[10] ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ ποταμῷ τῆς πόλεως γινομένῳ ἐντὸς ὀρθήν τινα πορείας ἀνάγκην ἀπεργασάμενος, ὕπερθέν τε οἰκοδομίαν ἑκατέρωθι ἐπικρεμάσας, ὡς μὴ ἐκτρέπεσθαι τῆς ὁδοῦ δύναιτο, καὶ τὴν χρείαν τῇ πόλει ἐσώσατο καὶ δέους αὐτὴν τοῦ ἐνθένδε ἀπήλλαξεν.
[10] In addition to this, he also compelled the river to follow a practically straight course after it gets inside the city, and above it he raised a structure resting on either bank so that it could not be diverted from its course, and he thus not only preserved the benefit which the city gained from the river, but also freed the city from the fear of it.
[11] ἐτύγχανε δὲ τὸ Ἐδέσσης τεῖχος καὶ προτείχισμα οὐδέν τι ἧσσον διὰ χρόνου μῆκος ἐν τοῖς ἐρειπίοις ταττόμενον ἐκ τοῦ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον.
[11] Moreover, it happened that the main wall of Edessa and its outworks had suffered from the passage of time no less than they had from the flood and for the most part were fit only to be called ruins.
[12] διὸ δὴ ἄμφω ἀνοικοδομησάμενος βασιλεύς, νέα τε αὐτὰ κατεστήσατο καὶ πολλῷ ἐχυρώτερα ἢ πρότερον ἦν.
[12] Therefore the Emperor rebuilt both of them and made them new and much stronger than they had been formerly.
[13] μοῖρα δέ τις τοῦ Ἐδέσσης περιβόλου φρούριον κέκτηται, ἧς δὴ ἔκτοσθέν τις ἐπανειστήκει λόφος ὡς πλησιαίτατα ὑποκειμένῃ ἐπικύπτων ἐνταῦθα τῇ πόλει·
[13] And a certain section of the circuit-wall of Edessa contains a fort outside of which rose a hill, which stood very close by and commanded the city spread out beneath it.
[14] ὅνπερ ἐκ παλαιοῦ καταλαβόντες ἐπιτείχισμά τι οἱ ]ἐπιχώριοι ἐντὸς τοῦ περιβόλου πεποίηνται, ὡς μὴ ἐπίμαχον ποιοίη τὴν πόλιν.
[14] The inhabitants of early times, perceiving that this hill constituted a threat to the city-wall, had brought it inside the circuit-wall, so that it might not render the city vulnerable.
[15] ἀλλὰ ταύτῃ ἐπιμαχωτέραν αὐτὴν παρὰ πολὺ ἀπειργάσαντο· διατείχισμα γὰρ ὡς βραχύτατον ἐπὶ τῷ ἀνειμένῳ τῆς γῆς κείμενον καὶ παιδαρίοις τειχομαχίαν ἐμμελετῶσιν ἁλώσιμον ἦν.
[15] But by this they caused the city to be actually much more vulnerable, for a very small cross-wall, lying on the exposed ground, was an easy thing to capture even for children playing at storming a wall.
[16] οὗ δὴ ἐνθένδε καθῃρημένου ἕτερον ἐν τῇ τοῦ ὄρους ὑπερβολῇ τεῖχος ἀνέστη, βασιλέως Ἰουστινιανοῦ διαπόνημα, δέος μὲν ἐξ ἐπιθέσεως καθύπερθε γενησομένης οὐδαμῆ ἔχον, συγκαταβαῖνον δὲ τῇ ὑπωρείᾳ μέχρι ἐς τὸ πρανὲς ἑκατέρωθεν καὶ τῷ περιβόλῳ ἐναρμοζόμενον.
[16] So after this had been torn down, another wall was built on the crest of the hill, the work of the Emperor Justinian, which did not have to fear any attack to be made from a higher position, and this descended along the slope as far as the level ground at either end and was joined to the circuit-wall.
