XVIII
This man’s suggestion at that time therefore pleased Cabades, and he chose out fifteen thousand men, putting in command of them Azarethes, a Persian, who was an exceptionally able warrior, and he bade Alamoundaras lead the expedition. So they crossed the River Euphrates in Assyria, and, after passing over some uninhabited country, they suddenly and unexpectedly threw their forces into the land of the so-called Commagenae. This was the first invasion made by the Persians from this point into Roman soil, as far as we know from tradition or by any other means, and it paralyzed all the Romans with fear by its unexpectedness. And when this news came to the knowledge of Belisarius, at first he was at a loss, but afterwards he decided to go to the rescue with all speed. So he established a sufficient garrison in each city in order that Cabades with another hostile army might not come there and find the towns of Mesopotamia utterly unguarded, and himself with the rest of the army went to meet the invasion; and crossing the River Euphrates they moved forward in great haste. Now the Roman army amounted to about twenty thousand foot and horse, and among them not less than two thousand were Isaurians. The commanders of cavalry were all the same ones who had previously fought the battle at Daras with Mirranes and the Persians, while the infantry were commanded by one of the body-guards of the Emperor Justinian, Peter by name. The Isaurians, however, were under the command of Longinus and Stephanacius. Arethas also came there to join them with the Saracen army. When they reached the city of Chalcis, they encamped and remained there, since they learned that the enemy were in a place called Gabboulon, one hundred and ten stades away from Chalcis. When this became known to Alamoundaras and Azarethes, they were terrified at the danger, and no longer continued their advance, but decided to retire homeward instantly. Accordingly they began to march back, with the River Euphrates on the left, while the Roman army was following in the rear. And in the spot where the Persians bivouacked each night the Romans always tarried on the following night. For Belisarius purposely refused to allow the army to make any longer march because he did not wish to come to an engagement with the enemy, but he considered that it was sufficient for them that the Persians and Alamoundaras, after invading the land of the Romans, should retire from it in such a fashion, betaking themselves to their own land without accomplishing anything. And because of this all secretly mocked him, both officers and soldiers, but not a man reproached him to his face.
Finally the Persians made their bivouac on the bank of the Euphrates just opposite the city of Callinicus. From there they were about to march through a country absolutely uninhabited by man, and thus to quit the land of the Romans; for they purposed no longer to proceed as before, keeping to the bank of the river. The Romans had passed the night in the city of Sura, and, removing from there, they came upon the enemy just in the act of preparing for the departure. [A, 531] Now the feast of Easter was near and would take place on the following day; this feast is reverenced by the Christians above all others, and on the day before it they are accustomed to refrain from food and drink not only throughout the day, but for a large part of the night also they continue the fast. Then, therefore, Belisarius, seeing that all his men were passionately eager to go against the enemy, wished to persuade them to give up this idea (for this course had been counselled by Hermogenes also, who had come recently on an embassy from the emperor); he accordingly called together all who were present and spoke as follows: “O Romans, whither are you rushing? and what has happened to you that you are purposing to choose for yourselves a danger which is not necessary? Men believe that there is only one victory which is unalloyed, namely to suffer no harm at the hands of the enemy, and this very thing has been given us in the present instance by fortune and by the fear of us that overpowers our foes. Therefore it is better to enjoy the benefit of our present blessings than to seek them when they have passed. For the Persians, led on by many hopes, undertook an expedition against the Romans, and now, with everything lost, they have beaten a hasty retreat. So that if we compel them against their will to abandon their purpose of withdrawing and to come to battle with us, we shall win no advantage whatsoever if we are victorious, — for why should one rout a fugitive? — while if we are unfortunate, as may happen, we shall both be deprived of the victory which we now have, not robbed of it by the enemy, but flinging it away ourselves, and also we shall abandon the land of the emperor to lie open hereafter to the attacks of the enemy without defenders. Moreover this also is worth your consideration, that God is always accustomed to succour men in dangers which are necessary, not in those which they choose for themselves. And apart from this it will come about that those who have nowhere to turn will play the part of brave men even against their will, while the obstacles which are to be met by us in entering the engagement are many; for a large number of you have come on foot and all of us are fasting. I refrain from mentioning that some even now have not arrived.” So spoke Belisarius.
