XLI.
Ti. Claudio quintum Servio Cornelio Orfito consulibus virilis toga Neroni maturata quo capessendae rei publicae habilis videretur. et Caesar adulationibus senatus libens cessit ut vicesimo aetatis anno consulatum Nero iniret atque interim designatus proconsulare imperium extra urbem haberet ac princeps iuventutis appellaretur. additum nomine eius donativum militi, congiarium plebei. et ludicro circensium, quod adquirendis vulgi studiis edebatur, Britannicus in praetexta, Nero triumphali veste travecti sunt: spectaret populus hunc decore imperatorio, illum puerili habitu, ac perinde fortunam utriusque praesumeret. simul qui centurionum tribunorumque sortem Britannici miserabantur, remoti fictis causis et alii per speciem honoris; etiam libertorum si quis incorrupta fide, depellitur tali occasione. obvii inter se Nero Britannicum nomine, ille Domitium salutavere. quod ut discordiae initium Agrippina multo questu ad maritum defert: sperni quippe adoptionem, quaeque censuerint patres, iusserit populus, intra penatis abrogari; ac nisi pravitas tam infensa docentium arceatur, eruptura in publicam perniciem. commotus his quasi criminibus optimum quemque educatorem filii exilio aut morte adficit datosque a noverca custodiae eius imponit.
41.
When Claudius entered his fifth consulate, this time with Servius Cornelius, Nero was permitted to wear the toga of an adult man one year ahead of time, so as to be seen qualified to participate in public affairs. The emperor easily gave in to the servile importunities of the senate desiring that Nero be made consul in his twentieth year, that in the interim, as consul elect, he be invested with proconsular powers outside of Rome, and finally that he be distinguished by the title of Prince of the Roman Youth. In his name a donative was distributed to the troops together with a generous bestowal of gifts to the plebs. During the games held in the circus, especially to win him the favor of the multitude, Britannicus was seen filing past in the procession wearing the toga praetexta, Nero the triumphal garb. Thus, the people might be able to view the one in all the trumpery of command, the other in a boyish dress, and consequently might guess what fortune was in store for each of them. Centurions and tribunes who deplored the plight of Britannicus were now removed on various pretexts or with the excuse of promotion. Of the freedmen, those of unquestioned fidelity to the boy were let go on the ground that on a certain occasion Nero had, on meeting Britannicus, saluted him using his name and the latter, in answering, had called Nero Domitius. Agrippina reported the incident to the husband, bitterly objecting it was a first sign of Britannicus’ hostility towards her son, that the official adoption was scoffed at, and that all that the senate had decreed and the people commanded was being set at nought inside the imperial home. She urged that unless the seditious influence of Britannicus’ mentors was checked, the ruin of the state would soon be at their doors. Struck by the criminal implications of these charges, Claudius ordered exiled or executed the best of the son’s educators and imposed new guardians chosen by the stepmother for the custody of Britannicus.
XLII.
Nondum tamen summa moliri Agrippina audebat, ni praetoriarum cohortium cura exolverentur Lusius Geta et Rufrius Crispinus, quos Messalinae memores et liberis eius devinctos credebat. igitur distrahi cohortis ambitu duorum et, si ab uno regerentur, intentiorem fore disciplinam adseverante uxore, transfertur regimen cohortium ad Burrum Afranium, egregiae militaris famae, gnarum tamen cuius sponte praeficeretur. suum quoque fastigium Agrippina extollere altius: carpento Capitolium ingredi, qui honos sacerdotibus et sacris antiquitus concessus venerationem augebat feminae, quam imperatore genitam, sororem eius qui rerum potitus sit et coniugem et matrem fuisse, unicum ad hunc diem exemplum est. inter quae praecipuus propugnator eius Vitellius, validissima gratia, aetate extrema (adeo incertae sunt potentium res) accusatione corripitur, deferente Iunio Lupo senatore. is crimina maiestatis et cupidinem imperii obiectabat; praebuissetque auris Caesar, nisi Agrippinae minis magis quam precibus mutatus esset, ut accusatori aqua atque igni interdiceret. hactenus Vitellius voluerat.
42.
