Res Gestae
Ammianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus. Ammianus Marcellinus, with an English translation, Vols. I-III. Rolfe, John C., translator. Cambridge, MA; London: Harvard University Press; W. Heinemann, 1935-1940 (printing).
At about this same time, Valentinian had begun his campaign with wariness,[*](The narrative returns to the war with the Alamanni; see 2. The date is 368.) as he himself thought, when a prince of the Alamanni called Rando, after long preparation for his design, with a lightarmed band equipped for plundering, secretly made his way into Mogontiacus,[*](Mainz.) which had no garrison.
And since he chanced to find that a festival of the Christian religion[*](Perhaps Easter.) was being celebrated, he was not hindered in carrying off defenceless men
Then, after a brief interval, the hope of better fortune unexpectedly dawned upon the Roman state. For since King Vithicabius, son of Vadomarius, who was somewhat weak and sickly in appearance, but valiant and vigorous, again and again kindled the flames of war against us, no efforts were spared to dispose of him by any possible manner of death.
And because after several attempts he could in no way be overcome or treacherously surrendered, he was slain by the perfidy of an attendant on his private life[*](Cf. xiv. 1, 7; xxi. 16, 6.) through the earnest solicitation of our men; and after his death the enemy’s raids slackened somewhat. But the assassin, through fear of the punishment which he dreaded in case the affair should become known, hastened to take refuge on Roman soil.
After this, with especially diligent care and with troops of various kinds, a more serious campaign than common was prepared against the Alamanni, since the public safety imperiously demanded it; for from a race that so easily recovered its strength treacherous attacks were to be feared; and the soldiers were equally incensed against them, since the untrustworthy nature of an enemy who was at one time abject and suppliant and soon afterwards threatening the worst, allowed them no rest or cessation from warfare.
Therefore a mighty mass of troops was assembled from all quarters and carefully provided with arms and supplies of food, Count Sebastianus[*](Cf. xxvi. 6, 2.) was summoned with the Illyrian and Italian legions