Meantime Belisarius and the Roman army, having learned nothing of what

was being done there, were going in excellent order from the city of

Daras toward Nisibis. And when they had reached the middle of their

journey, Belisarius led the army to the right where there were abundant

springs of water and level ground sufficient for all to camp upon. And

there he gave orders to make a camp at about forty-two stades from the

city of Nisibis. But all the others marvelled greatly that he did not

wish to camp close to the fortifications, and some were quite unwilling

to follow him. Belisarius therefore addressed those of the officers who

were about him thus: "It was not my wish to disclose to all what I am

thinking. For talk carried about through a camp cannot keep secrets, for

it advances little by little until it is carried out even to the enemy.

But seeing that the majority of you are allowing yourselves to act in a

most disorderly manner, and that each one wishes to be himself supreme

commander in the war, I shall now say among you things about which one

ought to keep silence, mentioning, however, this first, that when many

in an army follow independent judgments it is impossible that anything

needful be done. Now I think that Chosroes, in going against other

barbarians, has by no means left his own land without sufficient

protection, and in particular this city which is of the first rank and

is set as a defence to his whole land. In this city I know well that he

has stationed soldiers in such number and of such valour as to be

sufficient to stand in the way of our assaults. And the proof of this

you have near at hand. For he put in command of these men the general

Nabedes, who, after Chosroes himself at least, seems to be first among

the Persians in glory and in every other sort of honour. This man, I

believe, will both make trial of our strength and will permit of our

passing by on no other condition than that he be defeated by us in

battle. If, therefore, the conflict should be close by the city, the

struggle will not be even for us and the Persians. For they, coming out

from their stronghold against us, in case of success, should it so

happen, will feel unlimited confidence in assailing us, and in case of

defeat they will easily escape from our attack. For we shall only be

able to pursue them a short distance, and from this no harm will come to

the city, which you surely see cannot be captured by storming the wall

when soldiers are defending it. But if the enemy engage with us here and

we conquer them, I have great hopes, fellow officers, of capturing the

city. For while our antagonists are fleeing a long way, we shall either

mingle with them and rush inside the gates with them, as is probable, or

we shall anticipate them and compel them to turn and escape to some

other place, and thus render Nisibis without its defenders easy of

capture for us."

When Belisarius had said this, all the others except Peter were

convinced, and they made camp and remained with him. He, however,

associating with himself John, who commanded the troops in Mesopotamia

and had no small part of the army, came up to a position not far removed

from the fortifications, about ten stades away, and remained quietly

there. But Belisarius marshalled the men who were with him as if for

combat, and sent word to Peter and his men also to hold themselves in

array for battle, until he himself should give the signal; and he said

that he knew well that the barbarians would attack them about midday,

remembering, as they surely would, that while they themselves are

accustomed to partake of food in the late afternoon, the Romans do so

about midday. So Belisarius gave this warning; but Peter and his men

disregarded his commands, and about midday, being distressed by the sun

(for the place is exceedingly dry and hot), they stacked their arms, and

with never a thought of the enemy began to go about in disorderly

fashion and eat gourds which grew there. And when this was observed by

Nabedes, he led the Persian army running at full speed against them. And

the Romans, since they did not fail to observe that the Persians were

coming out of the fortifications (for they were seen clearly because

moving over a level plain), sent to Belisarius urging him to support

them, and they themselves snatched up their arms, and in disorder and

confusion confronted their foe. But Belisarius and his men, even before

the messenger had reached them, discovered by the dust the attack of the

Persians, and went to the rescue on the run. And when the Persians came

up, the Romans did not withstand their onset, but were routed without

any difficulty, and the Persians, following close upon them, killed

fifty men, and seized and kept the standard of Peter. And they would

have slain them all in this pursuit, for the Romans had no thought of

resistance, if Belisarius and the army with him had not come upon them

and prevented it. For as the Goths, first of all, came upon them with

long spears in close array, the Persians did not await their attack but

beat a hasty retreat. And the Romans together with the Goths followed

them up and slew a hundred and fifty men. For the pursuit was only of

short duration, and the others quickly got inside the fortifications.

Then indeed all the Romans withdrew to the camp of Belisarius, and the

Persians on the following day set up on a tower instead of a trophy the

standard of Peter, and hanging sausages from it they taunted the enemy

with laughter; however, they no longer dared to come out against them,

but they guarded the city securely.

XIX

And Belisarius, seeing that Nisibis was exceedingly strong, and having

no hope regarding its capture, was eager to go forward, in order that he

might do the enemy some damage by a sudden inroad. Accordingly he broke

camp and moved forward with the whole army. And after accomplishing a

day's journey, they came upon a fortress which the Persians call

Sisauranon. There were in that place besides the numerous population

eight hundred horsemen, the best of the Persians, who were keeping guard

under command of a man of note, Bleschames by name. And the Romans made

camp close by the fortress and began a siege, but, upon making an

assault upon the fortifications, they were beaten back, losing many men

in the fight. For the wall happened to be extremely strong, and the

barbarians defended it against their assailants with the greatest

vigour. Belisarius therefore called together all the officers and spoke

as follows: "Experience in many wars, fellow officers, has made it

possible for us in difficult situations to foresee what will come to

pass, and has made us capable of avoiding disaster by choosing the

better course. You understand, therefore, how great a mistake it is for

an army to proceed into a hostile land, when many strongholds and many

fighting men in them have been left in the rear. Now exactly this has

happened to us in the present case. For if we continue our advance, some

of the enemy from this place as well as from the city of Nisibis will

follow us secretly and will, in all probability, handle us roughly in

places which are for them conveniently adapted for an ambuscade or some

other sort of attack. And if, by any chance, a second army confronts us

and opens battle, it will be necessary for us to array ourselves against

both, and we should thus suffer irreparable harm at their hands. And in

saying this I do not mention the fact that if we fail in the engagement,

should it so happen, we shall after that have absolutely no way of

return left to the land of the Romans. Let us not therefore by reason of

most ill-considered haste seem to have been our own despoilers, nor by

our eagerness for strife do harm to the cause of the Romans. For stupid

daring leads to destruction, but discreet hesitation is well adapted

always to save those who adopt such a course. Let us therefore establish

ourselves here and endeavour to capture this fortress, and let Arethas

with his forces be sent into the country of Assyria. For the Saracens

are by nature unable to storm a wall, but the cleverest of all men at

plundering. And some of the soldiers who are good fighters will join

them in the invasion, so that, if no opposition presents itself to them,

they may overwhelm those who fall in their way, and if any hostile force

encounters them, they may be saved easily by retiring to us. And after

we have captured the fortress, if God wills, then with the whole army

let us cross the River Tigris, without having to fear mischief from

anyone in our rear, and knowing well how matters stand with the

Assyrians."

These words of Belisarius seemed to all well spoken, and he straightway

put the plan into execution. Accordingly he commanded Arethas with his

troops to advance into Assyria, and with them he sent twelve hundred

soldiers, the most of whom were from among his own guard, putting two

guardsmen in command of them, Trajan and John who was called the

Glutton, both capable warriors. These men he directed to obey Arethas in

everything they did, and he commanded Arethas to pillage all that lay

before him and then return to the camp and report how matters stood with

the Assyrians with regard to military strength. So Arethas and his men

crossed the River Tigris and entered Assyria. There they found a goodly

land and one which had been free from plunder for a long time, and

undefended besides; and moving rapidly they pillaged many of the places

there and secured a great amount of rich plunder. And at that time

Belisarius captured some of the Persians and learned from them that

those who were inside the fortress were altogether out of provisions.

For they do not observe the custom which is followed in the cities of

Daras and Nisibis, where they put away the annual food-supply in public

store-houses, and now that a hostile army had fallen upon them

unexpectedly they had not anticipated the event by carrying in any of

the necessities of life. And since a great number of persons had taken

refuge suddenly in the fortress, they were naturally hard pressed by the

want of provisions. When Belisarius learned this, he sent George, a man

of the greatest discretion with whom he shared his secrets, to test the

men of the place, in the hope that he might be able to arrange some

terms of surrender and thus take the place. And George succeeded, after

addressing to them many words of exhortation and of kindly invitation,

in persuading them to take pledges for their safety and to deliver

themselves and the fortress to the Romans. Thus Belisarius captured

Sisauranon, and the inhabitants, all of whom were Christians and of

Roman origin, he released unscathed, but the Persians he sent with

Bleschames to Byzantium, and razed the fortification wall of the

fortress to the ground. And the emperor not long afterwards sent these

Persians and Bleschames to Italy to fight against the Goths. Such, then,

was the course of events which had to do with the fortress of

Sisauranon.

But Arethas, fearing lest he should be despoiled of his booty by the

Romans, was now unwilling to return to the camp. So he sent some of his

followers ostensibly for the purpose of reconnoitring, but secretly

commanding them to return as quickly as possible and announce to the

army that a large hostile force was at the crossing of the river. For

this reason, then, he advised Trajan and John to return by another route

to the land of the Romans. So they did not come again to Belisarius, but

keeping the River Euphrates on the right they finally arrived at the

Theodosiopolis which is near the River Aborrhas. But Belisarius and the

Roman army, hearing nothing concerning this force, were disturbed, and

they were filled with fear and an intolerable and exaggerated suspicion.

And since much time had been consumed by them in this siege, it came

about that many of the soldiers were taken there with a troublesome

fever; for the portion of Mesopotamia which is subject to the Persians

is extremely dry and hot. And the Romans were not accustomed to this and

especially those who came from Thrace; and since they were living their

daily life in a place where the heat was excessive and in stuffy huts in

the summer season, they became so ill that the third part of the army

were lying half-dead. The whole army, therefore, was eager to depart

from there and return as quickly as possible to their own land, and most

of all the commanders of the troops in Lebanon, Rhecithancus and

Theoctistus, who saw that the time which was the sacred season of the

Saracens had in fact already passed. They came, indeed, frequently to

Belisarius and entreated him to release them immediately, protesting

that they had given over to Alamoundaras the country of Lebanon and

Syria, and were sitting there for no good reason.

Belisarius therefore called together all the officers and opened a

discussion. Then John, the son of Nicetas, rose first and spoke as

follows: "Most excellent Belisarius, I consider that in all time there

has never been a general such as you are either in fortune or in valour.

And this reputation has come to prevail not alone among the Romans, but

also among all barbarians. This fair name, however, you will preserve

most securely, if you should be able to take us back alive to the land

of the Romans; for now indeed the hopes which we may have are not

bright. For I would have you look thus at the situation of this army.

The Saracens and the most efficient soldiers of the army crossed the

River Tigris, and one day, I know not how long since, they found

themselves in such a plight that they have not even succeeded in sending

a messenger to us, and Rhecithancus and Theoctistus will depart, as you

see surely, believing that the army of Alamoundaras is almost at this

very moment in the midst of Phoenicia, pillaging the whole country

there. And among those who are left the sick are so numerous that those

who will care for them and convey them to the land of the Romans are

fewer in number than they are by a great deal. Under these

circumstances, if it should fall out that any hostile force should come

upon us, either while remaining here or while going back, not a man

would be able to carry back word to the Romans in Daras of the calamity

which had befallen us. For as for going forward, I consider it

impossible even to be spoken of. While, therefore, some hope is still

left, it will be of advantage both to make plans for the return and to

put the plans into action. For when men have come into danger and

especially such danger as this, it is downright folly for them to devote

their thoughts not to safety, but to opposition to the enemy." So spoke

John, and all the others expressed approval, and becoming disorderly,

they demanded that the retreat be made with all speed. Accordingly

Belisarius laid the sick in the carts and let them lead the way, while

he led the army behind them. And as soon as they got into the land of

the Romans, he learned everything which had been done by Arethas, but he

did not succeed in inflicting any punishment upon him, for he never came

into his sight again. So ended the invasion of the Romans.

