[9] τοῦτο πόλεως μὲν Δάρας ὁδῷ ἡμέραιν διέχει δυοῖν εὐζώνῳ ἀνδρί· τούτου δὲ τοῦ Ῥάβδιος σημείοις διέστηκε τρισὶ μάλιστα.
[9] This is separated from the city of Daras by a journey of two days for an unencumbered traveller, and is •about three miles distant from Rhabdios.
[10] πρότερον μὲν οὖν ἀφύλακτός τε ἦν ὁ χῶρος ὅδε καὶ Ῥωμαίοις παντελῶς ἄσημος. οὐκοῦν οὔτε φρουρᾶς οὔτε ὀχυρώματος οὔτε ἄλλου ὁτουοῦν ἀγαθοῦ πρὸς αὐτῶν ἔλαχε πώποτε.
[10] At first this region was unguarded and was of no consequence whatever to the Romans. For it had never been garrisoned nor had it been fortified, and it had not received any other care from them.
[11] Πέρσαις ἀμέλει οἱ τὸν ἀγρὸν γεωργοῦντες, οὗπερ ἐπεμνήσθην ἀρτίως, ὥσπερ ἄλλο τι ἀγγαροφοροῦντες, πεντήκοντα ἐπετείους χρυσοῦς ἔφερον, ἐφ᾽ ᾧ ἀδεέστερον κεκτήσονται τὰ αὑτῶν ἰδία καὶ καρπῶν δύνωνται τῶν τῇδε φυομένων ὀνίνασθαι.
[11] Indeed it was to the Persians that those who farmed the “Field” which I just mentioned paid fifty staters annually, just as though they were paying ordinary taxes, on condition that they might possess their own lands free from fear and be able to profit by the crops which grew upon them.
[12] βασιλεὺς δὲ Ἰουστινιανὸς ἅπαντα αὐτοῖς μεταπεφυκέναι διεσκευάσατο. τειχίσματι γὰρ τὸ Ῥάβδιος περιβαλὼν κατὰ τῶν πετρῶν τὴν ὑπερβολήν, αἵπερ ἐκείνῃ ἀνέχουσιν, ἀπρόσοδον αὐτὸ τοῖς πολεμίοις πεποίηται τὸ χωρίον, δηλονότι ξυλλαμβανούσης τῆς φύσεως.
[12] But the Emperor Justinian arranged to alter all this for their benefit. He encircled Rhabdios with a wall built along the crest of the rocks which rise there, thus making the place inaccessible for the enemy, that is, with the assistance of nature.
[13] ἐπεὶ δὲ ὕδατος οἱ τῇδε ᾠκημένοι ἐσπάνιζον, ἐν τῇ τῶν σκοπέλων ἀκρωρείᾳ πηγῆς ὡς ἥκιστα οὔσης, ταμιεῖά τε ὑδάτων εἰργάσατο δύο καὶ τὰς ἐκείνῃ πέτρας πολλαχῇ διορύξας παμπληθεῖς ὑδάτων θησαυροὺς διεπράξατο ]εἶναι, ὅπως δὴ ξυρρεόντων ὑετίων ἐνταῦθα ὑδάτων ἀδεέστερον αὐτοῖς οἱ τῇδε ἄνθρωποι δύνωνται χρῆσθαι, ὡς μὴ τοῦ ὕδατος πιεζόμενοι τῇ ἀπορίᾳ εὐάλωτοι εἶεν.
[13] Then, since those who dwelt there had a scanty supply of water — for no spring was to be found on the summit of the rocks — he constructed two cisterns and dug channels into the rock there in many directions, so that he made many reservoirs for water, in order that when the rain-water collected in these the inhabitants might be able to use them in security, and then they might not be captured easily when hard pressed for lack of water.
