Chosroes, the Huns, and the Comet

This Good Works Translation begins the Book 2 Procopius steppe and Black Sea dossier from the Greek.

The chapters matter for the Scythian shelf because Hunnic power appears in two registers at once: first as diplomatic evidence in Chosroes' charge that Rome had broken the Endless Peace, then as a historical force crossing the Danube and ravaging Europe after the comet. Procopius also preserves the Armenian accusation that Justinian had attached Bosporus, whose people are described as subjects of the Huns.

The selected dossier has been expanded to full chapters where the relevant notices occur, preserving the Saracen pretext, Armenian revolt, Sittas' death, Chosroes' war council, the comet, and Justinian's final letter before the Persian invasion.

The translation is newly made from the Greek source text printed below. Dewing's public-domain English translation was used only as a control.

Translation

Wars 2.1.1-15

Not long after this, Chosroes, learning that Belisarius had begun to win Italy also for the emperor Justinian, was no longer able to restrain his thoughts. He wished to discover pretexts, so that on grounds which seemed plausible he might break the treaty.

He conferred with Alamoundaras about this and ordered him to provide causes for war.

Alamoundaras therefore brought a charge against Arethas, saying that Arethas was doing him violence over boundary lines. In time of peace he entered into conflict with him and began overrunning Roman land under this pretext.

He declared that he himself was not breaking the treaty between the Persians and Romans, since neither side had included him in it.

This was true. No mention of Saracens had ever been made in treaties, because they were included under the names of Persians and Romans.

The country claimed at that time by both tribes of Saracens is called Strata and stretches south of the city of Palmyra.

Nowhere does it produce a single tree or any useful growth of grain-land, for it is burned exceedingly dry by the sun; but from ancient times it has been set apart for the pasturing of a few flocks.

Arethas maintained that the place belonged to the Romans, proving his claim by the name long applied to it by all; for Strata means "paved road" in the Latin tongue. He also brought forward the testimony of men from the oldest times.

Alamoundaras, however, was not at all inclined to quarrel about the name, but claimed that from ancient times tribute had been given to him by the owners of the flocks for pasture there.

The emperor Justinian therefore entrusted the settlement of the disputed matters to Strategius, a patrician and administrator of the royal treasures, a man both wise and of good family, and with him Summus, who had commanded the troops in Palestine.

This Summus was the brother of Julian, who not long before had served as envoy to the Ethiopians and Homeritae. Summus insisted that the Romans ought not surrender the country.

Strategius, however, begged the emperor not to gratify the Persians, who already desired war, by providing them with pretexts for the sake of a small piece of land, wholly without account, unproductive and unsuitable for crops.

The emperor Justinian therefore kept the matter under consideration, and much time was spent in the settlement of the question.

But Chosroes, king of the Persians, said that the treaties had been broken by Justinian, who had just shown great plotting against his house by trying, while the treaties were in force, to make Alamoundaras his ally.

For he said that Summus had recently come to Alamoundaras, ostensibly for arbitration, and had gotten around him with promises of great sums of money, on condition that he go over to the Romans. Chosroes brought forward letters which, he said, the emperor Justinian had written to Alamoundaras about these matters.

He also insisted that Justinian had sent a letter to certain Huns, urging them to invade the land of the Persians and to devastate the regions there as much as possible. He said that the Huns themselves, when they had come before him, had put this letter into his hands.

Bringing these charges against the Romans, Chosroes intended to break the treaties. Whether what he said happened to be true, I am not able to say.

Wars 2.3.1-57

At the same time another event also occurred, as follows.

The Symeon who had handed Pharangium over to the Romans persuaded the emperor Justinian, while the war was still at its height, to give him certain villages of Armenia.

When he became master of these places, those who had formerly possessed them plotted against him and murdered him.

After this crime had been done, the murderers fled into the land of Persia. They were two brothers, sons of Perozes.

When the emperor heard this, he gave the villages to Amazaspes, the nephew of Symeon, and appointed him ruler over the Armenians.

As time went on, this Amazaspes was denounced to the emperor Justinian by one of his friends, named Acacius, on the ground that he was abusing the Armenians and wished to hand over Theodosiopolis and certain other fortresses to the Persians.

After reporting this, Acacius, by the emperor's will, treacherously killed Amazaspes and himself obtained command over the Armenians by the emperor's gift.

Being base by nature, he gained the opportunity to display his inward character and proved the cruelest of all men toward his subjects.

He plundered their possessions without excuse and ordained that they should pay an unheard-of tax of four centenaria.

The Armenians, unable to bear him any longer, conspired together, killed Acacius, and fled for refuge to Pharangium.

Therefore the emperor sent Sittas from Byzantium against them. Sittas had been lingering there since the treaty had been made with the Persians.

He came to Armenia, but at first he entered the war unwillingly and tried to calm the people and restore the inhabitants to their former homes, promising to persuade the emperor to remit the payment of the new tax.

But the emperor kept assailing him with frequent reproaches for his delay, led on by the slanders of Adolius, the son of Acacius. At last Sittas made his preparations for battle.

First he tried, by promises of many good things, to persuade some of the Armenians and attach them to his side, so that overpowering the rest might be attended with less difficulty and labor.

The tribe called the Aspetiani, great in power and number, was willing to join him.

They came to Sittas and begged him to give them written pledges that, if they abandoned their kinsmen in battle and came to the Roman army, they would remain entirely unharmed and keep their own possessions.

Sittas was delighted and wrote pledges for them on tablets, just as they desired, sealed the writing, and sent it to them.

Then, confident that by their help he would win the war without fighting, he went with his whole army to a place called Oenochalakon, where the Armenians had their camp.

But by some chance those carrying the tablets went by another road and did not meet the Aspetiani at all.

Moreover, a part of the Roman army happened upon a few of them, and, not knowing the agreement that had been made, treated them as enemies.

Sittas himself caught some of their women and children in a cave and killed them, either because he did not understand what had happened or because he was angry with the Aspetiani for not joining him as had been agreed.

They, now possessed by anger, arrayed themselves for battle with all the rest.

Since both armies were on exceedingly difficult ground full of precipices, they did not fight in one place, but were scattered among ridges and ravines.

So it happened that a few Armenians and Sittas with not many of his followers came near one another, with only a ravine lying between them. Both parties were horsemen.

Sittas crossed the ravine with a few men following him and advanced against the enemy. The Armenians withdrew to the rear and then stopped, and Sittas pursued no farther but remained where he was.

Suddenly a man from the Roman army, an Erulian by birth, who had been pursuing the enemy, came back from them impetuously and came upon Sittas and his men.

As it happened, Sittas had planted his spear in the ground; the Erulian's horse fell upon it with a great rush and shattered it.

The general was exceedingly annoyed. One of the Armenians, seeing him, recognized him and declared to all the others that it was Sittas, for he happened to have no helmet on his head.

Thus it did not escape the enemy that he had come there with only a few men.

When Sittas heard the Armenian say this, and since his spear, as has been said, lay broken in two on the ground, he drew his sword and immediately tried to recross the ravine.

The enemy advanced upon him with great eagerness. A soldier overtook him in the ravine and struck him a glancing blow with a sword on the top of the head. He took off the whole scalp, but the steel did not injure the bone at all.

Sittas pressed forward still more than before, but Artabanes, son of John of the Arsacidae, fell upon him from behind and killed him with a thrust of the spear.

Thus Sittas was removed from among men in no notable way, in a manner unworthy of his courage and his continual achievements against the enemy. He was exceedingly handsome in appearance, a capable warrior, and a general second to none of his contemporaries.

Some say that Sittas did not die by the hand of Artabanes, but that Solomon, a man of very little account among the Armenians, destroyed him.

After the death of Sittas, the emperor commanded Bouzes to go against the Armenians. When he drew near, he sent to them, promising to effect a reconciliation between the emperor and all the Armenians, and asking that some of their notable men come to confer with him about these matters.

The Armenians as a whole were unable to trust Bouzes and were not willing to receive his proposals.

