LXI.
Ceterum Germanicus aliis quoque miraculis intendit animum, quorum praecipua fuere Memnonis saxca effigies, ubi radiis solis icta est, vocalem sonum reddens, disiectasque inter et vix pervias arenas instar montium eductae pyramides certamine et opibus regum, lacusque effossa humo, superfluentis Nili receptacula; atque alibi angustiae et profunda altitudo, nullis inquirentium spatiis penetrabilis. exim ventum Elephantinen ac Syenen, claustra olim Romani imperii, quod nunc rubrum ad mare patescit.
61.
Germanicus was also enthusiastic about other wonders, outstanding among them the statue in stone of Memnon, which, when hit by the first rays of the sun, emits sounds that resemble a human voice. Spread out over the expanse of sand that makes progress difficult, the pyramids rise up like mountains into the air, the testimony of the kings’ race for pomp and opulence. Another marvel was the lake dug up in the earth as a receptacle of the water from the overflowing Nile. Elsewhere the narrowing of the channel and the great increase in depth of the river defies all attempts to fathom it. The next stops in Germanicus’ journey were Elephantine and Syene, formerly the limit of the Roman empire, now extended to the Persian Gulf.
LXII.
Dum ea aestas Germanico pluris per provincias transigitur, haud leve decus Drusus quaesivit inliciens Germanos ad discordias utque fracto iam Maroboduo usque in exitium insisteretur. erat inter Gotones nobilis iuvenis nomine Catualda, profugus olim vi Marobodui et tunc dubiis rebus eius ultionem ausus. is valida manu finis Marcomanorum ingreditur corruptisque primoribus ad societatem inrumpit regiam castellumque iuxta situm. veteres illic Sueborum praedae et nostris e provinciis lixae ac negotiatores reperti quos ius commercii, dein cupido augendi pecuniam, postremo oblivio patriae suis quemque ab sedibus hostilem in agrum transtulerat.
62.
The summer Germanicus passed visiting various provinces, Drusus spent acquiring much fame by encouraging the German tribes to internal strife and inciting them to finish off the already crippled Maroboduus. Among the Gotones a young man of noble birth, Catualda, once reduced to refugee status by the arrogance of Maroboduus, was now taking advantage of the low fortunes of his enemy to take revenge. With a suitable force, he invaded the territory of the Marcomanni, corrupted the nobility into forming an alliance with himself, and made an irruption into the royal palace and the adjacent fortified complex. There he found the plunder long before taken from the Suevi and the sutlers and merchants from our provinces, whom commercial opportunities, the avidity of easy gains, and finally forgetfulness of their own country had induced to exchange their native places for hostile lands.
LXIII.
Maroboduo undique deserto non alind subsidium quam misericordia Caesaris fuit. transgressus Danuvium, qua Noricam provinciam praefluit, scripsit Tiberio non ut profugus aut supplex sed ex memoria prioris fortunae: nam multi s nationibus clarissimum quondam regem ad se vocantibus Romanam amicitiam praetulisse. responsum a Caesare tutam ei honoratamque sedem in Italia fore, si maneret: sin rebus eius aliud conduceret, abiturum fide qua venisset. ceterum apud senatum disseruit non Philippum Atheniensibus, non Pyrrhum aut Antiochum populo Romano perinde metuendos fuisse. extat oratio qua magnitudinem viri, violentiam subiectarum ei gentium et quam propinquns Italiae hostis, suaque in destruendo eo consilia extulit. et Marobodous quidem Ravennae habitus, si quando insolescerent Suebi quasi rediturus in regnum ostentabatur: sed non excessit Italia per duodeviginti annos consenuitque multum imminuta claritate ob nimiam vivendi cupidinem. idem Catualdae casus neque aliud perfugium. pulsus haud multo post Hermundurorum opibus et Vibilio duce receptusque, Forum Iulium, Narbonensis Galliae coloniam, mittitur. barbari utrumque comirati, ne quietas provincias immixti turbarent, Danuvium ultra inter flumina Marum et Cusum locantur, dato rege Vannio gentis Quadorum.
63.
