province in the reign of the emperor Adrian, Veldidéna (Wilden), and Tridentum (Trent). Nor'icum, formerly a kingdom, but afterward a Roman province, extended between the Danube and the Alpes Noriæ in the neighborhood of Trent from the Æ'nus (Inn) to Mons Cétius (Kahlenberg), and consequently included a great portion of modern Austria, the archbishopric of Saltzburgh, and all Styria and Carinthia. Its southern boundaries were the Julian Alps and the Sávus (Save). Its chief cities were, in Noricum Rípense, or the part bordering on the Danube, Jovavum or Jovávia (Saltzburgh), Boidúrum (Innstadt), so named from the Bofi, the most important of the Noric tribes; Lentia (Lehz) and Lauríacum (Lorch). In the interior, or Norícum Mediterráneum, we find Pons E'ni (Innspruck), Vis'celli (Weltz), Gráviacii (Gurch), Agun'tum (Innichen), Teur'nia (Villach), and Sol'va, once the capital of the country, but long since buried in its ruins. Pannónia was divided into Superior and Inferior. The former had the Danube on the east and north, the Arʼrabo (Raab) on the west, and the chain of Mons Cétius (Kahlenberg) on the south. It consequently comprehended Carniola, Croatia, Windesch, Mark, and part of Austria. Pannónia Inférior had the Ar'rabo on the north, the Danube on the east, and the Sávus (Save) on the south. The chief cities were Seges'ta or Sescia (Siseck) on the Save; Amóna (Unterlaubach), a Roman colony; Naupor'tum (Oberlaubach), upon the river Naupor'tur (Laubach); Vindoniána or Vindebóna (Vienna), obscure in ancient times, but now the capital of the Austrian empire, Scaraban'tia (Scarbing); Mur'sa (Esseg); Sir'mium (Sirmich), the ancient metropolis of Pannónia on the Save; and Taurúnum (Belgrade), an important frontier fortress both in ancient and modern times. Moe'sia was the name given to the country between the conflux of the Save and Danube and the Euxine sea. It was divided into two unequal portions, Supérior and Inférior. Moe'sia Supérior was bounded on the north by the Danube, on the south by the Scordian mountains, on the west by Pannónia, and on the east by the river Cébrus (Ischia). Its chief cities were Singidúnum (Semlin) and Nais'sus (Nissa). This province comprehended the countries now called Bosnia and Servia. sea. Moe'sia Inférior, nearly coinciding with the modern Bulgaria, was bounded on the north by the Danube, on the west by the Cébrus, on the south by Mount Hamus (the Balkan), and on the east by the Euxine Its chief cities were Odes'sus (Varna) and Tómi (Temeswar). The part of lower Moe'sia bordering on the Euxine was frequently named Pon'tus; and hence, Tómi, the place of the poet Ovid's exile, is called a city of Pon'tus, though it did not belong to the kingdom of that name. Tómi is said to have derived its name from Medea's having cut her brother Absyr'tus to pieces in that place,* in order that her father's pursuit of her might be delayed, while he gathered the scattered limbs of his child. To this Ovid alludes in a well-known distich: "Tómi its name from horrid murder bore, • From réuvw, to cut. North of the Danube was the province of Dácia, annexed to the Roman empire in the reign of Trajan. Some geographers describe it loosely as including all the country between the Borys'thenes (Dnieper) and the Dan'ube; but its proper boundaries were Mon'tes Carp'atii (the Krapack chain) on the north, the Tibis'cus (Theiss) on the west, the Hier'asus (Pruth) on the east, and the Danube on the south. It consequently included Upper Hungary, Transylvania, Moldavia, and Wallachia. The inhabitants were called Gétæ by the Greeks, and Dáci by the Romans: they possessed no city of importance. Thrace was long permitted to retain its own sovereigns, on the condition of acknowledging the supremacy of the Romans; but in the reign of the Emperor Claudian it was reduced to the form of a province. It was nearly enclosed by the chain of Mount Hæ'mus and the sea. The principal cities of Thrace were the Greek colonies, which have already been noticed in a preceding chapter. Illyricum is a name sometimes given to all the countries south of the Danube, but it is properly applied only to the strip of land on the northeast coast of the Adriatic, from the Rhætian Alps to the river Drínus (Drino), and easterly to the Savus (Save). Its inhabitants were remarkable for their skill in naval architecture; and infamous for their inveterate attachment to piracy. Their chief cities were Salóna, Epidaúrus (Ragusa), and Scódra (Scutari). SECTION V.