Agrippina, however, did not venture as yet to achieve her ultimate design, unless Lusius Geta and Rufrius Crispinus were removed from command of the praetorian guards. She was convinced they were still loyal to the memory of Messalina and attached to her children. Thus, since she kept asserting that the cohorts were torn apart by the competition for the soldiers’ favor between the two commanders, and that discipline under one prefect would be more rigorous, control was transferred to Afranius Burrus, a soldier of excellent reputation, one who was well aware from what source the promotion came. She also cultivated even higher her own prestige by obtaining the privilege to enter the Capitol in a ceremonial chariot with an ornamental roof, an honor reserved of old for priests and for the sacred items of worship. Now it increased the people’s homage for a woman who, born of a father distinguished by the title of imperator, was the sister, the wife, and the mother of men destined to rule the world, an example that remains unparalleled to this day. Meanwhile, her main supporter, Lucius Vitellius, at the peak of his powers and near the end of his life and career (to such an extent are the fortunes of the powerful insecure) came under the attack of the senator Junius Lupus, accusing him of treason and of aspiring to the empire. Claudius would have been willing to hear the case, but Agrippina forced him to change his mind (by voicing threats rather than entreaties) and prevailed to have the accuser exiled, which was all that Vitellius had wished for.
XLIII.
Multa eo anno prodigia evenere. insessum diris avibus Capitolium, crebris terrae motibus prorutae domus, ac dum latius metuitur, trepidatione vulgi invalidus quisque obtriti; frugum quoque egestas et orta ex eo fames in prodigium accipiebatur. nec occulti tantum questus, sed iura reddentem Claudium circumvasere clamoribus turbidis, pulsumque in extremam fori partem vi urgebant, donec militum globo infensos perrupit. quindecim dierum alimenta urbi, non amplius superfuisse constitit, magnaque deum benignitate et modestia hiemis rebus extremis subventum. at hercule olim Italia legionibus longinquas in provincias commeatus portabat, nec nunc infecunditate laboratur, sed Africam potius et Aegyptum exercemus, navisbusque et casibus vita populi Romani permissa est.
43.
A number of prodigious events occurred that year: birds of evil augury settled on the Capitol; earthquakes shook houses to the ground; as terror grew of new disasters, the weaker among the people were crushed underfoot by the fleeing multitude. Furthermore, scarcity of grain and the ensuing famine were seen as portents of worse to come. Dissatisfaction was not limited to mere murmurs. While Claudius was hearing cases as a judge, a clamorous throng surrounded him and pushed him to the farthest limits of the Forum, pressing him so hard that a troop of soldiers was required to force a way through the menacing mob. It was a fact that no more than fifteen days were left before the food supply would run out. What staved off severe hardship was the gods’ benevolence and the clemency of the winter. Still, by Hercules, in the past Italy was wont to send supplies for the troops in remote provinces and even today it is not the sterility of the soil that afflicts us, rather the fact that we prefer to grow crops in Africa and Egypt and then entrust the life of our people to ships and to the treachery of the sea.
XLIV.
Eodem anno bellum inter Armenios Hiberosque exortum Parthis quoque ac Romanis gravissimorum inter se motuum causa fuit. genti Parthorum Vologeses imperitabat, materna origine ex paelice Graeca, concessu fratrum regnum adeptus; Hiberos Pharasmanes vetusta possessione, Armenios frater eius Mithridates obtinebat opibus nostris. erat Pharasmanis filius nomine Radamistus, decora proceritate, vi corporis insignis et patrias artis edoctus, claraque inter accolas fama. is modicum Hiberiae regnum senecta patris detineri ferocius crebriusque iactabat quam ut cupidinem occultaret. igitur Pharasmanes iuvenem potentiae promptum et studio popularium accinctum, vergentibus iam annis suis metuens, aliam ad spem trahere et Armeniam ostentare, pulsis Parthis datam Mithridati a semet memorando: sed vim differendam et potiorem dolum quo incautum opprimerent. ita Radamistus simulata adversus patrem discordia tamquam novercae odiis impar pergit ad patruum, multaque ab eo comitate in speciem liberum cultus primores Armeniorum ad res novas inlicit, ignaro et ornante insuper Mithridate.
44.
That year saw hostilities begin between the Armenians and the Iberians, a confrontation that was the cause of very serious consequences in the relations between Rome and Parthia. The latter was ruled by Vologeses, the son of a Greek concubine, who held power with the consent of his brothers. The Iberians had long been under Pharasmanes, while Mithridates, his brother, was king of Armenia under Roman protection. Radamistus, an offspring of Pharasmanes, a tall, handsome youth, singularly strong, skilled in all the arts of his country and admired even among the neighboring nations, was in the habit of complaining – too often and too boldly to keep his aspirations under cover – that the scepter of the kingdom of Iberia (a tiny enough realm to begin with) was withheld from him by his father’s long grip on life. Consequently, Pharasmanes, anxious for his declining years in view of the son’s yearning for power and the favor he enjoyed with the people, began to draw the youth’s attention to a different opportunity in Armenia, reminding him that he himself had assigned that country to Mithridates after driving out the Parthians. Violence, however was not to be thought of just as yet, he advised, cunning was by far the better way to catch Mithridates off guard. Thus, Radamistus, feigning a quarrel with his father and his own inability to cope with the stepmother’s hostility towards him, repaired to his uncle. Received with extraordinary benevolence as if he were a son, Radamistus turned to sowing sedition among the grandees of Armenia, while the unsuspecting Mithridates kept showering him with honors.
