could construct such works, and we were to shrink from the labour of describing them. Now that I am about to enumerate the buildings of this our Emperor in Europe, it is worth while before doing so to make a few remarks about the country. From what is called the Adriatic Sea a branch extends straight into the continent, apart from the rest of the sea, so as to divide the country and form the Ionian Gulf, having on its right bank the Epirotes and the other nations in that quarter, and on the left the Calabrians. Compressed into a long and narrow inlet, it embraces almost the whole of the continent. Above this sea and running over against it, the river Danube forms the land of Europe into a peninsula. Here our Emperor constructed many admirable works; for he fortified the whole of Europe so securely as to render it inaccessible to the barbarians who dwell beyond the river Danube. I ought, however, to begin with the native country of the Emperor, which must occupy the first place in my narrative, as it does in all other respects; for it alone may rejoice and pride itself upon the glory of having bred and furnished the Romans with an Emperor, whose works are so great that they can neither be described in language nor set down in writing. In the country of the European Dardani, who dwell beyond the frontier of the citizens of Epidamnus, near the fort called Bederiana, is a place named Tauresium, from whence came the Emperor Justinian, the Founder of the Universe.[72] This place he hastily fortified in a quadrangular form, placing a tower at each angle, and gave it from its shape the name of Tetrapyrgia, or the ‘Four Towers.’ Close to this place he built a most noble city, which he named Justiniana Prima (this word in the Latin language means ‘First’), thus repaying his debt to the country which bred him, though this duty ought to have been shared by all the Romans, since this place furnished a preserver for them all alike. Here he constructed an aqueduct and supplied the city with a perpetual flow of water, and erected many other works, magnificent and surpassing all description, worthy of the founder of the city; it is not easy to enumerate the churches, and it is impossible for language to describe the dwellings of the magistrates, the size of the porticos, the beauty of the market-places, the fountains, the streets, the baths, and the shops. In a word, the city is great, populous, flourishing, and worthy to be the metropolis of the whole country, to which dignity it has been raised. In addition to this, it is the seat of the Archbishop of Illyria, all the other cities yielding to it as being the greatest in size; so that it in turn reflects glory upon the Emperor; for the city prides itself upon the Emperor which it has bred, while the Emperor glories in having constructed the city. Let the above description of it suffice; for to describe it all, in exact detail, is impossible, because all language must fall short of a city worthy of