[17] Ἀλλὰ μὲν καὶ Καρρῶν καὶ Καλλινίκου πόλεως τά τε τείχη καὶ τὰ προτειχίσματα καθελών, ἅπερ ὁ πολὺς αἰὼν μεταξὺ ἐπιρρεύσας διέφθειρε, τανῦν τε ἀκραιφνῆ ἀπεργασάμενος, ἀμαχώτατα κατεστήσατο.
[17] Furthermore, he also took down the walls and the outworks of Carrhae and of the city of Callinicum, which were falling into ruin because of their great age, and once more made them, as they now are, entire and completely invulnerable.
[18] ἔτι μέντοι καὶ φρούριον ὃ ἐν Βάτναις ἦν, ἀτείχιστόν τε καὶ ἀπημελημένον τὰ πρότερα ὃν, τείχεσιν ἐχυρωτάτοις περιβαλὼν ἐς τὸν νῦν φαινόμενον μετήνεγκε κόσμον.
[18] He also surrounded with very strong walls the fortress at Batnae which previously had been unwalled and neglected, and transformed it into the fine condition in which it is now seen.
[8] [8] [1] Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν τρόπῳ, ᾧπέρ μοι ἐρρήθη, ἐπί τε Μεσοποταμίας καὶ Ὀσροηνῆς τῆς καλουμένης Ἰουστινιανῷ βασιλεῖ πεποίηται.
[1] So these structures were erected by the Emperor Justinian in the manner which I have described in Mesopotamia and in Osroenê, as it is called.
[2] ὅντινα δὲ τρόπον Εὐφράτου ποταμοῦ τὰ ἐν δεξιᾷ ξυμβαίνει εἶναι, ἐγὼ δηλώσω. τὰ μὲν ἄλλα Ῥωμαίων τε καὶ Περσῶν ὅρια τῇδέ πη ἔχει·
[2] And I shall describe the fashion in which his work was carried out on the right of the Euphrates River.
[3] γειτονοῦσιν ἑκατέρων ἀλλήλοις χωρία, ὁρμώμενοί τε ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκείων ἀμφότεροι καὶ διαμάχονται καὶ συμβάλλουσι τὰς συναλλαγάς, οἷά γε τὰ ἀνθρώπεια, ]ὁπηνίκα τοῖς τε ἤθεσι καὶ ταῖς πολιτείαις διάφοροι ὄντες χώραν τινὰ ὅμορον ἔχουσιν.
[3] The other boundaries between the Romans and the Persians are in general of such a sort that the territories of the two peoples are adjacent to each other, and both peoples push out from their own territory and either fight with each other or compose their differences, as people will whenever nations differing in customs and in government hold any land on a common boundary.
[4] ἐν δέ γε τῇ πάλαι μὲν Κομμαγηνῇ χώρᾳ, τανῦν δὲ καλουμένῃ Εὐφρατησίᾳ, οὐδαμῆ ἀλλήλων ἄγχιστα ᾤκηνται. χώρα γὰρ ἔρημος καὶ ἄγονος ὅλως διορίζει ἐπὶ μακρότατον τὰ Ῥωμαίων τε καὶ Περσῶν ὅρια, περιμάχητόν τε οὐδὲν ἔχουσα.
[4] However, in the territory anciently called Commagenê, but now known as Euphratesia, they do not live close to each other at all. For a land which is altogether bare and unproductive separates the Roman and the Persian territory for a great distance, and this contains nothing worth fighting for.
[5] ἑκάτεροι μέντοι ἐν ἐρήμῳ ἥπερ ἄγχιστα γῆς τῆς πρὸς αὐτῶν οἰκουμένης τυγχάνει οὖσα φρούρια παρέργως ᾠκοδομήσαντο ἐκ πλίνθου ὠμῆς·
[5] Both of them, however, have built forts carelessly of unbaked brick in the desert which chances to lie nearest to the land which they inhabit;
[6] ἅπερ ἐπιβουλῆς οὐδεμιᾶς παρὰ τῶν πέλας ἔτυχε πώποτε, ἀλλ᾽ ἀνεπιφθόνως ἀμφότεροι τῇδε ᾠκήσαντο, ἐπεὶ οὐκ εἶχον οὐδὲν ὅτου ἂν καὶ οἱ ἐναντίοι ἐφεῖντο.