Deserted from all sides to Maroboduus no other help remained than Caesar’s compassion. He crossed the Danube where it flows along the border of Noricum and wrote to Tiberius, not as a pleading refugee, but as a man conscious of his past greatness. He pointed out that at the time when many nations were eager to have him, a famed king, on their side he had preferred friendship with Rome. Tiberius answered that he would have a safe and honorable residence in Italy as long as he wanted to stay, but should his preferences lay elsewhere, he would be free at any moment to go just as he had been free in coming. Yet, in the Senate, he affirmed that Marboduus was to be feared as more dangerous than Philip had been to the Athenians or Pyrrhus and Antiochus to the Roman people. Tiberius’ speech still exists in which he emphasized the stature of the man, the fierceness of the people subject to him, the proximity of such an enemy to Italy, and finally the tactics he himself had used to undo him. Maroboduus, in any case, was kept in Ravenna, an ever-present menace to the Suebi of his being foisted on them again as king if they started to make trouble. But Maroboduus never left Italy: he just added eighteen more years to his age, letting his fame decline from a too great a desire to live. Catualda’s fate was similar and hardly different from his refuge: chased away not long after with the help of the Hermonduri under Vibilius, he was received among us and sent to Forum Julii, a colony of Gallia Narbonensis. The barbarians who had accompanied both refugees were settled beyond the Danube, between the rivers Marus and Cusus, to prevent them from mingling with the population of peaceful provinces and provoking unrest. Vannius of the Quadi tribe was assigned to them as king.
LXIV.
Simul nuntiato regem Artaxian Armeniis a Germanico datum, decrevere patres ut Germanicus atque Drusus ovantes urbem introirent. structi et arcus circum latera templi Martis Ultoris cum effigie Caesarum, laetiore Tiberio quia pacem sapientia firmaverat quam si bellum per acies confecisset. igitur Rhescuporim quoque, Thraeciae regem, astu adgreditur. omnem eam nationem Rhoemetalces tenuerat; quo defuncto Augustus partem Thraecum Rhescuporidi fratri eius, partem filio Cotyi permisit. in ea divisione arva et urbes et vicina Graecis Cotyi, quod incultum ferox adnexum hostibus, Rhescuporidi cessit: ipsorumque regum ingenia, illi mite et amoenum, huic atrox avidum et societatis impatiens erat. sed primo subdola concordia egere: mox Rhescuporis egredi finis, vertere in se Cotyi data et resistenti vim facere, cunctanter sub Augusto, quem auctorem utriusque regni, si sperneretur, vindicem metuebat. enimvero audita mutatione principis immittere latronum globos, excindere castella, causas bello.
64.
When the news arrived in Rome that Germanicus had given Artaxias as king of Armenia, the senate decreed to both him and Drusus the ovation at their entry into the city. In addition, arches were erected along the sides of the temple of Mars the Avenger with statues of the two Caesars. Tiberius was more delighted that he had assured peace by the wise use of diplomacy than if he had brought war to an end in the field. In the same way, he cleverly circumvented the Thracian king Rhescuporis. The entire nation had been governed by Rhoemetalces and at his death, Augustus assigned a part of Thracia to Rhescuperis, the king’s brother, and the other to his son Cotys. In such partition, the productive land, the cities, and the regions close to Greece fell to Cotys, the scrubby, wild parts, with enemies along their borders, went to Rhescuporis. The personality of the kings themselves differed greatly: Cotys was mild and pleasant, the other fierce, grasping, and intolerant of associates. At first, a kind of uneasy concord set in, then Rhescuporis began to apply pressure on the border, to appropriate lands belonging to Cotys, and to react violently if the latter resisted. He was cautious as long as Augustus lived, fearing that he, as the founder of the two kingdoms, might avenge any challenge to his arrangement. When he heard of the change of emperors, however, he gave a free hand to bands of brigands, and razed to the ground the forts, thereby creating pretexts for war.
LXV.
Nihil aeque Tiberium anxium habebat quam ne composita turbarentur. deligit centurionem qui nuntiaret regibus ne armis disceptarent; statimque a Cotye dimissa sunt quae paraverat auxilia. Rhescuporis ficta modestia postulat eundem in locum coiretur: posse de controvensiis conloquio transigi. nec diu dubitatum de tempore, loco, dein condicionibus, cum alter facilitate, alter fraude cuncta inter se concederent acciperentque. Rhescuporis sanciendo, ut dictitabat, foederi convivium adicit, tractaque in multam noctem laetitia per epulas ac vinolentiam incautum Cotyn postquam dolum intellexerat, sacra regni, eiusdem familiae deos et hospitalis mensas obtestantem catenis onerat. Thraeciaque omni potitus scripsit ad Tiberium structas sibi insidias, praeventum insidiatorem; simul bellum adversus Bastarnas Scythasque praetendens novis peditum et equitum copiis sese firmabat. molliter rescriptum, si fraus abesset, posse eum innocentiae fidere; ceterum neque se neque senatum nisi cognita causa ius et iniuriam discreturos: proinde tradito Cotye veniret transferretque invidiam criminis.
