G O T H S. 



ill their piratical adventures, and fanililied by the uncouth 

 veprefentations of the three prnicipal deities, the god of 

 war, the goddefs of generation, and the god of thunder. 

 In the general fedival that was fulemnized every ninth year, 

 nine animals of every fpecies (without excepting the human) 

 were facrificed, and tiieir bleeding bodies fufpeuded in the 

 ("acred grove adjacent to the temple. The only traces that 

 now fubfilt of this barbaric fiiperllition are contained in the 

 Edda; which fee. See iilfo Ooix. 



Caracalla was the full Roman emperor who quarrelled 

 with tlic Goths, and niarcV.ed againil them into that part of 

 Dacia, north of the Danube, of which they had taken pof- 

 ■<Vflion ; but the advantages which he feems to have gained 

 over them in a few ikir-miilies were very inconfiderable. It 

 appears, that the Romans were alarmed at an early period 

 by the progTcfs of this warlike nation ; for in the reign of 

 Alexander, which began in 222, confiderablc fums of mo- 

 ney were fent to them from Rome, in order to prevent tl\eir 

 dillurblng the peace of the empire. Notwithilanding thefe 

 bribes, as foun as thev heard of the aiTaffination of the em- 

 piTor Maximin, who was of Ciothic cxtraftion, they re- 

 i'olved to revenge it, and accordingly entering JNItefia, tiiey 

 totally laid wafte that prorince. Not long after they made 

 therai'elves maftcrs of Thrace, from which they were driven 

 by Gordian. Under Philip, his fuccelfoi-, they committed 

 dreadful ravages both in Tiirace and Mu;fia. Soon alter 

 their retreat from the fiege of Marcianopolis, the capital of 

 the fecond Moefia, and after having compelled tlie inhabit- 

 ants to ranfom their lives and property, they pafTed the 

 Danube" a fecond time, under t'le command ot their king, 

 Cniva, with a more confiderablc force ; and having obliged 

 Darius the fon of the Roman emperor, to fave himfelf by 

 fligiit, they were oppofed by the emperor himfelf. Darius, 

 having compelled tiiern to raife the fiege of Nicopolis, they 

 retired towards Pliiloppolis, took it by ilorm, and mafl'a- 

 cred, as is faid, 100,000 perfons in the fack of that city. 

 The time, however, which was confumed in this tedious 

 ficge, enabled Darius to revive the courage, rellore the 

 dilcipliue, and recruit the number of his troops, after the 

 defeat they had fullaiiied in their purfuit of the G'lths. 

 Thus recruited, the emperor exerted his utmofl vigilance to 

 oppofo cither the progrefs or the retreat of the barbvu'ians. 

 The Goths were now, on every fide, furrounded arid pur- 

 fiied by the Roman arm? ; and exhaufted by the long fiege 

 of Philoppolis, they v/ould gladly have purehafed, by tlie 

 furrender of all their booty and prifoners, the permiiTion of 

 an undiftiubed retreat. The emperor, confident of victory, 

 rcfufed to lilcen to any terms of accommodation ; and the 

 high-fpirited barbarians preferred death to flavery. The 

 two armies, therefore, prepared for an engagement. The 

 confliil was fevere ; two lines of the Gothic ai-my were 

 thrown into diforder ; and the third only remained entire, 

 prepared to difpute the paffage of a morals, which was im- 

 prudently attempted by the Roman troops. Here tlie for- 

 tune of the day alTumcd a new afpeft. In this morals the 

 Roman army, borne down by the weight of their armour, 

 after an ineffeilual ftruggle, was irrecoverably loft ; nor 

 could the body of the emperor ever be found. Upon tlie 

 elecT;ion of Gallus A. D. 251, the firll objeft of hi.i at- 

 tention was to deliver the Illyrian provinces from the intole- 

 rable weight of the vidtorious Goths. He offered them 

 every inducement in.his power to withdraw their forces ; and 

 he even prornifed to pay them annually a large fum of gold, 

 on condition they flioald never afttrwards infeft the Roman 

 territories by their, incurfions. This tribute, however, 

 though grafted at the expence of the honour of the Ro- 

 mans, was infufScieut to feeure their permanent repofe. 



