Celebrating the Vicennalia

As a marriage current, Constantine dispatched Crispus and Helena to Rome, the place the younger Caesar was to oversee preparations for celebrating the Vicennalia, the 20 th yr since Constantine had first been proclaimed Augustus by the individuals of Britain and Gaul. He didn’t point out to anybody his resolution to undertake Adrian’s suggestion that he elevate Crispus to the function of Augustus throughout the Vicennalia and make him ruler of the Empire’s western half, preferring to make that announcement in Rome itself.

Constantine’s personal plan to go to Rome a few month after Crispus’ departure was disrupted by a sudden invasion into Scythia and Moesia by the Sarmatians, a halfsavage individuals who lived north of the place the Danube emptied into the Pontus Euxinus. Rapidly placing a military collectively, he ready to march northward and punish the rebels, however Fausta had no intention of ready patiently in Nicomedia for his return.

Sarmatians delay the celebration

“How lengthy will the revolt of the Sarmatians delay the celebration of your Vicennalia?” she requested him the evening earlier than his departure.

“In all probability a number of months. I shall need to drive them again throughout their borders and set an instance for the Goths.”

“Why not destroy them? I hear they’re solely barbarians, with few weapons of iron.”

“However barbarians intelligent sufficient to beat that lack by making scale armor out of skinny slices lower from horses’ hooves and sewn on a thick tunic,” he informed her. “Such a garment can flip spears and arrows nearly as successfully as scales of metallic. And such individuals may be invaluable to the Empire.”

“How will you management them, then?”

“The identical manner, I hope, that I managed Bonar, the Piet chieftain, way back by convincing them they’ve extra to realize from an alliance with Rome than from preventing. In spite of everything, we’ve many issues they lack.” He gave her an appraising look, having way back discovered that questions on a topic about which she ordinarily didn’t concern herself often had some goal behind them. “Why do you ask?”