Annals of John Zonaras

in which I am continually engaged in this labor, compared with all my previous life, it seems as though I have been dragging a sleeping man’s net; and I testify by this public monument that I am bound by your distinguished kindness, which, thanks to your munificence, is now for the first time being shared with students of history. May God, who is best and greatest, grant that you may not regret such great expenses, nor I such efforts; and may He preserve you, along with your most distinguished children and your entire most ample Fugger family, safe and flourishing for the longest possible time. Augsburg, from the library of the master: the Calends of November, in the year from the Nativity of the Lord 1556.

THE CHRONICLE OF JOHN ZONARAS

PREFACE ^A PREAMBLE

1. A person might aptly say, mocking me, that my secondary task is greater than my primary one. For I ought, in truth, to have long since withdrawn from business and ceased from troubling myself, and having migrated from the life of the world and chosen to live by myself, having sentenced myself to perpetual exile (thus did He who is above us manage my affairs, breaking my bonds and depriving me of those dearest to me, for reasons He knows, painfully for me indeed, yet profitably nonetheless), to pursue nothing else but those things which order the soul and cleanse it of the pollutions attached to it through the baseness of my actions, and whatever things appease the Deity—for I have provoked Him, having transgressed His commandments and ordinances—and so to seek forgiveness for my faults. But I, out of [my] sluggishness toward good things, while neglecting the necessary, have applied my diligence to that which is secondary.

But so that I may offer some defense for myself: I was not prompted of my own accord to this undertaking. Rather, friends encouraged me toward it, seeing me at leisure, and saying to make use of that leisure for work of common benefit, that there might be some reward for you from God as a result of this. For they added that those who have labored at histories, and who have written down things that happened long ago, have some of them written more exhaustively, recounting the other deeds of men of old, and their stratagems, describing battle formations, clashes of armies, encampments, entrenchments ^B and whatever else follows from these. Furthermore, they have added descriptions ^C of locales and the difficulties of roads, and steep and inaccessible places, and the narrowness of defiles, and the fortifications of cities, and the immense heights of towers, and how

^A Hence, desiring to depart, he was not permitted. Wherefore he fled secretly with his wives, their handmaids, and his children, taking with him his possessions and the flocks which had been assigned to him as wages for his shepherding. Rachel also carried away her father’s idols, not as one who worshipped them, but so that she might have them as a place of refuge if her father, pursuing them, should catch them. When Laban had caught up with them on the seventh day, God commanded him in a dream to be reconciled with Jacob. The following day, words were exchanged between the two; and when Jacob had shown that he had done no wrong, Laban nevertheless accused him concerning his paternal gods. Jacob, knowing nothing of them, allowed him to search, and the search took place. But Rachel had placed the idols beneath the camel’s saddle on which she was riding and sat upon them, saying that the course of her monthly period was troubling her. Laban, thinking that his daughter would never approach his gods while in such a condition, passed her by. So he departed, and Jacob, fearing his brother, sent word ahead to him, signaling his return, and sent him gifts. As night fell, he encountered a phantom and wrestled with it, and it seemed that he was prevailing. Realizing that it was an angel of God, he begged him to tell him what his fortune would be. The angel declared that victory over a divine messenger was to be taken as a sign of great blessings, and commanded that he be called Israel. Some interpret this name as “mind that sees God,” though Josephus says it signifies one who has withstood a divine angel. Jacob calls that place Phanuel, which means “Face of God.” ^B And because in the struggle with the angel he had been afflicted with pain in his thigh, he himself abstained from eating it, and all his posterity abhors it as unlawful. His brother Esau, having come to meet him, exchanged greetings and departed. Jacob arrived at Shechem. As the Shechemites were celebrating a festival, his daughter Dinah went into the city to observe the festivities. She was seen by Shechem, the son of the king of the city, who abducted and violated her. The king, the father of the youth, begged Jacob to give Dinah to Shechem in marriage. When this was not granted, Simeon and Levi, the brothers of the girl by the same mother, went into the city by night while the citizens were feasting and intoxicated for the festival, and put to death all the males, as well as the king and his son. This is what Josephus relates. But the Book of Genesis discusses these matters more plausibly. It says that when Emmor, the father of Shechem, asked for Dinah to be wed to his son, Simeon and Levi said that if all the males in the city were circumcised, they would give their sister to his son. This condition being accepted, they were all circumcised. Then, on the third day, while they were in a bad state from the pain and inflammation, they were slaughtered by them, without Jacob’s knowledge. God commanded Jacob, who was grieving ^C over this crime, to be of good courage. Thence Jacob departed for Bethel, where he had seen the dream, and performed a divine service; and, traveling on, he buried Rachel, who had died in childbirth at Ephrath, and the child was named Benjamin because of the pain of his mother at his birth. Departing for Hebron, he [found] his father Isaac ^D still living, but Rebekah had already passed away.

^A one might say, the celestial bodies; and that their writings are composed also for the sake of ostentation, showing off the power they possessed in writing, and for this reason placing speeches between the events, and employing discourse in a somewhat digressive or even rhetorical manner. And for some, this ambition even ended in dialogue, so that when they wrote about certain people who held heterodox views and were erring concerning the correct doctrines, they would hold disputes with them as if they were present, and refute their evil opinions, and bring forth refutations from the Holy Scripture, or argue against the Jews, and show them to be willfully evil if they would not accept the mystery of our faith, and make use of prophetic quotations. And again, to set themselves against the Greeks, and to bring the contest of those men into the middle, and to mock the myths told by them, and to bring forth their writings for the refutation of their error. And it is also a way to utter wise maxims and to treat of ethics. ^B These things, they said, seemed to the majority of those who read these historical writings—not to say to everyone—burdensome and superfluous, because they require more leisure, and because, even if some of those who come to read the histories ever have such leisure, it turns out to be a vain thing for them to labor over these things, since the long narratives about battle lines, and wars, and the arrangement of armies, and the rest of similar things, are wont to escape the memory; and as for the speeches and the dialogues, they turn out to be useless for those who study the narrated events. For what benefit will anyone have, they said, from knowing what the demagogue said to the people? Or what the general said to the soldiers? Or what that emperor said to the envoys, perhaps from the Persians, or others from the Celts, or Scythians, or those from Egypt, or those from the Daci ^C and the Triballi? Or what someone else spoke in a speech to the senate, or to the public gathering? Such things, they said, were what caused the writings of the histories to be published, that is, expanded and leaning toward a more ambitious style. On the other hand, they asserted that other writers labored under the opposite fault, who, while affecting brevity, defrauded the reader of the knowledge of necessary matters: having passed over, or at most having only briefly touched upon, the deeds of outstanding men, which deserve to be celebrated with divine praises, nor declaring what their habits were, what their characters, what their intentions, nor how each of the kings attained the throne, nor who he was before that, nor from what ancestors he was born. They added that some of those writings were published too unadorned, ^D and composed in a harsh style and in plebeian language; whence it happened that learned men abhorred reading them. By saying these things, and by criticizing the writings of the historians in this manner, they have often exhorted me, that when I took books into my hands, I should both pass over those things which on account of their prolixity the memory would not retain, and also those which have no utility: and having reduced the long narration into a compendium, I should edit a brief history, [presenting those deeds and matters more worthy of memory than]

^A Isaac dies shortly after, and is buried with his wife in the ancestral tomb, having lived one hundred and eighty-five years.

IX. Esau ruled over Idumea, having given the region his own name; for he had been called Edom because, having once returned from hunting famished, and finding his brother having cooked lentils for himself for food, he asked to be given some. Driven by an oath, he ceded to him the prerogative of his age in exchange for the lentils, and because of the reddish color of the lentils he was surnamed Edom—for "Edom" signifies "red" among the Hebrews. ^B Jacob loved Joseph more than his other children, both for the elegance of his appearance and for the dexterity of his mind; and so, both his father’s partiality and the dreams he had seen brought upon him the envy of his brothers.

The dreams were of such a sort: The first, that at time of harvest he was reaping with his brothers, and binding and setting up sheaves, and his own stood still while those of his brothers came and bowed down to his. The second, that it appeared to him that the sun and the moon and the rest of the stars were bowing down to him. When he related these visions to his father in the presence of his brothers, and sought to know what they meant, his father proclaimed good fortune for the boy, and that a time would come when he would be honored and bowed down to by his parents and his brothers. ^C These things grieved the brothers of Joseph, and they glared at the lad.

After this, his father sent Joseph to see his brothers as they were tending their flocks in Shechem. When they caught sight of him, they were stirred up to kill him. But Reuben counseled them not to stain their hands with brotherly blood, but to cast him into a nearby pit so that he might die there, so that the crime would be less. The young men agreed to this plan, and having taken the boy, Reuben let him down gently into the pit. But Judah, seeing the Arab merchants, advised his brothers to sell Joseph to them. They agreed, and sold him to them for twenty minas, [he being] seventeen years of age.

Reuben approached the pit at night to take Joseph out and keep him, unknown to his brothers, but upon not finding him, he lamented and accused them; but upon learning the truth of the matter from them, he ceased his lamentation. ^D They came to their father with the boy’s tunic stained with goat’s blood, saying that they had neither seen Joseph nor knew how he had perished, but that they had found that tunic, bloodied and torn. Jacob put on sackcloth and mourned for Joseph. But Potiphar, an Egyptian man, prefect of the royal cooks of Pharaoh, bought him from the merchants and treated him honorably. However, his master’s wife, enticed by his form and his dexterity, approached him with words regarding a union, but met with a refusal; yet, no less overcome by the heat of desire, and cast down from the hope of persuasion, she prepared violence. As the youth fled, leaving his garment behind, she sat sad and disturbed, and when her husband returned, she accused Joseph, showing the garment which he had left behind while attempting to violate his mistress. Potiphar [threw] Joseph into prison...

the common and sometimes barbarous expressions; so that, for this reason, those who have been accustomed to elegant language might find them disagreeable. By saying such things, and by thus attacking historical writings, as has been said, they often urged me to take the books into my hands, and, having passed over the many things—of which some, on account of their number, escape the memory, while others result in no utility—to edit a concise history, teaching those who read the work the more timely of the deeds, or those otherwise happening to the persons about whom the writing speaks. They, therefore, urged me to strip for such a struggle, and to set my hand to such a work.

II. But I, while being of a relaxed mind (for I shall speak the truth) and given to leisure, and perceiving that the matter was one of great occupation, and one that demanded an abundance of books, hesitated and shrank from such an undertaking. But they did not cease to goad me until, by the importunity of their urging, they had at last forced me to undertake the work. For if a drop of water, by constantly falling, hollows out the hardness of solid rock, how much more shall speech, striking the ears repeatedly, stir up the sloth of the mind and a relaxed resolve? Then it came to my mind that that labor, and the occupation of writing history, would also bring some utility and even ^B profit to the soul. For the spirits of wickedness are accustomed to breathe more upon a quiet mind, and to stir up the billows of base thoughts and reasonings, one after another, and to overwhelm it by the continuity of their assaults, and either to urge it toward sins (if not in deeds, at least in consents), or meanwhile to stir up great turmoil and disturbance in it. But the mind occupied with certain tasks is usually able to escape the mountainous waves of many evil thoughts and desires. Therefore, both by the exhortations of my friends and by the desire to expel sordid or vain cares, I was led to undertake this work. And so it came to pass that I accepted this task. Should the individual parts of this work be found less than exquisitely perfect, I ask for pardon from the readers. For perhaps, ^C as I now dwell in this retreat, neither will there be available to me the abundance of books necessary for composing history, nor have all the writers recorded the same things about the same matters, but they differ in many—if not in most—points. If I were to desire to examine everything curiously and to recount what this and that person has said about the same matter, for me too would arise a long work about every single thing. Wherefore, it has seemed best to me to pass over the contradictory narrations of the historians, unless something should be of the greatest moment: by omitting which, the very integrity of the history might totter. Now, that the diction is varied, ^D and not everywhere consistent with itself, let no one wonder.

Various readings and notes

He also joined to him as wife a woman named Aseneth, the daughter of the high priest at Heliopolis. From her, before the famine, sons were born to him, of whom the elder was Manasseh, which signifies "forgetfulness," because he had forgotten his misfortunes; and Ephraim the younger, which signifies "restitution," because the liberty of his ancestors had been restored to him. From there came the time of shortage, and the famine did not take hold of Egypt alone, but also of the land in which Jacob lived as an inhabitant. Therefore, he sends his sons into Egypt to buy grain, keeping only Benjamin with himself, as he was the youngest. So they came to Joseph. He, not recognized by them, recognized his brothers, and said they had come as spies. But they said from where they had come, and that they were born of one father who was still living, and that there was another younger brother with their father. Joseph asked for proof of the truth, if they would bring the younger brother to him. ^B He gives them grain, and having put the money into each one’s sack secretly, he kept Simeon as a hostage for their return. The sons returned to Jacob, carrying the grain, and reported what had happened to them, and his grief at the detention of Simeon, and he did not consent to have Benjamin led away into Egypt. But when the grain had been consumed, since it was not allowed for them to go into Egypt otherwise unless Benjamin were also brought along, the father yielded to necessity, giving him, and double the price of the grain, and gifts for Joseph. As they came to Egypt, they offered the gifts to him. And he, having seen Benjamin, and being moved with pity, so that he might not be seen weeping, withdrew. Then he received his brothers at a ^C banquet, and honored Benjamin with double portions, and ordered the treasurer of the grain to give grain to them, and to put the money into the sacks, and into Benjamin’s load to put the silver cup. These things having been done, the brothers departed, having also taken Simeon. But as they were leaving, horsemen surrounded them, accusing them of the theft of the cup, and searching, they found the cup in Benjamin’s load. The horsemen then led Benjamin to Joseph, whom his brothers, with torn garments and weeping, followed. Joseph assailed them as ungrateful and dismissed them, ^D content with the retention of Benjamin alone: the others stood amazed, but Judas, having begun to plead the case, since he had spoken much apt for commiseration, so moved the affection of Joseph, that he could neither feign anger for long, nor fail to show himself to his brothers, and have grace toward them, as those who had been in part assistants in the counsel of God concerning him: Go therefore, he said, and signify this to your father: and having taken him and all his kin, migrate hither: for the famine is yet to last for five years.

^A If, however, the character of the discourse changes and is not entirely consistent with itself throughout, let no one wonder, nor let anyone blame the discourse or me, its author. For since I am obliged to collect history like a forage from many books, I must in many places employ the diction and composition of those writers. Yet, wherever I myself may have inserted or added something, the style shall be accommodated to the form of the author I am following, so that the writing might not seem inconsistent with itself.

^B III. Regarding the preliminary summary of the history III. But indeed, before I approach the subject itself, one must briefly summarize what is to be treated, so that readers may know how many and how very necessary histories they are about to learn. Therefore, this Compendium contains the first eight books of the Bible and what is narrated in them; likewise the books of Kings and the Chronicles, and whatever is found in the Antiquities of the Hebrew Josephus, or is reported by older writers either more copiously or slightly differently than how it was done by them; and the books of Ezra, and the captivities of the Hebrews, of which the first of the ten tribes occurred under the Assyrian Salmanassar, who captured Samaria and the nation by siege, and led them away beyond the Euphrates, and translated certain nations to Samaria who were named Chuthaeans; the other [occurred] under Nebuchadnezzar, with Jerusalem captured, the city deserted, ^C the temple burned, and the whole nation taken into slavery; and [it tells] how, after seventy years, according to the oracles of the prophets, it was permitted by Cyrus, who had overthrown the kingdom of the Assyrians, for the people to return to Jerusalem, and to restore the city, and renovate the temple; who this Cyrus was, and how he overthrew the kingdom of the Assyrians, and who held that kingdom after him, and how and by whom the building of the city was forbidden, and by whom its restoration was again granted. It will also treat of the prophet Daniel, [telling] how he interpreted the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar, and the vision of Balthasar, when that barbarian saw the fingers of a hand writing on the wall, and of certain visions of the prophet: all of which are reviewed with brief narration added. ^D Likewise of the three youths, and of the miracles performed by God either upon them or through them; of Esther, how she averted the destruction of the Hebrew race; of Judith, who by guile slew Holofernes and delivered his army to destruction; and of Tobias, how he was struck with blindness, and on account of poverty was reduced to extreme destitution, and, on account of his beneficence, by the providence of God recovered his sight and the abundance of riches. Furthermore, the deeds of Alexander the Macedonian are touched upon here, mention of whom had to be made both for other reasons and because, after the first defeat of Darius received at Issus, he journeyed to Jerusalem and held the high priest in the highest honor; [it tells] how he occupied the destroyed Persian kingdom, how long he reigned, how the empire was divided into four kingdoms after his death; what the Jews suffered under Antiochus Epiphanes, one of the posterity of Alexander’s successors, and how those Asamoneans resisted them and delivered their own people from his tyranny; who they were, and how and when...

they assumed leadership over their countrymen, and how they laid claim to the high priesthood, and how they guided that nation, and placed the diadem upon their own heads; and how, when Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, the brothers, were in conflict over the Judean kingdom, ^B Pompeius Magnus, the Roman general then summoned to act as arbitrator between the kinsmen, captured the city of Jerusalem and subjected the nation to the Romans; and how Herod, son of Antipater, subsequently gained the kingdom of the Jews, who he was, whence he originated, and what domestic calamities befell him, and how long his descendants held the kingdom, and in what manner and for what reason governors were sent into Judea; and what Josephus wrote concerning our Savior Jesus Christ, and concerning John the Baptist; for what cause the Jews revolted from the Roman empire, how their nation was warred upon by the Romans, by whom Jerusalem was besieged, and how it was ultimately destroyed, never to be restored.

IV. The History of the Romans and Rome

Since mention has been made of the Romans and of Rome, I have deemed it necessary also to write and set forth from whence the Roman nation originated, from whom it received its beginning, and whom the region of Italy first inhabited; whence Romulus, the founder of Rome, was brought into the light; how his brother Remus was slain, and how he himself later departed from among mortals; how that city was at first ruled by kings, and what customs and laws it employed; how Tarquinius Superbus, having altered the kingdom into a tyranny, was expelled, and how many and what kind of wars Rome endured by reason of his expulsion; how the Roman state was governed first by the aristocracy, then by the people; how supreme power was transferred to consuls and dictators, and soon after to the tribunes of the plebs; what the consulship was in ancient times, what the dictatorship was, what the office of the censors was, what length of time was fixed for each of these magistracies, what the triumph was among them, and from whence that name was derived; and we shall recount what was done during the times of the consuls, though not all things, due to the scarcity of books in which these matters are recorded. We shall also tell how at last the Roman government fell under the power of one man, how Gaius Julius Caesar was the first author of this change, although not of the absolute power itself, and how, after he was killed in the senate house by those who defended liberty, Octavius Augustus Caesar, the nephew of the slain Caesar by his sister and his adopted son, avenged his father’s murderers with the aid of Antonius, whom later, *dissension having arisen,

he overcame in a naval battle near Actium. Then, having caught up to him as he fled to Alexandria with Cleopatra, he brought the man to such a state of necessity that he even took his own life. ^B How great was the slaughter of the Romans in these civil wars—first when Octavius and Antonius pursued Cassius and Brutus and the others who had killed Caesar, and then when they waged war against each other—how Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt and descendant of the Ptolemies, was taken prisoner, and how she too took her own life, as it is conjectured, by the bite of an asp; how the illustrious victor Octavius thus entered Rome, usurped the empire for himself alone, and transformed the Roman principate entirely into a monarchy; who succeeded him in the empire, as each one received it, how long he reigned, and what end of life he met; who, after the holy apostles, adorned the thrones of the four great Churches—namely, Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem—and who of these were received into the number and dignity of the martyrs; how the noteworthy rabies of Diocletian and Maximian Herculius against the Christians stood out above the rest, how they abdicated the empire and appointed other Caesars in their place, one of whom was Constantius Chlorus, the father of the great Constantine, to whom the empire of the Gauls and Britain had been assigned; ^C how he, dying, designated his firstborn son, this Constantine equal to the apostles, as his successor in the empire; how he alone became master of affairs, having vanquished the others, when the sign of the cross appeared to him formed by stars in the heavens; how he betook himself to Christ and propagated the faith, having been granted the power to preach the Gospel freely; how he built for himself a city naming it after himself at Byzantium, bestowing the name New Rome upon it, and transferred the empire from the elder Rome to this one; who reigned there after him, what the character of each one was, with what piety, how long each held the empire, and how each departed from life; who were at the head of the Church of Constantinople, and how long each served; ^D which of them held the orthodox opinion and which became heterodox; how each one of those who lived here departed this life; and under which emperors and patriarchs, and with whom, councils were assembled. Thus, the discourse, descending as far as the emperors of our own time, will complete the history, meanwhile making mention of the facts of many hidden matters.

BOOK ONE

I. I must take the exordium of this work from the ineffable first principle, the cause of all things, being void of beginning and of time, and ^A from those things which were produced by it out of nothing, that they might exist and receive their nature and origin from it. God, therefore, was always, shining forth above every cause and power, without time, moving eternally with the majesty of his own glory and splendor, and without beginning; neither born of anything else that existed before, nor later coming to be of his own accord from things that were not, nor progressing little by little to the completion of his own glory. But he is and remains always what only that most holy Spirit, which searches all the depths of the Godhead, knows in a supernatural way, and in these he exults, enjoying them with perpetual sweetness. But after he had resolved, out of his supreme goodness and immense mercy and ineffable kindness, to form this visible world, and thence to bring into the midst the world ^B which is second in order of making, but first and extraordinary in the grace by which it was fashioned after the image of God—I mean man—he took an excellent path for this creation, first establishing without effort, by the mere concept of his mind, the immaterial Powers and heavenly Taxiarchs, his thought proceeding into work faster than speech. Now God is by nature in need of nothing, self-sufficient for glory and perception, neither desiring another’s glory, nor capable of being perceived by another—unless one should say that that which cannot by nature be perceived, nor by its immensity, can be perceived. But when I say God, I mean the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, which is the Godhead, according to the great Father, Gregory the Theologian. God, therefore, being endowed with this nature, first creates the angelic ^C heavenly powers to be ministers and celebrants of his celestial majesty: not that he stands in need of them, but that he might not be moved only by the contemplation of himself, but that the good might be diffused and proceed forth, and his beneficence reach further; for this was the mark of supreme goodness. Then he also founded this visible world, which consists of matter. And in the beginning he made heaven and earth. But since the earth was hidden (for there was darkness, and water covered its surface), God brought forth light, and separated the light and the darkness. And the light he called day; the darkness he named night; and to the beginning of it he gave the name evening, and to the first rising of the day, morning. So from evening and morning, one day ^D came into existence. I know, indeed, that in the [i]Leptē Genesei (Lesser Genesis)[/i] it is written...

^A that the celestial powers came into existence before all others by the Creator of all things. But because that Lesser Genesis is not ranked by the divine Fathers among the approved books of Hebrew wisdom, I consider nothing written in it to be certain, nor do I assent to its reasoning.

Then He established the firmament, stretching it out in the midst of the waters, so that some might be held above it and others flow around the earth below. It was called "firmament" because its body is solid, and it does not possess a thin and rare nature like the waters from which it derived its structure, and it was named "heaven." These things happened on the second day. On the third, God ordered the water that was covering the entire face of the earth to be gathered into one place and that the dry land should appear. And the word became deed, and deep hollows formed and received the waters. He named the dry land "earth" and the collections of waters "seas." On this same day, plants and seeds were brought forth from the earth. ^B For it was necessary that the earth, being unadorned, should be decorated with grasses, and myriad sprouts, and flowers, and fruits of every kind, and the delights of trees.

The fourth day saw the creation of the luminaries, the sun and the moon and the remaining stars. With these the Creator decorated the heaven, and He placed into these luminaries the light that was seen on the first day, having marked out for them motions, and risings, and courses, and settings, so that the region of the earth might be illuminated by them and time might be numbered by their periods; ^C and that they might provide to those who observe their settings most uprightly—and not those who observe them with excessive curiosity or, as one might say, those who refine the argument foolishly and believe that all our affairs are swept along with the motion of such stars—a great and unfailing accuracy and utility.

On the fifth day, again, at God’s command, the waters brought forth crawling creatures of living souls, and birds. Some of them dwell in the waters and swim in them; the birds, however, cut through the air, crawling, as it were, through it as they move on high. ^D As to the sixth day, the earth was commanded to bring forth living soul—quadrupeds, and beasts, and crawling things; and everything came forth according to the divine command. Scripture says, furthermore, that the production of the living soul was commanded to the earth, so that in that way it might declare the distinction of the human soul from it; for the soul of other living creatures came into existence from the earth by command, for which reason it is properly considered earthly and mortal, whereas Scripture says elsewhere...

"The soul of every creature is its blood," and blood is entirely perishable. ^B

II. God did not bring forth the soul of man from the earth, but rather He Himself breathed it into Adam. For this reason, it is believed to be a divine thing and an immortal one. The sixth day also held man, fashioned by the hand of God. For when the best of Artisans had already established all things and had produced the world in order and measure—for which reason it is called *Kosmos* ("Order")—and had prepared it like a royal palace to receive a king, then at last He produced man, as if to be a king of earthly things, governing from above. He did not create him in the same manner by a command, but fashioned him with His own hands as a work peculiarly His own, not like the rest, but distinct and incomparable. For all other things were produced by a word, but this one God deigned to fashion with the work of His own hands. For having taken dust from the earth, God (says the book of Genesis) formed man, and breathed into him a living soul, for which reason man is also said to have been made in the image of God. For certain of the things that essentially belong to the divine nature are reflected in the soul of man, not as inherent in it by nature, but by grace. For by nature the Divine is invisible and immortal, and incomprehensible and free from destruction. These same qualities also are present in the soul by grace, not by nature. For neither is its nature and essence comprehensible, nor indeed is it visible. And it is also immortal and indestructible, and other characteristics of the divine nature are beheld in the soul by grace.

He named the one He had fashioned Adam; this signifies "red" according to the Hebrew dialect, as Josephus says, because he was molded from red earth; for such is the state of virginal earth. ^C Thus, having brought forth the world in six days, on the seventh He rested. For this reason, for the Hebrews the seventh day has been considered a day of inaction. Whence it is also called *Sabbaton*, and the Hebrew language calls *Sabbaton* the same thing as "rest." ^D God placed Adam in the paradise which He Himself had planted, where the tree of life was, and the tree of knowledge, or, according to Josephus, of wisdom. And He commanded him to enjoy the rest, but to abstain from the tree of knowledge, and He foretold death as the penalty if the prohibition were violated. Paradise is watered by a river, and this river went out from there dividing into four parts; the name of the first is Phison, which signifies "multitude"—to the Greeks this is called Ganges, which flows past India and empties into the sea. The second is called Geon, a name which declares him who...

issues from the east, whom Josephus says the Greeks call the Nile. The one which follows this is the Tigris, which the same author affirms is called Diglath, by which word its sharpness or speed with narrowness is signified. The remaining one is the Euphrates; but this word declares either impetus, or flower, or dissipation: and both of these empty into the Erythraean Sea. Furthermore, God presents all living creatures to Adam, so that he might give a name to each kind of them. And God creates woman, ^B having taken one of the ribs of Adam while he was sleeping, and brought her to him. And he recognized her as having been made from himself, and called her woman. For in Hebrew the woman is called Eve, and by that name she had been called. Both of them, therefore, spent a blessed life in paradise, being naked in their simplicity, and in a life devoid of deceit. The serpent, or rather the intelligible dragon who is understood by the serpent, envies them this. And the serpent approaches the woman and counsels her to taste of the tree of knowledge; Josephus says that at that time all animals spoke with one voice. ^C She is persuaded, and delighting in the eating, she persuades her husband also to partake of the fruit. And they recognized that they were naked, and from fig leaves they made coverings for themselves. And Adam and the woman hid themselves from God on account of their nakedness; and God asked for the cause, and Adam offered the excuse of his nakedness, and shifted the blame onto the woman. She, however, said that she had been deceived by the serpent. God, having first cursed the serpent, deprived him of his feet, and took away his voice, according to Josephus, and ordered him to crawl upon the ground, and declared him an enemy to those whom he had deceived; and having turned to the woman, ^D he renders her subservient to her husband, and punishes her with the pains of childbirth. Then he also imposes a penalty upon Adam: this was the turning back to the earth, from which he was taken, and the eating of bread in the sweat of his face, and the earth bringing forth thorns and thistles for him. And he removes them from paradise, having clothed them in leathern garments—perhaps a sign of the denser and mortal flesh, and a type. From this comes our laborious and painful life, and our liability to vice.

III. They have children, therefore, of whom the first was Cain (the name signifies "acquisition," because they had acquired a man), and the second was Abel (the name denotes "mourning," for there was to be mourning for them on his account). And Abel was a shepherd of a flock, and was intent upon virtue. But Cain tilled the earth, being a most wicked man. And when it seemed good to them to offer the first-fruits of their own toils to God, Abel offered the better of his first-born and his flocks, while Cain offered whatever came to hand from the fruits of the earth. When

God had regard for the gifts of Abel, but did not regard the offering of Cain, the latter, envying him because of the preference, slew him. He became accursed ^A before God, and was condemned to groan and tremble. Being cast out from the face of God, he dwelt in the land of Naid, where he also begot children. This man invented measures and weights. He was the first to mark off the boundaries of land, having been designated a teacher of wickedness. He also built a city in the name of his first-born son, Enoch. The son of Enoch was Gaidad, and his son was Maleleel, and of him was Mathusala, whose son was Lamech. Having united two wives unto himself, Ada and Sella, he had seventy-seven children from both; of whom Joabel was a herdsman and loved the pasturing of flocks; Jubal invented music and contrived the cithara and the psaltery; Thobel, born ^B of Sella, was a smith, a worker in iron and bronze. To Adam, two hundred and thirty years after the death of Abel, another son was born, whom he named Seth. Adam died, having lived nine hundred and thirty years. Seth, having become two hundred and five years old, begot Enos, who was the first to hope to call upon the name of the Lord God, and to address God as Lord. Seth died having lived in all nine hundred and twelve years, leaving behind sons and daughters; he pursued virtue and left behind descendants as imitators, who understood the wisdom concerning heavenly things; and they inscribed their discoveries on two ^C pillars, one made of stone and the other of fired brick, so that they might be preserved for those who came after. For Adam had predicted the destruction of the whole world by fire and water. From Enos, Cainan was born, as well as other sons and daughters, and he died having lived nine hundred and five years. From Cainan sprang Meleleel and other children, and he died having lived a total of nine hundred and ten years. The son of Meleleel was Jared, and others; he finished his life at eight hundred and ninety-five years. Jared was the father of Enoch, and ^D of others besides him, and he died having lived nine hundred and sixty-two years. The son of Enoch was Mathusala and others. Enoch was well-pleasing to the Lord and was translated, and he was not found, having become three hundred and sixty-five years old. The son of Mathusala was Lamech and others, and he died having lived nine hundred and sixty-nine years. Noah was born to Lamech, and Lamech died having lived seven hundred and fifty-three years.

IV. To Noah were born three sons, Sem, Cham, and Japheth. And the sons of God, having looked upon the daughters of men, took them as wives. Scripture calls the descendants of Seth the "sons of God," because they pursued virtue, just as it also calls those who are endowed with virtue "sons of the Most High." It calls those who are descended from the lineage of Cain the "daughters of men." But Josephus says that the angels took the daughters of men—having called them so, I suppose, because they were well-pleasing to God and emulated their manner of life.

^A Mankind multiplied and inclined toward wickedness; and they had children who were insolent and lawless, through their reliance upon their own strength. The Divine was angered at them and curtailed the longevity of life, limiting the life of humans to one hundred and twenty years. Noah found grace before God. Accordingly, when the continent was turned into sea due to a heavy and long-lasting downpour of rain, the whole human race perished. Noah alone was saved by the providence of God in a wooden ark, which he constructed in a rectangular shape, having a length of three hundred cubits, a width of fifty, and a depth of thirty. Into it he entered, he himself and his sons with him, and his mother, and their wives, having also brought in seeds of every kind, and animals likewise of every species, for the preservation of their kinds—two of the unclean, and seven of each species of the clean. Noah was the tenth numbered from Adam, and one thousand two hundred and forty-two years had passed up to the time of the flood. ^B When the floodgates of heaven were opened for forty days and nights, the water rose fifteen cubits above the summits of the highest mountains. When the rain ceased and the water began to recede after one hundred and fifty days, the ark grounded upon a certain mountain in Armenia in the seventh month. Thereupon Noah opened it and sent out a raven, but it did not return. After some days, he sent out a dove, and it returned. Seven days having passed, he released it again, and it returned carrying an olive branch. From this he knew that the water had subsided from the earth. And Noah went out, and his wife, and his sons with their wives, and the animals that were with them in the ark, and he sacrificed to God. Josephus says that the place is called "Place of Descent" by the Armenians, and that remnants of the ark are shown there. He adds that many of those who have written barbaric histories—such as Berosus the Chaldean, and Hieronymus the Egyptian, who wrote the Phoenician antiquities, and Mnaseas of Damascus—make mention ^C of the flood and the ark. God said that He would no longer bring such a calamity upon the earth, and He gave instructions to use the animals for food, except that they should not eat flesh in blood, as it is the life, and He forbade the killing of men. As a sign that He would not again destroy the earth with rain as was done in the flood, He set the bow in the cloud, understanding the rainbow by the bow. Noah, having lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood, died at the age of nine hundred and fifty years. Josephus says this regarding the multitude of years of the life of that generation: "Let no one, therefore, looking at this life and the scantiness of years, deem false the things recorded about the ancients. For it is not to be wondered at that those who were dear to God, and beings created by God Himself, and who used foods better suited to longevity, lived for such a span of time. Another cause of their longevity was the utility of the things ^D discovered by them, namely astronomy and geometry, which could not have been observed and explained by them with certainty unless they had lived for six hundred years, which is the period in which the Great Year is completed." Such is his account.

No one, therefore, looking at this life and the scarcity of years, should consider false the things recorded about the ancients. For those who were beloved of God, and created by God himself, and who—because they used more suitable foods—lived a life [longer than the current one].

And then also because of the utility of the things they invented, such as astronomy and geometry, which they could not have safely understood and described if they had not lived six hundred years; for the great year is completed in that many years.

^B V. Now the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, moved from the mountains to the plain. Noah, having planted a vineyard, drank of the wine, and was made drunk, and was uncovered. Ham, seeing his father’s nakedness, reported it to his brothers, seemingly mocking his father. But they, having cast a garment over their backs, walked backward and covered their father’s nakedness, having turned their eyes away and not looking upon their father. For this reason, when Noah had sobered, he rewarded them with blessings, but cursed Ham. The plain that the sons of Noah inhabited is called Sennaar. Many children were born to each of them, and as they progressed into generations, their descendants multiplied. Now Nimrod, a grandson of Ham, who was seen as the first giant on the earth, being bold and superior to the others in the strength of his hands, turned affairs toward tyranny, and proposed to them the building of a tower constructed of fired brick. But God craftily scattered their counsels, rendering them unintelligible to one another ^C through the division of languages. That field is now called Babylon, because of the confusion of speech; for the Hebrews call the confusion "Babel." They were subsequently scattered by the diversity of tongues, so that every continent and island was filled by them. As the descendants of Noah were thus scattered, nations were formed and named from them.

Now Japheth begat seven sons, who went forth from the mountains of Taurus and Amanus, in Asia as far as the river Tanais, and in Europe as far as Gades, from whose names nations were called. The Gomerites are from Gomer, who are now called Galatians; he named his descendants Magoges from Magog, who are now called Scythians. From Javan, the Ionians and all the Greeks received their name. From Madai come the Madaeans, who are now called Medes. Thobel named those from him Thobelites; these are the Iberians. Mesoch was the originator of the Mescheni, who are now considered to be the Cappadocians. Thiras named those from him Thirasites, who were later renamed Thracians. ^D From the descendants of Japheth, the Aschanaxites—the so-called Rhegines—were produced from Aschanax. The Riphathaeans (so they used to call the Paphlagonians) are believed to trace their lineage from Riphath; and the Thorgamaeans ascribe to themselves Thorgama as their ancestor, who were later renamed Phrygians. Elisan became the chieftain of the Alisaeans, who are the Aeolians. And Tarseus became the ancestor of the Tarseans; for of old the Cilicians were called Tharseis. Whence also the more notable of the cities among them is called Tarsus, formed by the change of one letter. For thus Josephus writes concerning Tarsus. Others say that Perseus, having set out into Cilicia, and thinking about founding a city, while showing the location of the city to the craftsmen, struck the earth with the sole of his foot, and from there the city was named (for *tarsos* signifies "sole" in Latin).

^A Chetim cultivated the island; this is Cyprus, which the Greeks name after their goddess Cypris, that is, Venus. The children of Cham held Syria and the mountains of Amanus and Libanus; and they occupied whatever of that land faces the sea, as far as the Ocean. From Chus arose the Chusaeans, that is, the Ethiopians. Mesrem was the founder of the Mesraeans (thus the Egyptians are called, and the land of Egypt is named Mesren). Phut inhabited Libya, and named the inhabitants of the region Phutaeans, and the region itself Phutam. Afterwards its name was changed to Libya, from Libys, the son of Mesrem. Chanaan inhabited the land later called Judaea, giving it his own name: the people were called Chanaanaeans. The children of Mesrem held the land from Gaza as far as Egypt. Yet only a part of his portion retained the name Philistim, ^B which the Greeks called Palestine. Sidonius, the firstborn son of Chanaan, founded a city in Phoenicia and called it Sidon. Amathes founded the city of Amatha, which the Macedonians inhabited; Ptolemy, surnamed Epiphanes, changed the name of this city to Epiphaneia. To Sem, son of Noah, five sons were born, who inhabited Asia from the Euphrates as far as the Indian Ocean. He left Elam, the ancestors of the Elymaeans and Persians. Asur founded the city of Ninus and called his people the Assyrians; and Arphaxad was the author of the Chaldaeans. Aram called those who were later named Syrians the Arameans, after himself. Lud begat the Ludi, who were later called Lydians. Now since there were four sons of Aram, one founded Trachonitis and Damascus, which lies between Palestine ^C and Coelesyria; another, the Armenians; another, the Bactrians. The son of Arphaxad was Cainam, and the son of Cainam was Sala. He is the father of Eber. Eber begat Phalec, so named because of the division of the earth; for when the men of that time were divided, a partition of the earth also took place. The Hebrews call the partition *Phalec*, and the nation has its name from its author, Eber. The son of Phalec was Ragab, and Ragab was the father of Seruch. He begat Nachor, Nachor begat Thara, and Thara begat Abraham.

^D VI. Furthermore, the author of the Hebrew race and the patriarch of his own nation was this great Abraham, by birth a Chaldaean, the tenth from Noah, two hundred and ninety-two years having passed since God had submerged the entire earth with the waves. Being born of impious ancestors, he was the first to recognize the one God, the Maker of the universe, having discovered Him by the evidence of His works, and to whom alone honor is to be rendered.

^A Since the Chaldeans raised a controversy with him on this account, he migrated from there, at the bidding of the God whom he had recognized, and occupied the land of Canaan. But when famine pressed upon Canaan, he moved to Egypt. And having been admired for his wisdom, he taught arithmetic and the matters concerning astronomy to the Egyptians, who were then unlearned in those arts; for it is said that these things traveled from the Chaldeans to Egypt, and from there to the Greeks (29).

When the Assyrians attacked the Sodomites—with whom lived Lot, the nephew of Abraham and brother of Sarah—and many of the Sodomites had fallen, and the rest were taken captive, Lot among the others was also captured. Upon learning this, Abraham, ^B with three hundred and eighteen of his household servants and three friends, pursued the Assyrians and saved both the Sodomites and Lot. As he returned from the pursuit, the king of the city of Solyma, named Melchisedec (which translated into the Greek dialect signifies "righteous king"), met him. For Solyma was the name then given to the city of Jerusalem; so exceedingly ancient is that city, and in time it has received the rewards of seniority over all others.

God, having approved of Abraham’s virtue, promised him a reward for it. But when he said that every benefit seemed unpleasant to him, as he lacked an heir (for he had not yet received genuine offspring, because Sarah’s womb was obstructed), God promised that He would give him a son, and that from him a great nation would emerge, equal in number to the stars; and He commanded that he and the males under him circumcise their private parts, so that his lineage might not be mixed with other nations; and thus they were circumcised.

^C Then, when Abraham was now one hundred years old, a son was born to him by Sarah, whom God ordered to be called Isaac. The name signifies laughter, either because a smile occurred to Sarah, when God had announced that she would give birth, because of the hopelessness of the promise, she being at an advanced age and not expecting to bear (for she happened to be ninety years old when she bore Isaac), or because the child became an occasion of laughter for his parents, that is, of joy and gladness. And when this child was born, the father circumcised him on the eighth day. Hence this is how it has become customary for the Jews to be circumcised.

But the Arabs are accustomed to circumcise their boys after the thirteenth year, because Ishmael, their forefather, had been circumcised at that time. For he was thirteen years old ^D when God commanded circumcision to Abraham. However, the name Ishmael, given by God, signifies "God-heard," as God had heard the petition of Abraham and gave him a son. He had sired this son by a maidservant whom Sarah had placed with him. For since she was then incapable of bearing children herself, she asked her husband to lie with her domestic maidservant, an Egyptian by descent, whose name was Agar; and from her was born Ishmael, whom she claimed as her own son. Later, however, after Isaac was born, she banished Agar with her son out of jealousy.

When Isaac had grown up, or, as the Hebrew Josephus records, had become a man (for he says that Isaac was then fifteen years of age), God put Abraham to the test and commanded him to sacrifice his son, and upon a certain mountain to offer up that only-begotten and beloved one. Abraham did not refuse: but taking his son, and...

leading him away to the mountain commanded him, he shares the divine oracle with him and encourages him to bear the consecration bravely, since God has so commanded. He obeys, and willingly offers himself as a victim, saying that it is not right to oppose the will of God and his father. Thus these things are related by Josephus. Then Abraham is commanded to spare his son, and a ram is provided of its own accord in place of the burnt offering. ^A After these things Sarah dies, being one hundred and twenty-seven years old. Abraham takes another wife, named Keturah, from whom six sons are born to him. When Isaac was about forty years old, his father betroths for him Rebecca from Mesopotamia, the daughter of Bethuel, son of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. Afterwards he dies, having lived one hundred and seventy-five years. Having taken Rebecca, Isaac begets twin sons from her, of whom the elder was born with hair covering his body, whence he was also called Esau, on account of the hairiness. The hand of the younger held the heel of his brother, as he slipped out from the mother’s womb, and for this reason he was named Jacob. The name signifies "supplanter" according to the Hebrews. ^B

VII. Having grown old, Isaac was deprived of his sight. And calling Esau (for he had been preferred to the other on account of the birthright), he commands him to hunt, and to prepare a meal for him, so that (he says) having eaten, I might bless you before I die. And Esau went out for the hunt. But Rebecca, loving Jacob more, and calling him, told him what his father had commanded Esau. And she exhorted him to hasten to the flock, and to bring her two tender kids, so that she might prepare dishes from them for the old man, such as she knew he loved, and that having eaten, he might bless him. And he does according to his mother’s commands. ^C And when the dishes were already prepared, she wraps the arms of the boy with the skins of the kids, and gives the meal to take to his father. Isaac, sensing by the voice that it was Jacob who was approaching, calls him very close, and touches his hands. But because God had judged Esau utterly unworthy of the blessing, Isaac thought that his firstborn son stood before him (perhaps deceived by the roughness of the hair), and having eaten, he blessed Jacob. And Esau returned, and brought the meal to his father, and asked for the blessing. He recognized the deception, and having come, said: "Your brother has taken your blessing." And as he lamented and petitioned to be blessed (for he thought there was not even one blessing with him), ^D being entreated, Isaac moved to bless him. But because it did not seem right to the Holy Spirit sounding within him that Esau should receive the blessing—since he was not worthy of it—Isaac’s voice was shaped into a curse instead of a blessing. For these reasons Esau became hostile toward his brother. But he, fearing his brother, by the counsel of his mother departs for Mesopotamia. While going, he is deemed worthy in a vision,

^A of the celebrated spectacle of the ladder, the ends of which were fixed, the one part on the earth, the other in heaven, and he is initiated into future things by the Superior, and the place where he saw the vision he called Bethel, which signifies "the House of God" in the Greek tongue. Having arrived at Carrhae, he was welcomed by Laban, the brother of his mother Rebecca, and having been hospitably received by him, he is entrusted with the care of his flocks. Now Laban had two daughters, of whom the elder was named Leah, and the younger Rachel. Jacob was seized with love for the younger, as she was more fair of form than her sister, and he approached Laban regarding her. He agreed to betroth Rachel to Jacob if he would serve him for seven years. The lover agrees; time glides by, and the father-in-law prepares the wedding. But at night, he brought the daughter of greater age into the bridal chamber to Jacob. When he recognized the deception in the morning, he remonstrated with his father-in-law about the injury. He, however, promised him Rachel also, after the service of another seven years. Jacob, overcome by love, accepts the condition again; and, when the other seven years had passed, he also obtained Rachel in marriage. Leah already had children from Jacob: she calls the firstborn Reuben, because through the mercy of God he had come to be for her. For she was stung ^B by the husband’s love for her sister, and she hoped that she would be more honored if she should bear children. The second she names Simeon, which signifies that God had hearkened to her prayers. After him, Levi is born, which signifies the confirmation of the union. Judas follows him, a name which sounds of thanksgiving. Rachel, because she had no children, and fearing lest she be less favored, prays her husband to consort with her handmaid; he complies. And from that congress of Jacob with Balla (for that was the name of the handmaid), Dan is born; this word signifies "divine judgment." Again she bears Nephtalim, which is to say "astute," because with this shrewdness she had set herself against the fecundity of her sister. Leah, provoked by emulation, betroths her own handmaiden Zelpha to Jacob, who bore Gad, which could be called "fortuitous." After this, she brought forth another, Asser, whom you may interpret as "prosperous," because Leah was to be held famous and blessed through that birth on account of the multitude of her children. But when Ruben, the son of Leah, had brought mandrake apples, Rachel sought that a part be given to her, with the concession to Leah of that night of the husband’s bedding which was owed to her; for that night had been allotted to Rachel. ^C For this reason, Jacob consorts with Leah, and she bears children: yet two more, Issachar, which name signifies "one born of wages," and Zabulon, which signifies a pledge of benevolence toward her; and a daughter named Dina. There is also born to Rachel a son, Joseph; that name denotes the addition of some future thing. ^D

VIII. Thus for twenty years did Jacob serve as a shepherd for his father-in-law.

^A Since he wished to depart, he had not been permitted. Wherefore he fled secretly with his wives, his handmaids, and his children, taking with him his possessions and the cattle which had been assigned to him as his wages for pasturing. Rachel also carried away the idols of her father, not that she worshipped them, but to have them as a safeguard if her father, pursuing them, should catch them. When Laban had caught up to them on the seventh day, he was warned by God in a dream to be reconciled to Jacob. The next day, after words had been exchanged between the two, and even though Jacob had demonstrated that no injury had arisen from himself, Laban nevertheless accused him regarding his ancestral gods. Jacob, knowing nothing of that matter, permitted him to search. Laban searched. But Rachel had hidden the idols underneath the saddle of the camel upon which she was riding, and she sat upon them, saying that she was troubled by the onset of her menstruation. Laban, having the conviction that his daughter would never approach his gods while affected by such a malady, passed her by. So he departed; but Jacob, fearing his brother, sent word to him of his return, having sent gifts on ahead. ^B When night came upon him, he wrestled with a phantom he encountered, and he seemed to prevail. Having perceived that it was an angel of God, he entreated him to tell him what fate he would have. He declared that a victory over a divine angel was to be held as a sign of great blessings, and he commanded him to be called Israel. Some interpret this word as a mind that sees God. Josephus, however, says it signifies one who has resisted a divine angel. Jacob called that place Phanuel, that is, the face of God. And because he had been affected with pain in the hip during the struggle with the angel, he himself abstained from eating it, and all his posterity abhors it as unlawful. His brother Esau, having come to meet him, spoke a greeting and, having accepted it, departed. ^C Jacob arrived at Shechem. Now as the Shechemites were celebrating a festival, his daughter Dinah entered the city in order to see the festivities. Shechem, the son of the king of the city, saw her and raped her by force. Then his father asked Jacob to betroth Dinah to Shechem. He did not consent. Simeon and Levi, brothers of the girl by the same mother, because those in the city were feasting and intoxicated due to the festival, entered the city by night and slaughtered all the males, as well as the king and his son. This is what Josephus relates. But the book of Genesis relates these things more credibly. For it says that when Hamor, the father of Shechem, asked for Dinah as a wife for his son, Simeon and Levi said that if all the males of the city were circumcised, they would betroth their sister to his son; and that having accepted the condition, all were circumcised. And on the third day thereafter, when they were suffering badly from the inflammation of the circumcision, they were slaughtered by them, without Jacob’s knowledge. ^D God commanded him to be of good courage, though he took that crime grievously. Thence Jacob traveled to Bethel, where he had seen the dream, and performed a divine service, and having progressed, he buried Rachel, who died as a result of childbirth, at Ephrata, the boy being named Benjamin [son of pain] due to the mother's grief at his birth. Having traveled to Hebron, he buried his father Isaac.

Isaac dies a little later and is buried with ^C his wife in the ancestral tomb, having lived one hundred and eighty-five years.

IX. Esau was ruling over Idumea, having given the region his own name. For he had been called Edom, because upon returning hungry from a hunt, when he asked his brother for the lentils he had cooked for himself, he was compelled by oath to concede to him his right of primogeniture. From this he was surnamed Edom, on account of the very red color of the lentils. Moreover, "Edom" signifies "red" in Hebrew. Jacob loved Joseph more than his other children, both for the elegance of his face and the adroitness of his mind. And so, both of these attributes and the dreams that he had seen won him the envy of his brothers. The dreams were of this sort: One was that at the time of harvest, while he was reaping with his brothers, he seemed to be binding and arranging sheaves, and his own stood upright, while those of his brothers ran together and bowed down to his. The other was that the sun and the moon and the rest of the stars seemed to him to be bowing down to him. When he related these visions to his father, in the presence of his brothers, he was eager to know what they meant. But he prophesied happiness for the child, and that the time would come when he would be honored and bowed down to by his parents and his brothers. This the brothers of Joseph bore with difficulty, and they looked askance at the youth. While the children of Jacob were pasturing their flocks in Shechem, their father sent Joseph to check on them. When they caught sight of him, they were incited to kill him. But Reuben advised them not to defile their hands with their brother's blood, but to cast him into a pit nearby so that he might die there, and thus the evil deed would be less severe. The young men having agreed to this plan, Reuben took the youth and gently lowered him into the pit. But Judah, having seen Arab merchants, suggested to his brothers that they sell Joseph to them. This having seemed good, they sold him to the merchants for twenty minas, he being seventeen years old. Reuben went to the pit by night to bring out Joseph and save him, undetected by his brothers, but not finding him there and mourning, he accused his brothers. When the matter was explained by them, he ceased his mourning. They soiled the youth’s tunic with the blood of a goat and brought it to their father, saying that they had neither seen Joseph nor knew how he had perished, but that they had found this tunic, bloodstained and torn. Jacob sat mourning for the youth and wearing sackcloth. Joseph was bought from the merchants by Petephres, an Egyptian man, chief of the cooks to King Pharaoh, who treated him honorably. However, the master’s wife, enticed by his form and adroitness into love, made requests to him regarding union, but met with a refusal. Nevertheless, not the less subdued by the heat of her desire, and despairing of persuading him, she prepared violence. But as the youth fled, leaving his garment behind, she sat down, sad and disturbed; and when her husband returned, she accused Joseph, exhibiting the garment which he had left behind while attempting to violate his mistress. Petephres cast Joseph into prison.

