Delphi Complete Works of Procopius

by Procopius of Caesarea

  So spoke Leontius. And Theudibald replied as follows. “You summon us, in the first place, to be allies against the Goths contrary to rectitude and justice; for it so happens that the Goths at the present time are our friends. And if the Franks should be unfaithful to them, neither will they ever be faithful to you. For men whose sentiments have once been seen to be base toward their friends are always of such a nature as to turn aside from the path of justice. And, in the second place, as to the lands you have mentioned, we shall say only this — that my father Theudibert never set his mind upon doing violence to any one of his neighbours or usurping the possessions of others. In proof of this witness the fact that I am not rich. Consequently he did not acquire these lands by robbing the Romans of them, but he took possession of them as a gift from Totila, who already held them and expressly handed them over to him, and upon this the Emperor Justinian should certainly have congratulated the Franks. For he who sees men who have robbed him of some of his private possessions roughly handled by any others would naturally rejoice, believing that those who wronged him have rightly and justly paid the penalty, except in case he be privately envious of those who have done the violence — for men feel that the appropriation by others of property which is claimed by an enemy tends, as a general thing, to envy. We are, however, able to leave to arbiters the decision of these matters, with the understanding that, if it becomes evident that my father robbed the Romans of anything, it shall be obligatory for us to restore this without delay. And envoys will be sent to Byzantium by us in regard to this matter not long hence.” With such words he dismissed Leontius and despatched Leudardus, a Frank, with three others to the Emperor Justinian. And upon their arrival at Byzantium they treated of the matters for which they had come.

  Totila was now eager to seize the islands which belong to Libya. He accordingly gathered a fleet of ships immediately and, putting an adequate army on board, sent it to Corsica and Sardinia. This fleet first sailed off to Corsica and, finding no defenders, took the island, and afterwards took possession of Sardinia likewise. And Totila made both these islands subject to the payment of tribute. But when this was learned by John, who was commanding the Roman army in Libya, he sent a fleet of ships and a strong force of soldiers to Sardinia. And when they came close to the city of Caranalis, they made camp with the purpose of instituting a siege; for they did not consider themselves able to storm the wall, since the Goths had a sufficient garrison there. But when the barbarians learned this, they made a sally against them from the city, and falling suddenly upon their enemy routed them with no difficulty and slew many. And the rest saved themselves for the moment by fleeing to the ships, but a little later they cast off from there and went to Carthage with the whole fleet. There they remained through the winter, in order that at the opening of spring they might again make an expedition to Corsica and Sardinia with fuller preparation. Now this island of Sardinia was formerly called Sardo. In that place there grows a certain herb such that, if men taste of it, a fatal convulsion immediately comes over them, and they die not long afterward, having the appearance of laughing, as it were, as a result of the convulsion, and this laughter they call “Sardonic” from the name of the place. But Corsica was called by men of ancient times Cyrnus. On that island are found apes just like men, and there is also a breed of horses only a little larger than sheep. So much for this.

