CORPUS FONTI.UMHISTORIAE BYZANTINAE

CONSILIO SOCIETATIS INTERNATIONALIS STT.IDIIS

BYZANTINIS PROVEHENDIS DESTINATAE EDITUM

VOLUMEN II A

SERIES BEROLINENSIS

EDIDERI,JNT

H..G. BECK . A, KAMBYLIS . R. KEYDELL

APUD §TAL]3,R DE GRTIYTER ET SOCIOS

BEROLINI ET NOVI EBORACI MCML)O§T

AGATHIASTHE HI STORIES

TRANSLA]ED §TITH AN INTRODUCTIONAND SHORT EXPLANATORY NOTES BY

JOSEPH D. FRENDO

ÿYl, 8

r'r3r4(

1975

§TALTER DE GRUYTER . BERLIN . NE§T YORK

ClP-Kurztitelaufnabne der Deatscbex Bibliotbek

@

1975 by I(altcr dc Gruyter Ec Co., vormals G. t. Gôsdren's&c. Verlagshandlung ' J. Guttentag, Vetlags'

budrhandlung . Georg Rcimer Karl J. Trübncr . Veit Ec Comp., Bcrlin 30, Genthincr Stra8e 13'

Printcd in GermanY

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nehmigung des verlages ist cs audr nidrt gestattct, diescs Budr oder Tcilc deraus auf photomedranisdlem

lfcge (Photokopic, Mikrokopie' XcroLopie) zu venielfàltigen'Satz und Dru&: Valtcr Piepcr, Vürzburg

Einbmd: Lüderitz & Baucr, Berlin

fuathiasThe histories / transl. with an inttod. and

short explanatory notes by JosephD.Flendo.(C.orpus fontium historiae Byzantinae; Vol.2 A: Ser. Berolinensis)Einheitssadrt.: Historiae (engl.).ISBN 3-11-003357-7

ACKNO§üLEDGEMENTS

The present trânslation olves a very special debt to Professor RudolfIftydell. In the first place, it could hardly have come into being in its present

form but for the prior existence of his critical'edition of the Greek texr onyhicl my o'ü/n labours have been based. But more particularly I should lilceto exptess my gratitude for the patience and kindness he has shown in rea-

dlng *y §/ork through and suggesting many valuable improvements and cor-

ttctions, from whid: both it and I have benefited greatly. I should like also

h take this opportunity of thanking Professor J. P. Fogarty of UniversityCollege, Cork for having kindly consented to read the proofs and for help1lrd encouragement freely and generously given at all times. For such faultsaB remain f must, of course, take full responsibiliry.

Cork, May, 1975 I.D.C.Frendo

5$6679

CONTENTS

IX

3

9

32

68

101

1r5'

163

I

2

t3

4

5

'*

{*;i;i;;

INTRODUCTION

Most of the information we possess concerning the life of Agathiasderives from his own writings. The following is a bare outline of the mainfacts which emerge from a consideration of the explicit and implicit auto-biographical data contained in these writings. I

Agathias was a native of Myrina in Asia Minor. His date of birth cannotbe determined exactly but may be placed somewhere around the year 532A. D. His father, Memnonius, was a "rhetor" , a title whidr may imply, as

has been suggested,2 that he was a provincial lawyer in Myrina. His mother,Pericleia, died in Constantinople when he was only three years of age. Itwas probably in Constantinople too that Agathias'boyhood days were spenr.He received an expensive education, studying rhetoric in Alexandria and lawin Constantinople. Once qualified he practised as a lawyer in the capitalwhere, from all accounts, he had to work hard in order to make a living. Thedate of his death is as uncertain as that of his birth. trr musr have occutredsome time after the death of Chosroes in 579 (the last datable evenr menrio-ned in the Histories) and before the accession of the Emperor Maurice in582 in view of the apparent ignorance of this latrer evenr berayed byAgathias when he refers to the future Emperor simply as "Maurice the sonof Paul" 3. On this red<oning, then, it will be seen thât he was 33 years oldwhen Justinian died n 565 and that he lived through the reign of Justin IIand a part of that of Tiberius I Constantine.'

Agathias' literary activity is marked in its first and youthful phase by theproduction of " a number of short pieces in hexameters entitled u Daphniaca",adorned with certain amoroLrs motifs and replete with similary endrantingtopics". a The Daphniaca have.not come down to us. They were probablycornpleted before their author had reac}ed the age of thirty. s To an inter-me.liate period belongs his work of compiling a collection of epigrams byêontemporary poets, generally known as the Cycle,6 to which Agathias him-self contributed apptoximately one hundred poems. This anthology wâspublished early on in the reign of Justin II, probably in 567.7

I For a detailed and comprehensive reatment the readet must consult Averil CarneronAgathias (Gxford 1970), pages 1-11.

2 By N{rs. Cameron: op. cit. p.4.3 Histories IV,29,8.4 Ptef.ace,l. s cf. lürs. Cameron: Op. cit. p. 9.6 Much of it has been preserved and is to be found in the Greek Anthology.z d. Ivlrs. Cameron: ibid.

Introduælon XI

For the work of fiin mrrtttrlty, tfte Illrtorier, Agatlrlnr wnr cquippccl

neither by noturrrt inclinntion nor by personnl exlrericncc, t llis life lrrrd, itseems, been an uneventful one nrrd the oppressive picttrre of routine dullncss

and unremitting toil conjured up by his portfaygl of the busy working lifcof a lawyer in the capital e is but slightly relieved by the recollection of a few

m.-orrtl. occasions - the experience of mild eafth-tremors during his

student days in Alexandria, 10 a landing at Cos shortly after its destruction

by a tidal wave and the awful scene of devastation that confronted him

there,11 a visit to Tralles. 12 Certainly his friend and fellorv poet Paul the

Silentiary was a man of wealth and influence who moved in court circles, butit seems that the range of Agathias' acquaintance was confined to a narrow

coterie of poets and literati and there is nothing to suggest that he came into

direct coniact with any of the importânt political and military figures of his

day, Moreover the lad< of ofiicial patronage of whi& he complains so bitterlyprôvides a further indication that he always remained something of an out-

iider.,, Agathias must have begun the writing of his Histories some time

after the accession of Justin II. He was still rÿriting in the reigrr of Tiberius

and it clear from IV, 22 ,9 and V ,25 , 5 . that he did not live to finish them.

The five books that he has left us cover a period of seven years (4. D. 552-9)'

Despite their author's obvious failings as a historian la and the stiffness

and afiectation that not infrequently mar his style, ls the Histories ate adetailed and important source and are not altogether devoid of literary merit.

Indeed the impassioned rhetoric of hiS.speedres and the by no means negli-

gible though sàmewhrt uneven quality of his narrative suggest that, had he

lived in "

Jiff.."nt age, Agathias might have aclieved his tme fulfilment as a

historical novelist. In the way he handles a theme, for instance, of pfesents

a series of events he sometimes shows a sense of dramatic fitness and an

ezrgerness to impose a pleasing pattern on the mind of the reader whidr

wàuld belong better to a work of romantic fiction than to a piece of sober

histodcal writing. The story of Chaeremon of Tralles is a case in point.16

Introductlon

s He himself claims üat he turned to the writing of history partly in response to his

friends' encouragement (Preface, lL-|2) and confesses that he found the plo6pect

àa.-tirrg but tàk comfott in the thought that history and poetry had mudr incommon.

e Histories III, I,4.10 Histories II, 15, 5-8.tl Histories II , L6,4-6.12 Histories I1,L7,6.lr cf. preface LS-ZO. An unmistakeable note of personal bittemess is strud< in Histories

v 20,7.1+ For â recent and very full discussion of the subject cf. Mrs. Cameron: op. cit. pp.

30-58.15 Cf. Ibid. pp. 57--{8.16 Histories II, 17, 1-8.

Inscrintional eviclence would sppeer to indicote thnt charemon \r,as a mân

;il;;i.Ë;;irr. *"rr,tr on.t ro.irt disti'ction.t7 In Agathias' version he be'

comes ttû cert0in rustic named chreremon, a tiller of the soil", an alteration

vhich ccrtninly produces Ê morc atffactive story' 18

The present iranslation has the advantage over all previogs ones of being

the Àiri io be based on the Greek text o[ Professor Keydell's edition' 1e It;;; fu* the further merit of being the first complete English translation of

the Histories ever to ^pryat.

Though earlier translations into other langua-

g"rÀ h"u. been carefuliy consulted, this.version was, in the first_instance,

;fur;;à1id"p"nd.ntly'of them and with reference solely to the Greek

original.-In ffanslating an ancient author âccuracy is in the main adrieved by

.o*.io,r, and oËjective means - attention to detail and diligent and dis-

."*-* ,pptication of the apparatus of sdrolarship' But the final form in

;hi.hïË:rmpleted r..deriïg is cast is determined by a more intangible

or*.r" which is largely instinciive and idiosyncratic' I now propose to give

;ïti"f ,..";t "f h""w I have'tried to tad<le the more obvious obstacles to

;;;i;ti,"" that Agathias presents. For mv own styls I 9fi-er no apology'

irfiil i; ;. "uy

ti^t i., -att"r, of vocabulary and _idiom I have..sought to

steef a middle course between the extremes of ardraism and colloquialism

,iJ-,fr* I have not hesitated to allow myself whatever freedom in trans-

lation seemed necessafy in order to meet ihe fundamental requirements of

clarity and intelligibilitY.§7ith regard to proper names,2l wherev-er there was an acceptable form

r" g"glfrh ;iid, wâs nàt simply an unmodified transliteration of the Helleni-

,.JuËÀio" of the word given by Agathias, such an alternative form has been

fr*fy ,a.p,ed particulaîy if ii represented a closer approximation to the

,, "fjRs,Broughton:

some Non-cotonial coloni of Augustus (in-Transactions and

ii*"iùæ "f lhe Ametican Philological Association66,l9)5 Pp'20-22)'

18 Of course one cânnot be absolutely slue thât Broughton's identifications. are cofrect,

nor is there âny wây of knowing how garbled Agathias'original ï/as, but-the treatmeEt

ær-;; to'pro.ria. a good"illustàtion of his .approadr. As regards-the gengral

,ir*çrr.rr of hi, -rt..iri it is interesting to note thât, accotding to DI. R_'C. McCail'

îrrr."Ë*t q""t" or À. ». 551 and the Birth-date of Agathias. G-reek, Roman and

àô,t""-il;dil uolà. no. ) 1967 pages 246-7), aesthetic considerations have led

Agâthias to take certain liberties with his chronology'

rs Alathiae Mvrinaei Historiarum Libri Quinque. Recensuit Rudolfus Keydell' Pub-

titrea bv \0alter De Gmyter & Co. Berlin 1967'

20 From this point onwrrd, all mention of earlier ffanslations must be understood as

i.f*ii"g pii".ipally to ihe Latin vetsion of Vulcanius and the 17th century Ftendr

ti*rf"tlori of ù. C-ousin. Ignorance of Russian has prevented. me from making any

"r"-"i l,f.V.Levcenko's trà'nslation (Moscow-LeningraÀ 19ÿ) and none of my re-

marks must be construed as having any reference to it'21 Othet than Greek, that is.

XII Inçoductlon

original name or made possible some useful distinctionl thus ,,wilgang" ancl

not "Uligangus", "Ahuramazda" fot the god and ,,I{ormizd,, foi thi manrather than "Hormisdates" used indiscriminately for both, et cetera.22

A more complicated issue is raised by Agathias' frequent recourse tocumbersome and unnatural paraphrases in order to avoid using the normaleveryday word and thus sullying the arclaizing purity of hisltyre by theadoption of a barbarous neologism. 23 §(/herever iudr a circumlocution canle-replaced by a single English word without loss of meaning or emphasis,I have done so. Thus I have had no qualms about translatiirg "dome', inv,9,30 rather than employing the absurd paraphrase "the ciicle or hemi-sphere, or what have you, which projects in the middle". on the other hand,even though it is partly love of archaism which leads Agathias to call theinhabitants of Lazica by their ancient name of "colchians", the word doesseem to have emotive overtones and so has generally been retained.

Despite the invaluable help afiorded b], professor Keydell,s Index.Graecitatis the would-be translator of Agathias does still oicasionally runinto the odd unsolved linguistic difiiculty and will turn in vain ro earliertranslations for enlightenment. rn suc.h cases I have done my best, but I donot claim to have always found the right answer. The type of difiiculty Ihave in mind is well illustrated by the following quotationi

"toürouç ôè ünovruç È.x, rdtv flgoxonlor À6yrov ügroro ôv ôr.oyvo[r1;,feÀtuepâ re rôv BqvôlÀov zol Koplqô6v, tfir, n6i,rv xoi r{v [üptnooov1d:pu, tô' "Aqgror, àrô Bovrqorlou re z,oi le(eql1ou zoi tflç êv tôp 16.rÊ&noorrïosur( noÀ}"oîç {lorepor, ypôvotç 'rouorlvLsv6 ôou?,<rl8eToov noi nd,Àrvdiç_'Pcopolrrrv Ënrzgareloç péQoç ^TeyevqpÉvqv" (: Preface, 24,2_5) vhichVulcanius translates as follows:

"Haec omnia e Procopii scriptis optime cognoveris et Gelimer vandalum,carthaginemque urbem atque universam Afrorum regionem Justiniano subiu-gatum, rursumque Romani imperii partem factam, post multos annos quam,Bonifacii Gesericique aetate, inde avulsa fuerat".

Now the words "inde avulsa fuerat" are nowhere to be found in theoriginal and have been produced with the same improbable sleight-of-handwith rvhich one might expecr a coniuror to produce a rabbit from a hat.Everything falls into place, horvever, the moment one realizes that ônô andtloregov go together ancl that 6orepor, * &16 means the same thing as theModern Greek tîoreos &n6 i. e. n aftef .

Finallv, it is hard rvhen translating a work as long as the Histories, ne,erto.be misled through momentrarv inattention into omitting, distorting orsimplv misunderstancling even s,hat is perfectlv obvious an.l straishifor-

ward, la I hnve enclenvoureclinvoluntnry ulips on the portony new ones of my own.

Introductlon XIII

at all timcs, therefore, to correct all sudrof my predecessors and to avoid introducing

22 on the other hand r have retained the well-know name *Mermeroes" in preferenceto the mote cortect but less familiar form ."Mihr-Mihroe".

2r cf. Mrs. Cameron; op. cit. C. VIII "Classicisrn and Affectation" pages 77-BB.

2a e,g. in connection with the phrase "ürèp axo?,onôç trvoç" (IV,23,3) we find thewords "scopulo' in the Latin and 'rocher" in the Frendr translation! Numbers seemespecially liable to mistranslation, which is unfottunate in view of the notorius un-reliability even of some of the actaal figures given by ancient authorities. I have madea special e{ort, therefore, to get my figures right and hope that I have succeeded indoing so.

#,

L62 Agatlrlll Thc l.lhtorler

5 The scattered rernnanr of these l:Iunnic tribes han in foct bccn rcducecl toservitude in the lands of other peoples whose nnmes thcy have assumedl sosevere has been the penalty which they have paid for their earlier misdceeh.But the complete annihilation of these two peoples occurred at a later dore,so that I shall do my best to preserve a sffict drronological order and prcvitlea detailed account of this evenr in its proper place.

6 §7hen the dissension between the cotrigurs and the utigurs wâs stillat its height the news of what had happened reached constantinople and thcwisdom and foresight of the Emperor was clearly and ampiy demonstratcclto all. The barbarians ui"ere destroying one another whilst he withotrrresorting to ârms was, thanks to his brilliant diplomacy, the ultimate victorand was bound to protit wharever rhe outcome of the fighting. And s«r

since they were continually embroiled in internal troubles they no longclhad any idea of attacking the domain of the Romans, indeed they sank intoan almost total obscurity.

ÏNDEX OF PROPER NAMES

The following Index is based on Keydell's Index Nominum. Referenceis to the book, paragraph and section numbers of the Greek text * and.though only approximate at times, is never more t-han a few words out.

Abasgi: I1I,2,7.Abydus: Y,12,4.Adriatic: II,l,5.Aeetes:

1. Mythical king of Colchis III,5, 4.2. Prominent Lazian III,8,7; III, 11;

III,11,7; l\I,1.2.Aegean: II,16.Aemilia: (Emilia) ï,LL,3; I,1"4; I,75,

7; II,3,2.Aeneas:'[., I0,2; II,27,7.Aenus: V,22,Aeolians: Preface L4; I1,L7,9.Aûrica (Libya): Preface 14,25; Y,1),8;

v,14.Agatrhias: Preface, 14.Ahuramazda: II,24,9.Ahriman: I,7, 5; II,24,9-lO.Alamanni: I,4; I,6,2;1,6,3; I,6,4; I,

'6,6; I,7,9; l,Ll,2; IT-,1,7; II,6,7;, II,6,9; II,9,L2.Alamannicus: I,4,3.Alans: III, 15, 9; IY,9.Alexander:

L. Alexander T'he Great: II,25,8; IY,)A

2, Als<ander the son of Mamaea =Severus Alexander: II,26; LY,24.

3. Alexander of Tralles: V,6,5,Alexander Polyhistor: II, 25, 5; lI, 25, 9.Alexandria: Il, 15, 5i II, 16, 4; V, 1r, 8.Aligem: I,8,6; I, 9,2; I,9,4; I,20; l,

20,9;1I,9,t3.Amalasuntha: Preface 30; I,5, 8.Amida: Prcface23.Anahita: II,24,8.Anastasius: Pref.ace 23; IT, 27 ,7 .

TY,26,34; IV,

II,27; II,27,4;

II,29; Y,6.TI,L8,3; IY,21;

* i. e. as reproduced in the present translation.

164 Inden o{ prcpet nêËêr

Aruth: I, 20,8.Arzanene: IV,29,8,Asia: Pteface L4; Prelace26; I,2,2; Il,

LO,2; lI,L7; II,17,9; II,18,5; II,25,4; Y,tl,2; Y,12,4.

Asinius Quadratus: I,6,3.Assyrians: II, 1"8,5; I1,23,9; TI'24,2;

lI, 24, 8; II,25, 4; II, 25, 5.Astyages: II,25,6,Ate: I,7,5.Athanasius: lll,14, 4; III,t4, 5; IV,

7,2; IY,tl.Athenians: II, 10,3; II, 10,5.Athenocles: 1I,24,8.Athyras: V,t4,5.Attica: II, 10,2.Augustus: Tl,t7 ; Il,l7,).Avars: 1,3,4.

Babas: III,18,10.Babylon, Babylonians: 1I,23,70; II,

24,8; 11,25,5.Bacchus: V,23,8.Balmach: III, 17, r.Barazes: IV,13,34.Basileios Stoa: TI,29,2; III, 1,4.Basi-liscus: IY,29,2.Bederiana: Y,2L,2.Beirut: II, 15,2; II, 15, 4.Bel: 1I,24,8.Beleus: II,25,Ç5.Belesys: 1I,25,5.Belisarius: Preface )0; Y,t5,7; Y,16,);

Y,16,7; V, 19; V, 19,2-1;Y,19,6-10;Y,20,1-4; V,20,8,

Beroea: Prcface27.Berossus: II,24,8.Bessas: II, 18,8; II,20,5; III,2,)-7.Bion: ïI,25,5.Bitgors: 1I,11,3.Bladrernae: V, 14,8,Boniface: Preface,24,Bonus: I,19.Bosporus: V, 14,8.Bruttium: II, 1,4.Budrlous: III,15,9.Burgundians: I,3,3-5.Burugundi: Y,17,34.Butilinus: I,6,2; I,7,8; T,Ll,2; I,

L4,5; lI,t,4; Tl,L,7l; 1I,2,2; lï,4; II,5,2; II,8,7; I1,9,11; II,10,8.

Buzes: II, 18,8; III,2,8; III,3,8; III,

4,7i III,6,4*8i III' 7, l0; III, 20,8;IV, T',2.

Cadusia: 11,27 ,2,Caesarea: Ptef.ace 22.

Caesena: I,20,9.Calabria: II,L,5.Callipolis: Y,12,).Cambyses:

l.Cambyses the father of CYrus: II,25,6;LY,29,6'.

2. Cambyses the son of CYrus: II,26,4,

Campania: II, 1,4; II,4; II,4,4.Campsae: II, b; Il, 14, 6.

Cantabri-Cantabria: II, 17, 3; II, 17,7.Cappadocia: IV,24,).Capua: 1I,4,4; II,10,8.Carduchian Hills: IY'29,7.Carthage: Pteface 24..

Casulinus: II,4,4-5; II, 10,8.Catharus: III,7,8.Caucasus: II,L8,4; II,21, 10, III,8,5;

III, 15,9; IV, 1, 8; IY,6,2; IY,9.Ceneta; II,3,3.Centumcellae: I, 11; I, 11,6.Chadus: III,16.Chaerernon: II, 17, 2; lI, 17,7-8,Chaldaeans: TI,8,9; II,25,2.Chanaranges: II,6,4.Chettus: V, 16.Childebert: I,),2; 1,5; II, 14,8-11.Chlodomer: I, ),2; l,),3; ï, ),5;1,3,6.Chlodwig (Clovis): I,3,2.Chlota.t: 1,3,2; 1,5; II, 14,8-11.Chobus: III,3,9.Chorianes: Preface29.Chosroes: Preiace24,27; II, 18,6; II,26;

II,27,9; II,28: II,29,9; lI,3L,4;II, )2; 1I, 32, 2; lI, )2' 5; lïï, L; III'2; IY,6,2; lY,2),3; IY,29,5; IY,29,9; lY, )0, 4; Iÿ, 30,7.

Chytropolia: lI, 20, 5 ; II, 2L, 2; ll, 22.Ciberis: \1,12,2.Cilicia: LY,24,3.Classis: 1,20,5.Conon: LY,29,2,Constantinople: Pteface, 26; ïbid.30; l,

4; II,L4,7; II,15; ll,16'4; III,3;III,14,3; I[,L5,2; III,15,7; III'2),5; IY,l,2i IY,1,8; IV,5,7-8;IV, 9, 10; IY,2l,4; IV, 30, 8; V, 3;

Iadrr d ptopÊr nünêr t6,V,6,6-7t V, 10,2i V, 12, !; V, 14i V,14,6i \,25,6,

Coet II,16,Cotalsr II, 19; II, 22,3i IlI,6,)i llI,7i

III,28,6; IV, 15,4.Cotrigurs: V, 11,2; V, 11,6; Y,72,7;

V, 17; V,24,)i ÿ,25.Cronosr I1,24,8;Ctesias of Cnidos: 1I,25,5.Ctesiphon: I1{,29,L0.Cumae: L,8,2; I, LL, 5; I,20; I,20,6-9.Cutilzis: III, L7 ,5.Cyrus:

1, Cyrus the son of Cambyses: II,25, 6; II, 26, 4; IY, 29, 6.

2.Cytus the son of Florus and latherof Paul the Silentiary: Y,9,7.

Dabragezas: III,6,9; III,7,2; III,2L,6-8; IV, 18; IV, 18,3.

Damascius: II,30, 3.Danube: Preface 26; I,79; \Y,22,7; Y,

11,5; Y,25,2.Daphniaca: Prctace7.Datius:

L. Darius the son of Hystaspes: I,2,2; II,L0,2; II,24,6; II,26,4;IV,29,6.

2. Darius the father of Attâxerxes: II,)a d,- rt t'

J. Darius the son of Arsames: II,25,8,

Datis: II,70,2.Demosttrenes:

'1. Athenian General: II, 10,5.2. Athenian Orator and Statesman:

II,29,2.Dercetades: II,25,4.Dlimnites: III,17,Ç7; IïI,18; III, 18,

5-11; III, 22,5; III,26,24; III,28,6-:7; IY, t3,8.

Diodorus Siculus: II, 18,5; 11,25,5.Dogenes of Phoenicia: II,30,3.Dionysiaca: IV,23,5,Dioscorus of Tralles: Y,6,5.Doconos: II,2L,LO.Don: V,11,2.Dorotheus: Y,21,2.

Edessa: Pref.ace,27.Egypt: II,t5,9; II,15,11; II,25,L0;

IY,23,5,

Bgypthnl II, lE, li V,10,r,Eloee, Gulf of: Preface, 14.Elmlngclr: IlI,2l,6,Elminzur: IV, 15; IV, 15,2.Enyo: I,7,5.Ephtlralites: lY, 27, 4; lY, 28, 3.Epidamnus: I,77,).Eris: I,'1,5.Ethiopians: Prelace2T.Eulamius of Phrygia: II,30,3.Eutope: Prcface1,4; Ibid.26; II, 10,2;

v,11,LEustratius: IIï, 1,5,7.Eutydrianus: Preface 1.1.

Euxine: II,2A,7; III, 19, 9; III,21,,2;Y,L,2; Y,3,2; V, 11,3; V, 14,8.

Fanum: II,2,4; II,3.Faventia: I, 15,8; I,17; I,L7,5.Filimuth: I,7L,3.Florentia (Elorence): I, 11; I, 11,6.Florus: Y,9,7,Franks: I,1,,7; I,2; I,2,3; I,3; I,3,

Ç5; ï,5; I,6,4; I,7; I,7,2; I,7,9;I, lL,2; I, 1,2,2; I,L4, 4-4; I, L5, 6;I,17,4; I,18,5; I,19,2; 1,20; I,20,2; I,20,9-ll; I,21,4; I,22,2;II,l,6; II,3; II,5,3-6i 1T,5,8-9;II,6,3; I1,6,5--7; II,7; II, 9,4 II,9,9-12; 1I,10; II,10,8; II,11,4; II,72,5-7; II,13; II, L4,8; II,14,1l.

Fritigern: Preface3L; I,20.Fulcaris: I, 1L, 3; I,14, 3; ï,74,6; T,L5;

\15,5; I, 15, 10; I,t6,6.

Gaiseric: Ptef.ace, 24.Ganges: II,25,4.Gaul: I,2.Geümer: Ptef.ace,24.Gepids: I,4,2.Gerrnans: T,2; I,5,5; I,6,3,Germanus:

1. Germanus the father of Justin (3):II, 18,8; III,17,4; III,20,9; III,24,7; I1I,25,8; IY,L51' IY,21.

2. Germanus the son of Dorotheus:Y, 2L, 2; Y, 22, 3; Y,23, 3.

Getae: Preface, l.Gibrus: III,20, 10.Golden Horn: V, 14,8.Goths: Preface J0; Ibid. 31; I,l;1, L, Ç7 ;

I,3; I,),3; T.,5; \5,2-4; I,6,4-6;

Indqx'd proper nrmcl

I,7,8; I,8; I,8, 4-6; I,9,5; \10,4t,I, 10,9; I,15,7-9; I,20; I, 20,2-4i l,10,9; I,75,7-9, I,20; I,2A,24;1.,20,1.0; II,2,2; Il,9,13; II,12,2; lï,73; II, L3,2-4; II, 14, 6-7; V, 15, 8.

Gteece: 11,L0,2; Y,Ll,l; V,»,6-7,Greek Language: II,2O,5; IV,2; IV,

30,4,Greek Literature: II,28.Greeks: I,7,4; II,10,4; II,23,10; II,

24,9.Gubazes: II, 18,6; IIl,2,3; III,2,8-11;

III,3; III,3,8-9; III.4; IIT,4,2:IlI,4,5-6; III,9,3; III, 10,8; III,11,8; III,12,6; III,L3,5; III,L4,2-3; IY,1; IV, 1, 4; IY,2,3-5; TY,5,7-9; lY,6,3; IY,8,3-4; IV,8,6; IV,9,5; IY,10,34; IV, 11; IV,21.

Guntarith: Preface,25.Gylippus: II, 10,5.

TI,30,3.

Iberia: II,22,\ III,2,6; \1I,6,2; IJI,12,L3; III,19,5; l[,28, 10; IV,9;TY,12,2; IY,13,5; IY,L5,4; LY,23,2;[Y,30,6.

Iberians: TI,21.,7.Iliger: TII,L7,5,Illus:

rI, 18,5.

I,11,

IV,

TY,2L,5; IY,22.

Kavad: Preface23,24; IV,27,6-7; IY,28; TY, 28, 3-8; lY , 29, 5; IV , 30, 5.

Kerman: [V,26,2.

Kclrnanrhehl IV,26,

:Ihdrx s, tËpÉ! ârm6r

I,77; ï,17,6;

167

Mrxentlur: IV, 13,2; IV, 14; IV, 14, !.Mclrntlar: V, 14,5; V,20,r,Medesr ïI,21,9-L0; 11,24,8i II,25,

5-9.Memnonius: Pteface 14.Mermeroes: Pref.ace29; II, 19; II, 19,5;

II,20; 11,20,3; Iï,,2L,4; II,22; II,22, 6; II, 21, 9 ; III, 2; IIT, 2, 6i IY, L5.

Mesdritha: II,22,5.Mestrianus: III, L4, 5.Metrodorus: V,6,4-5,Miliades: II, 10,3.Misimians: III, 15,8; III, 16; IlI,L6,5;

III,Ll,3; IY,12,2; IV, IJ; IV, LJ,5-6; IY,15,4-7; Iÿ,L6,4-5; IY,L7,4-6; IY,t9,2; IY,20,6.

Mithridates: lI, 25, I0.Moesia: I, 19; V, L1,6.Moors: Pref.ace 25; III, 20, 9.Muchetuisis: II, 19; I1,22,3; III,6, l;

III,6,9; III,7; III 15; IlI,L9,5;III,28,6; II1,28,9; IY,9,7; IV,L3,5.

Nad:oragan: IIl,2i III,6,2; III,15;III, 17, 4; III, 77, 6; III,18, 11; III,19; III,19,8; III,20l' III,20,3-5;IIl,22; III,23,4; I1I,24,24; IIï,24,7; TII,27,8; III,28; III,28,6iIll,28, L0; IV, 12,2; TY,l2,7; IY,23,2t [Y,30,6.

Natsah: IY,25.Natses: Prüace3l; I, 1; I, 4; I,7,8; l,

9,4; I,10; I,10,3; I,10,9; I,ll,6;L,12; I,12,3; I,L2,9; I,L,13; I,L3,4-5; T.,L4; I,75,2; I,L5,1.0; I, 16; I,'L6,3; l,L7; L,L7,2; I,L7,2; T,L7,6-7; T,18; I, 18, 34; I,18,8; I, 19;

' I,L9,4i 1,20,1; I,20,5; I,20,8; I,2li I,2L,24; ï, 22; 1,,22, 1; I,22,8iII, 1; II, 4,2-3; II,6; I1,6,34i lI,7iII,7,3-:7; II,8; II,9; TI,9,2; \I,9,13; II,LL,3; II,L2,10; II, 11,4; II,14; II,14,2-7.

Neocnos: TII,23,9; III,24; III,28,8,Nepos: LY,29,1.Nesos: II,2l,7-10; Il,22t ll\ llf IIII

17,4; IT1,79; III,lg,7-lt IIl,r0,3-8; IY,73,2; lY,ll,

Nicias: II, 10,r, ,. ,, I j

NiIe: IT,lr,5, ,']I :INinus:

168 ïnrlex rrf proper nanlei

1. Assyrirn King, perh. = l:iblicrrl Ninr-rod cf. Gen.10,11; II,l8,5; II,25,4; II,25,5.

2.Capital of Assyria = Nineveh: II,23,L0.

Ninyas: II,24,2-3.Nisibis: IY,25,6.Nonnus: IY,23,5.

Odenathus: IY,24,4,Odoacer (Odovacar): 1,5,7.Ognaris: IlI,27.Ollaria: II,20,5.Olympius: Y,6,5.Onoguri: 1II,5,6.Onoguris: II,22,3; III,3, 8; III,4; III,

5,6-8; III,6,3; III,7; IY,9,6; IY,11.

Orestes: IY,29,3,

Palladius: T,9,4.Palmyra: [Y,24,4.Panopolis: IV,23,5,Papak: II,27; II,27,2-5.Parma: I,L4,4; I,15,9; I,t7,2;I, 17,7;

I, t8,2.Parthians: TI, 25, 9-L0,Parysatis: II,24,4.Paul:

1.. Paul the Silentiary: Y, g,7 .2. Paul the father of Maurice: IV,

29,9.Pelasgians: II, L7 ; II, L7, 5.Peroz (Firuz) : Pref.ace23; IY,27,34;

IY,29,2.Persia - Persian(s): Preface 24, I,2,2;

I,7,5; 1I,10,3; I1,18; II, L9; Il,21,7; I1,22,); II,23; II,24,5; U,25,8i II,26; II,26,24; II,27,5; II,28; III, 5, 6; III, 7 ; III, 7, 5 ; TII, 8, 2;III,9,L4; III,12; III,1.2,8; III,17, 2; III, L7, 7 -9 ; III, 27, 7 ; III, 22,2; III, 24, 24; lil, 25, 5-7 ; III, 27, 3 ;TII,28. III,28,5; III,28,8-9; IV,6,2; IY,L2,2; IY,1.3,5-7; IY,15;IY,L5,24; IY,2L,4; IY,23; IY,30,2; IY,30,5; IV,30,8; V, 10,5.

Petra: Prcface29; III,2,6.Phanitheus: I,11.,3.Phatsantes; IY,73,3.Phattazes: III, 11, 2; III,14,2.Phasis:

l. A rlvcr ln Luzierr: II, I8,4; II, l9lII,2l, 1.0; 11,22,2; III,21,3; IV,29,2; Y,1,4.

2. A town situated at the mouth of theriver Phasis: III, 19,8; III,22;IIT,22,8,

Philagrius: lII, 1.5,7.Philip: II,25,8.Philomathius: III,20, 9; III,22,3.Phocaeans: I,2,2.Phoenicia: II, 1,5,2; II,30, 3.Picenum: II,2,4.Pisa: I, 11,6.Pisaurum: II,2,5.Plato: Preface 9; II,28,2; II,30,3; IY,

27,7; Y,4,4.

Pontus: III, 19, 3; Y,7,2.Poseidon: II, 15, 10; V,8,5.Prima Iustiniana: Y,27,2.Priscian: II,30,3.Procopius: Preface 22, 32; II, 19; TY, 15;

IY,26,4; IY,28,3; IV,29,5; IV,30,5.

Propontis: Y,L4,5.Pyrrho: II,29,7.Pythicus: Preface, 1,4.

Ide* d prop€r nÂmer 169

.1, ltrurttrhrx, rotr ol' Sotct'lelrurt lII,lJ,7 ,

llurtlcun lII,2,4; Ill,2,9; ltl, !t Ill,),7i LI'1,4; Il[,4,6; ,[tl, 6,6i III,12,6; III, 14,2--1; IV, 1,6; lV,2i IV,6, J; IV,7,); IY,1l; IV, 17,3; IV,21,).

Sobirs: lII,17,5-6; III, 18; III, 18,2-7;III, 18, 8-11; IV, L3,7 -9.

Saghanshah: IY,24, 6; IY,24, 8.

$nmnium: Il, 1,4.Sondes: II,24,8.Sandilch: Y,L2,6; Y,24,2; Y,25.Satdanapalus: II,25, 5.Sasan: II,27,2; 1I,27, 4-5.Scythia: V, 11,6.Scythians: Y,ll,2.Segestani: TY,24,8.Seleucia: IV,29,L0.Semitamis: II, 18,5; II,24,2; II,25,

4-5.Sergius:

1. Setgius the son of Bacdrus: V,21,8.

2. Sergius the Interpreter: IV,10,34.

Sesostris: II, l^8,5.Sestos: Y,12,2.Sextus: II,29,7.Shapur:

. 1. Shapur I: IY,23,3; IY,23,7; TY,23, 8; IY, 24, 2; [Y, 24, 4; lÿ, 24, 5.

2. Shapur II: IY,25,2; IV, 25, 5; IV,26..

3. Shapur III: IY,26.Sibyl: I,10,2.Siderun: IV, 16, 4; LV,16,7.Siderus: II,L7,7.Sicily: Pteface )0; I,7,8; II,1, 4; II,4;

II, 10,5.Sidon: I1,15,4.Simacus: II,24,8.Simplicius: II,30,).Sindual: I,20,8; II,7,6; II,8,6; II,9,

7-8;11,9,L3.Slav: IY,20,4.Smerdis: TI,26,4.Soterichus: III,15,2; IlI,15,6; III,

15,8; III, 16,34; III, 16, 6*8; IV,12,24; IY,15,6-:1; IV, 19,6; IV,20,9.

Spoln: V, 11, li,§pnrtnnr; V, 19,

Stephanun: 1,,17,1-6; I, 18,2.Stephcn (St.): III, r,7.Stotzas; Pteface25.Suanians: IV,9.Suarunas: IY,20,4.Sura: Pref.ace 27.Sycae: V,1r.Syracuse: II, 10,5.Syria: Preface, 24, 27 ; \Y,24, 1,Teïas: Prüacell; \l;1,5; I,8,4-6; l,

20; IT,12,2.

Telephis: II,19; TI,L9,2; I1,20,5-8;TI,2L,7; II,22,2.

Thamanon: IV,29,7.Thebes (in Egypt): V,13,8.Theodahad: Preface3O; I,5,8.Theodebald:

1. Theodebald the son of Theodebert:I,4,7; T,5; T,5,2; I,6; I,6,6; IT,14,8-10.

2. Theodebald the Varne: I,21,2.Theodebert: I,3,6; I,4; I,4,54; I,6,6.Theoderic:

1, Theoderic the Osrogoth: Preface30; I,5,6-7; I,6,4.

2. Theoderic the son of Chlodwig: I,3,2-4.

Theodorias: V,L,4.Theodorus: I1,20,7-8; TI,2l,4; III,

20,9; III, 22,4; III,26,3; IY,l3,2;IV, 14; IV, 18; V, 1,3; Y,2; Y,2,3-5.

Theodosius: Prelace 23; IY, 26, 3.Thermopylae: Y, L9; Y,23, 6.Thersites: TI,29,6.Thescos: Y,L2,2.Thessaly: Prelace26.Thrace: I,4; I,4,4; V, 11,6; Y,14,5;

Y, 23,6; Y, 24, 5; Y, 25, 2.Thracian Chersonese: Y,LL,7; Y,L2; Y,

12,2; Y,12,5; Y,2L; Y,21,4-5; Y,23,5.

Thyanes: III,16.Tiberius Constantine: IV, 29, 8,

Tigris: TII,L7,7.Totila: Preface 3l; I,7; I,4; I,8,4; II,

12,2.Tralles: II, 17; II, L7,8-9; Y,6,1,Trebizond (Trapezus): III, 19,)i V, 1,2,

170 Ittrlcx ol ltto[]§f nntucrl

'l'urks: I,3, 4.Tuscany: I,1,(r; I,8; I,1l; I,tl,1; l,

L7,2.Tyrrhenian: I,8,3; II, 1,3-4; II,4,l;

II, Lo, g.

Tzadtar: IV,16,4.Tzani: II,20,7; III,20,9; III,22,4;

IY, L3, 2; IV, 18; V, "L, 2; Y, 1,7 ; Y, 2,)-5

Tzathes: III, -J"4, 3; III, 15, 2-5.

Uldach: II,2,5;11,3.Ultizurs: Y,L1,2; V, 11,4.Uranius: II,29; II,29,6; II,29,8; Il,

30i II,32.Usigardus: III, 6, 9; III,7,2.Utigurs: Y,ll,2; Y,-1.2,6; Y,23,7; Y,

)À. 4

Vaccarus: I,21,2.Vahram:

1. Vahram I: IV,24,5.2.Vahtamll: IY,24, 6; IV, 24, 8.3. Vahram III: IV,24,6.4. Vahram IV: IY,26; LY,26,2.5. Vahram V: IV,27.

Yahiz: III,28,L0.Valash: IV ,27, 5.Valerian:

1.The Emperor Valerian: IY,23,7.2. Roman General Serving underNarses

in ltaly: I,[L,3; II,8, r.3. Roman General serving under Martin

Lazica: III,20,10; III,21, 5.Vandals: Preface 24-25; Y,15,8.

Vnrncs: I,21,2.Vcnetia: I, 1,6; II, 3,); il,4; 1I,4,9;

II,11.Verina: IV,29,2,Vitalian: I,ll,3; I, 1r,8.Volaterae: I, L1,,6.

rlflilgang: IïT,6,5.§(itigis: Pteface 10.

Xenophon: II,2L,7.Xerxes: II,l0,4; IY,29,6; Y,19.

Yazdgard (Yezdegerd):l.Yazdgatdl: Prclace 23; IV, 26,

,-8.2.Y azdgardll: IY; 27, 2.

Zabergat: Y,LL, 6; Y,12, 4-6; Y, 20,2;Y,23,5-7; Y,24,2.

Zarnasp: IV,28, 2; IV, 28,7.Zamolxis: Preface J,Zandalas: T,19,5; II,8,2.Zotades; II,24,6.Zeno:

L. The Emperor Zeno: I,5,7; IY,29,2; Y,1.5,4.

2. Rhetor and advocate practising inConstantinople; Y ,7 ,2; Y,7 ,5; Y,8,3,

Zeus: II,24,B; Y,8,5.Zidt: IV,30,8-9.Ziper: IV, 18.Zrma: IV,29,8.Zoroaster: II,24,5-6.

PREFACE

Honour and success are indeed the natural concomitants of miritaryvictories and trophies, of the rebuilding and embe[isrr-.", J.iries and ofau great and marvellous exploits as such. But whereas this type o.f achieve-ment brings not inconsideiable prestige and pr"uroi. ;;-riâ; who havepossessed it, it does not usually .ortirirr" to bl associarà *i*, rhem oncetfref Te dead and gone, bur gblivion ioropor", t.rraf ..r"ai"* *a distor_ting the rgality of evenrs: for when oncà thore *irh fi;r;-hroi experiencel"re

gone then gone also and extinguished with them i;;;ü.;*re know_ledge. z Bare recollecrion tqrg àu-q in point of, fact,ro r. un ,oprofitabreand unstable thing, quite ilcapable of ,*riuing ,lr" *i.a.rg" ;i ;*". Nor doI suppose that men wourd have resolved * tii dr;;;i.,?;; counrry orto submit to orher forms oJ hardship knor,ving furl w;rl ,:ràr-"" r*rer howgreat their adrievemenrs, their r*oin, beinfbut

"o--.ir*r-re with theirliforP,*, mus5inevitabiy perish and dissolve îritr, trr"À, l,rJ n"i r"ro. divineprovrdence, it seems, _strengthened our naturar fuairty by introduciù th;benefits of Historv an{ tf top-r.th"r.Ày afforded. 3 rt was nor, r fancy,for the sake of a ir.ath of wilà orives_ oiparsrey that the competitors at rhe' Çlympic and Nemean games entered tË contest, nor is it tfuough meredesire _of

plunder and immedi ate gatn that the valiant contestants of thebæt1e-field-expose themserves qo olen ,oa **il"rt-à;;;;. N" both aremotivated by the desire-for a g1ory which is permanent aÀd unanoyed, suchas cannot possibly be obtained save through th. im,oortutirv .orrr.oua o,rl:..t, Hisrory, nor after rhe manner

"Ï ,r-,"1ir"r-;i;;d"t, and thedelusions of the Getae 1 but in a fashion ,.rly à;rhi;r"ilî;tr., the onryone in whidr the foftunes of mortals "rn

.rrior. f;r;;;* *'-^

4 rt would be far from easy to rerate and .nr..rur" dr the bressings that'Hisrory showers.on human iff1 9"1, ro p_ut- ril ;;;;Ë;;; it is myopinion that she is by no rneans inferior to polia.ul sci.rrc.;-rî;i, if she is

1ïhe Getae were a ,hracian *ibe, trst,mentioned by Herodotus (4.94sq.), whogives a shoft accounr of,their r.r.r i" i.*"il^iiry, irr" girt of wÈÀ'irîrt tt.ynwer really d]9 but simply..go to joln 4 d.ivine beini'cdt.isrl";ü;:ïfrâ, A* frr*the practice, Herodotus telli us, of choosing É- Ë onr. of their no#J "ir""y

r*years to send to salmolxis as.a messengef, uiith'instructior» to ,rkhia ro.-*t ur.r"athev frappen to v/anr. Thev diï.atdr *Ëir *.*1"g.. bt ;;;-,i,,J hrr; ilrr;ï ait andimpaüng him on the points ofltheir javelins. '-

.l ÂHstlllsr: 'l'lre I lirturlee

rroL rrr.:tuully rrrole berrclit'iul, 5 ltrliticuI Scietrcc irrrrcr ltcr orr"lers rttrtl irt-

§uLlctiolls, .hcr liats rrrrtl hct' erlvcuts lilcc n stertr rrrrd trtryieldiltg lllistrc§sruixirrg c<.lrrr1:ulsiorr with pcrsuusiou. llistory, tlxrrrglr slrc ntrtltes evcrythingas attrâctivc as possil:lc, rcndcri.ng hct message morc palttuble by the insertiono[ a variety of edifyir:g anecclotes and presenting in hct accoullt the instances

whcre men have come to enjoy good repute through the wisdom and justice

of their actions and where they have been led astray by some miscalculationor chance, unobtrusively instills virtue into men's hearts. For views pleasinglypresented and voluntarily assumed win wider and deeper acceptance.

6 After a prolonged consideration of the matter, I came to the conclusionthat those who have busied themselves with this brandr of literatute shouldbe accorded the greatest admiration and eulogized as the benefactorc ofsociety, without of course even remotely considering the possibility ofâttempting to compose in the genre myself , 7 I was indeed predisposedfrom boyhood to the heroic metre and delighted in savouring the niceties o{poetic composition, and so have written a numbet of shot pieces in hexame-

ters entitled "Daphniaca", adorned with certain amorous motifs and repletewith similarly enchanting topics. 8 Furthermore I thought it a praise'

worthy and not unpleasing undertaking to make as complete a collection as

possible o{ those recent and contemporary epigrams which were as yet un-known and indiscriminately murrnured on the lips of some, and to writethem down appropriately classified and arranged. This undertaking has infact been accomplished together with the production of several other com'positions written with no suictly practical end in view, but otherwisepotentially amusing and entertaining. 9 Poetry is after all a sacred anddivinely-inspired activity. In it souls adrieve a state of ecstatic inspirationas the philosopher-son of Ariston 2 would say, in whidr those that are trulyseized by the Muse and possessed by this fuenzy give birth to ofispring ofsurpassing loveliness. ro So I decided to immerse myself in the subiect and

nwer willingly to abandon these pleasant pursuits of my youth but to follorvthe famous Delphic injunction 3 and cultivate self-knowledge. But seeing

that in my ov/n lifetime it has come to pass that great wars have broken outunexpectedly in many parts of the wodd, that wholesale migrations of bar-baian peoples have taken place, that bewildering vicissitudes of fortune

2 The refetence is, of course, to Plato. Agathias has a weakness for this type of inanecircumlocution; hence the poet Pindar fot example is referred to as the "lyre ofBoeotia". It should be noted however, that Byzantine taste in sucih matters difieredessentially from our own and that different societies favour dillerent forms of afiec-

tation. The ideas expressed hete are a reminiscence of Plato's Phaedrus 245 a, wherethree forms of heaven-sent madness (the prophetic, the cathartic ând the po€tic) are

enumerated and discussed.3 i. e. uknow thyself" one of the famous exhortations carved on the temple of Apollo

at Dclphi.

Itrefucc J

hgve tx'c,rrrt'«l rrtrtl utrlorcsccuble ancl incrcdiblc cvcnts whiclr in their out-curnc lrrrvc rrpsct ull cnlculations, thât nations have been wiped out, citiesetuluvect, pr4rulrrtions upt'ooted and displaced, so that all mankind has beenitrvolvecl. in thc upheaval; seeing therefore that these and similar things hadtnken y:lrcc I was seized with vague misgivings and felt that it might be*ütogcther reprehcnsible if I, for my part, .were to pass over in silence and[ui[ to rccord such staggering and momentous occurrences, occurrences whidrmight rrell have a positive value for posterity. rr I decided therefore thatit was not out of place for me to try my hand at history in order that mylifc might not be spent entirely on the impractical elaboration of poetic fancyliut might be made to contribute something useful. And moreover many ofmy friends spurred on and encouraged my initial endeavour by urging andexhorting me to action, the most enthusiastic suppoft of all coming from theyounger Eutych,ianus, a leading member of the Imperial Secretariate whoin addition to being an excellent person and possessed o[. a ready witnnd an adequate amount of culture is in every way a credit to the familyof Florus. rz This man, since he really had my interests at heart andwas especially anxious to enhance my rEx.rtation and improve my status,nevef, tired of spurring me on and raising my hopes. He kept teltring me notto regard the undertaking as difiicult or beyond me nor to be dismayed bythe novelty ofthe experience, like a landsman embarking on his first voyage.He maintained moreover that in his view history \À,âs not far removed frompoetry but that both were kindred and related disciplines difiering rudrcallypethaps only in the matter of metre. Accordingly he urged me to proceedwith confidence and devote all my energies to the project, bearing in mindthat I should be equally at home in both fields. 13 As it happened thesepromptings of his found in me a ready and receptive listener and he hadlittle difiiculty in winning me over. And here f am now actuaTly writing a

history, and I hope and pray that I shall be able to produce a work to matchthe earnestness of my endeavour and'to do justice if possible to the magni-tude of my theme.

14 First I must follow the established practice of historical writing anddisclose my origin and identity. My name is Agathias, my birthplace Myrina,my father Memnonius, my profession the practice of the Law of. the Rom,ansand of the calling of an advocate. By Myrina I do not mean the city in Thraceor any other city of that name in Europe or Libya as the case may be, f meantlre city in Asia which is an ancient colony of the Aeolians, situated at themouth of the river Pythicus, whicl flows from Lydia to the farthest straitof the Gulf of.Elaea.n , j I hope to repay her as fully as I can for rearingme by writing a complete account of her splendid adrievements througho'utthe course of her history. For the time being f must beg her to accept witha Previously mistranslated as "the Gulf of Elea",

ô AgntlrlÉr! 'l'lre llisturler

o good gtoce this crltucst o[ nry goocl intcntiorrr, lol I utur[ llow procse(l tod«:al with lnilttefs of gcnelal conccflt ancl ol. tlte uiln(,Ët" itlll)oftrl,itce. r6 Ishall write my history in a totally dilIcrcnt spirit l,rorn tlrut whidr has ani-mated the writings of my contemporarics. Othcls in our day ancl age haveapproacled this task, but for the most part with llagrant disregard for thetruth and no concern {or historical accuracy, being so openly intent onflattering and fawning upon a large number of influential people that evenif they lrl'ere to speak the truth they would not be believed. 17 Yet theauthorities on these mâtters state that the exaggeration of an individual'smerits is the proper business o{ panegyric,, und tho'ugh the writing of historydoes not preclude the possibility of praising those who have done good thehistorian does not, I imagine, see this to be the chief aim and distinguishingmark of his profession. §Thenever the way in which a situation has beenhandled calls for praise or blame the historian must on no account try togloss over or improve upon the facts. r8 Yet these authors who claim tobe writing history and ptofess to be historians on the title page of theirworks, ate shown up on closer inspection to be charlatans. For they eulogizeIiving men during their lifetimes, be they emperors or persons otherwisedistinguished, not just by their presentation o{ the facts (that would be avenial error) but they make it plain to all and sundry that their soleconcern is the besto,ural of excessive and unjustifiable praise: whendeaüng with the dead, however, they either vituperate them as blad<guardsand wred<ers of society, regardless of their true nature, or, whidr isthe lesser of the two evils, show sudr utter contempt for them that they donot even bother to mention their names. 19 By so doing they think thatdrey are putting their immediate interests on a sound footing and theyimagine that by cultivating whoever happens to be in pov/er they are securingtheir own advantage, a mistaken calculation since those who are the objectof their eulogies are not pleased with this sort of tribute and consider thatopen adulation is not capable of ensuring their reputation. zo Let theseauthors write therefore in the manner to which their inclinations have accus-tomed them; f, for my part, must make *re truth my supreme object, whal-ever the consequences.

I shall relate all the memorable adrievements, up to the present time inthe Roman and the greater part of the non-Roman wodd, not only ofpersons who ate still living, but especially of those who have already passed

away, and I shall omit nothing of importance. zr So although I did notstârt to $zrite my history until after the death of Justinian and the accessionof Justin II, I shall refer bad< to the preceding period and give special

5 Agathias is probably thinking of the handbooks on rhetoric current in his day whichclassified in detail the various brandres and subdivisions of literature and oratory,aod pres*ibed minutely the form eaih one of them should take.

Pæfrcc

allcnlirltr to wlrrrtever hnr not yet becn thoroughly clenlt with by anyonc clse.

rr Since rrlrst of thc cvents o[ the rcign of Justinian have been accuratelyrccrurlc,r'l by tlrc llret«rricittt't Procopius of Caesarea I {eel I can dispense withthc necessily o[ covcring the same ground, but I must give as full an account

ar lxrssiblc of subsccl-rcnt cvents. z3 Procopius' introduction is taken up

with thc clcath of Arcadius and the appointment of the Persian king Yez-

deger:cl I as guardian to his son Theodosius, the events of the reigns ofVahram V ancl Peroz, and how Kavad became king, lost his throne and thenregained it, hor.v Amida was captured by him when Anastasius was emperor

of the Romans, and the troubles that Justin I succeeded to in connectionwith this deed. z4 Then one can get aî excellent picture from Procopiusof the Emperot Justinian's wars with Persia fought against Kavad and

Chosroes in Syria, Armenia and the borders of. Lazica, and of Gelimer the

Vandal6 and of how the city of Carthage and the whole of Africa was sub-

iugated by Justinian and became once more a pat of. the Empire many years

after Boniface and Gaiseric and the revolt of that period.' z5 Procopius'narrâtive also gives an account of how, after the destuction of the YandalKingdom and the successes and reverses of the Moors when they took up

orms against the Romans in many parts of Afica, Stotzas and Guntarith,who were on the Roman side, set themselves up as tyrants and were theprime cause of untold disasters and dissensions in Africa, and of how thatcountrÿ had no respite from her ills until both men were destroyed.z6 Procopius also tells of how the civil disorder in Constantinople eruptedin open revolt against the emperor and, reaching aTarming proportions,caused widespread devastation, and of the raids of the Huns, who at thattime crossed the Danube and did appalling damage to the territory of theRomans, ruvaging lllvda and Thessaly and the bulk of Europe, and a partof Asia too after crossing the Hellespont. z7 The tale is told also of the

tragic sad<ings of the city of Sura in Syria, of Beroea and of Syrian Antiochby Chosroes, of the siege of Edessa and of how he was repulsed and retiredfrom there, and a survey is supplied of the battles between the Abyssiniansand the Himyarites 8 and of the reason why those two neighbouring peoples

became such bitter enemies. z8 The Great Plague is discussed too, howat that time it made its first assault on mankind and what a ghastly varietyof forms it took. z9 What is more we must again turn to the same source

if we wish to learn of the exploits of the Roman army against Chorianes and

Mermeroes and the Persian hordes in the cities of Lazica and the stronghotrd

of Petra. ' 3o Then the scene shifts to the §fest and the death of Theodoric

6 Usurped the throne of the Vandal Kingdom of A{rica in A. D.530.7 A.D. 427.Fot details cf. Procopius. History of the §flars III 3, 14 sqqI A people who inhabited the Yemen.9 i. e, Petra inLazica, rot to be confused vrith Arabian Petra.

ÂsrthlErr Thellbttxbl

the_ ostrogoth and the murder of hiu doughter Amaleruntho by Theodahocland all the evenrs whidr occasioned the ôutbrentc of the GotÉic §7or, onclthen the story is told of how süitigis who sr"rcccccled Theodahad as ruier oft},e Goths was, after prolonged tghting, captured by Belisarius and talcen toConstantinople, and of how Sicily, Rome and ltaly casr ofl the yoke offoreign domination and were restored to their ancieni way of life. 3r Thesame soufce mofeovef gives an account of the ltalian e<pedition of theeunuch Narses, who was made commander-in-chief by the Emperor, of hisbrilliantly executed campaigns againsr Totila, and of how after the death ofTotiTa Teias the son of Fritigern succeeded to the leadership of the Gothsand how not long afterwards he too was slain. 3z The-foregoing is arqmpary of events down to the twenty-sixth year of Justinian,s ..ign, ùhidr,I believe, is as far as Procopius' narrative takes us. Ii rvas my inten-tion fromthe start to relate the sequel to those events, and that is what I shall nowproceed to do.

BOOK 1

l. Teias, who succeeded Totila as leader of the Goths, rallied his forces

and made an all-out attack on Narses and the Romans, but he sufiered an

overwhelming defeat in a pitched battle whidr cost him his life; 10 and those

Goths who survived the battle were forced to come to terms with Narses

because they found themselves exposed to constant attacik from the Romans

and crowded together in a confined and waterless str)ot. The terms granted

them meant that they would remain in undisturbed possession of their own

temitory on condition of their continuing thencdorth to be subjects of the

Emperor. This turn of events led everyone to $rppose that the fighting inItaly hud been brought to a successful conclusion: in realiq' it h.ad scarcely

begun. z I am convinced, for my patt, that our generation shall see no

enà to sudr ills, since, human nâtufe being what it is, they are a permanent

and ever increasing phenomenon and, indeed, one whidr is practically as old as

man himself. Hisiory and literature, for example, are full of accounts ofbattler and fishtins. almost to the exclusion of everything else. 3 I do not,

ho*.i"r, subicribà'to the general view that sudr events âre controlled by the

movements of the heavenly bodies and by some blind impersonal fate. If the

influence o{ fate wefe paramount in all things then there would be no place

for free-will, we wotild be obliged to regard all attempts at advice, instruction

and methodical o<position as a complete waste of time and the hopes and

aspirations of the rirto"ot would be extinguished and annihilated. 4 But

I ào not think it right, either, to hold the Divinity responsible for tghtingand bloodshed. No, I could never put forward of accept the view that a

benevolenr being, whidr is the negation of all evil, could delight in whole-

sale slaughter. j It is the souls of men that lapse voluntarily into greed

and violence and fill every land with wars and dissensions, giving rise

thereby to widespread destruction, to the upfooti.ng of whole nations and

to countless other horrors,6 And so it happened on that occasion that aftet the conclusion of the

peace-treaty the Goths went their sepafate §/ays, those. who had previously

iived on the near side of the Po maling their way to Tuscany and Liguria

and to wherever force of habit and inclination led them, while those from

beyond the Po crossed that river and dispersed in the direction of Venice

and the garrisons and towns of that region, where they had previously lived.

1o The Battle of Mons Lactarius (4.D.552),

t1t0 Agathlau 'Ilra I lhtrrler

Ihtt onc'e llrey wcrc bnt'lt itr their own ro'rir,r.y, irrrtenrl of lrrrttirrg t6cirlrcaty obligrrtiorrs jnto 1'rlirctice irrrrl e.rrjoying,rr l,iri, in rir" *".,,i.l 1r,rrr"rri,,,,of thcir prop*ty, a brca_thing-s1rn." f.i,i', tir. l,,rz,r*l* ,ri,.i r,rr,iri-,iirs .f war,they started, after the bricfesi of pauscs, to srir rrp frcsh troubre anrl sosparked ofi another war. 7 HowÀver, féeri,g rrrür"iu.r'rîilî, u ,rrt.t.,for the Romans they turned ro the Frânr.s. ri."v ,lrorgt r irrrrllr by thiscourse they were to secure the alliance of a neig'hbo"#; p-Jôil and the,

resume fig-hting, they would improve their present position and could alsocount on lasting support.2' The Franks have a common frontier with rtary. They may reasonabry

be identited with the peopre who in ancienr times were "â[.d

iè.r.urr,,,since they inhabit the banks of the Rhine and the ,"irrrrai"g-r.riitory, ,rdthough they occupy most-of Gaur, it is a later acquisition since they did notpreviouslv live there; and the same is true of üà.iry ài ùî*iIà',,, **.nwas originally settled by lonians. z Massilia *ur .rtonirJîlg ugo uyPhocaeans who had been driven out of Aria Àf ,il-p;;r,* ; iTi ..ign orPu.rr the son of Hystaspes. once a Greek.i,i ir l,r, ,à* f-".o,,.lu.urriunln character, having abandoned its ancestrar constitution and embraced theways of its conquerors. But even now it does not seem to fall short at all off9 dignitl

- 3 of its ancient inhabitants, for the Frunr., ar. noi rro-rar, u,indeed some barbarian peopres are, bur their system or gou.rnÀ.iiladminis-tration and laws are modelled more or less o" ih. R"*;p;t;;i",ïpu* Lo,,wLicr thev uphold similar standards_with regard ,. ."rrirô--uîiiug. *areligious observance. 4 They are in fact uî Chrir,i*;;;';î;" to thesrictest orthodc,xy. They also have magistrates in their .i,i.; ;J-;;iests andcelebrate the feasts in the-sarne_vray as" we d_o, ;rd;l;;;;.b;fi people,strike me as extrenely werl-bred and civflised *a * pir.riJrr;Ë same asourselves excepr for they uncouth styre of dr.r; ;à-;;;rii*'iu.,*u*".5 r admire them for their other attriËutes and especiall; f;;;.-'rpirit ofjustice and harmony whidr prevairs amongst tnË-. aitrr*gn L -urryoccasions in.the past an_d even during -u oiun lifetime ,fr.i.i.irna"m hasbeen divided berween rhree or *or""*1.r, ,fr.y frrr" i"r* r.T'*t *"a **against one another or seen fit to stain their country', hono,r, bftrr" riuogh;,of their kith and kin. 6 And yet whenever great powers are seen to haver9a$9d â srate of parity-, arroganr and uncoÀpromising attitude, ur" i.re-vitably engendered and the logical outcome is ,iarry,,rr.T"ri ?àiî"rinationand a host of other passions that constitut" u f"itil. br""di;;-;;;"nd forunresr and dissension. N-evertheless notring of the kind o...rir-iriilr.ir caseno matter how manv difterent kingdoms tÀ.y ,r. split up into. z l, th.rare event of some dispute arising between their kings tlr.y arr* théms.lve,

llootr I

u1r oslenribly ltr lrnttle-fornrntion nn<l with thc appalcnt ol'rject of decidingllre issrre l,y folcc of rrrrrrs nnrl Ilren confrclnt one another. But once themnin lxrcly «rf the nrnry on cithr:r sirlc lras come face to face they immediatelylny asirlc ull nnirnosity, retrrrn to murtrral understanding and enjoin theirlenclers to settle their cliflcrenccs by arbitration, or failing that by ptracing

their own lives at stake in single combat. For it is not right, they say, or inkeeping with ancestral precedent for the common good to sufier injury andupheaval on account of some personal feud of theirs. The immediate result isthat they break their ranks and lay down their arms. Peace and quiet are

restored, normal communications resumed and the horrors of urar areforgotten. 8 So law-abiding therefore and public spirited are the subjectclasses and so docile and amenable to reason, when need be, are their masters.It is for this reason that the basis of their power remains secure and their€pvernment stable and that they have not lost any of their territory but haveact:uolly increased it greatly. IX/hen justice and amity are second nâture toa people then their state is guaranteed happiness and stability and renderedimpregnable to enemy attack.

