The Ecclesiastical History of Evagrius Scholasticus - Coptic ...

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EVAGRIUS
captured by the Avars; it had earlier been controlled by Gepids, but had
been handed over by them to Justin. 49
13 Meanwhile Justin, at the prompting of Sophia, proclaimed Tiberius
as Caesar, uttering such things at this announcement as have transcended
all history, both ancient and modern, since the merciful God
gave Justin an opportunity both to declare his own errors and to suggest
good measures for the future bene¢t of the state. For after the archbishop
John, whom we have previously mentioned, and his entourage, and the
o⁄cials of rank, and those in military service around the palace had
been gathered in the open-air courtyard, where ancient custom states
that such matters take place, Justin clothed Tiberius in the imperial
robe, placed on him the cloak and, crying aloud, declared, ‘Let not [209]
the apparent dignity of the vestment mislead you, nor the illusion of
what is visible; seduced by these I did not realize that I had become
liable to the extreme penalties. Rectify my mistakes by leading the state
through all prosperity.’ And, indicating the o⁄cials, he said that he
ought to have the most minimal con¢dence in these, adding, ‘These
brought me to the state that you see’, and other similar matters which
brought everyone to amazement and a shedding of tears beyond
measure. 50
s.v. Tribunus 2) had twice visited Persia to cure Khusro; on the second occasion he remained
for a whole year, and secured the release of numerous captives on his return.
49 Evagrius’ chronology is somewhat confused. Sirmium, a former imperial capital
located between the Danube and Sava rivers, had been recovered from the Gepids during
their confrontation with the Lombards at the start of Justin’s reign. The Avars, however,
claimed it on the grounds that they had been granted the Gepids’ possessions as booty in
return for assistance to the Lombards. In about 570, the Romans withstood Avar pressure
on the city, and in the mid-570s peace was secured by an annual payment to the Avar
Chagan. This arrangement broke down in 578, after the Avars managed to isolate the city
by constructing bridges over the Sava both upstream and downstream. Tiberius refused
demands to hand over the city, but was unable to organize an e¡ective relief force; after a
three-year blockade the city was surrendered in 581/2 (Menander frr. 25, 27; John of
Ephesus, EH vi.30, 32).
50 The ceremony took place on Friday, 7 December 574. The location was probably the
Delphax, a sizeable courtyard with a tribunal, from which proclamations were made (also
known as the Tribunal of the Nineteen Couches, after the adjacent formal dining room); this
was the site of the proclamation of Justinian as co-emperor in 527, and perhaps also of
Justin in 565, and was incorrectly assumed by Theophylact (i.1.2) to be where Maurice was
crowned in 582. See Averil Cameron, Corippus 156^7.