Zosimus, New History 3.32

Zosimus (Greek Ζώσιμος): Early Byzantine, pagan author of a history of the Roman Empire, published in the first quarter of the sixth century CE.

The translation of Zosimus' New History offered here was printed in 1814 by W. Green and T. Chaplin in London, and was probably prepared by J. Davis of the Military Chronicle and Military Classics Office. The translator is anonymous. The text was found at Tertullian.org. The notes were added by Jona Lendering.


[3.32.1] Having arrived at this part of my history, I shall recur to former ages, and enquire whether the Romans ever before gave up any of their dominions to other nations, or ever suffered any other to possess what they had once conquered. 

[3.32.2] Lucullus having defeated Tigranes and Mithridates, and added to the Roman empire the whole country as far as the centre of Armenia, and Nisibis with the adjacent fortresses; Pompey the Great, to crown all his great exploits, by a peace which he effected, established and confirmed the possession of them to the Romans.

[3.32.3] Upon a former war in Persia, the senate appointed Crassus their general and plenipotentiary, whose ill conduct brought a lasting disgrace on the Roman name, he being made prisoner and dying among the Parthians. The command was then vested in Antony. Being enamored of Cleopatra he became indolent and regardless of military affairs, and perished, charged with actions unworthy of a Roman. Notwithstanding the Romans suffered all these disasters they did not lose even one of those provinces. 

[3.32.4] Then the republic was changed into a monarchy, and Augustus constituted the Tigris and Euphrates the boundary of the Roman Empire, even that circumstance did not deprive them of this country. On the contrary, a considerable time afterwards, when the emperor Gordian fought against the Persians, and lost his life in the midst of the enemy's country, the Persians, even after that disaster, were not able to acquire any part of the Roman dominion. Nor did they succeed more even when Philip was emperor, although he entered into a most dishonorable peace with them. 

[3.32.5] A short time afterwards, when the Persian fire had set all the east in flames, and the great city of Antioch was taken by the Persian army which advanced as far as Cilicia, the emperor Valerianus made an expedition against them, and though he was taken by them, yet still they did not dare to claim the sovereignty of those countries.

[3.32.6] The death of the emperor Julian alone was a sufficient cause to deprive us of them all, and that in so irrevocable a manner, that the Roman emperors have never since been able to recover any part of them, but have gradually lost still more; some having made themselves perfectly independent, others having surrendered themselves to the barbarians, and others becoming deserted: all which I shall in the course of this history relate as it occurred. To return from my digression.