XLV.
Reconciliationis specie adsumpta regressusque ad patrem, quae fraude confici potuerint, prompta nuntiat, cetera armis exequenda. interim Pharasmanes belli causas confingit: proelianti sibi adversus regem Albanorum et Romanos auxilio vocanti fratrem adversatum, eamque iniuriam excidio ipsius ultum iturum; simul magnas copias filio tradidit. ille inruptione subita territum exutumque campis Mithridaten compulit in castellum Gorneas, tutum loco ac praesidio militum, quis Caelius Pollio praefectus, centurio Casperius praeerat. nihil tam ignarum barbaris quam machinamenta et astus oppugnationum: at nobis ea pars militiae maxime gnara est. ita Radamistus frustra vel cum damno temptatis munitionibus obssidium incipit; et cum vis neglegeretur, avaritiam praefecti emercatur, obtestante Casperio, ne socius rex, ne Armenia donum populi Romani scelere et pecunia verterentur. postremo quia multitudinem hostium Pollio, iussa patris Radamistus obtendebant, pactus indutias abscedit, ut, nisi Pharasmanen bello absterruisset, Vmmidium Quadratum praesidem Syriae doceret quo in statu Armenia foret.
45.
Feigning reconcilement with his father, Radamistus returned to him and reported that all that could be achieved by devious means was done and that the rest called for the use of force. Pharasmanes, at the same time, concocted a pretext for war, charging that during the war against the Albani, when he had applied for help to Rome, Mithridates had been hostile to the plan, a treachery Pharasmanes now intended to make him pay with his life. He accompanied threats with action by providing his son with a considerable force, who by a sudden irruption into Armenia so terrified Mithridates that he forced him to abandon the plains and take refuge in the bastion of Gorneas, secure from attacks both by its position and the presence of a Roman garrison under the camp prefect Cellius Pollio and the centurion Casperius. To barbarians, nothing is more abstruse than siege equipment and the conduct of siege operations, whereas to us Romans these branches of military science are quite familiar. Radamistus, therefore, having tried in vain and with heavy losses to breach the defenses, began a blockade of the stronghold. Since his use of force was slighted, he turned to his advantage the cupidity of the camp prefect, against the protest of the indignant Casperius, who condemned any scheme to supplant an allied king – especially in the case of Armenia, a gift of the Roman people to Mithridates – as a crime and a shabby sell-out for money. In the end, since Pollio kept alleging the overwhelming numbers of the enemy and Radamistus the mandates of his father, the centurion agreed to a truce and withdrew, resolved, unless he would have deterred Pharasmanes from waging war, to inform Ummidius Quadratus, the governor of Syria, of the situation in Armenia.
XLVI.
Digressu centurionis velut custode exolutus praefectus hortari Mithridaten ad sanciendum foedus, coniunctionem fratrum ac priorem aetate Pharasmanen et cetera necessitudinum nomina referens, quod filiam eius in matrimonio haberet, quod ipse Radamisto socer esset: non abnuere pacem Hiberos, quamquam in tempore validiores; et satis cognitam Armeniorum perfidiam, nec aliud subsidii quam castellum commeatu egenum: ne dubia tentare armis quam incruentas condiciones mallet. cunctante ad ea Mithridate et suspectis praefecti consiliis, quod paelicem regiam polluerat inque omnem libidinem venalis habebatur, Casperius interim ad Pharasmanen pervadit, utque Hiberi obsidio decedant expostulat. ille propalam incerta et saepius molliora respondens, secretis nuntiis monet Radamistum obpugnationem quoquo modo celerare. augetur flagitii merces, et Pollio occulta corruptione impellit milites ut pacem flagitarent seque praesidium omissuros minitarentur. qua necessitate Mithridates diem locumque foederi accepit castelloque egreditur.
46.