But the army began to insult him, not in silence nor with any concealment, but they came shouting into his presence, and called him weak and a destroyer of their zeal; and even some of the officers joined with the soldiers in this offence, thus displaying the extent of their daring. And Belisarius, in astonishment at their shamelessness, changed his exhortation and now seemed to be urging them on against the enemy and drawing them up for battle, saying that he had not known before their eagerness to fight, but that now he was of good courage and would go against the enemy with a better hope. He then formed the phalanx with a single front, disposing his men as follows: on the left wing by the river he stationed all the infantry, while on the right where the ground rose sharply he placed Arethas and all his Saracens; he himself with the cavalry took his position in the centre. Thus the Romans arrayed themselves. And when Azarethes saw the enemy gathering in battle line, he exhorted his men with the following words: “Persians as you are, no one would deny that you would not give up your valour in exchange for life, if a choice of the two should be offered. But I say that not even if you should wish, is it within your power to make the choice between the two. For as for men who have the opportunity to escape from danger and live in dishonour it is not at all unnatural that they should, if they wish, choose what is most pleasant instead of what is best; but for men who are bound to die, either gloriously at the hands of the enemy or shamefully led to punishment by your Master, it is extreme folly not to choose what is better instead of what is most shameful. Now, therefore, when things stand thus, I consider that it befits you all to bear in mind not only the enemy but also your own Lord and so enter this battle.”
After Azarethes also had uttered these words of exhortation, he stationed the phalanx opposite his opponents, assigning the Persians the right wing and the Saracens the left. Straightway both sides began the fight, and the battle was exceedingly fierce. For the arrows, shot from either side in very great numbers, caused great loss of life in both armies, while some placed themselves in the interval between the armies and made a display of valorous deeds against each other, and especially among the Persians they were falling by the arrows in great numbers. For while their missiles were incomparably more frequent, since the Persians are almost all bowmen and they learn to make their shots much more rapidly than any other men, still the bows which sent the arrows were weak and not very tightly strung, so that their missiles, hitting a corselet, perhaps, or helmet or shield of a Roman warrior, were broken off and had no power to hurt the man who was hit. The Roman bowmen are always slower indeed, but inasmuch as their bows are extremely stiff and very tightly strung, and one might add that they are handled by stronger men, they easily slay much greater numbers of those they hit than do the Persians, for no armour proves an obstacle to the force of their arrows. Now already two-thirds of the day had passed, and the battle was still even. Then by mutual agreement all the best of the Persian army advanced to attack the Roman right wing, where Arethas and the Saracens had been stationed. But they broke their formation and moved apart, so that they got the reputation of
having betrayed the Romans to the Persians. For without awaiting the oncoming enemy they all straightway beat a hasty retreat. So the Persians in this way broke through the enemy’s line and immediately got in the rear of the Roman cavalry. Thus the Romans, who were already exhausted both by the march and the labour of the battle, — and besides this they were all fasting so far on in the day, — now that they were assailed by the enemy on both sides, held out no longer, but the most of them in full flight made their way to the islands in the river which were close by, while some also remained there and performed deeds both amazing and remarkable against the enemy. Among these was Ascan who, after killing many of the notables among the Persians, was gradually hacked to pieces and finally fell, leaving to the enemy abundant reason to remember him. And with him eight hundred others perished after shewing themselves brave men in this struggle, and almost all the Isaurians fell with their leaders, without even daring to lift their weapons against the enemy. For they were thoroughly inexperienced in this business, since they had recently left off farming and entered into the perils of warfare, which before that time were unknown to them. And yet just before these very men had been most furious of all for battle because of their ignorance of warfare, and were then reproaching Belisarius with cowardice. They were not in fact all Isaurians but the majority of them were Lycaones.
