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98 4. the successors of justinian
their suspicions, the Romans could not prevent the bridge construction,
even though Tiberius, pretending to accept Avar protestations, warned
them that their dreaded former overlords, the Turks, had reached Cherson
on the Black Sea and might exploit the absence of the Avar army from
Pannonia.
The Roman problem is bluntly presented in Menander: the Persian war
had completely drained the Balkans of troops, and no thought had been
given to laying in supplies to resist sieges, since the Avars had seemed welldisposed.
Relief proved impossible and Sirmium was eventually forced to
surrender after a blockade of three years. While Roman attention was
focused on the north, elsewhere in the Balkans Slavs roamed with little
apparent restraint. Brigands, referred to as Scamareis, interfered with travel
even by official embassies on the main highways. Scamareis, perhaps to be
considered the eastern equivalent of the bagaudae, had similarly appeared
in Noricum as central control evaporated. Coin hoards, probably to be
dated to Tiberius’ reign, have been found from the foothills of the Stara
Planina in northern Bulgaria as far south as Porto Cheli and Olympia in the
Peloponnese, illustrating the extent of disruption. Even at Constantinople
Tiberius is alleged to have erected a fortification to protect shipping in one
of the harbours. The Slavs were no longer content to ravage, but were
thought to have begun to settle. 25
4. Internal affairs
Such lack of success did little to dent Tiberius’ popular reputation. In contrast
to Justin, who had come to be regarded as stingy, Tiberius retained an
image of conspicuous generosity: the contrast of regimes is made in the
stories of disagreements between Sophia and Tiberius about the level of
his charitable expenditure, with Tiberius expressing the laudable but quite
impractical attitude, at least for an emperor, that gold in the treasury was of
little use when the world was suffering from hunger. 26 Quite apart from
charity, warfare and diplomacy in west and east cost Tiberius dear, at a time
when state income was reduced by almost 25 per cent because of the tax
remission of 575: in his first year as emperor John of Ephesus alleges that
he spent 7,500 pounds of gold, 540,000 solidi, as well as quantities of silver
and silks – his expenses would have included a consulship, in imitation of
Justin, and an accession donative for the armies, but the outlay is still
impressive. Western rumour had it that he had benefited from the discovery
of the fabulous treasure of Narses, the former duke of Italy, but it is
not surprising that the empire was impoverished at his death. 27
25 Menander frr. 15.6, 25, 27; John Eph. HE vi.24–5, 30–2; Whitby, Maurice 86–9.
26 Cameron (1977). 27 John Eph. HE v.20;Greg.Tur.Hist. v.19.
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