. The historians' history of the world; a comprehensive narrative of the rise and development of nations as recorded by over two thousand of the great writers of all ages:. gh he may, on such occasions,have considered that the necessity of keeping up the spirits of his army wasa sufficient apology for his rashness. Unquestionably the army, as a mili-tary establishment, had declined in excellence ere Justinian ascended thethrone, and his reign tended to sink it much lower ; yet it is probable thatit was never more remarkable for the enterprising valour of its officers orfor their personal skill
. The historians' history of the world; a comprehensive narrative of the rise and development of nations as recorded by over two thousand of the great writers of all ages:. gh he may, on such occasions,have considered that the necessity of keeping up the spirits of his army wasa sufficient apology for his rashness. Unquestionably the army, as a mili-tary establishment, had declined in excellence ere Justinian ascended thethrone, and his reign tended to sink it much lower ; yet it is probable thatit was never more remarkable for the enterprising valour of its officers orfor their personal skill in the use of their weapons. The death of numbersof the highest rank, in battles and skirmishes in which they rashly engaged,proves this fact. There was, however, one important feature of ancienttactics still preserved in the Roman armies, which gave them a decidedsuperiority over their enemies. They had still the confidence in their dis-cipline and skill to form their ranks, and encounter their opponents in line ;the bravest of their enemies, whether on the banks of the Danube or theTigris, only ventured to charge them, or receive their attack, in closemasses. «^. CHAPTER IV THE LATER YEARS OF JUSTINIANS REIGN [535-565 ] BYZANTIUM RIDS ROME OF THE GOTHS The empire of the Ostrogoths, though established on principles of a justadministration by the wisdom of the great Theodoric, soon began to sufferas complete a national demoralisation as that of the Vandals, though theGoths themselves, from being more civilised and living more directly underthe restraint of laws which protected the property of their Roman subjects,had not become individually so corrupted by the possession of wealth. The conquest of Italy ^ had not produced any very great revolution in thestate of the country. The Romans had long been accustomed to be defendedin name, but in fact to be ruled, by the commanders of the mercenarytroops in the emperors service. The Goths, even after the conquest,allowed them to
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