3. So, living this virtuous life, the Franks rule over their own people andtheir neighbouts, the succession passing from father to son.

Now, at the time when the Goths sent the embassy to them the Frankshad tlqee kings. I think it would not be inappropriate at this point if I wereto skef,ch briefly the previous history of the dynasty, starting from a stightlyeadier period and then proceeding to the kings who were on the throne atthe time in question.

z Childebert, Chlotar, Theoderic and Chlodomer were brothers. Afterthe death of their father Chlodwig they divided the kingdom into fourparts according to to\r/ns and peoples, in sudr a\ray,I believe, as to effect anequitable distribution. 3 But not long afterwards Chlodomer mounted anexpedition against the Burgundians (they are a Gothic people, and out-standingly warlike) was struck on the drest in the thick of battle and killed.§7hen he fell the Burgundians realised, as soorl as they caught sight of hislong hair flowing loosely down to his bad<, that they had killed the enemyléader. 4 For it is the practice of the Frankish kings never to have theirhair cut. It is never cut from drildhood onwards and each individual lockhangs right down over the shoulders, since the front ones are parted on theforehead and hang down on either side. ft is not, however, like that of theTurks and Avars, unkempt, dry and dirty and tied up in an unsightly knot.On the contrary they treat it with all kinds of soap and comb it very carefully.Custom has reserved this practice for royalty as a sort of distinctive badgeand prerogative. Subjects have their hair cut all tound, and ate strictlyforbidden to groïr it any longer.

I So the Burgundians then cut ofi Chiodomer's head and by displaying it11 Marseilles.

12 Agrthhr The [Ihtorlçr

to hls troops immediatcly fill«l thcm with tctror nncl clcjection. Therefollowed a,n ignominious collnpse of thcir mornle nncl thcy were reduccd tocowardice and no longer capable of fighting bnck. Pence was concluded onthe terms dictated by the victors and in the way they felt best setved theirown interests. The remnant of the Frankish ârmy tffâs only too glad to returnhome. 6 Soon after Chlodomer had met this end his kingdom was patcelledout among his brothers. since he had no drildren. Not long afterwardsTheuderic was taken ill and he too died, Ieaving to his son Theudebert allhis possessions and his title.

4. On succeeding to his father's throne Theudebert subdued theAlamanni and certain other neighbouring peoples. He was exceedingly daringand wild and inordinately fond of taking unnecessary risks. Accordingly,when the Romans were embroiled in the war with Totila the lcing of theCoths he hit upon the plan, which he earnestly sought to put into efiect, o[raising a large and powerful force of fighting men while Narses and histroops were fully engaged and involved tnïtaly, and then heading for Thrace,suMuing the entire region, and bringing the war to the Impetial city ofByzantium. z He made extensive preparatiorls and so far executed hisplan as to send embassies to the Gepids and Lombards and certain otlerneighbouring peoples with a view to securing their participation in the war.

3 He found it intolerable that the emperor Justinian should announce him-self in his imperial edicts by the titles of Francicus, Alamannicus, Gepidicus,Lombardicus and so forth, as though these peoples had all become hissubjects. He took tt as a personal insult and expected the others to sharehis resentment since it was an afiront to them as well. 4 Personally,I arnof the opinion that even i{ he had laundred this expe<lition he would h,ave

met an inglorious end after engaging with the Roman forces in Thrace orpossibly in Illyria. Indeed the Àele frct of conceiving this design and thenresolving to carry it out and thro,wing all his weight into its execution isoverwhelming proof of his wild and headstrong.natLrre and that he wascapable of equating sheer lunacy with courage. If death had not forest-alled the attempt he might well have begun his marcI. 5 But, as- ithappened, he was confronted when out hunting by a huge bull with gigantichorns, not one of the domesticated kind that draws the plough, but a crea-ture of the woods and the mountains that deals death with its horns to itsadversaries. I believe they are called "bufialoes". They live in great nurnbersin that region, steep overgrown valleys, thid<ly wooded mo'r.rntains and a

wintry terrain providing them with an ideal habitat.6 §7hen'Theudebert saw the anlmal come pounding o'trt of some valley

and drarging towards him he stood his ground, meaning to face it head onwith his spear. But when it got near it was swept along by the momentumof its drarge and crashed headfirst into a tree of not particularly larye

BmtrLIdimenrlonr. The tree war ehaken violently and bowcd right over, and it s{happenccl thrrt o bullcy brunc'lr, whidr was the largest o[ those that had beenbrought down was snapped off with violence and struc] Theudebert on theheacl. The blow wns fatal and beyond remedy; he fell at once flat on hisbad< nncl ofter being camied with difficulty to his home he died on the same

.hy. 7 I{e was succeeded by his son Theudobald, who was vety young andetill under the care of a tutor, but ancestral custom required his succession

notwithstanding.5, At this juncture then, when Teias was dead and the Goths were in a

position where they would be needing foreign help for the future, the kingsof the Franks \r/ere the young lad Theudobald and Childebert and Chlotar,the boy's great uncles, âs they would be called in Roman law. z But theGoths did not think it a good idea to approadr, these tsro since they liveda long way away; instead they sent an open embassy to Theudobald. It wasnot from the whole people, however, but only those living beyond the Po.Not that the others were not delighted at their attempt at subverting theestablished order, but being overawed by the uncertainty of the future, andfearful of the capriciousness o fortune they suspended judgment, and keptawary eye on events, since they were detetmined to be on the winning side.

3 §flhen the embassy from the Goths arrived, then, they came before theking alrd all the high otricials and asked them not to stand by and let thembe opfiressed by the Romans, but to join in the struggle and save a neigh-bouring and friendly people from imminent destruction. 4 And theypointed out that it was in their own best interests too not to allow anyfurther expansion of Roman posrer, but to make every dort to curtail it.

"If", the embassadors declared, "they succeed in eliminating the entireGothic nation, they will soon marcih against you too and fight old wars allover again. 5 They are sure to have some specious justification with whichto cover up their temitorial arnbitions and will in fact appeâr to be pursuing ajust claim against you, citing as. a precedent men like Marius and Camillusand the majority of the Caesars on the grounds that they had fought in thepast against the inhabitants of upper Germany and had occupied all the,territory aooss the Rhine. In this way they will not give the impression ofresorting to violence, b'ut of fighting a just war aimed not at the expropriationof a foteign nation but at the recovery of the possessions of their forefathers.6 They brought a similar charge against us, saying that in the past Theodoricwho was the founder o our lcingdom had no right to take ltaly. In con-sequence of whidr they have robbed us of our property, murdered most ofour nation and mercilessly enslaved the womenfolk and drildren of ourwealthiest citizens. 7 And yet Theodoric did not take ltaly by force, heanner<ed it with the express permission of their o'wTl emperor,Zeno. He didnot in any vray deprive the Romans of it (they had already forfeited it).

w#{tiiir .

l1 A3rthlur îrHheüt.tl7hrt he dld wer to put down the fortlgn uiurpÊt Odorccr, eftct whlch hcomrpied hls entkc kingdom by right of conquett. 8 But evcr clnce theRomans have been in a better position ro usc force their actions have beenanything but just. First of all they assumed an attitude of righteous indigna-tion against ïheodahad ostensibly on account of his treatement of Ama-lasuntha, whidr thgy made into an occasion and preto<t for war. And theystill show no signs of relenting but these same wise and god-fearing men whopride tlemselves on their unique capacity for just government persist in apolicy of indiscriminate violence and plirnder. 9 So, if you wish to avoidyourselves sufiering the same fate and then repenting of your complacencywhen it is too late, you must forestall the enemy at once and not let thepresent opportunity pass you by. You must dispatdr an adequate fightingforce against them and a capable generàl from among yourselves, to bringthe war against the Romans to a successfrrl conclusion, drive them out ofhere with all speed and win back our country. ro If you do this you willbe rendering a signal service to the Gothic people and will be hailed as rheirsaviours and deliverers. You will also be ensuring the safety of your ownpossessions by the elimination of a hostile presence from your borders, notto mention the vast sums of money that you will receive not only in the formof loot e>ftracted ftom the Romans but also as a voluntary payment from us.,,

6. §7hen the ambassadors had delivered this speecJr, Theudobald (who'was an ignoble and unwarlike youth and already seriously ill and, physically,in very bad shape) was, naturally, not inclined to their point of view andsas,'no reâson why he should make trouble for himself in order to extricateforeigners from their difficulties. z Leutharis and Butilinus, however,accepted the alliance on their own initiative even though it held no attractionfor their king. These tv/o men were brorhers, Alamanni by birth, butenjoyed gre4t influence among the Franks, so mud: so that they actuallyruled over tlieir own people under a dispensation made earlier by Theude.bert. 3 The Alamanni, if we are to take the word of Asinius Quadratus,anltaltan who wrote an accufate account of German afrairs, are a mixed andmongrel people, and their name signifies this. + They were formerly re-duced to tribute paying status by Theodoric the king of the Goths, at a ttmewhen he wâs mâster of the whole of.Italy too. \ÿhen he died and the greatwar between Justinian, the Emperor of the Romans, and the Goths brokeout, the Goths, in an attempt to ingratiate themselves with the Frùki,relaxed their hold upon the Alamanni and withdresr from many orher places.

5i Their withdrawal was also motivated by the consideration that they mustconcentfate their forces by abandoning all superfluous and strategically un-important positions in the subject territories, since they felt that they rvouldno longer be fighting to maintain their own ascendancy and prestige butwould be making a desperate last bid for Ïtaly itself and for their own

Booh I l,rurvlvd, And ro, thcy antlclpatod cuch rloks as the futurc might hold by a

calculetod cholcc and madc o virtue of necessity. 6 In this way, rhen,Theodebert aubdued thc Alamanni after they had been abandoned by theGoths. After tho death of Theodebert, as I have described, they fell to hiseon, Theodebald, along with the resr of his subjects.

7, They have their own maditional sray of life too, bur in matrers ofgovef,nment and public administration they follow the Frankish sysrem,rcligious observance being the only exception. They worship cef,rain rrees,the waters of rivers, hills and mounüain valleys, in whose honour tj,ey sacri-tce horses, catde and countless other animals by beheading tüem, andimagine that they are performing aî act of piety thereby. z But conractwith the Franks is having a beneficial efiect and is reforming them in thisfespect too; already it is influencing the more rational among them and it willnot be long, I think, before a saner view wins universal acceptance. 3 Forthe imationality and folly of their belids can hardly fail, I *ünk, to itrikeeven those who practise them, unless they happen to be complete fools, and'as sudr can easily be eradicated. All those who do not attaiû to the truilrmerit pity rather than censure and {ulty deserve to be forgiven. Ir is nor,after al7,of their own accord that they fall into error, bur ir, *.i, searclr formoral goodness they form l wrong judgment, and thereafter cling tenac-

,iously to whatever conclusions they have arrived at. 4 Yet I am not s rrethat words are a sufiicient remedy for the savâgery and depravity of sacri-ficial worship, whether it be paid to groves as is indeed rhe case amongbarbarians, or to tlre socalled gods of antiquity as was the way with thàdtes oJ the Greeks. 5I am of the opinion that there is no being whidrdelights in bloodstained altars and the brutal slaughter of animals. If thereis a being capable of accepting suclr practices then it could not be benefi.centæd benign but would in all probabitity be a malignant, maniacal ffearureIike the vain personifi.cations of the poets sudr as Terror, Fear, Enyo, Ate,and Eris "the irresistible", as they would call her. You can add the one thePersians call Ahriman to the list, if you like, and atl rhe other bloodthirstyand malevolent phantoms that-are-supposed to inhabit the underworld.16 Some readers may consider that I have no business to make such remarksin a book of this kind, that they are uncalled for and imelevanr to my avonuredintent. But for my part it gives me grear pleasure to bring to light all thefacts that come to my knourledge, to praise what is good about them, andfo castigate openly and to expose their bad and unsatisfactory side. Z In-deed, if the writing of history were jusr a simple and uncritical narration ofevents without the redeeming feature of sewing as a guide to life, then itmight, perhaps, be rated scarcely any higher by some (I hope the expressionis not too strong) than a collection of old wives' tales. But every one is

l1lr' Âunllrint:'l'lrr I llxloller

clltille(l t«r hisowuopiniotlsorr thesq Drlllcrs, Ârrrl now I lerrlly nlustr I'eturtrto my llrcvious nafrâtive.

8 \X/lrcn Leutharis and llutilinus ûrst set or,rt to marclr âgainsr the Romansthey were filled with exaltecl expectations and were no longer able to livea normal life. They thought that Narses wotrld not withstand even rheir firstonset, that all Italy would be tleirs for tlre taking and that they wouldoccupy Sicily into the bargain. They said rhey were surprised at the Gorhsbeing so terrified of a puny little man, a eunudr of the bedchamber, used toa soft and sedentary exisrence, and bith nothing masculine about him.9 So, pufied up with such notions anc{ regarding the confrontation withârrogant disdain they raised an army of seventy-five thousand v/arriors fromamong the Alamanni and the Franks and made preparations for war withthe idea of invading Italy immecliately.

8. The Roman general Narses, although he had not received preciseintelligence of these moves, being extremely far-sighted and always anxiousto forestall the attacl<s of the enemy, resolved to take by storm such townsin Tuscany as uTere still held by the Goths. z He did nor ler victory go tohis head or indulge in vulgar bragging, whidr is how a difierenr person wouldhave reacted, nor did he give himself over, once his labours .w.ere accomp-lished, to a life of luxury and ease; on the contrary he immediately movedhis forces with all possible speed and advanced on Cumae. Cumae is a veryheavily fortified town in lta7y, and it is no easy matter for an enemy rocapture it. 3 Situated on a steep hill which is difiicult to climb, ir corrr-mands a view of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The hill rises up over the shore, sothat the u/aves surge and dash against its base while its top is encompassedwith a ring o{ massive tovrers and battlements. 4 The {orrner Gothic kingsTotila and Teïas had all their valuables and treasures guariled in this srrong-hold, since they considered it to be secure. 5 As soon as Narses got therehe decided it was imperative to capture the place as quicJdy as possible andgain possession of its treasures, in order to deprive the Goths of a safe basefor future operations and srtract the maximum advantage from his victory.6 Aligern, the youngest brother of Teïas the late king of the Goths, wasinside the fortifications and had gathered about him as large an army aspossible. His intentions were far from peaceful. Presumably he had abeadyreceived ân accurate feport of the death in battle of Teias and of how thefortunes of the Goths lay in ruins, but even so he did not give up, rlor washe dismayed by the disaster which had occurred. R.lyrng on his position andplentiful store of provisions he retained his confidence, arrogance and capa-city to repel attack.

9. Meanwhile Narses gave the word of command and instantly ted histroops forward. Toiling painfully up the hill they approadred the fort, andimmediately began to hurl their javelins at tlose who could be seen manning

lkxrk I

tlrc llrttlctrtt.trts,'l'lre bows twungcrl us vollcy upou, vollcy of arrpws wastlisclurrgcrl, $tonc$ wcrc hulle.cl high up into the air from slings and all thert1'rpnllrrirrtc siege-cngincs wcfe set in motion. z Aligern and his men, whowere rnassccl. along thc stretc}es of wall between the towers, were not slowto rcply with javelins, arro\rrs, huge stones, logs, axes and anything thatseemcd to serve their ptrrpose. They had their war-engines too, and usedtlrem in an all-out efiort to beat ofi the attad<ers.

3 The ltomans had no difiiculty in recognizing the arrows from Aligern'sbow. They whistled through the air with sudr incredible speed thar, if theylrrrppened to strike against a stone or some other hard object, they smashedit to pieces with the sheer force of their trajectory. 4 When Aligern caughtsight of no less a person than Palladius, (he was a man especially esteemedby Narses, one of the most high-ranking ofiicers on his stafi and a leadingfigure in the Roman army) clad in an iron breastplate and attacl<ing the wallwith great courage he shot down an arrow ar him, which ran right throughthe man's shield, breastplate and body. Such was the extraordinary strengrhhis powerful ârms put into drawing the bow!

5 This sort of inconclusive skirmishing continued for several days. TheRomans thought it shameful to withdraw without first carrying the placeby force and it was clear that the Goths had no intention of surrendering tothe besiegers.

10. Narses was greatly tisffessed and angered at the thought of theRomans having to uraste so much time on an insignificant fortress. Afterpondering and debating the various possibilities he concluded that he oughtto make an attempt on the fortress in the following manner. z In theeastem corner of the hill there is a cavern whidr is thoroughly hollowed outand completely roofed in so as to form a natutal sanctuary of massive andvault-like proportions. They say that in olden times the famous Italian Sibyllived there aîd that possessed by Apollo and inspired she would foretellfuture events to those who consulted her. The story goes also that Aeneasthe son of Anchises once came there and that the Sibyl totrd him all aboutthe future. 3 Now Narses noticed that part of the fort had been built orrtop o{ this cave, a fact he thought he might turn to his own advantage. Sohe sent as many men as possible down into the hollow recesses of the cave,with tools for quarrying and tunnelling. In this way he gradually drippedand cut out d:at section of the roof of the cave on whicl the wall had beenconstructed, removing thereby so much of the ground the building sfood onas actually to lay bare the start of the foundations. 4 He then had uprightwooden beams placed as pfops at regular intervals in order to support theweigtrt of the structure, lest a series of falls should cause it to collapse andthus have the effect of quickly in-forming the Goths of what was going on.In which case they would have come to the rescue as soon as the trouble

18 Agrthlr::'fho I'Ihtorlet

started, put lt right immedirtely, and thcn trkcn tho rtrl€tctt preceutlonr {orthe future. 5 In order to pre\rent them from hearlng the noise of rtonesbeing quarried or indeed from having the slightest inkling of what war ofoor,the Roman army kept up a furious and sustained attaclc against the forti-fications above, sho,uting at the top of their voices and banging their wea-pons. The din was abnormally great and the siege disordered and confused.6 §7hen the entire section of the wall above the cave wâs left suspended inmid-air with only the upright props to rest on, they piled up leaves and dry,tinderlike brushwood, which they pl*ced under it, set them alight and thengot themselves out of the way. 7 It was not long before the flames blazed upand the charred and burnt out props caved in and crumbled into ashes. Thatpart of the wail whidr rested on thenÀ suddenly collapsed for want of supportand came crashing down, while the tow'ers and battlements broke lose all atonce from the rest of the structure and toppled forwards. The gate belongingto that part of the wall had been securely fastened, since the enÇrny were allaround, and the keys were retained by the sentries. It was flung down stillholding to its sockets and landed intact on the rocJ<y shore where it waslapped by the waves, with its posts, frame, lintel and pivots still fixed tothe threshold. 8 §7hen this happened the Romans thought that theyshould now be able to get into the fort without any further difiiculty andmake short work of the enemy. But this time too their hopes proved vain.For the ground was full of cracks and fissures ând littered with j4gged andbroken pieces of rod< from the hillside and masonry from the fortificaticns.As a result tlee approadr to the fort was as steep and as impassable as ever.

9 Narses made a more spirited assault on the fort, in an attempt to rush theplace. §Thereupon, the Goths {ormed a solid body of men and fought backwith all their strength. He was beaten bad< and could take no further action.

11. In view of the impossibility of taking the place by stotm Narsesdecided noi to commit all his forcei to this tioubleiome operation, but tomale straight for Florence, Centumcellaer2 and certain other towns inTuscany, with the objert of restoring order in the region and anticipatingthe approach of tJre enemy. z He had alteady been informed that Leutharisand Butilinus and the armies of the Franks anà the Alamanni had crossed thePo, and he set oiff, accordingly, with the bulk of his army in that direction.

3 Since Filimuth, the leader of the Henrls, who were marching with him,had been taken ill and died a few days earlier and it was imperative that theyshould be led by one of their own people, he immediately put their fellow-countryman Fulcaris, a nq>hew of Phanitheus, in c}arge of them. He theninstructed Fulcaris to set out along with John the nephew of Vitalian, withValerian and Artabanes and other generals and commanders together withthe largest and most pourerful paff. of the army; and making a detour of the

TtGtâ vecrfita.

" BoôL t 19

dplnc mngo thit firnt botwsên Tuccany and Emilia, to head for thc riverPo and encrmp ln tànt neighbourhood. They were algo to seize all strong-holde in thc area ln order to forestall and check the enemy advance. 4Ifthey succeeded in driving them bacl< altogether then they must considerthemselvee fortunate, but if tfie pressure of superior numbers preventedthem from putsuing such a course, they were to impede their progress andnot to allow them to overftm the place, but to scare rhem ofi and keep themas fat away as possible, until he had the immediate situation under conmol.They set oI[ thetefore to câmy o{rt his orders.

5 He left a considerable force at Cumae too. They 'w'ere to invest it witha regular siege, keeping the enemy penned in and blockading them intoeventual surrender. So, they set about ringing the place with a continuousline of earthworks and kept a close v/atch on the exits in order to interceptany possible foraging pârties. They reckoned that alter close on a year of.being under siege the enemy must by now be running out of provisions.

6 In a lightning campaign against the cities Narses annexed most of themwithout encountering any resistance. The Florentines rÀ7'ent out to meet himand, on receiving an undertaking that they would suÉer no ill-treatment,voluntarily surrendered their persons and their property. The inhabitantsof Centumcellae did likewise, as did those of Volaterrae,13 Luna la and Pisa.He was in fact so successful that he su/ept everything before him.

L2. Only the people of Lucca tried to adopt a policy of temporizing andnon-coopefâtiron. 15 And yet it -was they who had previously come to termswith Narses, grvirrg him hosiages and a sworn undertaking to the effectthat, if thirty days elapsed and an allied force sufliciently strong nor iust toman the fortitcations but to engage in open combat on rheir behalf, failedto arrive they would then have no hesitation in handing over the city forth-with. z The idea behind this was that the Franks would soon be there tocome to their aid, and it was on this assumption that they made the treaty.But when the appointed day had passed and there was still no sign of theFranks, even so, they were still determined to reject and repudiate theirreaty obligations. 3 Understandably angered by this deception Narsesbegan to make preparations for a siege. Some of his stafi thought that thehostages should be put to death so that in this way the inhabitants of thecity might be made to sufier for their ueachery. 4 The general, however,who would never allow anger to cloud his judgment, did not descend to sudrcruelty as to lcill people who had done no wT ong, merely as a reprisal for themisdeeds of otüers, but devised instead the following ruse. 16

5 He brought

13 Voltera.14 Luni.15 Autumn, 553, Êor Chronology cf. Averil Carneron: Agathias p. 143.16 The vetacity of the following accourt has been impugned by M. Ites: zur Bewertung

2t20 Agrrtlriru: 'l'lre I lirlrrt ier

out thc h,.rstngcs with tlreil httrds tietl lrclrirrtl tlrcir hrchn rrrrrl witlr lrowcrlheads ancl clisplayccl thcrn in this pitifulcolr(litiolr ro tlreir lle il«rw corrrrtr:ylucn,threatening that he woulcl lose no time in cxecutir.rg tlrern unlcss thc citizcnsimmediately put into efiect their side of the agrcemcnr. No\M thc hostageshad had narro\ÿ wooden boards fâsrened to them fronr thc broad of the backto the nape of the neck and covered over with strips of cloth lest the enemymight make out what they were even from a distance. 6 So when thecitizens would not obey him he immediately gave orders to have the hostageslined up and beheaded. The guards drew their s§/ords and came down heavilywith them as though about to deop ofi their heads in earnesr. But the blow,failing on the boards, did them no harm, despite whidr they toppled for-'ü/ards, as they had been instructed to do, writhing and twisting and feigningdeath of their own free will. 7 The inhabiranrs of the city who when theysaw this could not make out, owing to the considerabLe distance whichseparated them, what was really happening but saw only what appeared tobe happening, broke out into sudden cries of lamentation at the disasterwhidr they felt had overtaken them. For the hostages were nor drawn frornthe common herd, but'were men of especially distinguished rank and birth.8 Thinking themselves deprived of sudr men they were seized by an un-controllable fit of wailing, while frequent cries of lamentation were heardtogether with a shrill and plaintive noise, as great numbers of women movedabout on the ramparts, beating their breasts and teafing their cloaks. Thesewere the mothers or unmarried daughters, 17 as the câse may be, of thesupposedly dead men, or were closely concerned with them in some otherway. 9 So now everybody began to abuse Narses openly and to call hima blad<guard and a villain. He was in point of fact, they said, a brutal mur-derer, and it was to no purpose that he strove by an elaborate pretence tocteate afl impression of piety and devotion.

13. Now while they were making this outcry Narses said "Is it not youyoutselves who have proved responsible for their destruction by callouslyabandoning them to their fate? You will also be shown to have done your-

des Agathias. Byz. Zelt.26 (1926) p.281" and by E. Stein: Histoire du Bas-Empire II.p.606 n.2. Cf. Also Averil Cameron, op. cit. p. 51.

17 The Greek "ôn[x),1qol" has been variously and, to my mind, irnprob,ably rendered:e. g. as "sponsae" by Vuicanius, and "Les femmes de ceux . . . etc." by Cousin. Thebasic meaning of "ên'rxl"r1gou" is "heiress". The specialised sense the word often hasin connection with the Attic Larv of inheritance is scarcely applicable in this context,but Roman legal usuage in cases of intestate succession whereby married daughterswere excluded from the câtegory of those known as "sui heredes" (cf.l.B. BuryIlistory of the Later Rornan Empire vol. II p.404) suggests a possible way of arrivingat the meaning assumed in the present translation. At all events it is hard to see howAgathias could have used the word simply as a synonym for "f,ancées, wives, orwidows".

lhxrlt I

relven rt gruvc rlinre t:vicc by your blerrch o[ frrith ru]d wflrrton violation of thetteltty, r Yct cveu at tlris lalc hor-rr i[ yor-r arc prepared to recognize whereyour real intcrests lic, nncl to fulfil the terms of the agreement, you willItxe notl,ing: thcse rnen will bc restored to life and we shall do no damageto your city. IJtrt if yotr refuse, your future troubles will not be confined tothem, but you can start straightaway considering how to avoid all of yououfiering the same fate yourselves," 3 \X/hen they heard this the peapleof Lucca thought that he was trying to deceive and hoodwink them aboutrestoring the dead to life; and in truth his srords were misleading but not inthe way they thought. Nevertheless they eagerly gave their assent and sworethat they would hand over the city to him immediately to do what he likedwith, if they saw that the hostages \vere still alive. Since, of course, it seemed

impossible to them for the dead to come bad< to life they thought they wouldhave no difficulty in freeing themselves of the accusation of meachery andenlisting justice on their side. 4 At this point Narses, giving the command,suddenly made the hostages stand up and they 'ü/ere then displayed safe andunharmed to their compatriots. §7hen the citizens saw them they were notunnaturally taken abad< at the unexpectedness of the sight, though even so

they were not all of the opinion that they should fulfil their sworn obli-gâtions, and in fact some of their number refused to. : With the usualfickleness of a crowd, as soon as their feelings of anguish and distress ïrerereplaced by a more hopeful frame of mind, they did a complete volte-face,and the advocates of treadrery ryon the day. But in spite of this despicable

behaviour on their part, Narses the general showed great generosity byfreeing the hostages at once and sending them to their homes withoutsecuring a ransom or forcing any other sort of concession upon the city.6 While the citizens of Lucca were marvelling at what he did and quiteunable to understand why he did it, "I am not in the habit," he ex-

claimed, "of priding myself on tasteless histrionics and squalid confidence-

tricl<s. For I think that even without recourse to sudr tactics if you do notjoin us without further ado, these shall secure yotrr allegiance"; and as hespoke he pointed to the swords of his soldiers.

7 Now the men who had been set free mingled with their fellow-countrymen and whenever they were in company spoke highly of Narses.

They recalled the kind treâtment they had received at his hands, and it was

whispered in every quarter that he was gentle and afiable arrd that hetempered justice with magnanimity. These words in fact were destined, bywinning over the contentious and unstable element in the population, toprove more efiective than weapons arid to persuade the majority to adopt a

pro-Roman policy.

14. Narses was still busy with the siege of Lucca when he learnt of the

l§

ç

22 Âgsllrle* 'l'lre I llrlrrt'ler

rcvcrse which thc troopr he hncl Bent to Umllia hatl nrficr«I. 'I'lre news wns,understandably, a sevcre shock to him and û greot blow to his morrrle.

z Now what happencd in Emilia was that in the carly days after theirarival they had conducted all operations in a prudent and orderly manner.§Thenever they set out to plunder some enemy village or to\ÿn they mardredin regular formation and observed a certain amount of caution when attacrking.§7hen retreating they did not al1ow themselves to get dispersed, but pro-ceeded in an orderly fashion, forming themselves into a hollow rectangle,with the rearguard properly in position and the booty in tlee middle toensure its safety. 3 This u/as the r,vay they set about tavagjng enemyterritory at first, but within the space of a few days alL their initial advan-tages u/ere dissipated and completely reversed.

Fulcaris, the leader of the HeruIs, was admittedly a brave and utterlyfearless man, b,ut he was of a wild and impetuous disposition. He did notregard tactical skill and the proper disposition of his forces as the mark o{ a

true general and leader, but prided himself instead on cutting a dash in theteld o{ battle by leading the drarge against the enemy in person and bykeeping himseff in the forefront of the fighting. 4, On this occasion, how-ever, he showed even greater indiscretion by making an attack on Parlnâ,which was abeady in the hands of the Franks. He ought first to have sentout scouts in order to ascertain exactly what the enemy's plans were and, inthis way to conduct an orderly offensive on t}e basis of prior intelligence;instead of which he led out his army of Heruls together with any men fromthe Roman army who were ready to {ollow him, and relying on tedclessaudacity and brute {orce set ofi at full speed, little dreaming that anythingwould go \vrong. 5 But Butilinus, the leader of the Franks was in{ormedin advance of these moves, and, hiding the pick of his men in an amphitheate(it was designed for the performance of wildbeast hunts) not far from thecity, he laid a full-scale ambush and then proceeded to watch and bide histime. 6 §7hen Fulcaris and his Henrls, marching in a slovenly and irregular{ashion, had advanced until they were practically encircled by the enemy,the signal was given. The Franks then rushed out and pounced on them,and straightâway cut down indiscriminately all those within reach, over-wheLming them with the suddenness of their attad< and tlre unexpectednessof the trap they had set. 7 The majomty, however, as soon as t'hey rcalizedwhat an appalling disaster had overtaken them readily resorted to an ignobleand utterly shameful expedient in order to save their own skins: theysimply turned their backs and rushed headlong into fight, oblivious of alltheir courage and long training in the hazards of war.

15. So Fulcaris, his army having slipped away, was left alone with hisbodyguard. Even so he did not see fit to run away,but drose rather to meet aglorious end than to become an ignoble survivor. Accordingly he took as ûrm

Book I

c rtanrl nr porrlble, wlth hls bod< to o tomt:atone snd alew mnny o[ thecncmy, c'hrrrgirrg furiously ot them 0t one moment ancl elowly retreotingboclcwarcls with his facc towards them at another. : IIe might still have

raved himsclf with the greatest of ease, and his attendants urged him to doao, But his only reply was: "How could I endure the sting of Narses' tongue

when he reproadres me for my folly? " 3 Apparently more afraid of abuse

than of the sword he stood his ground and held out for a very long timefighting furiously till at length hopelessly outnumbered and with several

epear-wounds in his cfiest, his head moreover badly cut by an axe he re-

luctantly gave up the ghost and fell face downwards on his shield. 4 Theothers who had stayed by his side, be it of their own free will or because

they were hemmed in by the enemy, now lay in a heap on top of him.

5 Thus Fulcaris was appointed genetal, a distinction whidr did him littlegood, since after a brief and dreamlike spell of prosperity he brought his

career and his life to a speedy end.

6 The morale o{ the Franks, however, was raised and strengthenedconsiderably as a result of this disaster. 7 The Goths inhabiting Emiliaond Liguria and the neighbouring regions had previously made whatamounted to a peâce-treatty and defensive alliance with the Romans, though,admittedly, it was a hypocritical sham, utterly repugnant to them andmotivated solely by fear. They wete nosr emboldened openly to violate theirtteaty and immediately went over to the side of the barbarians with whomthey had so much in common. 8 The Roman forces which, as f have al-

ready explained, were under the command of John (the nephew of Vitalian)and Artabanes retired immedietely together with the survivors of the Herulcontingent to Faventia. 18

9 The reason fot the move \rÿas that the generals

thought it inexpedient to remain encamped in the vicinity of Parma whenthe enemy had gathered there in force, and because, after their unexpectedsuccess, t-he enemy seemed ready fot a tnaL of srength. All the cities occupiedby the Goths, in f.act, opened their gates to them, and there was wery indi-cation that they were about to mal<e a concerted attad< upon the Romans.

ro The generals decided, therefore, to get as close as possible to Ravenna

and so elude the enemy, since they felt they were in no position to fightthern.

§flhen the news of these events readred Narses he was distressed and

angered at the insolence of the barbarians and at the sudden death of Fulcaris,amat" of no mean abilty, brave in the extreme, and with a distinguishedrecord and many victories to his credit; indeed a man who, in my estimation,would never have died at the hands of an enemy, had but his wisdom beenproportionate to his valour. rr But despite his very real sorrow and dis-

23

18 Faenza.

2'24 Agrthllr: The HLtorlçr

trtss ur whnt hncl hnppcnctl, Nnrrer clirl not, rrr rr lerrer mnn woukl hnvedone, allow himself to lrercome dispiritecl unrl tlinheurtenecl. Instend, seeinghis troops demoralized l'ry thc unexpectecl turn of events he decicled toaddress some general words of exhortation and encouragement to them, inorder to raise their spirits and dispel their fears.

16. Narses was indeed possessed of a remarkable degtee of shrewdnessand an e>rmaordinary capacity for coping eflectively with any eventuality.Though he had received little formal educarion and no training in the artof oratory, he was exceptionally talented and particularly good at puttinghis views across. These qualities w.ere all the more remarkable in a eunuchand in one who had been brought up in the soft and comfortable atmosphereof the imperial court. z He was moreover of diminutive stature andabnormal thinness; yet his courage and heroism were absolutely incredib,le.The fact is that true nobility of soul cannot fail to make its mark, no matterwhat obstacles are put in its path. 3 On that occasion then Narses madehis way into the midst of the army and addressed them as follows:

"People who are accustomed to getting the better of their enemies oneadt and wery occasion and to unfailing and unalloyed success are com-pletely shattered by even the slightest and most momentary reverse. 4 ButI think that if a man has any sense he ought not to let success go to his headbut should bear in mind how easy ir is for things to drange and always beready to face the \r7orst. Anyorre who adopts this philosophy will viewsuccess with the greatest pleasure and will not consider it a disaster if hiscalculations are upset. 5 Now I perceive that your distress is disproportio-nate to what has happened, and it is plain to see that the reason for this isthat you have becorne so inordinately conceited through the habitual ex-perience of victory that you imagine you can never go w:rong. ff, therefore,you vÿ'ere to put a\ÿay this illusion and consider the case on its own merits,you would not find it anything as dreadful âs you might otherwise suppose.6 If Fulcaris, and being abatbafian rashness was second nature to him, ifFulcaris, f say, made a desperate and disorganized attad< against sudr aheavy concentration of enemy forces with disastrous but predictable pon-sequences, that is hardly a reason fo us to shrink from our present respon-sibilities or review our commitments. 7 rt would indeed be shameful if,while those Goths who have survived the holocaust of their nation, far fromresigning themselves to their fate, arcbusy forming alliances and stirring upfurther trouble for us, we, entertaining the notion that we have been beàtensimply because we have not won a resounding victory, shoutrd so lose heartas to thro'ff away the glory of our pâst achievements. 8 §7e ought ratherto be pleased about what has happened, since it has resulted in ihe signalpunishment of overweening prosperity and has freed us from the burdeÀ ofimmoderate envy. Henceforth we may view the prospect of fighting with

Book I

confideuce irr the full nnnurrlnce thnt we are novr' enterittg upon a new phasc

of c«rtrcltrert, 9 Ân for thc enemy's vountccl numericnl superiority, we shallprove very muclr their betters in matters of discipline and organisation, pro-vlcled we l<eep our heads. Moreover we shall be fighting against foteignintnrders who will, naturally, be short of provisions, whilst we have an

nmple supply of them. A number of cities and strongholds will guarantee

our safety if need be, whereas they will have no sudr guarantee to fall back

on. lilühat is more the Almighty will be on our side, since we are engaged inn wholly just struggle to defend what is ours, whilst they are ravaging theIand of others. ro There is every reason, then for extreme confidence onour part and no possible excuse for faintheartedness. Let us determine,therefore, not to give â moment's respite to the beleaguered citizens of Lucca

nnd let each one of you bring all his energies and enthusiasm to bear effecti-vely on the conduct of the entire campaign. "

17. Having put heart into his troops by addressing them in this vein,Narses immediately set about conducting the siege of Lucca with greater

strictness. At the same time he was extemely angry vrith the other generals.

They had abandoned an advantageous position and were now in Faventia.

All his careful calculations were being reversed. z He expected theirforces to be ranged like a continuous fortification and bulwark around the cityof Parma, in order to keep the enemy atbay andleave him free to bring thesituation in Tuscany under control and then set out to join them there. Butnovÿ', as a consequence of theit having left the spot and transferred them-

selves to a distant location, Narses and his men were exposed to directenemy attacl<. 3 Findiç this situation intolerable he sent one of his

ôlosest associates, aman called Stephânus, â native of the Illyrian town ofEpidamnus, 1e to the generals to upbraid them for their cowardice and tobring home to them that failure to return to their posts §/as tantâmount toan open conviction of desertion.

4 So Stephanus set o{[ at fu[l speed with two hgndred of the bravest and

besi-armed cavalrymen. Their progress w'as a painful combination of forced

mardres and sleçless nights owing to the fact that a detadrment of Franks

was roaming about the plains in that region in seardr of forage and p!un-

dering the loutryside. 5 The Romans, therefore, did most of their

*u"d.irrg by night keeping together in close formation and protecting theif,.ur, ,o thut if obligeJ to fight it out they, should not be caught ofi theirguard. The anguished cries of the peasantry could be heard and the lowingàf cattle being driven away and the gash of trees being felled. To the dismal

accompaniment of sudr sounds they frnally made their v/ay to Faventia and

the army there.

|'Ç

19 Dffazzo,

26 Âlrthlmr ThHlrtorh:

6 Ao roon ei hc wu ln the prerencc of the gen*dr stcphanus mldr o!ÿhathas come over you? rü(/herc now lo the glory of your forncr ae}ievÇments,and what has become of that coneistent record of euccesa in eo many battlesp

$ow d9 you expect Narses to capturc Lucca and reduce all the territory onthis side of the Alps when you are behaving as though you \ÿere in collusionwith the enemy, letting them through and allowing them complete freedomof movement? 7 I, f.ot my parr, have no wish to inveigh agàinst you, butother people may well describe this whole afrar as cowaràice and grossneglect of duty. I{ you do not get back to Parma in double quid< time Nàrseswill never forgive you and, should anything go \rËong, will hold you per-sonally responsible for the consequences. Take care moreover that you donot also bring down the Emperor's wrath upon your heads".

18. \{/hen they heard these words the generals rcalizdthatthey came fromNarses. unable to impugn the justice of what had been said they pur forwarda number of lame excuses, saying that they had been forced to drange theirquarters owing to the impossibility of procuring an adequate supply of food fortheir men in the district around Parma. They further alleged that Antiocrus,the Prefect o{ Italy, who was in drarge of these matters, hâd not turned up, andthat they had not even received their regular pay. z stephanus, therèfore,having made his srây to Ravenna with all speed, r"turnà to dre generalswith the Prefect. After solving their problemi as besr he could he pekuadedthem all to retrace their steps immediately and encamp again in ihe neigh-bourhood or Patma. 3 His mission accomplishèd, he rerumed ro Luôcaand told Narses nor to .\r,.orry, but to give his undivided attention to thebusiness in hand, since the enemy would cause him no further mouble.Indeed they could not possibly make a single move without being chedcedsince the Roman forces were once âgain bact< in their proper positions andwere keqring a close watdr on them.

_ 4 Narses, drafing at the thought that the citizens of tucca might stillhold out for a very long time, if the siege urere continued in its presàt half-hearted form, closed in relentlessly on the walls. siege-engines were broughtup and fire-brands were hgrled at rhe towers, while the archers and slinggrsdirected their fire at anybody appearing on the bartlements between

-ihe

towers. Part of. the wall was breached and the ciry was faced with imminentdisaster. 5 Those who had previously been hostages exerted rhemselveseven more strenously on behalf of the Romans, and had it been up to themthe whole city would have submitted. But the Frankish garrison who rireredirecting operations inside the city put pressure on the inhabitants, urgrhgthem to fightand repel the besiegers by force of arms. 6 consequentty ilreÿtfrrew open the gates and directed an unexpeced sortie against tlr" Ror,,*r,lrinkinq to overcome them in this way. But they were destined, in facr, rohave only amarginal efiect on the enemy whilst doing themselves incalculable

" BooL l 27

damage, Vhrt hrppcncd wu thrt mort of the local mllltla, drtady cgmple"

tely rion ovq by thc pro-Roman element operating inside the city, fought

wiih deliberate co't*rardlce. 7 In spite of repeated efiorts, however, they

achieved none of the results that had been hoped for, but instead beat a

shameful and ignominious re6eat after incurring heavy losses and, once

inside the fortitcations, shut themselves up more securely, determined to

malçe no further sallies. Realizing at this iuncture that there was no other

way of saving themselves, they all concluded that they had no_option butto àdopt a conciliatory attitude and so decided upon a negotiated settlement

of the situation. 8 Accordingly on receiving an assufance frorn Narses

that he would let bygones be bygones they immediately surrendered and

gladly admitted the troops. Some three months had been spent on the siege,

b,rt.ro* they were once more subjects of the Emperor of the Romans.

1g. Now that Lucca had been forced to capitulate and there was no

longer any opposition Natses thought that there was no point in :toppingo1 tho" *y loog"t, not even if only to have â moment'§ pause from his

exertions. So he left Bonus, the quaestor o{ Moesia on the Danube in drarge,

a îran of excq>tional sagacity with a wide experience of civil as well as

military matters. Narses entrusted him with a saable force whide wouldenable him to quell with ease any insurrection on the part of the barbarians

in that region.After making these arrangements, then, he hurriecl straight to Ravenna

in order to sendthe troops stationed there to their winter quartels. z The

agtufirn had in fact already drawn to a close and these operations had dragged

on into the time of the winter solstice. Consequently he felt that this wâs no

time for campaigning. SucJr;a policy would indeed have been likely to serve

the interests of the Franks,Irho thrive in cold conditions and whose pov/ers

of physical energy and endurance reach their peak in winter. Being the in-

haËitants of a cold clintate and, as it were, cfeatures of the cold they are

naturally adapped to such conditions. On the other hand their worst enemy

is the hàat, since it saps their strength and undermines theit spirits; so r:hat

summer is the last time they would clrose to fight in. 3 In view of these

considerations, therefore, he tried to delay matters and suspend hostilities

until the next yeaf.

So he then disbanded his army and ordered them to group themselves into

companies and battalions and winter in the neighbouring towns and for-

tr.rJ.r. At the beginning of spring they were all to assemble in Rome, where

they would draw up in full battle-formation. 4 §7hi1e they went about

thet business, Narses retired to Ravenna taking vrith him only his personal

sefvants and bodyguafd and those members of his general stafi who wete in

clrarge of t}le paper-work and had the job of seeing that the rule_s and regu-

lations *"r" àbt"tued and pfeventing anyone from gaining indiscriminate

2e AfrÈhl.r llrrHlrpdor

access to hlm, I1:c Romanr crll luch o,lflclrh na cancelllr", a tcnn whichrefers to the guichet bchlnd which they work, 5 Hc wrr eccompanied alsobyZondalas, the head of his domestic retinue and by hls annudrs and therest of his householcl setvants. And so he took with him to Ravenna aboutfour hundred men all told.

20. Meanwhile the Franks were in Italy and the fortunes of the Gothsv/ere no\v in their hands. The only petson however, to understand wherehis future interests would lie and to grasp the full implications of theirsituation was Aligern, the son of Fritigern and brother of Teïas, whom Imentioned earlier on in connection with the siege of Cumae. z A carefulassessment of the situatiom,infact, led him to realise that the Franks hadindeed come in response to an appeà'l for help, but were in reality availingthemselves of an empty formula of alliance in order to mask what, in theevent, would prove to be very difierent intentions. Assuming they did getthe better of the Romans tley would certainly have no intention of lettingthe Goths haveltaly, but would in actual fact begin by enslaving the verypeople whose cause they vere supposed to be drampioning. Th"y wouldsubiect them to the rule of Frankish overlords and thus deprive them oftheir traditiond. way of life. 3 After much pondering and weighing up ofthe pros and cons and in view of the fact that the strain of the siege was

beginning to tell on him the obvious course seemed to be to hand over thecity and its wealth to Narses, renounce his barbarian connections, and secure

his future by becoming a subiect of the Empire. 4Hs thought it oriy fur,that, if it were not possible for the Goths to possess Italy, its ancient in-habitants and original masters shoulcl recover it and not be perpetually de-

prived of their homeland. For his o'ürn part, then he resolved to pursue.thispoliry, thereby setting all his compatriots a signal example of good sense.

5 After haying first intimated to the besiegers that he wished to have a

meeting rvith their general, and then having received permission to do so, hemade his way to Classis in the district of Ravenna, where, he had learnt, wasthe fort in whiclr Narses was staying. 6 As soon as he found himself face

to face with Narses he harded over the keys of Cumae to him and promlsedto serve him with a good grace in all things. Narses congratulâted him onjoining the Roman side and assured him that his services would be more thanamply rewarded. 7 He then gave immediate orders to a detacihment ofthe troops encamped around Cumae to move into position inside the forti-fications in order to take over the city and its treasures and to guard every-thing securely. The rest of the troops \rrefe to withdtaw to other towns and

forts so that they too might have somewhere in whidr to pâss the winter.All his instructions wete carried out.

8 The Hed army was agan leadeùess and the majority was split overthe rival claims of two equally distinguished contesta^Ilts. One body of

lېhl 29

oplnlon frvouted Aruth rnd fclt that their bcot lnteteatr would be served byhlr lcadcnhlp. On the other hand the military expericnce and forcefulpersonality of Slndual had more appeal for others, including Narses who puthlm in command and eent thenr ofi too to their wintet quaf,ters.

9 Aligern he sent to Caesena 20 with instructions to climb up, as soon as

he got there, and stick his head over the wall in such a way as to make him-celf generally conspicuous and easily recognized. The object of these in-otructions was that the Franks, who would be passing by that way, might onseeing that Aligernhad dranged sides give up the idea of mardring on Cumae,

together with any hope they may have had of laying their hands on itstfeasures. They might even perhaps abandon the entire campaign, in view ofthe fact that all points of vantage had already been seized in advance.

ro §7hen Aligern saw the Franks passing by he jeered at them from thetop of the wall and taunted them with the futility of any further exetrionsand with their failure to keep up with events. Everything of value was aI-

ready in the hands of the Romans including even the royal insignia of theGoths. Any future claimant to the throne would have none of the pomp and

outward symbols of majesty but would be obliged to don the garb of a

common soldier and a pivate citizen.r r The Franks retorted with abuse and reviled him as the traitor of his

nation. Yet they began to have vague doubts about the advisability of theirpresent policy and even wonderec{ whether to continue with the war. Theprevailing view, however, \r7as that they should stand firm and press on withthe pursuit of their original objective.

21. Meanwhile, Narses after a stay in Ravenna in the course of whidr hererziewed the troops gationed there and got everything properly organizedset ofl for Ariminum 21 with the same retinue as before. z Vaccarus theVarne, a man outstanding for his skill and bravery in war, had recently died.His son, whose nâme sTas Theudebald, straightaway attached himself to theEmperor of the Romans, taking his followers with him. He was novr inAtiminum where he was supposed to meet Narses. 3 So Narses arrivedthere intending to make doubly sure of their allegiance by the bestowal of a

special bounty.4 Vhile he was busying himself with tlese mâtters a mixed cavalry and

irtantry force of about t'üro thousand Franks, whidr had been sent by theirIeaders to pillage and plunder the countryside began to ravage the fields, drag-grng otr drarrght animals and setting no limit to their depredations. Narses,who was seated in an upper room commanding a view of the plain, could notfail to notice what was going on. 5 Thinking it shameful and ignoble not toofler all possible resistance he rode out of the city on an obedient and well-trained thoroughbred which was capable of performing every kind of manoeu-

ToGsen " 21 Rimini.

!0 Agathlmr Thc I{lrteirler

vre ancl military evoluti«rn, IIe nlso orc{cred nll thonc members of hir retinuewho had some experiencc of {lghting to follow him. Thcre werc abont threchundred of them. 6 They leapt on to their horses and rode oI[ with him,heading staight for the enemy.

§ÿhen the Franks saw them approadring they did not continue to roamabout scattered and dispersed, and one may sa{ely assurne that they had nofurther thoughts of plunder. Instead they all closed their rânks, both in{antryandcavalry,and drew themselves up into a compact formation which, thoughnot deep, (that would not have been possible given their numbers) wasnevertheless a solid mass of shields regulary flanked by the converging wingsof the cavalry. 7 \X/hen the Romans got within shooting-range, however,they judggd it inexpedient to engage in close combat when the enemy weredrawn up in such perfect formation. They began therefore to disc}arge theirarro\vs and to hurl their javelins in an attempt to shoot down the men inthe first ranks and thus thin out the enemy front. 8 But they stood firmand immovable behind a walT of shields, protected on every side since theyhad the good fortune to be next to a thid< forest, the trees serving them as

a sort of defensive bulwark. And now they wen began to fight bad< byhuding their "angones', as their native spears are called.

22. Tal<rng stod< of the situation and realizing that the enemy weresufiering no casualities Narses resorted to a barbarian stratagem whidr ispractised more commonly by the Huns. He qgdered his attendants to turntheir horses right round and retreat at a furious gallop as though fleeing interror, in order to lure the Franks as f.at away as possible from the groveand on to the open plain. They were to leave the rest to him. z So theyfollowed his insructions and fled. The Franks were deceived by their flightand supposing theit fear to be genuine confidently broke up their ranks atonce, Ie{t the forest and set ofi in hot pursuit. 3 The cavalry sallied forthûtst with the bravest and swiftest of the infantry following. All pressed onrelentlessly, thinking to take Narses alive in no time and thus with üttleexertion to bring the whole war to its desired conclusion. 4 Lost to allsense of discipline and throwing a1l caution to the winds they advancedchaotically in an access of wild exultation and extravagant hope. Giving thereins to their horses the Romans sped on looking for all the world likepanic-s*icken fugitives. So convincingly did they play their parts! 5 §7henthe barbarians vÿere abeady scattered about on the open plain and separatedby a very great distance from the forest the Romans, at a signal from theirgeneral, suddenly wheeled themselves and their horses round and confrontedtheir pursuers head-on. Taking advantage of the confusion and panicengendered by the unexpected turn of events the Romans laid about themin all directions and rân the enemy down. The rôles of fugitive and pursuerrvere abruptly reversed.

- Ilook I ,l

(r T'he Urunkhh cavolry, apprehending the dangcr they were in, gallopedburk towurds the wood at full speed nnd were only too glad to make for theuafety of theit camp. But their in(antry were ingloriously butchered. So hope-lessly stunned and ctazed were they by the unexpectedness of the catastrophethat they did not lift a finger to help themselves. They lay all about in piti-ful heaps slaughtered like a herd of swine or cattle. 7 \X/hen these tleirbravest men had been slain (there were more than nine hundred of them)the others retreated and returned to their leaders, convinced that is wouldno longer be safe for them to be separated from the main body.

8 Narses returned to Ravenna. A{ter organizing everything there on a

sound and efiicient basis he set out for Rome, where he passed the winter.

*

BOOK 2

1. At the beginning of spring all the armies converged on Rome and

assembled there in u..J"duo.à wiih their instructions. z Narses subjected

them to a more rigo.oor-.o*bat training and strengthened theirfighting spirit

ir" iJi, à.iU. Hàade them marc6 at tle double, practise regular evolutions

:|ffi:.ü[,;;il;.tuloru,. whirling movements in the manner of a

war- dance and expose ,À;;;;;;, ; fr"qoàt blasts of the bugie so*nding the

;i;;ril;t brttle, iest uiu uwintet ofinactivity thev might forget the arts

;i;;t *d 1or" th.ir nerve when faced with real fighting'

a Meanwhile' tfr. burb,iians marche d at a 'làwtr pace ravaging and

a.r',r"ri*'rii,h;, i;; in their path' Bvpassing the ciry of \"ry *'d its envi-

;;;G;h:;*, i*r"Jrr"," pottiUr" it ey aJ,,anced with the Tvrrhenian Sea

;;,ü, .,*k and the shores o[ th. Io.riuo Sea extending to their left' §ÿhen

,t"v rl^*ria the region caiied Samnium1 thev solit up into two groups'

each one following a difierent itinerary. Butilinus advanced along the

Tyrrhenian .ou.t -itl ,l'.1u'gtu' u"d it'o"g"st part of the army and

ruvageé,most of Cu*puniu, tro"""d over intJl"cânia and then attad<ed

Bruttium 2 continuing ïi, uau^.. as far as the sttait whicl separates the

til;; sia5, urrd ,lr.^iip ,r ituti' s The job of ravaging,Apulia and

ü;rt", f;it io l,.,rrfrurü-ho took the-remaining forces with him and got

as far as Hydrunrum,; -iiÀ is situated on the Adriatic coast at the point

where the lonian Sea begins'

6 Those among the Invaders who were Franks showed restrâint and

,.rJ.i-,lïu;à; ,É e;t h.',;' was to be expected ?ht:: ?l -I have alreadv

;ïàü-,r..y rraa orthodox views in *rtt"r, of religion, and were of

more or less the ,u*" pttt"usion as the Romans' 7 But th.e.Alamanni'

whose beliefs *.r. l,,i* Aeàit"t, pilt'ged the clurdres with compLete

abandon and robbecl th"* of their precious ofnaments. They removed and

,ppi"ptirr.a fo, ptoiu"t use large'numbers of fonts' solid gold censers'

chalices, baskets t u.râ *hui.uer o'ther objects are set apart for the perfor-

mance od the ,r.r"i ô;;;i;;' 8 Thev \Àrent even further than that'

t1i

l

1

tearing down the roo&(of the altars. The ôa{withblood and the 6ddiunburied colpses: , !killed in war, others tifulÊlment of his eafidevil-doing and ur:godqat all times be avoideü,jand a noble duq- tofrnadonal identity and tdestroY these things- Egreed and itrational qlthose who have dme Ivicious. Sudr men aæ1

they are to the diviæripunishment and ineri{rity they may enjoY b(Butilinus and theit t{

2. By the gims fttquantity of loot sP!l{towards its prime. Olat this stage to retunJgers to his brotkrcertainties of war mtpartly because he htiliin their struggle agdlhim and loudly miButilinus felt hinsdflSo he stayed rvhereL(

3 Leutharis setdlthat, as soon as heilto act as a relief-fotrto achieve his desigd

4 Returning by '"1

witLout encountsirlthat region hg sncÉ!{

te§ dispatched, as ümen who were to ddiscover what lay üthe enemy be sigbûd

, ar*i*, ai.,rict on the Apennine uplands S' E' of Rome'

i ii.*r".'r" irr.i* "r irav'."ti.,qtlt'q roughlv to modem calabda'

i Nolw T..t, d'Otranto in the heel of ltaly'

; 8:jïTrr, containing the unconsecrated bread or .,anridoron, distribured at the end

of the Liturgÿ.

6 Fano.

i

f,

il

r

N

{iiil

.i

I

Book 2 33

te-aqng down the roofs of the clurdres and shrines and uprooting the basesof. th;,altgs.

Th: *l.ts and the empry spaces enclori"g tlr. ,fu'; reekedwith blood and the ûelds werepollrrted with the foul contigion of ubiquitousl:9"rd cotpses. 9 But reLiburion was swift and teirible. sorie werefrl:9 rn war, orhers died of disease and not one of them lived to enjoy thefulfilment of his earlier hopes; whicrr aflordr , rt ikÀg1"r-ùJ of how :.d;f"pU aîd unggililless bring nothing but misery in tËeir t Aï *â;;;; jir mærged on Rome and

rlftE z Narses subjected

ryl-'red their fighting spiritq, lrciæ regular evolutionsErrq in the manner of a

rrd Se bugle sounding thef try mighg fq1gs1 the artstÇlilr''g.r dmtr paæ ravaging andrcfuy of Rome and its envi-ntyith the Tyrrhenian Searrftstg to their left. §(henr ç& q into two groups,tiifu advanced along theE* Inrt of the army and[tmia a.d then attac]<ed: rrrrit whi& separates theiolD d ravaging Apulia and

hfuGs yith him and got:ildlirtic ao4§t at the point

* ûos,ed restraint and

m d rdigion, and were ofÉ 7 But the Alamanni,b .*'.'r'tes with completeiËûs- They removed and:fu, solid gold censers,E Et qrart for the perfor-

G.4+r C.}ôdâ.

IfE' distributed at the end6 Fano.

at all times be avoided, -ort oirfl in ti-Àe of war. ,o It i, boih;-r;; jand a noble duty to fight {or the preservation of o .,u .à,rrrry àd o"",,national identity and to do one's utmost to repel a1l thor. *hà- reek todestroy these things. Bur people who with no juit cause bur merely out of91eed

anj irrational spiie go about invading thé hnd of orrr.t, *J"trr.ingthose who have done them no rü/rong can only be described as wicked anàvicious. sudr men are as indifierentlo civilized standards of behavio,rr a,they arc to the divine retribution attendant on their misdeeds.

- rr-'conaign

punishment and inevitable doom await them, and whateve*ppu*, prorp"-Ity f.y may enjoy is of short durarion, u, üt r"r, the fate o?ï.,rihari, undButilinus and their fellow barbarians.

Z. lv r\e.time they had perpetrated these acrs and appropriated a greatquantilr.of loot spring hgdl akeady gone and th. ."mÀ"r -ur uàurr'.irgtoyards its prime. one of the two i.ud""r, Leutrraris t" b. pi..ir., **t.dat this stage to return home and enjoy himserf. A".o"di"J, t" ,."i-.rr.o-gers to his brother and urged him to say goodbye ,o rË. i*;d" and un-certainties of war and join him in returningls quickly * porribl..- z Bur,partly because he had given the Goths a rJr"nn ordé.tuLirrg to-rrrirt th"mi t"t',,ïq: ucain:r.rh: Rolnans and partly U."*r" À.it àpiâu*oingl,--and ]o-udly proclaiming their intention

-o{ marcing Àim-their kinglButilinus felt himself obligedlo stay on and fulfil the ær-i

"i trr. ,gr.ernent.

So he stayed where he was and ,tarted to make p..prru,iào, i;;;;.3 Leutharis ser ofi immediately with his tr*pr. He had made up his mind

that, as soon as he returned safely with th" ùty, he wo,rù,..ia irie'JË"to act as a relief-force to his brother. But, in the event, he managed neitherto acÂiwe his designs nor to render his brother any assistance

.4 Retuming by the same route as he had come he got as far as picenum

Jli,tirout.enc,ountering any resisrance. In the course ofii, progr.rs throughthat reglon,he.encamped near the city of Fanum.6 §Thereupon he immedià-tely dlspatdred, as was his usual procedure, a force of about three thousandmen who 'ù''ere to act both as scà'uts and as an advance gu-rd,;"; just todiscover wÿtray ahead of them but arso to beat offi u prr-iut. u,iu.k ,hrordthe enemy be sighted anywhere.

