Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1827) Vol 2.djvu/69

 OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 51 The civil administration was sometimes interrupted CIIAl*. by the military defence of the empire. Crispus, a youth ^^"^ • of the most amiable character, who had received with The Uoiliic the title of Caesar the command of the Rhine, distin- '^'^J^ 322 guished his conduct, as well as valour, in several victo- ries over the Franks and Alcmanni: and tauaht the barbarians of that frontier to dread the eldest son ot Constantine, and the grandson of Constantiu.s '. The emperor himself had assumed the more difficult and iniportant province of the Danube. The Goths, who in the time of Claudius and Aurelian had felt the weight of the Roman arms, respected the power of the empire, even in the midst of its intestine divisions. But the strength of that warlike nation was now restored by a peace of near fifty years ; a new generation had arisen, who no longer remembered the misfortunes of ancient days : the Sarmatians of the lake Majotis fol- lowed the Gothic standard either as subjects or as allies, and their united force was poured upon the countries of Illyricum. Campona, Margus, and Bono- nia, appear to have been the scenes of several memora- ble sieges and battles «; and though Constantine en- countered a very obstinate resistance, he prevailed at length in the contest, and the Goths were compelled to purchase an ignominious retreat, by I'estoring the booty and prisoners which they had taken. Nor was this advantage sufficient to satisfy the indignation of the emperor. He resolved to chastise as well as to repulse the insolent barbarians who had dared to in- vade the territories of Rome. At the head of his le- gions he passed the Danube, after repairing the bridge strates. Eusebius himself (1. iv. c. 29. 54.) and the Theodosian Code will inform us, that this excessive lenity was not owing to the want either of atrocious criminals or of penal laws. f Nazarius in Panegyr. Vet. x. The victory of Crispus over tiie Ale- manni is expressed on some medals. S See Zosimus, I. ii. p. 93, 94 ; though the narrative of that historian is neither clear nor consistent. The panegyric of Optatianus (c. 23.) men- tions the alliance of the Sarmntians with the Carpi and (jeta;, and points out the several fields of battle. It is supposed, that the Sarinatian games, celebrated in the month of November, derived their origin from the success of this war. E 2