cities and countreis hauing 24. kings by succession which continued vntil 75. yeeres after the destruction of Troy continued so vntil the Carthaginians began to flourish whom the Romanes afterward cōquered At this time one Pypinus gouerned the Thuscanes and raigned as Manethon writes 56. yeres In the last yeres of this king Tyneus the Prophet Dauid was borne 407. yeres after the children of Israels going out of Egypt and in the 7. Iubile after Moses then began to raigne in Assyria Dercillus he raigned 40. yeres In his dayes began the kingdome of Lacedemonia 83. yeres after Troys destruction the first king of Lacedemonia was called Euristenes who raigned 42. yeeres of him came lineally 2. noble and valiant captains Cleomenes and Leonidas who in their time were most famous for they inuaded the Persians and ouerthrew them at Thermophila About the same yere the Corinthians began likewise to establish a kingdome for the Lacedemonians and the Corinthians began at one time to raigne the first king of Corinth was Alethes and he raigned 35. yeres In the 10. yere of king Dercillus the Arke of the Lord was taken by the Philistines and caried vnto Ashdod one of their fiue principal cities they kept the Arke 7. moneths For when the Israelites were ouercome by the Philistines and the arke taken away Ely the priest hearing that the Israelites were ouerthrowen the arke taken and his two sonnes slaine fel down frō his stoole brake his necke for so the Lord told Samuel before what should become vpō Ely his house Israel stil offended God now not contented with the gouernmēt which God appointed them but cried out for a king God cōmanded Samuel to anoint Saul their king About this time great warres grew betwene the Peloponesians and the Athenians Codrus at that time liued was the last king of Athens for after Codrus there was no king there but gouernours called Metontidae Codrus sonne called Medon was the first Iudge in Athens after the kings Codrus according to the Oracle giuen that the Athenians should haue no victories vnlesse their king were slaine in the battell he disguised himselfe like a common souldier rushed into the midst of the battaile purposely to be slaine that his countrey might haue victorie being the last of the 17. kings hauing ruled Athens 21. yeeres ended his life and his kingdome About this time Samuel was commanded to anoint Dauid king ouer Israel and many learned men would haue Homer about this time to be borne some controuersie is of Homers time Eratosthenes thought it within 100. yeeres after the destruction of Troy and so saith Aristarchus and Cornelius Nepos both affirme that Homer flourished 100. yeeres before the first Olympiad Budaeus saith that Homer liued in the latter yeres of king Dauid so they square about 80. yeres of Homers birth During this time raigned ouer the Latines AEneas Siluius their fourth king After this raigned in Assyria Eupales 38. yeeres in whose time the Peloponesians againe mooued warres against the Athenians Now about this time the promise is made to Dauid that the continuance of his kingdome should for euer endure but with crosses and afflictions for Absalon killed his brother Amnon a litle after and fled vnto the king of Gessur and taried there three yeere By this time Salomon was borne of Bethsaba the wife of Vrias Nathan and Gad were in those dayes Prophets of the Lord. Now raigned in Athens Medon the first Iudge the sonne of Codrus the last king of Athens in Lacedemonia Argis the second king raigned one yeere Arcestratus succeeded the third king of Lacedemonia and gouerned the Lacedemonians 35. yeeres in Corinth likewise Ixon the second king raigned 37. yeeres for both these kingdomes had one beginning and therefore their kingdome is accordingly to be handled for in the last yeres of the kings of Assyrians histories the Grecians began for this vnderstand that the Caldeans Assyrians Egyptians and all the East part of the world which were first inhabited after the flood were euen consumed with sworde and fire before the Grecians or the Romanes were acquainted with the world and therefore the lesse to be spoken of these olde auncient people for want of authorities and had not the holy Ghost lightened prophane histories with true records of the Scripture all antiquities had almost bene put to obliuion for all that are in trueth learned in histories take their light from Moses he is the grand scholemaster of all writers About this time Nicius Fesulanus gouerned the Thuscanes 47. yeres he expelled the people called Phocenses out of Corsica and Nicius builded a towne and named it Nicea after his owne name By this time Salomon grewe great in Gods fauour began to make the temple in Ierusalem excelled all the princes of the world in wisdome gouernment Hiram king of Tyrus at that time sendeth to Salomon and Salomon to him purposing to builde the house of God which temple began to be builded the fourth yeere of Salomons raigne and the 12. of Hiram king of Tyre Salomons friend who procured workemen to worke in Libanon and after the going of Israel out of Egypt 480. yeeres Some thinke that Carthage was builded by Charcedon at that time some thinke of Dido others say otherwise both of the building of Carthage and of the time of building as in the building of Troy and in the building of Rome the like controuersie is that sub iudice lis est Laosthenes the 33. king of the Assyrians is the next king after Eupales and is now in hand to be spoken of in whose time Alba Siluius gouerned the Latines the sixt king for the sirnames of the Latin kings were called Siluij as the kings of Alexandria were called Ptolomei as before I told you of the Caesars of Rome and Pharaos of Egypt About this time the kingdome of Israel for the idolatrie of Salomon was deuided and the ten tribes caried from Rehoboam the sonne of Salomon king of Iuda vnto Ieroboam king of Israel who inuented many wicked things in Israel idolatrie new religion contempt of the true God putting vp for their god the golden calfe thus he and his posterities continued from the fourth yeere of Rehoboam vntil the 19. yeere of Nabuchodonosor which was 390. yeeres at what time the last destruction of Ierusalem and the captiuitie of Iuda was Archippus the third Iudge atthis time ruled Athens where he gouerned 19. yeeres vnder whom flourished Sextus Homerus a citizen of Athens this man gaue new lawes to the Athenians The Thracians were strong by this time and became great on land and seas Smendes king of Egypt to whom Ieroboam fled and with whome he staied vntil Salomon died this Smendes is named in Scripture Sesac this came vp against Ierusalem the fift yere of Rehoboam destroyed the citie spoiled the temple and
Demosthenes to exclaime in these wordes Noctua populus Draco tria monstra Athenis for in Athens they esteemed more the seruants poore people straungers and specially mariners more then their Magistrates noble men officers or their chiefe Citizens The people grewe so strong and so headie in Athens that it was not lawfull to banish straungers or to punish seruaunts to be short of the common wealth of Athens and of Sparta reade Xenophon Nowe againe to the victorie at Cheronea the last and the sorest battell which brake the backe of the Citie of Athens Philip king of Macedon called together all the States of Greece into Corinth where by common consent hee was chosen and named Prince or rather Generall of all Greece against the Persians All Greece being nowe quiet in peace Philip beganne warres against the Persians and with great celeritie hee sent an armie into Asia While these things were doing Philip was slaine by Pausanias when hee was of the age of fourtie sixe yeeres after hee had reigned king twentie fiue yeeres Greece thought by the death of Philip againe to recouer their former libertie they little doubted Alexander being then but young neither Arideus which was Philips base sonne by Laryssea which for a time reigned after Alexander but according to their wonted maners full of innouations ambitions contencions and hatred neuer quiet but one Citie or other would be iarring the Persians power grewe great and the Greekes beganne to reuoult from Alexander which by succession after his father shoulde bee their chiefe Generall The Thebans offered themselues to ioyne with those Cities that woulde defende the libertie of Greece and exclude those Macedonian souldiers which Philip placed in the castle of Thebes called Cadmea Hereby Alexander tooke occasion to enter in armes ouerthrewe Thebes vnto the grounde wasted and spoyled diuers Cities in Boetia for at one time the Athenians the Lacedemonians and the Thebans reuoulted from Alexander by perswasion of Demosthenes being corrupted with rewardes of the Persians But when Thebes was destroyed Alexander sent to Athens offering peace vnto the Athenians vpon the yeelding vp of Demosthenes Lycurgus and others by the Citizens vnto Alexander Vnto this demaund of Alexander Demosthenes brought in the fable of the Woolfe who offered peace vnto the Shepheardes vpon condicion to haue the shepheards dogges away applying the morall hereof vnto the Oratours of Athens who by continuall barking to the people kept Greece frō forraine soueraigntie but the Athenians standing much in feare of Alexanders force and beside knowing their owne weakenes they sent Demades the Orator to entreate for peace which being obteined of Alexander by the meanes of Demades the Athenians the Lacedemonians the Thebans and the rest of the Cities of Greece hauing obteyned peace likewise by one consent they appointed Alexander their captaine and chiefe generall against the Persians At what time reigned Darius the tenth king of Persia to whom many of Philips children by other mariages fledde to see the euents and sequell of the warres betweene Alexander and Darius This last yeelding vp of Greece vnto Alexander was three yeeres after the great battell of Cheronea and after the warres of the Peloponesians three score yeeres Of this warre Thucydides diuided his eight bookes concerning the ciuill warres of the Grecians which continued twentie seuen yeeres euery booke comprehending three yeeres warres vntill twentie one yeeres expired at what time Thucydides died then Xenophon beganne where Thucydides ended Thus ended the glorie of Greece which florished in wisedome and knowledge from Solons time vntill Plato two hundred yeeres and from Platoes birth vntill this last conquest of Greece a hundred and twentie yeeres Though yet Greece brought many learned men after Alexanders time yet the fame and renowme of Greece was caried vnto Macedonia their Empire translated their libertie lost and all Greece made subiect vnto Macedonia at what time the Monarchie of Persia was lost and brought by Alexander vnto Macedonia OF THE KINGDOME OF Macedonia of the continuance lawes and gouernment of their Kings and of their warres vntil the time of Alexander the great AFter I haue briefely entreated of Greece and haue abridged many things which might haue beeue well in the histories of Greece yet I haue many times occasion to speake of Greece in handling of Macedonia neither neede I long to stay in Macedonia for of all the kings of Macedonia before Philips time little or nothing is to bee spokē of them so obscure a kingdom Macedonia was before Philpis time for that the warres of Philip of his sonne the great Alexander are mencioned in the Persian and in the Grecians historie I neede not much to write of them therefore I will begin with the descents of the kings of Macedon of the first names of the countrie which was called Emathia of one Emathius which was the first that obteined soueraigntie in Emathia which name continued vntil the time of Deucaleons nephew named Macedo he chā◅ged the name of Emathia called it after his owne name Macedonia Melacthō saith that the name of Macedonia is come of Kittim the sonne of Iauan the sōne of Iaphet Herodot other auncient writers affirme that the kings of Macedonia take their originall from Hercules Nowe the land which before was called Pieria Migdonia or Emathia is nowe called the Realme of Macedonia a countrie bounded on the East side with Thracia on the South with Thessalia on the West with the Illyrians hauing on the North side Peonia as Pomponius Mela saith the Macedonians inhabited many Cities of the which Pella was the most renowmed The kingdome of Macedonia in the beginning was of◅o great fame vntill Philips time which was Amyntas sonne and Alexanders father who first brought the name of Macedonia to be spoken of though before of sclender renowne and obscure fame rather deseruing the name of a Prouince then of a kingdome as Ruffinus writeth for as Cyrus reigne doeth much lighten the whole historie of the Persians and the very time of their kings in respect of Cyrus his decree and dealings with the Iewes by the meanes and traueile of Zorobabel Esdras and Nehemias mencioned in Scripture euen so doeth the name of the great Alexander reforme many errors in Xenophons histories for that the certeintie of the Macedonian historie depēdeth vpon the time of Alexāder which of necessitie must be within a 130. yeeres of Cyrus though many of the best writers erre much in this After Macedo succeeded Cranaus a captaine of certeine Peloponesians hee was the first that had the name of a king hee builded a Citie according to the Oracle that hee should followe a heard of goates and where they stand there to builde a Citie which he named Aegea others say that he came vpon a tempest to a towne named Edissa there beholding goates together he changed the name of Edissa vnto Egea there he builded and
inuenter of Musike as the harpe the organes and other instruments Zillah bare him a sonne named Tubal Caine he found first the vse of iron and brasse he was the first author of cunning craft in grauing Here is Plinie much deceiued to name Amphion the first Musition here was Diodorus ouerseene to preferre Apollo and the most part of prophane histories doe greatly erre attributing to Mercurie to Orpheus to Linus and to others which are read in Genesis in the first age found for Propheticall histories are farre more auncient then prophane by 2000. yeres beside the first age and first Fathers liued so long a time therein they must of necessitie be first acquainted with all things for the chiefest cause of long life in the first age was that all men vniuersally might praise the Lord God in magnifying his name acknowledging his workes in his creatures Thus did Adam Seth Enos Henoch Methusalem Lamech and Noah see yea and foresee the workes of God in his creation in his Church in his redemption in his promise and in his election for Iosephus writeth that the creation of man the commandement the state the Church institution of mariages all other gouernments fit for the children of God were by Adam in two tables of stones and some olde ancient writers affirme as Melancthon that the first age was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for that they excell in wisedome iustice gouernment and authoritie full of inuentions full of of artes and sciences and therefore a long life was by God granted vnto them for no doubt Adam before his fall had that full and perfect knowledge of God in his workes that he his posterities taught afterward in the word The second age was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 wherein began the magnanimitie and fortitude in warres force and violence In vvarres Empires and kingdomes tooke beginning in the vvorld and this second age began in Nimrode and continued vntill Iulius Caesars time The third age 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 endureth the vvhole time of the fourth monarche giuē to delicacie pleasure for though the vvorld be full of secret contention and hidden enuie full of open vvarres one kingdom against another yet not accomplished as in the fore ages But to returne to Caine and his posterities hovv they grevv from the beginning in idolatrie in superstition in outvvard pompe of vaine ceremonies framing to themselues a nevv kind of religion not in sinceritie and trueth but in externall forme and fashion being ignorant of God and of his vvord Christ the Messias that vvas to come This idolatrie began in the house of Caine from Caine himselfe vnto the time of Belus 150. yeere after the flood This Belus being dead his sonne Ninus erected vp his fathers image or statue vvith such honour and vvith such priuiledge and vvith such solemne pompe as he that vvas guiltie of any great crime might flee Adstatuā Beli to the image of Belus as to a sure sanctuarie of his safetie vvhat fault soeuer he committed Here began the second cause of idolatrie here images vvere made idols set vp and all kind of grauen vvorke in stones or trees vvere honoured as gods amongst the Gentiles deriued frō the name of Belus some calling them Baal some Bel some Belcebuc according to the varietie of tongues as Eusebius vvriteth And this idolatrie continued frō Belus vntill Alexander the great to vvhom at the siege of Babylon certaine Astrologers called Magi signified vnto Alexander vnlesse hee vvould restore the tombe of Belus being spoiled and defaced by the Persians he should haue no good successe at Babylon but Alexander litle esteeming their Chaldaicall diuination as Diodorus at large doth report marcheth forward with his siege At what time vvas Lucius Cornelius Quintus Pompeius Consuls at Rome so the first idolatrie of Cain and his posteritie vvere vvel and iustly revvarded by the flud The second age vvhen idolatrie began in Belus ended in Sardanapalus 12. hundred and odde yeeres being the 36. king and last king of Assyria as Eusebius affirmeth All this vvhile God had his Church for his elect the Lord had appointed another seede vnto Adam for Abel vvhich vvas Seth in vvhose time men began to call vpon the name of the Lord and the Lord did moone the hearts of the godly to restore religion The posteritie of Seth vvhich vvas by Caine and his familie suppressed and continued seuen generations vntill such time that Naema the daughter of Lamech and sister of Tubal Caine taught men the vse of fine flaxe to be soft clothed and to be trimme attired vvith cloth and linnen vvhere before men vvere clothed vvith leather and skinnes Novve the posteritie of Caine became right vvorldlings in follovving their fancies and pleasures from vice to vice nothing acquainted vvith the afflictions and crosses of the true Church so vvhen men began to bee multiplied vpon earth and had daughters borne vnto them then the sonnes of God as Moses calleth them vvhich Iosephus calleth the angels of God meaning the seede of Seth vvhich began to forsake the godlines and simplicitie of their forefathers savv the daughters of men vvhich issued out from Caines house that they vvere faire tooke them to their vviues of all that liked them of this vnlavvfull and vvicked mixture of the good vvith the bad of this holie seede vvith profane blood of godly men vvith vvicked vvomen sprang vp an huge people much like vnto the gyants or as Homer saith in his sixt Odysse speaking of the Cyclope Poliphemus to vvhom Moses compareth them alluding the course of their life ad Cyclopicam vitam men more to be feared then to be follovved yet Seth a man singularly beloued of God endevved much vvith Gods blessings studious to please God desirous to plant true religion and giuen to all kinde of vertuous practising all godly exercises and liuing in all felicitie left behind him godly children as Enos godly and vertuous like Seth his father vvhome Moses preferreth to be the first that earnestly called vpon the Lord Iehouah detesting the house of Caine as dead Then Henoch a godly sincere man led an vpright life before God the seuenth from Adam prophesied of such wicked men saying Behold the Lord commeth vvith thousands of his Saints to giue iudgement against all and to rebuke all the vngodly of their vvickednesse and of their cruell speaking against him for euen that Henoch saieth Paul vvas taken avvay to shevv that there vvas a better life prepared and to bee a testimonie of the immortalitie of soules and bodies and that hee shoulde not see death for his faith towardes God for before he vvas taken avvay he vvas reported that he had pleased God he was seene no more for God tooke him avvay Henoch vvalked vvith Lamech the father of Noah hauing respect to the promise desired to see the Messias vvhich should be sent and yet he savve but a
Prophets but most of all in dignitie and honour for that lineally from Sem which first builded Hierusalem the Messias and Sauiour of the world according to the flesh descended though the historie taketh no beginning but frō the calling of Abraham out of Chaldea into the land of Canaan so called first after the land of Israel thirdly of Iudea fourthly last called after Christ our Sauiours death The holy land or the land of Palestina the inhabitants thereof were called accordingly Cananites Hebrewes Israelites Iewes of whom either to speake or to write of their lawes their Iudges their Kings or of their ceremonies or of their common wealth it was not lawfull neither for the Graecians nor for the Romanes and so affirmed by Iosephus that Demetrius Phalerius did auere before Philodelphus king of Alexandria that the Greekes nor the Latinists might translate handle or so much as to presume to write of any Hebrew historie being but prophane men as Theopompus Theodecta with others which were made blind by their arrogancie and became mad An other cause doeth Eusebius alleage that neither Greekes nor Latines were in time to write of the Hebrues histories for the greatest brag of the Greekes as Iosephus saieth and the most ancient historie of the Graecians is Homers worke they began to flourish in the time of Cyrus after that the Assyrians the Chaldeans and the Egyptians and many other kingdoms of the East were decaied and their empires lost at which time the temple in Ierusalem was by Cyrus permitted to be reedified 80. yeeres before the last permission by Artaxerxes surnamed Longimanus for Plato of whom Numenius the Pithagorean doth report is called of him Moses Attica lingua loquens euen that learned Philosopher doth confesse that the Graecians had their knowledge frō the Chaldeans and from the Egyptians and began to be famous and great after these great kingdomes were destroyed The seuen Sages were the first wise men knowen or commended in Greece which was in Cyrus time at what time Solon liued 200. yeres before Plato which was the infancie of Greece and the first schoole of their Philosophie Now the Hebrewes being the most auncientest people euen from Hebers birth vntill Christes death which was after Christes death 2000. yeeres odde they inhabited the land called Syria called likewise Phoenicia and now in latter yeeres called Iudea of this countrey doeth Iosephus write at large both of the nature of the people and of the goodnesse of the soile Hecateus the Abederit a good Philosopher and a great writer flourishing in the time of Alexander the great made a booke in describing and commending of Iudaea I wil them to read the 16. booke of Strabo that would know the situation of Iudea where the Reader shall be satisfied with the ful description of Iudea Iosephus a Iew borne being taken prisoner by Vespasian the Emperor at the last destructiō of Ierusalem at the which time he wrote a great volume containing 20. bookes of the antiquities of the Iewes he wrote other 7. bookes of the warres of the Iewes a man of great industrie learned in the Hebrew and Greeke tongue and very expert in the Iewish histories saieth that Egyptians were enuious to the children of Israel for so were they called after Iacobs time which by long wrastling