Res Gestae

Therefore Theodosius, fearing lest he should involve himself in an unequal contest, and if he confronted a vast horde with only a few troops—for he had under his command only 3500 armed men—might lose them all, wavered between the shame of retreat and the desire for battle; but at last he gradually withdrew and made off, with the horde pressing at his heels.

The foe, tremendously elated by this success, followed persistently[*](A brief lacuna follows which does not greatly affect the sense.) . . . so that he found it necessary to fight; but he himself would have been killed and his army utterly annihilated, had not the enemy, attacking in disorder, seen afar off the auxiliaries of the Mazices, in the van of which were some Romans; so thinking that they were attacked by many columns, they turned in flight and opened to our men ways of escape which before had been blocked.

From there, leading his army safe and sound, Theodosius came to an estate called Mazucanus, where he burned a few deserters alive and mutilated the rest as he had the archers whose hands were cut off;[*](See § 22, above.) and in the month of February he reached Tipasa.

There he made a long halt, and after the manner of the famous Lingerer[*](Q. Fabius Maximus in the Hannibalic war, nicknamed Cunctator because of his policy of caution.) of old took counsel with himself as the circumstances demanded, planning, if chance gave the opportunity, rather through strategy and discretion than by the

Nevertheless he constantly sent men experienced in[*](363 ff. A.D.) persuasion to the surrounding tribes, the Baiurae, Cantauriani, Avastomates, Cafaves, Bavares, and other neighbours, to entice them to an alliance, now by fear, now by bribes, and sometimes by promising pardon for their impudence with[*](Here there is a lacuna of three lines, perhaps telling that, strengthened through these tribes, he again took the field.) . . . intending by subterfuges and delays to overcome an enemy who foiled his attacks, as Pompey once vanquished Mithridates.

Therefore Firmus, to avoid imminent destruction, although he was protected by a strong body of troops, abandoned the army which he had got together at great expense; and when the quiet of night gave him the opportunity of concealment, he made his way into the far distant Caprariensian mountains, which are inaccessible because of their steep crags.

In consequence of his secret departure his army scattered and roamed about in small bands without a leader, thus giving our men the opportunity of invading their camp. After this was plundered and those who resisted were killed or received in surrender, the greater part of the country was devastated and our prudent leader put prefects of tried fidelity in charge of the peoples through whose country he was marching.

The public enemy, terrified by this unexpected confidence of the pursuit, quickly departed, accompanied by a few slaves, in order to provide for his safety; and to

Theodosius,[*](nullique shows that Theodosius is really the subject of a missing verb, but there is no lacuna in V.) sparing none of the enemy who came near, after refreshing his soldiers with better food and their pay, as well as disposing of the Caprarienses and their neighbours the Abanni in a slight skirmish, hastened to the municipal town of Audia.[*](Or Duobia; both names occur below, but the lacuna of four letters in V suggests Audia here; cf. § 44, below.) But having learned from trustworthy sources that the savages had already taken possession of hills which extended upwards in all directions in winding masses, and could be penetrated by no one except natives who were thoroughly acquainted with the locality, he retreated and thereby during the cessation of hostilities, brief though it was, gave the enemy an opportunity of being strengthened by very numerous auxiliaries from the Aethiopians who dwelt near by.

When the foe, with united forces and threatening uproar, taking no thought for their own lives, rushed to battle, they drove off Theodosius in great terror at the fearful sight of their countless throngs. But he took courage and at once returned, bringing an abundance of provisions, and with his men in close order and brandishing their shields in a terrifying posture, met the enemy hand to hand.

Then, although the bands of raging savages, blaring some ferocious tune on their barbaric trumpets and also clashing their bucklers against their knees, were close

While he was thus most successful, with the aid of the mighty godhead, a trustworthy scout informed him that Firmus had fled to the Isaflenses; whereupon he invaded their lands, to demand the traitor as well as his brother Mazuca and the rest of his kinsfolk; and when his demand was refused, he declared war upon that race.

A fierce battle followed, since the savages were uncommonly ferocious; but he opposed his army to them in circular formation[*](That is, facing the enemy on all sides.) and the Isaflenses were so overcome by the weight of the onrushing troops that many of them were slain. Firmus himself, after fighting bravely and often risking his life, was carried off in headlong flight by his horse, which was accustomed to run swiftly over rocks and crags; but his brother Mazuca was fatally wounded and taken prisoner.

Theodosius gave orders to send Mazuca to Caesarea, a city on which the Moor had branded the savage marks of his evil deeds; but he tore open his wound[*](So Wagner, dilatato ab ipso vulneris hiatu, which seems to fit the context and the situation.) and died. However, his head was torn off, leaving the rest of his body intact, and to the great joy of

After this our famous general overcame the race of the Isaflenses, who still resisted, and, as justice demanded, inflicted many vexatious penalties upon them. There Evasius, an important citizen, Florus his son, and some others, who were clearly convicted of having aided the violator of peace by secret counsel, were burned alive.

Then Theodosius marched farther into the country, and with great courage attacked the tribe of the Iubaleni, to which he had learned that Nubel, the father of Firmus, belonged; but he was brought to a halt by the high mountains and the circuitous passes; and although he attacked the enemy and after killing many of them opened a way, yet dreading the high hills, so well adapted to ambuscades, he led his men back in safety to the fortress of Audia. There the wild race of the Iesalenses voluntarily surrendered, promising to furnish aid and provisions.

The mighty leader, exulting in these and similar glorious actions, then went in quest of the disturber of peace himself with a mighty effort of strength. To that end he made a long halt near the castle of Medianum, hoping that through many carefully devised plans Firmus might be betrayed into his hands.

While he was looking forward to this with perplexed thoughts and deep care, he found that his enemy had returned to the Isaflenses; whereupon he did not delay, as before, but attacked them with all the speed he could. Their king, Igmazen by name, who was highly regarded in those parts and notable for his resources, boldly came forward to meet him. What is your rank, said

At the first appearance of the following daylight both armies, with threatening mien, advanced to meet each other in battle. Nearly 20,000 savages were stationed in the very van, with bands of reserves concealed behind them, in order that they might gradually rise up and surround our men with their unexpected numbers. Besides these there were a great many auxiliaries from the Iesalenses, who, as we have pointed out, had promised help and provisions to our side.

On the other hand, the Romans, although very few in number, nevertheless brave in spirit and encouraged by their former victories, pressed side to side in close order and with shields closely held together in the tortoise-formation,[*](See the illustration at xxiii. 4, 1.) stood fast and resisted them; and the battle was continued from sunrise to the end of the day. A little before evening Firmus was seen, mounted on a tall horse, his purple cloak[*](For a similar use of the sagum see xviii. 6, 13, xxv. 6, 14 (sagulum).) trailing out and spreading wide, urging our soldiers with loud shouts to take advantage of the opportunity and give up Theodosius, if they wished to be saved from the dangers to which they were exposed, calling him a fierce savage and a cruel deviser of inhuman punishments.