  Σκλαβηνῶν δὲ πολὺς ὅμιλος Ἰλλυριοῖς ἐπισκήψαντες πάθη ἐνταῦθα οὐκ εὐδιήγητα εἰργάσαντο. βασιλεὺς δὲ Ἰουστινιανὸς στράτευμα ἐπ̓ αὐτοὺς ἔπεμψεν, οὗ δὴ ἄλλοι τε καὶ οἱ Γερμανοῦ παῖδες ἡγοῦντο. οἵπερ τῷ πλήθει τῶν [2] πολεμίων παρὰ πολὺ ἐλασσούμενοι χωρῆσαι μὲν αὐτοῖς ὁμόσε οὐδαμῆ ἴσχυσαν, ὄπισθεν δὲ ἀεὶ μένοντες τῶν βαρβάρων τοὺς ἀπολειπομένους ἐσίνοντο, [3] καὶ πολλοὺς μὲν αὐτῶν ἔκτεινον, τινὰς δὲ καὶ ζωγρήσαντες βασιλεῖ ἔπεμψαν. οὐδὲν μέντοι ἧσσον οἱ βάρβαροι οὗτοι τὰ δεινὰ ἔδρασαν. [4] ἐν ταύτῃ τε τῇ λεηλασίᾳ χρόνου τι μέγα κατατρίψαντες μῆκος τὰς μὲν ὁδοὺς νεκρῶν ἀνέπλησαν ἁπάσας, ἐξανδραποδίσαντες δὲ ἀνάριθμα πλήθη καὶ ληϊσάμενοι ξύμπαντα, οὐδενὸς σφίσιν ἀντιστατοῦντος, ἐπ̓ οἴκου ἀπεκομίσθησαν σὺν πάσῃ τῇ λείᾳ. [5] οὐδὲ γὰρ διαπορθμευομένους ποταμὸν Ἴστρον ἴσχυσαν σφᾶς ἐνεδρεῦσαι Ῥωμαῖοι ἢ ἄλλῳ τῳ βιάσασθαι τρόπῳ, ἐπεὶ Γήπαιδες αὐτοὺς μισθαρνήσαντες ὑπεδέξαντο καὶ διεπόρθμευσαν μακρόμισθοι γεγενημένοι. ἐπὶ κεφαλῇ γὰρ ἑκάστῃ κατὰ στατῆρα χρυσοῦν ἡ μίσθωσις ἦν. [6] διόπερ βασιλεὺς ἐδυσφορεῖτο, οὐκ ἔχων τὸ λοιπὸν ὅπη ποτὲ αὐτοὺς ἀναστέλλοι διαβαίνοντας ποταμὸν Ἴστρον ἐφ̓ ᾧ ληΐσονται τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἀρχήν, ἢ ξὺν ταῖς ὠφελίαις τὴν ἀποπορείαν ποιουμένους ἐνθένδε, ἤθελέ τε τούτων δὴ ἕνεκα Γηπαίδων τῷ ἔθνει ἐς συνθήκας καταστῆναί τινας. [7] Ἐν τούτῳ δὲ Γήπαιδές τε καὶ Λαγγοβάρδαι αὖθις πολεμησείοντες ἐπ̓ ἀλλήλους ᾔεσαν. Γήπαιδές τε τὴν Ῥωμαίων δειμαίνοντες δύναμιν ῾ἀνήκοοι γὰρ οὐδαμῆ ἦσαν ὡς Ἰουστινιανὸς βασιλεὺς ὁμαιχμίαν διωμότως πρὸς Λαγγοβάρδας πεποίηταἰ φίλοι καὶ ξύμμαχοι Ῥωμαίοις γενέσθαι ἐν σπουδῇ ἔσχον. [8] πρέσβεις οὖν ἐς Βυζάντιον εὐθὺς πέμπουσι, βασιλέα καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐς τὴν ὁμαιχμίαν παρακαλοῦντες. καὶ ὃς αὐτοῖς μελλήσει οὐδεμιᾷ ἐπὶ τῇ ξυμμαχίᾳ τὰ πιστὰ ἔδωκε. [9] δεηθέντων δὲ τῶν πρέσβεων τῶνδε καὶ τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς συγκλήτου βουλῆς ἄνδρες δυοκαίδεκα ὅρκια δόντες, ταύτας αὐτοῖς τὰς συνθήκας ἐπέρρωσαν. [10] οὐ πολλῷ δὲ ὕστερον Λαγγοβάρδαις κατὰ τὸ ξυμμαχικὸν δεομένοις στρατιὰν ἐς ξυμμαχίαν ἐπὶ Γήπαιδας Ἰουστινιανὸς βασιλεὺς ἔπεμψεν, ἐπενεγκὼν Γήπαισι Σκλαβηνῶν τινας ἐπὶ πονηρῷ τῶν Ῥωμαίων μετὰ τὰς