Encyclopaedia Britannica, or, a Dictionary of arts, sciences, and miscellaneous literature : enlarged and improved. Illustrated with nearly six hundred engravings > Volume 6, CHI-Crystallization

CON [ 578 j CON
Conftan- fins, to whom he wrote a very obliging letter, with
t'hift)^tan own ^an^• generally believed alio that Atha-
!. ‘ ^ ■ nafius, at the delire of Jovian, now compofed the creed
which Hill goes by his name, and is fu'bfcribed by all
the bifhops in Europe. But this emperor did not live
70 to make any great alterations, or even to vilit his capi-
His death. ja| as ernperor ; for in his way to Conftantinople he was
found dead in his bed, on the 16th or 17th of February
364, after he had lived 33 years, and reigned feven
-yj months and 40 days.
Valentini- After the death of Jovian, Valentinian was chofen
an chpfen emperer. Immediately on his acceffion, the loldiers
choofcsVa muhn*cc^j and with great clamour required him to
lens for his choofe a partner in the fovereighty. Though he did
partner. not inftantly comply with his demand, yet in a few
days he chofe his brother Valens for his partner •, and,
as the empire was threatened on all lides with an in-
vafion of the barbarous nations, be thought proper to
divide it. This famous partition was made at Median a
in Dacia. Valens had for his (bare the whole of Alia,
Egypt, and Thrace } and Valentinian all the Weft ;
that is, Illyricum, Italy, Gaul, Spain, Britain, and
7a Africa.
Procopius After this partition, Valens returned to Conftanti-
yevolts. nople ; where the beginning of his reign was diffurbed
by the revolt of Procopius, a relation of Julian. On
the death of that emperor, he bad fled into Taurica
Cherfonefus for fear of Jovian ; but not trailing the
barbarians who inhabited that country, he returned in
difguife into the Roman territories, where having
gained over an eunuch of great wealth, by name Eu-
genius, lately disgraced by Valens, and fome officers
who commanded the troops fent againfl the Goths,
be got himfelf proclaimed emperor. At fir ft -be was
joined only by the loweft of the people, but at length
he was acknowledged by the whole city of Conftanti¬
nople. On the news of this revolt, Valens would
have abdicated the fovereignty, bad he not been pre¬
vented by the importunities of his friends. Fie there¬
fore difpatched fome troops againft the ufurper j but
thefe were gained over, and Procopius continued for
fome time to gain ground. It is probable he would
finally have fucceeded, bad he not become fo much elat¬
ed with his good fortune that he grew tyrannical and
73 infupportable to his own party. In confequence of this
Is defeated alteration in his difpofition, he was firft abandoned by
and put to fome 0f his principal officers •, and foon after defeated
<ieat^ in battle, taken prifoner, and put to death.
Wat with This revolt produced a war betwixt Valens and the
the Gethi. Gpths. The latter, havipg been folicited by Proco¬
pius, had fent 3000 men to his affiftance. On hear¬
ing the news of the ufurper’s death, they marched
back j but Valens detached againft them a body of
troops, who took them all prifoners notwithftanding
the vigorous refiftance they made. Athanaric, king
of the Goths, expoftulated on this proceeding with
Valens 5 but that emperor proving obilinate, both
parties prepared for war. In 367 and 3^9» Valens
gained great advantages over his enemies 5 and ob¬
liged them to fue for peace, which was concluded up¬
on terms very advantageous to the Romans. 7 he
reft of his -reign contains nothing remarkable, except
the cruelty with which Valens perfecuted the ortho¬
dox clergy. The latter fent 80 of their number to
him, in order to lay their complaints before him j but.
he, inftead of giving them any relief, determined to Conit,t 1
put them all to death. But the perfon wrho was or- hnopolit (
dered to execute this fentence, fearing left the pub-, ^w?| j
lie execution of fo many ecclefiaftics might raife dif-
turbanceS, ordered them all to be put on hoard a ffiip, Eightye
pretending that the emperor had ordered them only tothodoxt
be fent into banifhment •, but when the veffel was atc'el!a®e
fome diftance from the land, the mariners fet fire to it,
and made their own efcape in the boat. The ffiip was ^
driven by a ftrong wind into a harbour, where it wasMagiein
confumed and all that were in it. A perfecution wasPer^cutt
alfo commenced againft magicians, or thofe who had
books of magic in their cuftody. This occafioned the
deftrudlion of many innocent perfons 5 for books of this
kind were often conveyed into libraries, unknown to
the owners of them, and this was certainly followed by
death and confifcation of goods. Hereupon perfons of
all ranks were feized with fuch terror that they burnt
their libraries, left books of magic ffiould have been
fecretly conveyed in amongft the others. In 378, the
Goths, whom Valens had admitted into Thrace, advan¬
ced from that province to Macedon and Thefialy,
where they committed dreadful ravages. They af- ^
terwards blocked up the city of Conftanlinople, plun-Valemi i
dered the fuburbs, and at laft totally defeated and kil-k^3 to
led the emperor himfelf. The day after the battle,
hearing that an immenfe treafure was lodged in Adria-
nople, the barbarians laid fiege to that place : but be¬
ing quite ftrangers to the art of befieging towns, they
were repulfed with great flaughter ; upon which they
dropped that enterprife, and returned before Conftanti¬
nople. But here great numbers of them were cut in
pieces by the Saracens, whom Maria their queen had
fent to the affiftance of the Romans ; fo that they were
obliged to abandon this defign likewife, and retire fiom
the neighbouihood of that city.
By the death of Valens the empire once more I
into the hands of a fingle perfon. This was Gratian,^^ J|
who had held the empire of the Weft, after the death ^ pm
of Valentinian. He repulfed many barbarous nations
who threatened the empire at that time with diffolu-
tion ; but finding himlelf preffed on all fides, he loon
refolved to take a colleague, in older to eafe him of
fome part of the burden. Accordingly on the 19th of I1
January 379, he declared Theodofius his paitner in
the empire, and committed to his caie all the provinces
which had been governed by Valens.
Theodofius is greatly extolled by the hiftorians of
thofe ages on account of his extraordinary valour and
piety : and for thefe qualifications has been honoured
with the furname of the Great. From the many perfe-
cuting law's, however, made in his time, it would feem
that his piety was at leaft very much mifguided ; and
that if he was naturally of a humane and compaHionate
difpolkion, fuperftition and paffion had often totally
obfeured it. He certainly was a man of great con-
dud!: and experience in war ; and indeed the prefent
ftate of the empire called for an exertion of all his abi- 71 j
lities. The provinces of Dacia, Thrace, and Rlyri- erjM
cum, were already loft 5 the Goths, iaifali, -^ans’empire: J
and Huns, were mafters of the greateft part of thefeJj
provinces, and had ravaged and laid wafte the reffifion.
The Iberians, Armenians, and Perfians, were likewife
up in arms, and ready to take advantage of the drf-
tradled ftate of the empire. The few foldiers who
had