BOOK II.
[1] [1] Ὅσα μὲν δὲ ἐπί τε Κωνσταντινουπόλεως καὶ τῶν ἐκείνῃ προαστείων ἱερὰ τεμένη βασιλεὺς Ἰουστινιανὸς νέα ἱδρύσατο, καὶ ὅσα καταπεπονηκότα διὰ χρόνου μῆκος ἀνενεώσατο, τά τε ἄλλα οἰκοδομήματα, ὅσα δὴ ἐνταῦθα πεποίηται, ἐν τῷ ἔμπροσθεν λόγῳ δεδήλωται.
[1] All the new churches which the Emperor Justinian built both in Constantinople and in its suburbs, and all those which, having been ruined by the passage of time, he restored, as well as all the other buildings which he erected here, have been described in the preceding Book.
[2] τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν ἐπὶ τὰ ἐρύματα ἡμῖν ἰτέον, οἷσπερ τὰς ἐσχατιὰς περιέβαλε Ῥωμαίων τῆς γῆς. ἔνθα δὴ καὶ ταλαιπωρεῖσθαι τῷ λόγῳ τὰ μάλιστα ἐπάναγκες ἂν εἴη καὶ τὰ ἀμήχανα διαπονεῖσθαι.
[2] From this point we must proceed to the defences with which he surrounded the farthest limits of the territory of the Romans. Here indeed my narrative will be constrained to halt painfully and to labour with an impossible subject.
[3] οὐ γὰρ τὰς πυραμίδας ἀφηγησόμεθα, τοῦτο δὴ τῶν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ βεβασιλευκότων τὸ διαθρυλλούμενον ἐπιτήδευμα, ἐς χάριν ἀποκεκριμένον ἀνόνητον, ἀλλὰ τὰ ὀχυρώματα σύμπαντα, οἷς ὁ βασιλεὺς οὗτος τὴν βασιλείαν ἐσώσατο, τειχισάμενός τε αὐτὴν ]καὶ ἀμήχανον τοῖς βαρβάροις καταστησάμενος τὴν ἐς Ῥωμαίους ἐπιβουλήν. ἐκ δὲ ὁρίων τῶν Μηδικῶν ἄρξασθαι οὔ μοι ἀπὸ τρόπου ἔδοξεν εἶναι.
[3] For it is not the pyramids which we are about to describe, those celebrated monuments of the rulers of Egypt, on which labour was expended for a useless show,a but rather all the fortifications whereby this Emperor preserved the Empire, walling it about and frustrating the attacks of the barbarians on the Romans. And it seems to me not amiss to start from the Persian frontier.
[4] Ἐπειδὴ Μῆδοι ἀνεχώρησαν ἐκ Ῥωμαίων τῆς γῆς, πόλιν αὐτοῖς Ἄμιδαν ἀποδόμενοι, ᾗπερ ἐν λόγοις τοῖς ὑπὲρ τῶν πολέμων δεδήλωται, βασιλεὺς μὲν Ἀναστάσιος ἄγχιστά πη τῶν Περσικῶν ὅρων κώμην ἄδοξόν τινα τὰ πρότερα οὖσαν, Δάρας ὄνομα, τείχει περιβαλεῖν διὰ σπουδῆς ἔσχε, πόλιν τε αὐτὴν ἐπιτείχισμα ἐσομένην τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐργάσασθαι.
[4] When the Persians retired from the territory of the Romans, selling to them the city of Amida, as I have related in the Books on the Wars, the Emperor Anastasius selected a hitherto insignificant village close to the Persian boundary, Daras by name, and urgently set about enclosing it with a wall and making it into a city which should serve as a bulwark against the enemy.
[5] ἐν δὲ ταῖς σπονδαῖς ἀπειρημένον, ἅσπερ ποτὲ βασιλεὺς Θεοδόσιος ἔθετο πρὸς τὸ Περσῶν γένος, μηδετέρους ἐν χωρίῳ οἰκείῳ ἐν γειτόνων που τοῖς τῶν ἑτέρων ὁρίοις κειμένῳ ὀχύρωμα νεώτερόν τι ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι, προτεινόμενοι Πέρσαι τὰς ἐπὶ τῇ εἰρήνῃ ξυνθήκας ἐμπόδιοι τῷ ἔργῳ σπουδῇ τῇ πάσῃ ἐγίνοντο, καίπερ Οὐννικοῦ πολέμου πιεζόμενοι τῇ ἀσχολίᾳ.