ξυνθήκας διαβιβάσαι ποταμὸν Ἴστρον. [11] Ἡγοῦντο δὲ τῆς στρατιᾶς ταύτης Ἰουστῖνός τε καὶ Ἰουστινιανὸς οἱ Γερμανοῦ παῖδες Ἀράτιός τε καὶ Σουαρτούας, ὃς πρὸς Ἰουστινιανοῦ μὲν ἄρχων Ἐρούλοις κατέστη πρότερον, ἐπαναστάντων δέ οἱ τῶν ἀπὸ Θούλης τῆς νήσου ἡκόντων, ὥσπερ μοι ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν λόγοις ἐρρήθη, ἐς βασιλέα τε ἀφίκετο φεύγων καὶ Ῥωμαίοις στρατηγὸς τῶν ἐν Βυζαντίῳ καταλόγων εὐθὺς γέγονε, καὶ Ἀμαλαφρίδας, Γότθος ἀνήρ, Ἀμαλαφρίδης μὲν θυγατριδοῦς, τῆς Θευδερίχου τοῦ Γότθων βασιλέως ἀδελφῆς, Ἑρμενεφρίδου δὲ υἱὸς τοῦ Θορίγγων ἡγησαμένου. [12] ὅνπερ Βελισάριος μὲν σὺν Οὐιττίγιδι ἐς Βυζάντιον ἤγαγε, βασιλεὺς δὲ Ῥωμαίων ἄρχοντα κατεστή�
�ατο, καὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ ἀδελφὴν Αὐδουὶν τῷ Λαγγοβαρδῶν ἄρχοντι κατηγγύησε. [13] τοῦ δὲ στρατοῦ τούτου οὐδεὶς παρὰ Λαγγοβάρδας ἀφίκετο, ὅτι μὴ οὗτος Ἀμαλαφρίδας σὺν τοῖς ἑπομένοις. οἱ γὰρ ἄλλοι ἐν Ἰλλυριοῖς ἀμφὶ πόλιν Οὐλπίαναν βασιλέως ἐπαγγείλαντος διατριβὴν ἔσχον, στάσεως ἐνταῦθα πρὸς τῶν οἰκητόρων γεγενημένης, ὧνπερ ἕνεκα σφίσιν αὐτοῖς οἱ Χριστιανοὶ διαμάχονται, ᾗπέρ μοι ἐν λόγοις τοῖς ὑπὲρ τούτων γεγράψεται. [14] Οἱ μὲν οὖν Λαγγοβάρδαι πανδημεὶ σὺν τῷ Ἀμαλαφρίδᾳ ἐς τὰ Γηπαίδων ἤθη ἀφίκοντο, ὑπαντιασάντων δὲ τῶν Γηπαίδων σφίσι καὶ μάχης καρτερᾶς γενομένης ἡσσῶνται Γήπαιδες, καὶ αὐτῶν παμπληθεῖς φασὶν ἐν τῷ πόνῳ τούτῳ ἀποθανεῖν. [15] Αὐδουίν τε, ὁ τῶν Λαγγοβαρδῶν βασιλεύς, τῶν οἱ ἑπομένων τινὰς ἐς Βυζάντιον πέμψας εὐαγγέλια μὲν Ἰουστινιανῷ βασιλεῖ ἐδήλου, νενικημένων τῶν πολεμίων, ἐμέμφετο δὲ οὐ παραγενέσθαι οἱ κατὰ τὸ ξυμμαχικὸν τὸν τοῦ βασιλέως στρατόν, καίπερ Λαγγοβαρδῶν τοσούτων τὸ πλῆθος ἔναγχος ἐσταλμένων ἐφ̓ ᾧ Ναρσῇ ξυστρατεύσωσιν ἐπὶ Τουτίλαν τε καὶ Γότθους. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐφέρετο τῇδε. [16] Ἐν τούτῳ δὲ τῷ χρόνῳ σεισμοὶ κατὰ τὴν Ἑλλάδα ἐπιπεσόντες ἐξαίσιοι τήν τε Βοιωτίαν καὶ Ἀχαίαν καὶ τὰ περὶ κόλπον τὸν Κρισαῖον κατέσεισαν. [17] καὶ χωρία μὲν ἀνάριθμα, πόλεις δὲ ὀκτὼ ἐς ἔδαφος καθεῖλον, ἐν ταῖς Χαιρώνειά τε καὶ Κορώνεια ἦν καὶ Πάτραι καὶ Ναύπακτος ὅλη, ἔνθα δὴ καὶ φόνος γέγονεν ἀνθρώπων πολύς. [18] καὶ χάος δὲ ῾τῆς γῆς πολλαχῆ ἀποσχισθείσης᾿ γεγένηται. τὰ δὲ διαιρεθέντα ἔνια