Ildiges, the Sclaveni, and Indulf in Dalmatia

This Good Works Translation continues the Book 7 Procopius dossier passages from the Greek.

The chapter belongs to the Scythian shelf because Procopius places the exiled Lombard claimant Ildiges among the Sclaveni, has him move with Lombards, Sclaveni, and Gepaeds through the northern war zone, and then withdraw again across the Ister to the Sclaveni. The full chapter preserves the surrounding Byzantine, Lombard, Gepid, Gothic, and Dalmatian frame.

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 7.35.1-30

Belisarius' journey to Byzantium was without honor. For five years he had nowhere set foot on the soil of Italy, nor had he been able to make a march by land there; instead, through all that time, he clung to a hidden flight.

He kept sailing from one fortified place on the coast to another seaside stronghold, and because of this the enemy, now finding less reason to fear him, had enslaved Rome and, one may say, almost everything else.

At that time he also abandoned Perusia, the first city among the Tuscans, though it was being besieged with great severity. It was captured by storm while he was still on the road. When he reached Byzantium, he remained there from then on, surrounded by great command of wealth and admired for the successes that had befallen him before, which the divine power had foretold to him by no obscure sign before he marched against Libya.

The sign happened in this way. Belisarius had an inherited estate in the suburb of the Byzantines called Panteichion, which lies on the mainland opposite. There, shortly before Belisarius was about to lead the Roman army against Gelimer and Libya, his vines bore an extraordinary abundance of grapes.

His servants filled a great number of jars with the wine produced from them, set these in the wine-cellar, buried the lower part of them in the earth, and carefully smeared the upper part with clay.

Eight months later, as the wine in certain jars began to ferment, it burst the clay with which each had been sealed. Then it flowed over the rims of the jars, poured out in abundance, and covered the ground around them with such a flood that it actually made a great pool on the floor there.

When the servants saw this they were amazed. They filled many amphoras from it, stopped the same jars again with clay, and kept silent about the matter.

But when they had seen this happen many times at about the same date, they reported the matter to their master. He gathered many of his friends there and displayed the phenomenon. They interpreted it to mean that many blessings would come to that house from this sign.

Such was the fortune of Belisarius. Vigilius, the chief priest of Rome, together with the Italians who were then in the city, many of them very distinguished men, gave the emperor no rest with their entreaty that he should stand forth with all his power as champion of Italy.

But Justinian was influenced most of all by Gothigus, a man of patrician rank who had long before risen to the consular dignity; for he too had recently come to Byzantium for this very purpose.

Although the emperor promised to concern himself personally with Italy, he spent most of his time on the doctrines of the Christians, seeking eagerly and with great determination to bring the questions in dispute among them to a satisfactory settlement.

Such was the situation in Byzantium. Meanwhile one of the Lombards had fled to the Gepaeds for the following reason.

When Vaces was ruler of the Lombards, he had a nephew named Risiulfus, who according to law would be called to the kingship when Vaces died.

Vaces, wishing to arrange that the kingdom should pass to his own son, brought an unjust accusation against Risiulfus and punished the man with exile.

Risiulfus left his home with a few friends and immediately fled to the Varni, leaving behind two children.

But Vaces bribed these barbarians to kill Risiulfus.

Of Risiulfus' children, one died of disease, while the other, named Ildiges, fled to the Sclaveni.

Not long after this, Vaces fell sick and departed from the world, and the rule of the Lombards passed to Valdarus, son of Vaces. Since he was very young, Auduin was appointed guardian over him and administered the government.

Because he acquired great power from this, Auduin himself seized the rule after no long time, the child having immediately departed from the world by a natural death.

When the war arose between the Gepaeds and the Lombards, as has already been told, Ildiges went at once to the Gepaeds, taking with him not only the Lombards who had followed him but also many of the Sclaveni. The Gepaeds hoped to restore him to the kingdom.

But because the treaty had now been made with the Lombards, Auduin immediately asked the Gepaeds, as friends, to hand Ildiges over.

They flatly refused to give up the man, but ordered him to leave their country and save himself wherever he could.