Agathias: The Histories

5 Artabanes and Uldach the Hun had joined forces, with a Roman anda Hunish atmy respectively, in the city of Pisaurum 7 and were on the lookout in case the Franks should pass by that route. As soon as they saw theadva.nce guard of the enemy actaaL\y walking on the shore of the Ioniancoast they slipped out of the city and laundred a sudden but well orderedattad<, cutting them down in great numbers. Some o{ the enemy scrambledup the steep rooks that bordered rhe coasr, only to tumble headlong ro theirdeaths and be swept away by the wâves. 6 The coastlirre, in fact, at thatpoint rises abruptly and forms a sorr of hill which is not accessible from allsides and afiords a {ar-frctn-easy descent to those who reach its summit,being for the most part a slippery incline pitted with holes and leading to a

bottomless expanse of whirling water,7 Most of their number perished in the manner described while the rest

fled in disorder at the sight, urtering loud lamentarions as they went. Thenthey burst into their camp spreading panic and confusion and conveying theimpression that the Romans would be upon them at any moment. 8 Leu-tharis got up to marshal his forces in person and the whole army was alerted.They took up their arms and ranged themselves into a wide column. Oncethey had placed themselves in this position, all other considerations werebanished by the urgency of the situarion. Most of the prisoners suddenlyfinding themselves unguarded losr no time in taking advanrage of the factthat the enemy were {ully occupied. They made their escape as quicJ<ly as

possible to the nearby forts and took with them as much of the booty as

they could.3. §7hen Artabanes and Uldadr (they felt they were in no position to

give battle) showed no sign of leading out their forces, the Franks dispersedand returned to camp. On looking around them they realised the extent oftheir losses. They decided therefore that their best policy would be to leaveFanum with all speed and continue their mardr before anything else happenedto them. z So they set out at once and, leaving the Ionian Sea and thecoastal route on their right, mardred rovrards the foot-hills of the Apennines.Thus, heading straight for Emilia and the Cottian Alps, they crossed the Powith some difiiculty. 3 On readring the district of Venice they encampedin the town of Ceneta, 8 whidr

^t th^t time was subject to them. In spite of

the security the place afforded them their mood was angry and sullen, theirdisgruntlement evident and exteme. Pructically nothing remained of their

, Ioot and it appeared that their labours had been completed in vain. 4 But

i that was not the end of ,their troubles. Not long after, they were decimated

I by a sudden outbreak of plague. 5 Some pronounced the air of the regionito be contaminated and held it responsible for the disease. Others blamed

7 Pesaro.8 Ceneda.

the abrupt dmarches andldolence. Bdüsaster and jwhi&theyH

6 In rhelparticularly ia madman- !pitdred gldto the gr@the mouüqfury the qarms withfilicling cl"-.qually wasærlrdying like Iwas wipeddthe very da swooo, r{assumed aqcome of thei

4. \miklinus, tbe olhaving nn{z He hadf,1in Rome rr{any furrbcc.]down andüllast despcli

3 \rht!beginningqof other fiiadvanæ) o1a result of{up and w4 Burilirr'. {

the.l;".'clfar from C1Apenninc+1Tyrrh""'in I

of eafttuud

,YffiI

bes, yith a Roman andrr üd were on the look.6s $on as they sasr the

r ûe shore of the Ionianra.tteo but well orderedEdûe €nemy scrambledt ü \le headlong to their,octline, in fact, at thatir rct aaæssible from allc uto rea& its summit,lh h.Ie" and leading to a

r.L..rihed while the restfu as they went. Thentrm and conveying theüqrmoment. 8 Lcu-:rtdearmy was alerted.b e yide column. Oncek s'siderations wereI rüe ptisoners suddenly

; dvætage of the facthfr e*ape as quickly asrm& of the booty as

r 1ltEie in no position tocr' te Fraoks dispersedry ralised the extent of[tcÿsur1d be to leave:ryûingelsehappenedtc lrrrian Sea and thetliilkof theApennines.&rL try clossed the PoqVcnlr they encamped

inæ rh.-. In spite ofJ -Gflf "'d sullen, theirtEg remained of theirdEtEd in vain. 4 Butq,Éryvete decimatedcttE eir of the regionf,=.€. Others blamed

Book2 35

the abrupt ü-æ in $gir mode of liÉe, because after a roudne of forcedlaldres and frequent.fsirti"g rh.v h;; i'u[.n inro habits of ruxury and in-dolence. But thev raileà utÉr1v i" ;;;; ;huJffi-"luuflur.a ,r,.ü9as1er and in fact mad: ii ir.Ér"irô;;, the rutlüess wickedness withwhidr they had flouted the laws of GoÉ .ra -*.-

wruluu

6 Ig the person of their leader the marks of d.ivine punishmenr wereparticularly manifest. His mind became unhinged *d t Ë.gÀ-,o.uu" tit.a madman. He was seized with , uioLrrt ,goe ,and ret out a series of row-pitched groaning noises. cne moment h. wldd ruu piori.uà *îî ni, ru."to the ground, another time he would tun:ble ou.rïra.*uiar'1L*hg utthe mouth and with his eyes.ho*iUty.r"t*r.a , il;;;rm"of inran.turv the u/rerihed mrn a*uaflv b.u* ; ;ïis own ümbs;i;r1;;g on to hisarms with his reerh and r.nàingLd devouring the flesh rike a wild beast

ïH::.*:: i_ïl',fyg* *o.,ni. À"a,o iàrring oo his own fl.rh r," grud-ualy wasted awav and died a most pitiful death-. s The others roo weredying like flies and the pestilence cântinued_ ro ,rg. ,ro;i ,ï.îot. ,.*ywas wiped our. Mosr of them, though racked rrirh"f.";;,;.;irrJ U"ia tothe very end. Some *.r. ,r*& a"i" ly , "iol.nt

,.izur., à**iJr.U ir.a swoon, while others stil succumbed to deririurn iËil;;, in tact,assumed a vaiety of forms, each one fatal. This rhen was irr. arrJir*, "r,come 9f the expedition of Leutharis and his men.

4' §7hi1e rhese events were taking prace in the region of venice, Buti-linus, the other leader, was humying- bu.r. "iu

campania and R.ome, afterhl'j"g ravaged-nearly every to*o ur? fort as far as the straits of Messina.z He had heard that NT*l and the imperial forc., *;;";;;;tog.rh",in Rome and therefore didnot"wish to d.ky or ailow hi#rf ;;;; diverted tr

any further. Since a considerable p"r, of É, army had.;;.rd, tJ., ,r*.k ïdown and destroved hy disease h"'r"rolu.d à throw in all hi, forc.r'riii ilast desperate bià for supremacy,

ÿ L'rvw ur 'ir''rs rorceù .- uu" *,/

, ? Y&r, had happened was that when summer .\il.as over and autumnbeginningand the vines were laden with fruit they hal À*i àri""îfor wanr:j;:* lî^q1.t^l;f;,

(Narses had very .t.u"rry ,âq,iriri"i.Jï"",rir,irg inaovance) to-pruck the grapes and squeeze out the juice with their Éandsl Asa res"lt of filling themselves with tiris improvised wine their bellies swelledup and were afiecred with a flux. some aiiu *.* *a ,Ë;-,l,i*r, survived.4 Butilinus decided therefore.to give battre, *r,ut.".rli"';;;;, beforethe disease became an epidemic. sT *-;;;hi" g-campaniahe encamped notf.ar from capua on the Èanks of ,rr. riàè*urinus e u,hich flows from theApennines, winds through the prains àr ir,uir.gioo *d diÀ;;à, inro *.Tyrrhenian Sea. r Having ,tâtion"d hi, i^i there he had u'rtïng fin.g *r*rus buili around"them, ,rr. æ..üu.ness of which, however, de-e Voltumo

,6 Aglrhlmr Tho Hhtorlru

pended on the nature of the terraln, eince the rlv* whlell flowed to hla rightseemed to constiture a natural bærier against atteck, [Io had brought greotnumbers of wagons with him. Taking ofi their wheels and fitring them to.gether rim to rim in a conrinuous line he stucl< their felloes into the grouncland covered them with earth right up to the hubs, so that only a half circleof wheel protruded above ground-leve1 in eadr case. 6 After ba.rricadinghis entire camp with these and numerous other wooden objects he 1eft anaffow exit unfenced, to allow them to sally forth against the enemy andretrrn agaia as they wished. z The bridge over üe river constituted apossible source of trouble if le{t unguarded. so he seized it in advance andbuilt a wooden tower on it in which he placed as many as he could of hisbest armed soldiers apd his 6nest tghting men so that they might do battle{rom a safe point of vanrage and repel the Romans should they decide tocloss over.

8 Having arranged eadr particular as described he felt that adequatemeâsures had been taken and that he had made himself masrer of thesituation. The initiative in the fighting would rest with him alone and thebattle would take place when, and only when, he wished it. 9 He had notyet received any intelligence of what had happened to his brother in Venetiabut he was surprised that he had not sent his army as had been agreed. Hesurmised, however, that they would not have delayed so long unless somedireicalamity had befallen them. But even without their assisrance he thoughthe could beat the enemy, since he was still superior to them in numbers.ro His remaining forces amounted to thirty thousand fighting men all told.The strength of the Romans was scarcely eighteen thousand.

5. Butilinus himself was in high spirits and urged ail his men ro considerthat the impending struggle would be decisive. "§7e are faced", he said,"with the alternative either of becoming the masters of ltaly, which wasour object in coming here, or of being annihilated on the ,poi.'It is in ourporiler, my brave soldiers, providing we ûght courageously, to adrieve thefulûlrnent of our ambitions. can there b. *y doubt about which alternarivewe should droose? ".

z He kept on orhorting the toops in this strain and succeeded in boostingtheir morale considerably. Eadr in his ovm way, rhey began ro make readytheir weapons. fn one place axes in large numbers were being sharpenedand in another, tle native spears or "angone§" as they are called. Elsewherebroken shields were being mended and pressed inro service. 3 A1l their pre-parations proceeded with ease since as a narion their style of fighting-equip-ment is simple and of a kind whicl does not require a varlety of mechanicalskills for its maintainance but can, I believe, be pur right, in case of damage,by the men themselves who wear it. They are ignorant of the use of breast-plates and greaves and most of them fight with their heads unprotected,

Bookz ,7

thgush there erg n fcw u'ho wcat helmets, BacI( and chegt are bate as far as

thc waiat, the legr bcing encased in linen or leathet trousers. 4. Rarely iflver do thcy uoc horoes, being adepts in infanuy fighting, whidr, is theÊurtomüy mode of waffare of their nation. They wear a sword slung fromühe thigh and a shield hanging at the left side. Bows and arrows, slings andother weapons capable of hitting a distant target form no part of theirGquipment. Two-headed axes and their "angones" are in fact the arms withwhich they do most of their fighting. 5 Angones are speâts which are

ncither especially short nor especially long, but can be used both as javelins

ürd, if need be, as thrusting weapons in close combat. They are almost enti-rcly encased in iron so that very little of the wood shows t}rough and even

the spike at the butt end of the spear is partly concealed. At the top of theqleatpoint, presumably on either side of the spear-head itself, cuwed barbspfoiect and are bent round, not unlike fish-hooks. 6 Now your Frankthrows this ango of his in the midst of the fray.If. it suikes any part of thebody then the point goes in, of course, and it is no easy taslc eithet for thewounded man or for anybody else to pull out the spear. The barbs preventIt, stid<ing to the flesh and making the pain more agonizing, so that even ifIt should happen that the enemy has not been mortally wounded he stilldies. 7 If it pierces a shield then it remains attadred to it with the butt-endtrailing on tÀe ground. The man whose shield has been hit is unable to pullout the spear because its barbs ate embedded in his shield. He cannot hacl<

it offi with his sword, either, because the interposing layers of iron preventhim from getting to the wood. 8 As soon as he perceives this the Frankputs his foot out suddenly and stepping onto the butt weighs the shielddown, so that the man holding it loosens his grip and his head and drest areleft unprotected. He then makes short work of his defenceless victim eitherstriking him in the front part of the face with an axe or driving another spearthrough his windpipe. 9 This then is the type of equiprnent the Frankshave and the manner in which they were preparing for battle.

6. On learning of these prE)arations Narses left Rome with his entirearmy and encamped so close to tüe enemy that he could both hear the noisethey were making and see clearly the outlines of their fortification. z Vithtlre armies in fulI sight of eadr other there was a gîeat bustle of war-Iike preparations. Guards u/'ere patrolling in large numbers, sentries wereposted at frequent intervals and the generals kept inspecting t}eir men.

There were all the usual con*adictory emotions whidr beset men on the eve

of, a great battle. The mood altetnated rapidly on either side between thee)(tremes of hope and f.eat. The cities of ltaly were in a stâte of feverishencitement and suspense, wondering into whose hands they would fall.

3 Meanwhile the Franks were ravaging the neighbouring villages and

openly bringing in provisions for themselves. §7hen Narses saw this he

,8 Agrthlrrr Tlre l{l:torler

regardcd ir ac a pereonal diograce and was furlour rt thc ldea of thc camp.followers and scullions of thJenemy nondralantly otrolling about right undËrtheir very noses and acting as though no one w"rl in sighito cJralleige them.He felt that this state of afiairs should no longer be tolerated and

-resolved

to do everything in his power to put a stop to it.4 Among the Ronran commanders was a certain Armenian called chanar-

anges, a maî o{ the utmost bravery and good sense and one who wouldÿadly f.ace danger whenever the occasion warranted it. chanaranges, as ithappened, had pitcJred his tent at the f.ar end of the camp very near io theenemy. Narses now instructed him to attad< the wagoners and do them aspu$ damage as he could, in order to derer them- from conducting anyfurther foraging expeditions. 5 He suddenly rode ofr therefore, r^iitl, ufew of his men, intercepted tJre wagons and killed their drivers. one of thewlgons was loaded with hay. He now brought it up to rhe tower whidr, asI h_ave already menrioned, the Franks had constructed to guard the briige,and set fire to the hay. 6 There was a great burst of flamé and rhe tower'swooden structure was easily enveloped. Thebarbanans posted inside, unablet9 o$.r any.resisrance and on the point of being themselves engurfed bythe flames, decided to abandon their position. They barcly manag-"d to g.tclear in time and fled to their carrp, leaving the Romans-in coniol of i=hebridge.

-Z Ngt zurprisingly the Franks were rhrown into turmoil by these evenrs

and rushed to arms, seething with frenzied impatience and rage. Their bloodura! up and they could no longer contain themselves. §7ith o*ravagant daringand inordinate self-confidence they resolved not to brook anothei moment'iinaction or delay but to give battle that very day, in spite of the exptricitpronouncement of tle Alamannic soothsayers that they should not fight on

ÿa1d1v,oq else they must expecr tobe wiped out completely. 8 personallyI think that even if the encounter had taken place on the day after or onsome other day they would have sufiered precisely rhe same fate as befellthem on that occasion. A clrange of date would not have sufiiced to exemprthem from payrng in full the penalty of their impiety. 9 Still, whetherltlÿâs mere coincidence or whether the Alamannic seers might conceivablyhave somehow discerned the pattern of future events their prediction was,in the opinion of many, neither idle nor unfulfilled. I shall now give withoutfurther delay as accurate an âccount as is in my po\rrer of each consecutiveoccuffence.

7. The Franks were in a fighting mood. Their weapons urere akeady intheit hands, Narses made his men arm too and instructed them to leave campand to take up position in proper forrnation somewhere on no man's 1and.

z §7tr9n the army had begun to marc} and the general haà abeadynrounted his horse word was brought to him that one of the most prominent

looL,

oÉ thc Hcrul eülefr hd brutally murdered 0 rcrvant fot rome trifling ofience,

Stopplng hla homa lmmediately hc had the murderer brought before him. It,rould, he felt, bc lmploue to matdr into battle without first removing the

3rdlty stain by some act of atonement. 3 In answet to his enquiries the

bubarian admitted full tesponsibility for what hacl been done and even wentro far as to say that masters vrere at liberty to dispose of their own slaves

rt thry wished and that if the others did not behave themselves they tooÿould receive similar treâtment. Since it seemed that, fat from feeling any

1gnorse, the murderous brute'üas âctually boasting of his criminal conduct,

Nrrses gave orders to his bodyguatd to run the fellow through. 4 A sword

Flerced his belly and he lay dead.

There was the usual barbaian reaction frorn the rank and file of theHerul army. They quarrelled and sulked and decided to take no part in theâghting. 5 Narses, however, haüng removed all stain of guilt did notglvo the Heruls any further thought. He set ofi for the battleteld aftergüving notice that whoever wished to share in the victory must follow him.So great was his confidence in the aid of the divinty that he mardred outto battle with the conviction of foreordained success.

6 Sindual, the leader of the Heruls, thought it would be to their shame

nnd disgrace if he and his men 'ü,ere to prove guilty of desertion when such

a grc t battle was in progress. Moreover people might think that in rcalitythey were afuaid of. the enemy, and were using their afiection for the dead

man as a pretext and a cloak for their cowardice. 7 Ünable, therefore, tobcar the thought of refraining from active participation he signalled toNarses to'ürait for them, since they would be joining him any moment.

Narses, however, said that he could not wait, but that he would see to itthat'they should take their proper places in the field even if they were a bitlate in arriving. And so theHeruls armed themselves thoroughly and mardred

out in an orderly fashion.8. As soon âs Narses reached the battlefield he made the regular tactical

arrangements and dispositions of his troops. The cavalry were placed on the

wings at either side, carrying short spears, aàd shields, while a bow and

arrosrs and a sword hung at their sides. A few'of them held pikes. z Hehimself took his stand at the tip of the right wing. Zandalas üe chief of his

retainers and all the menials and campfollowers who were capable of bearing

arms 'ürere there too. 3 On the other side were Valerian and Artabanes

and their men with instructions to hide themselves for a time in the thicl<

of the wood and then as soon as the enemy charged to emerge from theirplace of concealment and atta&. them on both sides. 4 The infantry occu-

pied all the ground in the centre. The men in the van clad in mail right downto thefu feet and wearing especially strong helmets formed a solid wall ofshields. The others stood shoulder to shouldet in successive rows, the

,9

40 ÂrrthlmrThe t{hprlu

parallel arrangemcnr ortendlng ar fa.r ar the rorrgued, 5 All the llght.arned troops, slingers and bowmen tagged on behtnd bldtng their tlmi toshoot. A place had been reserved for the Herule in the middle of the phalanx,and it was still empty since they had not yet arrived,

6 Meanwhile two Heruls who had abeady deserted to the enemy sometime before and were, in consequence, ignorant of Sindual's later decisionwere exhorting tle barbarians ro âmad( the Romans as quickly as possible."You will find them", they said, "in complete disarray, with the Herulcontingent sullenly refusing to take any part in the action and the othertroops thoroughly disheartened by its ddection".

7 Doubtless because that was what he wished them to be, Butilinus hadlittle difficulty in accepting these words as rrue. He led out his men imme,diately. Their enthusiasm knew no bounds. In a flutter of excitement at thenews they had received they all made straight for the Romans. Their advancehowevef, was not a deliberate and ordered progress but a wild and impetuousrush, as though they thought that the mere sound of their voices would beenough to crush a1l opposition.

8 The disposition of their forces was in the shape of a wedge. It was likea ttiangalar figure resembling the letter delta,lo the pointed part in frontbeing a dense and compact mass of shields, whidr presented the appearanceof a boar's head. 9 The legs of the figure, formed by rows and iolumnsstretclring baclc obliquely, gradually grew farther and farther apart untilfinally it reached avety gteatwidth, so tllat the space in between *ur emptyrevealing the bad<s of the men in a continuous unprotected line. This con-figuration was the result of a progressive fanning out aimed at enabling themto meet the enemy head on, to fight in safety by covering themselves withtheir shields and to use their converging formation to guard their rear. 11

9. But all went well fot Narses since fortune lent a hand to his excellentgeneralshi$, The barbarians charging full tilt and raising a terrific din as theywent strucl< the Roman ranks with a violent impact. They immediatelydislodged the cenme of the van and went careering into the empty space leftby the absence of the Heds. 12 The spearhead of the enemy,s forces cut10 i.e.Àtz The following is the only ûgure that can be reconciled with each individual point

made in Agathias' description:

loot 2 4l

clcan thrcugh the r*nl«t, though wlthout cauaing many casualtles, and swept

on pnst the, rcarguatd, Some of them advoncod still futher in an attempt totakê the Roman camp, r At this point Narses quietly instnrcted the wings

to turîr isund, performing what in military parlance is termed a right about

turn, and to extend thernselves somewhat. The mountecl bovrmen \r;efe to

fire their affotü/s crosswise from either side into the bac-ks of the enemy.

f They had no di{ficulty in following these instructions. Being on horsebad<

ih.y or.ttopped the barbatians, who were on foot, and it was extremely

easy for them to hit a target whidr was some distance a§ray, spread out and

clear of obstacles. Not was it, I imagine, at all difiicult for the horsemen on

the flanks to shoot their arrows over the heads of that pa* of the enemy on

their side whidr was neâfest to t-hem and to wound those on the far side

whenever they came into sight. 4 Indeed the Franks were pierced in the

back from all sides, with the Romans on the right wing pid<ing otr the enemy

on the left and those on the left wing pid<ing ofi the enemy on the right'Thus the affows were virtually invisible as they flew through the air inreciprocally opposite directions destroying whoever lay in their path. The

barbarians were quite helpless, being unable to defend themselves and noteven having any clear idea from where they were being shot at. 5 Since

they were standing f.ace to'face with the Romans with their attention con-

centrated only on their immediate surroundings, engaged as they were in

hand-to-hand fighting with the heavy-armed troops in front of them, they

did not even so mudr as catdt a glimpse of the mounted bowmen stationed

behind them. Furthermore they were being hit in the bad< and not in the

chest and so had no meâns of ascertaining the true nature of their plieht.

6 Many of them were strucik dead on the instant before they even had tirne

to ask themselves what was happening. As those on the outside kept fallinsthose on the inside sT'ere successivelyexposed to viev and since this occurred

repeatedly their numbers were rapidly thinned out and dwindled into in-significance.

7 Meanwhile Sindual and his Heruls met, on approac-hing the scene of

brtil., with those of the enemy who had broken through the Roman ranks

and *"r" drarging on ahead. 8 As soon as they w'ere at close quarters they

engaged them. The enemy were taken unawares and thrown into confusion.

Ttioking they had fallen into an ambush they took immediately to flight,

blaming the Herul deserters and accusing them of having deceived them'

SinduJ and his men followed hard on their heels, not slacleiring his pursuit

until he had slain some and driven others into the eddying w'aters of the

river.g once the Heruls were in their place the empty space_was filled in and

th* Rrrnun ranks were closed up, with the result that the Franks, being

42 âlrthlnrThrHhæchl

virtually caught in a ner, wme rleughtercd on dl ddcr, îhclr mnln com.pletely broken they were rollcd bad< on themrclver ln e hopcless rcut.

ro The Romans did not dispatch them with arrowo onlybut both hcavy-armed and light-armed rroops joined in the onslaught, hurling their javelins,running them through with their pikes and cutting them to pieces with theirswords, while the cavalry outflanked them cutting them oJ[ and hemmingthem in. Those who escaped death by the sword were driven into the riveiby their pursuers and went to a watery grave. cries of lamentation filled theair as the barbarians perished miserably. r r Butilinus their drief and hiswhole army 'were wiped our and the Heruls who had deserted before thebattle were numbered among the slain. Indeed only five out of the entireTeutonic host managed to escape and return to their âncestral abodes.rz §fhat clearer proof could there be that they were punished for theirwickedness and ovemaken by the relentless operation of divine justice? Thatvast throng of Franks and Alamanni and all the others who flocked to theirstandards met with complete annihilation, whereas only eighty of theRomans lost their lives, and they were the men who sustained the first shockof the enemy attack. 13 In this battle practically everybody in the Romanranks showed conspicuous bravery. Among the batbanan auxiliaries Aligernthe Goth (he too took part in the battle) and Sindual the captain of theHenrls acquitted themselves with as mucJr gallantty as any man. AII werefull of praise and admiration for Narses and felt that it was thanks to hisforesight that they had distinguished themselves.

10. Scarcely,.I irnagine, have past ages produced another example of suchsignal and overwhelming victory. And if other men have, in the pasr,su:ffered a similar fateto the Franks, closer inspection reveals that theÿ toowete destroyed because of their wicledness. z Take Datis, for instance,the satrap of Darius, who in olden times arrived at Marathon srith a Persianarmy thinkillg that he was bound to subdue not iusr Attica but the wholeof Greece. llhe attad< was immoral and unj'ustifiable and was motivared solelyby the territorial ambitions o{ the Persian monardr Darius. The continentof Asia wâs, âpparently, not big enough for him and he greatly resented theidea of not being master of Europe too. 3 That then is the ràason why thePersians suffered a crushing de{eat at the hands of Militiades. The storygoes that the Athenians promised to sacrifice to Arremis, the Goddess of theChase, a kid for every man of the enemy slain and that she bestowed herflvour upon them so bountiftilly and they enjoyed sudr abundant huntingthat even when they resorted to sacrificing goats they could not make up thenumber. So heavy were the enemy's'losses in that battle! 4 Or takà thecelebrated xerxes and his marvels, 13 how else did he come to sufier dereat

13 Ac"ttüæ tr no doubt thinking of the bridging of the Hellespont and the digeing ofa canal through the isthmus north of Mount Athos. Both of these incidents became in

Booh 2

rt thc hcndr d ths Grtokr thrn beceucc ln hia abandoned wlclccdness he set

out to enrleve mÊn utho had done him no wrong and putting might before

right relied rgthcr on forcc of numbers and equipment than on discretion,

dh"re.a the Grceko wefe fighting in a just cause for their own freedom and,

neglecting nothing that it was in their power to do, they took all the appro'priate decisions and acted upon them? 5 How, for instance, coutrd one ac-

iount for the trophies of Gylippus the Spartan, the defeat of Nicias and De-

mosthenes and the whole Syracusan disaster save in terms of folly and wid<ed-

ness? For, what reason did the Athenians have for neglecting the war on theirdoorstep and sailing atü/ay to tavagedistant Sicily. 6 One could easily cite

many other instances of enterprises born of stupidity and wicledness and ofthe harmful consequences they have for those who carry them through, b'ut

I think that what has been said should prove sufiicient in the circumstances.

7 The Romans, then, (to return to my previous narrative) after buryingtheir dead according to their own rites and customs stripped the enemy and

collected a huge quantity of agns. They also knod<ed down the defensive

works of the enemy and plundered their camp. Laden with booty, crowned

with the laurels of victory, and singing songs of triumph they led theirgeneral bad< in stâte to Rome.

8 All the neighbourhood of Capua as far as the outlying districts pre-

sented the spectacle of fields running with blood and the riverside flooded

with an overflow of corpses. I have it on the âuthofity of a native of those

parts that an anonymous poem in elegiacs was inscribed on a stone pillarerected near the bank of the river and that it ran as follows:

"The Casulinus lodged its freight of corpses here,

where its currents cross Tyhrrenian shores

- the Frânkish hordes that fell to the Ausonian spear

and followed Butilinus and his cause.

Ah happy stream, oh carnage more than trophies dear,

long-reddened by their blood the water pours".

9 §Thether this poem was really engraved on a stone or whether it was

simply passed on by word of mouth until it reached me, I see no reason fornot transcribing it here. It might perhaps serve as a not inelegant testimonyto the course of this battle.' 11. In the meantime neïr's of the fate of Leuthatis and his men in Venetia

reached the Romans. §flhereupon both civilians and soldiers gave themselves

up to still more frequent and sustained bouts of merry-making and iollifi-.âtior, fondly imagining that they would not have to face any furtheropposition and that they would spend the rest of their days in peace. NowtËat the enemy who invaded ltaly had met with sudr wholesale destruction

Greek rhetorical tradition stock examples of human affogânce seekin§ to subvert thenafural order of things.

4'

44 Asrthlmr?he l{htorlu

they u dld not thlnh thet therc would be any more lnvarlona; that, at anyrate, was what the rank and file, wlth thelr charsctcrlstic lnability to divinethe true flature of afiairs, their propensity for indolence and thiir habit ofjudgrng everything according to their own pleasure"seeking srandards,thought. 3 Narses, however, made a detailed and penetrating assessmento{ the situation and concluded that it would be sheer madness to imaginethat they would have no further srruggless ro undergo, but could sàttledourn to a changed existence of blissful and increasing self-indulgence. Itonly remained, I fancy, for them to se1l, in their stupidity, their shields anclhelmets for a flagon of wine or a lyre, so superfluous and useless for anyfuture contingency did they consider their weapons to be. 4 Their general,howevef, saw clearly that, in all probability, there would be more wars withthe Franks, and was 'afuatd that the Romans might so undermine theirmorale through soft living, that when the moment for action came theymight succumb to cowardice and refuse ro face danger. 5 And indeed hisTrorst feârs might soon have been rcalized had he not deemed it opportuneto call his men together and address them in noble and rousing tones, inorder to bring them back to their senses, restore their courage, curb theirvanity and curtail their conceit. And so when they were all gathered togetherhe stood in their midst and delivered the following speeclr:

L2. "The experience of sudden and unprecedented prosperity does tendby its very unfamiliarity to confuse people and to make them lose theirsense of proportion, and this is especially so i{ the element of surprise isaccompanied by an element of undeserved success. z But if someone wereto accuse you of acting out of draracter, what excuse could you ofier? Thatyou have now tasted üctory, and that the sensation is a novel one? You,who rid the world of Totila and Teias and the entire Gothic nation! fs it,then, that,you af,e orperiencing a disproportionate measure of success?§7hat measüre o{ prosperiÿ, however great, cotild matdr the fame of Romanarms? To triumph forever over our enemies is our birthright and ancestralprivilege. 3 You are victorious, therefore, and deservedly so, as youractions and adrievements have amply demonstrated. These things do notaccrue to you from a life of ease and pleasure, but are the result of manifoldendurance and exertion and of long sdrooling in the hazatds of war. 4 Youmust, tJrerefore, persist in your former determination, not just confiningyourselves to the enjoyment of your pfesent prosperity but also taking stepsto ensure its continuance into the future. §Thoever fails to take these factorsinto consideration deprives success of a lasting basis and discovers all toooften that the tide of fortune has turned against him, 5 The fate of theFranks, whidr now fills you with justifiable pride, should serve as an object-lesson. Their affairs were prospering for a time unril in a frt of. arroganceand presumption they waged war against us, Tlot having sufiicient foresight

Booh2 4,

to reâlitc tho wlld trnprobability of their aime, The recult, as you know, has

been total annlhllatlon, a fate consummated by our arms but caused by theirfolly.

6 It would indeed be shameful, fellow Romans, if you were to sufier thecame fate as the barbadans and not to outshine them as mudr by yoursuperiof intelligence as you do in physical prowess. And let none of youlrnagine that all your foes have been desroyed and that there will be nomore enernies to fight. Yet, even if this were really the câse, that would beno reason for allowing youtselves to go to seed and surrendering all decency.

Z But no efiort of the imagination could make the true situation coincidewith yout illusions. The Franlcs are a gteat and populous nation and extre-mely well-versed in the afi of war. A tiny fraction of them has been defeated,too small to inspire them with fear, but large enough to provoke them toanger. It is unlikely, then, that they will remain inactive and gulp down theinsult in silence. Indeed it is rnudr more likely that they will return shortlywith a larger army to resume the fighting against us. 8 Resolve, therefore,to banish idleness novr and to renew your martial qualities, bringing themto ân enr'en higher pitch of perfection than before, seeing that you must facethe prospect of stiffer opposition for the future than you have encounteredin the past. 9 If you persist in this resolve, then, even should they appearon the scene very shortly, they will find you in a state of complete prepared-ness the moment they strike. §7heteas, in the event of their giving up theidea altogether, (since we must red<on with both possibilities) your safetywill be assured and you will be seen to have adopted the best policy".

ro These words of exhortation from Narses filled the army with shameand remorse at their irresponsible behaviour. And so, curbing every impulseto riotous and disordetly conduct, they returned to their traditional ways.

13. A detachment of Goths, numbering about seven thousand men,which had assisted the Franks in various places, concluded that the Romanswould not slaclen in their ofiensive but would soon be attad<ing them too,and withdrew immediately to the fortress of Campsa. la z The place wasparticulady secure and well fortified since it was situated at the top of a

steep hill, with an aruay of boulders stretching out in all directions and risingsheer about the summit, which rendered it inaccessible to enemy assault.

Once these Goths had gathered together in this place they felt safe andhad not the slightest intention of capitulating to the Romans. Indeed theywere determined to fight bacl( with all their might and main should anyone

attack them. 3 The man who urged and incited them to adopt this course,'§las a barbanan called Ragnaris, who though neither a kinsman nor a

compatriot was their leader. He belonged , in {.act, to a Hunnic tribe called

la Perhaps modern Conza, aboat fifty miles east of Naples.

46 Acrthlau The HhCIdu

the Bitgorr, Hc rchlcved his pre-cminent poartlon through hls slcill andculnjng and capaclty to acquire personal inf{ucnce by all rneans both fairand foul. Now he was plar:ning to resume hostllities tn the hope of therebyenhancing his o'ilrn prestige,

4 Narses, at once, mardred against them with all his forces. But since itwas impossible to get near rhe fort by launching a sudden attad< and therewas no question of fighting it out on üsadvantageous terrain, he settleddown to a regular siege, guarding every possible supply point, in order tomake sure that nothing whatsoever should be convàyed to the men insideand to deter them from venturing forth at will. 5 The barbarians, how-ever, did not sufier any rcal harm as a result of this policy, being, in fact,possessed of an abundancq of provisions, since all their stores and mostvaluable possessions had previousty been brought to this fort, which theyheld to be impregnable.

6 Nevenheless the fact of being besieged by the Romans \'as a sourceof annoyance to rhem and they felt that it would be a grear indignity if theywere going to be confined and shut up in an enclosed space for À ind"finitlperlod. so they made frequenr sorries against rhe enemy, hoping that theymight succeed in driving rhem away from the place, but the fighring was un-distinguished and inconclusive.

L4. After winter had been spenr on these operarions Ragnaris decidedthat he should call for a discussion of terms with Narr.r. Having beengranted permission for a parley he appeared escorted by a few m.r, Àd th.t\ÿo met somewhere in no marr's land and had a lengthy discussion. z Butthe_ spectacle of Ragnaris pufied up with conceit,-boasting extavagantly,making outrageous demands and generally adopting a high und Àighiyattitude decided Narses to break off the meeting unconditionally and sendhim away without further ado. 3 But, when he had already goi to the topof the hill and was not far from the wall of the fort, stealthilÿ and withoutmaking a sound he drew his bow and, furious at the failuré of his plans,turned round and shot an arrow straight at Narses. He missed. The arrowflew wide of its mark and fell to the ground without harming anyone.4 But the barbanan was quiclly punished for his ffeachery. Angered at hisinsolence Narses'body-guard shot at him. The wretch was wounded mor-tally, his inevitable deserts for perpetrating sudr a foul piece of treadrery.§7ith difiiculty his escort carried him into rhe fo$ress. 5 He lingered onthere for two days and rhen died an ignominious death, whidr was th.fitting conclusion of his insane perfidy.

6 After his dèath the Goths, thinking that they were no longer in aposition to withstand the siege, requested Narses to provide them with anassurance that he woulcl not deprive them of their lives. As soon as they

Book 2

recelved ê rworn undcrtahing to that eflect they iurmediately surrenderedthemoelver end thc fort.7 Nareec put none of them to death, since, apart from the fact thathe hadSlvcn his word not to, it would have been unthinkable to kill in cold bloodr ddeated encmy. To prwent them from stirring up any further trouble,however, he sent them all to the Emperor in Constantinople.

I rù(/hile these events were in progfess the young Theudobald, who ruledovcr the Franks whose territory adjoined ltaly, (as I explained earlier on)died most wretd:edly from the ruurg., of a congàtal diJease.

- Custom required that Childebert and Chlotar, being his next of kin,ghould succeed the lad. But immediatery a violent feud, of sudr intensitythat it threatened to have a detrimental efiect on the nation as a wholé,broke out between them.

9 Childebert was already aged and infirm and his whole body hadwithered and wasted away as a result of an acute debility. Furthermore hewas devoid of male issue, having only daughters ro succeed him. ro Chlo-taf, on the other hand, was still vigorous and had nor aged mudr, the firstwrinkles being just barc7y discernible. Moreover he had four strapping sonswho were brimming over with energy and daring. Consequentlÿ Ctlotutinsisted that his brother shouJd relinquish his claim to Theudobald's estate,in view of the fact that it would nor be long before Childebert's kingdorntoo devolved upon him and his sons. rr He was nor disappointed in hishopes. The old man, in fact, voluntarily resigned his share of the inheritance,through fear, no doubt, of the other man's power and because he wished toavoid incurring his enemity. Not long after, he died,leaving chlotar the soleruler of the Franks. This then was the situarion in ltaly and the srare ofafiaim among the Franks.

15. In summer time, roughly during the same period, 15 there wâs aviolent earthquake in Constantinople and in many parts of the Empire, withthe result that several cities both on the islands and the mainland werenzedto the ground and their inhabitants wiped out. z The lovely city ofBerytus, 16 the jewel of Phoenicia, was completely ruined and its world-famous arc}itectural treasures were reduced to a heap o{ rubble, practicallynothing b'r.rt the bare pavernents of the buildings being left.

3 Many of the local inhabitants were crushed to death under the weightof the wred<age, as srere many cultivated young men of distinguishedpffentage who had come there to study the Law. There was, in f.act, a longtradition of.legal studies in the city, and the law schools conferred an auraof peculiar privilege and distinction on the place.

15 551 A. D.16 Beyrut.

47

4ü Agethlmr Thc Hlrtorler

. + 4r^Sr poinr,.then, the profesoors of law moved to the neighbouringcity of sidon and the schools werc rransferrcd there, untll Berytü uras re.bu,iIt. The resrored city was very difierent from what it had been in ttrre past,though it was not changed beyond recognirion, since it still preservea a rewtraces of its former self. But this rebuilding of the city and the subseguentreturn of the schools was not to take place for some time yet.

., At that time also some slight tremors u7'ere felt in the great rnetropoliso{ Alexandria on the Nile, an altogether unusual occurrence-for those parts.6 All the inhabitants and particularly the very old were amazed ,i tH"t

SPParently unprecedented phenomenon. Nobody stayed indoors. The popu-lace congregated in the streets, seized with unwarranied panic at th. r,ràdËn-ness and novelty of the event.

7 I myself was in Alekandria at the time completing the prescribedstudies 17 which lead to the law course proper, and I moit confess I wasquite overcome with fear considering the faintness of the tremors. §7hatreally worried me, though, was the f.act thatpeople's houses there are not atall strongly-built and quite incapable of standing up to even a small amountof vibration, being frail and flimsy srrucrures consiiting of a single thicl<nessof stone.

8 There was alarm even among the educated section of the communitynot, I think, at what had, actually taken p1ace, but because it seeme r"rror-able to expect that the same thing would happen again.

9 Some people, in fact, claim that the cause of this phenomenon lies incertain dry and fiery exhalations whidr are imprisoned in underground cavi-ties and, having no proper otrtlet, build up an enormous pressure, until,violently shaking everything that bars their passage, they &entually forcetheir way out into the open through some weak point in the earth's crust.Nour those who advance this type of scientiÉc explanation say that Egypt isby nature incapable of experiencing earth-tremois, being flai and t"ü-ly*eand devoid of underground caviries, and that in consequénce it does rroi b"-come drarged with sudr vapours, which in any case wàuld keep seeping outof the ground even if drey weie present owing to the poros ity and

"lurti"ityof the terrain.ro On that occasion, then, when this theory was well and truly refuted

and shown to rest on no very firm basis, the good people were naturallydismayed at the thought that the famous epigram might, to their cosr, provetrue in reverse and that they might, in future, be in danger of experiencingthe god Poseidon not just in tl.e capacity of "earth-supporter,, but also inthe more sinister role of "eafth-shaker". 18 rr Still, wen though tremors

17 Probably a training in rhetoriq as Mrs. Cameron poinrs out (op. cit. pp. 140-141).18 This epigram has not come down to us, but it requires rro great ingènüty to deduce

that it made use of a mythological conceit in whidr these two tradiiiond epithets of

Book 2

have been {elt sver c pert o( Egypt thc o(pcrts will not fail to find freshüguments Lr rupport of the vapour thcory.

re To my mind, however, though ùeir conclusions do not lac} a certainplau.sibility, to the extent, that is, that it is possible for a rnan to make in-Ierences about things which are beyond his ken, they are, however, very farrcmoved {rom the real truth. How, indeed, could one hope to gain an accu-tate picture of things that he can neither see nor influence? 13 It is su,fii-clcnt for us to know that all things are controlled by the workings of a divinemind. To observe and investigate the principles and operations of thephysical wodd and the causes of eadr particular phenornenon, such specu-lstion is admittedly not altogether worthless or unattractive, but it wouldbc the most reprehensihle kind of presumption to imagine that it is possibleto arrive at the ultimate reality by sudr a procedure. Bur enough of suchthiogt. Let us retufn to the point where we broke ofi our account.

16. At that time the island of Cos whiih lies at the southern end of theAegaean was almost completely destroyed. Indeed except for one small partof the island practically nothing was left standing, and the disasrer uTas un-precedented in its scale and complority. z The sea rose up to a fantasticheight and engulfed all the buitdings near the shore, destroying thern to-gether with their contents and inhabitants. The heaving mass was of sudrenormous proportiorrs that it flung down everything there that its surgingcrests could not ride over. 3 Almost all the inhabitants perished indis-criminately, whether they happéned to have taken refuge in pËces of worshipor to have stayed in their homes or gathered together in some other spot.

4 I happened to have occasion to disembark there myself just after thedisaster, when I was sailing bad< from Alexandria to Constantinople (theisland is of course on the route). §7hen I set foot on shore I was confrontedwith a spectacle that beggared description.

5 Practically the whole city was reduced to a gigantic heap of rubble,littered with stones and fragments of broken pillars and beams, and the airwas mur§ with thid< clouds of dust, so that one could bur.ly surmise theeristence of what had once been streets from a few vague hints of theirpresence. A mete handful of houses stood intact and they \ri'ere not the onesthathaÂ, been built with stones and mortar or some sudr seemingly moresolid and durable substance, but only those made in peasant style out of un-baled bricls or mud. 6 Here and there could be seen a few men whosehaggard and dejected faces wore a look of hopeless apathy.

On top of all their other ills the entire local water-suppLy had beencontaminated with sea-water and rendered undrinkable. All was ruin anddesolation. The only vestige of distinction left the city was the famous name

the sea-god Poseidon were contasted in order to express Egypt's immunity fromearthquakes,

49

,0 âsrthlerr Thc Illrmrlel

of the Aadepiadae le and ite proud bomt of hrvlng bcen the birthplaco ofHippocrates.

7 To be moved to pity by tragedies suclr ag these rccmg only human, butto declare oneself utterly bafiled and astonishcd would be to betay one'cignorance of past history and of the {act that this world of ours is by its verynature continually orposed to a variety of calamities and misfottunes. Indecdmany times in the past whole cities have been destroyed by earthquakes,losing all their original population ând eventually being repeopled, as ne\r/cities rise on their ruins.

L7. The city of Tralles on the Maeander is a case in point. This ancientsettlement of the Pelasgians situated in what is now ca1led the Province ofAsia was completely devastated by an earthquake during the reign of theEmperor Augustus.20

z The story goes that, when the city lay in a tragic heap of ruins, a certainrustic, a tiller of the soii by üe name of Chaeremon \r/as so deeply movedby the calamity that he could bear it no longer and so ser our to accomplishan incredible and ortraordinary feat. 3 Deterred neither by the disranceinvolved, nor by the magnitude of his petirion, nor by the dangers he waslikely to face, nor indeed by his doubtful drances of success, nor, for tharmatter, by the fact that he would be leaving his family to fend for them-selves, nor by any of the other considerations that lead men to drange theirminds, he went not just to Rome but to rhe land of the Cantabri2l on rhevery shores of the Ocean. For Caesar was there at that time conducting acampaign against some of the local tribes.

4 \7hen Chaeremon told him what had happened the EmperorTvas sotoudred that he straightaway designated seven of Rome's noblest and mostdistinguished e:r-consuls and sent them with tleir retinues ro the spot. Theygot there with all speed and diligently supervised the rebuilding of the city,spending hrige sums of money on the project and giving the city the formwhich it has preserved right up to the present day. 5 It would be a mis-nomer to call its present inhabitants Pelasgians, ruther one should think ofthern as Romans, even though they have become Greek-speaking, which isunderstandable since their territory borders on fonia.

6 These happenings ate all voudred for by the ofiicial history of the cityand corroborated by an epigram whidr I read when I went there. 7 fn oneof the fields on the outskirts of the city, apparently the spot that Chaeremoncame from (the name of the field is Siderus) there stands the base of a sratue.It is of great antiquity and on it it appears that a statue of Chaeremon mustonce have stood, though there is nouT no longer any ttace of. it. 8 Never-

le An ancient guild of physicians to which Hippocrates himself belonged.20 27 A.D.zt A tibe of eastern Asturia.

Itook 2

thsler the dcdlcrdon ln vetse lnrcrlbed on thc base h ttlll diecernibleruni er fsllowr:

"Oncc, when an eorthquake razed his city to the ground,. the gdlent Chacremon did smaightaway take thought

to rescue it and uavelled till at length he foundin far.away Cantabria the Emperor and his court.Now on this altar does his image standand citizens by grateful fancy ledgreet as a second founder of their landtfie man who rescued Tralles from the dead."

9 §[e may safely assume then that the foregoing is a reliable accounrevents in Tralles. Many other cities in Asia, in fact, both those settledIonians and those settled by Aeolians, sufiered a similar Late at that time.

18. §fiell, I think I had better leave rhe subject of narural disasrerstesume the thread of my narrative. But, if I am to give a trulyaccount of the period, the scene must move to tlre land of the Lazt andurars with Persia.

: The Romans and the Persians had been at srar for a very long time a

were continually mvagpng each other's territory. Sometimes they resorteda policy of sporadic fighting and undeclared hostility making frequenrand incursions, on other occasions they engaged in open andwafi.arc.

3 Shortly before our period both parties had agreed to a limired trucewhiih covered the eastern territories and the frontiers of Armenia, but dnot e.:<tend to coldris. 4 The inhabiranrs of Lazica were called cold:iain ancient times, so that the Lazi and the Coldrians are the same peopThat this is the case can easily be inferred from sucl, landmarks as the rirPhasis and the caucasus and the r.act that they have inhabited these regiofot a very long time.

5 There is a madition that the Colchians came originally as settlers frcEgypt.The story goes thar long before the voyage to Coldris of Jason athe Argonauts and at all evenrs before the time of the Assyrian Empire athe days of Ninus and Semiramis, Sesosrris king of Egypt raised ahuge arrof native Egyptians and launched an invasion against the whole àf Aswhidr he subdued. He is cedited with having rcacled Coldris too and wjhavils left a pa,l- of his host there, from *tidr, presrÀably, the Colcliaate descended. This account has the support of Diodorus Siculus 23 andlarge number of other ancient authorities.2a

22 551A.D.23 cf. Diodorus Siculus I.55.4.2a cf. Herodotus 2,L04.

,2 Agrthlmr The Hl:tcrlo

6 Now thece Lazi, ColcJrlana, Egyptlan mignnta or whrt heve you, hevebecorne a bone of contention in our day ond ege, §nd innumerablc battleshave been fought for the sake of their land.

The Persian Emperor Chosroes had already appropriatcd and occupieclmuch of their territory including some of the most strategically importanrpositions. Far from entertaining any idea of relaxing his hold on the placehe was intent on completing its subjugation. On thJother hand the RômanEmperor Justinian thoughi it unlearable and quite immoral to abandonGrrbazes, the then king of theLazi, and the whole of his nation, seeing tharthey were subjects of the empire and linked by a common bond of friend-ship and religion. Instead he did his urmost to drive our rhe enemy as quicllyas possible.

7_Justioian gasped clearly the alarming implications of a Persian victoryrgsulting in the annexarion of the whole area. Shouid sudr a thing happenthere would be nothing ro prevenr t}e Persians from sailing up the Euxinewith impunity and probing deep into the heart of the noÀrn Empire.8 Accordingly he stationed a Targe and powerlul army there under thecommand o{ some of his best generals. Bessas, Martin and Buzes were incharge of the operation, all of them men of firsr-rare abüty and wide mili-tary erperience. Justin the son of Germanus, who despite his extreme youthwas well-versed in the att of wat, rÀ7âs sent there too.

19. The Persian general Mermeroes had twice attad<ed Ardraeopolis andhad been repulsed twice. After a number of other exploits whiclr i omit tomention here since tJrey have already been adequately recorded by Procopius,he had, at the point where I must pick up the thread of my narrativ., rea.h"dMudreirisis 25 and the stronghold of Cotais, determined to press on throughthe difiicult terrain around Telephis and penerrate as far as rhe river Phasis.In this way he would take the Romans by surprise and, relying on theresultant coÀfusion, would make,a bid for the forcible occupation of someof the forts in the area. z There was no question, however, of achievingthis result if he were to advance and attad< openly. Martin was stationeàwith his army in the fortress of Telephis, and was keeping a s*icr watdr onall approaches to the region. 3 Besides the terrain is inaccessible and a7-

most impassable. Deep gorges.and steep overhanging rod<s on either siderender the path below naffo§/ in the extreme. 4 Nor is it possible toapproadr the place by any other roure. The adjacent plains are a mass ofsv/amps and quagmires, and dense thiclets and copses rise up so as topresent a formidable obstacle even for one lightly-clad man, let alone for anarrred host.

Even so the Romans spared no pains and if they found any spot whicJr

zs Spring o1 554 or 555.T\e drronology is uncertain.

Eoolr 2

vm flm cüor.l5h to srrlh on they lmmcdlately fenccd it round with woodenttùer rnd !tone!, burylng themselvea incessently with these tasks.

5 .âJter iorûÊ perplffiity and a gteat deal of hard thinking about how todml wtth thc cituatlon it occurted to Mermeroes that if by sorne means he

æuld malce the Romans telax theit vigilance and could gradually divertthch attention it would be quite feasible for him to get his forces tlrough.âut ae long as the enemy kept the area undercuru.illrn . it wo'uld not be

lchsible for him to tackle simultaneously and overcome both obstacles to hisprogres§. Once they relaxed their vigilance, however, he thotrght it wouldnot be such an impossible task to deal with the difiicult terain aîd clear a

lro§eage for his tl.oops. 6 §7ith the huge resources of manpower at hisdleposal he hoped to get through without mucJr difiiculty by cutting andeleating away the woods and by cutting through and removing any rod<s

that impeded his progress. 7 In order to secure this o§ective he devised

*re following stratagem:

Pretending that he had suddenly fallen victim to a dangerous and incurablecomplaint he went to bed, where he made a great display of his vexation anddlscomfiture and loudly lamented his fate. 8 Soon the word spread

throughout the whole atmy that the general was seriously ill and was practi-cally on the verge of death. Ihose who made money out of betraying theiro'urn people to the enemy and passing on seüet information were also in thedark about what was really happening, since his plan was kept a carefallygrrarded secret and \vas not even disclosed to all his closest friends. Deceived,then, simply by the rumours whidr were in general circulation they informedthe Rornans accordingly. The Romans readily believed the report not so

mud1, I think, on its own merits as because that was what they wanted tobelieve.

20. Immediately they began to relax their vigilance and no longerbothered to take strict precautions. After an interval of a few days, newsamived that Mermeroes had died. He had in fact hidden himself in a roomwith the result that this belief won the support of even his mosr intimateassociates. z §Thereupon the Romans feit that there was even less pointin their passing sleepless nights and exerting themselves continually. So theysuspended operations on the fences and enclosures and began to take lifeeasy., sleeping all night and billeting themselves in the counrry areas. Theydid not even send out scouts ot perform any other essential task. Theythought that, being apparently leaderless, the Persians would never attackthem but would go out of their'ffay to avoid them.

3 As soon as he learnt this, Mermeroes abandoned his pretence andshowed himself to the Persians just as he was before. He then promptlymardred out his entire army. Throwing himself into the task with untiring

5t

5,1 Ag*tlrixr: 'l'lt' I lietor ler

zcal hc lcurovt:d all obstrrcles to thcil progrc$lr lry thc lnsutts whiçih he hrttllong bccn planning ancl approadrcd thc Îort.

The Romans were so startlcd by the uncxpcctcclncss of his approadr thatthey were no longer in a tt state to defencl themselves. 4 Martin decidccltherefore, to abandon the fort at this point before Mermeroes shoulcl forcchis way in and make havoc of the Romans there. Indeed it is hard to imaginchow tÀey, a mere hand{ul o men, could have resisted such a vast number ofenemy ttoops without being massacred. And so, outmanoeuvred by thebarbafians, they beat an ignominious retreat and hastened to join the rest oftheir forces. 5 Bessas and Justin and their men were encamped on a plainonly seven stades distant frorn Telephis. There is nothing there apart {roma pottery- market, which has given its name to the spot. The place is in factcalled Ollaria, aLatin word whidr means the same thing as Chytropolia doesin Greek.26 6 Once Martin and the bulk of his men had already made itto safety, the generals unanimously decided to stand their ground and waitfor the enemy there in order to prevent them from advancing any further.

7 Among the most distinguished of the commanders \ü'as a man namedTheodore, aTzanianby birth who had been brought up among Romans andhad, already lost the barbarian ways of his homeland and become quitecivilized. 8 This Theodore, then, stayed on near Telephis with his ownbody of men (no fewer tJran five hundred of his fellow contrymen accom-panied him) having received insuuctions from Martin not to leave until theenemy vrere near enough for him to see them all and to gâuge, as far as

possibLe, their numbers, their mettle and their intentions.21. He proceeded to ca"rry out these instructiorrs with his usual energy

and daring. So, when he saw that the Persians had overrun the fortress andrcalized that they would not stop at that but were only too eager to dobattle, he immediately departed.

z On his way back he discovered that many of the Romans had not gonestraight to Chytropotria as they had been told to, but had burst into thehouses o{ the Laziand were carrying ofi millet and wheat and other food-stufs. He tried to drive them a\\îay, îeproaching them for their irresponsiblebehaviour and for their failure to reolize what trouble they were in.

3 Those who were able to conuol their rapacity recognized the folly oftheir ways and mardeed to safety following his lead. 4 But Theodore hadno drance to report in due course to tle generals on the approacJr of Mer-meroes. \X/hat had actoalTy happened was that the Persians suddenly caughtup with some of the soldiers who had carried on plundering regardless,and killed a few o{ them. The others fled and did not stop running untilthey had burst into the camp banging and shouting at the top of theirvoices. So great rffâs the general consternation provoked by the suddenness

Zll.JFiGy-Mark.t".

Book 2

11f tlreil irrrrptiorr thnt nll were soizerl witlr utrwrtrt'ntttetl pnnic nncl begrttt to

Iu()ve ()ut o[' tltcir (lltnrtcrs.

; '1.'tre pcrrerrrls (their forces fitcl not yet bccn pr<lperly rnatshallecl) were

lnfËcterl rvirh n sin'rilrrr pnnic, fenring tlrnt the barbarian wourld attad< them

in their: pr(:sen1 stâte of unprcparcdness. They were ready to scrap their

previous lrlnn [',trt they hacl no alternative to fall back on. Indeed the urgency

,rf th" siiuation an,l ihe confused state of their minds precluded even the

possibility of teflection'' 6 llrcaking up camp immediately, therefore, they left the plain' They

tool< all their troops with them as they retreated in an ignoble and undisci-

1:lined fout, running non-stop until they teadred Nesos.27 7 Now Nesos

is about five parararrgs a\yay from Telephis. So great a mardring distance had

these brave 'ürafriofs covered in a single day's fast running! A parasang is,

nccording to Herodotus 28 and Xenophon, equal to thirty stades, whereas

nowdays the Iberians and Persians say that it is equivalent to t'ürenty-one

stades. 8 The Lazi too have the same units of measufement, but call them

by tfie difierent and, to my mind, not inappropriate name-of "pauses"' The

,"urr1 for this is that their porters stop fof a shoff rest whenevet they have

travelled a parusang and put dovrn their burdens, relays of fresh men taking

them up irturn at each successive stage. They then divide yp 1rrd meâsure

the disànce covered according to the numbet of times they do this. 9 But

whatevelw'ay \ÿ'e may dtoose to red<on a pafasang the fact remains that

Nesos is one hundred and fifty stades distant from Telephis. The fort is ina. strong and inaccessible position, being surrounded by two mighty rivers.

ro The Phasis and the Doconus flour separately from the Caucasus and are

a very great distance apatt atfrtst, but here the lie of the land exerts its

influence and causes them to converge gradually. The Romans had, by digging

acana7., con6ived to channel the waters of the Phasis into the Doconus, so

that the two rivers unite their streams touzards the eastern end of Nesos

and enclose the spo,t. rr After that they describe a numbef of twists and

turns, confining a not inconsiderable'section of the plain. They continue toIlow until they meet of their o'ürn accofd towards the west and merge com-

pletely into one ânother, so that all the intetvening gfound is virtually an

island. ft was in this place that the Romans had gathered.

22. When he reached Chytropolia Mermeroes decided, after pouring

scofn on thern for their cowatdice and concentfating a considerable amount

of invective on people who were not there to hear him, not to advance any

further or try to attack Nesos. He had no meâns of conveving supplies tosudr a huge atmy in the middle o{ enemy teffitory nor rlr'âs he in any otherrespect equipped for a siege. z So, since he did not litr<e the idea of matdring

27 The word means "island".28 Cf. Herodotus 2. 6,3.

,1

il§;

!6 â3rÉ!u ÏtrrHhtorlu

badr to Tclcphir agd tho dllllcult temeln In thrt roglon, ho ret up (over thetiver Phasis) a bridge of wooden planke and pontoonr rpeclally deaigned forthe purpose and conveyed hls w}ole army ecrom wlthout encoontJing .nyopposition._ _3 then, after he had reinforced the Perelan garrison at-ono_guris (whidr he had established in the district of Ardraeopolis as a hostilebase against the Romans) pÿftirg new heart into the men and making theqlace_a9 secure as possible, he ret'rned to cotais and Mudreirisis. i eçflicted by some disease and reduced ro a srare of qrtreme ill-heatth he 1eftthe main body of his army in that region to guard their possessions and serofi himself for lberia.

_ _ 5 After a painful journey in which he was carried to the city of Meschitha,Mermeroes succumbed to the illness and really and tnrly breathed his lastthis time. His had been one of the most distinguished careers in persianhistory. A brilliant organiser and an excellent taàtician, he was above all a

ryn 9f -intrgnid spirit. §7hen he was akeady an old man and had rong beencrippled in both his feet so badly that he was unable even to ride a horse he

lisql1:red the stamina and endurance of a young man in his prime. Nor didhe fail to take part in the actual fighting, but borne on a litter ire would moveab,out the ranks of battle. Exhorting and encouraging his men and issuingtimely and accurate instructions he struck terror into the hearts of the enemyand reaped the fruits of many a victory. Never indeed was there a moresqiking illustration of the fact that brains and not brawn are the prerequisiteof a good general.

6 Mermeroes' servants took up his body, caried it out of the city and,follouring their ancestral custorn, left it uncovered and unattended-to bedevoured by dogs and by sudr loathsome birds as feed on carrion.

23. Percian funeral customs regularly take this form. Thus the flesh ispicked away leaving the bones bare to rot scattered and dismembered on theplains. It is'striely forbidden for them to put their dead into any kind oftomb or cofiin or even to cover them over with earth. z And if the birdsdo not swiftly s'üoop down on a man's body or the dogs do not straightawaircome to tær it up they think that he must have been uttedy vicious anddepraved and that his soul has become a sink of iniquity reserved as theexclusive haunt of the foul fiend. In that case his relations moum still morebitterly for him since they consider him to be completely dead and to haveno share in a better hereafter. 3 But if a man is devoured on the instantthen they bless him for his good fortune and they regarcl his soul with aweand wonder, considering it to be most virtuous and godlike and destined toascend to the place of bliss, 4 It any of the rank and file happen to beafflicted with some grievous ailment when out on,active service sornewürere,they are taken away while still alive and lucid. §7hen a man is subjected tothis type of e4posure a piece of bread, some §,.atef, and a stick are set down

looül 57

bcdds lrJm, Al long g ho lr rblc to cst ând otlll hei rome rmall resldue of

ftfcngth left hlm É wrnds ofi ettachlng animale with thc stid< and scares

rway-the ptolpcctlvÊ feasters, 5 But if without actually dlstroying him.

the illness rsdücec him to a state whete he can no longet move his atms, then

thc animals dcvour the poor \ÿfetch when he is not properly dead and is only

Juct beginning to breatli his last, thus robbing him in advance of any possible

hope of recovery.f fn.r" havà in fact been many insrânces of people who recovered and

feturned home, ptesenting an appearance of deathly pallor and emaciation

which was enough to frighten t}e life out of any one who should drance to

fall in with thern and looking for all the world like dlaractefs on the tragic

stage affiving from "the portals of darkness" 2e. 7 Ïf. anyone returns intheie circumstances everybody shuns him and treats him as a pariah since

he is regarded as polluted and still belonging to the netherworld. Nor is he

permitted to fesume his place in society until the stain of pollutio1 incurred

Ly th" imminence of deàth has been purged by the Magi in order that he

may, as it were, embrace life anew.g tt It quite obvious, of course, tlat each of the various nations of man'

Iiind consiàers thât any c'ustom whatsoever whidr is both universally ac-

cepted in their society and deeptry rooted in their past cannot fail to be perfect

and sacrosanct, whereas whatever runs countef to it is deemed deplorable,

contemptible and unsrorthy of serious consideration. Nevertheless people

have always managed to find and enlist the support of reasoned âfguments

from all quafters when their own conventions âre involved. Sudr arguments

may indàd be tnre, but they may also very well be specious fabrications.

9 So it does not smike me as particulafly surprising that the ?ersians too

rm"U ffy to prove, when accounting for their o§/n customs, that these are

superior io ,nyon. else's. Whar I do find altogether remarkable-is that the

earliest inhabiiants of their land,that is to say the Assyrians, Chaldaeans and

Medes, had very difierent views on the ro subiect, as witness the tombs

and sepuldrres of men who died long ago which are still to be found on the

outskirts of Nineveh and Babylon and also in the district of Media. The formof burial is no difierent ffom ouf own, and whether the bodies are enclosed

or just the ashes, as is the case tÿith those who \I/ere cremated according to

the ancient Gteek custom, the fact remains that it is quite unlike anything

that is practised at Present.24.-'I'hose èarly inhabitants then held no sudr views concerning burial,

nof was the sanctity of the mariage-bed violatecl in the way it norr is. Notonly do the present-day Persians think nothing of having intercourse withtheir sisters and nieces, but fathers lie with their own daughters and, horrot

,, dmrt"t to the Hecuba of Euripides line t where the words are spoken by the

ghost of Polydorus.

Âgathlerl 'l'he I lirrurler lirrrlt 2 59

tltc " fertlvul of tlre alnying of thc cvil ones " in which tlrcy kill hugc nunrbcr:sof reptiles rltt(l (,tlref wilcl ctcrtttrt'cs rrtrcl clctrizcns of thc descrt and presenttltettr to tlre rrrngi rrs n proof of thcil clevotion. Thcy imaginc that in this wayfhey nrr rcrrtlcring nn ngrccablc scrvice to the good divinity and that they arethwurtirrg urrtl injuring Ahriman. r r Their veneration of water is so greattlrnt they clo not evcn wash their faces in it or handle it in any other way saveqs o drink and fot the purpose of irrigation.

25, They name many other gods, whom they worship, and they performractifices and practise ritual purifications and divination. Fire is consideredon object of peculiar sanctity and veneration. Accordingly it is tended incertain remote and sacred chambers by the magi who never allow it to goout. Gazing into it they perform their secret rites and scrutinise the courseof future events. z I imagine they took over rhis pracrice from the Chal-cloeans or some other people, since it is something of an anomaly. Such aprocedure would of course be very much in keeping with the compositenoture of their religion which is a most varied blend of ideas derived from a

multiplicity of difierent peoples. And this srate of afiairs too is what Iehould have expected. 3 Indeed I know of no other society whidr has beensubjected to suc}r a bewildering vadety of transformations or whidr throughits submission to ân endless succession of foreign dominations has failed sosignally to adrieve any degree of continuity. Srnall wonder then that it stillbears the stâmp of many different forms and conventions.

4 The AssyriâRs are the first people mentioned in our tradition as havingconquered the whole of Asia as far as the river Ganges. Ninus appears tohave been the founder of the dynasty and was followed by Semiramis andthe whole line of their descendants stretching as far as Beleus the son ofDercetades. 5 §7hen with BeLeus, the last scion of the house of Semiramis,the family became extinct a man called Beletaran, who was head gardener inthe palace, gained possession of the throne in extraordinary circumstancesand grafted the royal title on to his orvn family. The story is told by Bionand by Alexander Polyhistor and takes us down to the reign of Sardanapaluswhen, as they tell us, the kingdom entered upon a phase of decline and Ar-baces the Mede and Belesys the Babylonian wrested it from the Assyrians,hilling their king and bringing it under the control of the Medes, some onethousand three hundred and six years or more after Ninus' rise to power.This figure is based on the drronology of Ctesias the Cnidian and accordswith that given by Diodorus Siculus.