^A into which the cupbearer of Pharaoh, having fallen into the king’s displeasure, had also been cast, and the chief baker; and as Joseph became familiar with them, he was asked to explain their dreams to them. For the cupbearer seemed to see a vine, from which three branches sprouted, and on them large and ripe clusters of grapes hung. He squeezed these into a cup and offered it to Pharaoh, who received it graciously. Joseph interpreted the dream to signify good things for him; for within three days, he would be restored to his former function, and he begged him to remember him when he was in his prosperity. But the chief baker seemed to be carrying three baskets on his head, two of them full of bread, and the third full of meat and various foods; and these were snatched away by birds descending upon them. Joseph told this man too that the three baskets signified three days, and that on the third day he would be hanged and become food for flesh-eating birds. And it happened to both of them just as Joseph had interpreted. ^B

X. After this, God offered Pharaoh two visions in his dreams as well as the explanation of both. He remembered the visions, but had forgotten the explanations. Therefore, he summoned the wise men of Egypt, told them the dreams, and demanded their meaning; but when they hesitated, he became angry. The cupbearer, ^C although he had forgotten before, now finally recalled Joseph and informed the king about him. He was brought in immediately. The king said to him: "Young man, tell me the meaning of the dreams I have seen. I saw seven fat cows coming up from the river, heading into the marsh, and seven others, thin and wasted with hunger, emerged from the marsh and met them, and after devouring the fat ones, the thin ones remained as they were. Again, I saw seven ears of grain growing from one healthy stalk, bent by the weight of the crops; and near them, I seemed to see an equal number of thin ears, ^D ugly in appearance from their withered state, which also consumed the fruitful and beautiful ones." To this Joseph replied: "Although, O king, there are two dreams, there is only one signification for both concerning the future. For both the cows, an animal accustomed to labor in the plow, being devoured by the inferior ones, and the flourishing ears being consumed by the thin ones, portend a famine of as many years for your region, since the very abundant yield of produce of that many years is to be consumed by what follows. But if you store up the former abundance for the years of barrenness, you will remove the sting of that calamity from the Egyptians." Pharaoh, amazed at Joseph's wisdom, both because of his interpretation of the dreams and because of his counsel, said: "You shall be the interpreter and advisor of these affairs, and also the administrator of the plans." And so he conferred his power upon him, such that he used the seal of Pharaoh, wore purple, and rode in a chariot. This happened to Joseph at thirty years of age, whom Pharaoh called Psothomphanech, that is, interpreter of mysteries.

He also betrothed to him a wife named Aseneth, the daughter of the high priest in Heliopolis; of whom, before the famine, sons were born to him: the elder was Manasseh, which means "forgetfulness," because he had forgotten his misfortunes; and Ephraim the younger, which signifies "restitution," because the liberty of his ancestors had been restored to him. From then came the time of scarcity; and the famine prevailed not only over Egypt, but also over the region in which Jacob was dwelling as a guest. He therefore sends his sons into Egypt to buy grain, keeping only Benjamin with him, as he was the youngest. They approached Joseph, who did not make himself known, but recognized his brothers and said they had come as spies. They said where they had come from, and that they were born of one father who was still alive, and that another younger brother was with their father. Joseph said he would only believe them if they brought the younger brother to him. ^B He gives them grain, and having secretly placed the money of each one into his sack, he retained Simeon as a hostage for their return. The sons returned to Jacob, bringing the grain and reporting what had happened to them. He took it ill that Simeon had been detained and refused to allow Benjamin to be taken to Egypt. But when the grain was exhausted, since they could not otherwise return to Egypt unless they also brought Benjamin with them, the father yielded to necessity and gave him up, along with double the price of the grain and gifts for Joseph. When they came into Egypt, they offered the gifts to Joseph. Upon seeing Benjamin, he was moved with compassion and withdrew so as not to be seen weeping. ^C Then, having brought his brothers to dinner, he honored Benjamin by serving him double portions; and he ordered the grain-steward to give them grain and place the money into their sacks, and to cast a silver cup into Benjamin’s pack. After these things were done, the brothers departed, having received Simeon. Horsemen surrounded them as they were leaving, accusing them of theft of the cup; and upon search, they found the cup in Benjamin’s pack. The horsemen led Benjamin to Joseph, followed by his brothers with torn garments and weeping. Joseph pursued them and, as if they were ungrateful, dismissed them, content only with the retention of Benjamin; the others stood in astonishment. ^D Judas, however, began to plead their case, and by saying many things apt to move compassion, he so affected Joseph’s feelings that he could no longer feign anger, but revealed himself to his brothers and thanked them, as they had been, in part, assistants in the counsel of God concerning him. "Depart, therefore," he said, "and signify these things to my father; and having taken him and all his kin, migrate here: for the famine is yet to last for five years." These things... [index: entries preserved]

having been said, he embraces his brothers and favors them with gifts. And they departed. ^B

XI. Now Jacob, having learned about Joseph, hastened straightway to him, taking with him all his kindred. They were seventy-five in number. And when he was already near Egypt, Joseph went out to meet him. And he, for joy, nearly fainted. Having heard of the arrival of Jacob and those with him into Egypt, Pharaoh rejoiced, and meeting Jacob, he greeted him. And having learned that those with him were shepherds, he granted them residence in the city of Heliopolis. As the famine intensified, Joseph sold grain to the Egyptians for money. When these were exhausted, they bought it with their cattle; finally, they even ceded their lands, so that they might have wherewith to live. Thus, Pharaoh having become lord of all possessions, except for the lands of the priests (to whom their own land remained), as the famine had already abated, Joseph gathered the Egyptians into their respective cities, granted the land to them, and exhorted them to be intent upon work, paying a fifth of the crops to Pharaoh. Jacob, having spent seventeen years in Egypt, fell ill and died, having previously foretold how those of his race would in time inhabit Canaan. And having pronounced blessings upon the rest of his sons, and having recounted the praises of Joseph, in that he had not held a grudge against his brothers, he commanded his sons that they should count the children of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, among their own number, and admit them to a portion in the land of Canaan. Joseph, having brought his sons to Jacob so that he might pray well over them, set the elder at his right hand and the younger at his left. But he, having crossed his hands, placed them upon the heads of the boys; he moved his right to the younger, and his left to the elder. Reproved for this act by Joseph, he was unwilling to change the arrangement of his hands. For he had not done so through error, as Joseph supposed, his mind having become dimmed by old age; but as a prophet, he hinted at future events through figurative signs, and prefigured the saving cross: and he signified that the new people, formed of course from the Gentiles, would be judged right by God, and would be preferred over the elder, namely, over the Jewish one. Jacob died having lived one hundred and forty-seven years. Joseph, by the permission of Pharaoh, departs for Hebron and buries his father sumptuously. And when his brothers were afraid to return with him, lest he should hold a grudge and take revenge upon them, he removed that anxiety. And he himself also dies, having completed one hundred and ten years; having commanded that his fellow-countrymen, when they were about to migrate from Egypt, should also carry away his bones and bring them into the land of Canaan.

The Egyptians, seeing the Israelites flourishing and having forgotten Joseph, devised various hardships against them. They ordered them to channel the Nile into numerous ditches, to surround cities with walls, to raise embankments through which the inundations of the Nile might be checked, and to construct pyramids; and by these means they harassed the Hebrews. They endured these miseries for a long time, until one of the priests announced to Pharaoh that there would be born about that time among the Israelites a ^A boy who, if he were to grow up, would both humble the Egyptians and raise up his own people. Terrified by this, Pharaoh ordered that every male born to the Hebrews be thrown into the river and killed; and that those parents of children who did not do so should be destroyed, root and branch; he also ordered the births of Hebrew women to be watched by Egyptian midwives. While they were in this state, a certain noble man was deeply troubled by this edict (for his wife was pregnant), and after praying to God, he was warned in a dream not to despair: "For the boy," God said, "whom the Egyptians have spoken of, will be, and he will remain unharmed, and he will be raised ^B unknown to those who plot against him; and after having rescued his own people from Egyptian servitude, he will be celebrated with eternal memory. His brother, furthermore, together with his descendants, shall be my priest forever." His wife secretly bore him a male child, whom the parents nourished for three months. But at last, overcome by fear, they committed his safety to God; and having placed the infant in a basket coated with bitumen, they cast it into the river, with Mariamme, the boy's sister, watching what would become of him. Meanwhile, Thermuthis, the daughter of Pharaoh, playing by the riverbank, saw the basket, ordered it to be picked up, and, having seen the boy, grew fond of him because of his beauty and size. Egyptian women were brought in to nurse the child, but he turned away ^C from the Egyptian breast. Then Mariamme, as if she had intervened by chance, said: "Queen, if a Hebrew woman were called, perhaps the infant would accept the breast of one of his own race." She ordered that one be called; the boy's mother was brought, to whom Thermuthis entrusted his nourishment for a wage, and gave him a name derived from the event. For the Egyptians call water *mos*, and *yses* those who are saved from the water. Having therefore joined both these words together, she used that as the infant's name. Moses is counted as the seventh from Abraham. For he was the son of Amram, Caath was the father of Amram, he was of Levi, Levi of Jacob, Jacob the son of Isaac, born of Abraham. When Moses was three years old, both his tallness of stature and the elegance of his form were adorned ^D by a certain grace of the divine: moreover, an intelligence beyond the capacity of his age shone forth in him. Thermuthis, therefore, being childless, adopted him and brought him to her father. He embraced the boy and playfully placed his diadem upon him: which the boy, as the simplicity of that age dictates, threw to the ground.

and trampled upon with his feet. ^A The sacred scribe, seeing this — he who had predicted that someone born of the Hebrews would humble the power of the Egyptians — cried out and said, "This is that boy, by whose destruction you might free the Egyptians from fear." But Thermuthis snatched him away before this could happen, and God rendered Pharaoh more sluggish in carrying out the slaughter.

When Moses reached manhood, the virtue he possessed became evident to the Egyptians. ^B The Ethiopians, who were neighbors to Egypt, were ravaging their territory. The Egyptians went to war against them, but were defeated; and the Ethiopians, holding them in contempt, began overrunning the whole of Egypt. In accordance with a divine oracle, Pharaoh asked his daughter for Moses, who had by then reached manhood, to be the general for him against the Ethiopians. She gave her consent, but first bound her father by an oath that he would do him no harm. Entrusted with the supreme command of the war, Moses did not lead his army against the enemy by the usual route, but rather through regions impassable due to a multitude of venomous reptiles; and it was there that he ^C demonstrated his cleverness. He constructed baskets, and having filled them with ibises (which Egypt rears in great numbers, and which become tame), he transported them along that route. Now, these ibises are the enemies of such venomous creatures. He used these birds as the vanguard of his army against the venomous beasts; and, as the Ethiopians did not foresee this, he attacked them, defeated them, and captured their cities. Those who were driven into Saba, the royal city of Ethiopia—which Cambyses later named Meroë after his sister—were besieged. Now, the city was difficult to conquer. But Tharbis, the daughter of the ruler of the Ethiopians, fell in love with Moses and sent envoys to him regarding marriage. He agreed, provided she would surrender the city to him. The deed followed the word: Moses celebrated the wedding and led the Egyptians back to their own land. Yet they hated him, even though they had been saved, and stirred up Pharaoh against him. Yielding to his priests, and incensed by the slaying of the Egyptian who had been scourging a Hebrew—as is recorded in the book of Genesis (even though Josephus passed over this)—Pharaoh plotted against the life of Moses. ^D Yet he, although the roads were guarded, fled secretly through the desert and arrived at the city of Midian, where he was entertained by the priest of that city, who, being possessed of a double name, was called Raguel and Jethro. He gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage and committed his flocks to his care.

XIII. While Moses was pasturing his flock on Mount Sinai, he was granted the vision of the bush, which burned with fire but was not consumed. Then he also heard a voice from there, which forbade him to advance farther, as the place was divine, and which foretold the things that were to come to pass, commanding him to depart into Egypt to deliver his kinsmen from the troubles there, and, when he had led them out of Egypt, to perform sacrifices in that place.

^A These things were declared to Moses from the fire. But he was in doubt as to how he might persuade his kinsmen, or force Pharaoh to permit their departure. And God promised that He would most easily bring these things to pass, and for the sake of conviction, he was commanded to cast his rod upon the ground, and when he had cast it, it became a dragon. Then, grasping it, it was a rod again. And having been ordered to put his right hand into his bosom, he brought it out white as lime in color, and then it was restored to its former state. And having been commanded to take some of the nearby water and pour it upon the ground, he sees that which was poured out become blood. He was therefore encouraged by these things and commanded to wait no longer. Having therefore taken his wife, and the children born of her, Gershom—which name signifies coming into a foreign land—and Eleazar—the appellation being taken from divine aid—he hastened ^B to Egypt. And when he approached, his brother Aaron met him. Both then arrived before Pharaoh, and having delivered the commands from God, they urged him not to stand against the divine counsel. When he mocked them, they showed him the signs through their deeds, and the rod cast upon the ground became a serpent. And when the magicians of the Egyptians had done the same thing, and had changed their own rods into dragons, Moses cast his rod upon the ground again, and it was changed into a serpent, and devoured the rods of the Egyptians, which appeared to be dragons. Then he took it back, having returned to its own shape. But as Pharaoh hardened his heart, the waters were changed into blood. Then frogs covered the whole land of Egypt. Upon these things, lice sprang up from the ground. Now the other portents the magicians of Pharaoh seemed to perform, but they were unable to counterfeit the lice. They said, therefore, to Pharaoh, that this is the finger of God. ^C But he was still unyielding, and there came the dog-fly, and after these, the destruction of the cattle. Then, when Moses had scattered the soot of the furnaces into the air, ulcers and pustules broke out upon both the cattle and the men; and again hail rained down, and after it came locusts, and after these, darkness covered the Egyptians for three days. Finally, after all these things, the destruction of the firstborn was brought upon them. For as Pharaoh hardened his heart, God commanded Moses to prepare a sacrifice for the fourteenth day of the month, which by the Hebrews is called Nisan, by the Egyptians Pharmuthi, by the Macedonians Xanthicus, ^D and by the Greeks April. When the fourteenth day was come, they all sacrificed, and with the blood of the victims they smeared the lintels of their houses, and having dined, they burned the remainders of the flesh. Whence from then on the Hebrews celebrate a feast at that time, and they sacrifice, calling the feast Pascha. Now Pascha others translate as "passage," but Josephus as "passing over," because on that night God, passing over the Hebrews, afflicted the Egyptians with the destruction of the firstborn. For this reason they met with Pharaoh and begged that he let the Hebrews go. He ordered it. The Hebrews departed, numbering (of military age only) six hundred thousand. They went out in the month of Xanthicus, on the fifteenth day, at the rising of the moon, in the years. Varia lectiones et notae: (56) Παρά "Έλλησιν 'Απρίλιος. Imo apud Latinos, seu ut habet S. Maximus in Computo Ecclesiastico parte 1, cap. 15, κατὰ Ῥωμαίους. Sed hic ut et alibi non semel 'Έλληνας vocat Zonaras, quos alii Romanos; contra quam Eunapius in Chrysanthio p. 89.

four hundred and thirty after Abraham had arrived in Canaan, and two hundred and fifteen years after the migration of Jacob into Egypt, Moses being then eighty years of age, whom Aaron exceeded by three years. They also carried with them the bones of Joseph, as he had commanded. Thus they set out.

^B XIV. The Egyptians, acting out of repentance, seized their arms and pursued them with six hundred chariots, fifty thousand cavalry, and two hundred thousand infantry. The Hebrews, reduced to despair, were in great distress and were on the point of stoning Moses. He encouraged them to follow him and led them to the sea. Standing on the shore, having invoked God, he struck the sea with his rod. The sea was parted, so that the dry land appeared to the Hebrews, and they crossed over in haste. The Egyptians, seeing this, placed their cavalry in the vanguard and pursued them. But when the Hebrews had already reached the opposite shore safely, the sea, upon being struck again by Moses with his rod, rushed upon the Egyptians, and its waves closing in, the sea overwhelmed them. Thus all the Egyptians perished in the waters, while the Hebrews joyfully celebrated God with hymns. Moses also composed an ode to God in hexameter verse, as Josephus states. The Hebrews took the arms of the Egyptians, which had been cast ashore along with their bodies by the wind, and armed themselves with them. Moses then led them to Mount Sinai, to offer sacrifices there as he had been commanded.

^C While they were being led there, they suffered from a scarcity of food and a lack of water. Arriving in such a state at a place where there was a well, the water of which was undrinkable because of its bitterness, the book of Exodus calls this place Marah, but Josephus records that it was called Mar by the Hebrews, for "Mar" in their language signifies bitterness. They murmured against their leader, but he, having first prayed to God, took a piece of wood and threw it into the well, and the water became sweet. Josephus does not seem to believe that the sweetening of the water was a miracle but conjectures that it happened naturally. ^D For he says that Moses, having cast the wood into the water, ordered them to draw the well dry, and while they were intent upon that work, the water, stirred and purified by continuous agitation, finally became drinkable. He also relieved the scarcity of food by praying to God, by means of quails, an immense multitude of which was brought into the camp of the Hebrews and taken, and they ate, satisfying their hunger. Then God rained manna upon them, in sweetness equal to honey, and in size similar to a coriander seed. It was called Manna by them, because they were in doubt as to what the thing was; for "Man" in that language is also a note of interrogation. Thus Josephus records these matters. Now everyone had been ordered to gather an Assaron.

(the assaron is a measure); but if anyone gathered more, by the next day it was uneatable, corrupted by worms and bitterness. This was so contrived, so that where the robust had gathered much, it would not be lacking for the weak. ^B They used this food for forty years, for as long as they were in the desert. Then they arrived at a waterless place, called Raphidin, and being thirsty, they were stirred up against Moses. He, having prayed to God, is commanded to strike the rock with his staff, and he strikes; instantly a great and very clear water gushed forth. Then the Amalekites proceeded against the Hebrews, having called their neighbors as allies. Moses, having separated the fighting men of the people from the others, and having appointed Jesus the son of Nave as their leader, with a part of the army left behind for the protection of the water, he himself withdrew toward the mountain—and he ordered Jesus to trust in God and to lead the army out against the adversaries. Already the battle was joined, and as long as Moses held his hands aloft, the Hebrews were dealing grievous blows to the Amalekites. But whenever Moses would let his hands down, exhausted by the extension of them, it would happen that the Hebrews were being pressed hard. Therefore, having stationed his brother Aaron on one side, and Or, the husband of his sister Mariam, on the other, he ordered them to support his hands; and thus the Hebrews, conquering the Amalekites, would have destroyed them all, had not night checked the battle; and of the Hebrews, not even one had died. ^C XV. From there they moved forward, and in the third month after the departure from Egypt, they reached Mount Sinai. There Moses performed a divine rite, and was approached by his father-in-law, Raguel, who, when he saw his son-in-law overwhelmed with the business of all those coming to him, advised that he delegate the province of judicial decisions to others, while he himself, having taken up the care of more important matters, should consult for the safety of the people and appoint prefects who would preside over ten thousands, others over thousands, and five hundreds, and over these, hundred-rulers and fifty-rulers, and over thirty, twenty, and ten, who would manage these affairs. Moses, having followed Raguel’s advice, acts according to his suggestion. Then, having commanded the people to fix their camp near Mount Sinai, he himself ascended the mountain. The people fulfilled his commands, abstaining from other unclean acts, and from the sexual union of wives for three days. ^D On the third day at dawn, a cloud surrounded the camp of the Hebrews, and there were terrible flashes of lightning and a vehemence of winds, which terrified the Hebrews remaining in their tents. But Moses appears full of courage, and having been seen, he removes their fear, and announces to them what God had commanded, and what ordinances they were to keep; and he brings the people forward along with their wives and children, so that they might hear God. And they heard a voice coming from on high. Then again he ascends the mountain; and as he stayed there a long time, the people, flowing toward Aaron, said: "Make us gods: for what has happened to Moses, we do not know." Aaron, compelled by force, commands them to bring the gold earrings and ornaments of their wives and daughters. They bring them, and from them they cast a golden calf and offer sacrifice to it. Moses, descending from the mountain, and

^A carrying in his hands the two tablets of the testimony, stone tablets inscribed on both sides, as he drew near to the camp, sees the calf, and in his anger shatters the tablets; he takes the calf, burns it, grinds it to powder, and casting it into water, makes the people drink it. He commands the sons of Levi, and they go through the camp and kill many, so that the fallen are counted at about three thousand. Moses returned to the mountain, saying: Lord, thy people hath sinned; now if thou forgivest them their sin, forgive; but if not, blot me also out of thy book. And the Lord said to him: Go down, lead this people into the place of which I spoke to thee. And the Lord showed Moses, who asked to see Him, His back parts. And he descended to the people again, carrying two tablets containing the ten commandments inscribed; and the appearance of his face was glorified, and the people could not look steadfastly at him, so he put a veil over his face, ^B and thus spoke with them. And he announced to them what God had commanded concerning sacrifices and purifications, and concerning animals both unclean and clean, so that they should abstain from the former and be nourished by the latter; concerning illicit unions, and whom the priests may take in marriage, and what kind of women the high priests may take; and concerning the Sabbath, and the seventh year, and the fiftieth, which they call the Jubilee. And he said that God commanded a tent to be built into which He would descend, and which would be transferred with them as they moved; and He showed him the dimensions of the tent, and the shape according to which it should be constructed. And the people, rejoicing at these things, brought gold and silver, and precious stones and bronze, and wood, and goats' hair, and rams' skins, and linen, and wool. He puts in charge of the construction of the tent the son of his sister ^C Mary, Bezalel, and Eliphaz.

XVI. The tabernacle being now finished, Moses erects it. He also crafted the Ark from incorruptible wood, gilded all around; and in it he placed the two tablets which contained the decalogue. The first affirms that there is one God, and that Him alone must one worship. The second, that no image of any living creature is to be made and adored. The third, by the name of God one must not swear for any vain thing. The fourth, the seventh day is to be observed, and one must abstain from all work on it. The fifth, parents are to be honored. The sixth, one must abstain from murder. The seventh, not to commit adultery. The eighth, not to steal. The ninth, one must not bear false witness. The tenth, nothing of another's is to be coveted. They place this Ark into the inner sanctuary, and in the temple ^D they set a table, and upon it twelve unleavened loaves, and a golden lampstand, and an incense-altar, wooden within, but externally covered with gold. And before the tent he set up a wooden altar, overlaid with iron plates, over against which phials and mixing bowls with censers were placed, and other vessels which were prepared for sacrifices,

^A all things from gold. Robes are also prepared for the priests, and indeed for the high priest as well. God designated Aaron as high priest. Moses, having gathered the multitude, said: "Men, the work is finished, and God deems Aaron worthy of the honor of the priesthood." Moses commanded each one to contribute half a shekel, that it might be an expenditure for the needs of the tabernacle. Now, the shekel is a Hebrew coin, which is worth four Attic drachmae. The number of those who contributed was six hundred and five thousand five hundred and fifty, since only those of free birth who had passed their twentieth year, up to their fiftieth, were contributing. The tabernacle was completed in seven months. God, by descending into his tabernacle, showed that the work had been completed according to his mind. Furthermore, he declared his presence in this manner: a vapor rested upon the tabernacle alone, neither dense and compacted, like clouds, nor altogether thin and rare, so that one could see through it; and a sweet dew distillated from it. For seven days Moses sacrificed in the open air of the tabernacle. On the eighth, he proclaimed a festival to the people and ordered them to engage in the rites. Then they vied with one another in liberality. Victims having already been placed upon the altar, fire arose of its own accord and consumed everything that was upon it. ^B Afterward, two of the four sons of Aaron, the elder ones, Nadab and Abius, having offered sacrifice not in the prescribed manner, were scorched in their chests and faces by the fire that arose of itself and burned them; their bodies were carried outside the camp and buried. Thereafter, Moses, having set the tribe of Levi apart from the others, purified it and delivered to them the tabernacle and the sacred vessels, that they might minister to the priests according to their instructions. These things having been completed, he set out to number the people: and there were found to be six hundred and three thousand six hundred and fifty who were able to carry arms, of those who had passed their twentieth year and reached their fiftieth. In place of the Levitical tribe, he substituted for the tribal leaders the sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasses, according to the command of their forefather Jacob. Moreover, the number of the Levites was found to be twenty-three thousand eight hundred and eighty.

XVII. After this, the people stirred up a sedition against Moses, ^D complaining that he had forced them to wander in the deserts, away from a good land. And so, from that place, he led them into the land which was called the Valley, near to the land of Canaan; and from each tribe he chose one man and sent them to explore the forces of the Canaanites and the quality of the land. They traversed the country for forty days and returned, bringing with them fruits from that land; they praised the goodness of the land indeed, but struck fear into the people, as if it could not be captured, both because of the size of the rivers, and the difficult ridges of the mountains, and the most fortified cities. By this report, being again stirred to anger

^A the multitude held Moses in hatred, and plotted to stone him and Aaron to death, and to return to Egypt. However, Jesus the son of Nave and Caleb, alone among the scouts, encouraged the people, asserting that no difficulties were to be feared. Moses and Aaron besought God to put an end to the madness of the multitude. The cloud was present in the tabernacle, signifying the presence of God; and Moses, taking heart, spoke to the multitude, saying that God was angry, yet that He would not destroy them all, nor cause the race to vanish, but that He would not deliver the land of Canaan to them—that they were to remain in the desert for forty years—but that He would provide the land to their children. When Moses had said these things, the multitude became sorrowful. Then they wished to engage the Canaanites, and this even though God forbade it; having attacked, they were defeated. And some fell, while others fled back to the camp. But sedition seized the multitude for the following reason. Core, who was of the Levitical tribe, and most conspicuous in lineage and riches, and a most persuasive speaker, conceived envy toward Moses, and railed against him as one exercising a tyranny. "For what reason," he said, "did he assign the priesthood to Aaron and to his sons? If it is because of the Levitical tribe, I am more worthy of this honor, being equal in lineage, but different in wealth and age. But if it ought to be assigned to another tribe, then by right of primogeniture the tribe of Reuben would have the first claim, and Dathan and Abiron would obtain it." He said these things out of malice, ^B and two hundred and fifty of the leading men were arrayed with him, and the multitude was also stirred up. But Moses, standing in the midst, said: "I think you, O Core, and each of those who stand with you, worthy of honor. But God elected Aaron to the priesthood, and now He Himself shall judge again whom He wishes to be priest. Tomorrow, therefore, as many as contend for the priesthood, come, each bringing a censer from home, and fire, and incense. And let Aaron also come alongside you. And as you offer incense before the people, he whose sacrifice God shall judge more pleasant, he shall be your priest." The multitude praised these words, and on the next day they gathered into an assembly. Moses sent for Abiron and Dathan, and ordered them to come. But they did not obey, and added threats against Moses. Moses, having ordered the elders to follow him, went away toward their tents, and when he had drawn near, lifting his hands to heaven, he shouted in a loud voice: "Since I am suspected of doing evil, O Master, do Thou Thyself come as judge, and demonstrate that nothing is done by chance, but that all things are governed by Thy providence. And if, at Thy command, I gave the priesthood to Aaron, let the earth upon which Dathan and Abiron and their offspring stand gape open. But if those things which they say against me are true, may those things which I have invoked upon them fall upon my own head." When he had said these things, weeping, the earth was suddenly shaken. A hard sound having burst forth, ^C it settled around their tents, and both them and their possessions it brought down into the chasm.

and so the parted earth reunited. ^A Because of these things the people trembled, but Moses called those who were contending for the priesthood. And there came together two hundred and fifty of the prominent men, and Aaron and Korah, standing before the tabernacle with the censers which they were carrying. A great fire flashed forth, as if kindled by the command of God, by which both the two hundred and fifty and Korah were destroyed, so that not even their bodies were found, but Aaron alone was found unharmed. Moses ordered the censers of those men to be placed around the bronze altar, so that they might be a memorial of the events for those who came after. And having assembled the people again, he told the chiefs of the tribes to come, bringing rods inscribed with the names of the tribes, that priesthood would belong to him whose rod God marked with a sign. Therefore they brought them, others and Aaron ^B having inscribed 'Levite' on his rod, which Moses placed in the tabernacle of God, and on the next day they offered these. And while the others remained as they happened to be, that of Aaron sprouted both branches and fruits. The book of Leviticus calls the fruit nuts, but Josephus says they were almonds. Therefore all were amazed, Aaron having been thrice chosen by God. And since the tribe of the Levites was exempted from wars and expeditions, so that they might not neglect the care of the sanctuary due to a shortage of necessities, Moses commanded the Hebrews, when they had acquired the land of Canaan, to distribute forty-eight cities to the Levites, and fields before them, and to pay them and the priests a tithe of the annual fruits, and he ordained that many other things be provided to them by the people, which he who desires to know them one by one will find by opening the book of Leviticus.

XVIII.

plain opposite Jericho. This is a prosperous city, bearing palms and yielding balsam. Balak, the king of the Moabites, summoned the seer Balaam so that, by coming, he might cast curses upon the Israelites for their destruction. And he departed. But on the road, an angel of God obstructed him, and the donkey upon which Balaam was riding, perceiving the divine spirit, would not advance, nor did it yield to blows. Then, speaking with a human voice by divine will, it called its master unjust for bringing blows upon it, and for not understanding that it was being restrained by God from that to which he was hastening. ^B Being greatly troubled by the human voice, the angel appeared and said that he himself had blocked the path of the beast. To the one wishing to turn back, he urged him to proceed onward, and to say whatever might be inspired in him by God. And he came to Balak. Being brought to a mountain, and having offered as a whole burnt offering seven bulls and as many rams, when he saw the slaughter signified—not only did he not imprecate the Hebrews, but, being divinely inspired, he blessed and extolled them and their whole race with auspicious omens and divine praises. ^C When Balak took this ill, Balaam said, “It is not in our power, O king, to be silent or to speak such things, but when the spirit of God occupies us, it utters through us the voices that it wills. But because I desire to gratify you, the altar must again be prepared and victims offered.” He sacrifices, therefore, again, and falling upon his face, he foretold how many calamities would befall the kings and how many the cities. Balak dismissed Balaam in dishonor. He then sent the virgins among the Israelites, according to the counsel of Balaam, by whom the children of the Hebrews were ensnared; and they consorted with them, so that the lawlessness quickly spread through the whole army by the love of the Midianite women, with the Hebrews sacrificing to their gods and partaking of ^D unusual foods. Moses, having brought the people to an assembly, said that the young men were not doing things worthy of themselves nor of their fathers, and he strove to correct them. But Zambres, being a prince of the tribe of Simeon, and living with a Midianite woman, and doting on her with insane love, set himself impudently against Moses, and swore that he would never abandon the woman. Phineas, however, being the son of the high priest Eleazar, overcome by the bitterness of his grief, did not cease striking the Midianite woman and Zambres with his sword until he had killed both of them. Others, young men who cared for virtue, imitating him, slew the young men who had transgressed against the ancestral laws with the foreign women. Thus, there perished no fewer than fourteen thousand men. Angered by this, Moses sent an army against the Midianites, appointing Phineas as its commander. And upon the joining of battle, their kings fell, being five in number, and a very great multitude. The Hebrews plundered their land, and after destroying the inhabitants together with their wives, they spared only the virgins, numbering thirty-two thousand, whom Moses distributed to the priests and the Levites and to the people. And, being advanced in age, he designated as his successor Jesus, the son of Nave (Nun), as God commanded.

XIX. When the tribes of Gad and Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, besought Moses that he would allot to them the land of the Amorites; he thus rebuked their slothfulness.

^A He called them cowards, as they were unwilling to join in the war against the Canaanites alongside their kinsmen. But they defended themselves, saying that this was not the case; rather, that they were abounding in a multitude of livestock and wished to leave these behind in that region, which happened to be good for the feeding of four-footed animals, so that they themselves, being unencumbered, might assist their kinsmen in the struggles. Moses commended this, and allotted the Amorite territory to them on such conditions. And when someone of the tribe of Manasseh had died leaving only daughters, Moses, being asked whose that man’s portion would be, answered: If the virgins should marry any of their own tribesmen, let them go to them along with the inheritance; but if they should be betrothed to any from another tribe, let them leave the inheritance in the paternal tribe. And thus he ordained that the property of each should remain within the tribes. Now when forty years had fully passed since the Israelites had departed from Egypt, lacking thirty days, Moses, having reached one hundred and twenty years of age, announced his own end to the people; and having given many exhortations, and having provided laws in books, and a constitution for their state, and having commanded an expedition against the Amalekites, and having exacted an oath from them for the keeping of the laws, and having urged on the leader Joshua to make war against the Canaanites: Behold, he said, I am departing to our ancestors. For God has appointed this day for my migration to them. ^B Upon hearing these things, the people burst into tears, and their lamentation was inconsolable, and so great that that emotion forced tears even from Moses, though he was unwilling. As he was going to the place where he was to cease being among mortals, all followed him, mourning. But he, forbidding the rest from proceeding further with his hand, with only the senators and the High Priest Eleazar and the general Joshua accompanying him, came until he reached Mount Nabo and the peak of Phasga, which is in sight of Jericho; whence the Lord showed him the land which the sons of Israel were to inherit, saying to him: Behold this with thine eyes, but thou shalt not enter into it. And having ascended this mountain, which happens to be high, he sent away the senate; but he took along Eleazar and Joshua, and while he was conversing with them, a cloud suddenly surrounded him, and he became invisible. ^C The sacred books write that he died, so that on account of his excellent virtue some bolder persons might not dare to say that he had been made a god. He lived the whole of his life one hundred and twenty years, of which he held command for a third part, less one month, and they mourned for him for thirty days. These things Josephus says. But the Book of Deuteronomy has it word for word at the end: And Moses, the servant of the Lord, died, and no one knows of his death until ^D this day. When the mourning had subsided, Joshua sent spies to Jericho, and having summoned the princes of the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh, he reminded them of the pact entered into with Moses: who followed him to the Jordan with fifty thousand armed men. Furthermore, the spies sent to Jericho, having reconnoitered the whole city, were recognized and reported to the king, and were immediately ordered to be arrested. When a woman named Raab, to whom they had fled, understood this matter, she hid the men.

^A by placing bundles of flax over them. She said to those who were searching, that those unknown men had dined with her before the sun set, and had departed. They, thus deluded by the woman, rushed off in different directions to pursue the men. But Raab ordered the men to go to their own people, and to remember her and to pay her back, once they had conquered the land of the Canaanites. They promised to be grateful, and instructed her that when the city was taken, she should keep her possessions and her kin within her lodging, and hang a scarlet cloth before the doors, so that the house might be recognized and preserved. And they were saved among their own people, and reported what they had done.

When the Jordan was flowing in full flood, Jesus led the Hebrews across it in this manner. The priests went forward, carrying the Ark, followed by the Levites bearing the Tent. The people followed them. But as soon as the priests first stepped in, the rush of the river was immediately cut off, and all crossed over confidently, while the priests stood in the middle until the people had crossed; and then eventually they too exited, as the course of the stream was restored to its entirety. Having crossed the Jordan, they set up camp ten stadia from Jericho.

^C XX. Jesus, having set up an altar from the stones which each of the tribal leaders had taken from the riverbed of the Jordan at his command, made sacrifice upon it and celebrated the feast of the Passover. At that time the manna also failed them, which they had used for forty years. For they now had an abundance from the land of all the things they needed. On the first day of the feast, Jesus began the siege of Jericho, having arranged it in this way. The priests, carrying the Ark, walked around the wall, blowing seven horns. And the senate followed along, and then they returned to the camp. They did this for six days. On the seventh day, after doing the same and circling seven times, the wall fell down, and the people entered, killed everyone, and set fire to the city. ^D The scouts saved only Raab with her kin, because she had hung the scarlet cloth before the house. And Jesus gifted her fields and treated her with honor. He pronounced curses of this kind against those who might wish to rebuild the city: that he who laid the foundations would lose his firstborn son, and he who completed it would be deprived of his youngest. A great quantity of gold and silver was gathered from the spoils of the city, and the whole was consecrated to God as the firstfruits of a successful operation; and it was forbidden for everyone to usurp anything from it for themselves. But a certain Achor of the tribe of Judah, having found a gold-woven fabric and a mass of gold weighing two hundred shekels, took these and buried them in his tent. After this, when war arose, the Hebrews were put to flight, and thirty-six of them fell. The people took this disaster very hard. Jesus, falling on his face, besought God; and having been taught by the oracle that a sacrilege had been committed, he committed the judgment to the lot.

^A Upon the lot falling to Achor, he confesses the theft and produces the stolen goods. And he is indeed put to death by stoning, along with his own; but Jesus lays siege to Naim and captures it. The Gibeonites and their neighbors, belonging to the Canaanites, fearing that they would suffer the same things as the people of Jericho and those around Naim, send an embassy to Jesus, saying that they live very far away and are not of the same race as the Canaanites, and asking the Israelites to conclude a treaty with them and covenants of friendship. Jesus therefore made peace with them. But later, having learned that they were of the race of the Canaanites, he reproached them for their deception. They said that they did this of necessity, fearing destruction. And Jesus, that he might not violate his oath, appointed them to be common servants. Thus Josephus. But the Book of Joshua contains that he made them wood-cutters and water-bearers for the whole congregation, and for the altar of God. ^B When the king of Jerusalem attacked the Gibeonites because of their treaty with the Hebrews, Jesus fought to defend them, put the enemy to flight, and pursued them as they fled. In which battle a hail greater than the usual size and flashes of lightning from heaven fell upon the enemies; and the day was lengthened, God having stopped the course of the sun at the prayer of Jesus, so that the enemies might not escape by the coming of night. The kings also, hiding in a certain cave, were discovered and all put to death. After these deeds, Jesus returned into the mountainous region of Canaan, and having caused a great slaughter of those who were in it, and having taken spoil, he withdrew to the camp at Gilgal; which place was given the name Gilgal, because the Israelites recognized that they had been freed from their Egyptian bondage and from the hardships of the desert. For the Hebrews call "freedom" ^C *galgala*. But the Canaanites dwelling around Lebanon, and those who lived in the plains, having called the Palestinians to their aid, wage war against them, and they had in their army three hundred thousand armed men, ten thousand cavalry, and thirty thousand chariots. God having promised victory to the Israelites, a fierce battle takes place, so that the entire army of the enemies, with the exception of a few, was destroyed, and the kings also fell.

XXI. The fifth year had already passed, and not one of the Canaanites remained. Jesus sets up the tabernacle in the city of Shiloh, until an opportunity for building a temple for them might arise. ^D Having gathered the people to Shiloh, he recounted the captured cities and how many armies of the enemies had been destroyed, and that thirty of their kings had been killed. He declared that the cities which still survived were very well-fortified and demanded a long siege, and he judged that the auxiliaries from across the Jordan should now be sent home. Therefore, he gave permission to return home to the two and a half tribes, whose men were fifty thousand. They, crossing the Jordan, set up an altar on the bank. This caused a riot to be stirred up among the multitude of the Israelites. Therefore they send ten of the honorable men together with Phinehas as envoys, protesting about the altar that had been built. They reply that they did not build the altar with a desire for innovation, but as a monument

^A to their descendants of the kinship which they had with them. They acknowledged that there is one God, common to all the Hebrews. Having said these things, Phinehas and those with him returned to Joshua. Joshua, having distributed the regions by lot to the multitude, resided in Shechem. Being quite advanced in age and already about to die, he gave an exhortation to the people, and he died, having lived one hundred and ten years; of these, he had spent forty with Moses, and after his death, he had led the army for twenty-five. The high priest Eleazar also died, leaving the high priesthood to his son Phinehas. After these things, the Canaanites, having conceived a hope of overcoming the Hebrew race now that Joshua was dead, waged war against them, having entrusted the leadership to King Adonibezek; for the name means "Lord of Bezek," as "Adoni" is said in Hebrew for "lord." The two tribes, ^B Judah and Simeon, having engaged the Canaanites, put them to flight and captured Adonibezek and mutilated him. They also captured many cities, and the lower city of Jerusalem, and killed the inhabitants. But the siege of the upper city was difficult, both due to the nature of the place and the strength of the walls. Having also captured Hebron, they slaughtered all the citizens and gave it to Caleb as his lot, just as Moses had commanded. They also allotted land to the descendants of Jethro, who were kinsmen of Moses, because he had left his fatherland and followed the Hebrew people in the wilderness. The tribes of Judah and Simeon, having attained great prosperity, laid down their arms. But the tribe of Ephraim, besieging Bethel, accomplished nothing. Having captured one of the people of the city, they gave him a pledge that if he betrayed his fatherland, they would save both him and his kin. ^C And he, having betrayed it in this way, was saved with his own people. They, having killed the inhabitants, held the city. But the Benjaminites, to whom the city of Jerusalem had fallen, imposed tribute on the inhabitants, allowing them to live contrary to the divine commandment. Other tribes also did the same.

XXII. Already flourishing in successful circumstances, luxury began to corrupt the Israelites, such that they violated divine laws and were sluggish toward labor; the aristocracy had ceased ^D and the council of elders was no longer being appointed. Hence a terrible discord seized them, for the following reason. A certain Levite, bringing back his wife, a native of Bethlehem, was returning home. Already being evening, he was entertained as a guest by a certain old man in the city of Gibeah, of the tribe of Benjamin. But certain young men of Gibeah, having seen the woman, came up demanding her. To the old man who refused, they threatened death. He offered them his own daughter instead, so that he might protect his guests from violence and injury. Those men, however, would not depart unless the woman was seized, and having abused her according to their lust through the whole night, they released her at the break of dawn. And she, weighed down by the nocturnal hardship and the shame of her husband and her grief, breathed her last. Then the husband, having cut the dead woman into twelve parts,

^A sent a part to each tribe, having explained to them the outrage and those responsible for the calamity. They send, therefore, to Gibeon, demanding those who had transgressed. But they did not hand them over. The tribes then marched against them. And having joined battle twice with the Benjaminites, the Israelites were defeated. Then, through Phinehas the high priest, they besought God, and thus having joined battle with the Benjaminites, they prevailed, so that all but six hundred fell, who fled to the neighboring mountains. The Israelites burned Gibeon and destroyed all the women and children; and they did the same in their other cities. They also slew the inhabitants of the city of Jabesh-Gilead, because they had not fought alongside them, along with their children and wives, except for four hundred virgins, whom they gave to those who had survived of the Benjaminites, so that they might have them as wives, having taken pity on them in their calamity. They also deliberated on how the remaining two hundred might procure wives. For they had previously sworn an oath, on account of that wicked deed, that no one would give a daughter in marriage to a Benjaminite. And it seemed good to them in their deliberation, not to give them in marriage because of the oath, but to allow the Benjaminites themselves to abduct virgins to share their beds, with them neither preventing it nor encouraging it. ^B Having made this decree, the Benjaminites carried the matter out. But when the Israelites had for a long time abandoned the study of warfare, the Canaanites despised them, and took certain cities away from them. The tribe of Dan fled into the mountain, and from there migrated into the interior. Because the Israelites had adopted the customs of the Canaanites and scorned their own form of government, the Divine became incensed. Therefore, the king of the Assyrians, Chusarathaim [44], makes war upon them and imposes heavy tributes, by which they were oppressed for eight years. Then a certain active man from the tribe of Judah, named Othniel, having recruited a few companions in accordance with a divine oracle, destroyed the Assyrian garrison among them. ^C When more had gathered after this, he defeated the Assyrians in battle and drove them away. Having successfully performed this deed, the command and authority to judge were decreed to him by the people. He held the magistracy for fifty years, and when he finished his life with death: the Israelites, being without a magistrate and living without fear of the Divine, were subjugated by Eglon, king of the Moabites, and were forced to pay annual tributes. Having built a palace in Jericho, he harassed them in various ways for eighteen years. A certain young Benjaminite, Aoth by name (Josephus claims he was called Jude), a confident and robust man, insinuated himself into Eglon’s familiarity, frequenting his court and binding the man to himself with flatteries. ^D Having once gone to him with two servants, bringing gifts to Eglon, he secretly carried daggers; and when it was midday, and the guards had departed to their own quarters, having found him alone, he entered by virtue of his familiarity, and having led him aside as if to speak of something secret, he slew the tyrant with an opportune blow. Having departed from Jericho,

^A he persuaded them to assert their liberty. And while they were arming themselves, those who were around Eglon, finding him dead, turned to flight and were destroyed by those pursuing them. And thus were the Hebrews delivered from the servitude of the Moabites. Governance of the multitude having been entrusted to Aod, he led the people for eighty years and then brought his life to a close. After him, Megar, the son of Dinach, having ruled, perished in the first year of his reign, having struck down many of the foreigners.

XXIII

After this, the Midianites with the Amalekites and the Arabs routed the Israelites in battle. And for seven years, as they beset them, there was famine and a lack of the necessities ^D of life, and they besought God. Now Gedeon, being of the tribe of Manasseh, was threshing sheaves of grain in a winepress in secret, and he saw someone in the guise of a youth standing by him, and calling him "friend of God" and "blessed." But he, speaking ironically, said that the proof of his blessedness was that he was using a winepress instead of a threshing floor. And the youth exhorted him to be of good courage and to make haste on behalf of the liberty of his tribesmen. Gedeon implored the one who appeared to him not to depart from thence. And he went in and brought a sacrifice. And the angel commanded him to place it by the rock. And having touched the rock with his staff, fire ignited spontaneously and consumed the sacrifice. Then Gedeon asked God that on the [fleece of wool] there should be dew, and it came to pass. And again he asked that the earth should be wet with dew, but that the fleece should remain dry; and so it was done. Gedeon therefore obeyed, and armed ten thousand men against the enemies, and by the command of God, led them at midday to the river: and those who had drunk by lapping and hastening (these were three hundred), them—leaving the others—he [led] against

the fleece to become dew, and it became so. And again he asked for dew to occur upon all the ground, but for there to be dryness upon the fleece; and it happened thus. Gideon is therefore persuaded, and he armed himself with ten thousand men against the adversaries. Then, at the command of God, he leads them all at noon to the river. And he took with him those who had lapped while drinking, and those who drank with haste like terrified men ^A (four hundred were these), and he departed for the war. The rest he left behind. By night, having taken one of the soldiers, he went down to the adversary's camp. And he hears one of the enemy telling his tent-mate that he had seemed to see in his sleep a barley loaf rolling through the camp, which cast down the king's tent and the tents of the army; and that he interpreted the dream as signifying the destruction of the army, likening Gideon and those with him to a barley loaf because of their fewness and weakness. Having heard these things, Gideon took heart. And having returned, he commanded his own men to be under arms. And having divided the army into three hundreds, he ordered each to carry an empty pitcher, and a burning torch, and a ram's horn. And at the fourth watch of the night, he led them out against the adversaries. And being already near them, they sounded with the horns, and smashed the pitchers, and rushed forward with the torches, shouting aloud. These things cast terror upon the enemies. And some were slain by the adversaries, but the greater number destroyed ^B one another, it being night. And almost all perished, as well as two of their kings, Oreb and Zeeb. The remaining commanders and members of the army who fled were caught by Gideon and those with him, and all fell. Gideon held the rule for forty years, and died an old man, leaving seventy legitimate sons from various wives, and one from a concubine, named Abimelech. He, having killed all his brothers, except Jotham who had fled, seized the tyranny. The Shechemites, having moved to sedition, drive Abimelech from the city. He, assisted by the work of one citizen, captured the city by guile, and having killed all the males, he leveled it to the ground. He also captured another city, Thebez, at the first assault. The urban multitude fled with difficulty into a tower situated in the middle of the city. As Abimelech threatened its gates, a woman dropped a fragment of a millstone upon his head and killed him. The leadership of the Hebrews was entrusted to Jair, who happened to be from the tribe of Manasseh. He governed for twenty-two years and died. Afterwards, the Ammonites along with the Philistines plundered the country. And when the Ammonites were ravaging the Gileadite land, the local inhabitants chose Jephthah as leader. As he was about to engage with the enemies, he made a vow that, if he should be victorious, he would sacrifice whatever first met him on his return.

And having joined battle, he was victorious. As he was returning, his only daughter met him, and she was still a virgin. He lamented, but in order not to break his promise, he sacrificed the girl and offered her as a whole burnt offering. When those of the tribe of Ephraim were angry with him, because he had not taken them along for the war against the Ammonites, since he could not persuade them by making excuses, he slew many who fought against him; and having completed ^A his leadership for eight years, he ended his life. Then Abdon, from the tribe of Ephraim, took over the leadership, and having judged Israel for eight years, he died. And after him, Abdon, from the tribe of Ephraim, proceeded to be proclaimed leader. And he died in old age, having reigned for eight years.

XXIV. Next, the Philistines held the Israelites in subjection and kept them as tributaries for forty years. At this time, Samson was born (the name is significant of strength) and began to harass the Philistines. The account of his entry into life happened as follows: Manoah, a man of the tribe of Dan, had a barren wife, and they both prayed to God that a child might be given to them. Once, when she was alone, a great and handsome youth appeared to the woman, ^B announcing to her the birth of a child, and commanded her neither to drink wine nor any strong drink, and not to cut the child's hair. He said that the child would be a Nazirite to the Lord, that is to say, holy, and that through him Israel would be saved from the hand of the foreigners. She reported these things to her husband. And as he longed for Him who had appeared to the woman to appear to him as well, he prayed to God. Then the angel came again to the woman. But Manoah was away from her. The woman waited for him and entreated the presence of her husband. When Manoah came, he asked the angel what they should do regarding the child who was to be born. He said, "He shall not drink wine, nor strong drink, nor shall he eat anything unclean, and his hair shall not be shorn." Manoah asked the name of him who was speaking to him, but he, saying that it was wonderful, kept it silent. ^C Manoah brought a kid and sacrificed it, and offered loaves. He ordered him to place the meat and the loaves upon the rock. When they were placed, he touched them with his staff, and fire, ignited from there, consumed them; and through that flame the angel ascended into heaven, while Manoah and his wife looked on.

