Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1827) Vol 2.djvu/47

 OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 29 Alps were then guarded by nature, they are now forti- C il AP. fied by art. Citadels, constructed with no less skill -^'^ • than labour and expense, command every avenue into the plain, and on that side render Italy almost inac- cessible to the enemies of the king of Sardinia ''. But in the course of the intermediate period, tiie generals who have attempted the passage have seldom expe- rienced any difficulty or resistance. In the age of Constantine, the peasants of the mountains were civi- lized and obedient subjects ; the country was ])lentifully stocked with provisions, and the stupendous highways which the Romans had carried over the Alps, opened several comnumications between Gaul and Italy'. Con- stantine preferred the road of the Cottian Alps, or, as it is now called, of mount Cenis, and led his troops with such active diligence, that he descended into the plain of Piedmont before the court of Maxentius had received any certain intelligence of his departure from the banks of the Rhine. The city of Susa, however, which is situated at the foot of mount Cenis, was sur- rounded with walls, and provided with a garrison suffi- ciently numerous to check the progress of an invader; but the impatience of Constantine's troops disdained the tedious forms of a siege. The same day that they appeai'ed before Susa, they applied fire to the gates, and ladders to the walls; and mounting to the assault amidst a shower of stones and arrows, they entered the place sword in hand, and cut in pieces the greatest part of the garrison. The flames were extinguished by the care of Constantine, and the remains of Susa preserved from total destruction. About forty miles Battle of from thence a more severe contest awaited him. A """' numerous army of Italians was assembled under the de Folard (Polybe, torn, iv.) and iI. d'Anville have led liiin over mount Genevre. But notwillistanding the authority of an experienced otficer and a learned geographer, the pretensions of mount Cenis are supported in a specious, not to say a convincing manner, by M. Grosley, Observations sur ritalie, torn. i. p. 40, etc. '' La Brunette near Suse, Dcmont, Exiles, Fenestrelles, Coni, etc. ' See Ammian. .Marcellin. xv. 10. His description of the roads over the Alps is clear, lively, and accurate.