Procopius

“ In order to repay their goodness, as far as a mortal man may do, he entirely altered and renewed the former building, which was unseemly and humble, and not worthy to be dedicated to such great saints, adorned the new church with beauty and size and brilliant light, and gave it many other things which it did not formerly possess. When men are suffering from diseases beyond the reach of physicians, and despair of human aid, they resort to the only hope which is left to them, and sail through this gulf in boats to this church. ”

“ Sophia (the boldest piece of novel construction ever, perhaps, attempted) forms the crown of a building quite original in plan; and this dome is placed, not as that of the Roman Pantheon, low down on thick walls of its own form, but suspended high above all the roof around it, on four arches, which spring from detached piers, the keystone alone of each arch giving a direct support to the dome; in every other part it overhangs the void in the boldest manner. ”

“ When, however, one has reached the top, the ground is a rich soil, smooth, and with easy roads, fair pastures, parks planted with trees and all kinds of herbs. Fountains spring out from the crags; there are quiet pools, rushing rivers with 166 masses of broken water, and, what is strangest of all, the crops and fruit-trees on this mountain produce twice as much as any other part of Libya. Such is the mountain of Aurasium, which was originally held by the Vandals, whom the Moors dispossessed, and dwelt there until the Emperor Justinian drove them out and annexed it to the Roman Empire. ”

“ Whenever strong winds and gales fall upon these seas and this strait, ships, when they once reach the entrance of this gulf, run the rest of their voyage unguided, and make the shore at random; for the gulf extends for a distance of more than forty stadia in circumference, and the whole of it is a harbour, so that when a ship is moored there the stern rests on the sea and the bows on the land, as though the two elements contended with one another to see which of them could be of the greatest service to the city. ”

“ With all these tribes, ever eager for war, Justinian was forced to contend, so that he could neglect no point, but was forced to construct a chain of innumerable fortresses, establish in them numberless garrisons of soldiers, and do everything else in his power to hold in check a foe, with whom neither truce nor intercourse could be held; for these enemies were accustomed to make war without any pretext or declaration, and not to terminate it by any treaty, or cease fighting after a time, but to take up arms without any cause only to lay them down when compelled by main force. ”

“ The entire ceiling is covered with pure gold, which adds glory to its beauty, though the rays of light reflected upon the gold from the marble surpass it in beauty; there are two porticos on each side, which do not in any way dwarf the size of the church, but add to its width. In length they reach quite to the ends, but in height they fall short of it ”

“ Here the Emperor Justinian conquers by his General Belisarius; and here the General returns to the Emperor, bringing with him his entire army unscathed, and offers to him the spoils of victory, kings, and kingdoms, and all that is most valued among men. In the midst stand the Emperor and the Empress Theodora, both of them seeming to rejoice and hold high festival in honour of their victory over the kings of the Vandals and the Goths, who approach them as prisoners of war led in triumph. ”

“ On the summit of the column there stands an enormous horse, with his face turned towards the east—a noble sight. He appears to be walking, and proceeding swiftly forwards; he raises his left fore-foot as though to tread upon the earth before him, while the other rests upon the stone beneath it, as though it would make the next step, while he places his 14 hind feet together, so that they may be ready when he bids them move. ”

“ The original wall of Constantina was so low that a ladder would easily reach the top, and in its construction was greatly exposed to attack, and seemed hardly to have been built in earnest; for the towers were of such a distance from one another, that if the assailants attacked the space between them, the garrison of the towers would be too far off to drive them back; moreover, the greater part of it was so ruinous from age that it seemed likely soon to fall. In addition to this, the city had an outwork which was more like a siege-work to enable the enemy to attack it ”

“ It is not possible to irrigate the ground, to reap a crop, or to find a meadow anywhere; and even the trees, with which the land of the Tzani is covered, bear no fruit, because for the most part there is no regular succession of seasons, and the land is not at one time subjected to cold and wet, and at another made fertile by the warmth of the sun, but is desolated by perpetual winter and covered by eternal snows. For this reason the Tzani, in ancient times, remained independent; but during the reign of our Emperor Justinian they were conquered by the Romans, under the command of Tzita ”

“ This church is near the sea-shore, of great sanctity and magnificence; it is long, yet its width is well proportioned to its length, and above and below it is supported and rests on nothing less than sections of Parian marble which stand in the form of columns. These columns are arranged in a straight line in all parts of the church except in the middle, where they are set back. Those who enter this church especially admire its lofty and at the same time secure construction, and its splendid yet not meretricious beauty. ”

“ The Emperor Justinian therefore, in order to erect a perpetual memorial of this gift of God, who when He pleases can make the most difficult things easy, at once determined to form this place into a city, with a strong wall, and adorned with everything else worthy of a city. The Emperor’s wish was fulfilled. The wall and city were built, and the fortunes of this open field were suddenly altered. The rustics, throwing away the plough, dwell as citizens, and no longer live a country, but a town life ”

“ There was in Cappadocia a fortress named Mocesus, standing on level ground, whose wall was so decayed that some part of it had already fallen, and the rest was like to fall. The Emperor Justinian demolished this fort, and 136 built a new and very great wall to the westward of the old fort, on a lofty spot inaccessible to any assailants. Here he built many churches, hospices, public baths, and everything else which belongs to a flourishing city; so that this place came to be regarded as the metropolis, which is the name given by the Romans to the first city of a nation. ”