-Asiatic and African Provinces. THE Roman provinces in Anatolia were: 1, Asia, as the Romans with proud anticipations named the first cession of country made to them east of the Egean: 2, Bithynia, together with Paphlagónia and part of Pon'tus: and 3, Cilicia, with Pisid'ia. These provinces were in general the most tranquil portion of the empire; and the most peaceful, if not the most happy period, in the history of Asia Minor, was that during which it remained subject to Rome. No greater proof can be given of the wealth to which individuals attained, than that the sepulchres of private persons, like that of Icesíus, discovered by Mr. Ainsworth, rivalled those of the ancient Pontic kings. The various divisions of Syria, Phanicia, Palestine, and Commagene, for the purpose of government, can not easily be enumerated. At first, several states were permitted to retain a qualified independence; but before the close of the first centu ry of the Christian era, they were all absorbed in the empire. Arménia and Mesopotámia became provinces in the reign of Trajan, and part of Arabia paid nominal allegiance to that emperor; but these acquisitions were abandoned in the reign of his successor. The African provinces were: 1, Egypt, which became a province after the battle of Actium: 2, Cyrenaica, which soon followed the fate of Egypt; Creté was annexed to this government: 3, Numid'ia and Africa Proper, which were finally subdued by Julius Cæsar: and, 4, Mauretánia, whose king was dethroned A. D. 41, and the country divided into two provinces, separated by the river Muluch'a (Mahala), called Cæsarien'sis and Tingitánia. The chief towns in Mauretánia Cæsarien'sis, were Igil'gilis (Žezeli), Sal'da (Delluz), Iom'nium (Algiers), Rususcúcum (Koleah), Cæsaréa (Teunez), and Síga (Sigale). The most 1 remarkable tribe was the Massæsy'li, on the river Muluch'a, near the seacoast. Mauretánia Tingitánia derived its name from its chief city Tin'gis (Tangiers), on the Frétum Gaditánum (Straits of Gibraltar). It contained also the towns and ports of Busadir (Melilla), and Ab'yla (Ceuta), in the Mediterranean. There were besides, on the Atlantic ocean, Zílis, or Júlia Constantína (Arzillo); Ban'asa Valen'tia (Mehedund), and Sála (Sallee) but these were scarcely known to the Romans until a very late period of the empire. The Gætulians, first made known to the Romans during the Jugurthine war, never were subdued by their armies; but in later ages paid homage to the proconsul or præfect of Africa. : Though the Romans had thus succeeded in Asia to the great commercial marts of the Phoenicians, Greeks, and Egyptians, and had acquired in Africa the ancient stations of the Carthaginians, they made little or no effort to encourage traffic. They do not seem to have opened a single new route for trade; and under their government many of the ancient highways of commerce, particularly in Asia, fell into disuse. One principal cause of this was, the distance of Rome from the chief trading stations in the eastern seas, by which the attention of the ruling powers was withdrawn from the great abuses that prevailed in the provincial administration and colonial government. This appears evident from the vast improvement in the commerce between Europe and Asia, which took place immediately after the seat of government was transferred from Rome to Byzantium (Constantinople); and, however some politicians may be disposed to blame the division of the empire, a slight glance at the nations that pressed on the frontiers of the Roman dominions will show that the interests and dangers of the eastern and western empires were so very different, that the course of policy which suited the one would be injurious to the other. SECTION VI.-The Principal Nations on the Frontiers of the Empire. GERMANY was a name loosely given by the Romans to all the countries north of the Rhine and Danube. Sarmátia, in as uncertain a sense, was applied to the countries now called Poland and Lithuania; while the greater part of the vast dominions of Russia in Europe and Asia were included under the general name of Scythia, and were almost wholly unknown in ancient times. In the northwest of Europe the countries about the Línus Codánus (Baltic sea), though probably visited in very ancient times by the enterprising Phenicians, remained unvisited, or at least unexplored, by the Romans, who were never remarkable for their zeal in maritime discovery. Indeed, they seem to have regarded Scandinávia, or Scan'dia (Sweden), Nerígon (Norway), and Erin'gia, or Furnin'gia (Finland), as isles of the German ocean. When Britain was circumnavigated, the Or'cades (Orkney islands) were discovered; but, previous to that time, some indistinct account had been received of a distant island, named Thúle, which some believe to have been one of the Zetland cluster, and others Iceland. The Germans took their name from their own language, Ghar-mans, signifying warlike men, or warriors; for, like most savage tribes, they principally prided themselves on their military virtues. They were called in the earliest ages Cimbri and Teutónes by the Romans; but it is not easy to determine whether these may not have been very different races, accidentally united in a common migration. The Cim'bri gave their name to the Chersonésus Cim'brica (Jutland); from that of the Teutones the modern names Teutschen and Dutch have manifestly been derived. A confederation of several tribes, formed in the third century, took the name of Alleman'ni, or All-mans, that is, complete men, from which the French of the present day call Germany Alle magne. It would be impossible, within our limits, to enumerate all the tribes of ancient Germany, but a few of the principal may be noticed. On the east bank of the Albis (Elbe), between that river and the Vistula, were the Cim'bri and Saxónes, of whom the former were the most remarkable in ancient times, and the latter during the