6 A period of Median dornination then ensued in whiclr everyrhing wasordered according to that people's laws and customs. After not less thanthree hundred years of Median rule, however, Cyrus the son of Cambysesdefeated Astyages in battle and brought the country under Persian conrrol.One could hardly expect him to have done otherwise seeing that he was

of lrorr:ors, olrt tlre.unnrrtrrrrrtnern of it, ronr rvrrrr rtrcir nrotrrer.s. ,r,rrnt thislrarticular rrlxrmination is rr reccnt jrnnrnii,,,, ln well iflr.rr,i..i..A fry thc fol-Iowing story. z It i-s saicl thnt trrc fa,,lou, .1,,""n ,f Âssyrin scmiramis oncesank to sudr depths of dcba_trchery thri tlo ,.t.,rrlly c,,ccivc1 a 6esire to haveintercoulse with her son Ninyas ,"a

"uà" went so fnr us to make advancesto the young man. 3 He rejected h.i angriry ancl finaily whe, he sâv/ rhatshe was determined t6-force É.""ri .,., r,iriË i; ffiïii;i:Jr" committhe unnatural *ime of matricide ;;rh.r;i;;" be guflty of incest. yet if thistype of behaviour was sociafly acceptabre-N"y;;;H ,",, ï'rrrirr., haveresorted to such exffeme

"ru"ity in àrder to avoid it.

4 ïhere is no need, however, to confine o-ur_examples to the distant past.shortly before the Macedoniur, .ooq*.ri una ,n. desrucdon of the persianempire Parysatis the mother of ArtÀerxes the son LiD;ri* ;'rfu ro havesuccumbed to the same passion as semiramis and to have become enamouredof her son. He did not k,r her however, i;;Ëôrti;ëJâË advancesand thrust her aside. saying that it *rr'rn i.pi*rl *a ,nrr*rJ act, quireforeign both to their natioi" hirtory *J-to irs present way of life.. .5 But the present-day persians have armost comptretery abandoned theiro.$ wavs-; an uphea,al whicrr has b".n muik"d ry tlr..r.ÀJt.rl.'làoptioo oralien and degenerare manners, ever since they have;;;;;; te spefl ofthe doctrines of Zoroaster rhe son of Htiumrra.r.

6 Now, as far as rhis Zoroastet or zarudes 1il" ir "uu.a

by both names)is concerned, ir is not possibre to ûx with any precision the dates of hisfloruit and the period of his tef_orming aJütiâr. Th. r.rri*, ,i-p'y ,uythat he lived in tre region ,{ Hyrturp""J*irrroot ,rrr.r"g"iiîi.u. *r,.th..they mean the father oI D*iu, "r *À. ,ir.er monarch of the same name.

7 §Thatever the time of his froruit h" wur;À; i;;;;;iil;;nr*.r of themagtan religion and he ir was who cJranged rhe crraracter "iirr.îrrri"r culsand introduced a motley assorrment of leliefs.

8 rn ancient times the persians worshipped Zeus and cronos and a[ theother divinities of the Herlenic panth.orfi*..pt -,r,r, ir,"y-"rrlï'th.m bydifierent names. They called Ziu, "n"I", Heracles ,,Sandes,,, Aphrodite"Analira" and so on ând ,o forif,,'r..o1àirig to the ,.r,ir"ry

"i Ë.roru, ofBabylon, Athenocles and simacus *lr" t".&a"a tt. ,r.i.rJ il;; of trheAssyrians and the Medes. g But ,"*uary, their views conform for themost part ro those of the so-cailed Manichaernr, to th. "*t niàf À"i. rrorairrgthat there âre n)i/o first principles one;f *hi.( il c;-;;Jh; lr,"ï

"ir" ,oall that is fine in reariryand th. oth.r of ;hi.h ir-rh" *.niî"iri;hesis inboth its properties and its funaion.-Th.y-urrig, barbarous names drawnfrom their own language ro these .oriri.r. îÀ..good divinity or creator theycall Ahuramazda, whereas the name oi rrr" *it and marevorent one is Ahriman. ro of all the festivars they cerebrate rhe mosr important is one caned

60 Agrthlmr ?hr lllrtsrlcl

himself a native Perslan ond reacnted the fact thet the ltdedu had fought onthe side of Astyages.

7 The Persian kings nrled for two hundrod and twenty.eight years buttheir empire disintegrated completely when it rüas ovefrun by the forces of a

foreign king. 8 Alexander, the son of Philip slew their king Darius the sonof Arsames, annexed the whole of Persia and re-organized the state along Ma-cedonian lines. So outstanding in fact were the aihievements of that invinciblewarrior that, even after death had removed him {rom the scene, his successors,Macedonians though they were, held sway over an alien land for a greatlength of time and came to wield very considerable power. Indeed I thinkthat on the stength of their predecessor's fE)utation they would have re-mained in power right up to the presenr day if internal dissensions andfrequent wars of conquest directed against one another and against theRomans had not sapped their stength and destroyed the myth of theirapparent invincibility.

9 The Macedonian supremacy lasted a mere seven years less than that oft{re Medes, if we are to âccept the testimony of Polyhistor on this mattertoo. Despite their long period of ascendancy, however, the Macedonianswere finally ousted by the Parthians. ro These members of a hithertoinsignificant dependenry then became rulers of the whole empire with theexcqrtion of Egypt. Arsaces, the leader of the revolt, gave his name to thedynasty of the Arsacids that succeeded him, and it was not long beforeMithridates raised the name of the Parthians to great heights of renovrn.

26. The passage of two hundred and seventy years from Arsaces the firstking to Artabanus 30 tlre last one marks the inception, during the reign of theRoman Emperor Alexander the son of Mamaea, of the dynasty to which thecontemporâry Chosroes belongs. It was at this time also that the present'dayPersian state took shape.

z A cêrtain Persianialled Ardashir, a man of humble and obscure originsbut of great daring and resourcefulness and a born revolutionary, laundredaî attad< with a band of conspirators and killed the king Artabanus.Assuming the diadem of the kings of Persia he put an end to the hegemonyof Parttia and restored the empire of the Persians.

3 He was a devotee of the magian religion and arr ofiicial celebrant ofits mysteries. Consequently the priestly caste of the magi rose to inordinateporÿer and arrogance. This body had indeed made its influence felt on pre-vious occasions in the course o{ its long history, though it had never beforebeen elevated to such a position of privilege and immunity, but had hithertobeen ofiicially accorded what in cettain respects amounted to an inferiorstatus.

-ro

i*. A.tub*r* v.

loô12 61

4 Othcrwlæ (to take an example from the diatant patt) Dariua and hisrupportêm §rould not hsvÊ bcen appdled, aB they were, ot the usurpatlon of§mcrder aftu the death of Cambyses the son of Cyrus. Nor would they havektlled Smerdec and large numbers of his polttical and religious sympathizerson the groundo that the magi were not eligible to aspire to the dignity of thelmperial throne. Far from considering the hillings ân ourrage they felt thatthcir memory should be perpetuated, with the result that a feast was insti-tuted whidr was named "the Magophonia" 31 after the coup d'état 32 and wasaccompanied by sacrifices of thanksgiving.

5 Nouradays, however, the magi are the objects of exffeme awe andvenefation, all public business being conducted at their discretion and inaccofdance with their prognostications, and no litigant or party to a privatedlspute fails to come under their jurisdiction. Indeed nothing receives rheetamp of legality in the eyes of the Persians unless it is ratified by one of themagi.

27. The mother of Ardashir is believed ro have been married to a certainPapak, a cobbler by profession and a person of no social consequence. Hewas, however, extremely well-versed in astrology and could divine the futurewith ease. z Now it so happened that a soldier called Sasan was travellingthrcugh the region of Cadusia and was hospitably enrertained by Papak, whoshowed him to his humble abode.

3 Somehow or other. presumably through his own prophetic powers,Papah discovered that his guest's oiffspring was destined to greatness and tosingular good fortune. Reflecting that he had neither daughter nor sister norany close female relative he was troubled and perplexed. Finally he made hiswife go to bed with his guest and rurning a blind eye ro the outage tookfuture good fortune as the compensation for present humiliation and dis-gface.

4 These then were the circumstances of Ardashir's birth. He was broughtup by Papah, but no sooner had he gro'ü/n up and seized the throne than a

violent quarrel openly broke out between Sasan and Papak, eadr one claimingthat the boy should bear his name. _r They eventually agreed, however,that he should be referred to as the son of Papak born of the seed of Sasan.This at arty tate is the account of the genealogy of Ardashir whidr thePersians maintain to be true, basing this assertion on the claim that it accordswith the version given in the royal ardrives.

6 I shall presently give a list in drronological order of the names of all thedescendants of Ardashir who came to the throne with details of the durationof each particular reign. Historians have so far failed to compile s,udl a list;indeed the whole subject has received scant atrenrion. 7 And yet they

st i. e. "Slaughter-of-the-magi",

62 AlrthloiThrHhtorlcl

produce ligts of thc kings and emperon of Rornc whldr go brdr m frr pcrhepaas Romulus, or to the still morc distant daya of Aenoru thc rcn of Anchiceo,and extend to the reigns of Anastasius and Justln, For the kings of Persia,however, that is to say for those that have reigned sincc the break up of thePathian Empire) they have nor yer drawn up a parallel list setting out thedrronology'of their reigns, though sudr a list is still a desideratum.

8 I have t'herefore made it my business to collect âccrrâte information onthe subject from official Persian sources and I feel that a detailed e<posé ofmy findings is especially called for in a work sucJl as the present. Cons+quently I shall proceed to give full particulars whenever I think ir necessary,even though this will entail the enumeration of long and arid üsts of namesand barbarian names at that, and even though they will sometimes be thenames of personages who have adrieved nothing vrorth recording. 9 Atthis point I should like to idd, for the conveniÀnce of the reader, th; fol-lowing clarification: three hundred and nineteen years takes us down to thetwenty-fifth year of the reign of Chosroes during whidr period the fightinginLazica was in full swing and the death of Mermeroes had occurred. Theemperor Justinian had been on the throne for twenty-eight years.

28. After first saying a feur words about Chosroes I shall rerurn directlyto my eadier narrative.

Chosross has been praised and admired quite beyond his deserts nor iusrby the Persians but even by some Rornans. He is in fact credited with beinga lover of literature and a profound student of philosophy and somebodyis supposed to have translated the works of Greek literature into Persianfor him. z It is rumoured moreover that he has absorbed the whole ofthe Stagirite more thoroughly than the Paeanian otator33 absorbed the worksof the son of Olorus,3a that his mind is tlled with the doctrines of Plato theson of Arisçon and that not even the Timaeus, bristling as it does withgeometrical theorems and scientific speculations, would elude his grasp, norlor that matter the Phaedo or the Gorgias or any other of the polished andmore intricate dialogues, as for instance the Parmenides.

3 Personally, I could never bring myself to believe that he was so remark-ably well-educated and intellectually brilliant. How could the purity andnobility of those time-honoured writings with a"11 their exactitude and felicityof erpression be preserved in an uncouth and uncivilized tongue? 4 More-over one may well ask how a nnn brought up from drildhood in theglamorous atmosphere of the court, surrounded by pomp and adulation, and

,, tU ,n^, *nich brought l)ârius to power.33 The orator Demosthenes who belonged to the deme Paeania in Attica.3a The historian Thucydides. In plain English, then, the assertion that Agathias is so

indignantly rebutting is "that Chosroes was more at home with the complete worksof Aristotle than Demosthenes was with the writings of Thucydides,

BêoL2 6,

then ruccædlhg to rn uttuly barbarous rtylc of life of which battles andm&noÇuvrcr rtetÊ I legulaf feature, could hope to achieve any real compstcncc or protclcncy in this branch of leaming... , Yct if pcople were to praise him on trhe score that, in spite of being a

Persian and in epite of being weighed down with the cares of empire and therceponsibility of governing so many nations, he still showed sorne inreresrln acquiring a smattering of literature and liked to be considered somethingof a dilettante, in that case I should add my own voice to rhe general drorusand should not hesitate to regard him as superior to the rest of the barbarians.6 But those who attribute exceptional wisdom to him and call him the rivalof all philososphers that have ever lived, claiming that, in the manner of t}ePeripatetic definition of superior culture, he has mastered every brandr ofscience, thereby disclose the unreality of their pretensions and make it plainto all that they are merely echoing the ill-considered opinions of the crowd.

29. There was in fact a certain Syrian called Uranius who used to roamabout Constantinople. He was a medical practitioner by profession andthough he had no accurate appreciation of any of Aristotle's doctrines heused to brag about his encyclopaedic knowledge, basing his enormous self-conceit on the f.act that he was argumentative when in company.

z He was often to be found in front of the Basileios Stoa and 'ürould takehis seat at the bookstalls and engage in magniloquent debates witJr tüosewho congregated there, people who wo'trld keep trotting out the same oldcatchwords about the Deity - how to define its nature and essence, passibi-lity, distinctness and such like things 35 3 Most of them, I dare say, 'ü/erepeople who had not received an elementary education and who had not evenled a decent Li[e, so that it was indeed a case of "fools rushing in whereangels fear to tread", since they thought it the easiest thing in the world totry their hands at theology, a subject altogether sublime and unattainable,whidr surpasses human understanding and excites awe and wonder by itssheer incomprehensibility.

4 So they would often congregate towards evening, in all probability aftersome drunken orgy, and blithely embark upon ân impromptu discussïon ofthe most exalted and intangible topics. Sudr discussions invariably degene-rated into the soit of inconclusive hair-splitting whidr resufus neither inpersuasion nor in enlightenment. 5 Eadr man would cling tenaciously tohis own views till in the end tempers rose at the thought of each other'sintransigence and they would resort to open abuse, using foul language likepeople brawling over a game of dice. Eventually the debate would be ad-journed, the contestants being parted with difficulty and the whole fruitlessexercise serving merely to make enemies out of friends.

95 For a detailed interpretation and discussion of this difficult passage cf. R. Keydell:8.2.64 ( 1971) pp. 70-71.

61 Agrthlmr The Hlrtorler

6 Now the star performer in thlg group wâ! Uraniur. Llke Homer'sThersites 36 he was full of noisy abuse and endleu chattcr. Yet he held nofirm opinions about God and had no idea how to conduct a reasoned argu.ment on this subject. One moment he would attacl< the first proposition onwhidr a particular line of enquiry was based, another time he would insiston being given the reason for a question before he would anssuer it. In thisway he would not allow the discussion to develop in an orderly fashion butconfused the issue and prevented anything positive from emerging. 7 Heafiected the manner of what is known as sceptical empiricism and modelledhis pronouncements on the style of Pyrrho and Sexus, aiming to escapemental anxiety by denying the possibility of mental activity. But he had noteven mastered these notions having barely pid<ed up the few isolated scrapsof information necessary to enable him to deceive and mislead the ignorant.

8 But if his cultural standaids left much to be desired his behaviour leftstill more. Frequenting tfie houses of the wealthy he would gorge himself ont}e choicest dainties and consort repeatedly with the wine-jug, drinking him-self silly and uttering a stream of obscenities. He made sudr a laughing-stockof himself that at times he \rras even smad<ed on the jaw, and. ir was not un-known for his face to drip with the lees from other people's glasses thathadbeen poured over him. He was in fact the butt of the dinner-table no less sothanif he had been a buffoon or hired enteftainer.

9 Though he was the sort of person I have described Uranius oncemanaged to get Areobindus the ambassador to take him to Persia. Being animpostor with chameleon like powers of adaption he had little difficultyin assuming an ut of. decorum. Donning an impressive robe of the type wornin our part of the wodd b,y professors and doctors of literature and with acorrespondingly grave and sober lootr< on his face he presented himself toChosroes. ,ro Overwhelmed by the novelty of the sight, Chosroes wâsgreatly impre§sed and assumed that he really was a philosopher (which wasin fact what he w.as ânnounced as). rr After giving him a most cordialreception he summoned the magi to join with him in discussing sudequestions as the origin of the physical world, whether the universe will lastforever and whether one should posit a single first principle tor all things.

30. Uranius had not one relevant idea to contribute to the discussion,but what he lacled in this respect he made up for in glibness and self-con-fidence and", as Socrates says in the Gorgias, it was "the victory of ignoranceamong the ignorant ". 37 z Ïn fact the crazy bufioon so captured the king'simagination that he gave him a huge sum of money, made him dine at hisown table and accorded him the unprecedented honour of passing the loving

36 A reminiscence of Iliad book II hnes 2L2 foll.37 cl.Plato: Gorgias 459b. "then, the man without knowledge will catry more con-

viction in the company of the ignorant",

Book2 6,

eup to tüm. 9 Ho rwore on many occoeiono that he had nwer belore seenlri.r cqual, in lpltc of the fact that he had prcviously beheld real philosophersof greot dirtinctlon who had come to his court from these parts.

. Not long before Damascius of Syria, Simplicius of Cilicia, Eulamius ofPhrygia, Priscian of Lydia, Hermes and Diogenes of Phoenicia and IsidoreolGazarall of them, to use â poetic turn of phrase, the quintessential flower 38

of the philosophem of our age,had come to the conclusion, since the ofiicialrcligion of the Roman empire was nor ro rheir liking, that the Persian sratewas much supetior. So they gâye a ready hearing to the stories in generalcirculation according to whidr Persia was rhe land of "Plaro's philosopherking" $ in which justice reigned supreme. Apparently the subjects too rilereqrodels of decency and good behaviour and there was no sudr thing as theft,brigandage or any other sorr of crime. Even ii some valuable objeciwere leftin no matter how remote a spot nobody who came across it would make ofiwith it, but it would stay put and, wit}out any one's guarding it, would bevirtually kept safe for whoever left it until such a time as he should rerurn.

4 Elated therefore by these reporrs whiclr they accqrted as rrue, and alsobecause they were forbidden by law to take part in public life with impunityowing to the tact that they did not con{orm to rhe established religion, ao

Éey left immediately and set ofi for a strange land whose ways were com-pletely foreign to their own, determined to make their homes rhere. :iButin the ûrst place they discovered that those in aud:ority were overbearingand vainglorious and so had nothing but disgust and opprobrium for them.In the second place they realized that there were large numbers o house-bteakers and robbers, some of whom were apprehended while others escapeddetection, and that every form of crime was committed. 6 The powerfulin fact ill-treated the weak outrageously and displayed considerable crueltyand inhumanity in their dealings with one another. But the most ex*aordi-nary thing of all was that even though a man could and did have any numberof wives people still had the efirontery ro commir adultery. 7 The philo-sophers were üsgusted by all these things and blamed rhemselves for everhaving made the move.

31. The opportunity of conversing with the king proved a furtherdisappoinlment. ft was that monardr's proud boast that he was a student ofphilosophy but his knowledge of the subject 'ürâs uterly superÊcial. Therewas no cornmon ground either in matters of religion since he observed thepractices I have akeady described. Finally the vicious promiscuity whichiharacterized Persian society $/as more.than the philosophers could stand,

38 Perhaps Agathias has in mind Pindar: Isthmians VII 18.3e cf. Plato's Republic 47.3 d.40 Justinian's edict of 529 forbade pagans from teadring and resulted in the closure of

the Academy in Athens.

6fr Agrrtlrirrn: 'l'lre I lietnt ics

AII these factors, theu, conrbinecl to scrrrl tlrorr lrrrrryitrg brreh lrornc ns frrstas they could go. z So despite thc king's rrllection fot them ancl cleslritcthç fact that he invited them to stây they fclt thut mcrcly to sct foot onRoman territory, even if it meant instant death, was preferable to a lifc o[distinction in Persia. Accordingly they resolved to see the last of barbatianhospitality and all returned home.

3 Nevertheless they derived from their stay abroad a benefit whidr wasneither slight nor negligible, but whidr ril'as to secure them peace of mindand contentment for the rest of their days. 4 A clause was inserted in factin the treaty, whide at that time was being concluded between the Romansand the Persians, to the efiect that the philosophers should be allowed toreturn to their homes and to live out their lives in peace without beingcompelled to alter their traditional religious beliefs or to accept any viewwhidr did not coincide with them. Chosroes insisted on the inclusion o{ thispoint and made the ratification and continued observance of the truce con-ditional on its implementation. '',

5 The story goes that on their return journey they had an extraordinarilyimpressive and memorable experience, 6 Stopping to rest in a field inPersia they descried the body o[. a man not long dead, flung down uncere-moniously without any attempt at.bunal. Moved to compassion by the sightof sudr outfageous barbanty and thinking it sinful to remain the passivespectatofs of an unnatural crime they made their servants lay out the bodyas best they could, cover it with earth and bury it. 7 That night when theywere all asleep one of their number (I cannot be more specific because f donot know his name) dreamed that he saw an old man who, though his facewas unfamiliar and his identity could not even be surmised, had an air ofdignity and decorum about him and resembled a philosopher in the style ofhis dtess and in the fact that he had a long, flowing beard. Apparently byway of exhortation and advice, he recited the following verses to him in a

loud voice:"Bury not the man whom now you see,

tlre man whom buried not you found.Mother earth'ürill not receivethe mother-ravisher till he beby dogs devoured on the ground".

8 §Taking up in sudden terror he related his dream to the others. Thereand then they were at a loss what to make of it, but towards morning, whenthey got up and set ofi on their way, they were obliged by the lie of the landto pass by the spot where the improvised burial had been arcanged and once

more found the dead man lying uncovered on the ground. It was as thoughthe earth had of its own accord cast him up into the open and refused toprotect him from being devoured. 9 Astonished at the extraordinary sight

lhxrk 2

they corrtinuctl tlreir jounrcy without thercufter observing trny of theircu$tornrl[y ritcs towut«Js thc rlcud mun. Â crrelul consitlerotion o[ the dreamhncl in fnct l«l tlrem to thc samc conclusion - namely that the PersiSnsfesetved thc lirtc of renraining unburicd an<l being torn to pieces by dogs as

the just punishment of those who vent their foul lusts upon their mothers.)2, tsut in spite of the fact that Chosroes had had personal experience

of these men he had greater regard and afiection for Uranius. The reason

for such an attitude is, in my view, something inherent in human nature.\üflhatever is more or less on a par with ourselves we tend naturally to have

a high and afiectionate regard for, whereas we shun and eschew that whidris beyond us.

z §flhen Uranius returned home Chosroes sent him the most delightfulletters in which he showed him all the respect of a disciple for his master.After that he became insupportable, bragging about his friendship with theking and, whenever he was in company ot at a paty,he would drive all and

sundry to the point of exasperation by perpetually harping on the subject od

the honours Chosroes had showered upon him and the discussions the twoof them had held. 3 Indeed the fellow returned home a bigger fool by farthan he had been before, as though he had mavelled sudr an immense distancewith that sole end in view. Yet, even though the man was both a knave and

a fool he managed, by dint o{ singing the praises of the barbaian king, toconvince the general public with his poîtayal of him as a man of learning.

4 Those in fact who combined extteme gullibility with a weakness for strange

and marvellous tales were easily hoodwinked by his boastful and bombasticasseruons, since they never stopped to ask themselves who was doing thepraising, who was being praised and what he was being praised for. 5 Onewould indeed be fully justified in admiring Chosroes for his brilliant genetal-

ship and for his indomitable spirit whidr never broke under the strain ofbattle, never yielded to teat and never succumbed to sickness and old age.

But when it comes to literature and philosophy he must rank no higher thanone may reasonably place an associate and disciple of the notorious Uranius.

67

I

ill:§i. tii

rd;:t,iti'

BOOK 3

1. Even if my account of the customs of the Persians and the variousdranges their way of life has undergone, together with what I felt needed tobe said about Chostoes and his genealogy, have taken up rârher a lot of spacewithout having any very strict connection with the preceding matrer,yet I trust deat the whole exercise will appear neither superfluous norunprofitable but rather that it will be seen to have secured the twinobjects of amusement and ediÉcation. z It is indeed my most ardentdesire, if it is in my power to do so, " to mingle the Graces withthe Muses", 1 as the saying goes. 3 But mundane preoccupations impelme in a different direction and I address myself, albeit with reluctance,to the routine duties imposed by necessity. For the writing of my histories,vast and imposing task though it is, and, ro quore the lyric poet of Boeotia,2"above all occupation" 3, is reduced to an occasional pursuit and I am inconsequence unable to devote myself whole-heartedly to this labour of love.4 And though I should be at leisure to improve my sryle by readingthrough the works of the great writers of antiquity, to survey with criticaldiscernment the entire historical scene and to give my full and unfetteredattention to these matters, I am instead kept at my desk in the BasileiosStoa a from early mornin g to late evening busying myself with the incessantperusal of innumerable legal documenrs. And though I resenr being over-worked f am distessed i{ I arn not, since it is impossible for me to eke outa livelihood without considerable toil and hardship. 5 Bur even so I shallnot sladcen iri;my resolve, as long as the creative urge persists, even f:houghsome readers may criticise me for overreadring myself and aspiring, as theysay, to run before I can walk. 6 Even i{ some should find my writingsthoroughly shoddy and superficial and indeed the typical products of an un-disciplined mind, yet I may still succeed in pleasing myself, just as peoplewith no ear fôr music enjoy their own singing. 7 But lest by indulginginfurther digressions r give the impression of lapsing inro rasrelessness i had

Ette1g{§ my previous accounr of the fighting inLaztca,1 A terniniscence of Euripides: Heracles lites 673-4.z Pindar (518-418 B.C.). 3 Pindar: Isthmian I.2.a The Basileios Stoa or Royal Stoa was, as Procopius tells us (Buildings: I, XI,,12) the

place in Constantinople "where the lawyers and prosecutors and all others concernedwith sudr matters prepare their cases". §[e are also told (op.cit. I.XI,13) thatJustinian had â cisteffr dug under part of the Building. The identification of this cisternwith a surviving one, no§/ called Yeri Batan serai, allows us to locate the Royal stoaat a short distance to tfre west of the ChucJr of St. Sophia.

BooL l2, Chorrocr wr. o{ couroê grcatly dictruccd ar the neÿr of the death of

àûatnerocr. To prcvcnt tho roops in Lazica from remalning leaderless, how-ivgrrhe iomediately Bppointed as general Nadroragan, aman of considerabledlrtlnction and renown. : In the time it took Nachoragan to make theIIGCGIaüy preparations for the journey and actually ger starred on his wayfome higtrly imegular proceedings took place inLazica.

. I §flhen the Romans fled ingloriously and abandoned their positions inthc mannet I have ulr" dy described, Gub,azes the king of tlie Lazi wastlled with afury at the thought of the disgrace incurred ühi.h *æ exceededonly by his apprehension at the prospect of futher blunders. He thereforelort no time in sending a detailed repoft to Justinian in which he held the

a general, or a commânder or in any military capacity but merely as theEEperor's pumebearer. He was not in drarge oI the revenue resulting fromthc payment o{ tribute (that was the proviÀce of a di.fierent ofiicial) Lut oftfre pry.*ts the Emperor made our of his privy purse as reward môney forthose soldiers who distinguished themselu.r ut ihà front. 5 Consequentlyhis influence was immense and the tact that he had access to confiàential

§Ports meant that official instructions seemed to câffy more weight whenthey met with his approval.

6 Bessas, however, was already in Justinian's blad< books, ibecause of hisconduct on an earlier occasion. Having captured the {ortress of Peffa be{orefhe arrival o{ Mermeroes he should, in fact, have secured all the approachestntg $e countf,y frorn lberia, (a task facilitated by the narure of the terrain),ond thus made it impossible for the barbarians ro enrer Lazca. But he wil-fully neglected to do so and instead urenr rhe rounds of the cities subiectto his control lgvying money from them. 7 So that when the Empérorcarne to hear of these further misdemeanours he remembered the earlierenes and was immediately convinced by the reporr. Accordingly he relievedhim of his command, confiscated his property and relegatàd him to thecorrntry of the Abasgi, where he was to remain until tlre Emperor's funherpleasure.

8 In spite of being extremely ,annoyed with Martin, Justinian assignedthe chief command to him. Consequentiy Martin was first in command amongthe generals and Justin second, followed by Buzes and the rest in descendingotder.

9 Even in the past, relations between Martin and Rusticus on the one handand Gubazes on the other had always been strained and there w'as an under-current of hostility whicÀ was all the more dangerous and deadly fornever being openly voiced. This animosity, which had its origin in envy,

69

70 A$thlmr The Fllrtorler

wa8 grcatly cxocerbated by the oonltant opffetlon of lrtrtlond aurpicion.ro Viewing his every action in thc light o( thet! rêrcnrmcnr they nureedtheir grievances and resentment hardened into angcr. rr Gu,bazes sensingtheit intense hostility was moved to reciprocate and spoke abusively of themon several occasions, depicting them as cowardly braggarts with no sense ofduty. At ofiicial receptions and meetings he never ceased to vent his angeron them unreservedly even when ir.r the presence of ambassadors from theneighbouring peoples.

Finding this situation intolerabi.e, angered âr the accusations he had madeto the Emperor and well avrare that if they should rnake any further mistakeshe would not fail to expose them, they resolved to get rid of him in order topunish him for past injuries and safeguard rhemselves for the furure.

3. After mudr deliberation in common they sent John the brother ofRusticus to Constantinople to report that Gubazes had been caught col-laborating with the Persians, since they had come ro rhe conclusion that itïras not politic to make away with him until they had first sounded our rheEmperor's feelings on the matter.

z fn a secret interview with theEmperorJohn accused Gubazes of havingalready defected and of trying to bring in the Persians. Unless he werestopped somehow and stopped qui&ly it would nor be long before he madethe country into a Persian dependency. 3 The Emperor was shocked bysuch a startling revelation but he was nor completely convinced. So still intwo minds about the whole business he said, "arrange to have him sum-moned to o!.rr presence then". 4 John, fearful that if. he did arrive therethe plot would be uncovered, said, " so be it, master. But what shall we doi{ he does not choose to come voluntarily?" "You must compel him",answered the Emperor, " since he is a subject, and someho"ür contrive tosend him".,. 5 §Thereupon John immediately rerorred, "But if he resisrscompulsion,'rrhat then? " "Then', said the Emperor, "he will most assuredlysufier the fate of a rebel and perish miserably". 6 "In that case, master",said John, "whoever kills hiÀ will have,roihirrg ro fear". "No*ring", ans-wered the Emperor, u that is, i{ he disobeys and ofiers resistance and is thenlçilled as an enemy".

7 Once the Emperor had given this reply and had expressed much thesame view in a letter to the generals John felt that he had adrieved his goal.So he did not stop to ask any more questions but returned toLazicawith theletter. Martin and Rusticus read it, found that the plot had been nicely con-trived and immediately set about putting it into efiect.

8 Summonihg Justin and Buzes and concealing their design they said thatthey must go to Gabazes as quickly as possible in order to discuss with hjmtheir plans for a concerted attad< on the Persians at Onoguris. Believing this,Justin and Buzes set offi with them, accompanied by a small detachment of

lêokt 7l

tt€opr, g Mcanwhlh Gubrzer recelved wold that the gcncralc v'ere on

thplr wry to mcËt hlm and would bc arriving any moment. Llttle Buspecting

rny hortlle lntent he eppearcd near the banks of the river Chobus. Confidentrnd lclaxed the unfortunate man met them there with only a tiny retinue ofunrrmcd attendants. ro Indeed it would have been strange had he acted

btherwise. The men he approaclred \il'ere not enernies, they were both

frlendly and well-know to him. Had they not been sent to defend his land

rnd repel the foreigrr invadet?, 4. §itting on their horses, then, they conducted aioint discussion on thequestion of how to deal with the present situation. " Gubazes ", said Rusticus,lwhat would you say to the suggestion that you ofier us sorne assistânce inthc task of attacking the Persian garison at Onoguris? It will be a disgrace

lf they remain encamped in the middle of our territory, particularly since

thcy are a mere handful of men and are in no position to ûght us".

2 "But, my dear fellows", replied Gubazes, "it is up to yott and to you

elone to bear the brunt of the present fighting, since you are solely to blame

for what has happened. 3If you had not been gilty ,f gross catelessness

tund neglect of duty, no hostile base would ever have been built to confrontyou, neitler would you have turned tai-l and borne the stigma of dishonour'rble flight, nor would any of the other undesirable consequences have

ensued. 4 So, my fine fellows, you must now make good your omissions

if you profess to be enamoured of gIory and if you delight in the exalted

name of general. For you may rest assured that I will not throur in my lotvith you until all youf emors have been rectiÉed"' 5 No sooner had these

words been spoken rhan that same John who had played the patt of tale-

bearer, acting as though the expression of a diflerent opinion were sufficientproof of Petsians sympathies and of planned subversion, silently drew his

dugg* and stnrck Gubazes in the chest. The blow did not kill him outright.6 Since he happened to be sitting with his feet crossed over his horse's neck

he fell suddenly, knocl<ed ofi his balance not so mudr by the force of the blowas by its unexpectedness. §7hile he was still crawling about on the ground and

trying to get up one of Rusticus'bodyguard who was nearby and who was

actirig on instructions strud< him a blow on the head with his sword and

finished him ofi. The best-informed and the most reliable sources state that

Gubazes was murdered in these circumstances and for the motives given.

7 Justin and Buzes were deeptry distressed and regarded what had been

done as an unmitigated disaster. They lcept quiet howwer, because theythought that the Emperor Justinian had er,rpressly authorized it. 8 TheI'aztan people were thrown into confusion and despondency and refused tohave anything more to do with the Romans in either a civ:[ or a militarycapacity. fnstead they buried the dead man according to their own rites,after whidr they refrained from all participation in the fighting, in protest at

12 &tthlmrItrrHhprlar

the ortrageour uearment they hed rccclved rnd thE rcultant blow to thelrnation's prcstige.

5. .TheÏ-azi are a great and a proud people and they rule over other veryconsiderable peoples. They pride themselves on their connection with theancient name of the coldrians and have an exaggeratedry, though perhapsunderstandably, high_opinion of themselves. ï t

""rtrinty kiow of no

other subject race with sudr ample resources of manpower at iis command otwhidr is blessed with such

-a superlluity of wealth, with such an ideal geo-

graphical posirion, with sudr an abundance of all the necessaries of lifeLdwith sucJr a high standard of civilisation and refinement. 3 The ancienrinhabitants of the place were indeed completely una\ü.are of ihe benefits ofnavigation and had nor even heard of ships until the atrtval of the famousArgo. Nowadays they put out to sea whènever practicable and caryr on athriving commerce. 4 Nor qe they barbarians in any other ,.rp..i, Io"gassociation with the Romans haüng Ied them to adopi a civilized and hw]-abiding

sryle of life. _so rhar, discounting the bulls with brazen feer, the

harvest of the sown Men and all the other fabulous and incredible crearionsof the poetic imagination that have been elaborated around the figure ofAeetes, 5 one cannot fail to find that conditions no§, are ,.ry *u.li b"tt..than they were in the past. ,-B"Tg the sorr of people r hâve described,then, the Lazihad every reason for feeling that they had sufrered an intoler-able iniury in being arbitrartTy deprived of their king.

_ 6 The Romans, at the instance of Martin, started immediatery to makehasty preparations with a view to mounting a full-scale attack aiainst thePersians at onoguris. ono,guris was the ancient name of the placà and mayhave arisen as the result of an encounter at some time in the past between abranc} of the Huns called the onoguri and the coldrians in which the latterwere victorious, the local inhabitants then commemorating the success bylaming the §pot after it. 7 Nowadays, hovrever, most pàopl. do nor usethis name. A place of worship srands o1 th_e spot and ir diicried to Stephen,the man of God who they say was the firsi in olden times ro volurrtariÇforfeit his life in defence of Christian principles and was in fact stoned tàdeath by his enemies. Consequently it has become custornary to associatehis name with_the place. Nevertheless r can see no possible objection to mydesignating it b,y its ancient name and, in any case, srdr upoti""is more inkeeping with the style of historical writing.

8 Meanwhile the Roman army '',,âs preparing to march against onoguris.Thqse who had plotted the murder were pressing on with tlrese preparationsin the hope that they would easily overwhelm the garrison, ro that even ifthe Emperor got wind of their duplicity he would not be pa,:'icarafly angry

5 The reference is, of course, to the well-known myth of the Argonauts,

loêlt 7,

rylth them but would raclnd the rccurrtlon ln conrldeodon of their latest

ürc§ült'

9 So all the gcncmla and thelr men, who had been encamped on the plain

Of Ârchaeopons] began to get ready the u wicket foofs " as they ate called and

the ballistae and other such engines of war with the idea of taking the place

by rtorm if necessaty. ro The "wicker toof" is a construction of osiers

îIovcn together to ai to form a roof which is carried down on either side so

m to enclôse whoever gets under it. Skins and hides are then placed in layers

OVer it and the device is completely overlaid with them in order to afiordgfpotef protection and to be proof against missiles. rr fnsicle, men conceal

thcnrselves under it in safety lifting it without being seen and moving it towhererrer they wish. §fhen it is brought up to a to'qler or wall as the case

may be, then the men underneath dig up the adjacent ground and drawing

up the ee::lhlay bare the for.rndations. After that they keep striking it withhlmmerr and irow-bars until they cause the stfuctufe to collapse. These

then were the sort of preparations the Romans wefe making for the siege.

6. Meanwhile a Persian who was on his way to the fort was captured by

Justin's bodyguard. He was taken to the camp and flogged until he gave

â t*. ,..orrriof what his side were planning. z He declared that Nadro-

ragan had abeady readred Iberia and had sent him to encoufage the troops

aiOnoguris ,rd u6,rr. them that the general would very soon be there.

3 "Theten stationed at Mudreirisis and Cotars will be arriving shordy', he

ioid, "r" reinforce their fellow countrymen at Onoguris, since they know

that you mean to attad< them".

4 As soon as this information had been entracted the Roman generals

heLi a discussion on the situation. Buzes said that they should make a con'

certed attad< on the relief force while it was stil1 on its way. It was reasonable

to expect that it would be outnumbered and defeated, th. logi.fl outcome

of whigl. would be that the garrison, finding itself isolated, would surrender'

In the case of theit actually ofiering any resistance it would require littleeflort to crush them. 5 This suggestion met wit]r the approval of §Tilgang

the leader of the Hetul contingent. Consequently he kept tepeating a sort

of proverb which despite its uncouthness and homesprrn simplicity was

bot[ forceful and appropriate. He said that "you must first scare awày the

bees and then take your time over collecting the honey''6 Rusticus however, (emboldened apparendy by his complicity with

Martin he had alreadybecome more insolent and overbearing) op9nly scofied

and jeered at Buzes, accusing him of habitual ineptitude. , 7 Th2best policy,

he raid, §/as not to weaf the troops out unnecessarily but to bring uq ail

their men to the fort, reduce it without difiiculty and forestall the relief-

force. They could always send a few men to engâge them and impede their

progfess,

71 A3rrhturlluHlrrrlu

.l Buzec' plan waa of coumc r much better ono, It wm rcrlirtlc, rtmtcg!cally sound, effective aLd eafe. Bur since, it reemr, thc whole ,rÉy rtr.iiaby association in the guilt of the murdercrs the \ÿorce policy won tÉ" j*y i"order that they might the more speedily be punished.

'9 some six hundred horse at the most $/ere sent against the relief-force

from Mucheirisis. They were under the command ofbabragezas and usi-gardus, two barbarians who were officers in üe Roman affr.y, ro The restof the men together with the generals went into action and made an assaulton the gates. Then rhey surro'r.rnded the walls with the main bodv of theirforces andlet fly with their weapons from all sides. rr The persians fortheir part defended thernselves by every avail,able means, dashing âbout onthe battlements, raining down mis.siles and securing themselves àgainst theoncoming ones by suspending canvas mantlets to soften and absorb the

ll"yrr rz The fight was sustained witfr great fu"y by both sides andlooked more like a pitched battle than a siege. Both sides ïrere worked upto a feverish state of excitement and were showing their mettle with equaldetermina'tioa thougtr for difierent reasons. In oneiase it was a ,truggle-forsurvival in the face of a serious menace, in the other it was the huniiliatingprospect, once the attacl< had been launched, of returning without achiwingthe objective of reducin_g the fort and ridàing ArchaeJpolis of ur, .o.-ypresence in its own neighbourhood.

7. Meanwhile the Persian relief force consisting of about three thousandhorse had left cotais and Muclleirisis and ser our for onoguris. z on theirway they were suddenly attacl<ed by Dabraguas and usigardus and theirm9n, They were not expecting to encounter any opposition and were caughtofi their guard, with the result that they panid<ed ànd fled. -3 As soon asthe besieging Romans heand the newô they drarged more furiously pulleddown the mantlets and swarmed up many purm àf the wall, confijent thatfrey w_ould éureep everything beforà them, now that tlre eneroy from withouthad taken to flight and there \ff'as no longer anyone to cause them concern.4 But the Persians soon realized that it rilas not the whole Roman atmy thathad attacked them as they thought at first, but an insignificant reconnairsanc.force too few in number eïen to be considered a detadrm.nt of fighting men.So they faced about and charged them with a deafening shoui. i ffr.Romans were unable to cope with the new situation and hastily exchangedthe rôle of pursuer f.or that of fugitive. The Persians followed hard on tÈeirheels, with the result that, as rhe pursuers rushed to catdr up with theirvictims and the victims to evade their pursuers, both parties reached theRornan lines indiscriminately confused.

! Not surprisingly the confusion whidr ensued was appaning. §Tithoutgrving agoth-er thought _to the siege and the by-now-imminent frospect ofsacking the fort and without even stopping to find our what was happening

loêh- t 7,

or to mcctdn thck orrn rtrcngth rnd thrt of thetr pumuem the entirc armytogpther u'tth thotr lcedur wæe rclzed wlth penic and fled in temor.

7 Growlng boldcr, the Persians preracd their pursuit still harder. Mean-while thosc who wcre inside üe fort saw what was happening and rushingout to join in thc purouit made the plight of the fleeing enemy redound stillfurther to their credit. 8 The Roman cavalry raced away at a gallop andeasily got out of range of the enemy's weapons. But many of the infantrywere killed in the stampede which occurred when they had to coss thebridge over the river called the Catharus.6 9 Unable at that point to crossover simultaneously in large numbers because of the nârro\vness of thebridge, they kept shoving and jostling one another. Some fell into the riverwhilst others were forced bad< into the hands of the enemy. ro The scene

was one of unrelieved horror and would have ended in total annihilation hadnot Buzes realized from their cries of anguish and aiatm just how seriousthe danger was. Turning arouad with his troops, he faced the enemy andgradually held bad< the pursuit just long enough to allow them to cross thebridge and get away to safety by the same route âs all the others had taken.rr No one in fact returned to the camp at Archaeopolis. Rushing past it interror they left their entire stocl of foodstufls and provisions and valuablesand escaped to the safety of the interior. They thus afiorded tJre enemy a

Iucrative as well as a magnificent victory.8. \)7hen the Persians found the plains deserted they dismantled the

fortiûcations and looted the camp. After that they returned rejoicing totheir respective camps and occupied once more all the territory they hadpreviously held.

z Yet who can fail to see that tlre hand of heaven wâs at work bringingabout the downfall of the Roman army as a punishment for the foul murderwhicll had been committed? That was t-he reason why they chose the wotstpossible policy and why, üough they numbeted some fifty thousand fightingmen, they §/ere put to flight most shamefully by three t}ousand Persiansand sufieted ,severe casualties. 3 But those directly responsible for thathçinous ctime \r7'ere soon to be punished in frrll, as I shall relate in the ensuingna,ffative. Meantime winter set in and the whole army dispered to its variouswinter-quarters in tàe tovrns and fortresses.

4 The afiairs of the Colchians w'ere in a state of turmoil and suspense.

Their leaders had lost all sense of direction. They had no policy or contin-§ency plan to fall back on. -l They therefore convened a secret meeting ofthe bulk àf their nation do'urn in a mountain gorge of t}e Caucasus, so thatthe Romans should not get wind of what they were about, and proposed a

discussion on the subject of whether they should go over to the Persian side

6 The word means "cleaf".

76 Atrthlmr T{roHltrertu

ot tetaln thelr link wlth the Romans. 6 A voclfcrout debete lmm«llatclyensuod berrn een thosc who advocated the formcr rnd thoee who advocatedthe latter course. Before long it had degencrated lnto a babel of voices inwhich it was impossible to tell either who was speaking or what he wassaying. At this point those with the mosr authority called for silence andinsisted that whoever wished to come forward and speak should do so in anorderly fashion and that whoever was able to should give a coherent âccountof the poliry to be pursued.

7 One of the most distinguished people present \r/âs â rnân called Aeetes.His anger and indignation at what had happened was greater than anyoneelse's, for he had always hated the Romans and been sympathetically inclinedtovrards Persia. On this occasion he took full advantage of the greater con-viction his arguments seemed to carry and tried to magnify the afiair out ofall proportion, claiming that in view of the situation there was no need fordiscussion but that rather it was a case for immediately embracing the causeof Persia. 8 §flhen the others said that it was not advisable to proceed todrange their whole way of life on the spur of the moment, but that theyshould trst embark on a careful and lengthy discussion of the issues invo ved,he leapt up angrily, rushed into their midst and began to harangr:e them likean ofator in a popular assembly. He was a remarkably gifted speaker for a

barbanan andhad an instinctive appreciation of the finer points of rhetoric.He now addressed himself to his audience in the following terms:

9. "If the Romans confined their injuries to words and thoughts, thenwe would still be efiectively repaying them in kind. But are \pe to stand forthe present state of afiairs, in whic}r whilst they have aTready committed themost monstrous act of aggression we ourselves hang around debating theiss,ue ând let the opportunity for retaliation slip through our fingers? z Itis no longer possible to say that whereas they have not yet been shown tobe openly éhgaged in active hostility against us a likely case could be madeout for accusing them of hostile intent, nor indeed, will it be necessary roproduce ârguments in order to establish the eristence of a secret plot. 3 Butit is no longer possible only because Gtüazes our great and noble king hasbeen unceremoniously disposed of like the meanest of his subjects. Gone for-ever is the ancient dignity of the Cold-rians. Henceforth there will be no ques-tion of our aspiring to rule over others. No, we must rest content if we arealloured to avoid sinking to a much lower level than that of those who untilrecently were our dependents. 4 And is it not an extraordinary state ofalf.aits if we are going to sit around e>ramining the question of whether weshould regard the men responsible for this situation as ourlÿ'orst enemies orour friends? 5 Yet it must be rcal:zed that their insolence will not confineitself to this action. Even if we drop the cJrarge against them they will notleave us alone. On the contrary they will ill-treat us with greater impunity

BooLt 77

ll wo do nothlng, §7hen thcy 6nd pcoplÊ doctlc thelr lnrolcnce knowr noboundr and thcy hrbltually deapire inyôno who trcou thsm wtth deference,6 Thclr Empcrcr lr utterly unscrupuloua and delightg ln conrinually crcatingtçnalon and lngtability. Hence the euddenness s/ith whidr the hideous crimewll perpetrated, since it was committed at his orpress command and withthelr willing collaboration. 7 'üfe have all but sufiered the rape of oureountfy at their hands though there was no prior aggression on our part ortpofltaneous outbrealc of hostility. §flhile appearing to remain on the samefriendly tef,ms as bdore they have committed the mosr unspeakable ofcfimes, as though seized with a sudden access of insane cruelty and hatredrnd all the other dark and brutal passions.

8 How difierent are the ways of the Persians! Those whose friendshipthey have had frorn the start they go out o{ their way ro rreat with unfailingkindness, resening their anger for their enemies, as long as they remainenemies. 9 I could have wished that the colc}ian srare were still possessedof iæ ancient might, needing no help from foreign pov/ers and cômpletelyindependent in all matters that toudr upon vrar and peace, ro But, sincâryhether through the passage of time or the whims of fortune or perhapsthtough a combination of both we have been reduced to rhe srarus o] u roi-ject people, I think it pays us to join the side whose amirude is rhe morereasonable and whose goodwill ror,vards their allies is not liable to flucruarion.r r In tûris v/ay we will get the better of our real enemies since their pastmisconduct will not go unpunished and we shall have taken dre necessarysteps to ensure our future safety. rz For that sly and tngtatiating mannerwhidr enables them to injure the unsuspecting by hiding theii true selvesbelrind atacade of suavity and drarm will be completely wasred on us owingto our open and uncompromising hostility towarÀs them. 13 Even if theÿshould try to make war on us they would be fighting on enemy territory andwould never be able to stand up ro the combined strength of the Lazi andthe Persians or even to sustain the first shod< of our arms. 14 It is notlong iince they engaged a detadrment of Persians with their entire armyand were at once ignominiously put to flight. They ran so fast that even nowthey have scarcely recovered their breath and though they were roundlybeaten in every other way they did excel their prrro.r, in one respect - th;speed of their flight!

10. One might name as the obvious and immediate cause of this rout acombination of cowardice and bad judgement, and indeed sudr shamefuldefects seem to be part and parcel of their whole make-up. But the additionof deliberate wickedness to natural depravity tipp.d the scales so heavilyagainst them that their plight was made doubly disasrrous, andby their foulmisdeed they fodeited the protection of Providence. z For it is not somudr by force of atms as by godfearing conduct that victory is assured, and

7t &rthhrThrl{harhr

I find lt lnconcelvable thet hervcn rhould lntervcnc on rhc rlde of abendonedwiclcedness. Therefore we will have no trudr wlth theac men, if we haveany sense, since they lack sound judgement and hrve moreover incurred thewrath of _the being whose special province is the safety of all things.3 Events have shown more clearly than words can that

-our joining tie

Persian side will be an easy and advantageous course to pursue and wiù winthe approval of the Deity. 4 Nor *oold sudr a .oorr. carry with it theimplication, from a hurlan point of view, of treachery or unjust aggression

9n oür part. Indeed we have seen fit on mâny occasions in the pasiio abideby the terms of our alliance in spite of the insulting behavio,ur oi the Romansbecause we felt that to shift one's allegiance on u.Jouot of provocation whicJ-rthough serious was nor altogether unbearablewu, * .*tràely shabby thingto do. 5 But to sufier outrageous and irremediable harm witÉout a murmuf,of protest, not to show a flicler of anger in the face of monstrous inhumanity,thgt,r say, is not the reaction of sensible men but of cowards and weaklingswho contrive to mask their callous indjfference to the faæ of their countrywith a-specious prerengg of polirical maturity. 6 It is hard to imagine hourgI qther people could become the victims of a fouler crime or ho'i, if theydid, they could possibly overlook it. similarly we roo musr nor turn a blindgFe _t" what has happened bur must recoil in disgust from the thought of{tplryr"g indifierence ro the memory of our king and betraying a delre toflattet his murderers. 7 rf it were possible for him to be prelent here hewould be inveighing bitterly againsr our neglecr of duty whicl, has enabledtfiese guilty wrerdres to conrinue to reside in his land instàad of being expelledfrom it long ago. 8 But since he will never again be present à ,àd..r,you, bethink yourselves of the man and summon up a mental picture of himstanding in the midst of the assembled company, pointing to the wound onhis neck andhis drest and imploringhis fellowcouÀtry-.n to rake vengeanceeven at thih late hour on his .n.Ài.r. §fhidr of yo,, tfr.r. +oUa brook amoment's doubt or discussion concerning the justice of Gubazes' claim tothe sympathy of the Coldrians? 9 yes, §re must be on our guard lestthrough our fear of being branded as deserters we allow ourselves io becorneparticipants in the crime and throw away the drance of avenging the deadman. §7e will look a great deal more rreacherous if our affection for himlasts no longer than his lifetime and if when once §,'e lose the man we 1osehis memory too.

ro §7hen all is as it should be it is the height of folly to drange one,swhole way of life, but when the reverse is the case it pays, I think, to adaptoneself speedily to events. Reason is the criterion upon which resolutionshould be based and a dogged attadrment to the status quo is not alwayssomething to be praised but only when it makes good sense. But when it isa question of giving heed to unworthy considerations and clinging tênaciously

Book, 79

to r frlce podtton üon thc men who mrlntrinr hir prcvlou rtand ir morcblrmavorthy thrn the man who changer rider.

rr \trÿhcn the Pcrsiane learn frorn ua of thie decigion and realize itslmplicatione thcir hearte will with good rcaoon warm to us and they willtght on our bchalf, for they üe generoue and magnanimous and especiallygood at divining their neighbours inrentions. Besides they will be gaining,without anen having to aslc for it, the alliance of a counrry of vital rir*t"gi"lmpotance and considerable military strength, which they themselves wouldgo to great trouble and o<pense to possess. re Make it therefore your oneobject to get down to business and disclose your intentions. By so àoing weshould gteatly enhance our prestige while at rhe same time pursuing ,lort,honourable andaàvantageous course of acdo[".

11. As soon zrs Aeetes had concluded this speech it was greeted with ancncited clamour from the assembled crowd who wanted to cJrange sidesthere and then, even though the Persians had not been apprised ôf theirintentions and even though they were in no position to efiect türe change.over without attrâcting attention or to defend themselves i-f the Romansused force to prevent them. Devoid of oryanization and planning, with notegard for the future or for the consequences of their àction, th.y *.r"nonetheless impatient to get started. The revolutionary fervour of a moband the fanaticism of. abarbarian people srere not the only factors at work.Their own sense of, tle rightness of th.ir cause and the eléctrifying dect ofhis words also served to heighten their agitation and inflame their passions.

z \ühile they were in this troubled and turbulent stâte a man calledPhattazes, a person of outstanding influence âmong the Col&,ians, whocombined discretion with popularity, resrrained their ardour by requestingthem not to resort to action before they had first given him a hearing-.

3 Out of respect for him they reluctantly consented to stay where they wereand hear him out. so he came into their midsr and addressed them in thefollowing words:'4 "That what you heard has had a profoundly disturbing eflect uponyour minds is not surprising. You have in fact succumbed to a magnificentpiece of orâtory. The power of eloquence is indeed hard to combat. Nà man isproof against its well-aimed shafts, least of all those who have never before ex-perienced them. But that does not mean that it cannot be countered by theprudent exercise of the faculty of reason and by bringing critical discernmenrto bear on the realities of a situation. -: Do not, thèrefofe, accepr srare-ments whose credibility turns out on closer inspection to rest noi on arryconsiderations of honesty or utility but solely on the suddenness and noveltyof their appeal. Rather must you rcehize that however attractive they mayapwffi better options do in fact e>rist, Fufthermore, rJrat you were easily'won over should itself be a clear proo{ of the deception practised on you.

80 Âscthla;r Tho Hhtorlcr

6 The man who ie advocating a dlshonest rtand har gtester necd of lmprec.sive_ arguments and fine words; thus by eflectlvely sugaring the piü hequi&ly enlists the support of the more simpl+minded, j fiat is preciselywhat happened to you when Aeetes conrrived to lend an air of atmactivânovelty to his tendentious orposition. You have no conception how+oroughly you have been hoodwinked. Yet, if nothing else, one can hardlyfail to note how he started ofi by dragging in a completely imelevanr questio;.8 As though you were all saying that what had happened was nor serious,refusing to condemn the brutal murder and concentraring all your attentionon the question of whether the murderers of Gubazes .were really in thevrrong, he came forward and delivered a lengthy indictment of them, inwhich he devoted mudr discuss:i,on to proving what had ilready been establis-hed. 9 I for my part regard as the vilest and most abandoned wretcheswhorn I would gladly see put ro the mosr horrible of deaths not only thosewho strud< the blows and performed the actual killing with their own handsbut all those too who had the drance ro prevenr it and did nothing about it.And I include those who were delighted and even those who were not parti-cularly distressed at the crime. ro But the fact that ï entertain sudrfeelings does not make defection to the Persians into a sound poliry. By whatlogic could the abandonment of principles on their part be construed asimplying the necessity for a similar course of action on ours? It is hardlyconsistent to be angered at their treaclery while ourselves incurring a similarreproadr.

rr So we must not now dwell on the uaalterable and irrevocable past lestby deliberating in a spirit of ânger ï/e allow our judgement to be cloudedand deprive ourselves of the chance of finding a better solution. No, we mustkeep our heads without appearing ro lose our hearrs and take thought inadvance to ensure the successful conduct of our afiairs. Only fools spendtheir time btooding in perpetual resentment over past ills. §7ise men areinured to the whims of fortune'and undismayed by cJrance or drange. Theydo not react to past deprivation by destroying all hope of success for thefuture.

12. Aeetes' pro-Persian sentiments are of long standing and so is hisdesire to bring us into an alliance with Persia. This policy he is advocatingby trying to scare us like so many d:ildren into believing that the Romanswill not stop ât what they have done but that their efirontery will assumestill more alarming proportions. Their Emperor is also credited with beingan ardr-trouble-maker and is supposed to have ordered the murder person-ally, the design itseLf having been hatdred and elaborated long before itsexecution. §7hile making these allegations he praises the Persians to theslries thinking that that will make us desert immediately and become rhehumble petitioners of those who are by nature our deadliest enemies. z His

Booh I E1

.vËry rçmark 1r rlmed at this objectlve. Rlght ircm hio opcning words heapct !o grÇet point end to $est lengthr to sectue the realization o{ his petrdrcmcs, And indecd his uncritical haranguc has the efiect of confusing andtmr*ating the whole process of deüberation. 3 It is the function ofdclibcradon to take precedence always and to lead the way, subjecting allthrt remains unclear to a rigorous scfutiny. When the course to be pursuedhu been detetmined, then and only then does the desire to act upon thedeeisions arrived at become a necessary and relevant f.actor. 4 But Aeeteslur put the ca.rt before the horse and, before attempting ro clarify the issue,hrs alrcady embarked upon a decision. Yet what is the use of deliberation ifths matter has been prejudged?

5 Bring an unbiassed mind to bear, fellow Coldrians, on rhe mamer undercongidetation and do not allow your views to be coloured by preconceivednotions and ulterior motives. §7e cannot force events to ût into a pattern ofout own choosing. That would be absurd. No, it behoves us ro follow themItcp by step, subjecting them to the rational analysis of a lucid and indepen-dent mind. Such a procedure would enable us to form aî accurate pictureof what has happened and to discover where our true interests lie. 6 Nowlf you deliberate in this fashion it \vill immediately become âpparenr to youthst the conspiracy against Gubazes' life was nor the doing of the Romanforces, nor even of all the generals, and still less of their Emperor. It is al-feady common knowledge âmong the Romans that Rusticus and Martin outof envy for his good fortune embarked on rheir own private piece of wicked-fless not just wit]rout the co-operation of the other leaders bur even in theface of their evident displeasure. 7 I consider it unjust as well as unprof-itable to do violence to the laws of our community, whidr we set out tocherish, on account of the wrong-doing of one or perhaps two individualsand to do away with the whole of our familiar pattern of life whidr meansso much to us, on so slender a pretext. \X/e would also be branding our-selves as the berayers of those who are guarding our land and imperilling theirown lives so that we can live in comfort, and most heinous of all we wouldbe showing cootempt for the dignity of the true faith in all its outward andinward manifestations. 8 For that is precisely what 'üe shall seem to bedoing if we join forces with the violent ant4gonisis of the Deity. If they debarus from the practice of our religion and force us to adopt theirs, then whatmore horrible f.ate than that could we sufier both in this world and in thenext? Iÿhat will we gain (let us put it this way) if we win the whole ofPersia and suffer the loss of our souls? 7 9 Even i{ they were tolerant wewould certainly not be able to count on théir hsting goodwill. On the con-ttary it would be an illusory and insecure arrangement, a mere temporary

z c{. Mau. 16t26

ilL

e2 âgrthlur The Hlrtorler

orpcdient. ro There can be no real fellowrhlp rnd no hatlng bond bctweenmen of dilferent religion nor cyen undcr the rtiàoh of fiaioi oi,À*o,pr*ious act of kindness. A common religion is the one indlapensabi" pi..ooaitionfor such a relationship. In its absence even the ti" à? r.*rr,ip'rugg"rr, ,no,frinrty whiclr is only so in name whfle in reality there is no.ààroïgroundwhatsoever. rr §7hat then do we srand to gain f.o,, g"i"g ;uer to thePersians.if even so they will remain our enemià and we r-rrrulnrv succeedin making ourselves more vulnerable in that it is more difiicult to guardagainst tJre enemy from within than the enemy from without? rz Butlet us assume for the- sake of argument that th"r. is nothing immoral ordisreputable about such â move and that the persians are a hun?red per centtrustwomhy and reliable and will never fail ro honour the terms of thefuture !n-uty. -Yet

granted that this were really the case undarr,rming thutnone.of the other objections held good we wourd not be in a srong eio,rghposition to act. - 13 How could we desert to a foreign power .irrit. tË.Romans are still in cJrarge and have suih a hrrg. .on..itt tioo of ûrst-ratetrools on ouf soil under the command of generars of no mean ability? Howcould we possibly avoid sufiering the *orirrrug" reprisals when those whowere supposed to come ro our aid would be lingering in the region of Iberiaând advancing at snail's pace whilst our avengers *àr. o.*pylng the wholeof our couûtry with their roops billeted in our cities?

13. And yet this good fellow informs us, basing his craim on recenrevents, that they will not even be able to sustain the first shocl< of our arms.Though it should be perfectly obvious that the vicissitudes of war do notconform to a set patrern and that the failures of the moment are not doomedto be similarly unsuccessful on each and every occasion. on the conrraryvictory often follows in the wake of defeat and cures the distress it hascaused. p §7e must not therefore become over-confident on the groûndsthat habituhl defeat in wery engagemenr has come to be expected of them.For if the sole cause of their defeat has been their failure to maLe the rightdecision then we should let that be a warning to ourselves to be on ourguard against the dangers of precipitate action. 3 so on no account should weregard-what has happened as a clear indication th"t *. shall get the better ofthem. Indeed it is only reasonable to suppose that those whJ'have blunderedin the past and have learnt from .*p..i.n". what to avoid will m"k. goodtheir previous omissions by their vigilance for the future. 4 And if dre ôeityis angry with them because of the heinous crime they have committedagainst the dead man and that is rhe reason for their pi.r.nt plight, whatneed is there for us to appear on the scene ro give a helping hand It th"gt,fle were not up to the taslc_ of seeing that justice is done but required heipfrom us? §7e shallcertainlyüave readred the acmeof impiety if w. dirhonoorby our defection the benetcent Providence whicr euen without our doing

Booh, g,

lryülng fightr rlghtcourly on our bEhalf. 5 So let no oÈlË lntoduce lntohh_ryoeeJr the figure of the dead man uttering the most unmanly complaintsurd bcreeehing hia fdlow countrymen to fcelpity for him and pointing to hisïounds. Such behaviour rnay perhaps accord well with the portrayal of rom.purlllanimous and efieminate wretcl, but it should never be attributed to aLtng and to a king of the Lazi at that, and least of all to Gubazes. 6 If hewefe ptesent here he would, like the pious and rightminded man he was;rtptoadr us for entertaining sudr proposals and would bid us nor ro be sodcjccted and faint.hearted and nor ro resolve to run away like a garrry of,drvcs, He would bid us rather to recover the dignity and self-reliancé o{Colchians and of free men and to stand up courageously to misfortune, notrXlowing ourselves to be induced to do anything dishonourable or unworthyof our country's history and remaining true to its present obligations, securekr the hnqwledge that Providence will not abandon our narion.