“ The river flows with a quiet stream as far as the sea, and the neighbouring country is rich in fruits of all kinds, and in sweet waters, which the inhabitants were never able to enjoy, as they were in continual expectation of an attack from the barbarians; for there was no strong place anywhere in these regions to which they could fly for refuge, but the walls of Larissa and Cæsarea were so ruinous that they were almost open towns. The Emperor Justinian, by rebuilding the walls of both these cities very strongly, enabled the country to enjoy true prosperity. ”

“ These suburbs the inhabitants have built over and adorned, not merely for their use, but with an arrogant and boundless luxury, and with all the license which is produced by wealth. Here they have stored much furniture, and preserved many works of art. Whenever, therefore, the barbarians suddenly invade the Roman Empire, these places suffer far more damage than the rest, and are in fact utterly ruined. ”

“ He contracted the battlements to the smallest size through which it was possible to shoot at the besiegers, laid stones over them so as to make another story round the entire circuit, and skilfully placed a second set of battlements upon it, enclosing the whole place within an outwork like that of the city of Dara, and making each tower into a strong castle. He established in this place all the forces of Armenia, with their general, and rendered the Armenians so strong that they no longer feared the attacks of the Persians. ”

“ In old times the Armenians had a king of their own nation, as we are told by the historians of remotest antiquity. When, however, Alexander of Macedon overthrew the King of Persia, the Persians remained quiet under his yoke, but the Parthians revolted against the Macedonians, conquered them in war, drove them out of their country, and pushed their frontier as far as the river Tigris. Subsequently the Persians remained subject to them for five hundred years, up to the time when Alexander, the son of Mamæa, ruled over the Romans. ”

“ There is here a country by the sea-shore, named Doru, which has been long inhabited by those Goths, who would not follow Theoderic on his expedition to Italy, but of their own accord remained there, and have been in alliance with the Romans down to my own time, joining the Roman armies when they march against the enemy, at the pleasure of the Emperor; their numbers are about three thousand; they are excellent warriors, industrious husbandmen, and most hospitable to strangers. ”

“ It is distinguished by indescribable beauty, for it excels both in its size and in the harmony of its proportion, having no part excessive and none deficient; being more magnificent than ordinary buildings, and much more elegant than those which are out of proportion. It is singularly full of light and sunshine; you would declare that the place is not lighted by the sun from without, but that the rays are produced within itself, such an abundance of light is poured into this church. ”

“ In the course of ages the greater part of this bridge became ruinous, so that it continually threatened to fall, and all who crossed it did so with the fear of death before their eyes. Thus, a work devised by the ancients for men’s safety had, through the negligence of those in charge of it, become a source of danger and terror; however, our 137 Emperor carefully restored all the ruinous parts of the bridge, so as to afford security to those who crossed it, and enabled the city again to take a pride in the river unalloyed with fear. ”

“ There is a fort in the suburbs of the city, which from its form is called the ‘round fort.’ The road which leads from it to Rhegium passes for the most part over uneven ground, and in rainy seasons used to become swampy and difficult for travellers; now, however, our Emperor has paved it with large stones, and made it easy to traverse. In length this road reaches as far as Rhegium; its width is such that two waggons going in opposite directions can pass without difficulty. The stones of which it is formed are very hard; one would imagine them to be millstones. ”

“ Being alarmed through their suspicions of the enemy, and constantly expecting an attack, they did not construct their building carefully, but the quickness of building into which they were forced by their excessive hurry prevented their work being secure; for speed and safety are never wont to go together, nor is swiftness often accompanied by accuracy. They therefore built the city-walls in this hurried fashion, not making a wall which would defy the enemy, but raising it barely to the necessary height ”

“ When the rulers of either nation make an expedition against the other at the command of their prince, they always find their neighbours unprotected; for each of them has extremely populous places close to one another, while in former times there was no fortification whatever; so that it was possible for the King of Persia to invade the Roman territory in this quarter more easily than anywhere else, until the Emperor Justinian prevented his doing so, in the following manner. ”

“ A fountain of sweet water springs perpetually out of the earth in the midst of the city, and forms therein a 67 wide lake; this, indeed, added to the safety of the city when it was beleaguered by an enemy, but in time of peace was by no means necessary, as much water was brought into the city from without. In process of time the inhabitants, having enjoyed a long period of peace, and having never experienced any distress, neglected this spring; for it is not in human nature when in prosperity to make provision against times of adversity ”

“ The walls of Carthage and some few other places alone were left, which they did not care to keep in repair, but allowed to be ruined by age. However, the Emperor Justinian, against the advice of all men, who shrank in terror from the enterprise, and only led on and assisted by God, sent Belisarius with an army to Libya, took Gelimer, and destroyed the power of the Vandals, killing many of them and making the rest prisoners of war, as I have recounted in my ‘History of the Wars.’ He rebuilt all the ruined fortifications in Libya, and himself built many new ones. ”

“ However, the Emperor of our own age, as though wishing to put away the reproach of the founder of the empire, first supplied this city, which he found suffering from want of water, with a magnificent aqueduct, and furnished the inhabitants beyond their expectation with enough water not only to drink, but also to wash in, and to use for all the other luxuries of life, as they were now supplied with water in abundance ”

“ Zenobia stands beside the river Euphrates, which flows close to its walls on the eastern side. This river, surrounded by high mountains, has no space in which to extend itself, but its stream is confined among the neighbouring mountains and between its rugged banks. Whenever it is swollen by rain into a flood, it pours against the city wall and washes not merely against its foundations but as high as its very battlements. The courses of stone in the walls, drenched by this stream, became disarranged, and the whole construction was endangered ”