[5] But since it was forbidden in the treaty which the Emperor Theodosius once concluded with the Persian nation, that either party should construct any new fortress on his own land where it bordered on the boundaries of the other nation, the Persians, citing the terms of the peace, tried with all their might to obstruct the work, though they were hard pressed by being involved in a war with the Huns.
[6] Ῥωμαῖοι δὲ αὐτοὺς ἀπαρασκεύους διὰ ταῦτα ὁρῶντες ὀξύτερον τῆς οἰκοδομίας ἀντελαμβάνοντο, προτερῆσαι διὰ σπουδῆς ἔχοντες πρὶν οἱ πολέμιοι τὴν πρὸς Οὔννους ἀγώνισιν διαλύσαντες ἐπὶ σφᾶς ἴωσιν.
[6] So the Romans, observing that they were for this reason unprepared, pressed on the work of building all more keenly, being anxious to get ahead of the enemy before they should finish their struggle with the Huns and come against them.
[7] ὑποψίᾳ οὖν τῇ ἐκ τῶν πολεμίων περίφοβοι ὄντες καὶ καραδοκοῦντες ἀεὶ τὰς ἐφόδους, οὐκ ἐς τὸ ἀκριβὲς τὴν οἰκοδομίαν ἐξῆγον, τοῦ τάχους αὐτοῖς τῷ ὑπερβάλλοντι τῆς σπουδῆς παραιρουμένου τὴν ἐς τὸ ἔργον ἀσφάλειαν.
[7] Consequently, being fearful by reason of suspicion of the enemy, and continually expecting their attacks, they did not carry out the building with care, since the haste inspired by their extreme eagerness detracted from the stability of their work.
[8] τῷ γὰρ συντόμῳ τό γε ἀσφαλὲς οὐδαμῆ εἴωθε ξυνοικίζεσθαι, οὐδὲ τῷ ὄξει τὸ ἀκριβὲς φιλεῖ ἕπεσθαι.
[8] For stability is never likely to keep company with speed, nor is accuracy wont to follow swiftness.
[9] οὕτω τοίνυν ἐπισπερχῶς ἀπειργάσαντο τὴν τοῦ περιβόλου ἀνάστασιν οὐκ ]ἀνανταγώνιστον τοῖς πολεμίοις πεποιημένοι, ἀλλ᾽ ὅσον αὐτῷ ἀναγκαῖον ὕψος ἐνθέμενοι, οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ αὐτοὺς ἐμβεβλημένοι ἐν ἐπιτηδείῳ τοὺς λίθους, ἢ αὐτῶν ἐν δέοντι εἰργασμένοι τὴν σύνθεσιν, ἢ τῷ τέλματι τῆς τιτάνου κατὰ λόγον ἐναρμοσάμενοι.
[9] They therefore carried out the construction of the circuit-wall in great haste, not having made it fit to withstand the enemy, but raising it only to such a height as was barely necessary; indeed they did not even lay the stones themselves carefully, or fit them together as they should, or bind them properly at the joints with mortar.
[10] χρόνου οὖν ὀλίγου (χιόσι τε γὰρ καὶ ἡλίου θέρμῃ τῷ τῆς οἰκοδομίας σφαλερῷ ἀντέχειν οἱ πύργοι ὡς ἥκιστα εἶχον) διερρωγέναι αὐτῶν τοῖς πλείστοις ξυνέβη. οὕτω μὲν τὰ πρότερα ἐν πόλει Δάρας τὰ τείχη ἀνέστη.
[10] So within a short time, since the towers could not in any way withstand the snows and the heat of the sun because of their faulty construction, it came about that the most of them fell into ruin. So were the earlier walls built at the city of Daras.