After this, the boy was born, and he was named Samson. He grew up, and the Spirit of the Lord went with him. Having seen a girl of the foreigners in the city of Timnah of the Philistines, he fell in love with the girl. Although his parents declined the marriage with the foreigner, he insisted on marrying her. As he was frequently going to the girl's parents, he encountered a lion. And having no weapon for defense, he tore the beast apart with his hands, ^D and turning aside from the road, he cast it toward the thicket. And after some days, again journeying toward his betrothed, he found a swarm of bees gathered in the mouth of the lion. And having taken a honeycomb from there, he ate it, and brought some to his father and mother. And having gone to the foreigners, he proposed a riddle to the thirty youths feasting with him at the wedding; and he agreed that if they should find the solution within seven days, he would give a linen cloth and a garment to each of them; but if they should not be able to solve the riddle, a garment and a linen cloth were requested from each of them. When the youths had agreed, he put forth the question, saying: "Out of the eater

^A came forth meat, and from the strong came forth sweetness." They, not being able to understand the riddle, besought the girl to learn it from her husband and report it to them. Sampson at first resisted, though she entreated him to tell her the meaning of the riddle. But when she wept, he told her the whole thing. And she reported it to the youths. And on the seventh day they said to Sampson: "What is sweeter than honey? or what is stronger than a lion?" Sampson was then angered, and he gave to the youths what he had promised, but he renounced the marriage. And the father gave the young woman to another. Sampson, provoked by this, caught three hundred foxes, and tied burning torches to their tails, and let them loose into the fields of the Philistines, the summer being at hand. And thus he burned their standing grain and their vineyards. The Philistines, in retaliation for this, burned his former wife and her relatives in the fire. Sampson, having killed many of the foreigners, sat upon a rock; and they campaigned against the Israelites, saying: "If you wish to be innocent, deliver Sampson into our hands." And three thousand armed men went to the rock. Sampson, coming down, voluntarily surrendered himself to his tribesmen. And they bound him and delivered him to the Philistines. But he broke the bonds, and having snatched up the jawbone of an ass that was lying there, he killed a thousand of the foreigners with it, and put the rest to flight; ^B whence that place was called "Jawbone" from that time. Then he thirsted so much that he was failing from thirst, and he wept, beseeching God. And God caused a spring of water to gush forth from the fissure which Sampson had made by throwing the jawbone against the ground. And he went away to Gaza. The Gazites lay in wait for him; and so that he might not escape them, they closed the city gates. But he, rising about midnight, took up the gates, and their thresholds and doorposts upon his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the mountain, and set them down there. Having fallen in love with a Philistine harlot named Dalida, he lived with her. The leaders of the foreigners promised much to the woman if she would learn from Sampson the cause of such strength and report it to them. She variously tempted the man, seeking to know whence he had such strength. But he, feigning other reasons at different times, spoke to the woman. And the woman, testing his words, found them all to be false. But as she pressed him and begged him more warmly, he revealed the secret to her: saying that by the command of God he had to grow his hair, for He had forbidden him to cut it; and that in this his strength resided. ^C The woman cut his hair while he was sleeping, and delivered him as a weakling to his enemies. They put out the man’s eyes, and he who had formerly been formidable was kept for their sport. In the course of time, his hair grew again, and his strength returned. When the Philistines were drinking, and their leaders and magnates were feasting together in a house supported by columns, Sampson was also brought by a boy to be mocked. A multitude of about three thousand men and women gathered by the house to witness the mockery of Sampson. As he was being insulted with jeers and struck with slaps, he ordered the boy who was guiding him to lead him to the columns: "So that, being weary," he said, "I may lean upon them and rest." Then, having dislodged the two columns, he brought down the building, by the ruin of which he himself and all who were in it were crushed. And such an end he had, having held judgment over the Israelite people for twenty years. ^D

XXV. Of the Judges, and of Ruth and Boaz, and of the High Priest Eli

^B XXV. No longer did Judges lead Israel, but the high priest Eli presided over them, during whose time a famine occurred. A certain man, Abimelech by name, from Bethlehem, emigrated with his wife and two sons to the land of Moab because of the famine. There he betrothed Moabitish wives to his sons, and within ten years, he died together with his sons. His widow, the wife Noemis, was left behind, along with both daughters-in-law of her sons, Orpha and Ruth. Noemis returned to her homeland, and of her daughters-in-law, Orpha, upon the advice of her mother-in-law, remained among the Moabites. But Ruth went with Noemis. And when they had already arrived in Bethlehem, Boaz, who was a kinsman of Abimelech, took them in. Being addressed by the citizens by her name, the woman said, "Call me not Noemis, but call me Mara (for Noemis signifies happiness, but Mara signifies pain and bitterness); for I went out full, but I have returned empty." At the time of the harvest, Ruth, according to the advice of her mother-in-law, went out to glean in the field of Boaz. He, having seen the maiden and learned who she was, permitted her to glean whatever she could and carry it away, and ordered the steward to provide her with a meal. And she, having also received grain from him, kept some for her mother-in-law. And she went home in the evening, carrying the barley which she had gathered, and reported to her how she had been treated by Boaz, and she went out again with the maidservants of Boaz. But Noemis devised a plan for Ruth to lie down with him, and she sent her daughter-in-law, having instructed her to lie down at the feet of the man as he slept on the threshing floor. And she did so. Boaz, feeling something about the middle of the night, asked who it was; and having learned, he was quiet for that time; but in the morning, having awakened Ruth, he ordered her to depart to her mother-in-law. "I myself," he said, "will question him who is of closer kin to you than I; and if he wishes to take you, you shall go to that man; but if he refuses, you shall lawfully be married to me." So the woman went away and declared everything to Noemis. And Boaz gathered together Ruth and the kinsman before the elders, and said to him: "Do you hold the inheritance of our kinsman Abimelech and his sons?" And upon his agreeing that he held it because of the relationship according to the law, Boaz said, "Then the laws must not be observed by half, but one must comply with them in all things; therefore, you must take as a wife the woman of Mallon, son of Abimelech, so that you may raise up seed to your kinsman." But he refused, yielding to him both the inheritance and the woman. Therefore, according to the law before the elders, Ruth unloosed the man’s sandal ^C and spat in his face. And thus Boaz took her, and she bore him Obed (which name signifies "serving"). From Obed was born Jesse, and from him David, who reigned over the people of Israel and left the dominion to his sons, propagated to the twenty-first generation. But of Eli, who, as we have said, governed the people, there were two sons, men wicked and covered in every kind of crime, Ophnis and Phinees; and they were not moved in the least by their father’s admonitions. God, angered by their iniquity, signaled through Samuel, while he was still a boy, the calamities impending upon Eli himself, his children, and his house. Now Samuel was the son of the Levite Elcana, who had two wives, Anna and

Fhenanpam: of whom the latter had borne children to Elcana, but Anna had not. When her husband traveled up to Silo with his wives, and when the religious rites were completed and the time for the feast arrived, and the children of Phenenna sat nearby, Anna lamented her childlessness; and hastening into the tabernacle of the Lord, she prayed to God that He might give her children, vowing that she would consecrate her firstborn to God. While she was lingering in prayer, Eli, sitting before the tabernacle and thinking her to be drunk, ordered her to leave. But she said: "I have drunk neither wine, my lord, nor any other intoxicating thing, but I am pining away in the sorrow of my childlessness." Then the priest said: "Go, and may God grant you your petition." Having returned home with her husband, she conceived, and gave birth to Samuel, whom one might call "Deo-plaitos" (beseeded by God). When the boy was already somewhat grown, she brought him to Eli according to her vow, to be educated for God, letting his hair grow long, living his life in the house of God, and using water for his drink. Being twelve years old, he began to prophesy. And at a certain time, as he was sleeping, he was called by name by God. He went to the high priest as if he had been called by him; and this happened three times. Then Eli, understanding that the calling was from God, ordered Samuel, if he should be called again, to say: "Speak, Lord, for thy servant hears." When the boy had done so, He who had called said to him that a great disaster was impending over the Israelites, that the sons of Eli would die together, and that the priesthood would pass over to the house of Eleazar. Although Samuel was unwilling to reveal these words to the priest, yet being compelled by oaths, he recounted everything just as he had heard.

^C XXVI. Then the Philistines made war upon the Israelites and came out superior in the battle. The people demanded that the Ark be brought to their aid. When it was sent there with the sons of Eli, the battle was renewed, the Hebrews were routed, and about thirty thousand fell, among whom were the sons of the high priest; and the Ark also fell into the hands of the enemies. Eli the high priest, who was sitting upon a high chair, upon learning of the slaughter of the army, the killing of his sons, and the capture of the Ark, fell from his chair out of grief and died, being ninety years old, having ruled the people for forty years. The foreigners brought the Ark into the city of Azotus and consecrated it to Dagon (for so they called their god). In the morning, having entered into the temple of Dagon, they found the statue cast down upon the ground before the Ark, and having lifted it up, they returned it to its pedestal. But as they found this happening more often, and as many times as they set up the idol, they found it cast down in the posture of one worshipping the Ark, they were amazed and perplexed. After this, a plague invaded the city and territory of the Azotians; for both men were afflicted about their seats (Josephus says it was dysentery), and many citizens died, and mice sprang from the earth to devastate all the fields. Finally, late in time, they realized that the Ark was the cause of their evils.

^A to the Azotians, and they sent it to Ascalon, and those people suffered the same. And thus the Ark passed through five cities of the Philistines, and it brought harm to them all. The magistrates of what are called the five cities then gathered—of Geth, Accaron, Ascalon, Gaza, and Azotus. And some recommended one thing regarding the Ark, and others another. At last it seemed best to all to make five golden seats and as many golden mice and place them upon the Ark, and to construct a new chariot, and to yoke to the chariot cows that had first given birth, but to keep their calves, and having placed the Ark upon the chariot, to take the cows away and leave them at a crossroads, so that in the direction they set out, it might be clear where they were to go. And if they were to go straight toward the Israelites, they were to deem that the evils were brought upon them on account of the Ark, and not to obstruct their journey to those people. But if they were to turn elsewhere, the cows and the chariot and what was upon it were to be turned back. Having thus carried out the things that were decided, they let the cows go, following from afar themselves so that they might see what would come to pass. But the cows went straight toward the Hebrews, and did not stop until they arrived at a large plain ^B at Bethsames. When the men of that village saw the Ark, they rushed toward it; and having taken it down from the chariot, they sacrificed the cows, and with the wood from which the chariot was constructed, they burned them as a whole burnt offering. The Philistines, having seen this, returned home. But God, being angry at those who had touched the Ark, since they were profane, brought death upon them. The rest informed the common assembly of the Hebrews about the Ark; they took it and brought it to Cariathiarim, and placed it in the house of Aminadab (this man was of the Levitical tribe). And it remained there twenty years, though it had been with the aliens for four months. ^C Now Samuel the prophet, already having a great name and enjoying great authority, gathered the people and spoke to them about defending their liberty, and persuaded them to lay claim to it. When the Philistines learned of this, they came against the Hebrews unexpectedly. And they terrified them, so that they ran to Samuel, saying that their salvation was despaired of, unless he himself should entreat divine aid for them. And he bade them be of good courage, and assured them that God would defend them; and having sacrificed a lamb, he prayed to God. And not yet had the flame consumed the sacrifice of the holy rite, when the enemy attacked the Hebrews, thinking they could more easily overcome them as they were unarmed. But as the earth was shaken by God, and thunders were unleashed, and lightnings were flashed forth, the enemy fell into a cowardice and turned to flight. Samuel and the multitude pursued them and slew many, and after this defeat they no longer campaigned against the Israelites, but Samuel also recovered the land which they had taken from the Hebrews. Thus he judged the people and ruled them. ^D

XXVII.

^A The people, taking this ill, gathered to Samuel and said, "Since you are not able, by reason of age, to preside over us, appoint for us a king who shall lead the nation and battle against our enemies." When Samuel was distressed at these words, God said to him, "It is not you whom the people have rejected, but me. Listen to them, therefore, and I will reveal to you whom you shall anoint as king over them." Having gathered the Hebrews, Samuel agreed to appoint a king for them. He prophesied to them, however, that they would repent and would eventually seek from God ^B to be rid of their kings. But they pressed him, seeking a king, and begged him not to be concerned about the future. The Prophet said, "Depart now, and when I have learned whom God gives us as king, I will send for you." Now there was a certain Benjamite (Cis was the man's name) who had lost his donkeys and sent his son, who was large and handsome—he was called Saul—to search for the donkeys, along with one of his servants. Having gone around and searched, and not finding them, he arrived at Armathaim to Samuel, intending to inquire about the donkeys. God therefore revealed to Samuel that this was the one he wished to rule over the people of the Hebrews. When Samuel was asked about the donkeys, he told him they were safe. And having hosted Saul, he sent him off in the morning. And walking with him outside the city, and having taken the young man aside, he poured oil upon his head. ^C And having kissed him, he said, "The Lord has anointed you as ruler over His people Israel. And let this be a sign of the anointing: that upon meeting you by the tomb of Rachel, two men will congratulate you on the finding of the donkeys." He also told him other signs of his truthfulness, and that he would prophesy at Gabatha, having come among the prophets there. And he commanded him to come to Galgala when sent for by him. He then assembled the people and ordered the tribes to cast lots so that it might be revealed from which one the king would be. The lot fell upon the tribe of Benjamin, then upon the clan of Battari. When the lot was cast man by man of the clan, it fell upon Saul. As he could not be found when sought, Samuel was informed by God where he was hidden; and being brought forward, he set him in the midst. And he was of tall stature, and stood head and shoulders above all. ^D And the prophet said to the multitude, "This is he whom the Lord has anointed as your king, to whom there is no likeness among you all." The people cheered and said, "Long live the king!" Thus, once Saul had become king, many respected him as king and honored him as was fitting, but many also despised and mocked him. After a month, Naas, king of the Ammanites, besieged Jaben of Galaad, saying he would spare the men on no other condition than that each would let him gouge out his right eye. They sought a truce of seven days; having obtained this, they sent messengers into Galaad. Upon hearing the words of the Ammanite, the people mourned, but Saul, stirred by a great rage, sent two oxen cut into pieces throughout all the borders of the Israelites, threatening that he would treat in the same manner those who did not come to beat back the Ammanites. A gathering of the people having taken place, and a count being made, some seven hundred thousand men were found; and Saul, filled with the divine spirit, predicted that the inhabitants of Jaben would be saved on the next day. And having marched all night with the army, about the first watch he arrived at the Ammanites.

having divided his army into three parts. And having surrounded them, he killed many, including even the king Nahas themselves; but those who were saved, he put to flight, and having invaded their land, and taken much spoil, he returned brilliantly. He was no longer thought little of by some, but was renowned for his courage, and was honored even by those who had previously mocked him. Samuel, having again gathered the people, twice declares Saul king, having anointed him with oil once more. Thus the polity of the Hebrews shifted from an aristocracy into a kingdom; for under Moses and Joshua they were governed by an aristocracy; then, for eighteen years, they remained without a leader; subsequently, they were governed by those called Judges, with the sum of judicial decisions and all affairs entrusted to one of the best men. ^B

XXVIII. Samuel further binding the people by an oath to say if he had committed any injustice against them, all shouted that he had ruled the nation righteously and well. But he answered them: "Know," he said, "that you have sinned greatly by demanding a king for yourselves, and by this act you have provoked God. This shall be a sign to you, that in the height of summer a storm will arise." And without delay, thunder and lightning, as the Prophet had said, broke forth, and hail descended, so that the people, struck with fear, begged Samuel to entreat God for the forgiveness of their sins. When the Philistines were subjugating the Hebrews, and stripping them of their arms, and forbidding them the use of iron, Saul descended to Galgala and stirred up the people to rise up for their freedom against the Philistines; but they were fearful because of the multitude of the enemy. The king called Samuel to him, ^C and he promised to arrive after six days, in order that on the seventh day, after the divine sacrifice, they might join battle with the enemies. But Saul, seeing the people slipping away and abandoning him, offered the sacrifice. When he heard that Samuel was just arriving, he went out to meet him. And he said, "What is this that you have done, having violated my command? Know, therefore, that your kingdom shall not stand, but the Lord will seek a man after his own heart." And Samuel departed. Saul and Jonathan his son came to Gabaon, with six hundred soldiers. The foreigners, having divided themselves into three parts, were plundering the land of the Israelites. But Saul and Jonathan and the high priest Achia, seeing from a height what was happening, and being unable to offer help because of their small numbers, were distressed. Jonathan, without consulting his father, ^D and descending from the hill with only his armor-bearer, said, "Let us attack the camp of the enemies; and if they say to us, 'Depart,' we will not go up to them. But if they command us, 'Come up to us,' those words shall be taken as a signal of victory." And so he is carried toward the camp of the enemies. "Come up to us," they said, "for we have something to discuss with you." That voice strengthened the courage of Jonathan, and departing from there, he crept from another direction with his attendant, and the sleeping enemies

^A he attacked, and killed about twenty. He struck such fear into the rest that, thrown into confusion and fleeing, they destroyed one another. Saul, seeing the camp of the enemy in disorder, and noticing that his son together with his armor-bearer was missing, he himself also made an assault upon the bewildered adversaries; and those who before had been hiding out of fear, taking heart, joined themselves to the king, and while pursuing the enemies, they destroyed them. Saul then cursed his men if anyone should taste food before nightfall, with the slaughter of the enemies interrupted. During the pursuit, Jonathan, ignorant of his father’s curse, when he came into a wood where there was a beehive, ate of an honeycomb; for he had not heard of his father’s curse. ^B Desiring to attack the camp of the adversaries, Saul asked God through the high priest whether He would grant victory; but when God did not reveal anything, he sought the author of the divine offense; and, "I swear," he said, "by God Himself, that I will kill the one who has sinned, even if it be my son Jonathan." Lots were cast, and Jonathan was designated, who, being asked what he had done wrong, said that he was not conscious of any sin, except that the day before, ignorant of his father’s curse, he had tasted of the honeycomb in the course of the pursuit. His father, having heard this, swore that he would kill him. The people, on the contrary, swore that they would not allow the author of the victory to be put to death; and having rescued him, they appeased God with prayers. Saul, having killed about sixty thousand of the Philistines, returned; and having subdued the Ammonites, ^C Moabites, Philistines, Idumeans, and Amalekites, and the king of Soba, he delivered the Israelites from the hand of the foreigners.

XXIX. Saul had three sons, Jonathan, Jesus, and Melchisus; and two daughters, Meroba and Melchol. He had made Abner, the son of his kinsman Ner, commander-in-chief. Samuel had said to Saul that God commanded him to strike Amalec, and, having gained victory, to spare no one—not women, not infants, not beasts of burden, not flocks—but to blot out their name from the earth. Therefore, Saul, having engaged with the Amalekites, conquered the enemies and killed them all. But ^D Agag, the king of that land, he did not kill, having been brought into his power, but out of admiration for his form and stature, he spared him; and he also kept the herds, the flocks, and other choice things, forgetful of the divine command. Then Samuel, instructed by God, who said that He repented [(49)] that He had made Saul king, met the king. He said that he thanked God, by whose gift he had vanquished the enemies and had done all that was commanded. But the prophet said: "I hear the voice of beasts of burden and other flocks. Whence are these?" Saul answered that the people had saved them for a sacrifice to God, but that all the Amalekites had been destroyed, except for their king. To these words Samuel said: "Since you have not obeyed the commands of God, know that you shall lose the kingdom." But he, having confessed that he had sinned, begged the Prophet that through sacrifices he might reconcile God to himself.

^A ...said: *And after the sixty-two weeks, the anointing shall be cut off, and judgment shall not be in it.* Instead of this, *The anointing of the high priesthood shall be corrupted.* For because those who were advanced to it were anointed unlawfully, the anointing did not have its proper power, but was corrupted, being destitute of divine grace. Therefore, he also added: *And judgment shall not be in it,* that is to say, they shall not be made high priests according to judgment and examination, but without judgment, either through favor or through money. Since these things were done in this way, the seven weeks also passed, having lasted, in fact, until the Lord's manifestation. The division therefore of the sixty-two weeks and the seven occurred for these reasons. But since, in addition to the seventy weeks mentioned from the beginning, one week still remained, the archangel also spoke of that as follows: *And he shall confirm the covenant with many, one week; and in the middle of the week, sacrifice and libation shall be taken away, and upon these, upon the temple, the abomination of desolation; and until the end of time, an end shall be given to the desolation.* ^B The remaining week, he says, which is after the sixty-nine, shall introduce the new covenant so powerfully that by it the sacrifices and libations are abolished—that is, taken from the midst—in the middle of the week. For after his baptism, Christ, having taught for three years and beyond, and having shown forth signs, thus came to the Passion; and he having been sacrificed for the whole world, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the sacrifice according to the law ceased, and the libation. And although the Jews sacrificed then, as indeed they still sacrifice unlawfully, their sacrifice and libation were rejected.

And in another way, the phrase *He shall confirm the covenant with many* shall be understood as meaning: that week shall make the holy apostles powerful for the preaching. For the archangel appears to divide the week into two: into the time before the Passion and the time after the Passion. For the Lord, having preached for about three years and a half according to the Gospel of the Son of Thunder, and having strengthened his holy apostles in the faith of himself by the truth of his words and by the demonstration of miraculous deeds, thus went forth to the Passion, and accepted the cross, and endured death. Then, for the remainder of the time of the week after his resurrection from the dead and his ascension to the Father's bosom—from which he had never been separated—and the visitation of the Paraclete and the divine inspiration, his holy disciples in Jerusalem, proclaiming the divine Gospel and confirming the preaching with miracles, and drawing multitudes of men to the knowledge of the true God, were scattered to the nations and enlightened them. This, therefore, the archangel, foretelling to the prophet Daniel, said: *He shall confirm the covenant with many, one week*; instead of, *He shall gird many—the disciples, that is to say—with power*, both the time before the Lord's Passion and that after the Passion, during which, at first indeed in Jerusa-

^A And as he was turning away, Saul took hold of his mantle and tore it, striving to detain him. The Prophet said, "Thus the kingdom shall be torn from you, and it shall be given to a man who is just and good." But as the king yet entreated him, he was persuaded and asked that Agag be brought to him; and when he had been slain, he straightway departed to Armathaim. And God instructed him to go to Jesse and to anoint with oil as king one of his sons, whomsoever He should point out to him. And having gone to Bethlehem and performed the sacrifice, he summoned Jesse and his sons. And seeing the firstborn, large and fair, he thought that God was well-pleased with him. But God said, "Do not look upon his appearance, nor upon the stature of his body. For man looks upon the face, but God looks upon the heart." When the other youths of Jesse had also passed by, God was pleased with none of them. ^B And Samuel said, "The Lord has not chosen these. And if there is yet another remaining, let him come." And Jesse said, "The youngest yet remains, pasturing the sheep." The Prophet then commanded that he be called. When David had been summoned—a youth, ruddy, with beautiful eyes and fair in other respects—God revealed to Samuel that he was the one to be anointed. And he, taking the horn of oil, anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and he departed to Armathaim. But the divine Spirit leaped upon David, and from Saul it departed; and an evil spirit accompanied him, choking and distressing the man. It seemed good, then, that someone should be stationed with the king who knew how to play upon the cithara, so that whenever the spirit of distraction fell upon him, he might play on the cithara and soothe the turmoil. ^C Accordingly, David was sent for as such a person; and the youth was greatly beloved by the king and became his armor-bearer. And whenever the evil spirit came upon the king, he would chant over him, and it would depart, and Saul would return to himself. But the Philistines marched against the Israelites. And those from Israel also stood against them, and in the space between the two armies a man of the Philistines stood, Goliath by name, a man powerful and towering over all; for his height was six cubits and a span, and his breastplate weighed five thousand shekels, and his spear was like the beam of a weaver, ^D and the spearhead weighed six hundred shekels. This man, standing in the middle, shouted to the sons of Israel: "Let one of you come down and stand against me; and if he strikes me, we shall be your servants; but if I cast him down, you shall be our slaves." And he did this for forty days continually. David, however, had been sent back by Saul to his father Jesse, and was being sent to the camp to bring provisions for his brothers who were serving in the army. For three of his older brothers were following Saul. When, therefore, he had come to his brothers, Goliath was again demanding, according to his custom, single combat, and was taunting the Hebrews, that no one dared to engage with him. Upon hearing these words, David, indignant, said to those who were present that he himself would fight with him. This having been reported, the king said to David, "No," saying,

the land of Egypt, and lay them waste and bring them to desolation. Having therefore arrayed himself against Arphaxad the Mede, and having mastered him by force, and having taken his other cities, as well as Ecbatana itself, where the kingdom of Arphaxad was—and having captured and killed him—he summoned Holofernes, the commander-in-chief of his own forces, and instructed him to fulfill the oath he had sworn, and to campaign with a heavy force against those who had not wished to ally with him in his invasion against the Medes. He ordered him to preserve those who submitted themselves to him and to leave their cities unravaged, but to show no mercy to those who disobeyed, but rather to put the people to the sword and deliver their cities to plunder and destruction. Thus did Nabuchodonosor command his arch-satrap. Holofernes, having set out and having come against the nations against whom he was sent, disposed of the others according to his instructions. But as he was about to campaign against the Israelites and take up arms against them (for they did not approach him nor submit), he asked who these people were and in whom they trusted that they resisted. And Achior, ^A leader of the children of Ammon, told him of their genealogy, and how they had settled in those cities from the beginning, and [of] the power of their God. Then he added: "Now, therefore, it must be considered, and if they are sinning against their God, we shall go up and make war upon them; but if not this, let my Lord pass them by, lest their God shield them and we be defeated." When Achior had said these things, Holofernes, seized with anger, commanded those who stood by to bind Achior and take him away and deliver him to the children of Israel, that he might be punished, having been captured along with them. And those who seized the man led him away to Bethulia. And the men of the city cast stones and arrows at those approaching. And they threw the bound Achior beneath the hillside and returned. The men of the city, having gone down, released Achior and brought him into their own city, and inquired what had happened, and he recounted everything to them. And they called upon God for defense. Upon the next day, Holofernes led his army against Bethulia, being one hundred and seventy thousand infantry, and twelve thousand cavalry, besides the baggage-train, and he encamped beside it. Then he decided not to fight, but to seize the waters whence they drew, so that, failing by thirst, they might either perish or deliver the city to him. And he stationed a part of his army as guards at the waters. And for thirty-four days, while the enemy sat against them, the water failed them; and the people were gathered to the rulers, and they demanded that he deliver the city to the enemies, and themselves, that they might serve them and live, or, having been slaughtered, might be freed from their pains. And Ozias, the leading man of the city, said: "Stay, brothers, for five days; and if help comes to us from God, it will be well; but if not, I will do according to your counsel."

XII. Now there was in that city a woman ^D named Judith; and the woman was a widow, and she was temperate, and prudent, and beautiful in appearance. Having heard what had been decreed by the people and the rulers, she sent for Ozias and the other rulers of the city. And she reproached them for tempting God, because they said they would deliver the city to the enemies after five days, if within them no help should come to them from God. And while they conceded that she spoke well, they nevertheless set against her the thirst and the violence of the people. Then she, through that night, at the city gates...

"You will not be able to go to battle against this uncircumcised one, for you are still a boy." But David said that he trusted in God, who had strengthened him against the bear and against the lion, when they were coming against his flock and seizing his lambs—which, he said, he had pursued and had recovered the seized animals, and had struck down and destroyed the wild beasts. On account of this, he said, he trusted that He would give him power to strike down the alien and to take away the reproach from the sons of Israel. ^A The king then gave him permission to go and wrapped him in his own armor. But it was a burden to him, and he took them off. Taking up his staff and placing five stones in his scrip, and carrying his sling in his hand, he rushed toward the alien. And the other mocked him and inquired whether he was advancing against a dog with a staff and stones. And David answered that that man was to be considered worse than a dog. But the other, angered and boasting, threatening that he would give his flesh to the birds and to the beasts, rushed against him. David, however, quickened his pace and, placing a stone in his sling, struck the enemy on the forehead. And the blow was powerful, and the alien fell upon his face. Running up, David drew his sword, cut off the head of Goliath, and gathered his armor. By this event, he cast dread into the aliens, and they turned to flight. Saul then led his own army against those who were fleeing, and a great multitude of the Philistines was killed, and more were wounded, and their camp was plundered. David offered the head of Goliath to Saul, and dedicated the sword to God.

XXX. As the army was returning home, the women met it and, dancing, sang that Saul had slain thousands; but the virgins responded that David had destroyed myriads. These words incited Saul to envy, so that he said, "What is lacking to him except the kingdom?" and he regarded David with suspicion. And so, when he was being seized by an evil spirit and David was charming him as usual, he threw his spear against him, and he did this twice. But David withdrew, for the Lord was with him. ^B Fearing him, the king made him a tribune of soldiers so that, going out against the enemies, he might be endangered. But he, being aided by God, prospered. And the people loved him. ^C

A'. As the army was returning, the women met it, and dancing, sang that Saul had slain thousands; the virgins, however, sang in response that David had destroyed myriads. This provoked Saul to envy, and he said, "And what is lacking to him except the kingdom?" And he looked askance at David. And when an evil spirit fell upon Saul and David was singing over him to soothe him, as was his custom, Saul threw his spear at him; and he did this twice. And David moved aside, for the Lord was with him. But the king, fearing him, made him a colonel, so that by going out against the enemies, he might be endangered. But he, having God as his ally, prospered. And the people loved him.

^A First, therefore, Herod examined with tortures as many as he thought were faithful to Alexander, to see if they knew of anything daring committed against him; but they died having nothing to say. One, however, not bearing the tortures, said that Alexander used to speak, while being praised for the size of his body and his marksmanship with the bow and other things, that if any good quality were given him by nature or acquired through training, it turned into a misfortune; for his father was vexed at his good qualities. He added further that he had even plotted with Aristobulus, while out hunting, to kill his father and flee to Rome, intending to lay claim to the kingdom. Letters of Alexander were also found addressed to his brother saying that the father was not acting justly in preferring Antipater. On these charges, he arrested and imprisoned Alexander.

He was eager, however, to obtain a greater proof against his son, so that he would not seem to have imprisoned him rashly. He therefore tortured and put to death many of the men in authority, though they said nothing of the sort he imagined. But when one of the younger men was subjected to these pressures, he said that Alexander used to write to friends in Rome, asking to be called by Caesar, intending to inform him that Mithridates, the king of the Parthians, had made a treaty of friendship with his father against the Romans; and that he even had a poison prepared in Ascalon. Herod considered these things a consolation for his own rashness. The poison, however, was immediately searched for but not found.

Because of the excess of these evils, Alexander, being aggressively disposed and wishing to avenge himself on his enemies so that they would perish along with him, sent a letter to his father saying that there was no need for torture; for the plot had been contemplated, and Pheroras and those of his friends most faithful to him were participants in it; and that Salome had even come into him by night and had intercourse with him against his will; furthermore, that all had come to the same conclusion, so that once he was removed from the middle, they might be rid of the expectation of being perpetually ruined.

^B Archelaus, the king of the Cappadocians, having learned these things, and being anxious for both his daughter and his son-in-law, arrived, and skillfully set about correcting the things that caused grief, condemning the young man, yet calling Herod reasonable, and saying that he would dissolve the marriage. As Archelaus said such things, Herod began to yield in his severity and was moved to grief and tears, and begged him not to dissolve the marriage, but to relax his anger regarding the errors the young man had committed. Archelaus, seeing that Herod was already softened, shifted the accusations onto others, and more specifically onto Pheroras. Pheroras turned to Archelaus, so that he might be a reconciler for him with Herod. And he advised him that it would be better to approach his brother through himself and to implore him, admitting himself the cause of all things; for he would thus soften the hardness of his anger; and he also promised to be present and help. Pheroras was persuaded. And Alexander was absolved of the charges, and Archelaus reconciled Pheroras to Herod.

After a time, however, affairs concerning the children and the house went much worse for Herod. For Eurycles from Lacedaemon, a man not insignificant among those there, but most wicked in his character, having visited Herod, gave him gifts, and having received more in return, became one of the king’s greatest friends. He had his lodging among those of Antipater; but he also approached Alexander, claiming to be acquainted with Archelaus as well, whence he also feigned to honor Glaphyra. To this man, having become familiar, Alexander dramatized his own affairs, and instructed him about his mother, saying that it seemed unbearable. And while he, being in pain, had spoken such words to Eurycles, he reported everything to Antipater. Antipater greeted him with gifts and asked him to relate these words to his father. And he so disposed the king as to make his hatred irreconcilable. And while he departed having received payment, Herod was so enraged against his children that he no longer needed slanders, but he himself scrutinized their affairs and observed every single thing.

Two of the king's bodyguards, having been dismissed because of his anger, began riding with those around Alexander and receiving gifts from him. Herod, therefore, suspecting them, immediately tortured them. At first they held out, but then they reported that Alexander was persuading them to kill Herod as he went hunting. The garrison commander of Alexandreion was also examined, as having promised to receive the youths in the fortress. And he admitted nothing, but his son testified that these things had happened, and delivered letters regarding these matters, as one might guess, in Alexander’s own hand.

^C Herod, therefore, was no longer doubtful about the plot of the children, while Alexander insisted that the short letter had been forged through the machinations of Antipater. At that time, therefore, the youths were held in custody, and they were held in disrepute and fear as condemned men. Aristobulus, thinking that his mother-in-law Salome shared his pain and hated the one who was persuaded of such things, said: "These things foretell danger also for you, as you have been slandered, in the hope of a marriage with Syllaeus." That woman immediately brought these words to her brother. He ordered both his sons to be bound and separated from each other, and for each to write down as much as they had contemplated against their father. They write that they had neither intended nor conspired in any plot against their father, but had contemplated a flight, and this out of necessity, their life being suspect and terrifying to them. At that time, therefore, an envoy coming from Archelaus arrived; he brought out Alexander in chains, and inquired about the flight in the presence of the envoy—where and how they had decided to depart. He said that he had intended to send him from there to Rome having made an agreement, but that he had considered nothing else improper or troublesome against his father.

^A And the king’s daughter, Melchol, loved David. Notice of this love was brought to the king, and he used it as an opportunity for treachery. For he said he would give him his daughter if he brought him a hundred foreskins of the foreigners, thinking that he would fall while fighting them. When David learned of this, he went with his men and struck the foreigners, and brought a hundred foreskins to Saul. Josephus, however, says that David did not bring a hundred foreskins, but six hundred heads of foreigners. And he betrothed his daughter Melchol to him. ^B And seeing David also aided by God and loved by the multitude, he feared him even more and plotted against him, and attempted to kill him. Therefore, he ordered his son Jonathan and his most faithful servants to kill him. But Jonathan, loving David, revealed to him the order, and advised him to be on his guard, promising to speak to his father about him and to reveal everything to him. And indeed he did speak, and turned him toward mildness; for Saul, having changed his mind, swore that he would not harm David. Jonathan, having revealed these things to David, brought him to the king, and he stood by him as before. When the Philistines moved again and advanced upon the Hebrews, David was sent by Saul against them, and he returned after a victory. But by the successes of the man, the envy of Saul against him increased, and when the evil spirit came upon him again and choked him, David was present playing the lyre and soothing him. ^C But Saul, holding the spear, threw it at David. But he, having foreseen it, dodged and withdrew. Saul sent guards by night to David’s house so that he might kill him in the morning. But Melchol, the wife of David, learning of this, let her husband down through a window, and he fled. When Saul sent [men] for David in the morning, Melchol prepared the bed, as if someone were lying in it, and having placed under the coverings the liver of a newly slaughtered goat, so that upon its movement, the shifting covering might give the impression that someone was lying by the bed, she brought in those who had been sent and said the man was sick. They reported this to Saul. ^D And he ordered him to be brought upon the bed. But the messengers who had been sent, having gone and lifted the covering of the bed, perceived the trick, and reported it to the king. Thus David, having escaped death, came to Samuel in Armathaim and spent time with him in Nabioth in Rama. Saul sent men there too to take David. But those who went, finding the assembly of the prophets, also began to prophesy themselves. When the king learned this, he sent others; and when they acted likewise, he sent others. And when those third ones were also seized by the spirit, he himself rushed out in anger and, having approached, began to prophesy himself. At which time those present there uttered the saying, "Is Saul also among the prophets?" Having arrived where Samuel was, as if he had become out of his mind, and having stripped off his clothes, he lay naked throughout the whole day and night.

XXXI. David fled from there and revealed to Jonathan the attempt his father had made against him; but he did not believe it. David asked him to examine the danger from his father’s mind.

^A Now that Antipater had made away with his brothers, the attainment of the kingdom was more laborious for him, as hatred toward him had grown in the nation, and especially in the military. For a time, however, he governed alongside his father and was trusted by him. Herod sent Alexander's wife back to her father, but he reared the children of the deceased with great care. Alexander had two sons by Glaphyra, and Aristobulus had three sons and two daughters by Berenice. To the king there was also born a son, Herod, by the daughter of the high priest. For there lived with the king nine wives, it being a custom to cohabit with several at once. Among them were the mother of Antipater and the daughter of the high priest, from whom, as has been said, a son of the same name as the king was born to him. He also had one wife who was the daughter of his brother, and a cousin along with her—that is to say, a first cousin; for the ancients called first cousins ^B *anepsiai*, as can be found in many places, both in Plutarch and in the legal books. There was among Herod's wives one from the nation of the Samaritans, whose children were Antipas, Archelaus, and their daughter Olympias. Cleopatra of Jerusalem was also numbered among his wives; her children were Herod and Philip. Pallas was also among his consorts, who had borne him a son named Phasael. And in addition to the others, Phaedra and Elpis lived with him. Herod also had two daughters by Mariamne, and by Phaedra and Elpis daughters were born to him, Roxane and Salome.

This, then, was the family of Herod; but matters looked only toward Antipater. And he was fearful to all, not so much by his power as by the wickedness of his character; and especially Pheroras courted him and was similarly courted in return. Salome was opposed to them, behaving toward them in a manner contrary to the meaning of her own name; for while the one (Salome) signified peace and indicated that the one so named should be peaceful, she was nonetheless exceedingly warlike, and incited others to wars, factions, and ^C the alienation of kin. She, observing the intimacy between Antipater and Pheroras, told Herod that their goodwill was to his own detriment. Since they knew of Salome's calumny, they practiced hatred and insults against each other in public, while secretly they maintained their harmony toward one another. But they did not escape the notice of Salome, who scrutinized everything and reported to the king their secret meetings, banquets, and shadow councils. He, too, understood most of these things.

The Pharisees, who held sway over the women’s quarters—men who prided themselves on their precise knowledge of the ancestral law and who opposed the king—they, while everyone else had sworn to be loyal to Caesar and King Herod, refused, being over six thousand in number. Favoring the wife of Pheroras, they predicted to Herod that the end of his reign had been decreed by God, and that it would be distributed to Pheroras and those from him. Nor did these things escape Salome’s malice, and they were immediately reported to the king. Those of the Pharisees who were convicted on these charges were put to death, as was the eunuch Bagoas, and a certain Carus, who was distinguished by the beauty of his body and was a favorite of Herod, as well as others among the king's company, as conspirators.

Then the king, having convened ^D a council, accused the wife of Pheroras and enumerated many charges, and finally, turning his speech toward Pheroras, he said that it was necessary for him to have sent the woman away of his own accord even before this for such reasons. "Now, at any rate, if you value my kinship, desist from living with her." He replied that he would choose to die rather than be deprived of his wife while living. From that point, Herod forbade Antipater and his mother to associate with Pheroras or to meet with his wives. They agreed to this, but they met with one another and caroused whenever there was an opportunity.

Antipater, suspecting his father’s anger, wrote to his friends in Rome to send a letter to Herod requesting that he send Antipater to Caesar. Antipater was therefore sent to Rome with gifts, carrying also a will of Herod that gave the kingdom to him, but if he should happen to die first, it was to pass to Herod, who was born of the daughter of the high priest. Herod ordered Pheroras, if he would not release his wife, to go away. And he departed for his tetrarchy, swearing not to come back before he learned that his brother had died. So much so that, when the king fell ill and he was summoned, he did not obey, in order not to break his oath. Herod, however, later came to Pheroras of his own accord when he fell ill, and honored him when he died.

The death of Pheroras was the beginning of evils for Antipater, for his uncle was avenging him for his fratricide. Two of Pheroras’s own freedmen demanded that Herod not leave his brother’s death unavenged, as he had been destroyed by poison. These claims, seeming credible, stirred the king to an investigation, and women, both bond and free, were tortured. The others endured, keeping silent, but one woman said nothing else but called upon God for Antipater’s mother to fall into such necessities as the cause of these evils. This moved Herod to a greater search; and the women, subjected to even fiercer tortures, made disclosures about the revels, the secret meetings, and the words Antipater had spoken to the wives of Pheroras, his hatred for his father, and his lamentations to his mother that his father’s life was being prolonged for so long that he would not even enjoy the pleasures of the kingdom, if it ever came to him, on account of the old age already pressing upon him; and the women also said many other things attacking the father. Having already convicted Antipater based on these things, the king took away from his mother, Doris, all the finery around her, worth many talents, and sent her away.

^A Jonathan, having brought up the subject regarding David with his father, and having learned that his father’s purpose was thirsting for the man’s life, reported everything to him secretly on his own, and exhorted him to save himself; and he adjured David to remember him and, if he should happen to die, to show some kindness to those from him. Having said these things, Jonathan returned. David went to Nob and arrived before Abimelech the high priest. The latter inquired how he had come alone. And he said, "The king has commissioned me with something secret, and so that no one may know about this, I am here alone; and he ordered me to meet my attendants here." Having said these things, he asked for bread. And the high priest said he had none other than the holy bread. "And if you have kept yourselves from a woman, take these and eat." He also requested that a sword be given to him. The high priest replied that he had no other weapon than the sword of Goliath, which he himself had dedicated to God, and having taken this, David went off to Gath to Achish, king of the Philistines [(50)]. Having been recognized for who he was, and realizing it, he feigned madness, and behaved and acted like a person out of his mind. Thus, having escaped from the Philistines, he arrives in the tribe of Judah, and hides in the cave of Adullam, where his brothers and relatives came to him. Later, others also flocked there to him, so that they all became about four hundred. ^B From there he goes to the land of Moab, and begs the king of Moab to allow his parents to reside with him until his own affairs should come to some conclusion. He complies, and receives Jesse and his house. And David went to the land of Judah, as Gad the prophet had commanded. But Saul, having learned that a multitude had again gathered to David, having called together his friends, reproached them for adding themselves to him. Now a certain Edomite (a man of the tribe of Edom, but the text says 'Syrus' and 'Syrus' in Greek tradition is sometimes used for Edomite/Idumean), Doeg by name, having been present when the high priest gave the bread to David and the sword of Goliath, and having been standing by him then, reported to the king how he saw David arriving to the high priest, and inquiring of God through him, and receiving provisions and the sword. And the king, having sent for the high priest, charged him with conspiracy with David, and commanded the soldiers standing by him to kill the high priest and his whole lineage. Since they were cautious/afraid of laying a hand on those dedicated to God, he entrusts the murders to Doeg. And he killed all of them, being three hundred and five. ^C And he struck their city, having destroyed them all, without sparing women, infants, or any other age. Only one son of the high priest escaped death, Abiathar by name, who, having fled to David, reported what had happened. And when the Philistines had invaded—

I have written to your father the letter you wanted, and after making a copy of the one sent to my mistress, as if sent by Salome, I have dispatched it; I know that when she comes, she will punish Salome. The letter to Herod was as follows: "As I always take care that nothing that happens against you escapes your notice, I found a letter from Salome to my mistress against you, and I have sent you a copy of it, at personal risk to myself, but for your benefit." This Acme was a Jewess by birth, a slave to Julia, the wife of Caesar, and she did these things having been bought with large sums of money by Antipater. Herod immediately set out to slay Antipater as a goad to great affairs, and Salome incited him, beating her breast and demanding that she be put to death if he found any credible evidence against her. Restraining himself, he sent for his son, ordering him to say nothing and feel no suspicion. He, however, laid the responsibility for everything upon Antiphilus. Herod again sent letters to Caesar accusing Antipater, revealing as well how much Acme had been found to have conspired in the wickedness; he also sent copies of her letters.

In the meantime, the king fell into sickness and wrote his will, giving the kingdom to the youngest of his sons, out of hatred for Archelaus and Philip, stemming from Antipater’s calumnies. Having despaired of living any longer, being around his seventieth year, he had become savage; the cause was that he thought he was being held in contempt and that everyone rejoiced at his misfortunes. He had been driven to this by the following events: Many things had been done by Herod against the law, one of which was the golden eagle set up above the great gate of the temple. The law forbids the setting up of images or the practice of depicting animals. Judas and Matthias, most learned of the Jews and popular with the people for their instruction of the youth, ordered this eagle to be torn down. For even if a danger should arise to anyone because of this, they said, that person is blessed for dying on behalf of the laws. While they were inciting the youth with such words, word went around that the king had died. And immediately, in the middle of the day, they pulled down the eagle and hacked it to pieces with axes. Therefore, many of the young men are arrested, as well as Judas and Matthias, the instigators of the daring act and the encouragers of those who carried it out, and they were brought before Herod. He asked if they had dared to take down his dedication. And the men said, "It has been done; and one should not wonder if we prefer the laws which Moses has left us, having been instructed by God, over your decrees." He sent the prisoners to Jericho, and having called those in authority among the Jews, he recalled, while reclining on a small couch, the favors he had conferred upon them and the building of the temple, and he cried out that even while he was still alive they were insulting him by tearing down his dedications, as if to seem to be insulting him, but in truth to be committing sacrilege. Fearing his cruelty, they declared that those who had dared this were worthy of punishment. The king treated the others more mildly, but took the honor of the high priesthood away from Matthias and installed another to perform the sacred rites, Joazar, the brother of his own wife; but he burned Matthias, the one who had stirred up the sedition, and some of the seditious men alive.

However, the disease fastened more severely upon him, as he paid the penalty for his lawless deeds. A slow fire consumed his inner parts, there were ulcerations of the bowels, especially suffering of the colon, and fluid and clear phlegm around his feet, as well as a wretched state of the abdomen and putrefaction of the genitals which bred worms; and in addition to these, there was difficulty in breathing, unpleasant both in its odor and in the persistent asthma, and spasms occurred in every one of his limbs. Yet, even in such a wretched state, he was still in hope of life, not refusing to make use of those who promised healing. Having crossed the Jordan, he made use of the hot baths at Callirrhoe, which are potable along with their other medicinal virtue. There, having been lowered by his physicians into a tub of oil, he appeared to expire. Upon reviving, he was carried off to Jericho, where black bile overcame him above all else. Near death, he devised an unholy act. For by his command, as the most honorable men from every part of the nation had arrived there, he shut them all up in the hippodrome and instructed his sister Salome and her husband Alexas that, whenever he should breathe his last, they were to kill all those who were locked up, saying, "So that the peoples may not rejoice at my death, nor applaud, but that with each mourning their own people, I too may seem to be mourned, and my departure may be honored by many tears." And he enjoined these things weeping and beseeching, and they promised they would not transgress the command.

In the midst of this, letters sent from Rome arrived, revealing that Acme had been put to death and leaving the matter regarding Antipater to the judgment of his father. Upon hearing these things, Herod was pleased and felt some slight relief. But as his pains grew great, he refrained from food, and having asked for an apple and a knife, he meant to kill himself. And he would have carried out his intention, had not someone who had foreseen it held his right hand. And as he cried out loudly, there was wailing and a great tumult, as though the king had passed away. And Antipater, as though the king were already dead, took heart and asked the jailer to release him, promising great rewards.

and were plundering the land, David, at the command of God, came upon them with his four hundred men, and struck them, and brought back all the plunder. Saul, however, sent a multitude of soldiers there to kill him. But he departed from Keilah into the desert. And Saul did not cease seeking to put him to death. Jonathan came to David and exhorted him, and encouraged him to have good hopes. When David fled to the rock in the desert of Maon, and Saul came upon him with a great multitude, David was in danger of being captured, had not an angel told Saul that the Philistines had attacked the land. For, leaving David, he set out against the enemies. Afterwards, it was reported to him that David was encamped in the desert of Gaddi, and he proceeded against him with three thousand men. While on his way, however, he was troubled in his bowels. And there was a cave there, in which David and those with him were hidden in the inner parts. Saul entered this for the purpose of a bowel movement. And David was incited by those with him to kill Saul. But he would not be persuaded; but, having secretly cut off the hem of his cloak, he took it. And after the king had gone out, David went out and shouted behind Saul. And the king looked back at the sound, and David bowed down and said, "Do not believe slanders. Lo, the Lord has delivered you into my hands. For when I cut off the hem of your cloak in the cave, it was easier for me to kill you." And at the same time he showed him the piece, and cried out, "May the Lord judge between me and you." And Saul, being pricked by these things, raised his voice and wept, and said to David, "You are righteous, for I have been the author of evils to you, but you have repaid me with good things. Whence I am persuaded that God is keeping you for the kingship of Israel. Give me therefore pledges that you will not destroy my house, but will preserve my kin." And David swore to Saul, and they went away from one another. ^{B C D} 32. At that time Samuel the prophet also died, a just and good man, who had ruled over Israel after Eli, alone for twelve years, and with Saul for eighteen. And David went away into the desert of Maon, and sent to Nabal the Carmelite, a rich man who was shearing his flocks, and asked that he might share with him and his men, as he saw fit, in return for the protection of his flocks and his shepherds. But Nabal, being a harsh and insolent man, answered David's men inhumanly and impudently, saying, "Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse?" and calling him a fugitive. Upon these things David was angered, and swore to destroy everything belonging to Nabal. And he set out against him with four hundred armed men. But Nabal's wife, being prudent and beautiful, having learned how David had addressed her husband, and how he had kept their property unharmed, and what insulting things Nabal had replied to David—having communicated nothing of this to her husband—having loaded donkeys with gifts of all kinds and many of them, she went out toward David. And having met him, she bowed down. She asked him not to hold a grudge against her husband. For, she said, his understanding is according to his name (for Nabal signifies foolishness), and that he should put away his anger and accept the things brought to him. And he praised the woman and, granting forgiveness, returned. And when the woman returned to Nabal, she revealed to him David's approach; upon hearing which, he was oppressed by such great terror and grief that he cut off his life after the tenth day.

- ^A umphantly they should make their way toward them.

For Judas, the son of the arch-robber Hezekiah, who had been captured by Herod with great effort, gathered a multitude, ran to the royal palace near Sepphoris in Galilee, and by seizing the arms there, he armed those around him and became a terror to everyone. ^B But also Simon, a slave of King Herod, a man of handsome appearance and excelling in the height and strength of his body, being stirred up by the confusion of the times, dared to put on a diadem. And a multitude having gathered around him, he was also proclaimed king himself and set fire to the royal palace in Jericho, as well as others of the royal houses, after plundering what was in them. But Gratus joined battle with him, destroyed the greater part of the multitude with him, and having caught hold of Simon’s head, he cut it off. And other insurgents also arose during that time, harming both the Romans and the royalists. Varus, having learned in Syria of the things concerning Sabinus, hastened to aid those besieged in Judea. ^C When all his force was assembled at Ptolemais, having handed over a certain part of it to his son, he sent him to make war on the Galileans; the latter, having collided with them, prevailed. Varus, advancing with the rest of the army to Jerusalem, threw the besieging Jews into fear; and they left the siege half-finished and went away. When Varus blamed the Jerusalemites for the war, they said that the gathering of the multitude had happened because of the feast, and that the war was from foreigners. And Varus, having sent [soldiers] throughout the country, searched for the causes of the sedition, and finding some, he punished them; for two thousand were crucified. And about ten thousand others surrendered themselves to Varus as he moved against them; he instead sent their leaders to Caesar; Caesar punished only those who, being relatives of Herod, were campaigning with the insurgents.

^D Ambassadors arrived in Rome from Judea, and when Caesar had established a council, the ambassadors, having brought along those of the Jews in Rome, numbering about eight thousand, requested autonomy. And they turned to an accusation of the lawless acts of Herod; for they did not call him king, but a tyrant. For they said that of the many evils which had often happened to the nation, none was equal to the evils brought upon it by him. Supposing, therefore, that everything would be more moderate under the rule of Herod’s son, they had gladly hailed Archelaus as king. But he, fearing that he might not be considered the son of Herod if he appeared gentler to the Jews, made a slaughter of three thousand men in the Temple, and this even before you, Caesar, had confirmed his rule to him. Saying these things, they requested to be delivered from kingship and such-like authorities, and that they should become an appendage of Syria and be subject to the Roman generals stationed there.