But there was a certain man of the Arsacidae, especially friendly with him, named John, the father of Artabanes. Trusting Bouzes as a friend, this man came to him with his son-in-law Bassaces and a few others.

When these men had reached the place where they were to meet Bouzes on the following day and had bivouacked there, they perceived that they had come into a place surrounded by the Roman army.

Bassaces, the son-in-law, earnestly begged John to flee. Since he could not persuade him, he left him there alone and, with all the others, eluded the Romans and went back again by the same road.

Bouzes found John alone and killed him.

After this, since the Armenians had no hope of ever coming to agreement with the Romans, and since they were unable to prevail over the emperor in war, they came before the Persian king, led by Bassaces, an energetic man.

When the first men among the Armenians came before Chosroes, they spoke as follows:

"There are many Arsacids among us, master, descendants of that Arsaces who was in no way alien to the kingdom of the Parthians, at the time when Persian affairs lay under the Parthians, and who became a famous king, no less than any of his own time.

"We are now present before you, all of us become slaves and fugitives, not willingly, but under the strongest compulsion: in appearance under the rule of the Romans, but in truth, O king, by your judgment. For if a man gives strength to those who wish to do wrong, he himself would justly bear the blame for their deeds. I shall speak from a little farther back, so that you may all be able to follow what has been done.

"Arsaces, the last king of our ancestors, willingly stepped aside from his own rule for Theodosius, emperor of the Romans, on the condition that all those who would belong to his family by descent for all time should live freely in every other respect and in no way be subject to tribute.

"We preserved the agreements until you made these much-proclaimed treaties, which we think one would not err in calling a common destruction.

"For from then on, with no regard for friends or enemies, the man who is yours, O king, in word a friend but in deed hostile, has thrown all human affairs into confusion and disorder. You yourself will know this before long, as soon as he is able to subject the western peoples entirely.

"What of the things formerly forbidden has he not done? What well-established thing has he not disturbed?

"Has he not imposed on us a tribute payment which did not exist before? Has he not enslaved the Tzani, our neighbors, who were autonomous? Has he not set a Roman ruler over the king of the miserable Lazi, a thing neither fitting with the nature of affairs nor easy to explain in speech?

"Has he not sent generals to the Bosporites, subjects of the Huns, and attached to himself a city that in no way belonged to him? Has he not made an alliance in arms with the realms of the Ethiopians, of whom the Romans had previously heard nothing at all?

"He has also encompassed the Homeritae and the Red Sea, and he is adding the Palm Grove to the Roman dominion.

"We pass over the fate of the Libyans and Italians. The whole earth is not large enough for the man; conquering the whole world together is too small a thing for him. He is even looking around the heavens and searching the hidden places beyond Ocean, wanting to acquire some other world for himself.

"Why, then, O king, do you still delay? Why do you respect that most accursed peace, so that he may make you the last morsel of all?

"If you wish to know what kind of man Justinian shows himself toward those who yield to him, seek the example near at hand from us and from the wretched Lazi.

"If you wish to see how he is accustomed to treat those unknown to him, who have done him not the least wrong, consider the Vandals and the Goths and the Moors.

"But the chief thing has not yet been spoken. Has he not tried, in time of peace, to win over by deception your slave Alamoundaras, most mighty king, and detach him from your kingdom?

"Has he not recently striven to attach to himself Huns wholly unknown to him, so as to make trouble for you? A deed stranger than this has not been done in all time.

"For since he perceived, as I think, that the overthrow of the West would speedily be accomplished, he has already taken in hand to assault you of the East, since the Persian power alone remains for him to grapple with.

"Therefore the peace, as far as he is concerned, has already been broken for you, and he himself has set an end to the Endless Peace.

"Those who break the peace are not those who may be first in arms, but those who are caught plotting against their neighbors in time of peace. The crime belongs to the one who attempts it, even if success does not follow.

"As for the course of the war, this is surely clear to everyone. It is not those who provide causes for war, but those who defend themselves against those who provide them, who are always accustomed to conquer their enemies.

"Moreover, the contest will not be evenly balanced for us even in strength. As it happens, most of the Roman soldiers are at the end of the world.

"As for the two best generals they had, we come here having killed one, Sittas, and Belisarius will never again be seen by Justinian. For, disregarding his master, he has remained in the West, holding the power of Italy himself.

"So when you go against the enemy, no one at all will confront you, and you will have us leading the army with goodwill, as is natural, and with exact knowledge of the country."

When Chosroes heard this, he was pleased. He called together all the noble-born Persians, disclosed to all of them what Vittigis had written and what the Armenians had said, and laid before them the question of what should be done.

Many opinions were expressed, inclining to either side. Finally it was decided that they must open hostilities against the Romans at the beginning of spring.

It was late autumn, in the thirteenth year of the reign of the emperor Justinian.

The Romans, however, did not suspect this and did not think that the Persians would ever break the so-called Endless Peace, although they heard that Chosroes blamed their emperor for his successes in the West and brought against him the charges I have just mentioned.

Wars 2.4.1-26

At that time the comet also appeared. At first it was about as long as a tall man, but later it became much greater. Its end was toward the setting sun, and its beginning toward the rising sun; and it followed behind the sun itself. The sun was in Capricorn, and the comet was in Sagittarius.

Some called it the sword-star, because it was long and had a very sharp beginning. Others called it the bearded star. It appeared for more than forty days.

The men wise in such things, agreeing with one another as little as possible, predicted different things as signified by this star. But I, writing what happened, allow each person to judge by the outcomes as he wishes.

Immediately a great Hunnic army crossed the river Ister and fell upon all Europe. This had already happened many times, but never before had it brought so many evils in number, nor such evils in magnitude, upon the people there.

From the Ionian Gulf these barbarians plundered everything in succession as far as the suburbs of Byzantium.

They took thirty-two fortresses in Illyricum, and by force they destroyed the city of Cassandreia, which the ancients called Potidaea, so far as we know, though they had never before fought against a wall.

Having their plunder and carrying away one hundred and twenty thousand captives, they all withdrew homeward, no obstacle having met them.

In later time they often came there again and did incurable terrible things to the Romans.

They also fought against the wall in the Chersonese. Forcing back those who defended from the wall, they crossed the circuit-wall through the surf of the sea, at the place which is by the gulf called the Black Gulf. In this way they came inside the Long Walls and fell unexpectedly upon the Romans in the Chersonese. They killed many and enslaved nearly all.

A few of them also crossed the strait between Sestus and Abydus, plundered the places in Asia, turned back again to the Chersonese, and went away homeward with the rest of the army and all the booty.

In another invasion they plundered the Illyrians and Thessalians and attempted to fight against the wall at Thermopylae. When the guards in the walls defended themselves most stoutly, they searched out the circuits and unexpectedly found the path which leads to the mountain rising there.

In this way they ruined nearly all the Greeks except the Peloponnesians, and then withdrew.

Not long afterward the Persians broke the treaties and did to the eastern Romans the deeds which I shall very soon set forth. Belisarius, after humbling Vittigis, king of the Goths and Italians, brought him alive to Byzantium.

I shall now proceed to tell how the army of the Persians invaded the land of the Romans.

When the emperor Justinian perceived that Chosroes was eager for war, he wished to offer him some counsel and dissuade him from the undertaking.

It happened that a certain man had come to Byzantium from the city of Daras, named Anastasius, well known for intelligence. He was the man who had broken the tyranny recently established in Daras.

Justinian therefore wrote a letter and sent it by this Anastasius to Chosroes. The message of the letter was as follows:

"It belongs to men of discretion, and to those by whom divine things are treated with due respect, when causes of war arise, especially against men who are truly friends, to exert all their power to end them.

"But it belongs to foolish men, and to those who most lightly bring upon themselves the enmity of heaven, to devise occasions for war and revolt which have no real existence.

"To destroy peace and enter upon war is not a difficult thing, since the nature of affairs makes the basest acts easy for the most dishonorable men.

"But when they have brought about war according to their intention, to return again to peace is, I think, not easy for men.

