Sevérus called his servant to account, the prince rushed upon him, and slew him in the imperial presence.

A revolt in Britain once more called the emperor into the field. He proceeded to that island, easily quelled the disturbances, and marching northward, gained several victories over the Caledonians. He extended the frontiers beyond Adrian's wall, and erected a new line of fortifications between the friths of Clyde and Forth; but the additional territory was abandoned in the reign of his successor. The fatigues of these campaigns, and the grief caused by the misconduct of his son Caracalla, brought the emperor's gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. He died at Eborácum (York), in the eighteenth year of his reign (A. D. 211). Sevérus deserves to be ranked among great rather than good princes; he was cruel on system, attributing the misfortunes of Pompey and the murder of Cæsar to their excessive clemency: indeed, he wrote a vindication of his excessive severity, which, unfortunately, has not come down to our times.

Caracal'la and Géta succeeded their father; but the former was the bitter enemy of his more virtuous brother, and soon after his return to Rome, he slew him in his mother's arms. To prevent the consequences of this atrocious murder, he gained the support of the prætorian cohorts by large donatives, and then, with strange inconsistency, prevailed upon the senate to rank his brother in the number of the gods. His sole dependance being on the army, he used the most iniquitous means to procure money for purchasing their venal support. The richest men in Rome were massacred under false accusations of treason, their properties confiscated, and their families insulted. He impoverished his subjects in all the provinces of the empire by excessive taxes; yet he gave away such immense sums to his guards, and paid such heavy annuities to the barbarous tribes on the frontiers, that he was forced to debase the coinage. To lower the pride of the Romans, he granted the name and privileges of free citizens to all the subjects of the empire, and soon after commenced a tour through the provinces, to escape from his unpopularity at home. He undertook an expedition against the Cat'ti and Alleman'ni, but was defeated with great loss, and forced to buy a peace. From Germany he passed into Asia, where he gained some advantages over the Armenians; and then visiting Egypt, he almost depopulated Alexandria, massacring the greater part of its citizens, on account of some lampoons that had been published against him. He was at length assassinated near Edes'sa by Macrínus, the prefect of the prætorian guard, an officer who since the time of Sevérus, ranked next to the emperor (A. D. 217).

The soldiers were greatly enraged at the murder of Caracalla; but Macrínus, by concealing his share in it, procured his election to the empire. Immediately after his accession, he proclaimed his son Diaduménus his successor, giving him the names of Cæsar and Antonínus: when the troops were assembled to witness this ceremony, they demanded, with one accord, the deification of Caracal'la; and this disgrace to humanity was actually ranked among the gods. While he was thus engaged, the Parthians passed the Roman frontiers, defeated the imperial armies, and compelled Macrínus to purchase a disgraceful peace by a vast sacrifice of wealth and territory. His extreme severity

at length provoked the resentment of the licentious soldiery; they were persuaded by Mo'sa, maternal aunt of the late emperor, that her grandson Heliogabalus, a youth of fourteen, was the son of their favorite Caracalla; and a conspiracy was formed to place this young Syrian priest upon the throne. Macrínus, deserted by most of the legions, marched against his competitor with the prætorian cohorts; but he fled from his men the moment that a battle commenced; and the guards, enraged by his cowardice, pursued and slew him (A. D. 218). His son was at the same time taken prisoner, and executed as a common malefactor.

Heliogabalus being thus victorious, sent intelligence of his success from Antioch to the senate, and was immediately acknowledged emperor. Though a mere boy, he was the most infamous monster that ever disgraced a throne. He exceeded Néro in cruelty, Calig'ula in prodigality, and Com'modus in lewdness and debauchery. Soon after his arrival in Rome, he brought his grandmother to the senate, and ordered that she should for the future rank among the members; he also instituted a a senate of women, under the presidency of his mother, the subjects of whose debates, consultations, and decrees, were the dresses of the Roman ladies, and the ceremony and etiquette to be observed in visits and entertainments. The Roman ladies scarcely wanted such an incentive, they were at this time remarkable for the great attention they paid to decorating their persons, and especially ornamenting the head; false hair was very commonly worn, and imported from Gaul, Germany, and the northern parts of Europe.

The lascivious and superstitious idolatry of Syria was established in Rome, and the old forms of the national worship neglected-a change which gave great offence even to the demoralized guards. Mœ'sa, foreseeing that the Romans would not long endure the yoke of so contemptible a profligate, persuaded him to nominate his cousin, the virtuous Alexander Sevérus, heir to the empire; but scarcely had the appointment been made, when Heliogabalus attempted to assassinate the worthy prince. This crime provoked a mutiny of the prætorian cohorts. Heliogabalus, and his mother So'mis, were murdered by the enraged soldiers, and their bodies thrown into the Tiber (A. D. 222). The senate immediately passed a decree excluding women from their body for ever.