And after Chosroes had taken Petra, it was announced to him that

Belisarius had invaded the Persian territory, and the engagement near

the city of Nisibis was reported, as also the capture of the fortress of

Sisauranon, and all that the army of Arethas had done after crossing the

River Tigris. Straightway, then, he established a garrison in Petra, and

with the rest of the army and those of the Romans who had been captured

he marched away into the land of Persia. Such, then, were the events

which took place in the second invasion of Chosroes. And Belisarius went

to Byzantium at the summons of the emperor, and passed the winter there.

XX

[542 A.D.] At the opening of spring Chosroes, the son of Cabades, for

the third time began an invasion into the land of the Romans with a

mighty army, keeping the River Euphrates on the right. And Candidus, the

priest of Sergiopolis, upon learning that the Median army had come near

there, began to be afraid both for himself and for the city, since he

had by no means carried out at the appointed time the agreement which he

had made[15]; accordingly he went into the camp of the enemy and

entreated Chosroes not to be angry with him because of this. For as for

money, he had never had any, and for this reason he had not even wished

in the first place to deliver the inhabitants of Sura, and though he had

supplicated the Emperor Justinian many times on their behalf, he had

failed to receive any help from him. But Chosroes put him under guard,

and, torturing him most cruelly, claimed the right to exact from him

double the amount of money, just as had been agreed. And Candidus

entreated him to send men to Sergiopolis to take all the treasures of

the sanctuary there. And when Chosroes followed this suggestion,

Candidus sent some of his followers with them. So the inhabitants of

Sergiopolis, receiving into the city the men sent by Chosroes, gave them

many of the treasures, declaring that nothing else was left them. But

Chosroes said that these were by no means sufficient for him, and

demanded that he should receive others still more than these.

Accordingly he sent men, ostensibly to search out with all diligence the

wealth of the city, but in reality to take possession of the city. But

since it was fated that Sergiopolis should not be taken by the Persians,

one of the Saracens, who, though a Christian, was serving under

Alamoundaras, Ambrus by name, came by night along the wall of the city,

and reporting to them the whole plan, bade them by no means receive the

Persians into the city. Thus those who were sent by Chosroes returned to

him unsuccessful, and he, boiling with anger, began to make plans to

capture the city. He accordingly sent an army of six thousand,

commanding them to begin a siege and to make assaults upon the

fortifications. And this army came there and commenced active

operations, and the citizens of Sergiopolis at first defended themselves

vigorously, but later they gave up, and in terror at the danger, they

were purposing to give over the city to the enemy. For, as it happened,

they had not more than two hundred soldiers. But Ambrus, again coming

along by the fortifications at night, said that within two days the

Persians would raise the siege since their water supply had failed them

absolutely. For this reason they did not by any means open negotiations

with the enemy, and the barbarians, suffering with thirst, removed from

there and came to Chosroes. However, Chosroes never released Candidus.

For it was necessary, I suppose, that since he had disregarded his sworn

agreement, he should be a priest no longer. Such, then, was the course

of these events.

But when Chosroes arrived at the land of the Commagenae which they call

Euphratesia, he had no desire to turn to plundering or to the capture of

any stronghold, since he had previously taken everything before him as

far as Syria, partly by capture and partly by exacting money, as has

been set forth in the preceding narrative. And his purpose was to lead

the army straight for Palestine, in order that he might plunder all

their treasures and especially those in Jerusalem. For he had it from

hearsay that this was an especially goodly land and peopled by wealthy

inhabitants. And all the Romans, both officers and soldiers, were far

from entertaining any thought of confronting the enemy or of standing in

the way of their passage, but manning their strongholds as each one

could, they thought it sufficient to preserve them and save themselves.

The Emperor Justinian, upon learning of the inroad of the Persians,

again sent Belisarius against them. And he came with great speed to

Euphratesia since he had no army with him, riding on the government

post-horses, which they are accustomed to call "veredi," while Justus,

the nephew of the emperor, together with Bouzes and certain others, was

in Hierapolis where he had fled for refuge. And when these men heard

that Belisarius was coming and was not far away, they wrote a letter to

him which ran as follows: "Once more Chosroes, as you yourself doubtless

know, has taken the field against the Romans, bringing a much greater

army than formerly; and where he is purposing to go is not yet evident,

except indeed that we hear he is very near, and that he has injured no

place, but is always moving ahead. But come to us as quickly as

possible, if indeed you are able to escape detection by the army of the

enemy, in order that you yourself may be safe for the emperor, and that

you may join us in guarding Hierapolis." Such was the message of the

letter. But Belisarius, not approving the advice given, came to the

place called Europum, which is on the River Euphrates. From there he

sent about in all directions and began to gather his army, and there he

established his camp; and the officers in Hierapolis he answered with

the following words: "If, now, Chosroes is proceeding against any other

peoples, and not against subjects of the Romans, this plan of yours is

well considered and insures the greatest possible degree of safety; for

it is great folly for those who have the opportunity of remaining quiet

and being rid of trouble to enter into any unnecessary danger; but if,

immediately after departing from here, this barbarian is going to fall

upon some other territory of the Emperor Justinian, and that an

exceptionally good one, but without any guard of soldiers, be assured

that to perish valorously is better in every way than to be saved

without a fight. For this would justly be called not salvation but

treason. But come as quickly as possible to Europum, where, after

collecting the whole army, I hope to deal with the enemy as God

permits." And when the officers saw this message, they took courage, and

leaving there Justus with some few men in order to guard Hierapolis, all

the others with the rest of the army came to Europum.

XXI

But Chosroes, upon learning that Belisarius with the whole Roman army

had encamped at Europum, decided not to continue his advance, but sent

one of the royal secretaries, Abandanes by name, a man who enjoyed a

great reputation for discretion, to Belisarius, in order to find out by

inspection what sort of a general he might be, but ostensibly to make a

protest because the Emperor Justinian had not sent the ambassadors to

the Persians at all in order that they might settle the arrangements for

the peace as had been agreed. When Belisarius learned this, he did as

follows. He himself picked out six thousand men of goodly stature and

especially fine physique, and set out to hunt at a considerable distance

from the camp. Then he commanded Diogenes, the guardsman, and Adolius,

the son of Acacius, to cross the river with a thousand horsemen and to

move about the bank there, always making it appear to the enemy that if

they wished to cross the Euphrates and proceed to their own land, they

would never permit them to do so. This Adolius was an Armenian by birth,

and he always served the emperor while in the palace as privy counsellor

(those who enjoy this honour are called by the Romans "silentiarii"),

but at that time he was commander of some Armenians. And these men did

as directed.

Now when Belisarius had ascertained that the envoy was close at hand, he

set up a tent of some heavy cloth, of the sort which is commonly called

a "pavilion," and seated himself there as one might in a desolate place,

seeking thus to indicate that he had come without any equipment. And he

arranged the soldiers as follows. On either side of the tent were

Thracians and Illyrians, with Goths beyond them, and next to these

Eruli, and finally Vandals and Moors. And their line extended for a

great distance over the plain. For they did not remain standing always

in the same place, but stood apart from one another and kept walking

about, looking carelessly and without the least interest upon the envoy

of Chosroes. And not one of them had a cloak or any other outer garment

to cover the shoulders, but they were sauntering about clad in linen

tunics and trousers, and outside these their girdles. And each one had

his horse-whip, but for weapons one had a sword, another an axe, another

an uncovered bow. And all gave the impression that they were eager to be

off on the hunt with never a thought of anything else. So Abandanes came

into the presence of Belisarius and said that the king Chosroes was

indignant because the agreement previously made had not been kept, in

that the envoys had not been sent to him by Caesar (for thus the

Persians call the emperor of the Romans), and as a result of this

Chosroes had been compelled to come into the land of the Romans in arms.

But Belisarius was not terrified by the thought that such a multitude of

barbarians were encamped close by, nor did he experience any confusion

because of the words of the man, but with a laughing, care-free

countenance he made answer, saying: "This course which Chosroes has

followed on the present occasion is not in keeping with the way men

usually act. For other men, in case a dispute should arise between

themselves and any of their neighbours, first carry on negotiations with

them, and whenever they do not receive reasonable satisfaction, then

finally go against them in war. But he first comes into the midst of the

Romans, and then begins to offer suggestions concerning peace." With

such words as these he dismissed the ambassador.

And when Abandanes came to Chosroes, he advised him to take his

departure with all possible speed. For he said he had met a general who

in manliness and sagacity surpassed all other men, and soldiers such as

he at least had never seen, whose orderly conduct had roused in him the

greatest admiration. And he added that the contest was not on an even

footing as regards risk for him and for Belisarius, for there was this

difference, that if he conquered, he himself would conquer the slave of

Caesar, but if he by any chance were defeated, he would bring great

disgrace upon his kingdom and upon the race of the Persians; and again

the Romans, if conquered, could easily save themselves in strongholds

and in their own land, while if the Persians should meet with any

reverse, not even a messenger would escape to the land of the Persians.

Chosroes was convinced by this admonition and wished to turn back to his

own country, but he found himself in a very perplexing situation. For he

supposed that the crossing of the river was being guarded by the enemy,

and he was unable to march back by the same road, which was entirely

destitute of human habitation, since the supplies which they had at the

first when they invaded the land of the Romans had already entirely

failed them. At last after long consideration it seemed to him most

advantageous to risk a battle and get to the opposite side, and to make

the journey through a land abounding in all good things. Now Belisarius

knew well that not even a hundred thousand men would ever be sufficient

to check the crossing of Chosroes. For the river at many places along

there can be crossed in boats very easily, and even apart from this the

Persian army was too strong to be excluded from the crossing by an enemy

numerically insignificant. But he had at first commanded the troops of

Diogenes and Adolius, together with the thousand horsemen, to move about

the bank at that point in order to confuse the barbarian by a feeling of

helplessness. But after frightening this same barbarian, as I have said,

Belisarius feared lest there should be some obstacle in the way of his

departing from the land of the Romans. For it seemed to him a most

significant achievement to have driven away from there the army of

Chosroes, without risking any battle against so many myriads of

barbarians with soldiers who were very few in number and who were in

abject terror of the Median army. For this reason he commanded Diogenes

and Adolius to remain quiet.