"And yet you charge me with writing letters which were not written with any dark purpose. Now you have hastened to interpret them by arbitrary judgment, not in the sense in which we conceived them when we wrote, but in a way that will help you, since you are eager to carry out your plans with some pretext.

"But we can point out that your Alamoundaras recently overran our land and did outrageous deeds in time of peace: capturing towns, seizing property, massacring and enslaving such a multitude of men. Concerning these things it is your duty not to blame us, but to defend yourself.

"For the crimes of wrongdoers are made plain to neighbors by their acts, not by their thoughts.

"Even with these things as they stand, we have still decided to hold to peace; but we hear that you, eager to make war on the Romans, are fabricating accusations which do not belong to us at all.

"This is natural enough. Those who are eager to preserve the present order repel even the most pressing charges against their friends; those who are not satisfied with established friendships exert themselves to provide even pretexts which do not exist.

"But this would not seem becoming even to ordinary men, much less to kings.

"Leaving these things aside, consider how many will be destroyed on both sides in the course of the war. Consider well who will justly bear the blame for what will come to pass.

"Consider the oaths you took when you carried away the money, and consider that if afterward you dishonor them wrongly by tricks or sophistries, you will not be able to twist them aside; for heaven is too mighty to be deceived by any man."

When Chosroes saw this message, he neither gave an immediate answer nor dismissed Anastasius, but compelled him to remain there.

Colophon

This Good Works Translation was prepared for the Scythian shelf by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the Greek source text printed below. The Greek text was downloaded from the PerseusDL canonical Greek repository as tlg4029.tlg001.perseus-grc2.xml and inspected locally. Dewing's public-domain English, preserved in the local ToposText capture and Ready archival dossier, was used only as a control.

This is the fifth unit in the Procopius Wars steppe and Black Sea translation dossier, and the first Book 2 unit.

Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.

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Source Text: Procopius, Wars 2.1, 2.3, and 2.4

Greek source text from Procopius, Wars 2.1, 2.3, and 2.4. Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.

Wars 2.1

§ 2.1.1 Χρόνῳ δὲ οὐ πολλῷ ὕστερον ὁ Χοσρόης μαθὼν ὡς καὶ Ἰταλίαν Βελισάριος Ἰουστινιανῷ βασιλεῖ προσποιεῖν ἤρξατο, οὐκέτι κατέχειν οἷός τε ἦν τὴν διάνοιαν, ἀλλὰ σκήψεις ἐπινοεῖν ἤθελεν ὅπως δὴ λόγῳ τινὶ εὐπρεπεῖ τὰς σπονδὰς λύσειεν.

§ 2.1.2 ὑπὲρ ὧν κοινολογησάμενος Ἀλαμουνδάρῳ ἐκέλευεν αὐτὸν ξυμπορίζεσθαι πολέμου αἰτίας.

§ 2.1.3 ὁ δὲ Ἀρέθᾳ ἐπικαλέσας ὅτι αὐτὸν περὶ γῆς ὁρίων βιάζοιτο, ἐς χεῖράς τε αὐτῷ ἐν σπονδαῖς ἦλθε καὶ γῆν τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἐπὶ ταύτῃ τῇ σκήψει καταθεῖν ἤρξατο.

§ 2.1.4 ἔφασκέ τε ὡς αὐτὸς οὐ λύει τὰς Περσῶν τε καὶ Ῥωμαίων σπονδάς, ἐπεὶ αὐτὸν ἐς ταύτας οὐδέτεροι ἐσεγράψαντο.

§ 2.1.5 καὶ ἦν δὲ οὕτως. οὐ γάρ τις πώποτε Σαρακηνῶν λόγος ἐν σπονδαῖς γέγονεν, ἅτε ξυνεχομένων τῷ Περσῶν τε καὶ Ῥωμαίων ὀνόματι.

§ 2.1.6 αὕτη δὲ ἡ χώρα, ἣ δὴ πρὸς ἑκατέρων τότε Σαρακηνῶν ἀντελέγετο, Στρᾶτα μὲν κέκληται, Παλμύρας δὲ πόλεως πρὸς νότον ἄνεμον τέτραπται, δένδρον μὲν ἤ τι τῶν ἐν τοῖς ληίοις ἀγαθῶν οὐδαμῆ φέρουσα ʽἡλιόκαυστος γὰρ ὑπερφυῶς ἐστἰ, προβάτων δέ τισιν ἐκ παλαιοῦ ἀνειμένη νομαῖς.

§ 2.1.7 Ἀρέθας μὲν οὖν Ῥωμαίων ἰσχυρίζετο εἶναι τὸν χῶρον, τῷ τε ὀνόματι τεκμηριούμενος οὗ δὴ πρὸς πάντων ἄνωθεν ἔτυχε ʽΣτρᾶτα γὰρ ἡ ἐστρωμένη ὁδὸς τῇ Λατίνων καλεῖται φωνᾖ καὶ μαρτυρίαις παλαιοτάτων ἀνδρῶν χρώμενος.

§ 2.1.8 Ἀλαμούνδαρος δὲ φιλονεικεῖν μὲν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόματος ἥκιστα ἐδικαίου, μισθοὺς δέ οἱ τοῦ ἐνταῦθα νομοῦ ἐκ παλαιοῦ ἔφασκε τοὺς τὰ πρόβατα κεκτημένους διδόναι.

§ 2.1.9 διὸ δὴ βασιλεὺς Ἰουστινιανὸς Στρατηγίῳ τε πατρικίῳ ἀνδρὶ καὶ τῶν βασιλικῶν θησαυρῶν ἄρχοντι, ἄλλως δὲ ξυνετῷ καὶ εὐπατρίδῃ, ἔτι μέντοι καὶ Σούμμῳ τῶν ἐν Παλαιστίνῃ στρατιωτῶν ἡγησαμένῳ, τὴν τῶν ἀντιλεγομένων ἐπέτρεψε δίαιταν.

§ 2.1.10 ὁ δὲ Σοῦμμος Ἰουλιανοῦ ἀδελφὸς ἦν, ὃς ὀλίγῳ ἔμπροσθεν ἐς Αἰθίοπάς τε καὶ Ὁμηρίτας ἐπρέσβευσε.

§ 2.1.11 καὶ αὐτοῖν ἅτερος μέν, Σοῦμμος, μὴ χρῆναι Ῥωμαίους καταπροΐεσθαι τὴν χώραν ἠξίου, Στρατήγιος δὲ βασιλέως ἐδεῖτο μὴ χώρας τινὸς ἕνεκα βραχείας τε καὶ ὡς ἥκιστα λόγου ἀξίας, ἀλλὰ ἀγόνου τε καὶ ἀκάρπου παντάπασιν οὔσης, Πέρσαις πολεμησείουσι σκήψεις τοῦ πολέμου χαρίζεσθαι· βασιλεὺς μὲν οὖν Ἰουστινιανὸς ταῦτα ἐν βουλῇ ἐποιεῖτο, καὶ χρόνος πολὺς ταύτῃ δὴ τῇ διαίτῃ ἐτρίβη.

§ 2.1.12 Χοσρόης δὲ ὁ Περσῶν βασιλεὺς λελύσθαι πρὸς Ἰουστινιανοῦ τὰς σπονδὰς ἔφασκε, πολλὴν ἐπιβουλὴν ἐς οἶκον τὸν αὐτοῦ ἄρτι ἐνδειξαμένου, οἷς δὴ ἑταιρίζεσθαι Ἀλαμούνδαρον ἐν σπονδαῖς ἐνεχείρησε.

§ 2.1.13 Σοῦμμον γὰρ ἔναγχος ἐπὶ διαίτῃ δῆθεν τῷ λόγῳ παρ’ αὐτὸν ἥκοντα ἐπαγγελίαις αὐτὸν περιελθεῖν μεγάλων χρημάτων, ἐφ’ ᾧ προσχωρήσει Ῥωμαίοις, γράμματά τε προΐσχετο ἃ δὴ πρὸς Ἀλαμούνδαρον ὑπὲρ τούτων Ἰουστινιανὸς βασιλεὺς ἔγραψε.