Those, therefore, asked for these things, while those around Archelaus, defending themselves, cleared both the kings—I mean the father and the son—of the charges, and blamed the Jews for seditions and revolutions. However, Caesar did not declare Archelaus king, but gave him half of his paternal authority, promising to name him king also if he should rule well; the annual tribute of the region assigned to him was six hundred talents. The other half portion he divided in two and distributed to Antipas and Philip, other sons of Herod; and to Antipas, the assigned region provided a contribution of two hundred talents, while the portion handed over to Philip yielded one hundred talents. To Salome, he gave the things which Herod had left behind and the palace in Ascalon; from the whole, a tribute of sixty talents was brought in for her.

And these things were thus settled; but a certain young Jew settled himself into the relatives of Herod, since he was similar in form to Alexander, the son of Herod who had been killed. And taking along a fellow countryman, a wicked man capable of confounding affairs, he called himself Alexander, the son of Herod, as if, when others who had been sent to kill both brothers had been slaughtered, they themselves had been saved and stolen away. And with such words he deceived those who encountered him, and from there, having collected very much money, he hastened to Rome.

Caesar did not believe that Herod could be easily deceived, but having brought the pseudo-Alexander into his presence, he was not deceived. For he possessed features similar to Herod’s Alexander, but he had been worn down by manual labor, and his body had grown hard, and was not softened by luxury like that of the other. Caesar therefore questioned him about where Aristobulus might be; and when he said that he had been left in Cyprus, so that if any terrible thing should happen to him, the race of Mariamne might not completely perish, Caesar, having taken the pseudo-Alexander aside, encouraged him to tell the truth for the reward of obtaining his life.

He then revealed the scheme to Caesar. And Caesar, seeing him strengthened for manual labor, ordered him to the rowers; the man who was conspiring with him in these matters he put to death. Archelaus, having received the ethnarchy, removed the high priesthood from Joazar, son of Boethus, and substituted his brother Eleazar. And he took to marriage Glaphyra, the daughter of Archelaus, and the wife of Alexander his brother, from whom she also had children, it being forbidden by law to take the wives of brothers who had children from the deceased. And having in a little while cast out Eleazar, he introduced Jesus, the son of See, in his place. And as he was completing his tenth year in office, he was accused before Caesar by his subjects of having handled affairs cruelly and in a totally tyrannical manner.

Having learned of this, David sent word to Abigail, seeking her for himself. She said that she was not worthy to enter into marriage with such a man; nevertheless, she went, and David took her as his wife. ^A Saul, however, still continued to plot against him, and with three thousand chosen men he encamped near the hill of Hachilah, where David was staying with his four hundred men. At night, David himself and Abishai went to Saul’s camp, and they entered the place where Saul was sleeping. Though Abishai was eager to slay him, David did not permit it. Taking the king’s spear and the water jar, they departed without anyone noticing, even though Abner, the commander of his army, and many others were lying around the king. Having ascended to the top of the mountain, David cried out to Abner: "Why do you not guard the king? For behold, someone has entered to kill him, and you did not know it. Search, therefore, for the spear and the water jar, and [see] what danger has passed you by." Saul, recognizing David’s voice, and [seeing] how he had spared him a second time when he could have killed him, confessed that he had sinned and was afflicted by an error of mind; he bade David to be of good courage and to return to his own house. But he replied, "May the Lord reward each one according to his righteousness and his faithfulness." And David departed with his six hundred men to Achish, the king of Gath, and stayed there for four months. ^C When the Philistines wished to make war upon Israel, Achish said to David, "Will you go out with me to war, you and your men?" And he promised him readily that he would fight alongside him. When the foreigners had already entered the territory of the Israelites, Saul was troubled, and he inquired of God whether he should fight; and when [God] did not answer, he sought a ventriloquist. He went to her disguised, so that he might not be recognized, and asked to have the soul of Samuel raised up for him. When he appeared, summoned by certain incantations, Saul said: "I am greatly distressed, because the foreigners have gathered against me, and the Lord has departed from me." The apparition of Samuel answered: "The Lord has done to you what he announced through me, removing the kingdom from you and giving it to David, and subjecting the people to the enemies. And both you and your sons shall fall tomorrow." Upon hearing this, Saul was filled with great sorrow and departed. ^D The foreigners had set up their camp, and David and his six hundred men were behind them. But this alliance did not please the satraps, and they argued that there was reason to fear that he might inflict some slaughter upon them in the battle by joining his own countrymen. And they demanded that he be sent away.

^A During his time, Caesar, the autocrat of the Romans, died, having reigned for fifty-seven years, six months, and two days; of which time Antony ruled with him for fourteen years, so that the time of his monarchy was forty-three years, or according to some, forty-four. He lived for seventy-seven years.

The monarchy was transferred to Tiberius, the son of Caesar’s wife, Julia. Under him, Valerius Gratus was sent to Judea as governor. He deposed Ananus from the high priesthood and appointed Ishmael, the son of Phabi; not long after, he removed him as well and bestowed the honor of the priesthood upon Eleazar, the son of Ananus, and after a year, he introduced Simon, the son of Camithus, in his place. Joseph, called Caiaphas, was the successor to him, who had served for an equal amount of time. And Gratus, having governed Judea for eleven years and having done these things, returned to Rome; and Pontius Pilate arrived, having taken up the governorship.

Herod the tetrarch, who was a friend to Tiberius before his rule, after the monarchy, built a city named after himself in Galilee on the Lake of Gennesaret, calling it Tiberias. ^B Pilate, having moved his army from Caesarea to winter in Jerusalem, brought ensigns into the city by night which bore the images of Caesar, although the law forbids the Jews from having images. When the deed was known, a multitude rushed to Caesarea, requesting the removal of the images, and they held vigils for five days for this cause. When Pilate would not grant it, as though Caesar were being insulted thereby, and the multitude would not cease their requests, on the sixth day he surrounded them with armed soldiers and threatened them with death if they did not cease their clamor. They threw themselves prostrate and said that they would gladly receive death. Pilate, having marveled at their nobility and readiness in observing their laws, immediately sent the images back to Caesarea.

Having undertaken the construction of an aqueduct into Jerusalem, he spent sacred funds upon this. Therefore, many gathered and cried out against Pilate, demanding that he cease, and some even used insults against him. He ordered a multitude of soldiers, who were dressed in Jewish garments and carried clubs beneath their garments, to surround the agitators, and thus he commanded the Jews to withdraw. When they began to shout insults, he gave the signal to the soldiers, and they punished the agitators with blows. They, being unarmed and being struck, did not think of giving in; rather, many fell, and the others went away wounded.

At this time, our Lord and God Jesus Christ also appeared in Judea, concerning whom Josephus says these words verbatim in the eighteenth book of the *Antiquities*: ^C "At this time there appeared Jesus, a wise man, if indeed it is fitting to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of men who receive the truth with pleasure; and he drew to himself many Jews and many also of the Greek nation. This was the Christ. And when Pilate had condemned him to the cross on the accusation of the leading men among us, those who had loved him at the first did not cease; for he appeared to them on the third day again living, as the divine prophets had told these and ten thousand other wonderful things about him. And even now the tribe of the Christians, named from this one, has not died out." ^D Josephus wrote these things when recording history concerning Christ; but in his discourse to the Greeks, which is inscribed *Against Plato on the Cause of the Universe*—of which the holy John of Damascus has also made mention in the book he composed called *Parallels*—he says these things: "For all, both just and unjust, shall be led before the Word of God. For to him the Father has given the judgment, and he, fulfilling the counsel of the Father, comes as judge, whom we address as Christ. For Minos and Rhadamanthus are not judges according to you, Greeks, but rather him whom God and the Father has glorified; concerning whom we have discoursed more minutely in other places to those seeking the truth. This one, making the just judgment of the Father for each, will prepare the just portion for all according to their works. Standing before whose judgment, all men and angels and demons shall utter one voice, saying thus: 'Just is your judgment.' The recompense of which voice brings the just portion upon both; for to those who have done well, it justly provides eternal enjoyment, and to those who are lovers of base things, it distributes eternal punishment. And for these, the fire remains unquenchable and unending, and a certain fiery worm that does not die nor corrupt the body, but remains, surging from the body with ceaseless pain." And he says other things in addition to these.

So, therefore, Josephus has written concerning Christ. Now at that time in Rome there was a certain Paulina, both distinguished by the nobility of her lineage and adorned by the excellence of her character, and she possessed wealth in abundance. Being also graceful in appearance and in the prime of life in which women glory, she was adorned with temperance. She lived with Saturninus, a man who lacked nothing compared to her in any of the virtues. Decius Mundus, being of great rank among the knights of that time, was captivated by love for her and attempted to win her with gifts; for he offered two hundred thousand Attic drachmas for one night of union. She, however, would not endure it. And he became more inflamed with love, so that by abstaining from food he betrothed himself to death. There was a freedwoman of his father’s, called Ide, skilled in all kinds of wickedness.

And Achish, obeying the satraps, ordered David ^A to depart. And he went away with those who were with him. And he found Ziklag, which Achish had given to him for a habitation, burned, and his wives both, and as many as were there, taken captive by the Amalekites. And David and those with him lamented over this. And he asked God through the high priest Abiathar if he should pursue after them; and God allowing it, he pursued with the four hundred. But he had left the two hundred to guard the baggage. And finding them scattered, eating and drinking, and suddenly falling upon them, except for the four hundred who fled on camels, he slew all and recovered the entire booty. And the four hundred who were with David returning, they did not wish to share the spoils with the two hundred. They argued that it was sufficient that their wives had been saved. But David judged this opinion unjust, and declared that the benefit ought to be shared equally among all. And the law from that time has stood, commanding that the spoils be divided equally among the combatants and those guarding the baggage. And war having broken out between the Israelites and the Philistines, very many of the Hebrews fell, and the three sons of Saul also fell, and Saul himself was wounded in the hypochondria. And knowing he was mortally struck and would not live, he told his armor-bearer to pierce him, so that he would not be taken alive by the enemies. And as he would not obey to do what was commanded, he himself fell upon his own sword and died. And his armor-bearer, as he saw the king fallen, he also killed himself. But on the following day, as the foreigners were despoiling the fallen Israelites, they fell upon the corpses ^B of Saul and his children in the mountains of Gilboa, and cutting off their heads, they sent them into their own country, exhibiting them everywhere and proclaiming the victory. And they dedicated their armor to their own gods, but the bodies they crucified beside the wall of Beth-shan, which was subsequently called Scythopolis. But those of the inhabitants of the city of Jabesh in Gilead, having learned everything that had befallen Saul, the strongest men went out, and having stretched out their journey through the whole night, they took down the bodies of Saul and Jonathan. And bringing them to Jabesh, they burned them. And gathering the bones, they buried them. And Saul reigned, during the lifetime of Samuel, eighteen years, and after his death, twenty-two.

BOOK SECOND.

^A Now David returned from the slaughter of the ^C foreigners, and a certain man approached him, announcing the defeat of the Israelites and the death of Saul and Jonathan. Being questioned whether he was reporting true things, he said that Saul had been dealt a mortal wound, and not being able by reason of weakness to slay himself, he had besought him, so that he would not be taken alive by the enemies, to confirm the wound to him as he had fallen upon his own sword, and to act according to the command, and to make an end of the king. And for evidence of his words, he held out the royal crown from his head and the gold from his arms, and offered them to David. David, therefore, and those with him lamented for Saul and Jonathan. But he punished with execution that man who had laid hands upon the Lord's anointed. Then, by the command of God, he ascended to Hebron, a city of Judah,

Seeing this young man in such a state, she emboldened him with her words and fanned the flame with her promises, saying that she would need only fifty thousand to carry out the deed for him. Having received the requested money, since she saw that Paulina could not be captured by wealth—for she knew that she was most warmly devoted to the service of Isis, as this deity was considered a god by the Romans at that time—she approached some of the priests of that false god, and by means of money persuaded them to deceive Paulina by whatever schemes they could, and to have her lie with Mundus. They, charmed by the money, set to the task. The most elderly of them went to Paulina, and speaking with her in private, said that he had come as an emissary from Anubis, the god commanding her to come to him because he was in love with her. To her, the report seemed most desirable, if she were loved by a god; she shared what had been announced with her husband, and he consented, knowing the modesty of his wife. She went, therefore, to the temple; and when it was time for sleep, it was prepared for the woman to sleep inside the temple, and the lamps were extinguished. Mundus, for he had been hidden there, enjoyed her all night long, presenting himself to her as Anubis. Then he departed, and she, going to her husband, recounted the epiphany of Anubis, and exulted in her customary associations, as one deemed worthy of communion with a god. On the third day after the event, Mundus met her and said, "Paulina, I have the two hundred thousand, and I have served you without them. The insults you hurled at Mundus—none of them touched me, having given myself the name of Anubis." Upon hearing these things, the woman, coming to the realization of the brazen act, tore her garment and revealed the plot to her husband; he approached Tiberius. The Emperor, having investigated what had occurred, crucified the priests and Ide, tore down the temple, and had the statue of Isis cast into the river Tiber, while the sentence he passed on Mundus was exile, granting him pardon so that he would not be more severely punished due to the violence of his passion.

But while these things had been transacted in Rome, in Samaria a disturbance occurred. For a certain man commanded the Samaritans to assemble with him at Mount Gerizim—this is considered by them to be the most holy of mountains—and to those who arrived he promised to display sacred vessels deposited there by Moses; they gathered and were in arms. Pilate, having sent soldiers, killed some, put others to flight, and executed the leaders of those taken alive. The Samaritans came to Vitellius, who was governing Syria, accusing Pilate of the slaughter of their fellow tribesmen. And Vitellius, having sent Marcellus to take charge of the affairs of the Jews, ordered Pilate to depart for Rome to provide a defense before the Emperor regarding the charges against him. So he departed, having governed Judea for ten years, but before he could reach Rome, Tiberius had already passed away. ^A Vitellius, having reached Jerusalem while the feast of the Passover was being celebrated, was received with magnificence; he remitted the taxes on the crops cultivated by the Jerusalemites, and allowed the high priest's robe to remain in the Temple and to be in the possession of the priests just as before; at that time, it was stored in the Antonia. For one of the high priests, the first, namely Hyrcanus, having built a tower near the Temple, and living in it, had the high priestly robe belonging to him kept there, as high priest. The same was done by those after him as by him. Herod, having refurbished that tower more sumptuously, being a friend of Antony, renamed it in his name; and having found the robe in it, he kept it there. Archelaus also did this, and after him the Romans did the same regarding the robe, which remained there under the seals of the priests and the treasurers. When a feast was impending, it was given back to the high priests by the commander of the garrison, and after one day of the feast, it was deposited there again. Vitellius conceded the clothing to the nation. Having deprived the high priest Joseph, who is also called Caiaphas, of the priesthood, he gave it to Jonathan, the son of Ananus the high priest. ^B By the orders of Tiberius, Vitellius made a treaty with Artabanus, the king of the Parthians, who sent his son Darius with many gifts to be a hostage. The tetrarch Herod, being present at the negotiations, immediately sent a letter to Caesar reporting what had happened. Then, when Vitellius sent a dispatch to Tiberius regarding these things, the latter wrote back to learn everything from Herod. This stirred up anger in Vitellius against Herod; he buried his rage deep, and took revenge on him when Gaius had obtained power.

At that time also, Philip, who was the brother of this Herod, died in the twentieth year of the reign of Tiberius, having ruled for thirty-seven years. He was in his manner calm and moderate to his subjects, making his progresses with only a few of his chosen men; and as he went along, if anyone approached him needing help, immediately, with his chair being set down in the place—for those who carried it followed—he would sit, listen, and punish those who did wrong and release those who were accused unjustly. Tiberius added his territory to the province of Syria, for Philip had no children. Herod the tetrarch, traveling to Rome, put up at the house of his brother Philip, whom the daughter of Simon the high priest bore to King Herod. Falling in love with Herodias, his brother’s wife, who was the daughter of Aristobulus, their brother, and the sister of the great Agrippa, he spoke to her about marriage. She accepted and agreed to move in with him if he would cast out the daughter of Aretas. And he sailed for Rome on such conditions;

^A with both his wives, Ahinoam and Abigail, and his men with all their families. There he was declared king by the tribe of Judah, and he praised the men of Jabesh for the service of burying the corpses of Saul and Jonathan. ^B But Abner, the commander of Saul's army, taking the remaining son of his lord, Ish-bosheth, proclaimed him king over all Israel, except for the tribe of Judah. He was forty years old when he became king over Ish-bosheth, and he reigned for two years. Abner was angry at the tribe of Judah because it had made David king, and he rushed against it. And Joab, who was David’s commander-in-chief, met him with an army. At first, twelve men from each army fought in single combat. When all of them had fallen, both armies clashed, and the men of Abner were defeated. Joab had brothers, Abishai and Asahel. Now Asahel, priding himself on the swiftness of his feet, pursued Abner. Abner advised him to turn back; but when he would not be persuaded, he struck him from behind in the side and killed him. When the kinsmen of the dead man heard of the slaughter of their brother, they pursued Abner. But he, standing on the summit of one of the hills, cried out to Joab, saying, “Do not provoke men of the same nation to battle; for even Asahel has sinned by not obeying me when I counseled him to turn back, and for that reason he has been wounded and is dead.” Joab, considering these words as a plea, ordered the trumpet to be sounded for a recall and stopped the pursuit. From that time on, the civil war took hold among the Hebrews and lasted for a very long time, with the forces of David gaining strength while those of Saul grew weaker. ^C Six sons were born to David while he was in Hebron from different wives, the firstborn of whom was Amnon. But when Abner had intercourse with a concubine of Saul, Ish-bosheth was indignant at him because of his father’s concubine. This became the cause of Abner’s turning to David. Now David sent to Ish-bosheth to seek his own wife, Michal. And he, taking her away from the husband to whom Saul had betrothed her after David’s flight, sent her to David. Abner, having conferred with the elders of the multitude of the Israelites and with the commanders, persuaded them to move over to David, and all of them were eager for this. Having done this, he came to David to receive sworn pledges. And being received gladly, he went out to gather the multitude so that David might be proclaimed king by everyone. But Joab, having come to Hebron and learned about the matter of Abner, and fearing lest that man surpass him, spoke many things against him to David; yet since he did not persuade him, he sent secretly to summon Abner as if from David. And he returned, and Joab met him as if to discuss something more confidential with him.

^A Having approached Caesar Tiberius, he was received kindly. But when a report from Herennius Capito was brought to Caesar stating that Agrippa had fled while owing a loan of three hundred thousand, he was angered, and commanded that he not be allowed entry to him until he had paid the debt. The debtor then paid what he owed, and once again entered into the presence of Tiberius. And Caesar commanded him to attend upon his grandson and serve him. But Agrippa inclined rather toward Gaius, who was a grandson of Antonia, the mother of Germanicus and of Claudius, who reigned after Gaius. By serving him, he had become beloved by him. And once, as they were walking together, a conversation arose concerning Tiberius; Agrippa, calling upon God, prayed that Tiberius might soon depart from the rule, and that it might pass to Gaius. Eutychus, a freedman of Agrippa, having listened to these words, approached Caesar, as if to tell him something that would be for his preservation. But he, being slow in all things, also disdained those who brought him reports about himself; for he would not deal with ambassadors quickly—saying that this was so that others might not approach him shortly upon the return of the first, creating a crowd for him—nor would he replace the governors and procurators sent by him, unless they happened to have died. He said that he did this out of concern for his subjects, so that having enough time, they might be less greedy for gain and less prone to injustices. And he used as an example a wounded man around whose sores flies had settled: when someone pitied him and attempted to drive them away, and the man ^B turned the person away, the one trying to drive the flies away asked the reason. The wounded man replied, "These, having filled themselves with my blood, do not cause me much trouble; but if they were to be scared away, others, fresh and famished, would arrive and torment me more." And this is evidence of Tiberius’s slowness in these matters: that after completing twenty-two years of sole rule, he sent out to the Jews only two men to govern their nation, Gratus and Pilate. Being such a man in all things, he did not even deem Eutychus worthy of a hearing. Agrippa, however, besought Antonia to arrange for Caesar to hear Eutychus. Now Antonia was held in honor by Tiberius, both for having been the wife of his brother Drusus, and especially because of her modest character; for, having been widowed young, she remained in widowhood and declined a second marriage, even though the emperor himself permitted it, and she lived her life in such a way as to be above even reproach. For these reasons she was honored by Tiberius, and also because she had been a benefactress to him, having revealed a conspiracy formed by many powerful men. Being entreated by her, therefore, to examine Eutychus, he said, "Let the gods know, Antonia, that the things which are about to be done will not be according to my own inclination, but rather by virtue of your entreaty." And he ordered Eutychus to be brought. And standing there, he said, "How Gaius and Agrippa, O lord, were conversing, and Agrippa said, 'If only the day would arrive when this old man, departing, might appoint you leader of the world; for Tiberius, his grandson, will be no obstacle to us, dying at your hands. Then the world would be blessed, and before it, I.'" To Tiberius the words seemed true; at the same time, maintaining his anger ^C against Agrippa because he had not chosen to serve his grandson, but had wholly turned toward Gaius, he ordered one of those standing by to bind him. And he was led away in fetters, being still in his purple robes, and he stood before the palace, leaning against a tree out of despondency. There were others there in bonds as well. And when a bird flew to that tree—the Romans call this bird a "bubo" (owl)—one of the prisoners saw it and asked the soldier guarding him who the man in the purple was; and having learned, he asked the soldier who was chained with him to draw near. And having succeeded, he said, "Young man, I announce to you a very swift release from your bonds, and an advancement to the greatest rank and power, and you shall be envied by those who now pity you, and you will die in happiness, leaving wealth to your children. But when you see this bird again, know that your death will occur five days thereafter. However, having lived happily according to my prophecy, remember us, so that we may escape the misfortune in which we now find ourselves." The one who said this was mocked at the time, but later he appeared worthy of wonder. Agrippa was, therefore, in bonds for six months. When Tiberius became ill and his disease intensified, he ordered Euodus, who was the most esteemed of his freedmen, to bring his grandchildren to him, for he intended to converse with them before he died. He had no children; for his son Drusus happened to be dead. But he had a grandson by him, Tiberius Gemellus, and a nephew, Gaius, the son of his brother Germanicus, already a young man, who had applied himself to education and was loved and honored by the people on account of his father’s virtue. Tiberius ordered the children to be brought to him early on the following day; it was his desire to leave the rule especially to his grandson, but for the meantime he set this as an omen: that he wished the divine power to pass the rule to whichever of them should arrive ^D at him first. He sent a message to the tutor of his grandson to lead him in earlier. When day had broken, he sent Euodus to summon whichever of the children was present; but he, finding Gaius outside the chamber, brought him in to Tiberius. The latter, coming to an understanding of the divine power, lamented as if his grandson had perished.

^A and leading him far from his own people, he kills him, having struck him in the flank with a sword. David, however, having learned of this, grieved greatly, and cursed the man who killed him, and mourned the deceased, and gave him an honorable burial. Ish-bosheth, too, having been plotted against after a little while, was slaughtered while sleeping. And those who had killed him, being two in number, took his head and brought it to David. But he not only considered that the men had not done what was pleasing to him, but he also ordered them to be put to death, exacting justice for the murder. Then all Israel went to David, and they anointed him as king of all the tribes. David was thirty years old when he began to reign over Judah, and had reigned in Hebron over the tribe of Judah alone for seven years, and thirty-three over all Israel.

II. Regarding David’s reign in Jerusalem and how he brought the Ark there

^B He departed from Hebron, himself and those with him, and arrived at Jerusalem. The Jebusites inhabited that city and that land, whence the city was called Jebus. They were related by lineage to the Canaanites, who, having placed the blind and the lame, and others who were maimed, upon the ramparts in mockery, said to David that they would prevent him from entering the city. But David, having been angered by these things, took the city by siege, and having driven the Jebusites from there, and rebuilt it, he named it, for a family name, the City of David, having been called Solyma in the time of Abraham; and he dwelt in it, having built a palace. There were still children born to him from many wives and concubines. The foreigners warred against David. But he, with God’s assent, went out against them with his own army, and was victorious. They, however, having gathered in much greater numbers, attacked again. David having inquired of God again, God commanded him to encamp in the groves of the Weeping [Klaumon] with the army, and not to attack the enemies otherwise, until the groves began to tremble. And having done so, he routed the enemies, and pursuing them as far as their borders, he slew them. After these things David gathered together the priests and the Levites, and all the people, to Cariathiarim. And the priests placed the Ark of the Lord ^C onto a new cart, bringing it down to Jerusalem. And the people and the king sang, walking before it. But when the Ark was in danger of being overturned, Oza, the son of Aminadab, stretching out his hand, seized it and supported it so it would not fall. He therefore died, God having been angered that he touched the Ark, since he was not a priest. And that place was called Diacope [Breach] from this. And David feared to bring the Ark into the city. He deposited it in the house of Abeddarah, a Levite man, and it remained there for three months. And the house of that man enjoyed many good things. And David, having heard this, transferred the Ark from there to his own city, with seven choirs going before it. And he himself played the lyre, and danced, playing. And his wife Melchol, having seen him dancing and leaping, rebuked him for acting unseemly; but he said that he did not feel shame, ^D since these things were not unseemly, being done for God. They brought in the Ark, and placed it in the tent which David had pitched for it. Then he wished to build a house for the Ark. And God commanded the prophet Nathan to say to David that thou shalt not build me a house, but thy son, who, after thou art dead, will succeed thee in the kingdom. Nathan having announced these things to David, he turned to thanksgiving, and not long after he routed the foreigners and their allies, defeating them and putting them to flight, and made Syria tributary to himself, having set up a garrison in Damascus. Upon his return, he also defeated the Idumeans, having reduced them all to servitude. Then, remembering the covenant struck with Jonathan, the son of Saul, he sought whether there was any survivor of his family. And having learned that Jonathan's son, named Memphibosthe, who was lame in his feet, remained, he summoned the man, granted him all his ancestral possessions, bade him use his table permanently, and also gave him his father's servants.

^A Having then offered a costly sacrifice, he removed Theophilus, the son of Ananus, from the high priesthood, and bestowed that honor upon Simon, son of Boethus, who was surnamed Cantheras. There were two brothers of Simon, and their father was Boethus, to whose daughter King Herod had been married, as the history records. He rewarded the Jerusalemites for their goodwill toward him by remitting the taxes on every house. He appointed Silas as commander of the whole army, a man who had shared in many of his hardships. However, some reckless and bold youths of Doria brought a statue of Caesar into the Jewish synagogue and set it up. This disturbed Agrippa; and immediately he went to Publius Petronius, the governor of Syria, and complained of the Dorians. He, having sent a centurion, ordered those who had committed the rash act to be brought before him, and he dispatched an order to the magistrates of Doria to show the centurion the culprits, if they did not wish to appear accomplices in the act. Agrippa, having taken the high priesthood away from Simon Cantheras, again brought in Jonathan, son of Ananias, for the office. He declined, saying that it was enough to have held the high priesthood once, and he asked for his brother Matthias to be promoted to it, as being worthy of the honor. Persuaded, the king then bestowed the high priesthood upon Matthias. ^B But Silas, Agrippa’s commander, relying upon the risks he had taken on his behalf, laid claim to an ill-timed frankness, and he was burdensome, bringing to the king’s memory the grim aspects of his fortune and magnifying himself because of his zeal and faith at that time. Agrippa, therefore, was unpleasantly disposed toward his unbridled frankness. When Silas would not yield, the king was provoked to anger, and not only removed him from the command but actually cast him into bonds. But in time, his wrath having been mollified, and considering how many hardships he had endured for him, when he was celebrating his own birthday, he called for Silas to banquet with him. He would not be persuaded, saying, "To what end, O King, do you call me, to an honor that is as good as lost? Or do you think that I have ceased my frankness? Now I will cry out even more about the terrible things from which I rescued him, and the toils I bore procuring for him safety and honor; for which my reward is chains and a dark prison—things I shall never forget." The king, having learned this and perceiving that he was incurably disposed, left him again in custody. ^C This king was no less beneficent in gifts than his grandfather Herod; however, while the latter showed his generosity toward foreigners and not toward the Jews, the former was beneficent toward all alike and gentle in his manner. Indeed, he lived a continuous and pleasant life in Jerusalem, and he observed the ancestral customs purely. And there was a certain Simon in Jerusalem who seemed to be exact in the legal requirements; he gathered a multitude and dared to speak against the king while he was away in Caesarea. This did not escape Agrippa. He therefore sends for Simon and says, "Tell me, what of these things being done is unlawful?" He, having nothing to say, asked to obtain forgiveness. And the king, contrary to expectation, was reconciled to him, and sent him away with a gift. He took the high priesthood from Matthias and provided it to Elionaeus, the son of Citbaeus. Having thus reigned over the whole of Judea for three years, he performed public games in the city of Caesarea, which was formerly called Strabo’s Tower. ^D On the second day of the games, he entered the theater at the beginning of the day, dressed in a robe made of silver. And with the first rising of the sun's rays, the silver, being illuminated, shone wondrously, gleaming in a fearful way to those who stared at him. And immediately the flatterers cried out from one side and another, addressing him as a god and adding, "May you be propitious; for if until now we have feared you as a man, from here on we acknowledge you to be superior to a mortal nature." The king did not rebuke them, nor did he repel the impious flattery. Looking up, therefore, after a little while, he sees an owl above his own head, and he took this to be a messenger of evils then, as it was once of good things. He felt a pain through his heart, and a sudden agony of the stomach came upon him. And he says to his friends, "I, the god to you, am already ending my life, and I, called immortal by you, am compelled to die." Saying these things, he was worn down as the pain intensified, and he was carried with haste to the palace. Word having gone out that he was dying, the multitude immediately, with women and children, sat on sackcloth according to the ancestral custom and supplicated the god on behalf of the king, and all were mourning. ^A Agrippa, lying in a high chamber and looking down at them falling prostrate, was not himself without tears. After five days, having been worn down by the pain in his abdomen, he ended his life, having lived fifty-four years, and reigned seven years—four under Gaius and three under Claudius. Yet while his end was still unknown to the multitudes, Herod, his brother, the ruler of Chalcis, and Helcias the commander, having conspired, sent and slaughtered Silas, who was their enemy, as if the king had supposedly ordered it. Thus, then, Agrippa departed this life, leaving a son, Agrippa, seventeen years of age, and three daughters; one of whom, Bernice, had been married to Herod, her father's brother, and the other two, Mariam and Drusilla, were virgins.

Among whom he entrusted to Siba, as he is called, the administration of the gifts bestowed upon his master, and to bring the profit from thence to him. And Miphiboseth arrived in Jerusalem, and ate at the king's table. ^C

III. Regarding the Ammonites and the sin of David.

At that time the king of the Ammonites, a friend of David, died, leaving his son Hanun to succeed to his father's kingdom. David therefore sent envoys to Annon to console him for his father, and to maintain the friendship that existed with him. But he, suspecting that the envoys were spies, shaved off one side of their beards, cut their garments in half, and sent the men away. Seeing them in such a state, David sent his commander-in-chief, Joab, with the most elite part of the army against the Ammonites. Joab engaged them, defeated both them and their Syrian allies, and they turned to flight. But they, having once more enlisted allies, went to war again. David also, with his entire army, joined battle with them, killed many, and their commander-in-chief, Sobach, being wounded severely in the battle, died of his wound. The allies of the Ammonites, being Syrians from Mesopotamia, surrendered themselves to David. ^D Again he sent Joab against the Ammonites, who, having shut them up in the metropolis of their country, besieged them. David, meanwhile, dwelling in Jerusalem, and seeing from the palace a woman bathing in her house, named Bersabee, became enamored of her. And having sent for the woman, he lay with her. She, having conceived, made the matter known to the king. He called her husband, named Urias, from the siege. And having asked him about the army, and having provided him with dinner, he bade him go home. But he did not go away, saying it was not right for the commander and his fellow-soldiers to be suffering in the camp, while he lay with his wife. And when the king again urged him to go home and entertained him with drinks, so that he was nearly led into drunkenness, he slept before the palace doors. The king therefore sent Urias back to the camp and entrusted him with a letter to Joab, instructing him to post Urias where the fighting of the enemy was most difficult, and for those with him to turn back, leaving him alone, so that he might thus be destroyed. And it happened according to the king's command, and Urias died. His wife then mourned for her husband. When she had ceased from her mourning, David took her as his wife, and she bore him a son. But God was angered, and sent Nathan to David. He, upon coming to the king.

^A And with her son’s permission and upon his giving very great sums of money, she departed for Jerusalem. Having found many there perishing from famine, she brought in grain from Alexandria and, having purchased a cargo of dried figs from Cyprus for a great price, she distributed it to those in need. Her son also sent much money to the leading men of the Jerusalemites, so that the famine-stricken might be assisted through these means as much as possible. And these things, then, are so.

^B Now Artabanus, the king of the Parthians, having learned of a plot that his satraps were devising against him, arrived at Izates, bringing with him about a thousand of his kinsmen and retainers. And on the way, he encountered Izates and said: "Do not overlook me, O King, now that I have become lowly through a reversal of fortune, a commoner after being a king; rather, give me aid." He said these things with tears. Izates, having heard the name, leaped down from his horse and said: "Take courage, O King; for either I shall restore you to the kingdom of the Parthians, or I shall cede my own to you." Having said this, he helped him mount the horse, and he himself followed on foot. And Artabanus swore that unless he also mounted the horse and rode in front, he would depart. Izates, having been persuaded, leaped onto the horse and rendered every honor to the Parthian, leading him into the palace. He wrote to the Parthians to receive Artabanus. And as the Parthians agreed to receive him, but said they could not restore his authority, as it had already been entrusted to another, Cinnamus—for that was the name of the one who had taken the kingdom—wrote to Artabanus; for he had been reared by him and was a good man, he exhorted him to arrive, trusting that he would receive his authority back. Artabanus, having trusted, departed. Thus Cinnamus met him; and he, having done obeisance and addressed him as king, placed the diadem upon his head, having removed his own. ^C And so, being restored to his authority after six years, Artabanus did not forget the kindnesses of Izates, but rewarded him.

Some time later, Artabanus having died, Vardanes, his son, girded himself with the kingdom. He came to Izates and requested him to fight as an ally against the Romans; but he was not persuaded, and even advised him to cease from the campaign against them and not to attempt impossible things. And he declared war upon Izates for not being persuaded. But the Parthians, having learned that he wished to campaign against the Romans, slew him and gave the kingdom to his brother Gotarzes; who, having died from a plot, was succeeded by his brother Vologeses.

^D Now the brother of Izates, Monobazus, and his kinsmen desired to become Jews themselves, and they brought their aspiration into deed. Their action, however, became known to their subjects. They wrote to Abias, the king of the Arabs, that if he would campaign against their king, they would provide him with much money, promising also that at the first collision they themselves would abandon him. The Arab was persuaded by these things, and bringing a large force, he came upon Izates. And when the clash occurred, his own men, by agreement, abandoned Izates and, turning their backs, they fled. Izates, having learned of the treachery committed by the grandees, withdrew to the camp, and finding the guilty, he punished them. On the following day, having joined battle, he was victorious and turned the Arabs to flight, and pursued their king, driving him into a certain fortress. He killed himself when he was already being captured, the fortress was taken, and what was in it was plundered. And Izates returned to his own lands.

The grandees of the Adiabenians wrote to Vologeses, king of the Parthians, asking him indeed to kill Izates, and to appoint for themselves a ruler from the Parthians; for they hated their own king, who had proselytized to a foreign religion. The Parthian, therefore, immediately rushed with a very great force, and Izates camped against him. But someone sent from the Parthian told Izates how great the power of the Parthians was, and how Vologeses threatened to exact justice from him, for having become ungrateful toward his masters; for he said that not even the God he worshiped would be able to rescue him from his hands. To these things, Izates replied that he knew the strength of the Parthians, but he knew God to be more powerful than men. Having said these things, he entreated God. On that night, therefore, Vologeses, having received letters that enemies had invaded Parthia and were ravaging it, immediately, hastening, departed without achievement. And thus, by the providence of God, Izates escaped the threats of the Parthian. Some time later he died, having lived fifty-five years, and having finished twenty-four years in his authority; he died having twenty-four sons and as many daughters. And he left the authority to his brother Monobazus.

Now, while Fadus was procurator of Judea, a certain sorcerer named Theudas persuaded the greater part of the crowd to take their possessions and follow him to the Jordan; for he said that he was a prophet and that he could split the river by a command; and he deceived the many. But Fadus, having sent a squadron of cavalry against them, slew many, and took no fewer alive, including Theudas himself, whose head they cut off and brought to Jerusalem. Fadus was succeeded by Tiberius Alexander, the son of the Alexander who had served as alabarch in Alexandria. The sons of Judas the Galilean, James and Simon, who had incited the people to revolt while Quirinius was census-taking, were also put to death, whom Alexander executed by crucifixion. Herod, the king of Chalcis, having removed Joseph, son of Camydus, from the high priesthood, granted it to Ananias, son of Nedebaeus. Cumanus came as successor to Tiberius Alexander. In the eighth year of the reign of Claudius, Herod, the brother of the great Agrippa, died survived by three sons; and Claudius gave his authority to the younger Agrippa.

^A and a purple tunic reaching to the feet, and a crest dyed with hyacinth, which she had made for her husband. When he saw it, he said, "My lady, have you cut up your own adornment to make armor for me?" "By Zeus," said Panthea, "you are my greatest adornment; and so you are." While saying this, she put the armor on her husband, trying to conceal her weeping, though tears streamed down her cheeks. When Abradatas was already prepared to mount his chariot, Panthea bade the others present to withdraw and said: "That I value you, Abradatas, above my own life, I think you know. Nevertheless, having such feelings for you, I call upon our bond of friendship to witness that I would much rather share the earth with you, if you prove to be a good husband, than live in shame with a husband who is disgraced. I think we also owe a great debt of gratitude to Cyrus, for when I became his captive and was chosen for him, he did not treat me as a slave nor with the dishonor that name implies. He guarded me for you as if he had taken the wife of a brother. Furthermore, when Araspas, who guarded me, departed from him, I promised him that if he would allow me to send for you, you would come and would prove to be much more faithful and better than Araspas." She finished saying these things. Abradatas, admiring her words, prayed: "Grant me, O Zeus, to appear worthy of Panthea as a husband, and worthy of Cyrus as a friend." Having said this, he mounted his chariot.

^C XXIII. Cyrus, however, having called together the commanders, encouraged them for the war, and thus he set out. When he arrived at the enemy, and saw how they had arranged their forces, Cyrus drew up his own men as beautifully as possible, and passing along the ranks, he encouraged the men to the battle. Croesus stood his own army against the army of Cyrus, and commanded them to advance toward the enemies. And three phalanxes arrived, one at the front, and two others, one on the right and one on the left, so that fear was instilled in the whole of Cyrus's army. For it was surrounded on all sides by the enemies, except from the rear. Yet, when Cyrus gave the order, they all turned to face the enemies, and for a while there was great silence on all sides. When it seemed to Cyrus that it was the time, he began the paean, the whole army took it up, and Cyrus sprang forward, and with the cavalry joined battle with the opponents. The infantry soldiers drawn up with him followed. Artagerses, the commander of those on the camels, attacked on the left, having sent the camels forward as Cyrus had ordered. The horses could not even endure them from a distance, but some fled, others reared up, and others fell into each other. And the chariots at the same time charged on the right and the left, and many who were fleeing were captured by them. And Abradatas cried out, "Men, friends, follow!" and he plunged in, sparing no effort with the horses. The other charioteers also rushed out together. Abradatas charged into the phalanx of the Egyptians, and those who were stationed nearest also charged with him. The others turned aside toward the fleeing chariots. Those around Abradatas, by the rush of the horses, overturned some and trampled those who fell. Whatever the scythes reached was crushed by force, both armor and bodies. In this indescribable turmoil, with the wheels springing up over all kinds of wreckage, Abradatas and others fell out of the chariots and were killed. The Persians then pursued the Egyptians, who were falling in their confusion, while those who kept their ranks resisted. There, a fierce battle began. For the Egyptians were superior in both number and armor, and the Persians could not stand their ground, but retreating little by little, they were both cutting down and being cut down until they reached the engines. There, again, the Egyptians were being cut down from the chariots, and a great slaughter of men took place, with a great clashing of arms and a great cry. Meanwhile, Cyrus, pursuing the opposing phalanx, was distressed when he saw the Persians had been shifted from their position; and to those

^A While Cumanus was procurator of Judea, a great multitude had gathered in Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. In order that no sedition might be stirred up by the crowd, which was very large, Cumanus stationed armed soldiers upon the porticoes of the temple to suppress any disturbance, should one arise; indeed, those before him had done the same. On the fourth day of the feast, one of the soldiers in the porticoes uncovered his private parts and displayed them to the masses. The people were enraged, feeling the soldier had acted impiously toward God, and the bolder among them began to insult Cumanus. He, being provoked by these insults, ordered the whole army to come to the Antonia, the fortress overlooking the temple. The crowd, seeing the soldiers, broke into flight, and as the exits were narrow, many were crushed and trampled by one another in their flight and perished, such that the number of those who died then was reckoned at twenty thousand; and there was mourning in place of a festival.

This mourning had not yet been quelled when another evil was added. Some who delighted in sedition waylaid a certain Stephen, a slave of Caesar, who was traveling along the road, and plundered all his possessions. Because of this, Cumanus sent soldiers with orders to plunder the nearby villages and to bring their most prominent men to him in chains. While the pillaging of those villages was taking place, a certain young soldier, bold and lawless, found some of the laws of Moses kept reverently in a village; he tore them up in the sight of many, uttering blasphemies and mockery. The Jews therefore approached Cumanus, beseeching him to take vengeance not on them, but on God, whose laws had been insulted. Fearing that the multitude might again rise in revolt, Cumanus beheaded the one who had insulted the laws, and thus quieted the disturbance.

^B But there was also enmity between the Samaritans and the Jews; the reason was as follows: Galileans going up to Jerusalem were traveling through a certain village of the Samaritans, and some attacked them and killed many. The leaders of the Galileans therefore approached Cumanus, urging that those who had been killed be avenged. But because he had been bribed, he gave no thought to vengeance. The Galileans, therefore, being indignant, took up arms and burned and plundered some of the villages of the Samaritans. Cumanus came upon the Galileans with a force and killed many of them, and took more alive. The leaders of Jerusalem, however, put on sackcloth and sprinkled ashes upon their heads, and exhorted the insurgents to change their mind and to throw down their weapons and keep the peace; and they persuaded them. They dispersed, but from that time on the countryside was filled with banditry.

The Samaritans went to Quadratus, the governor of Syria, and accused the Jews of having burned their villages. The Jews, for their part, blamed the Samaritans as the authors of the sedition, and before them Cumanus, corrupted by bribes and failing to avenge those who had been killed. Quadratus deferred the judgment, saying that he would come to Judea, learn the truth there, and make a decision. He came, therefore, to Samaria, and after investigating the events, he judged the Samaritans to be the authors of the disturbance; but the Jews whom Cumanus held in chains he crucified as having participated in the sedition. He bound those around Ananias the high priest and the captain Ananus, and sent them to Rome to give an account of what had happened to Claudius. He also ordered the leaders of the Samaritans and Jews, and the governor Cumanus, and the tribune Celer, to arrive before the Emperor to be judged regarding their mutual disputes. When they had gone, Claudius sat as judge and, learning that the Samaritans were the ringleaders of the evils, ordered those who had come to him to be executed, and passed a sentence of exile upon Cumanus; however, he ordered the tribune Celer to be taken back to Jerusalem, and that he be dragged through the city in the sight of everyone and thus executed.

^C Caesar sent Felix to be the procurator of the Jews; he gifted Agrippa with the tetrarchy of Philip, and Batanea, and Trachonitis with Abila—these were the tetrarchies of Lysanias—but he took Chalcis from him, after he had ruled it for four years. Agrippa gave his sister Drusilla in marriage to Azizus, king of the Emesenes, who had desired to be circumcised, after Antiochus Epiphanes had declined the marriage because he did not wish to Judaize. He also betrothed Mariame to Archelaus, the son of Helcias, who had been promised to him earlier by her father, Agrippa. Felix, while procurator of Judea, saw Drusilla, who possessed extraordinary beauty, and was captured by love for her; he persuaded her to leave her husband and marry him. Having borne him a child, she named him Agrippa. It is said that in the times of Titus, the wife and the child, having grown into a young man, perished at Mount Vesuvius, which is fire-bearing and, at that time, was even more violently ignited. Bernice, another sister of Agrippa, who had been living with her uncle Herod, after his death was united to Polemon, who had desired to be circumcised, because of the rumor saying that she was intimate with her brother from love, so that she might prove this slander to be false. However, the marriage did not last long, as Bernice abandoned Polemon.

^D Claudius Caesar died, having reigned for thirteen years and eight months and twenty days. There was a report that he had been destroyed by poisons by his wife, Agrippina; her father was Germanicus, the brother of Caesar, and her husband was Domitius Ahenobarbus, one of the notables in Rome; upon whose death, while she was a widow, Claudius took her as his wife, and she had a son, Domitius, who bore the same name as his father.

^A in tears. In the meantime, the king's sons arrived and reported the murder of Amnon. Absalom fled to his maternal grandfather, the king of Gath, and spent three years living there. As time softened the king's anger, Joab devised a plan to reconcile the king with Absalom. He prepared a woman to go to the king, feigning mourning, and to lament that, having had two sons, one had killed the other, and their kinsmen were seeking to slay the survivor for the murder of his brother. She was to beg the king to grant her the preservation of her son. She, therefore, approached the king and lamented these things passionately. The king promised to grant her the life of her son. The woman expressed her gratitude to him, saying, “But so that I may have a pledge of your promise, be reconciled first, O king, to your own son, and do not, because of the murder of the son who died against your will, add another voluntary death.” The king understood that the woman’s words were a pretext and had been devised by Joab, and he permitted him to bring back Absalom. Joab therefore brought him back to Jerusalem, though it was not permitted for him to come into the presence of his father. After these events, the king was reconciled with Absalom; and having called him, he granted him pardon for having asked forgiveness and promised amnesty for his sin. Having acquired horses and chariots and many followers, ^B Absalom went to the palace every day. By speaking to crowds for their own favor, he made many well-disposed toward him. When four years had passed since his return, he pretended that he wished to go to Hebron to offer sacrifices, as if he had made a vow while in exile. The father assented. He departed and sent messengers everywhere; many flocked to him, and among others, Achitophel, his father's advisor. Thus he was hailed as king by all. When David learned of this, he departed Jerusalem with those who were around him; together with them, those six hundred men whom he had used under Saul also set out with him. No other thing increased his grief and fear more than the defection of Achitophel: nevertheless, he invoked God and committed all events to Him. Chusai, who was a friend of David, also, by his counsel, pretended to defect and joined Absalom. During the journey, Siba, the servant of Mephibosheth, met David, driving a yoke of asses ^C carrying provisions; and accusing his master, [he claimed] that he remained in Jerusalem, waiting for the kingdom to pass to him as the multitude would choose him. David was indignant at these things and granted to Siba everything he had previously given to Mephibosheth. Then Semei, a man of Saul's kin, set upon him along the road, and cast stones at the king, and cursed him, calling him a man of blood and a transgressor of the law. When those with David were eager to slay Semei, the king did not allow it, saying, “The Lord told him to do these things; let him be.” And having reached the Jordan, he there refreshed those who were weary with him. ^D V. Now when Absalom arrived at Jerusalem, to Chusai who approached him he said, “Why, being a friend of my father, have you come to me, having abandoned him?” He replied, “I shall be with the one chosen by God, and I shall be with the one whom all the people have chosen.”

^A Vespasian, for his part, sent out forces to ravage whatever small Jewish towns remained that had not yet been captured, so that only the city of Jerusalem remained as the sole objective for the Romans. The state of the city, as has been said, was in a grievous condition. For on the outside, Simon and those around him were proving more formidable to the Jews than the Romans, while within, the so-called Zealots and their leader, John, were more harsh than both the Romans and Simon. Because the Zealots were oppressing those in the city most violently, the people were compelled to invite Simon and the throng with him into the city, thinking perhaps that he would deliver them from the tyranny of the Zealots; but they failed to realize that they had admitted into their midst a worse tyrant against themselves. While these things were taking place in Jerusalem, Vitellius took hold of Rome having been proclaimed emperor. This did not please Vespasian when he learned of it, and he disdained having Vitellius as his master. But the commanders of the legions with him, as well as the soldiers, gathered together and proclaimed Vespasian emperor. ^B Being about to set sail, he entrusted the siege of Jerusalem to his son, Titus. Titus, having gathered the forces, departed for Jerusalem, and having encamped thirty stadia away, he took from there six hundred of his picked cavalry and went to reconnoiter the city and the spirit of those within. Countless men sallied forth from the city, and while most of those with Titus, seeing the frenzied onslaught of the Jews, were deterred from advancing further, Titus, having been cut off with a few of the others, was enveloped in the midst of the enemy. Recognizing the danger he was in, he turned his horse, and shouting to those with him to follow, he charged the Jews, and held off those attacking him with his sword and was saved to the camp, two of his followers having fallen. After a day, having arrived at the "Scope"—as the place is called, situated seven stadia from the city, from which both the city and the temple are visible—he ordered a camp to be enclosed. ^C Although those in the city were always engaged in battle with one another, the arrival at that time of a major war from the outside caused their strife to pause. The Jews, therefore, emerged from the city and fought against those constructing the camp and harmed the adversaries, but they were harmed the more themselves. When the war from without had abated for a short while, the sedition stirred again among those within. And by deceit, John, together with the Zealots, seized the Temple and, many having been slain, he became bold against Simon. ^D Titus ordered the space from the Scope to the wall to be leveled. This was being done, but a certain ambush had been contrived by the Jews against the Romans. For the most daring of the factious men advanced from the city, pretending to have been driven out by those who favored peace, and they hovered around the wall; others stood upon the wall and, pretending to be of the citizenry, cried out for peace and begged for a pledge, calling to the Romans as if to open the gates to them. The soldiers suspected nothing and continued with their work, but Titus was suspicious of the absurdity of the invitation. For the day before, having invited them to terms through Josephus, he found they had no moderate thoughts. He therefore ordered the soldiers to stand their ground. But as some hastened to run to the gates, those who appeared to have been driven out retreated for a time; however, when the soldiers were between the towers of the city, they ran out and surrounded them. Those on the wall discharged missiles and threw stones at them and killed many and wounded more. The Jews exulted, waving their shields, while Titus and the tribunes threatened the soldiers. Now that the area before the walls had been leveled, he wished to move the camp there; he drew up the strongest part of his force against the wall, and thus, with the sorties of the Jews obstructed, the Romans encamped there. The city was surrounded by three walls; where the nature of the terrain fortified it, it was girded by a single circuit. As the city was in this state, the attack seemed difficult to Titus. For the time being, therefore, he decided to attack at the monument of John the High Priest. He ordered the legions to ravage the area before the city and to collect timber so that they might raise mounds. They put the command into effect, and when the mounds had been raised, Titus ordered the rams to be brought up and to strike the wall. The rams having begun on three sides, and a tremendous din echoing around the city, a cry was raised by those within, and the factious men, fearing, acted in harmony, having agreed to make a common defense against the enemy. Yet as the rams struck, the wall did not give way under the impact, only a corner of one of the towers was shaken, but the wall itself remained whole. The Jews, observing the Romans scattered about the camp, all sallied forth, applying fire to the engines. A terrible battle ensued around the siege-towers; the one side striving to set them on fire, the others struggling to prevent it; the Jews had the upper hand out of desperation. The fire was taking hold of the siege-towers, and had not Titus come to the rescue with his cavalry, they would have been burned. As it was, after about twelve of the Jewish vanguards had fallen, the rest retreated and were driven back into the city. One of the Jews, having been taken alive before the wall, was crucified, in case the rest, struck with terror at the sight, might surrender.

