The Historians' History of the World 07 [The History of the Later Roman Empire]

[14] [“With the conquest of Rome by Belisarius,” says Finlay,b “the history of the ancient city may be considered as terminating; and with his defence against Witiges commences the history of the Middle Ages—of the time of destruction and change.” Similarly, though from different reasons, Burye says of the plague of 542 A.D., “If we may speak of watersheds in history, this plague marks the watershed of what we call the ancient and what we call the mediæval age. Really nothing is more striking than the difference between the first half and the last half of Justinian’s reign.”]

[15] [According to Bury,e “Alexander was called ‘Scissors’ from his practice of clipping coins.” Procopius says he “alienated the minds of the Italians from Justinian; and none of the soldiers were willing to undergo the hazard of war.”]

[16] [Burye says that the place is in dispute, some placing it near Sassoferrato, and others near Scheggia. He feels that we are justified in placing the date as July or August, 552.]

[17] [“Belisarius,” says Freeman,f “was perhaps the greatest commander that ever lived, as he did the greatest things with the smallest means.”]

[18] [This is the old theory, and Hodgking says, “I confess that, to me, the old-fashioned derivation, that which was accepted by Isidoreh and Paulus, still seems the most probable.” The word bard, usually allied to the Latin barba, “beard,” has also been referred to the old High German barta, “axe,” and to bord, “shore,” and some writers would translate Langobards as “Long-axe-men” or “Long-shore-men.”]

[19] [Hodgking says “three hundred years.”]

[20] [Paulus Diaconusi tells the story, I. 20. Rodulf was then king of the Heruli, and his brother was killed by the servants of King Tato, “seventh Lombard king.”]

[21] [Hodgking calls the Heruli “a perpetual puzzle to ethnologists,” and quotes Zeuss,j who calls them “the most unstable of German tribes.” Their seat at the moment in question is also variously guessed at, Hodgkin inclining to Hungary. This fatal battle took place about 508. The Lombards were Arians,—how they were converted we do not know,—and they brought into Italy a hierarchy of bishops, priests, and deacons.]

[22] [Jordanesk says that “on both sides there fell over 6000 men. No equal battle has been heard of in our times since the days of Attila, except that of Calluc against the same Gepidæ, or of Mundo with the Goths.” The date was about 554.]

[23] [Burye says, “the Bulgarians soon cease to be mentioned and it appears probable that they were subjugated by the neighbouring Slavs.” He adds that these Bulgarians of the sixth century had nothing to do with the foundation of the Bulgarian Kingdom in the seventh century.]

[24] [Procopiusd calls the Bulgarians “Huns.” Roeslerl calls the Cotrigur Huns “Bulgarians.” The origins of these races will be taken up more fully in the later volumes of modern history.]

[25] [Such a slaughter requires a far larger population than the obscure town of Topirus could probably have possessed.]

[26] [Now Tibesh in Algiers.]

[27] [“The glory of Belisarius deserves to be contrasted with the oblivion which has covered the exploits of Johannes the Patrician, one of the ablest generals of Justinian. This experienced general assumed the command in Africa when the province had fallen into a state of great disorder; the inhabitants were exposed to a dangerous coalition of the Moors, and the Roman army was in such a state of destitution that their leader was compelled to import the necessary provisions for his troops. Though Johannes defeated the Moors, and restored prosperity to the province, his name is almost forgotten. His actions and talents only affected the interests of the Byzantine Empire, and prolonged the existence of the Roman province of Africa; they exerted no influence on the fate of any of the European nations whose history has been the object of study in modern times, so that they were utterly forgotten when the discovery of the poetry of Corippus, one of the last and worst of the Roman poets, rescued them from complete oblivion.”—Finlay.b]

[28] [“As if,” comments Agathias,o “this alone had been the purpose of their appearance in the world.”]