§ 2.1.14 καὶ πρὸς Οὔννων δέ τινας ἰσχυρίζετο αὐτὸν ἐπιστολὴν πέμψαι, ἐγκελευομένην αὐτοῖς ἐσβαλεῖν τε ἐς τὴν Περσῶν γῆν καὶ τοῖς ἐκείνῃ χωρίοις ἐπὶ πλεῖστον λυμήνασθαι. ἣν δή οἱ τοὺς Οὔννους αὐτοὺς ἔφασκεν ἐγχειρίσαι ἐς ὄψιν ἐλθόντας.

§ 2.1.15 ταῦτα μὲν Χοσρόης ἐπικαλῶν Ῥωμαίοις τὰς σπονδὰς λύειν διενοεῖτο. εἰ μέντοι ταῦτα λέγοντί οἱ ἀληθίζεσθαι ξυνέβαινεν, οὐκ ἔχω εἰπεῖν.

Wars 2.3

§ 2.3.1 Ἐν τούτῳ δὲ καὶ ἄλλο τι γενέσθαι τοιόνδε ξυνέβη. Συμεώνης ἐκεῖνος, ὁ τὸ Φαράγγιον Ῥωμαίοις ἐνδούς, Ἰουστινιανὸν βασιλέα πείθει, ἔτι τοῦ πολέμου ἀκμάζοντος, κώμαις αὐτόν τισιν ἀνδρῶν Ἀρμενίων δωρήσασθαι.

§ 2.3.2 κύριός τε τῶν χωρίων γενόμενος πρὸς τῶν αὐτὰ πάλαι κεκτημένων ἐξ ἐπιβουλῆς θνήσκει.

§ 2.3.3 ἐξειργασμένου δὲ τοῦ κακοῦ οἱ τοῦ φόνου αὐτουργοὶ φεύγουσιν ἐς τὰ Περσῶν ἤθη. ἀδελφὼ δὲ ἤστην δύο Περόζου παῖδε. βασιλεύς τε ταῦτα ἀκούσας τάς τε κώμας Ἀμαζάσπῃ παραδίδωσι τῷ Συμεώνου ἀδελφιδῷ καὶ ἄρχοντα κατεστήσατο Ἀρμενίοις αὐτόν.

§ 2.3.4 τοῦτον τὸν Ἀμαζάσπην, προϊόντος τοῦ χρόνου, Ἰουστινιανῷ βασιλεῖ τῶν τις ἐπιτηδείων διέβαλλεν, Ἀκάκιος ὄνομα, κακουργεῖν τε ἐς Ἀρμενίους καὶ βούλεσθαι Πέρσαις ἐνδοῦναι Θεοδοσιούπολίν τε καὶ ἄλλα ἄττα πολίσματα.

§ 2.3.5 ταῦτα εἰπὼν γνώμῃ βασιλέως Ἀκάκιος τὸν Ἀμαζάσπην δόλῳ ἔκτεινε, καὶ τὴν Ἀρμενίων ἀρχὴν δόντος βασιλέως ἔσχεν αὐτός.

§ 2.3.6 πονηρὸς δὲ ὢν φύσει ἔσχε καθ’ ὅ τι τὰ τῆς ψυχῆς ἤθη ἐνδείξοιτο. γέγονεν οὖν ἐς τοὺς ἀρχομένους ὠμότατος ἀνθρώπων ἁπάντων.

§ 2.3.7 τά τε γὰρ χρήματα ἐληίζετο οὐδενὶ λόγῳ καὶ φόρου αὐτοῖς ἀπαγωγὴν οὔποτε οὖσαν ἐς κεντηνάρια τέσσαρα ἔταξεν. Ἀρμένιοι δέ ʽφέρειν γὰρ οὐκέτι αὐτὸν οἷοί τε ἦσαν’ κτείνουσι τε ξυμφρονήσαντες τὸν Ἀκάκιον καὶ ἐς τὸ Φαράγγιον καταφεύγουσι.

§ 2.3.8 Διὸ δὴ Σίτταν ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς ἐκ Βυζαντίου βασιλεὺς ἔπεμψεν. ἐνταῦθα γὰρ ὁ Σίττας διέτριβεν, ἐπειδὴ Ῥωμαίοις ἐγένοντο αἱ πρὸς Πέρσας σπονδαί.

§ 2.3.9 ὃς δὴ ἐς Ἀρμενίους ἐλθὼν τὰ μὲν πρῶτα ἐς τὸν πόλεμον ὀκνηρῶς ᾔει, τιθασσεύειν μέντοι καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ πρότερα ἤθη ἀντικαθιστάναι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἠπείγετο, πείθειν βασιλέα ὑποσχόμενος ἀφεῖναι αὐτοῖς τὴν καινὴν τοῦ φόρου ἀπαγωγήν.

§ 2.3.10 ἐπεὶ δὲ αὐτὸν βασιλεὺς τῆς μελλήσεως πολλὰ ὀνειδίζων ἐκάκιζεν, ἠγμένος ταῖς Ἀδολίου διαβολαῖς τοῦ Ἀκακίου παιδός, ἐνταῦθα ἤδη ὁ Σίττας τὰ ἐς τὴν ξυμβολὴν ἐξηρτύετο.

§ 2.3.11 πρῶτον μὲν οὖν ὑποσχέσεσι πολλῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀναπείθειν τε καὶ ἑταιρίζεσθαι αὐτῶν τινας ἐνεχείρησεν, ὅπως αὐτῷ ῥᾴων τε καὶ ἀπονωτέρα ἡ ἐς τοὺς λοιποὺς ἐπικράτησις γένοιτο.

§ 2.3.12 καί οἱ τὸ τῶν Ἀσπετιανῶν καλουμένων γένος, μέγα τε ὂν καὶ πολυάνθρωπον,

§ 2.3.13 προσχωρεῖν ἤθελε. πέμψαντές τε παρὰ τὸν Σίτταν ἐν γράμμασιν ἐδέοντο διδόναι τὰ πιστὰ σφίσιν, ὅτι δή, ἢν ἐν τῷ ἔργῳ τοὺς ὁμογενεῖς ἀπολιπόντες ἥξωσιν ἐς τὴν Ῥωμαίων παράταξιν, κακῶν παντάπασιν ἀπαθεῖς μείνωσι, τὰ σφέτερα αὐτῶν ἔχοντες.

§ 2.3.14 ὁ δὲ αὐτοῖς ἄσμενός τε γράψας ἐν βιβλιδίῳ καθάπερ ἐδέοντο τὰ πιστὰ ἔδωκε, καὶ τὸ γράμμα κατασημηνάμενος ἐς αὐτοὺς ἔπεμψε.

§ 2.3.15 θαρσῶν τε ὡς δι’ αὐτῶν ἀμαχητὶ τοῦ πολέμου κρατήσει, τῷ παντὶ στρατῷ ἐς χωρίον Οἰνοχαλάκων ᾔει, ἔνθα τοὺς Ἀρμενίους ἐστρατοπεδεῦσθαι ξυνέβαινε.

§ 2.3.16 τύχῃ δέ τινι οἱ τὸ βιβλίον ἔχοντες ἑτέρᾳ ἰόντες ὁδῷ Ἀσπετιανοῖς ἐντυχεῖν οὐδαμῆ ἴσχυσαν.

§ 2.3.17 μοῖρα μέντοι τοῦ Ῥωμαίων στρατοῦ ὀλίγοις τισὶν αὐτῶν ἐντυχόντες, οὐκ εἰδότες τε τὰ ξυγκείμενα, ὡς πολεμίοις ἐχρήσαντο.

§ 2.3.18 καὶ αὐτὸς Σίττας ἐν σπηλαίῳ που παῖδάς τε αὐτῶν καὶ γυναῖκας λαβὼν ἔκτεινεν, ἢ τὸ γεγονὸς οὐ ξυνιεὶς ἢ δι’ ὀργῆς Ἀσπετιανοὺς ἔχων, ὅτι οἱ καθάπερ ξυνέκειτο οὐ προσεχώρουν.