^A What Achitophel advised, Absalom asked. And he counselled him to lie with his father’s concubines, so that all might know that your hatred toward your father is irreconcilable. And Absalom acted according to this advice. When Achitophel further asked for ten thousand men, so that he might immediately pursue King David and those with him, who were exhausted by fatigue, and strike the one and turn the others back, Absalom asked Hushai about the advice. He declared it not good, saying, “You are not ignorant, you know, of the bravery and experience of your father and those with him. I believe it is necessary to gather an army from the whole country, and thus you yourself should rush against your father, and command the war; and you will certainly be victorious, engaging with many against the few.” Absalom and those with him said, “Hushai’s counsel is better than the counsel of Achitophel.” Hushai sent word to Zadok and Abiathar the priests to disclose all these things to David. They sent men who knew the turn of events to David. It was reported to Absalom concerning these men, and he pursued them. The latter, having perceived it, took refuge in the house of someone, and having descended into a well, they hid and escaped; and having left there, they reported to David the things that had been signified. He crossed the Jordan by night with those who were with him. Achitophel, however, having been pushed aside, and knowing that things would turn out badly for Absalom, went to his own house and hanged himself. David, having numbered those with him, found four thousand. He divided the army into three parts, and over each part he appointed a commander; he himself was not permitted by his friends to march with them, saying that if they were to flee with him, they would be stripped of all hope, but if he were saved, hope would still remain for them. He therefore sent his people to fight, and urged them to spare Absalom if they were victorious. ^B When the battle was joined, David’s men were victorious and chased Absalom as he fled. As he was being carried on a mule and had entered a forest, his hair became entangled in a large oak (for he was growing his hair very long), and he was left hanging from the oak, while the mule passed on. Someone, having seen Absalom hanging in this manner, reported it to Joab. He, driving three spears into his heart, killed him, and sent the one who would report the victory to the king. Upon the news of the victory being brought to him, he asked if his son was alive. Having heard that he was dead, he mourned. Joab, having come to the king, persuaded him by his words to cease mourning; and having ceased, and appearing to the soldiers, he praised them. All were obedient to him as before, and he returned to Jerusalem. As he was returning, Shimei met him, asking for pardon for the sins he had committed. He swore to him that he forgave his sin, as he did to all who had done him wrong. Mephibosheth ^C also came to meet him. And the king asked why he had not shared in his flight. He said that Ziba was the cause of this, in not having prepared for him the things for ^D the journey; and being lame in his feet, he could not follow; and not content with these, he added calumnies and wicked lies. David, having accepted the man’s excuse, ordered half of his goods to be restored to him.

^A king of the Israelites, Pekah, having conspired together, besieged him in Jerusalem for a long time. And Rezin, having captured other cities, killing their inhabitants and settling Syrians in them, returned to Damascus. Ahaz, however, with Pekah alone remaining, joined battle with him and was defeated, losing one hundred and twenty thousand of his people, including many notables, and his son. Pekah then withdrew to Samaria, he and his army, having taken a great multitude of captives to their own place.

A certain prophet in Samaria met them outside the walls, and since they had taken captive their own kinsmen, he counseled them to set them free. They, being persuaded, released the captives. Ahaz requested the king of the Assyrians ^B to grant him aid against the Syrians and the Israelites. He came; and he pillaged the land of the Syrians, and captured Damascus, and slew Rezin, and having overrun the country of the Israelites, he carried away very many captives.

Ahaz, as a reward for these things, gave to Tiglath-Pileser both the royal treasuries and whatever was laid up in the temple. He went to such an extent of impiety, as not only to worship the gods of the Gentiles, but also to close the temple and plunder its votive offerings. Having lived in this way, he died, having lived thirty-six years and reigned sixteen, leaving the kingdom to his son Hezekiah.

It happened also that the king of the Israelites died at that time by a conspiracy ^C of Hoshea. This man also was wicked. Wherefore, Salmanasar, the king of the Assyrians, having marched against him, he was enslaved to him, being ordered to pay tribute annually. Hezekiah, being pious and just, having convened the priests and Levites, commanded that the temple be opened, and to sacrifice as was the law for them, and he ordered the people to consider nothing more important than the worship of the Divine. He sent also to the whole country, calling everyone to celebrate the feast of Unleavened Bread, which had not been celebrated for a long time due to the lawlessness of those who had held power. He urged the Israelites also to worship the ancestral God, according to the ancient custom. They, however, were not persuaded, but even murdered the ^D prophets who advised these things.

Some, however, being persuaded, turned to piety and ran together to Jerusalem for the worship of God. And king Hezekiah, having gone down to the temple with the leaders of the people, offered through the priests costly sacrifices, and gave to the people many animals for a feast; and he commanded the priests to go out into the country and to purify it. Then he began a war against the Gentiles, and captured their cities.

Now the king of the Israelites, Hoshea, had summoned So, king of Egypt, for an alliance against the Assyrians. Salmanasar, having learned this, was angered, and besieged Samaria for three years, and captured the city, and destroyed the kingdom, and having taken the people captive, transported them to his own land, and Hoshea, the king of the Israelites himself. And having caused a migration from his own land, 他 other nations from a certain place

^A VI. When the king had set out for Gilgal, all the people of Israel gathered there, complaining that the tribe of Judah had come to him secretly. The latter, however, said they did nothing blameworthy, claiming they were relatives due to their kinship with the king. But this statement seemed harsh to the people. And a certain Benjamite, seditious and wicked, named Sheba, cried out: "We have no portion in David, nor any inheritance in the son of Jesse." And having sounded the trumpet, he turned everyone away from David, with only the tribe of Judah remaining with him. The king, putting forward Abishai as commander, sent him to gather an army from the tribe of Judah and to return within three days. But when Abishai delayed, he sent a mandate to Joab, telling him to take the force present there and sally forth against Sheba, saying, "Lest, while we delay, the enemy be the better prepared." And Joab immediately moved toward the war. As he was going with a great force, Abishai met him, and as Abishai approached him, the sword with which he was girded fell from its sheath. He picked it up from the ground, and as he drew near to greet Abishai, he plunged the blade into his stomach and killed him. Having taken his men, he pursued Sheba, who had fled into a fortified city. ^B While Joab was besieging it, a certain prudent woman, calling out from the wall, said: "Why do you wish to destroy the metropolis of Israel?" "Because of Sheba," he replied. She went to the citizens and persuaded them to cut off the head of Sheba and throw it into the camp. When this was done, Joab raised the siege, returned to Jerusalem, and was again appointed commander-in-chief of all the forces. After this, a famine pressed upon the people for three years. When the king inquired about the cause, God revealed that the famine was occurring because of the Gibeonites and that they must receive satisfaction for certain of their number whom Saul had killed, contrary to the faith given to them by Joshua and the elders. The king therefore summoned the Gibeonites and asked what they wished to be done for them in compensation. They requested that seven men from the house of Saul be given to them. The king gave them the seven men as they had requested, sparing Mephibosheth. When they had received the men and killed them, God sent rain upon the earth. ^C When, after this, a war arose against the Philistines, David pursued the enemies with his own army. Being exhausted, he was completely overcome with fatigue. A certain one of the opponents, seeing the king in such a state, rushed to strike him. But Abishai, the brother of Joab, shielding the king, killed the Philistine. Because of this, those around David swore that they would no longer allow him to go out to war. And again, when the Philistines had campaigned, the king sent an army against them, and he caused many to be killed and the rest to flee. ^D

^A To some, therefore, it seemed best to employ the law of war and to spare nothing; but others advised that if the Jews should ascend it to fight, it should be burned—for it would be a fortress being burned, not a temple—but that if they did not, it should be preserved. Titus declared that not even if the Jews ascended it and fought from it would he inflict vengeance on inanimate objects instead of men, nor would he burn so great a work; for if it were spared, it would be a detriment to the Romans, just as it was an ornament to the empire. It was Titus's intention, then, on the following day to enter with his whole force and to secure the Temple, but God had long since decreed its destruction. For the factionaries attacked the guards of the outer Temple, and they, being overcome by the multitude of those rushing out and by their fury, were giving way. Titus, seeing this from above on the Antonia, came to their aid with his chosen cavalry. The Jews did not withstand the charge, but were shut up inside the Temple. When Titus withdrew, the factionaries took a brief breathing spell and again attacked the Romans. The Romans routed them and pressed forward as far as the Temple. And one of the soldiers, having snatched some of the burning material, and being lifted up by another soldier, cast the fire into the golden window. As the flame rose, a cry went up from the Jews, and they ran together to defend it; Titus, learning of this, ran to the Temple to prevent the fire, and by his voice and his right hand signaled to the combatants to extinguish the fire. But they neither heard him shouting nor paid attention to his hand gestures. The legions, entering and approaching the Temple, pretended not to even hear Titus's orders, but urged those in front of them to cast in fire. There was helplessness among the factionaries, having despaired of defense, and slaughter and rout were everywhere. ^B Titus, however, as he was unable to restrain the impulses of the soldiers who were in a state of frenzy, and the fire was prevailing, entered with the commanders and viewed the holy place of God and the things within it. Since the flame had not yet reached the interior, but was consuming the chambers around the Temple, thinking that the work could still be saved, he himself attempted to persuade the soldiers to extinguish the fire and ordered one of those about him to restrain the disobedient by striking them with staves. But they, overcome by fury and hatred for the Jews, were checked neither by respect for Titus nor by fear of the one preventing them. A hope of plunder also urged on the greater number, as they imagined the interior to be full of wealth. But one person had already succeeded in casting fire into the hinges of the gate; and as flames suddenly appeared from within, the commanders retreated, as did Titus himself, and no one any longer prevented those who were kindling the fire.

The Temple thus received the fire, whether as a purification for the things being performed within it in an unholy manner, or as a place of punishment for those performing them. One might wonder that the same day coincided with the burning of the Temple as that on which the former Temple was burned by the Babylonians. From the first building which Solomon made until the demolition now being recounted, which occurred in the second year of the reign of Vespasian, there passed one thousand one hundred and thirty years, seven months, and fifteen days; and from the later one, which began to be built in the second year of the reign of Cyrus, until the final capture, there were six hundred and thirty-nine years and forty-five days. ^C While the Temple was burning, there was plunder of those who fell, and slaughter of those who were caught. The ground was nowhere visible because of the dead, but the soldiers, stepping over piles of bodies, ran after those who were fleeing. The bandit multitude, having pushed the Romans aside, escaped into the city, but the remainder of the common people took refuge in the outer portico. Some of the priests withdrew onto the wall, which was eight cubits wide, and remained there. Two of the prominent ones, however, threw themselves into the fire and were consumed with the Temple. The Romans, judging the sparing of the surroundings of the Temple to be in vain while it itself was burning, set fire to everything; and it caught even the treasuries, in which an infinite multitude of wealth had been stored, and infinite expensive garments and other valuables. For all the wealth of the Jews had been accumulated there from everywhere, as the owners deposited these things there as in a safe treasury. ^D An infinite multitude of the common people perished, for whom a certain false prophet was the cause of destruction, having proclaimed to those in the city that God commanded them to go up to the Temple, where they would receive the signs of salvation. Many such people were sent by the tyrants to say these things, so that they would desert less; by these, the miserable mob was deceived, and because of the manifest signs, they did not believe even though they were stunned. Many signs have occurred. For a star resembling a sword stood over the city, and a comet appeared and extended for a year. And a light once shone around the Temple and the altar before the war, as if to seem like a bright day, remaining for half an hour. And an ox brought for sacrifice gave birth to a lamb. The eastern gate of the inner Temple, which was of bronze and sturdy, so that it was opened and closed with difficulty by twenty men, and had very deep bolts and fasteners, was seen at night to have opened automatically. It signified that the security of the Temple was being dissolved, and that entrance would be easy for the enemies. And a certain demonic apparition was seen before sunset at another time, chariots over the whole country traversing the heights, and armed phalanxes darting through the clouds. On the feast of Pentecost, the priests who had entered into the inner Temple perceived a movement and a noise; then they heard a voice saying "Let us depart from here."

^A VII. Having thus obtained peace, David composed odes ^B to God, and having constructed instruments, he taught the Levites to sing hymns with them. Such were the instruments: the kinyra was ten-stringed and was struck with a plectrum. The nabla, having twelve notes, was struck with the fingers. There were also bronze cymbals, large and broad. David had about him a company of valiant men. The most distinguished of these were thirty-seven in number, who had often performed brave deeds. And once, when the Philistines had camped against Bethlehem, the king desired to drink water from the well that was by that town. Three of his brave men, having run and passed through the midst of the enemy camp, drew water from that well. And having returned by the same way, while the enemies were amazed at their boldness and remained quiet, they brought the water to the king. But he said, “The Lord be favorable to me, I shall not drink this, ^B brought by the blood of the men and at the risk of their souls.” He did not drink, but poured it out as a libation to God. Wishing to number all the people, he commanded Joab to perform the census. But when he did not praise the counsel, and said the act was not good, the king would not be persuaded. Joab went and numbered the people, and the number of Israel was eight hundred thousand men of military strength, drawing the sword, and five hundred thousand fighting men of the tribe of Judah. Then David repented and confessed he had sinned. Gad the prophet, at the command of God, went to David and says: “Of these three things, choose which counsel is for you: whether you wish for seven years of famine to be upon you in the land, or for three months to be pursued by enemies, or for death to strike the people for three days.” ^C “It is narrow for me on every side,” he said, “but it is better for me to fall into the hands of the Lord.” And death came upon the people from the morning until the time of the midday meal, and seventy thousand of all the people died. And David besought God, and the angel who was destroying the people stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem. The king therefore said, “I have sinned, O Lord; I the shepherd, but this flock, the people, have not sinned. I am worthy of punishment, not they.” Moved, however, by the king’s contrition, God stopped the destruction, and through the prophet Gad ordered him to set up an altar on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, and to sacrifice there. And David did so, having purchased the threshing floor from Ornan. As Josephus wrote, it is said that in that place ^D Abraham led Isaac, so as to offer him as a whole burnt offering. David also wished to build a temple there to God, but was prevented by God. Having become very old, David was suffering from cold; his.

^A When they no longer had those who had long been their faithful followers—for they had been scattered—and word was brought that the enemy were near, they fell upon their faces and lamented their own insanity. Of their own will they came down from the towers, from which they could never have been captured by force, but only by famine; they took refuge in the Siloam ravine, and then hid themselves in the underground passages. The Romans, having captured the walls without bloodshed, slew those they encountered and set fire to the houses. They ceased toward evening. On the following day, Titus entered within, and he marveled at the strength of the city and its towers. "It is with God’s help," he said, "that we have waged this war, and it is God who has cast down the Jews from these strongholds." While destroying the rest of the city and pulling down the walls, he left these towers behind as a monument to his own fortune, which he had employed as a fellow-soldier to master those who could not be taken.

The number of all the captives taken throughout the entire war amounted to ^B ninety-seven thousand, and those who perished during the whole siege were one million one hundred thousand. The majority of these were of the same race, but not local, for they had gathered from the whole country for the Feast of Unleavened Bread and were suddenly caught up in the war; the war thus encompassed the city, filling it with men. Since the Romans had killed some of those in the open and taken others captive, they went searching through the underground passages; breaking open the ground, they slew whomever they encountered. More than two thousand corpses were found there as well. A terrible stench from the bodies met those who leaned in, so that many withdrew at once. Others, however, entered out of greed, trampling upon piles of corpses, for they found many of the treasures in the tunnels. Many prisoners were also brought up who had been held captive by the tyrants, and they were released.

Of these destroyers, John, suffering from famine in the underground passages with his brothers, begged to receive a pledge of safety from the Romans, while Simon was captured later, when Titus was passing through what is called Caesarea Philippi. For while Jerusalem was being besieged, and Simon was in the upper city as the Romans got inside, he ^C took with him the most trusted of his friends, and along with them stone-cutters and iron tools suitable for the work, and descended with them into one of the underground passages. He traveled along the old excavation, tunneling through the earth so that they might emerge farther out in safety. However, after the miners had proceeded a little way, their provisions failed. Then, he put on white tunics, fastened a purple cloak over them, and emerged from the ground at that place where the temple had previously been. At first, amazement fell upon those who saw him, but then they approached closer and asked who he was. Simon ordered them to call their commander. Terentius Rufus, who had been left as commander of the army, came when called. When Simon had revealed to him who he was, he was seized, bound, and kept under guard. His capture was made known to Titus. He was kept for the triumph, during which he was put to death by being dragged to a noose in the Forum at Rome, where it is the custom for the Romans to execute those condemned for wickedness.

This, then, was the end for Simon son of Gioras; John, the remaining Fury of the Jews, was condemned to perpetual imprisonment. The multitude of captives were sent to the works in Egypt, while others were destroyed in the spectacles held in the cities, being either given to wild beast hunts or forced to kill one another. Simon’s emergence from the earth caused a large number of the other rebels to be discovered in the underground passages, and from this, the very foundations of the temple were dug up.

^D Danger threatened not only the Jews in Jerusalem, but also those in other cities. It is difficult to recount everything, but the events that occurred in Antioch to the Jews living there must be told. For the Jewish nation is scattered widely throughout the entire world, having often been taken captive, as has already been recorded, and scattered everywhere. But they were most heavily intermixed with the Syrians due to their proximity; indeed, Antioch possessed Jewish inhabitants more than any other city of that region, both because of the size of the city and because the kings who followed Antiochus granted them safe settlement there. For while Antiochus Epiphanes had sacked Jerusalem and plundered the temple, the kings after him allowed them to share in the city on equal terms with the Greeks. Therefore, they grew into a multitude, bringing a great number of Greeks into their religion.

At the time when the war of Jerusalem erupted and Vespasian sailed into Syria, and when hatred against the nation was flourishing among all, then a certain Jew, Antiochus—a son of the principal leader of the Jews in Antioch—came into the assembly of the citizens of Antioch and accused his father and the rest of the Jews, claiming that they had conspired to burn the entire city; he also betrayed certain stranger Jews as his accomplices in the plot. The populace of Antioch immediately burned those who were handed over, and launched themselves against the native Jews to punish them as well. This Antiochus, the accuser of his own kin, saying that he had renounced the ancestral religion, offered sacrifices as was the law for the Greeks, and he urged that the others be forced to do the same, claiming that those who had conspired would be revealed if they did not renounce their own religion.

^A frame was failing. Therefore they chose a maiden (Abishag was her name), and the girl lay with the king and warmed him; but he did not know her, for he was unable to have relations due to his old age. Adonijah, being the fourth among the king's sons, and very handsome, seeing that his father had become old, laid claim to the kingdom, aided by Joab ^B the commander-in-chief and Abiathar the high priest. And once, having prepared a lavish sacrifice, he called his brothers and the leaders of the tribe of Judah, along with Abiathar and Joab; but Solomon and the prophet Nathan and Benaiah, the commander of the bodyguard, he did not call. Nathan therefore said to Bathsheba, “Have you heard that Adonijah has become king?” She, having entered to the king, said, “Did you not, my lord king, swear that Solomon my son would reign after you? And behold, Adonijah is king, and you are unaware of it.” While Bathsheba ^C was saying these things, the prophet Nathan also entered and asked the king whether Adonijah had become king by his decree. And he swore by God, saying, “Solomon shall be king today.” And having called for the high priest Zadok and Benaiah, he ordered them, along with the prophet and those of the king's court, to set Solomon upon the king's mule, and leading him outside the city to the spring called Gihon, to anoint him with the holy oil and proclaim him king, blowing the trumpets, and to escort him through the middle of the city. And they did so immediately, as they had been instructed, and the proclamation of Solomon was noised abroad everywhere. When this became known to Adonijah and his fellow-banqueters, the others went off to their own homes, but Adonijah, being more fearful, fled to the altar and asked for pledges of safety from Solomon. He remitted his sin for the time being, but if he were found doing some evil again, he would be put to death. Seeing death approaching, David called Solomon and charged him to keep the commands of God and to live according to his laws, “so that our seed,” he says, “may remain as the Lord promised me, forever on my throne.” He further commanded him not to leave Joab unpunished for the slaughter of Abner and Amasa, nor Shimei, who had cursed him when he was fleeing. And having charged him with other things, and having commissioned him to build a temple for the Lord, he provided him with the layout of the construction of the temple, and he exhorted both him and the leaders and the tribe of Levi toward the work, saying that he had left much for the construction of the temple: ten thousand talents of gold, and a hundred thousand talents of silver, and emeralds and other precious stones, and bronze and iron exceeding counting, and other abundant material. And now he adds to those already collected three thousand talents of pure gold for the holy of holies, and ten thousand staters, and ten thousand talents of silver. And if anyone had any precious stone, each one brought it and delivered it into the treasuries. After a little while David died, having lived seventy years, having reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem.

There was a certain youth among the besieged, bold in daring and active in hand, named Eleazar, who, by exhorting the many to sally forth and hinder the embankment, became most conspicuous in the battles, causing many straits for the Romans. Once, when the battle had broken off, he remained outside the gates talking to those on the wall. A certain Rufus from the Roman camp, an Egyptian by birth, suddenly dashing out, seized Eleazar together with his very arms and managed to carry him over to the Roman camp. When the general ordered him to be stripped and whipped while those from the city looked on, the city suddenly wailed aloud. Bassus made this a stratagem against the enemy and ordered a cross to be planted, as if he were promptly to hang Eleazar. Those from the fortress, seeing this, were pained more and wailed bitterly. Eleazar implored them not to look on while he died in such a way, and to provide for their own salvation by yielding to the power and fortune of the Romans. They, being softened toward his words, and because many inside were pleading for his sake—for he was from a great and very numerous family—gave way to pity. They sent a messenger to promise the surrender of the fortress, that they might depart safely, provided they received Eleazar.

The general accepted these terms, but those in the lower city, learning of the agreement being made by the Jews privately, decided themselves to flee by night. As they opened their gates, news reached Bassus from those who had made the compact. The strongest of those coming out managed to slip through, but of those caught inside, one thousand seven hundred men were killed, and the women and children were enslaved. Bassus, keeping faith with those who had surrendered the fortress, released them and returned Eleazar.

Having accomplished these things, he hastened to the forest called Iardes, for many of those who had previously fled during the sieges were there. Having arrived at the place, he surrounded it entirely with his cavalry and ordered the foot soldiers to cut down the timber. The Jews who had fled there, rushing out together with a shout, fell upon those who had surrounded them. Because the latter received them stoutly, not a little time was spent in the fighting, but the end did not turn out the same for both parties. For although twelve of the Romans fell and a few were wounded, not one of the Jews escaped from this battle; having been captured and slaughtered, all—no fewer than three thousand—died.

Bassus, however, and Liberius Maximus, who was the procurator, were ordered by Caesar to sell the entire land of the Jews. He gave to eight hundred men released from the army a place to inhabit which is called Ammaous, thirty stadia from Jerusalem. He commanded the Jews everywhere to contribute two drachmas each annually to the Capitol, just as they had formerly paid to the temple in Jerusalem.

When Bassus died, Flavius Silva succeeded to the command. He campaigned against the fortress of Masada, the only one of the rebels still remaining. It was held by Sicarii, overseen by a powerful man, Eleazar, a descendant of the Judas who had persuaded many of the Jews not to submit to the enrollment under Cyrenius. He gained control of the region immediately and circled the fortress with a wall, blocking the exit for flight for those inside. Then he turned to the siege, and having built an embankment where it was possible—for the fortress was built upon a high rock, crowned with chasms of infinite depth—he brought up the battering ram and broke a portion of the wall. Another wall was seen inside, built in turn by the Sicarii, such as was not likely to yield even to the blows of the battering rams. It was made of wood having two parallel rows with earth packed in between. The blows of the engines, therefore, not only did not breach this, but made it settle more firmly due to the shock; wherefore Silva ordered his soldiers to hurl burning torches at it collectively. The structure made of wood caught the fire and sent up a great flame. At first, a north wind blowing from above drove the flame onto the Romans, and it nearly touched the engines; then a south wind, blowing in opposition, drove it with force against the wall, and the whole was soon consumed.

Upon these events, the Romans intended to attack the enemy on the following day, but Eleazar, having spoken to those in the fortress, persuaded everyone, after they had slain their own wives and children, to follow those victims each in turn. And indeed, this having been decided, they embraced their wives and hugged their children together, clinging to them with kisses and weeping, and they did away with their dearest ones with their own hands, as if they were no longer related to them. Then, gathering all their possessions together, they cast fire upon them. Having chosen by lot ten to be the executioners of all, each was dispatched by them onto the bodies of their dearest ones. Then again, the one who had drawn the lot dealt with the nine, and having looked around in a circle to see if anyone remained alive, when he knew all had been killed, he set fire to the palaces, and driving his sword completely through himself, fell down near his kin. And although they had died assuming that no one had been left alive, a certain elderly woman, another woman, and five children had remained concealed in the underground passages. The number of those slain, including women and children, was two hundred and sixty. The Romans made their assault at dawn;

He had accomplished every virtue, as befitted a king. His son Solomon buried him royally in Jerusalem, and bestowed upon him abundant wealth.

^A VIII. Solomon was quite young when he received the kingdom, being in the twelfth year of his age. Now Adonias went to Bersabee, the mother of Solomon, and said, "You know that the kingdom belongs to me, both by right of seniority and by the choice of the people. But it has passed to my brother Solomon, and I must accept what has happened as having occurred by the will of God. Yet I ask one favor: that the maiden Abisac, who slept with my father, be given to me in marriage, since my father did not know her because of his old age, but she remains a virgin." Bersabee promised to bring these words to her son and to arrange the marriage for him as diligently as possible. And having gone to her son, she urged him to give Abisac to his brother Adonias. But he, being angered by the request, said: "Why does she not also ask that I cede the kingdom to Adonias, as he is the elder?" And he straightway ordered Banaas, the captain of the guards, to kill Adonias. He also ordered Abiathar to go to his own country and to dwell in the fields, saying, "I spare your life because of the labors you endured with my father." Thus, as God had foretold to Heli, the honor of the priesthood was taken from the house of Ithamar and transferred to Sadoc, who was of the lineage of Phinees. ^B Now Joab, the commander, having learned of these things and having become terrified, fled to the altar. When he was summoned, he said he would never leave, but would die there and nowhere else. When this was reported to the king, he sent and had Joab killed there. From that time on, Banaas was appointed commander of all the forces, and Sadoc was deemed worthy of the high priesthood. ^C The king confined Semei in Jerusalem, so that he might not leave it; if he did, he set death as the penalty for him. But he, after three years, when his servants had fled, went out in search of them. And Solomon, learning of this, ordered the man to be killed. Solomon took the daughter of Pharaoh as his wife, and he raised the walls of Jerusalem to a greater height and made them more fortified. God appeared to him in a dream and told him to ask for whatever he wished. He asked for intelligence and wisdom to be given to him. And God, accepting his request, promised to give him both wisdom and a great mind, such as no one before him or after him would have. He added that he would also give him what he had not asked for: wealth, victory, and glory, if he would keep His commandments and ordinances. After this, two women came to him; one of them said, "O King, we live in the same house, and there is no one else with us. We both gave birth to male children at the same time. But after a little while, this woman, while sleeping, overlaid her own child and found him dead when she awoke. ^D And while I was sleeping, she took the dead infant from my side and put it in my arms, and took the living one."

^A After some time, the Rutulians, having obtained an alliance from the Tyrrhenians, attacked Aeneas and were victorious in the war. Aeneas disappeared, and as he was never seen living or dead, he was honored among the Latins as a god. From this, he is considered by the Romans to be the patriarch of their race, and they pride themselves on being called Aeneadae. Aeneas’s son, Ascanius, who had accompanied his father from his homeland, inherited the rule of the Latins; for Aeneas had not yet had a child born from his union with Lavinia, though he had left her pregnant. The enemy surrounded and besieged Ascanius, but the Latins attacked them by night, breaking both the siege and the war. When time had passed and the Latins had multiplied, the majority of them left the city of Lavinium and built another in a better location, which they called Alba, from its whiteness, and Longa, because of its length; the Greeks would translate this as "white and long." When Ascanius passed away, the Latins preferred the son born to Aeneas from Lavinia for the throne over the son of Ascanius, choosing him—who was called Silvius—because he was the grandson of Latinus. From Silvius, Aeneas was born, and from Aeneas came Latinus, and Latinus was succeeded by ^B Pastis. Later, Tiberinus ruled, and falling into the river then called Albula, he perished; from him, the river was renamed the Tiber, which, flowing through Rome, is most beneficial to the city and most useful to the Romans in every way. A descendant of Tiberinus was Amulius, who, being arrogant and daring to imagine himself a god—as if to rival the thunder with machines, to flash back at lightning, and to strike with thunderbolts—perished when the lake by which his palace was situated suddenly flooded and drowned both him and the palace. His son Aventinus died in war. These are the matters concerning Lavinium and the Albans; as for the Roman beginning, it had Numitor and Amulius, who were grandsons of Aventinus and descendants of Aeneas. Upon the kingdom of Alba coming to them by inheritance, they wished to divide both it and their possessions. Amulius placed the wealth and the kingdom in separate portions, and invited his brother to make the choice, whereupon Numitor chose the kingdom, as he was the older brother. But Amulius, having taken the wealth and gathered power from it, stripped him of the kingdom as well. Because Numitor had a daughter and Amulius feared that children born of her might rise up against him, he appointed her a priestess of Vesta, intending for her to remain unmarried and a virgin for life. But she was later discovered with child by Ares, as the myth tells it, though it was certainly by some man. She was therefore confined so that her childbirth would not go unnoticed, and she bore twin boys, large and handsome. Fearing this even more, Amulius ordered the infants to be cast away. The person who took them placed them in a trough and threw them into the river ^C Tiber. The current carried the trough away and deposited it in a soft, muddy spot. There, they relate, a she-wolf approached the lying infants and gave them her teat, and a woodpecker was present, feeding and guarding them. While the infants were lying there, a swineherd of Amulius named Faustulus secretly took them away; they were raised by his wife, whose name was Larentia, and one was called Romulus and the other Remus. Some, however, say that it was not a she-wolf who was the nurse of the children—which is more plausible, if not more true—but that the story arose in this way: the Romans call both she-wolves and prostitutes "lupa"; because Larentia, who raised the children, was a prostitute and thus called a "lupa," she gave room to the myth. Growing up, they were both spirited and manly; but Romulus seemed more outstanding in intelligence and by nature more of a leader than a follower. Once, when a dispute arose between the shepherds of Numitor and those of Amulius, the brothers joined in striking them and seized a large portion of the herd. When Remus was walking alone with a few others, Numitor’s shepherds lay in wait, captured him, and brought him to Numitor, who went to Amulius and asked to obtain justice, being a brother and having been insulted by his own servants. Amulius handed Remus over to Numitor to deal with as he wished. When he returned home and saw the young man, who was superior in size and strength, and marveled at his boldness and unsubdued spirit, he inquired with a gentle voice who he was and where he came from. He fearlessly said: "We are twin brothers, and our origins are said to be secret, and our upbringing and nursing more wondrous still, having been raised by beasts and birds while lying in a trough by the great river, which still survives, with faint letters engraved on copper bands." Numitor, from both the words of Remus and his appearance, was moved to think of his daughter’s exposed children; but Faustulus, having learned of the arrest of Remus, called on Romulus to help, having now clearly instructed him about his birth—for previously he had only hinted at it—so that they would not think lowly of themselves. He himself, carrying the trough, went to Numitor, full of haste and fear. Suspected by the guards at the gates of Amulius and troubled about what he would say, he did not escape notice covering the trough with his cloak. Assuming he was bringing something stolen, they brought the trough into the middle. And it happened that one of those who had exposed the infants was present there.

^A But she who falsely claimed to be its mother, once the judgment was applauded, demanded that the dissection be hastened. Then the king ordered the living child to be handed over to her who had pleaded against the dissection, for he judged that she was the mother, who so greatly feared for the slaughter of the child. This was a clear argument for the people of the wisdom of the king, who indeed surpassed all the ancients in talent and prudence. He composed three thousand parables and five thousand songs; and starting from the cedar even to the hyssop, he proceeded to describe plants, and he investigated and searched out the natures of terrestrial, aerial, and aquatic animals and their properties. He also found, for the benefit of mankind, incantations against demons and methods of exorcism by which demons are put to flight. Josephus asserts that this remedy persisted until his own time, and in attestation of this matter he narrates a story of this kind: that a certain Eleazar, a man of his own people, had a ring, under the seal of which was a root, from among those that Solomon had indicated, which, if it were brought to the nose of a demoniac, would extract the demon through the nostrils by smell alone. Then, mentioning Solomon, he would recite his incantations and adjure the demon not to return into the man. He says that Eleazar did this in the presence of Vespasian and his sons, and in proof of the power infused against the demons, he placed a cup full of water and ordered the demon, as it departed from the sufferer, to overturn it; and so it was done, with no one seeing by whom it was overturned. ^B

IX. He began the construction of the temple in the fourth year of his reign, in the four hundred and fortieth year after the exodus of the people from Egypt. But concerning its dimensions, height, and length, and its form, the third book of Kings and the eighth book of the Antiquities of Josephus, where he writes about the temple, do not agree; but they differ in most points. But the one who wishes to know more curiously about the cause of this difference, and about the two golden Cherubim placed around the innermost sanctuary, about the ark, about the brazen sea, about the basins, about the size of the brazen altar, about the form of the golden table, and whatever golden and silver vessels Solomon dedicated to the temple, will find them accurately described in the third book of Kings and in the Antiquities of Josephus. Having completed the temple with all its ornament in seven years, and having convoked the people to Jerusalem by the king, the priests carried the ark and the tabernacle made by Moses, and the sacred vessels, into the temple, with the king and all the people preceding, the Levites making libations and offering incense. The ark, in which the two stone tablets were, was placed in the innermost sanctuary ^C between the two Cherubim. When the priests had departed from the sanctuary, the house was filled with the glory of the Lord and a cloud over the whole ^D

who, recognizing the trough, ran and told Amulius. And Faustulus, being questioned by the king, confessed that the children were indeed safe, but that they were pasturing far from Alba; and that he was carrying the trough to Ilia, the mother of the children, as she longed to see it. Disturbed by these things, Amulius sent a man to Numitor to inquire if he had learned anything about the children as being still alive. The one sent was a friend of Numitor. Having gone, then, and finding Numitor in the complications surrounding Romulus, he both encouraged him and advised him not to delay, and he himself acted in concert. Just then Romulus was also near, bringing a large force of country-folk; and not a few of the citizens approached him out of hatred for Amulius. Thus, when matters had turned out in this way, Amulius was put to death without having either done or devised anything to save himself. Romulus and Remus, however, having assigned the sovereignty of Alba to their maternal grandfather, and proper honor to their mother, decided to be for themselves; for neither did they endure to be ruled, and they wished to found a city where they had been reared. But as they were intent upon the building of the city, a dispute occurred between the brothers concerning both the rule and the city, and they proceeded to battle, in which Remus died. Another account holds that while Romulus was already digging a ditch, which was destined to be the outer wall of the city, Remus was partly preventing the work and partly mocking it; and finally, as he jumped over it because it was easy to attack, some record that Romulus struck him, while others say it was someone else, causing him to fall. Whence it was also established that he who dares to cross the ditch of the camp, ignoring the customary paths, should be put to death.

Romulus, having buried his brother, began to settle the city. He yoked a male bovine with a female, and having fitted a bronze plowshare to the plow, he himself traced a deep circular furrow; the followers, meanwhile, turned all the clods, which the plow threw up, inside the furrow. And where the wall was to rise, according to what has been said, the furrow was cut; but where they intended to place gates, they made a gap in the furrow, holding the plow above the ground. For they consider every wall sacred; but if they were to consider the gates sacred, it would not be possible to bring in some items through them, or to send out others of the necessary and unclean things. ^B The foundation of this city was completed on the day before the eleven calends of May, which would be rather the twentieth of April; and the Romans celebrate this day, calling it the birthday of the fatherland. Romulus is recorded to have been eighteen years of age when he settled Rome. He built it around the dwelling of Faustulus; and the place was named Palatium.

However, once the city was founded, he divided the multitude that was of military age into military cohorts; and each cohort consisted of three thousand foot soldiers and three hundred horsemen, and it was called a legion, because those who were warlike were chosen out of the whole, while he treated the rest as the common people. And he named the people *populus*; whence also in legal books, the popular assembly is called *popularia*. Furthermore, from those who were more illustrious in lineage, and wisdom, and choice of life, he appointed one hundred councilors, naming them *patricians*; and he designated the remaining system a *senatus*, which is a council of elders. The councilors were called patricians either because they were fathers of legitimate children, or rather because they themselves were able to prove their own fathers, being each from a known lineage, or from patronage; for thus they called protection; for they named those who were protective and helpful *patrons*. One might especially guess the intention of Romulus if one thought that through this naming he meant to imply that the first and most powerful of the city should exercise paternal care for the humbler folk, and at the same time to lead the common people, through the designation of the patricians, not to be annoyed at the honors of their superiors, but to be disposed toward them with goodwill, thinking of them as fathers and addressing them as such.

Since many had settled in the city, of whom few were joined with wives, a concern arose for Romulus so that they too might house wives for themselves. For being a mixed crowd and from poor and obscure origins, they were looked down upon for marriage by the neighboring nations. He therefore schemes to take wives for his citizens by abduction, and he proclaims that he will celebrate a sacrifice, a contest, and a gala spectacle, as if an altar had been found for a new god. And many came together. He himself presided with the nobles, adorned in a purple robe; he gave the people the signal for the operation by the unfolding of the purple robe and again the wrapping of it. When this happened, they drew their swords with a shout and rushed forward and snatched the daughters of the Sabines, who were virgins, and not the wives of any men. ^C When the abduction had been dared, the Sabines, being many and warlike and living in unwalled villages because of their pride as descendants of the Lacedaemonians, sent an embassy to Romulus, seeking to undo the act of violence, and to strive for friendship and kinship among the lineages by persuasion and law. But as Romulus would not release the maidens and was demanding that the Sabines accept the alliance, the others were delaying in deliberation, but Acron, the king of the Caeninenses, a spirited man and most warlike, arose first and marched with a great force against Romulus. Being arrived at the same place, they challenged one another to fight, while the armies remained still. Once the duel between the two had taken place, Romulus cast down Acron, and his army was also routed when a battle was joined;

^A temple enveloped it; from which they imagined that God had descended upon the temple and dwelt within it. The king, rejoicing at these things, offered thanksgiving to God, and blessed the people, and prayed that the Divine might be attentive to all who prayed within it. Then he brought sacrifices to the altar. And God, showing how graciously He accepted them, caused fire to flash down from the air, to be borne to the altar, and to consume the whole sacrifice. Seeing these things, the people blessed God. The king also gave thanks, and having celebrated the festival lavishly, dismissed the assembly. A dream which had happened to the king made it clear that the Lord had heard his prayer, and that the temple would be preserved, and he himself would be raised to the height of prosperity, and that those sprung from him would rule the country, if he himself and they and the people should not disregard the divine commandments; but if not, He threatened to root out his race, and to subject the people to servitude and myriad afflictions, and to deliver the temple to burning and plunder, and the city to destruction and stripping. Thus, then, were the affairs of the temple completed for Solomon.

After these things, he built royal palaces for himself, opulent and splendid, and he also repaired the walls of Jerusalem, and built other cities; and those of the Canaanites in Lebanon whom he had brought under himself, he compelled to submit to an unaccustomed yoke, and made them tributary. Furthermore, he untied and explained the subtleties and riddles sent to him by Hiram, the king of the Tyrians; of which Josephus is the authority that the ancient historians, Dius and Menander, made mention.

His learning and wisdom being celebrated everywhere among the nations, a certain queen of Egypt and Ethiopia, a studious seeker of wisdom, arrived at Jerusalem. ^B And the king received her honorably, and easily solved the questions proposed by her, so that the queen, stupefied, said that she saw more than she had heard. She marveled at the palaces, and the luxury of the meals, and all the royal service, and the sacrifices in the temple, and the orderliness of those offering the sacrifices. She gifted the king with gold and with precious stones, and with ineffable spices, and with roots of balsam, so that from that time balsam began to grow in Palestine. And Solomon in turn rewarded the queen with many good things, and she returned to her own lands.

^{C D} X. But the king, having become the most glorious of all those before him, and excelling in wisdom and wealth, did not remain in the divine statutes. Having contracted an incontinence regarding sexual pleasures, and being maddened after women, he was not content with those of his own race, but married very many foreign women as well; and, indulging them for the sake of his love, he also worshipped their gods. For he married seven hundred daughters of illustrious rulers, and three hundred concubines, and the daughter of the king of the Egyptians. Therefore the Lord said to Solomon: "Because you have not kept what I commanded you, I will tear asunder your kingdom, and will give it to your servant." Nor yet

^A Having taken up the authority, he first dissolved the arrangement of the three hundred men whom Romulus always kept about his person; for he said that one ought not to distrust those who are trusted, nor did he deem it right to reign over those who are distrusted. Then he attempted to make the city, from being harsh and warlike, milder and more peaceful. He forbade the Romans from erecting any human-like or animal-like image of God; wherefore there was among them neither written nor sculpted form of a deity, and though temples were raised for them in the space of one hundred and seventy years, they made no figurative icon, as it was considered neither holy to liken higher things to inferior ones, nor possible to attain to God in any other way than by the intellect. He also decreed that sacrifices should be made bloodless, by means of barley-meal and libations; for he said that the gods, being guardians of peace and justice, must be free from murder. He also decreed that one should neither listen to nor look upon divine matters in a perfunctory or careless manner, but should take leisure from other things and apply the mind as to the greatest of all activities: that which concerns piety. From these and many other things, which we pass over because of their number, Numa instilled in the people of that time a disposition toward the divine by means of habituation. ^B It is said that he was so hung upon the divine through his hopes that when, at one time, word was brought to him while he was sacrificing that enemies were approaching, he smiled and said, "And I am sacrificing." That land which Romulus had acquired by the spear he allotted to the needy among the citizens, taking away from them their poverty, as the creative cause of injustice, and turning them to agriculture, as this habituated the populace and was able to instill a keen love of peace.

It is said that January and February were added to the months by him, as he enacted legislation for the year to be reckoned according to the course of the moon, whereas before it had been ten months, just as it was three months for some of the barbarians, and for the Greeks, four months for the Arcadians, but six for the Acarnanians. For the Egyptians the year was one month, then four; wherefore they seem to be the most ancient, though they are not, adding an unbelievable number of years to their genealogies, as they set the months as the number of years. Numa also assigned January to the beginning of the year. ^C And as he had habituated his subjects to justice and piety, the matters of war were entirely removed. For not only had the Roman people been tamed by the king’s good laws and gentleness, but even the cities round about received the beginning of a change, and a longing for peace and justice flowed into everyone, leading them to plant the earth, nourish their children in tranquility, and venerate the gods. For neither war nor faction, nor revolution regarding the constitution, is recorded while Numa reigned, and it is not written that there was any enmity or envy against him, or any conspiracy or plotting by men for the sake of the desire for kingship. Since he had a daughter, Pompilia, he gave her in marriage to Marcius; from whom Marcius Ancus, his grandson, was born, who reigned after Tullus Hostilius. Numa died, leaving him a child of five years, wasting away little by little from old age and a mild illness, having lived eighty-three years, and having reigned forty-three years.

When Numa had died and left no successor, Tullus Hostilius was chosen by the people and the senate. ^D He, mocking most of Numa’s customs, emulated Romulus, and he himself rushed toward battles and incited the populace. At any rate, when plunderings had occurred from the Albans against the Romans, both sides rushed toward battle; but before joining in conflict they were reconciled, and it seemed good for both to dwell together in one city. As each held to their own and thought the other must migrate to their own city, they abandoned the intention. Then they disagreed regarding the sovereignty; and since neither yielded it to the other, they agreed to compete for the rule. It seemed best neither for the entire armies to fight nor, indeed, for the matter to be decided by single combat. There were among both sides triplet brothers, born of sibling mothers, of the same age and equal in strength; those of the Romans were called the Horatii, and those of the Albans the Curiatii. These they put forward for the battle, regarding their kinship with one another as nothing. And they, having armed themselves and drawn up in the space between the armies, invoked the gods of their kin and kept looking up to the sun. Joining battle, they fought sometimes in a group, sometimes one against one. Finally, two of the Romans having fallen, and all of the Albans having been wounded, the remaining Horatius—because, even though he was unwounded, he could not stand against the three at once—fled, so that by pursuing him they might be scattered; and when they were dispersed in the pursuit, setting upon each one, he slew them all. And from that he was honored; but because he also killed his sister, who was wailing when she saw Horatius carrying the spoils of her cousins, he was tried for murder; but having requested an appeal to the people, he was acquitted.

The Albans were at that time subjects of the Romans, but later, having broken the treaties—and having been called as subjects to the alliance, they attempted to defect to the enemies at the time of the battle and to join in attacking the Romans—having been detected, they were punished; and many were slaughtered, as was their leader, Mettius, while the others suffered relocation, and their city, Alba, was razed, having been considered the mother-city of the Romans for about five hundred years. Tullus appeared most powerful against his enemies, but he neglected the divine. When a pestilential disease broke out and he himself became ill, he turned toward superstition. It is said, however, that he met the end of his life having been burned by lightning, or else plotted against by Marcius Ancus, who happened to be, as was said, the grandson of Numa. He reigned over the Romans for thirty-two years.

will I take away the whole kingdom from him, but leaving two tribes to him, and Jerusalem for the sake of my servant David, I will give the remaining ten to his servant. ^A Nor did much time pass when Hadad stood up in war against Israel. This man was an Edomite of royal lineage, who, when Idumea was subjugated by Joab in the times of David, had fled as a child into Egypt, and having been kindly received and cherished by Pharaoh, had married the sister of the king’s wife. He, therefore, when he had become a man, having learned of the deaths of David and Joab, was desirous of returning to his ancestral throne; but he was held back by Pharaoh. But when affairs began to go badly for Solomon, Hadad was allowed to depart, and he returned to Idumea. But since it was held by strong garrisons, he betook himself to Syria; and having gathered a band of brigands, he occupied this land, and also began to plunder the territory of the Hebrews. Now Jeroboam, son of Nebat, while he was a child serving the king, had been observed by Solomon to be of a noble disposition, and when he was building the walls of Jerusalem, he had placed him in charge of the structure of the work. As he was once setting out on a journey, he fell in with the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite. He, having led him aside a little from the path, and having rent his own garment into twelve pieces, gave ten to him with these words: "Thus will the Lord rend the kingdom of Solomon, and will leave two tribes to his son for the sake of his grandfather, but to you He will give the ten, and you shall reign over them. But do you hold to the laws of the Lord, and be righteous." Elated by this oracle, Jeroboam busied himself with new designs. But the king, having learned of the matter, thought of doing away with him. ^C But he fled into Egypt and lived there until the death of Solomon. Now he died, as the book of Kings relates, having lived fifty-two years. For he is reported to have ascended to the kingdom at twelve years of age, and to have held it for forty years. Josephus, however, hands down that he lived ninety-four years and reigned eighty, having lived happily and gloriously, unless he had in his old age violated the ancestral laws, led by the illicit loves of foreign women and having followed their religions.

XI. On the succession of Rehoboam

^D He had as his successor in the kingdom his son Rehoboam, to whom the people, having flocked together and suppliantly begged that he might be kinder than his father and relax the yoke of servitude imposed by Solomon upon their necks, he said that he would deliberate, and would answer after three days. He consulted therefore the elders of his paternal ministers, as to what should be answered. They advised that the people should be addressed gently, not proudly and arrogantly. After the senate, he communicated the matter with the youths who had been raised with him, and following their counsel...

^A Having fought against the Latins who had revolted, and then against the Sabines who had invaded Roman territory, supported by the Tyrrhenians, he overcame them all. ^B Regarding the priestesses of Vesta, who are required to remain virgins for life, when he discovered that one had been defiled by a man, he constructed a long, underground passage; placing inside it a bed, a lamp, and a table full of food, he brought the defiled woman, who was being escorted there, and having led her in alive, walled her up. And ever since that time, it has been established that those priestesses who do not maintain their virginity are to be punished in this way; but those who defile them are put into a bifurcated wooden yoke in the marketplace, after which, while being stripped and scourged, they expire.

However, the sons of Marcius conspired against Tarquinius, since he would not yield the rule to them, but instead preferred a certain Tullius—himself born of a captive woman—above all others; this was what particularly grieved the nobles. Having gained the support of some of them, they plotted against him, preparing two men dressed as rustics and armed with axes and sickles to attack him. When they did not find Tarquinius in the marketplace, they came to the doors of the royal palace, ostensibly bickering with one another, and requested a viewing of him. Having obtained this, they engaged in a verbal dispute, and while Tarquinius was paying attention to one of them who was pleading his case, the other made an end of him.

^C Tarquinius, therefore, met such an end, having reigned for thirty-eight years. Tullius succeeded to the kingdom of Rome, with the cooperation of Tarquinius’ wife, Tanaquil. This man was born to a woman named Ocrisia, the wife of Servius Tullius, a Latin man; she was taken captive in war and was selected for Tarquinius, being pregnant either from her own home or having conceived after the capture—for both are reported. While this boy was still of tender age, he took a nap during the day on a chair, and a great fire appeared to burst forth from his head. Observing this, Tarquinius held the boy in great regard, and when he reached adulthood, assigned him to the council of nobles and the senate.

When the murderers of Tarquinius were seized, his wife and Tullius, having learned of the preparation of the plot, did not disclose the death of Tarquinius immediately, but, taking him up as if he were still breathing, they feigned that they were treating him; and in the meantime, they gave pledges to one another that Tullius, having received the rule, would cede it to her sons when they reached manhood. When the multitude gathered and caused a disturbance, Tanaquil, leaning out from the upper chambers, said, "Do not fear; for my husband both lives and will be seen by you in a while." And in order that he himself might have peace to recover, and that his recovery might not be a hindrance to public affairs, she entrusted the administration of the commonwealth to Tullius, at least for the present. She said these things, and they did not receive Tullius unwillingly, for he seemed to be a good man.

Being entrusted with the economy of the commonwealth, he managed the majority of affairs ostensibly according to the instructions of Tarquinius. But when he saw that he was obeyed in all things, he brought the perpetrators of the murder against Tarquinius before the senate under the pretext of the conspiracy; for he still pretended that [Tarquinius] was alive. Those who were condemned died, and the sons of Marcius, fearing for themselves, fled to the Volscians. Then he disclosed the death of Tarquinius and openly took hold of the kingdom. And first, he proposed that he should act as regent for the children of Tarquinius; then he turned to conciliating the populace, intending to win over the common people more easily than the nobles. He gave them money, distributed land to each, and arranged for slaves to be manumitted and enrolled into tribes. Since the powerful were vexed at this, he decreed that the freedmen should serve in return those who had manumitted them. When the nobles were hostile to him and spread various rumors, including that he held the rule without anyone choosing him, he gathered the people and delivered a public speech; having spoken many persuasive things to them, he so disposed them that they immediately voted him the entire kingdom. He, in return, showed them various favors, including inscribing some of them into the council. These, though in times past they were held in significantly less regard than the nobles, as time went on, with the exception of the interregnum and the priesthoods, shared equal status with the nobles, and differed in nothing except for their footwear. For the footwear of the nobles was decorated in the manner of the city, with the interweaving of thongs and the pattern of a letter, so that they might appear to descend from the hundred men who were the first to deliberate. They say the letter is Rho, being either a sign indicating the number of those hundred men or as the initial of the name of the rulers of the Romans.