Without delay, then, he took his followers and some volunteers from the Gepaeds and returned to the Sclaveni.

From there he set out to join Totila and the Goths, having with him an army of not fewer than six thousand men.

When he reached Venetia, he encountered some Romans commanded by Lazarus. He engaged them, routed the force, and killed many.

Yet he did not join the Goths, but crossed the river Ister again and withdrew once more to the Sclaveni.

While these events were happening in this way, one of Belisarius' guardsmen, named Indulf, a barbarian by birth, passionate and energetic, who had been left in Italy, went over to Totila and the Goths for no good reason.

Totila at once sent him with a large army and a fleet to Dalmatia. He came to the place called Muicurum, a coast town lying very near Salones. At first, since he was a Roman and one of Belisarius' retinue, he mingled with the people of the town; then he drew his own sword, urged his followers to do the same, and suddenly killed them all.

Taking all the valuables as plunder, he went away from there and descended upon another fortress on the coast, which the Romans call Laureate. There he entered the town and killed those who fell in his way.

When Claudian, who was then commander of Salones, learned this, he sent an army against him on the vessels called dromones.

When these men reached Laureate, they came to blows with the enemy. They were defeated by a wide margin in the battle and fled wherever each could, abandoning the dromones in the harbor, where the other ships also happened to be lying, full of grain and the other necessities.

Indulf and the Goths captured all these, killed everyone in their path, plundered the valuables, and came back to Totila.

And the winter came to an end, and the fourteenth year of this war, which Procopius has written, was completed.

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 twenty-third unit in the Procopius Wars steppe and Black Sea translation dossier, and the seventh Book 7 unit.

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

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Source Text: Procopius, Wars 7.35.1-30

Greek source text from Procopius, Wars 7.35. Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.

Wars 7.35

§ 7.35.1 Βελισάριος μὲν τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ Βυζάντιον οὐδενὶ κόσμῳ ᾔει, γῆς μὲν τῆς Ἰταλῶν πενταετὲς οὐδαμῆ ἀποβάς, οὐδέ πη ὁδῷ ἰέναι ἐνταῦθα ἰσχύσας, ἀλλὰ φυγῇ κεκρυμμένῃ ἐχόμενος πάντα τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον. ἔκ τε ὀχυρώματος ἀεὶ ἐπιθαλασσίου τινὸς ἐς ἄλλο ἐπὶ τῆς παραλίας ὀχύρωμα διηνεκὲς

§ 7.35.2 ναυτιλλόμενος καὶ ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ ἀδεέστερον τοὺς πολεμίους τετύχηκε Ῥώμην τε ἀνδραποδίσαι καὶ τἄλλα ὡς εἰπεῖν ἅπαντα. τότε δὲ καὶ Περυσίαν πόλιν. ἣ πρώτη ἐν Τούσκοις οὖσα ἐτύγχανε. πικρότατα πολιορκουμένην ἀπέλιπεν, ἥπερ αὐτοῦ ἔτι ὁδῷ ἰόντος κατ’ ἄκρας ἑάλω.

§ 7.35.3 ἐς Βυζάντιον δὲ ἀφικόμενος διατριβὴν τὸ λοιπὸν ἐνταῦθα εἶχε, πλούτου μὲν ἐξουσίαν περιβεβλημένος πολλήν. εὐτυχήμασι δὲ τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῷ ξυμβεβηκόσιν ἀπόβλεπτος ὤν, ἅπερ οἱ πρότερον ἢ ἐς Λιβύην ἐστράτευσε ξυμβόλῳ προὔλεγέ τινι οὐκ ἀφανεῖ τὸ δαιμόνιον.

§ 7.35.4 Ὁδὲ ξύμβολος ἐγένετο ὧδε. ἦν τις Βελισαρίῳ κλῆρος ἐν Βυζαντίων τῷ προαστείῳ ὃ δὴ Παντείχιον μὲν ὀνομάζεται, κεῖται δὲ ἐν τῇ ἀντιπέρας ἠπείρῳ. ἐνταῦθα ὀλίγῳ ἔμπροσθεν ἢ ἔμελλε Βελισάριος ἐπί τε Γελίμερα καὶ Λιβύην ἐξηγήσασθαι τῷ Ῥωμαίων στρατῷ, ἐνδελεχέστατα πλήθειν οἱ τὰς ἀμπέλους ξυνέβη.