[14] Καὶ τὰ ἄλλα δὲ φρούρια πάντα ἐν ὄρει κείμενα, ἅπερ ἐνθένδε τε καὶ ἐκ Δάρας πόλεως ἄχρι ἐς Ἄμιδαν διήκειν ξυμβαίνει, τό τε Κιφὰς καὶ Σαυρὰς καὶ Μάργδις τε καὶ Λούρνης τό τε Ἰδριφθὸν καὶ Ἀταχὰς καὶ Σίφριός τε καὶ Ῥιπαλθὰς καὶ Βανασυμέων, ἔτι μέντοι καὶ Σινὰς καὶ Ῥάσιος, καὶ Δαβανάς, καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα ἐνταῦθα ἐκ παλαιοῦ ἐστι, γελοιότατα δῆθεν τῷ σχήματι ἀποτεθριγκωμένα τὸ πρότερον ἀνοικοδομησάμενος σὺν τῷ ἀσφαλεῖ ἔς τε τὸ νῦν φαινόμενον κάλλος τε καὶ ὀχύρωμα μεταθέμενος ἀνάλωτα εἶναι καὶ προβεβλῆσθαι Ῥωμαίων τῆς γῆς βεβαιότατα κατεστήσατο.
[14] And all the other forts which lie in the mountains, forming a line from there and from the city of Daras all the way to Amida, namely Ciphas and Sauras and Margdis and Lournês and Idriphthon and Atachas and Siphriŭs and Rhipalthas and Banasymeôn, and also Sinas and Rhasios and Dabanas, and all the others which have been there from ancient times, and which had previously been fenced about in most ridiculous fashion, he rebuilt and made safe, transforming them to their present aspect as to both beauty and strength, and making them impregnable, so that actually they are thrown out as a mighty bulwark to shield the land of the Romans.
[15] ἐνταῦθα ὄρος οὐρανόμηκες ἀποκρέμαται, ἀπόκρημνόν τε καὶ προσελθεῖν ἀμήχανον ὅλως.
[15] In that place there is a lofty mountain towering to the sky, exceedingly steep and altogether inaccessible.
[16] ἐν πεδίῳ δὲ ὑπόκειται χώρα γεώδης τε καὶ μαλθακὴ λίαν, ἀγαθὴ μὲν ἀρόσαι, θρέμμασι δὲ ἀτεχνῶς εὔνομος. ἐπιεικῶς γὰρ τῇ πόᾳ χλοάζει.
[16] And in the plain below the soil lies deep and soft, an excellent surface for plowing and extremely good for pasture, for it is covered with a great abundance of forage.
[17] παμπληθεῖς δὲ κῶμαι παρὰ τοὺς πρόποδας τοῦ ὅρους εἰσίν. οἰκοῦσί τε αὐτὰς ἄνθρωποι τὰ μὲν ἐς κτῆσιν τῶν ἐπιτηδείων εὐδαίμονες, εὐάλωτοι δέ, εἴ τις προσίοι.
[17] There are numerous villages along the foot-hills of the mountain, inhabited by people who are indeed happy in their possession of the necessities of life, but would be easy to capture, if anyone should attack them.
[18] ὅπερ αὐτοῖς ἐπηνώρθωσεν Ἰουστινιανὸς βασιλεύς, φρούριον ἐπὶ τοῦ ὅρους τῇ ἀκρωνυχίᾳ δειμάμενος, ἵνα δὴ τὰ σφίσιν ἐναποθέμενοι τιμιώτατα, ἐπειδὰν προσίοιεν οἱ πολέμιοι, ἀνατρέχοντες διασώζωνται· Βασιλέων δὲ τὸ φρούριον ἐπωνόμασται.
[18] This situation the Emperor Justinian corrected for them by building a fort on the very tip of the mountain, so that they might store their most valuable property there and also, fleeing thither, save themselves whenever the enemy should come against them; and this fort is named Basileôn.
[19] καὶ μὴν ]καὶ τὰ ἀμφὶ πόλιν Ἄμιδαν φρούρια, πηλῷ τε περιβεβλημένα καὶ τοῖς πολεμίοις βάσιμα παντάπασιν ὄντα, ἐς τὸ ἀκριβὲς ἀνοικοδομησάμενος ἅπαντα ἐς τῆς ἀσφαλείας τὸ ἀκριβέστατον μετεστήσατο.