with the Angel of the Lord was named Israel for first they were called Hebrewes from Hebers time vntil Iacob which was 478. yeeres and odde secondarily Israel from Iacob vntill the destruction of Samaria at what time ten tribes of Israel were by Salmanassar king of Assyria Senacheribs father brought captiue vnto Assyria in the time of Osea the last king of Israel 1026. yeeres as Bucholcerus affirmeth and from the destruction of Samaria vntill the last destruction of Ierusalem by Titus Vespasian they were called Iewes 786. yeeres Now the malice of Egypt towards Israel was such that they kept them in bondage 430. yeeres and euer after they were by God deliuered they still wrought euil against them and persecuted them with continuall hatred disliking their religion abhorring their ceremonies disdaining and much enuying the felicitie of the Iewes with the which the God of Israel by power and great miracles did aduance them to the abolishing of idolatrie and contemning of their false gods which the Egyptians the Chaldeans the Assyrians did adore and therfore the blessing of God was according to the promise vpon the Hebrewes first afterwards called Israel Iewes and continued frō Abraham to whom the promise was made vntill the time of the Messias the full accomplishment of the promise So these people bathed in blisse and being but a litle countrey few people from Dan to Berseba and of no estimation became by Gods fauour strong mightie conquerors of the greatest kings of the world So he said the Lord of all out of Sion shall my Law proceed and from Ierusalem my word This litle citie of Ierusalem chosen of God to be his seate though often for sinne destroyed and the people plagued yet still comforted to the stay of Gods Church It is written that Dauid the second king of Israel gaue these words to Salomon his sonne before he died Behold Praeparaui impensas domus Domini auritalenta centum millia argenti mille millia talentûm And againe it is writtē in the Chronicles that gold and siluer were as plentie in Ierusalem as stones in the street in the time of Salomō for there was in the temple of Salomon as Budaeus noteth 27. millions in ready coyne This made other kingdomes to enuie the prosperitie of the Hebrewes for by iust account of Budaeus there was left before vnto Salomon by Dauid his father ten times more treasures and substance in Ierusalem then Darius the great king of Persia left vnto Alexander the great in Babylon when he conquered it this was the promise which God performed to Abraham and to his seed for euer This godly Patriarch to whom the promise was made was 50. yeeres of age when Noah died 40. yeeres before Sodome and Gomorrha were destroied At 75. yeeres was Abraham called from Vr a towne of Chaldea in the last yeeres of Ninus the first king of the Assyrians Now while Abraham obeied God from time to time from place to place exercising himselfe in the obedience of GOD famine grew in the land of Canaan so that he with few Hebrewes were forced to flee into Egypt where hee continued three yeeres at what time he taught them knowledge of the starres read Astronomie and taught in Egypt Artes and Sciences as Iosephus saieth for Abraham was brought vp in Astrologie with the Chaldeans where hee dwelt with his father Thare in Vr and from whence the Egyptians had their learning and knowledge for Egypt was as yet scant in the world knowen where some of the Hebrewes staied after Abrahams departure and multiplied in
was two discents after Iacobs children but as I sayd before hard it is to correct an errour of such antiquitie for where true records want then coniectures of men doe grow About this time Isaac died and was buried in Hebron hard by Rebecca his wife hee was accepted of God and walked in his wayes vertuous and godly he liued one hundred eightie yeeres three yeeres longer then his father Abraham liued Which Isaac liued With Sem 110. yeeres With Sara his mother 37. Arphaxat 48. Sarug one yeere Salah 78. Iacob his brother 120. Heber 139. Ismaeel his halfe brother by Abraham liued with Isaac 75 Agar 123. Thare his grandfather 35. Ioseph 29. Isaac sawe the prosperitie of his sonne Esau which gouerned all the land of Seir for the appointment of GOD was Maior seruiet Minori when Iacob had no certaine place in the world but tossed from one affliction to an other Isaac before he died saw the trauell and triall of Iacob About this time was Ioseph sold by his brethren and laied in prison in Egypt euen then Tiphon the Egyptian conspired the death of his brother Osiris with the helpe of certaine tyrants Busiris of Phoenicia Antens of Lybia Melinus of Creete with others hee killed the king vsurped the kingdome and was called thereby as Berosus affirmeth Tiphon tyrannus but he was well requited and all his confederats for they all were slaine by Orus Magnus Osiris sonne in a towne of Arabia named Anteos Rhodes was builded about this time which was named before Opheinissa the great famine of the 7. deere yeres in Egypt and in all the world began likewise about the time of Isaacs death In Assyria reigned Baleus the 11. king a man of the greatest fame after Semiramis in the 41. yeere of this Kings reigne Hercules surnamed Lybius draue all cruell tyrants and gyants out of Italy for he with continual warres for 10. yeres space wearied them and subdued them and afterward reigned peaceably 20. yeeres as both Berosus and Functius doe affirme In the 18. Dinasteia of Egypt began the Kings of Egypt to be called Pharaones a name of great dignitie not proper names but as the Romanes Alexandrians the Latines with other kingdomes vsed to name their kings Caesars Siluij Ptolomeis Arsaces so like wise the Egyptians named their kings Pharaones which began about the latter end of Isaac Sparta a famous towne amongst the Lacedemonians was builded of Pharoneus sonne whose name was Sparta and therefore after his owne name named it Sparta Alitle after this time the going of Iacob vnto Egypt was in the 130. yeres of his age where he continued with his sonne Ioseph 17. yeeres in great fauour with Pharaoh and then died after Abrahams being in Egypt 215. yeeres and before Moses went to Egypt to deliuer the children of Israel out of bondage 215. yeeres Nowe while Iacob and his familie were in Egypt with his sonne Ioseph who was solde by his brethren and by his father thought to be slaine then dwelled in Iudea Hethits Iebusites Amorites Chananites Amalakites and Pheresites this land flowed with milke and hony fertile and full of all plentifulnes for after Ioseph died in Egypt Moses was borne within 65. yeeres and in the fourescore yeere of Moses age the 145. after Ioseph died and were in the wildernesse fourtie yeeres and after had the possession of the lande of Chanaan as it shall bee hereafter said But for that the histories of the Patriarches are written in the Genesis at large and in Iosephus and specially Frigius Mosaicus in his booke De historijs patrum leaueth nothing vntouched I will forward to the birth of Moses CHAP. II. Of the birth of Moses of his fauour with God of his gouernment ouer Israel for 40. yeeres in the wildernes and deliuerance of them from Pharaoh by the direction and inctruction of God of Ioshua his successor and of his warres and victories and of his good gouernment ouer Israel for 32. yeeres and of the Common-wealth of the Hebrewes during the time of Moses and Iosua which were 72. yeeres MOses the sonne of Amri being borne in Egypt in the time of Israels bondage and throwen according to the commandement of Pharaoh vnto Nilus but by the prouidence of God Pharaohs daughter named Thermutis walking for her pleasure with her maides about the bankes of Nilus beheld a thing houering vpon the water commaunded her maide to see what it was there Miria Moses sister tended to see what should become of the childe when Pharaohs daughter sawe that it was a goodly child she much delited in him and caused an Egyptian woman to giue him dugge which the childe refused his sister Miria said Ifan Hebrew woman were there he would sucke Thermutis willed her straight to bring one and she brought the mother of Moses to whome the Kings daughter saide Take this childe and bring him vp for me and she adopted him her sonne This childe grewe both goodly and godly of whom many things are written of while yet he was in Egypt being but a childe in Thermutis armes she put the Kings diademe vpon the childes head and he threwe it to the dirt not esteeming pompe and regall shewe But after he grewe to be a man he was made a Captaine ouer the Egyptians against the Aethiopians and he ouerthrewe the Aethiopians where the kinges daughter of Aethiope called Tharbis beholding his magnanimitie with admiration of his great actions fell in loue with Moses offred him mariage and to be a kings sonne and a king himselfe afterward of Aethiope the condition he accepted vpon yeelding vp of the towne to spare blood which was done But enuie of the Aegyptians against Moses disgrasing and disdaining his fortune and threatning him to the death after the killing of the Aegyptians fearing it should come to light fled vnto the Madianits wher he maried Iethroes daughter and continued fourtie yeeres vntill the Angell appearing in a flaming bush commaunded him to goe to Pharaoh to deliuer Israel from captiuitie with whome Aaron his brother which was the first Priest after the lawe giuen was ioyned with Moses in commission to execute the commaundements of God for to Moses was granted wisedome counsel and power to doe miracles to Aaron eloquence learning and power to speake what he would Nowe by Gods mercie which to the Israelites was alwaies great and by the which they were nowe deliuered from the handes of Pharaoh after many miracles done which Nazianzenus setteth forth in few Greeke verses in Latine by Frigius Mosaicus briefly written in two lines the ten plagues of Egypt in these wordes Sanguis Rana Culex Muscae Pecus Vlcera Grando Vermes Tenebrae Pestis primogenitorum Euen then Moses caried the bones of Ioseph to be buried in Hebron by his progenitors as Ioseph had commanded when he prophecied of an other Pharaoh which shoulde entreate Israel euill This