7 Now, if these are the sort of sentiments that are likely to meet withthe approval of the very man who was brutally murdered, is it not altogetherartraordinary that we, who claim to be motivated by out afiection to,urardshiqr, should hold the opposing view-point? 8 Indeed I am alrndrhar weüall be severely punished merely for toying with the idea of following suchI couise. If the prospects of the intended defection were far from clear andthe success of the issue could be said to hang in the balance, it would still!O higfily dangerous to make so mornenrous a decision depend solely uponcha4ce, though the advocates of this policy would very piobably have lessto fear{rom their impudence. 9 But if it is shown tobe a demonstrably badpolicy ftom every conceivable point of view then how can we fail to hatethrq authors of such a suggestion? Enough rhen has, I think, been said tomalce it quite plain that we should steer clear of sudr a course.

ro In conclusion I propose that we should send a report of what hashapppned to the Emperor of the Romans to enable him to visit with condignpunishment those most responsible for the ourage. I propose also that if heptoües willing to do so we should put an end ro our dispute with the Romansand resume normal co-operation in both the civil and the military spheres.'rr But if he should reject our petition rhen we shall have to considerwhether it will not suit'us to explore some other avenue. In this w-ay wevould not appear to be unmindful of the dead nor would we give the im-presgion of acting on impulse rather than judgement in the conduct of ourâfiairs".

14. §flhen this speech toohad been concluded the Coldrians had a ihangeof heart. §fhat made thern relent was chiefly the fear that a dtange of alle-giance would deprive them of the right to practise their religion.

z Once Phafiazes' view had prevailed a deputation composed of theflovrer of the nation's nobility reported the circumstances of Gubazes'

rJ4 Agutlrlur;'l'lu' I Itst,rr irs

luuldet to the l-nrlrcror Justiltirttr.'l'lrcy grrve llinl [Lrll clctdls o[ tlrc slru[lryand frar'rclrrlcnt allair, rcvculing that ncithcr lrrrtl Cubuzcs bccp cr.rnvictecl ol'h1*"g had dealings wirh ths Persians n,r hucl lrc bccn implicatccl i, anyother kind of sinister machinarions against rhc ltomans. \x/hafhacl hnppcn"j,they said, was that when he had rebuked them with justifiable r"u"rîty forcommitting a whole series of careless blunders, Martin and Rusticus andtheir hen&rnen had rerorted by producing this trumped-up charge anddestroying an innocenr man. I They begged him to pèrrorÀ rhis one acto{ kindness for the sake of the dead manr not to let the irime go unpunishedand to nominate as their king not some foreigner or outsider but Tzàthes theyounger brother of Gubazes, who was staying in constantinople at thetime._ In this way their ancestral constitution would once more be upheldand the unbroken succession and integrity of the royal line maintained.

4 convinced of the justice of their requesr, the Emperor hastened to bringabout its fulfiknent. so he sent Athanasius, one of the leading senarors, toconduct a fuIl judicial inquiry into the afrauu. and ro rry rhe càse accordingto Roman law. 5 On his arival he immediately sent Rusricus to the citÿof Apsarus where he had him imprisoned and kept under close surveillance.Meanwhile John who had deceived the Emperor and had committed theoutrage with his own hands had absconded in an artempt to save himselfby flight. But it so happened that he was intercepted by Mestrianus, one ofthe ofiicers of the imperial body-guard who had been senr rhere to atrendupon Athanasius and execute whatever judgement he might pronounce. SoMestrianus arrested John and marched him ofi to Athanasius for judgement.6 Athanasius sent him too to Apsarus, with instructions that both prisonersshould remain incarcerated until the preliminary proceedings for the trialwere compl.eted.

15. By the beginning of spring Nadroragan was in Mudreirisis. Hemustered his troops at once and made vigorous preparations for war. TheRomans for their part concentrated their forces arô,rnà Nesos and also beganto ryake prqrarations, with the result of course that the proceedings of th.trial rlge_ adjourned, since military considerarionr t..*àd to take priorityover all else

z Meanwhile Tzathes had arrived from constantinople accompanied bythe general soterichus. He had received his ancestral title together with thlrcyal insignia from the hand of the Emperor in accordance witl a time-honoured uadition. The insignia consisr of a gold cro\Mn set with preciousstones, a robe of cloth of gold extending to the feet, scadet shoes and aturban similarly embroidered with gold and precious srones. rt is not lawfr.rl,however, for the kings of theLazi to wear à puple cloak, only a whire onebeing permitted. Neverheless it is nor an altàgeih.r

"o-âonplu.e gamenr

since it is distinguished by having a brilliant srripe of gold Jabric ïroven

lLrrh t

Ëcl\tËn llre rrtirIlle ol'it. Âttotlrer: lcrlturc ol'Ilre loyrrl innigniu is tlrc clrrsp,rerltlenrlertt rvitlt jcwcllcrl lrcrrrhrrts url(l otlrer hincls ol onlruncnt, with whichthc clurk is lïstetrcd, 3 Âs sncln us '.l'zrrllrcs sct foot on his country's soilrplenclirlly arrrryccl irr thr: royal apprrrcl thc gcnerals ancl the entire Romanârmy greetetl him ancl accorclcd lrim all clue honour and respect, forming apfilccusion in fi'ont of hirn, their armour and weapons specially polished forthc occasion ancl most of them riding on horsebad<. 4 In their joy at therlglrt tlre Lazi managed to forget their distress for the moment and, fallingItrto linc, accompanied him to the sound of uumpets and with banners raisedeloft, The procession was of a pomp and magnificence beyond what isttrurrlly associated with the Lazian monarcJry.

5 Once established orr the throne Tzathes proceeded to take over thercins of government and to rule his people as he thought fit and in accord-ntrce with the dictates of ancestral custom. 6 Soterichus therefore set ofilmmcdiately to accomplish the mission on which he had been senr. He wasin foct carrying a sum of money from the Emperor whidr he was to distributeto the neighbouring barbarian peoples according to the terms o{ their alliance.'I'lris payment had long been customary and was made on an annual basis.7 FIe took his elder sons Philagrius and Romulus with him so rhar straightofter leaving home they should be given some timely training in physicalcndurance, since both of them had akeady come to ma-n's estate and werequite able-bodied. The third son Eusrratius had been left behind in Constan-tinople because he was still very young and was in any case not physicallyfit.

I Eventually Soteric}us readred the land of the Misimians who aresubjects of the king of the Colclians as are also the Apsilians though theyclifier from these in both language and customs. They are indeed situatedfarther north than the Apsilians and slightly more towards the East.9 \)7hen he got there, at arty rate, it suddenly entered into their heads that hewanted to betay to the Alans one of their forrresses situated near the borderwith Lazica, whid: they call Bud:lous. The idea behind this, they thought,was that the envoys from the more distanr peoples could all congregate thereand collect their pay so that whoever brought the money would henceforthbe spared the necessity of travelling round the foot-hills of the caucasus andsetting out in person to meet them.

16. The Misimians may have received intelligence to this efiect or theymay simply have acted on suspicion. At all events they sent a t\Ài.o-mandeputation consisting of Chadus and Thyanes, both of them persons ofdistinction. z 'when they found the general encamped near to the fortressin question their suspicions u7'ere confirmed and they exclaimed, "that wasavety bad turn you planned to do us! You have no right to let anyone elsesteal what belongs to us, still less ought you to be harbouring such designs

,Ç

#

w&4...'

T

tt6 Âgrrt lrlrx:'l'lre I listrrt iFr

yoursclf. llut if this is tenlly ttot yout'intention tlrerr nrrrke §urc thrrt youleave hcrc as quickly as possiblc .u"l(l llovc: lo rrnother s1:ot. You shu.ll notwant for provisions. Wc shall bring you everything you neecl. IJut restassured you are not staying here, for we will not havc you loitering on anypretext".

3 This impertinence rÀlas too mudr for Soterichus who, thinking itintolerable that the subjects of the Coldei who were rhemselves dependentsof tl:e Romans should adopt an insolent tone towards Romans, ordered hisbody-guard to strike them with their batons. §Thereupon they thrashed themmercilessly and sent them bad< half-dead. 4 After this had happenedSoterichus did not imagine that he would encounter any hostility bur stayedwhere he was, as though he had simply dealt with some misdemeanour on thepart of his own servants and consequently had nothing to fear. IX/hen nightcame he v/ent to bed without bothering to mount a guatd or take any pre-cautions. Likewise his sons and the body-guard and all the other servantsand slaves that were with him were less careful about their sleeping-arrange-ments than they would have been in enemy teritory.

5 Meanwhile the Misimians refused to tolerate the insulting treatmentthey had received. So the made a heavily-armed attack on the place, enteringthe general's quarters and killing first those servants who acted as ihamber-lains. 6 In the ensuing noise and con{usion, whicl was of course consider-able, Soterichus and those nearest to him became aware of the disaster. Theyleapt out of their beds in reffor, but they were srill heavy-headed and daz.ed

with sleep and in noposition to defend themselves. ,7 Some of them gottheir feet caught in the blankets and could not walk. Others made a dashfor their swords in an attempt to stand up and fight it out, whidr was piti-fully inefiectual, since they were in the dark and completeJy helpless. Theykept banging their heads against the walls and had no recollection of wherethey had put thefu weapons. Others feeling that they were already rappedgave up all hope and did nothing but shout and utter loud lamentations.8 Taking full advantage of their consternation, the barbarians fel1 upon themand slew Soterid-rus and his sons and all the others with the exception of theodd survivor who managed to leap to safety thro rgh some emergency dooror to escape detection by some other means. 9 After doing this the in-human'üretcrhes despoiled the dead men, taking away with them everythingelse that the place contained and even appropriating the Emperor's money.Altogether they acted as though the men they had killed were really theirenemies and not the general and other representatives of a friendly po\ver.

L7. It \À7as not until the massacre'u7as over when they had glutted theirlust for blood and thek fuenzy seemed to be subsiding that they began toreflect upon the consquences of their action and to grasp the full implicationsof the step they had taken. They realized then that it would not be long

llxrk I

befr,lc lltc llrtrrrrrrtn urrne thir'sting for vcngertncc ttncl thrrt they worrltl ntltlre uhlc to sto;r tltettt, r S<l thcy cttrlltrkecl rll)ol't o c(]tlrse ttf opcn dcfccticln

anrl ntrrrlc t'el)rescntrltiolrs 1o thc.I.)ersirtns nshing thcm ü9 âccept their alle-

glntrr:c nnrl allirltl them hcnccfol:th the protcrtion accordccl to their subjects.

I §ülren tlre llomnn gcnctals receivccl. a full account of what had happened

they were angry and distressed, but they were unable to deal with the

Mirinrinns straightaway because they had their hands tied with matters o{ a

more seriotrs and pressing nature. 4 Nadroragan at the head of aî atmy

of rixty tlrousand fighting men was akeady advancing onNesos where Martinancl Justin the son of Germanus and their troops were assembled. 5 Nowthere was a detachment of mercenaries called Sabirs (a Hunnic people) whowcre serving as heavy infantry in the Roman army' They numbered wellnigh two thousand and were under the command of some of their most

rllstingr"rished leaders, namely Balmadr, Cutilzis and Iliger. These Sabirs

then, had, on the instructions of Martin, encamped near the plain ofArchaeopolis, the idea being that they should do as much damage as possible

to the enemy, who would probably be crossing over by that route, so as tomake their passage both more difiicult and most dangerous.

6 lÿhen Nachoragan Tearnt that the Sabirs had been strategically placed

with this end in view he selected about three thousand men from the Dilim-nite contingent and despatched them against the Sabirs, bidding them ükethe braggart he was to wipe them out so that there would not be any ofthem left to ambush his rear while he was mardring into battle. 7 TheDilimnites are among the largest of the nations on the far side of the Tigriswhose territory borders on Persia. They are warlike in the extreme and, un-

lilce most of the Persians, do not fight principally with the bow and the

sling, They carry speârs and pikes and wear a sword slung over one shoulder.

To the left arm they tie a ÿery small dirk and they hold out shields and

bucklers to protect themselves with. One could hardly des6ibe them simply

as light-armed troops nor for that mattef as the type of heavy-armed infantrythat ûght exclusively at close quartefs. 8 For they both disdrarge missiles

from adistance when the occasion arises and engage in hand-to-hand fighting,

and they are expert at charging an enemy phalanx and btea"king its close-

knit ranks with the weight of their drarge. They can re-form their own ranks

witlr ease and adapt themselves to any contingency. Even steep hills they

rrrn up without difiiculty thus seizing in advance all points of vantage, and

when ptit to flight they escape with lightning rapidity whereas when they

are the attad<ers they press the pursuit with perfect timing and co-ordination'§fell-versed as they are in practically every type of wart.arc they inflict con-

siderable harm on theit enemies. 9 They âre accustomed for the most part

to fight alongside the Persians, though not as the conscript contingents of a

87

tt Â3rtldui ThHllprTu

subject pcoplc otrce thcy arc ln fact ftrc end lndcpendent end lt lr nor intheir nature to submit to any form of compuhlon.

18. This detadrmenr of Dilimnites, then, ser out at nightfall against the

!r!ïr, since they thoughr it preferable to make , ,utprIr" attaà< on thesabirs while they were still asleep and thus annihilate üem with a minimumof trouble. And they would nor, r suppose, have been deceived of theirhopes had it not been for a drance

"o.*nt.r which proved their undoing.z But it so happened that while they were on the way under cover of darf-ness to accomplish their mission a solitary colcleian fell in with them.seizing him with ala.y.ity they forced him ro sho'ü them the way to the sabirs.He was only too eager to do as he was told and set orff at thohead of them.Iüzhen he read:ed a thickly-wooded glen, however, he quietly crouched downand slipped away. Having s''ccessfully eluded his prrrluers he ran hard andmanaged to readr the camp of the Huns before rh.y did. 3 §7hen he gotthere he found them all sound asleep. "§fretched men", he-shdeLed at thetop of his voice, "another minute and you \rdll all be dead,,.

As soon as he had thus awakened them he told them that the enemywould be there any moment. 4 They started up in alarm, armed themselves,left the enclosure of their fortiûed camp and splitting up into rwo bodiestook cover. Moreover they left the entrance

"ogourded ànd their wooden

and canvas huts standing in exactly the same position as before. 5 owingto their ignorance of the terrain the Dilimnitàs went by a very rourrd-ubo"iroute though they did readr the camp of the Huns before daybreak. §7ithfatal_ confidence they rushed in and roon wer. all inside. 6 creeping upnoislessly lest the enemy should be awakened by what they heard th.y dio""their spears into the beds and the hurs, seemingly killing tlem in their sleep.7 But_iust w!9n they thogsht that their mission was already accomplishàthe Sabirs^.suddenly rushed out of their hiding places and fell on them-fromboth sides' The Dilimnites_ uTere completely shattered by the unexpectedturn of events and finding themselves caught in their o*t, irup did noiknowwhere to_tum. Flight was no easy rnatter,penned up as they were in a narro.w.and

-confined space. Nor could they clearly distinguish ih. .rr.rrry in thetwofold uncertainty of panic and night-fighiing. t tt. r.r,rlt wu, a mas-sacre in whidr they did not even so much as make an attempt to defend them-selves. Eight hundred men v/ere killed while the resr br*.ty managed ro gerclgar, o{y to wander,aboyt distractedly not knowing v/hich \üy to go.often wren they thought they had abeady fled to a safe distanc" th"v wüdkeep going round in circles ending up where they had started and stumbtringinto-the enemy. 9 This sort of thing went on all night. At daybreat wheithe first light began ro dawn the survivors immediately recognized the rourethey had taken and ran straight for the persian lines though even so theSabirs were hard on their heels.

l6ôLt 89

. lo Bebat, thc commandcr of thole Romrn fottel thr,t had been atatloned

h Lrzlca for e very long tlmc, happened on thât occaaion to apend the night

h ArrCraeopollc where hls earc werc aoralled ftom every direction by a

dcdenlng noise and shorting. rr Ar long as it was dark and there was

[O way of telling what was going on he kept very quiet and did not ventufe

fOfth. But when the sun câme streaming ovef the mountain ridges he got an

Unmlstakeable vie'ur of what was happening and saw clearly that the Dilim-

iltcg urefe fleeing before the Sabirs. rüfihereupon he rushed out of the city

hlmsclf with sudr troops as formed his immediate entoufage and dispatdred

f,trothe not inconsiderable portion of the enemy with the result that outgt euch a latge force there §ras not a thousand men in all who reached

Nachoragan.

L9. Straight after the failure of this attempt Nadroragan left for Nesos

rnd camping close to the Romans invited Martin to a parley. z On

Martin's arrival he said: "You are sudr a shrewd and able general and a

person of. gteat influence among the Romans, and yet far from showing any

lnclination to stop the two monardrs from engaging in a mutually exhausting

Conflict you have allowed them to persist in the protracted ruination of their

rcgpective states. 3 If therefore you afe agreeable to the idea of anegotia-

tCd setflement, why not move with your afmy to the Pontic city of Trebi'

zond, whilst we Persians shall remain here? In this way we shall discuss

the terms of the armistice at our leisure using trusted messengels to convey

our views. 4 If you do not voluntarily withdraw youf afmy from here you

may fest assured that you will be driven out by force, for I h91d victory inthepalm of my hand. And, mark you, I wear her no less securely than I wear

thisl. A" he uttered these words he showed him the ring whidr he was

wearing. 5 In answer to this Martin replied: "I do indeed consider peace

to be the titing object of our prâyefs and a most precious possession and

shall hetp yoo i. your efiorts to teinstate her. However, I think it would be

better ifyou wefe to move with all speed to lberia while I went to Mudr-

efuisis. That would enable us to oramine the immediate situation, 6 As

for victory, you may indulge in boastful talk if you wish and presumptuously

imagine t[ai she is up for sale and is there for the taking. But I s_ay that the

scalàs of victory are weighted according to the discretion of divine Pro'

vidence, ,nd th.y do not incline towatds the boasdul and the agogant buttourards those to whom the Ardritect of the universe nods his approval".

7 After Martin had given this pious and courageous reply and,had shown

right"om indignation at the blasphernous insolence of the batbarian they

parted withoui any pfogless having been made towards a peaceful settle-

*.ot. I Nachoragan retumed to his camp and Martin to Nesos. Nadrora-

ganfeltthat there was no point in stâying where he was and so decided to go

t0 Aruhtmr lkHtrpllcto the town of Ph*tr r and lulc thc Rom*nr thcn Lutord, Thc uron for hisdecision was that he rcceivedJntuuig.n.. t; ,h;.EË;;riii iirr*r, *or.was especially vulnerable, being .ntir"ry consffucted of *ooà, *d that thesuffounding plains were r"..*Ibl" rndiuitrÈii f*;riltd;:' 9 It is, Isuppose comrnor knowledge that üe town of phasis tJ.i ii, name fromthe river that flows u"ry

"ràr. to it and dir"*bogou, i" it,

"r""rr,y into theEuxine. e rhe town is in fact situated on the coast flear to the mouth of thePhasis, and lies ar a distance of not o,o.. th* rt;;;;;'ài,. *.r, of

Nesos.

. 20. Late at night therefore Nachoragan immediatery lowered into theriver and fastened ,o.g"r!.r the light cr#t which ;;i;i b;;"sh, with himon \À/'agons and, thus, huu.rlu constructed a pontoonhe "o"rr.y.dî hi, troof,over ro the other side withour being obseàed by rhe R;;;;. -^,

ui, pt*v/as to reacl the south side of the iourn; from *rria q"rræ, the'waters ofthe river would not bar his access ,o ,É. f"" ;;;iâ. .;;J;", in thedirection of the north srde. 3 Towards dawn he ser oft from the bank ofthe river and, alter making , â.torr i, "rd*-r;-ü;;-ilr* uy u, ,ur. udistance as possible, p_roceeded direcly on Ài, *ry.'- -- -r ,

:

4 ït was not until.late in the morning that thé Romans rearized,to theiraTarm' that the persians had crossed olver. conse*.rrr, ,rrlîi'.". .or,anxious ro reach the town before the enemy und Àrnnâ ,uir." ffiremesand thirtv-oared ships whidr they had moored o.u"Ë:-Th.

"bàrr, *.r.propelled downstream at a-veîy_gîeat speed. 5 n,rt N*Jrorug* Lad had averygood sra* and was in fac.t arieaayhalf wuy Éetw.., N"r"JÀà.rre tos,n.At this point he laid a ba*ier of ti'mber *â ;dl;;;"rt_hr-*d;h;

river, massing his_elephants behind it in rines *rü.h ;;;à;î f*;;-,h.,could wade. 6 seeing this from a disrance, tn. no-* n.., i-L.ai*+began io bacft water. They had ahad..job iowing in reverse with the currentagainst thqm, but they pulled.rrfully ar the"oars ,"J;;rgJ. b;f?w?y: 7 Even so the?ersians.caprured rwo empty uor,, *lriÀ'rÈir crevrshad abandoned. §7hen faced with imminent caffiil*;;; ffi;or"ug.orrtycjrosen ro commit themserves to the ,.r.y àf ,rr. *r.r.-iiïï'in {uct udroice between certain and-ress certain duîg.r and they pi.r"rr"a to ,uke1,9*.". so thev leapt nimbrv overboard *Jrf* ;ir#irg-î""Àia"runudistance underwater brr.ly reached the safety of their .I..uà.r, ,hipr.a At this point tley left Buzes with his ,r-i rt N.r;;;'rrË;arge ofeverything there and to bring rrerp in.uu" of

"".a. Àï"inJàL"r, *"r"ghippe{ along and then across the river, ,ft . *hi.t *;;;;.ü ;verrandbv a difierenr route so as to avoid rundng into,h.

";-.,ni§ri;;i,à:; arrivedat the rown of Phasis rhey entered its lates and the gen.iJ, àpJ""i"r.a, N"* P"d tn the U. S. S. R.s The Black Sea.

Boohl 91

rmong thamrelvor ths trrk of mrnnLrg ths fortlficrtlonr, rlnce they dld notfccl ruong enough to cngage the enemy tn a pitched bnttle. 9 Justin theron of Germanur and hie fncn u'erÊ atationod in front on the highest point,whlc.h faced towards the sea, with Mamin and his forces occupying a nearbyporition. The middle part tü/as held by Angiles with a contingent of Moorishtroops atmed with shields and lances, by Theodorus and his Tzanianheavyhfaotry, and by Philomathius with the Isaurian slingers and dart-throwers.ro At some distance from these a detadrment of Lombards and Herulsmounted guard under the command of Gibrus. The remaining stretch of wallwhiih terminated at the Eastern quarter of the tosm was guarded by theEastern regiments cornmanded by Valerian. And this completes the accountof the üsposition of the Roman forces defending the walls.

2L, They had also built a massive rurnipart. in front of the walls in orderto withstand the ûrst shoik of an enemy attack and to serve as a butttess.They were understandably anxious about the walls in view of the fact thatthey wete built of wood and particularly because they had crumbled andcaved in with age in many places. z Accordingly a moat had been dugand filled up to the top with \ÿater, so that the stakes whicJ: had been drivenin in great profusion were completely hidden. The latter part of this op-

etation had been efiected without difiiculty by diverting the seaward outflowof the lagoon which flo,urs into the Euxine and is known locally as the "littleseùo. 3 Latge merchantships rode at andror next to the sea-shore and themouth of the river Phasis very close to the town with their boats securely

suspended abirut the mastheads ani:l raised aloft. at such a height that theybvertopped and even dwarfed the towers and battlements of the fortifications.

4 Up in theboats solüers and the more daring and wârlike of the sailors werestationed; They were armed with bows and arrows and slings and had set upcatapults loaded and ready for action. 5 Otürer ships too had been fitted outin almost exactly the same fashion and then conveyed up the river to the op:posite side of the fortifications where Vaierian was in command. Their pre-sence at this point méant that any attempt on dhe part of the enemy to conducta siege at close {ua.rters would be repulsed, since they would be shot at from a

very great height on either side. 6 To ensure that these ships on the rivershould come to no harm two cominandêrs ,Dabrugez,as the Ant ahd Elminegeirthé Hun, acting on the instructions of the generals, manned with troops {romtheii own contingents ten skiffs of a special kind equipped with fote-and-aftl.'udders, and travelled up the'river as far as possible. They kept a non-stopwatdr, on the various crossing-points, sometimes sailing in the middle of ther-iver and sometimes veering towards one or the other of its banks. 7 Inthe course of this operation they experienced one of war's most pleasant

su4lrises. Even furtler up the river than they were, the two thirty-oaredRoman Vessels, whose capture without their crews by the Persians I have

?2 A:rthlmr ?hc l{htoçlu

already relntcd, now lay ln walt moorçd to the burk of the rlver and mannedby Persians. I At ntghtfall their crews all fell rllcep, The cument.wasparticularly strong and the cables were stretched by the tilting of rhe boats,with the result that the moorings on one of them suddenly snapped. Cutadrfit and virtually without oars to propel it or a rrldder to steer it, it wascaught up in the current, swE)t auray and eventually 9 consigned to Dabra-gezas and his men, who rejoicing at their good fortune gleefully seized theirprey. The ship whidr they had abandoned empry had returned to them full.

22. Meanwhile Nadroragan left camp and advanced on the town with hisentfue army. He intended to conÉne himself to light skirmishing and thedischarging of missiles from a distance in an atternpt to test the Romans'mettle and to see whether they would come out into the open and fight. Inthis way he hoped to form a cleat idea of what tactics to adopt in the nextday's battle. z As soon as the Persians got within shooting distance, there-fore, they immediately began, according to their usual practice, to disdrargevolley upon volley of arrows. Many Romans \r7'ere wounded, and thouglrsome of them continued to defend the walls, others withdreur altogetherfrom the fighting. 3 In complete disregard of Martin's instructions to thewhole army that they were to stay each at his respective post and to tghtfrom a position of safety, Angilas and Philomathius and abotrt two hundredof their troops opened the gate in their section of the wall and made a sortieagainst the enemy. 4 Theodorus the commander of the Tzanian'contingenttried at first to restrain them, upbraiding them for their rashness. But whenthey would not listen to him he fell in reluctantly with the majority decisionand set ofl at once with them to avoid being suspected of co,urardice and ofseeking to cover up his ignoble ends by an impressive show of prudence andgood sense. So, though he had no liking for the enterprise, hç resolved to see

it through p the bitter end. 5 And in fact they would almost certainly havebeen annihiladed on the spot but for a heaven-sent miscalculation whidr savedthem. The Dilimnites who were ranged in battle-form ation a,t that point,perceiving the small number of the attad<ers stayed their ground and calmlyawaited their approadr. 6 §fhen they were akædy îeat athand the Dilim-nites brought round their wings and encircled them. Hemmed in on all sides,the Romans had no further idea of harming the enemy. Indeed rhe merepossibility of escape seerned almost too mudr to hope for. 7 Formingthemselves therefore into a cornpâct body they faced about and suddenlvdrarged with their spears Ievelled at those of the enemy that vere positionednear the town.

§7hen the Dilimnites saqr them drarging with the fury of despair theyimmediately opened up their ranks and made way for them, since they wereunable to confront men who cared neither for their own lives nor for theconsequences of-their actions. 8 In this way the Romans were allowed to

loohl Itil.h üo rrfoty unoppored, Only too gld ro get back lnrldc the fortlfications,thcy rlemmcd thc gatc behind them. The nÇt achievemenr from sudl ahurrdous cxploit wâs nll - they had risked their lives to sûve their shins!

29. Meanwhile an arny of porters on the Persian side had long beentotltng to fill in the moat. Their work u/as nortr cornplete. All gaps had beenftopped and all holes had been plugged. In fact they had done sudr a

thorough job that even a besieging army could walk over the spot and siege-cggines could be brought up with little diIficulty. z But a disproportionatetmount of time had been spent on the operation considering the vast re-tqrrces of manpower at their clisposal. Thougtr they threw in an enormousquantity of stones and earth it did not sufiice to btock up the moar, andwood was scarce except for what they cut from the forests, travelling far toget it and transporting it with incredible toil. 3 The Rornans had in factalready set fire to all the surrounding countryside, burning down even thewayside inns and any other buildings in the immediate vicinity. Their pur-pose in doing this had been to ensure that the enemy did not have a reoôyoupply of building material from any of these quarrers. 4 No other eventworth recording occured on that day, and at nightfall NacJroragan returnedto camp with his troops.

5 On the following day Martin, wishing to raise the morale of his troopsand to strike dismay into the hearts of the enemy, assembled the entireRoman army with the apparent object of discussing the immediare situation.Suddenly tüere stepped into their midst a man covered in dust, who to judgefrom his âppearallce must have travelled a grcat distance, though in actualiact the whole incident had been rehearsed by Martin. His face was un-familiar and he announced that he had just arrived {rom Consrantinople witha letter from the Emperor. 6 Seemingly overjoyed Martin took the letter,opened it and proceeded to read it not making any secret of what he wasdoing or reading silently to himself but in a loud clear voice so that every-body could hear him. 7 What that document really contained was possibtrysomething qüte difierent, but the actual words he read out were as follows:"§7e have sent you a second army no smaller than the one you already have.Yet even if the enemy should happen to be numerically much stronger thanyou, their superior numbers will never do more than match your superiorcourage, so that the apparent disparity will cancel itself out. 8 But, toprevent them from boasting even of a superiority on pâper, receive this armytoo and note that it has been sent not in response to any real or pressingneed but metely to produce a dazzlng and impressive display. Be of gooddeeer therefore and acquit yourselves with energy and enthusiasm, bearingin mind that we shall play our part to the full ". 9 Martin then immediatelyasked the messengef where the army was. "They are not more than fourLaziart parasangs away', he said, adding that when he left them they were

?1 A&thlr:rÎlr:Hlrtorlu

scttlng up-camp_near the river Neocnur. ro tüfhoroupon Mertin, feigningan_ger, orclaimed, "Let them tum bacÏ and go home as fast as they cân. Iwill not have them here on any occasion. It-would be intolerable iî, whenthes_e men here having {or so long shared with me the hardship of so manybattles ate aheady on the verge of destroying the enemy and adrieving todlvictory, tlrose others should come along at the eleventh hour when theirpresen€e is no longer needed and a{ter having shared scarcely any of thehaz,ards receive an equal share in the glory and have their namei linked withthe triumphant finish of the campaign. And the greatesr injustice of all isthat they would reap the same material beneûts as all these here present.rr I-et them stay whele they are for just as long as it takes them to pad< upand get started on the return-journey. These men here will moie thansufiice for the task of bdnging the last stâge of the war to a successful con-clusion". rz §7ith these words he turned round and addressed himself tothe troops, saying: "May I assume that these are your sentiments too?,,§flhereupon they voiced their approval with a loud dreer and exclaimed thatthe general's view was absolutely right. 13 They for theii part becamemore confident and were able to rely on themselves without needing helpfrom any other quarter. The prospect of plunder fired them with arnbltlonand a desire to surpass themselves. They were spurred on still further by theirconfident anticipation of immediate and unresricted looting as thougL theyhad aheady destroyed rhe enemy and their one concern was with how theywere going to divide the spoils.

24. Similary Martin's other aim was also fulfitled. The story of the relief-force soon leaked out and was in general circulation and it was not longbefore the news that a second Roman army had arrived at the banks of theriver Neocnus and that at aîy moment it would be joining forces with theûrst one, cape to the ears of the Persians themselves. z They were alldumbfounded and extremeh alarmed at the prospect of having to do battlewith fresh enemy rein{orcements when they themselves urere exhausted bythe innumerable hardships of the struggle aheady sustained. Nadroragan,however, lost no time in sending a not inconsiderable derachment of Persiancavalry to patrol the route along whidr in his mistaken acceptance of theIumour he imagined they would be passing. 3 \X/hen they got there theydevoted a gîeat deal of misspent energy and vigilance to the task of securingthe main points of vantage and then concealed themselves there and lay inwait for an enemy that was never to appear. Their idea rnas to fall on themwhen they were least o(pecting it and when their line of mardr was un-gualded and to retard their progress until the beleaguered garrison wasforced to surrender . 4 Tn this way a not inconsiderable Persian force wasdetadred from the main body of the army and sent on a fool's errand. Even.so Nachoragan, anxious to forestall the arrival of the non-e>ristent relief-force,

Boolr ! g,

hd sut trh ermy forthwith and boldly rdvrnccd egainat the Romans, braggingopcnly rnd rwearlng thÊt he would tet firÊ on rhor oome day to the entiréelty togcther wlth itg inhabitants, 5 Apparently conccir had so cloudedhh judgement that he had forgotten that he was marching off to war, whereuncêfteinry reigns supreme, where the scales of victory and defeat inclinenow onê way and now the other and where above all the issue hangs on thepredcstined purpose of a Supreme Being. He seemed equally oblivious o{the fact that in srar nothing happens on a small scale, thal irs repercussionsrfe truly immense, involving as theÿ do on occasion the dismption of count-lcas peoples and numerous cities and shâking the very pillurs of humanlociety to their foundations. 6 But his boastful amogance rose to such apitch that he actually gave ins*uctions to the labourers and menials, whowefe scâttered about the forest felling rrees for firewood or possibly for therepair of siege-engines, to the eflect that as soon as they saw smote risingthey were to understand it to mean that the fortitcations of the Romans haàalready been set on fire and that they must down tools immediately and runto join him in spreading the flames. In this ril'ay one general conflagrationwould easily engulf everything. Flattering himself then with sudr notionshe laundred the attacl<.

7 Meanwhile Justin the son of Germanus was suddenly moved by, Ithink, divine inspiration to go as quickly as possible (he did not know thatNachoragan would be attacking at that time) to a place of worship enjoyingpeculiar distinction among cfiristians, whidr was not far distant from thecity, and invoke divine aid. 8 Having collected rherefore, the pick ofMattin's troop and of his own plus a ûve-thousand-strong force of cavalryand having armed them for battle, he rode ofi with them. The standardsfollowed him and the whole operarion was conducted in a regular and disci-plined manner. 9 Now it so happened that neither did the persians see

Justin and his men setting out nor did they see the Persians advancing toattad<. The latter in fact came by a difierent route and made a sudden assaulton the walls. They shot even more ârro\r/s than previously, hoping in this§ray to strike greater teffor into the hearts of the Romans and quickly takethe place by storm.

25. Missiles were falling thic} and fast, volley succeeding volley in suc[:dense profusion that the surroundtng afu grew dark. The scene was notunlilre that of a fierce blizzard or a violenr burst of hail. z Meanwhileothers were bdnging up siege-engines, hurling fire-brands or had<ing at thewall with axes from under the cover of the "wicker roofs" as they are called.The wall being made of wood was of course particularly vulnerable ro rhiskind of attack. Others still were trying to undermine the foundations andbring dourn the whole edifice. 3 But the Romans manning the towers andbattlements ofiered a spirited and vigorous resistance in their anxiety to

96 AgârhlâË: The Hlrtouler

prove by their actions that thcy could dispcnre with the rewicee of o relicf.fotce. 4 And so the deception procrised by Martin proved in the eventto be useftrl and efiective in the extreme. Indeed every man exerted himselfto the utmost and they adopted every conceivable defensive measure..i They rained down javelins on rhe enemy, wounding many of them sincetheir missiles fell on an unprotecred multitude and could hardly be ddlectedfrom their course. Huge stones were rolled down on to the pent houses andwent smashing through them while smaller ones rù,ere hurled from slings,shattering the shields and helmets of the Persians and forcibly deterringthem from coming up too close to the wall. 6 Some of the troopr pott.àin the ship's boats in the manner I have akeady described used tli'eii bowsto deadly efiect and inflicted heavy casualties, shooring as they did from avery greât height. others of them manipulated the catapults with great skill;and the feathered darts, which were specially designed for the purpose, beingshot with tremendous force, had an enormous range with the result thaimany of the oncoming barbarians were süll lar away when both men andhotses suddenly found themselves transfi.xed and strud< down. 7 Mean-while the shouting rose to a ternfrc pitdr and the trumpets on either sidesounded a martial strain. The Persians banged on drums and yelled trouderstill in order to cause alarm and terror and t[,e neighing of horses combinedwith the heavy thud of shields and the noise of breasrplares being smashedto produce a harsh and strident din. 8 At this point Justin the son ofGermanus who was returning from the churdr was made aware of what wasgoing on by the sustained and confused noise that assailed his ears. Heimmediately rallied his cavalry and drawing them up in regular {ormationgave orders for the standards to be raised aloft and called upon every manto play his part and bear in mind that it was through the workings of pro-vidence that.they had ventured outside the rown in order that they mighttetomze the hnemy by taking them unawares and force them to râir" th.siege. 9 As soon as they had advanced a short distance tüey saw thePersians storming the walls. §7herzupon they raised a sudden shout andhurled themselves at those of them thar were drawn up alongside the wallfacing tlle sea, for that \ÿas the direction from which they had come. Strikingwith lances, pikes and swords the Romans cut down all who were in theirpath, and then made a series of furious cJrarges into the enemy's ranksthrusting them back with their shields until they dislodged them arrd brokeup their fonnation.

26. Thinking tha,t this was the army whose .imminent arnvaT they hadheard about and concluding that it had eluded the ambush ser for it and hadreached its destination, the Persians closed their ranks in panic and confusionand began to beat a gradaal retrear. z Meanwhile the Dilimnites whowere fighting near the middle of the wall caught a distant glimpse of the

Boolr ! 97

prevrlüng turmoll, Lerving orüy a few of thclr number behlnd, the reut a1l

ret ofi to rclleve thoee who wete belng hotd press«l, 3 ltrflhereupon theRoman commondere Angilae and Thcodorus, whom I havc already men-tioncd, petceiving the scant nurnbers of those that had remained made a

rudden sortie from the town with a faidy latge force. The Romans slew thetrrt batdr of thern and then pressed in relentless pursuit upon the remainderthnt had taken to flight. 4 When the rest of the Dilimnites who were ontheir way to rescue the Persians from their difiiculties saur this, they im-mediately turned back, determined to confront the Romans and convincedthat they ought by preference to be making all haste to relieve their ownkinsmen. But they rushed with such frantic ând impetuous speed that theylooked more like a band of fugitives than an army on the attack. They were,$ they felt, rushing to the ud of their fellow-countrymen but there was

about them an air of panic rather than of truculence. 5 §7hen that part ofthe Persian army which was drawn up nearest to them saw the Dilimnitesmilling about in this apparent confusion and disorder they assumed that theymust be running away and since they would not have descended to such adisgraceful course except in the face of overwhelming danger arrd impossibleodds they too took to their heels and fled ignominiously in all directions. Thef,ight which they had for some time been furtively envisaging now becamea stark reality. 6 At this point the Dilimnites came to the same conclusionabout the Persians and rushed to join them in flight, being themselves boththe cause and the victims of a double misunderstanding.

7 §7hi1e these events were tâking place a very large number of Romantroops sallied forth from behind the walls and turned the enemy retreatinto a rout, following hard on their heels and cutting down whoever hap-pened to bring up the rear. They also attacked from.li#erent directions andfoueht hard against that part of the enemy which was still holding out andkeeping its ranks together. 8 For, though the left wing of the barbarianshad mani{estly fallen apart, their right wing was still intâct and was ûghtinga vigorous rear-guard action. In addition to serving as â soft of defensivewall their elephants kept &arging the Roman rnfantry and throwing theirranks into confusion every time they formed üem. The bowmen riding onthe elephants'bad<s played havoc with the attad<ers since from their positionof elevation they could pick them ofi with unerring aim. It was an easy taskalso for the cavalry squadtons to keep rushing out and harrying men whowere on foot and impeded by the weight of their armour, with the tesultthat the Romans on that side were aheady being forced to give ground and

beat abasty retreat.27. Meanwlttle one of their number, a trriaî called Ognaris who was a

member of Martin's body-guard, finding himsel{ trapped in a confined space

from whidr no escape was possible took one last desperate chance - the

tB AgârhlilrTheHhtotlet

fiercest of the elephanrs u'a8 drarging at hlm and hc rtruc} lt a vlolent blowwithlis spear just above the brcw, driving the polnt right in and leaving therest hanging. z The beast enraged by the blow anà driven wild by thesight of the spear dangling in {ront of its eye drcw baclc suddenly, leapingabout and turning in circles. At one moment he was thrashing about with hiitrunk smiting large numbers of Persians and tossing them up into the air, atanother he was stetdring it out and trumpeting. 3 In i split second hethrew ofi the soldiers riding on his bad< and trampled them to death. Thenhe proceeded to strike teror and confusion into the whole Persian army,causing the horses to shy as he approadred them and rending and tearingwith his tusks whatever came inro contâcr with him. 4The m was fifleàwjth cries of panic and lamentation. The horses rerrorized by the ferocityof the beast no longer answered to the reins but raising their front hoovesinto the air tlrew ofi their riders and with much panting and snorting wentcareering into the midst of the arrry. 5 §Thereupon rhe men all began toturn badc on themselves jostling and elbowing one another as each one triedto get out of the way before the next rnan did, Large numbers were killedby their own side as they stumbled against the swords of their comrades andkinsmen. 6 As the confusion grew ï/orse the Romans who had remainedbehind the walls joined with those who had sallied forth from rhe fort sometime ago, and together they formed a single phalanx whose front line theystrengtlened as much as possible by holding out a conrinuous wall of shields.They then hurled themselves against an enemy thar was still in completedisarray. 7 The Persians already \rrorn out by their previous exertions wereunable to withstand the impact of the d:arge and fled precipitately. Theirflight was an imegular one and they made no attempt to keep in formation orto ward ofl their artackers, but simply scatrered in difierent directions eaclrman fendi4g {or himself as best he could. 8 Nachoragan too was as be-wildered asi anyone else by the startling turn of events and reffeated at agallop, signalling to all with his whip rhat they must flee as fast as theycould, whidr in fact was what they were aheady doing. And so his boastfulpredictions were completely belied by what actually happened. 9 TheRomanscontinued to pursue and kill the barbarians unril Marrin, feeling thatenough had been accomplished, sounded the signal for them to redrè andched<ed their lust for blood. ro The Persians gor back with difiiculty tothe safety of their camp, having lost not less than ten thousand ûgüting menin this engagement.

28. On their return from the pursuit the Rofnans set fire to the wid<er-roofs and all the other Persian siege equipment whicl had been left near thewall. Thereupafi a gteat flame fared up and as soon as the servants andporters on the Persian side who were cutting wood in the forest saw fromafar the smoke rising up and ascending in spirals high into the air, the un-

Boolr )

lortunrtc wtptehGr tGt ofi for thc to*rn thinklng that whrt Nechoragan hadnrlier bogted to *rom had comc true and that the lort war sblazc. r ConrquÈntly they ran sll the way, featlng, I luppose, that thc opportunity forrctlon would êscape them and that everything would be buint to ashesbdorc they got there, So they vied with onc another in speed little dreamingthrt the ûrst to get there wotrld be the trst to die. They were in fact allcrptured and killed one after the other by the Româns, as though they hadcgmc expressly for that purpose. §fe[ nigh two thousand men mer rheirdcrdrs in this manner. 3 Thus Nachoragan was wholly to blame thro'r.rgh thefoolish instructions he issued for the Lact that sudr an enormous number ofItbouers, men with no military training who had never be{ore taken part inrrmed combat, had rushed unsuspectingly to thefu deaths. The whole in-cldent is indeed a striking illustration of the baneful consequences of the sinof pride not merely for its practitioners but also for their unfortunateminions, 4 As a result of these events Roman morale was extremely highrnd there was a general conviction that any attempt at rene§/ing hostilitiesoh the part of the barbarians would result in yer anorher victory for theRomans. Those who were killed in action (and they did not number morethan two hundred) were given an honourable burial and won universal ad-miration for the valour with which they had acquitted themselves. 5 Theenemy dead, however, the Romans despoiled, thereby acquiring a gtrganticquantity of weapons and other objects. Some of the dead were wearing ontheir persons not just shields and breastplates, and quivers full of arro\r/'sbut solid gold collars and necldaces and ear-rings and all the other foppishand efieminate ornaments that the more aristocratic Persians beded< them-selves 'üdth in order to cut a dash and distinguish themselves from rhecommon people.

6 Since he was running out of provisions and winter was alreadyapproaching Nachoragan deliberately created the impression that he waseagerly preparing to mount a fresh ofiensive. Far ftom putting sudr a planinto effect, however, he dispat&ed the Dilimnite contingent on the followingday to take up position at close quarters wherehe ensured that they attractedthe attention of the Romans, and while making it look as tJrough he wasaborrt to atta&, quietly set oÆ at once with the rest of his troops for Cotaïsand Mudreirisis. 7 §flhen he had abeady gone most of the way the Dilim-nites broke their ranlçs and withdrew, whidr tJrey were able to do with thegreatest of ease being light-armed and moreover hardy and fleet of foot.I The other Persian detadrrnent, whidr had been sent previously to the riverNeocnus owing to Martin's ruse as I described earlier on, arrived there too.

9 On learning in fact that the Persians had been beaten and that the Romanswere in con*ol of the entirê region they set ofi immediately by a secludedroute far from the main thoroughfares and reached Mucheirisis, having played

9P

100 Agrthlal TheHlltarler

Io qrt ln the ûghting but-.üarrng atill morc fully ln the rgnomrny andhumiliation oT flight. -ro tüflhen thi whole armyh"â r".*ut"f,iiir.#r.g*left most of.the cavalry therc,putting vahdz a pcrgian

"r ".rr, Àbh'rtrnaing

in command of the force, and himsef rerurned with a smafl rétin,ie to lberiiwhere he intended to spend the winter. BOOK 4

f1 Th9 Rogran victory whidr marked the conclusion of this stage in theülng btought with it a som of armed rruce and an immediate lull in

and made it possible to proceed with the judicial enquiry into theptcviously committed agunst, Gubazes. z Accordingly Athanasius,

Cmnlng the garb of the highest civic magisuares, took his ür on a raisedËlbunal amid great pomp and splendoui. Trained shorthand wrirers werelE rttendance upon him and rhere was the full complemenr of all the other§rndcr and more impressive ofiicials who are especially well-versed in thettkttiee of legal procedure. Also prcsent ïrere heralds, and ushers armed withrhlPs. All these people had been selected from the various ofiicial bureauxla Constantinople. 3 Those who were drarged with that particular dutycrsrlod with them iron collars, rad<s and various other instrumènrs of rorture.4In qf opinion it was no mere accident or caprice but a judicious and well-üüod aesessment of the situarion thathadled the Emperoi Justinian ro ordertbnt the trial be conducted with such thoroughness ind meticulous observ-lüce of legal form. His object \ÿas ro inrpress the natives by a sornewhatôttcntatious dirpluy of the'majesty of Roman jusrice in order not only tolÆlr8tom them better to Roman rule but also to dispel any resentment orfcrJing of grievance that the coldrians might still hirbour'in the event ofItr being proved that Gubazes had been guilty in the first instance of at-tcurpted de{ection to Persia and that consequently his murder had beenpctfectly justifiable. 5 If on the other hand the murderers of Gubazesÿcre convicted of having produced a trumped-up d:arge and then perperraredi vicious felony they would in that case be sentenced, paraded around in§ublic by a herald andfrnilJy beheaded and put to r:he avenging sword in thedght of all men. In this way the punishment meted ort *oold seem ro bedoubly terible and severe. 6 For the Emperor knew full well that if heslete to give orders for Rusticus and John to be put to death in secrer and

:' vnth rough justice, the colchians would not feel that the afiront to their$grrrty had been removed or that they had obtained adequate redressfôr:the crime commitred. 7 He realized equally that the r.itirrg up of a

ttibrrrd, in whidr either side stated its case-whiie rhe coum otriürl, k"ptbtrslling about-to ensure that each man took his stand and answered questions

ip the ploper fashion, accompanied as it would be by the full majesiy of thelaw and the lofty tones of fôrensic eloquence, all of whidr would serve rorender more awe-inspiring tüe prospect of imminent death - all these things

100 Âglthlnrr Tlrç Hhtorlel

Io q$t in the-fighting hut oharing rtill more futly In the lgnominy andhumiliation oJ flight. ro sÿhen thi whole army haâ assembleà Nachoraganleft most of.the cavalry therc, puttin gyohnza peralan of very high standïngin command of the force, and himself returned with a smal rétinùe to lberiàwhere he intended to spend the winter. BOOK 4

r 1. Thc Roman victory which marked the conclusion of this stage in thefuhttog brought with ii a so$ of armed truce and an immediaË lull inlgrtllitice and made it possible to proceed with the judicial enquiry into theElncs pteviously committed against Gubazes. z Accordinglÿ Athanasius,donning the garb of the higheJt civic magismares, took his üt on a raised*lbund anrid great pomp and splendour-. Trained shorthand wrirers werela rttendance upon him and there was the full complement of all the othergrnder and more impressive ofiicials who are .rp"àrlly well-versed in thettlcetics of legal procedure. Also present were heralds, and ushers armed withrhtpe. All these people had been selected from the vatious ofiicial bureauxh constantinople. 3 Those who were charged with that particular dutyÉllttêd with them iron collars, ra&s and various other insruments o{ torrure.

1In pf opinion it was no mere accidenr or caprice but a judicious and well-tfmsd assessment of the situatiorr thathadled the Emperoi Justinian ro orderthat the ttialbe conducted with such thoroughnes"ànd meti.,rlous observ-üce of legal form. His object §7as ro impress the natives by a somewhat

, ôttentatious display of the majesty of Roman justice in order nor only rol§firstom them better to Ronran rule but also to dispel any resentment orfceling of grievance that the colchians might still ha-rbour in the evenr oftta being proved that Gubazes had been guilty in the ûrst insrance of at-tcrnpted defection to Persia and that consequently his murder had beenpctfectly justifiable. 5 If on the other hand the murderers of Gubazeswere convicted of having produced a ttumped-up drarge and then perpetraredt vicious felony they would in that case be sentenced, paraded around inpublic by a herald and finally beheaded and put to the avenging sword in theright of all men. In this way the punishmeàt meted out *oold seem ro bedoubly temible and severe. 6 For the Emperor knew full well that if hev:ere to give orders for Rusticus and John to be put to death in secret and

, wth rough justice, the colchians would not feel that the afrront to theirdigrrrty had 'been

removed or that they had obtained adequate redressfot the crime committed. 7 He reaTaed, equally that the seiting up of a

-tribunal, in whidr either side stated its case-whiie rhe cout oflilials kept

bustling about to ensure that each man took his stand and answered questions

i[ the p_roper fashion, accompanied as it would be by the full majesiy of theIaw and the lofty tones of forEnsic eloquence, all of whidr would serve torender more awe-inspiring the prospect of imminent death - all these things

t01I0l Âc{tlrlrtx: 'l'lrr- [lirtnt lrr

tlrcn cott[c[ not firil t«r plivc the 1lt'«lcccrlirrp,s rr rlill'elent rln(l tlrot'c (rxrllt(:([quality ancl to makc thc lrut'rishmcnt ilp1)clu' ctlrrrrl to i[ rrot cvcn grclrtcl' thru)the crime. 8 Such procccdings in lact, rlcsyritc thcir frcclucnt u..r,rr.rr..there, strike awe and wonder into the hcurts o[' the inhabitants of con-stantinopl.e, so that it is not hard to surmise what their efiect would be onbarbarians for whom they would constitute a complete novelty. It was, Ithink, in view of these considerations then üat a court worthy of thetraditions of Imperial Rome and Democratic Athens uras set up ar rhe footof the Caucasus.

2. Rusticus and John were led out of prison and, being the accused, tooktheir stand on the left. The other side was occupied by the accusers. Theseconsisted of the ablest of the colchians, mel] who were thoroughly con-versant with the Greek language. z They first requested that tlre letterfrom the Emperor, whidr John had previously brought to the Generals andconsequently had a direct bearing on the matter, be read out in public. Thejudge considered the request to be a reasonable one and it',vas reàd out in a

loud clear voice by one of the ofiicials specially appointed for this task. Itran more or less as follows: 3 "The news you have sent me is incredibleand altogether exffaordinary. rt amounts in fact to an assertion that Gubazesis intent upon abandoning all his counrry's traditions and forsaking a peoplewhose outlook is so close in all matters to that of his own nation and whôseleadership is a long-established fact (we mean, of course, the Romans) inorder to desert to an alien and bitterly hostile people who lack even the bondof a cornmon religion, and aJl.this without having suÆered the slightest injuryat our hands. 4 But, recognizing as we do the uncertainty and instabilityof the human condition whidr is by narure liable to a bewildering variety ofortuitous influences, we have deemed it politic to temper our disbelief andnot to refrain from taling all reasonable precautions against any conceivablesinister madrinations, real or imaginary, on the part of Gubazes. fn view,moreover, of the uncertainty of the issue we have determined not to allowourselves any peace of mind, to suspend judgement and to remain undecided.And yet it is monstrous never to put one's trust firmly in anyone and alwaysto be Iull ot [.eat and suspicion even in the case of one's closest associates.Nevertheless $le too are but human and, therefore, cannot overcome oufinstinctive feelings of difiidence and distrust. 5 A sensible compromisehowever, which would neither invo ve us in harsh and precipitate actionagainst Gubazes nor allow us to be persuaded by the seeming improbabilityof the drarge into showing insufiicient firmness, has suggested itself ro us: itis that Gubazes should come ro Constantinople. Send him therefore with allspeed whether of his own free wili or by force. 6 If knowing that this isour pleasure he nevertheless resists and refuses to come then you will seizehim and drag him off, and you will be fully enrided ro do so in tlese circum-

llxrk 4

ËtÉnrct, lf rrrorcovcr lre lries to lrtertk,t',vrty rttt,l liglrtr lrrrd<, if irr lrrct lrc

!eË(lrl$ lo rlny l()t'nr ol violcrrl rll,lxrsiliott wlrtlsoever tltctt wc slrrrll lt,tvct

r:l1rr, lrlrlol oI t'r'irtrirtrrl iutcnI rrrrtl he rvill tlrcrcrtltcr Irc clrtsse.l rrs tt lltrblicËnerrryr s«l tlrut slxx.rtcl ilnyone kill lrirn otrce hc l:chrrvr:tl with suclr cfÏrontcry

tlrcit'rtct ion wotrl<l in ogr vicw ltc cltritc it-r ortlcr. (irttsccltrcntly whoevcr

denln witlr him will not bc punishccl fot having actecl on his own initiative,:lnce it will not be a qucsti<rn of punishing him as a mttrclerer but rathet of

luuiring him for baving killed a rebel". Sudr then was revealed to be the

lmport of the Emperor's letter.

.). As soon as the judge ruled that they should proceed to state theireuuc, fihc Coldrians who had been authorized to conduct the prosecution

ertgcrly began their speech. \X/hat they said was as {ollonrs: z "The enor-

rrrity 9f the crime committed is in itself sufficient to condemn its perpetrators

to the severest of punishments without our uttefing a single \Irord. But sincc

it is a requirement of your laws that even in the case of notorious and out-

f&gcous ofiences judgment must not be passed until all the facts have been

clÀorly stated, we have come here to give abarc recital of events. In tlriswny 'we too shall fulfil the requirements of the law, though our languagc

will be simple and unadorned and quite unequal to the magnitude of the

cfimes committed. 3 §flhat semblance of an excuse will they find for the

cold-blooded murder of a man of sucir exalted rank who was bound to yotr

by ties of friendship, alliance, hospitality and by a common religion, a man

in fine who possessed all the attributes of a most intimate associate and

friend? §7hat vestige o an excuse, then, will be left them once they ate

shown to have behaved v/ith e)<treme hostility toruards you by virtuallypromoting the interests of the enemy? The murdered man was a king, a kingof no mean nation, a great force for virtue and one who, far more than his

murderers ever did, had always had the interests of the Romans at heart.

4 The Colchian state is in ruins, indeed it would be more accufate to say,

'The Empire is in ruins', given that 1ye constitute a not inconsiderable frac-

tion of its subjects. The stability and integrity of your regime has been

destroyed and your own po\rlef is sadly weakened as a result. For a state

whidrls not firmly suppofted througho'ut its entire structure no longer has

any tirle to be considered a unified political entity. Indeed to call it a state

b..o*., a contradiction in terms once its unity has been dlastically impaired.

5 Now the very men who have brought about this situation say that you

must take into account not the appalling consequences of their action butthe spirit in whidr it was done, and they would have you proceed by an

obscrrre and specious form of argu.mentation to coniure up a fanciful picture

of the benefi.ts that have accrued to you therefrom rather than give any

credence to the manifest harm aTready experienced. 6 Even before the

trial in fact they thought by dint of repeating these sophistries to mislead the

Itk

104 Agrthlrrr Ïho Hhrulcl

masses. If thucfore they arc golng to put forward thlr typc of orgument lna couf,r of law then they had better realize that It t, not t i[.epinË with theprinciples of Roman justice to turn a brind eyc ro suclr a glarin; ,^"a nrùrmofience in order to be deceived by sudr obscure ullegrdo; ,nâ i*.pJa*pcharggs as theirs. It is intolerable_that they rhoddîp"nly ,aiiiir.it ,r,ôhave killed Gubazes and yer persist in making tte wita ;rr;;ril that thecommon good has benefited immensely from tlreir action. 7 How can suchglaring inconsisrencies be reconciled? By what logic ,haJl w. d"r.rib. the actas an atrociry while ar the same time praising the pubüc-spirited intent ofits perpetators? The 1yo notions of pubric good and illegal violence havefrom time immemorial been diametriiafly oppposed. Lil<Jwise cÀ.rty andjustig-e_are poles-apart. There is no commo" gi"rnd between them and nopossible point of contac.

4. But if we confi'e ourselves to abarcexamination of the end in vieweven on that score they will be convicted of malice aforethouglrq ,in". th"policy they adopted has the blessing of persia. These murdei.r, th.r.for"are not fit to be called Rom-ans, nor should they be judged with the indul-gence extended to one's fellow countrymen but-rathér aI though tlr.y *"i.your urorst enemies, since they are already divided from you by ,h. commonLaw of humanity eyen i! not yer by your ôwn written coâe. z For actions,not rlistance, arc the o.dr prop"r criterion for determining *hut i, ulien andhostile. §fihoever deliberæelyplays into the hands of thË

"n.Àf .ry rurrr-

ylf wrth good reason be deemed an enemy, even if he is crose ,rîuod, .u.nif he is servjng in the same army, even if he is of the same brood. 3 Butthey claim that they did not kill a friend or a king bur an

"n.*l.ura a rebeland an active sympathizet of persia. yes, in thJr criminai ioiry'iÀ.y nr".even gone so far as to drarge the dead man with conspiracy to b.ff y th.state to the Persians. And-things have now come to r,rd. r'pu* that evenin death tlie unhappy man has io ..rt brur must stand trial r* rugr, treasonin circumstances where he can gain nothing from an acquittal. 4"§rhrt Ir*is there in force among yourselves or ,*on! brrbarians whidr would sanctionthepractice of first pronouncing and exeàting the senten"" ,rJih.r, pro-ce"ding to draw up the indictment? setting thetselves up as iudges, enemiesand accusers all rolled into one, they inflicied upon an innocent Àan withouteven giving him a t'jal the punishment appropriate to one who had beengenuinely convicted of seeking to assume arbitrary and unconstitutionalpo§refs. 5 Now when they are supposed to be defending themselves theyh-ave comebringing accusarions against rhe victim of their àwn injusiice. yettr !h.y believed in the cJ-rarges ih.y ,r. making they ought iiri to l,uu.embarked openly on criminal proceedings againsl him and"been the first toopel tfre case for rhe prosecution beforJkilliàg him and nor ro have waiteduntil they were themselves accused and then bring out a counter-accusation.

Booh I 10,

É If orrcryone lr entltlcd to do t$h rort of thlng thcn why dld wc not ta,ke

du lrw lnto our handa also and klll there murderous brutes, since when we

frrc btought to juetlce we could alwayo have countered the charges pr*frÊ!Êd against us by amaigning them posthumously with their previous

Ëknæ, and thus attempted to demons6ate tlat two'ù/rongs make a right?

GIVCn in fact the incontovertible natufe of the evidence for the prior wents

b Whtch we had reacted in anger, we would have been punishing them with

I1crtef iustice and the case for the defence would have proceedei with all

iiUC propriety. 7 But there is no place for sudr outrâgeous conduct either

Off Our fart or on anybody else's, that is if you are to üve according to youf

tpditional standards of legality. For if whoever feels so inclined is permitted

üO lrill ofl his private enemies in this summary and ofihand mânner, and the

Fmctice becomes sudr a regular occuffence that no limit is set to criminal

drrlng, horv long do you imagine the authority of the judiciary will remain

Unhfaired? à n ih. mutual slaughter and the endless c}ain of plots and

Counierplots that will ensue you wjll not be able to punish or bring to heel

thc cdËrits in time, and as your nation rushes blindly to destruction allpoasibility of impartial investigation will be precluded by awave of personal

vendettas.5. Yet the accused contend that thete is nothing very dreadful about the

death of a single individual who happens also to be atraitor, especially in

View of the salutary and sobering efiect it will have on all your allies. z Iqm in complete agreement. If it is a question of destroying real traitors, then

the more ihe mertier. The mere fact of ridding the world of sud-r men is in

itself a sufiicient boon, even if no other benefit derives from the action oftheir slayers. But if without there being a shred of evidence to convict him a

pefson of very great distinction is suddenly stnrck down and punished like a

ào.rnon taitor caught red-handed in the act, one is perhaps entitled to ask

exactly how that is meant to have a salutary and sobering efiect upon yorrr

alliesi 3 surely they would be much more likely to disavow their alliance

if they srspected that you were pafty to such an outrage. Indeed they could

hroû, u*id th" inescapable conclusion that il you show so little concern for

iustice and humanity in yout dealings with your close friends and associates

ÿou will scarcely piorr" .or. reliable in your dealings with. strangers who

La:ue been recognized merely in response to some sudden and pressing need.

4 But you were not privy to their plan nor will the whole Roman people be

involvld in the guilr whidr attadres to them as individuals, nor for that

matref will your long-standing'reputation fot honesty, teliability and iusticebe eclipsed and overshadowed by their nefarious conduct. 5 On the con-

trary iiis our opinion that this tribunal has been set up to pfeserve the good

name of the nàtion and to make it clear ro everybody that you wish todissociate yourselves entirely from the action of those who have inllicted

106 â3rrhlmr 1hc t&re{aauel *uel and monsrrous indlgniticr on tho colchhnr, 6 perhaoc ar thrrpoint the minds of mort men are.perprexed rià

"ia..ra"+;;rrïd',t.;even find--your motives. open to dôubi. But once, my Lord, your verd^ic,whidr will be their death-wa*ant, i, prorrourr."d;ilir;il t;;;. crystar:l::: :h^t

it is your practice nor ro bàtray your fri.oa, Uri ,, püish thosevrno do wfong.

