Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1827) Vol 1.djvu/391

OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 367 Upper Egypt/ The Egyptians he inflamed with the CHAP, hope of freedom, and, at the head of their furious mul- ^^' titude, broke into the city of Alexandria, where he as- sumed the imperial purple, coined money, published edicts, and raised an army, which, as he vainly boasted, he was capable of maintaining from the sole profits of his paper trade. Such troops were a feeble defence against the approach of Aurelian ; and it seems almost unnecessary to relate, that Firmus was routed, taken, tortured, and put to death. Aurelian might now con- gratulate the senate, the people, and himself, that in little more than three years, he had restored universal peace and order to the Roman world ^. Since the foundation of Rome, no general had more A.D. 274. nobly deserved a triumph than Aurelian; nor was a^"J.2n°^ triumph ever celebrated with superior pride and mag- nificence. The pomp was opened by twenty elephants, four royal tigers, and above two hundred of the most curious animals from every climate of the north, the east, and the south. They were followed by sixteen hundred gladiators, devoted to the cruel amusement of the amphitheatre. The wealth of Asia, the arms and ensigns of so many conquered nations, and the magni- ficent plate and wardrobe of the Syrian queen, were disposed in exact symmetry or artful disorder. The ambassadors of the most remote parts of the earth, of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, Bactriana, India, and China, all remarkable by their rich or singular dresses, dis- played the fame and power of the Roman emperor ; who exposed likewise to the public view the presents that he had received, and particularly a great number of crowns of gold, the offerings of grateful cities. The victories of Aurelian were attested by the long train of « See Vopiscusin Hist. August, p. 220. 242. As an instance of luxury, it is observed, that he had glass windows. He was remarkable for his strength and appetite, his courage and dexterity. From the letter of Aure- lian, we may justly infer, that Firmus was the last of the rebels, and con- sequently that Tetricus was already suppressed. h See the triumph of Aurelian, described by Vopiscus. He relates the particulars with his usual minuteness ; and, on this occasion, they happen to he interesting. Hist. Aug. 220.