hee liued thirtie fiue yeeres after Abrahams dayes The tenth king of the Assyrians was Belochus Priscus and he reigned 35. yeres a righteous king of whō writers make no great mention for most of the kings of Assyria be so ancient their histories by Berosus set forth so doubtfull that authorities sufficient cannot be found to write much sauing those ten kings which are mentioned in Scripture in whose time the Assyrians and the Chaldeans florished most their histories and their tyrannies done in the Church is set downe in the Prophetes by the Spirite of God the touchstone of all trueth and reserued by the holy Ghost to the vse of his Church and the members thereof the keyes of all knowledge of whom al prophane histories haue their beginning Baleus Iunior succeeded to be the eleuenth king of Assyria hee reigned two and fiftie yeeres and was amongst the Assyrians of great fame hee excelled the rest in all his warres for his predecessors euenthe best kings as Baleus Xerxes Aralius Ninus or Belus himselfe entred not so farre conquered not so much as this king did whom all writers so cōmended and specially after Semiramis next in fame and greatnes for shee conquered vnto India this conquered India and brought the Indians vnder the gouernment of the Assyrians paying yerely tribute vnto the kings of Assyria committing themselues and their countries vnder the tuition of this king Baleus Iunior In this Baleus Iuniors time Osiris being very aged returning from all the Countries where hee had traueiled into Egypt erected vp a triumphant pillar with this inscription set vpon it I am King Osiris the sonne of Saturnus that taught in all partes of the world the vse of those things which I Osiris first found out This Trophe was kept a long time by the Priestes of Egypt in memorie of Osiris About this time Iacob and his children went to Egypt 215. yeeres after Abrahams being in Egypt and they continued so long after Abraham 215. yeeres which was the whole time of the children of Israels bondage in Egypt for from Abrahams being first in Egypt where he left to dwell in Egypt some Hebrewes after his departing vntill the comming of Moses is 430. yeeres After this reigned Altad◅s the 12. king of the Assyrians this aboue the rest became epicureall applying his whole studie to seeke out vaine men that could well instruct him to degenerate from his predecessours for hee sawe so much wealth in Niniue where the treasures of the kings of Assyria were that he could by no meanes know how to spend them hee gaue himselfe to all kind of vices and to followe young councel and moreouer he thought it a most miserable thing to toile to traueile himselfe with continuall warres hauing so much substance that hee coulde not foresee howe to consume them but by a decree of his young councelours so it was deuised that the huge treasure great substance which his predecessours by their conquestes had obteined should be with most ease and lesse danger consumed for this was Altades opinion hee thought it most fit to liue in pleasure and to enioy the benefites of his predecessours noting the miserie to bee such of his elders as coulde not spende them selues but spare them to others and therfore suum institutum fuit saith the historie to feede delicately to vse insolent attires to followe riotous company to frequent all kinde of pleasures and to liue viciously while he liued In this time liued Prometheus of whom the Poets make mention much as Ruffinus in his comentarie doth note This Altades reigned 32. yeeres Berosus writeth that one Hercules king of Celtiberia in the 19. of Altades brought his sonne named Thuscus vnto Italie where hee was created king After this Hercules returned backe from Italie vnto Celtiberia where hee died being very olde hee was honoured with statues and images after his death as a demie god this was before Hercules Amphitrion 500. yeeres this reigned in the yere of the world 2275. When Altades had ended his riotous life one succeeded him named Mamitus the 13. king of Assyria a man of a cleane contrary disposition to Altades This king againe assoone as he came to his kingdom exercised himselfe with care diligence to foresee the state of his kingdome lothing detesting idlenes bent himselfe to warres kept garisons had diuers armies abroad himselfe ready to performe in persō that which Altades his predecessor had neglected This king grewe so great so strong that Egypt al Syria stood in awe of him which Syria as Sabellicus affirmeth was once the largest kingdom of the world hauing within it self Palestina Arabia Iudea Phoenicia Coelosyria for the Syrians are people very anciēt for so Plinie saith that they were before the Assyrians Strabo would haue Syria to be al one as Assyria is for so the Grecians called them This king Mamitus reigned 30. yeres was the first king of the Assyrians that began this warre in Syria Egypt for in his dayes Syria Egypt florished There is mention made of the Syrians in Genesis where Moses saith that the Syrians descended from Charmel the sonne of Nahor Abrahās brother called also by the kings of Aram. Nowe after Mamitus succeeded Mancaleus the 14. king of the Assyrians this king did nothing worth the memorie for we reade of no warre in his time for the kings of Assyria being the first nations which had kings in the world grew frō time to time so great so mighty that they held the Monarchie of Assyria from Nimrod to Sardanapalus 1240. yeeres and more during which time fewe kings or none coulde hurt them or stand in field against them for in the East part no king of any puissance was able to encounter with the Assyrian kings for then the Assyrians onely ruled other countries were not as yet populous sauing Egypt who began to be likewise strong in processe of time none coulde resist the strength of the Assyrians but the Egyptians When Egypt grew strong these two kingdomes began to warre one with another and therefore vntill the time of Phul Belochus Salmanasser Senaherib and Nabuchodonosor mentioned in the Ecclesiasticall history no great histories are written of the Assyrian kings and then it was called new Assyria therefore nothing may be read of the first kings of Assyria for they helde their kingdome all this while without any great dangers for yet the engins of war◅es were ◅ot knowen for as Berosus began to write his histories from the going of Noah out of the arke so he continueth his histor◅ vn◅ the childrē of Israel going out of Egypt few could writ◅◅erteinly of this time being of such antiquitie for from Ninus the third king of the Assyrians vntill Spherus the fifteenth king which nowe I haue in hand as Archilochus doth gather there is 451. yeeres This Spherus after 20. yeeres gouernment died the 16. king called of
him Ciaxares Cyrus vncle for when Astiages died he left behind him as his heire Ciaxares and a daughter named Mādanes which was maried to Cambyses I wil not molest the reader with variety of auctorities sometime disagreeing in computation of time or varying of the place or of the person but howsoeuer it is this Ciaxares became a great and a strong king for after he had conquered many countreis he went in armes against the Assyrians besieged Niniue tooke the spoyle thereof by ayde of Cyrus who afterward shortly sub dued it and became cōquerour of al Assyria and brought them subiect to the Medes About this time Solon made lawes to the Athenians and Milo Crotoniensis a Romane of a wōderful strength is reported by Solinus that he could cary vpon his backe an oxe that with a stroake of his bare hand he killed that oxe This Ciaxares at what time Harpagus layed siege to a towne in Phocea called Ionia the extremitie of his warre being such that they were forced to flee forsaking their towne and countrey towarde the West part where they builded a towne which they named Massilia of whom Eusebius in his chronicles maketh mention and in Iustine you shal reade the whole historie Diuers write of this Towne as Melancthon Strabo and Budeus that in Massilia Frenchmen in whose border this Towne was builded by frequenting the Towne and by exercising of the Grecians societie in the Towne grew in time to vnderstād the Greeke tongue the traffique their order their lawes and gouernment which in these dayes excelled in vertue and maners where of a long time the Greekes tongue florished the auncient customes and maners of Ionia were kept Nowe Tarquinius Priscus after he had triumphed ouer the Latines or Albans ouer the Sabins ouer the Hetruscans three seuerall triumphes hee was conspired and laide in waite for by Ancus Martius children his predecessors in Rome three yeeres before he was slaine after he had reigned thirtie eight yeeres and in the fourtie one Olympiad hee died Then followed by succession after Aliactes Croesus the ninth and last king of Lydia being thirtie fiue yeeres of age and being before hand growen vnto great force power and hauing heaped a great abundance of treasure began to warre vpon these Grecians which dwelt in Asia vpon the Ionians Aeoliās and the people called Doreans hee receiueth the Lacedemonians because they were stoute and a warlike nation into his societie Croesus thus following in pompe and pride of fortune hearing that Cyrus king of Persia had laid siege to Babylon and that Balthasar then king of Babylon had endured two or three ouerthrowes and most like to lose his kingdome vnlesse with some speede hee were ayded Croesus hasted to Babylon with more haste then good speede After his best done Balthasar was slaine Babylon taken and the Monarchie thereof caried vnto Persia by Cyrus Croesus being ouerthrowen and narowly escaping fled from whence he came to Lydia againe where after that Cyrus had layd all things in order and had disposed the victorie to his minde hee returned after Croesus vnto Lydia layde siege vnto Sardis the chiefe Citie and palace of the king where Croesus after his flight hearing of Cyrus comming and hauing felt his force before at Babylon he was not a little troubled but abiding the brunt thereof vntill Cyrus tooke the towne vanquished his power and brought the kingdome of Lydia subiect vnto the Persians thus was Croesus twise ouercome by Cyrus When Cyrus had brought these great kingdoms vnder the scepter of Persia he tooke an order with Croesus that he being depriued of his crowne and spoyled of his substance should yet haue a towne in his possession where hee might liue not as before a riche king but as a poore man In Croesus time reigned in Rome Seruius Tullus the sixt king of Rome in the 51. Olympiad and foure yeeres before the 18. Iubilee This king did adorne Rome and the common wealth thereof much and as Dyonisius Halicar reporteth of him he brought within 20. yeres space the Hetruscans to his becke he tamed al the countries about Rome and excelled in gouernment By this time Cyrus had subdued the Medes after Astyages was conuicted and the Medes made subiect to the Persians Ciaxerxes whose sonne as you heard before was called of some Darius Medus who reigned ioyntly with Cyrus 2. yeeres as Astyages here for a time The temple of Apollo at Delphus was now the second time set on fire the Lacedemonians with the Argiues were in armes about this time who were setled on eyther side with all the power they could make to make of one partie a conquest but before they ioyned in battell being better aduised by some councell they agreed to auoid the destruction of so many men that 300. chosen men of the Lacedemonians and likewise 300. chosen men of the Argiues should make an ende of the battell and they which shoulde haue the victory of these chosen men should be cōquerors and the others to yeeld where the victorie happened which being fought out the victorie fell to the Lacedemonians hauing but three of their 300. left aliue all the rest on both sides stood to it vnto the last man as Herodot doth write In Croesus time happened in Athens a great sedition betweene the Citizens about vsurie the crueltie whereof grew to be such as the vsurers claimed free mens sonnes daughters to be solde or otherwise as captiues or slaues to serue them vntill paiment were made This was one of Dracos lawes which as Demades sayth was written with blood To mitigate this crueltie Solon by consent of the whole Citie was chosen an vmpire whose Edict was that free mens children should not be sould or brought vnto any bondage for vsurie and further he decreed that all creditours should forgiue their debt vntill that time And Solon himselfe which made the lawe first performed the lawe therein for hee forgaue fiue talents himselfe which amounted to 2400. crownes for euery talent is sixe hundred crownes He added to the twelfth moneth called Lunaris annus the Epact which is eleuen dayes to make an equall number of dayes with the yeere of the sunne He gathered all the writings of Homer being 300. yeeres before vnto one volume hee made many good lawes in Athens So likewise at that time did Thales in Miletum a great Philosopher who did to many Cities in Greece as Solon did in Athens for they were in Croesus time In this time florished Pythagoras borne in Samos brought vp in Egypt and taught philosophie in Tarentum he was the first among the Italians that read philosophie whose sect after him were called Pythagoreans who farre differed from others in his doctrine It is written that Croesus bragging much of his substance and so preferring thereby himselfe to be the most fortunate happy king of the