§ 7.35.5 οἴνου τε ὃς ἐνθένδε γεγονὼς ἔτυχε πίθων οἱ θεράποντες ἐμπλησάμενοι μέγα τι χρῆμα, καὶ αὐτῶν τὰ μὲν ἔνερθεν κατορύξαντες, τὰ δὲ ὕπερθεν πηλῷ ἐς τὸ ἀκριβὲς ἐπιβύσαντες, ἐν τῷ οἰνῶνι κατέθεντο.

§ 7.35.6 μησὶ δὲ ὀκτὼ ὕστερον ἐν πίθοις τισὶν ἀναβράσσων ὁ οἶνος διεσπάσατο μὲν τὸν πηλὸν ᾧπερ ἐπέφρακτο αὐτῶν ἕκαστος, ὑπερβλύσας δὲ καὶ ῥεύσας πολὺς ἐς τοσόνδε γῆν τὴν ἐχομένην ἐπέκλυσεν ὥστε καὶ τέλμα ἐν τούτῳ τῷ ἐδάφει ἐργάσασθαι μέγα.

§ 7.35.7 ὅπερ ἐπεὶ οἱ θεράποντες εἶδον, ἐν θάμβει μεγάλῳ γενόμενοι πολλοὺς μὲν ἐνθένδε ἀμφορέας ἐμπλήσασθαι ἔσχον, αὖθις δὲ τούτους δὴ τοὺς πίθους τῷ πηλῷ ἀποφράξαντες τὰ παρόντα ἐν σιωπῇ εἶχον.

§ 7.35.8 ἐπεὶ δὲ τοῦτο πολλάκις ὑπὸ τὸν αὐτὸν χρόνον γεγονὸς εἶδον, αὐτοὶ μὲν ἐπὶ τὸν κεκτημένον τὸ πρᾶγμα ἦγον, ὁ δὲ τῶν ἐπιτηδείων πολλοὺς ἐνταῦθα ἀγείρας ἐπέδειξε τὰ ποιούμενα· οἵπερ τῷ ξυμβόλῳ τεκμηριούμενοι ἐς ταύτην δὴ τὴν οἰκίαν μεγάλα προὔλεγον ἀγαθὰ ἔσεσθαι.

§ 7.35.9 Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν τῇδε Βελισαρίῳ ἐχώρησε. Βιγίλιος δέ, ὁ τῆς Ῥώμης ἀρχιερεύς, ξὺν Ἰταλοῖς τοῖς ἐνταῦθα τηνικάδε παροῦσι, πολλοῖς τε καὶ λογιμωτάτοις ἐσάγαν οὖσιν, οὐκέτι ἀνίει, ἀλλ’ ἔχρῃζε βασιλέως Ἰταλίας μεταποιεῖσθαι δυνάμει τῇ πάσῃ.

§ 7.35.10 μάλιστα δὲ πάντων αὐτὸν Γόθιγος ἐνῆγε, πατρίκιος ἀνήρ, ἐς τῶν ὑπάτων τὸν δίφρον ἀναβεβηκὼς πολλῷ πρότερον· ἐπεὶ καὶ αὐτὸς τούτων δὴ ἕνεκεν ἐς Βυζάντιον ἀφικόμενος ἔτυχεν ἔναγχος.

§ 7.35.11 βασιλεὺς δὲ Ἰταλίας μὲν ἐπηγγέλλετο προνοήσειν αὐτὸς, ἀμφι δὲ τὰ Χριστιανῶν δόγματα ἐκ τοῦ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον διατριβὴν εἶχεν, εὖ διαθέσθαι τὰ ἐν σφίσιν ἀντιλεγόμενα σπουδάζων τε καὶ διατεινόμενος μάλιστα.

§ 7.35.12 Ταῦτα μὲν ἐν Βυζαντίῳ ἐπράσσετο. ἐτύγχανε δὲ Λαγγοβάρδης ἀνὴρ ἐς Γήπαιδας φεύγων ἐξ αἰτίας τοιᾶσδε.