Tullius thus attached the common people to himself, but fearing lest some faction occur, he entrusted most and the strongest of the public affairs to those who were more powerful; and thus, they came to an agreement with one another and managed the commonwealth excellently. He also waged some wars against the Veientines and against all the Tyrrhenians, in which nothing worthy of being recorded occurred. Wishing to attach the Latins more closely to the Romans, he persuaded them to construct a temple in Rome from public funds. And they dedicated this to Artemis. They disputed regarding its wardenship. In the meantime, a Sabine man was leading a very beautiful ox to Rome, as if he were about to sacrifice it to Artemis according to some prophecy. The prophecy said that the one who sacrificed it would increase his fatherland.

they recommended that he address the people more harshly and present his words in a way proportional to the magnitude of the empire and the kingly dignity. Roboamus agreed to these, and when the multitude had gathered again: "If my father made your yoke heavy," he said, "I will make it heavier. If he chastised you with whips, I will punish you with scorpions; and you shall experience that my little finger is thicker than my father's loins." Having heard these things, the multitude exclaimed: "What part have we in David?" and, deeply displeased, they departed. When Roboamus sent one of his close men to address them and appease them, they stoned the man to death in their anger. ^A Roboamus, struck with fear, fled to Jerusalem, with only the tribe of Judah and that of Benjamin remaining with him. The rest, once Jeroboam had returned from Egypt following the death of Solomon, summoned him and chose him as their king. Roboamus made preparations to fight the Israelites for the sake of the kingdom and against Jeroboam, but he was prohibited by God through the prophet Semeias. Jeroboam, fearing that the multitudes traveling to Jerusalem and mingling with those there might turn back to their former king and abandon him, made two golden calves, placing one in Bethel and the other in Dan. ^B Having assembled the multitude, he said: "God is everywhere, men, and not only in Jerusalem. Behold, therefore, I have made two calves in the name of God, and there is no longer a need for you to go to Jerusalem. Going to them, worship and sacrifice; for I shall also appoint priests from among yourselves." Deceived by these things, the people violated their ancestral customs and provoked God to anger, so that Israel was eventually delivered into captivity to the foreigners. Jeroboam, having appointed priests and built an altar, held a feast, and he himself ascended to the altar, and the priests were around him. And as he was about to sacrifice, a prophet sent from God stood by and said: "Thus says the Lord: ^C Behold, an altar will arise from David, one named Josias, who will sacrifice your priests upon you and burn their bones. And that it may be clear that my words are true, behold, the altar will be rent, and the fat placed upon it will be poured out upon the ground." Immediately at these words, both the altar was rent and the fat of the victims was poured out; and the hand of Jeroboam, which he had stretched out ordering that the prophet be seized, became withered and remained motionless, until he had entreated the prophet to have it restored to its integrity. When he was invited by the king to dine, he refused, because he had been forbidden by God to eat bread or drink water, or to return by the same way he had entered the city. Thus he departed by another way. However, there was in that city a certain pseudo-prophet ^D who was seducing Jeroboam, coveting his favor. When he heard what the prophet of God had said and done, he followed him as he departed and, having overtaken him, asked him to use his hospitality. When he refused because it had been forbidden by God, that wicked man said: "But I too am a prophet, and I am here by God's command so that you may partake of my table." The prophet, trusting the pseudo-prophet

And he, indeed, reported what had been done to Sextus, being unaware of the nature of the deed; but the latter understood the intent of the affair, and some of the more notable of the Gabii he destroyed secretly with poisons, others through certain feigned robbers, while others he killed even through the courts, inventing charges of treachery against them to his father. Herodotus records something similar to this. For he says that Periander, the tyrant of Corinth, the son of Cypselus, sent to Thrasybulus, the tyrant of Miletus, inquiring how he might securely hold the affairs of his rule. And Thrasybulus made no reply to the one who reported this, but taking him into a field of corn, he cut down and cast away the ears that stood higher than the rest, and thus sent away the envoy. And when he returned and was asked for Thrasybulus's advice, he said that he had been sent to a madman, and he recounted everything that he did, without speaking a word regarding that for which he was asked; but Periander understood the reasoning of Thrasybulus, and destroyed all the notable men of the Corinthians. Sextus, therefore, dealt with the Gabii in this way, destroying those who were superior, and distributing their wealth to the multitude. And after this, with some having already been destroyed, and the rest being deceived and believing him in all things, he seized the city with the captive Romans and the deserters, whom he had gathered in great numbers for this purpose, and handed it over to his father. And he in turn gave it over to his son, while he himself waged war against other nations.

He also acquired the oracles of the Sibyl for the Romans, even against his will. For a certain woman, a prophetess, whom they called Sibyl, came to Rome bearing three or nine books, and she offered them for sale to Tarquin and fixed the price of the books. When he paid no heed to her, she burned one or three of the books. And as Tarquin again neglected her, she similarly destroyed others from the remaining ones. And when she was about to burn the still remaining ones, the augurs forced him to purchase at least the ones that were saved. And he purchased them for as much as he was to have acquired all of them, and entrusted them to two senatorial men to guard. And as they did not fully understand what was written, they sent two men to Greece and brought from there those who would read and interpret these. And the neighbors, wishing to learn what on earth was signified by the books, bribed one of the guardians, Marcus Acillius, and copied some parts. When the deed was discovered, Marcus was thrown into a sack sewn together and cast into the sea, which from that time later prevailed to be done against parricides, so that neither the earth, nor the water, nor the sun might be defiled by his dying. ^A

He was building the temple on the Tarpeian hill according to the vow of his father. As the earth was being torn open for the laying of the foundations, the head of a man who had recently died appeared, still bloody. The Romans therefore sent to a Tyrrhenian man, a monster-seer, asking what was signified by that which had appeared. And he, contriving to transfer the sign to the Tyrrhenian land, made a diagram on the ground, and having inserted into it both the position of Rome and the Tarpeian hill, he was about to ask the ambassadors, "Is this Rome? Is this the hill? Was the head found here?", so that if they, suspecting nothing, agreed, the power of the sign might be transferred to the place in which he had marked it out. And he indeed contrived these things, but the ambassadors, having learned the trick from that son of his, when asked, said that Rome does not dwell there, but in Latium, and the hill is in the country of the Romans, and the head was found on that hill. And thus, with the machine of the monster-seer being thwarted, they learned the whole truth and reported to the citizens that they would be most mighty and rule over most people. Thus, hope also grew in them from this. And from then on, the hill was renamed by them the Capitol; for in the language of the Romans, the head is called *capita*.

Being in need of money for the construction of the temple, Tarquin waged war against the Ardeates; from which he neither acquired funds ^B and fell from the kingship. Certain signs occurred to him also that were indicative of his downfall. For from his garden vultures drove out the young of eagles, and from the dining hall in which he was feasting with friends, a great serpent appeared and cast out both him and his fellow diners. On account of these things, he sent his sons Titus and Arruns to Delphi. When Apollo then prophesied that he would fall from power when a dog should speak in a human voice, he was buoyed by good hopes, not thinking that the prophecy would ever come to pass.

There was Lucius Junius, the son of the sister of Tarquin, whose father and brother Tarquin had killed. This man, therefore, fearing also for himself, feigned madness, setting this forward as the savior of himself; for which reason he was surnamed Brutus; for the Latins are accustomed to call simpletons such. Feigning, therefore, the madman, he was taken along by the children of Tarquin as they went to Delphi, as a plaything. He also said that he was carrying an offering to the god; and it was a walking stick, having nothing of value appearing from the outside, for which reason he also incurred laughter for this. But it was like an image of the pretense he maintained; for having hollowed it out, he secretly poured in gold, demonstrating through it that even his mind, though dishonored by the garb of stupidity, was kept safe and honorable. While the sons of Tarquin were asking who would succeed to the kingship of their father, the god prophesied that the first one to kiss his mother would possess the power.

returned. But when he was being entertained there, the word of the Lord came to the prophet, declaring that because he did not keep what was commanded of him, he would be slain by a lion on the road. And as he was returning, a lion killed him, and remaining beside him, it guarded both the corpse and the pack animal. The pseudo-prophet, having learned what had happened, brought together the body of the deceased, and buried him, and commanded his own children that when he died, they should bury him with the prophet; having contrived this so that when, according to the prophecy of that man, the altar should be destroyed, and the bones of the priests and pseudo-prophets should be consigned to fire, he himself might escape that disgrace if his body were laid to rest with the man of God. And so these things happened in this way.

XII. Jeroboam, however, did not diminish his own impiety to such an extent that he would not even increase it daily, selling to those who wished for a price that false priesthood of the high places. And this action was reckoned to him as a sin, and it came to pass as the ruin and destruction ^B of his house. But if it is considered a sin to sell that profane priesthood for money, what shall we say of those who sell and buy the truly divine priesthood, by which that venerable and unbloody sacrifice is performed? But when Abijah, the son of Jeroboam, was ill, the king sent his wife, dressed in commoner's clothing, to the prophet Ahijah, to inquire whether the boy would recover from the sickness. But the prophet, having recognized the ruse, said: "Do not hide yourself, wife of Jeroboam. But go, and say to your husband that because you have abandoned God and have made yourself molten gods, expect that the kingdom will be taken away, and you yourself will be utterly destroyed with all your kin. And because for you who acted impiously the multitude followed, neither will that go unpunished. But you, woman, go, and you will find your son dead, who will be both buried and lamented. For only this one among [the children of] Jeroboam was good." The woman, having departed, found the boy dead and reported the words of the prophet to her husband; yet he, being a man of corrupt mind, was made not one bit ^C better. But while Rehoboam was reigning in Jerusalem, the priests and Levites of the Israelite race, and as many among the multitude who understood what was good, having abandoned their own cities, arrived at Jerusalem. From which the kingdom of Rehoboam increased, although he himself also acted impiously toward God, and the entire house of Judah grew negligent of the worship of God. For this reason, Shishak, the king of Egypt, ascended against Jerusalem with a heavy force ^D in the fifth year of the reign of Rehoboam; and he, being shut up in the city together with the people, sought salvation from God with prayers, confessing their transgressions.

^A Brutus, understanding this, fell down as if by accident and kissed the earth, rightly judging her to be the mother of all. This Brutus overthrew the Tarquins, taking as his cause the incident involving Lucretia, and also because they were hated by all on account of their tyrannical and violent nature. Lucretia was the daughter of Spurius Lucretius, a man who was one of the senators, and the wife of Collatinus Tarquinius, a nobleman; she was renowned for her beauty and modesty. Sextus, the son of Tarquin, set his heart on dishonoring her, not so much because he was in love with her beauty as because he was plotting against her reputation for modesty. Watching, therefore, for when Collatinus was away from home, he came to her by night as if he were a relative, and stayed with her. At first, he tried to persuade her with words to be with him, then he proceeded to use force; but as he achieved nothing, he threatened to kill her. And when she disregarded death, he threatened to lay a slave by her side, kill them both, and spread the story that he had killed them when he found them sleeping together. This disturbed Lucretia, and fearing that such a tale might be believed, she yielded. After being defiled, she placed a small dagger under her pillow and, having sent for her husband and her father—who were accompanied by Brutus and Publius Valerius—she wept and, with a sigh, recounted the whole affair. Then she added: "As for me, I shall do what befits myself; but you, if you are men, seek vengeance for me, free yourselves, and show the tyrants what sort of men you are and what sort of woman they have insulted." Having said this, she immediately drew the dagger and killed herself. ^B Those who heard and saw these things were overcome with grief. Brutus, using Publius as his counselor and supporter in the task, displayed the woman lying there to many of the common people. By haranguing the rest, he managed to ignite their hatred against the tyrants, and they agreed to receive Tarquin no longer. Having accomplished this, and having entrusted the city to the others, he himself rode to the camp and persuaded the soldiers to pass the same vote as the people. Tarquin, learning what had happened and hurrying to the city, was driven away, and he fled to the Tarquinians with his children and others who shared his opinions, with only Tullia, as the story goes, taking her own life. Thus Tarquin, having been a tyrant for twenty-five years, was cast out of power, and the Romans turned toward Brutus and chose him as their leader. But so that the monarchy would not appear to be a kingdom, they voted that the husband of that Lucretia, Collatinus Tarquinius, should be his co-ruler, as he was believed to bear hostility toward the tyrants on account of the violence done to his wife. ^C From Tarquin, envoys came to Rome to discuss his return; when they achieved nothing, others arrived again, saying that Tarquin would renounce his kingdom and end the war if the money belonging to him, his friends, and his relatives were given to him, so that they might live while in exile. As many were inclined to grant this, including Collatinus himself, who was Brutus’s co-ruler, Brutus ran out of the council chamber into the marketplace, calling Collatinus a traitor who was providing an excuse for war and tyranny. The envoys, staying in Rome on the pretext of settling the financial matters, managed to corrupt some of the prominent men, among whom they persuaded two of Brutus’s own sons to take part in the betrayal. Once they had persuaded the youths, it was decided that an oath should be taken, and for this they gathered in a house. The house was remote and dark. It happened, not by design but by chance, that a slave named Vindicius was inside, and having hidden there, he was a spectator of what was being done and a listener to what was being plotted—which was to kill the consuls and betray the city. These things they had sent to Tarquin through the envoys. When the conspirators had left the house, the slave went out and reported everything. Both those who had planned the betrayal were arrested and the letters were brought; and when they were led into the marketplace, they brought Vindicius forward as well. ^D The letters were read, and while the others were overcome with shame and silence, Brutus, addressing each of his sons by name, said, "Do you have no defense against the accusation?" When they remained silent, he turned to the attendants and said, "The task is now yours." They seized the youths and tore them with rods. While others were weeping for those suffering, the father neither turned his eyes elsewhere nor showed any pity until they had cut off the heads of his sons with an axe. It is not easy to praise or blame this; for either the height of virtue had cast his soul into a state of passionlessness, or the magnitude of the passion had cast it into an absence of feeling—neither of which is a small or human thing, but rather either divine or bestial. Thus, after they had died, Brutus demanded that a vote be cast regarding the other conspirators. He said that he was a sufficient judge for his own sons, but for the others, he yielded the vote to the citizens, who were free. A vote was therefore cast, and they were all beheaded. Some of these were related to Collatinus, for which reason he was angry. Hence, Brutus goaded the people against him so much that they almost killed him with their own hands. But they did not do this, though they forced him to resign his office. In his place, they chose as co-ruler Publius Valerius, who was named Publicola; this name, when translated into Greek, signifies a protector of the people or one most devoted to the people.

in the fifth year of the reign of Rehoboam. ^A Since he besought God to grant salvation to them, and they confessed the sins they had committed against God, God was moved to pity and said that He would not destroy them, but would deliver them into the hands of their enemies. Rehoboam having received the Egyptian into the city upon terms, that man, having broken the covenant, plundered the treasures of God and emptied the royal ones, and took away all the golden weapons that Solomon had made, and the golden spears which David had dedicated. ^B And Rehoboam died, having lived fifty-seven years, of which he reigned seventeen, having left his son Abijah as his successor, against whom Jeroboam campaigned, as he was always waging war upon Rehoboam. But Abijah did not tremble at the incursion, but having drawn up his own against him, he won a renowned victory, such that Jeroboam did not dare to descend into battle thereafter. Abijah died having reigned in Jerusalem for three years, having done that which is evil in the sight of the Lord. And Asa his son reigned, having kept the divine ordinances according to David his own forefather. Jeroboam also died, having completed twenty-two years in the sovereignty. And Nadab his son succeeded him. And he also, having become impious like his father, while besieging the city of the Philistines, Gabathon, was plotted against by Baasa the son of Achias. And he died, having ruled for two years. ^C But Baasa, having become master of the kingdom of the ten tribes, utterly destroyed the whole race of Jeroboam. And he too, like Jeroboam, transgressed the law, and caused the people likewise to sin. And God threatened him through the prophet that He would destroy his house, even as the house of Jeroboam. He too died, having reigned over Israel for twenty-four years. And Ela his son became the successor to his paternal kingdom. Him, Zambres, the commander of his cavalry, having killed while he was drunk, after he had reigned for two years, took away the kingdom and utterly destroyed the whole race of Baasa. The army of the Israelites was besieging Gabathon, and hearing that Zambres had killed Ela and reigned, they proclaimed their own commander, Zambres, king in the camp, and having captured the city of Thersa with him, they took possession of it. But the first Zambres, having entered into the innermost part of the palace, and having burned it, perished together with it, having held the power for seven days. ^D Then the people were divided, and a part of them chose Zambres, and the other part, Thamnis. But those of Zambres, having prevailed and slain Thamnis, secured the government for Zambres, free from sedition. He lived at first reigning in Thersa, but afterwards in the mountain of Marone, on which he built a city, which is called Samaria, he himself having called the mountain Samareon in the name of Semer, from whose name he had bought it. This man surpassed the superior kings in wickedness. He died in the twelfth year of the reign, which devolved upon Achab his son. Thus the kings of the Israelites, one after another, because they violated the ancestral laws, perished in a short time. But Asa, the king of the Hierosolymites, a lover of God, having invoked God as his helper, attacked the king of the Ethiopians, who was invading with great forces, slew many of the enemy, pursued the rest into flight, plundered their camp, and he himself and the people [were enriched] with many spoils.

^A For this reason, they neither guarded the wall nor provided any assistance, until Servilius released those who were held in custody due to overdue debts, decreed immunity from any collections while they were on campaign, and promised to lighten their debts. At that time, therefore, because of these things, they went out against the enemy and won; but because neither were their debts lightened nor did they obtain any other fair treatment, they were again stirred up and angered, and they fomented sedition against the Senate and the commanders.

When war was waged against them again, the commanders decreed the remission of debts, but others opposed it; for this reason, Marcus Valerius was named dictator, being of the family of Publicola and beloved by the multitude. Hence, so many and so eagerly—especially since he also promised them prizes—did they gather, that they overcame the Sabines and the Volscians and Aequians who were allied with them. Because of these successes, the people decreed other honors for Valerius and named him Maximus; translated into Greek, this name means "greatest." ^B Being willing to do a favor for the people, he spoke at length to the Senate, but did not move them to obey. For this reason, he left the council chamber in anger, and after haranguing the people against the Senate, he resigned his leadership. And the people were stirred to sedition even more. For the creditors, holding to the strictness of the contracts and yielding nothing to those in debt, missed the point of accuracy and failed to obtain many other things. For poverty and the desperation resulting from it is a violent evil, and if it also gains the multitude, it is most difficult to fight. At any rate, the strictness of those who were more powerful toward those who were inferior became the cause of the greatest disasters for the Romans. For as the soldiery was pressed by the campaigns and, having hoped for much, was clearly deceived many times, and as the debtors were insulted and abused by the creditors, they were inflamed with such rage that many of the destitute left the city, deserted the camp, and, as if they were enemies, gathered their food from the land.

When things turned out this way, since many were flocking to the secessionists, the senators, fearing that they would become more hostile and that the neighboring peoples would join the sedition, sent ambassadors to them, pledging all that they could rightfully perform. As they were becoming very brazen and would not accept any argument, one of the ambassadors, Agrippa Menenius, asked them to hear a certain fable. ^C Upon obtaining permission, he said that all the members of the body had once rebelled against the stomach. The eyes said: "We provide the hands, which are energetic for work, and the feet for walking; the tongue and the lips are ours, because through us the counsels of the heart are proclaimed; the ears are ours, because through us the words of others are transmitted to the mind; the hands are ours, because being workers, we procure the supplies; the feet, in turn, are ours, because we tire ourselves carrying the whole body, in walking, in working, and in standing; while we are acting in this way, you alone, by being unproductive and idle, are served by all of us like some mistress, and you alone enjoy all the provisions gained by our toil." The stomach, for its part, agreed that things were indeed so, and said: "If it seems good to you, leave me without supplies, without bringing anything to me." This appeared to be the right course, and it was commonly decreed by the members that nothing beyond that should be supplied to the stomach. When no food was provided to it, neither were the hands able to be moved for work, having become weak due to the failure of the stomach, nor were the feet strong, nor did any other of the members provide its own proper activity without hindrance, but all were useless, difficult to move, or completely immobile. And then they understood that what was provided to the stomach was not for its benefit as much as it was for their own, and that each of them enjoyed a share of what was supplied to it.

By these words, the multitude realized that the possessions of the wealthy are also for the benefit of the poor, and that even if the wealthy profit from loans and increase their wealth, this does not result in harm to the many, since if those who had wealth did not possess it, the poor would not have anyone to lend to them in times of need, and they would perish when an urgent necessity arose. ^D Having become milder from this, they were reconciled, the Senate having decreed for them a lightened burden of debts and a remission of overdue payments. Fearing that if their association were scattered they would either not secure the terms of the agreement or be harmed once they were dissolved, each being punished by some pretense or other, they agreed to aid one another if anyone were treated unjustly. They took oaths to this effect, and immediately chose two protectors from among themselves, and then more, so that they might have assistants and vindicators in their group. This they did not do only once, but from then on the matter began and developed in this way, and every year they appointed their protectors as a sort of office—called in the Latin tongue "tribunes," for that is what the commanders of tribes are called, but named "demarchs" (people's leaders) in the Greek language. And so that the designation of the tribunes might be distinguished, they added to one the designation of "the soldiers," and to the others, that of "the people." These tribunes or demarchs of the multitude have been the cause of great evils to Rome. For they did not initially have the name of magistrates, yet they acquired power exceeding all others; they defended any who asked, and they rescued everyone who called upon them, not only from private citizens, but even from the magistrates themselves, except for the dictators.

When the king and his army were withdrawing, the prophet Azarias met them and declared that God was the giver of victory to him and the people, provided they were diligent in righteousness. He promised that if they pursued virtue, they would have prosperity hereafter, but that if they neglected the commandments of God, many painful things would befall them. Asa, therefore, having finished his life in piety and reached a ripe old age, died, having reigned for forty-one years, leaving the sovereignty to his son Josaphat.

XIII. OF AHAB AND THE PROPHET ELIAS

^C Ahab, ^C dwelling in the royal city of Samaria, surpassed his predecessors in impiety and was driven further into wickedness by his wife Jezebel. She was the daughter of the king of Tyre and Sidon, a fierce and bold woman. She bestowed a temple upon her own god, Baal, planted a grove, and established priests and false prophets for him. The prophet Elias, born in the city of Thesbe, being incensed at the impieties of the king and the people, said to Ahab: "The Lord lives; there shall be no rain except at my word." Having said these things, he departed ^D by the command of God to the torrent of Chorath; there he was fed by ravens, which brought him bread in the morning and flesh in the evening, while the torrent provided his drink. When it had dried up, he went, obeying God, to the city of Sarephtha, which lies between Sidon and Tyre. Meeting a woman before the city, he begged her to bring him water. As the woman was going, he asked her to bring him bread also. She swore that she had only a handful of flour and a very little oil, and that she was going off upon gathering a few sticks to make a small meal for herself and her children, after which she and they would perish by famine. But the prophet bade her to be of good cheer, for neither the flour jar of her who fed this would fail, nor the oil in the flask, until rain should come. She, therefore, having gone, fed the prophet who was lodged with her, herself, and her children from that very little flour, until the famine had passed. But when the son of this woman fell ill from a disease and died, she spoke blasphemy against the prophet. He, however, asked her to give the dead boy to him. And taking him, he carried him up to the upper chamber where he dwelt and laid him upon his own bed. Having besought God, he breathed upon the dead child three times, and he revived, and he gave the boy alive to her who had borne him; and she gave thanks. After this, God commanded Elias to go and announce to Ahab that there would be rain. The famine had prevailed over Samaria and all the land. Ahab, taking his steward, a good man, went out to see if he could find fodder for the horses. And he went by one road, and Abdias by another, searching where they might find grass by the springs or in the torrents.

^A And if anyone called upon them even when they were absent, that person was delivered from the pressure besetting him and was either brought before the masses by them or was released. They also hindered any action that they deemed should not occur, whether the actor was a private citizen or a magistrate; if the people or the Senate were about to do or vote on something, and a single tribune opposed it, both the action and the vote became void. As time progressed, they were permitted—or they permitted themselves—to assemble the Senate, to punish those who did not obey, to use divination, and to act as judges. Indeed, they succeeded in doing things they were not authorized to do, by virtue of their unassailable opposition to everything others attempted to do. For they even introduced laws that whoever opposed them in word or deed, whether citizen or magistrate, should be considered sacred and liable to the curse. To be "sacred" meant to be condemned to destruction, for this is how they named anyone consecrated as a sacrificial victim for slaughter. The populace called the tribunes themselves "sacrosanct," as if they were holy walls guarding those who called upon them; for *sacra* among the Romans means walls and *sancta* means holy things. Consequently, they committed many outrageous acts; they would throw consuls into prison and execute some without them even receiving a hearing. No one dared to oppose them, for if they did, they themselves became "sacred." However, if some were not condemned by all the tribunes, they appealed to those who were not in agreement for support, and in this way, they were brought to trial before those very men, or before other judges, or even before the populace, and they abided by the majority verdict. ^B In time, the tribunes were increased to ten, which reduced much of their power. For, naturally, and even more through envy, colleagues disagree with one another, and it is difficult for many to be in agreement when they are in positions of power. At the same time, others maneuvered to break their power, fomenting conflict so that they would be weakened by discord, and some sided with one party and others with another. If even one of them dissented, he rendered the decisions of the others void. At first, they did not enter the Senate house, but sat at the entrance and observed what was being done, and if anything did not please them, they immediately opposed it; afterwards, they were invited inside. Eventually, however, those who had served as tribunes also participated in the Senate, and finally some were deemed worthy to be tribunes even from among the senators, provided they did not happen to be patricians; for the commoners would not accept patricians. Since they had chosen the tribunes in opposition to the patricians and had brought them to such great power, they feared that one of them might use such strength against them. But if someone renounced the dignity of their birth and shifted to the mindset of the multitude, they received him gladly. Thus, many patricians renounced their nobility out of a desire for great influence and served as tribunes. ^C In this way, the magistracy of the tribunes was established. To them, two aediles were also added, who were to be, as it were, servants to them for their records. For they received everything written by the populace, the people, and the Senate, so that nothing done would escape their notice, and they kept them. Originally, they were chosen for this task and for judging, but later they were entrusted with other matters, including the inspection of goods for sale, whence they were called "aediles" by those who speak Greek. The first sedition thus subsided for the Romans; and because many of the surrounding peoples had moved against them during the sedition, having attained harmony after the agreement, they vigorously waged wars against those peoples and defeated them all. At that time, while they were besieging the Corioli, they were in danger of being defeated and stripped of their camp, had not Gnaeus Marcius, a man of patrician rank, distinguished himself and repelled the attackers; for this, he was honored in other ways and called Coriolanus from the nation he had routed. ^D At the time he was thus elevated, but not long after, when he was eager to be elected general and did not succeed, he became indignant at the populace and held a grudge against the tribunes. The tribunes, whom he desired to dismantle, gathered various accusations against him, pinned a charge of tyranny on him, and drove him out of Rome. Being exiled, he immediately went over to the Volscians. Those among them who were leaders and held positions of command rejoiced at his arrival and prepared for war again, with Attius Tullius inciting everyone against the Romans; but the rank and file were unwilling. So, since the powerful men could not move them to take up arms by either advice or intimidation, they devised the following. While the Romans were holding horse races, many of the surrounding peoples and the Volscians in great numbers gathered to watch. Tullius persuaded the Roman commanders, as if he were their ally, to be on guard against the Volscians, claiming they were prepared to attack them unexpectedly during the races. The commanders shared this intelligence with others, and they immediately ordered all the Volscians to leave before the contest began. The latter, indignant that they alone of all were being cast out, became ready for battle. Having placed Coriolanus and Tullius at their head, and having taken the Latins with them, they advanced in great numbers. The Romans, learning of this, were not strengthened for combat but instead cast blame on one another: some of the multitude blamed the patricians because Coriolanus, being one of them, was marching against his homeland with its enemies; others blamed the multitude because by unjustly driving him out they had made him an enemy. Had the women not come to their aid, they would have fallen into a great calamity while in such a state of faction.

^A Elias then meets Abdias, and bids him announce him to the king. But he, saying that Achab had been seeking him most diligently, so that he might kill him if he found him, advised him to hide; and he himself said that he had hidden and fed a hundred prophets, and thus saved them, all the others having been slaughtered by Jezebel. He swore, however, that on that very day he would be seen by Achab. Abdias went, therefore, and announced Elias to the king. And he, seeing the prophet, asked if this was he who was troubling Israel? But Elias said, "It is rather you and your father's house, who trouble the people, having forsaken the Lord and reverencing false gods. But gather together into Carmel the people, and your own prophets, and those of your wife." When all had gathered, Elias said, "I alone am left a prophet of the Lord, whereas the false prophets are very many. Give me, therefore, a bull, and another to them all; and having sacrificed the bulls, let us place the offerings upon wood, but let us not apply fire; and let each call upon his own God, and he by whom fire shall spontaneously flash forth, and consume the wood and the offerings, let him be judged the true God." The multitude praised his words, and the priests of shame acted accordingly, and having sacrificed the calf, and having placed it on the wood without fire, they invoked Baal from early morning until noon. ^B But the prophet, mocking them, advised them to shout loudly, lest perhaps their god was asleep or was occupied with other business. And when, though they urgently pleaded, they achieved nothing, the prophet, taking twelve stones according to the number of the tribes, built an altar, dug a trench, arranged the wood on the altar, placed the victims, and ordered water to be poured onto the altar so that the trench was also filled. Having finished these things, he invoked the Numine, and fire was brought down from heaven in the sight of all, and it consumed the victims and the stones together with the water and the earth. Struck with amazement at this wonder, the people fell prostrate on the ground, confessing that there is one true and great God; and having seized the false prophets, they killed them at the prophet's command. He then said to the king that within a short time God would send rain. And there occurred, according to his prediction, a heavy downpour. Jezebel having threatened to kill Elias, the prophet, terrified, fled, and arriving in the desert, in despair prayed to God that he might die. Having fallen asleep, he was awakened by someone who bade him arise and eat. He saw there also bread made of coarse grain and water. ^C And having eaten, he slept again; and again the angel commanded him to eat, as a long journey lay before him. And again having eaten and being strengthened by that food, he traveled for forty days. And having arrived at Mount Choreb, he entered a cave, and heard a voice: "Why have you come here?" He said, "Because, acting with zeal, I killed the prophets of Jezebel, and she seeks to kill me." And He commanded him again, saying, "Go out tomorrow, and stand before the Lord." And he did so, and perceives a wind and a commotion, and sees a burning fire. Then, when a gentle breeze arose, ^D he hears a voice from there, commanding him to return, and to anoint Hazael as king of Syria, and Jehu as king of Israel, and Elisha in his own place as prophet, who would be the ones to destroy the impious. Elias returned, as he had been commanded, and found Elisha plowing; and upon him he threw his mantle, and he, leaving his oxen, follows him, having risen to the office of prophecy.

^A when Claudius pronounced judgment against her, and the maiden was handed over to those who would enslave her, and no one came to her aid, her father was struck with deep grief; having dispatched his daughter with a butcher’s knife, he rushed to the soldiers exactly as he was. He so disturbed those who were not even well-disposed before, that they immediately hastened to the city against Claudius. And the others, who had been sent on a campaign against the Sabines, when they learned of this, abandoned their entrenchments, and joining the rest, they placed twenty men of their own in command, intending to perform no small feat. The rest of the multitude in the city joined them and stirred up trouble along with them. At this, Claudius was seized with fear and hid, while Oppius convened the senate and sent word to ask the multitude what they wanted. They demanded that Valerius Lucius and Horatius Marcus, men from the senate who were well-disposed toward them, be sent to them, as they would answer through them. But since they were not sent—for the ten magistrates, who were already all present, feared lest the people use them as generals against them—the people became even more enraged. A not-inconsiderable fear thus fell upon the senators, and because of this, even against the will of the magistrates, they sent Valerius and Horatius to them. ^B And as a result, an agreement was reached; amnesty for their actions was granted to those who had stirred up the trouble, and the decemvirate was dissolved, while the annual magistrates, both the others and the tribunes, were restored to the same privileges they had held before. When others were appointed as magistrates, including Verginius, they threw Oppius and Claudius into prison, and they, before they could be tried, took their own lives; the others were prosecuted, convicted, and exiled. The consuls—for it is said that they were then for the first time called consuls, having previously been called generals—were Valerius and Horatius, and both then and thereafter they remained dedicated to the multitude, and confirmed them more than the patricians. Since the patricians were losing power, they were neither easily assembled nor did they conduct affairs entirely as they pleased; indeed, they even allowed the tribunes to use augury in their assemblies. This, while in word bringing honor and status to them—for this had been permitted to the patricians alone from very ancient times—was in deed a hindrance, so that the tribunes and the multitude might not easily accomplish whatever they wished, but could sometimes be checked under the pretext of augury. ^C But the patricians and the senate, annoyed at the consuls because they favored the cause of the multitude, did not vote the triumphs for them, although each had been victorious in war, nor did they assign a day for each, as was the custom. The multitude, however, celebrated for two days and voted the victory honors to the consuls. Thus, as the Romans came into discord, those opposed to them took courage and advanced against them. In the following year, under the consulship of Marcus Genucius and Gaius Curtius, they turned against one another. For the members of the multitude also wanted to hold the consulship, since the patricians were encroaching upon them by holding the tribunate, and the patricians clung excessively to the consular office. They said and did many violent things against each other. So that they might not proceed to something worse, the nobles ceded the task of governance to them but did not share the title; instead of consuls, they named them military tribunes, so that the honor of the title might not be sullied by the common rabble. And it was agreed to choose three military tribunes from each side in place of the two consuls. However, the name of consuls did not die out completely, but sometimes consuls were established, and sometimes military tribunes. ^D Thus these things are handed down as having happened, although not only did the consuls appoint dictators, even though they were far inferior to that office, but sometimes the military tribunes did this as well; it is said that no military tribune, though many were often victorious, sent for triumphs. The military tribunes were then elected in this way, and the censors were instituted in the following year, under the consulship of Barbatus and Marcus Macrinus; and Lucius Papirius and Lucius Sempronius were elected. They were chosen because the consuls were unable to suffice for all matters due to the multitude; for the privileges then assigned to the censors were until that time exercised by them. There were two censors from the beginning, and they were from the patricians. At first and at the last, they held office for five years, but in the intermediate time for three periods of six months; and they became greater than the consuls, even though they took a portion of their authority. It was permitted to them to lease out the common revenues, to look after the roads and public buildings, to conduct the censuses of each person’s wealth, to supervise and examine the lives of the citizens, and to enroll those who were worthy of praise into the tribes and into the equestrian order and the senate, as was deemed appropriate for each, and to strike off those who did not live well from all places alike; this was the greatest of all the powers left to the consuls. They took an oath for each determination that they would do nothing out of favor or enmity, but that they would observe and act according to an upright judgment on what was advantageous to the commonwealth. They also assembled the people for the introduction of laws and other matters, and they used the insignia of the higher magistrates, except for the lictors. Such was the office of the censors. However, for those who did not register their properties in the censuses, the censors sold their properties, and the consuls sold the persons themselves.

^B XIV. Meanwhile, Ahab, desiring to buy or exchange for a vineyard of Naboth that was adjacent to his own lands, met with a refusal from the owner, and fell into a state of mental distress. Jezebel, learning the cause of this, wrote a letter—purporting to be from Ahab—to the notables of the region where Naboth lived, in which she commanded them to accuse him of using contumelious words against God and the king, and by suborning false witnesses, to stone him. Having affixed the royal seal to these letters, she sent them to the men. When they had done as they were instructed, Naboth was stoned and died. Ahab was then commanded by Jezebel to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard, as he was now dead. He was grieved by the murder, yet he took the vineyard for himself. And Elias, by the command of God, went to Ahab and said: "Because you have murdered Naboth in order to gain his vineyard, therefore the Lord says: Where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, there shall they lick your blood and that of your wife, and your entire family shall be destroyed." Ahab, deeply struck by these words, lamented, put on sackcloth, and fasted, detesting his crimes. Moved by this repentance of the king, God signified to the prophet that He would not avert the threatened punishments, but would bring them to pass in the days of his son. After this, Ader, son of the King of Syria, with great forces and many auxiliaries, surrounded Samaria with a siege and sent envoys to Ahab, saying: "Your riches, your wives, and your children are mine; for I shall take them by war. But if you will grant me whatever I desire, I shall lift the siege and depart." Ahab replied to this: "I and all that is mine are yours." Having summoned the elders of the realm, he set forth the enemy's embassy. But the people advised him not to yield to him, and he answered the envoys that he could not do what was demanded. Enraged by this news, the King of Syria ordered the city to be surrounded by a rampart and siege-works to be thrown up. ^C When a certain prophet had told Ahab that God would deliver the enemies into his hands if he attacked them with the young men of the princes, he numbered the young men and found two hundred and thirty-two. While the enemies were feasting and drinking at midday, Ahab went out, having taken the young men. The King of Syria, seeing them, ordered some of his own men to bring those who were approaching before him as prisoners. But the young men, clashing with those who came against them, killed many. And the entire force of Israel following behind the young men, ^D suddenly [fell] upon the Syrians.

^A For a time, things were done in this way, but later it was decided that he who had once been enrolled in the senate should serve for life, and not be removed, unless someone had committed an offense and, upon trial, had been deprived of his status, or had been shown to be living dishonorably; for they used to remove such persons and enroll others in their stead. As for those holding office for a time, precedence was given to the dictators, second place to the censors, and the third rank was assigned to the masters of the horse; and these things were thus ordered, whether they were currently in office or had already laid it down, for if anyone was moved from a higher office to a lower one, he held the rank of his former office intact. There was also one man, whom they called the prince of the senate, or in Greek the ^B *prokritos* (foremost), who held precedence over all for the time he was so designated, for no one was appointed to this for life, and he held precedence over the others in honor, but he did not exercise any power.

For some time then they maintained peace with each other and with the surrounding peoples; then, famine having prevailed, so that some cast themselves into the river not bearing the famine, they fell into faction. For some blamed the wealthy as acting maliciously regarding the grain, while others blamed the poor for not wishing to work the land. Seeing this, Spurius Maelius, a wealthy man of the equestrian order, attempted a tyranny, and having purchased grain from the surrounding country, he offered it to many at a low price, and to many he even gave it for nothing, and having won over many by this, he procured weapons and guards; and he would have mastered the city, had not Minucius Augurinus, a patrician ^C appointed over the grain distribution and accused regarding the shortage of grain, reported to the senate what was being done. The senate, having learned the message, immediately proclaimed in the assembly Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus as dictator, and this despite him being advanced in age; for he was eighty years old. They spent the entire day there sitting together, as if deliberating on something, so that the event would not leak out. At night, the dictator, having secured the Capitol and the other most vital points through the knights, sent Gaius Servilius, the master of the horse, at dawn to Maelius, as if summoning him for some other matter. But he, as Maelius suspected something and hesitated, fearing he might be snatched away by the crowd, for they were already running together, killed the man, either on his own initiative or having been ordered to do so by the dictator. The crowd being in an uproar at this, Quinctius addressed the people, and by providing them ^D with grain and neither punishing nor blaming anyone else, he quieted the disturbance.

Wars having been brought upon the Romans by different nations, they defeated some in a few days, but they fought against the Tuscans for a long time. Postumius having defeated the Aequi and captured a large city of theirs, because neither were the soldiers permitted to plunder it, nor did they receive any of the booty they requested, they surrounded the quaestor who was disposing of it and slew him, and when Postumius rebuked them for this and sought the perpetrators, they killed him as well, and they assigned to themselves not only the captured territory but even everything that was then in the public domain. And the sedition would have lasted for a very long time, had not a war been brought upon the Romans again by the Aequi. Fearing this, they kept quiet, and they endured the punishment for the murders which fell upon a few, and having campaigned against their enemies, they defeated them in battle. Therefore, the powerful distributed the spoil to them and voted pay to the infantry, then also to the cavalry; for until then they had campaigned without pay and at their own expense; then for the first time they began to receive pay.

As a war was established for them against the Veientes, so long as those people fought by themselves, the Romans defeated them many times and brought them to a siege; but when allies were added to them, they sallied out against the Romans and prevailed. While these things were happening, the lake that is by the Alban Mount, enclosed by the hills surrounding it and having no outlet, at the time of the siege of the Veientes flooded to such an extent that it overflowed both the mountains and descended toward the sea. The Romans, judging that something divine was absolutely being signified by this, sent to Delphi to consult about it. There was also among the Veientes a Tuscan man who was a diviner. Thus, the Pythia and his divination converged on the same thing; for both said that the city would be captured when the water that had flooded did not fall into the sea, but was consumed elsewhere, and they commanded that certain sacred rites be performed for this. But the Pythian did not specify to which of the gods or how they should perform them, and the Tuscan seemed to know, but revealed nothing. The Romans, therefore, stationed around the wall where he was speaking, pretending friendship with him, gave him every assurance and allowed him to go out without fear; and thus, having seized him, they forced him to tell all that was required. And according to his suggestion they both performed the sacrifices and pierced the hill and diverted the excess water into the plain through a hidden trench, so that the whole of it was consumed there and nothing flowed down into the sea.

Scarcely had this been done when Marcus Furius Camillus was chosen dictator. He, having attacked the city and since he accomplished nothing, dug an underground passage starting from afar which led into the citadel. The tunnel now being prepared, since many volunteers had joined him from Rome, having taken them along, he attacked the city and surrounded the wall on all sides;

^A And it turned them to flight, so that even their king barely escaped to be saved. And having turned back from the pursuit, Ahab plundered the camp of the enemies and returned to Samaria. But once again the prophet foresaw the coming of the Syrian against him. For when spring had already arrived, the Syrian campaigned again against Israel, and encamped in the plain. For those around him had said to him that the God of the Hebrews held power in the mountains, but not indeed in the valleys. But as the prophet was promising victory to Ahab, saying, "So that the God may show His strength even in the valleys," for the other days the camps remained quiet, but on the seventh, when the battle was joined, the Syrians fled; and Ahab pursued and was slaying them. And many who had escaped into the city of Aphek were destroyed there, the wall having fallen upon them. And the son of Ader escaped with a few others and hid. Those around him, having put on sackcloth and tied ropes upon their heads, came to Ahab and supplicated him to save their lord; and he consented. And they brought their leader [to him] on a chariot belonging to Ahab. But he took him upon the chariot, and greeted him, and encouraged him to be of good courage. Then on conditions he let him depart, having gifted him with much.

But the prophet Micah asked one of his fellows to strike him on the head. Upon his refusing, he prophesied that he would be struck by a lion, and the prophecy came to pass. He presented the same request to another, and when that one had struck him, having bandaged his head he approached Ahab, saying that in his keeping he had received a captive from the commander of the guard, and that upon the captive having escaped, the commander was seeking to kill him. And when Ahab said that this was just, he having untied his head, it was recognized that it was the prophet Micah. And he said to Ahab: "Since you left off, unpunished, the king of Syria, a man who is a destroyer, you shall die in his place, and your people instead of his people." Ahab was grieved having heard these things. But after having led a time of peace for three years, he desired to retake the city of Remmath ^B as pertaining to him from the Syrians, and he asked the king of Jerusalem, Jehoshaphat, to campaign with him. And he consented, and advised asking God through the prophet if He approved. Ahab, having called together his own prophets, asked if he should set out to war. While they were promising victory, king Jehoshaphat asked for a prophet of the Lord. Ahab said that there was one, but that he was hateful to him, accustomed as he was to prophesying evils. And Jehoshaphat asked that he be called. When Micah had been summoned, Ahab asked if he should fight or not. And he said: "I saw Israel scattered upon the mountains as a flock without a shepherd. And the Lord said to me, 'They indeed shall be saved and return, but you alone shall fall in Remmath.'" ^{C D} [alt-version omitted] [index: entries preserved]

^A then he struck his head with his staff. The barbarian, drawing his sword, killed the man. In this way, the barbarians, having fallen upon them, also slaughtered the rest, and they plundered and burned the houses. Then they attacked the Capitol; and as they achieved nothing after attempting it for many days, some guarded the Capitol while others scoured the country, procuring provisions, scattering themselves and going about sporadically, and not all together, since they were arrogant on account of their success, and they faltered due to drunkenness; for, meeting with much wine, they treated it rather intemperately, not having tasted such a drink before.

Camillus, observing the Gauls in such a state, since they were also plundering the territory of the Ardeates—and the Ardeates themselves were sufficient in number but lacked boldness due to inexperience and being untrained for battle—put the case to the younger men, saying that their success ought not to be attributed to the bravery of the barbarians, but to the misfortune of the Romans; and he insisted that if they themselves were eager and courageous, they would defeat the enemies without danger. Having thus persuaded the young men, and then the rest as well, he armed those of age, and in the deep of night, while they were drunk, he himself, with the Ardeates, joined battle with the barbarians. He cut down the greater part of them there, and if any were able to flee in the darkness, the cavalry caught and destroyed them at daybreak.

As fame quickly proclaimed the triumph everywhere, as many of the Romans as had fled and survived from the first battle against the Gauls took up their arms and went off to Camillus, begging him to accept the command over them. But he said he would not be persuaded unless the survivors in the Capitol first voted him the command. There was, however, difficulty in conveying this to those in the Capitol. But one of the young men, Cominius Pontius, desiring glory, undertook the feat, and slipping through the midst of the enemies, he approached the hill of the Capitol and, with difficulty crawling up and barely managing to climb, he was brought before those in authority among the Romans by the sentries; and he announced the victory of Camillus, and having told them what the soldiers had resolved, he urged them to confirm the command for Camillus. They then voted Camillus dictator. And he, having gathered the Romans outside, numbering about twenty thousand, and many from the allies, prepared for an attack.

The barbarians, passing by during the day, observed from where Pontius had approached the Capitol—inferring this from the fragments broken off the rock and from the grass, which was abundant upon it, being partly pulled up and partly trampled—and they plotted to climb up there themselves at night. They attempted the task, and though it was difficult, they still ascended, and would have succeeded in reaching the rampart and attacking the guards, had there not been geese being raised around the temple of Hera; these, being naturally sensitive and easily startled, quickly sensed the approach of the Gauls, and rushing toward the guards with clamorous hissing, they awakened everyone. So the Romans, joining battle with those ascending, killed some and pushed others off the rock, and escaped the danger.

From then on the Celts were more disheartened, being worn down by the siege for seven months. Consequently, both the king of the barbarians, Brennus, and the Roman military tribune, Sulpicius, held discussions about treaties. ^B It was agreed that the Romans would pay the Gauls a thousand pounds of gold, and that the ones who took the gold would immediately depart from the city and the territory. But when the gold was brought, and the barbarians were secretly acting dishonestly with the weights, Brennus placed his sword together with his belt upon the scales. When the tribune asked what this meant, he said nothing other than "Woe to the vanquished!" At this moment, Camillus arrived at the gates of the city leading his army; and learning what was happening, he marched, hastening toward the Romans. And having arrived, he lifted the gold from the scales and gave it to his attendants, and he ordered the Celts to take the scales and weights and depart, saying that it was the ancestral custom of the Romans to save their fatherland with iron and not with gold. When Brennus claimed he was being wronged and that the agreement was being broken, Camillus replied that the treaty was not valid without his agreement, as he had already been elected dictator. Brennus, therefore, was disturbed and proceeded to the point of drawing swords, but nevertheless led the Celts back to their camp; then, leaving the city, he proceeded sixty stades and camped. At daybreak, Camillus was upon him, bringing with him the now-confident Romans, and he routed the barbarians with great slaughter and took their camp.

Thus Rome was captured contrary to expectation and saved even more unexpectedly; and Camillus celebrated a triumph. Since the city had been utterly destroyed, the multitude did not wish to rebuild it, being strong neither in wealth nor in strength, and they nearly abandoned it. For they would not be persuaded either by those in authority or by the senate, who encouraged and advised them not to abandon the city which had already been saved from the enemies, until, while everyone was deliberating about this in the forum, a centurion leading a picket, by chance passing right by the assembly, shouted to those following him: "Halt here! For here it is necessary that you remain." Thinking these things were said by divine providence, they refrained from migrating and turned with eagerness to the restoration of Rome, and they rebuilt both the walls and the private houses within a year. Not yet had they ceased from the work regarding these things when wars with various nations fell upon them, including the Aequi, the Volsci, and the Latins.

'" ^A When Micah had said these things, Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, "Did I not tell you that he always prophesies evil against me?" And Zedekiah, one of the false prophets, struck Micah on the cheek. But he said to him, "In a little while you shall go from room to room hiding yourself." And King Ahab commanded that he be taken into custody and guarded until he himself should return. And Micah said, "If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me." Long after the kings had set out, the king of Syria drew up forces against them, having instructed his soldiers to fight with no one else, but with Ahab alone; and he exchanged his royal robes for common attire. When the Syrian commanders saw Jehoshaphat decked out in royal fashion, they thought he was Ahab and surrounded him. But when they realized he was not the king of Israel, they fell back. Someone, however, drew his bow and struck Ahab. Knowing that he was mortally wounded, he ordered the charioteer to take the chariot out of the battle; and toward the setting of the sun, he died. The Syrians, knowing that Ahab was dead, departed to their own lands. The king’s corpse, brought to Samaria, was buried. The chariot, stained with the king's blood, was washed away in the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up the blood, and the harlots bathed in the pool, as Elijah had foretold. Thus Ahab also died, where Micah had predicted, not escaping the destruction, although it had been foretold to him, having reigned for twenty-two years. His son Ahaziah received the kingdom after him.

XV.

Ahaziah, however, the king of the Israelites, was an imitator of his parents' wickedness. In the second year of his reign, the Moabites withheld the tribute which they had been accustomed to pay to his father. Becoming ill, he sent to the Accaronite god, named Musca, to inquire whether he would recover. Elijah met the messengers on the road and ordered them to return home, and to say to the one who sent them that, because he had sent to the god of the barbarians, as if there were no God in Israel, he would not rise from his bed. They returned and reported what they had heard. Ahaziah asked who it was who had said these things. When they said they did not know, he demanded that they describe the appearance of that man. When they said he was hairy and girded with a leather belt, he understood that it was Elijah. And having sent a captain with fifty men under him, he ordered the prophet to be brought. And the one sent, having found him on the top of the mountain, ^D ordered him to go to the king.

^A And the chasm remained for a long time, neither closing up in any manner nor being filled, even though the Romans were casting into it much earth, stones, and all sorts of other materials. When the Romans were therefore at a loss, an oracle was delivered stating that the gap would not close up unless they cast into the chasm that which was best among them and that through which they possessed the greatest strength; for thus, it said, the phenomenon would cease and there would be for the city an indestructible power. ^B Thus the mystery remained unsolved, as the oracle proved to be ambiguous. But Marcus Curtius, a man of patrician birth, young in age, most handsome in form, most robust in strength, most courageous in soul, and distinguished in wisdom, understanding the mind of the oracle, stepped into the midst and made a speech, saying: "Why, O Romans, do we vote for an ambiguity in the oracles, or for our own ignorance? We are this very thing that is sought and that remains a puzzle. For no inanimate object shall be reckoned better than a living one, nor shall the mindless, irrational, and foolish be preferred to that which is endowed with mind, wisdom, and adorned with reason. For what could one rank above a human being, so that by casting it into this chasm of the earth we might bring it together? There is no mortal creature better or stronger than a human. For if one must speak even with a degree of boldness, a human is nothing else than a god having a mortal body, and a god is nothing else than an incorporeal human and therefore immortal, and we are not far removed from divine power. These things I believe, and I ask you to join in this opinion. And let no one think that I will cast lots or order a maiden or a youth to die; for I myself willingly offer myself to you, so that today you may immediately send me as a herald and ambassador to the underworld gods, for I shall be for you an eternal protector and ally." ^C Having said this, Curtius began to put on his armor, and then also mounted his horse. The others were filled with both extreme grief and great joy; and having brought together some ornaments, some adorned him personally as a hero, while others threw various things into the chasm. No sooner had Curtius leaped into it on horseback than the chasm of the earth closed up, and no one ever saw either the gap or Curtius again. These things are recorded by the Romans; but if to anybody they seem like a myth and not credible, it is permitted to him not to believe them.

