16.2. The Chaos at the Turn of the Fifth Century
Gainas, now magister militum, had been strengthening his own position by filling the army with Goths from Moesia; and in spring 399 an opportunity for action presented itself. Tribigild, commander of the Gothic colonists in Phrygia, having been refused a donative by Eutropius, revolted and ravaged the country, upon which Eutropius offered the money; but Tribigild raised his demands and insisted upon the eunuch's deposition. Gainas, with Leo, the satellite of Eutropius, was sent against him; but, while Leo advanced toward the disturbed district, Gainas remained at the Hellespont.
Tribigild on hearing of Leo's approach marched through Pisidia into Pamphylia, where a large part of his army was cut to pieces by a rustic force under Valentinus, a citizen of Selga, and the rest blockaded between the Eurymcdon and the Melas. Leo moved to the support of the local force: but, as he was too indolent and dissolute to maintain discipline, Tribigild was able by an unexpected attack to make his way through, while the disorderly force scattered in all directions, Leo himself perishing in the flight, Tribigild then returned to Phrygia, which he again plundered. Nor was he the only enemy with whom the Empire had to contend; for, besides the constant incursions of the desert tribes into Egypt and Libya, the Huns were ravaging Thrace, and Vram Shapuh of Armenia was, at the instigation of the Persian king, attempting to annex the five satrapies north of the Tigris.
Accordingly Gainas with much show of reason represented to Arcadius that his best course was to grant Tribigild's demand; and, as Eudoxia urged the same, his consent was easily obtained. Eutropius was deposed from his office, and, though he had abolished by legal enactment the right of sanctuary possessed by the churches, fled to the altar of St Sophia, where the bishop, John Chrysostom, who owed his appointment to the eunuch, made use of his presence to preach on the vanity of earthly things, but resisted all attempts to remove him. Finally he left the church on a promise that his life should be spared, but was deprived of property and honours, and banished to Cyprus (July or Aug.).
As however Gainas insisted upon the necessity of his death, he was, on the pretext that the promise applied only to Constantinople, brought back to Chalcedon, tried on a charge of using imperial ornaments, and beheaded. The fall of Eutropius had been effected by a combination between Eudoxia and Gainas; and during the absence of the Goth, who had returned to Phrygia, the Empress secured the appointment of Aurelianus to the pracfecture in preference to his brother Caesarius, who was supported by Gainas. After Eutropius' death she further had herself proclaimed Augusta (9 Jan. 400); and by an innovation which called forth a protest from Honorius her busts were sent round the provinces like those of emperors.
But Gainas had not designed to set Eudoxia in the place of Eutropius; accordingly he sent Tribigild, with whom he had joined forces, to Lampsacus, while he himself returned to Chalcedon, and demanded the surrender of three of the principal supporters of the empress, Aurelianus the praefect, Saturninus an ex-consul, and Count John, her chief favourite. Resistance was useless; and Aurelianus and Saturninus crossed to Chalcedon, while John hid himself, probably in a church; but his hiding place was discovered, and the bishop's enemies afterwards assorted that he had betrayed him. The three men were ordered to prepare for death; but, when the executioner's sword was at their necks, Gainas stayed his hand and had them conveyed by sea towards the Adriatic, perhaps intending to place them in the hands of Stilicho or Alaric.
He next demanded a meeting with the Emperor; which took place at Chalcedon, where they gave mutual oaths of good faith in the church of St. Euphemia. Both the Gothic leaders then crossed to Europe. Caesarius was made praefect, and in consequence of the recent troubles was compelled to increase the taxation; but in systematising the sale of offices by limiting the tenure of each he seems to have performed an act of advantage to the State and justice to the purchasers. Meanwhile Gainas was so distributing the Roman troops in the city as to place them at the mercy of the Goths; and then, thinking his will law, he asked that a church within the walls should be given to the Arians.
This time however the strong orthodoxy of Arcadius and the influence of the bishop caused the demand to be refused. The violent hostility aroused by these events made men believe that the Goths intended to attack the palace; while they on their side were seized with a panic which led them to expect an attack from forces which did not exist. Accordingly Gainas, alleging ill-health, retired to the suburban church of St. John, instructing his men to come out singly and join him. After the greater part had left the city, a trivial occurrence brought on a scuffle between the Goths and the citizens, who attacked the already panic-stricken barbarians with any weapons they could find, and at last the gates were shut, and the Goths, enclosed within the city, without cohesion and without leaders, offered little resistance and were mercilessly massacred, while Arcadius found courage to declare Gainas a public enemy and send his guards to support the populace. Next day the survivors, who had fled to a church that the bishop had given to the orthodox Goths, were surrounded by the soldiers; and, though none dared to attack them in the church, the roof was stripped off and burning wood thrown in until all perished, in spite of the appeals of Caesarius for a capitulation (12 July 300).
The Roman troops were now collected and placed under Fravittu, a loyal pagan Goth who had distinguished himself in the time of Theodosius. The attempts of Gainas on the Thracian cities failed, Tribigild was killed, and lack of provisions compelled the Goths to withdraw to the Chersonese in order to cross to Asia; but Fravitta had already placed a fleet on the Hellespont to intercept them. They were however forced to attempt the passage in rafts, and, these being sunk, most of them were drowned, while Gainas with the survivors retreated across the Danube, where he was attacked and killed by Uldin the Ilun (33 Dec. 400), who sent his head to Constantinople, where it was carried through the city (3 Jan. 401). Shortly before the victory Aurelianus and the other hostages escaped from their guards in Epirus, and returned to the capital; and early in 401 Caesarius was deposed and imprisoned, and Aurelianus restored. Some deserters and fugitive slaves, who continued to ravage Thrace, were put down by Fravitta. But he was accused of not pressing his advantage against the Goths, and, though acquitted, incurred Eudoxia's enmity, and afterwards fell a victim to the machinations of her satellites.
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