[Sidenote:  A.D. 196 (a.u. 949)] [Sidenote:—­3—­] The Scythians, too, were in fighting humor, when at this juncture during a deliberation of theirs thunder and lightning-flashes with rain suddenly broke over them, and thunderbolts began to fall, killing their three foremost men.  This caused them to hesitate.

Severus again made three divisions of his army, and giving one to Laetus, one to Anullinus, and one to Probus, sent them out against ARCHE [Lacuna]; [Footnote:  The MS. is corrupt.  Adiabene, Atrene and Arbelitis have all been suggested as the district to which Dio actually referred here.] and they, invading it in three divisions, subdued it not without trouble.  Severus bestowed some dignity upon Nisibis and entrusted the city to the care of a knight.  He declared he had won a mighty territory and had rendered it a bulwark of Syria.  It is shown, on the contrary, by the facts themselves that the place is responsible for our constant wars as well as for great expenditures.  It yields very little and uses up vast sums.  And having extended our borders to include men who are neighbors of the Medes and Parthians rather than of ourselves, we are always, one might say, fighting over those peoples.

[Sidenote:—­4—­] Before Severus had had time to recover breath from his conflicts with the barbarians he found a civil war on his hands with Albinus, his Caesar.  Severus after getting Niger out of the way was still not giving him the rank of Caesar and had ordered other details in that quarter as he pleased; and Albinus aspired to the preeminence of emperor. [Footnote:  Omitting [Greek:  autou] (as Dindorf).] While the whole world was moved by this state of affairs we senators kept quiet, at least so many of us as inclining openly neither to one man nor the other yet shared their dangers and hopes.  But the populace could not restrain itself and showed its grief in the most violent fashion.  It was at the last horse-race before the Saturnalia, and a countless throng of people flocked to it.  I too was present at the spectacle because the consul was a friend of mine and I heard distinctly everything that was said,—­a fact which renders me able to write a little about it.

It came about in this way.  There had gathered (as I said) more people than could be computed and they had watched the chariots contesting in six divisions (which had been the way also in Oleander’s time), applauding no one in any manner, as was the custom.  When these races had ceased and the charioteers were about to begin another event, then they suddenly enjoined silence upon one another and all clapped their hands simultaneously, shouting, besides, and entreating good fortune for the public welfare.  They first said this, and afterward, applying the terms “Queen” and “Immortal” to Rome, they roared:  “How long are we to suffer such experiences?” and “Until when must we be at war?” And after making a few other remarks of this kind they finally cried out:  “That’s all there is to it!” and turned their attention to the equestrian contest.  In all of this they were surely inspired by some divine afflation.  For not otherwise could so many myriads of men have started to utter the same shouts at the same time like some carefully trained chorus or have spoken the words without mistake just as if they had practiced them.