Alexander Sevérus commenced his reign by revoking all the edicts that had been issued by former emperors against the Christians. It is probable that his mother was a convert to the faith; for he was well acquainted with its principles, and constantly repeated the golden rule, "Do unto others as you would they should do unto you," which he caused to be inscribed on his palace and several other edifices. Supported by the favor of the guards, he introduced many beneficial reforms, restoring the authority of the senate, and purifying the administion of justice.

In the fourth year of his reign (A. D. 226), an important revolution in the east produced a total change in the political condition of central Asia. Ardeshír Babegan, called Artaxerxes by the western writers, restored the ancient dynasty and religion of Persia, or, as it was called by the natives, Irán. His standard was the apron of a blacksmith

named Gaváh, who, at an unknown age, had headed an insurrection against the oppressors of his country, similar to that of Wat Tyler in England. Multitudes flocked to the popular flag, and the Parthian, or Arsacid dynasty, was speedily subverted. One great effect of this revolution was to give a sudden and complete check to the progress of Christianity eastward; it was thrown back upon the west; but it long retained the marks of its contact, with the mystic and gloomy doctrines that have from unknown ages prevailed in central Asia. The Magian religion was restored to its pristine splendor: the sacred fire, that had been concealed in the mountains, once more burned on the ancient altars; and the Sassanides, as Ardeshír's dynasty was named from Sassan, the most celebrated of his ancestors, refused to tolerate any faith but that of Zerdusht, or Zoroaster.

The great aim of the Sassanid dynasty was to restore the nationality of Persia; many of the edifices of the Hystaspid times were repaired, and all new buildings erected by the successors of Ardeshír were, as much as possible, constructed on ancient models. Hence many of their buildings are attributed to the earlier races of kings; and it is not often easy to determine from external evidence to which age of Persian history their splendid halls and palaces should be assigned. The remains of the magnificent palace of the Persian kings in Ctesiphon, which bears the name of Cyrus, may be unquestionably regarded as a Sassanid monument; and as such the building affords proof of the great power and wealth of the house of Sassan.

Ardeshír, placed upon the throne of Cyrus, claimed that monarch's empire as his inheritance, and prepared to drive the Romans from Asia. Alexander hastened to Antioch, and marched against the Persians, over whom he gained a great victory; but a pestilence breaking out in his army prevented him from improving his advantages. He returned to Rome, and entered the city in triumph, his chariot being drawn, not, as was usual, by four white horses, but by four of the elephants he had captured. Soon after his return, intelligence arrived that the Germans had passed the Rhine, and were devastating Gaul; upon which the emperor, to the great grief of the senate and people, led his victorious armies to protect that province. He found the legions quartered in Gaul demoralized by a long course of indulgence, and immediately exerted himself to restore the ancient discipline. The licentious soldiers could not endure the change, and their discontents were fomented by Maximin, a Thracian peasant, who had risen from the ranks to high command by his uncommon strength and valor. The prince's guards were bribed to quit their posts; and a band of assassins entering the imperial tent slew him without resistance (A. D. 235). Thus fell this excellent prince in the very bloom of youth, just as his plans for restoring the ancient glory of the empire were beginning to be matured.

SECTION VI. From the Murder of Alexander to the Captivity of Valerian and the Usurpation of the Thirty Tyrants.

FROM A. D. 235 TO A. D. 259.

THE murder of Alexander occasioned a great tumult, and confusion in the camp, during which the Pannonians proclaimed Maximin em