7 As for the defence wlidr they appeü to be putting up, it is in realityranramount ro an open admission of guilt. The Empàroc, l.tt". in factinsrructs the generals ro send Gubazest conrtuntinâfi.

"rrig-p*suasionin the first insrance and even force shourd he ref,r.e ; ;-ô;;;".ka ir, ,rr.event of his resisring compulsion not on any account Lifling him until heresorted to actual revolt and armed hostirities. g These ir.o,'ho*.u.r,without even themselves being generals and-without il;y o,h", way beingauthorized ro work their _wifls-on him, m"a trr"ii iôi.rr;ri- in thetwinkling of an eye. They.did nor urge him to go to consiantinipie-They didnot find. him*uncooperarive and have recourse ro a reasonatt" a.gé àfcompulsion. They did nor even bother to find o,rt o,h.tlr"" rr.-r-rra any in-tention of not respecting the Emperor's command! g ÿ., iil, iî.i" p"ood

P:îi fu, thw

hlve gxecgled thÊ Emperor,sinstructiinr, *h.r"r, i, rcafuytheyhave shown flagrant disregard for his wishes by daring to emproy vicio,,sslander against Gubazes in the- first prace and then ü ;;r:t;;;;'I'pL th.--selves to do the exact opposite of whàt had been *ir"Iy .";oiiJ uioo th"-.Y:':f}::rl:2f 41,

they prectuded a[ possibitity "f

.toi."îy Jippr.rr;rgthe contents of the letter.

6, rtis indeed hard to envisage a punishment sufiiciently severe to matclthe enormitv of their

"-"p.:. ro tiur. another is arways i;;;;ri;;Jil.cd;

but it is especially so if the injured party happens to bé a friend and one whohas often risked his life on belaff of his'ass#ates. z For who was the manwho preferred your friendship to rrr. *"J*ïi-irr. p.*i*,îfi" all theatractive_propositions they made him? rüflro was the .u" *t o,", ,t ,rorrghtthe friendship of Chosroes and wh9, though the yay fry

"p.r-ii-,i"*gf, a.,fection,to,imm.else prosperity and distincitio;, *; hr;p;; ;il; il;Iess exalted poslrion and retain his links with you? §7ho, I ask, was the manwho, when his Iandlad long been hard pressed uy trr" pÉrirrr'rrriïrr., uiatrom you was slow in co.minq, {eparted suddenly and took to the mountains,living.on the_ very peaks of thà Caucasu, ,"â p"iri"g .,p ;h';rhumanconditions rather than

lccepi the friendly overturàs ,h.:;;;;;;;;kil;to him and come down from hir mountain fastness to live in ease and comfortin his own home? §'ho was this man trr.ri 3 None otrr"i trr*èubazes,the man who was afraid to faSe ng danger

"" y; ;è;;;;Jor,î.in;rrri".

of it!), Gubazes rhe ffaitor, the- reber, ,i" *no *h" b"i*ÿ.iir," ËÀpir. t.the Persians! And he, aking, has m.t his Jeath ,t tr* É*a, "r,""J"ri. I

aodrl t07

nnd locthrcmG mcn rr John rnd Rultlcur, Yct cven lf he had rcally been

guilty of tho cort of crlme hc har bcen accrrred of, they ltill ougtrt not to have

àispatched htnr with cuch indecent hacte. He should firet havc been judged

by-the Emperot, who is the common sovereign of the Romans and the

Coldrians with supreme authotity over both peoples, bdore receiving his

due share of punishment. 4 But since their murderous act was motivated

not by any just cause but by an irrational hostility which erupted under the

stimulus of envy into this piece of diabolical wicl<edness they left no room

in their minds ior sanity or for considerations of expediency. Venting the

spleen of their accumulated hatred at the first opportunity afiorded them

th"y pot their long-premeditated plan into execution, heedless of the criticalstaie of ofrarts at the time and regardless of the consequences. 5 In the

midst of a conflict of such proportions, when the sensible thing would have

beèn to conciliate and win over even those peoples with whom no

contacts had as yet been established, they have done their level best toantagonize even those who until recently were the closest friends of the

Romans. Indeed if it depended solely on them we should have gone over to

the enemy, we should be plotting against our staunc}est friends, ouf countlywould be in the hands of the Persians and violent upheaval and civil strife

would be combining to sound the death-knell of our ancestral traditions.

6 You must, therefore, inflict afrtttngpunishment upon them, if indeed sudr

a punishment can be found, iust as though all these things really had taken

place and you srere faced with the collapse of your Empire. For even if wehave in fact remained true to the cause of the Romans, it is not right that

they should benefit from our virtuous conduct and be any less severely

punished than the nature of their criminal endeavour demands".

7. §flhile the prosecutors svefe thus ptessing their charges the Coldeian

populace who weie assembled there could not understand the terms in whidrtlrà ac.uration was couched or appreciate the rhetorical skill employed.

Nevertheless bèing acquainted with the facts upon rvhidr eadr individualcount rested, they enthusiastically supported the dorts of the prosecution

by echoing their intonation and imitating their gestufes. In a like mannef

their mood kept changing from compassion to resolute and confident

assertion ,""otditg as they thought they detected a dtange of tone in the

voices of the accusers. z Then when the speedr for the prosecution had

drawn to a close and the judge paused a while to deliberate they were filledwith silent indignation because the accused had not been executed on the

spot. And when the judge motioned the defendants to state their case the

aisernbled multitude were ready to raise an outcfy and were already mur'mufing and theit voices were becoming clearer and more audible. At thispoint, however, the âccusers prevented things from getting out of hand by

beckoning to them to hold their peace. 3 Accordingly when silence had

108 A3rthlr:r Tlre llhtotla

been procured Rustlcus togerhcr wrth htr brother John ceme fontrard intotheir midst and addressed ihem in the followlng tennlr

' ---'.---t .-'--4 "Fortune has given a sudden and unorpected twist to events, with the

result that when we should be receiving th" gr"rt.rt revrards *" firrd o,rr-selves on trial for our lives. Yet we .oirt.-p-lut. this ordeal with joy andwith the 5 conviction that it will redound to our credit, since whateverits outcome it cannot fail to make it still more abundantly cl ear to all thatby our own unaided efforts we have brought about the downfall of. a taitorand a rebel and upheld the interests of ihe Emperor. And so even in thee;rent.of our being put to death we would freely accept and welcome asthough it were the object of our desire the anguish whi.r, i, for."drpon ,rr.And we _shall depart from this Ii{e comforted and fortified for our fourr.yinto the- hereafter by the conscious certainty that vre have left the Romans

9till in fulI possession of their colcJrian dominions and not yet having for-feited them to arry foreign power.

6 If we were standing tial in a Persian court in the presence of persianjudges it would behove us to deny most srrenuously that we ever did do whatin fact we did. §7e would be in fear and tembiing lesr our asserrions berefuted and, if they rvere, it is quite conceivable that we should be at a lossh9w to plead our cause before bittedy hostile judges u,ho were incensed atthe failure of their hopes whidr our acions ÉaJbrought about. 7 Butsince it is a Roman who is presiding over the court whàt possible groundscould we have for denying whar we have done? §7hat need is tlere fir us tojustify to you our action ivhen as a result of it we have done you the signalservice of destroying the rebel Gubazes? r say 'rebel' because he doeslotdeserve to be accorded the âugust title of 'king'. His deeds have shown himto be the negation all that sudr a title stands for, though our accusers aret1rTq an indignant outcry at what they describe as r.he outrageous murderof a king' i8 This name, however, should not be applied tJth" ourwardtrappings of royalty - the jewelled clasp and fancy robe, but to the manwho is the active embodiment of justice, whose desires do not cause him todisregard the call of duty and whose aspirations are kept within their properbounds. rt that was the sorr of man we killed then vre have .o*,nitt à uheinous crime, the case of the prosecution is a just one and the colchianslave every reâson to describe us as bnrtal and vicious murderers. 9 But ifthe real Gubazes was the complete antithesis of this, if he was pr.frred tostop,at nothing in his efiorts to harm us by secretly letting in the-persiansand betraying his country to them, can there really be a-riy question as towhether we ought not to have nipped the potential menace in the bud byour timely intervention nther than allow our deference to the crown tomake us play into the hands of the enemy? ro If, however, anybody re-ceives prior intelligence of some threatening move being conteûrplar;d in

Bæ14 109

aomc pâftlculrr quuter rnd hru it ln hh pourer to frurtrcte thc design

hrrncdlatcly and havlng avcrted the crlcis to proceed to take delibefate and

eonce*ed ection to cope with any poreible emergency, it would in such a

erre bc the height of cruelty on his pâtt to fesort to punitive measures inldvancc instead of ddending himself by ensuring the possibility of foilingrny hostile attempt should the occasion arise. rr But when one is faced

with a fait accompli against which all remedies are of no avail, when the

Itate is threatened with imminent destruction and the situation seems topreclude even the faintest ray of hope then swift and decisive action is the

ônly srn" policy and every efiort must be made to avoid sufiering some

irreparable harm.8. Now our accusers may cry shame, infamy and murder until they burst.

Tl,rey may seize upon such expletives in order to cast the whole afr.att in a

lutid and melodramatic light and try to force you to consider only the deed

itself. B,ut it is for you in your judicial capacity to take into account the cir-

cumstances that led up to it, to weigh up the causes that impelled us to take

action and from the rightness of the undertaking to establish the honesty ofour intentions. z §7e do in fact often see in the various towns and cities

vagfants, thieves and other types of criminal beheaded or with their feet cut

ofr.,andwe do not cry shame on the spectacle, inhuman though it may ^ppeertto be, nor do we vent our indignation on the authorities concemed with

administering these punishments by calling them savage brutes and cruel

fiends. No, when we consider the crimes the felons in question have corn-

mitted and bear in mind that that is why they are being punished we rejoice

in the harshness of the punishment, since it has not been devised withoutgood teason, as witness the unabated persistence of criminal activity'

3 Gabaz,es therefore has been slain by us. And what, might we ask, is

so dreadful about slaying a man who is a traitor and an enemy? Our accusers,

moreoveï, have defined tlle term enemy. They say that it should be applied

not to t-he man who is separated from us by a great distance but to whoevet,even if he is a fellow countryfnan, seeks to curry favour with the enemy, §7e

too consider this to be the best, most accurâte and most realistic view of the

matter. 4 Given such a measure of agreement on both sides t}en, let us

set out to prove by this mutually acceptable criterion that Gubazes was

indeed afl enerny, for once this has been demonstrated it will become im-mediately apparent that his killing was fully justified.

5 Now allbarbarian peoples are by nature so constituted that even whenthey are subjects of the Romans they are far removed in spirit from them and,drafing at the imposition of the rule of law, they incline instinctively torurbulent and seditious behaviour. There is nothing they would like betterthan to continue living as their own masters, subject to no outside juris-

diction and a laur unto themselves. And if it is not possible for them to do

110 Aarthlmr Thr Htrtorlct

co then they rtrlvc to attech thcmselver to tholc natlonr wlth whorn theyhave most in common. 6 But Gubazes, in addltlon to being tarre.l with thesame brush since he was himself a barbarian by birth a.[d consequentlytainted with the innate treachery of his race, s,rrpassed himself in his wicled-ness towards us. He no-longer deemed it necessary to hide his feelings, buthastened to put into efiect what had hitherto been the secret aspirations ofa hostile mind. 7 §7hi1e u,e \rrere toiling away and facing every kind ofdanger in our efiorts ro frrstrare the enemyk plans he ,uw fitt ,taÿ ,t hom.with his fellow counrrymen and absent himsà{ from the struggle. Ért at th.same time he kept a watdrful eÿe on whidr way the fighti"Àg was going.8 If the Romans adrieved some resounding success over the .r"-y hi,immediate reacrion was a display of hostilitÿ and spite in whidr he wouldseelc bymockery to destroy the impression cieated by o* adrievements. Hewould dismiss the whole undertaking as a trifling incident and its ourcomeas insignificant and attributable not to ourselves bur to the vagaries ofIortung. 9 But if by c}ance we mer with some reverse (and it is nothuma{y possible to escape sudr ups and downs) he would àt himself upas a cntical interpreter of events and immediately exempt fortune from ,n'yb-lame_or any pafi in what had happened. He had already decided in advancethat the sole cause fot any ïeverse we experienced wâr a combination ofpoor morale, physical incapacity and unintelligent planning. ro He wouldlever, as he did when abusing us, seetr< to explain away the s,rccesses acl-rievedby the _enemy at our expense simply by making some disparaging referenceto the fid<le, irregular and irrational behaviour àf fortrrr..^

9. He proclaimed these sentiments openly and made them known not onlyto the Persian forces for whose benefit he was actively intriguing butmessengers were at once despatched by him and carried the news to lLeria,to the Alan.l, the suanians, to the barbarians beyond the caucasus, to moredistant anditill more distant peoples. rndeed if ihey could have tôefled tothe ends of the earth for him he would nor have declined to send them. Hisllegsage was: "The Romans are cowards in war and arc being beaten by thebarbaians." z Now his purpose in eagerly pursuing this policy was noi justto bring the Roman people into disrepute, though that would-o{ itself be asufiiciently damning proof of his hostile attitude. His efiorts were in facrdirected to a dilfferent and more sinister objective. 3 His intention sras toundermine as best he could the widespread belief among foreign peoplesconcerning the triumphant ând invincible might of the Emperor ànôin ?hisïraÿ to incite to some rash act of defiance those peoples who had hithertobeen overaw-ed and a$ectly s'bservient. a How then, in all fairness, arewe to desctibe the perpetrator of these acts? surely âs an enemy rather ihanas a friend and a well-wisheq, an ally and a king or âny other of the fancytitles the prosecurion has applied to the rebel GuLazes. ÿet both prosecution

Book 4 111

rnd defence hrve concEded that thc only wry one crn tell r fricnd from an

aâany to by the mÈnner ln whtch he reacto to events. 5 Since, thercfore, ithu now been demonotrated that Gubazcs was disttessed at our successes anddatsd at our failures, whet eartlüy rea.Bon can barbarians have for inveighing,rSdnat the laws of the Romans according to whidr \r/e €rre in the habit ofpunichjng or even orecuting, should the occasion arise, those who engage

ln riotous and subversive activities. 6 But let us, if you like, set aside allptoofe, inferences and deductions and, concentrating out attention exclu-tlvely on the hard facts of the case, see to what conclusions strdr a consid-

Êfetlon leads us. The fort of Onoguris had been wrested from the temitoryof Archaeopolis and was in Persian hands. The presence of an enemy army

finnly enmenched within our borders was ân unbearable afiront. The

ttfategy which found favour with the generals was to laundr a fu1l-scale

rttach on the enemy and destroy or at least drive out what had long consti-

tuted a thorn in the flesh and a permanent menace.

7 §fle desperately needed the help of a Colchian force, not only in orderthat we, with our poor understanding of local geography, might have thebenett of their first-hand knowledge of the terrain but also in order that wemight enlist their active support and cooperation in the struggle agunstheavily-armed troops drawn up behind fortifications and also in all pro-bability against a relief-force from Mucheirisis. 8 \X/hat then were thegenerals to do in these circumstances? Surely the proper thing for them todo was to ask the leader of the Colchians for assistance and to draw hisattention to the fairness of their request. And that is precisely what theydid. 9 He, hovrever, acting in a truly lotdly and tyraonical fashion wouldnot even hear of putting in an appearance let alone'of actively patticipatingin the assault on the fortress. He did not even bother to mask his refusalwith some semblance of an excuse. Indeed he rejected our request out ofhand with an ar of. arrogant self-importance whidr ill became a subject whowas paid for his services. Moreovet he persisted in angrily heaping insultson the heads of the generals, as though he imagined such behaviour to be

courageous and in keeping with the status of a king. Clearly he no longermeânt to defer the open and shameless advocacy of his earlier designs.

ro §fas there thén any point in waiting for further proof and displaying theEmperor's letter with the idea that the man who ulas not prepared to traveleven a short distance in his own country would come to Constantinople?And how would it have been possible, if we had proposed to send him there,when he had alteady stirred up so mudr hostility against us, to avoidwidespread dissension and bloodshed and open defection and the imminentprospect of a Persian invasion, since we would have had to contend with thestubbom and relentless opposition of a public enemy 1 whilst the people as

r i... C"UuÀ.

112 Agethlarr Tho Hhtorlel

a wholg would,like the barbarians they arc, readlly hrve acccpted thrc oppor.tunity for indulging in revolutionary violencc? A further incintive worfià ofgouïe have been provided by the fact that Persian help would have beenforthcoming from very near at hand. rr And so, whenïisaster was practi-c-a1ly staring us in the face, we made away with the ringleader and by doingthis suppressed the conspiracy with such ease and promptn.ss that it nowseems scarcely credible that any threat ever existed.

10. Our accusers would do well, therefore, to stop bringing up thematter of the letter and abusing us for nor having followed its instructions.Is there anyone to whom it is not perfecdy obvious that what was writtenabout his having to go to constantinople was there merely to test hisintentions and to find out whether he was willing to cooperate and do as hewas told? - z Now, having easily fonned a clear ideaof his unruly andaggrcssive frame of mind from his rejection of a smaller request, how couldwe have been expected to bid him comply with a demand of u -or. seriousnature instead of having recourse to more direct action whid:, after exposingourselves to numerous hazatds, we would in the end in any car. har]e haàto take? Thosg who, when the time is ripe for acion, f.ail to make an ap-propriate and decisive fesponse to the situation cannot at alatet date recoverthe lost opportunity. 3 But apparendy, to judge from what our accusers

!uu_. ," say, we could still in the last resort have brought an action agunstGubazes, engaged that is to say in a f,.üe battle of words and chosà theniceties of verbal altercation in preference to the realities of security. Butthe presence of the Persians did not allow such a procedure since they wereclosing in and ready to rake over the whole of Lazica with the help of thissclreming traitor. 4 Moreover now that the hostility, treadery andrebellious aspirations of Gubazes have been revealed on ali sides what dif-ference do thp co,ldrians suppose it makes to them whether he was killed byus or by somèbody else?

.f The desire to render loyal service is not the exclusive privilege ofgenerals and other similady exalted persorrages. Everyone who feels so in-clined has both a right and a duty ro show concern for the state of which heis a subject and to e>rert himself to the utmost to promote the common good.6 Likewise even if to their mind we are the scum of the earth, yet sre areloyal and devoted subjects of the Emperor, we do have the interests of theRomans atheatt, and we are no:t the sort of men to acquiesce in any âttemptat conspirary. In conclusion, if we must add one further point it is this: youmay rest assured that ours was an honourable, a just and a timely interventionand that it was made with the full supporr of Martin".

11. so this speedr roo drew to a close. Athanasius had at the ourceraccorded an equally attentive reception to the words o{ Rusticus. But when

looL4 11,

mse loth contêndlng partio hed hed thch lay ho procccded to rubjcctryüythlry to r rerchlng and rigorgua exa.mination. Hil tndine was rhatthprt wra no cvidence of trcaeonsble or eeditioue activlty on üe part ofGubrzer and that his murder wae unjuet and absolutely illegâl. The refusalto trkÊ part in the cxpedition against Onoguris had been the result not o{pro-Pereian feelings but of anger at the conduct o{ the generals in losingpomeceion of the stronghold through their indolence, complacency and care-lcrnces. AftEr he had come to this conclusion he decided ô refer the manerof Ma.ttin's alleged complicity to theEmperor. z With regard to those whoopcnly admitted to the ki[ing he gave a writen verdict to the efiect thatthcy were to be executed forthwith and that rhe manner of death was to beby beheading.

3 The condemned rnen \r/ere seated on rnules and paraded tluough thettieets, thereby providing the Colchians with a sobering and awe-inspiringrpectacle. These latter were further impressed by the herald proclaiming inr loud clear voice a general exhortation to respect the laws and refrain fromcommitting murder. 4 But when their heads had been cut ofi roo, evelyonewas moved to pity and {orgot his resenrment. This rheu was the finish of thetrial. The Colchians for their par retained and renewed their old affectionfor the Romans.

72, Attet these events the Roman legions wintered in the tovrns andforttesses assigned to d:em.2 z Meanwhile some of the most influential menamong the Misimians came to NacJroragan in Iberia and gave him a fullaccount of the way they had dared to deal with Soterichus. Bur they keptsecret thefu real motives and presented the Persian general with their ownvetsion of the facts, according to whidr they had long been deliberatelyinclined to favour the cause of Persia and had in consequence met withabuse and opprobrium from the Coidrians rhemselves as well as from theRomans. Finally Soteridrus had descended upon them. Ostensibly he wasthere to distdbute gold to the allies but his real puqrose was the destructionof the entire nation. 3 "And so" er<pl.ained the Misimian deputation,"facd. with the option of annihilation or o{ striking the first blow and,though perhaps incurring the censure of some for the hastiness of our action,of living our ourn lives and managing our afiairs to suit our own interests,we chose the better and more natutal, alternative. IX/e put our own survivalfirst and were not particularly worried by the prorp".i of becoming rargersfor abuse and recrimination. 4 §7e killed Soteric}us and his associates inorder to punish them for their wicJ<edness and to enhance the circumstancesof our defection by ofiering the Persians a firm pledge of our loyalty and

goodwill. 5 On this score and patiælarly on accounr of our pro-Persianpolicy the Romans will not be slow to vent their anger, Very soon they will2 §fiinter of 556-7 A.D.

114 Allthlatr The Hbtorla

!e upon ïr q4, if they can, they will orternlnetê ur,, It ir only rtght thenthat you should receive us in a spirit of friendshlp rnd extcnd you pioiectionto us. And, considering our land henceforth as ÿour own and ouipeople asyour subjects, ir behoves you equally nor ro disregard the plight ofa peopleon the brink of desffucrion, a people that is neither sma[ rLrlnsignificani, apeople capable o{ making a very subsrantial contribution to the welfare of tlrePersian Empire. 6 You will also find that we have considerable experienceof warfare and that we rnalçe powerful allies in battle. our land, üia itsituated in a more elevated position than Lazica, will provide you with a

'.1qe base for operations against rhe enemy,,. 7 When Nadroiagan heard

this he received them mosr cordially, applauded their decision to chinge sidesand told them they could leave with the confident expectation of obtainingfrom Persia all the help they needed. And so the Misimian deputation re-tumed home with a detailed reporr of what had happened. A urave of opti-mism spread through the whole people ar the news.

-t?. f, the beginning of spring the Roman generals held a meeting atyhidr they decided to marcl against the Misimians. z Buzes and Juitinhowever, were instructed to stay on at Nesos in order to protect the place,and generally keep an eye on things. The oipedition consisted of a mixedlorce of cavaky andiniantoy numbering about four thousand. Among its mosrdistinguished members were Maxentius and Theodorus the leadlr of theTVaÿan contingent whom I have frequently had occasion to mention, bothof them active and wadike commanders. 3 And so they set ofi on theiryay. lhe arrangement was that Martin would soon amive ro take charge ofthem. Howwer, to prevent them from being leaderless for even a short timewhile mardring through the subject territoiies an Armenian called Barazesand a coldr,ian called Pharsantes received rhe supreme command. Neither'yas superig.rin military prowess or in rank to the rest of the soldiers, indeedtlrey were iirferior to some. 4Baruzes was only a non-commissioned ofiicerwhereas the other was captain of the palace guard of theLazian king, andso lacked the necessary confidence and force of personality to give àrdersfreely to a Roman army.

5 Nour summer was already advanced when this army readred the terri-tory of the Apsilians. Further progress 'üras prevented by a strong concen-tration of Persian forces assembled there. The Persians in fact had reaJtzedthat the Romans were preparing to mardr against tre Misimians so, leavingIberia and the forts in the neighbourhood àf Mucheirisis, they too ser outfo,r the country of the Misimians wirh the object of occupyinglt in advanceof the Romans and protecting it as efiectively as possibtre-.- 6 Th. Ro-r.r,tl,ereforg gtayed on in the fortresses of the Apsilians and tried to play fortime and delay the issue until the end of the summer season, since it seemeda futile and extremely haeardous procedure to take on both the persians and

Book 1

fu Mldmtrnr ât thc t.mÊ tlmc. Accordingly both ormlo romatned inactivevlth nelthcr rlde venturing forth any dktance and eoch one waiting for theothcr to make the firgt move.

7 A mercenary force of Sabir Huns was seruing with the Persians. The§rblra arc a huge and populous nation. They are also entremely warlike andnprcious. They are always eager to mid smange lands and the lue of paylnd the hope of plunder are suflicient incentive for them to ûght now foronc people, now for another, cJr,anging sides with bewildering rapidity.I They have often helped the Romans against the Persians and vice versa,&anging sides and paymasters in a very short space of time. They had infrct fought on our side in the prwious engagement with the Persians andon that occasion killed (in the course of the night-battle whidr I have alreadydcpcribed in detail) many of the Dilimnites who had corne to atta& them.

9 At the end of that campaign they were disdrarged by the Romans afterthey had received the amount of pay agreed upon. §flhereupon they ofieredtheir services to the very people whom they had but recently been fighting.The men who did this may perhaps have been difierent Sabirs, but Sabirsthey were all the same and they had been sent by their own people to fightin the Persian army.

14. Nour about five hundred of these Sabirs were bivouacking in ancnclosure f.ar avtay from the rest o{ the troops. §7hen Maxentius and Theo-dorus ascertained this and discovered moreover d:rat they were living in anirregular and completely undisciplined fashion and not even taking theprecaution of carrying their weapons around with them, they immediatelytode out against them with three hundred horse. z Surrounding the wall(whiü s,as so low that rt aman on horsebadc stood over it from the outsidehis face would shour over the top) they let fly at the barbarians with javelins,stones, affo\r/s and anything thatcame to hand. 3 The Sabirs, thinking theirattad<ets to be more numerous than they really were and taken completelyunawares, had no idea how to defend themselves and no possibility of escapebecause they were hemmed in by the walls of the enclosure. They were allmov/n down except fot forty men who managed unaccountably t'o climb overthe walls without atffacting attention and then slip away and hide them-selves in the undergrowth of the nearby wood. But the Romans tried toffacl< down even these. 4 As soon as the Persians received news of whathad happened they sent out a cavatry force of about rwo thousand men todeal with the Romans. The latter, however, satisted with what they hadadrieved, yielded to superior numbers and retreated at a goJTop. Soon theywere safely ba& in camp, jubilant at their success, which was marred onlyby what had 5 happened to Maxentius who was badly wounded by oneof the barbarians that had slipped into the wood. He was carried on a litterand almost miraculouslyconveyed to safety. As soon as he had beenwounded

lt,

116 Agathlml The I{htcder

his bodyguard lifted him up and bcat o hoaty &rr€Br wlth him beforc thewhole enemy'force was upon them. Thcn whcn the psrsians .;rghi6 *dwere bearing down on them the resr of the Romans fled in a difiJrent àirec-tion and acted as a decoy t9 dlaw the pursuers away. In this way they pro-vided a breathing-space whidr enabled Maxentius io be camiej witir jesshaste inside the fort.

_15. Meanwlile Justin the son of Germanus senr ore of his commanders,a Hun called Elminzur, ftqm Nesos ro Rhodopolis with two thousand horse.Rhodopolis is a city in Lazica but it w* in persian hands at the time.Mermeroes had in fact captured it much eadier on and placed a persiangamison in it. However, r shall nor go into the details of how this happenedstlce 1.h1s already been ciearly described by procopius. z At arry rutewhen Elrninzur got there he was aided by a singular itoke of good tuct<. rtso happened rhat the Persian garrison *ur ootiid" of the tow"n and its in-habitants were scattered about in various places, 3 consequently Elminzurmardred into the_city and gained 1.*.tti"r, of it without meeting with anyresistance. He also conducted a roruy into the neighbouring

".gi", *àdestroyed any Persian deradmenrs he found there. Èeafizirg ihur"rh" lo"ulqeople had supported the Persians through fear of * otàd foe rathertfran through meadrery he allowed them à sray in their homes and resumetheir normal way o{. ltre after having taken hàstages from them to ensuretheir allegiance and made all necessary urr*g.-àts for the maintenanceof_security. And so Rhodopolis rerurned to iis former starus, keeping itshallowed tradirions and remaining subject to the Emperor of ihe Romans.4 In the course of this summer no other memorable event occurred. At thefirst onset o winter the Persiâns withdrew to cotars and Iberia with theidea of wintering there and left the Misimians to fend for themselves. It isin fact not customary for the Persians to engage io strenuous campaigningabroad at that time of year. 5 The Romans, now. free of enemy s"rveiliance]started once more to headior iheir previous'a.rti"uti*. §rË; ffi r.a.lr.dthe fort called ribeleos which marks the boundary berween the 1and of theMisimians and that of the Apsilians Martin arrived to take charge of thewhole army. But he was suddenly assailed by a serious illness wirich pre-vgnted him froq doing so, eager though he wàs. so he stayed on there withthe intention of rerurning shortly to the rowns and forl of Lazica. Thetfoops, however, pressed on regardless, placing themselves once more underthe leadership of their previous cornmanders.

6 First of all they decided ro resr the remper of the Misimians ro seeryheth5r they would mend their ways of theii own accord and recognizetheir lawful masters. They might, it was hoped, so far repenr of the crimesthey had committed on that occasion as to give themselves up to the Romansand return the money they had taken from soterichus. 7 Accordingly the

Boolr tl LL7

trpta*nr relæted prominent men from smong the Aplllinnr rnd cent themll Ènvoyü to ânnounce the§e têrmr, But thc Misimiane, these abandonsdftltüer lor whom no derogatory eplthet is too srrong, far from relaxing their;tvrgêry and atoning by their {uture conduct for their past misdeeds, spurnedfnd trampled underfoot the mosü basic nrles of ordinary human behaviour.fhsy fdl Llpon the envoys and slew them even though they were Apsilians,jæple, that is to say, with a similar way of life and whose territory bordered0q theh own and in spite of the fact that they had had no hand in the actionsg{,whidr the Misimians accused Soteridrus and the Romans, but had merely

l' gftrcd them some friendly and helpful advice and had done so with the ui-Eo§t coutesy.

16. And so the Misimians having started ofi by committing an act of.

erlminal folly persisted in their evil ways and had even proceeded to addlarult to inju"y. Indeed, when they discovered that the Persians had de-

Smped and were not going to prorect rhem as they had agreed they still feltrrrfiiciently sure of thernselves, relying on the inaccessibility of the terrainvhich they were confident would present an insurmountable obstacle to theBomans, to commit even more heinous crimes. z Their territory is in factæreened by a mountain whidr though not particularly high is extremely steeprnd rocly on all sides. A glimpse may be caught here and there of a smallpethway scarcely uodden and running through the middle of the hiIl. It isæ cramped and narrow that it does not afiord an easy passage even to arhgle walarer walking in comparative security, so that, if someone sÿ'ere tootand on the summit and prevent people from approaching, no enemy noÊatter how numerous could get through, not even if he were as lightly-armedas they say the Isaurians are. Relying therefore on this impregnable posirion,they had become utterly red<less.

3 §7hen the Romans received the news of the atrocity they were filledwith anger at what had happened. Through the dilatoriness of the barbarians,vho had not placed a guard on the hill, the Rornans were able to occupy thesummit in advance and cross over without hindrance to the open plainstyhere cavalry can manoeuvre without difiiculty. 4. §7hen the Misimiansfound that they had miscalculated they burnt as superfluous most of theirdtrongholds since they could not possibly man them all and the entirepopulation assembled in the one which they considered to be best fortified.This fortress has from ancient times been called Tzadrer but it is also called§iderun 3 because of its massive and impregnable aspect.

5 A small group of Romans nrmbering"not -orJthan forty cavalrymen(they wete not common soldiers but high-ranking ofiicers) were riding somedistance away from the main body when they were attacked by a mixedcavoJry and infantry force of about six hundred Misimians whose idea it---3 i. e. "Place of lron"

118 âgrthlnu the Hhrorlor

lvas to close in on the Romans and, outnumberkrg thcm aa thcy dicl, makcshort work of them. 6 But the Romans used tr;eh orperience of ürfu*.to consi{erable efiect by quidrly gaining a hillod< from wlrid: they performedgreat feats of arms. It was ahard, prolonged and hotly-contesià strugglewith the Misimians trying to complete the encirclement'of the Romans âdthe Romans at one moment sudàedy swooping down on the enemy andthrowing their ranks into complete disarray *Jth. next galloping br.L

"pthe hill to safety. 7 Meanwhile the barbarians caught sÈhr ;f tf,. ""rt

ofthe army Trking its way over rhe brow of a hill andlhinÈng that they hadbeen lured into an ambush, immediately took to flighi. But thà Romans, who\d ull joined forces by rhis time, puriued them ielentlessly until ttey nuakilled the bulk of them. out of so many men a mere eighty r.torned ,a{.lyto the fortress of siderun. 8 If the Romans had attàcked the fort ther!and then while the barbarians were srill stunned by what had happened,they would, I think, almost certainly have swepr e-verything before themand the war would have been over on that same àay. 9 r"t-in the absenceof any general of note and of any outstanding and-authoritative personalityevefyone was practically on tefms of equality. The result was mutual re-crimination and mutual exhortation, with eadr man having ears only for hisosrn suggestions, and nothing worthwhile was accomplished. ro The factth_æ opinion was divided, so that one view found favour with one groupwhifst some other view appealed to the opposing laction, meant that neitherpoliry sras put into practice. Resentftrl that his own poinr of view did notyT g.n rul acceptance eadr man went about his businèss in a negligent andhalf-hearted fashion and_ took pleasure rather in any reverses wIüjr mightfurnish him later with the opportunity of boasting io the nexr man anJofnot mincing his words as he pointed out that the sole cause of the unfortu-nate event had been their failure to implement his suggestions.

17. Ini'these circumstances, then, they camped urïgr"ur", distance fromtfrg enemy than is normal when one is conducting a siege. Furthermore theydid not even launch their attack ar dawn as they should have done bui,yielding to cowardice and sloth, they began to attacl a secondary importanceto the things that mattered most with the result that they attad<ed the enemytoo late and returned to câmp too eady.

z §7hen Martin rcahz.edwhat was happening he dispatched with all speed

1o take over the supreme command a man who though a Cappadocian bybirth had long been honoured with the rank of general. His name was Johnbut he was also known as Dacnas. 3 He had been sent quite recénilyby the Emperor toLaztca an'd his duties were the same as those of Rusticushad been, namely to keep the Emperor accurateb iniormed of all that wasgoing on and to distribute üe Imperial Largesse ro rhose soldiers who dis-tinguished thernselves in the field. 4, On reaching the terrirory of the

loth 1 11,

Émlrnl rnd t{{ng d6rgo of tho Romrn army, John lmmcdlotely movcd

.liiJr fooit ar*rird thi fort and trtcd to loy slege to lt. He also cndcav'

;h;;; ana uttad, thooe who were living Jutside the fort' Most of

.& âwe[ings lyers not in fact lnaido the fortified encloeute but were

far.tê on fr," top o{ a nearby roc1, whidr was flanked by {eep gorges and

idd bouia"rs stretching over a great atea and rendering the whole place

tàï.*gt inaccessible to sgangeri unfamiliar with the region. 5 Their

ifpc*ü.. of the terrain enabled the local people, when necessary, to des-

ctid, au.ir slowly and painfully, by means of a narrow path complete§

ÈUàln from view and tËen to "iimb

bacJ< up again. At thl fogt of. the rock

iÀ th" plain proper are springs of drinking §rater ffom whidr the inhabitants

Ot the irill diawtheif vratef. 6 At that time however, the Romans wete

irtroline the area and so the barbarians câme dourn at night to draw their

irarcr. B-.rt wh.n a certain fsaurian called lllus, who was on sentry dury

tlicre caught sight of a large number of Misimians coming dgwl at-a very late

hour of th" nigtt for watàr he concealed himself and waited silently, making

no rrt"*p, tJstop them, 1üZhen they had filled their pitchers and set ofi he

iLllowed^them seËretly and went up with them as far es the top, where he

Observed the lie of the land as best he could in the dark and noticed thât not

more than eight men had been posted ro mount gtard and kg.p g watch on

th" ur..or. 7 As soon as he discovered this he descended and gave fulldetails to the general, who was delighted at the nen s and on the following

nicht carefullv selected a hundred shock-troops and sent them out to recofl'

nütr. th" place and, if possible, laundr ür attack. They also had instnrctions

ihrt ot.. ih.y *.t",]t trrrty ofl top they-were to g1v9 a-signal with the

trumpet and ihe rest of the army would then attad< the fort so that the

enemy in both places would be thrown into confusion',tS. Since hè naa ayeady had some experience of the ascent 1llus went

in front and led the way. Immediately after him came Marcellinus' personal

gtxdZiper folloured by Leontius the so1 of Dabrugezasa who was follovred

t,oro Ëy Theodorus the commander of the1zani, and so on one after the

other in one continuous line. z §ÿhen they had already got more than half

\ray up those who were in front saw clearly the watdr-fire burning and the

""rrdr lvine dosrn next to it. Seven of them were fast asleep and were

I'norirrg peucefullv. Only one, who had propped himself up on his elbow

,..-.à to have managed to stay awake, and even he was dronrsy and over-

come with sleq>, so that he kept dropping off and starting up again and

there was no telling how mudr longer he would hold out. 3 Meanwhile

Leontius the son of Dabraguas slipped on some mud, lost his footing and

4 "". rh" p"rsonal guard of.Dabragezas" The Greek is at ftst sight ambiguous, but itr."*r *"o" likeli that abarbaian commander should have grven his.son a Gteek

name than that someone vith a Greek name should have beea acting as his attendant.

1t0 âgrthlur îIrr türtalefell, breaking his shield in the proceaa. Naturally thh prcduccd R tremendougclatter at which the guards Jf i,'a ,lî il*"ilil;,üïî oh th.i,couches drew their swords ana tot J u-rout tt orn *.*ig irr"i, necks ineverv dirêction. Bur thev courd nor rour." orr-irir,Jïôi"rîJ'rir.e theywerc dazzled bv the grare of the fire ÀJ tr,"ruro*-*rÀi"'rîaerect thepresence of men standing in the darkness.

-f,urth.rÀo*, ,h" ;;;., havingassailed them in their-sreep, was neithei.t"r, noiài;rà;;;;r":"crr, as tosuggest the sound o{ falling ureâpons.The Romans on the,btlrer hand had a crear and accurate view of every-thing'. 4. consequ-ently th"y hurt d and-remained immovabre as thoughpot

-d to rhe ground. They did not u*er so m.r.l, a, u;ï;;;;;ove theirfeet, bur stood stoc[,stin

"*actry wÀ.; ;h"y were, whethàr they happenedto be.standing on a sharp piece of ro.r. o" r-fu;h;-J ,h"".r* "rrir. 5 rfthey had nor acted in tÀis.way and,À.;;ril1;";;r;;ïJf '*hu,

*u,goilg o-n thev woutd no doubt have rorled à;*; ';;; irJuË iLra., ,nacrushed all their assailants, which was *ty ,:."y ,r.rJ*i,,îüà breathsilent and motionless. 6 i must rrv r,,,rïa ,, À"ir ai.Jpull,'rro* ir*;1tit;e11a as though by-some pr."oo."*"Jsignal they rll.;;tir"i*har was

:"":t:i:i:i"rl,9 k p, firmly in position, *.rLing out independently *hutrhe ufgency ot the moment did not permit them to .av aroud. sincà thereseemed to be no indication of_danger the barbarians frri.*.à;;r feering,and were only too glad to go back"to ,1".e.19: %9*ïpon the Romans fel] upon them whire they were stifl sreepingsoundlv and slew rh:*.. u[. incruding the o1e whom J". -igÀr-;estingrydescribe as "half-awake". After r!*-*r* àar*""J u"làir,

-rfi."uairrg r,r,throu.g\ the alleys berween the houses. At the ,u,,. ii*"-ïh.* *.p",tqyld"d- the signal for battle. z The Miri.iurr, *.." ,uipuir"a and be_wildered by the noise, and rlr:sh they diônot grasp its imprications theygot up and rushed oul in all direaionr, ,..Lin[ ;" ;;rf"Àt-prrrr.

3 But the Romans met them in the doorways and jâve th; ;;;;;.ceptionytt[they sw-ords, slaughtering them in great numbers. No sooner in fact hadthe first batch crossed ihe thrJrhora unib""" cur down than asecond batchwas there and yet a third one rüas arreqdy on th. wây ro invoruntary serf-immolation and there was no.respite in the general *rÉ ,o a.rt*.iilrr. so"ncrowds o! rvogen gor up.rn{ .1.-. streamiig out of ,fr. n""r",

"ùng andsobbing' But the Romans in their fury did n* ,prr" even rhese, so rhat theytoo reaped the reward of their menfolk's ,r.""1r."p , ôïàîr"th.., uwoman of some refinement, was walking very conspicuorrrty frouirq a lightedt".d yl.n. she was pierced through"the"beflv bv , r;; ;;j perishedmiserablv. At this Roint.o_ne- of the Romans picked "; rh";..h].,,r u"u*to set fire to the huts, whidr, being built of *;J ;;;;;.#, b;;;; ilto ar..,in a momenr. The flames ror. ,rp1ir.. a beacon ,na nrrrr.J ,rr"ï.*r'"r *r.*

loût 1 tzt

wu happenlng even to the Aptllinnr rnd tq pcopler-ltlll further eway,

I Tho iÀuinÀ alauchter wat ltlll morc temlble and thc barbarians were

lvhs llke fltes, Thôse who staycd indoora were elther burnt to death or

türt«t alive. Those who rushed outslde met with more certain death from

thO cwords of the Romans. Many children rürefe seized sobbing and crying

Orrt for theit mothers. Some they hurled down and mangled brutally against

the rod<s. Others they tossed in the air, as though they were playing sorne

fO11 of game, and caught them on the points of their speafs. 6-Novr it was

Understandable that the Romans should have been enraged with the Misimian

æople both on account of Soteridrus and of the outrage against the envoys.

Ïrleverth.l.tt their fury was disproportionate and they should not have acted

Vlth suc}'ffanton and monstrous brutality towards neuzborn babies who

ind no understanding of their pafents' crirnes; And so this sinful deed of

theirs did not go unPunished.

20. The whole night had been spent in the commission of these and

similar atrocities ,rdih" spot had aiready assumed an aspect of _completedevastation when about fivà hundred heavily-armed Misimians sallied forth

froÀ th. forrress at the first light of dawn-and attad<ed the Romans. The

irtt", *".. caught ofi their guard because they thought they had overcome

all r.sistan.e. Ail w.r. drivei headlong into flight by the Misimians and most

of *-r". were either killed or wounded. z After a confused and precipitous

descent the survivors returned to camp a mass of wciunds' They had been

,i** Uy the enemy,s spears and their legs were badly torn throush frequent

i[Àfi*'rgriog rÉ ,o.Lr. 3 And so] since thgv,ha{ no indination for

;Jù .lirnb rp that rocJ<, tt-i"v a".ia.a to attad< the fort at its most vul-

;;bl" p.l"r*à at th" ruÂ. time to fill in the moat. Assembling therefore

i r".tË. of sheds and penthouses tlley brought them up and proceeded to

attu.L th. wall from a safe position. They employed siege-engines,-bows and

;r;;t ,rrJ .rr.ry "th"r arruiluble means of making life difiicult for the

&;;d";;-- 41'Éebarbarians were in dire straits but they still put up a stifi

i"ri"r"... Some of them brought up a wicker-roof and advanced against the

nàÀ* ri.g"-works with the idea o{ demolishing them. Butbefore they drevr

near and tàok.orr.r under it a Slav called Suarunas huded his spear at the

;;;,h* *;r most visible and strucl< him a mortal blow. As the man fell the

*i*"i"""f toppled over revealing and leaving unprotected_the men inside

it: ; Th. nàà*s had no difiiculrv in shooting them all <lourn except fot

àn. rir1who managed to get away,had almost made it to the fort and had

ui."dy readred the s'mall ,iàe-gate *hen he rras strLrd< dead by an arrow. He

i"ti ,o.r*ti"g on the threshold with a small part of his bodv protrudins

;;à. of thË fort but mosr of it inside. 6 §rhen the Misimians saw this

I think they interpreted it as abad omen. Apart from that they were be-

ginning to brealc down under the stmin of the fightins and werç anxious to

122 Alrthlmr llrr Hhortu

eflcct a reconciliatlon with the Romans, and above all they wcre inlluencedby the fact that the.relief-force promised Èy the p*rr."r'rrrJ iot afrived.7 In consideration, rhen, of ar these factors and .rt.irrrrirrg td.Jn ,to.t ofthe-r1 own'capabilities they were reructandy ur"rgrri ;;j; rï. beratedrealization that- they were going to be no matclr ior ,lr" [..ri, and thatf:, ":di no lgnger sustain tÈe fighting. Ihely sent .oroyrl-if,àr"lor., ,oJohn imploring him

""1 lo wipe ouia peoprg *r, rràa-rrrg d""i ,uu;."i ,"the Romans, that shared rhe same rerigiàus leliefs *à ,rrr, riràiài ,"trliut.duntil they had been grievousry wronged and had trr.o b.Àu".J with theclaracteristic recklessness of bàrbarian-s. Their case w.as after all one whichqeritgd some degree of forgiveness and restrainr considering tÀat they hadaheady sufiered so much.*d Fd been punished with t".tr r'"rr.tiry. Every-thing within a considerable radius of the fort had been ,Àa r" ,rr. ground,not less than five thousand of heir y9"rg_ men had p"rirh.d anà **y -or"of their §/omen while the number of d,idr.r, that had r.ri trràriires s,aseveû greater, so that the entire nation had come close to extinction.

s {ohn -was only po glad ro accepr their petition both to avoid thenecessity of exposing himself and his tioopr to the hazards of a prolongedstay in a desolate and wintry region and because the Misimian, Àt i" t**,been sufiicientlv punished for their misdeeds. , À;";ri;;;i; he tookhos-tages with him and ail. the money and everything .rr" ,Àri totericrru,had brought with him inclydTu t.!: Eqqeror's Éa

"i-àr"ri"s,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ; rwenry_

eight.thousand eight hundred solid gorà pieces. In addition ,;dn, he setofi with a large quantitv of booty, tamà the Miri;i;, ," .""àLt trr.i,own afairs once more and to resume oo*àl [f" witho,rt f.ri Jo,ot.rrurion.ro And so he returned to Lanca having brought back À ,r*u *fria nnacovered itself with glory andlad done sJwith îtotuttoru

"r"Jy rhi.ry *"n.21. Atter rhese evenrs.theEmperor Justinian relieved Ma#n Jtogerh.rof his comniamd and put in his piace Justin the son

"f è;*r";J* courr-mander-in-chief of rhe forces iiLazica and Armenia. Eu; b.f; this thêEmperor had not liked the idea of Marrin's holding tlr. ,upi.À. .om-*dilyiew of the prominexr pan he had played in the a"ssassinaiion of Gobrr.r.z Ho'*1ev.el he had_ kept his views r".i"t ior a time because he felt it was notu,.q9od thi"c l,?.&*u. or tamper with the leadership "f th" ,"Ày *hil.aftairs were still in a sta;te of turmoil, paticularly sincà Martin was pop,rlarwith the ffoops on account of his miritary .*p.ri.r". and abre gei."arhip.3 rt was this, I think, that had saved t im rrir rir., àin."rir;h.";;; wourdhave been executed along with John and Rusticus. rnstead of whicl the{mperor out of respecr for his vicrories and for his ability in t}re CeH, bentthe strict letter of the law and dropped the charge

^i^a{riri*l ri. aia "o,however, allow him ro rerain his c-oïmand b"t;d;Jrri.ïo-rl" rrur*of api'vivqlg individual, judging thar even though t. uai"à"à hîna io u

EËolt a 12,

crlme of rudr enormlty tho dhgrrce of hlr dlmhral wm rufilclenr punieh-!rênt. 4 §o, ac Eoon ÊB therc was a lull ln hostllltlcr on thc Persian fronthc depoced htm and summoned to Conetantinople Justln rvho apart frombelng a close relation of the Emperor's enioyed pariicularly high repute atthe time. Justinian therefore gave him ftill command and sent iim ti Lazicato deal with whatevet situation might arise there. 5 Now there was inJustin's retinue a Libyan called .Iohn, a man who had been obscure andpcnniless to start with (so much so that in order to live he had had ro work as

cnother man's hired lackey and to fetch and carry for some member ofJustin's body-guard) but who had subsequently risen in a short time to grearheights of wealth and arrogance. 6 §7irh the help of mudr sdreming anda, gteat deal of low cunning he soon succeeded in making himself known toJustin. Being an utterly vile and unscrupulous wretch who in order to makemoney would stoop to every conceivable form of wid<edness and dishonesty,he asked the general for a stared sum of money. In return for this he pro-mised that he would not only furnish the general with supplies for whateverlength of time he d:ose but would also undertake to feed all his slaves andmenials, his bodyguard and in fact his entire retinue. 7 He'ü/ent evenfurther: he guaranteed not only to keep safe the full amount he received andto return it intact and untoudred as though it had been lent to him but evento add a bonus to it. Most people thought that what he said was just a pieceof boastful rigmarole. But Justin though he should have been indignant atthe Libyan's nonsensical proposal, knowing full well that he could nàt malcegood his promise without resorting to violence and extortion and ruiningthrough his.illegal transactions everyone with whom he came into conract,accepted his ofier, entrusted him with the money as stipulated and gave himcarte blandre to do as he pleased.

22. Thercupon John went the rounds of the various villages of theEmpire situated along the roure of their line of march. He would gat}ertogether the inhabitants of a village where for instance oxen were in shorrsupply and would issue a general proclamation to the efiect that the armyhad need of them. And so he woulâ say, displaying rsrenty ralenrs, "Youmust sell me oxen to the value of this sum and drere can be no question ofselling me less. But first take the money and then see ro it that you bringme all your oxen as quid<ly as possible". z §7hen they begged him toeiempt them, vowing and declaring that they did nor even have enough toplough the fields with, the villain would refuse with.thÇ urmost arroganceand assume an outraged ait attheidea of the general not b,eing allowed evento buy provisions. And he would fly into a ruge and keep ang:dy insistinguntil they got together as mudr money as they could from the sale of theirmost valuable possessions and presented it to the blaclguard in order topurdrase immunity from his exactions. SHavlng left the place, then, he

124 ÂErthhrr Thç Hhtorla

would arrive somewhere elae, vrhere nobody had evcn heard of camEla orrnules, and would start shouting and insisting that he had come ecpresslyfor these animals. ft was the same old story all over again. He would beginby showing them his money, end by taking theirs and finally depart. 4 Andso wherever he went he followed the same procedure of requiring whateverrü'as not avulable.In this way he kept amassing money, whidr he extractedfrom people who owed him nothing, without ever buying or selling or other-wise financing anything. and it was no time before he had abeady doubledthe principal with his iakings. 5 §7hen they reaclred Lazica he did thesame thing and moreover, having somehow got hold of some mercJrant ships,made a forcible collection of the agricultural produce of the region which hebought ditt dreap in huge quantities and shipped away for sale overseas.Not surprisingly the army v/âs in consequence afilicted with such a severe

shortage of essential foodstufis that even ablade of grass cost money, andthe profits that that swindling hud<ster made were absolutely eno,rmous.6 By these means he fulfllled his agreement with Justin, providing him withfood and adding to the original sum of money. Although Justin was wellaware of what was going on, since he 'ù7'as constantly being approached bythe victims of John's depredations who would throw themselves at his feet,begging with tears and lamentations to be granted a respite from theirmiseries, he nevertheless ate without fear or cornpunction the proceeds ofinjustice pnd oppression, delighted at the opportunity of enjoying sumptuousfarc and not having to pay for it and of lining his pod<ets into the baryain.7 But he was destined eventually to pay a heavy penalty.5 Even though hesubsequently performed great feats and won great glory for himself bybeating ofi the attacks of the barbarians on the banks,of the Danube, DivineJustice tffas not mollified nor did his achievements blot out the memory.ofhis crimes. Even though they were hushed up their record remained indeliblvpreserved',r.rntil the proper time. 8 For it is not at the moment of sinningthat §/e have out punishment meted out to us but for the most pârt aftersome time has elapsed and perhaps when we have forgotten all about ourpast conduct. And then our immediate reaction is one of distress at the un-fait and unreasonable way in which things are going against us. 1ü7e feelbadly done by and perhaps lay the blame on the envy and malice of mankind.But the Power that otganizes and regulates our e:<istence knows what is each

man's proper due and follows up and searcihes out in the mânner of His ownchoosing out mudr eadier transgressions. 9 B'ut the details of Tustin's sub-sequent career and of how his immensely successful life was abruptly andunexpectedly terminated will be accurately reportd when the thread of my

s Justin was murdered in Alexandria by order of Justin IL According to Evagrius(H. E. 5,2) the Emperor and his wife Sophia amused thernselves by kid<ing aroundthe wretdred man's head.

Bsolt 1 12,

Effrêtlvê, ar lt unwindr ln rtrlct chrcnologlcol leguence through thc coumeof eventa, re0d1a8 that point ln tlmc, For the prËBênt, hovever, I mustnÈtufn to the earliæ pefiod and resume my account of lt.

21, The situation in Lazica was as has been descibed and Justin had'been appointed Commander-in-Chief. The Persians made no *ouà to rene'ürhoatillties, nor, for that matter, did the Romans take the ofiensive. Bothrldes in fact rilrere on the alert trying their best to divine eadr other'slntentions. Neither side took the initiative in attacling, but both remainedlnacdve, keçing of one accord and, as it wete, by common consent, at a

fcspectful distance from eadr other.

: On learning what had happened on the banks of the Phasis and thatNachoragan had fled from the scene of batde, tle Persian Emperor Chosroesdrmmoned him immediately from Iberia and, following a time-honouredPersian custom, punished him with gteat. savagery. 3 Simply to executethe man vras not, he thought, sufiicient punishment for his cowardice.Accordingly the sldn was torn from his ned<, ripped ofi in one piece rightdown to his feet, then completely detached from the flesh and turned insideout, so that the contours of the various parts of the body were visible inf,werse. After that it was inflated like a wineskin and suspended from a pole,a pitiful and disgusting spectacle of whidr the infamous Shapur,6 who hadbeen king of the Persians long before Chosroes, was, I think, the originator.4 There is a well-known story about Marsyas the Phrygian 7 accordingto whidr there was a flute-playing competition between him and Apolloin whidr Marsyas was roundly beaten and rightly so since he had thetemerity (if it does not seem too absurd to put it that way) to play the fluteagainst his own particular god 8. §(/hereupon his vicrorious opponent is sup-posed to have punished him for this rashness by flaying him and hanging hisshin on a tree. The whole tale is, of course, a wildly improbable fabricationof the poets, a mere flight of fancy without a shred of truth or likelihoodabout it, involving as it does the far-fetched asserrion that Apollo became a

flute-player, took part in a musical contest and became so violently enragedafter his victory that he inflicted such an altogether wicl<ed and insanepunishment on his unsuccessful competitor. And is it really conceivablethat he could have been ready to have the indictment of his cruelty displayedin mid air? 5 At all events this theme, whidr is handled by the poets ofold, has been taken over and exploited also by modern poets, one of whomNonnus of Panopolis in Egypt, after having made some mention of Apollo

6 i. e. Shapur I (241*272 A.D.)7 According to the myth Marsyas was a satyr from Phrygia.I i. e. Apollo who in his capacity as god of music is thought of as a soff of patron deity

of all Ilute-players.

126 Agrthlmr Thr Htltodo

(I cannot say in what precise connectlon becaure I do not recall the precedingverses) in a poem of his called the Dionysiaca, goe! on to sây: e \

.

"Ever since he humbled Marsyas and his flutethat in contention strotrÿe and emulous disputeagainst a god. §Thereat his skin upon rhe tallest of the treeshe hung to belly like a sail and flumer in rhe breeze".

6 That this abomination was at the time still unknown to man should besufriciently obvio'r.rs to anyone who is capable of viewing the distant pastwith the right degree of iritical detadrment and who does nor allow himielfto ibe misled by the tales the poets tell about the gods. 7 However, thoughShapur sras a most unjust and bloodthirsty man, quickly and easily rousedto anger and cruelty and slo,vrly and reluctantly moved to compassion andrestrâint, even so r cannot definitely exclude the possibility that this foulact might have been perperatd at on earlier date on some other victirn orvictims. But, that when he defeated the Roman Emperor Valerian in battle,he captured him alive and toolc this cruel revenge upon him is voudeed forby the testimony of several historians. S And from all accounts the veryfirst of those who seized the Persian throne after the cotrlapse of the Parthianempire, namely Ardashir and Shapur were both monsters of wid<edness andinjustice, seeing that one of them murdered his suzerain and usurped thethrone by violent means and that the other set such a dreadftrl precedent ofvindictive cruelty and obscene brutality.

24. Since I have once more had occasion in the course of my narrative tomention Ardashir it would not be inappropriate ât this point to fulfil myearlier promise and give ar account in chronological order of the monardrswho succeeded him. The parentage of Ardashir and the manner in whidr heassumed the diadem o{ the kings of Persia have aheady been desoibed byme in sorne. detail. I have nothing more to add with regard to him exceprthat he seized the throne of Persià in dre manner I descàbed earlier, in tËefourth year of the reign of Severus Alexander, l0 five hundred and thirty-eight years after Alexander the Great 11 and that he reigned for fourteenyears and ten months. z His successorwas the infamous Shapur who livedtot a total of thirty-one years after his accession, during whide time he diduntold harm to the Romans. 3 Convinced that once he had slain theirEmperor therewould be nothing to dreil< his victorious progress he advancedruvagtrng Mesopotamia and the adjoining region, then Cilicia and Syria, andfrna7ly penetrating as lar as Cappadocia. The carnage v/as so terrible that heactually filled in the mountain gorges and ravines with the corpses of the

e Nonnus: Dionysiaca, I,42 sq.10 222-235 A.D.11 Used loosely by Agathias for "after the beginning of the Seleucid Era (i. e. 3128. C.),

so that the year in question begins 1. Oct, 226 A. D. and ends on 30 Sept. 227 A.D.

Beokl L27

rldn rnd lovalled the cloplng .ummlr od ttre hilh md rsde over them,Cü{ttrhg mountain ridgcc ae thoqh they wcru levcl ploine. 4. On histtturn journey hc was eo elated by hie impious succesa that his insolenceltEgr*r no bounds, but it was soon drecled by Odenathos of Palmyra,l2 a

llun ruhose previous obscurity and insignificance rÿere more than offiset bybh glorioue exploit against Shapur whidr won him a lasting place in the

Drges of history., , Ori the death of Shapur, his son Hormizd succeeded to the throne. Hisrdgn was a very short one, 13 lasting one year and ten days, in the course ofvhich he adrieved nothing v/orth recording, nor did Vahram I who succeededldm and reigned fot tfuee years. la 6 But Vahram's son, who had the same

name as his father, reigned for seventeen years.15 Vahram III tasted sover-eignty for a mere four months.16 He was given the title Saghanshah which he

received not, I think, idly or without good reason but in accordance with0n ancient ancestral custom. 7 lVhen in fact the Persian kings make waron some neighbouring people of considerable size and importance and reducethem to submission, they do not kill the vanquished inhabitants but imposea tribute on them all md allow them to dwell in and cultivate the conqueredteffitory. Howevet, they consign the former leaders of the nation to â mostpitiful fate and assign the title of ruler tq their own sons, presurnably inotder to preserve the protrd memory of their victory. 8 Now since theSegestani were subdued by his father Vahram II it was only natural that theson should be given the title Saghanshah, which is Persian for "king of theSegestani".

25, Alter the speedy demise of Vahram III Narsah immediately assumedthe crown and ruled for seven years and five months. 17 He was succeeded byhis son Hormizd II who was heir not only to his father's throne but also toa reign of identical duration. Sttange though it may seern the fact is thatboth of them reigned for exactly the same number of months and years.

z They were succeeded by Shaput II who enjoyed an exceedingly longreign the length of which coincided exactly with the length of his life.l8Indeed when he was still in his mother's womb the future ofispting wascalled to the throne.

Since it was uncertain whether the queen would give 3bitth to a maleor a female drild the nobles proposed a special reward for the magi i{ they

1, O" f"r ".t,rn

march Shapur was attacked and defeated by him ând lost part of hisbooty.

13 272---273 A.D.14 273-276 A.D.t5 276-293 L.D.16 293 A.D.t7 293-302 A.D.t8 309/t0-379 A.D.

t2â Âgathlar: The Hhtorler

would foretell the future. Accordingly they broughr our a mare in the laststages of pregnancy and told the magi to predict what they thought rüouHhappen içr its case. In this way they would be able to find 6ut in a few dayswhether in the event the prediction had come true, whiih would .rrubl.them to form an estimare of the drances of fulfilment of whatever would beforetold in the case of the human being. Now I cannot say exactly what wasthe precise nature of the prediction in the case of the mare, since I have notreceived accu.râte information on that point, but, whatever it was, it provedgoffect. 4 When the nobles rcelized that the magi knew their art to per-fection they urged them to expound their knowledge of future eventswith regard to the woman also. \X/hen the magi said that a mùe drild wouldbe bom they no longer delayed, bur putting the diadem around the mother,swomb, üey proclaimed as Emperor the foetus conferring upon it the dis-tinction of a name and a tide when, I suppose, it had just readred that stageof developement at whidr it was capable of making a few slight jumpingand throbbing movements inside the womb. 5 Thus they took for grantedwhat in the natural order of things is uncertain and obscure, thouglr they'qz'ere not wide of the mark in their expectations, whid: were fulfilled to theletter and beyond it. Soon alter tnfact shapur Ir was born. Possessed of theroyal title at birth, he grew up on the rhrone and he grew old on it, livingto the ripe old age o[ sevenry. 6 In the rwenty fourth year o[ his reignthe city o{ Nisibis 1e fell into the hands of the Persians. It had long beensubiect to the Rornans and it was their own Emperor, Jovian, who surren-dered and abandoned it. The previous Emperor, Julian, had penetrated intothe heart of the Persian Empire when he died suddenly and Jovian wasproclaimed Emperor by the generals and the rroops. 7 Hampered by therecentness of his accession and by the prevailing confusion engendered nodoubt by the,state of emergenry that had brought him to po'ürer and findinghimself, moÈover, in the middtre of enemy territory, he was in nàposition to efiect a leis'r.rred and ordedy settlement of afiairs. rn his anxiety,thetefore, to terminate his sojourn in a foreign and a hostile land and toreturn with all speed to his own country he became party to an ignobletrearty, whidr to this very day is a blot on the Roman stare. By it he confinedthereafter the extent o{ his Empire within new fronriers, whittling awayits far-flung corners. 8 However, the events of that period have been re-corded by a host of earlier historians, and I have no rime to dwell on rhembut must needs stid< to my previous subject.