§ 2.3.19 Οἱ δὲ θυμῷ ἤδη ἐχόμενοι ξὺν τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασιν ὡς ἐς μάχην ἐτάξαντο. ἅτε δὲ ἐν δυσχωρίαις χαλεπαῖς τε καὶ κρημνώδεσιν ἑκάτεροι ὄντες οὐκ ἐν ἑνὶ χώρῳ ἐμάχοντο, ἀλλὰ διασκεδαννύμενοι ἔν τε ὑπωρείαις καὶ φάραγξι. τετύχηκεν οὖν τῶν τε Ἀρμενίων ὀλίγους τινὰς καὶ Σίτταν τῶν ἑπομένων οὐ πολλοὺς ἔχοντα ἀλλήλων πη ἄγχιστα ἰέναι, φάραγγος σφίσι τινὸς μεταξὺ οὔσης.

§ 2.3.20 ἱππεῖς δὲ ἦσαν ἑκάτεροι. ὁ μὲν οὖν Σίττας, ὀλίγων οἱ ἐπισπομένων, ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐναντίους τὴν φάραγγα διαβὰς ἤλαυνεν, Ἀρμένιοι δὲ ὀπίσω ὑποχωρήσαντες ἔστησαν, καὶ ὁ Σίττας οὐκέτι ἐδίωκεν ἀλλ’ αὐτοῦ ἔμενεν.

§ 2.3.21 ἄφνω δέ τις τοῦ Ῥωμαίων στρατοῦ, Ἔρουλος γένος, δίωξιν ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους πεποιημένος ἐνθένδε τε ξὺν θυμῷ ἀπελαύνων, παρὰ τοὺς ἀμφὶ τὸν Σίτταν ἦλθεν. ἐτύγχανε δὲ ὁ Σίττας ἐς τὸ ἔδαφος τὸ δόρυ ἐρείσας· ὃ δὴ ὁ τοῦ Ἐρούλου ἵππος ἐπιπεσὼν ξὺν πολλῇ ῥύμῃ κατέαξε.

§ 2.3.22 τόν τε στρατηγὸν τοῦτο ἠνίασεν ἐς τὰ μάλιστα, καὶ αὐτὸν τῶν τις Ἀρμενίων ἰδὼν ἔγνω τε καὶ Σίτταν αὐτὸν τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασιν ἰσχυρίζετο εἶναι. ξυνέβαινε γάρ οἱ ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ κράνος οὐκ εἶναι. διὸ δὴ τοὺς πολεμίους οὐκ ἔλαθε ξὺν ὀλίγοις τισὶν ἐνταῦθα ἥκων.

§ 2.3.23 Σίττας μὲν οὖν, ἐπεὶ ταῦτα τοῦ Ἀρμενίου λέγοντος ἤκουσε καὶ τὸ δόρυ, ὥσπερ ἐρρήθη, οἱ ἀποκαυλισθὲν ἐς τὴν γῆν ἔκειτο, σπασάμενος τὸ ξίφος τὴν φάραγγα διαβαίνειν εὐθὺς ἐνεχείρησεν.

§ 2.3.24 οἱ δὲ πολέμιοι σπουδῇ πολλῇ ἐπ’ αὐτὸν ἤλαυνον, καί τις αὐτὸν καταλαβὼν ἐν τῇ φάραγγι ξίφει ἐς ἄκραν κεφαλὴν ἔτυψε πληγῇ ἐγκαρσίᾳ. καὶ τὸ μὲν βρέγμα ὅλον ἀφείλετο,

§ 2.3.25 τοῦ δὲ ὀστέου ὁ σίδηρος οὐδαμῆ ἥψατο. καὶ ὁ μὲν Σίττας ἔτι μᾶλλον ἢ πρότερον πρόσω ἤλαυνεν, Ἀρταβάνης δὲ Ἰωάννου παῖς Ἀρσακίδης ὄπισθεν ἐπιπεσὼν καὶ παίσας τῷ δόρατι ἔκτεινεν.

§ 2.3.26 οὕτω τε ὁ Σίττας ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἠφάνιστο οὐδενὶ λόγῳ, ἀναξίως τῆς τε ἀρετῆς καὶ τῶν ἐς τοὺς πολεμίους ἀεὶ πεπραγμένων, ἀνὴρ τό τε σῶμα ἐς ἄγαν καλὸς γεγονὼς καὶ ἀγαθὸς τὰ πολέμια, στρατηγός τε ἄριστος τῶν καθ’ αὑτὸν οὐδενὸς ἥσσων.

§ 2.3.27 τινὲς δέ φασι τὸν Σίτταν οὐ πρὸς τοῦ Ἀρταβάνου ἀπολωλέναι, ἀλλὰ Σολόμωνα, λίαν ἐν Ἀρμενίοις ἀφανῆ ἄνδρα, τὸν ἄνθρωπον διαχρήσασθαι.

§ 2.3.28 Τελευτήσαντος δὲ Σίττα Βούζην βασιλεὺς ἐπὶ τοὺς Ἀρμενίους ἐκέλευσεν ἰέναι· ὃς ἐπεὶ ἄγχιστά που ἐγένετο, ἔπεμψε πρὸς αὐτοὺς βασιλεῖ τε καταλλάξειν Ἀρμενίους ὑποσχόμενος ἅπαντας καὶ ὑπὲρ τούτων ἐς λόγους οἱ ἐλθεῖν ἀξιῶν τῶν δοκίμων τινάς.

§ 2.3.29 οἱ μὲν οὖν ἄλλοι οὔτε πιστεύειν τῷ Βούζῃ εἶχον οὔτε τοὺς λόγους ἐνδέχεσθαι τοὺς αὐτοῦ ἤθελον. ἦν δέ τις αὐτῷ μάλιστα φίλος ἀνὴρ Ἀρσακίδης, Ἰωάννης ὄνομα, Ἀρταβάνου πατήρ, ὃς δὴ τῷ Βούζῃ τότε ἅτε φίλῳ θαρσήσας ξύν τε Βασσάκῃ τῷ κηδεστῇ καὶ ἄλλοις ὀλίγοις τισὶ παρ’ αὐτὸν ἦλθεν· οἳ δὴ ἐν χωρίῳ γενόμενοί τε καὶ αὐλισθέντες ἔνθα τῷ Βούζῃ τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ ἐντυχεῖν ἔμελλον, ᾔσθοντο ἐς κύκλωσιν πρὸς τοῦ Ῥωμαίων στρατοῦ ἥκοντες.

§ 2.3.30 πολλὰ μὲν οὖν τὸν Ἰωάννην Βασσάκης ὁ γαμβρὸς ἐλιπάρει δρασμοῦ ἔχεσθαι. ἐπεὶ δὲ αὐτὸν πείθειν οὐκ εἶχε, μόνον ἐνταῦθα καταλιπών, ξὺν τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασι λαθὼν τοὺς Ῥωμαίους ὁδῷ τῇ αὐτῇ ὀπίσω αὖθις ἀπήλαυνε.

§ 2.3.31 Βούζης τε τὸν Ἰωάννην μόνον εὑρὼν ἔκτεινε, καὶ ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ οὔτε τινὰ ἐλπίδα ἐς Ῥωμαίους Ἀρμένιοι ξυμβάσεως πέρι τὸ λοιπὸν ἔχοντες οὔτε βασιλέα τῷ πολέμῳ ὑπεραίρειν οἷοί τε ὄντες παρὰ τὸν Περσῶν βασιλέα ἦλθον, Βασσάκου σφίσιν ἡγουμένου, δραστηρίου ἀνδρός.

§ 2.3.32 ὧν τότε οἱ πρῶτοι Χοσρόῃ ἐς ὄψιν ἐλθόντες ἔλεξαν τοιάδε “Εἰσὶ μὲν ἡμῶν πολλοὶ Ἀρσακίδαι, ὦ δέσποτα, ἐκείνου Ἀρσάκου ἀπόγονοι ὃς δὴ οὔτε τῆς Πάρθων βασιλείας ἀλλότριος ἐτύγχανεν ὤν, ἡνίκα ὑπὸ Πάρθοις ἔκειτο τὰ Περσῶν πράγματα, καὶ βασιλεὺς ἐπιφανὴς γέγονε τῶν καθ’ αὑτὸν οὐδενὸς ἧσσον.