[6] these forts never suffered attack from their neighbours, for both peoples lived there without enmity, since they possessed nothing which their adversaries might desire.
[7] βασιλεὺς δὲ Διοκλητιανὸς τρία φρούρια τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ταύτῃ ἐδείματο, ὧνπερ ἕν, Μαμβρὶ ὄνομα, καταπεπονηκὸς τ�
� μακρῷ χρόνῳ Ἰουστινιανὸς ἀνενεώσατο βασιλεύς.
[7] The Emperor Diocletian had built three forts, such as I have described, in this desert, one of which, Mambri by name, had fallen into decay in the long course of time and was restored by the Emperor Justinian.
[8] Τούτου δὲ τοῦ φρουρίου ἐκ σημείων μάλιστα πέντε ἐς τὰ Ῥωμαίων ἤθη ἰόντι Ζηνοβία ποτὲ Ὀδονάθου γυνὴ τῶν ἐκείνῃ Σαρακῆνων ἄρχοντος πόλιν ᾤκισέ που ἐνταῦθά τινα ἐν τοῖς ἄνω χρόνοις βραχεῖαν, καὶ τὸ ὄνομα ἀφῆκε τῇ πόλει.
[8] At a distance of •about five miles from this fort on the road to Roman territory, Zenobia, wife of Odonathus, who was ruler of the Saracens in that district, once founded a small city in earlier times and gave her name to it;
[9] Ζηνοβίαν γὰρ αὐτήν, ὡς τὸ εἰκός, ἐπωνόμασεν. ἀλλὰ πολὺς ἄγαν μετὰ ταῦτα ἐπιρρεύσας ὁ χρόνος ἐρείπιον αὐτῆς ἐπιμελεῖσθαι οὐδαμῆ ἀξιούντων, ἔρημόν τε αὐτὴν τῶν ἐνοικούντων παντάπασι διειργάσατο.
[9] for the name she gave it was Zenobia, as was fitting. But the long period of time that had elapsed since those events had reduced its circuit-wall to a ruin, since the Romans were quite unwilling to take care of it, and thus it had come to be altogether destitute of inhabitants.
[10] παρῆν οὖν Πέρσαις κατ᾽ ἐξουσίαν, ]ἡνίκα ἂν ᾖ βουλομένοις σφίσιν, ἐν μέσοις γενέσθαι Ῥωμαίοις, ἀνηκόοις ἔτι τῆς τῶν πολεμίων ἐφόδου οὖσιν.
[10] So it was possible for the Persians freely, whenever they wished, to get into the middle of Roman territory before the Romans had word of the hostile inroad.
[11] ἀλλὰ τὴν Ζηνοβίαν Ἰουστινιανὸς βασιλεὺς ἀνοικοδομησάμενος σύμπασαν, οἰκητόρων τε κατακόρως ἐμπλησάμενος, ἄρχοντά τε στρατιωτικῶν καταλόγων καὶ διαρκὲς ἄγαν καταστησάμενος φυλακτήριον, πρόβολον μὲν εἶναι τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῆς, ἐπιτείχισμα δὲ διεπράξατο Πέρσαις·
[11] But the Emperor Justinian rebuilt Zenobia completely and he filled it quite full of inhabitants, and he stationed there a commander of select troops and a thoroughly adequate garrison, and made it a bulwark of the Roman Empire and a frontier barrier against the Persians;
[12] ὃς γε οὐχ ὅσον τὸ πρότερον ἀπέδωκε σχῆμα, ἀλλὰ καὶ πλεῖστον ἐχυρωτέραν εἰργάσατο ἢ πρότερον ἦν. σκόπελοι γὰρ αὐτὴν περιβάλλουσιν ὡς ἀγχοτάτω·
[12] indeed he did not simply restore its previous form, but he actually made it very much stronger than it was before.
