Page:Secret History of the Court of the Emperor Justinian 1674.djvu/69

 Arms against the Emperor, and having made choice of Julian, the Son of Sabarus, to com­mand them, they gave Battle to Justinians Army; for some time the Victory was doubtful, and a good while they fought before it could be known on which side it would incline, but at length the Peasants were defeated, and most part of them slain, and their General Julian among the rest; by report there were near 100000 Men killed upon the place. The greatest of the loss fell among the Christians; for though they had no Men left to Cullivate their Lands, which were the fruitfullest of the World, yet they were forced to pay annual Taxes and Impositi­ons to the Emperor, to a great value, which were extorted from them by all manner of cruelty.

After this, he turned his designs against the Gentiles, killed several of them, and dispossess­ed the rest of their estates: Some of them there were, who pretended to embrace the Christian Religion, to avoid their torments, and to pre­serve their estates; but they were afterwards surprised in the exercise of their Idolatry, and in the impiety of their Sacrifices. I shall now say what he did against the Christians. After this by particular Proclamation, he prohibited the infamous and unnatural use of Boys, cau­sing to be apprehended not only them who had been guilty since the publication of the said Law, but those who had been suspected of it of old, and punished them severely without any Form of Justice, or Legal Process: He demned