Rome and in the hundred and fiftie Olympiad at what time reigned king in Egypt Ptolomeus Philometor the sixth king and in Syria reigned Antiochus Epiphanes the eight king and also this time ouer the Parthians reigned Mithridates Arsaces who succeeded his brother Pharnachus this did great exploites of whom you shall reade in the histories of the Parthians written by Iustine in Rome Lucius Manlius and Quintus Fuluius were Consuls This Perseus succeeded Philip his father found the strength of his kingdome so great and so well prouided that hee had in his armorie to arme thirtie thousand he had in his fortes and strong places eight million bushels of corne safely lockt vp and hee had ready as much money as would serue to enterteine tenne thousand strangers in paye for tenne yeeres this also he found ready men leauied a great number which his father had prepared for the second warres of Macedonia Perseus being thus furnished tooke that in hand which was Philips purpose to warre against the Romanes and he mainteined warres a long time and had in the beginning good successe against the Romanes that in the first battell he made hee gaue the ouerthrow to Pu. Lucius the Consul and at that time generall for the Romanes he slue 2500. of his horsemen and tooke sixe hundred prisoners and beside he did suddenly set vpon their armie by sea riding at anker before the citie of Oren he tooke twentie of their great shippes and sunke the rest which were loden all with corne Thus Perseus began very hotly with the Romanes and gaue the ouerthrowe to the first Consul the second battell which Perseus fought was with Hostilius the second Consul and generall of Rome whom he likewise repulsed and when that Hostilius attempted by force to inuade Macedonia Perseus offered him battell in Thessalie and he refused him Perseus seemed so proud of these two victories against the two Consuls of Rome that hee little esteemed the Romanes went and fought a battell in the meane time with the Dardanians where hee slue tenne thousand of these barbarous people and brought a marueilous great spoyle away beside this hee gote the Gaules that dwelt about the riuer of Danubie to ioyne with him and practised with Gentius king of the Illyrians to ioyne also in this warre with him The Romanes being of these newes aduertised they thought good to send a skilfull souldier and a wise captaine as Paulus Aemilius was whom the Romans chose now the second time to be their consul and captaine in this second warre to whom they gaue the whole charge of Macedon Aemilius prepared an armie of an hundreth thousand against Perseus and when he had arriued into Macedon being aduertised how Perseus lay at the foote of mount Olympus with 4000. horsmen and with fourtie thousand footemen beside he had Gentius king of the Illyrians to whom Perseus promised thirtie thousand talents to ayde him against the Romanes Now Scipio sirnamed Nasica the adopted sonne of the great Scipio the Affricane and Fabius Maximus of whom Cicero said Cunctando restituit rem two yong valiant Romanes offered to take the straights offered to do diuers seruices but old Aemilius hauing wonne many victories hee could stay leasure and oportunitie of battel Now Perseus hauing pitched his campe before the citie of Pydne where Aemilius in hast marched and met in battell Polibius writeth this storie and saith so soone as the battel was begun Perseus withdrew himselfe and got into the citie of Pydne out of the battell vnder pretence to doe some sacrifice vnto Hercules but Aemilius with his sworde in hand lay on vpon the enemies The slaughter was so great on Perseus side that Plutarch saith that the riuer of Leucus ranne all bloodie the battell was so fierce on both sides that it continued not aboue two houres the victorie fel to the Romanes with the losse of 25. thousand Macedonians This victorie was heard of in Rome the very day that it was wonne saying that Castor and Pollux brought these newes to Rome In this battel I note one rare historie of Mar. Cato the sonne of great Cato and sonne in law to Aemilius who most valiantly fighting in the midst of the Macedonians by chance his sword fell out of his hande the which he tooke so grieuously that he ranne to the Romane armie where he told them what had befallen vnto him praying some of his friends to helpe him to recouer his sword saying that he thought more honour for him to die there then liuing to suffer his enemies to enioy any spoile of his whereupon a nomber of lustie valiant souldiers rushed in straight amōg their enemies about the place where the sworde fell their force and furie was such that it made a lane through the enemies and as yong raging lions with such force cleared the way in such sort that the sworde was found this happened in the middest of the battell Againe in this battell of Pydne a great feare tooke Aemilius after the victory who being very late in the night broght to his tent with torches and links missing his sonne beholding how his souldiers after this victorie decked themselues with crownes and garlands of laurell became sad and heauie supposing his sonne to be cast away vntil Scipio returned frō following the enemie then Aemilius ioy was doubled but that shortly followed which then missed Now Perseus fled from Pydne to Pella After this victory Aemilius made a progresse into Greece and cōming to Delphos there he saw king Perseus image of golde set vp vpon a great pillar of 4. square Aemilius commanded that image of him being conquered to be taken downe and his owne image being the conqueror to be set vp thence he went to the city of Olympia to visit the temple of Iupiter Olympian after he redeliuered to the Macedonians their countrey and townes againe to liue at libertie paying to the Romans for tribute yerely 100. talents After he went to Epirus hauing put al things at stay in Macedonia that the Macedonians submitted themselues to Aemilius Aemilius sent his lieutenant by sea to take king Perseus who fled to Samothracia where he and his children yeelded vnto Cneus Octauius lieutenant to Aemilius Of this great victorie newes came to Rome from Macedonia in one day some say 4. dayes This king Perseus was a very couetous prince hated of his subiects of no man beloued noted to be such a coward that Aemilius mocked him for it This Perseus lost in 2. houres in the battel of Pydne to the Romans great glory praise the fame renowne which Alexander the great had brought and wonne to Macedonia Of these 2. warres of Macedonia with the Romanes and of their last king conquered reade Liuie and Appianus in that booke entituled Mithridaticus This is that Macedonia which then Alexander had augmented with these many kingdoms Persia Media Armenia Albania
Cappadocia Iberia Syria Egypt Bactria Scythia India all Asia and welnigh all the worlde now brought by Paulus Aemilius to be a prouince of the Romanes who in one day sold as Ruffinus wote 82. cities Thus is the kingdom and monarchie of Alexander king ouer kings troden downe by Aemilius a magistrate of a citie thus is Macedonia whose empire reached into the furthest part of the world made a prouince vnto Rome which in the time of Alexander was so famous neither the Assyrians by Ninus neither the Chaldeans by Nabuchodonosor neither the Medes by Darius Medus neither the Persians by Cyrus were of such fame as Macedonia was by Alexander It is a true saying Per me reges regnant c. It was decreed aboue before God how long the Caldeans should raigne before the Assyrians the Assyriās before the Medes the Medes before the Persians the Persians before the Macedonians in like sort how long the Romans shal cōtinue This was by Daniel diuinely reueiled by the 4. great beasts that came vp frō the sea one diuers to another the first a lion which had egles wings the 2. was like a beare the 3. like a leopard the 4. was terrible and it deuoured the rest And Daniel in Susa in another dreame or rather a vision saw a battel betwene a ramme and a goat which is Persia and Greece I referre you to the 7. and 8. of Daniel for the interpretation of the same where the text is most plainly by the prophet Daniel set downe where Daniel briefly deciphered the whole world in a short historie and layde downe the ground of all the histories of the worlde I meane after Daniels time who liued and prophecied in Cyrus time after whom the Persians the Grecians and the Romanes flourished Now to returne to Aemilius whose family saith Plutarch doth proceed from Numa Pompilius the 2. king of Rome and whose diuers victories ouer the Ligurians Illyrians and other nations of Affricke others might haue chalenged triumph in Rome without contention which was resisted by Seruius Galba for that he was so long as foure yeeres in warres against Perseus Galba and diuers others thought it dishonourable to the Romanes to cōsume so long a time with king Perseus sith the Romanes made king Antiochus to forsake Asia driuen thence beyond mount Taurus within the borders of Syria before that they had ouercome king Philippe in Thessalie and deliuered Greece from the bondage of the Macedonians and had conquered Hannibal the onely enemie of Rome and souldiour of the world vnto whom no king or captaine coulde be compared and therefore not to haue a triumph But Marcus Seruilius who had bene a Consul and had fought 23. combats of life and death in his owne person and had slaine as many as chalenged him man for man hee furthered the triumph which was by the whole consent of the Senate the people of Rome graunted vnto Aemilius but I omit to speake of his triumph vntil I set downe the triumphes of the kings consuls and Emperours of Rome because he is a Romane Here I write of Macedonia of their kings and of their triumphes who ended their gouernment in Perseus time in the 153. Olympiad after the building of Rome 586. yeres and in the beginning of the 26. Iubilee At what time raigned in Syria Antiochus Epiphanes the eight king to whom Pompilius was sent from the Senate to commaunde Antiochus to depart Egypt and that to answere the Romanes before he should go out of a litle circle which Pōpilius made with his white sticke which he had in his hand either yea or no. This time Prusias king of Bythinia cōmitted his sonne Nicomedes as Liuie saith to the Romanes within short space after that king Perseus was conquered by Paulus Aemilius vpon the 4. of September and that the Romanes had brought Macedonia vnder the Empire of Rome One Andrisius a meane man claimed by succession to be king after Perseus affirming himselfe to be Perseus sonne and changing his name from Andrisius to be Philippe gathered a great hoste vsurped the kingdome vntill Lu. Tremelius came from Rome and gaue him battell in the which Andrisius was quite ouerthrowen And so Macedonia after the gouernment of 36. kings as Ruffinus saith but as Functius and Trogus Pompeius say 38. kings for from Cranaus vnto Alexander the great were 23. kings from Alexander to Perseus 15. The names of those 23. kings before Alexander I wrote them before Alexanders raigne the other 15. are these following 1 Aridaeus raigned 7. yeres 2 Cassander 18. 3 Antipater and Alex. 4. 4 Demetrius 6. 5 Pyrrhus 7. moneths 6 Lysmachus 5. 7 Ptolomeus Ceraunus 1. 8 Meleager 2. moneths 9 Antipater 1. 10 Sosthenes 2. 11 Antigonus Gonatus 36. 12 Demetrius 10. 13 Antigonus Dosen 15. 14 Philip. 2. 15 Perseus the last king 10. yeeres OF THE FIRST WARRES of the kings of Asia and of Syria with the Romanes of their succession in the warres and of the continuance of their kingdomes after Alexanders death AFter the death of Alexander the great the world being left without a king his princes nobles and olde souldiers who did more aduaunce the renowme and fame of the Romanes then the glorie of Macedonia or Asia after much blood shedding and great crueltie euery man fought for a kingdome it came to passe as Daniel the Prophet said that all the kingdomes of Alexander fell betwene 4. princes and were deuided into foure kingdomes which was Egypt appointed to Ptolomey the sonne of Lagi Asia to Antigonus Persia and the East part to Seleucus Nicanor and Macedonia vnto Antipater as you heard in the historie of the kings of Macedonia Now I haue in hand to speake of Seleucus the great king after Alexander for after Antigonus was slaine and his sonne Demetrius dead being taken captiue by Seleucus he entred into Asia and cōquered from mount Taurus into Ionia which before Antigonus had vnder his gouernment and had subdued all the regions of the greater Asia and made himselfe mightie and great which was in the 14. yeere after Alexanders death The Iewes doe accompt the gouernment of the Grecians in Syria from the first yeere of Seleucus Nicanors raigne which in the Machabees is obserued This king grew so great that hauing subdued all Antigonus kingdomes and hauing giuen Lysimachus the ouerthrow being of the age of 77. yeeres he thought no lesse in his minde after such great victories but to become another Alexander and to bring all the worlde vnder his gouernment for hee ouercame the Bactrians and passed to the Indians hauing alreadie vnder his Scepter all Asia Persia Syria Babylon with diuers others Of this Seleucus Iustine writeth a strange historie how his mother Laodice being maried to Antiochus seemed in a dreame to haue layen with Apollo and to bee by him with childe and of a ring which Laodice dreamed to haue of Apollo in the