Freed from virtual surveillance by the centurion’s departure, the camp prefect prodded Mithridates to conclude a pact. He appealed to the blood ties between brothers, to the older age of Pharasmanes, and to the other family connections, such as his being married to his brother’s daughter and the fact that Radamistus was his own son-in-law. The Iberians, he urged, were not against peace, even though stronger at that moment. The Armenians’ loyalty could not be relied on, their falseness being proverbial, and his sole defense was a fort short of provisions. He must not prefer the risks of armed resistance over accepting conditions of peace without loss of blood. Mithridates listened to these solicitations of the prefect with misgiving and suspicion. Pollio had seduced one of his concubines and was notorious as a man capable of the worst outrages. During this time, Casperius was able to gain access to Pharasmanes and to demand that the Iberians desist from the siege. The king’s response was ambivalent, more often compliant on the surface, but in secret messages to his son he advised to speed up the siege in every possible way. The reward for infamy was in consequence set higher and Pollio in exchange covertly encouraged the soldiers to clamor for immediate peace and to threaten they would no longer defend the stronghold if their demand was ignored. Left with no choice, Mithridates set the day and place for a parley, then left the fortress.
XLVII.
Ac primo Radamistus in amplexus eius effusus simulare obsequium, socerum ac parentem appellare; adicit ius iurandum, non ferro, non veneno vim adlaturum; simul in lucum propinquum trahit, provisum illic sacrificii paratum dictitans, ut diis testibus pax firmaretur. mos est regibus, quoties in societatem coeant, implicare dextras pollicesque inter se vincire nodoque praestringere: mox ubi sanguis in artus [se] extremos suffuderit, levi ictu cruorem eliciunt atque invicem lambunt. id foedus arcanum habetur quasi mutuo cruore sacratum. sed tunc qui ea vincla admovebat, decidisse simulans genua Mithridatis invadit ipsumque prosternit; simulque concursu plurium iniciuntur catenae. ac compede, quod dedecorum barbaris, trahebatur; mox quia vulgus duro imperio habitum, probra ac verbera intentabat. et erant contra qui tantam fortunae commutationem miserarentur; secutaque cum parvis liberis coniunx cuncta lamentatione complebat. diversis et contectis vehiculis abduntur, dum Pharasmanis iussa exquirerentur. illi cupido regni fratre et filia potior animusque sceleribus paratus; visui tamen consuluit, ne coram interficeret. et Radamistus, quasi iuris iurandi memor, non ferrum, non venenum in sororem et patruum expromit, sed proiectos in humum et veste multa gravique opertos necat. filii quoque Mithridatis quod caedibus parentum inlacrimaverant trucidati sunt.
47.
On first meeting him, Radamistus embraced him effusively, falsely expressing deference and calling him father-in-law and parent. He even backed up his hypocrisy by swearing an oath that he would never do him violence either by the sword or by poison. He drew him the while towards a nearby grove, where, he kept saying, a sacrifice was being prepared to seal the peace in the presence of the gods. It is the custom of these kings, whenever they ratify an alliance, to join their right hands, squeezing the thumbs together with a tight knot. After the blood has filled the extremities of the thumbs, it is forced out with a light prick and each covenanter sucks the other’s blood. This ritual is thought to confer an arcane endorsement to their pact, as if consecrated by the vital fluid of both parties. Just at that moment, however, the man who was applying the knot pretended to lose his balance and grabbed Mithridates’ knees, causing him to fall to the ground. At that, there was a forward rush and chains were thrown around him. Shackles were used to drag him away, in barbarian eyes the most degrading treatment. The multitude directed insults and blows at him, for his rule had been rigorous, but there were also many who, on the contrary, deplored such immediate turnabout of fortune. His spouse followed him with his infant children and the air resounded with her laments. They were removed from sight in separate covered vehicles, while Pharasmanes’ intentions were ascertained. In him, the hunger for royal supremacy far outweighed paternal and brotherly attachment, to the point that no crime could hold him back. Radamistus, for his part, as if to honor the oath he had sworn, refrained from using steel or poison against his sister and uncle, and had them smothered, after being thrown to the ground, under a mound of heavy clothing. Mithridates’ sons were also slaughtered for mourning their parents’ murder.
XLVIII.
At Quadratus cognoscens proditum Mithridaten et regnum ab interfectoribus obtineri, vocat consilium, docet acta et an ulcisceretur consultat. paucis decus publicum curae, plures tuta disserunt: omne scelus externum cum laetitia habendum; semina etiam odiorum iacienda, ut saepe principes Romani eandem Armeniam specie largitionis turbandis barbarorum animis praebuerint: poteretur Radamistus male partis, dum invisus infamis, quando id magis ex usu quam si cum gloria adeptus foret. in hanc sententiam itum. ne tamen adnuisse facinori viderentur et diversa Caesar iuberet, missi ad Pharasmanen nuntii ut abscederet a finibus Armeniis filiumque abstraheret.
