of images, and crucifixes +were melted into coin. Somerset gave the popular movement the formal +sanction of the Government. Injunctions were issued for the general +purification of the churches. The Book of Homilies was issued as a guide to +doctrine, care was taken that copies of the Bible were accessible in the +parish churches, and translations of Erasmus's "Paraphrase of the New +Testament" were provided as a commentary.</p> + +<p>Somerset was a brave general as well as a great statesman. He invaded +Scotland during the first year of his protectorate, on account of the +refusal of the Scottish government to ratify the contract entered into with +Henry VIII., by which it was agreed that Mary Queen of Scots should marry +Edward. At the memorable battle of Pinkie, on September 10, 1547, the Scots +were completely beaten. But Somerset was hastily summoned southward. His +brother, Lord Seymour, had been caballing against him, and was arrested, +tried, and beheaded on Tower Hill, on March 20, 1549. But the fall of the +protector himself was not long delayed, for under his administration of +three years his policy gradually excited wide discontent. In various parts +of the country insurrections had to be suppressed. The French king had +taken away the young Scottish queen, the king's majesty's espouse, by which +marriage the realms of England and Scotland should have been united in +perpetual peace. Money had been wasted on the royal household. The alliance +with Charles V. had been trifled away. The princely name and princely +splendour which Somerset affected, the vast fortune which he amassed amidst +the ruin of the national finances, and the palace--now known as Somerset +House, London--which was rising before the eyes of the world amidst the +national defeats and misfortunes, combined to embitter the irritation with +which the council regarded him.</p> + +<p>His great rival, John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, by constant insinuations +both in and out of parliament, excited the national feeling against him to +such a degree that at length the young king was constrained to sign his +deposition. He seems to have entertained no strong attachment to his uncle. +On December I, 1551, he was tried before the lords for high treason and +condemned. He was beheaded on Tower Hill on January 22, 1582. The English +public, often wildly wrong on general questions, are good judges, for the +most part, of personal character; and so passionately was Somerset loved, +that those who were nearest the scaffold started forward to dip their +handkerchiefs in his blood. Before this event, Dudley, by whose cruel +treachery the tragedy had been brought about, had been created Duke of +Northumberland. The great aim of this nobleman was to secure the succession +to the throne for his own family. With this purpose in view he married his +son, Lord Guildford Dudley, to Lady Jane Grey, daughter of the Duchess of +Suffolk, to whom, by the will of Henry VIII., the crown would pass, in +default of issue by Edward, Mary, or Elizabeth.</p> + +<p>In April, 1553, Edward, who had been removed to Greenwich in consequence +of illness, grew rapidly worse. By the end of the month he was spitting +blood, and the country was felt to be on the eve of a new reign. The +accession of Mary, who was personally popular, was looked forward to by the +people as a matter of course. Northumberland now worked on the mind of the +feeble and dying king, and succeeded in persuading him to declare both his +sisters incapable of succeeding to the crown, as being illegitimate. The +king died on July 6. The last male child of the Tudor race had ceased to +suffer.</p> + +<p>When Lady Jane was saluted by Northumberland and four other lords, all +kneeling at her feet, as queen, she shook, covered her face with her hands, +and fell fainting to the ground. The next Monday, July 10, the royal barges +came down the Thames from Richmond, and at three in the afternoon Lady Jane +landed at the broad staircase of the Tower, as queen, in undesired +splendour. But that same evening messages came saying that Mary had +declared herself queen. She had sent addresses to the peers, commanding +them on their allegiance to come to her.</p> + +<p>Happily, the conspiracy in favour of Lady Jane was crushed, without +bloodshed, although it had seemed for a time as if the nation, was on the +brink of a civil war. But, though Mary wished to spare Lady Jane and her +husband, her intentions were frustrated by the determination of Renard, +ambassador of the emperor. Northumberland was sent to the Tower, and +beheaded on August 22, and in the following November Lady Jane and her +husband were also condemned. Mary long hesitated, but at length issued the +fatal warrant on February 8, 1554, and four days later both were executed. +Lady Jane was but a delicate girl of seventeen, but met her fate with the +utmost heroism.</p> + +<p>Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, became the chief instrument of +the restoration of the Catholic faith under Mary. His fierce spirit soon +began to display itself. In the fiery obstinacy of his determination this +prelate speedily became the incarnate expression of the fury of the +ecclesiastical faction, smarting, as they were, under their long +degradation, and under the irritating consciousness of those false oaths of +submission which they had sworn to a power they loathed. Gardiner now saw +his Romanising party once more in a position to revenge their wrongs when +there was no longer any Henry to stand between them and their enemies. He +would take the tide at the flood, forge a weapon keener than the last, and +establish the Inquisition.