a short time from their quarters. Afterwards, some of the Palace
Guards were sent into every part of the Empire to take an exact
inventory of the soldiers who were or were not fit for service. Some
were deprived of their belts, as being useless and too old, and for
the future were obliged to solicit alms from the charitable in the
open market-place--a sad and melancholy spectacle to all beholders.
The rest were reduced to such a state of terror that, in order to
avoid similar treatment, they offered large sums of money to buy
themselves out, so that the soldiers, being thus rendered destitute
and in many ways enfeebled, conceived an utter aversion to the
service.

This endangered the authority of the Romans, especially in Italy.
Alexander, who was sent thither as commissioner, unhesitatingly
reproached the soldiers for this. He also exacted large sums of money
from the Italians, under the pretence of punishing them for their
negotiations with Theoderic and the Goths. The soldiers were not the
only persons who were reduced to poverty and privation by the
commissioners; but those who had accompanied the generals in different
capacities and had formerly enjoyed a high reputation, found
themselves in great distress, as they had no means of procuring the
ordinary necessaries. Since I am speaking of the soldiers, I will give
a few additional details. Preceding Emperors had, for a very long time
past, carefully posted upon all the frontiers of the Empire a large
military force to protect its boundaries, and particularly, in the
Eastern provinces, in order to repel the inroads of the Persians and
Saracens, they had established garrisons called "frontier troops."
Justinian at first treated these troops with such shameful neglect
that their pay was four, or even five years in arrear; and, when peace
was concluded between Rome and Persia, these unhappy individuals, who