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

664 JUSTINIANUS.'J USTINIANUS.
Among the' nations subdued by the Avars'were dishonoilrable condition of an annual payment of
the Bulgarians, between the Don and the Volga, 30,000 pieces of gold. Yet the profit of this newho, in 559, passed the frozen Danube, and under gotiation was on the side of Justinian, because
their chief, Zabergan, ravaged Thrace and Mace- Nushirwfn renounced his claims upon Colchis and
donia, and appeared ~-under the walls of Constan- Lazica, both of which countries were then renowned
tinople. The capital'was saved by Belisarius, for their gold mines; and the restoration of peace
whom Justinian rewarded with a dry compliment. in all his Eastern dominions was a sufficient conIf weturn our eyes from the West to the East, sideration to induce Justinian to expend so small a
we find that the treaty of peace had scarcely been sum as 30,000 pieces of gold. In the beginning of
concluded between Constantinople and Persia, be- the Persian war Justinian concluded a singular
fore the Persian king Chosroes or Nushirwan, with alliance. At that time there was a Christian kinghis' accustomed faithlessness, violated its conditions, dom in Southern Arabia, which extended over the
andanew and terriblewar broke out in 540. Ac- provinces of Yemen and Hadhramafit, and was
cording to Procopius, however, Justinian purposely then commonly called the kingdom of the Homeexcited the Persian king to take up arms, and, at ritae. Dunaan having seized the supreme power;;many rate,~ wished for a new war, which is the more persecuted the Christians, who found assistance in
likely, as he was then at the pinnacle of'his power. the person of Eleesbam, the Negus or Christian
In the year mentioned Nushirwan invaded Syria, king of Abyssinia, who came over to Arabia, and
and the Roman army being too weak to arrest his made himself master of the Homeritic kingdom.
progress, he spoiled the principal towns of their With this Eleesbam Justinian entered into negoriches, and laid siege to Antioch, which was tiations, and in 533 despatched Nonnosus as ambasdefended by Germanus. This general thought his sador to him, to induce him to unite his forces
forces insufficient for an effective resistance, and con- with the Romans against the Persians, and to
sequently withdrew, a step for which he has been protect the trade between Egypt and -India, especharged with cowardice, although on many other cially that of silk, which Justinian wished to
occasions he had shown himself a brave and fear- establish by sea, through the assistance of the inless man. The "queen of the East" soon beame habitants of Abyssinia and Arabia. Nonnosus
a prey to the Persians, and after having been ascended the Nile, and was received by Eleesbam
plundered, was destroyed by' fire. The Asiatic at Axum, but he did not attain his objects. Soon
provinces of Justinian would have been lost but for afterwards the Homeritae freed themselves froln
the timely arrival of Belisarius (541), who through the Abyssinian supremacy; but the rise of Mohama well calculated invasion of Mesopotamia and As- medanism proved the ruin of the Christians in
syria, compelled Nushirwan to leave the province Arabia, for the power of the Abyssinian kings in
of Pontus which he was ravaging, and to hasten to Africa was weakened through internal discord and
the defence of his hereditary dominions. Suddenly revolutions. Gibbon remarks with great justness,
-Belisarius was recalled to Constantinople, and that:' these obscure and remote events are not
during his absence Nushirwfin collected his forces, foreign to the decline and fall of the Roman empire.
and set out for a new invasion of Syria and Pales- If a Christian power had been maintained in
tine. In this emergency Belisarius was again put Arabia, Mohammed must have been crushed in his
at the head of the Roman armies in those quarters; cradle, and Abyssinia would have prevented a reand the mere fact of his presence was sufficient to volution which has changed the civil and religious
induce Nushirwfn-to repass the Euphrates. Every state of the world."'body now expected that Belisarius would march The final overthrow of the Gothic power in Italy,'forthwith upon Ctesiphon, when the unfavourable the peace with Persia, the reconquest of Lazica,
turn of' the Gothie war required his presence in and the' last victories of Belisarius over the BulItaly (543). No sooner was he gone than 30,000 garians in 559, followed each other so closely, and
Romans suffered a severe defeat from 4000 Per- were of such importance in their consequences, that
sians; but the differences between the two empires Justinian was allowed during the last years of his
were nevertheless settled to the satisfaction of life to enjoy in peace the extraordinary power'Justinian, and a sort of truce was made, in conse- which his ambition made him wish for, but which
quence of which that part of the East was no he owed entirely to the skill and heroism of Beli-longer disturbed by the Persians. It happened, sarius, Narses, and Germanus, and many other:-however, that the Lazians and Colchians became generals, as well as to the valour and discipline of:tired of their dependence upon Constantinople, and the troops formed by those eminent officers. Nine
implored the protection of Nushirw'in, who ac- months after Belisarius, the victim of his base incepted the offer, and placed garrisons in the prin- gratitude, had sunk into the grave, the emperor
cipal towns of those nations. A few years were Justinian died, on the 14th of November, 565, at
sufficient to show them that the rapacity of the the age of eighty-three, and left an empire, colossal
king was still greater than that of the emperor, and in size, threatening in its appearance, but rotten
they accordingly entreated Justinian to receive in its foundations, to the imbecile son of his sister
them again among his subjects, and to deliver them Vigilantia, Justinus II.'from their Persian oppressors. Justinian despatched After this sketch of the principal political events
Dagisteus with 7000 Romans and 1000 Zani into of the reign of Justinian, it remains to say a few
Lazica; and Petra, the strongest fortress of the words on the'manner in which he guarded' his emcountry, was taken from the Persians' by storm, pire against so many enemies which surrounded it,'after a memorable and protracted siege (549- and on the system of his government at home.'551). This war lasted, with various success, till The ancient Roman system of fortifying the
561, when, tired of eternal bloodshed, the two frontiers of the empire was carried by Justinian to
-monarchs came at last to'an agreement. Through an extent which plainly shows the great danger to
the peace of 561. the tranquillity of the East was which his subjects were constantly exposed; for
finally restored, but Justinian bought it on the not only were the outer frontiers secured by an