rs had continued the tradition of "leadership" which had given the
old tribal chieftains such a hold upon their subjects. But the Emperors
of the second and third centuries were Barrack-Emperors, professional
soldiers, who existed by the grace of their body-guards, the so-called
Praetorians. They succeeded each other with terrifying rapidity,
murdering their way into the palace and being murdered out of it as soon
as their successors had become rich enough to bribe the guards into a
new rebellion.

Meanwhile the barbarians were hammering at the gates of the northern
frontier. As there were no longer any native Roman armies to stop their
progress, foreign mercenaries had to be hired to fight the invader. As
the foreign soldier happened to be of the same blood as his supposed
enemy, he was apt to be quite lenient when he engaged in battle.
Finally, by way of experiment, a few tribes were allowed to settle
within the confines of the Empire. Others followed. Soon these tribes
complained bitterly of the greedy Roman tax-gatherers, who took away
their last penny. When they got no redress they marched to Rome and
loudly demanded that they be heard.

This made Rome very uncomfortable as an Imperial residence. Constantine
(who ruled from 323 to 337) looked for a new capital. He chose
Byzantium, the gate-way for the commerce between Europe and Asia. The
city was renamed Constantinople, and the court moved eastward. When
Constantine died, his two sons, for the sake of a more efficient
administration, divided the Empire between them. The elder lived in
Rome and ruled in the west. The younger stayed in Constantinople and was
master of the east.

Then came the fourth century and the terrible visitation of the Huns,
those mysterious Asiatic horsemen who for more than two centuries
maintained themselves in Northern Europe and continued their career of
bloodshed until they were defeated near Chalons-sur-Marne in France in
the year 451. As soon as the Huns had reached the Danube they had begun
to press hard upon the Goths. The Goths, in order to save themselves,
were thereupon obliged to invade Rome. The Emperor Valens tried to stop
them, but was killed near Adrianople in the year 378. Twenty-two years
later, under their king, Alaric, these same West Goths marched westward
and attacked Rome. They did not plunder, and destroyed only a few
palaces. Next came the Vandals, and showed less respect for the
venerable traditions of the city.