§ 2.3.33 πάρεσμεν δὲ τανῦν εἰς ὑμᾶς ἅπαντες δοῦλοί τε καὶ δραπέται γεγενημένοι, οὐχ ἑκούσιοι μέντοι, ἀλλ’ ἠναγκασμένοι ὡς μάλιστα, τῷ μὲν φαινομένῳ ὑπὸ τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῆς, τῷ δὲ ἀληθεῖ λόγῳ ὑπὸ σῆς,

§ 2.3.34 ὦ βασιλεῦ, γνώμης· εἴπερ ὁ τὴν ἰσχὺν τοῖς ἀδικεῖν βουλομένοις διδοὺς αὐτὸς ἂν φέροιτο καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν τῶν ἔργων δικαίως. εἰρήσεται δὲ μικρὸν ἄνωθεν ὅπως δὴ ἅπασι παρακολουθεῖν τοῖς πεπραγμένοις δυνήσεσθε.

§ 2.3.35 Ἀρσάκης γὰρ ὁ τῶν προγόνων τῶν ἡμετέρων βασιλεὺς ὕστατος ἐξέστη τῆς ἀρχῆς τῆς αὑτοῦ Θεοδοσίῳ τῷ Ῥωμαίων αὐτοκράτορι ἑκών γε εἶναι, ἐφ’ ᾧ δὴ ἅπαντες οἱ κατὰ γένος αὐτῷ μέλλοντες πάντα τὸν αἰῶνα προσήκειν τά τε ἄλλα βιοτεύσουσι κατ’ ἐξουσίαν καὶ φόρου ὑποτελεῖς οὐδαμῆ ἔσονται.

§ 2.3.36 καὶ διεσωσάμεθα τὰ ξυγκείμενα ἕως ὑμεῖς ταύτας πεποίησθε τὰς διαβοήτους σπονδάς, ἃς δὴ κοινόν τινα ὄλεθρον καλῶν τις, οἰόμεθα, οὐκ ἂν ἁμάρτοι.

§ 2.3.37 φίλων τε γὰρ καὶ πολεμίων τὸ ἐντεῦθεν ἀφροντιστήσας, ἅπαντα ξυνέχεέ τε καὶ ξυνετάραξε τὰ ἀνθρώπεια ὁ σός, ὦ βασιλεῦ, τῷ λόγῳ μὲν φίλος,

§ 2.3.38 ἔργῳ δὲ δυσμενής. ὅπερ καὶ αὐτὸς οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν εἴσῃ, ἐπειδὰν τάχιστα τοὺς ἑσπερίους οἷός τε ᾖ παντάπασι καταστρέψασθαι. τί γὰρ τῶν πρότερον ἀπειρημένων οὐκ ἔπραξεν; ἢ τί οὐκ ἐκίνησε τῶν εὖ καθεστώτων;

§ 2.3.39 οὐχ ἡμῖν μὲν φόρου ἀπαγωγὴν ἔταξεν οὐ πρότερον οὖσαν, καὶ Τζάνους τοὺς ὁμόρους ἡμῖν αὐτονόμους ὄντας δεδούλωται, τῷ δὲ βασιλεῖ τῶν ἀθλίων Λαζῶν ἄρχοντα Ῥωμαῖον ἐπέστησε; πρᾶγμα οὔτε τῇ φύσει τῶν πραγμάτων ξυμβαῖνον οὔτε λόγῳ ῥᾴδιον ἑρμηνεύεσθαι.

§ 2.3.40 οὐ Βοσπορίταις μὲν τοῖς Οὔννων κατηκόοις στρατηγοὺς ἔπεμψε καὶ τὴν πόλιν προσεποιήσατο οὐδὲν αὐτῷ προσῆκον, ὁμαιχμίαν δὲ πεποίηται πρὸς τὰς τῶν Αἰθιόπων ἀρχάς, ὧν καὶ ἀνήκοοι τὸ παράπαν Ῥωμαῖοι ἐτύγχανον ὄντες;

§ 2.3.41 ἀλλὰ καὶ Ὁμηρίτας τε καὶ θάλασσαν τὴν Ἐρυθρὰν περιβέβληται καὶ τὸν φοινικῶνα προστίθησι τῇ Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῇ.

§ 2.3.42 ἀφίεμεν γὰρ λέγειν τὰ Λιβύων τε καὶ Ἰταλῶν πάθη. ἡ γῆ τὸν ἄνθρωπον οὐ χωρεῖ ξύμπασα· μικρόν ἐστιν αὐτῷ πάντων ὁμοῦ τῶν ἀνθρώπων κρατεῖν.

§ 2.3.43 ὁ δὲ καὶ τὸν αἰθέρα περισκοπεῖ καὶ τοὺς ὑπὲρ τὸν ὠκεανὸν διερευνᾶται μυχούς, ἄλλην αὑτῷ τινα οἰκουμένην περιποιεῖσθαι βουλόμενος.

§ 2.3.44 τί οὖν ἔτι, ὦ βασιλεῦ, μέλλεις; τί δὲ τὴν κάκιστα ἀπολουμένην εἰρήνην αἰσχύνῃ, ὅπως δηλαδή σε ὑστάτην ποιήσηται βρῶσιν τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων;

§ 2.3.45 εἰ μέν ἐστί σοι βουλομένῳ μαθεῖν ὁποῖός τις ἂν Ἰουστινιανὸς ἐς τοὺς αὐτῷ εἴκοντας γένοιτο, ἐγγύθεν σοι τὸ παράδειγμα παρ’ ἡμῶν τε αὐτῶν ἐστι καὶ τῶν ταλαιπώρων Λαζῶν·

§ 2.3.46 εἰ δέ, ὅπως ποτὲ εἴωθε τοῖς τε ἀγνῶσι καὶ οὐδ’ ὁτιοῦν ἠδικηκόσι χρῆσθαι, Βανδίλους τε καὶ Γότθους καὶ Μαυρουσίους διαλογίζου.

§ 2.3.47 τό τε δὴ κεφάλαιον οὔπω λέλεκται. οὐκ Ἀλαμούνδαρον μὲν ἐν σπονδαῖς τὸν σόν, ὦ κράτιστε βασιλεῦ, δοῦλον ἀπάτῃ τε περιελθεῖν καὶ βασιλείας ἀποστῆσαι τῆς σῆς ἔργον πεποίηται, Οὔννους δὲ τοὺς οὐδαμόθεν αὐτῷ γνωρίμους ἐπὶ τοῖς σοῖς ἔναγχος ἑταιρίζεσθαι πράγμασιν ἐν σπουδῇ ἔσχε; καίτοι πρᾶξις ἀτοπωτέρα ταύτης οὐ γέγονεν ἐκ τοῦ παντὸς χρόνου.

§ 2.3.48 ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ᾔσθετο, οἶμαι, εἰς πέρας αὐτῷ ὅσον οὔπω ἀφίξεσθαι τὴν τῶν ἑσπερίων καταστροφήν, τοὺς ἑῴους ἤδη μετελθεῖν ὑμᾶς ἐγκεχείρηκεν, ἐπεὶ καὶ μόνον ἀπολέλειπται αὐτῷ ἐς ἀγῶνα τὸ Περσῶν κράτος.

§ 2.3.49 ἡ μὲν οὖν εἰρήνη τὸ ἐκείνου μέρος ἤδη σοι λέλυται, καὶ σπονδαῖς αὐτὸς πέρας ταῖς ἀπεράντοις ἐπέθηκε.

§ 2.3.50 λύουσι γὰρ τὴν εἰρήνην οὐχ οἳ ἂν ἐν ὅπλοις γένοιντο πρῶτοι, ἀλλ’ οἳ ἂν ἐπιβουλεύοντες ἐν σπονδαῖς τοῖς πέλας ἁλοῖεν.