26. Shapur II was succeeded by his brother Ardashir who reigned forfour years and then died. The son of Ardashir was also called Shaprrr2o afldhe reigned f.or a tatal of five years. His son Vahram IV reigned for eleven

1, Ag"thtrÿ drronology is wrong. Nisibis was ceded to Persia by Jovian in 3G3 A.D.zo i. e. Shapur III.

Bôoh 4

yiü'r. He \rss glven the title Kermanùah, I I havo aheady explained theülfron for thia kind of title. Kerman was pÊrhaps the name of a people or ajlrco rnd no doubt Vahram acqu.ired the title àfter they or ir had been re-duecd by his {ather in much the sarrc way as was the Case with the earlierRorran practice, whereby an individual assumed a special name connecredvlth the name of some othü nation whidr he had conquered as for examplenâfticanus" and "Gerrnanicus". 3 The next reign was marked by thetEcêsEion to the throne of Persia oLYazdgard,I 21 the son of Shapur, 22 a marrwhose memory has remained something of a legend among the Romans. Itlr indeed commonly reputed that when the Emperor Arcadius was on thepoint of death and was making his last will and restamenr he designatedYazdgard as guardin and custodian of his son Theodosius and of the entireRorpan state. 4 This story has been handed down from generation ro gene-tetion and preserved on the Iips of men and is still rqreated at the presenr dmeby,both the upper classes and the common people. But I have not come acrossIt in any document or in the works of any historian, not even in those whidrgive an account of the death of Arcadius, with the single exception of Proco-pius.23 And I do not find it at ail. surprising that Procopius, who with his en-cyclopaedic knowledge had rcad practically every historical work ever writ-ten, should have found a written version of this story in t}e works of somecarlier historian which has so far eluded me who know next ro norhing, ifindeed I know anything at oJ7. 5 What I do find extremely surprising isthat Procopius does not confine himself at this point to a straightforwardaccount of events but applauds and eo<tols Arcadius for what he regards as

the e<traordinary wisdom of his decision. He says in fact that Arcadiusthough endowed with little discretion in other respects proved in this onematter to be particulady shrewd and far-sighted. 6 But whoever expressesadmiration for this decision is, in my opinion, judging it in the light of laterevents and not by the logic of the original situation, since it hardly couldhave made sense to entrust one's nearest and dearest to a foreigner and abarbaian, the ruler of a bitterly hostile nation, a tnal who in mattersof honour and justice was an unlmorür'n quantity and who on top of everythingelse was the adherent o{ a false religion. 7 Tf the infant came to no harmafld i., thanks to the care and protection of his guardian, his throne wasnever in jeopardy though at the time he had not yet even been weaned, thenone ought rather to praise the honesty of Yazdgard than the action ofArcadius. But these are questions whidr the reader must decide for himselfaccording to his own criteria. 8 At any ruteYazdgard reigned rwenty-oneyears during whicl time he never waged war against the Romans or harmed

2t 399-42t A.D.22 It is not altogether clear whether Agathias means Shapur III or Shapur II.23 Procopius: History of the \[ars, T,2,6,sq.

129

1r0 Agrthlmr Tho Hlrterler

the*. in any other way,. but hig ottitude war conrrstently pcactful andconciüatory either thtough coincidence or our of g*uin. .ËoJJ;;J;i*?;;the boy and concern for his duty as a guardian.

zi, onhis death he was u*...à"ï Cy rris son val*am v who made anincursion into the territory of the Romans but when he met with a friend.tyand courteous reception from the generals stationed at the frontiers he with-drew swiftly and returned to his own imperial domain, t uu"rg rrJrlrer wageda war onlis neighbourq-nor damaged thèir hnd in uny otherïay- z Aftera reign of t\r/enry ye,ars2a he handed over the throne io his son l azdga,d,rrwho reigned for sevenreen years and four monrhs. 25

3 ità "*-r.ig, *r,that of Peroz26 an exceedingly daring and warlike *urlHi, minà wu, fill.dwith grandiose ambitions, but his yudgement was far from sound and hepossessed- a great deal more valour than discretion. 4 conseluently helost his life in an expedition againsr the Ephthalites nor ;;;À,i imagine,#*gl.the-strength of his oppo".nt, âs through hi, .;;;.Llessness.Though he should have taken alt the necessâry precautions and reconnais-sance measures to safeguard his advance into .n"my territory againstambushhe fell straight inro a r,,ap, a series of carefulily ;;flriJ-pits andtrendres that stretched over ûhe plain for a very gét distancelHe p"rish.dthere together with his army in the t*.nty-fâo"rth y.r.

"r il, iàgn, our-Salgegvred by the Huns - an ignominious v/ay of ending his life. TheEphthalites are in fact a Hunnic people. 5 i{is brothei valash whosucceeded him to the throne *-rr rot conspiculos for any Àiritu.y achieve-ments not only on account of his mild an-d gentle disposition uid, nutwulaversion to violence but also because his ieign *uJ u very sho* one,alnounting in fact ro a mere_four yeaxs.zT 6 He rras ,ucce.dld by Kavajtle sol of Peroz, who waged.mrnÿ *r., against the RomÀs unJ*oo.uryvictories,o-rer the- neighlorling barbarian peopres. His reign was indeed apefiod ot 'u1ç.*1r*.turbulence and strife. 7 rn his dealings with hissubjects he was harsh and. cruel, showing no respect for the sàcial order,rltroducing revolutionary innovarions inà rhe tày poni" *a *rr*ri"gtfreir rye-old cusroms. He even reputed ro have Ààa, u ru* thut *irr",should be hetd in commonnor, I imaline, with a view to any of the utilitarianends suggesred by the hidden *.*irg tf so.rut"r' *ord, i, the pratonic

:ülog": rt byt per,ell in order to factËtate concubinage ,ra à.* any man

who telt so incüned to sleep with any sroman of his àwn choosing, even ifshe happened to be somebody else,s urife.

24 427-438/9 A.D.25 438/9-457 A.D.26 459-484.27 484 ,188.

28 cf. Plato: Republic Bk. V 457 c. sq.

,eC U. rubeeguent downfall. In thi eleventh year of his.reigr the nobles all,iOro tn a body against him and deposed him, casting him into the "Prison'bû Oblivion»-2e 2 Zamasp was tJren invested with the royal power. He'ltOO was a son of Petoz and apart from that enjoyed 1 repytatlon for great

3cntl.o"ss of character and justice. In this_way they thought $at they _h-ad

icttled everything to their satisfaction and that henceforth they would be

fblc to live in peace and quiet. 3 But it v/as not long beÏore Kavad escaped

eithcr aided and abetted by his wife who chose to die for his sake as Pro'

COpius tells us 30 ot by some other means. At any lalethe fact remains that

niAa escape from prison to the land of the Ephthglitgs- wh9r9 he threw

hiàseff on ih" protection of their king. a Mindful of the vicissitudes of

fortune the king received him with great kindness and never ceased to

comfort him anà alkviate his distress o{ mind, showing him every consid-

, ,0. And, ro, m thlr legelly.oanctloned outrage Srsly rtfc ths nobler could.Ëg1r the dtryrce no longJr and bcgen to voicc thcir engcr opcnly. It wao in

'Githh hdwhich wrs ihe principal cauge of the consplracy against hi* *9

efation, addressing him words of encouragement which were calculated to

raise lris spirits, fàasting him at his table and frequently making him drinkfrom his o*n.,rp, dressing him in costly garments and in fact omitting none

of the niceties ôf hospitrlity. Not long afterwards he gave his daughter's

hand in ma13:iage to his g,rert and having entrusted him with a sufiiciently

large army to ensufe his return sent him back home to crush all opposition

ani regain his former prosperity. 5 There is a natural tendency for things

to wor]< out very difierently from what people expect, often upsettittg urrd

completely betying theit calculations and what happened on that-occasion

*rrï "uré

i" poi"t. In a very short space of time the pendulum of Kavad's

fortunes had swung 6 from one extfeme to the other and bacl< again: he

had ordranged the state of a king for the lot of a convict, escaped ftomprison to bJcome a refugee and a suppliant in a stfange land, and then, after

Liruirrg been a suppliant zrnd a guest, had become the close relation of a king.

Then-on his retum home he regained his tlrone without ef[ort or danger,

findiog iÊ vacant and as it wete waiting to receive him, for all the world as

th*gh he had never been deprived of it. 7 Zamasp in fact -voluntarily

affiicated, wisely making â virtue of necessity and preferring, after having

enjoyed four yeârs on the rhrone, to fenounce the pride of ofiice and the

Eook { 1r1

pomp of povrer in exchange fot a safe retirement. 8 Kavad, now

restrained 31 than he had formedy been, ruled for another thirty years

E-A;;;rT-ng to Procopius (History of the §fiars I, V, 8) the place was so narned because

it was forbidden undet pain of death to make any mention of those imprisoned there'30 Procopius: History of the §(ars IVI 1-9.31 The Greek is ambiguous and could mean "f,nofe power{ul' and has beeo tendered

thus by previous ffanslators. However it is a fact that after his restotation Kavadeventually broke with the revolutionxy Mozdakite movemeot.

morers in

lr2 AgEthlmr The Hhtorylel

addition to theprevious eleven eo that hie relgn Embtrccd. tota,l of forty.oncyeats.32

29. Past generations of historians have written full and detailed accountsof the events of both parts of Kavad's reign. There is one point, holever,and I think it is worth making, z whid:, they have not dealt with, namelythe startling coincidence that x that time muclr the same thing happened inboth the Roman and the Persian Empire, that as though by some strangequirk of fate disaster fell almost simultaneously upon the monardrs of bothstates. Shortly before in fact the Emperor of the Romans, Zer,o the fsaurian,whose original name was Tarasicodissa, .$ras the victim of a plot by lllus,Basüscus and Conon aided and abetted by Verina and was dethroned anddriven out, barely escaping to Isauria in time. But he returned later, putdown the usurper Basiliscus who had reigned for not more than tv/o years,regained complete control of afiairs and remained on the tfuone unril hisdeath, which, however, occurred not very long afterwards.33 3 At thesâme time the tWestern Emperor Nqros 3a met with similar or rather evengreater misfortunes. As a result of the intrigues of Orestes he was obligedto flee from Italy and lost the Imperial rhrone whidr he never regained. Hedied a private citizen.35 4 Sudr, then, were the extraordinary vicissitudesto which by some strange coincidence the major pov/ers were at that timesubjected, Let those critics whose practice it is to analyse and account forevents of a problematic nature seek to orplain these events, and they mayas far as f am concerned suggest whatever explanation they wish. HoweverI must return to the subject of my eadier excursus.

5 On the death of Kavad, whidr occurred in the fifth year of the RomanEmperor Justinian, the famous Chosroes, whose reign brings us into ourown day aurrd age,36 succeeded his father to the throne. His exploits weremany and various. Some of them have been previously recorded by pro-copius and çf ,those that have not sorne have already been dealt with by me,whereas others will receive a proper treatment in due course. 6 But inorder to maintain a strict drronological sequence I shall confine myself forthe time being to pointing our thar his reign lasted some forty-eight yearsin the course of whidr he won many brillianr victories. His reign in factmarks a pinnacle of success and outstâ"ûding adrievement reacààd by noprwious Persian monardr, not at arry rute if one is to make an over-all

)2 488 498/9 A. D. and 498/9-ÿL L.D.33 Agathias' cJrronology seems to have gone wildly astray. Zeno fled, from Constantinople

in the August of 476.He died oo the 9th April, A.D. 49l.Ir seems that Agathias hasconfused the revolt of Illus (484--488) with the earlier conspiracy in which Illuswas also implicated,

34 28th August 47, A.D.ss In 480 A. D.36 53L-579 A.D.

BooLl t»Èompuilon of individual reigno, Indced lt eould hordly be clafuned. thrt cvcn

Cynir the son of Cgmbyseô of l)aflui the aon of Hyotaapea.or for thot mottef

thC famoot Xerxes who opened up thc Beas to cavalry and tfie mountains toirhlppttg,3T would stand comparison with him. 7 Yet his.ulhappy

-aqdüifirfor end was in the starke§r contrasr to !he_

greatnes§ of h! nast.{fe.BIi *6 sojourning at the time in the village of Thamnon in the Carduchian

lülh, (he hâd moved there for rhe summer, since 8 the region was favoured

ÿtth; tempefate climate) when Maurice the son of Paul who had been putln commanâ of the forces in the East by the Roman Emperor Tiberius ICOnstantine made asudden irruption into the adjoining district of Atzaaena.

And, as though that were not enough, Maurice then proceeded to ravage

1nd plunder the whole area. Soon he had crossed the river Zitma and was

rtill ïdvancing, burning and plundering everytling thât lay n his path.

9 rüflhile Mauiice was engaged on this wor! of wholesale destruction and

âCVastation Chostoes, who being near enough to get a clear view already of

the smoke rising up found the spectacle of enemy fire, whidr he had never

leen before, too *...1, for him, and was so stunned and dismayed that he took

no action whatsoever either ofiensive or defensive. fnstead he gave himself

up to excessive grief at what had happened.and was seized immediately by

dcspond.ncy anà despair. ro Acôoldingly he was conveyed with great

lpeàd on ^iitt r to hii palaces in Seleucia and Ctesiphon. It was more of a

IIIght than a reueat. Not long aftet that he ended his days.

30. However, I seem somehow to have allowed myself to get carried

away and have, I think, become so enthralled with these fascinating events

as tô skip the whole intervening period and embark gaily on a recitaLof what

happ.n.d at a much later date. But now that I am ful[y conscious of the

naiüre and extent of my digression I had better postpone the discussion ofsudr matters for the present. They will be dealt with in the course of my

narrative of the period to which they belong. Meanwhile I shall resume the

thread of my earlier âccount.z I have kept my ptomise and given a complete drronological record o{

the reigns of the kings of Petsia. It is, I think, a true and an accurate one

since iiis based on Persian sources. 3 Sergius the interpreter managed infact during a stay in Persia to prevail upon the keqrers of the royal ardrives

to gxant him access to the relevant literature' He did so, as it happens, inrerporr. to frequent requests from me. Fortunately, when he staled that his

solà p,rrpore *ui to pt.t.ro. even among our nation the memory of w1rat they,

the Periians, kneur and drerished, they immediately obliged, thinking that

it would enhance the ptestige of their kings if the Romans too'w'ere to learn

3z i. e. the bridgine of the Hellespont (Dardanelles) and the r{igg:rng oi a canal through

the Athos peninsula.

lr4 Âgethtmr ITre Hhterler

what kind of men thcy w*e rogerher wrth thelr numb"fc and the order andmanner in which the succession has been maintaincd. 4 §ühat serlr, diJthen was to take rhe narnes and dates and principal

"u.nt, *J pi, *"*

into 'good Greek, a task for whidr he was pàdi.rry well-ttted belng muchgnd away the best manslator of his day, so àoch ,o thut his talents hà'd wonhim the admiration of chosroes himràE and made him the aclnowledgedmaster of his subject in both Empires. After having made what musr haveb99p an exqemely accurate translation he was as good as his word and mosrobligingly blgught me all his material, urging mË to fulfil th. purp"r. f",whiclr it had been enrrusred to him. a"a ttri is exactly whar I'have done.5- consequently even if there are some üscrepancies beiween my account ofthereign of Kavad and Procopius' version of it we must follow tle authorityof the Persian documents and credit their contents with greater verucity.

Now that I have acquitted myself of my task let me i.rrr*. my accounrof events iaLazica.I had intenupted it at the following pointr

6 Because of his cowardice, because of his defeat ,t ili. h*d, of Martinand the Roman forces and of _his disgraceful retreat to lberia, Nachoragan\r/as put to an extremely cruel death the manner of whidr r have alràdydescribed. 7 Realizing that he was in no position to fight the Romans inLÿca, sinc_e they had control of the sea and io had no difilculty in procuringwhatever they needed, whilst he was obliged to send , f.* ,é*tÿ soppftàto-his _troops over immense trâcts of desert conveying them with incredibledifiiculty on the shoulders of porters and the backs of

"pacL-aniÀals,chosroes

decided to pur an end to the war on all fronts. Thereieem.a to tâ no pointin protractin g a f.aulty and defective peace whicJr was confined only to certainregions and every reâsot f9r giving it general ând universâl uulrdity.8 consequently he dispat4.4 u very high-ranking persian ügnitary, a maîUy.thl

ryme 9f Zidt, on a diplomatié rnirrio' to CLstantinopL. ;ô" hi;arrival thefe he mer the Emgeror Justinian and they had a làgthy é*.hangeof views. Finally they agreed that both the Rornans and the pJrsians shouldretain whatever they had acquired ia Lanca by right of conquest. whethertowns or forts, and that both sides should obrerué u g.n."ul'r*istice andrefrain from all forms of murual aggression pending ,oL. -or" fur-r.u.lriogan{3r1{odtative agreement betwèèn the sâvereigis of both srares.3s Andso zidt having accomplished his mission r.trr*.Jho-". ro §7hen theseterms had been announced to the generals the armies refrained from allfurther hostilities for a considerable length of time, *d , ri;;rion whichhad already arisen sponraneously was officially endüsed.

38-Â;hrnn;f i57 A.D.

BOOK '

.., l. And so these great rivalpowers laid down their arms in accordance

üiîirf," reià;;;;;J ;"mainà ar peace{or a very long time, with neither

üe;';;Ëtt"c Ày r.i"Jtf ior..,g'1"" the other' z But meanwhile the

li*,Ë""i f"ir, ,h" *"jotity of thJm, in- spite oI the fact that they had long

ü|fr-rii"r and sublects of ilr" RomÉs had gi"en ÿp their settled wavs of

fr;;"d;r;;J à brigrrdrg" and kept raiding the district of ?ontus and its

ilühil;ùà rruogtg *i" fi.tdr and moleriing wayfarers. Nevertheless a

;ü "f

them still r.mrin.d true ro their former ways and hadto hand in-ffi"-"o"rr.s.

The Tzant,incidentally, live to the south of the Euxine near

T[Uirona. They even .rorr.d or.r inio Armenia wherwer it was practicable,

;üd"rt ; arrâ b.having sdrh all the hostility of declared enemies'

itA;d;-t" tr,.oa"*r"whom I think I have aheady mentioned several

ffi;,-;-mË;ber of their nation ^4 rh" most distinguish{ oj the Roman

ârrmrod"rr, \üâs sent to deal with them. It was 9{r nltqalthlt he should

ùave b."r, the man whom the Emperor selecrcd for the iob -since he was

ffi1lrir.q"il.i *itf, his own.orr-otry than anyone-else -and

knew exactly

6|9; *hi"h point he could invade it most successfully, whidr was the best

ïf"é f"i"rrpins and how best to tracl< down the enemy' - 4 Setting ofi

[Ë;;f"* ir"àür;rrwith a not inconsiderable body of men he_ crossed the

ü-rdJ;;ri on th" opposite side of the river Phasis and penetrated

il;.dt;,"l" int" tt " lr.*i tr what at the time was enemy tertitory' Fn-

;;t";-il the vicinity of the town of Theodorias and the place called

ifriir",i- and building'a rainpart round the camp he summoned those peace-

ÊJ;à frt;;iit"1.."i , in tËe population whidr were not yet disafiected and

;h.]y}J;ilJ on rhem, praising-them the while for their moderation and

;*à;;. g* ,o thor"ïho had ,riolat.d the terms of their alliance and

iuU.U"a without compunction he prepared to mete out summary punishment

;;i;r.i;f arms. i Bot the.n"my lort_rro time in striking the trst blour

iv "riir6i"ethe fortl Concentrating their forces on the commanding heights

,i;;;;;; hil they rained dourn spears and a*ows on the Rornans, who

,r67.ere throlün into great confusion by this unexpected piece of daring'

6 Nevertheless many of them eagerly rushed out to the attack. But they

ud"Àod in an irregular fashion without waitilq to draw the enemy out

;; ; l","""grorrrrd.irttead they tried in a frt of disorganized fi:ry to climb

op th. rril," rrofling their shields tilted over their heads and stooping

,fi*lrri, ) tt "ti^ni however, throwing their spears from a great height

L'4 Agcthlalr ThE llhtorler

what kind of men they were togcthcr with thclr numbera ûnd the orrlcr atdmmner in which the succession has bcen maintnlned, 4

rü(/hat Sergiul dldthen was to take the names and dates and principal evcnts and put theElinto good Greek, a task for whid: he was peculiarly well.fitted bcing tru&and away the best translator of his day, so mudr so that his talents hocl wcahim the admiration of Chosroes himself and made him the acJ<nowleclgedmaster of his subject in both Empires. After having made what muct lrrv€been an e)ftremely accurate translation he was as good as his word and ntorG

obligingly brought me all his material, urging me to fulfil the purpouc forwhidr it had been entrusted to him. And that is exactly what I have cloue,

5 Consequently even if there are some discrqnncies between my accouut ofthe reign o{ Kavad and Procopius' version of it we must follow the authurltyof the Persian documents and credit their contents with gfeater veracity,

Now that I have acquitted myself of my task let me resume my accoulltof events inLazica.I had intemupted it at the following point:

6 Because of his cowardice, because of his defeat at the hands of Mrrrtlnand the Roman forces and of his disgraceful retreat to lberia, Nachotrrgan\r/as put to an extremely cruel death the manner of whidr I have alreorlydescribed. 7 Realizng that he was in no position to fight the Romans inLazica, since they had control of the sea and so had no difiiculty in procurirrgwhatever they needed, whilst he was obliged to send a few scanty supplierto his troops over immense tracts of desert conveying them with increcliblodifiiculty on the shoulders of porters and the bacl<s of pad<-animals, Chosroeedecided to put an end to the'ffar on all fronts. There seemed to be no pointin protractinga f.aalty and defective peace which was confined only to certninregions and every reason for giving it general and universal validity,8 Consequently he dispatdred a very high-ranking Persian dignitary, a mnnby the name of Zidt, on a diplomatic mission to Constantinople. 9 On hiranival there he met the Emperor Justinian and they had a lengthy exdrangeof views. Finally they agreed that both the Romans and the Persians shoultlretain whatever they had acquired tnLazica by right of conquest, whethertolvns or forts, and that both sides should observe a general armistice ancl

refrain from all forms of mutual aggression pending some more far-reacJringand authoritative agreement between the sovereigns of both states.38 Anclso Zidd having accomplished his mission returned home. ro §ilhen theseterms had been announced to the generals the armies rdrained from allfurther hostiüties for a considerable length of time, and a situation whichhad akeady ârisen spontaneously was ofiicially endorsed.

38 Autumn of 557 A. D.

BOOK '

1. And so these great rival powets laid down their arms in accordance

[-,Ë;s;;;;;i Âa ,.*ri"à at peace{or avery long time' with,1;itlrg;;l"iiü;, i.i"a of fotceaginst the other' z But meanwhile the

J;;; klrt tÉ. majority of thàm, in spite of the fact that they had long

;-àii;';;d ;"Ëi*it'Litr,. Romans hud gi""' up their:Itled wavs of

;"d ,*";i; Àrigundrg. and kept raiding the dismict of ?ontus and its

,ü;iJ ,uurglrg th"e fields aid molesting wayfarers. Nevertheless a

Arh;;.ili tJ-ri*d true to their former wavs and budl" hand in

a*..rr"r. The[zam,incidentally, live to the south of the Euxine near

aond. They even crossed over inio Armenia wherever it was practicable,

noa"ri"* anâ behaving with all the hostility of declared enemies'

F;;'d'Ëctyir,àao*'"whomlthinkl11::',,!::*.y^fl :":':ïi;"1::i;;#b* of their nation and the most distinguished 9f tlt R9m1n

,J";;.-*;, senr to deal with them. It was only naara) that he should

r.* ,lr. man whom the Emperor selected for the lob since he was

';;q"il.i with his own counüy than anyone.else and knew;x1a!;ilifr point he could invade it most successfully, whidr was the best

i.i.r-p*g and how best to trad<- dow-n the enemy' . 4 Setting ofi

; ilfiï;a with a not inconsiderable body of men he crossed the

io" *.r, on the opposite side of the river Phasis and penetrated

di*h into the h.uri àf what at the time 'üas enemy territory. En-

tr;-il rhe vicinity of the rown of Theodorias and the place called

dffi" and building'atampattround the camp he summoned those peace-

,ia fri"narv el.meit, in the population whidr we-re not yet disafiected and

;;J;tfr; on them, praising-them the_ w1ile for their moderation and

,orr"1 È", to thoseïho had violated the terms of their alliance and

.il"d *i lrorrt compunction he prepared to mete out summary punishment

i*à of ur.r. i f"t the enemy lost no time in striking the first blow

;rrr.kirg the fortl Concentrating their forces on the commanding heights

, i"rÇm they rained down spears -and

arrows on the Romanq who

;;a -il;;;n

i"r" !.ot ""nfusion by this unexpected piece_ of daring.

,à N.u.rth.lo, -roy of them eagerly rushed out to the attack' But they

:Àdvanced in an irregular fashlon witho-ut waiting.to &'y '.h:

enemy,.olt

il';^il;-g*ià."f""ead they tried in a frt of. disorganized fury to climb

,up th. rrn, nouing their shields tilted over their heads and stooping

,fi*frii, ) f1.fi*i however, throwing their spears from a great height

tr6 Â:rthlmr Its llhtorlcr

and rolllng_ dow_n ctones, had no dlllleulty in dhlodgrng them, after whlchthey sallied forth against thern slew about forty men 6nà put the rert to ânignominious rout. 8 Elated by their uno<pected success the barbnrinnamoved close to the camp. Fierce fighting ensued with the Tzani dctermlnetlto get in and take all by storm and the Romans convinced tlrat not jurtfailure _to repulse t\ engmy but anything short of exrerminating therlwould be a stain on their honour. rt was a scene of violent and dÀpernt.hand-to-hand fighting in whidr both sides threw all their weight inio thestruggle. For a long time the issue hung precariously in the balance and rhemultifarious and all-pervasive din of battle raged confusedly.

-2. on seeing that the.enemy were leadedess and were not emptroyingsafe tactics or attacking rhé enclosure ar various points but were at nïaât",iinto one part, the Roman commander Theodorus ordered some of his troopsto stand their ground and tace the enemy whilst he secretly dispatched nsTarge aforce as he could muster to take the enemy in the rear. z Àdvancingstealthily they appeared behind the bad<s of the enemy and suddenly l"t ouiu lg"i and piercing urar-cry. TheTzaniwere rhrown into compl.ie confusionand had only one thought in their minds - to take to iheir heels likecowards. And so they fled, almost beside themselves with fear, and theRomans made short wgrlc g! them, killing two rhousand and scatiering therest. 3- H,aving thus forcibly suMued the entire nation, Theodorus sent nreporl of what had happened to the Emperor and asked what further meas-ures he wished him to take. 'w[rerzupon Justinian bade him impose uponthem a fixed annual tri!"J" to be paid in pàrpetrrity. It was his purpose thatin this yây *ey _should become ,.ur. oi their position ,, d.p.ndants andral,oe that they belonged to a rributary srate a;d were rhe Àembers of as.ubject race._Accordingly their names were all inscribed in a r.girter, an&they w-ere subfected to the payment of a tdbute whidr to this verÿàay'theyare still ç»aying.

4 The Ernperor Justinian was especially pleased at this success andregarded it, I think as one of his majoiadrievements; so much so that in oneof his own supplementary decrees, whidr are known ,, ,,Noàr,,,-*h.r. h.is enumerating his other victories he makes speciar mention o{ thi, people. r

l-No".Ï prâ.f. The relevant passage may be translated as follows: *Busied as we ârewith_the-cares of Empire, our mind intent on sucrr weighty -r,r.., *-àrrràing thrtthe Persians

_câu1e n9 trouble, that the vandars and thT 1fu;;;; ;;rr" L.i, ,tt"-giance, that_the Carthaginians continue in the possession of their ancient freedom towhidr they have been restored and that the T),*l, who have rr"* r* the firrt tim.come under the dominion of $9 R_ogary,, may be classed among the subl.ect peoples,(an r:,nprecedented boon whidr God has bàstowed upon the Romir,

"Jv ii, à* ,.ig"lwe are in addition beset by the multitude of individual problems .É"tin"uuy Jou-mitted to us _by our subjecrs and for which in eadr and .u..y

"*à *"-give theappropriate mling".

Eooh, l'7

! So, once aI[ eggrculon ï'il ended and thc Tzanl had been firmly put i'n

ilh;ü;tr"; .r aËriiiUoa, The«lorur returnod to tha Bcneroh ln Lazico."'î ffi;1ong Uiio* itiro evcnts Constantino,ple waE once more almost

*iot.iAu trri.l to thtsiàuni by a tertible earihquake' 2 A convulsion of

;;;;lfiiigifr"a. rià àrrutior, its ho*or was further accentuated by

;iÏil;;i;#;;à-by the fatetul ând harrowins events that followed in

iit *tf.*. , It *r, in fact that time of yeat when autumn was drawing to

ï.fà*lra the paditionrl Ro*r' Festival of the Names3 was being cele-

Ë;;. iir".ria **ther had already set in, whidr v/âs to be expected seeing

;h;; rh" ,*, ;r, udrrn"irrg towards the winter solstice and approaching the

;ig" ;Ï Crp;icorn. rt *rt Ëtti*rtTlv t9ut19 in the eighdr zone-gr "clima of

;tî-E;i;, as I believe tËe tpeciatirts in this field call it.n j Then towards

iîarütï *n.i Jl th" citizens were sleeping nea;efr1lly in thlir beds disaster

;"dd;it;;.k, and every srructure wai instantly shaken to its foundations'

t[-ri.-orr, *iri.h were violent to start with, kepl growing in intensity as

*.wf, rising to , .rtrrtrophi"- 9liqo' . 4 Everÿbod{ yut.awakened and

;ilJ;Ë and îurrr.r,trtions càdd be heard, àccornpanied_ by the usual pious

;l;J;,ir* that spring spontaneously to the lips in quch moments of crisis'

Each successirr" tr"-or""âs followed ty a du"pf grgylinc- sound like thundql

üü il the bowels of the earth, whidi dàub1ed the general sense of

;;;*J alarm.The surrounding air grew dim with the vaporous ev*.,ala-

iü, of , smoky haze rising from ai ,rnkno*n source, and gleamed with a du11

,di"""' 5 i']anic-strid<Ën' the people poured out of their houses' filling

ifr"-r"*" Jnd alleywayr, ,r thorrgh^destruction could not overtake them

ü;;;rr,r1" ort of door, ,r indoois. 6 The fact is that every quarter o

ih;d;i; hua"ily built up that wide open spaces -entirely

frel of obstnrc-

;i;;;;" "" .*rr.*Ély irr. ,ight. Neverthàless ih"it f.rt and anxiety of mind

,à*r"a to subside graduall; at the mere possibility of somehow turning

z l4th-21td December L.D.557.e fir. nro,,rtir, n f.rtirrd-of prlrn o.igl" ofletred by the Emp_erot to. certain classes of

*. p"p"f"rü. It l"rtàà t*è,riv-fo".*a'vs ÇaÿNov' - 17th Dec')' each dav corres-

;;;àds * ;;; oi tf," t*untv*o.rr l.tt.rr oi the Greek alphabet and eadr guest beine,invited"onthedaycorrespondingtotheinitialletterofhisnarne.

n Àn.i.nt geographÉrs "r;rllt ;idr.ven climata (or belts of latitude), the positions of

i;;;*; ciiies being n""d *ith respçct to these zones' Though the Byzartines were

.Àrrt"or simply to trànsmit -or. oi l.r, mechanically the data contained in ancient

qlrrh"iirÀ i,ra ,r Ptà1.-y, it did become_nece-ssâryin the course.of time for them

ti add to or otherwise moâify th. ancient lists indicating the position_of the world's

major citi.s. In the process àf soch adiustments Byzantium came to.be ertoneously

insârted into the seventh instead of the flfth zone. There is also evidence however

i.f-ptr.tirr". Capella VIII, 876) of a difierently consructed division of the inhabited

wàrld into eight Ëelts of latitude. Agathias seems here to be refering to this or some

sucih scheme àmployed by the savanti of his day who, he tells us, inserted Byzantium

into the eighth zone'

1r8 Asrrhtur Îiu lütor{el

their cyes towarda heaven rn rn attempt to pro_prtlrte the Detty, They got

l:l,ill_*_._,,iP f.,'.* a shower of ereei r"à_;"fi;;J'il;;üf,# the cotct,bu-r even so they did not tahe shelter with the o..ptiôn

"r tiàr" who toor.refuge in the crurches,. pos*ating th.mreru.s u.i"i.-â.îrr*"' 7 Latgenumbers of women and_not just tle members of thorowei;ü;., bur even

_nf:'1'-:f-Pïed1nc and distinction roamed ,bout *à ÀlistîJir*fy *rii,tfie men; the ordered structure of society with its d". obi.*unce of de-

and respect for privirege and the proper distinctionr-of ,rnr, *u,thrown into wild confusion anàtrampred.*a.4".r. -s -dir*o i," the gripof the present and more compeiling fâar, showed

"orrr".pr]oith"i".urt.r,and, disobeying their instnrciions,Irngr;gat.d i" trr" p1Ë., "i*.rrrrip. nr.,in authority and men oT no con1equ"l..-** pru..à on * equal footing

gwing to the common danger and ihe generar p-rp* ,] iÂ.ii"r, annihi-Iation. - I lur-ing that night many hJrr", were destroyed, particularly inthe distric.t-of Rhegium, which is tË" port rr c"iroi.irJpi.: ffi;, amazing

and incredible events occurred too in ihe course of thrt-ffi il;n. rocalitythe roofs of buildings, and this wâs true of stone and wooden srrucflrresallke, came apart, disclosing. $r9uSh yawning gaps a clear visra o{ ,Ly ,nJstars, and then suddenry f:rl backigiin into"piuË.. Ei;h;;;";iür", on ,nupper floor were carapulted by the fàrce

"f thË .onuJ.i;;lià, irît thro,rghthe ar o.ver the tops of the learbr hor:ses, qaverling u torg *uf-i-.ror. trr.yeventuallv came crashing down and smashed i,,Ë pË;r'î'lrJàu., ,rr.ylanded on. rn other plaàes there were oÀer stil ,rrou. lrorrirying thingshappening, and, thougtr these follow.a ," oir_i"p;*d;;Ëi'*rria *rurecur time and again.as.rong a.s this impedàr *"aJ"f"*r^r"àuinr, y"ttheir impact was on rhat occasion .nor. ,ho.Lirrg b;";;h.y îi o.*rr.d

simultaneously.ro Large numbers.of ordin_ary peopre perished in the disaster. of thepersons of rank and of those who *....àb"rr or ,rr.-r"n^àîlrJonty on.to lose his life was Anatolius, a man who had u".n ruir"J-r. ,rr.ii*rri,,

"rconsul and was in dlarge of the superintendence and frnanctaladministrationof the rmperiat househord and Ltates. Th. R;;;;-;;ii;il; officiars"curatores".5 rr Anatorius was sreeping at the tir. i, tJ "-,rrrorrrurybeddramber. The,aparrmenr 'was dorneà .,ii1h u "*r"i, J'rï*ià ptuqo",

atta&tedto the wall, of the kind that arcravishry *a .rtâtrtio"rrîairprrr.aby those who are inordinately fond of ,".h:"d;;;-;;ï Jn;.".rrr*bric-à-brac. one of these praques, which wo, frrten.d to the ïrail nexr rothe bed, was shaken loose }rom rts fittings ,ra ,oi.iÀ.a;tr^ü iË rrrot.r".of the tremors. rr came a"*" *itr, Jiiir *.rgr,, ;; Ïü, h;;ii *d" r-urh.dhis skull. He had bur.ÿ enough dme ro urter"a deep and ;#îJ groan ofpain and then sanlc back on rris bed. Death had "àrrr.." rrr-1""- '5 l- e. h. w* a "curator domus <livinae

BooL,

4, Vhen day had dswned people movcd forward to moet one enother

lulng joyfully into the faces of their neatest and dearest, hissing and

:mbracing and weeping with dellght and ourprise. : But when the dead

body of Anatolius was camied away for burial some of the people in thecmwd began to sptead the rumour that his death had been a just punishmentthce he had been an evil and unscrupulous man and had robbed many people

of their possessions. This, they said, was the end to whidr his notoiiousactivities, the placards and the purple'coloured cloths that he had fastenedln sudr profusion to the houses of the wealthy,6 had brought him. Underthe false pretext of loyal service to the Emperor he appropriated everythingby means of his relentless exactions, violating the dying wishes of parents

and showing utter disregard for the larvs, whidr require that drildren shouldinherit their parents' property. 3 These at any t^te were the sort of whis-pered rumours being circulated among the common people and they seemed

to ptovide a simple o<planation for what had happened. Personally I shouldbe extremely hesitant to advance any sort of o<planation for sudr occurrences.Undoubtedly the earthquake would have been a very real boon if it hadbeen able to distinguish the wicked from the good, caus,ing the former toperish miserably and graciously sparing the latter. But even granted thatAnatolius really was a wid<ed man there were countless others in the cityno better or even worse than he was. Yet he was suddenly strud< downwhilst the others have remained unscathed. 4 It is, therefore, no plain oreasy matter, I think, to ascef,tain why of all men Anatolius was the onlyone to lose his life. If we are to accept the Platonic vievr 7 according to whidrâ more wretclred and unhappy fate awaits those who have lived evil livesand w^[ro, instead of paying the penalty for their crimes in this world eitherby dying a violent death or by receiving some other form of punishment,depart from this life having contrived to escape purification and bearinglike runaway slaves the scars of their wrongdoing, s then it would seem

aket all that the man who suffers for his misdeeds is the more fortunateamong his fellows than the man who gets ofi scot-free. 5 However, thereis mudr to be said for not interfering with and indeed for encouraging thenotion populady entertained with regard to these matters, since the feot o{dyng a horrible death may have a deterrent or moderating effect on somewrongdoers. 6 Nevertheless it is quite obvious that a long life of un- ' /

troubled success is no more proof of virtue than a violent death, howeverhorrible; is evidence of exceptional wicl<edness. But §/e shall best be able toestablish the nature of our conduct in this wotld and the degtee of punish-ment dr reward due when we pass into the next. At aîy rate people are

6 Indicating that they had been confiscated by order of the Emperor.7 d.Piato Gorgias 476a-479e and 524e.8 Runawa], slaves were branded.

l19

140 Agathlar: Tlre Hlrtorlar

entitled to their opinions on thie mâtter however mueh they may difier:, ltrrmy pârt I must resume the thread of my earlier naffotive.

5. The tremors continued for several clays and though they had lost montof their initial fury and were of mudr shorter duration they were still sufli-ciently violent to disrupt any remaining semblance of «:rder. z Fantastiestories and extraordinary predictions to the efiect that the end of the worlelwas at hand began to circulate among the people. Charlatans and sel["appointed prophets roamed the streets prophesying whatever came iutrttheir heads and terrifying still more the majority of the people who wcreparticularly impressionable because they had already become demoralizetl,Still more ominous were the prognostications of those who pretended to be

seized by a prophetic ftenzy ârid possessed by some supernatural power,claiming that they had learned the future from the spirits that consorteclwith them and bragging about their demonic possession. 3 Others, ns

might have been expected, pondering over the motions and aspects of thestars, hinted darkly at greater calamities and at v/hat âmounted almost to a

cosmic disaster. Society in fact never fails to throw up a bewildering varietyof sudr persons in times of misfortune. Luckily both predictions prove«l

wrong. In my opinion these dabblers in the occult who sought to encroaclron the intellectual preserve of the Deity ought to have been prosecuted forimpiety. 4 But there was nobody at the time who was not in "a state ofabject fear and terror. Consequently prayers and hymns of supplication \v'erÇ

heard in every quarter as the entire people gatherecl together for this purpose.The ideals to whidr people constantly pay lipservice but rarely put intopractice ril/ere then eageü pursued. Everybody suddenly became just in hisdealings towards his neighbour, so mudr so that even the magistrates gave

up all thoughts of personal gain and began to administer justice in accordance

with the laws ancl those who were influential in some other way lived quietlyand peacefully, refraining from the most shame{ul abuses and leading gener-

ally virtuous lives. 5; Some even completely c}anged theit mode of lifeand embraced a solitary existence in the hills, renouncing property andprivilege and all that is most pleasing to mankind. Many donations werebrought to the drurches and ptominent citizens walked the streets at nightdistributing free gifts of blankets and food in abundance to the helpless andpitiful wrecks who lay maimed and mutilated in great numbers on theground, keeping body and soul together by begging for their bread. 6 Allthese good deeds, however, rvere performed for a limited period of time, as

long as the terror was still fresh in people's minds. As soon, in fact, as therewere signs that the danger had receded most people revertd to their old ways.

This type of response could not properly be called justice or firm and activepiety of the sort rvhich stamps itself on the mind tlirough the operation ofsound convictions steadfastly and zealously held; no, it might with more

Boôk, 141

truth bË termêd en lmeguler êxpdlênt and a hlghly pmilour form of trafiicalmcd at eocaping and avertlng a paoalng criala, It ia in fact only urnder theatimulus of sudden fear and for as long as the emergency lasts that we makea few reluctant and petfunctory concessions to the ideal of drarity.

6. During this period the debate on the subject of exhalations \vâsreopened. The name of the Stagilite e was frequently bandied about. Oneminute it was asserted that he had given an accurate explanation of thenature of earthquakes and their causes, the ne:<t it was afiirmed that he wasaltogether wide of the mark. z Some cited, in support of his theory thata dense ând smoky vapour imprisoned in subterranean cavities is responsiblefor suih upheavals, the device invented previously by Anthemius. j anth.'mius of Tralles rüas by profession an engineer or ardritect, one o{ those peoplewho apply geometrical speculation to material objects and make models orimitations of the natural world. 4 Anthemius was absolutely outstanding inhis ûeld and was afrrst-rate mathematician enjoying a similarpre-eminence tothat enjoyed, mutatis mutandis, by his brother Metrodorus in the sphere ofgtammat. 5 Their mothersras, I think, particularly fortunate to have givenbirth to sudr talented drildren. In addition, moreovel, to these two she wasalso the mother of. that eminent lawyer and accomplished advocate Olympiusand of Dioscorus and Alexander, both of them extrernely skilled in the art ofmedicine. Of the latter pair Dioscorus spent his life in his îativecity, wherehe practised his profession with remadcable distinction and success, whereasAiexander took up residence in Rome, whither he had been summoned tooccupy a position of great distinction. The fame of Anthemius and Metro-dorus spread fat andwide until it readred no less a pefson than the Emperor.6 Accordingly they were summoned to Constantinople where they spént therest of their lives, exhibiting, eadr of them, signal proof of their own particular excellence, the one by educating many of the young sons of the nobilityand imparting the knowledge of that sublime and beautiful discipline in suclra way as to fire the imaginations of all with the love of eloquence, the otherby designing the most wonderful artistic creations in the capital and in manyother places, indeed so wonderful that as long as they were standing theirsheer beauty would suffice, without a single word being spoken about them,to perpetuate the glory of his memory. 7 But the whole incident whidrcaused me to mention this man shall nour be related without further delay:

There was in Constantinople a man calledZeno, a professional rhetorician,who besides his other distinctions was a close acquaintance of the Emperor.He was â next-door neighbour of Anthemius, their two houses being. 1'oinedto one another and built on the same âreâ of groufld. 8 In the course oftime rather strained relations and a cefiain amounr of ill will developed bet-'ween them, either because of some possibly unprecedented piece of prying

%f. Artrt"tl", Meterologica, 2,365b,35 sqq.

L42 Asrthlur Thr llhtorlcl

or because of the construction of some abnormrlly hlgh rnncxe whldr blodreclthe light or for some other of the many reasons that inevitably bring nort.door neighbours into conflict.

7. Now Anthemius outmanoeuvred in argument by his opponent's legalskill and finüng himself no matdr for him when it came to abattle of wotclsretaliated in the following manner by avaiTrnghimself of his own professionalexpertise:

z Zeno had a fine, spacious and sumptuously decorated upper room, inwhich he loved to pass the time of day and enteftain his close friends. Thcground-floor rooms underneath it, however, belonged to Anthemius' part ofthe house, so that the ceiling of the one rvas the floor of the other. 3 HercAnthemius filled some huge cauldrons with water and placed them at inter-vals in various parts of the building. To these he fastened tapering, trumpet-shaped pipes encased in leather and sufiiciently wide at their bottom endsto allow them to fit tightly over tlre rims of the cauldrons. He then fixedtheir upper ends securely and neatly to the beams and joists, so that theair in them should rise up freely along the pipes until it exerted a directpressure on the ceiling, while the leather held it in and prevented it fromescaping. 4 Having secretly set up this apparatus he laid a fire under thebase of eacl cauldron and kindled a powerful flame. As the rilrater grew hotand boiled a gteat head of steam began to rise. Unable to escape, it rose upthe pipes, building up pressure as it went and subjecting the roof to a series

of shocks, until it shook the whole $tructure with just enough force to makethe woodwork creak and wobble tlightly. 5 Zeno and his friends rvereterrified and ran panic-stricl(en into the street with cries of horror and alarm.And when Zeno was in attendance at the palace he began to enquire of drenotables what they thought about the earthquake and whether it had donethem any damage. §7hen they exclaimed "what an idea! God forbid that suclr

a thing shoultl happen! Perish the thought!", aîd began to expostulate in-dignantly with him for his lad< of taste in concocting sudr gruesome horror-stories, he was completely nonplussed. Though he was unable to disbelievethe evidence of his sensei in a matter that had occurred so recently, yet-heco'uld not bring himsel{ to go on insisting in the face of the combined aut-lrority and disapproval of so many distinguished personages.

8. Those rvho explained the origin of earthquakes in terms of exhalationsand smoky vapours made mudr of this story. "Anthemius", they would say,

"discerning what it is that câuses earthquakes to occur, adrieved a similarefiect by reproducing attifrcially the workings of nature". And there wassomething in what they said, though not as mudr âs they imagined. z Forthese theories, however plausible and sophisticated they may appear to be,do not in my view amount to positive proof. One would not, for instance,regard the fact that despite their tteading so lighdy-Maltese dogs walking

Eêeh, 14,

ebout on r foof ceuie it to rheke Êa â pffnllcl care, or uEe it aB though it weretr odcquetc illusration of hia hypotheaio. 3 §uclr things should, indeedbe rcgarded as impressive and entcrtaining medranical tridcs, but one mustsecl( a di"fierent orplanation (if indced any orplanation is necessary) fornatural calamities, since this tü/as not the only trick that Anthemius playedon Zeno. He also produced the efiect of thunder and lighting in his room,using 4 a slightly concave dis,k with a reflective surface by means of whichhe trapped the sun's rays and then turned the disk round and suddenly shota powerful beam of light into the room, so powerful in fact that it dazzled,

everyone it came into contact with. At the same time he contrived to producea deep, booming sound by the percussion of resonant objects and adrievethe efiect of loud and terrifying peals of thunder. §7hen it finally dawned onZeno where all these events originated, he publicly prostrated himself at thefeet of the Emperot, accusing his neighbour of wid<ed and criminal behaviour.He got so carried avtay by his anger that he coined a rather elegant turn ofpfuase. 5 He began declaiming in fact in mod< poetic style before thesenate, saying that it was impossible for him a mere mortal to contend single-handed at oîe and the same time with "Zeus the Lightener" and "Loud-Thunderer" and Poseidon the Earth-Shaket". 10 6 At any fate this parti-cular skill undoubtedy produces some very fine toys, but that does notnecessarily mean that natuTe follows the same pattern. Still eacl man isentitled to his own opinion in these mattem, and I rcal7y must return towhat I was saying eafüer on.

9. During that winter, then, the city was afilicted by these calamities.For several days everyone had the impression that the ground was shakingeven though the tremors had ceased and it was already quite firm andmotionless. People had not yet recovered from the shock of their recentexperience and their minds were clouded by nagging doubts and persistentfears. z The Emperor tried to restore the large number of public buildingsaffeced by the disaster. Some of them were insecure and unsound, othershad already tumbled dorvn. He was particularh concerned about the GreatChurdr. 11 Previously burnt by the populace, 12 he had built it up anew rightfrom its foundations, creating a drurdr of anazing beauty whid: was furtherenhanced by its vastly increased dimensions, its majestic proportions ândby a lavish profusiorr of ornamental marble. It was built of baked bricl< andlime on a structure of iron girders, the use of wood being avoided in orderto prevent it from ever being easily set on fire again. The ardritect'ffas the

10 The words in inverted commas are of course Homeric epithets and the functionsdescribed by them are those commonly assigned in mythology to these particulargods.

11 The church of St. Sophia, of course.12 During the Nika Revolt of 532 A.D.

144 Agathla:r Thc Flhtorler

celebtated Anthemius of Tralles, whom I hove elrcedy had caure to mentlon,3 On this occasion however the church had lost the top of its dome 1l a8 aresult of the earthquake. The Emperor therefore had it repaired, reinforcedand raised to a greater height. 4 Anthemius, however, was by then a lgngtime dead. Consequently Isidore the Younger la and the other architeéts,after studying the original form of the srructure and observing by a com.parison with what was srill intact the naflre of the part afiected and theextent,to whidt the construcdon had been faulty, left the ardres, on theeast and west sides exactly as they were, but exiended the curved super-structure of the interior faces 15 of the arches on the north and south sides,so that they described a slightly broader arc. The resuh was that they ûttedmore closely into the other arches, thus forming a regular squaxe. In thisway the arcÀitects were ab.e to span the empty space 16 in all its immensityand get rid of the small area left by the underlying oblong figure.1z Theythen replaced the dome. 5 But despite the fact that it is straighter, despiteits balanced cufves and regular oudine it has become narrower, its lineshave hardened and it has lost something of its old povr'er to inspire awe andwonder in the beholder. It is, however, much more firmly and secureiy fixed.

6 lMell, as far as the d:urch is concerned I think I have said all that needsto be said in a historical work and as mudr as is consistent with the course ofmy narcative. To embark upon a detailed eulogy of a1l its wonderfuIfeatureswould be superfluous and irrelwant to the purpose of the present work.7 It anyone who lives far from the capital wishes to get as clear and com-prehensive a picture of the drurch as he would if he were there to view itin person, then he could hardly do better than to rcad the poem in hexa-meters of Paul the son of Cyrus and grandson of Florus. Paul was the fore-most of those ofiicialsknown as "Silentiarii" or ushers, who are entrustedwith maintaining silence around the emperor's person. Though he cameof nohle and'distinguished parents and was heir to an immense familyfortune, he was devoted chiefly to the study of literature and eloquence,and it was on these cultured pursuits that he prided himsel{ most. He is jnfact the author of very many poems of considerable merit, among whichthat written on the subject of the Great Churdr rreadres a higher pitdr ofrefinement and erudition than the rest, which, indeed, is in keeping withits more exalted theme. 8 In it will be found the ordered plan of thebuilding described in {u11 detail, whilst rhe various types of marble aresuweyed and scrutinized with the e"xquisite subtlety of a connoi.sseur. The

13 7th May ,58 A. D.la i. e. Isidore of Miletus.15 i. e. those facing the central nave over whidr the dome was placed.16 i. e. that overlooked by the dome,17 i.e. that part of the ,,empÿ space" not spanned by the eadier ardt.

Book ! L4'

perfce bâlonce of atructural and vlauel requlremento ochieved in the buildingof the porches, the sizes and helghta employed in the construcdon of thàwhole edifice, the interpley of rectilinear end circular figures, of ardres andpcndentives, the lavish use of gold and silver in the decoration of thetebernacle, all these features and any others worth noting, whether greatot small, are described in the poem and are presenred as clearly and as

vividly to the reader as they would be to the most observant and assiduousof visitors. 9 This second restoration of the churdr, however, took placeat a somesrhât later date. 18

10. During that year at the beginning o{ spring 1e a second outbreak ofplague ssrept the capital, destroying a vast number of people. From thetfteenth year of the reign of the Emperor Justinian when the plague firstspread to our part of the world it had never realiy stopped, but had simplymoved on from one z place to another, giving in this way something of arespite to those who had survived its ravages. It now returned to Constanti-nople almost as though it had been dreated on the first occasion into aneedlessly hasty departure. 3 People died in great numbers as thoughseized by a violent and s,udden attacl< of apoplexy. Those who stood up tothe disease longest barely lasted ûve days. The form the epidemic took wasnot unlike that o[. the earlier outbreak. A swelling in the glands of thegroin was accompanied by a high non-intermittenr fever whidr raged nightand day with unabated intensity and never left its victim until the momenrof death. 4 Some experienced no pain or fever or any of the initialsymptoms but simply dropped dea while about their normal business athome or in the süeet or wherever they happened to be. People of all ageswere struck down indiscriminately, but the heaviest toll was among theyoung and vigoro'r.rs and especially among the men, women being on thewhole mudr less affected. 5 According to t-he ancient oracles of theEgyptians and to the leading astrologers of present-day Persia there occursin the course of endless time a succession of lucJ<y and unlucly cycles. Theseluminaries would have us believe that we are at present passing through oneof the most disasffous and inauspicious of sudr cycles: hence the universalprevalence o{ war and internal dissension and of frequent and persistenrepidemics of plague. 6 Others hold the view thar divine anger is respon-sible for the destruction, e><acting just retribution from manlcind for its sinsand decimating whole populations. 7 It is not for me to ser myself up asa judge in these matters or to undertake to demonsüate tlre truth of onetheory rather than the other. Such a task would perhaps be beyond mycomprehension, or even if it were not, it would be neither necessary nor

18 562 A.D.le 558 A. D.

146 Agathlar: The Hlrtorler

relevant to the present narfative, An account, in frct evcn e rummary ofevents, is all that the rules of historical composition requirc of me,

11. The tragedy just described did not mark the end of this stormyperiod but was followed by others of an equally horrifying and alarmingnature. §7hat these were f shall presently explain, after first making a briefand passing rderence to eadier history.

z In ancient times the Huns inhabited the region east of lake Maeotis 20

to the north of the river Don, as did the rest of the barbarian peoplesestablished in Asia on the near side of Mt. Imaeus. All these peoples werereferred to by the general name of Scythians or Huns, whereas individualtribes had their own particular names, rooted in ancestral tradition, such asCotrigurs, Utigurs, Ultizurs,, Brirugundi and so on and so forth. 3 Severalgenerations later either following the lead of a hind as popular traditionwould have it or as a result o{ some other fortuitous occurrence, they crossedover into Europe and were somehow conveyed across the point where lakeMaeotis flows into the Euxine,2l which had hitherto been considered im-possible. However, they crossed it and wandered far and wide over foreignterritory.

By their sudden and unexpected raids they did incalculable damage to thelocal populations, even to the extent of displacing the original inhabitantsand occupying their lands. 4 But their sray was destined to be à pief one,and at tle end of it they vanished without leaving any æace of themselves.This fact is illustrated by the case of the Ultizurs and the Burugundi whowere well-known right up to the time of the Emperor Leo22 and were con-sidered a force to be reckoned with, but whom we in our day and age neitherknow nor, I imagine, are likely to, since they have either perished or mi-grâted to the ends of the earth. 5 However, during the year in questionwhen the plague readeed the capital all the orher Hunnic tibes were inexistence and indeed rrlere still at the height of their fame though for somereason best known to themselves they had chosen to move south at thistime and had encamped not far from the banks of the Danube. 6 As usual,with the approadr of winter, the river froze to a considerable depth and theice was aTready hard enough to be crossed on horsebad<. §flhereupon Zabergan, the leader o{ the Cotrigurs galloped across the trozen w'aters with ahuge force of cavalry and crossed over without difiiculty into the territoryof the Romans. zs Finding the area deserted and advancing unopposed, hepassed through Moesia and Scythia and invaded Thrace. 7 At this point hesplit up his army, sending one parr into Greece to raid and plunder the

20 The Sea of Azov.zt presumably the Strait of Kerch22 i. e. LeoI 457--:74 A.D.23 March 559 A.D.

BôôL, 147

unProteetcd plrcer therc Bnd r tGcond detrdrment into the ThracianChomoneoe,

12, From North to South as far aa the cenme of its southern tip, theGiltem coastlifle of the Cheronecc is $rashed by the Hellespont. Only a

naffow piece of land a mere forty stades across prevents the Hellespontfrom making an island of it. z Across this isthmus a continuous fortifiedwall stretdres from coâst to coast. Behind the wall are ranged rhe rovins ofAphrodisias, Thescos, and Ciberis, and at a very great distance from themnear the strait itself, where the coastline forms a sharp angle, stands thetown of Sestos, renowned in poetry, doubdess because of its associationswith the story of Hero's lamp and of the death of her lover Leander. 3 Notfar from Sestos is another small town whidr despite its e)<treme smallness,its lad< of beauty and generally unprepossessing appearance is called Calli-polis 2a. The surrounding country is graced with fields and roadsteads, dottedwith a gteat vaiety of trees and blessed with streams of good drinkingwater and with a ridr, fertile soil that produces a plentiful store of all thenecessaries of life. The wall, then, encloses within iûs confines so many townsand such an extensive arca of. ground as to make an enemy attack no easymattef,.

4 In an (lrrtravagaîtly hopeful frame of mndZaberyan began to entertainthe notion rhat, if. he were to knock down the wall and peneffare into theregion behind it, he would soon be in a position to gain control of the sea.He fondly imagined that once there he would have an ample supply of shipsand that after sailing with ease across the calm and peaceful 'waters of thenæro\ü strait he wor.ild cross over into Asia where he would immediatelyrayage Abydus and sad< the custom-house there. 5 And so sprlrred on bythese wild designs he despatdred to the Chersonese what in his vieur was asufiiciently large force for this task. He himself made straight for Constanti-nople with seven thousand horse, ravagtrng fields and attad<ing towns on hisway and creating havoc and confusion wherever he went. 6 Tho'ugh hisreal motive was the innate violence and rupasity that clnracterizes the be-haviour of.barbaians he used his hostility rowards the Utigurs as a sort ofer(cuse for his atta&.. The Utigurs were led by a Hun called Sandildr who'was on extremely cordial terms of friendship and alliance with the Romans.He had won the esteem and afiection of the Emperor and was a frequentrecipient of his largesse. Z The Cotrigurs on the other hand far fuomhaving any share in sudr favours urefe the obiect of open contempt. Conse.quently they felt that they ought to make this expedition in order to showthat they too'ü/ere a force to be reckoned with and feared and that theywould tolerate no disrespect.

24 i. e. "Fair City" - mod. Gallipoli.

14E Âgathlmr Tho Hlrtorler

13. Finding themselvee unoppooed, the Cotrlgum plundered and ravogedthe land without mercy. They seized quantities of booty and took a hugcnumber of prisoners. z Among the captives many ladies of noble birthwho had drosen a life of clastity were cuelly dragged away and sufiered theworst of all misfortunes, being forced to serve as the instruments of un-bridled lust. Some of them had frorn their youth renounced marriage togetherwith the love of material things and the cares of worldly society and hadhidden themselves in the contemplative solitude of the cloister, prizing thecelibate and unmarried state above all else and withdrawing themselvesentirely from active life. 4 Even these were forcibly abducted from theircells and brutally raped. 3 And many married women who happened tobe pregnant at the dme were dragged a'ù7'ay too. Then, when their babieswere due, they gave birth to them on the marc}, unable to enjoy the privacyof a normal confinement or even to pick up and wrap the new-born babes.4 In spite of everything they were hauled along and hardly given time evento feel their pain, while the wretdred infants were abandoned and tom ropieces by dogs and birds, as though they had been brought into the worldexpressly for this and had tasted life in vain.

5 Indeed the fortunes of the Roman state had sunk so low that on thevery outskirts of the Imperial City such arrociries were being committed bya handful of barbarians. But tllat was not the limit of their audacity: pressingon they passed without difiiculty inside the Long Iil/alls and approached theinner fortifications. Age and neglect had in fact caused rhe srrucrure of thegreat wall to crumble and collapse in many places. Some parts of it thebatbarians themselves knocked down, seting about their task with thenondralant air of men demolishing their own properry. 6 There wasnothing to stop them, no sentries, no engines of defence, nobody to manthem. There was not even the sound of a dog barking, as would ar leasthave been the case with a pig-sty or a sheqr-cot.

7 The Roman armies had not in fact remained at the desired level attainedby the earlier Emperors but had dwindled to a fraction of what they hadbeen and were no longer adequate to the requirements of a vast enipire.And whereas there should have been a totd, efiective fighting force of sixhundred and forty-five thousand men, the number had dropped during thisperiod to barely one hundred and fifry thousand. 8 Some of rhese, more-over, srere stationed in ltaly, others in Africa, others in Spain, others inLazica, and others still in Alexandria and Egyptian Thebes. There were alsoa few near the eastern frontier with Persia, not that any more were neededthere owing to tle rigorous observance of the peace treaty. Sudr, then, wasthe extent of the drastic reductions in the armed forces incurred throughthe negligence of the authorities.

L4. At an earlier date the Emperor had reduced Africa and the whole

Dooh, 149

of ltaly, becçmlnE il a rotult of thoae cpodr.mcklng c.mpelgnt -almost the

6mt of-thc rulers àf Byzantium to bc Emperor of ths Romans in fact as wellar ln name. He had accomplishcd thcse and sifiilar feats when he was stillin the full vigour of his youth, but nour ln his declining years when old age

was upon hiÀ he seemed to have tü/earied of vigotous policies and to prefer

to play oft his enemies against one another and, if necessary, to coax them

awây with gifts rather than rely on his oïürn pov/ers and expose himself to

the'hazards of a sustained struggle. z And so he allowed the quality ofthe legions to deteriorate, as though he thought he would have no further

need of them.Seizing the oppoftunity afiorded by this mood of apathy those ofiicials

whose authority is second only to that of. the Crown, and who are concerned

with the levying of taxes on the subiects and the appottionment of supplies

to the army,2s began openly cheating the soldiers out of part of their pay

and not paying the rest until it was long overdue. Then after an eventual

belated fuy-.nt of the arrez6s owing to the men these blackguardly and

unscrupulous paymastefs immediately took drarge of the Rolls and called

bad< tlie supplies. 3 ft was infact the prerogative of their rant to btinga bewildering variety of cJrarges agnnst the soldiers in order to deprive them

of their food. And so whatever tribute-money was doled out to the legions

martaged somehow to find its way bad< again into the pockets of the same

ofiicials as had dismibuted it. 4 As a result of the neglect into whidr ourgalTant fighting men had fallen they were driven by privation to abandon

ihe militury profession in whidr they had been brought up and to scatter fafand wide in seardr of a diflerent livelihood. Consequently the soldiers'

earnings were squandered on tüomen of the street, on dlarioteers, on men

whose fanatical and headslong daring confined itself to stirring up civilstrife and to supporting one cotrour against the other,26 but who in real

emergencies w.efe covrafdly and efieminate and on others still more de-

generate than tlese. 5 ft was fot this feason that the whole of Thrace inclu-

ding even the towns in the vicinity of the Imperial City were desertec{ and

unplotected, so that they were an easy prey for thebatbanans, whose in-

solence readred sudr a pitch that they act:ually encamped near the village ofMelantias not moie than one hundred and forty stades distant from the

cæital. Melantias is on the river Athyras which, flows past the village and

continues on its course for a short distance winding gently in a north-easterly

2s i. e. The Logothetes d. Averil Cameron, op. cit. p. 77 and fot the exactions of these

ofiicialscf.Procopiusr Se6etHistoty24,L-LL andHistory of the§TarsVIIÏ.28-34.26 The allusion is, of course, to the èolouts associated with the chariots of the two rival

teams in the Hippodrome. It should moreover be borne in mind that suppott ofeither of these teams, together with the adherence to one or the otlier of the tvorival factions (knorrn as "the Blues and the Greens") that this entailed, was latgely

a political phenomenon. ,

lr0 Arthlmr Ih HLtodo

dlrcction until lr empdeg itself into thc prcponth: hcnce the roodrteadsituated on the shores of the propontis at theïouth of the river takes ttsname from the dver and is called Athyras too.