48.
On hearing that Mithridates had succumbed to treachery and that Armenia was under the control of the slayers, Quadratus called together his council and related what had come about. He asked whether reprisal should be considered, but only a few of the members showed concern for public honor. The largest part counseled caution, asserting that any infamy perpetrated among foreign nations was to be saluted with joy. Nay, more: the seeds of hate should be scattered in their midst, on the past example of Roman emperors who had offered that same kingdom of Armenia, on pretense of generosity, only to stir up discord in barbarian hearts. Let Radamistus keep his prize acquired by evil means, provided he was detested and mired in disgrace. That was more useful to us than if he had conquered it with honor. This opinion prevailed, yet, lest they be thought they had approved the crime and for fear that Claudius might issue countermanding orders, envoys were sent to Pharasmanes requiring that he withdraw from Armenia and recall his son.
XLIX.
Erat Cappadociae procurator Iulius Paelignus, ignavia animi et deridiculo corporis iuxta despiciendus, sed Claudio perquam familiaris, cum privatus olim conversatione scurrarum iners otium oblectaret. is Paelignus auxiliis provincialium contractis tamquam reciperaturus Armeniam, dum socios magis quam hostis praedatur, abscessu suorum et incursantibus barbaris praesidii egens ad Radamistum venit; donisque eius evictus ultro regium insigne sumere cohortatur sumentique adest auctor et satelles. quod ubi turpi fama divulgatum, ne ceteri quoque ex Paeligno coniectarentur, Helvidius Priscus legatus cum legione mittitur rebus turbidis pro tempore ut consuleret. igitur propere montem Taurum transgressus moderatione plura quam vi composuerat, cum rediret in Syriam iubetur ne initium belli adversus Parthos existeret.
49.
Governor of Cappadocia was the procurator Julius Paelignus, a man despicable as much for the vileness of his character as for his physical deformity, but a dear friend of Claudius since the time the emperor was a private citizen and was wont to spend his leisure time in the company of buffoons. This Paelignus had collected in his province an auxiliary force, ostensibly to reconquer Armenia, but since in fact he was pillaging more our allies than the enemy, his men left him. Defenceless against the incursions of the barbarians, he betook himself to Radamistus, who so utterly overpowered him with gifts that he himself, without being solicited, urged him to assume the regal insignia and even assisted him, as guarantor and abetter, in the transfer of power. When news of that outrage became known, made worse in the report, for fear that all Romans might be judged by Paelignus’ indecent behaviour, the legate Helvidius Priscus was dispatched with one legion to reestablish order, according to the needs of the moment. Priscus, therefore, in no time crossed Mount Taurus and remedied most matters more by diplomacy than by force, when he was ordered back to Syria to avoid giving the Parthians a pretext to start a war.
L.
Nam Vologeses casum invadendae Armeniae obvenisse ratus, quam a maioribus suis possessam externus rex flagitio obtineret, contrahit copias fratremque Tiridaten deducere in regnum parat, ne qua pars domus sine imperio ageret. incessu Parthorum sine acie pulsi Hiberi, urbesque Armeniorum Artaxata et Tigranocerta iugum accepere. deinde atrox hiems et parum provisi commeatus et orta ex utroque tabes perpellunt Vologesen omittere praesentia. vacuamque rursus Armeniam Radamistus invasit, truculentior quam antea, tamquam adversus defectores et in tempore rebellaturos. atque illi quamvis servitio sueti patientiam abrumpunt armisque regiam circumveniunt.
50.
Vologeses, in fact, espied an opportunity for invading Armenia, a country his ancestors had made theirs and now was the possession of a foreign monarch as the reward of a terrible crime. He assembled an army with the intention of installing his brother Tiridates on the throne of that kingdom, so that no members of his family should lack a dominion. As he advanced into Armenia, the Iberians scattered before it came to a battle and the cities of Artaxata and Tigranocerta accepted Parthian rule without demur. Later, however, a brutal winter and food shortages — caused by negligent planning — both led to the spread of diseases, which obliged Vologeses to abandon his undertaking for the while. Radamistus rushed back to repossess himself of Armenia, once more without a ruler. He was now more ruthless than ever before, regarding the Armenians as a nation of traitors and expecting them to be ready to revolt soon again, but though they were long accustomed to servitude, their patience had reached its limit and in arms they formed a ring around the royal palace.