[19] Furthermore, he carefully rebuilt the forts about the city of Amida which had been enclosed by mud walls and were entirely at the mercy of the enemy, and he so transformed them all that they were perfectly secure.
[20] ἐν οἷς τό τε Ἀπάδνας καὶ τὸ Βιρθὸν πολίχνιόν ἐστιν. ἅπαντα γὰρ ἀκριβολογεῖσθαι πρὸς ὄνομα οὐκ εὐπετές ἐστι.
[20] Among these are Apadnas and the little town of Virthon; for it is not easy to mention all separately by name.
[21] συνελόντα δὲ εἰπεῖν ἅπαντα πρότερον τοῖς ἐπιβουλεύουσιν ὑποκείμενα τανῦν ἀνανταγώνιστα πεποίηκεν εἶναι. καὶ ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ ἡ Μεσοποταμία τῷ Περσῶν γένει ἄβατος διαφανῶς ἐστιν.
[21] But, to speak briefly, he has made impregnable at the present time all the places which previously lay exposed to assailants. And as a result of this, Mesopotamia is manifestly inaccessible to the Persian nation.
[22] Οὐ σιωπητέον δὲ οὐδὲ ὅπερ ἐν τῷ Βάρας φρουρίῳ ἐξεῦρεν, οὗπερ ἐπεμνήσθην ἀρτίως. τὰ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ φρουρίου ἐντὸς ἄνυδρα τὸ παράπαν ὄντα ἐτύγχανεν, ἐν ὄρει δὲ ὑψηλῷ μάλιστα κατὰ τὸ κρημνῶδες τὸ Βάρας τοῦτο πεποίηται.
[22] But I must not pass by in silence the device which he hit upon in the fort Baras which I have just mentioned. It so happened that inside the fort there was no water at all, for this Baras was built on the steep slope of a very high mountain.
[23] ἔκτοσθεν δὲ αὐτοῦ ὡς ἀπωτάτω ἐν τῇ ὑπωρείᾳ μετὰ τὸ πρανὲς κρήνη ἦν, ἥνπερ ἐδόκει ἀξύμφορον εἶναι τῷ τειχίσματι τοῦ φρουρίου περιβαλεῖν, ὡς μή τις αὐτοῦ μοῖρα ἐν ὑπτίῳ κειμένη εὐάλωτος εἴη. ἐπενόει δὲ τάδε·
[23] Outside the fort, however, at a very great distance, there was a spring at the foot of the mountain, beyond the slope; but it had seemed inadvisable to enclose this within the fortifications of the stronghold, so that no part of the defences might lie on level ground and so be easy to capture. Therefore he devised the following plan.
[24] τὰ ἐντὸς τοῦ περιβόλου διορύσσειν ἐκέλευεν ἕως ἐς τὸ ὁμαλὲς μάλιστα ἵκωνται. ὅπερ ἐπεὶ ὑπετελέσθη κατὰ τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως ἐπίταξιν, ἐπιρρέον ἐνταῦθα τὸ ὕδωρ ἐκ τῆς πηγῆς παρὰ δόξαν ἐφάνη. οὕτω τε καὶ τὸ φρούριον δεδημιούργηται ξὺν τῷ ἀσφαλεῖ καὶ ὕδατος πέρι ἐν ἐπιτηδείῳ φαίνεται κείμενον.
[24] He bade them dig within the fortifications until they came approximately to the level of the plain. And when this work was completed according to the Emperor’s instructions, water was found there, contrary to all expectation, running in from the spring. Thus not only is the fortress placed in a position of safety, but it proves to be properly situated as regards water also.