Chosroes, accordingly, constructed a bridge with great celerity and

crossed the River Euphrates suddenly with his whole army. For the

Persians are able to cross all rivers without the slightest difficulty

because when they are on the march they have in readiness hook-shaped

irons with which they fasten together long timbers, and with the help of

these they improvise a bridge on the spur of the moment wherever they

may desire. And as soon as he had reached the land on the opposite side,

he sent to Belisarius and said that he, for his part, had bestowed a

favour upon the Romans in the withdrawal of the Median army, and that he

was expecting the envoys from them, who ought to present themselves to

him at no distant time. Then Belisarius also with the whole Roman army

crossed the River Euphrates and immediately sent to Chosroes. And when

the messengers came into his presence, they commended him highly for his

withdrawal and promised that envoys would come to him promptly from the

emperor, who would arrange with him that the terms which had previously

been agreed upon concerning the peace should be put into effect. And

they asked of him that he treat the Romans as his friends in his journey

through their land. This too he agreed to carry out, if they should give

him some one of their notable men as a hostage to make this compact

binding, in order that they might carry out their agreement. So the

envoys returned to Belisarius and reported the words of Chosroes, and he

came to Edessa and chose John, the son of Basilius, the most illustrious

of all the inhabitants of Edessa in birth and in wealth, and straightway

sent him, much against his will, as a hostage to Chosroes. And the

Romans were loud in their praises of Belisarius and he seemed to have

achieved greater glory in their eyes by this affair than when he brought

Gelimer or Vittigis captive to Byzantium. For in reality it was an

achievement of great importance and one deserving great praise, that, at

a time when all the Romans were panic-stricken with fear and were hiding

themselves in their defences, and Chosroes with a mighty army had come

into the midst of the Roman domain, a general with only a few men,

coming in hot haste from Byzantium just at that moment, should have set

his camp over against that of the Persian king, and that Chosroes

unexpectedly, either through fear of fortune or of the valour of the man

or even because deceived by some tricks, should no longer continue his

advance, but should in reality take to flight, though pretending to be

seeking peace.

But in the meantime Chosroes, disregarding the agreement, took the city

of Callinicus which was entirely without defenders. For the Romans,

seeing that the wall of this city was altogether unsound and easy of

capture, were tearing down portions of it in turn and restoring them

with new construction. Now just at that time they had torn down one

section of it and had not yet built in this interval; when, therefore,

they learned that the enemy were close at hand, they carried out the

most precious of their treasures, and the wealthy inhabitants withdrew

to other strongholds, while the rest without soldiers remained where

they were. And it happened that great numbers of farmers had gathered

there. These Chosroes enslaved and razed everything to the ground. A

little later, upon receiving the hostage, John, he retired to his own

country. And the Armenians who had submitted to Chosroes received

pledges from the Romans and came with Bassaces to Byzantium. Such was

the fortune of the Romans in the third invasion of Chosroes. And

Belisarius came to Byzantium at the summons of the emperor, in order to

be sent again to Italy, since the situation there was already full of

difficulties for the Romans.

XXII

[542 A.D.] During these times there was a pestilence, by which the whole

human race came near to being annihilated. Now in the case of all other

scourges sent from Heaven some explanation of a cause might be given by

daring men, such as the many theories propounded by those who are clever

in these matters; for they love to conjure up causes which are

absolutely incomprehensible to man, and to fabricate outlandish theories

of natural philosophy, knowing well that they are saying nothing sound,

but considering it sufficient for them, if they completely deceive by

their argument some of those whom they meet and persuade them to their

view. But for this calamity it is quite impossible either to express in

words or to conceive in thought any explanation, except indeed to refer

it to God. For it did not come in a part of the world nor upon certain

men, nor did it confine itself to any season of the year, so that from

such circumstances it might be possible to find subtle explanations of a

cause, but it embraced the entire world, and blighted the lives of all

men, though differing from one another in the most marked degree,

respecting neither sex nor age. For much as men differ with regard to

places in which they live, or in the law of their daily life, or in

natural bent, or in active pursuits, or in whatever else man differs

from man, in the case of this disease alone the difference availed

naught. And it attacked some in the summer season, others in the winter,

and still others at the other times of the year. Now let each one

express his own judgment concerning the matter, both sophist and

astrologer, but as for me, I shall proceed to tell where this disease

originated and the manner in which it destroyed men.

It started from the Aegyptians who dwell in Pelusium. Then it divided

and moved in one direction towards Alexandria and the rest of Aegypt,

and in the other direction it came to Palestine on the borders of

Aegypt; and from there it spread over the whole world, always moving

forward and travelling at times favourable to it. For it seemed to move

by fixed arrangement, and to tarry for a specified time in each country,

casting its blight slightingly upon none, but spreading in either

direction right out to the ends of the world, as if fearing lest some

corner of the earth might escape it. For it left neither island nor cave

nor mountain ridge which had human inhabitants; and if it had passed by

any land, either not affecting the men there or touching them in

indifferent fashion, still at a later time it came back; then those who

dwelt round about this land, whom formerly it had afflicted most sorely,

it did not touch at all, but it did not remove from the place in

question until it had given up its just and proper tale of dead, so as

to correspond exactly to the number destroyed at the earlier time among

those who dwelt round about. And this disease always took its start from

the coast, and from there went up to the interior. And in the second

year it reached Byzantium in the middle of spring, where it happened

that I was staying at that time. And it came as follows. Apparitions of

supernatural beings in human guise of every description were seen by

many persons, and those who encountered them thought that they were

struck by the man they had met in this or that part of the body, as it

happened, and immediately upon seeing this apparition they were seized

also by the disease. Now at first those who met these creatures tried to

turn them aside by uttering the holiest of names and exorcising them in

other ways as well as each one could, but they accomplished absolutely

nothing, for even in the sanctuaries where the most of them fled for

refuge they were dying constantly. But later on they were unwilling even

to give heed to their friends when they called to them, and they shut

themselves up in their rooms and pretended that they did not hear,

although their doors were being beaten down, fearing, obviously, that he

who was calling was one of those demons. But in the case of some the

pestilence did not come on in this way, but they saw a vision in a dream

and seemed to suffer the very same thing at the hands of the creature

who stood over them, or else to hear a voice foretelling to them that

they were written down in the number of those who were to die. But with

the majority it came about that they were seized by the disease without

becoming aware of what was coming either through a waking vision or a

dream. And they were taken in the following manner. They had a sudden

fever, some when just roused from sleep, others while walking about, and

others while otherwise engaged, without any regard to what they were

doing. And the body shewed no change from its previous colour, nor was

it hot as might be expected when attacked by a fever, nor indeed did any

inflammation set in, but the fever was of such a languid sort from its

commencement and up till evening that neither to the sick themselves nor

to a physician who touched them would it afford any suspicion of danger.

It was natural, therefore, that not one of those who had contracted the

disease expected to die from it. But on the same day in some cases, in

others on the following day, and in the rest not many days later, a

bubonic swelling developed; and this took place not only in the

particular part of the body which is called "boubon,"[16] that is, below

the abdomen, but also inside the armpit, and in some cases also beside

the ears, and at different points on the thighs.

Up to this point, then, everything went in about the same way with all

who had taken the disease. But from then on very marked differences

developed; and I am unable to say whether the cause of this diversity of

symptoms was to be found in the difference in bodies, or in the fact

that it followed the wish of Him who brought the disease into the world.

For there ensued with some a deep coma, with others a violent delirium,

and in either case they suffered the characteristic symptoms of the

disease. For those who were under the spell of the coma forgot all those

who were familiar to them and seemed to be sleeping constantly. And if

anyone cared for them, they would eat without waking, but some also were

neglected, and these would die directly through lack of sustenance. But

those who were seized with delirium suffered from insomnia and were

victims of a distorted imagination; for they suspected that men were

coming upon them to destroy them, and they would become excited and rush

off in flight, crying out at the top of their voices. And those who were

attending them were in a state of constant exhaustion and had a most

difficult time of it throughout. For this reason everybody pitied them

no less than the sufferers, not because they were threatened by the

pestilence in going near it (for neither physicians nor other persons

were found to contract this malady through contact with the sick or with

the dead, for many who were constantly engaged either in burying or in

attending those in no way connected with them held out in the

performance of this service beyond all expectation, while with many

others the disease came on without warning and they died straightway);

but they pitied them because of the great hardships which they were

undergoing. For when the patients fell from their beds and lay rolling

upon the floor, they, kept patting them back in place, and when they

were struggling to rush headlong out of their houses, they would force

them back by shoving and pulling against them. And when water chanced to

be near, they wished to fall into it, not so much because of a desire

for drink (for the most of them rushed into the sea), but the cause was

to be found chiefly in the diseased state of their minds. They had also

great difficulty in the matter of eating, for they could not easily take

food. And many perished through lack of any man to care for them, for

they were either overcome by hunger, or threw themselves down from a

height. And in those cases where neither coma nor delirium came on, the

bubonic swelling became mortified and the sufferer, no longer able to

endure the pain, died. And one would suppose that in all cases the same

thing would have been true, but since they were not at all in their

senses, some were quite unable to feel the pain; for owing to the

troubled condition of their minds they lost all sense of feeling.

Now some of the physicians who were at a loss because the symptoms were

not understood, supposing that the disease centred in the bubonic

swellings, decided to investigate the bodies of the dead. And upon

opening some of the swellings, they found a strange sort of carbuncle

that had grown inside them.

Death came in some cases immediately, in others after many days; and

with some the body broke out with black pustules about as large as a

lentil and these did not survive even one day, but all succumbed

immediately. With many also a vomiting of blood ensued without visible

cause and straightway brought death. Moreover I am able to declare this,

that the most illustrious physicians predicted that many would die, who

unexpectedly escaped entirely from suffering shortly afterwards, and

that they declared that many would be saved, who were destined to be

carried off almost immediately. So it was that in this disease there was

no cause which came within the province of human reasoning; for in all

cases the issue tended to be something unaccountable. For example, while

some were helped by bathing, others were harmed in no less degree. And

of those who received no care many died, but others, contrary to reason,

were saved. And again, methods of treatment shewed different results

with different patients. Indeed the whole matter may be stated thus,

that no device was discovered by man to save himself, so that either by

taking precautions he should not suffer, or that when the malady had

assailed him he should get the better of it; but suffering came without

warning and recovery was due to no external cause.

And in the case of women who were pregnant death could be certainly

foreseen if they were taken with the disease. For some died through

miscarriage, but others perished immediately at the time of birth with

the infants they bore. However, they say that three women in confinement

survived though their children perished, and that one woman died at the

very time of child-birth but that the child was born and survived.

Now in those cases where the swelling rose to an unusual size and a

discharge of pus had set in, it came about that they escaped from the

disease and survived, for clearly the acute condition of the carbuncle

had found relief in this direction, and this proved to be in general an

indication of returning health; but in cases where the swelling

preserved its former appearance there ensued those troubles which I have

just mentioned. And with some of them it came about that the thigh was

withered, in which case, though the swelling was there, it did not

develop the least suppuration. With others who survived the tongue did

not remain unaffected, and they lived on either lisping or speaking

incoherently and with difficulty.

XXIII

Now the disease in Byzantium ran a course of four months, and its

greatest virulence lasted about three. And at first the deaths were a

little more than the normal, then the mortality rose still higher, and

afterwards the tale of dead reached five thousand each day, and again it

even came to ten thousand and still more than that. Now in the beginning

each man attended to the burial of the dead of his own house, and these

they threw even into the tombs of others, either escaping detection or

using violence; but afterwards confusion and disorder everywhere became

complete. For slaves remained destitute of masters, and men who in

former times were very prosperous were deprived of the service of their

domestics who were either sick or dead, and many houses became

completely destitute of human inhabitants. For this reason it came about

that some of the notable men of the city because of the universal

destitution remained unburied for many days.

And it fell to the lot of the emperor, as was natural, to make provision

for the trouble. He therefore detailed soldiers from the palace and

distributed money, commanding Theodorus to take charge of this work;

this man held the position of announcer of imperial messages, always

announcing to the emperor the petitions of his clients, and declaring to

them in turn whatever his wish was. In the Latin tongue the Romans

designate this office by the term "referendarius." So those who had not

as yet fallen into complete destitution in their domestic affairs

attended individually to the burial of those connected with them. But

Theodorus, by giving out the emperor's money and by making further

expenditures from his own purse, kept burying the bodies which were not

cared for. And when it came about that all the tombs which had existed

previously were filled with the dead, then they dug up all the places

about the city one after the other, laid the dead there, each one as he

could, and departed; but later on those who were making these trenches,

no longer able to keep up with the number of the dying, mounted the

towers of the fortifications in Sycae[17], and tearing off the roofs

threw the bodies in there in complete disorder; and they piled them up

just as each one happened to fall, and filled practically all the towers

with corpses, and then covered them again with their roofs. As a result

of this an evil stench pervaded the city and distressed the inhabitants

still more, and especially whenever the wind blew fresh from that

quarter.