</p> + + +<h4><i>The Reign of Terror</i></h4> + + +<p>Mary listened to the worse counsels of each, and her distempered humour +settled into a confused ferocity. Both Gardiner and she resolved to secure +the trial, condemnation, and execution of her sister Elizabeth, but their +plans utterly miscarried, for no evidence against her could be gathered. +The princess was known to be favourable to the Protestant cause, but the +attempts to prove her disloyalty to Mary were vain. She was imprisoned in +the Tower, and the fatal net appeared to be closing on her. But though the +danger of her murder was very great, the lords who had reluctantly +permitted her to be imprisoned would not allow her to be openly sacrificed, +or indeed, permit the queen to continue in the career of vengeance on which +she had entered. The necessity of releasing Elizabeth from the Tower was an +unspeakable annoyance to Mary. A confinement at Woodstock was the furthest +stretch of severity that the country would, for the present, permit. On May +19, 1554, Elizabeth was taken up the river.</p> + +<p>The princess believed herself that she was being carried off <i>tanquam +ovis</i>, as she said--as a sheep for the slaughter. But the world thought +she was set at liberty, and, as her barge passed under the bridge, Mary +heard with indignation, from the palace windows, three salvoes of artillery +fired from the Steelyard, as a sign of the joy of the people. Vexations +began to tell on Mary's spirit. She could not shake off her anxieties, or +escape from the shadow of her subject's hatred. Insolent pamphlets were +dropped in her path and in the offices of Whitehall. They were placed by +mysterious hands in the sanctuary of her bedroom.</p> + +<p>Her trials began to tell on her understanding. She was ill with +hysterical longings; ill with the passions which Gardiner, as her +chancellor, had provoked, but Paget as leader of the opposing party, had +disappointed. But she was now to become the wife of King Philip of Spain. +Negotiations for this momentous marriage had been protracted, and even +after the contract had been signed, Philip seemed slow to arrive. The +coolness manifested by his tardiness did much to aggravate the queen's +despondency. On July 20, 1554, he landed at Southampton. The atmospheric +auspices were not cheering, for Philip, who had come from the sunny plains +of Castile, from his window at Southampton looked out on a steady downfall +of July rain. Through the cruel torrent he made his way to church to mass, +and afterwards Gardiner came to him from the queen. On the next Sunday he +journeyed to Winchester, again in pouring rain. To the cathedral he went +first, wet as he was. Whatever Philip of Spain was entering on, whether it +was a marriage or a massacre, a state intrigue or a midnight murder, his +first step was ever to seek a blessing from the holy wafer. Mary was at the +bishop's palace, a few hundred yards' distance. Mary could not wait, and +the same night the interview took place. Let the curtain fall over the +meeting, let it close also over the wedding solemnities which followed with +due splendour two days after. There are scenes in life which we regard with +pity too deep for words.</p> + +<p>The unhappy queen, unloved, unlovable, yet with her parched heart +thirsting for affection, was flinging herself upon a breast to which an +iceberg was warm; upon a man to whom love was an unmeaning word, except as +the most brutal of all passions. Mary set about to complete the Catholic +reaction. She had restored the Catholic orthodoxy in her own person, and +now was resolved to bring over her own subjects. But clouds gathered over +the court. The Spaniards were too much in evidence. With the reaction came +back the supremacy of the pope, and the ecclesiastical courts were +reinstated in authority to check unlicensed extravagance of opinion.</p> + +<p>Gardiner, Bonner, Tunstal, and three other prelates formed a court on +January 28, 1555, in St. Mary Overy's Church, Southwark, and Hooper, Bishop +of Gloucester, and Canon Rogers of St. Paul's, were brought up before them. +Both were condemned as Protestants, and both were burnt at the stake, the +bishop at Gloucester, the canon at Smithfield. They suffered heroically. +The Catholics had affected to sneer at the faith of their rivals. There was +a general conviction among them that Protestants would all flinch at the +last; that they had no "doctrine that would abide the fire." Many more +victims were offered. The enemies of the church were to submit or die. So +said Gardiner, and so said the papal legate and the queen, in the delirious +belief that they were the chosen instruments of Providence.</p> + +<p>The people, whom the cruelty of the party was reconverting to the +reformation, while the fires of Smithfield blazed, with a rapidity like +that produced by the gift of tongues at Pentecost, regarded the martyrs +with admiration as soldiers dying for their country. On Mary, sorrow was +heaped on sorrow. Her expectation of a child was disappointed, and Philip +refused to stay in England. His unhappy wife was forced to know that he +preferred the society of the most abandoned women to hers. The horrible +crusade against heretics became the business of the rest of her life. +Archbishop Cranmer, Bishops Ridley and Latimer, and many other persons of +distinction were amongst the martyrs of the Marian persecution. Latimer was +eighty years of age.</p> + +<p>Mary's miseries were intensified month by month. War broke out between +England and France. For ten years the French had cherished designs, and on +January 7, 1558, the famous stronghold fell into their hands. The effect of +this misfortune on the queen was to produce utter prostration. She now well +understood that both parliament and the nation were badly disposed towards +her. But her end was at hand. After much suffering from dropsy and nervous +debility, she prepared quietly for what she knew was inevitable. On +November 16, at midnight, taking leave of a world in which she had played +so evil a part, Mary received the last rites of the church. Towards morning +she was sinking, and at the elevation of the Host, as mass was being said, +her head sank, and she was gone. A few hours later the pope's legate, +Cardinal Pole, at Lambeth, followed her. Thus the reign of the pope in +England and the reign of terror closed together.</p> + +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12745 ***</div> +</body> +</html> + |