now the warres were driuen out of Italy into Affrike where Syphax king of Numidia was taken Carthage spoiled and in great want and all Affrike in dispaire he was hereby bent to peace and entreated with Scipio for peace which was offred vpon these conditions that the Affricanss should pay to the Romans 500. thousand poūds But after long talke betwene Scipio and Hanibal no peace was agreed vpon insomuch that Hanibal was constrained to make his last battel this fielde was appointed to be fought where they prepared themselues to battel by the citie of Zama where Scipio had the victory In this battel Masinissa king of Numidia did valiantly this of a yong boy affected much Scipio and he was a sure friend to the Romans al his life Hanibal was welnigh taken in this battel but he escaped and left his tents behinde him where were found 20. thousand pounds of siluer and 800. thousand pounds of gold with infinit other treasures After this victory as Scipio came frō the battel he met with Vermina king Siphax sonne who at that instant brought an armie to ayd the Affricans he likewise was put to flight and followed into Carthage gate When the Carthagineans heard that Scipio was marching towards them they were much dismayed therby and sent to intreat for peace being aduertised that Hanibal was ouerthrowen and put to flight this peace was granted by Scipio vnto Carthage vpon such conditions as pleased best the conquerour Now after that Affrike was conquered no nation then was ashamed to be ouercome by the Romans for Affrike was made a prouince and as it were an open passage to encrease enlarge the empire of Rome When Scipio had broght the Affricanes subiect vnder the Romans before he departed frō Affrica he restored Masinissa to his kingdom againe adding therunto the best part of king Siphax countrey After this Scipio entred into Rome with pompe great triumph of the maner thereof I shal haue better cause to set down in the Romane history Thus was the end of the second Punick war which endured 19. yeres as Eutropius saith others affirme but 17. yeres There is an history extant in Appiā how Hanibal Scipio fought hand to hand in this battel after them how Masinissa and Hanibal fought very egerly with such bloody strokes that both were rescued twise or thrise Read Appian and Polibius of this battel We reade not of such a triumph as Scipio had though many had more shewes in plates treasures captiues prisoners as Silla Marius Pompey Caesar with others yet the cōquest of one Hanibal was such a thing all Affrike being on his side and almost all Italy as did more aduance the triumph of Scipio then all the aforesaid triumphes for during the space of 17. yeres the Romanes had more to do with one Hanibal then they had with all the kings of Asia and Europe at one time The battels of this second warre of Affrica were equall to either Alexander or Xerxes as the battel of Ticinū where Sempronius the Consul was slaine the second at the riuer Trebia where Pub. Aemilius the Consul was slaine the thirde at the lake Thrasimene where Manlius the Consul was slaine and all his armie the fourth at Cannes the fift at Sana and the sixt at Zama where Hanibal was put to flight And yet these two famous captaines had some enemies at home that enuied their glorie and great renowme It was a common saying Hanibal had in Carthage his Hanno and Scipio had in Rome his Fabius but because I shall haue occasion to speake of these two valiant captaines in diuers other places I will briefly passe to the thirde warres of Affrike which happened 52. yeres after these second warres Now what dealings fel in other countreis during the time of these 17. yeeres warres you shall reade that about the beginning of this second warre that Ptolomey Philopater king of Egypt he had warres against the Iewes spoiled Ierusalem prophaned the temple of Salomon and troubled all Iudea This very time the Rhodians waged warres against the Bizantians and the people of Creete had warres with the nations about them called the Gnosians and Litians Polibius in his fourth booke likewise sayeth that Mithridates king of Pontus had warres with the king of Sinopenses About this time the warres of Syria beganne betwene Antiochus the great king of Asia and Ptolomey Philopator king of Egypt for Hanibal fled this time from Affrike to Asia to Antiochus after he was cōquered by Scipio at Zama During these Punicke warres Hiero the king of Sicilia died which ayded the Affricanes against the Romanes in the first warres and his sonne named Hieronimus succeeded him who for his great insolencie and pride was slaine by his owne people This time the Macedonians had a great ouerthrow by the Romanes by the citie Appolonia at what time Nenius Crispus was generall for Rome Likewise Nicanor sirnamed Sicamber had the like ouerthrow by the king of Orchades During this warre Attalus king of Asia Pleuratus king of Thracia and Scerdiletus king of Illyria became in league with the Romans at what time warre was proclaimed by the Romanes against king Philip of Macedonia This time raigned in Parthia Pampatius otherwise by Iustine called Phrahartes the thirde king of Parthia Liuie doeth write that about this time a childe was borne with a Sowes head and other fabulous things in that place as an oxe to speake with mans voice The Samaritans annoyed much Iudea this time The Romanes lost more Senators Consuls noblemen and gentlemen in this second warre of Affrike then they did in conquering of Macedonia Egypt Syria and Asia And yet in ciuil warres betwene Silla and Marius I finde in Eutropius such slaughters of Consuls Praetors Aediles and Senatours as the nomber shal be set downe in the ciuill warres of Rome CHAP. III. Of the thirde and last Affricane warres betweene the Romanes and the Carthagineans which endured foure yeres of the ouerthrow of Carthage and Numantia of the ruine and last conquest of Affrica by the Romanes THe state of Affrike being by their last seconde warre weakened and almost brought to nothing by the Romanes the Affricanes were two and fiftie yeeres in recouering any strength either to defend themselues or to offend others in the meane time the Romanes very ambitious and very impatient to heare of any kingdome to flourish hauing waged warre with the Affricanes 24. yeeres the first time and 17. yeeres the second time and that out of Italy such nations and sundrie kings yea with all Affrica which is described to bee welnigh the thirde part of the world hauing I say conquered all Affrike and Libya the Romanes proclaimed warre against Philippe king of Macedonia there T. Quintus Flaminius had such good successe that peace was concluded vpon such conditions as pleased Flaminius Then had they warres against the Lacedemonians
of any things worth the memory After whom succeeded Probus a singuler souldier a man most expert in warfare for he subdued the Germanes the Sarmatians the Illyrians He ouercame the Gothes in Thracia he vanquished in sundry skirmishes diuers which attempted to vsurpe the state imperial as Saturninus in the East couÌ„trey Bonosus and Proculus which affected much the kingdome of Fraunce and Agrippina that claimed a title to Hispanie and Brytaine he vanquished them and triumphed ouer them this emperor licenced the Frenchmen and the Hungarians to haue vineyards This emperour was a iust and a stoute man equall in all pointes to Aurelianus his predecessor was slaine also in an iron towre at Sirmium in an vprore which grew amoÌ„gst the souldiers after he had reigned 6. yeres and 3. moneths After this emperour was Carus elected to gouerne the Romane empire who presently after he had obtained the empire made his 2. sonnes Carinus and Numerianus Caesars and commenced that warre against the Persians againe which Probus thought before he died to haue taken in hand which Carus perfourmed and subdued Mesopotamia and atchieued thinges manfully against the Persians He wanne Seleucia the chiefest citie of Syria and Ctesiphontes a towne in Persia. And when he had raigned two yeeres he was stricken with lightning and his sonne Numerianus was slaine being very yong with his father in the warres of Persia by the perswasion of Aper his father in lawe The other sonne of Carus called Carinus being deputed Caesar ouer Illyria Fraunce and Italie defloured noble women put innocents to death and practised all kind of mischiefe vntill he was ouerthrowne by Dioclesian the emperour who next succeeded his father Carus During which time Rome was in great trouble and the empire in great danger at what time these Magistrates and noble men flourished and some of them became emperors Patrenus Volisianus Pomponius Bassus Flauius Aclianus Annius Tacitus afterward Emperour Lucius Ragonius Vrinatus Gallius Hostilius afterward Caesar. Numus Albinus Maximius Dexter and Arcesilaus Iunius Tiberianus Pomponius Victorinus Aurelius Probus after made Caesar. Iunius Messula Oniuius Paternus Iunius Maximus Lurius Orphitus Pomponius Ianarius These bare most sway in Rome during the â—…e of these seuen Emperours which raigned no more but 18. yeeres All these seuen Claudius Florianus Quintilus Probus and Aurelianus Carus Tacitus  So short a time the Emperours of Rome then reigned that any Caesar was slaine sooner then any common souldier At the which time Germanie and Fraunce waxed so strong that the Romanes had their handes full to resist them and to keepe theÌ„ from Italie now they had entred Italie with great force spoyling and wasting the countries about vntil they came to Rauenna and Valerianus possessed Pannonia and Carausius gouerned the Brytaines which he detained by force when he fledde for feare of Maximianus CHAP. X. Of the rest of the Emperours of Rome after Dioclesians time at what time their Empire at Rome beganne to decay for that the dignitie of the old Emperours were diminished by reason that Constantinople whom Constantine the great had so enriched and beautified with their ancient monuments of Rome that olde Rome was hereby defaced and new Rome thereby flourished so that the Empire was deuided betweene two Emperours the one to be at Constantinople the other at Rome NOwe to Dioclesianus who beganne his reigne after that Carus Augustus was stricken with lightnings and his sonne Numerianus slaine by treason he was created Augustus he was borne at Dalmatia a Scriueners sonne as Eutropius saith but others affirme he was a bondman to Amulinus the Senator This Emperour assoone as he