At that time all the customary rites of burial were overlooked. For the

dead were not carried out escorted by a procession in the customary

manner, nor were the usual chants sung over them, but it was sufficient

if one carried on his shoulders the body of one of the dead to the parts

of the city which bordered on the sea and flung him down; and there the

corpses would be thrown upon skiffs in a heap, to be conveyed wherever

it might chance. At that time, too, those of the population who had

formerly been members of the factions laid aside their mutual enmity and

in common they attended to the burial rites of the dead, and they

carried with their own hands the bodies of those who were no connections

of theirs and buried them. Nay, more, those who in times past used to

take delight in devoting themselves to pursuits both shameful and base,

shook off the unrighteousness of their daily lives and practised the

duties of religion with diligence, not so much because they had learned

wisdom at last nor because they had become all of a sudden lovers of

virtue, as it were--for when qualities have become fixed in men by

nature or by the training of a long period of time, it is impossible for

them to lay them aside thus lightly, except, indeed, some divine

influence for good has breathed upon them--but then all, so to speak,

being thoroughly terrified by the things which were happening, and

supposing that they would die immediately, did, as was natural, learn

respectability for a season by sheer necessity. Therefore as soon as

they were rid of the disease and were saved, and already supposed that

they were in security, since the curse had moved on to other peoples,

then they turned sharply about and reverted once more to their baseness

of heart, and now, more than before, they make a display of the

inconsistency of their conduct, altogether surpassing themselves in

villainy and in lawlessness of every sort. For one could insist

emphatically without falsehood that this disease, whether by chance or

by some providence, chose out with exactitude the worst men and let them

go free. But these things were displayed to the world in later times.

During that time it seemed no easy thing to see any man in the streets

of Byzantium, but all who had the good fortune to be in health were

sitting in their houses, either attending the sick or mourning the dead.

And if one did succeed in meeting a man going out, he was carrying one

of the dead. And work of every description ceased, and all the trades

were abandoned by the artisans, and all other work as well, such as each

had in hand. Indeed in a city which was simply abounding in all good

things starvation almost absolute was running riot. Certainly it seemed

a difficult and very notable thing to have a sufficiency of bread or of

anything else; so that with some of the sick it appeared that the end of

life came about sooner than it should have come by reason of the lack of

the necessities of life. And, to put all in a word, it was not possible

to see a single man in Byzantium clad in the chlamys[18], and especially

when the emperor became ill (for he too had a swelling of the groin),

but in a city which held dominion over the whole Roman empire every man

was wearing clothes befitting private station and remaining quietly at

home. Such was the course of the pestilence in the Roman empire at large

as well as in Byzantium. And it fell also upon the land of the Persians

and visited all the other barbarians besides.

XXIV

[545 A.D.] Now it happened that Chosroes had come from Assyria to a

place toward the north called Adarbiganon, from which he was planning to

make an invasion into the Roman domain through Persarmenia. In that

place is the great sanctuary of fire, which the Persians reverence above

all other gods. There the fire is guarded unquenched by the Magi, and

they perform carefully a great number of sacred rites, and in particular

they consult an oracle on those matters which are of the greatest

importance. This is the fire which the Romans worshipped under the name

of Hestia[19] in ancient times. There someone who had been sent from

Byzantium to Chosroes announced that Constantianus and Sergius would

come before him directly as envoys to arrange the treaty. Now these two

men were both trained speakers and exceedingly clever; Constantianus was

an Illyrian by birth, and Sergius was from the city of Edessa in

Mesopotamia. And Chosroes remained quiet expecting these men. But in the

course of the journey thither Constantianus became ill and much time was

consumed; in the meantime it came about that the pestilence fell upon

the Persians. For this reason Nabedes, who at that time held the office

of general in Persarmenia, sent the priest of the Christians in Dubios

by direction of the king to Valerianus, the general in Armenia, in order

to reproach the envoys for their tardiness and to urge the Romans with

all zeal toward peace. And he came with his brother to Armenia, and,

meeting Valerianus, declared that he himself, as a Christian, was

favourably disposed toward the Romans, and that the king Chosroes always

followed his advice in every matter; so that if the ambassadors would

come with him to the land of Persia, there would be nothing to prevent

them from arranging the peace as they wished. Thus then spoke the

priest; but the brother of the priest met Valerianus secretly and said

that Chosroes was in great straits: for his son had risen against him in

an attempt to set up a tyranny, and he himself together with the whole

Persian army had been taken with the plague; and this was the reason why

he wished just now to settle the agreement with the Romans. When

Valerianus heard this, he straightway dismissed the bishop, promising

that the envoys would come to Chosroes at no distant time, but he

himself reported the words which he had heard to the Emperor Justinian.

This led the emperor immediately to send word to him and to Martinus and

the other commanders to invade the enemy's territory as quickly as

possible. For he knew well that no one of the enemy would stand in their

way. And he commanded them to gather all in one place and so make their

invasion into Persarmenia. When the commanders received these letters,

all of them together with their followers began to gather into the land

of Armenia.

And already Chosroes had abandoned Adarbiganon a little before through

fear of the plague and was off with his whole army into Assyria, where

the pestilence had not as yet become epidemic. Valerianus accordingly

encamped close by Theodosiopolis with the troops under him; and with him

was arrayed Narses, who had with him Armenians and some of the Eruli.

And Martinus, the General of the East, together with Ildiger and

Theoctistus, reached the fortress of Citharizon, and fixing his camp

there, remained on the spot. This fortress is separated from

Theodosiopolis by a journey of four days. There too Peter came not long

afterwards together with Adolius and some other commanders. Now the

troops in this region were commanded by Isaac, the brother of Narses.

And Philemouth and Beros with the Eruli who were under them came into

the territory of Chorzianene, not far from the camp of Martinus. And

Justus, the emperor's nephew, and Peranius and John, the son of Nicetas,

together with Domentiolus and John, who was called the Glutton, made

camp near the place called Phison, which is close by the boundaries of

Martyropolis. Thus then were encamped the Roman commanders with their

troops; and the whole army amounted to thirty thousand men. Now all

these troops were neither gathered into one place, nor indeed was there

any general meeting for conference. But the generals sent to each other

some of their followers and began to make enquiries concerning the

invasion. Suddenly, however, Peter, without communicating with anyone,

and without any careful consideration, invaded the hostile land with his

troops. And when on the following day this was found out by Philemouth

and Beros, the leaders of the Eruli, they straightway followed. And when

this in turn came to the knowledge of Martinus and Valerianus and their

men, they quickly joined in the invasion. And all of them a little later

united with each other in the enemy's territory, with the exception of

Justus and his men, who, as I have said, had encamped far away from the

rest of the army, and learned later of their invasion; then, indeed,

they also invaded the territory of the enemy as quickly as possible at

the point where they were, but failed altogether to unite with the other

commanders. As for the others, they proceeded in a body straight for

Doubios, neither plundering nor damaging in any other way the land of

the Persians.

XXV

Now Doubios is a land excellent in every respect, and especially blessed

with a healthy climate and abundance of good water; and from

Theodosiopolis it is removed a journey of eight days. In that region

there are plains suitable for riding, and many very populous villages

are situated in very close proximity to one another, and numerous

merchants conduct their business in them. For from India and the

neighbouring regions of Iberia and from practically all the nations of

Persia and some of those under Roman sway they bring in merchandise and

carry on their dealings with each other there. And the priest of the

Christians is called "Catholicos" in the Greek tongue, because he

presides alone over the whole region. Now at a distance of about one

hundred and twenty stades from Doubios on the right as one travels from

the land of the Romans, there is a mountain difficult of ascent and

moreover precipitous, and a village crowded into very narrow space by

the rough country about, Anglon by name. Thither Nabedes withdrew with

his whole army as soon as he learned of the inroad of the enemy, and,

confident in his strength of position, he shut himself in. Now the

village lies at the extremity of the mountain, and there is a strong

fortress bearing the same name as this village on the steep mountain

side. So Nabedes with stones and carts blocked up the entrances into the

village and thus made it still more difficult of access. And in front of

it he dug a sort of trench and stationed the army there, having filled

some old cabins with ambuscades of infantrymen Altogether the Persian

army amounted to four thousand men.

While these things were being done in this way, the Romans reached a

place one day's journey distant from Anglon, and capturing one of the

enemy who was going out as a spy they enquired where in the world

Nabedes was then. And he asserted that the man had retired from Anglon

with the whole Median army. And when Narses heard this, he was

indignant, and he heaped reproaches and abuse upon his fellow-commanders

for their hesitation. And others, too, began to do the very same thing,

casting insults upon one another; and from then on, giving up all

thought of battle and danger, they were eager to plunder the country

thereabout. The troops broke camp, accordingly, and without the guidance

of generals and without observing any definite formation, they moved

forward in complete confusion; for neither had they any countersign

among themselves, as is customary in such perilous situations, nor were

they arranged in their proper divisions. For the soldiers marched

forward, mixed in with the baggage train, as if going to the ready

plunder of great wealth. But when they came near to Anglon, they sent

out spies who returned to them announcing the array of the enemy. And

the generals were thunder-struck by the unexpectedness of it, but they

considered it altogether disgraceful and unmanly to turn back with an

army of such great size, and so they disposed the army in its three

divisions, as well as the circumstances permitted, and advanced straight

toward the enemy. Now Peter held the right wing and Valerianus the left,

while Martinus and his men arrayed themselves in the centre. And when

they came close to their opponents, they halted, preserving their

formation, but not without disorder. The cause for this was to be found

in the difficulty of the ground, which was very badly broken up, and in

the fact that they were entering battle in a formation arranged on the

spur of the moment. And up to this time the barbarians, who had gathered

themselves into a small space, were remaining quiet, considering the

strength of their antagonists, since the order had been given them by

Nabedes not under any circumstances to begin the fighting, but if the

enemy should assail them, to defend themselves with all their might.

And first Narses with the Eruli and those of the Romans who were under

him, engaged with the enemy, and after a hard hand-to-hand struggle, he

routed the Persians who were before him. And the barbarians in flight

ascended on the run to the fortress, and in so doing they inflicted

terrible injury upon one another in the narrow way. And then Narses

urged his men forward and pressed still harder upon the enemy, and the

rest of the Romans joined in the action. But all of a sudden the men who

were in ambush, as has been said[20], came out from the cabins along the

narrow alleys, and killed some of the Eruli, falling unexpectedly upon

them, and they struck Narses himself a blow on the temple. And his

brother Isaac carried him out from among the fighting men, mortally

wounded. And he died shortly afterwards, having proved himself a brave

man in this engagement. Then, as was to be expected, great confusion

fell upon the Roman army, and Nabedes let out the whole Persian force

upon his opponents. And the Persians, shooting into great masses of the

enemy in the narrow alleys, killed a large number without difficulty,

and particularly of the Eruli who had at the first fallen upon the enemy

with Narses and were fighting for the most part without protection. For

the Eruli have neither helmet nor corselet nor any other protective

armour, except a shield and a thick jacket, which they gird about them

before they enter a struggle. And indeed the Erulian slaves go into

battle without even a shield, and when they prove themselves brave men

in war, then their masters permit them to protect themselves in battle

with shields. Such is the custom of the Eruli.