§ 2.3.51 τὸ γὰρ ἔγκλημα τῷ ἐγκεχειρηκότι, κἂν ἀπῇ τὸ κατορθοῦν, πέπρακται. ὅπη ποτὲ δὲ ὁ πόλεμος χωρήσει παντί που δῆλον. οὐ γὰρ οἱ τὰς αἰτίας τῷ πολέμῳ παρασχόμενοι, ἀλλ’ οἱ τοὺς παρασχομένους αὐτὰς ἀμυνόμενοι, κρατεῖν ἀεὶ τῶν πολεμίων εἰώθασιν.

§ 2.3.52 οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ ἐξ ἀντιπάλου ἡμῖν τῆς δυνάμεως ὁ ἀγὼν ἔσται. Ῥωμαίοις γὰρ τῶν τε στρατιωτῶν πλείστους πρὸς ταῖς τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐσχατιαῖς ξυμβαίνει εἶναι, καὶ δυοῖν στρατηγοῖν, οἵπερ αὐτοῖς ἄριστοι ἦσαν, τὸν ἕτερον μὲν Σίτταν κτείναντες ἥκομεν, Βελισάριον δὲ οὔποτε Ἰουστινιανὸς τὸ λοιπὸν ὄψεται. οὗπερ ἐκεῖνος ὀλιγωρήσας μεμένηκε πρὸς ταῖς ἡλίου δυσμαῖς,

§ 2.3.53 αὐτὸς ἔχων τὸ Ἰταλῶν κράτος. ὥστε σοι ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους ἰόντι ἀπαντήσει τῶν πάντων οὐδείς, ἕξεις δὲ καὶ ἡμᾶς εὐνοίᾳ τε, ὡς τὸ εἰκός, καὶ χωρίων ἐμπειρίᾳ πολλῇ τῷ σῷ στρατῷ ἐξηγουμένους.” ταῦτα ἐπεὶ Χοσρόης ἤκουσεν,

§ 2.3.54 ἥσθη τε καὶ ξυγκαλέσας εἴ τι ἐν Πέρσαις καθαρὸν ἦν ἐς πάντας ἐξήνεγκεν ἅ τε Οὐίττιγις ἔγραψε καὶ ὅσα οἱ Ἀρμένιοι εἶπον, ἀμφί τε τῷ πρακτέῳ βουλὴν προὔθηκεν.

§ 2.3.55 ἔνθα δὴ ἐλέχθησαν μὲν γνῶμαι πολλαὶ ἐφ’ ἑκάτερα φέρουσαι, τέλος δὲ πολεμητέα σφίσιν ἅμα ἦρι ἀρχομένῳ ἐπὶ Ῥωμαίους ἔδοξεν εἶναι.

§ 2.3.56 ἦν γὰρ τοῦ ἔτους μετόπωρον, τρίτον καὶ δέκατον ἔτος Ἰουστινιανοῦ βασιλέως τὴν αὐτοκράτορα ἀρχὴν ἔχοντος.

§ 2.3.57 οὐ μέντοι Ῥωμαῖοι τοῦτο ὑπώπτευον, οὐδὲ δὴ Πέρσας λύσειν ποτὲ τὰς ἀπεράντους καλουμένας σπονδὰς ᾤοντο, καίπερ Χοσρόην ἀκούσαντες τῷ τε σφῶν αὐτῶν βασιλεῖ ἐγκαλεῖν οἷς εὐημέρησεν ἐν ταῖς ἡλίου δυσμαῖς καὶ τὰ ἐγκλήματα ἐπιφέρειν ταῦτα ὧν ἄρτι ἐμνήσθην.

Wars 2.4

§ 2.4.1 Τότε καὶ ὁ κομήτης ἀστὴρ ἐφάνη, τὰ μὲν πρῶτα ὅσον εὐμήκης ἀνὴρ μάλιστα, ὕστερον δὲ καὶ πολλῷ μείζων. καὶ αὐτοῦ τὸ μὲν πέρας πρὸς δύοντα ἥλιον, ἡ δὲ ἀρχὴ πρὸς ἀνίσχοντα ἦν,

§ 2.4.2 αὐτῷ δὲ τῷ ἡλίῳ ὄπισθεν εἵπετο. ὁ μὲν. γὰρ ἐν αἰγοκέρῳ ἦν, αὐτὸς δὲ ἐν τοξότῃ. καὶ αὐτὸν οἱ μέν τινες ἐκάλουν ξιφίαν, ὅτι δὴ ἐπιμήκης τε ἦν καὶ λίαν ὀξεῖαν τὴν ἀρχὴν εἶχεν, οἱ δὲ πωγωνίαν, ἡμέρας τε πλείους ἢ τεσσαράκοντα ἐφάνη.

§ 2.4.3 οἱ μὲν οὖν ταῦτα σοφοὶ ἀλλήλοις ὡς ἥκιστα ὁμολογοῦντες ἄλλος ἄλλα προὔλεγον πρὸς τούτου δὴ τοῦ ἀστέρος σημαίνεσθαι· ἐγὼ δὲ ὅσα γενέσθαι ξυνηνέχθη γράφων δίδωμι ἑκάστῳ τοῖς ἀποβεβηκόσι τεκμηριοῦσθαι ᾗ βούλοιτο.

§ 2.4.4 μέγα μὲν εὐθὺς στράτευμα Οὐννικόν, διαβάντες ποταμὸν Ἴστρον, ξυμπάσῃ Εὐρώπῃ ἐπέσκηψαν, γεγονὸς μὲν πολλάκις ἤδη, τοσαῦτα δὲ τὸ πλῆθος κακὰ ἢ τοιαῦτα τὸ μέγεθος οὐκ ἐνεγκὸν πώποτε τοῖς ταύτῃ ἀνθρώποις. ἐκ κόλπου γὰρ τοῦ Ἰονίου οἱ βάρβαροι οὗτοι ἅπαντα ἐφεξῆς ἐληίσαντο μέχρι ἐς τὰ Βυζαντίων προάστεια.

§ 2.4.5 καὶ φρούρια μὲν δύο καὶ τριάκοντα ἐν Ἰλλυριοῖς εἷλον, πόλιν δὲ τὴν Κασσάνδρειαν κατεστρέψαντο βίᾳ ʽἣν οἱ παλαιοὶ Ποτίδαιαν ἐκάλουν, ὅσα γε ἡμᾶς εἰδέναἰ οὐ τειχομαχήσαντες πρότερον.

§ 2.4.6 καὶ τά τε χρήματα ἔχοντες αἰχμαλώτων τε μυριάδας δυοκαίδεκα ἀπαγόμενοι ἐπ’ οἴκου ἅπαντες ἀνεχώρησαν, οὐδενὸς σφίσιν ἐναντιώματος ἀπαντήσαντος.

§ 2.4.7 χρόνῳ τε τῷ ὑστέρῳ πολλάκις ἐνταῦθα γενόμενοι ἀνήκεστα ἐς Ῥωμαίους δεινὰ ἔδρασαν.

§ 2.4.8 οἳ δὴ καὶ ἐν Χερρονήσῳ τειχομαχήσαντες, βιασάμενοί τε τοὺς ἐκ τοῦ τείχους ἀμυνομένους καὶ διὰ τοῦ τῆς θαλάσσης ῥοθίου τὸν περίβολον ὑπερβάντες ὃς πρὸς κόλπῳ τῷ μέλανι καλουμένῳ ἐστίν, οὕτω τε ἐντὸς τῶν μακρῶν τειχῶν γεγενημένοι καὶ τοῖς ἐν Χερρονήσῳ Ῥωμαίοις ἀπροσδόκητοι ἐπιπεσόντες, ἔκτεινάν τε πολλοὺς καὶ ἠνδραπόδισαν σχεδὸν ἅπαντας.