65.
Nothing would upset Tiberius more than any changes to the established order of things. He chose a centurion to tell the two kings not to resort to violence, and Cotys at once dismissed the mercenary troops he had hired. With feigned modesty, Rhescuporis requested a meeting with Cotys, saying that their differences could be settled through negotiations. Little time was lost on setting a date, a place, and the modalities of the meeting since the mild nature of the one and the treachery of the other made easy the mutual concession and acceptance of all terms. Rhescuporis added a banquet, insisting it was necessary to seal the accord and, when the feasting extended late into the night, he made Cotys, rendered incautious by excessive eating and drinking, his prisoner. On seeing himself trapped, Cotys invoked in vain the sacredness of a king’s person, the common gods of the family, and the inviolable right of hospitality. Master of the entire country, Rhescuporis wrote to Tiberius that he had been the victim of a plot and of his having apprehended the culprit. At the same time, by pretending a war with the Bastarnae and the Scythians, he strengthened his forces with new infantry troops and more cavalry. Tiberius’ answer was gentle: if there was no foul play, he wrote, the king could place full trust in his own innocence; for the rest, neither he as emperor nor the senate was in a position to decide who was right or wrong without examining the facts. He must, therefore, surrender Cotys, come to Rome in person, and charge his adversary with the infamy of the crime.
LXVI.
Eas litteras Latinius Pandusa pro praetore Moesiae cum militibus quis Cotys traderetur in Thraeciam misit. Rhescuporis inter metum et iram cunctatus maluit patrati quam incepti facinoris reus esse: occidi Cotyn inbet mortemque sponte sumptam ementitur. nec tamen Caesar placitas semel artes mutavit, sed defuncto Pandusa quem sibi infensum Rhescuporis arguebat, Pomponium Flaccum, veterem stipendiis et arta cum rege amicitia eoque accommodatiorem ad fallendum, ob id maxime Moesiae praefecit.
66.
The letter was taken to Thrace by the pro-praetor of Moesia Latinius Pandusa, accompanied by a soldier escort to bring back Cotys. Rhescuporis, torn between fear and spite, chose to be guilty of a crime he had committed then of one he had merely intended, and ordered the death of Cotys, giving out that he had died by his own hand. Caesar did not change at all his former conciliatory approach, but at the death of Pandusa, whom Rhescuporis accused of being hostile to himself, chose as governor of Moesia Pomponius Flaccus, a man of considerable army service, but also a close friend of Rhescuporis, for that very reason more likely to ensnare him.
LXVII.
Flaccus in Thraeciam transgressus per ingentia promissa quamvis ambiguum et scelera sua reputantem perpulit ut praesidia Romana intraret. circumdata hinc regi specie honoris valida manus, tribunique et centuriones monendo, suadendo, et quanto longius abscedebatur, apertiore custodia, postremo gnarum necessitatis in urbem traxere. accusatus in senatu ab uxore Cotyis damnatur, ut procul regno teneretur. Thraecia in Rhoemetalcen filium, quem paternis consiliis adversatum constabat, inque liberos Cotyis dividitur; iisque nondum adultis Trebellenus Rufus praetura functus datur qui regnum interim tractaret, exemplo quo maiores M. Lepidum Ptolemaei liberis tutorem in Aegyptum miserant. Rhescuporis Alexandriam devectus atque illic fugam temptans an ficto crimine interficitur.
67.
Upon reaching Thrace, Flaccus made many promises to Rhescuporis and prevailed on him, rendered suspicious by a guilty conscience, to enter the territory under Roman control. A sizable body of troops formed around him under the pretext of offering homage and tribunes and centurions did the same, volunteering counsel and assurance. As he was taken farther and farther away from the border, surveillance became more obvious, and by the time he was dragged to Rome, he was fully aware of his fate. Accused in the senate by Cotys’ wife, he was condemned to be kept under watch far from his kingdom. Thrace was divided between his son Rhoemetalces, whose aversion to his father’s intrigues was well known, and Cotys’ children. As these were still quite young, Trebellenus Rufus, an ex-praetor, was assigned to govern the kingdom in the interim, on the example set by Marcus Lepidus, who had been sent to Egypt as guardian of Ptolemy’s children. Rhescuporis was transferred to Alexandria and there killed in an attempt to escape, actual or fabricated.
LXVIII.