μὲν αὖθις ἐς ταὐτὸ ξυνιόντα τὸ πρότερον τῇ γῇ σχῆμά τε καὶ εἶδος ἀπέδωκεν, ἔστι δὲ οὗ καὶ διεστηκότα μεμένηκεν: ὥστε οὐδὲ ἀλλήλοις ἐπιμίγνυσθαι οἱ τῇδε ἄνθρωποί εἰσι δυνατοὶ ὅτι μὴ περιόδοις πολλαῖς χρώμενοι. [19] ἐν δέ γε τῷ πορθμῷ ὅνπερ μεταξὺ Θεσσαλίας τε καὶ Βοιωτίας ξυμβαίνει εἶναι, γέγονέ τις ἐκ τοῦ αἰφνιδίου τῆς θαλάσσης ἐπιρροὴ ἀμφί τε πόλιν τὴν Ἐχιναίων καλουμένην καὶ τὴν ἐν Βοιωτοῖς Σκάρφειαν. [20] πόρρω τε τῆς ἠπείρου ἀναβᾶσα καὶ κατακλύσασα τὰ ἐκείνῃ χωρία ἐς ἔδαφος καθεῖλεν εὐθύς. χρόνος τε τῇ θαλάσσῃ πολὺς ἐπιχωριαζούσῃ τῇ ἠπείρῳ ἐτρίβη, ὥστε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις πεζῇ ἰοῦσι βατὰς ἐπὶ πλεῖστον γενέσθαι τὰς νήσους αἵπερ ἔντοσθεν τοῦ πορθμοῦ τούτου τυγχάνουσιν οὖσαι, τοῦ τῆς θαλάσσης δηλονότι ῥοθίου ἐκλιπόντος μὲν τὴν αὑτοῦ χώραν, ἐπιπολάζοντος δὲ παρὰ δόξαν τὴν γῆν ἄχρι ἐς τὰ ὄρη ἃ ταύτῃ ἀνέχει. [21] ἡνίκα δὲ τῇ θαλάσσῃ ἐς τὰ οἰκεῖα ἐπανιέναι ξυνέπεσεν, ἰχθύες ἐν τῇ γῇ ἀπελείποντο, ὧνπερ ἡ ὄψις ἀήθης παντάπασιν οὖσα τοῖς τῇδε ἀνθρώποις τερατώδης τις ἔδοξεν εἶναι. [22] οὓς δὴ ἐδωδίμους εἶναι οἰόμενοι ἀνείλοντο μὲν ὡς ἑψήσοντες, θέρμης δὲ αὐτῶν τῆς ἐκ τοῦ πυρὸς ἁψαμένης ἐς ἰχῶράς τε καὶ σηπεδόνας οὐ φορητὰς τὸ σῶμα ὅλον ἀποκεκρίσθαι ξυνέπεσεν. [23] ἀμφὶ δὲ τὰ ἐκείνῃ χωρία, οὗ δὴ τὸ Σχίσμα ὠνόμασται, καὶ σεισμὸς ὑπερμεγέθης γενόμενος πλείω φόνον ἀνθρώπων ἢ ἐν πάσῃ τῇ ἄλλῃ Ἑλλάδι εἰργάσατο, μάλιστα ἐπεί τινα ἑορτὴν πανηγυρίζοντες ἔτυχον ἐκ πάσης τε τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἐνταῦθα τότε τούτου δὴ ἕνεκα ξυνειλεγμένοι πολλοί. [24] Ἐν δὲ Ἰταλίᾳ τάδε ξυνέπεσε. Κροτωνιᾶται καὶ στρατιῶται οἱ τὸ φυλακτήριον ταύτῃ ἔχοντες, ὧν Παλλάδιος ἦρχε, πικρότατα πρὸς Γότθων πολιορκούμενοι καὶ πιεζόμενοι τῶν ἀναγκαίων τῇ ἀπορίᾳ, πολλάκις μὲν λαθόντες τοὺς πολεμίους ἔπεμψαν ἐν Σικελίᾳ, μαρτυρόμενοι τοὺς ἐνταῦθα τοῦ Ῥωμαίων στρατοῦ ἄρχοντας καὶ διαφερόντως τὸν Ἀρταβάνην, ὡς εἰ μὴ βοηθοῖεν ὅτι τάχιστα σφίσιν, [25] οὔτι ἐθελουσίως σφᾶς τε αὐτοὺς καὶ τὴν πόλιν οὐ πολλῷ ὕστερον τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐνδώσουσιν. οὐδεὶς δὲ ἐνθένθε αὐτοῖς ἐπικουρήσων ἦλθε. καὶ ὁ χειμὼν ἔληγε, καὶ τὸ ἑπτακαιδέκατον ἔτος ἐτελεύτα τῷ πολέμῳ τῷδε ὃν Προκόπιος ξυνέγραψε.