§ 2.4.9 ὀλίγοι δέ τινες καὶ διαβάντες τὸν μεταξὺ Σηστοῦ τε καὶ Ἀβύδου πορθμόν, ληισάμενοί τε τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς Ἀσίας χωρία καὶ αὖθις ἐς Χερρόνησον ἀναστρέψαντες, ξὺν τῷ ἄλλῳ στρατῷ καὶ πάσῃ τῇ λείᾳ ἐπ’ οἴκου ἀπεκομίσθησαν.

§ 2.4.10 ἐν ἑτέρᾳ τε εἰσβολῇ τούς τε Ἰλλυριοὺς καὶ Θεσσαλοὺς ληισάμενοι, τειχομαχεῖν μὲν ἐνεχείρησαν ἐν Θερμοπύλαις, τῶν δὲ ἐν τοῖς τείχεσι φρουρῶν καρτερώτατα ἀμυνομένων διερευνώμενοι τὰς περιόδους παρὰ δόξαν τὴν ἀτραπὸν εὗρον ἣ φέρει εἰς τὸ ὄρος ὃ ταύτῃ ἀνέχει.

§ 2.4.11 οὕτω τε σχεδὸν ἅπαντας Ἕλληνας πλὴν Πελοποννησίων διεργασάμενοι ἀπεχώρησαν.

§ 2.4.12 Πέρσαι δὲ οὐ πολλῷ ὕστερον τὰς σπονδὰς λύσαντες ἔργα Ῥωμαίους τοὺς ἑῴους εἰργάσαντο ἅπερ ἐγὼ αὐτίκα δὴ μάλα δηλώσω.

§ 2.4.13 Βελισάριος ἐπεὶ τῶν Γότθων τε καὶ Ἰταλιωτῶν βασιλέα Οὐίττιγιν καθελὼν ζῶντα ἐς Βυζάντιον ἤνεγκεν. ὅπως δὲ ὁ Περσῶν στρατὸς ἐς γῆν τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἐσέβαλεν ἐρῶν ἔρχομαι.

§ 2.4.14 ἡνίκα Χοσρόου πολεμησείοντος Ἰουστινιανὸς βασιλεὺς ᾔσθετο, παραίνεσίν τε ποιεῖσθαί τινα καὶ τῆς ἐγχειρήσεως αὐτὸν ἀπαγαγεῖν ἤθελεν.

§ 2.4.15 ἐτύγχανε δέ τις ἐς Βυζάντιον ἥκων ἐκ Δάρας πόλεως, Ἀναστάσιος ὄνομα, δόξαν ἐπὶ ξυνέσει ἔχων, ὃς καὶ τὴν ἐν Δάρας ἔναγχος γενομένην τυραννίδα καταλελύκει.

§ 2.4.16 τοῦτον οὖν τὸν Ἀναστάσιον παρὰ Χοσρόην Ἰουστινιανὸς ἔπεμψε γράμματα γράψας·

§ 2.4.17 ἐδήλου δὲ ἡ γραφὴ τάδε “Ξυνετῶν μὲν ἀνθρώπων ἐστὶ καὶ οἷς τὰ ἐς τὸ θεῖον ἱκανῶς ἤσκηται πολέμου φυομένας αἰτίας, ἄλλως τε καὶ πρὸς ἄνδρας τὰ μάλιστα φίλους, σθένει παντὶ ἀποτέμνεσθαι· ἀξυνέτων δὲ καὶ τὰ τοῦ θεοῦ σφίσιν αὐτοῖς ῥᾷστα ποιουμένων πολέμια μάχης τε καὶ ταραχῆς ἀφορμὰς οὐδαμῆ οὔσας ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι.

§ 2.4.18 εἰρήνην μὲν γὰρ καταλύσασιν ἐς πόλεμον ἰέναι οὐδὲν πρᾶγμά ἐστιν, ἐπεὶ τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων τὰ πονηρότατα καὶ τοῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀτιμοτάτοις εὔκολα τίθεσθαι ἡ τῶν πραγμάτων νενόμικε φύσις.

§ 2.4.19 πόλεμον δὲ κατὰ γνώμην διαθεμένοις αὖθις ἐπὶ τὴν εἰρήνην χωρεῖν ἀνθρώποις οἶμαι οὐ ῥᾴδιον εἶναι.

§ 2.4.20 καίτοι σὺ μὲν ἡμῖν γράμματα οὐκ ἐπίτηδες γεγραμμένα ἐπικαλεῖς, ταῦτά τε γνώμῃ αὐτονόμῳ τανῦν ἑρμηνεύειν ἐσπούδακας, οὐχ ᾗπερ ἡμεῖς διανοηθέντες γεγράφαμεν, ἀλλ’ ᾗ σοι τὰ βεβουλευμένα ἐπιτελεῖν οὐκ ἄνευ τινὸς παραπετάσματος ἐφιεμένῳ ξυνοίσειν δοκεῖ.

§ 2.4.21 ἡμῖν δὲ πάρεστιν Ἀλαμούνδαρον δεικνύναι τὸν σὸν γῆν ἔναγχος καταδραμόντα τὴν ἡμετέραν ἔργα ἐν σπονδαῖς διαπεπρᾶχθαι ἀνήκεστα, χωρίων ἁλώσεις, χρημάτων ἁρπαγάς, ἀνθρώπων φόνους τε καὶ ἀνδραποδισμοὺς τοσούτων τὸ πλῆθος, ὑπὲρ ὧν σε οὐκ αἰτιᾶσθαι ἡμᾶς, ἀλλ’ ἀπολογεῖσθαι δεήσει.

§ 2.4.22 τὰ γὰρ τῶν ἠδικηκότων ἐγκλήματα αἱ πράξεις, οὐχ αἱ διάνοιαι, δηλοῦσι τοῖς πέλας. ἀλλὰ καὶ τούτων τοιούτων ὄντων ἡμεῖς μὲν ἔχεσθαι καὶ ὣς τῆς εἰρήνης ἐγνώκαμεν, σὲ δὲ πολεμησείοντα ἐπὶ Ῥωμαίους ἀκούομεν ἀναπλάττειν αἰτίας οὐδαμόθεν ἡμῖν προσηκούσας.

§ 2.4.23 εἰκότως· οἱ μὲν γὰρ τὰ παρόντα περιστέλλειν ἐν σπουδῇ ἔχοντες καὶ σφόδρα ἐγκειμένας ἀποσείονται τὰς ἐπὶ τοὺς φίλους αἰτίας, οὓς δὲ ὁ τῆς φιλίας οὐκ ἀρέσκει θεσμός, καὶ τὰς οὐκ. οὔσας ἐφίενται πορίζεσθαι σκήψεις.

§ 2.4.24 ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν οὐδὲ τοῖς τυχοῦσιν ἀνθρώποις, μή τί γε δὴ βασιλεῦσι, πρέπειν ἂν δόξειε.

§ 2.4.25 σὺ δὲ τούτων ἀφέμενος σκόπει μὲν τὸ μέτρον τῶν ἑκατέρωθεν κατὰ τὸν πόλεμον ἀπολουμένων καὶ τίς ἂν εἴη τῶν ξυμπεσουμένων τὴν αἰτίαν φέρεσθαι δίκαιος, λογίζου δὲ τοὺς ὅρκους, οὓς δὴ ὀμοσάμενός τε καὶ τὰ χρήματα κομισάμενος, εἶτα ἀτιμάσας οὐ δέον τέχναις τισὶν ἢ σοφίσμασι παραγαγεῖν οὐκ ἂν δύναιο· τὸ γὰρ θεῖον κρεῖσσον ἢ ἐξαπατᾶσθαι πέφυκε πρὸς

§ 2.4.26 πάντων ἀνθρώπων.” ταῦτα ἐπεὶ ὁ Χοσρόης ἀπενεχθέντα εἶδεν, ἐν μὲν τῷ αὐτίκα οὔτε τι ἀπεκρίνατο οὔτε τὸν Ἀναστάσιον ἀπεπέμψατο, ἀλλ’ αὐτοῦ μένειν ἠνάγκαζεν.

Source Colophon

Greek source text from the PerseusDL canonical Greek repository file tlg4029.tlg001.perseus-grc2.xml, inspected locally for this translation unit.

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