§ 7.35.13 ἡνίκα Λαγγοβαρδῶν Οὐάκης ἦρχεν, ἦν τίς οἱ ἀνεψιὸς Ῥισιοῦλφος ὄνομα. ὃν δὴ ὁ νόμος, ἐπειδὰν Οὐάκης τελευτήσειεν, ἐπὶ τὴν ἡγεμονίαν ἐκάλει.

§ 7.35.14 προνοήσας οὖν Οὐάκης ὅπως εἰς τὸν παῖδα τὸν αὑτοῦ ἡ ἀρχὴ ἄγοιτο, ἔγκλημα Ῥισιούλφῳ ἐπενεγκὼν αἰτίαν οὐκ ἔχον φυγῇ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐζημίωσεν.

§ 7.35.15 ὃς δὴ ἐξ ἠθῶν ἀναστὰς τῶν πατρίων ξὺν ὀλίγοις τισὶν ἐς τοὺς Οὐάρνους αὐτίκα φεύγει, παίδων οἱ ἀπολελειμμένων ἐνταῦθα δυοῖν.

§ 7.35.16 χρήμασι δὲ Οὐάκης τοὺς βαρβάρους τούτους ἀνέπεισε τὸν Ῥισιοῦλφον κτεῖναι. τῶν δὲ Ῥισιούλφου παίδων ὁ μὲν εἷς ἐτελεύτησε νόσῳ, ὁ δὲ δὴ ἕτερος, Ἰλδίγης ὄνομα, ἐς Σκλαβηνοὺς φεύγει.

§ 7.35.17 Οὐ πολλῷ μὲν οὖν ὕστερον ὁ μὲν Οὐάκης νοσήσας ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἠφάνιστο, ἐς δὲ Οὐάλδαρον, τὸν Οὐάκου υἱόν, ἡ Λαγγοβαρδῶν ἦλθεν ἀρχή. ᾧ δὴ παιδὶ κομιδῆ ὄντι ἐπίτροπος καταστὰς Αὐδουὶν τὴν ἀρχὴν διῳκεῖτο.

§ 7.35.18 δυνάμει τε πολλῇ ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ χρώμενος αὐτὸς τὴν ἀρχὴν οὐκ ἐς μακρὰν ἔσχε, τοῦ παιδὸς τούτου νόσῳ αὐτίκα ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἀφανισθέντος.

§ 7.35.19 ἡνίκα τοίνυν Γήπαισί τε καὶ Λαγγοβάρδαις ὁ πόλεμος κατέστη, ὥσπερ μοι εἴρηται, Ἰλδίγης εὐθὺς Λαγγοβαρδῶν τε τούς οἱ ἐπισπομένους καὶ Σκλαβηνῶν πολλοὺς ἐπαγαγόμενος ἐς Γήπαιδας ἦλθε, καὶ αὐτὸν Γήπαιδες κατάξειν ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐλπίδα εἶχον.

§ 7.35.20 γενομένων δὲ τῶν ἐν τῷ παρόντι πρὸς Λαγγοβάρδας σπονδῶν ἕνεκα ὁ μὲν Αυδουὶν τὸν Ἰλδίγην εὐθὺς ἅτε πρὸς φίλων ἐξῃτεῖτο Γηπαίδων, οἱ δὲ τὸν μὲν ἄνθρωπον ἐκδοῦναι οὐδαμῆ ἔγνωσαν, ἐκέλευον δὲ αὐτὸν ἐνθένδε ἀπαλλαγέντα ὅπῃ βούλοιτο διασώσασθαι.

§ 7.35.21 καὶ ὃς μελλήσει οὐδεμιᾷ ξὺν τοῖς ἑπομένοις καὶ Γηπαίδων τισὶν ἐθελουσίοις ἐς Σκλαβηνοὺς αὖθις ἀφίκετο.

