The Weakness of the Eastern Empire

Amidst the general confusion of affairs, Phocas became unsettled in his new dignity.

Heraclius came from Africa and murdered him.

• He found the provinces invaded and the legions destroyed.

As soon as he remedied these disasters, the Arabians extended the Islamic empire founded by Mohammed.

• No people ever made so rapid a progress.
• They immediately conquered Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and Africa, and then turned against the Persians.

God permitted his religion to be laid low, in so many places where it once had been predominant; not that it now ceased to be the object of his providential care, but because it always either in its state of glory or depression produces its natural effect, which is the sanctification of the soul.

The welfare of religion:

• has no similarity to the prosperity of empires.
• may well be distempered, since malady itself is the true state of a christian

I add that the humiliations and dispersion of the church, the destruction of her temples, and the persecutions of her martyrs, are eminent seasons of her glory.

But when she appears triumphant to the eyes of the world, she is generally sinking in adversity.

We are not to have recourse to enthusiasm alone to clear up this memorable event of the Arabian conquests, which spread through so many countries=

The Saracens were among the best auxiliaries of Rome and Persia for a long time.

• They and the Osroanians were the best horse-archers in the world.
• Alexander Severus and Maximin had used them as much as possible.
• They were extremely useful in the wars with the Germans.
• In the reign of Valens, the Goths could not resist them.

The legions raised in Europe were much preferable to those of Asia.

But the cavalry of Asia, as the Parthians, Osroanians, and Saracens, were better than the cavalry of Europe.

This stopped the Roman conquests.

The Tatars had the best cavalry in the world.

• After the death of Antiochus, a new nation of Tartars made themselves masters of the Upper Asia.

This cavalry was heavy, and that of Europe light, quite contrary to the present nature of their military equipage.

Holland and Friseland were not as yet won from the waters.

Germany was full of woods, lakes, and marshes, where the cavalry were of little importance.

When a free passage was opened to the great rivers, the stagnant waters shrunk from those marshes, and Germany assumed a new surface. Many changes were effected by the works of Valentinian on the Necker, and those of the Romans on the Rhine.

After commerce was established, those countries which did not originally produce horses began to propagate them, and the people made great use of those animals.

Constantine, the son of Heraclius, was poisoned.

His son Constance was slain in Sicily.

Constantine the bearded, his eldest son, succeeded to the empire.

But the grandees of the eastern provinces being assembled on this occasion, were determined to crown the other brothers of this prince jointly with himself; alledging, that as it was indispensably necessary for them to believe in the Trinity, so it was reasonable they should be governed by three emperors.

The Greek history is crowded with proceedings as extraordinary as this. A low turn of mind being then characteristic of that nation, the former wisdom was no longer conspicuous in their actions, and the empire became a scene of troubles and revolutions, to which it was impossible to assign any preparatory motives.

An universal bigotry had stupified and emasculated the whole empire.

Constantinople was the only place in the east where:

• Christianity was predominant
• the pusillanimous indolence, and degrading softness of the Asiatic nations, were blended with it

Of a thousand instances that might be alledged, I shall only mention the conduct of Philippicus, who was the general of Maurice’s army.

• He led charging the enemy in the field and burst into tears when he suddenly realized that many people were about to be destroyed.

On the contrary, the Arabians wept with regret that their general had agreed to a truce prevented them from killing Christians.

There is a total difference between an army of fanatics and another of bigots.