And the Romans did not withstand the enemy and all of them fled as fast

as they could, never once thinking of resistance and heedless of shame

or of any other worthy motive. But the Persians, suspecting that they

had not turned thus to a shameless flight, but that they were making use

of some ambuscades against them, pursued them as far as the rough ground

extended and then turned back, not daring to fight a decisive battle on

level ground, a few against many. The Romans, however, and especially

all the generals, supposing that the enemy were continuing the pursuit

without pause, kept fleeing still faster, wasting not a moment; and they

were urging on their horses as they ran with whip and voice, and

throwing their corselets and other accoutrements in haste and confusion

to the ground. For they had not the courage to array themselves against

the Persians if they overtook them, but they placed all hope of safety

in their horses' feet, and, in short, the flight became such that

scarcely any one of their horses survived, but when they stopped

running, they straightway fell down and expired. And this proved a

disaster for the Romans so great as to exceed anything that had ever

befallen them previously. For great numbers of them perished and still

more fell into the hands of the enemy. And their weapons and draught

animals which were taken by the enemy amounted to such an imposing

number that Persia seemed as a result of this affair to have become

richer. And Adolius, while passing through a fortified place during this

retreat--it was situated in Persarmenia--was struck on the head by a

stone thrown by one of the inhabitants of the town, and died there. As

for the forces of Justus and Peranius, they invaded the country about

Taraunon, and after gathering some little plunder, immediately returned.

XXVI

[544 A.D.] And in the following year, Chosroes, the son of Cabades, for

the fourth time invaded the land of the Romans, leading his army towards

Mesopotamia. Now this invasion was made by this Chosroes not against

Justinian, the Emperor of the Romans, nor indeed against any other man,

but only against the God whom the Christians reverence. For when in the

first invasion he retired, after failing to capture Edessa[21], both he

and the Magi, since they had been worsted by the God of the Christians,

fell into a great dejection. Wherefore Chosroes, seeking to allay it,

uttered a threat in the palace that he would make slaves of all the

inhabitants of Edessa and bring them to the land of Persia, and would

turn the city into a pasture for sheep. Accordingly when he had

approached the city of Edessa with his whole army, he sent some of the

Huns who were following him against that portion of the fortifications

of the city which is above the hippodrome, with the purpose of doing no

further injury than seizing the flocks which the shepherds had stationed

there along the wall in great numbers: for they were confident in the

strength of the place, since it was exceedingly steep, and supposed that

the enemy would never dare to come so very close to the wall. So the

barbarians were already laying hold of the sheep, and the shepherds were

trying most valiantly to prevent them. And when a great number of

Persians had come to the assistance of the Huns, the barbarians

succeeded in detaching something of a flock from there, but Roman

soldiers and some of the populace made a sally upon the enemy and the

battle became a hand-to-hand struggle; meanwhile the flock of its own

accord returned again to the shepherds. Now one of the Huns who was

fighting before the others was making more trouble for the Romans than

all the rest. And some rustic made a good shot and hit him on the right

knee with a sling, and he immediately fell headlong from his horse to

the ground, which thing heartened the Romans still more. And the battle

which had begun early in the morning ended at midday, and both sides

withdrew from the engagement thinking that they had the advantage. So

the Romans went inside the fortifications, while the barbarians pitched

their tents and made camp in a body about seven stades from the city.

Then Chosroes either saw some vision or else the thought occurred to him

that if, after making two attempts, he should not be able to capture

Edessa, he would thereby cover himself with much disgrace. Accordingly

he decided to sell his withdrawal to the citizens of Edessa for a great

sum of money. On the following day, therefore, Paulus the interpreter

came along by the wall and said that some of the Roman notables should

be sent to Chosroes. And they with all speed chose out four of their

illustrious men and sent them. When these men reached the Median camp,

they were met according to the king's order by Zaberganes, who first

terrified them with many threats and then enquired of them which course

was the more desirable for them, whether that leading to peace, or that

leading to war. And when the envoys agreed that they would choose peace

rather than the dangers of war, Zaberganes replied: "Therefore it is

necessary for you to purchase this for a great sum of money." And the

envoys said that they would give as much as they had provided before,

when he came against them after capturing Antioch. And Zaberganes

dismissed them with laughter, telling them to deliberate most carefully

concerning their safety and then to come again to the Persians. And a

little later Chosroes summoned them, and when they came before him, he

recounted how many Roman towns he had previously enslaved and in what

manner he had accomplished it; then he threatened that the inhabitants

of Edessa would receive more direful treatment at the hands of the

Persians, unless they should give them all the wealth which they had

inside the fortifications; for only on this condition, he said, would

the army depart. When the envoys heard this, they agreed that they would

purchase peace from Chosroes, if only he would not prescribe impossible

conditions for them: but the outcome of a conflict, they said, was

plainly seen by no one at all before the struggle. For there was never a

war whose outcome might be taken for granted by those who waged it.

Thereupon Chosroes in anger commanded the envoys to be gone with all

speed.

On the eighth day of the siege he formed the design of erecting an

artificial hill against the circuit wall of the city; accordingly he cut

down trees in great numbers from the adjacent districts and, without

removing the leaves, laid them together in a square before the wall, at

a point which no missile from the city could reach; then he heaped an

immense amount of earth right upon the trees and above that threw on a

great quantity of stones, not such as are suitable for building, but cut

at random, and only calculated to raise the hill as quickly as possible

to a great height. And he kept laying on long timbers in the midst of

the earth and the stones, and made them serve to bind the structure

together, in order that as it became high it should not be weak. But

Peter, the Roman general (for he happened to be there with Martinus and

Peranius), wishing to check the men who were engaged in this work, sent

some of the Huns who were under his command against them. And they, by

making a sudden attack, killed a great number; and one of the guardsmen,

Argek by name, surpassed all others, for he alone killed twenty-seven.

From that time on, however, the barbarians kept a careful guard, and

there was no further opportunity for anyone to go out against them. But

when the artisans engaged in this work, as they moved forward, came

within range of missiles, then the Romans offered a most vigorous

resistance from the city wall, using both their slings and their bows

against them. Wherefore the barbarians devised the following plan. They

provided screens of goat's hair cloth, of the kind which are called

Cilician, making them of adequate thickness and height, and attached

them to long pieces of wood which they always set before those who were

working on the "agesta"[22] (for thus the Romans used to call in the

Latin tongue the thing which they were making). Behind this neither

ignited arrows nor any other weapon could reach the workmen, but all of

them were thrown back by the screens and stopped there. And then the

Romans, falling into a great fear, sent the envoys to Chosroes in great

trepidation, and with them Stephanus, a physician of marked learning

among those of his time at any rate, who also had once cured Cabades,

the son of Perozes, when ill, and had been made master of great wealth

by him. He, therefore, coming into the presence of Chosroes with the

others, spoke as follows: "It has been agreed by all from of old that

kindness is the mark of a good king. Therefore, most mighty King, while

busying thyself with murders and battles and the enslavement of cities

it will perhaps be possible for thee to win the other names, but thou

wilt never by any means have the reputation of being 'good.' And yet

least of all cities should Edessa suffer any adversity at thy hand. For

there was I born, who, without any foreknowledge of what was coming to

pass, fostered thee from childhood and counselled thy father to appoint

thee his successor in the kingdom, so that to thee I have proved the

chief cause of the kingship of Persia, but to my fatherland of her

present woes. For men, as a general thing, bring down upon their own

heads the most of the misfortunes which are going to befall them. But if

any remembrance of such benefaction comes to thy mind, do us no further

injury, and grant me this requital, by which, O King, thou wilt escape

the reputation of being most cruel." Such were the words of Stephanus.

But Chosroes declared that he would not depart from there until the

Romans should deliver to him Peter and Peranius, seeing that, being his

hereditary slaves, they had dared to array themselves against him. And

if it was not their pleasure to do this, the Romans must choose one of

two alternatives, either to give the Persians five hundred centenaria of

gold, or to receive into the city some of his associates who would

search out all the money, both gold and silver, as much as was there,

and bring it to him, allowing everything else to remain in the

possession of the present owners. Such then were the words which

Chosroes hurled forth, being in hopes of capturing Edessa with no

trouble. And the ambassadors (since all the conditions which he had

announced to them seemed impossible), in despair and great vexation,

proceeded to the city. And when they had come inside the city-wall, they

reported the message from Chosroes, and the whole city was filled with

tumult and lamentation.

Now the artificial hill was rising to a great height and was being

pushed forward with much haste. And the Romans, being at a loss what to

do, again sent off the envoys to Chosroes. And when they had arrived in

the enemy's camp, and said that they had come to make entreaty

concerning the same things, they did not even gain a hearing of any kind

from the Persians, but they were insulted and driven out from there with

a great tumult, and so returned to the city. At first, then, the Romans

tried to over-top the wall opposite the hill by means of another

structure. But since the Persian work was already rising far above even

this, they stopped their building and persuaded Martinus to make the

arrangements for a settlement in whatever way he wished. He then came up

close to the enemy's camp and began to converse with some of the Persian

commanders. But they, completely deceiving Martinus, said that their

king was desirous of peace, but that he was utterly unable to persuade

the Roman Emperor to have done with his strife with Chosroes and to

establish peace with him at last. And they mentioned as evidence of this

the fact that Belisarius, who in power and dignity was far superior to

Martinus, as even he himself would not deny, had recently persuaded the

king of the Persians, when he was in the midst of Roman territory, to

withdraw from there into Persia, promising that envoys from Byzantium

would come to him at no distant time and establish peace securely, but

that he had done none of the things agreed upon, since he had found

himself unable to overcome the determination of the Emperor Justinian.

XXVII

In the meantime the Romans were busying themselves as follows: They made

a tunnel from the city underneath the enemy's embankment, commanding the

diggers not to leave this work until they should get under the middle of

the hill. By this means they were planning to burn the embankment. But

as the tunnel advanced to about the middle of the hill, a sound of

blows, as it were, came to the ears of those Persians who were standing

above. And perceiving what was being done, they too began from above and

dug on both sides of the middle, so that they might catch the Romans who

were doing the damage there. But the Romans found it out and abandoned

this attempt, throwing earth into the place which had been hollowed out,

and then began to work on the lower part of the embankment at the end

which was next to the wall, and by taking out timbers and stones and

earth they made an open space just like a chamber; then they threw in

there dry trunks of trees of the kind which burn most easily, and

saturated them with oil of cedar and added quantities of sulphur and

bitumen. So, then, they were keeping these things in readiness; and

meanwhile the Persian commanders in frequent meetings with Martinus were

carrying on conversations with him in the same strain as the one I have

mentioned, making it appear that they would receive proposals in regard

to peace. But when at last their hill had been completed, and had been

raised to a great elevation, approaching the circuit-wall of the city

and rising far above it in height, then they sent Martinus away,

definitely refusing to arrange the treaty, and they intended from then

on to devote themselves to active warfare.