New fwarms of barbarians, encouraged by the fuccefs, and 

 conceiving themfelves not bound by the obligation of their 

 brethren, fpread devaftation through the Illyrian provinces, 

 and terror as far as the gates of Rome. In this period of 

 alarm and diftrefs, ^niilianus, governor of Pannonia and 

 Mo^fia, rallied the fcattered forces of the empire ; and tlie 

 barbarians were unexpettedly attacked, routed, chafed, and 

 purfucd beyond the Danube. Under the reigns of Valerian 

 and Gallienus, the frontier of the lail-mentioned river was 

 perpetually infelled by the inroads of the Germans and Sarma- 

 tians ; but it was defended by the Romans with more than 

 ufual firmnefs and fuccefs. Neverlhelefs, the great ilream 

 of the Gotiiic hollilities was diverted into a very dilferent 

 channel. The Gotlis, in their new lettlement of the Uk- 

 raine, foon became mailers of the northern coaft of the 

 Euxine : to the fouth of that inland fea were fituated the 

 wealthy provinces of Alia Minor, which poflefled all that 

 could attraft, and nothing that could refill, a barbarian 

 conqueror. The httle kingdom of Boiphorus, whole capi- 

 tal was fituated on the llraits, through which the Maotis 

 communicates itfelf to the Euxine, was compofed of dege- 

 nerate Greeks, and half-civdized barbarians. In this fmall 

 kingdom, domellic factions, and the fears, or intered, of 

 obfcure ufurpers, wlio ieizcd on the vacant throne, admitted 

 the Gotlis into the lieart of Bofphorus. 



Here tliey acquired a naval force fufiicient to tranfport iheir 

 troops to the coall of Afia. For this purpofe, they eon- 

 llrurted a fort of fiat -bottomed boats, called " Camarsp," 

 framed of timber only, without any iron, and occafionally 

 covered with a fiielving roof, on the appearance of a tempell. 

 With this kind of fleet, they firll appeared before Pityus, 

 at the utmoft limit of the Roman provinces, with a con- 

 venient port, and fortified with a ilrong walk Their firll 

 attack was repulfed ; but, renewing their attempts, they 

 dellroyed this city. Then circling round the eaftcrn ex- 

 tremity of the Euxine iea, tlieir navigation from Pityus to 

 Trebifond was a courfe of about 3C0 miles. This city was 

 large and populous, defended by a double inclofure of 

 walle, and had its ufual garrifon llrengtliened by a rein- 

 forcement of io,coo men. But this numerous garrifoa w-as 

 difiolved in riot and luxuiy, and thus rendered carelefs in 

 guarding their impregnable fortifications. The Goths, 

 availing themfelves of the fupine negligence of the befiegtd, 

 eredled a lofty pile of fafciiies, afcended the walls in tiie 

 filence of the night, entered the defencelefs city, fword in 

 hand, maffacred the inhabitants, dellroyed the temples and 

 fplendid edifices, and gained an immenfe booty. With the 

 rich fpoils of the city they filled a great fleet of fhips, whiclv 

 they found in the i>ort, and, fatisfied with the fuccefs of 

 their firil naval expedition, returned in triumph to their 

 new eftablilliments in the kingdom of the Bofphorus. In 

 their fecond naval expedition, poifelfed of greater powers 

 botli of men and tliips, they took a new courfe, followed 

 the weftern coall of the Euxine, pnfled before the wide 

 mouths of the Boryllhenes, the Niel-ler, and the Danube ; 

 and increafing their ileet by a great number of filliing barks, 

 tliey approached the narrow outlet through which the 

 Euxine fea pours its waters into the Mediterranean. In 

 this expedition they plundered the cities of Bithynia, Clial- 

 cedon, Nice, Prufa, Apamea, Clus, and Nicomedia. From 

 the recent attack of Prufa, t!ie Goths advanced within 18 

 miles of Cyzicus ; but their progrefs was ftopped by the 

 fmall river Rhyndacus, which ili'ues from the lake Apollio- 

 nates, and winch was then fwelled into a broad and rapid 

 llream. Their retreat to the maritime city of Hernclea, 

 where their fleet was probably ilationed, was attended by a 

 long tram of waggons, laden with the fpoils of Bithynia, 

 3 and 