Belisarius with some few men remained there, and as long as he saw Ascan and his men holding out, he also in company with those who were with him held back the enemy; but when some of Ascan’s troops had fallen, and the others had turned to flee wherever they could, then at length he too fled with his men and came to the phalanx of infantry, who with Peter were still fighting, although not many in number now, since the most of them too had fled. There he himself gave up his horse and commanded all his men to do the same thing and on foot with the others to fight off the oncoming enemy. And those of the Persians who were following the fugitives, after pursuing for only a short distance, straightway returned and rushed upon the infantry and Belisarius with all the others. Then the Romans turned their backs to the river so that no movement to surround them might be executed by the enemy, and as best they could under the circumstances were defending themselves against their assailants. And again the battle became fierce, although the two sides were not evenly matched in strength; for foot-soldiers, and a very few of them, were fighting against the whole Persian cavalry. Nevertheless the enemy were not able either to rout them or in any other way to overpower them. For standing shoulder to shoulder they kept themselves constantly massed in a small space, and they formed with their shields a rigid, unyielding barricade, so that they shot at the Persians more conveniently than they were shot at by them. Many a time after giving up, the Persians would advance against them determined to break up and destroy their line, but they always retired again from the assault unsuccessful. For their horses, annoyed by the clashing of the shields, reared up and made confusion for themselves and their riders. Thus both sides continued the struggle until it had become late in the day. And when night had already come on, the Persians withdrew to their camp, and Belisarius accompanied by some few men found a freight-boat and crossed over to the island in the river, while the other Romans reached the same place by swimming. On the following day many freight-boats were brought to the Romans from the city of Callinicus and they were conveyed thither in them, and the Persians, after despoiling the dead, all departed homeward. However they did not find their own dead less numerous than the enemy’s.