[13] τοῖς τε πολεμίοις διὰ ταῦτα ἐξῆν τοὺς ἐκ τοῦ περιβόλου ἀμυνομένους κατὰ κορυφὴν ἐνθένδε βάλλειν.
[13] It is surrounded by cliffs which stand very close to the city, and for this reason it was possible for the enemy to shoot down from their summits upon the heads of the defenders of the circuit-wall.
[14] ὅπερ ἀποκρούεσθαι διὰ σπουδῆς ἔχων οἰκοδομίαν τινὰ τῇ τοῦ περιβόλου ὑπερβολῇ ἑτέραν ἐνῆψε κατ᾽ αὐτὸ μάλιστα τὸ τῶν σκοπέλων γειτόνημα, προκάλυμμα τοῖς ἐνθένδε μαχομένοις ἀεὶ ἐσομένην. πτερὰ τὴν οἰκοδομίαν καλοῦσι ταύτην, ἐπεὶ ὥσπερ ἀποκρέμασθαι τοῦ τείχους δοκεῖ.
[14] This he was anxious to prevent, and so he built a certain additional structure on the top of the circuit-wall, at precisely the place where the cliffs are nearest, designed to serve permanently as a shelter for the men fighting there. Such a structure they call “wings” (ptera), because it appears to droop, as it were, from the wall.
[15] ἅπαντα μὲν οὖν ὅσα βασιλεὺς ἐπὶ Ζηνοβίας εἰργάσατο φράσαι ἀμήχανον, ἐπεὶ ἐν χώρῳ ἐπὶ μακρότατον ἀγείτονι οὖσαν καὶ διὰ τοῦτο μὲν ἐν κινδύνοις ἀεὶ ἐσομένην, ἐπικουρίας δὲ τυχεῖν Ῥωμαίων πλησιοχώρων οὐκ ὄντων αὐτῇ οὐκ ἂν δυναμένην, βεβαιοτάτης, ὡς τὸ εἰκός, ἐπιμελείας μάλιστα πάντων ἠξίωσεν· ὀλίγα δέ μοι ἄττα τῶν τῇδε πεπραγμένων γεγράψεται.
[15] However, it is impossible to describe all that the Emperor accomplished at Zenobia, since, seeing that it occupies a site far removed from any neighbour and on this account is sure to be always in danger, and that it is unable to secure succour because there are no Romans who live near at hand, the Emperor considered the city worthy, as well he might, of his unceasing attention above all other places. Nevertheless I shall describe a few of the things that were done there.
[16] Παραρρεῖ μὲν τὴν Ζηνοβίαν Εὐφράτης ποταμὸς πρὸς ἀνίσχοντά που τοῦ ἥλιον, ὡς ἀγχοτάτω τοῦ ἐκείνῃ περιβόλου ἰών, ὀρῶν δὲ παρ᾽ αὐτὸν ]ὑψηλῶν ἀνεχόντων ἐν τούτῳ τῷ χώρῳ διασκεδάννυσθαι οὐδαμῆ ἔχων, ἀλλ᾽ ἀνάγκῃ τοῦ γειτονήματος τῶν ἐνταῦθα ὀρῶν, ταῖς τε ὄχθαις σκληραῖς οὔσαις πεπιεσμένος καὶ ἐν στενῷ μάλιστα ξυνάγων τὸ ῥεῦμα, ἐπειδὰν αὐτῷ ὄμβρων ἐπιγενομένων ὑπερβλύζειν ξυνενεχθείη, ἐπιχυθεὶς τῷ τείχει, εὐθὺς οὐκ ἀμφὶ τὰ θεμέλια μόνον, ἀλλ᾽ ἄχρι ἐς τὰς ἐπάλξεις ἐπέκλυζεν.