6 §rit! the eneiny encamped ar sudr close quarters the citizens of con-stantinople were rerror-striclen and were akeidy conjuring up the torÀr,9f a sjes9, the burnings, the scarciry o{ foodstufis" arrd. frnatlj rrr. *ru, t.inslreached. 7 And so it frequently happened that *., io the cen*althoroughfares of the city crowàs

"f p."plË would suddenly ir.ui. o,rt into

a run, pushing and jostling in an unaccountable fit of terror, as though thebarbarians had abeady forced their way in, and a ffemendou, din wu, rar"din the shops as doors were violently rlÀ-J. s ÀiJ;àii"riri.

"o-,,,onpeople but even the authorities had succumbed to the prevailing mood ofanguish andr.ear. Even the Emperor himself was, r imagiïe, impËssed withthe gravity of the siruation. Accordingly all the churih"es sirj;;Bide thecitp, o1 the European side- aryl_ al_ong the coastal strip which stretches along-side the Bosphorus from the Bladrern ae andthe Golâen Ho* to trr. Euxiné,where both it and the,Bosphorus come to an end, *"t" ,mipp.J of theiromaments by order of the Emperor. - 9 AII the costly giftr and oth"r fittingswere removed by those in drarge of the operation. some o{ these articlàswere brought in ca*-loads into the city, whirst otûrers were loaded on roships, ferried across the. srrair and conveyed ro rhe opposite siàe of theBosphorus. The bare and unadorned aspect whidr the .lr,r".lr., in that ateanow assumed made them loolc as tho,ugh they had been recently b,r.rilt andwere still unconsecrated.

. 15._so alarming was the prospect and such was the magnitude of theimpending danger that a number of captains and commanders and men-,at-aruns l-rad mounted guard over the fort at sycae and the Golden Gate, withthe idea of,offering vigorous resistance in the event of an enenty attaci<.z But they did not consrirute an efiecive fighting force of properlÿ ffainedmen, being drawn from those regiments known ,r s.holu"ii, who are"speciallyselectgd to spend all their rime ar court. Though they are called soldàrr- unâhave their names entered on the Rolls, most o? them are merely ciuilirÂ, insplendid uniforms and perform sud-r purely decorative functions as enharicingt\ rcyo of-a rcyaJprogress. I în times part entry ro this corps rrras re-stricted to those who had seen active serviJe. There was no enrJlment fe.and those who were accepted received this honour openly and without pay-ment, in recognition of their former services on the field of battle. 4 zenothe rsaurian seeems to have been the first to introduce the pnesent practiceby enrolling in these regimenfs, after his restoration, mrny of his feJlowcôuntrymen who, though they were men who had either not distinguishedthemselves on the field or had absolutely no military experience whatsoever,were nevertheless known to him in some other capacity and were his close

EæL,

frlendl, p Then, once a pr€cedont hrd bcen rct whaeby not only thorcwhoae distingulched military record entitled them to thls privilege wcrecnrolled but entry was extended, on a basis not of merit but of preference,to those who knew nothing of fi1ghting, money, that most powerful of allies,entered the contest for admission and the whole business was dragged downto the level of the market place, with the result that ir was no longsrpossibleto join these regiments without first paying a fixed sum of money. On pay-ment of this sum people are auto,matically enrolled without having to pass

any sort of test and have their names included in the muster-rolls even ifthey do not know the first thing about war{arc. 6 Once the principle ofselection was disregarded the men lü-ere, naturally, under no compulsion toexert themselves since they had paid a high price to smrre the privilege ofidleness. These, then, were the sort of men that, in the absence of trainedsoldiers, appeared to be guarding the walls. 7 After the capital had beenin a prolonged state of uproar and the barbarians h,ad continued to rùva1eeverything in the immediate vicinity the aged general, Belisarius, was sentout against them by order of the Emperor. 8 And now, after a great lapseof time, as he once more put on his breastplate and helmet and donned thefamiliar uniform of his younger days the memory of past exploits cameflooding into the old man's mind and filled him with youthful ardour. In-deed by this feat of arms, whidr was to be the last in his life, he won as

gteat a measure of glory as he had done by his eadier victories over theVandals and the Goths. 9 The desperate urgency of the situation addedimportance and lustre to the enterprise and ensured an especially joyous re-cq>tion for its successful outcome. I shall now proceed to give an accurateaccount of eacle succepsive event.

16. Displ.aying superb generalship ancl a daring out of all proportion tohis age, Belisarius encamped at a short distance from the city in the villageof Chettus. Already aged and ailing, his courage was nonetheless undimin-ishsd and no exertion seemed too great forhim. z He was accompanied byslightly over thrée hundred heavily-armed troops, first-rate soldiers who hadfought with him in some of his later campaigns. The rest of his followingconsisted of unarmed civilians who had no notion of what fighting involvedand whose ino<perience and ignorance of its harsh realities gave them thefestive air of men who had come to watch a show rather than to frght u

battle. 3 He was also accompanied by crowds of peasants from the neigh-bouring fields whose farms had been ravaged by the barbarians. Havingnowhere to gg they immediately gathered round Belisarius who took 4 ad-vantage of the opportunity afforded by their numbers and put them to workdiggng a trendr around the camp. Spies were sent out e\rery now and thento form as accurâte an estimate as possible of the strength of the enemy andbring bacJ< whatever additional information they could obtain, and in this

lfl

152 Agathlnrr The l{htodel

way he kept a close watch on events, 5 §ühen nlght ceme hc llt a lnrgenumber of beacons whidr he had had plantecl at wide interuals over 0 colossalarca of ground, in order that the enemy might be misled by the numbet offires they saw into believing that he had a huge army. At first this strâtâgemsucceeded and they were cowed into temporary inactivity, but it was notlong before they heard that the Roman forces were totalTy inadequate ancl

hopelessly outnumbered. 6 The soldiers, however, were full of confidenceand enthusiasm and were convinced of their own superiority, regardless ofthe numbers of the enemy. After all they were Romans and had already

fought many battles and faced great dangers. 7 But Belisarius, sensing

their mood of elation and realizing that excessive pride in their past adrieve-

ments \Àras causing them to underesdmate the gravity of the present situation,was afraid that they might get carried auray on a \il-ave of optimism and end

up by painting an absurdly rosy picture of their prospects. To prevent thisfrom happening he gathered them all together and, as though the impendingstruggle was now about to take place, he appeared in their midst and

addressed them as follows:17. "soldiers, I have not come here to address you in the customary

terms designed to calm your fears and raise your morale. Indeed I couldhardly, without appearing to have forgotten all rhat past experience has

taught me, urge Roman soldiers who had been brought up in the profession

of arms and had demolished some of the mightiest empires on eiarth, I couldhardly, f rqreat, urge such men not to be afraid of facing a gangof barbaianvagabonds, especially when these happen to be Huns and Cotrigurs. z Butseeing you fillecl with rash and over-confident daring I thought it not un-reasonable to remind you of rzour traditional moderation. 3 Sane'men

must always be on their guard against any form of excess, even if it happens

to be directBd tonrards a praiseworthy end. There is nothing more inimicalto intelligent planning or more conducive to wild and impractical vanitythan the assumption that because one has done well in the past one must ofnecessity continue to do so in the future. Those, moreover, whose pre'sumption leads them to abandon all sense of moderation are apt to findthemselves fighting against the Almighty. 4 And there is another pointwhidr you must bear in mind: your superior courage is counterb'alanced bytheir superior numbers, with the result that the advantage on one side is

cancelled out by the advantage on the other. 5 It would indeed be shame-

ful if, when our strength is more or less evenly matched by that of ourenemy, welilefe to rush wildly into battle without due regard fot timingand position and without making some allowance for the purely randomand fortuitous role o{ chance. Brute force without the aic{ of sound iudge-ment is powedess to defeat ân enemÿ. 6 How, for instance, could I, withmy grey hair and aged frame, long past the time for bearing arms, take part

Bo6k, tfiin the hczards of warfnre \,ÿer€ lt not pomlble to plâce aome rcliance on thebenelits of dlscretion? Now, lf a cound and steadfast mind sustains thefalterlng footsteps of the aged and rouoco them to eflective acrion, makinggood the deficiences of age by the application of foresight, ho,ur can it fail toconfer still greater benefits on you who are still in your prime? 7 Thoserevefses brought about by some fortuitous event ot by a failure of nervemay perhaps be rectified and turned to one's advantage by presence of mindand unerring judgement. But when things have been allowed ro ger out ofhand through defective judgement and inadequate planning, where âre weto turn for inspiration in or.rr efiorts to save the situation if the source ofour ideas has already been polluted?

8 Yet people may perhaps marvel at me {or employing sudr a novel styleof e"xhortation. \X/hen I ought to be building up your confi.dence and raisingyour spirits I am in {act undermining your self-assurance and damping youlardour by introducing objections and casting doubt on your ihances o{success.

18. And indeed the prospect o{ going into battle in the company of menwhose courage and daring are such that it would take the powers of anaccomplished orator to persuade them to put even a momentary curb ontheir enthusiasm does filI me with pleasure and with hope. z But, even so,let eadr one of you bear in mind tJlat unreflecting endeavour is not to beatuibuted to the generous impulses of courage but to foolhardly and wrong-headed audacity. May your bravery and enthusiasm find permanent andever-increasing expression, but may all excessive daring and any tendencytowards arrogance and obstinacy be tempered by the observance of reasonand moderation. 3 The practice of considering cardully how one oughtto tad<le a problem does not engender cowardice and hesitation but createsa responsible and serious-minded attitude. A justitable confidence is thelogical outcome of the clearsighted c}oice of advantageous policies. Sudr aconfidence is based on the knowledge thar one is not advancing blindly intothe unknown, bdt attaining to certainty through the enercise of judgement.

4 But some of you may contend that. it. not possible to pur a sudden stopto the reasonable impulses an generous aspirations of a noble nature or toseek to curtail its activities by the imposition of an unnecessary period of re-flection and delay, andthat this is particularly the case in view of the indig-nation and resentment generated by the pfesent outfageous conduct of thebarbarians who have dared to extend their wholesale depredations to thevery outskirts of the Imperial City. 5 This is indeed the situation and wehave before our eyes a constant reminder of the righteousness of your angeragainst the enemy and of the extent to which they have abused our formerleniency towards them. 6 Yet it should nor, f rhink, prove roo difiicult atask for men of sound and balanced judgement to püge their angry feelings

lr1 Agrthlelr ,Ihe Hlrterler

of any elemcnt of i*ational f_uv or instrnctlve urgc to rprct vlolently regorel.less.of rhe consequences, while at the same tiÀe ,.t.rni"s ,irt h";;;-iqualities associated with suih feelings - courage, resolution and the will tofight back.

7 Now, those emotions whose eflect is artogether proper and desirabreare wholly to be cultivated. But those that are cà-pable ,lro of having the re-verse efiect are not be used unconditionally buionly in so far as

"th.y ,r"advantageous. s I rhgt you will al agree witrr,o. ilrui, ;h.; prudence

l-r-,r.o,*.. and unalloyed-blessing, ,ng* Àr, its forceful *â a.*.Ài"ed side,

whrch is praiseworthy, but it also has its rash and impetuous side, which isunprofitable and undesirable. 9 Taking rherefore, tn. r"r.., in its entireryand of the latter what is best; ànd temlering hurdihood *itL dir..*m.nt,let us mardr againsr the foe confident i' tËkrro*r.dg. ,h* il rr.".rr.rycourse of action has been overlooked. ro only we riust ,rutii. that it iswith barbarians that we have to contend, ..n *t o uil- r."rrto-"a ,ofighting in the manner of brigands, to rayini u-borl., *J-rr.-g surpriseattad<s, but who have nor been trained io ,-tand th.ir gro;iJ], àp., *ur-fare. Though when they :T thrJ prepararions have bËen .ra. .o engagethem at close quarters and that the force that opposes and resists them hasencamped_ in regular formation outside the walls and fortifications they willin all probability be obliged by the logic of rhe situation to lburrao, tlr.l,-normal

practice and fight it orrt at_close quârters. rr But ir *" rc.p "r,heads and maintain our traditional high standards of d;"ipli";1nd etrici-ency, they will learn, ro rheir cosr, th;r the product

"r a.riuèi^æ trainingreceived well in advance is in every respect vistly superior to the man whois obliged_to improüse desperately in the fac" of aiL no"rrity;.

19. Belisarius'words had a sobering efiect upon the soldierr, who none-theless lost none of their bravery but Ihere .was more caution than conceitin their attkude. Their discipünàd courage was, in its humble *uf, ,ro, ,rr-like that erüibired by LeoÀidas and his spartans at Thermopylae wh.n]eyes and his_army were already approaching. z Bur rhe sp,ir'tans peris-hed to_a man, their fame resting solely on the-fact that they dià ;"; die ükecowards but killed alarge number of persians before th.y w.r" orrerwhel-med. Belisarius and his Romans in addition to displaying ,Là .oorrg.of spartans routed all the enemy, inflicting h.uuy .r*rtti.r'orr-ihu- *dsu-fiering practically no losses thernselves.

- 3 §7hat happened \rÿ'as as follows. A detachment of about two thousandbarbarians on horsebacl< suddenly separated from the rest of their forces andset ofi at a gaTlop, mising a terrifi;din as they wenr, convirced that theyyoutd svreep everything before them. As r*, ,, thà scouts arrived witirthe news that the enemy were practically upon them (and they were almostclose enough to be pointed out) Belisarius immediately led'out his men

Eæh, t ,egolnat them, contriving ao beat he could to conccal the meagrcneoa of hisown numbers. 4,

tüühat hc did was to select two hundred cavaltymen armedwith ehields and javelins and place them in ambush on either side of thewoodland glen from which he thought that the barbarians would be makingtheir attacl<. These troops §/ere instructed to let fly with theit javelins atthe massed fotmation of the enemy âs soon as he should give them the signalfor action. The purpose of this operation \ÿas to roll up their flanks andcrowd them in on themselves, so that in the resultant congestion they wouldbe unable to make use of their superior numbers. 5 He also instructedthe peasants and the more able.bodied of the citizens to follow him and torhout and make a loud ratding noise. He himself took his stand in tâe.cenffe with the remaining troops, ready to sustain the first shodc of theenemy atta&.. 6 As they drew nearer and most of them were already insidethe area covered by the ambush, Belisarius and his men advanced to meetttrem and drarged them head on. The peasants and the rest of the crowdcheered on the soldiers by shouting and causing a clatter with pieces of woodyhidr they carried for this purpose. 7 As soon as the signal was given theother troops rushed out from their hiding-places and discharged a volley ofmissiles obliquely from either side. The shouting and confusion was out ofall proportion to the scale of the ûghting and at this point the barbarians,S ûnding themselves assailed by missiles on all sides, did exacdy what Beli-sarius had anticipated. They closed in their ranks and huddled together so

tightly that they could not defend themselves, since there rÀ7'âs no room forthem to use their bows and arrows or to manoeuvre with tJreir horses. Theyseemed to be complete§ encircled and hemmed in by a vast ârmy. 9 Theywere in fact stunned by the ffemendous din created by the shouts and noisesof the milling crowd behind the Roman lines and the cloud of dust that wasraised prevented them frorn forming any idea of what the real numbers oft}e combatants were. ro A-fter engaging and destroying many of theenemy facing him, Belisarius broke üeir ranks and drove them into flight.Then as all the others bore down on them the barbarians turned their bacl<s

and fled in complete disorder, scattering in all directions. They made noefiort to guard their rear, but eadr man took what he thouglrt was theswiftest route to safety. rr The Romans followed them in an ordedy anddisciplined pursuit, maling short work o{ all they could lay their hands on.The barbarians vÿ'ere slaughtered in great numbers as they galloped awaywithout even turning round to look back. The reins of their horses werecompletely relaxed and the incessant cracking of whips precluded anyslackening of the pace. rz Even the skill on which they pride themselvesso greatly deserted them in their hour of temor. For when fleeing thebarbanans notmally defend themselves most efiectively against those whopress the pursuit the hardest and they do this by turning round and shooting

116 fu*hhlr Thc Ï{trtorler

affows at their pursuers, The amowo smike thelr targct not only with thehorrrn momenturn bur also with the added force of thi oncorning pursuit, sothat the impact is correspondingly greater.

20. But on that occasion the Huns were compretely demoralized andmade_no attempr to defend themselves. About foor hundred of them losttheir lives. on the Roman side there $7.ere no fatal casualtie, ,nJonly a f**wounded.

z It was with immense relief that zaberyan, their reader, and the othersyho h$ managed ro escâpe reached.^.p. Àrrj ir was, -orâu.", Aie{ly tothe exhaustion of their ptrrsuers' horses- that they owed their lives, otler-wile they would certainly havebeen annihilated. Eïen so, their abrupt entry,and th9 panic-sricften manner,in whidr they burst into Âe en.lor.rre of th.camp threw rhe rest of their forces inro con{usion and filled them with the3la*1ins pJospect of imminent destuction. Loud and savage cries wereheard as they slashed their dreeks with daggerg and gave ient to theirtraditional form of lamenrarion.

3 Meanwhile the Romans withdrew, after having achieved a rneasure ofsuccess to which, though it was altogether staggering in the circumsrances,the wisdom and foresight of their.ommand.r hâ eititled them. Immedia-tely after this disaster, however, the barbarians broke up câmp ând reüeatedin terror from Melantias. 4 Though Belisarius could in a[ îikelihood haveharassed their line of marclr and killed still more of rhem,'since it wouldhave been a question of pursuing men whose spirit was abeady broken andwho seemed to be fleeing rather than retreatint, he returned ,i o^". to thecapital, not of his own accord but because he had been instructed to do soby the Emperor.

5 As soon in fact as the news of his victory had readred the ears of thepeople they had begr.rn to sing his praises whenever they gathered togetherand to describe him as the saviotrr of the nation. This popularity §/asextremely irksome to many people in high places who fefl à frey to envyand jealousy

- passions whose baneful influence never ceases to assail thlnoblest adrievements. And so they put about slanderous rumors to the effectthat the popularity he was *joy-g had turned his head and that he wasaspiring to higher things.27 6 These calumnies brought about his speedyreturn and prevented him from consolidating his adrievements. Indeed hL

l:"gyd no recognition for what he had already accomplished. Instead theydid their utmost to erase the memory of his victory and to deny him anycredit_ for it. 7 rt has already been amply demonstrated by some of thlmost brilliant minds of antiquity that initiative is blunted and all incenriveto action desuoyed when noble spirits are deprived of their rightful share

, 1".. t **pt"g the throne.

loâ1, lr7

of acclokn and that ln conrequenc€ thorc quclltlea that hcve been dhparagod,whcthcr they art associetecl wlth mllltary iucceao, llterary achlwement orwith come other matter of vital conccfh, ceaee, tnuch to the detriment ofrociery, to be properly cultivatcd, I thlnk, moreovef,, that it requires nogreat perspicacity to see that the ttuth of this assefiion is continually borneout by our orürn everyday experience.

8 At fust the Huns, under the impression that they were being pursued,fled in consternâtion from the Long lffalls. But when they discovered thatBelisarius had been recalled and that no one else had been sent out againstthem, they slowly began to drift back.

21. Meanwhile the other detadlment of barbarians whide was besiegingthe Chersonese attad<ed the wall repeatedly, bringing up ladders and siege-engines, but was beaten ofi each time by the resolute resistance of theRomans defending it. z The defenders were led by Germanus the son ofDorotheus, who despite his ex*eme youth was an exceptionally able generaland possessed qualities of daring and resourcefulness far in excess of hisyears. He was a native of the Illyrian town of Bederiana as it used to becalled. ft was later renamed Prima lustiniana, being tn [act the birth-placeof the Emperor Justinian who, as only proper, adorned the town withavanety of splendid public buildings, raised it from obscurity to 'ürealth andopulence, and endowed it with his own name. Germanus, moreover, wasrelated to the Emperor, who consequently took a personal interest 3 in hiswelfare and had him brought at the age of eight to the Imperial City, wherethe boy was given every advantage, receiving a first-class school educationand then going on to university where he studied Latin as well as Greek.

4 As soon as he came to man's estate Justinian sent him to the Chersonese,making him Commander of the forces there, in order to give him a prop€fand use{ul outlet for his youthful enthusiasms and to prevent him fromdissipating his energies and wasting his substance on wild escapades in theturbulent atmosphere of the Hippodrome with its drariot races and irspopular factions, â11 of whidr things tend to have a profoundly disturbingefiect on the minds of the ÿoirng, who are readily âttracred to such folliesunless they are distracted and kept busy at some worthwile occupation.

5 Atthat time, then, when the Huns were besieging the Chersonese, theyouthful Germanus doggedly repelled their attacl<s and displayed unfailingingenuity in the conduct of its defence. His own innate ability gave him anintuitive grrasp of the situation and of the best 'ü/ay to cope with it and helent a ready ea.r to the advice of the older ancl more experienced soldiers onhis stafi. 6 lü(/hen all attempts either to besiege the fort or to take it bystorm proved equally fruidess, the barbarians decided to embark upon a

difierent course whicl was both extremely daring and extrernely risky. Itmeaût that they would either capture the place quickly or abandon it for

lr8 Agethlmr Thq Hl:totler

good and retum homc, 7 And co they ret ebout gathering enofmou!

{uantities of very long reeds of exceptional thidrnegs and toughness, whlch

they fastened and boind togethef with cord and twine, producing in this

waÿ a considerable numb.r of bordLs. Across the two ends and the middle

they fitted wooden spars and lashed the bundles toggtlrer, sectuing them

very tightly with thi& ropes, so that three or more of them went to make

"p â riigl" b.rt sufiiciently wide to hold four men and sufiiciently deep to

bàar thJir weight without sinking. They consgucted not less than one

hundred and.frity craft of this type. 8 To make them more seavrorthy they

brought rogerher the front endi, curving them upwards in the shape of_ a

feukld proî and devised improvised rowlocks and outriggers on either side.

22, ihen, when they had secured everything as best they could they

launc}ed th a[ ,o..ily into the sea near the western shore of the bay

i[ri.*".p, round the town of Aenus. z About six hundred men embarked

in them *ith u great quantity o{ shovels which they ttted into the rowlocks

and propelling tf,.-r.i.r", alter afashion with this rudimentary fotm of oar,

tlro ,* fur [rt to sea, heavily armed and ready {or action' They thought

thutby gradually rowing out further and further they would easily get past

,ià ,.*"ol the watl thai stretcfied out to sea as far as the deep 'üratef, and

would then be able to step ashore in perfect safety further down_ the coast

*h"r" no walls enclosed ii and it, onÇ protection rÀ7as that afiotded by the

**r.r, of the HellesPont. rnt that3 \flhen Germanus received intelligence of these plans and lea

anirmada of reed boats was on the way he scofied at the enemy for their

folly but at the same time was delighted at it because he kneur that they had

plaÿed into his hands. 4 He immediate§ dispatctred twenty fast skifis with

iorâ-und-uft ruddem, eqoipping them with a full complement of rowers and

helmsmen und m.n'ar;.à -ilh breasrplares, shields, bows and arrows and

hulb"rrr, ,rid hud them moored out of right in the inlet of water behind the

*utt i ,Ufn.o the barbarians .were already past the end part of the wall

,lr* j"tr o"t from the shore they began to swerve towards the coast and

were borne on in a mood of conûdeni elation. It was at this point that the

Roman boats put out to sea against them' Sped on by'the tide the Romans

bore down orr'th.,o, and strucË violently prosr to prow against the 6 rced

boats of the barbarians, whidr srere spun round by the force of the impact,

throwiog their crews ofi their feet as they rod<ed and lurdred from side to

side. Sote were throurn overboard and drowned, others flopped down

*àrr.ry, having no idea what ro do nexr. Even those who were still on their

1"", *"t" joltJd by the morion of the waves whose efiect would have been

-od..rt" âr ,h.rt negligible on a boar or a ship but was tremendous on

these reed-bu/1t craft because of their a(tfeme lightness. 7 One moment

they shot up on the crest of the \Irave, another they plunged down as it

!Ë€L, Itt

brohe, Thry madc no ettêmBr to.âght, rlnco the moit thq could purlbly

["e. i";-;;r-,n t."p rteady on thelr feet,.. I lgflfulle thc barborlani u'er€

,ir,iriir*ur"unded tr,. iloÀinr broke thelr llne whercver they could end by

;il;id d*ii weight;s;i;rl thern.ac fe done in a land battle cost manv of

iir" .i*îy into thJrea îirhout difliculty since they themselves had a firm

;à;;# foothold in their own boats. Some they closed in on and slew

with their s'ürords. g But since in many cases the Romans §rere some way

ofi and'üere not yet at Jose quarters they reached out with their halberts

*,a-.or through ,fr" .àJr thrt bo,rnd the reeds together until the whole

"ÀÀ* àirinîegrated. Severed from one another the reeds floated about,

;;lfdrg;; irr"u1 arotions, while the Huns suddenly {ound themselves

;trkd u, ,h. bor,o*, f"tl o"t of their boats' They perished to a man and

not one of them lived to see dry land again'

23.Collectingallthe§/eaponsoftheenemythatwerestillfloatingabout,th" iloÀ*, ,AËa tJ ,o ,ira, earüer position and tlled the whole army

;rh;;,.t i"c ut th" *, of the happv Ëvent' A general. assembly of all the

;;;;;; ;Ëi naa ,i *nÀ it was àécided that it was imperative for them

;;f;1il6 ii"i* ^aîÀiæ. z A few davs later' therefo':l tï fÏ-dthemselves

-und mude a sudden sortie from the wall against the beslegefs,

whore numbers -".. rriti u."y great but whose morale rilas at its lowest ebb

#if;;;hJ;; À; ,f* nrâ iot yet _recovered

from their recent shattering

âi;^tr. 3 Germanus, *ho b"io9-still-very yolmg las not reâlly mature

;;;*h toi.rtruir lrit irri"irr imf,'kt' but Ças instead more easilv swaved

C, uiothful ardou*J t.u" of glory than by considerations.of prudence

;i#ôÏJJ daontlerrly into baitle against the enemy on-that occasion,

;;; dtJ# coofine l,i*r"if tÉ giving ord"rt and encouraging- his men like a

".".rJC", Uore rhe il;; .i tÏr. nilrting like a common soldier. As a result

ïïïü;;;;ü h";;' strud< ü tt'"l'igt' bv an a*ow.'d y""v n9a1lv

;t*;^;;';thJ# f-* tL" fight. But the urgency of thesituation and the

ilË;;;;" "f the underiaking proved stronseithan li', p'i'î{}'did not

;;;,; exert himseli or ,o iË.t on the oihers until he had inflicted con-

siderable. damage on the enemy and destroyed-large numbers,of them'

i\ffi#;;;ifi*hd;.uÀ",â an end and ihe Romans returned and toolc

ilôir-iâU.l,i"aif,. iall, iudging it neither safe nor prudent to engage

in protacted combat against superior forces'

5 The barbarians, however; were so thoroughly deggraliled as a result of

,lr.iorr., ,,rstained i" ih" dit6trous disintegràtiàn of their boats and in the

;;.p;J;r;;"k *frid, tn" no**, had made-against- them.that tley left the

;;Ëh-b;"ri;;oà of ,fr" Chersonese there and thÀn and set ofi to jornZaberyan

and his forces. It was destined to be a reunion o{ defeated men. 6 The

ôàirig"* .frat had been sent to Greece adrieved nothing worthy of mendon,

l

160 Agrthlmr Thr Hlrtorler

having neither attacked the Isthmus 28 nor even paaeed Thermopylae onaccount of the presence there of a Roman garison, And so this band toobegan to withdraw, mardring in the direction of rhrace, doubtless with theidea of joining up wigh their fellow countrymen and returning home in theircompany. 7 But Zabergan and his forces said that they would not leaveuntil they also acquired a vâst sum of money from the Romans, just as theUtigurs had done. They threatened, moreover, to massacre the captivesunless they were speedily ransomed by their relatives. s Accordingiy theEmperor sent what he considered was a large enough quantity of goid toransom the captives and secure the peaceful withdrawal of the cotrigurs,Among the many captives returned was the general Sergius the son ofBacchus who by an unlucky chance'had been captured a short time beforeand was reduced to the same unhappy plight as. the resr. And so the cotrigurs9ve_nqrally put a stop to their depredations and began to make their waybad< home. They were soon joined by their comrades who had arrived fromGreece.

24. To the inhabitants of Constantinople the terms agreed upon seemedcowardly, dishonorable and base, since they appeared to involve the passiveacceptance of an intolerable state of afiairs. For instead o{ meeting withinstant destruction when their insotrenr mod<ery had brought them withinhailing distance of the capital they had been rewarded with a gift of gold,as though vre were atoning for some wrong whidr we had done themlz But the Emperor's decision was aimed at the artainment of a difierentand more ambitious object whicl was realized shortly afterwards and to suchgood efiect that it convinced his former citics of his remarkable foresightand sagacity. He had in fact resolved to employ every conceivable stratagemin order to sow dissension among the barbarians and bring them into muioalconfllct. §fith this end in view he immediately sent a leter, wtile zaberyanand his men were marching at a leisurely pace, to sandilch the leader of iheother Hunnic trible, who was ân ally and in the pay of the Empire. 3 Thecontents of the letter were roughly as follows:

"If you had full knowledge of the ourrâges which the Cotrigurs haveperpetrated agalnst us and were then quite prepared to do nothing about it,in that câse we should have every rsason to be surprised both at yourtreaclrery and at our own lack of judgement in not having made an accurateassessment of your c}aracter. But if you âre not yet in possession of thefacts, then your conduct is pardonable. But there is no other way for youto prove your ignorance of past events save by your prompt action hereafter.4The prime concern of the Cotrigurs and indeed the reason for their pre-sence here was not, except as an afterthought, to tavage our domain but to

28 of Corinth.

EooL t 161

prwê by thelr rctlonr thrt ln proforrlng to plrcÊ oui truÉt in you we hadbeen deceived into overlooklng the clelm of a mucl oup€rior pæple, They

congider lt lntoleroblc in fact that ony onc should call them the equalr of thoUtigurs or even suggest that they are somewhat superior to them, indeedthey are barely content with being accordod an overrhelming superiorlty,

5 Consequently they have overnrn the whole of Thrace, not desisting untilthey had carried ofi all the gold that we are accustomed to pay to you caclr

year in return for your services. Though we could easily have wiped them

out, or at least sent them arürây empty-handed, we did neither of these thingsin order to test your sentiments. 6 For if you are really possessed ofsuperior courage and wisdom and are not disposed to tolerate the appro'priation by others of what belongs to you, you will not now sufier any loss,

since yotr have an e><cellent opportunity to avenge yourselves and receiveyour pây by tight of victory from the enemy as though we ourselves had

sent it to you through them. 7 But tt even after having received sudr

insults at their hands you still choose to be so timoro'r.rs and so uttedy spine'

less as to take no action whatsoever, then you m,ay rest assured that you willbe struck off our pay-roll and that we shall be ready to bestow our largesse

upon them. In that case you will have to learn humility and make way foryour h'tters, since we shall mo§t certainly have to transfer to them the

t ruty 3t riliur.. which we made with you and your nation. Indeed even indifierent circumstances it would be senseless for us to share in the humili-tations of the vanquished when we arc in a position to win the friendshipof the victors".

25. §fhen Sandilch learnt from an interpeter the contents of this letterit immediately produced the desired efiect. He fell at once lnto a ruge and

uras eager to punish the Cotrigurs there and then for their insolence, a pre-

dictable reaction in a man with the arrogant and mercenary mentality of a

barbarian. e Consequently he set ofi straight away with the army and made

a surprise âttad< on the home territory of the enemy. Those who had re-

mained behind were caught ofi their guard and he took many women and

dril&en into captivity. §7hen the Cotrigurs returning from Thrace had just

crossed thôDanube he confronted them suddenly, killing many of them and

robbing them ofi the money which they had received from the Emperor and

of all their booty. 3 Then no sooner had the survivors retumed home than

they joined with the rest of their compatiots in preparing for war against

the Utigurs. And so from that time onwards both peoples continued to malce

war against eadr other for a very long period of time and they became in-creasingly hostile as a result. 4 On sorne occasions they wotild confine

themselves to predatory incursions, on others they would lesort to open

warfare until they have so weakened themselves and their numbers have

become so seriously depleted that they have lost their natisnal identity'

I

162 Âgathlrr Tho $llrtorlor

5 The scattered remnanr of these l{unnic tribee haa in fact been reduced toservitude in the lands of other peoples whose nêmcg they have assumed; sosevere has been the penalty whidr they have paid for their earlier misdeeds.But the complete annihilation of these two peoples occurred at a later date,sothat I shall do my'best ro preserve â stric drronological order and providea detailed account o{ this evenr in its proper place.

6 §fhen the dissension between the cotrigurs and the utigurs u/as srillat its height the news of what had happened readred constantinople and thewisdom and foresight of the Emperor was clearly and amply demonstratedto all. The barbarians $,ere destroying one another whilst he withoutresorting to arms was, thanks to his brilliant diplomacy, the ultimate victorand was bound to profiit wharever the outcome of the fighting. And sosince they were continually embroiled in internal troubles they no longerhad any idea of attacking the domain of the Romans, indeed they sank intoan almost total obscurity.

INDEX OF PROPER NAMES

The following Index is based on Keydell's Index Nominum. Referenceis to the book, paragraph and section numbers of the Greek te:<t * and.though only approximate at times, is never more than a few words out.

Abasgi: III,2,7.Abydus: V,12,4.Adriatic: Il,t,5.Aeetes:

1. Mythical king of Colchis III, 5, 4.2. Prominent Lazian lII,8,7; III, 11;

III, 11,7; IlI,t2,Aegean: II,L6.Aemilia: (Emilia) I,1L,3; l,'1"4; 1,15,

7; I1,3,2.Aeneas: I, t0,2; II,27,7,Aenus: Y,22,Aeoliails: Preface 1,4; II,L7,9.Afnca (Libya): Preface L4,25; Y,13,8i

Y,L4.Agathias: Preface, 14.Ahuramazda: II,24,9,Ahtiman: I,7, 5; II,24,9-lO.Alamanni: I,4; I,6,2; I,6,); I,6,4; l,

6,6; I,7,9; I,ll,2; II,L,73 II,6,7;IT,Ç9; 1I,9,12.

Alamannicus: I,4,3.Alans: III,1r,9; IV,9.Alexander:

1. Alexânder T'he Great: II,25,8; IY,24.

2. Alexandet the son of Mamaea =Severus Alexzrnder: lI,26i IY,24.

3. AlexaÀder of Tralles: V,6,5.Alexandet Polyhistor: II,25, 5; II, 25,9.Alexandria: Il, 15, 5i II,16, 4; V, 1r, 8.Aligem: I,8,6; I, 9,2; I,9,4; I,20; l,

20,9; II,9,t3.Amalasuntha: Prcface 30; I,5, 8.Amida: Pref.ace23,Anahita: II,24,8.Anastasius: Preface 23; II, 27,7.

TY,26,3-4; IV,

II,22,3; III,5,9;\TI,L7,5; III,

1I,27; II,27,4;

1I,29; Y,6.II,L8,3; IY,2l;

TT,26.

I,15,8; Iï,2,5; II,

* i. e, as reproduced in the present üanslation.

L62 Agatlrlll Thc l.lhtorler

5 The scattered rernnanr of these l:Iunnic tribes han in foct bccn rcducecl toservitude in the lands of other peoples whose nnmes thcy have assumedl sosevere has been the penalty which they have paid for their earlier misdceeh.But the complete annihilation of these two peoples occurred at a later dore,so that I shall do my best to preserve a sffict drronological order and prcvitlea detailed account of this evenr in its proper place.

6 §7hen the dissension between the cotrigurs and the utigurs wâs stillat its height the news of what had happened reached constantinople and thcwisdom and foresight of the Emperor was clearly and ampiy demonstratcclto all. The barbarians ui"ere destroying one another whilst he withotrrresorting to ârms was, thanks to his brilliant diplomacy, the ultimate victorand was bound to protit wharever rhe outcome of the fighting. And s«r

since they were continually embroiled in internal troubles they no longclhad any idea of attacking the domain of the Romans, indeed they sank intoan almost total obscurity.

ÏNDEX OF PROPER NAMES

The following Index is based on Keydell's Index Nominum. Referenceis to the book, paragraph and section numbers of the Greek text * and.though only approximate at times, is never more t-han a few words out.

Abasgi: I1I,2,7.Abydus: Y,12,4.Adriatic: II,l,5.Aeetes:

1. Mythical king of Colchis III,5, 4.2. Prominent Lazian III,8,7; III, 11;

III,11,7; l\I,1.2.Aegean: II,16.Aemilia: (Emilia) ï,LL,3; I,1"4; I,75,

7; II,3,2.Aeneas:'[., I0,2; II,27,7.Aenus: V,22,Aeolians: Preface L4; I1,L7,9.Aûrica (Libya): Preface 14,25; Y,1),8;

v,14.Agatrhias: Preface, 14.Ahuramazda: II,24,9.Ahriman: I,7, 5; II,24,9-lO.Alamanni: I,4; I,6,2;1,6,3; I,6,4; I,

'6,6; I,7,9; l,Ll,2; IT-,1,7; II,6,7;, II,6,9; II,9,L2.Alamannicus: I,4,3.Alans: III, 15, 9; IY,9.Alexander:

L. Alexander T'he Great: II,25,8; IY,)A

2, Als<ander the son of Mamaea =Severus Alexander: II,26; LY,24.

3. Alexander of Tralles: V,6,5,Alexander Polyhistor: II, 25, 5; lI, 25, 9.Alexandria: Il, 15, 5i II, 16, 4; V, 1r, 8.Aligem: I,8,6; I, 9,2; I,9,4; I,20; l,

20,9;1I,9,t3.Amalasuntha: Preface 30; I,5, 8.Amida: Prcface23.Anahita: II,24,8.Anastasius: Pref.ace 23; IT, 27 ,7 .

TY,26,34; IV,

II,27; II,27,4;

II,29; Y,6.TI,L8,3; IY,21;

* i. e. as reproduced in the present translation.

170 Ittrlcx ol ltto[]§f nntucrl

'l'urks: I,3, 4.Tuscany: I,1,(r; I,8; I,1l; I,tl,1; l,

L7,2.Tyrrhenian: I,8,3; II, 1,3-4; II,4,l;

II, Lo, g.

Tzadtar: IV,16,4.Tzani: II,20,7; III,20,9; III,22,4;

IY, L3, 2; IV, 18; V, "L, 2; Y, 1,7 ; Y, 2,)-5

Tzathes: III, -J"4, 3; III, 15, 2-5.

Uldach: II,2,5;11,3.Ultizurs: Y,L1,2; V, 11,4.Uranius: II,29; II,29,6; II,29,8; Il,

30i II,32.Usigardus: III, 6, 9; III,7,2.Utigurs: Y,ll,2; Y,-1.2,6; Y,23,7; Y,

)À. 4

Vaccarus: I,21,2.Vahram:

1. Vahram I: IV,24,5.2.Vahtamll: IY,24, 6; IV, 24, 8.3. Vahram III: IV,24,6.4. Vahram IV: IY,26; LY,26,2.5. Vahram V: IV,27.

Yahiz: III,28,L0.Valash: IV ,27, 5.Valerian:

1.The Emperor Valerian: IY,23,7.2. Roman General Serving underNarses

in ltaly: I,[L,3; II,8, r.3. Roman General serving under Martin

Lazica: III,20,10; III,21, 5.Vandals: Preface 24-25; Y,15,8.

Vnrncs: I,21,2.Vcnetia: I, 1,6; II, 3,); il,4; 1I,4,9;

II,11.Verina: IV,29,2,Vitalian: I,ll,3; I, 1r,8.Volaterae: I, L1,,6.

rlflilgang: IïT,6,5.§(itigis: Pteface 10.

Xenophon: II,2L,7.Xerxes: II,l0,4; IY,29,6; Y,19.

Yazdgard (Yezdegerd):l.Yazdgatdl: Prclace 23; IV, 26,

,-8.2.Y azdgardll: IY; 27, 2.

Zabergat: Y,LL, 6; Y,12, 4-6; Y, 20,2;Y,23,5-7; Y,24,2.

Zarnasp: IV,28, 2; IV, 28,7.Zamolxis: Preface J,Zandalas: T,19,5; II,8,2.Zotades; II,24,6.Zeno:

L. The Emperor Zeno: I,5,7; IY,29,2; Y,1.5,4.

2. Rhetor and advocate practising inConstantinople; Y ,7 ,2; Y,7 ,5; Y,8,3,

Zeus: II,24,B; Y,8,5.Zidt: IV,30,8-9.Ziper: IV, 18.Zrma: IV,29,8.Zoroaster: II,24,5-6.

164 Inden o{ prcpet nêËêr

Aruth: I, 20,8.Arzanene: IV,29,8,Asia: Pteface L4; Prelace26; I,2,2; Il,

LO,2; lI,L7; II,17,9; II,18,5; II,25,4; Y,tl,2; Y,12,4.

Asinius Quadratus: I,6,3.Assyrians: II, 1"8,5; I1,23,9; TI'24,2;

lI, 24, 8; II,25, 4; II, 25, 5.Astyages: II,25,6,Ate: I,7,5.Athanasius: lll,14, 4; III,t4, 5; IV,

7,2; IY,tl.Athenians: II, 10,3; II, 10,5.Athenocles: 1I,24,8.Athyras: V,t4,5.Attica: II, 10,2.Augustus: Tl,t7 ; Il,l7,).Avars: 1,3,4.

Babas: III,18,10.Babylon, Babylonians: 1I,23,70; II,

24,8; 11,25,5.Bacchus: V,23,8.Balmach: III, 17, r.Barazes: IV,13,34.Basileios Stoa: TI,29,2; III, 1,4.Basi-liscus: IY,29,2.Bederiana: Y,2L,2.Beirut: II, 15,2; II, 15, 4.Bel: 1I,24,8.Beleus: II,25,Ç5.Belesys: 1I,25,5.Belisarius: Preface )0; Y,t5,7; Y,16,);

Y,16,7; V, 19; V, 19,2-1;Y,19,6-10;Y,20,1-4; V,20,8,

Beroea: Prcface27.Berossus: II,24,8.Bessas: II, 18,8; II,20,5; III,2,)-7.Bion: ïI,25,5.Bitgors: 1I,11,3.Bladrernae: V, 14,8,Boniface: Preface,24,Bonus: I,19.Bosporus: V, 14,8.Bruttium: II, 1,4.Budrlous: III,15,9.Burgundians: I,3,3-5.Burugundi: Y,17,34.Butilinus: I,6,2; I,7,8; T,Ll,2; I,

L4,5; lI,t,4; Tl,L,7l; 1I,2,2; lï,4; II,5,2; II,8,7; I1,9,11; II,10,8.

Buzes: II, 18,8; III,2,8; III,3,8; III,

4,7i III,6,4*8i III' 7, l0; III, 20,8;IV, T',2.

Cadusia: 11,27 ,2,Caesarea: Ptef.ace 22.

Caesena: I,20,9.Calabria: II,L,5.Callipolis: Y,12,).Cambyses:

l.Cambyses the father of CYrus: II,25,6;LY,29,6'.

2. Cambyses the son of CYrus: II,26,4,

Campania: II, 1,4; II,4; II,4,4.Campsae: II, b; Il, 14, 6.

Cantabri-Cantabria: II, 17, 3; II, 17,7.Cappadocia: IV,24,).Capua: 1I,4,4; II,10,8.Carduchian Hills: IY'29,7.Carthage: Pteface 24..

Casulinus: II,4,4-5; II, 10,8.Catharus: III,7,8.Caucasus: II,L8,4; II,21, 10, III,8,5;

III, 15,9; IV, 1, 8; IY,6,2; IY,9.Ceneta; II,3,3.Centumcellae: I, 11; I, 11,6.Chadus: III,16.Chaerernon: II, 17, 2; lI, 17,7-8,Chaldaeans: TI,8,9; II,25,2.Chanaranges: II,6,4.Chettus: V, 16.Childebert: I,),2; 1,5; II, 14,8-11.Chlodomer: I, ),2; l,),3; ï, ),5;1,3,6.Chlodwig (Clovis): I,3,2.Chlota.t: 1,3,2; 1,5; II, 14,8-11.Chobus: III,3,9.Chorianes: Preface29.Chosroes: Preiace24,27; II, 18,6; II,26;

II,27,9; II,28: II,29,9; lI,3L,4;II, )2; 1I, 32, 2; lI, )2' 5; lïï, L; III'2; IY,6,2; lY,2),3; IY,29,5; IY,29,9; lY, )0, 4; Iÿ, 30,7.

Chytropolia: lI, 20, 5 ; II, 2L, 2; ll, 22.Ciberis: \1,12,2.Cilicia: LY,24,3.Classis: 1,20,5.Conon: LY,29,2,Constantinople: Pteface, 26; ïbid.30; l,

4; II,L4,7; II,15; ll,16'4; III,3;III,14,3; I[,L5,2; III,15,7; III'2),5; IY,l,2i IY,1,8; IV,5,7-8;IV, 9, 10; IY,2l,4; IV, 30, 8; V, 3;

Iadrr d ptopÊr nünêr t6,V,6,6-7t V, 10,2i V, 12, !; V, 14i V,14,6i \,25,6,

Coet II,16,Cotalsr II, 19; II, 22,3i IlI,6,)i llI,7i

III,28,6; IV, 15,4.Cotrigurs: V, 11,2; V, 11,6; Y,72,7;

V, 17; V,24,)i ÿ,25.Cronosr I1,24,8;Ctesias of Cnidos: 1I,25,5.Ctesiphon: I1{,29,L0.Cumae: L,8,2; I, LL, 5; I,20; I,20,6-9.Cutilzis: III, L7 ,5.Cyrus:

1, Cyrus the son of Cambyses: II,25, 6; II, 26, 4; IY, 29, 6.

2.Cytus the son of Florus and latherof Paul the Silentiary: Y,9,7.

Dabragezas: III,6,9; III,7,2; III,2L,6-8; IV, 18; IV, 18,3.

Damascius: II,30, 3.Danube: Preface 26; I,79; \Y,22,7; Y,

11,5; Y,25,2.Daphniaca: Prctace7.Datius:

L. Darius the son of Hystaspes: I,2,2; II,L0,2; II,24,6; II,26,4;IV,29,6.

2. Darius the father of Attâxerxes: II,)a d,- rt t'

J. Darius the son of Arsames: II,25,8,

Datis: II,70,2.Demosttrenes:

'1. Athenian General: II, 10,5.2. Athenian Orator and Statesman:

II,29,2.Dercetades: II,25,4.Dlimnites: III,17,Ç7; IïI,18; III, 18,

5-11; III, 22,5; III,26,24; III,28,6-:7; IY, t3,8.

Diodorus Siculus: II, 18,5; 11,25,5.Dogenes of Phoenicia: II,30,3.Dionysiaca: IV,23,5,Dioscorus of Tralles: Y,6,5.Doconos: II,2L,LO.Don: V,11,2.Dorotheus: Y,21,2.

Edessa: Pref.ace,27.Egypt: II,t5,9; II,15,11; II,25,L0;

IY,23,5,

Bgypthnl II, lE, li V,10,r,Eloee, Gulf of: Preface, 14.Elmlngclr: IlI,2l,6,Elminzur: IV, 15; IV, 15,2.Enyo: I,7,5.Ephtlralites: lY, 27, 4; lY, 28, 3.Epidamnus: I,77,).Eris: I,'1,5.Ethiopians: Prelace2T.Eulamius of Phrygia: II,30,3.Eutope: Prcface1,4; Ibid.26; II, 10,2;

v,11,LEustratius: IIï, 1,5,7.Eutydrianus: Preface 1.1.

Euxine: II,2A,7; III, 19, 9; III,21,,2;Y,L,2; Y,3,2; V, 11,3; V, 14,8.

Fanum: II,2,4; II,3.Faventia: I, 15,8; I,17; I,L7,5.Filimuth: I,7L,3.Florentia (Elorence): I, 11; I, 11,6.Florus: Y,9,7,Franks: I,1,,7; I,2; I,2,3; I,3; I,3,

Ç5; ï,5; I,6,4; I,7; I,7,2; I,7,9;I, lL,2; I, 1,2,2; I,L4, 4-4; I, L5, 6;I,17,4; I,18,5; I,19,2; 1,20; I,20,2; I,20,9-ll; I,21,4; I,22,2;II,l,6; II,3; II,5,3-6i 1T,5,8-9;II,6,3; I1,6,5--7; II,7; II, 9,4 II,9,9-12; 1I,10; II,10,8; II,11,4; II,72,5-7; II,13; II, L4,8; II,14,1l.

Fritigern: Preface3L; I,20.Fulcaris: I, 1L, 3; I,14, 3; ï,74,6; T,L5;

\15,5; I, 15, 10; I,t6,6.

Gaiseric: Ptef.ace, 24.Ganges: II,25,4.Gaul: I,2.Geümer: Ptef.ace,24.Gepids: I,4,2.Gerrnans: T,2; I,5,5; I,6,3,Germanus:

1. Germanus the father of Justin (3):II, 18,8; III,17,4; III,20,9; III,24,7; I1I,25,8; IY,L51' IY,21.

2. Germanus the son of Dorotheus:Y, 2L, 2; Y, 22, 3; Y,23, 3.

Getae: Preface, l.Gibrus: III,20, 10.Golden Horn: V, 14,8.Goths: Preface J0; Ibid. 31; I,l;1, L, Ç7 ;

I,3; I,),3; T.,5; \5,2-4; I,6,4-6;

Indqx'd proper nrmcl

I,7,8; I,8; I,8, 4-6; I,9,5; \10,4t,I, 10,9; I,15,7-9; I,20; I, 20,2-4i l,10,9; I,75,7-9, I,20; I,2A,24;1.,20,1.0; II,2,2; Il,9,13; II,12,2; lï,73; II, L3,2-4; II, 14, 6-7; V, 15, 8.

Gteece: 11,L0,2; Y,Ll,l; V,»,6-7,Greek Language: II,2O,5; IV,2; IV,

30,4,Greek Literature: II,28.Greeks: I,7,4; II,10,4; II,23,10; II,

24,9.Gubazes: II, 18,6; IIl,2,3; III,2,8-11;

III,3; III,3,8-9; III.4; IIT,4,2:IlI,4,5-6; III,9,3; III, 10,8; III,11,8; III,12,6; III,L3,5; III,L4,2-3; IY,1; IV, 1, 4; IY,2,3-5; TY,5,7-9; lY,6,3; IY,8,3-4; IV,8,6; IV,9,5; IY,10,34; IV, 11; IV,21.

Guntarith: Preface,25.Gylippus: II, 10,5.

TI,30,3.

Iberia: II,22,\ III,2,6; \1I,6,2; IJI,12,L3; III,19,5; l[,28, 10; IV,9;TY,12,2; IY,13,5; IY,L5,4; LY,23,2;[Y,30,6.

Iberians: TI,21.,7.Iliger: TII,L7,5,Illus:

rI, 18,5.

I,11,

IV,

TY,2L,5; IY,22.

Kavad: Preface23,24; IV,27,6-7; IY,28; TY, 28, 3-8; lY , 29, 5; IV , 30, 5.

Kerman: [V,26,2.

Kclrnanrhehl IV,26,

:Ihdrx s, tËpÉ! ârm6r

I,77; ï,17,6;

167

Mrxentlur: IV, 13,2; IV, 14; IV, 14, !.Mclrntlar: V, 14,5; V,20,r,Medesr ïI,21,9-L0; 11,24,8i II,25,

5-9.Memnonius: Pteface 14.Mermeroes: Pref.ace29; II, 19; II, 19,5;

II,20; 11,20,3; Iï,,2L,4; II,22; II,22, 6; II, 21, 9 ; III, 2; IIT, 2, 6i IY, L5.

Mesdritha: II,22,5.Mestrianus: III, L4, 5.Metrodorus: V,6,4-5,Miliades: II, 10,3.Misimians: III, 15,8; III, 16; IlI,L6,5;

III,Ll,3; IY,12,2; IV, IJ; IV, LJ,5-6; IY,15,4-7; Iÿ,L6,4-5; IY,L7,4-6; IY,t9,2; IY,20,6.

Mithridates: lI, 25, I0.Moesia: I, 19; V, L1,6.Moors: Pref.ace 25; III, 20, 9.Muchetuisis: II, 19; I1,22,3; III,6, l;

III,6,9; III,7; III 15; IlI,L9,5;III,28,6; II1,28,9; IY,9,7; IV,L3,5.

Nad:oragan: IIl,2i III,6,2; III,15;III, 17, 4; III, 77, 6; III,18, 11; III,19; III,19,8; III,20l' III,20,3-5;IIl,22; III,23,4; I1I,24,24; IIï,24,7; TII,27,8; III,28; III,28,6iIll,28, L0; IV, 12,2; TY,l2,7; IY,23,2t [Y,30,6.

Natsah: IY,25.Natses: Prüace3l; I, 1; I, 4; I,7,8; l,

9,4; I,10; I,10,3; I,10,9; I,ll,6;L,12; I,12,3; I,L2,9; I,L,13; I,L3,4-5; T.,L4; I,75,2; I,L5,1.0; I, 16; I,'L6,3; l,L7; L,L7,2; I,L7,2; T,L7,6-7; T,18; I, 18, 34; I,18,8; I, 19;

' I,L9,4i 1,20,1; I,20,5; I,20,8; I,2li I,2L,24; ï, 22; 1,,22, 1; I,22,8iII, 1; II, 4,2-3; II,6; I1,6,34i lI,7iII,7,3-:7; II,8; II,9; TI,9,2; \I,9,13; II,LL,3; II,L2,10; II, 11,4; II,14; II,14,2-7.

Neocnos: TII,23,9; III,24; III,28,8,Nepos: LY,29,1.Nesos: II,2l,7-10; Il,22t ll\ llf IIII

17,4; IT1,79; III,lg,7-lt IIl,r0,3-8; IY,73,2; lY,ll,

Nicias: II, 10,r, ,. ,, I j

NiIe: IT,lr,5, ,']I :INinus:

168 ïnrlex rrf proper nanlei

1. Assyrirn King, perh. = l:iblicrrl Ninr-rod cf. Gen.10,11; II,l8,5; II,25,4; II,25,5.

2.Capital of Assyria = Nineveh: II,23,L0.

Ninyas: II,24,2-3.Nisibis: IY,25,6.Nonnus: IY,23,5.

Odenathus: IY,24,4,Odoacer (Odovacar): 1,5,7.Ognaris: IlI,27.Ollaria: II,20,5.Olympius: Y,6,5.Onoguri: 1II,5,6.Onoguris: II,22,3; III,3, 8; III,4; III,

5,6-8; III,6,3; III,7; IY,9,6; IY,11.

Orestes: IY,29,3,

Palladius: T,9,4.Palmyra: [Y,24,4.Panopolis: IV,23,5,Papak: II,27; II,27,2-5.Parma: I,L4,4; I,15,9; I,t7,2;I, 17,7;

I, t8,2.Parthians: TI, 25, 9-L0,Parysatis: II,24,4.Paul:

1.. Paul the Silentiary: Y, g,7 .2. Paul the father of Maurice: IV,

29,9.Pelasgians: II, L7 ; II, L7, 5.Peroz (Firuz) : Pref.ace23; IY,27,34;

IY,29,2.Persia - Persian(s): Preface 24, I,2,2;

I,7,5; 1I,10,3; I1,18; II, L9; Il,21,7; I1,22,); II,23; II,24,5; U,25,8i II,26; II,26,24; II,27,5; II,28; III, 5, 6; III, 7 ; III, 7, 5 ; TII, 8, 2;III,9,L4; III,12; III,1.2,8; III,17, 2; III, L7, 7 -9 ; III, 27, 7 ; III, 22,2; III, 24, 24; lil, 25, 5-7 ; III, 27, 3 ;TII,28. III,28,5; III,28,8-9; IV,6,2; IY,L2,2; IY,1.3,5-7; IY,15;IY,L5,24; IY,2L,4; IY,23; IY,30,2; IY,30,5; IV,30,8; V, 10,5.

Petra: Prcface29; III,2,6.Phanitheus: I,11.,3.Phatsantes; IY,73,3.Phattazes: III, 11, 2; III,14,2.Phasis:

l. A rlvcr ln Luzierr: II, I8,4; II, l9lII,2l, 1.0; 11,22,2; III,21,3; IV,29,2; Y,1,4.

2. A town situated at the mouth of theriver Phasis: III, 19,8; III,22;IIT,22,8,

Philagrius: lII, 1.5,7.Philip: II,25,8.Philomathius: III,20, 9; III,22,3.Phocaeans: I,2,2.Phoenicia: II, 1,5,2; II,30, 3.Picenum: II,2,4.Pisa: I, 11,6.Pisaurum: II,2,5.Plato: Preface 9; II,28,2; II,30,3; IY,

27,7; Y,4,4.

Pontus: III, 19, 3; Y,7,2.Poseidon: II, 15, 10; V,8,5.Prima Iustiniana: Y,27,2.Priscian: II,30,3.Procopius: Preface 22, 32; II, 19; TY, 15;

IY,26,4; IY,28,3; IV,29,5; IV,30,5.

Propontis: Y,L4,5.Pyrrho: II,29,7.Pythicus: Preface, 1,4.

Ide* d prop€r nÂmer 169

.1, ltrurttrhrx, rotr ol' Sotct'lelrurt lII,lJ,7 ,

llurtlcun lII,2,4; Ill,2,9; ltl, !t Ill,),7i LI'1,4; Il[,4,6; ,[tl, 6,6i III,12,6; III, 14,2--1; IV, 1,6; lV,2i IV,6, J; IV,7,); IY,1l; IV, 17,3; IV,21,).

Sobirs: lII,17,5-6; III, 18; III, 18,2-7;III, 18, 8-11; IV, L3,7 -9.

Saghanshah: IY,24, 6; IY,24, 8.

$nmnium: Il, 1,4.Sondes: II,24,8.Sandilch: Y,L2,6; Y,24,2; Y,25.Satdanapalus: II,25, 5.Sasan: II,27,2; 1I,27, 4-5.Scythia: V, 11,6.Scythians: Y,ll,2.Segestani: TY,24,8.Seleucia: IV,29,L0.Semitamis: II, 18,5; II,24,2; II,25,

4-5.Sergius:

1. Setgius the son of Bacdrus: V,21,8.

2. Sergius the Interpreter: IV,10,34.

Sesostris: II, l^8,5.Sestos: Y,12,2.Sextus: II,29,7.Shapur:

. 1. Shapur I: IY,23,3; IY,23,7; TY,23, 8; IY, 24, 2; [Y, 24, 4; lÿ, 24, 5.

2. Shapur II: IY,25,2; IV, 25, 5; IV,26..

3. Shapur III: IY,26.Sibyl: I,10,2.Siderun: IV, 16, 4; LV,16,7.Siderus: II,L7,7.Sicily: Pteface )0; I,7,8; II,1, 4; II,4;

II, 10,5.Sidon: I1,15,4.Simacus: II,24,8.Simplicius: II,30,).Sindual: I,20,8; II,7,6; II,8,6; II,9,

7-8;11,9,L3.Slav: IY,20,4.Smerdis: TI,26,4.Soterichus: III,15,2; IlI,15,6; III,

15,8; III, 16,34; III, 16, 6*8; IV,12,24; IY,15,6-:1; IV, 19,6; IV,20,9.

Spoln: V, 11, li,§pnrtnnr; V, 19,

Stephanun: 1,,17,1-6; I, 18,2.Stephcn (St.): III, r,7.Stotzas; Pteface25.Suanians: IV,9.Suarunas: IY,20,4.Sura: Pref.ace 27.Sycae: V,1r.Syracuse: II, 10,5.Syria: Preface, 24, 27 ; \Y,24, 1,Teïas: Prüacell; \l;1,5; I,8,4-6; l,

20; IT,12,2.

Telephis: II,19; TI,L9,2; I1,20,5-8;TI,2L,7; II,22,2.

Thamanon: IV,29,7.Thebes (in Egypt): V,13,8.Theodahad: Preface3O; I,5,8.Theodebald:

1. Theodebald the son of Theodebert:I,4,7; T,5; T,5,2; I,6; I,6,6; IT,14,8-10.

2. Theodebald the Varne: I,21,2.Theodebert: I,3,6; I,4; I,4,54; I,6,6.Theoderic:

1, Theoderic the Osrogoth: Preface30; I,5,6-7; I,6,4.

2. Theoderic the son of Chlodwig: I,3,2-4.

Theodorias: V,L,4.Theodorus: I1,20,7-8; TI,2l,4; III,

20,9; III, 22,4; III,26,3; IY,l3,2;IV, 14; IV, 18; V, 1,3; Y,2; Y,2,3-5.

Theodosius: Prelace 23; IY, 26, 3.Thermopylae: Y, L9; Y,23, 6.Thersites: TI,29,6.Thescos: Y,L2,2.Thessaly: Prelace26.Thrace: I,4; I,4,4; V, 11,6; Y,14,5;

Y, 23,6; Y, 24, 5; Y, 25, 2.Thracian Chersonese: Y,LL,7; Y,L2; Y,

12,2; Y,12,5; Y,2L; Y,21,4-5; Y,23,5.

Thyanes: III,16.Tiberius Constantine: IV, 29, 8,

Tigris: TII,L7,7.Totila: Preface 3l; I,7; I,4; I,8,4; II,

12,2.Tralles: II, 17; II, L7,8-9; Y,6,1,Trebizond (Trapezus): III, 19,)i V, 1,2,