History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 3Gibbon, Edward
History
History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 3
Gibbon, Edward
Byzantine Empire -- History -- To 527; Rome -- History -- Empire, 30 B.C.-476 A.D.
this mighty host; but the Alani, who had found a hospitable
reception in their new seats, added their active cavalry to the
heavy infantry of the Germans; and the Gothic adventurers crowded
so eagerly to the standard of Radagaisus, that by some
historians, he has been styled the King of the Goths. Twelve
thousand warriors, distinguished above the vulgar by their noble
birth, or their valiant deeds, glittered in the van; 68 and the
whole multitude, which was not less than two hundred thousand
fighting men, might be increased, by the accession of women, of
children, and of slaves, to the amount of four hundred thousand
persons. This formidable emigration issued from the same coast of
the Baltic, which had poured forth the myriads of the Cimbri and
Teutones, to assault Rome and Italy in the vigor of the republic.
After the departure of those Barbarians, their native country,
which was marked by the vestiges of their greatness, long
ramparts, and gigantic moles, 69 remained, during some ages, a
vast and dreary solitude; till the human species was renewed by
the powers of generation, and the vacancy was filled by the
influx of new inhabitants. The nations who now usurp an extent of
land which they are unable to cultivate, would soon be assisted
by the industrious poverty of their neighbors, if the government
of Europe did not protect the claims of dominion and property.
6411 (return) [ There is no authority which connects this inroad
of the Teutonic tribes with the movements of the Huns. The Huns
can hardly have reached the shores of the Baltic, and probably
the greater part of the forces of Radagaisus, particularly the
Vandals, had long occupied a more southern position.—M.]
65 (return) [ Procopius (de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. iii. p. 182)
has observed an emigration from the Palus Maeotis to the north of
Germany, which he ascribes to famine. But his views of ancient
history are strangely darkened by ignorance and error.]
66 (return) [ Zosimus (l. v. p. 331) uses the general description
of the nations beyond the Danube and the Rhine. Their situation,
and consequently their names, are manifestly shown, even in the
various epithets which each ancient writer may have casually
added.]
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