Per idem tempus Vonones, quem amotum in Ciliciam memoravi, corruptis custodibus effugere ad Armenios, inde Albanos Heniochosque et consanguineum sibi regem Scytharum conatus est. specie venandi omissis maritimis locis avia saltuum petiit, mox pernicitate equi ad amnem Pyramum contendit, cuius pontes accolae ruperant audita regis fuga, neque vado penetrari poterat. igitur in ripa fluminis a Vibio Frontone praefecto equitum vincitur, mox Remmius evocatus, priori custodiae regis adpositus, quasi per iram gladio cum transigit. unde maior fides conscientia sceleris et metu indicii mortem Vononi inlatam.
68.
At the same time Vonones, who, as I mentioned before, had been confined to Cilicia, made an attempt, after corrupting his guards, to reach Armenia and from there the Albani and the Heniochi, then finally meet up with the king of the Scythae, his kinsman. Leaving behind the coast of Cilicia with the excuse of going hunting, he ventured deep into the trackless, densely forested regions, then at full gallop made for the river Pyramus, but the local people had cut the bridge on hearing of the king’s flight. Wading across was out of the question, thus Vonones was captured on the bank of the river by the cavalry prefect Vibius Fronto, but soon later a recalled veteran named Remmius, who earlier had been entrusted with the king’s custody, ran him through with his sword, as if in access of anger. The act strengthened the belief that Remmius was the king’s accomplice and that he had killed him for fear of being exposed.
LXIX.
At Germanicus Aegypto remeans cuncta quae apud legiones aut urbes iusserat abolita vel in contrarium versa cognoscit. hinc graves in Pisonem contumeliae, nec minus acerba quae ab illo in Caesarem intentabantur. dein Piso abire Syria statuit. mox adversa Germanici valetudine detentus, ubi recreatum accepit votaque pro incolumitate solvebantur, admotas hostias, sacrificalem apparatum, festam Antiochensium plebem per lictores proturbat. tum Seleuciam degreditur, opperiens aegritudinem, quae rursum Germanico acciderat. saevam vim morbi augebat persuasio veneni a Pisone accepti; et reperiebantur solo ac parietibus erutae humanorum corporum reliquiae, carmina et devotiones et nomen Germanici plumbeis tabulis insculptum, semusti cineres ac tabo obliti aliaque malefica quis creditur animas numinibus infernis sacrari. simul missi a Pisone incusabantur ut valetudinis adversa rimantes.
69.
Upon returning from Egypt, Germanicus found all the arrangements he had made in regard to the legions and the cities annulled or reversed. Consequently, Piso was severely reprimanded and no less violent was the nature of Piso’s rebuttals. Soon after, Piso decided to leave Syria but was held back by Germanicus’ bout of poor health. When he heard that he was improving and that payment was given for vows made for his welfare, he interrupted the sacrificial ceremony, used his lictors to drive off the victims, and disperse the festive crowds of Antiochia. He then left for Seleucia and there he awaited the outcome of Germanicus’ illness, which had returned. The conviction of having been poisoned by Piso exacerbated Germanicus’ malady: ghastly things were found on floors and walls, shreds of human remains from exhumed corpses, magic formulas, and incantations, Germanicus’ name sculpted on lead tablets, half-burnt ashes smeared with putrefied gore, and other sinister artifacts, through which it is believed that souls can be consigned to the gods of the underworld. All the while, anyone coming from Piso was suspected of keeping watch on Germanicus’ decline.
LXX.
Ea Germanico haud minus ira quam per metum accepta. si limen obsideretur, si effundendus spiritus sub oculis inimicorum foret, quid deinde miserrimae coningi, quid infantibus liberis eventurum? lenta videri veneficia: festinare et urgere, ut provinciam, ut legiones solus habeat. sed non usque eo defectum Germanicum, neque praemia caedis apud interfectorem mansura. componit epistulas quis amicitiam ei renuntiabat: addunt plerique iussum provincia decedere. nec Piso moratus ultra navis solvit moderabaturque cursui quo propius regrederetur si mors Germanici Syriam aperuisset.
70.
On being told of these doings, Germanicus felt no less anger than apprehension. If the very doors of his house were under siege, if his life was melting away under the eyes of his enemies, what fate was awaiting his hapless wife and his infant children? The effect of the poison seemed too slow to Piso, and in his impatience, he was speeding the end, so as to get sole control of the province and of the legions. But he, Germanicus, was not that far gone, he thought, and the murderer was not going to enjoy the prize of his crime. He wrote a letter informing Piso he was cutting all relations with him. Many add that Piso was ordered to leave the province, and in fact, he boarded a ship and left without further delay. Nonetheless, he sailed without haste, so as to be able to return more quickly if Germanicus’ death was going to open Syria for him.