The Romans were later subjected to wars again, both by the Gauls and by other nations, but they repelled them all, voting at one time for consuls and at another for dictators. At which time something of this sort occurred. Lucius Camillus was named dictator when the Gauls were overrunning the lands under Roman rule. He, having rushed against the barbarians, held the view that he should wear out the time and not risk a dangerous engagement against men who were acting in desperation; for he hoped to exhaust them more easily and safely through lack of supplies. ^D But a certain Gaul challenged one of the Romans to a duel. Valerius Marcus, a tribune and grandson of that famous Maximus, stood against him. And the battle proceeded brilliantly for both; for the one excelled in wisdom and technique, while the Gaul in strength and daring; and it was wondered at all the more because a raven, flying over Valerius and cawing, kept swooping down upon the barbarian, disturbing his vision and hindering his assault, until he was overcome. Wherefore the Gauls, being indignant as if defeated by a bird, immediately and in a rage joined battle with the Romans, and fared poorly. And Valerius, on account of the alliance of the raven, was surnamed Corvinus.

Afterwards, when the armies mutinied and a civil war was about to break out, the mutineers were conciliated, with laws being enacted that no one should be struck from the roll against his will, that no one who had served as a tribune should serve as a centurion, and that it should be possible for both consuls to be appointed from the common people, and that the same person should hold neither two offices at once nor the same office twice within ten years. The Latins, even though they were bound by treaty to the Romans, revolted and raised a war, having been emboldened by the fact that they were at the peak of their youth and had been precisely trained in the arts of war through their constant campaigning along with them. The Romans, learning of this, marched out, having chosen as consuls Torquatus for the third time and Decius, and fought a mighty battle against them, each side deeming that day a precise judgment of their own fortune and virtue. And the battle seemed more notable because of a certain event. For the consuls, seeing that the Latins were similar in equipment and language to the Romans, were afraid that some of the soldiers might fail, not easily distinguishing between their own side and the enemy. And for this reason they instructed them to observe all other things precisely, and that no one individual should engage with anyone of the enemy on his own. [E] This command the others kept, but the son of Torquatus, serving among the cavalry, and having been sent to scout the enemy, disobeyed—not out of stubbornness, but out of a sense of ambition. For when the commander of the Latin cavalry saw him approaching and challenged him to a duel, and upon his not accepting it because of the proclamation, he provoked him, saying, "Are you not the son of Torquatus? Do you not pride yourself on the distinction of your father? Or are you strong and courageous against the Gauls, who are mere destroyers of men, but fear us, the Latins? Why then do you claim to rule over us? Why do you command us as if we were your inferiors?" He became beside himself with rage, and willingly forgot the instruction, and having dueled, he won, and full of pride, brought the spoils to his father. And he, having assembled the army, said, "My son, you fought bravely, and for this I will crown you; but because you did not observe that which was commanded, even though as a son you were compelled to obey and as a soldier to follow orders, for this I will judge you, so that you may receive both the prize of valor and the penalty of disobedience."

^A And when he had come to the prophet, he bowed down and worshipped him, and begged off the punishment from him, saying that he had come unwillingly, forced by the king's command, and he besought him to go to the king. But Elias, an angel having told him to go and not to be afraid, came down from the mountain; and having come, he said to the king: "Since you have sent to a foreign god, seeking if you shall recover, know that you shall not rise from your sickness, but you shall die." Ochozias therefore died according to the prophecy of the prophet, leaving the kingdom to his brother Joram, who indeed broke in pieces the pillars of Baal which his father Achab had set up; but in other respects he was impious and wicked, and like to his parents.

Being about to be taken up, Elias went with Eliseus. And having come to the Jordan, he struck the water with his mantle, and the water was divided, and both crossed over on dry land. Then, "Ask," he said to Eliseus, "what I shall do for you?" And he asked that a double portion of the spirit that was in him should come upon him. But Elias said that the request was a heavy one; "Yet, if you see me being taken up, it shall be so for you." And while they were still speaking, a chariot of fire with horses like it stood by, and snatched up Elias. And as he was being carried up, he threw his mantle to Eliseus. And he, having taken it, and no longer seeing Elias, turned back; and having come to the Jordan, he made a trial whether he had received the grace as he asked, and struck the water with the mantle. But it was not divided. And he said, "Where is the God of Elias?" And he struck again; and the water parted, and he crossed over. ^B And the fifty sons of the prophets, seeing him, said: "The spirit of Elias has rested upon Eliseus." And they followed him, and sought to go, intending to search if the Spirit of the Lord had taken up Elias and cast him upon one of the mountains or the hills. But Eliseus did not permit them. But when they insisted, he yielded. And fifty men went, and they searched for three days, and did not find him.

Now Eliseus was in Jericho. And the men of the city came to him, begging that the waters of that place, which were evil and caused infertility, might be changed by him. And he asked that salt be brought to him in a new vessel; and when it had been brought, having invoked the name of God, he cast the salt into the spring of the waters, and the waters were changed from bitterness to sweetness, and nothing harmful remained in them. As the prophet Eliseus was going somewhere, small boys mocked him, crying out: "Go up, baldhead." And being pained at this, he cursed them. And bears came out of the mountain, and killed forty-two of the boys. ^C And Joram the son of Achab, being about to march against the Moabites, sought help from Josaphat, king of Judea. He also promised to the Idumean king, who obeyed him, that he would join him as an ally. So the three kings, having entered into a pact, went for seven days through the desert. But the armies being destitute of water, they approached Eliseus and prayed that he would preserve both them and the soldiers. But he said to Joram: "Go to the prophets of your father and your mother," and he swore that if it were not for Josaphat, he would not have answered him even a word. Then he ordered someone to be called who would play the psaltery. As he played, Eliseus, possessed by the spirit of the Lord, ordered many pits to be dug by the torrent; for they would see the torrent full, neither with wind blowing, nor with rain falling, and they would drink to satiety, and would prevail over their enemies. These things having been predicted, the next morning the bed of the torrent was filled, so that it overflowed and all the surface of that land was flooded. As the sun rose, ^D

The consuls and the rest of the magistrates who had been responsible for the oaths were therefore led away to Samnium. The Samnites, however, did not accept them, but demanded all of the captives back; they cried out to the gods and invoked them, and eventually sent those who had been surrendered back again. The Romans received them back with gladness, but marched against the Samnites in anger. Having gained the upper hand, they treated them exactly as they had been treated, and forced them beneath the yoke, then released them, having inflicted no other harm. They also recovered their own cavalry, whom the Samnites had been holding as hostages, unharmed. ^A After a long period, while the Romans were again at war with the Samnites, under the command of Gaius Junius, they fell into calamity. For while Junius was ravaging their territory, the Samnites gathered their possessions into the Aornus woods—so named because even a bird cannot fly into them on account of the density of the trees. Being there, they placed certain flocks of shepherds or guards in front of them without being seen and sent forth false deserters, leading the Romans on as if toward an easy plunder. Once they were inside the woods, the Samnites surrounded them and did not cease their slaughter until they had completely exhausted them. ^B Even at other times, having warred many times against the Romans and having been defeated, the Samnites did not rest, but taking on other allies, including the Gauls, prepared as if they were going to march even against Rome itself. When the Romans learned of this, they were seized with fear, especially since many omens were driving them to this state. For it is reported that in the Capitol, blood flowed from the altar of Jupiter for three days, and on another day honey, and on yet another milk—if these things are to be believed. Also, in the Forum, a bronze statue of Victory set upon a stone base was found standing on the ground of its own accord; it happened to be facing the direction from which the Gauls were already approaching. These things, and other occurrences like them, terrified the populace, a sentiment increased by the ominous judgments of the seers. ^C But a certain Manius, a Tyrrhenian by birth, gave them courage by saying that Victory, even if she had descended, had only advanced further forward and, being set more firmly upon the earth, predicted their mastery of the war. From this, he continued, many sacrifices would be offered to the gods; for the altars—and especially those in the Capitol where the spoils of victory are offered—were accustomed to be smeared with blood in times of their success and prosperity, not in times of calamity. From these premises, he persuaded them to expect some good; but from the honey, he predicted disease, because the sick require it, and from the milk, famine; for they would arrive at such a lack of grain that they would even seek out wild and uncultivated food. ^D Now Manius interpreted the signs in this way, and since the events later turned out according to his prophecy, he gained a reputation for wisdom and foresight. Volumnius was ordered to fight the Samnites, and Rullus Fabius Maximus and Publius Decius were elected and sent as consuls to stand against the Gauls and the others with them. Having arrived with haste in Tyrrhenia and seeing the camp of Appius fortified with a double palisade, they tore up the stakes and scattered them, teaching the soldiers to place their hope of safety in their arms. They attacked the enemy; and in this moment, a wolf chasing a deer fell into the space between the armies, and it itself rushed toward the Romans, passed through them, and encouraged them, as they considered it to pertain to them because of the she-wolf that had reared Romulus, as is recorded in history. The deer, having gone toward the others, was slaughtered, and it left them both fear and the omen of their misfortune. When the armies clashed, Maximus easily defeated those he faced, but Decius was beaten. Reflecting upon the offering of his father, which he had made because of a dream, he offered himself similarly, without sharing his intent with anyone. He had just been slain when those arrayed with him—partly out of shame for him, as he had died as a volunteer for their sake, and partly with the hope that they would surely prevail because of this—stopped their flight and stood nobly against those pursuing them. At this, Maximus fell upon their rear and slew a great multitude; those who remained were destroyed as they fled. Fabius Maximus burned the corpse of Decius together with the spoils, and made a truce with those who begged for peace. In the following year, Atilius Regulus made war against the Samnites again, and for some time they fought on equal terms; then, when the Samnites were overpowered, the Romans once more gained the upper hand, and having taken them, forced them beneath the yoke and thus released them. The Samnites, indignant at what had happened, rushed into desperation, either to win or to perish entirely, and threatened death to anyone who remained at home. Some invaded Campania, while the consuls ravaged Samnium, which was devoid of soldiers, and took some cities. Whereupon the Samnites left Campania and hastened to their own land, and having joined battle with one of the consuls, they were defeated by a certain stratagem. Having fled, they fared terribly and lost their camp, and furthermore, the town which they were trying to relieve. The consul sent the news of the victory and distributed the spoils that had been collected to the public treasury. The other consul, having campaigned against the Tyrrhenians and having subdued them in a short time, exacted both grain and money from them; some he distributed to the soldiers, and some he brought into the treasuries.

[191] ^A, and struck the waters, these appeared red in the glare of the sun. The Moabites, therefore, who had encamped on the mountains and were reconnoitering from above, supposing the water to be blood, and thinking that the kings had fought against each other and that their soldiers had killed one another, rushed into disorder for the plunder of the spoils. But as the enemy stood around them, some were slaughtered and others fled. The Israelites, pursuing, burst into the land of Moab, tore down their cities, and devastated the region. The king of Moab, having returned into the city, led his firstborn son up onto the wall, and in desperation sacrificed him and offered him as a whole burnt offering to God. The kings, having seen this and pitying his desperation, lifted the siege. Josaphat, moreover, having returned to Jerusalem, died, having lived sixty years and reigned for twenty-five of them, a man who was god-fearing and just. Having left behind many children, he appointed as successor to the kingdom his eldest, Joram, who was named the same as the Israelite king, who was his brother-in-law ^B.

XVI. Elisha and the Widow; The Shunamite's Son; The Poisoned Pottage.

XVI. A certain widow woman met Elisha, who was dwelling in Samaria, bewailing miserably that, because she was in debt and had not the means to pay the debt, her sons were being taken away by the creditor to become his slaves. The prophet asked her what she had in her house. She said that she had nothing else but a very little oil. And he commanded her to borrow many vessels and to pour from the oil into all of them. The woman did as she was commanded, and all [the vessels] were filled with oil, and she reported the event to the prophet. And he counseled her to sell the oil, and to pay the debt, and to use what remained for her livelihood. Being entertained by the Shunamite woman and resting in her house—since she had no child—he foretold to her that she would conceive and bear a son. And according to the prophet’s prediction, she gave birth. But the child, having grown, died. The woman went [192] ^C to Elisha on Mount Carmel and, falling at his feet, bewailed her misfortune. He commanded his disciple Giezi to go, giving him his own staff, in order that he might place it upon the dead child. But the woman swore that she would not return unless he himself went with her. The prophet was therefore persuaded, and having gone, he found the boy laid out on his bed; and having prayed, he went up onto the bed and lay with the boy, and breathed into him. And the prophet having done so seven times, the dead boy revived.

^A Having concluded these things, he kept most of the ambassadors as hostages, on the pretext that they would help prepare his armies, but he sent a few of them, including Cineas, ahead with an army. When they arrived, the Tarentines, taking heart, refrained from their negotiations with the Romans, and suspending Agis from his command, they elected one of the ambassadors as general. Not long after, Milon, having been sent by Pyrrhus with a force, seized their acropolis for his own reception and placed the guard of the wall under himself. The Tarentines were glad at this, as they were no longer compelled to stand guard or undergo any other toilsome task, and they provided him with provisions and sent money to Pyrrhus.

Emilius, therefore, remained in place for a time, but when he learned that the Pyrrhic forces had arrived, and since he could not stay on account of the winter, he moved toward Apulia. The Tarentines, setting an ambush in a certain narrow place through which he was forced to pass, made his passage difficult with arrows, javelins, and slings. But he brought forward the prisoners of theirs whom he had with him. Fearing that they might kill their own people instead of the Romans, the Tarentines stopped.

Pyrrhus, not even waiting for spring, departed, bringing along a large, picked army and twenty elephants, animals not seen before by those in Italy; hence they were struck with terror and amazement. Meeting with a storm while crossing the Ionian Sea, he lost much of his army, and the rest were scattered by the waves. With difficulty, however, he traveled on foot and came to Tarentum. He immediately arranged the men of fighting age with his own soldiers, so that as they were not quartered by themselves they might not engage in revolution. He also closed the theater, perhaps because of the war, so that they might not gather there and cause an uprising; he forbade them from assembling for symposiums and revels, and commanded the younger men to train in arms or spend the day in the marketplace. As some, vexed by these things, withdrew, he stationed guards from his own men so that no one could leave the city. ^B Being burdened by these things and by the provision of food, and being forced to accept his men-at-arms into their homes, they repented, experiencing Pyrrhus as a master and not an ally. Fearing that for these reasons they might incline toward the Romans, he sent those who were capable of managing political affairs and leading the crowd—some to Epirus to his son upon certain pretexts, and others he destroyed in secret. He also won over a certain Aristarchus, who was counted among the best of the Tarentines and was most persuasive in speech, in order that he might become suspected by the people as one who favored the cause of Pyrrhus. When he saw that the multitude still trusted him, he sent him to Epirus; and he, not daring to speak against it, sailed away, but arrived in Rome.

Such were the things Pyrrhus did to the Tarentines. Those in Rome, having learned that Pyrrhus had arrived in Tarentum, were struck with fear, both because the affairs in Italy were now at war against them, and because it was rumored that he was a man skilled in war and possessed power that could not be resisted. Therefore, they registered soldiers and collected money and sent guards to the allied cities so that they would not defect as well; and, having perceived beforehand that some intended to revolt, they punished their leaders. Some of the Praenestini were led to Rome late in the evening and were thrown into the treasuries for safe-keeping, and by this a certain oracle was fulfilled for them; for it was once prophesied to them that they would hold the treasuries of the Romans. And the oracle turned out this way, but they themselves perished.

They sent Valerius Laevinus against Pyrrhus, the Tarentines, and the others with them, and they also held some of the army in the city. Laevinus immediately marched out, so as to make the war as far as possible from his own home; and he hoped to strike Pyrrhus with fear if they advanced upon him of their own accord, whom he had expected would besiege them. Departing, he captured a certain strong and strategic place of the Lucanians, and left a certain force in Lucania to prevent them from aiding the enemy. ^C Pyrrhus, learning that Laevinus was approaching, moved out first, and setting up camp, he wished to waste time, awaiting those who would be his allies. He sent a haughty message to Laevinus, as if to strike him with fear; the letter was as follows: "King Pyrrhus to Laevinus, greetings. I hear that you are leading an army against the Tarentines. Now, send it back, and come to me yourself with a few men; for I will judge between you if you have any complaints against one another, and I will compel you to do what is just even if you are unwilling."

Laevinus wrote back to Pyrrhus as follows: "You seem to me, O Pyrrhus, to be quite arrogant, setting yourself up as a judge for us and the Tarentines before you have even rendered an account to us as to why you crossed into Italy in the beginning. I will therefore come with my whole army and will exact the appropriate punishment from both the Tarentines and from you. For why do I need nonsense and prattle, when it is possible to be judged before Ares, our ancestor?" ^D Having sent such a reply, he pressed on, and encamped having the stream of the river there between them. He captured some scouts, showed his power to them, and after saying he had many times more, he sent them away. Pyrrhus, struck with fear at these things, did not wish to fight, because none of his allies had joined him yet, and he hoped the Romans would run out of supplies while living in hostile territory. Laevinus, calculating this as well, hastened to join battle.

Having left him, he went away to Gilgal. And there was a famine, and the sons of the prophets came to him. And he commanded his servant to prepare a pottage for them. And one of them gathered wild herbs from the field, with which a poisonous ^A vine had been mixed. And the plant was poisonous. And having boiled them, he brought them to the men; and as they were eating, they recognized the poison, and they cried out to the prophet as though they were dying. But he, having ordered flour to be cast into the pot, permitted them to eat, and no harm resulted from the food. And when someone brought him twenty loaves and some figs, he commanded his servant to set these before the people. But he having said, "What would these be for a hundred men?" he said, "Give them, and let them eat; for they shall be satisfied, and there shall be leftovers." And the word became a deed.

Now Naaman, being great before the king of Syria, was leprous. And a certain Israelite girl having been taken captive, the wife of Naaman had her as a servant. She said to her mistress, "If my lord would go to the prophet Elisha, he would be freed from his disease." And she reported the words of the girl to her husband, and Naaman told what had been spoken to the king of Syria. And the king wrote a letter regarding the healing of Naaman to the king of Israel. ^B Now Naaman, having taken ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of garments, went on to Samaria, and handed the letter to the king. And he, having read it, tore his clothes, saying that the king of Syria was seeking a pretext against him. Elisha, having learned of these things, messaged the king of Israel: "Let Naaman come to me." And having come, he sent a message telling him to go away to the Jordan, and to wash seven times, and thus he would be freed from the leprosy. And Naaman was angered because the prophet did not come out to him, and pray, and lay his hand upon him. And indignantly he withdrew, saying, "Are there not rivers by us better than the Jordan? I shall go and wash in them, and be cleansed." But to him as he was withdrawing his servants said, "Do the saying of the prophet, as it is easy." And Naaman went down, and washed in the Jordan seven times, and was cleansed; and having returned, he gave thanks to the prophet, and confessed that there is no other God but the One in Israel, and requested him to take something from what he was bringing. But he refused. And Naaman returned. ^C But Gehazi pursued him, and said, "The prophet sent me to take from you a talent of silver, and two garments, to be given to some needy people who have just come to him." And Naaman gave them to him; and Gehazi returned to Elisha. But the prophet knew what ^D had been said and done, and said to him: "Because you received money and garments from Naaman, his leprosy shall cleave to you and to your seed." Thus he went out a leper.

Moreover, when other sons of the prophets had gone out to the Jordan to chop wood, so that they might build themselves shelters, while Elisha was accompanying them, the axe-head of one of them slipped from the handle and fell into the river. He called the prophet, and showed him the place where the iron had sunk. But he, having cast a piece of wood into the place, brought forth the iron; and the one who had lost it caught it swimming on the water. When the king of Syria was trying to capture Joram, king of Israel, by means of an ambush, Elisha, having sent a messenger, warned him to be careful and not to go out hunting. He obeyed. The king of Syria, having been frustrated in his ambushes, suspected his own men of treachery: but they affirmed that it was not they, but Elisha the prophet who was revealing secrets to the king. Therefore he sent an army to Dothan to capture the prophet.

^A When Fabricius asked to receive back those who had been captured in the battle for a ransom that would satisfy both sides, Pyrrhus was perplexed that he did not also treat for peace; he deliberated privately with his friends, as was his custom, concerning the release of the prisoners, the war, and how he should conduct it. Milon advised that he should neither return the prisoners nor conclude a truce, but having already defeated the Romans, should finish the rest by war; but Cineas advised him the complete opposite. He urged him to release the prisoners for free and to send envoys to Rome with money for the sake of peace and a truce. The others agreed with his opinion, and Pyrrhus happened to be of the same mind. He therefore called for the envoys and said, "Romans, I did not willingly make war upon you formerly, nor would I make war now; for I have wished to become your friend. For that reason, I release the prisoners to you without ransom and I ask to conclude a truce."

He spoke these things to all the envoys, and some money he gave them, and other sums he promised. But conversing with Fabricius in private, he said, "I would gladly be a friend to all the Romans, and especially to you; ^B for I see that you are a good man, and I ask you to assist me in achieving peace." Saying these things, he offered him many gifts. He replied, "I commend you, Pyrrhus, for desiring peace, and I will help you attain it, provided it is to our advantage. You will not ask an honorable man, as you claim I am, to do anything against his country. But I would not accept any of these things that you offer. For I ask you: do you truly consider me a man of worth or not? If I am base, how do you judge me worthy of gifts? And if I am virtuous, how do you bid me to accept them? Know, therefore, that I have quite enough and am satisfied with my present means, and I do not require more. But even if you are very wealthy, you are established in extreme poverty. For you would not have left Epirus or the other things you possess and crossed over here if you had been satisfied with them and did not crave more."

When these things had been said, the envoys took the prisoners and departed. Pyrrhus sent Cineas to Rome with much gold and all sorts of women's jewelry, so that even if some of the men should hold out, their wives, persuaded by the finery, might influence them as well. ^C When Cineas arrived at the city, he did not approach the senate, but lingered, making one excuse after another. Going about the houses of the powerful, he won them over with words and gifts. And when he had gained many as friends, he entered the council and said that King Pyrrhus apologized, saying that he had not come to make war upon them, but to reconcile the Tarentines who were suppliants to him; indeed, he had released their captured men without ransom, and though able to ravage their land and attack the city, he requested to be enrolled among their friends and allies, hoping to benefit much from them, and intending to bestow even greater and more significant favors upon them.

At these words, the majority of the senators were pleased because of the gifts and the prisoners. However, they did not answer, but considered for several more days what ought to be done. Much was said, but the desire to conclude a truce nevertheless prevailed. When Appius the Blind learned of this, he was carried to the senate house—for on account of his age and his affliction, he was keeping to his home—and said that making an agreement with Pyrrhus was not in the interest of the commonwealth; he advised that they immediately banish Cineas from the city, and through him declare to Pyrrhus that he should retreat to his own land, and from there send an embassy regarding peace for them or whatever else he might demand. ^D Appius gave this counsel, and the senate delayed no longer; instead, they immediately and unanimously voted to expel Cineas from their borders that very day, and to wage undeclared war upon Pyrrhus as long as he remained in Italy. They imposed a certain mark of disgrace upon the prisoners in the military rosters, and they did not use them against Pyrrhus again, nor send them anywhere in large numbers, so that being together they might not attempt a revolution; but they sent them to different places to stand guard.

In the winter both sides made preparations, but with spring already arrived, Pyrrhus invaded Apulia, and he acquired many things by force and many by agreement, until the Romans approached the city of Asculum where he was, and camped over against him. For several days they hesitated, fearing one another; for the Romans did not trust their prospects after being defeated before, and the others dreaded the Romans as if they were desperate. And in this time, some rumor-mongers said that Decius was preparing to offer himself up as his father and grandfather had done, and they greatly terrified the men of Pyrrhus by saying they would surely perish upon his death. Pyrrhus gathered his soldiers and spoke concerning this, advising them neither to be discouraged nor to be struck with fear by such talk; for neither could one man by dying overpower many, nor could any spell or sorcery prove stronger than arms and men. Having said these things and strengthened his words with arguments, Pyrrhus encouraged his own army. And having inquired into the costume which the Decii used when offering themselves, he ordered his men, if they saw anyone so attired, not to kill him, but to take him alive. Sending word to Decius, he said that this would not succeed in his wanting to do it, and he threatened that if he were taken alive, he would perish miserably. To which the consuls replied that they had no need of any such act; for in any event, they would prevail over him in other ways as well.

Seeing the people around the city, the prophet’s servant became fearful and reported the matter to him. ^B But he said, "Do not fear; and he besought God to show his servant how he was being protected by Him. And God gave the servant of the prophet the grace to see him surrounded by chariots and horses of fire. The prophet, having prayed, also blinded the eyes of the enemies. And going out to them, he said, "Follow me, and I will give Elisha to you." And they followed, being blinded both in their sight and in their understanding. Leading them into Samaria, he commanded that his troops be set around them for the king. And he besought God to remove the mist from their eyes. When it was removed, the Syrians saw themselves surrounded in the midst of the enemy. But Elisha did not allow anyone to attack them, but rather counseled that they be entertained hospitably and released unharmed. King Joram diligently obeyed the prophet’s warnings; they departed. They reported to the king what had happened. The Syrian was astonished at the event.

XVII. After this, the King of Syria, having come with all his forces ^C to Samaria, besieged it. And there arose a most severe famine in it, so that the head of an ass was sold for fifty pieces of silver, and a sextarius of dove’s dung for fifty of the same pieces. As King Joram was going around the wall, a woman cried out to him, "Save me, O king." But he, thinking the woman was asking for food, said, insulting her, "Whence shall I save you, since I have neither a threshing floor nor a winepress?" But when she said that she was asking for judgment, he allowed her to speak. And the woman said, "I made an agreement with another woman who is my neighbor, to sacrifice our children, and to feed one another day by day. And I indeed sacrificed my own, but she violates what was agreed upon." Hearing this, the king was exceedingly pained, and he tore his garments. And he was enraged against the prophet, because he did not beseech God to release them from the affliction, and he sent a man to kill him. But Elisha, speaking to his disciples, ^D foretold to them that, "The son of a murderer has sent to kill me; but you, shut the door, and prevent the entry of the slaughterer, for the king will follow in repentance." And they indeed acted according to the word of the prophet; but Joram, having changed his mind, came in haste to the prophet, and blamed him because he did not beseech God to release them from their sorrows. But he said, "Tomorrow, two measures of barley shall be sold

Nicomachus, having learned this, departed for Tarentum; and in the way, falling in with Rufinus, he lost many of his men. The Locrians then went over to the Romans. In the following year, the Romans campaigned into Samnium and made war upon the Lucanians and the Bruttians. Pyrrhus, having been expelled from Sicily and having already returned, harassed them severely; he recovered the Locrians, for they had killed the Roman garrison and changed sides, but having marched upon Rhegium, he was repulsed and was himself wounded and lost a great many men. Having retreated into Locris and having punished some of those who had thought against him, he took grain and money from the rest and was conveyed back to Tarentum. Being hard pressed by the Romans, the Samnites caused him to rise up. He came to their aid and was routed. For a young elephant having been wounded and having thrown off its riders, and wandering about in search of its mother, she became agitated on this account, and the other elephants being thrown into confusion, everything was mingled in total disorder. Finally, the Romans prevailed, having killed many and captured eight elephants, and they took their camp. Pyrrhus escaped with a few horsemen to Tarentum, and from there he sailed away to Epirus, intending to return again, having left Milo with a garrison in Tarentum; he gave them a chair bound with strips of leather from the skin of Nicias, whom he had put to death for his betrayal. Thus he punished Nicias, but some young men who had mocked him at a banquet he intended to punish; but having asked them why they had mocked him, when they answered that they would have said much more and far harsher things had the wine not failed them, he laughed and let them go.

^A Pyrrhus, then, having become most illustrious among generals and having filled the Romans with great fear, and having left Italy in the fifth year and campaigned against Greece, died not long after in Argos. For a certain woman, as the story goes, wishing to see him as he passed by from the roof, slipped, and falling upon him, destroyed him. In the same year, Fabricius and Papus were censors; they removed others of the knights and senators, and also Rufinus, even though he had been dictator and twice consul. The cause was that he possessed silver vessels weighing ten pounds; for thus the Romans considered poverty to be not the not possessing many things, but the having need of many. And for this reason, to the magistrates who were going abroad and to others who were leaving on any business pertaining to the city, both other necessities and a ring from the public treasury were given.

^B Some of the Tarentines, having been wronged by Milo, set upon him, having taken Nicon as their leader. When they achieved nothing, they seized a certain wall of their own territory, and from there sallying forth, they attacked Milo. When they perceived that the Romans wished to make war upon them, they sent ambassadors to Rome, and they obtained peace. Ptolemy Philadelphus, the king of Egypt, also, having learned that Pyrrhus had fared badly and that the Romans were increasing in power, sent gifts to them and made a compact. The Romans, being pleased at this, sent ambassadors back to him; they accepted magnificent gifts from him and brought them into the public treasury. But the Senate did not accept them, but left them for them to hold.

^C After this, they subdued the Samnites through Carvilius, and they conquered the Lucanians and Bruttians through Papirius. And the same Papirius subdued the Tarentines. For being distressed by Milo, and suffering harm from their own people who, as has been related, had set upon Milo, they called for the Carthaginians, since they had learned that Pyrrhus was dead. Milo, seeing his affairs brought to a narrow pass, with the Romans lying in wait from the mainland and the Carthaginians from the sea, surrendered the citadel to Papirius, on the condition that he might depart unharmed with those about him and his wealth. From there, the Carthaginians sailed away as allies of the Romans, and the city went over to Papirius; and they surrendered their arms and ships to him, tore down their walls, and agreed to pay tribute.

^D Having thus brought the Tarentines under themselves, the Romans turned towards Rhegium, because they had taken Croton by treachery, razed the city, and destroyed the Romans who were in it. The Mamertines, who held Messana, whom those in Rhegium had accepted as allies, they drove off by agreement, but they suffered hardships while besieging Rhegium due to a lack of food and other things, until Hiero, having sent grain and soldiers to the Romans from Sicily, encouraged them and took the city. It was restored to the surviving original citizens; those who had conspired against it were punished. Hiero, not having any eminence from his father, but being connected from his mother and by birth to servitude, ruled nearly all of Sicily, and was considered a friend and ally to the Romans. He, then, having gained control of Syracuse after the flight of Pyrrhus and fearing the Carthaginians who were pressing upon Sicily, inclined toward the Romans, and granted them the aforementioned alliance and the grain supply as his first favor.

After this, a great winter occurred, such that the Tiber was frozen to a great depth and the trees withered; those in Rome suffered greatly, and the herds perished as the grass failed. In the following year, a certain Lolius, a Samnite man serving as a hostage in Rome, broke out and gathered a force, and seizing a certain strong place in his own land, he lived by robbery. Against him Quintus Gallus and Gaius Fabius campaigned and captured both him and the rabble with him, who were for the most part unarmed; and having marched against the Carcini, among whom those men had deposited their booty, they encountered difficulties.

for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel." And one of those following the king said, "You speak impossibilities, O prophet." But he said, "You shall see the promised things, but you shall not partake of them because of your unbelief." And during that night, God caused in the ears of the Syrians a sound of chariots, and horses, and arms, and a multitude of shouts. And they, thinking that Joram had hired a great auxiliary force and that it was coming upon them, leaving the camp, fled in terror. ^A Now there were four lepers outside the city, for the law commands lepers to be thrust out of cities. These lepers, already perishing with famine, deliberated about approaching the camp of the Syrians, saying, "Either the Syrians will spare us, and having obtained food we shall live, or if they kill us, we shall be freed from our evils." They came therefore at dawn to the camp of the Syrians, and no one was seen by them. They passed into one tent, and found it empty of men. From that they moved to another, and found that one also to be deserted. And having moved to many, as they encountered no one, first they ate and drank, then having taken gold, and silver, and garments from there, they hid them; and thus having come to the city, they concealed what had happened. But the king, having heard, said that this was a trap of the enemies, and commanded not to go forward, but sent men to scout. Those who went encountered no one along the road, but found it full of garments and vessels. Having learned these things, the king permitted the multitude to plunder the camp. Whence such an abundance of necessities came to be, so that two measures of barley were sold for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour. And the measure is an Italian half-medimnus. But that officer of the king did not enjoy that abundance, according to the word of the prophet, because he disbelieved his prophecy; for when the multitude of the people flowed to the gate of the city, he was trampled and died. The king later fell ill in Damascus. And Elisha went then to Damascus; and the sick man heard about the prophet, and sent Hazael, the most honorable of his servants, to him, asking if he would live. He sent him also many gifts. Being asked, the prophet foretold that the sick king would die; but he instructed Hazael to say nothing to him of that; and he himself wept. And being asked by Hazael the cause of the weeping, he said he was lamenting, foreseeing how ^B many evils would befall the Israelites from him; for you, he said, shall be king of Syria. Having returned to his lord, Hazael reported that the prophet said he would live. But on the following day, casting a wet cloth over him, he suffocated him, and he himself seized the kingdom.

XVIII. But the king of Judah, Joram (for the same name belonged to both kings), was led into impiety by his wife Gotholia, who was the daughter of Ahab, and he slew his brothers and his father's servants, and forced the people to act impiously with him. To him living in this way, the prophet sent an announcement, foretelling to him the coming destruction, and that of his wives and his children on account of his impiety and his harassment of the people. ^D And not long after, the Arabs in war [attacked] the Judeans.

[GREEK COLUMN] 389 ANNALIUM LIB. IV. 390 πολιορκίας, ἐνίσταται τὸ ἕβδομον ἔτος, καθ’ ὃ εἴθισται τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ἀργεῖν. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο Πτολεμαῖος ἀνεθεὶς τοῦ πολέμου, κτείνει τὴν μητέρα τοῦ Ὑρκανοῦ καὶ τοὺς ἀδελφούς, καὶ φεύγει πρὸς Ζήνωνα τὸν Κοτυλᾶν, τὸν τῆς Φιλαδελφείας τύραννον. ^A Ἀντίοχος δὲ, χαλεπαίνων τῷ Σίμωνι, δι’ ἃ πέπονθε, τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ ἐπῆλθε, καὶ τὴν χώραν καταδραμὼν, ἐπολιόρκει τὸν Ὑρκανόν· καὶ πύργους ἀνεγείρας ὑψηλοτάτους κατὰ τὸ βόρειον μέρος τῆς πόλεως, ἐξ αὐτῶν τῷ τείχει προσέβαλλεν. Ἤνυε δ’ οὐδὲν διὰ τὴν γενναιότητα τῶν ἐντὸς, καὶ διὰ ὀχυρότητα τῶν τειχῶν, καὶ ὕδατος ἀφθονίαν, ἐξ ἐπομβρίας ἄρτι συμβᾶσαν. Δείσας δὲ ὁ Ὑρκανὸς μὴ ἐπιλίποιεν αὐτοῖς τὰ ἀναγκαῖα, μόνον τὸ μάχιμον τοῦ πλήθους ἀπολεξάμενος, τοὺς ἄλλους ἐξέωσε τῆς πόλεως· οὓς ὁ Ἀντίοχος ἀπελθεῖν ἐκεῖθεν οὐκ εἴα· οἳ, καὶ ἔξω τῶν τειχῶν προσμένοντες, διὰ τοῦτο ἀπέθνησκον· οἱ δ’ ἐντὸς, ἐλεοῦντες αὐτοὺς, εἰσεδέξαντο αὖθις. Τῆς Σκηνοπηγίας δὲ ἐνστάσης, ὁ Ὑρκανὸς, στείλας πρὸς τὸν Ἀντίοχον, ἀνοχὴν ἐζήτει γενέσθαι, διὰ τὴν ἑορτὴν ἐφ’ ἡμέρας ἑπτά. Ὁ δὲ καὶ τὴν ἀνοχὴν ἔδωκε, καὶ θυσίαν πολυτελῆ σὺν ἀναθήμασιν ἔπεμψεν, ἣν διὰ τὴν πρὸς τὸ θεῖον εὐσέβειαν καὶ Εὐσεβῆ ἐκάλεσαν. Γνοὺς δὲ τὴν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν τοῦ Ἀντιόχου αἰδῶ Ὑρκανός. Ἐπρεσβεύσατο, τὴν πάτριον αὐτοῖς ἀποδοθῆναι πολιτείαν αἰτούμενος. Ὁ δὲ, εἰ παραδοῖεν τὰ ὅπλα, εἶπε, καὶ φόρους τελεῖν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἄλλων καταθοῖντο πόλεων, ἄτερ τῆς Ἰουδαίας, καὶ φρουρὰν δέξαιντο, καὶ τοῦ πολέμου ἀφέξεσθαι, καὶ τἆλλα ποιήσειν, ἃ ἀξιοῦσιν. Ἰουδαῖοι δὲ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα ἐδέχοντο, ἐπὶ δὲ τῇ φρουρᾷ οὐ κατένευον, ἀλλ’ ἀντὶ ταύτης ὁμήρους ἐδίδοσαν, καὶ ἀργυρίου τάλαντα πεντακόσια. Ἐνδόντος δ’ ἐπὶ τούτοις τοῦ Ἀντιόχου, ἡ πολιορκία ἐλύθη. Ὑρκανὸς δὲ, τὸν τοῦ Δαβὶδ ἀνοίξας τάφον, τρισχίλια ἐκεῖθεν ἀργυρίου τάλαντα ἔλαβε· φιλίαν δὲ πρὸς Ἀντίοχον ποιησάμενος, ἐν τῇ πόλει αὐτὸν εἰσεδέξατο. Καὶ ἐπὶ Πάρθους στρατεύοντι συνεξώρμησεν, ἔνθα τῷ Ἀρσάκῃ πολεμήσας Ἀντίοχος, τῷ πλείονι τῆς στρατιᾶς καὶ αὐτὸς συναπώλετο.

^B Β. Γίνεται δὲ τῆς τῶν Σύρων βασιλείας διάδοχος ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ Δημήτριος, λύσαντος Ἀρσάκου αὐτοῦ, ἡνίκα τοῖς Πάρθοις ἐπῆλθεν Ἀντίοχος. Ὑρκανὸς δὲ, Ἀντιόχου θανόντος, πολλὰς τῶν τῆς Συρίας πόλεων εἷλε, καὶ τῆς Ἰδουμαίας ἑτέρας. Καὶ ὑποτάξας τοὺς Ἰδουμαίους, ἐπέτρεπεν αὐτοῖς τὴν ἐν τῇ χώρα διατριβὴν, εἰ περιτέμνοιντο, καὶ χρῶνται ἔθεσιν Ἰουδαϊκοῖς. Οἱ δὲ διὰ τὰς πατρίδας καὶ τὴν περιτομὴν καὶ τἆλλα ὑπήνεγκαν. Δημήτριος δὲ στρατεύειν ἐγνωκὼς ἐπὶ Ὑρκανόν, ἀνεκόπη, τῶν Σύρων καὶ τῶν στρατιωτῶν μισούντων αὐτὸν διὰ πονηρίαν, καὶ διακηρυκευσαμένων πρὸς Πτολεμαῖον τὸν Φύσκωνα δοῦναι αὐτοῖς τινα τῶν τῷ Σελεύκῳ προσηκόντων, τῆς βασιλείας ἀντιληψόμενον. Ὃς Ἀλέξανδρον ἔπεμψε τὸν λεγόμενον Ζεβινᾶν. Μάχης οὖν μέσον αὐτοῦ καὶ Δημητρίου συγκροτηθείσης, τρέπεται Δημήτριος, καὶ φεύγει εἰς Πτολεμαΐδα. Μὴ δεχθεὶς δὲ παρὰ Κλεοπάτρας τῆς γυναικὸς, εἰς Τύρον ἀπέδρα. Ἁλοὺς δὲ, καὶ πολλὰ παθὼν, διεφθάρη. Ἀλέξανδρος δὲ τὴν βασιλείαν παραλαβὼν, φιλίαν ποιεῖται πρὸς Ὑρκανόν. Ἐπαναστάντος δὲ αὐτῷ Ἀντιόχου τοῦ Γρυποῦ, τοῦ παιδὸς Δημητρίου, ἡττηθεὶς, ἐν τῇ μάχῃ ἀπώλετο. Βασιλεὺς δὲ Συρίας

[LATIN COLUMN] farms having been devastated, he besieges Hyrcanus, making an assault on the walls from the very high towers which he had built toward the north. But he profited nothing, as much for the strength of the defenders as for the solidity of the walls, and the abundance of water collected just before from the rain. But Hyrcanus, fearing that necessities might run out for them, having selected only the fighting men from the multitude, expelled the others from the city: whom Antiochus did not allow to depart from there; and as they waited outside the walls, they died on that account; but those within, pitying them, received them back again. When the Feast of Tabernacles was imminent, Hyrcanus, having sent to Antiochus, asked for a truce to be made for seven days to celebrate the feast: which he not only conceded, but also sent sumptuous victims with votive offerings, having obtained the title of "Pius" [Pious] on account of that piety toward the Divine. Which same thing was the cause for Hyrcanus that he might ask through envoys from him that he might restore the fatherland to his own citizens as a commonwealth. To whom Antiochus replied, if they would surrender their arms, and pay tributes from the cities situated outside Judea, and accept a garrison, that he was willing both to abstain from war and to agree to their requests. The Jews, however, embraced the other conditions but rejected the garrison: and in its place they gave hostages, and five hundred talents of silver. Antiochus being appeased by this reason, and the siege being lifted, Hyrcanus took out three thousand talents of silver from the monument of David: and having entered into friendship with Antiochus, he received him into the city, and accompanied him leading [an army] against the Parthians: where Antiochus, having fought with Arsaces, perished himself with the greater part of the army.

II. His brother Demetrius succeeded him in the kingdom of Syria, having been released by Arsaces when Antiochus had marched against the Parthians. But after the death of Antiochus, Hyrcanus captured many of the cities of Syria, and others of Idumea. And having subdued the Idumeans, he allowed them to remain in the country on the condition that they be circumcised and follow Jewish customs. They, for the sake of their native lands, endured both the circumcision and the rest. But when Demetrius had determined to make war upon Hyrcanus, he was impeded by this fact, because the Syrians and his soldiers, detesting his wickedness, had asked through heralds from Ptolemy Physcon that he should give them someone of the family of Seleucus who might take up the kingdom. He sent Alexander Zebinas, by whom Demetrius was defeated and retreated to Ptolemais: but being shut out by his wife Cleopatra, he fled to Tyre, where he was captured and after suffering much, he perished. Alexander, however, having obtained the kingdom, made friendship with Hyrcanus: but being defeated by Antiochus Grypus, the son of Demetrius, who was claiming the kingdom for himself, he perished in battle. That Antiochus, having assumed the kingdom of Syria, waged war for many years with his brother Antiochus, known as Cyzicenus because he had been raised at Cyzicus. Now he was of Antiochus

and one of his sons, Ochozias, was saved. ^A And Joram, after these events, having become ill as the prophet had foretold, violently breathed his last, having lived forty years and reigned eight. The rule then devolved upon his son Ochozias. Now it happened that Joram, the other king of the Israelites, while campaigning against the Syrians, was wounded in the war. And he departed to have his wound treated, leaving Jehu, the son of Amases, as commander of the army. ^B Eliseus sent one of the disciples to anoint Jehu as king, as though God had chosen him. He went and, taking Jehu aside from the others, as if to tell him something deeper, entered into a chamber, poured oil upon his head, and said that God was choosing him as king so that he might destroy the family of Achab. And the man, having said this, ran out of the chamber in a hurry. When those with him asked what that man, who had called to him, might have wanted, and compared him to a madman, "You have judged rightly," he said, "for he told me words that were full of madness. ^C For he said that God had appointed me as king." And the people, having heard these things, sounding trumpets, proclaimed Jehu king. He, immediately taking the pick of the cavalry, set out, so that he might suddenly fall upon those with Joram. But when to Joram a scout said that horsemen were approaching, he sent someone to ask if they came in peace. Jehu, however, without answering, urged him to follow. Then he sent a second, and when he did not return either, Joram himself, having mounted his chariot, with Ochozias—the son of his sister who had come to visit him—met Jehu in the field of Nabuthae. And he asked about the army, how it fared. ^D But he, holding in [his anger at the] blasphemies, Joram turned and fled in fear. And Jehu, having pulled back his bow, shot him. And he fell from the chariot, dead, and was cast into the field of Nabuthae, according to the prophecy of Elias that he had made against Achab. And Jehu also shot Ochozias as he fled, and he died shortly thereafter from the wound, having reigned one year. Jezabel, meanwhile, looking out from the tower, having adorned herself to appear more attractive, said, "Excellent is the servant who killed his master!" But Jehu commanded the eunuchs to throw her down from above. And as she was being brought down, the wall was splattered with her blood. And she died. ^D When Jehu ordered her to be buried on account of her royal lineage, those commanded found nothing of her body but only bones. For she had been torn apart by dogs, as Elias had prophesied. There were, however, seventy sons of Achab in Samaria. Jehu therefore sent word to the rulers of Samaria and to the tutors of the sons of Achab, declaring that the best of them should be made king. But he wrote these things for the sake of testing the men. They replied that they had him as their master. And again Jehu sent and...

^A Having learned of these things, the Romans built a fleet and placed Gaius Duilius, one of the consuls, in command of it, while sending his colleague, Gaius Cornelius, to Sicily. Neglecting the land war which had been allotted to him, Cornelius sailed with the ships at his disposal to Lipara, believing it was being betrayed to him; but this was a trick of the Carthaginians. So, when he had anchored at Lipara, Bodes, the lieutenant of Hannibal, surrounded him. As Gaius made preparations to defend himself, Bodes, fearing their desperation, invited them to negotiate a truce; and after convincing them, he had the consul and the tribunes board his trireme, as if they were going to meet with the admiral. These they carried off to Carthage, but the rest they captured without them even raising their weapons.

After this, while Hannibal was ravaging Italy, Hamilcar campaigned against Egesta, where the greater part of the Roman infantry was stationed; and when Gaius Caecilius, a tribune, wished to assist them, Hamilcar ambushed and slew many of his men. Upon learning of this, those in Rome immediately sent out the praetor and spurred on Duilius. When he arrived in Sicily and perceived that while the Carthaginian ships were inferior in thickness and size, they were superior in the speed of their rowing and the maneuvering of their voyage, he constructed engines on the triremes—anchors, iron grappling hooks, and other such things—so that, by casting them onto the enemy ships, they might grapple them to themselves, ^B and by boarding them, they might come to hand-to-hand combat with the Carthaginians and clash with them as if in a land battle.

So when the Carthaginians joined with the Roman ships, they sailed round them, using energetic rowing, and attacked them from a surprise angle. For a certain time, the sea battle was equally matched, but then the Romans gained the upper hand and sank many ships, while also capturing many. Hannibal, fighting from a heptere, had his ship grappled by a trireme, and fearing he would be seized, he abandoned the heptere, transferred to another, and escaped.

This was the end of the sea battle, and much booty was taken. The Carthaginians would have executed Hannibal for the defeat had he not immediately asked them, as if matters were still intact, whether they ordered him to fight at sea or not. For when they agreed that they should fight, as they were puffed up by the superiority of their navy, he replied, "I have done no wrong, since I engaged them with the same hopes as you; for I was master of my judgment, but not of fortune." And so he was saved, but he was relieved of his command.

Duilius, having taken up the infantry, rescued the Egestaeans—for Hamilcar did not even endure coming to blows with him—secured the other friendly places, and returned to Rome as the summer passed. ^C When he had departed, Hamilcar fortified the place called Drepana, which is a convenient harbor, and deposited his most valuable belongings there. He also relocated all the Erycinians and razed their city, so that the Romans, finding it a strong place, might not make it a staging ground for the war; and he took some cities by force and others by treachery. And had not Gaius Florus checked him by wintering there, he would have destroyed all of Sicily.

Lucius Scipio, his colleague, campaigned against Sardinia and Corsica—which lie in the Tyrrhenian Sea, little distant from each other, so that they seem from afar as one. Attacking Corsica first, he took Valeria, its strongest city, by force, and subdued the rest without effort. Sailing to Sardinia, he caught sight of a Carthaginian fleet and turned toward it. They fled before they came to an engagement, and he himself came to the city of Olbia; when the Carthaginians appeared there with their ships, he, fearing them—for he did not have infantry capable of fighting—sailed for home.

At that time, others among those who had been captured and were serving in the city, as well as the Samnites (for many had arrived to support the construction of the fleet), conspired to plot against Rome. Erius Potilius, the officer in charge of the relief troops, learned of this and pretended to share their sentiment so that he might accurately discover everything they had decided. ^D Since he was not able to reveal the scheme—for all the Samnites were around him—he persuaded them to gather in the forum as the council was being held and to shout against him, complaining that they were being cheated regarding the grain they were receiving. When they did this, he was summoned as though he were the cause of the disturbance, and he revealed the plot to them. At the time they kept quiet and were sent away, but by night, each of those who kept slaves apprehended them; and thus the whole conspiracy was dissolved.

In the following summer, the Romans and the Carthaginians fought at the same time in Sicily and Sardinia. After this, Atilius Latinus went to Sicily, and finding the city of Mutistratum being besieged by Florus, he made use of his preparations. While he was making assaults against the wall, at first the locals, along with the Carthaginians, defended themselves stoutly; but they could not hold out when the women and children were moved to tears and lamentations. After the Carthaginians slipped away by night, the locals voluntarily threw open the gates at dawn. The Romans, upon entering, began slaying everyone until Atilius proclaimed that the remaining booty and the people belonged to whoever took them; from then on, they took the rest captive and, after plundering the city, burned it. From there, having acted rashly, they fell into territory where an ambush had been laid for them at Camarina:

^A demanded that they acknowledge him, and bring to him the heads of all the children of Ahab. And they did what was commanded. He ordered the heads to be placed before the gate of the city in two heaps. And when this had been done, he came forth and said, "I have indeed slain the king, but these perished according to the prophecy of the prophet." And Jehu sought out also all the kinsmen of Ahab and slew them. While he was departing to Samaria, he met Jonadab, and having greeted him, he blessed him because he had utterly destroyed the lineage of Ahab. Then, so that none of the false prophets and priests of Baal might escape, he proclaimed that he was about to offer a costly sacrifice, and he commanded that all the priests and prophets of Baal be present. And if anyone were not present, the penalty for him was to be death. When they had gathered, he gave them garments, and after this, having gone into the house of Baal with them, he ordered that no one else be mingled among them. When they had said that no one else was present, he stationed soldiers outside, having ordered them to slay those within. They slew them all, and burned the house of Baal, and his pillar. But he did not remove the golden calves. And God promised him that, because he had wiped out the house of Ahab, his kingdom would last for the fourth generation of his children.