§ 7.35.22 ἔνθεν τε ἀναστὰς παρὰ Τουτίλαν τε καὶ Γότθους ᾔει, στράτευμα οὐχ ἧσσον ἢ ἐς ἑξακισχιλίους ξὺν αὑτῷ ἔχων, ἔς τε Βενετίας ἀφικόμενος Ῥωμαίοις τισὶν ὑπαντήσας, ὧν Λάζαρος ἡγεῖτο, ἐς χεῖρας ἦλθε, τρεψάμενός τε αὐτοὺς πολλοὺς ἔκτεινεν. οὐ μέντοι Γότθοις ξυνέμιξεν, ἀλλ’ Ἴστρον ποταμὸν διαβὰς αὖθις ἐς Σκλαβηνοὺς ἀπεχώρησεν.

§ 7.35.23 Ἐν ᾧ δὲ ταῦτα ἐπράσσετο τῇδε ᾗπέρ μοι εἴρηται, ἐν τούτῳ τῶν τις Βελισαρίου δορυφόρων, Ἰνδοὺλφ ὄνομα, βάρβαρος γένος, θυμοειδής τε καὶ δραστήριος, ὃς δὴ ἐν Ἰταλίᾳ λειφθεὶς ἔτυχε, Τουτίλᾳ τε καὶ Γότθοις προσεχώρησεν οὐδενὶ λόγῳ.

§ 7.35.24 καὶ αὐτὸν ὁ Τουτίλας εὐθὺς ξὺν στρατῷ πολλῷ καὶ ναυσὶν ἔπεμψεν ἐς τὰ ἐπὶ Δαλματίας χωρία.

§ 7.35.25 ὃς δὴ ἐν χωρίῳ Μουικούρῳ καλουμένῳ γενόμενος, ὅπερ ἐπιθαλάσσιον ἄγχιστά πη Σαλώνων ἐστί, τὰ μὲν πρῶτα ξυνέμισγε τοῖς ταύτῃ ἀνθρώποις ἅτε Ῥωμαῖός τε ὢν καὶ Βελισαρίῳ προσήκων, ἔπειτα δὲ αὐτός τε τὸ ξίφος ἀράμενος καὶ τοῖς ἐπισπομένοις ἐγκελευσάμενος ἐξαπιναίως ἅπαντας ἔκτεινε.

§ 7.35.26 ληϊσάμενός τε τὰ χρήματα πάντα ἐνθένδε ἀπιὼν ᾤχετο, ἐπέσκηψε δὲ ἄλλῳ ἐν τῇ παραλίᾳ κειμένῳ φρουρίῳ, ὅπερ Λαυρεάτην καλοῦσι Ῥωμαῖοι.

§ 7.35.27 οὗ δὴ ἐπιβὰς τοὺς παραπεπτωκότας ἀνῄρει. Ἅπερ ἐπεὶ Κλαυδιανὸς ἔγνω, ὅσπερ τότε Σαλώνων ἦρχε, στράτευμα ἐπὶ τῶν καλουμένων δρομώνων ἐπ’ αὐτὸν ἔπεμψεν.

§ 7.35.28 οἳ δὴ ἐπεὶ ἐν Λαυρεάτῃ ἐγένοντο, τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐς χεῖρας ἦλθον. παρὰ πολύ τε ἡσσηθέντες τῇ μάχῃ ἔφυγον ὅπη ἑκάστῳ δυνατὰ γέγονε, τοὺς δρόμωνας ἐν τῷ λιμένι ἀπολιπόντες. οὗ δὴ καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πλοῖα ἔμπλεα σίτου τε καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἐπιτηδείων ὄντα ἐτύγχανεν.

§ 7.35.29 ἅπερ ἅπαντα Ἰνδούλφ τε καὶ Γότθοι ἑλόντες κτείναντές τε τοὺς ἐν ποσὶν ἅπαντας καὶ τὰ χρήματα ληϊσάμενοι παρὰ Τουτίλαν ἦλθον.

§ 7.35.30 καὶ ὁ χειμὼν ἔληγε, καὶ τέταρτον καὶ δέκατον ἔτος ἐτελεύτα τῷ πολέμῳ τῷδε, ὃν Προκόπιος ξυνέγραψε.

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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