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THE Sarmatae after this having made incursions into the Roman
territories, the emperor marched against them with a numerous army but
when the barbarians understood the formidable nature of this
expedition, they sent an embassy to him to sue for peace on certain
conditions. As the ambassadors were introduced to the emperor's
presence, and appeared to him to be not very dignified fellows, he
enquired whether all the Sarmatae were such as these? As they replied
that the noblest personages of their whole nation had come to him,
Valentinian became excessively enraged, and exclaimed with great
vehemence, that 'the Roman empire was indeed most wretched in
devolving upon him at a time when a nation of such despicable
barbarians, not content with being permitted to exist in safety within
their own limits, dared to take up arms, invade the Roman
territories, and break forth into open war.' The violence of his
manner and utterance of these words was so great, that all his veins
were opened by the effort, and all the arteries ruptured; and from the
quantity of blood which thereupon gushed forth he died. This occurred
at Bergition Castle, after Gratian's third consulate in conjunction
with Equitius, on the seventeenth day of November, Valentinian
having lived fifty-four years and reigned thirteen. Upon the decease
of Valentinian, six days after his death the army in Italy proclaimed
his son Valentinian, then a young child, emperor, at Acincum, a
city of Italy. When this was announced to the other two emperors,
they were displeased, not because the brother of the one and the nephew
of the other had been declared emperor, but because the military
presumed to proclaim him without consulting them, whom they themselves
wished to have proclaimed. They both, however, ratified the
transaction, and thus was Valentinian the younger seated on his
father's throne. Now this Valentinian was born of Justina, whom
Valentinian the elder married while Severa his former wife was alive,
under the following circumstances. Justus the father of Justina, who
had been governor of Picenum under the reign of Constantius, had a
dream in which he seemed to himself to bring forth the imperial purple
out of his right side. When this dream had been told to many persons,
it at length came to the knowledge of Constantius, who conjecturing it
to be a presage that a descendant of Justus would become emperor,
caused him to be assassinated. Justina being thus bereft of her
father, still continued a virgin. Some time after she became known to
Severa, wife of the emperor Valentinian, and had frequent
intercourse with the empress, until their intimacy at length grew to
such an extent that they were accustomed to bathe together. When
Severa saw Justina in the bath she was greatly struck with the beauty
of the virgin, and spoke of her to the emperor; saying that the
daughter of Justus was so lovely a creature, and possessed of such
symmetry of form, that she herself, though a woman, was altogether
charmed with her. The emperor, treasuring this description by his
wife in his own mind, considered with himself how he could espouse
Justina, without repudiating Severa, as she had borne him Gratian,
whom he had created Augustus a little while before. He accordingly
framed a law, and caused it to be published throughout all the cities,
by which any man was permitted to have two lawful wives. The law was
promulgated and he married Justina, by whom he had Valentinian the
younger, and three daughters, Justa, Grata, and Galla; the two
former of these remained virgins: but Calla was afterwards married to
the emperor Theodosius the Great, who had by her a daughter named
Placidia. For that prince had Arcadins and Honorius by Flaccilla
his former wife: we shall however enter into particulars respecting
Theodosius and his sons in the proper place.
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