When Azarethes reached Persia with his army, although he had prospered in the battle, he found Cabades exceedingly ungrateful, for the following reason. It is a custom among the Persians that, when they are about to march against any of their foes, the king sits on the royal throne, and many baskets are set there before him; and the general also is present who is expected to lead the army against the enemy; then the army passes along before the king, one man at a time, and each of them throws one weapon into the baskets; after this they are sealed with the king’s seal and preserved; and when this army returns to Persia, each one of the soldiers takes one weapon out of the baskets. A count is then made by those whose office it is to do so of all the weapons which have not been taken by the men, and they report to the king the number of the soldiers who have not returned, and in this way it becomes evident how many have perished in the war. Thus the law has stood from of old among the Persians. Now when Azarethes came into the presence of the king, Cabades enquired of him whether he came back with any Roman fortress won over to their side, for he had marched forth with Alamoundaras against the Romans, with the purpose of subduing Antioch. And Azarethes said that he had captured no fortress, but that he had conquered the Romans and Belisarius in battle. So Cabades bade the army of Azarethes pass by, and from the baskets each man took out a weapon just as was customary. But since many weapons were left, Cabades rebuked Azarethes for the victory and thereafter ranked him among the most unworthy. So the victory had this conclusion for Azarethes.
Ἔννοια δὲ τότε Ἰουστινιανῷ βασιλεῖ γέγονεν Αἰθίοπάς τε καὶ Ὁμηρίτας ἐπὶ τῷ Περσῶν πονηρῷ ἑταιρίσασθαι. ὅπη δὲ τῆς γῆς οἱ ἄνθρωποι οἵδε ᾤκηνται καὶ καθ̓ ὅ τι αὐτοὺς Ῥωμαίοις ξυνοίσειν βασιλεὺς ἤλπισεν, ἐρῶν ἔρχομαι. [2] τὰ Παλαιστίνης ὅρια πρὸς ἀνίσχοντα ἥλιον ἐς θάλασσαν τὴν Ἐρυθρὰν καλουμένην διήκει. [3] αὕτη δὲ ἡ θάλασσα ἐξ Ἰνδῶν ἀρχομένη ἐνταῦθα τελευτᾷ τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῆς. καὶ πόλις Αἰλὰς καλουμένη πρὸς τῇ ταύτης ἠϊόνι ἐστίν, ἔνθα ἡ θάλασσα, ὥσπερ μοι εἴρηται, ἀπολήγουσα πορθμός τις ἐς ἄγαν στενὸς γίνεται. καὶ αὐτὸν ἐνθένδε ἐσπλέοντι ἐν δεξιᾷ μὲν ὄρη τὰ Αἰγυπτίων πρὸς νότον ἄνεμον τετραμμένα ἐστίν, ἐπὶ θάτερα δὲ χώρα ἔρημος ἀνθρώπων ἐπὶ πλεῖστον διήκει πρὸς βορρᾶν ἄνεμον, ἥ τε γῆ αὕτη τῷ ἐσπλέοντι ἑκατέρωθεν ὁρατὴ γίνεται, μέχρι ἐς τὴν Ἰωτάβην καλουμένην νῆσον, Αἰλᾶ πόλεως σταδίους οὐχ ἧσσον ἢ χιλίους διέχουσαν. [4] ἔνθα Ἑβραῖοι αὐτόνομοι μὲν ἐκ παλαιοῦ ᾤκηντο, ἐπὶ τούτου δὲ Ἰουστινιανοῦ βασιλεύοντος κατήκοοι Ῥωμαίων γεγένηνται. [5] πέλαγος δὲ τὸ ἐνθένδε μέγα ἐκδέχεται. καὶ γῆν μὲν τὴν ἐν δεξιᾷ οἱ ταύτῃ ἐσπλέοντες οὐκέτι ὁρῶσιν, ἐς μέντοι τὴν εὐώνυμον νυκτὸς ἀεὶ ἐπιγινομένης ὁρμίζονται. [6] ἐν σκότῳ γὰρ ναυτίλλεσθαι ἐν ταύτῃ δὴ τῇ θαλάσσῃ ἀδύνατά ἐστιν, ἐπεὶ βράχους αὐτὴν ἔμπλεων ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ξυμβαίνει εἶναι. [7] ὅρμοι δέ εἰσιν ἐνταῦθα πολλοὶ οὐ χερσὶν ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλὰ τῇ φύσει τῶν χωρίων πεποιημένοι, καὶ ἀπ̓ αὐτοῦ τοῖς πλέουσιν οὐ χαλεπόν ἐστιν ὅπη παρατύχοι ὁρμίζεσθαι. Ταύτην δὴ τὴν ἠϊόνα εὐθὺς μὲν ὅρους τοὺς Παλαιστίνης ὑπερβάντι Σαρακηνοὶ ἔχουσιν, [8] οἳ ἐν τῷ φοινικῶνι ἐκ παλαιοῦ ἵδρυνται. [9] ἔστι δὲ ὁ φοινικὼν ἐν τῇ μεσογείᾳ ἐς χώραν κατατείνων πολλήν, ἔνθα δὴ ἄλλο τὸ παράπαν οὐδὲν ὅτι μὴ φοίνικες φύονται μόνοι. [10] τούτῳ τῷ φοινικῶνι βασιλέα Ἰουστινιανὸν Ἀβοχάραβος ἐδωρήσατο, ὁ τῶν ἐκείνῃ �
�αρακηνῶν ἄρχων, καὶ αὐτὸν βασιλεὺς φύλαρχον τῶν ἐν Παλαιστίνῃ Σαρακηνῶν κατεστήσατο. [11] ἀδῄωτόν τε τὴν χώραν διεφύλαξε τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον, ἐπεὶ τοῖς τε ἀρχομένοις βαρβάροις καὶ οὐδέν τι ἧσσον τοῖς πολεμίοις φοβερός τε ἀεὶ Ἀβοχάραβος ἔδοξεν εἶναι καὶ διαφερόντως δραστήριος. [12] τῷ μὲν οὖν λόγῳ τὸν φοινικῶνα βασιλεὺς ἔχει, μετεῖναι δὲ αὐτῷ τῶν ταύτῃ χωρίων οὐδ̓ ὁπωστιοῦν δυνατά ἐστι. [13] γῆ τε γὰρ ἀνθρώπων παντελῶς ἔρημος καὶ ἀτεχνῶς ἄνυδρος ἐν μέσῳ οὖσα ἐς δέκα ἡμερῶν ὁδὸν διήκει, καὶ αὐτὸς λόγου ὁτουοῦν ἄξιος ὁ φοινικὼν οὐδαμῆ ἐστιν, ἀλλ̓ ὄνομα δώρου ὅ τε Ἀβοχάραβος ἔδωκε μόνον καὶ βασιλεὺς εὖ εἰδὼς ἔλαβε. τὰ μὲν οὖν ἀμφὶ τῷ φοινικῶνι ταύτῃ πη ἔχει. [14] τούτων δὲ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἄλλοι Σαρακηνοὶ ἐχόμενοι τὴν ἀκτὴν ἔχουσιν, οἳ δὴ Μαδδηνοὶ καλοῦνται, Ὁμηριτῶν κατήκοοι ὄντες. [15] οἱ δὲ Ὁμηρῖται οὗτοι ἐν χώρᾳ τῇ ἐπέκεινα ᾤκηνται πρὸς τῇ τῆς θαλάσσης ἠϊόνι. ὑπέρ τε αὐτοὺς ἄλλα ἔθνη πολλὰ μέχρι ἐς τοὺς ἀνθρωποφάγους Σαρακηνοὺς ἱδρῦσθαί φασι. [16] μεθ̓ οὓς δὴ τὰ γένη τῶν Ἰνδῶν ἐστιν. ἀλλὰ τούτων μὲν πέρι λεγέτω ἕκαστος ὥς πη αὐτῷ βουλομένῳ ἐστίν. [17] Ὁμηριτῶν δὲ καταντικρὺ μάλιστα ἐν τῇ ἀντιπέρας ἠπείρῳ Αἰθίοπες οἰκοῦσιν, οἳ Αὐξωμῖται ἐπικαλοῦνται, ὅτι δὴ αὐτοῖς τὰ βασίλειά ἐστιν ἐν πόλει Αὐξώμιδι. [18] καὶ θάλασσα ἣ ἐν μέσῳ ἐστὶν ἀνέμου μετρίως ἐπιφόρου ἐπιπεσόντος ἐς πέντε ἡμερῶν τε καὶ νυκτῶν διάπλουν διήκει. [19] ταύτῃ γὰρ καὶ νύκτωρ ναυτίλλεσθαι νενομίκασιν, ἐπεὶ βράχος ἐνταῦθα οὐδαμῆ ἐστιν: αὕτη πρὸς ἐνίων ἡ θάλασσα Ἐρυθρὰ κέκληται. τὰ γὰρ ταύτης ἐκτὸς ἐκπλέοντι ἄχρι ἐς τὴν ἠϊόνα καὶ Αἰλὰν πόλιν Ἀραβικὸς ὠνόμασται κόλπος. [20] χώρα γὰρ ἡ ἐνθένδε ἄχρι τῶν Γάζης πόλεως ὁρίων Ἀραβία τὸ παλαιὸν ὠνομάζετο, ἐπεὶ καὶ τὰ βασίλεια ἐν τοῖς ἄνω χρόνοις ἐν Πέτραις τῇ πόλει ὁ τῶν Ἀράβων βασιλεὺς εἶχεν. [21] ὁ μὲν οὖν τῶν Ὁμηριτῶν ὅρμος ἐξ οὗ ἀπαίροντες εἰώθασιν ἐς Αἰθίοπας πλεῖν Βουλικὰς ὀνομάζεται. [22] διαπλεύσαντες δὲ ἀεὶ τὸ πέλαγος τοῦτο καταίρουσιν ἐς τῶν Ἀδουλιτῶν τὸν λιμένα. Ἄδουλις δὲ ἡ πόλις τοῦ μὲν λιμένος μέτρῳ εἴκοσι σταδίων διέχει ῾τοσούτῳ γὰρ διείργεται τὸ μὴ ἐπιθαλάσσιος εἶναἰ, πόλεως δὲ Αὐξώμιδος ὁδῷ ἡμερῶν δώδεκα. [23] Πλοῖα μέντοι ὅσα ἔν τε Ἰνδοῖς καὶ ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ θαλάσσῃ ἐστὶν οὐ τρόπῳ τῷ αὐτῷ ᾧπερ αἱ ἄλλαι νῆες πεποίηνται. οὐδὲ γὰρ πίσσῃ οὐδὲ ἄλλῳ ὁτῳοῦν χρίονται, οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ σιδήρῳ διαμπερὲς ἰόντι ἐς ἀλλήλας αἱ σανίδες ξυμπεπήγασιν, ἀλλὰ βρόχοις τισὶ ξυνδέδενται. [24] αἴτιον δὲ οὐχ ὅπερ οἱ πολλοὶ οἴονται, πέτραι τινὲς ἐνταῦθα οὖσαι καὶ τὸν σίδηρον ἐφ̓ ἑαυτὰς ἕλκουσαι ῾τεκμήριον δέ: ταῖς γὰρ Ῥωμαίων ναυσὶν ἐξ Αἰλᾶ πλεούσαις ἐς θάλασσαν τήνδε, καίπερ σιδήρῳ πολλῷ ἡρμοσμέναις, οὔποτε τοιοῦτον ξυνηνέχθη παθεῖν̓, ἀλλ̓ ὅτι οὔτε σίδηρον οὔτε ἄλλο τι τῶν ἐς ταῦτα ἐπιτηδείων Ἰνδοὶ ἢ Αἰθίοπες ἔχουσιν. [25] οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ πρὸς Ῥωμαίων ὠνεῖσθαι τούτων τι οἷοί τέ εἰσιν, νόμῳ ἅπασι διαρρήδην ἀπειρημένον. [26] θάνατος γὰρ τῷ ἁλόντι ἡ ζημία ἐστί. τὰ μὲν οὖν ἀμφὶ τῇ Ἐρυθρᾷ καλουμένῃ θαλάσσῃ καὶ χώρᾳ ἣ αὐτῆς ἐφ̓ ἑκάτερά ἐστι ταύτῃ πη ἔχει. [27] Ἐκ δὲ Αὐξώμιδος πόλεως ἐς τὰ ἐπ̓ Αἰγύπτου ὅρια τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῆς, οὗ δὴ πόλις ἡ Ἐλεφαντίνη καλουμένη οἰκεῖται, τριάκοντα ὁδὸς ἡμερῶν ἐστιν εὐζώνῳ ἀνδρί. [28] ἐνταῦθα ἔθνη ἄλλα τε πολλὰ ἵδρυται καὶ Βλέμυές τε καὶ Νοβάται, πολυανθρωπότατα γένη. ἀλλὰ Βλέμυες μὲν ταύτης δὴ τῆς χώρας ἐς τὰ μέσα ᾤκηνται, Νοβάται δὲ τὰ ἀμφὶ Νεῖλον ποταμὸν ἔχουσι. πρότερον δὲ οὐ ταῦτα ἐγεγόνει τὰ ἔσχατα τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῆς, ἀλλ̓ ἐπέκεινα ὅσον ἑπτὰ ἑτέρων ἐπίπροσθεν ὁδὸν ἡμερῶν: [29] ἡνίκα δὲ ὁ Ῥωμαίων αὐτοκράτωρ Διοκλητιανὸς ἐνταῦθα γενόμενος κατενόησεν ὅτι δὴ τῶν μὲν ἐκείνῃ χωρίων ὁ φόρος λόγου ἄξιος ὡς ἥκιστα ἦν, ἐπεὶ στενὴν μάλιστα τὴν γῆν ἐνταῦθα ξυμβαίνει εἶναι ῾πέτραι γὰρ τοῦ Νείλου οὐ πολλῷ ἄποθεν ὑψηλαὶ λίαν