Accordingly the Romans straightway set fire to the tree-trunks which had

been prepared for this purpose. But when the fire had burned only a

certain portion of the embankment, and had not yet been able to

penetrate through the whole mass, the wood was already entirely

exhausted. But they kept throwing fresh wood into the pit, not

slackening their efforts for a moment. And when the fire was already

active throughout the whole embankment, some smoke appeared at night

rising from every part of the hill, and the Romans, who were not yet

willing to let the Persians know what was being done, resorted to the

following device: They filled small pots with coals and fire and threw

these and also ignited arrows in great numbers to all parts of the

embankment. And the Persians who were keeping guard there, began to go

about in great haste and extinguish these, and they supposed that the

smoke arose from them. But since the trouble increased, the barbarians

rushed up to help in great numbers, and the Romans, shooting them from

the wall, killed many. And Chosroes too came there about sunrise,

followed by the greater part of the army, and, upon mounting the hill,

he first perceived what the trouble was. For he disclosed the fact that

the cause of the smoke was underneath, not in the missiles which the

enemy were hurling, and he ordered the whole army to come to the rescue

with all speed. And the Romans, taking courage, began to insult them,

while the barbarians were at work, some throwing on earth, and others

water, where the smoke appeared, hoping thus to get the better of the

trouble; however, they were absolutely unable to accomplish anything.

For where the earth was thrown on, the smoke, as was natural, was

checked at that place, but not long afterwards it rose from another

place, since the fire compelled it to force its way out wherever it

could. And where the water fell most plentifully it only succeeded in

making the bitumen and the sulphur much more active, and caused them to

exert their full force upon the wood near by; and it constantly drove

the fire forward, since the water could not penetrate inside the

embankment in a quantity at all sufficient to extinguish the flame by

its abundance. And in the late afternoon the smoke became so great in

volume that it was visible to the inhabitants of Carrhae and to some

others who dwelt far beyond them. And since a great number of Persians

and of Romans had gone up on top of the embankment, a fight took place

and a hand-to-hand struggle to drive each other off, and the Romans were

victorious. Then even the flames rose and appeared clearly above the

embankment, and the Persians abandoned this undertaking.

On the sixth day after this, at early dawn, they made an assault

secretly upon a certain part of the circuit-wall with ladders, at the

point which is called the Fort. And since the Romans who were keeping

guard there were sleeping a quiet, peaceful sleep, as the night was

drawing to its close, they silently set the ladders against the wall and

were already ascending. But one of the rustics alone among the Romans

happened to be awake, and he with a shout and a great noise began to

rouse them all. And a hard struggle ensued in which the Persians were

worsted, and they retired to their camp, leaving the ladders where they

were; these the Romans drew up at their leisure. But Chosroes about

midday sent a large part of the army against the so-called Great Gate in

order to storm the wall. And the Romans went out and confronted them,

not only soldiers, but even rustics and some of the populace, and they

conquered the barbarians in battle decisively and turned them to flight.

And while the Persians were still being pursued, Paulus, the

interpreter, came from Chosroes, and going into the midst of the Romans,

he reported that Rhecinarius had come from Byzantium to arrange the

peace; and thus the two armies separated. Now it was already some days

since Rhecinarius had arrived at the camp of the barbarians. But the

Persians had by no means disclosed this fact to the Romans, plainly

awaiting the outcome of the attempts upon the wall which they had

planned, in order that, if they should be able to capture it, they might

seem in no way to be violating the treaty, while if defeated, as

actually happened, they might draw up the treaty at the invitation of

the Romans. And when Rhecinarius had gone inside the gates, the Persians

demanded that those who were to arrange the peace should come to

Chosroes without any delay, but the Romans said that envoys would be

sent three days later; for that just at the moment their general,

Martinus, was unwell.

And Chosroes, suspecting that the reason was not a sound one, prepared

for battle. And at that time he only threw a great mass of bricks upon

the embankment; but two days later he came against the fortifications of

the city with the whole army to storm the wall. And at every gate he

stationed some of the commanders and a part of the army, encircling the

whole wall in this way, and he brought up ladders and war-engines

against it. And in the rear he placed all the Saracens with some of the

Persians, not in order to assault the wall, but in order that, when the

city was captured, they might gather in the fugitives and catch them as

in a drag-net. Such, then, was the purpose of Chosroes in arranging the

army in this way. And the fighting began early in the morning, and at

first the Persians had the advantage. For they were in great numbers and

fighting against a very small force, since the most of the Romans had

not heard what was going on and were utterly unprepared. But as the

conflict advanced the city became full of confusion and tumult, and the

whole population, even women and little children, were going up on to

the wall. Now those who were of military age together with the soldiers

were repelling the enemy most vigorously, and many of the rustics made a

remarkable shew of valorous deeds against the barbarians. Meanwhile the

women and children, and the aged also, were gathering stones for the

fighters and assisting them in other ways. Some also filled numerous

basins with olive-oil, and after heating them over fire a sufficient

time everywhere along the wall, they sprinkled the oil, while boiling

fiercely, upon the enemy who were assailing the wall, using a sort of

whisk for the purpose, and in this way harassed them still more. The

Persians, therefore, soon gave up and began to throw down their arms,

and coming before the king, said that they were no longer able to hold

out in the struggle. But Chosroes, in a passion of anger, drove them all

on with threats and urged them forward against the enemy. And the

soldiers with much shouting and tumult brought up the towers and the

other engines of war to the wall and set the ladders against it, in

order to capture the city with one grand rush. But since the Romans were

hurling great numbers of missiles and exerting all their strength to

drive them off, the barbarians were turned back by force; and as

Chosroes withdrew, the Romans taunted him, inviting him to come and

storm the wall. Only Azarethes at the so-called Soinian Gate was still

fighting with his men, at the place which they call Tripurgia[23]. And

since the Romans at this point were not a match for them, but were

giving way before their assaults, already the outer wall, which they

call an outwork, had been torn down by the barbarians in many places,

and they were pressing most vigorously upon those who were defending

themselves from the great circuit-wall; but at last Peranius with a

large number of soldiers and some of the citizens went out against them

and defeated them in battle and drove them off. And the assault which

had begun early in the morning ended in the late afternoon, and both

sides remained quiet that night, the Persians fearing for their defences

and for themselves, and the Romans gathering stones and taking them to

the parapets and putting everything else in complete readiness, so as to

fight against the enemy on the morrow when they should attack the wall.

Now on the succeeding day not one of the barbarians came against the

fortifications; but on the day after that a portion of the army, urged

on by Chosroes, made an assault upon the so-called Gate of Barlaus; but

the Romans sallied forth and confronted them, and the Persians were

decisively beaten in the engagement, and after a short time retired to

the camp. And then Paulus, the interpreter of the Persians, came along

by the wall and called for Martinus, in order that he might make the

arrangements for the truce. Thus Martinus came to conference with the

commanders of the Persians, and they concluded an agreement, by which

Chosroes received five centenaria from the inhabitants of Edessa, and

left them, in writing, the promise not to inflict any further injury

upon the Romans; then, after setting fire to all his defences, he

returned homeward with his whole army.

XXVIII

At about this time two generals of the Romans died, Justus, the nephew

of the emperor, and Peranius, the Iberian, of whom the former succumbed

to disease, while Peranius fell from his horse in hunting and suffered a

fatal rupture. The emperor therefore appointed others in their places,

dispatching Marcellus, his own nephew who was just arriving at the age

of manhood, and Constantianus, who a little earlier had been sent as an

envoy with Sergius to Chosroes. Then the Emperor Justinian sent

Constantianus and Sergius a second time to Chosroes to arrange the

truce. And they overtook him in Assyria, at the place where there are

two towns, Seleucia and Ctesiphon, built by the Macedonians who after

Alexander, the son of Philip, ruled over the Persians and the other

nations there. These two towns are separated by the Tigris River only,

for they have nothing else between them. There the envoys met Chosroes,

and they demanded that he should give back to the Romans the country of

Lazica, and establish peace with them on a thoroughly secure basis. But

Chosroes said that it was not easy for them to come to terms with each

other, unless they should first declare an armistice, and then should

continue to go back and forth to each other without so much fear and

settle their differences and make a peace which should be on a secure

basis for the future. And it was necessary, he said, that in return for

this continued armistice the Roman Emperor should give him money and

should also send a certain physician, Tribunus by name, in order to

spend some specified time with him. For it happened that this physician

at a former time had rid him of a severe disease, and as a result of

this he was especially beloved and greatly missed by him. When the

Emperor Justinian heard this, he immediately sent both Tribunus and the

money, amounting to twenty centenaria. [545 A.D.] In this way the treaty

was made between the Romans and the Persians for five years, in the

nineteenth year of the reign of the Emperor Justinian.

And a little later Arethas and Alamoundaras, the rulers of the Saracens,

waged a war against each other by themselves, unaided either by the

Romans or the Persians. And Alamoundaras captured one of the sons of

Arethas in a sudden raid while he was pasturing horses, and straightway

sacrificed him to Aphrodite; and from this it was known that Arethas was

not betraying the Romans to the Persians. Later they both came together

in battle with their whole armies, and the forces of Arethas were

overwhelmingly victorious, and turning their enemy to flight, they

killed many of them. And Arethas came within a little of capturing alive

two of the sons of Alamoundaras; however, he did not actually succeed.

Such, then, was the course of events among the Saracens.

But it became clear that Chosroes, the Persian king, had made the truce

with the Romans with treacherous intent, in order that he might find

them remiss on account of the peace and inflict upon them some grave

injury. For in the third year of the truce he devised the following

schemes. There were in Persia two brothers, Phabrizus and Isdigousnas,

both holding most important offices there and at the same time reckoned

to be the basest of all the Persians, and having a great reputation for

their cleverness and evil ways. Accordingly, since Chosroes had formed

the purpose of capturing the city of Daras by a sudden stroke, and to

move all the Colchians out of Lazica and establish in their place

Persian settlers, he selected these two men to assist him in both

undertakings. For it seemed to him that it would be a lucky stroke and a

really important achievement to win for himself the land of Colchis and

to have it in secure possession, reasoning that this would be

advantageous to the Persian empire in many ways. In the first place they

would have Iberia in security forever afterwards, since the Iberians

would not have anyone with whom, if they revolted, they might find

safety; for since the most notable men of these barbarians together with

their king, Gourgenes, had looked towards revolt, as I have stated in

the preceding pages,[24] the Persians from that time on did not permit

them to set up a king over themselves, nor were the Iberians

single-minded subjects of the Persians, but there was much suspicion and

distrust between them. And it was evident that the Iberians were most

thoroughly dissatisfied and that they would attempt a revolution shortly

if they could only seize upon some favourable opportunity. Furthermore,

the Persian empire would be forever free from plunder by the Huns who

lived next to Lazica, and he would send them against the Roman domains

more easily and readily, whenever he should so desire. For he considered

that, as regards the barbarians dwelling in the Caucasus, Lazica was

nothing else than a bulwark against them. But most of all he hoped that

the subjugation of Lazica would afford this advantage to the Persians,

that starting from there they might overrun with no trouble both by land

and by sea the countries along the Euxine Sea, as it is called, and thus

win over the Cappadocians and the Galatians and Bithynians who adjoin

them, and capture Byzantium by a sudden assault with no one opposing

them. For these reasons, then, Chosroes was anxious to gain possession

of Lazica, but in the Lazi he had not the least confidence. For since

the time when the Romans had withdrawn from Lazica, the common people of

the country naturally found the Persian rule burdensome. For the

Persians are beyond all other men singular in their ways, and they are

excessively rigid as regards the routine of daily life. And their laws

are difficult of access for all men, and their requirements quite

unbearable. But in comparison with the Lazi the difference of their

thinking and living shews itself in an altogether exceptional degree,

since the Lazi are Christians of the most thorough-going kind, while all

the Persian views regarding religion are the exact opposite of theirs.

And apart from this, salt is produced nowhere in Lazica, nor indeed does

grain grow there nor the vine nor any other good thing. But from the

Romans along the coast everything is brought in to them by ship, and

even so they do not pay gold to the traders, but hides and slaves and

whatever else happens to be found there in great abundance; and when

they were excluded from this trade, they were, as was to be expected, in

a state of constant vexation. When, therefore, Chosroes perceived this,

he was eager to anticipate with certainty any move on their part to

revolt against him. And upon considering the matter, it seemed to him to

be the most advantageous course to put Goubazes, the king of the Lazi,

out of the way as quickly as possible, and to move the Lazi in a body

out of the country, and then to colonize this land with Persians and

certain other nations.

When Chosroes had matured these plans, he sent Isdigousnas to Byzantium,

ostensibly to act as an envoy, and he picked out five hundred of the

most valorous of the Persians and sent them with him, directing them to

get inside the city of Daras, and to take their lodgings in many

different houses, and at night to set these all on fire, and, while all

the Romans were occupied with this fire, as was natural, to open the

gates immediately, and receive the rest of the Persian army into the

city. For word had been sent previously to the commander of the city of

Nisibis to conceal a large force of soldiers near by and hold them in

readiness. For in this way Chosroes thought that they would destroy all

the Romans with no trouble, and seizing the city of Daras, would hold it

securely. But someone who knew well what was being arranged, a Roman who

had come to the Persians as a deserter a little earlier, told everything

to George, who was staying there at the time; now this was the same man

whom I mentioned in the preceding pages[25] as having persuaded the

Persians who were besieged in the fortress of Sisauranon to surrender

themselves to the Romans. George therefore met this ambassador at the

boundary line between Roman and Persian soil and said that this thing he

was doing was not after the fashion of an embassy, and that never had so

numerous a body of Persians stopped for the night in a city of the

Romans. For he ought, he said, to have left behind all the rest in the

town of Ammodios, and must himself enter the city of Daras with some few

men. Now Isdigousnas was indignant and appeared to take it ill, because

he had been insulted wrongfully, in spite of the fact that he was

dispatched on an embassy to the Roman emperor. But George, paying no

heed to him in his fury, saved the city for the Romans. For he received

Isdigousnas into the city with only twenty men.

So having failed in this attempt, the barbarian came to Byzantium as if

on an embassy, bringing with him his wife and two daughters (for this

was his pretext for the crowd which had been gathered about him); but

when he came before the emperor, he was unable to say anything great or

small about any serious matter, although he wasted no less than ten

months in Roman territory. However, he gave the emperor the gifts from

Chosroes, as is customary, and a letter, in which Chosroes requested the

Emperor Justinian to send word whether he was enjoying the best possible

health. Nevertheless the Emperor Justinian received this Isdigousnas

with more friendliness and treated him with greater honour than any of

the other ambassadors of whom we know. So true was this that, whenever

he entertained him, he caused Braducius, who followed him as

interpreter, to recline with him on the couch, a thing which had never

before happened in all time. For no one ever saw an interpreter become a

table-companion of even one of the more humble officials, not to speak

of a king. But he both received and dismissed this man in a style more

splendid than that which befits an ambassador, although he had

undertaken the embassy for no serious business, as I have said. For if

anyone should count up the money expended and the gifts which

Isdigousnas carried with him when he went away, he will find them

amounting to more than ten centenaria of gold. So the plot against the

city of Daras ended in this way for Chosroes.

XXIX

His first move against Lazica was as follows. He sent into the country a

great amount of lumber suitable for the construction of ships,

explaining to no one what his purpose was in so doing, but ostensibly he

was sending it in order to set up engines of war on the fortifications

of Petra. Next he chose out three hundred able warriors of the Persians,

and sent them there under command of Phabrizus, whom I have lately

mentioned, ordering him to make away with Goubazes as secretly as

possible; as for the rest, he himself would take care. Now when this

lumber had been conveyed to Lazica, it happened that it was struck

suddenly by lightning and reduced to ashes. And Phabrizus, upon arriving

in Lazica with the three hundred, began to contrive so that he might

carry out the orders received by him from Chosroes regarding Goubazes.

Now it happened that one of the men of note among the Colchians,

Pharsanses by name, had quarrelled with Goubazes and in consequence had

become exceedingly hostile to him, and now he did not dare at all to go

into the presence of the king. When this was learned by Phabrizus, he

summoned Pharsanses and in a conference with him disclosed the whole

project, and enquired of the man in what way he ought to go about the

execution of the deed. And it seemed best to them after deliberating

together that Phabrizus should go into the city of Petra, and should

summon Goubazes there, in order to announce to him what the king had

decided concerning the interests of the Lazi. But Pharsanses secretly

revealed to Goubazes what was being prepared. He, accordingly, did not

come to Phabrizus at all, but began openly to plan a revolt. Then

Phabrizus commanded the other Persians to attend as carefully as they

could to the guarding of Petra, and to make everything as secure as

possible against a siege, and he himself with the three hundred returned

homeward without having accomplished his purpose. And Goubazes reported

to the Emperor Justinian the condition in which they were, and begged

him to grant forgiveness for what the Lazi had done in the past, and to

come to their defence with all his strength, since they desired to be

rid of the Median rule. For if left by themselves the Colchians would

not be able to repel the power of the Persians.

[549 A.D.] When the Emperor Justinian heard this, he was overjoyed, and

sent seven thousand men under the leadership of Dagisthaeus and a

thousand Tzani to the assistance of the Lazi. And when this force

reached the land of Colchis, they encamped together with Goubazes and

the Lazi about the fortifications of Petra and commenced a siege. But

since the Persians who were there made a most stalwart defence from the

wall, it came about that much time was spent in the siege; for the

Persians had put away an ample store of victuals in the town. And

Chosroes, being greatly disturbed by these things, dispatched a great

army of horse and foot against the besiegers, putting Mermeroes in

command of them. And when Goubazes learned of this, he considered the

matter together with Dagisthaeus and acted in the manner which I shall

presently set forth.

The river Boas rises close to the territory of the Tzani among the

Armenians who dwell around Pharangium. And at first its course inclines

to the right for a great distance, and its stream is small and can be

forded by anyone with no trouble as far as the place where the territory

of the Iberians lies on the right, and the end of the Caucasus lies

directly opposite. In that place many nations have their homes, and

among them the Alani and Abasgi, who are Christians and friends of the

Romans from of old; also the Zechi, and after them the Huns who bear the

name Sabeiri. But when this river reaches the point which marks the

termination of the Caucasus and of Iberia as well, there other waters

also are added to it and it becomes much larger and from there flows on

bearing the name of Phasis instead of Boas[26]; and it becomes a

navigable stream as far as the so-called Euxine Sea into which it

empties; and on either side of it lies Lazica. Now on the right of the

stream particularly the whole country for a great distance is populated

by the people of Lazica as far as the boundary of Iberia. For all the

villages of the Lazi are here beyond the river, and towns have been

built there from of old, among which are Archaeopolis, a very strong

place, and Sebastopolis, and the fortress of Pitius, and Scanda and

Sarapanis over against the boundary of Iberia. Moreover there are two

cities of the greatest importance in that region, Rhodopolis and

Mocheresis. But on the left of the river, while the country belongs to

Lazica as far as one day's journey for an unencumbered traveller, the

land is without human habitation. Adjoining this land is the home of the

Romans who are called Pontic. Now it was in the territory of Lazica, in

the part which was altogether uninhabited, that the Emperor Justinian

founded the city of Petra in my own time. This was the place where John,

surnamed Tzibus, established the monopoly, as I have told in the

previous narrative[27], and gave cause to the Lazi to revolt. And as one

leaves the city of Petra going southward, the Roman territory commences

immediately, and there are populous towns there, and one which bears the

name of Rhizaeum, also Athens and certain others as far as Trapezus. Now

when the Lazi brought in Chosroes, they crossed the River Boas and came

to Petra keeping the Phasis on the right, because, as they said, they

would thus provide against being compelled to spend much time and

trouble in ferrying the men across the River Phasis, but in reality they

did not wish to display their own homes to the Persians. And yet Lazica

is everywhere difficult to traverse both to the right and to the left of

the River Phasis. For there are on both sides of the river exceedingly

high and jagged mountains, and as a result the passes are narrow and

very long. (The Romans call the roads through such passes "clisurae"

when they put their own word into a Greek form.[28]) But since at that

time Lazica happened to be unguarded, the Persians had reached Petra

very easily with the Lazi who were their guides.

But on this occasion Goubazes, upon learning of the advance of the

Persians, directed Dagisthaeus to send some men to guard with all their

strength the pass which is below the River Phasis, and he bade him not

on any account to abandon the siege until they should be able to capture

Petra and the Persians in it. He himself meanwhile with the whole

Colchian army came to the frontier of Lazica, in order to devote all his

strength to guarding the pass there. Now it happened that long before he

had persuaded the Alani and Sabeiri to form an alliance with him, and

they had agreed for three centenaria not merely to assist the Lazi in

guarding the land from plunder, but also to render Iberia so destitute

of men that not even the Persians would be able to come in from there in

the future. And Goubazes had promised that the emperor would give them

this money. So he reported the agreement to the Emperor Justinian and

besought him to send this money for the barbarians and afford the Lazi

some consolation in their great distress. He also stated that the

treasury owed him his salary for ten years, for though he was assigned a

post among the privy counsellors in the palace, he had received no

payment from it since the time when Chosroes came into the land of

Colchis. And the Emperor Justinian intended to fulfil this request, but

some business came up to occupy his attention and he did not send the

money at the proper time. So Goubazes was thus engaged.

But Dagisthaeus, being a rather young man and by no means competent to

carry on a war against Persia, did not handle the situation properly.

For while he ought to have sent certainly the greater part of the army

to the pass, and perhaps should have assisted in person in this

enterprise, he sent only one hundred men, just as if he were managing a

matter of secondary importance. He himself, moreover, though besieging

Petra with the whole army, accomplished nothing, although the enemy were

few. For while they had been at the beginning not less than fifteen

hundred, they had been shot at by Romans and Lazi in their fighting at

the wall for a long time, and had made a display of valour such as no

others known to us have made, so that many were falling constantly and

they were reduced to an exceedingly small number. So while the Persians,

plunged in despair and at a loss what to do, were remaining quiet, the

Romans made a trench along the wall for a short space, and the

circuit-wall at this point fell immediately. But it happened that inside

this space there was a building which did not stand back at all from the

circuit-wall, and this reached to the whole length of the fallen

portion; thus, taking the place of the wall for the besieged, it

rendered them secure none the less. But this was not sufficient greatly

to disturb the Romans. For knowing well that by doing the same thing

elsewhere they would capture the city with the greatest ease, they

became still more hopeful than before. For this reason Dagisthaeus sent

word to the emperor of what had come to pass, and proposed that prizes

of victory should be in readiness for him, indicating what rewards the

emperor should bestow upon himself and his brother; for he would capture

Petra after no great time. So the Romans and the Tzani made a most

vigorous assault upon the wall, but the Persians unexpectedly withstood

them, although only a very few were left. And since the Romans were

accomplishing nothing by assaulting the wall, they again turned to

digging. And they went so far in this work that the foundations of the

circuit-wall were no longer on solid ground, but stood for the most part

over empty space, and, in the nature of things, would fall almost

immediately. And if Dagisthaeus had been willing immediately to apply

fire to the foundations, I think that the city would have been captured

by them straightway; but, as it was, he was awaiting encouragement from

the emperor, and so, always hesitating and wasting time, he remained

inactive. Such, then, was the course of events in the Roman camp.