peror; and the rest of the army seeing no other candidate come forward, acquiesced in their choice. Great personal strength was the first cause of the new emperor's elevation: it is said he could draw a wagon which two oxen could not move, tear trees up by the roots, and crush pebbles to dust in his hands. But he was a brutal, ignorant barbarian, uniting the cunning to the ferocity of a savage. He commenced his reign by massacring all who had been intimate with the late emperor, or who had shown sorrow for his death; and he sent orders to the senate to register his sanguinary decrees, without asking that body to confirm his election. The war against the Germans was continued with great success; one hundred and fifty of their villages were burned to the ground; their country, to an extent of four hundred square miles, laid desolate; and an incredible number of prisoners sent to be sold as slaves in Italy. Maximin marched next against the Dacians and Sarmatians, over whom he gained several victories; and it is believed that he would have extended the frontiers of the empire to the northern ocean, had not his avarice and cruelty provoked a civil war. The revolt commenced in Africa, where two young men of high rank being condemned by the emperor's receiver-general to pay a fine that would have reduced them to beggary, conspired to save their fortunes by destroying him; they were joined by several of the legionaries, and so rapid was their success, that they ventured to proclaim Gordian, proconsul of Africa, then in the eightieth year of his age, sovereign of the empire. When news of this event reached Rome, the senators with one accord revolted from Maximin, and ordered all his friends in the city to be murdered. Intelligence of these events being conveyed to Maximin, he made peace with the northern barbarians, and led his army toward Italy, promising his soldiers that they should be enriched by the forfeited estates of his enemies. On his march he learned that Gordian and his son had been defeated and slain by Capeliánus in Africa, but that the senate, undaunted by this calamity, had conferred the empire on Pupiénus and Balbínus. This choice did not satisfy the people; a vast multitude assembled while the new emperors were offering the usual sacrifice, and demanded with loud clamor a prince of the Gordian family. After vainly attempting to disperse the mob, Balbínus and Pupiénus sent for young Gordian, then only twelve years old, and proclaimed him Cæsar. In the meantime, Maximin entered Italy, and laid siege to Aquiléia. The garrison made a very brave defence; and the besiegers, hated by the entire empire, suffered more than the besieged, their stragglers being cut off, and their convoys intercepted. Exasperated by their sufferings, the imperialists resolved to remove the cause; a large body marched in the noonday to the tent of Maximin, and slew him, his son, and all his principal favorites (A. D. 238). Though several legions of Pannonians and Thracians were in the camp, they did not attempt to revenge the death of an emperor who had always shown more favor to the barbarian than the Roman legions.

Scarcely had domestic tranquillity been restored, when the empire was involved in foreign wars. The Carpi and Goths, passing the Danube, ravaged the province of Mo'sia; while the Persians renewed their hostilities on the eastern frontiers. It was agreed among the princes, that Pupiénus should undertake the defence of Syria, Balbínus

march against the Goths, and Gordian remain at the head of the administration in Rome. But while the necessary armaments were in preparation, a dangerous mutiny broke out among the prætorians: Pupiénus and Balbínus, divided by mutuał jealousies, could not unite for its suppression: they were both murdered, and young Gordian remained sole

emperor.

Misithéus, captain of the prætorian guards, and father-in-law of the emperor, acted as minister and guardian of young Gordian. He was admirably qualified for such an important office, uniting the valor of a soldier to the wisdom of a statesman. The rapid successes of Shahpúr, or, as he was called by the Romans, Sápor, the second prince of the Sassanid dynasty, directed the attention of the emperor to the Persian war, and he went in person to protect the province of Syria. On his march toward the Hellespont, Gordian was defeated in a tumultuous engagement by the Alans; but the barbarians did not know how to improve their success, and, after a short delay, he arrived safely in Asia. The Persians were defeated in every engagement; and Sápor, forced to abandon Mesopotámia, was pursued to the very gates of Ctes'iphon. But these victories were more than counterbalanced by the death of Misithéus, who showed his patriotism, even in his last moments, by bequeathing all his estates to the Roman people. Gordian, having appointed Philip, the Arabian, his prime minister, continued the war against Sápor, and gave the Persians a decisive overthrow on the banks of the Chab'oras (Khabúr), a tributary to the Euphrátes, in Mesopotamia. But while the young conqueror was pursuing the advantages of his victory, a mutiny was excited in his army by the traitor Philip, whom he was compelled to make a partner of his empire. Not content with this elevation, Philip procured the assassination of his youthful benefactor (A. D. 244); but the soldiers soon repented of their crime, and raised a splendid mausoleum to the memory of the youthful hero. Philip, being elevated to the empire by the army, wrote to the senate, ascribing the death of Gordian to a natural disease: he then concluded a hasty peace with the Persians, and, returning to Syria, made all speed to Rome. Though the senate and people, warmly attached to the Gordian family, at first regarded him with aversion, he soon won their affections by his mild administration and obliging behavior. He is said to have been secretly a Christian, but many of his actions show that he had little regard for any religion; however, he was a decided enemy to persecution. His reign was rendered remarkable by the celebration of secular games for the thousandth anniversary of the foundation of the city: it was also disturbed by several insurrections. especially in Pannónia, the suppression of which he intrusted to Trajá nus Décius. Scarcely had this general reached Illyricum, when his soldiers compelled him, by the threat of instant death, to assume the imperial purple. Philip, leaving his son to protect Rome, marched against Décius, but was defeated and slain near Verona (A. D. 249) His son was massacred by the prætorian guards.

Décius commenced his reign by one of the most sanguinary persecutions that ever oppressed the church. The Christians throughout the empire were driven from their habitations, dragged to execution like common malefactors, and subjected to the most exquisite tortures