[16] By the side of Zenobia flows the Euphrates River, passing to the east of it and coming very close to the circuit-wall on that side; but since high mountains rise beside the river at this point, the stream cannot spread out at all, but by reason of the proximity of these mountains and because it is constrained by its banks, which are hard, it would gather its stream into an extraordinarily narrow space whenever it chanced that rains caused it to rise in flood, and would pour out against the wall and immediately rise, not only about the foundations but even as far as the battlements.
[17] οὗ δὴ τῷ ῥοθίῳ καταβεβρεγμένου ξυνέβαινε τὰς ἐπιβολὰς ξυγχεῖσθαι τῶν λίθων ἐπὶ σφαλερᾶς τε αὐτῶν τὸ λοιπὸν τῆς ξυνθήκης ἑστάναι.
[17] And when the wall had once been soaked through by the water, the result was that the river loosened the courses of stones and thereafter the wall stood upon a dangerous conglomeration of stones.
[18] ἀλλὰ παμμεγέθη ἐκ λίθου μυλίου πρόβολον τῷ περιβόλῳ ἰσομήκη ἀπεργασάμενος ἐνταῦθα μὲν ἀεὶ ἐνοχλεῖν τὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ κλυδώνιον ὑπερβλύζοντος κατηνάγκασεν, ἐλεύθερον δὲ τὸ παράπαν τῆς ἐνθένδε λώβης τὸ τεῖχος ἀφῆκεν, ἢν καὶ τὰ μάλιστα ὁ ποταμὸς κυμαίνων ἐς ὕψος ἐγείρηται μέγα.
[18] But he constructed a huge protective wall (probolos) of hard stone of equal length with the circuit-wall, and caused this to check at that point the turbulence of the river when it rose, and so freed the wall entirely from harm from this source, even should the river rise to a great height in its most violent state.
[19] ταύτης δὲ τῆς πόλεως τὸν περίβολον, ὃς δὴ αὐτῆς ἐτέτραπτο πρὸς βορρᾶν ἄνεμον, πεπονηκότα παντάπασι χρόνου μήκει εὑρών, παρέλυσε μὲν σὺν τῷ προτειχίσματι ἐς τὸ ἔδαφος, ἀνῳκοδομήσατο δὲ οὐχ ᾗπερ τὸ πρότερον ἦν, ἐπεὶ ἐνταῦθα αἱ τῆς πόλεως οἰκοδομίαι στενοχωρούμεναι μάλιστα τοὺς ταύτῃ ᾠκημένους ἠνίων.
[19] He also found that portion of the city’s circuit-wall which faces the north dangerously weakened by the passage of time; so he first took it down, along with the outworks, clear to the ground, and then rebuilt it, yet not as it had been before, for at that point the buildings of the city had been especially crowded, causing trouble to those who lived there.
[20] ἀλλὰ τὴν προτέραν ὑπερβὰς τῶν τε θεμελίων τοῦ περιβόλου καὶ τοῦ προτειχίσματος χώραν, ἔτι μέντοι καὶ τὴν τάφρον αὐτήν, ἐνταῦθα τὸ τεῖχος ἐδείματο ἀξιοθέατόν τε καὶ διαφερόντως εὐπρόσωπον, ταύτῃ εὐρυτέραν παρὰ πολὺ τὴν Ζηνοβίαν πεποιημένος.
[20] But he went beyond the place where the foundations of the circuit-wall and the outworks had formerly stood, even beyond the moat itself, and there he built the wall, which is a remarkable sight in itself and exceptionally beautiful, thus materially increasing the area of Zenobia.
[21] ἀλλὰ καὶ λόφος τις ἄγχιστα τῆς πόλεως εἱστήκει πρὸς ]δύοντά που τὸν ἥλιον· ἐξ οὗ δὴ παρῆν τοῖς ἐπιοῦσιν ἀεὶ βαρβάροις βάλλειν κατὰ κορυφὴν ἀδεέστερον τούς τε ἀμυνομένους αὐτῆς καὶ οὐχ ἥκιστα τοὺς ἐν μέσῃ πόλει ἑστῶτας.
Delphi Complete Works of Procopius Page 592