had obtained the Empire to his hande he reuenged the death of Numerianus slue Aper his sonne in lawe after subdued Carinus least he would claime the Empire being Carus his eldest sonne he associated to himselfe in the Empire Maximianus surnamed Herculius and made him Augustus who was before but Caesar. Beside he created other two Caesars Constantius Clorus and Maximianus Gabrius borne in Dacia for that in diuers countreies warre waxed hote and that Dioclesian of necessitie must needes appoynt these two Caesars and take Maximianus to be his fellow in the Empire This Dioclesianus caused Galerius to take to wife his daughter Valeria and caused Constantius to marry Theodora daughter in law to Herculius This time gouerned in Egypt Achilleus whom Dioclesian subdued and after tooke Busiris and Copon two cities of Egypt slue a number of their nobles and gaue Achilleus to be deuoured of wilde beastes In the eight moneth of his warre in Egypt he tooke Alexandria and after he had pacified Egypt hee returned to Rome at what time Herculeius returned froÌ„ Affrike and after he had finished his warres where he had subdued the QuinquagentiaÌ„s concluded peace with them afterward these two emperors liued and reigned together twentie yeres they ouercame Narses king of Persia they subdued the Caspians and the Basternes and coÌ„quered the Sarmatians and did triumph ouer them After this triumph DioclesiaÌ„ waxed so proud that he would be worshipped like a god and would be called brother to the sunne to the moone he had his shooes wrought with gold and precious stones caused people to come kneeling and kisse his feete Yet Eutropius writeth that after these great triumphs which both Dioclesian Herculeius had at Rome ouer Narses concubines his sisters and his children they resigned vp the imperial state and liued a priuat life the one in the citie of Solona and the other in Lucania for the which cause Dioclesianus was canonised after his death though he dyed a priuate man which was neuer graunted in Rome to any priuate man Then ConstaÌ„tius and Galerius which were but Caesars during the reigne of Dioclesian were both made emperours and the whole gouernment was deuided betweene them both Fraunce and Italie and Affrike were coÌ„mitted to Constantius Illyria Asia and the East partes to Galerius but Constantius a man of great modestie declared his worthinesse refused the trouble and toile of warres that he should haue in Affrike Fraunce and Italie and contented himselfe with the name of Augustus and after hee had reigned two yeeres deceased at Yorke in Britaine where Constantius had a base sonne that became gouernour in his fathers roome in Britaine Galerius when hee heard that Constantius his fellowe in the Empire died in Britaine he substituted vnder him two Caesars This time some commotion began at Rome where they nominated Maxentius sonne to Herculeus late Emperour which when his father heard of he came in all haste from Lucania to Rome and by all meanes possible perswaded Dioclesian to resigne the Empire into his hand againe which hee refused to doe Then Seuerus Caesar was sent to appease the commotion which the gard had made where he was slaine then Herculeus seemed as though he woulde depose his sonne
them lightly noting vnto you some fewe for example sake as now vnder Decius the Emperour these many 1 Metra a Priest 2. 3. Quinta and Appollonia two virgins you heard of these 4 Serapion martyred with all the torments that might be 5. 6. Iulianus and Coronion after scourging and sore whipping were throwen to Camels and after burned to ashes 7 Marca a blessed Martyr and a stout Christian at that time was burned aliue 8 A souldier that stoode by and sawe the tortuers so cruell resisted and stood stoutly to the face of the Magistrates in the profession of Christ and was after great tortures beheaded 9. 10. Epimachus and Alexander after long imprisonment and diuers torments were throwen to the fire with 4. wornē 14 more to accompanny them 15 Likewise Amonarium a blessed virgin 16. 17. Mercuria a sage and godly matrone and Dionitia a faithfull woman they made the magistrate amased and the torturers astonied to behold their cōstancie in their tormēts 18 Hieron Ater and Isidorus 3. Egyptians Dioscorus a boy of 15. yeres were most cruelly torne and broken in pieces by tortures and at last burned 22 Menesion an Egyptian full of faith endured most willingly to be martyred for the Gospel These with infinite more doth Dionisius a priest write to Fabius bishop of Antiochia setting forth his owne danger many times and also setteth downe that persecution which continued most cruelly for one yere for the nomber of the faithfull so increased their constancie and their faithso amased the wicked that they were both weary feareful to folowe their tyrannie at last ouerthrowen by their guiltie conscience but Dyonysius sayeth that diuers times came in place to see these persecutions certeine souldiers who seeing the orders and maners of the Christians towards God and his Church felt them selues much conuerted and most desirous to confesse themselues Christians At a great persecution in Alexandria standing before the Romane Magistrate when a certeine Christian among the rest waxed timerous and feared such torments as hee sawe other suffer hee thought to recant but these souldiers cōforted him with signes perswaded him with secret words and at length they came openly vnto him councelled and comforted him to die like a Christian and at length started in confessed themselues to the Magistrates to be Christians and therefore most willing with the rest to die for Christ Iesus sake It made the the Romane iudge and the rest of the Commissioners afraide supposing further that if they would vse this extreame crueltie of persecution all Alexandria and al Egypt would become in time Christians and therefore they rose vp from their seate frighted and amased of these strange sightes and the Christians had some rest The names of these last souldiers worthie to be engraued Captaines on marble for their victories and conquest ouer them selues which is the greatest conquest of all I cannot omitte they were foure in number 1 Ammon 2 Zenon 3 Ptolomeus 4 Ingenus And beside these foure an olde man named Theophilus in the next place hee bringeth in Ischyrion a faithfull Martyr of that time and Cheremon an olde Bishop of a Citie called Nilus who fled with his wife and children to the mountaines of Arabia to auoide the tyrānie of that time likewise of Vrbanus Sidonius and Selerius three Martyrs which suffered all kind of torments to enioy the glorious crowne of Martyrs When this cruell Emperour Decius died Gallus succeeded him both in life and in persecution about what time Origen also died This time in Rome Cornelius was the twentieth Bishop in Antiochia Demetrianus was the fourteenth Bishop in Alexandria this Dionisius that wrote of this last persecution the 13. Bishop In other places other godly faithfull Bishops reigned as Theoctistus in Caesarea Mezabantes in Ierusalem Marinus in Tyrus Heliodorus in Laodicea in Cappadocia Firmilianus Helenus in Tarsus so to be short in all Syria Arabia Pontus Bythinia and Mesopotamia godly and good Byshops liued vnder the feare of God This did Dionysius Byshop of Alexandria write to Stephanus the 22. Bishop of Rome of the peace and the staie of the persecution in all the parts of the East countries To this Bishop Stephen Ciprian bishop of Carthage wrote concerning those that were here tikes conuerted that by baptisme they were first to be receiued into the Church During this litle quietnesse and stay of persecution diuers and sundry sectes of heresies began to rise in many places as Heresis Nouatiana Sabellaena with others Cyprianus bishop of Carthage a singular deuoute man and a Martyr of the Church was of the Carthagineans and the Affricanes honored as a god to whō they erected a temple in memory of him celebrated a solemne feast calling often on the name of Cypriā which temple the Vandales in the time of their king Tuorichus destroyed Thus much Euagrius in his histories of the Church wrote of Cyprian who also dyed a most constant Martyr of Christ Iesus I omitte with Dionysius to name the Martyrs which dyed vnder Valerianus the emperour because they were so many men women children olde men young men olde women virgins souldiers and all kinde of people who became most willing Martyrs and suffered diuers torments for religion sake Amongst whome Lucius Maximus Demetrius Faustinus and Aquila suffered in Egypt also Eusebius was then Deacon and after made Byshop of Laodicea in Syria and Faustus who succeeded Eusebius Cheremon Caius and diuers other who from place to place to auoide that terrible persecution which reigned vnder the Emperour Valerianus wandred many Countries desertes mountaines And as for the Martyrs of Caesarea specially there were three which willingly came from their houses in the Countrie to Caesarea being ashamed and sory to haue seene so many good and godly Christians contending for the same noble crowne of Martyrs that they were so long negligent and carelesse of so glorious reward and therefore Priscus Malchus and Alexander claimed before the Iudge the rewarde of Christians and streight they were deliuered to be deuoured of beastes from whom these three stoute Christians shrinked not I will not omitte the historie of Marinus a knight of Caesarea who when hee obteyned that honour by iust desertes which was among the Romanes a rewarde for victorie and thereby to bee called Centurio a certeine Sycophant accused this knight to the Magistrate saying that it was not lawfull by the auncient lawes that Marinus should haue that Romane dignitie for that hee was a Christian who being demaunded most boldly confessed himselfe to bee a Christian and yet hauing three houres to deliberate of this cause Marinus went to consult with Theotecnus byshop then of Caesarea by whom he was in this instructed he brought him into the Temple and offered before him a naked sworde and the newe Testament of Christ Iesus Chuse said the byshop which thou wilt whereby he was