ἀνέχουσαι τῆς χώρας τὰ λοιπὰ ἔχουσἰ, στρατιωτῶν δὲ πάμπολύ τι πλῆθος ἐνταῦθα ἐκ παλαιοῦ ἵδρυτο, ὧνπερ ταῖς δαπάναις ὑπερφυῶς ἄχθεσθαι συνέβαινε τὸ δημόσιον, ἅμα δὲ καὶ Νοβάται ἀμφὶ πόλιν Ὄασιν ᾠκημένοι τὰ πρότερα ἦγόν τε καὶ ἔφερον ἅπαντα ἐς ἀεὶ τὰ ἐκείνῃ χωρία, τούτους δὴ τοὺς βαρβάρους ἀνέπεισεν ἀναστῆναι μὲν ἐξ ἠθῶν τῶν σφετέρων, ἀμφὶ ποταμὸν δὲ Νεῖλον ἱδρύσασθαι, δωρήσασθαι αὐτοὺς ὁμολογήσας πόλεσί τε μεγάλαις καὶ χώρᾳ πολλῇ τε καὶ διαφερόντως ἀμείνονι ἧσπερ τὰ πρότερα ᾤκηντο. [30] οὕτω γὰρ ᾤετο αὐτούς τε οὐκέτι τά γε ἀμφὶ τὴν Ὄασιν ἐνοχλήσειν χωρία καὶ γῆς τῆς σφίσι διδομένης μεταποιουμένους, ἅτε οἰκείας οὔσης, ἀποκρούσεσθαι Βλέμυάς τε, ὡς τὸ εἰκός, καὶ βαρβάρους τοὺς ἄλλους. [31] ἐπεί τε τοὺς Νοβάτας ταῦτα ἤρεσκε, τήν τε μετανάστασιν αὐτίκα δὴ μάλα πεποίηντο ᾗπερ ὁ Διοκλητιανὸς σφίσιν ἐπέστελλε, καὶ Ῥωμαίων τάς τε πόλεις καὶ χώραν ξύμπασαν ἐφ̓ ἑκάτερα τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἐξ Ἐλεφαντίνης πόλεως ἔσχον. [32] τότε δὴ ὁ βασιλεὺς οὗτος αὐτοῖς τε καὶ Βλέμυσιν ἔταξε δίδοσθαι ἀνὰ πᾶν ἔτος ῥητόν τι χρυσίον ἐφ̓ ᾧ μηκέτι γῆν τὴν Ῥωμαίων ληίσωντα�
�. [33] ὅπερ καὶ ἐς ἐμὲ κομιζόμενοι οὐδέν τι ἧσσον καταθέουσι τὰ ἐκείνῃ χωρία. οὕτως ἄρα βαρβάρους ἅπαντας οὐδεμία μηχανὴ διασώσασθαι τὴν ἐς Ῥωμαίους πίστιν ὅτι μὴ δέει τῶν ἀμυνομένων στρατιωτῶν. [34] καίτοι καὶ νῆσόν τινα ἐν ποταμῷ Νείλῳ ἄγχιστά πη τῆς Ἐλεφαντίνης πόλεως εὑρὼν ὁ βασιλεὺς οὗτος φρούριόν τε ταύτῃ δειμάμενος ὀχυρώτατον, κοινούς τινας ἐνταῦθα νεώς τε καὶ βωμοὺς Ῥωμαίοις τε καὶ τούτοις δὴ κατεστήσατο τοῖς βαρβάροις, καὶ ἱερεῖς ἑκάστων ἐν τῷ φρουρίῳ τούτῳ ἱδρύσατο, ἐν τῷ βεβαίῳ τὴν φιλίαν αὐτοῖς ἔσεσθαι τῷ μετέχειν τῶν ἱερῶν σφίσιν οἰόμενος. [35] διὸ δὴ καὶ Φίλας ἐπωνόμασε τὸ χωρίον. ἄμφω δὲ ταῦτα τὰ ἔθνη, οἵ τε Βλέμυες καὶ οἱ Νοβάται, τούς τε ἄλλους θεοὺς οὕσπερ Ἕλληνες νομίζουσι πάντας, καὶ τήν τε Ἶσιν τόν τε Ὄσιριν σέβουσι, καὶ οὐχ ἥκιστά γε τὸν Πρίαπον. [36] οἱ μέντοι Βλέμυες καὶ ἀνθρώπους τῷ ἡλίῳ θύειν εἰώθασι. ταῦτα δὲ τὰ ἐν Φίλαις ἱερὰ οὗτοι δὴ οἱ βάρβαροι καὶ ἐς ἐμὲ εἶχον, ἀλλὰ βασιλεὺς αὐτὰ Ἰουστινιανὸς καθελεῖν ἔγνω. [37] Ναρσῆς γοῦν, Περσαρμένιος γένος, οὗ πρόσθεν ἅτε ηὐτομοληκότος ἐς Ῥωμαίους ἐμνήσθην, τῶν ἐκείνῃ στρατιωτῶν ἄρχων τά τε ἱερὰ καθεῖλε, βασιλέως οἱ ἐπαγγείλαντος, καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἱερεῖς ἐν φυλακῇ ἔσχε, τὰ δὲ ἀγάλματα ἐς Βυζάντιον ἔπεμψεν. ἐγὼ δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν πρότερον λόγον ἐπάνειμι.
Delphi Complete Works of Procopius Page 325