The Ecclesiastical History of Evagrius Scholasticus - Coptic ...

58
EVAGRIUS
Marcian his head. 5 When he had thus been unexpectedly saved he came
to one of the military units there, wishing to enlist in it. In admiration
for the man and correctly judging that he would be great and most
eminent, they accepted him gladly and enrolled him among their own
number, not at the bottom, as military law demands, but at a rank of a
man who had recently died, whose name was Augustus, writing
‘Marcian who is also Augustus’ in the register. Hence the name anticipated
the appellation of our emperors, in that they are called Augusti on
being invested with the purple. As if the name did not tolerate remaining
with him without the rank, nor yet in turn did the rank seek another
name for enhancement, so his personal name and appellation were established
as the same, since rank and public appellation were indicated
through a single term. 6
And something else perchanced which can indicate Marcian’s
imperial position. For when he accompanied Aspar on campaign
against the Vandals he became a captive along with many others, after
Aspar had been heavily defeated by the Vandals; he was led across a
plain with the other prisoners, since Geiseric wanted to see those who
had been enslaved. 7 When they had been assembled, Geiseric sat in one
of the upper rooms, taking pleasure in the quantity of those who had
been netted. As time passed, they acted as each thought best, since the
guards had undone their bonds on Geiseric’s instructions. And so each
behaved in di¡erent ways. But Marcian lay down on the plain and went
5 Cf. v.11 for Divine Providence protecting Tiberius. For word play in imperial descriptions,
cf. vi.1 with n. 1 below.
6 For full references on Marcian, see PLRE II. 714^15, s.v. Marcianus 8. The explanation
for Marcian’s advancement was, perhaps, that his father was a soldier who had died in
action: in 594 Maurice enacted that such orphans be enrolled at their father’s rank, up to
that of biarchus, and there was certainly comparable earlier legislation: Jones, LRE 675.
The use of Augustus as a personal name is very rare (only one instance in PLRE). There is
no parallel for the story, and Festugie' re (238 n. 2) suggested that it might have been invented
by Evagrius; certainly the sententious comment about the name Augustus is typical of Evagrius’
style.
Such omens and predictions of imperial succession are common: cf. v.21 (with notes) for
Maurice, or Life of Eutychius 66^9 for predictions about Justin II, Tiberius and Maurice.
7 The Vandals crossed into Africa in May 429 and rapidly achieved sweeping successes
against the Romans under Boniface, who was besieged in Hippo; in 431 Aspar led an
eastern army to rescue Boniface, but was defeated. Aspar remained in Africa until 434 and
probably arranged the treaty of February 435, which ceded to the Vandals Mauretania and
the western part of Numidia in return for tribute. Marcian was Aspar’s domesticus, a combination
of bodyguard, attendant and adviser.