  XXV

  A great throng of Sclaveni now descended upon Illyricum and inflicted sufferings there not easily described. And the Emperor Justinian sent an army against them commanded by the sons of Germanus with others. But since this army was far outnumbered by the enemy, it was quite unable to engage with them, but remained always in the rear and cut down the stragglers left by the barbarians. And they slew many of them but took some few prisoners, whom they sent to the emperor. But nevertheless these barbarians continued their work of devastation. And spending as they did a long time in this plundering expedition, they filled all the roads with corpses, and enslaved countless multitudes and pillaged everything without meeting any opposition; then finally they departed on the homeward journey with all their plunder. Nor could the Romans ambuscade them while crossing the Ister River or harm them in any other way, since the Gepaedes, having engaged their services, took them under their protection and ferried them across, receiving large payment for their labour. For the payment was at the rate of one gold stater per head. At this the emperor was grievously vexed, seeing that for the future he had no possible means of checking the barbarians when crossing the Ister River in order to plunder the Roman domain, or when taking their departure from such expeditions with the booty they gained, and he wished for these reasons to enter into some sort of treaty with the nation of the Gepaedes.

  Meanwhile the Gepaedes and the Lombards were once more moving against each other determined to make war. But the Gepaedes, fearing the power of the Romans (for they had by no means failed to hear that the Emperor Justinian had made a sworn alliance for offence and defence with the Lombards), were eager to become friends and allies of the Romans. They accordingly straightway sent envoys to Byzantium inviting the emperor to accept an offensive and defensive alliance with them also. So he without any hesitation gave them the pledges of alliance. And at the request of the same envoys twelve members of the senate also furnished them with a sworn statement confirming this treaty. But not long after this, when the Lombards according to the terms of their allian
ce requested an army to fight with them against the Gepaedes, the Emperor Justinian sent it, laying the charge against the Gepaedes that after the treaty they had transported certain of the Sclaveni across the Ister River to the detriment of the Romans.

  Now the leaders of this army were, first, Justinus and Justinian, the sons of Germanus; second, Aratius; third, Suartuas, who had previously been appointed by Justinian ruler over the Eruli (but when those who had come from the island of Thule rose against him, as told by me in the previous narrative, he had returned in flight to the emperor, and immediately became general of the Roman forces in Byzantium); and, lastly, Amalafridas, a Goth, grandson of Amalafrida the sister of Theoderic. king of the Goths, and son of Hermenefridus the former ruler of the Thuringians. This man had been brought by Belisarius to Byzantium with Vittigis, and the emperor had appointed him a Roman commander and betrothed his sister to Auduin the ruler of the Lombards. But not a man of that army reached the Lombards except this Amalafridas with his command. For the others, by direction of the emperor, stopped at the city of Ulpiana in Illyricum, since a civil war had arisen among the inhabitants of that place concerning those matters over which the Christians fight among themselves, as will be told by me in the treatise on this subject.

  So the Lombards in full force and accompanied by Amalafridas came into the lands of the Gepaedes, and when the Gepaedes encountered them a fierce battle ensued in which the Gepaedes were defeated, and they say that a vast number of them perished in this engagement. Whereupon Auduin, the king of the Lombards, sent some of his followers to Byzantium, first to announce the good news to the Emperor Justinian, since the enemy had been vanquished, and, secondly, to reproach him because the emperor’s army had not been present in accordance with the terms of their alliance, although such a host of Lombards had recently been sent to march with Narses against Totila and the Goths. Such was the course of these events.