[11] Ἔννοια δὲ Ἰουστινιανῷ βασιλεῖ γέγονεν ὡς οὐ περιόψονται Πέρσαι ὅσα γε δυνατὰ τοῦτο δὴ τὸ κατ᾽ αὐτῶν ἐπιτείχισμα Ῥωμαίοις ἑστάναι, ἀλλὰ πανοικεσίᾳ μὲν προσβαλοῦσι, τέχνας δὲ κινήσουσι πάσας ἐξ ἀντιπάλου τειχομαχήσειν τῆς πόλεως, καὶ ὅμιλος μὲν αὐτοῖς ἐλεφάντων ἕψεται, οἴσουσι δὲ ξυλίνους ἐπὶ τῶν ὤμων οἱ ἐλέφαντες πύργους, οἷς ὑποκείμενοι ἀντὶ θεμελίων ἑστήξουσι, καὶ τὸ δὴ χαλεπώτερον ἐν ἐπιτηδείῳ τοῖς πολεμίοις περιαγόμε�
�οι καὶ φέροντες τεῖχος γνώμῃ τῶν κεκτημένων ὅπη παρατύχοι ἐπόμενον·
[11] The Emperor Justinian perceived that the Persians, as far as lay in their power, would not permit this outpost of the Romans, which was a menace to them, to stand there, but they would of course assault it with all their might, and would use every device to conduct siege operations on even terms with the city; and that a great number of elephants would come with them, and these would bear wooden towers on their shoulders, under which they would stand, supporting them like foundations; and worse still, that they would be led about wherever the enemy needed them and would bear a fortress which would follow along wherever, according to the judgement of their masters, it should happen to be needed;
[12] ἐπεμβαίνοντες δὲ οἱ πολέμιοι βαλοῦσι μὲν κατὰ κορυφὴν τοὺς ἔνδον Ῥωμαίους, ἐκ δὲ ὑπερδεξίων ἐπιθήσονται, ἀλλὰ καὶ λόφους χειροποιήτους ἐπαναστήσουσι, καὶ μηχανὰς τὰς ἑλεπόλεις ἐπάξονται πάσας.
[21] and that the enemy would mount these towers and shoot down upon the heads of the Romans inside the city, and attack them from a higher level; that, furthermore they would raise up artificial mounds against them, and would bring up all manner of siege-engines.
[13] ἢν δέ τι τῇ πόλει Δάρας ἀξύμφορον ἐπιγένηται, πάσης μὲν προβεβλημένῃ τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῆς, ἀντιτεταγμένῃ δὲ τῇ πολεμίᾳ διαφανῶς, οὐκ ἄχρι τοῦδε ἡμῖν κείσεται ]τὸ κακόν, ἀλλ᾽ ἡ πολιτεία κατασεισθήσεται ἐκ τοῦ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον. ἐβούλετό τε διὰ ταῦτα ὀχύρωμα τῷ χωρίῳ περιβαλεῖν ἐπαξίως τῆς χρείας.
[13] And if any misfortune should befall the city of Daras, which was thrown out like an earthwork before the whole Roman Empire and was obviously placed as a threat to the enemy’s land, the disaster for us would not stop there, but a great part of the State would be seriously shaken. For these reasons he wished to surround the place with defences in keeping with its practical usefulness.
[14] Πρῶτα μὲν οὖν τὸ τεῖχος (κολοβόν τε γὰρ ἦν κομιδῇ, ᾗπέρ μοι εἴρηται, καὶ τοῖς ἐπιοῦσι διὰ ταῦτα ἐπιμαχώτατον) ἀπρόσοδόν τε καὶ ἄμαχον ὅλως τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐσκευάσατο εἶναι.
[14] First of all he rendered the wall (which, as I have said, was very low and therefore very easy for an enemy to assault) both inaccessible and wholly impregnable for an attacking force.
[15] τὰς μὲν γὰρ ἐπάλξεις πρότερον οὔσας λίθων ἐνθήκῃ ξυναγαγὼν ἀπέσφιγξεν ἐν στενῷ μάλιστα, ἴχνη αὐταῖς μόνα ἐς θυρίδων ἀπολιπὼν σχῆμα, τοσοῦτον δὲ αὐτῶν συγκεχωρηκὼς ἀνεῳγέναι, ὅσον δὴ καὶ χεῖρα διεῖναι, καὶ τῶν τοξευμάτων ἐξόδους ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐνοχλοῦντας ἐνθένδε λελεῖφθαι.