[5] [5] [1] Οὕτω δὲ καὶ Θεοδοσιουπόλεως, τῆς παρὰ ]ποταμὸν Ἀβόρραν γῆς τῆς Ῥωμαίων προβεβλημένης, τὸν περίβολον, ὅνπερ ὁ χρόνος κατεργάσασθαι μάλιστα ἴσχυσε, καὶ ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ τοῖς τῇδε ἀνθρώποις οὐχ ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀσφαλείας ἐδίδου θαρρεῖν, ἀλλὰ διηνεκὲς ἅπαντας ἐξέπλησσε, δεδισσόμενος ὅτι δὴ οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν αὐτοῖς ἐμπεσεῖται, ἀνοικοδομησάμενος ἐκ τοῦ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ὁ βασιλεὺς οὗτος διακωλύειν τάς γε κατὰ Μεσοποταμίαν Περσῶν ἐσβολὰς ἱκανῶς ἔσχεν.
[1] In the same way he restored the circuit-wall of Theodosiopolis, which stands on the River Aborrhas as a bulwark of the Roman Empire; for time had succeeded most completely in breaking it down, so that it afforded no assurance of safety to the people there, but rather kept them all in a constant state of terror for fear that it would fall upon them in the not distant future. But this Emperor rebuilt the greater part of the wall and thus succeeded effectually in checking the inroads of the Persians at least on the Mesopotamian border.
[2] Οἷα δὲ καὶ ἐν Κωνσταντίνῃ ἐπιδέδεικται εἰπεῖν ἄξιον. ἦν μὲν τὰ πρότερα ὁ Κωνσταντίνης περίβολος τό τε ὕψος κλίμακι ἁλωτὸς τήν τε ἄλλην κατασκευὴν εὐέφοδος ἄγαν, ὥσπερ τι πάρεργον γεγενημένος τοῖς πάλαι ἀνθρώποις.
[2] The work that he carried out in Constantina is also worthy of mention. Formerly the circuit-wall of this city was of such a height that it could be scaled with a ladder, and its whole method of construction made it easy to attack, built as it was by men of former times in a casual sort of way.
[3] τοσούτῳ γὰρ διειστήκεισαν οἱ πύργοι ἀλλήλων ὥστε εἰ προσβαλοῦντές τινες ἐς τὴν μεταξὺ χώραν προσίοιεν, οὐκ εἶχον οἱ κατὰ τοὺς πύργους ἑστῶτες καθ᾽ ὅτι ἂν αὐτοὺς ἀμυνόμενοι ἀποκρούοιντο. ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ χρόνου μήκει πεπονηκὼς ἐκ τοῦ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον τοῦ καταπεπτωκέναι οὐ μακράν που ἐγένετο.
[3] Indeed the towers were so widely separated that if any attackers advanced to make an assault upon the space between them, the defenders posted on the towers had no means of driving them back. Moreover the wall had suffered from the passage of time, and for the most part had come to be not very far from a state of collapse.
[4] πρὸς δὲ καὶ τοιοῦτο τῇ πόλει προτείχισμα ἦν οἷον ἐπιτείχισμα κατ᾽ αὐτῆς γεγονέναι δοκεῖν. οὐ πλέον γὰρ αὐτοῦ ἢ ἐς πόδας τρεῖς ἐγεγόνει τὸ πάχος, καὶ αὐτὸ μέντοι πηλῷ σύνθετον, τὰ μὲν κάτω ἐς ὀλίγον ἐκ λίθου μυλίτου ἀνεστηκός, τὰ δὲ ὕπερθεν ἐκ τοῦ λευκολίθου καλουμένου, σφαλεροῦ τε ὄντος καὶ μαλακοῦ λίαν. ὥστε δὴ ὅλον ἦν τοῖς ἐπιοῦσιν εὐάλωτον.
[4] Furthermore, the outworks (proteichisma) protecting the city were of such a sort that they looked like a wall built for the purpose of attacking it (epiteichisma). In fact their thickness had not been made more than •three feet, and even that was held together with mud, the lower courses for a short space being built of hard stone suitable for making mill-stones (lithos mylites), but the upper portion consisting of so-called “white stone” (leukolithos), which is untrustworthy and very soft. So the whole place was easy for assailants to capture.
