Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire vol 5 (1897).djvu/75

 OF TPTE ROMAN EMPIRE 53 are still famous in the history or rather in the romances of the East ; her own name is expressive, in the Persian tongue, of sweetness and grace ; and the epithet of Pa rrh-'^ alliules to the charms of her royal lover. Yet Sira never shared the passion which she inspired, and the bliss of Chosroes was tortured by a jealous doubt that, while he possessed her person, she had bestowed her affections on a meaner favourite. "*" While the majesty of the Roman name was revived in the Pride. poucy, East, the prospect of Europe is less pleasing and less glorious, the c^hagan" By the depai'ture of the Lombards and the ruin of the Gepidie, ad. stogoo!' the balance of power was destroyed on the Danube ; and the Avars spread their permanent dominion from the foot of the Alps to the sea-coast of the Euxine. The reign of Baian is the brightest £era of their monarch}' ; their chagan, who occupied the rustic ])alace of Attila, appears to have imitated his char- acter and policy ; ^^ but, as the same scenes were repeated in a smaller circle, a minute representation of the copy would be devoid of the greatness and novelt}' of the original."- The pride of the second Justin, of Tiberius, and Maurice, was humbled by a proud barbarian, more piompt to inflict, than exposed to suffer, the injuries of war ; and, as often as Asia -^[The name Jiarzt'c'z or aparwcz seems to mean " victoi-iou? " ; cp. Nrildeke, Tabari, p. 275.] ■'"The whole series of the tyranny of Hormouz, the revolt of Bahram, and the flight and restoration of Chosroes, is related by two contemporary Greeks — more concisely by Evagrius (1. vi. c. 16, 17, 18, 19), and most diffusely by Theophylact Simocatta (1. iii. c. 6-18, 1. iv. c. 1-16, 1. v. c. 1-15); succeeding compilers, Zonaras and Cedrenus, can only transcribe and abridge. The Christian Arabs, Eutychius (Annal. torn. ii. p. 200-208) and Abulpharagius (Dynast, p. 96-98), appear to have consulted some particular memoirs. The great Persian historians of the .wth century, Mirkhond and Khondemir, are only known to me by the ^ imperfect extracts of Schikard (Tarikh, p. 150-155), Te.xeira, or rather Stevens (Hist, of Persia, p. 182-186), a Turkish Ms. translated by the Abb^ Fourmont (Hist, de I'Acadt^mie des Inscriptions, tom. vii. p. 325-334), and D'Herbelot (aux mots Hormonz, p. 457-459 ; Dahrain, i. 174 ; Khusnm Parviz, p. 996). Were I perfectly satisfied of their authority, I could wish these Oriental materials had been more copious. [We can add Tabari and Sebaeos.] •" A general idea of the pride and power of the chagan may be taken from Menander (E.xcerpt. Legat. p. 117, &c. [fr. 27, pp. 232-3, in F. H. G. iv.]) and Theophylact (1. i. c. 3 ; 1. vii. c. 15), whose eiglit books are much more honourable to the Avar than to the Roman prince. The predecessors of Baian had tasted the liberality of Rome, and he survived the reign of Maurice (Buat, Hist, des Peuples Barbares, tom. xi. p. 545). The chagan who invaded Italy a.d. 611 (Muratori, Annali. tom. v. p. 305) was then juvenili astate florentem (Paul Warnefrid. de Gest. Langobard. 1. v. c. 38), the son, perhaps, or the grandson, of Baian. [Baian was succeeded by his eldest son ; and he by a younger brother, who was chagan in A.D. 626. See the Relation of the siege of Constantinople in that year ap. Mai, x. p. 424-5. We know not which of the sons was chagan in A.D. 5TI.] ■'•- [The story of the Aar invasions has been told in great deiail by Sir H. Howorth, The Avars, in Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, 1889, p. 721, st/q. See JllsQ Bury, Later Roman Empire, ii. 116, sgif-A