[15] For he contracted the original apertures of the battlements by inserting stones and reduced them to very narrow slits, leaving only traces of them in the form of tiny windows, and allowing them to open just enough for a hand to pass through, so that outlets were left through which arrows could be shot against assailants.
[16] ὕπερθεν δὲ αὐτῶν ὕψος τῷ περιβόλῳ ἐπετεχνήσατο ἐς τριάκοντα μάλιστα πόδας, οὐχ ὅλον ἐνθέμενος τὸ πάχος τῷ τείχει, ὡς μὴ τῶν θεμελίων τῇ τῶν ἐγκειμένων περιουσίᾳ βαρυνομένων ἀνήκεστόν τι τῷ ἔργῳ ξυμβαίη, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἐκείνῃ ἀέρα λίθων περιβολῇ περιελίξας, στοάν τε ἐν κύκλῳ τοῦ περιβόλου περίδρομον ἐργασάμενος, ὑπέρ τε τὴν στοὰν τὰς ἐπάλξεις ἐπιβαλών, ὥστε διώροφον μὲν πανταχόσε τὸ τεῖχος εἶναι, κατὰ δὲ τοὺς πύργους καὶ τρεῖς γεγονέναι τὰς χώρας τῶν τε ἀμυνομένων τοῦ περιβόλου καὶ τὰς ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν ἀποκρουομένων ἐφόδους.
[16] Then above these he added to the wall a height of •about thirty feet, not building the addition upon the whole thickness of the wall, lest the foundations should be overloaded by the excessive weight which bore upon them, so that the whole work would suffer some irreparable damage, but he enclosed the space at that level with courses of stones on the outside and constructed a colonnaded stoa (stoa) running all around the wall, and he placed the battlements above this portico, so that the wall really had a double roof throughout; and at the towers there were actually three levels for the men who defended the wall and repelled attacks upon it.
[17] κατὰ μέσους γάρ πη τοὺς πύργους σφαιρικὸν σχῆμα ἐνθέμενος αὖθις ἐνταῦθα ἐντέθεικεν ἐπάλξεις ἑτέρας, τριώροφον ταύτῃ τὸ τεῖχος ἀπεργασάμε·
[17] For at about the middle of each tower he added a rounded structure (sphairikon schêma) upon which he placed additional battlements, thus making the wall three-storeyed.
[18] Ἔπειτα δὲ κατανενοηκὼς ὅτι δὴ καὶ τῶν πύργων διεφθάρθαι πολλούς, ᾗπέρ μοι εἴρηται, ξυνηνέχθη ἐν χρόνῳ ὀλίγῳ, καθελεῖν μὲν αὐτοὺς ὡς ἥκιστα εἶχεν, ἐν γειτόνων ἀεὶ τῶν πολεμίων ὄντων καὶ καιροφυλακούντων τε καὶ διηνεκὲς ἰχνευόντων εἴ ποτε τοῦ περιβόλου μοίρας ἀτειχίστου τινὸς ἐπιτυχεῖν οἷοί τε ὦσιν· ἐπενόει δὲ τάδε.
[18] Then he observed that it had come about that many of the towers, as I have said, had fallen into ruin in a short time, yet it was entirely out of the question to pull them down, since the enemy were constantly in the neighbourhood watching their opportunity and continually scouting to see whether they might not find some part of the defences dismantled at any time. But he hit upon the following plan.
[19] τούτους μὲν τοὺς πύργους αὐτοῦ εἴασεν, ἔκτοσθεν δὲ αὐτῶν ἑκάστου οἰκοδομίαν τινὰ ἑτέραν ἐμπείρως ἐν τετραγώνῳ ἐδείματο ἀσφαλείας τε καὶ τῆς ἄλλης ἐπιμελείας εὖ ἔχουσαν, ταύτῃ τε τοὺς πεπονηκότας τῶν τοίχων ἐρύματι ἑτέρῳ ἐς τὸ ἀσφαλὲς ἐτειχίσατο.
