A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

NARSES. NARSES. 1139
lx. 34.)'Agrippina, to make sure of the succession 2000 Herules, savage but gallant warriors, and one
for her son, resolved to poison the emperor. She of his lieutenants was another Narses, the brother
accordingly sent away Narcissus to Campania, on of Aratius, an excellent general, whom Baronius,the pretext of his making use of the warm- baths would not have confounded with the great Narses:for the gout, with which he seems to have been had he been aware that the second Narses fell in
affected. Here he was put to death almost imme- the battle of Anglone in 543. Narses and Belisadiately on the accession of the emperor Nero, A. D. rius effected their junction at Firmium, and soon
54. (Tac. Ann. xiii. 1; Dion Cass. Ix. 34.) Be- afterwards they relieved Rimini, an exploit the
fore his death he burnt all the letters of Claudius honour of which was attributed to Narses, though
which were in his possession. He amassed an the fact was that he tried to persuade Belisarius
enormous fortune, amounting, according to Dion from venturing his army in such all expedition.
Cassius, to 400,000,000 sesterces, equivalent to Belisarius became soon aware that Narses had not
3,125,0001. of our money. (Comp. Juvenal, xiv. only secret designs against him, but acted agree329.) If the following inscription refers to him, ably to Justinian's wishes; for in the council of
he had a wife named Claudia Dicaeosyna: D. M. Ii war he never proposed any measure of importance
CLAVDIAE: DICAEOSYNAE n TI. CLAVDIVS NAR- without finding Narses of a contrary opinion, and
CIssUS LIB. EID. COIV. |I PIENTISSIMAE II ET FRV- had the mortification, moreover, to see him supCGALISSI U B. M. (Orell. Inscript. Lat. Select. vol. i. ported by a crowd of jealous or disaffected officers.
p. 177.) In another inscription we have: NARCISI. Vexed at these unfair proceedings, Belisarius
T1. CLAVDI II BRITANIC |I I. II SVPRA U INSVLAS. claimed absolute obedience, and produced his ima
(Orell..!. and No. 2927, p. 505.) His name perial commission in which Justinian commanded
also occurs in Inscript. No. 4902, vol. ii. p. 414. the officers of every degree to obey him implicitly -
2. A freedman of the emperor Nero, who was but Narses, pointing out the last words of the
put to death by the emperor Galba. (Dion Cass. letter, in which it was said "that the officers
lxiv. 3.) [C. P. M.] should obey him in every thing compatible with
NARCISSUS, a celebrated athlete, with whom the welfare of the empire," continued in his disCommodus was in the habit of practising his gym- obedience, pretending that the plans of Belisarius
nastic exercises, was employed by Marcia to strangle were dangerous to the empire. Hence arose viothe emperor, when the poison that had been admi- lent quarrels, and Narses with his troops separated
nistered to him proved too slow in its operation, himself from Belisarius. About this time the Goths,
A. D. 192. (Dion Cass. lxxii. 22; Lamprid. or, more correctly speaking, the Franks and BurComnsod. 17; Aur. Vict. de Caes. 18, Epit. 17.) gundians, their allies, had reduced Milan to exNarcissus appears to have had great influence with tremities, after besieging it for a considerable tine;
this emperor, for we are told that it was at his sug- and, anxious to save that large city, Belisarius
gestion that Pescennius Niger was placed by sent orders to Joannes and Justin to hasten to its
Commodus in the command of the Syrian armies. relief. They answered that they had only to obey
(Spartian. Pescen. Nig. 1.) Narcissus was after- orders emanating from Narses. Belisarius endured
wards exposed to the lions by the emperor Severus this insult with forbearance, and at last prevailed
on account of his having strangled Commodus. upon Narses to give his consent to the contem(Dion Cass. lxxiii. 16; Spartian. Sever. 14.) plated expedition of those two generals but it
NARSES, son of Artaxerxes III. [ARasES.] was then too late, the Roman garrison of Milan
NARSES, king of Persia. [SASSANIDAE.] surrendered, and that splendid city was reduced to
NARSES (Napriis), the rival of Belisarius. a heap of ruins, while its inhabitants were massaThis celebrated general and statesman was perhaps cred by the victors. Justinian now became afraid
born as early as A. D. 472. He was of foreign descent that the jealousy between the two commanders
and of quite obscure parentage; indeed, it seems would lead to still greater calamities, and he conthat his parents sold him, or that he was made a sequently recalled Narses (539). This was the
prisoner of war when a mere boy, and his fate was first equivocal debut of a general who afterwards
that of so many other boys captured in war: he put an end to the Gothic dominion in Italy.
was castrated. Of his earlier life nothing is known. During the followving twelve years the name of
He came, however, to Constantinople and was em- Narses is scarcely mentioned in the annals of the
ployed in the imperial household. He was of empire, but he continued nevertheless to exercise a
material service to the emperor Justinian during predominant influence in the privy council of Justhe NiKa riots (532), in which the name of Belisa- tinian. The world, however, was more accustomed
rius likewise became conspicuous. Narses was to look upon him as a statesman than as a general,
then cubicularius or chamberlain, as Theophanes and great was consequently the surprise. when,
states, and it was perhaps the judicial use he made in 551, the emperor put him at the head of a forof the funds entrusted to him, by bribing over the midable expedition destined to retrieve the fortune
emperor's opponents, which caused him to be ap- of the Roman arms in Italy, where the Goths had
pointed treasurer to his master. In later years he had the upper hand ever since the recall of Belisarius
was employed in several embassies, and discharged in 548. The campaign of Narses in Italy 538, had
his duties to the complete satisfaction of his master, been no proof of his military skill, and the Roman
whose confidence he enjoyed in the highest degree. veterans revolted at fighting under a eunuch, whom
In 538 he was sent to Italy with reinforcements the very laws of the country seemed to exclude
for Belisarius, who was then in the field against from any command over men. Little affected by
the Goths; but it is more than probable that he their demonstrations, and despising the ridicule
had secret instructions to thwart that great com- which the people tried to throw upon him, Narses,
mander, and prevent him from obtaining advan- availing himself of the unlimited confidence of Justages which might have rendered him dangerous to tinian, drained the imperial treasury, and vigorously
the suspicious Justinian. The contingent com- pushed on his preparations for the ensuing cammaanded by Narses consisted of 5000 veterans and paign. In the spring of 552 every thing was ready,
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