[5] βασιλεὺς δὲ Ἰουστινιανὸς τὰ μὲν ]πεπονηκότα τοῦ περιβόλου νέᾳ τινὶ ἀνεσώσατο οἰκοδομίᾳ, καὶ διαφερόντως τὰ πρὸς ἥλιον δύοντα τετραμμένα καὶ βορρᾶν ἄνεμον.
[5] But the Emperor Justinian rebuilt with new masonry those portions of the circuit-wall which had suffered, particularly the parts which faced the west and the north.
[6] τοῦ δὲ δὴ ἐρύματος πανταχῆ μεταξὺ πύργοιν δυοῖν ἄλλον ἐντέθεικε, καὶ ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ πύργοι ἅπαντες ὡς ἀγχοτάτω ἀλλήλοις ὄντες τοῦ περιβόλου προβέβληνται.
[6] And in all parts of the defences he inserted a new tower between each pair of towers, and consequently all the towers stood out from the circuit-wall very close to one another.
[7] ὅλῳ δὲ τῷ τείχει καὶ πᾶσι πύργοις μέγα τι χρῆμα ὕψους ἐνθέμενος ἄμαχον τοῖς πολεμίοις τὸ τῆς πόλεως ὀχύρωμα κατεστήσατο.
[7] Also he added greatly to the height of the whole wall and of all the tower, and thus made the defences of the city impregnable to the enemy.
[8] ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀνόδους τοῖς πύργοις κεκαλυμμένας πεποιημένος, τριωρόφους τε αὐτοὺς λίθων ἐπιβολαῖς τεκτηνάμενος κυρτώμασι γεγονυίαις θόλων, πυργοκάστελλον αὐτῶν ἕκαστον εἶναί τε καὶ καλεῖσθαι πεποίηκε.
[8] And he also built covered approaches (anodoi) to the towers, and made them three-storied (triôrophoi) by adding courses of stones curved in the form of vaults (tholoi); thus he made each one of them a pyrgo-castellum, as it was called and as it actually was.
[9] καστέλλους γὰρ τὰ φρούρια τῇ Λατίνων καλοῦσι φωνῇ. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀμφὶ τοῖς ὕδασιν ἡ Κωνσταντίνα τὰ ἀνήκεστα ἔπασχε πρότερον.
[9] For they call forts castella in the Latin tongue. Furthermore, Constantina in former times used to suffer terribly for want of water.
[10] τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἐκτός, ὄσον ἐκ σημείου ἑνός, πηγαί τέ εἰσι ποτίμων ὑδάτων καὶ ἄλσος ἐνθένδε φύεται ἐπιεικῶς μέγα, οὐρανομήκεσι κατάφυτον δένδροις· τὰ μέντοι ἐντός, ἵνα δὴ οὐκ ἐφ᾽ ὁμαλοῦ, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν τῷ ἀνάντει τὰς ἀγυιὰς συμβαίνει εἶναι, ἄνυδρός τε ἦν ἡ πόλις ἐκ παλαιοῦ καὶ δίψῃ τε καὶ ἀμηχανίᾳ πολλῇ οἱ τῇδε ᾠκημένοι ἐς ἀεὶ εἴχοντο.
[10] Outside the city, about a mile away, there are springs of sweet water and then a very large grove planted with trees which reach to the sky; but within the walls, where the streets happen to be sloping, and not level, the city had been without water from early times, and the inhabitants always suffered from thirst and from the great difficulty of obtaining water.
[11] βασιλεὺς δὲ Ἰουστινιανὸς ὀχετῷ τὸ ῥεῖθρον μεταβιβάσας τοῦ τείχους ἐντός, κρήναις τε τὴν πόλιν ἀειρρύτοις διακοσμήσας, οἰκιστὴς ἂν αὐτῆς δικαίως καλοῖτο. τὰ μὲν οὖν ἐς τάσδε τὰς πόλεις ταύτῃ Ἰουστινιανῷ βασιλεῖ εἴργασται.
Delphi Complete Works of Procopius Page 590