History of the Wars, Books I and II | Page 4

be done well or ill by them.
It will be evident that no more important or mightier deeds are to be
found in history than those which have been enacted in these
wars,--provided one wishes to base his judgment on the truth. For in
them more remarkable feats have been performed than in any other
wars with which we are acquainted; unless, indeed, any reader of this
narrative should give the place of honour to antiquity, and consider
contemporary achievements unworthy to be counted remarkable. There
are those, for example, who call the soldiers of the present day
"bowmen," while to those of the most ancient times they wish to
attribute such lofty terms as "hand-to-hand fighters," "shield-men," and
other names of that sort; and they think that the valour of those times
has by no means survived to the present,--an opinion which is at once
careless and wholly remote from actual experience of these matters. For
the thought has never occurred to them that, as regards the Homeric
bowmen who had the misfortune to be ridiculed by this term[1] derived
from their art, they were neither carried by horse nor protected by spear
or shield[2]. In fact there was no protection at all for their bodies; they
entered battle on foot, and were compelled to conceal themselves,
either singling out the shield of some comrade[3], or seeking safety
behind a tombstone on a mound[4], from which position they could
neither save themselves in case of rout, nor fall upon a flying foe. Least
of all could they participate in a decisive struggle in the open, but they
always seemed to be stealing something which belonged to the men
who were engaged in the struggle. And apart from this they were so

indifferent in their practice of archery that they drew the bowstring only
to the breast[5], so that the missile sent forth was naturally impotent
and harmless to those whom it hit[6]. Such, it is evident, was the
archery of the past. But the bowmen of the present time go into battle
wearing corselets and fitted out with greaves which extend up to the
knee. From the right side hang their arrows, from the other the sword.
And there are some who have a spear also attached to them and, at the
shoulders, a sort of small shield without a grip, such as to cover the
region of the face and neck. They are expert horsemen, and are able
without difficulty to direct their bows to either side while riding at full
speed, and to shoot an opponent whether in pursuit or in flight. They
draw the bowstring along by the forehead about opposite the right ear,
thereby charging the arrow with such an impetus as to kill whoever
stands in the way, shield and corselet alike having no power to check
its force. Still there are those who take into consideration none of these
things, who reverence and worship the ancient times, and give no credit
to modern improvements. But no such consideration will prevent the
conclusion that most great and notable deeds have been performed in
these wars. And the history of them will begin at some distance back,
telling of the fortunes in war of the Romans and the Medes, their
reverses and their successes.
II
[408 A.D.] When the Roman Emperor Arcadius was at the point of
death in Byzantium, having a malechild, Theodosius, who was still
unweaned, he felt grave fears not only for him but for the government
as well, not knowing how he should provide wisely for both. For he
perceived that, if he provided a partner in government for Theodosius,
he would in fact be destroying his own son by bringing forward against
him a foe clothed in the regal power; while if he set him alone over the
empire, many would try to mount the throne, taking advantage, as they
might be expected to do, of the helplessness of the child. These men
would rise against the government, and, after destroying Theodosius,
would make themselves tyrants without difficulty, since the boy had no
kinsman in Byzantium to be his guardian. For Arcadius had no hope
that the boy's uncle, Honorius, would succour him, inasmuch as the

situation in Italy was already troublesome. And he was equally
disturbed by the attitude of the Medes, fearing lest these barbarians
should trample down the youthful emperor and do the Romans
irreparable harm. When Arcadius was confronted with this difficult
situation, though he had not shewn himself sagacious in other matters,
he devised a plan which was destined to preserve without trouble both
his child and his throne, either as a result of conversation with certain
of the learned men, such as are usually found in numbers among the
advisers of a sovereign, or from some