middle ages. West of the Albis were the upper and lower Chaúci, divided from each other by the Visurgis (Weser); and the Fris'ii, separated from the Chaúci by the river Amásia (Erus), whose territory still preserves the name of Friesland. The Marcoman'ni anciently possessed all the country between the sources of the Rhénus (Rhine) and the Is'ter, or Danúbius (Danube): they afterward fixed themselves in Bohemia and Moravia, and also in part of Gaul, driving the Boii before them. On this side of the Rhine, between that river and the Mósa (Muese), were the U'bii, who were invited by Agrip'pa to this country during the reign of Augus'tus. To commemorate this migration they named their capital Colonia Agrippina (Cologne), in honor of their patron. Higher up the Rhine, and beyond the Mosella (Moselle) were the Tréviri, whose chief city was Augústa Trevirórum (Triers), and some minor tribes, possessing the city of Argentorátum, or Argentína (Strasburgh). The Hercynian forests and mountains, by which the Romans seem to have understood all the unexplored part of eastern Germany, appear to have been the original abode of the Quádi, the Suévi, and the Hermandúri, who became very formidable to the Romans in the age of Antoni The original seat of the Longobar'di, celebrated in Italy under the name of Lombards, was the upper part of the Elbe: they are said to have derived their national appellation from their "long barts," or spears; but others think that they were so called from the length of their beards, or from having been formed by a coalition of the Lingónes and Bar'di. Near the mouth of the Vistula were the Gep'ida; and it is supposed that the first seat of the warlike Burgundians was on the same river; but they, as well as the Semnónes, had pushed forward to the Elbe in the first century of the Christian era. The Es'tui, celebrated for their trade in amber, resided on the coasts of the Baltic sea. Beside the Hercynian forest already mentioned, Germany contained Sylva Melibe'a (the Hartz), Sylva Barcénia (the Black Forest), Sylva Súdeta (the Thuringian Forest), and Sylva Cæ'sia (Forest of Teutoberg). Most of the rivers have been already mentioned; but we must notice the northern embouchure of the Rhine, called Flávum Os'tium (Vlie), in the territory of the Batavians; the I'sela (Isel), separating the Bruc téri from the Fris'ii; the Lúpias (Lippe), in the territory of the Mársi; and the Viadrus (Oder), near whose source many authors place the original habitation of the Burgundians. In considering the state of ancient Germany, it must be borne in mind that the tribes frequently migrated from one quarter to another, especially after the second century of our era, and that the name of a principal tribe, such as that of the Suévi, was frequently given to a large confederation. This is particularly the case with the Franks (free men), who were not so much a tribe, as a union of several hordes determined to maintain their national independence. The religion of the ancient Germans seems to have resembled that of the Gauls; except that it was rather more sanguinary, and that greater regard was paid to oracles and old prophetesses. Their chief deity was Odin, or Woden, their god of war, whose name is preserved in our Woden's day, or Wednesday. Their notion of future happiness was to sit for ever in Odin's presence, quaffing beer from the sculls of their enemies. This opinion is forcibly expressed in the death-song which Lodbrog sings for himself in the Edda : "With flashing swords our might we proved; But this my hearty laughter moved, That bliss eternal shall be mine Where the halls of Odin shine; To him, great sire, my deeds are known, For me he has prepared a throne, Where richest ale incessant flows In the hollow sculls of foes. The brave man never shrinks at death, This is manifestly the creed of a savage race of warriors, and such all the Germans were; they took no pleasure but in military weapons; they never attended any festival or public assembly without arms; and so sacred was the sword among them, that their most solemn oath was taken by kissing its naked blade. In Asia, the Roman empire was bounded by the wild tribes of the Caucasus, and the kingdoms of Armenia and Parthia. On the south it was limited by the unconquered Arabs, who defied every effort made to reduce them to obedience. India became known to the Romans after the conquest of Egypt; and some efforts were made to establish an extensive commerce with that empire by the route of the Red sea, in the reigns of the later emperors. It was divided into India Proper, or India at this side of the Ganges, whose western coast (Malabar) appears to have been pretty well known; and India beyond the Ganges, which included the Burman empire and the peninsula of Malacca. The extreme south of the Indian peninsula, called Régio Pandiónis (the Carnatic), was said to have been the seat of a powerful and enlightened dynasty, whose capital was Mádura. Malacca was known as the Chersonésus Aurea (golden peninsula); the island of Ceylon was called Taprobáne or Sal'ice, and that of Sumatra, Labódii or Hor'dei. The frontier races of the empire in Africa have been mentioned in the preceding section. |