XXX

But Mermeroes, after passing the Iberian frontier with the whole Median

army, was moving forward with the River Phasis on his right. For he was

quite unwilling to go through the country of Lazica, lest any obstacle

should confront him there. For he was eager to save the city of Petra

and the Persians in it, even though a portion of the circuit-wall had

fallen down suddenly. For it had been hanging in the air, as I have

said; and volunteers from the Roman army to the number of fifty got

inside the city, and raised the shout proclaiming the Emperor Justinian

triumphant. These men were led by a young man of Armenian birth, John by

name, the son of Thomas whom they used to call by the surname Gouzes.

This Thomas had built many of the strongholds about Lazica at the

direction of the emperor, and he commanded the soldiers there, seeming

to the emperor an intelligent person. Now John, when the Persians joined

battle with his men, was wounded and straightway withdrew to the camp

with his followers, since no one else of the Roman army came to support

him. Meanwhile the Persian Mirranes who commanded the garrison in Petra,

fearing for the city, directed all the Persians to keep guard with the

greatest diligence, and he himself went to Dagisthaeus, and addressed

him with fawning speeches and deceptive words, agreeing readily to

surrender the city not long afterwards. In this way he succeeded in

deceiving him so that the Roman army did not immediately enter the city.

Now when the army of Mermeroes came to the pass, the Roman garrison,

numbering one hundred men, confronted them there and offered a stalwart

resistance, and they held in check their opponents who were attempting

the entrance. But the Persians by no means withdrew, but those who fell

were constantly replaced by others, and they kept advancing, trying with

all their strength to force their way in. Among the Persians more than a

thousand perished, but at last the Romans were worn out with killing,

and, being forced back by the throng, they withdrew, and running up to

the heights of the mountain there were saved. Dagisthaeus, upon learning

this, straightway abandoned the siege without giving any commands to the

army, and proceeded to the River Phasis; and all the Romans followed

him, leaving their possessions behind in the camp. And when the Persians

observed what was being done, they opened their gates and came forth,

and approached the tents of the enemy in order to capture the camp. But

the Tzani, who had not followed after Dagisthaeus, as it happened,

rushed out to defend the camp, and they routed the enemy without

difficulty and killed many. So the Persians fled inside their

fortifications, and the Tzani, after plundering the Roman camp proceeded

straight for Rhizaeum. And from there they came to Athens and betook

themselves to their homes through the territory of the Trapezuntines.

And Mermeroes and the Median army came there on the ninth day after the

withdrawal of Dagisthaeus; and in the city they found left of the

Persian garrison three hundred and fifty men wounded and unfit for

fighting, and only one hundred and fifty men unhurt; for all the rest

had perished. Now the survivors had in no case thrown the bodies of the

fallen outside the fortifications, but though stifled by the evil

stench, they held out in a manner beyond belief, in order that they

might not afford the enemy any encouragement for the prosecution of the

siege, by letting them know that most of their number had perished. And

Mermeroes remarked by way of a taunt that the Roman state was worthy of

tears and lamentation, because they had come to such a state of weakness

that they had been unable by any device to capture one hundred and fifty

Persians without a wall. And he was eager to build up the portions of

the circuit-wall which had fallen down; but since at the moment he had

neither lime nor any of the other necessary materials for the building

ready at hand, he devised the following plan. Filling with sand the

linen bags in which the Persians had carried their provisions into the

land of Colchis, he laid them in the place of the stones, and the bags

thus arranged took the place of the wall. And choosing out three

thousand of his able fighting men, he left them there, depositing with

them victuals for no great length of time, and commanding them to attend

to the building of the fortifications; then he himself with all the rest

of the army turned back and marched away.

But since, if he went from there by the same road, no means of

provisioning his army was available, since he had left everything in

Petra which had been brought in by the army from Iberia, he planned to

go by another route through the mountains, where he learned that the

country was inhabited, in order that by foraging there he might be able

to live off the land. In the course of this journey one of the notables

among the Lazi, Phoubelis by name, laid an ambush for the Persians while

camping for the night, bringing with him Dagisthaeus with two thousand

of the Romans; and these men, making a sudden attack, killed some of the

Persians who were grazing their horses, and after securing the horses as

plunder they shortly withdrew. Thus, then, Mermeroes with the Median

army departed from there.

But Goubazes, upon learning what had befallen the Romans both at Petra

and at the pass, did not even so become frightened, nor did he give up

the guarding of the pass where he was, considering that their hope

centred in that place. For he understood that, even if the Persians had

been able by forcing back the Romans on the left of the River Phasis to

cross over the pass and get into Petra, they could thereby inflict no

injury upon the land of the Lazi, since they were utterly unable to

cross the Phasis, in particular because no ships were at their disposal.

For in depth this river is not inferior to the deepest rivers, and it

spreads out to a great width. Moreover it has such a strong current that

when it empties into the sea, it goes on as a separate stream for a very

great distance, without mingling at all with the sea-water. Indeed,

those who navigate in those parts are able to draw up drinking water in

the midst of the sea. Moreover, the Lazi have erected fortresses all

along the right bank of the river, in order that, even when the enemy

are ferried across in boats, they may not be able to disembark on the

land.

The Emperor Justinian at this time sent to the nation of the Sabeiri the

money which had been agreed upon, and he rewarded Goubazes and the Lazi

with additional sums of money. And it happened that long before this

time he had sent another considerable army also to Lazica, which had not

yet arrived there. The commander of this army was Rhecithancus, from

Thrace, a man of discretion and a capable warrior. Such then was the

course of these events.

Now when Mermeroes got into the mountains, as I have said, he was

anxious to fill Petra with provisions from there. For he did not by any

means think that the victuals which they had brought in with them would

suffice for the garrison there, amounting to three thousand men. But

since the supplies they found along the way barely sufficed for the

provisioning of that army, which numbered no less than thirty thousand,

and since on this account they were able to send nothing at all of

consequence to Petra, upon consideration he found it better for them

that the greater part of the army should depart from the land of

Colchis, and that some few should remain there, who were to convey to

the garrison in Petra the most of the provisions which they might find,

while using the rest to maintain themselves comfortably. He therefore

selected five thousand men and left them there, appointing as commanders

over them Phabrizus and three others. For it seemed to him unnecessary

to leave more men there, since there was no enemy at all. And he himself

with the rest of the army came into Persarmenia and remained quietly in

the country around Doubios.

Now the five thousand, upon coming nearer to the frontier of Lazica,

encamped in a body beside the Phasis River, and from there they went

about in small bands and plundered the neighbouring country. Now when

Goubazes perceived this, he sent word to Dagisthaeus to hasten there to

his assistance: for it would be possible for them to do the enemy some

great harm. And he did as directed, moving forward with the whole Roman

army with the River Phasis on the left, until he came to the place where

the Lazi where encamped on the opposite bank of the river. Now it

happened that the Phasis could be forded at this point, a fact which

neither the Romans nor the Persians suspected in the least because of

their lack of familiarity with these regions; but the Lazi knew it well,

and they made the crossing suddenly and joined the Roman army. And the

Persians chose out a thousand men of repute among them and sent them

forth, that no one might advance against the camp to harm it. And two of

this force, who had gone out ahead of their fellows to reconnoitre, fell

unexpectedly into the hands of the enemy and informed them of the whole

situation. The Romans, therefore, and the Lazi fell suddenly upon the

thousand men, and not one of them succeeded in escaping, but the most of

them were slain, while some also were captured; and through these the

men of Goubazes and Dagisthaeus succeeded in learning the numbers of the

Median army and the length of the journey to them and the condition in

which they then were. They therefore broke camp and marched against them

with their whole army, calculating so that they would fall upon them

well on in the night; their own force amounted to fourteen thousand men.

Now the Persians, having no thought of an enemy in their minds, were

enjoying a long sleep; for they supposed that the river was impassable,

and that the thousand men, with no one to oppose them, were making a

long march somewhere. But the Romans and Lazi at early dawn unexpectedly

fell upon them, and they found some still buried in slumber and others

just roused from sleep and lying defenceless upon their beds. Not one of

them, therefore, thought of resistance, and the majority were caught and

killed, while some also were captured by the enemy, among whom happened

to be one of the commanders; only a few escaped in the darkness and were

saved. And the Romans and Lazi captured the camp and all the standards,

and they also secured many weapons and a great deal of money as plunder,

besides great numbers of horses and mules. And pursuing them for a very

great distance they came well into Iberia. There they happened upon

certain others of the Persians also and slew a great number. Thus the

Persians departed from Lazica; and the Romans and Lazi found there all

the supplies, including great quantities of flour, which the barbarians

had brought in from Iberia, in order to transport them to Petra, and

they burned them all. And they left a large number of Lazi in the pass,

so that it might no longer be possible for the Persians to carry in

supplies to Petra, and they returned with all the plunder and the

captives. [549 A.D.] And the fourth year of the truce between the Romans

and Persians came to an end, being the twenty-third year of the reign of

the Emperor Justinian.

And John the Cappadocian one year before this came to Byzantium at the

summons of the emperor. For at that time the Empress Theodora had

reached the term of her life. However, he was quite unable to recover

any of his former dignities, but he continued to hold the priestly

honour against his will; and yet the vision had often come to the man

that he would arrive at royalty. For the divine power is accustomed to

tempt those whose minds are not solidly grounded by nature, by holding

before their vision, on great and lofty hopes, that which is counted

splendid among men. At any rate the marvel-mongers were always

predicting to this John many such imaginary things, and especially that

he was bound to be clothed in the garment of Augustus. Now there was a

certain priest in Byzantium, Augustus by name, who guarded the treasures

of the temple of Sophia. So when John had been shorn and declared worthy

of the priestly dignity by force, inasmuch as he had no garment becoming

a priest, he had been compelled by those who were in charge of this

business to put on the cloak and the tunic of this Augustus who was near

by, and in this, I suppose, his prophecy reached its fulfilment.

FOOTNOTES:

[1]

That is, the Saracens subject to the Romans and those subject to the

Persians.

[2]

Cf. Book I. xxii. 4.

[3]

The Huns placed a part of their force in the rear of the defenders of

the pass, which lies between the sea and the mountains, sending them

around by the same path, probably, as that used by Xerxes when he

destroyed Leonidas and his three hundred Spartans; see _Herod_. vii.

216-218.

[4]

"Secretary of secrets."

[5]

Cf. Book I. xxii. 4.

[6]

Cf. Book II. i. 13; iii. 47.

[7]

Cf. Book I. xxii. 4.

[8]

Cf. Book II. xxi. 30-32.

[9]

This term was applied to the "Blue Faction" in Byzantium and elsewhere.

[10]

Cf. Book I. xxii. 4.

[11]

Nine MS. lines are missing at this point.

[12]

Cf. Book II. x. 24.

[13]

Cf. Book I. xii. 4 ff.

[14]

Cf. Book I. viii. 21-22.

[15]

Cf. chap. v. 31.

[16]

_I.e._ "groin."

[17]

Modern Galata.

[18]

The official dress.

[19]

Vesta.

[20]

Cf. section 9 above.

[21]

Cf. Book II. xii. 31-34.

[22]

Latin _agger_, "mound."

[23]

"Three Towers."

[24]

Cf. Book I. xii. 5 ff.

[25]