[19] He left these towers in place, and outside each of them he cleverly erected another structure in the form of a rectangle, which was built securely and with every possible care, and thus, by means of a second set of defences, he safely enclosed those parts of the wall which had suffered.
[20] ἕνα δὲ αὐτῶν τὸν καλούμενον τῆς Φρουρᾶς ἐπικαιριώτατα καθελὼν ἀνῳκοδομήσατο ξὺν τῷ ἀσφαλεῖ καὶ πανταχόθεν τοῦ περιβόλου τὸ ἐκ τῆς ἀσθενείας ἀφείλετο δέος.
[20] But one of the towers, called the “Tower of the Guard,” he pulled down at a favourable moment and rebuilt so that it was safe, and everywhere he removed the fear which had arisen from the weakness of the circuit-wall.
[21] καὶ τῷ προτειχίσματι δὲ κατὰ λόγον διαρκὲς ὕψος ἐπισταμένως ἐντέθεικεν.
[21] He also wisely added sufficient height, in due proportion, to the outworks.
[22] ἔκτοσθεν δ�
� αὐτοῦ τάφρον ὤρυξεν, οὐχ ᾗπερ εἰώθασιν ἄνθρωποι τὰ τοιαῦτα ποιεῖν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν χώρῳ τε ὀλίγῳ καὶ τρόπῳ ἑτέρῳ· ὅτου δὲ δὴ ἕνεκα, ἐγὼ δηλώσω.
[22] And outside these he dug a moat, not in the way in which men are wont to make them, but only for a short distance and in a novel manner; and the reason for this I shall explain.
[23] Τὰ μὲν ἀλλὰ τοῦ περιβόλου ἀπρόσβατα τοῖς τειχομαχοῦσιν ἐκ τοῦ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ξυμβαίνει εἶναι, ἅτε οὐκ ἐφ᾽ ὁμαλοῦ χωρίου ἑστῶτα οὐδὲ τοῖς ἐπιοῦσιν ἔχοντος πρὸς ἐπιβουλὴν ἐπιτηδείως, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ ἄναντες ἔν τε σκληρῷ καὶ ὀρθίῳ κειμένου, ἔνθα οὔτε διώρυχα οἷόν τέ ἐστιν οὔτε προσβολὴν γενέσθαι τινά.
[23] The greater part of the defences, as it happens, are in general unapproachable for an attacking party, since they do not stand on level ground and offer no favourable opportunity for assault to an approaching force; but they stand along a steep slope of a rough and precipitous character, where it is not possible for a mine to be dug or for any attack to be made.
[24] ᾗ δὲ αὐτοῦ πρὸς ἄνεμον νότον ἡ πλευρὰ τέτραπται, μαλθακή τε οὖσα καὶ γεώδης ἡ χώρα καὶ πρὸς διώρυχας εὔκολος ἄγαν, εὐέφοδον ταύτῃ ποιεῖ τὴν πόλιν. ]
[24] But on the side which is turned toward south, the soil is deep and soft and consequently easy to mine, so that it makes the city assailable on this side.
[25] τάφρον οὖν ἐνταῦθα μηνοειδῆ, εὔρους τε καὶ βάθους ἱκανῶς ἔχουσαν ἐπὶ μακρῷ κατορύξας, ἑκάτερον αὐτῆς τῷ προτειχίσματι τὸ πέρας ἐνῆψεν, ὕδατος μὲν αὐτὴν διαρκῶς ἐμπλησάμενος, ἄβατόν τε παντάπασι τοῖς πολεμίοις καταστησάμενος, ἐν μοίρᾳ δὲ αὐτῆς τῇ ἐντὸς προτείχισμα θέμενος ἕτερον· ᾧ δὴ ἐφεστῶτες ἐν πολιορκίᾳ φρουροῦσι Ῥωμαῖοι, τοῦ τε περιβόλου καὶ προτειχίσματος τοῦ ἑτέρου ἀφροντιστήσαντες, ὅπερ τοῦ τείχους προβέβληται.
Delphi Complete Works of Procopius Page 587