shee was a Christian who laboured much with the king her husband to become a Christian and with as great care shee dayly solicited the king to reuenge her father and vncles death The thirde warre was against the Almanes at what time he vowed if God would giue him the victorie hee would become a Christian which he performed and obtained the victory and was baptized by Remigius bishop of Rheme The fourth warre was against Alaricus king of the Gothes whom he slew in the fielde and discomfited all his armie By these foure great victories Clodoueus had brought all Gallia to be all Fraunce for during his bastards sonnes time he subdued Turingia and enlarged his countrey from the riuer of Rhein vnto the riuer Sequana Theodoricus being by his father Clodoueus sent as President to Aquitania at what time he brought diuers people by the sworde vnder his fathers subiection as Albios Rhatenes Tolasates and the people called Auerni He subdued Vastonia and other places Reade more of the warres of Clodoueus of his vowes and conuersion to the faith and of his victories in Paul Aemilius and in Tilius who after he had raigned thirtie yeeres he died and was buried in Paris Hitherto reacheth Hunibaldus historie of the antiquitie of Fraunce which he wrote and deuided into 18. bookes conteyning the history of all the kings from the first Marcomirus which came from Scythia vntill the time of Clodoueus death which were 47. kings which raigned by sundry names for the space of 950. yeeres While this Clodoueus raigned the Saracens inuaded Phoenicia Syria and Thracia and did great harme This time raigned in Persia Lambases whom Procopius named Blasen and about this time Anastatius the Emperour builded a most strong citie in Mesopotamia and named it after his owne name Anastasia and walled the citie of Theodocia in Armenia which the Emperour Theodosius had builded In the time of this Clodoueus Arthur raigned in Britaine who did much annoy the Saxons and had if he had long liued restored the Britaines againe to their former libertie But to returne to the successors of Clodoueus who left behinde him foure sonnes Theodoricus Clodomirus Childebertus and Lotharius amongst whom the kingdome of Fraunce was deuided the whole kingdome made a Tetrarchia and so in processe of time the whole kingdome fell to Childebertus hand frō whom the lines of the kings of Fraunce descende vntill Hildericus though some say it doth descend from Lotharius yet raigned these 4. brethren in seueral Prouinces of Fraunce as foure Tetrarches for a time During which time reade Procopius and Paul Aemilius and see the euents of fortune the vncertaintie of states and change of earthly dignitie and how Theodoricus and Clodomirus two of the brethren with all their children died then Childebertus deuided the whole kingdome betweene him and his brother Clotarius In the meane season let vs see what was done in other countreys for while these foure brethren gouerned Fraunce Rome was taken being besieged by the Gothes and destroyed and left desolate by Totila king of the Gothes he also vanquished the Brutians and the Lucans hee tooke Apulia and Calabria and besieged Placentia This warre of the Gothes cōtinued 18. yeeres during which warre raigned 3. kings ouer the Gothes the first Vitiges who destroyed Rome in his time but reedified and builded againe by Belisarius the second king Alaricus who was slaine within few moneths so that the most time of this 18. yeeres were continued vnder Totila who plagued so sore Italy and Rome that after that time Rome was so decayed and possessed with strangers that sooner you should finde in Italy a Germane then a Romane and in Rome it selfe tenne Vandols tenne Gothes or tenne Longobards for one citizen in so much that they were not able to appoint a Consul to gouerne them who had gouerned them for the space of 447. yeres so long the Consuls of Rome gouerned the citie which was vntill the Emperours time and then they gouerned the whole worlde But now not onely the dignitie of Consuls was lost which were of long time languishing and decaying since ciuil warres betwene themselues with persecution of the godly and tyrannie of the wicked Emperors but the name it selfe vtterly perished and quite abolished by those nations of Germanie who were scant knowen in Augustus Caesars time and therefore valeat Roma cum Papa who entred into Rome and tooke possession thereof within 40. yeeres of Clotarius gouernment At what time he erected vp his Papacie in Rome when Mahomet aduaunced vp the kingdome of the Saracens The Pope beganne his Papacie in Rome 14. yeres before Mahomet beganne his kingdome ouer the Saracens in Arabia Nowe a Pope for an Emperour gouerned Rome a prophet for a king raigned in Arabia of whome I spake in the historie of the Church and in the historie of the Saracens And now I will make mention of Iustinianus who gouerned then as Emperour vnder whome Bellisarius annoyed Italy subdued Siracusa and tooke Catina and in the last yeere of his Consulship subdued Sicilia After that he passed into Affrica and deliuered Carthage from the siege of Stoze and appointed one Salomon gouernour ouer the towne This Bellisarius prooued so excellent a captaine vnder Iustinianus the Emperor that he aduanced the name of the empire through his victories gotten in diuers battels that some write that Bellisarius had a triumph graunted him at Rome appointed by the Emp. Iustinian much is writtē of this Bellisarius in the wars called Persicum which Iustinianus begā but Bellisarius ended This Bellisarius toke Catina Siracusa and subdued al Sicilie Rauenna Naples and was made generall vnder Iustinian in the East empire where he merited the name of a good souldier Iustinianus made the 4. bookes of the Institutes and other 50. bookes of ciuill lawe called the Pandects which Tribonianus ended and brought to perfection This time Cosroes king of Persia inuaded Cilicia and Syria he tooke Antiochia and now againe the fourth time after he had concluded peace with Iustinianus he inuaded the territories of the Romanes but he was now driuen thence by Bellisarius at what time Arethus king of the Saracens came and yeelded to Iustinianus both his kingdome and his children Totila king of the Gothes this time gaue an ouerthrow to Demetrius vpon the sea and tooke Neapolis During these 45. yeres Hunni inuaded Europe spoyled and wasted into Bizantium which is Constantinople in Britaine died Arthur the sonne of Vter Pendragon after whome succeeded Constantius a wicked lewde Prince about which time Narses a Persian with a great armie entred into Italie vanquished the Gothes at Tagira and againe the Gothes ouerthrowen by Narses at Necerium and at last driuen out of Italie and their king Totila slayne Thus farre Procopius writeth of the warres of the Gothes Nowe to Clotharius which raigned in Fraunce 5. yeeres after the death
of his three brethren and their children and died as Blondus saieth at Tridentum after whose death Fraunce was againe deuided betweene the sonnes of Lotharius who is called in Beroaldus Clotarius which raigned 5. yeres after Childebertus and died was buried in the church of S. Medardis in Suetia which Church he began to builde a litle before he died After whom succeeded Cherebertus the sonne of Clotarius a wicked vicious king who after he raigned 9. yeeres died in the armes of his concubine at Paris after him Chilpericus raigued 14. yeres as vitious and wicked as his brother yet of him lineally do discend the line of the kings of France vntil Childericus time he was caused to be slaine betweene Landricus and his strumpet Fredegunda and was also buried in Paris Now Iustinus the yonger a daughters sonne of Iustinianus gouerned in the empire warrre was proclaimed by the Romanes against the Persians at what time Hormisda raigned king of Persia who was vanquished by Tiberius Constantius and againe the Persians lost those townes which they had gotten during the gouernment of Iustinianus This time Chilpericus left a childe of the age of 4. moneths called Clotarius the second of that name and the 10. king of Fraunce who raigned 44. yeeres this king being yet an infant vnder the protectiō of Landricus whom Guntrandus the kings vncle had made master of the horse Childebertus king of Mediomatrices sought to attempt through force to gouerne France but in vaine for he mist of his purpose for he his wife died within a while after vpon one day supected to be poysoned Howbeit when Clotarius came to any estate ciuill warres began in France betwene the king and Theodobertus and Theodoricus two sonnes of Hildebertus these two brethren plagued sore the king vntill they were deuided one against another and then al France was afflicted But during these ciuil vexations in France the Persians wasted Palestine tooke Ierusalem and their patriarch Zacharias they raged against the Egyptians and they subdued Alexandria and Libya vntill Aethiope tooke Carthage and proudly denied the Emperour Heraclius peace but the Persians and their king Cosroes repented their denial for Heraclius prepared warre and leuied an armie and entred into Persia flew in that voyage 50000. Heraclius the second time persecuted the Persiās with sword and fire so hard that Cosroes their king was slaine By this time the Persians were on euery side so assaulted so weakned that they were most miserably slaine and destroyed their kingdom taken by the Saracens About this time Caddwalader the last king of the Britaines was by a dreame admonished to leaue his kingdome and to passe ouer sea to Rome at what time the English Saxons possessed the whole Isle of Britaine sauing Scotland and the Picts Let vs leaue France for a while in their ciuil dissentions betweene Clotarius and the two sonnes of Childebertus named Theodoricus Theobertus who after they constrained the king to accept what cōditions of peace they lusted these two brethren fell out that againe all France was in armes for a time France was most miserablie afflicted Now Persia being destroied the third time by the Saracēs we wil passe ouerthe Pope in Rome Mahomet in Arabia and returne to Germanie a coūtrey so famous of late that the Monarchie sole empire flourished there though the Romans in Iulius Caesars time made no accompt of them calling all those nations which are called Vandols Gothes Hunnes Hungarians Danes Sueuians Russians and others by one name Germanes These coūtreis and kingdoms flourished when the East kingdoms decaied and that within 500. yeres of Augustus time when Rome was in her most glory dignitie and for that the names of their kings may be read in Functius I wil not set them down for those that were of any great renowme in histories chiefly the Gothes and Vādols who hitherto had 24. kings and the Longobards who had 17. kings Diaconus writes of them Functius in his table records them and therfore I wil returne to Clotarius who when he had raigned 41. yeeres he assigned Dagobertus his eldest sonne king of Austratia ioyntly to gouerne France with him for three yeeres more and then Clotarius died in the 44. yere of his raigne This Dagobertus was the 11. king frō Faramundus and had a brother named Aribertus to whom he gaue Aquitania in possession and gouerned himselfe after his father in Fraunce 14. yeres he was very vitious and so giuen to women that when he would trauaile he would haue his womē caried with him Agmina Scortorum a whole armie of concubines who went in habits of Queenes and dwelt in pallaces made vnto them by the king Dagobertus And with this vice there was ioyned an other vertue which was to banish all those Iewes out of Fraunce that would not become Christians for nowe Fraunce hath their vines and grapes and all the countrey of Fraunce flourished since Probus the Emperours time who first suffered them to haue the vse and benefites of all vines By this time his brother Aribertus died in Aquitaina and left a sonne behind him named Hilpericus who likewise died after his father shortly and all Fraunce fell to Dagobertus who at that time placed his eldest sonne Sigebertus king of Austrasia where sometimes Dagobertus gouerned during three yeeres of his fathers raigne Dagobertus had warres with the Vuindos whom he vanquished by the ayde of the Saxons and also hee had warres against the Vascons who though they reuolted as Tritemius affirmeth yet receiued them into fauour In Rome now had raigned 9. seueral popes whose names are set down in the history of the church and ouer the Saracens who quite had subdued all Persia before raigned already foure Amyras of Mahomets sects Thus in Rome a silly priest became a great Pope and in Arabia a false Prophet of one age with the pope became a mighty king which by his greatnes attained a surname called Amyras of whom likewise I haue spoken in the historie of the Saracens 1 Pharamundus reigned 8. yeeres Beroaldus saith 11. yeeres 2 Clodius Faramundus sonne surnamed Criuitus reigned 18. yeeres 3 Meroueus succeeded his father Clodius and reigned 10. yeeres 4 Hildericus the first reigned 26. this is called of many Childericus 5 Clodoueus reigned 30. 6 Childebertus reigned 45. yeeres 7 Lotarius or Cotarius 5. yeeres 8 Heribertus reigned 9. 9 Hilpericus or Chilpericus 23. for marke whō Beroaldus Ruffinus and others doe name Chilpericus that same doeth Functius name Hilpericus so of Cheribertus Functius he nameth Heribertus 10 Lotarius 2. the sōne of Hilpericus 14. yeeres 11 Dagobertus succeeded his father and reigned 14. yeeres CHAP. V. From Clodoueus the 2. who began his raigne 645. vnto the raigne and gouernment of Charles the great the patrone only mirror of Fraunce by whom