^B XIX. Thus, then, the lineage of Ahab was destroyed. But his daughter Gotholia, who was married to the king of Jerusalem, upon his death, becoming mistress of the kingdom of Judah, set herself with diligence to eradicate also the lineage of David. And, save for one, she slew them all; for the sister of Ochozias, called Josabe, when the sons of her brother were being put to death, was able to snatch one infant, whose name was Joas, and she hid him and reared him for six years in secret. In the seventh year, Joades the high priest, to whom Josabe was married, having called together some of the centurions, showed them Joas, and having spoken with the men, he persuaded them to defect from Gotholia and to restore the paternal kingdom to Joas. They, having confirmed these agreements with oaths, departed and gathered ^C the priests and Levites and tribal leaders to Joades. And he showed Joas to them, saying, "This is your king, from the seed of David." And he surrounded the temple with the people; and having placed Joas in the midst, he placed a diadem upon him, and having poured the oil of anointing upon him, he declared him king, and the people acclaimed him. Gotholia, having heard the shout, ran out from the palace in a panic, followed by her army. Having come to the temple, the priests received her inside, but the multitude kept her attendants from entering. She, having seen the child crowned, threatened those who had attempted to take her throne. But Joades commanded the centurions to drag Gotholia outside and slay her. And they did so. And Joades bound the king and the people by oath to honor God and to keep the laws. ^D And arriving immediately at the temple of Baal, they tore it down, and smashed the images of Baal, and slew the priest. And they installed the king in the palace, he being then seven years old. And it was a great concern to the high priest Joades that faith in God be kept and the laws be preserved. When the king had attained manhood, he took two wives. And when the temple had been destroyed by Gotholia, desiring to restore it, having summoned Joades, he ordered that he send throughout the whole province to demand a half-shekel from each person for the renovation of the temple. But Joades, who understood that this would be burdensome to the people, devised another way to collect the money. He placed a chest, closed on all sides, which had an opening on the top, near the temple, into which everyone who wished could place [money] for the restoration of the temple. Since, therefore, that collection...

But since [the Romans] demanded much and that which was burdensome, so that the terms were considered equivalent to total capture, they preferred to fight. Regulus, however, having been successful up until then, became full of pride and arrogance, so much so that he wrote to Rome that he had the gates of the Carthaginians locked fast by fear; and those who were with him, as well as those in Rome, held the same opinion. Whence they were also deceived. For other allies did come to the Carthaginians, and Xanthippus also came from Lacedaemon. He received supreme command over the Carthaginians; for the people willingly entrusted affairs to him, and Hamilcar and the other officials willingly stepped aside. He prepared ^A other things well, and brought the Carthaginians down from the heights, where they had been in fear, to the level ground where their cavalry and elephants were destined to be most powerful. For the rest of the time he kept quiet, but having watched the Romans at one point encamping with contempt—for they were puffed up by their victory and considered Xanthippus of little account because he was a Greek; for that is what they call the Greeks, and they use the term against them as a reproach of low birth—[the Romans] had made their camps thoughtlessly. With the Romans so disposed, Xanthippus attacked, and having routed their cavalry with the elephants, he cut down many and took many prisoner, including Regulus himself. And on account of these things the Carthaginians were high-spirited; they preserved the captives they had taken, so that those who had previously been captured from the Romans by them might not be killed. Therefore, they held other captured Romans in slavery, but treated Regulus with every cruelty, bringing him only enough food to survive, and constantly bringing an elephant before him ^B so that, terrified by it, he might have rest neither in body nor in mind. After maltreating him for a long time in this way, they put him in a dungeon. The Carthaginians also treated their own allies most terribly. For, not having the resources to pay them what they had promised, they sent them away, falsely promising that they would pay them their wages before long. They ordered those escorting them to land them on some deserted island and sail away secretly. Some say that those who sailed away turned back and sank them, while others say they gave him an old ship that leaked, having coated it with new pitch on the outside, so that it might sink of its own accord, but that he, realizing this, boarded another ship and was thus saved. These things they did so that they might not appear to have been saved by him; for they thought that if he were destroyed, the fame of his deeds would perish along with him. Those in ^C Rome were grieved by what had happened, and the more so because they expected the Carthaginians to sail against Rome itself. For this reason they kept Italy under guard and sent the consuls, Marcus Aemilius and Fulvius Platinus, with haste to the Romans who were in Sicily and Libya. They sailed to Sicily, and after guarding the things there, they set out for Libya; but having been caught in a storm, they were driven to Cossura. Having plundered the island and left a garrison, they sailed again. At this point a powerful naval battle took place against the Carthaginians. For the latter were struggling completely to drive the Romans out of their own territory, while the Romans were struggling to rescue those of their own who had been abandoned in enemy territory. While they were fighting on equal terms, the Romans who were in Aspis suddenly sailed behind the backs of the Carthaginians, and catching them caught between two fires, they defeated them. And after this the Romans also conquered with their infantry, and captured many; those whom they rescued on account ^D of Regulus and those captured with him. Having made some plundering raids, they sailed to Sicily. But having fallen into a winter storm and lost many, they sailed home with the ships that were saved. The Carthaginians even took Cossura and crossed over to Sicily; and had they not learned that Colatinus and Gnaeus Cornelius were sailing toward them with a large fleet, they would have mastered the whole of it. For the Romans had quickly equipped an excellent fleet and had made the best enrollments, and were so strengthened that in the third month they returned to Sicily. It was the five-hundredth year since Rome was founded. They took the lower city of Panormus without difficulty, but while laying siege to the citadel they suffered hardship, until the food supply ran out for those inside. Then they surrendered to the consuls. The Carthaginians, keeping watch on their ships as they sailed home, captured many full of wealth. Then the consuls Servilius Caepio and Gaius Sempronius attempted to take Lilybaeum but were repulsed, and crossed over to Libya and were plundering the coast. As they were being taken home, they encountered a winter storm and were damaged. Therefore, thinking that the loss was due to the inexperience of the sailors, the people decreed that they should refrain from the rest of the sea and guard Italy with only a few ships. In the following year, Publius Gaius and Aurelius Servilius came to Sicily, and they subjugated other things and Himera; however, they did not capture anyone inside it; for the Carthaginians had removed them by night. After this, Aurelius, having received ships from Hiero and having taken with him all the Romans who were there, sailed to Lipara, and having left the tribune Quintus Cassius there to besiege it without a battle, he departed for home. But Quintus, disregarding his orders, engaged the city and lost many men. Aurelius, however, later having taken those ones, killed them all and removed Cassius from his command. The Carthaginians, having learned of the Romans' decisions regarding the navy, sent to Sicily, hoping to subjugate the whole island at that time.

was left to the free will of each person, they did not contribute begrudgingly, but vied with one another in liberality. Thus, much gold and a great amount of silver was collected: whence the temple was repaired, and 105 many vessels for sacrifices were prepared, which, as long as Joiada lived, were zealously offered to God. But when he, at the age of one hundred and thirty, having lived a just and righteous life, had departed, King Joas became more negligent concerning the worship of God, along with the tribunes and other corrupt magistrates, nor did they depart from their impiety, although admonished by the prophets. But when the prophet Zacharias, the son of Joiada, warned the king and the people to live according to the laws, Joas, in anger, ordered him to be stoned. As he was being killed, he invoked God as judge, because he was being deprived of life by him upon whose father's favor he lived. Nor was that judgment delayed for long. For when the king of Syria, Azahel, had surrounded Jerusalem with a siege, he gave him all the divine and royal treasures and the offerings of the temple: and he, delighted by the greatness of the money, lifted the siege. The same Syrian also afflicted the Israelites grievously. For Jehu, their king, having violated divine precepts, also died in the twenty-seventh year of his reign. ^A And Joiada, having called the priest, commanded him to send those who would ask from all the country for the repair of the temple a half-shekel of silver for each head. But Joiada, understanding that this was burdensome to the people, changed the collection of the money in another way. For he fashioned a chest closed on all sides, and made a hole in the top of it, and placed it by the temple, and requested individuals to cast in through the hole as much as was their own will for the restoration of the temple. And so, because the giving was left to everyone's own choice, they made the gift without being burdened. And they vied with one another concerning the contribution of the money, so that much gold and a great amount of silver was gathered, from which both the temple was repaired and many vessels for the sacrifices were made, ^B which the zealous men brought to God. And when he [Joiada] had lived justly and according to the law for a hundred and thirty years, and had thus departed this life, King Joas, and the commanders and others who ruled the multitude, were corrupted in their regard for the honor due to the divine. And when the prophets were testifying to them concerning their impiety toward God, they did not cease. And when Zacharias, the son of the high priest Joiada, was prophesying and exhorting the king and the people to live according to the laws, Joas, becoming angry, gave the order for him to be stoned. And the prophet, as he was being killed, prayed that God might judge, on account of his being deprived of life by the one who had been benefited by his father. And indeed, He judged quickly. For the king of the Syrians, Azahel, coming upon them, besieged Jerusalem; and the king, having taken away all the treasures, both the divine and the royal, and whatever was offered in votive gifts, provided them to Azahel, who, being pleased by the multitude of the money, refrained from the siege. But this Syrian, attacking the Israelites, afflicted them greatly. And Jehu, the king of the Israelites, having become a transgressor of the divine commandments, and having reigned twenty and seven years, died.

XX. And his son Joachaz succeeded him; and when he reigned, the Syrian ^C brought calamity upon the region, having occupied many cities, and his army having been slaughtered. But Joachaz prayed to God, and obtained safety, and a mitigation of the calamities, having died in the seventeenth year of his reign, leaving his son Joas as his successor, of the same name as the king of the tribe of Judah. This one proved different from his father, and was a good man. For he mourned for Elisha as he was dying from illness, calling him father and defense, as one by whose help he might obtain victory. But the prophet comforted him, and after a bow had been taken, ordered him to shoot arrows. And when he had ceased shooting, the prophet said: "If you had shot more arrows, you would have utterly overthrown the empire of the Syrians; now you shall obtain victories equal to the number of the arrows, and you shall recover the lands taken from your kingdom." After these words, the prophet was taken away and buried magnificently. But when some thieves had tossed a certain dead man into the prophet's sepulcher, the dead man came back to life and arose. Azahel, king of Syria, also died, leaving his son Adere as successor: with whom the king of Israel... ^D Κ'. And Joachaz, his son, took up the kingdom; and when he reigned, the leader of the Syrians afflicted the land; and having occupied many of his cities, he made his army the work of the sword. In this, Joachaz, having besought God, found salvation, and a respite from his evils. And having reigned seventeen years, he dies, having had as successor to his kingdom Joas his son, who had the same name as the one reigning over the tribe of Judah. But this Joas did not become like his father, but was good, just as when Elisha was ill and dying he mourned, calling him father and a weapon, as though through him he was holding the enemies. But the prophet comforted him, and ordered him, having taken a bow, to cast arrows. And the king having shot three times, and having paused, Elisha said: "If you had released more arrows, you would have cut off the rule of the Syrians from the root. But now, with a number of victories equal to the arrows, you shall defeat them, and you shall restore the land which they took away to your rule." Then the prophet departed, and received burial (67).

^A And while both consuls, Caecilius Metellus and Gaius Furius, were present, they remained inactive; but when Furius departed for Rome, they despised Metellus and approached Panormus. Metellus, having learned that spies from the enemy had arrived, gathered all those in the city, and having spoken to them, ordered them to take hold of one another; and thus, by questioning each person as to who he was and what he was doing, he caught the enemies. The Carthaginians drew up in battle formation as if to fight, and Metellus pretended to be afraid. As this continued for several days, the Carthaginians grew arrogant and attacked more boldly. Then Metellus gave a signal to the Romans; and thereupon they suddenly rushed out through all the gates, easily prevailed, and drove them into a narrow space, so that they were no longer able to retreat through it. For, being cramped—since they were numerous themselves and had many elephants—they became confused. At this juncture, the Libyan naval fleet sailed up to them and became the greatest cause of their destruction. For, seeing the ships, they rushed toward them and struggled to board; some fell into the sea and perished, some were killed by the elephants as they crowded together against each other and against the men, others were slain by the Romans, and many were captured alive, both men and elephants. ^B For since they were acting like wild beasts without their accustomed handlers, Metellus made a proclamation to the captives, promising safety and immunity to those among them who would bring them under control; and thus, some approached their tamest ones, subdued them because of their familiarity, and also drew the others in. They brought these, too, to Rome—one hundred and twenty of them—having transported them across the strait in this manner: they tied many large casks together, separated them with timbers so that they would neither detach nor collide, stretched beams over them, and piled wood and earth upon them; having fenced the area around so that it resembled a courtyard, they embarked them upon this, and ferried them across without them even perceiving that they were sailing. Metellus thus won the victory, and Hasdrubal, the Carthaginian general who escaped at that time, was later recalled by the Carthaginians at home and impaled.

The Carthaginians sent envoys to the Romans, partly for other matters and partly because of the multitude of captives, and they sent Regulus himself along with the ambassadors, thinking to have succeeded in everything through him on account of the man's virtue and high standing, and they made him swear that he would indeed return. He, for his part, acted in all other things as one of the Carthaginians, ^C and neither would he admit his wife to conversation nor enter the city, even though he was called to do so; but since the senate had been gathered outside the wall, as was the custom for dealing with the ambassadors of enemies, he was led into the council and said: "Fathers, the Carthaginians sent us to you, for they have dispatched me since I have become their slave by the law of war; and they propose, above all, to dissolve the war on terms that seem good to both sides, but if not, to make an exchange of prisoners." Having said this, he withdrew with the ambassadors so that the Romans might deliberate among themselves. When the consuls ordered him to participate in their decision-making with them, he would not be persuaded until he had received authorization from the Carthaginians. For a time he remained silent, but when the senators asked him to state his opinion, he said: "I am one of you, Fathers, even if I have been captured a thousand times; for my body is the Carthaginians', but my soul is yours. That property of mine has been alienated from you, but no one is able to make this [soul] anything other than Roman. And as a captive, I belong to the Carthaginians, ^D but since I met with misfortune not through cowardice but through zeal, I am both a Roman and I think as you do. And in no way do I think it profitable for you to conclude peace."

Regulus, having said this, added the reasons why he discouraged the agreements, and concluded: "I know that an obvious death lies before me, for it is impossible for them to be ignorant of what I have counseled; but even so, I prefer the common good to my own safety. And if anyone asks, 'Why then do you not flee or remain here?', he shall hear that I have sworn to them that I would return, and I would not violate oaths, not even if they were made to enemies; and for other reasons, but especially because if I keep my oath I will suffer alone, but if I perjure myself, the entire city will be filled with guilt." The senate, for the sake of his safety, was eager to make the peace and to exchange the prisoners. He, perceiving this himself, so that they would not trade away the common good for his sake, pretended to have drunk a deadly poison and that he was entirely destined to perish by it. And neither was the agreement concluded, nor was the exchange of prisoners. When he was departing with the ambassadors, others, as well as his children and his wife, clung to him; the consuls said they would neither surrender him if he wished to remain nor detain him if he departed. And so, choosing not to violate his oaths, he was taken back. And having been tortured by them, as the story goes, he died. For they cut off his eyelids, kept him for a certain time in darkness, and then cast him into a certain wooden vessel containing spikes on all sides and turned him toward the sun, and thus he was destroyed by the suffering and insomnia, unable to rest in any way because of the spikes.

^A (67).

BOOK V. OF THE ANNALS.

224. Upon the arrival of Gabinius in Syria, he sends Mark Antony with an army against Alexander. And when a battle took place, the Romans slew about three thousand of the enemy and took no fewer prisoners. And when Alexander had fled to a certain fortress called Alexandreion, he besieged it. Alexander therefore sends an embassy to Gabinius, asking for pardon, and surrenders the fortresses he was holding. And the high priest Hyrcanus was conducted to Jerusalem by Gabinius. However, Aristobulus, having escaped from Rome and come into the land of the Jews, attempted to fortify Alexandreion, which had just recently been razed. Gabinius sends troops to hinder him or else to capture him. Now many of the Jews came flocking to Aristobulus, most of whom happened to be unarmed. Such men as these, then, Aristobulus dismissed, but he kept those who were armed, being about eight thousand in number, ^B and he was defeated by the Romans. And they, receiving those who intended to surrender Pompey, while the faction of Aristobulus judged the contrary, having seized the temple, prepared to endure a siege. But when the city and the palace had been handed over to Pompey by the others, and he had camped within the city, he besieged the temple. And after it was captured about the third month, the enemy broke in and began slaughtering those who were inside. Yet they were none the less performing sacred rites and sacrificing, and everything was filled with blood. For the Jews were being slaughtered some by the Romans, others by one another, or were even casting themselves down from the heights. Now Pompey entered into the interior of the temple—the holy of holies—and some of those around him, and they saw things which were invisible to others except for the high priests. Yet he touched nothing of the offerings or the treasures therein, out of piety. On the following day, having commanded them to cleanse the temple and to sacrifice lawfully, he handed over the high priesthood to Hyrcanus, having put the authors of the war to the sword, and having made Jerusalem tributary to the Romans. Pompey, departing for Rome, took with him the bound Aristobulus and his children. He had two daughters, and as many sons, of whom the elder, Alexander, fled and was overrunning Judea, while later Hyrcanus was unable to stand against him.

^C 225. VII. Gabinius, however, when he had come into Syria, sends M. Antony with an army against Alexander, who, having joined battle, slew three thousand of the enemy, and captured no fewer. Alexander, however, having been besieged in the castle which was called Alexandreion, obtained pardon from Gabinius through legates, having surrendered the fortifications which he was holding; and Hyrcanus the pontiff was led back to Jerusalem by the same Gabinius. Aristobulus, indeed, when he had fled from Rome into Judea, and was trying to restore Alexandreion, which had just been razed, Gabinius sent troops to prohibit this, or even to apprehend him. But when many Jews, for the most part unarmed, were flocking to Aristobulus, he dismissed the others, and kept only the armed men, who were about eight thousand: these were defeated in battle by the Romans, and were partly slain and partly scattered. Aristobulus, however, with a thousand men, betook himself to Machaerus.

-^Asius. But following this, they again waged wars against the Boii, against the Gauls neighboring them, and against certain of the Ligurians. Sempronius Gracchus, having defeated the Ligurians in battle, inflicted damage upon them; and Publius Valerius, when he engaged the Gauls, was at first defeated, but then, learning that some were coming from Rome to his aid, he turned again against the Gauls, so that he might either win by his own hand or die; for he preferred this rather than to survive and bear shame. And somehow, by chance, he prevailed. At that time, therefore, such was the state of the Romans' affairs, and they again received money from the Carthaginians for Sardinia without a fight, having complained that they were harming their seafarers; for the Carthaginians, not yet having been strengthened, feared their threats. In the following year, Lucius Lentulus and Quintus Flaccus, having campaigned against the Gauls, were invincible as long as they remained together, but when they began to ravage in separate directions—thinking thus to gather more booty—the camp of Flaccus was placed in danger, having been surrounded at night. But at that time the barbarians were driven back, though they took on allies and marched against the Romans again with a large force. And as Publius Lentulus and Licinius Varus had encountered them, they hoped to strike them with terror even without a battle because of their own numbers; and having sent word, they demanded the territory around Ariminum and ordered them to move out of the city as if it were their own. The consuls, neither daring to engage due to their paucity of numbers nor daring to concede anything, arranged a truce so that they might send an embassy to Rome. Those who went before the Senate said the same things. Since the envoys obtained none of their requests, they withdrew to the camp. And they found their affairs ruined; for some of their allies, having changed their minds and become fearful of the Romans, had turned against the Boii, and many were destroyed on both sides, and from there the rest departed for home; and the Boii made a truce for a large portion of their land.

Now that the Gallic wars had been dissolved, Lentulus campaigned against the Ligurians, and he repelled those who attacked him and set up certain fortifications. Varus, having set out against Corsica and being unable to cross due to a lack of ships, sent ahead a certain Claudius Clineas with a force. And he, having terrified the Corsicans, entered into talks and made a treaty as if he were an autocrat. But Varus, paying no mind to the agreements, made war on the Corsicans until he subdued them. The Romans, feigning that they were not parties to the breach of faith, sent back word to them and handed over Claudius; and when he was not accepted, they banished him. And intending to campaign against the Carthaginians as they were harming their merchants, they did not do this, but having demanded money, they renewed the treaties. And yet, even so, the agreements were not destined to remain for long. The affairs of the Carthaginians were therefore postponed, and they campaigned against the Sardinians who were not obeying them, and they were victorious. After this, the Carthaginians secretly persuaded the Sardinians to rise up against the Romans. And the Corsicans also revolted along with them, and the Ligurians did not remain quiet.

In the following year, the Romans divided their forces in three, so that, being warred upon simultaneously, they would not be able to aid one another, and they sent Postumius Albinus into the Ligurian territory, Spurius Carvilius against the Corsicans, and the urban praetor Publius Cornelius into Sardinia. And the consuls, not without difficulty but not slowly, accomplished what had been ordered for them; and Carvilius crushed the Sardinians, who were not planning anything moderate, in a strong battle; for Cornelius and many of his soldiers were destroyed by disease. But when the Romans departed from their land, the Sardinians and the Ligurians revolted again. Quintus Fabius Maximus was therefore sent against the Ligurians, and Pomponius Manius into Sardinia. They judged the Carthaginians to be enemies, as being the cause of the wars for them, and having sent to them, they demanded money and ordered them to sail out from all the islands, as they belonged to them. Signaling their own intent, they sent to them a spear and a caduceus, ordering them to choose whichever they wished. They, having no fear, gave a rather harsh reply to the other matters and said they would choose neither of the things sent to them, but were ready to accept whichever one they left behind. From then on they hated one another, but were reluctant to begin a war.

When the Sardinians stirred again against them, both the consuls, Marcus Malleolus and Marcus Aemilius, campaigned against them. And they took many spoils, but, having put in at the land of the Corsicans, they had them taken away. Therefore, after this, the Romans turned against both. And Marcus Pomponius devastated the Sardinians, and having learned that most of them had descended into wooded and difficult-to-find caves, and being unable to find them, he sent for keen-scented dogs from Italy, and through them he found the tracks of both the men and the livestock and slaughtered many; and Gaius Papirius cleared the Corsicans from the plains, but as he pressed them toward the mountains he lost many from ambush, and would have destroyed more through lack of water, had water not appeared late at some point and persuaded the Corsicans to come to terms. At this time, Hamilcar, the Carthaginian general, also died, defeated by the Iberians. For having lined up against them, they brought wagons full of torches and pitch in front of the Carthaginian army, and having approached, they set them on fire, and by goading the draft animals pulling them, they made them stampede. And as a result, the opponents were thrown into confusion and scattered and turned, and those following slaughtered him and many others.

^A but the whale swallowed the prophet, and after three days and as many nights, it vomited him out alive and unharmed: he, having requested pardon from God for his disobedience, was sent again with the same command. Having therefore arrived in Nineveh, he preached that after three days the city would be overturned. But the state of the city and the whole people, having accepted the prophet’s message and enacted repentance, supplicated God that He might have mercy on them: softened by these prayers, God averted the destruction from them. Jeroboam, however, having reigned for forty-one years, died, and after him his son Azarias took possession of the empire. Ozias, king of the Jerusalemites, because he was pious toward God and just toward his subjects, conquered many of the barbarians and made them tributary. But being elated by his successes, he departed from his duty: for, adorned in the rite of the priest, he undertook to burn incense to God upon the golden altar. ^B To which audacity, when the high priest Azarias and the priests forbade him, and admonished him not to violate the law, he threatened them with death unless they remained quiet. Meanwhile, a certain light like a flash shone within the temple, and falling upon the face of the king, it caused leprosy to blossom upon it. The priests pointed out this calamity, persuading him to depart from the city: in which state, having lived for some time, he died of grief, in the fifty-second year of his reign, at the age of sixty-eight, having handed over the empire to his son Joatham. Azarias, however, the son of Jeroboam, in the sixth month of his reign, his life having been lived impiously, was treacherously killed by Selum, whom also Manaemus, when he had reigned for thirty days, killed, having occupied the Israelitic kingdom: and Phua, the king of the Assyrians, bringing war upon him, he placated by giving a thousand talents of silver, which he had collected from the people. And when he had reigned impiously and cruelly for ten years, he was killed, the kingdom having been transferred to his son Phaceas: ^C who, imitating the disposition and character of his father, is killed by Phaceas the son of Romelia, who—having succeeded the slain man and administering the empire impiously and wickedly—was attacked by Thæglapharasar, the king of the Assyrians, who invaded the Israelitic region; he destroyed many cities, and then brought back with him captives almost innumerable. Joatham, however, king of the Jerusalemites, a man pious and just, cared for both the city and the temple, and having conquered the Ammonites in battle, made them tributary. The destruction of the Israelites by the Assyrians had been predicted by the prophet Nahum, whose words were fulfilled after one hundred and fifteen years. Joatham died in the forty-first year of his age, in the sixteenth year of his reign. ^D

XXII. The Jerusalemite principate was transferred to his son Achaz, who, being impious toward God and having violated His laws, worshipped idols, and erected altars to them, and burnt his own son as a whole-offering to them. Against whom Raason, ruler of the Syrians, and Phaceas, king of the Israelites, having entered into a conspiracy, besieged Jerusalem for a long time. And Raason.

^A And the one who had flourished exceedingly ended his life in this manner; upon his death, his son-in-law Hasdrubal succeeded him. He acquired much of Iberia, and in it built a city named Carthage, after his homeland. As for the Boii and other Gauls, since they were selling many things—including a great number of captives—the Romans, fearing that they might use the money against them, forbade anyone to give gold or silver to a Gaul. From this, the Carthaginians, learning that the consuls Marcus Aemilius and Marcus Junius had departed for Liguria, prepared to march upon Rome. But the consuls, knowing this and having rushed against them in a body, struck them with panic, and they met them as friends. The others pretended that they were not advancing against them, but through their territory toward the Ligurians.

The Romans crossed the Ionian Sea and touched the Greek mainland; the pretext for this voyage was as follows. There is an island called Issa lying in the Ionian Gulf. Its inhabitants, known as Issaeans, voluntarily surrendered themselves to the Romans, being aggrieved by their ruler, Agron, king of the Ardiaei, of Illyrian stock. The consuls sent envoys to him. But he having died, leaving as his successor a child who was still young, his wife—the child’s stepmother—managed the rule of the Ardiaei. She dealt nothing moderately with the envoys, but, acting with effrontery, imprisoned some and put others to death. When the Romans declared war upon her, she cowered, promised to return those of the envoys who were still alive, and claimed that the dead had been murdered by pirates. When the Romans demanded the perpetrators, she said she would surrender no one, and sent an army against Issa. Later, however, being afraid, she sent a certain Demetrius to the consuls, saying she was ready to comply with them in all things. A truce was made with the one sent, provided she surrendered Corcyra to them.

^B When those who had crossed over to the island retreated, she took heart again, like a woman of light and fickle mind, and sent an army to Epidamnus and Apollonia. But when the Romans rescued the cities, seized her ships together with the money sailing from the Peloponnese, and plundered the coastal regions, and since Demetrius, because of her irrationality, had shifted to the Romans and persuaded others to defect, she grew afraid and withdrew from power. Demetrius then took it, as if he were to act as guardian for the child. The Romans were praised by the Corinthians for these actions, and they participated in the Isthmian games, and Plautus won a race there. They also established friendship with the Athenians and participated in their state and mysteries.

The name "Illyrian," while previously applied to others, later moved to the upper mainland—above Macedonia, Thrace within Haemus, and the region near Rhodope—and it exists in the middle of these mountains and the Alps, the Ainus river, and the Ister, as far as the Euxine Sea, and even stretches somewhat beyond the Ister.

Once, an oracle having come to the Romans that Greeks and Gauls would take possession of the city, two Gauls and two Greeks, of both the male and female sex, were buried alive in the Forum, so that the destiny might seem fulfilled, and that they might be considered to be holding some part of the city by being buried there.

After this, the Sardinians, deeming it a grievous thing that a Roman general was always stationed over them, revolted; but they were enslaved again. The Insubrians, a Gallic race, having taken as allies their kinsmen from beyond the Alps, bore arms against the Romans; wherefore they also prepared themselves. While the barbarians were plundering, eventually a great storm occurred at night; they suspected the divine was opposing them and became despondent, and in terror, attempted to secure their safety by flight. Regulus pursued them, and having engaged the rearguard, was defeated and died; Aemilius, having seized a certain hill, remained quiet. When the Gauls occupied another, they remained calm for a few days, but then, the one side moved by anger at what had happened, and the barbarians by the pride of their victory, they rushed down from the heights and joined battle. For a long time they fought evenly, but in the end the Romans surrounded them with their cavalry, cut them down, seized their camp, and carried off the spoils. After this, Aemilius ravaged the lands of the Boii and celebrated a triumph, bringing the first of the captives into the Capitol in armor, mocking them for having sworn not to remove their breastplates before ascending to the Capitol. From this, they acquired all the land of the Boii, and for the first time crossed the Eridanus against the Insubrians and ravaged their country.

^C During this time, portents occurred, and those in Rome were struck with great fear: for a river in Picenum flowed with blood, in Tyrrhenia it seemed as if the sky were burning, in Ariminum a light shone at night resembling day, in many parts of Italy three moons appeared at night, and in the Forum a vulture perched for many days. Because of these portents, and because some said the consuls had been elected illegally, they were summoned back. The consuls, upon receiving the letters—being at that moment readied for battle—did not read them immediately, but having joined battle, they were victorious.

ANNALS LIB. II.

The king of the Israelites, Phaceas, having conspired with the king of the Syrians, besieged him in Jerusalem for a long time. ^A And having taken other cities of Raason, he slaughtered their inhabitants, and having settled Syrians in them, he returned to Damascus. But Achaz, when only Phaceas remained, engaged him and was defeated, losing one hundred and twenty thousand of his people, and many of the distinguished men, and his son. Phaceas then withdrew to Samaria, himself and his army, having taken a great multitude of captives into their own territory.

But a certain prophet in Samaria, meeting them before the walls, persuaded them, since they were kinsmen, that they should release the captives. And they, being persuaded, released the captives. But Achaz sought for the king of the Assyrians to ally with him against the Syrians and the Israelites. And he came; and he devastated the land of the Syrians, and took Damascus, and killed Raason, and having overrun the land of the Israelites, he carried off a great many captives. ^B And in return for these things, Achaz gave to Thaiglafalasar the royal treasures and all that was stored in the temple. And he proceeded to such an extent of impiety that he not only worshipped the gods of the foreigners, but also closed the temple and plundered its offerings.

Having lived his life in this way, he died at the age of thirty-six, having reigned for sixteen years, leaving the kingdom to his son Ezechias. It happened also that the king of the Israelites died at that time by the treachery of Oseas. And this man was also wicked. Wherefore, the king of the Assyrians, Salmanasar, having marched against him, he was enslaved to him, being ordered to pay tribute annually.

But Ezechias, being pious and just, having convened the priests and Levites, commanded them to open the temple and to sacrifice as was the law for them, and ordered the people to esteem nothing more highly than the divine worship. He sent also to the whole country, calling everyone to celebrate the feast of unleavened bread, which had not been celebrated for a long time due to the lawlessness of the rulers. And he exhorted the Israelites to worship their ancestral God according to the ancient custom. But they were not persuaded; rather, they even murdered the prophets who were exhorting them to these things. Some, however, being persuaded, were brought over to piety, and ran together to Jerusalem for the worship of God.

And King Ezechias, having gone with the leaders of the people to the temple, offered through the priests costly sacrifices, and distributed to the people many animals for a feast; and he commanded the priests to go out into the countryside and purify it. Afterwards, he waged war against the foreigners and took their cities. But the king of the Israelites, Oseas, called to an alliance Sua, the king of Egypt, against the Assyrians. ^C When Salmanasar learned this, he was enraged, and for three years he besieged Samaria, and captured the city, and destroyed the kingdom, and having taken the people captive, he deported them to his own land, and the king of the Israelites himself, Oseas. And having migrated from his own land, he took other nations from a certain place and settled them in those regions; and having placed Syrians in them, he returned to Damascus.

Achaz, however, engaging with Phaceas alone, was defeated, with one hundred and twenty thousand lost, and among them many distinguished men, and his son. Phaceas leads back the army and a great number of captives. But a certain Samaritan prophet, having gone forward before the walls, persuades them to release the captives because they are kinsmen. And they, being persuaded, let go the captives.

But the king of the Assyrians, summoned by Achaz for aid against the Syrians and Israelites, lays waste to Syria, kills Raason, and having made incursions into the land of the Israelites, leads away many captives. Achaz rewarded him with the royal treasures given to him, and whatever was stored in the temple: he proceeded to such a point of impiety that he not only worshipped alien gods, but also closed the temple and plundered it of its votive offerings.

He ended his life lived in this way in the thirty-sixth year of his age, the sixteenth of his reign, leaving the kingdom to his son Ezechias. At which time the Israelite king also perished by the machinations of Oseas, who, although he himself too was wicked, was subdued by Salmanasar, the king of the Assyrians, and was forced to pay annual tribute.

Ezechias, however, a pious and just man, having called an assembly, ordered the priests and Levites to open the temple and to perform the sacred rites according to custom, and that the people should have nothing more precious than divine worship. He also sent men throughout the whole kingdom to summon them to celebrate the feast of unleavened bread, which had been interrupted for a long time due to the iniquity of the kings; and he exhorted the Israelites to worship their ancestral God according to ancient custom. But they were so far from obeying that they even killed the prophets by whom they were warned.

Some, however, having returned to true religion, ran to Jerusalem to worship God. The king, having entered the temple with the leaders of the people, offered magnificent hostias through the priests, and gave many cattle to the people for feasting, and ordered the priests to purify the region everywhere with propitiatory sacrifices. Then, having attacked the barbarians, he took their cities.

Oseas, however, when he had summoned Sobain, the king of Egypt, for a military alliance against the Assyrians, Salmanasar, having discovered this, was angered, besieged Samaria for three years, and having obtained the city, destroyed the kingdom, led the people together with King Oseas captive into his own province, and transferred other nations of his own dominion, which take their name from a certain place, Chuto, to Samaria and the surrounding region.

Thus the ten tribes of Israel were transferred nine hundred and forty-seven years after the exodus from Egypt, and two hundred and forty-seven months after they had left Roboam to choose Jeroboam as their own king. Furthermore, the five peoples of the Chuteans from the Persian region, in which they had settled, having thus been named, having occupied Samaria, worshipped their own original gods as they had been accustomed. God, however, as the fourth book of Kings teaches, roused lions, by which many of them perished, or (as Josephus narrates) being afflicted by pestilence, when they understood that they were being pressed by the wrath of the Divinity,

^A for the Romans called them Spaniards, while the Greeks called them Iberians, after the river Ebro. These Zacynthians, therefore, were being besieged, and they sent to the neighboring peoples and to the Romans, needing help. But Hannibal prevented the former, and the Romans, having sent envoys to him, commanded him not to approach the Zacynthians; and they threatened that if he would not obey, they would sail straight to Carthage and accuse him. Hannibal, having sent some of the locals—pretending goodwill—to the envoys who were already nearby, arranged for them to tell the envoys that the general was not present, having departed somewhere far away to unknown regions. They advised them to leave as quickly as possible before notice arrived of their presence, so that they would not perish due to the lack of leadership during the general's absence. The envoys, believing them, departed for Carthage. When an assembly was held, some of the Carthaginians advised keeping peace with the Romans, but those who favored Hannibal said that the Zacynthians were the ones doing injustice, and that the Romans were meddling in matters that did not concern them at all. Ultimately, those who persuaded them to go to war prevailed.

Meanwhile, Hannibal was urgently conducting assaults for the siege. Many fell and even more were wounded among Hannibal’s men. At one point, when the Carthaginians had knocked down part of the wall and dared to enter through the breach, the Zacynthians sallied forth and drove them back; hence they themselves were emboldened, while the Carthaginians gave way, discouraged. Still, they did not desist until they had captured the city, although the siege had dragged on for an eighth month. During this time, many other strange things occurred, and Hannibal was severely wounded. ^B The city was captured in this way: they brought a siege engine to the wall that was much higher than it, having both visible soldiers and others concealed. While the Zacynthians were fighting more vigorously against those who were seen, as if they were the only ones, the hidden ones undermined the wall, forced their way in, and got inside. Stunned by the paradox, the Zacynthians ran up to the acropolis and entered into negotiations, to see if they might be saved through some fair agreement. But since Hannibal offered nothing moderate, and no help was coming to them from the Romans, they asked for the assaults to be halted so they could deliberate about their situation. In the meantime, having collected their most precious possessions, they threw them into the fire; the non-combatants killed themselves, while those of fighting age rushed in a mass against their enemies and were cut down fighting eagerly.

Because of them, both the Romans and the Carthaginians went to war. For Hannibal, having also taken on numerous allies, was hastening into Italy. Learning of these things, the Romans gathered in the senate. Many things were said, but Lucius Cornelius Lentulus gave a public address and said they must not delay, but should vote for war against the Carthaginians, divide both the consuls and the armies in two, and send some to Iberia and others to Libya, so that at the same time their territory might be ravaged and their allies troubled, and they might neither be able to aid Iberia nor receive help from there. Quintus Fabius Maximus objected to this, saying they should not vote for war in every way, but first use an embassy: if they can persuade them that they are doing nothing wrong, then keep the peace; but if they are caught doing wrong, then wage war, so that we may deflect the cause of the war onto them. ^C Such, in brief, were the opinions of both. The senate decided to prepare for battle, but to send envoys to Carthage to accuse Hannibal; if they did not approve of what had been done, to judge them, but if they referred the matters to him, to demand his surrender, and if they did not hand him over, to declare war upon them.

When the envoys had departed, the Carthaginians considered what was to be done. A certain Hasdrubal, one of those pre-prepared by Hannibal, advised them that they ought to regain their ancient freedom and cast off the slavery resulting from peace, having been built up by wealth, forces, and allies; he added that if you entrust to Hannibal alone whatever he wishes to perform, all things will be as they should be, and you yourselves will labor for nothing. As he said such things, Hanno the Great, opposing Hasdrubal’s words, brought forward the opinion that they should not lightly or for the sake of small and alien grievances draw war upon themselves, when it was possible to resolve some matters and turn others over to those who had committed them. He finished speaking, and while the older Carthaginians, remembering the previous war, agreed with him, those of fighting age, and especially those who were acting on Hannibal’s behalf, spoke strongly against him. When they gave no clear answer and held the envoys in contempt, Marcus Fabius put his hands under his toga and, holding them out, said: "I, O Carthaginians, bring here both war and peace; you choose whichever of them you desire." When they answered that they did not choose either one, but were ready to accept whichever he might leave behind, he immediately declared war upon them.

Thus, and for these reasons, the Romans and Carthaginians fought a second time. And the divine power gave portents of the things to come: for in Rome an ox spoke like a human, and another, during the Roman festival, threw itself from a house into the Tiber and perished. Many thunderbolts were borne, and blood was seen on statues and flowed from a soldier’s shield, and a wolf snatched another man’s sword from the very camp. For Hannibal, many unknown beasts went ahead as he crossed the Ebro, and he was visited by a dream vision.

they begged their king to send them priests from the Israelites, that they might initiate them in the religion of the Hebrews; when this was done, the destruction ceased. They are called Chutai by the Hebrews, and Samaritans by the Greeks.

^A XXIII. In the fourteenth year of the reign of Hezekiah, king of Jerusalem, Sennacherib, king of the Assyrians, advanced against Judea and captured all the cities of the two tribes. Hezekiah, fearing for Jerusalem, sent messengers to him, promising to pay whatever tribute he might impose. Sennacherib demanded three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold, and gave sworn pledges that he would withdraw if he received these. When they were weighed out, he himself set out against the Egyptians and Ethiopians, but he left his commander-in-chief, Rabshakeh, with two other generals and a heavy force, to lay waste to Jerusalem. They cast up a siege mound before the walls and sought an interview with Hezekiah. But he did not dare to come out to them himself, and sent three of his honored ministers to them. Then they said: “If Hezekiah trusts in the Egyptians, he acts as foolishly as a man who leans upon a staff of reed, and that broken, which defends him not from a fall, ^B but itself breaks and pierces his hand. Such is Pharaoh the Egyptian.” Rabshakeh spoke these words in Hebrew to those who had been sent. They requested him to speak to them in the Syrian language, so that the common people might not understand what was being said. But he, raising his voice even higher, said again in Hebrew, so that it could be heard by everyone: “Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, saying, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Did he deliver Samaria?” And they reported these things to Hezekiah. He, upon hearing them, tore his garments, put on sackcloth, and falling to the ground, implored divine help in their desperate state; and having sent to the prophet Isaiah, he urged him to beseech God that He might be merciful to the people. He promised that the enemies would be defeated without a battle, and that Sennacherib would be killed after returning unsuccessfully from Egypt. ^C Sennacherib also sent a letter to Hezekiah: “Do not let your God, in whom you trust, exalt you, lest you think that Jerusalem will not be delivered into my hands; consider where the kings of the nations are, whom my fathers destroyed.” Having read this letter, Hezekiah placed it in the temple and entreated God: “See,” he said, “O Lord, and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he sent insulting you, the living God, and save us from his hand.” Isaiah encouraged the king, bidding him to hear

But when he attacked Spoletium and was repelled, and saw that the bridge of Narnia had been destroyed, and learned that the same thing had occurred regarding other rivers he had to cross, he checked his dash for Rome and turned instead toward Campania, hearing that the land was excellent and the city of Capua was very large, thinking that if he could seize it first, he would gain the rest in a short time. ^A Those in Rome, learning of the defeat, were grieved, mourning both for the sake of the others and for themselves, and they were in straits; they destroyed the bridges of the Tiber, except for one, and repaired the city walls, which had suffered in many places, with haste. Wishing to appoint a dictator, they proclaimed him themselves in the assembly. Loving their own safety above all, they sent no aid to their allies. But upon learning that Hannibal had set out for Campania, they then decided to assist the allies as well. To face Hannibal, they appointed as dictator Fabius and as master of the horse Marcus Minucius. ^B These men, coming against him, did not join battle with him, but following him, kept watch to see if any opportunity for conflict might arise; for Fabius was unwilling to risk an engagement with soldiers who were terrified and defeated against a more numerous and victorious foe, and at the same time, he hoped that the more they ravaged the land, the sooner they would come to lack provisions. Using such reasoning, he defended neither other regions nor Campania. Therefore, for these reasons, he shut up all the enemy within Campania; for by surrounding them on all sides, he kept them in guard, unaware of what he was doing. ^C For he himself had plenty from the sea and from the allied territory, whereas he knew that they possessed only what they could get from the land they were plundering. Because of this, he held back and did not mind the delay. For this reason, he was also blamed by the citizens, so as to be nicknamed "the Delayer."

Hannibal, however, as it was becoming winter, and since he could neither winter in the region due to a lack of necessities, and having tried to leave Campania in many places, had been prevented, devised the following scheme. He slaughtered all the prisoners, so that none of them might escape and reveal what was happening to the Romans. Having gathered the oxen in the camp, he tied torches to their horns, and as night fell, he set out toward the mountains bordering the Samnites, lit the torches, and goaded the oxen. ^D Driven mad by the fire and the driving, they set the forest on fire in many places, and from this, they provided him with an easy crossing. For the Romans who were in the plain and those on the heights, terrified by an ambush, did not move. And thus Hannibal passed through and was brought into Samnium.

Fabius, then, learning of what had happened after daybreak, pursued him, and having routed those who had been left behind on the path in order to block them, and having overcome those who came to their aid, he camped not far from the enemy. He did not, however, come to blows with them, but kept them from scattering and foraging, so that Hannibal, being at a loss, at first charged toward Rome; but as he would not fight, and Fabius followed at his leisure, he turned back again to Samnium. And Fabius, following him, kept watch in safety, taking care neither to lose any of his own men, and himself being in a state of abundance of necessities, while seeing that the other had nothing outside of his weapons, and that no help was reaching him even from home. For the Carthaginians were even making a laughingstock of him, as he wrote that he was doing well and succeeding in many things, while asking them for soldiers and money, saying that his requests did not agree with his achievements. For it was fitting for one who was winning to be satisfied with the army he had and to send money home, not to beg for more.

So long as Fabius was staying with the army, no disaster befell the Romans; but when he went off to Rome for some public matter, they blundered. For Rufus, the master of the horse, having a vain spirit due to his youth, being indifferent to military mistakes, and being annoyed by the delay of Fabius, when he held the command of the army alone, disregarded the instructions of the dictator. Having rushed into battle, at first he seemed to be winning, but then he was defeated. He would have been destroyed, along with his entire force, had not some Samnites, arriving by chance as allies to the Romans, given the Carthaginians the impression that Fabius was approaching. Because of this, they withdrew, and he thought he had won. He sent a dispatch to Rome exaggerating the event and slandering the dictator, calling him a sluggard and a delayer, and one who favored the side of the enemy. Those in Rome thought that Rufus had indeed won, and as if emboldened against all expectation, they praised and honored him; and having held Fabius in suspicion because of these things, and because he had not ravaged his own lands in Campania, they would nearly have stripped him of his office. But deciding that he was useful, they did not remove him, but bestowed the same authority upon the master of the horse, so that both might rule with equal power. ^A Although this was decided, Fabius held no anger against the citizens or against Rufus, but Rufus, not having thought rightly even before, was then especially puffed up and could not contain himself, but demanded that he alone exercise command for one day after another, or even several in succession alternately.

^A His arrogant speech and the exaltation of his spirit are declared through his boastful mouth. The taking up of war against the saints demonstrates that he will employ every effort to draw everyone into partnership in his wickedness and blasphemy. These things confirm his blasphemy against God, when it says: “He will speak words against the Most High.” To this the prophet adds: “I kept watching until thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head as pure wool; his throne was like a flame of fire, his wheels were burning fire, a river of fire flowed forth from before him [89], a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The judgment seat was set, and the books were opened.”

That the horn is said to do these things, it was shown to Daniel, would not last for long; but until the Eternal One set up a judgment seat—that is, appointed a time of judgment—and unfolded the memory of things done by each. For he called the memories “books,” and [called] the Ancient of Days, the Eternal One. The whiteness of the hair and the garment shows his purity from every side and his blemishlessness. And that he might show that the things which will be done by the Antichrist will occur by the permission of God, and not as if the divine nature were unable to stop these things, or could not prevent them from happening in the first place, he introduced the thousand thousands of ministers and the ten thousand times ten thousand of those standing around, and the fiery throne, and the similar wheels, and the flaming river. “And I watched,” he says, “until the beast was destroyed and his body was given to the burning of fire.” For because of the madness of the Antichrist, the whole kingdom will be taken away, and not the beast itself will be given to the burning, but his body. For since the beast hints at the kingdom, it is likely that there are in the kingdom many who both worship God and pursue virtue; he does not say that these are to be given to the burning, but [rather] the workers of wickedness, ^B and those who are constantly intent upon the desires of the body, and who have not thought at all about spiritual things.

After the destruction of the beast, the prophet says he saw one like the Son of Man coming upon the clouds and reaching unto the Ancient of Days, to whom he says dominion and honor and the kingdom were given, and that all peoples, nations, and tongues should serve him, and his authority would be eternal and would not pass away, and his kingdom would not be destroyed. These things clearly prophesy the second appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ. For he is called the Son of Man because of our nature, which he assumed, coming in the clouds, according to his own promise, when he said: "[You] shall see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven." ^C

^A and would have carried out his plan had not Paul restrained the soldiers and Terentius against their will. Hannibal, therefore, having missed his mark in this also, arrived at night near Cannae. Having surveyed the place and finding it suitable both for an ambush and for battle, he encamped. He plowed up the whole area, which was sandy, so that dust would be raised during the battle; for he had contrived to have the wind, which was accustomed to blow there about midday in the summer, at his back. The consuls, seeing his fortification empty of men at dawn, at first held back, thinking it to be an ambush, but later in the day they arrived at Cannae. Each encamped separately by the river; for not being of one mind, they avoided each other's company. Paulus remained quiet, but Terentius wanted to engage; yet seeing the soldiers becoming sluggish, he was restrained. Hannibal, inciting them to battle even against their will, barred them from the water supply and hindered them from scattering, and he threw the bodies of the slain in front of the trenches so that their drinking water would be fouled. From this, the Romans too rushed to battle. Having anticipated this, Hannibal stationed companies beneath the hills and drew up the rest of the army, and he commanded certain men to desert, when he gave the signal; they were to throw away their shields, spears, and larger swords, but to carry their daggers secretly, so that when the opposing side received them as unarmed men, they might attack them unexpectedly.

The Romans, seeing from early morning Hannibal’s men drawn up in battle array, armed themselves and lined up. The trumpeters encouraged both sides, the signals were raised, and they clashed and fought in many ways. Up to midday, victory was awarded to neither side; but when the wind arose and the fake deserters, having been received as if unarmed, got behind the Romans to prevent them from being attacked, as they pretended, by the Carthaginians, then the companies rose up from both sides. Hannibal himself charged from the front with the cavalry, and the enemy harassed the Romans from every direction. The wind and the dust, blowing violently into their eyes, troubled them, and their continuous panting from exhaustion choked them, so that, deprived of their sight and deprived of their voices, they were destroyed in total confusion and without any order. So great a multitude fell that Hannibal did not even attempt to find the number of the common crowd, but regarding the cavalry and those from the senate, he did not write the number to the Carthaginians at home, but indicated it by means of their rings; for he measured them out by the choinix and sent them. For only the senators and the cavalry used rings. Many, however, did escape then, and Terentius himself; for Paulus died. ^B But Hannibal did not pursue nor did he hasten to Rome. For, being able to march on Rome immediately with his whole army or a part of it and bring the war to a quick end, he did not do this, even though Maharbal agreed that he should do so. For this reason, he was accused of being able to win a victory but not knowing how to use it. When they delayed then, never again were they given the chance. Therefore, Hannibal lamented, as having sinned, constantly crying out, "O Cannae, Cannae!"

The Romans, having been in danger of being destroyed by a small margin, prevailed thereafter through the agency of Scipio; he was the son of the Publius who was in Iberia, and he had saved his father when he was wounded. At that time, while serving as a soldier, he fled to Canusium and later won fame. For having received command from those who had fled with him to Canusium, he set things in order there, sent garrisons to nearby towns, and planned and performed everything well. Those in Rome heard of the defeat but did not believe it. When they did believe it, they mourned, and gathering in the senate house, they departed without having accomplished anything. Finally, Fabius gave his opinion to send scouts to report what had happened and what Hannibal was doing, and that they themselves should not weep, but proceed in silence so that they might do what was necessary in due time, and to collect as much force as they were able and call upon the neighboring peoples. After this, when they learned that Hannibal was in Apulia and received letters from Terentius stating he was still alive and what he was doing, they took heart a little. Marcus Junius was named dictator, and Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, master of the horse. Immediately, they enrolled not only those in the prime of life but even those who were past their prime, and they recruited prisoners on the condition of immunity, slaves on the condition of freedom, and even certain brigands. They also called upon their allies, reminding them if they had been benefited in any way and further promising to give them grain and money, which they had never done before; and they sent to Greece either to persuade some to be their allies or to hire them. Hannibal, learning that the Romans were standing firm and preparing themselves, remained in Cannae, having given up hope of their capture by a surprise attack;

^A XXIV. The kingdom passed to Amosus his son, a follower of his father’s youthful ways, who died having been plotted against, having lived twenty-four years, and having reigned two. The populace punished those who had killed him, and proclaimed his son Josiah king, who was eight years of age. He was pious, and urged the people to be pious. Wishing to repair the temple, he advised those at hand to give for the repair as much as each willed. And so, with funds collected, the temple was renovated, and the surplus was used for craters, and libation vessels, and basins, with the high priest Chelcias overseeing these things; he, in removing the silver from the temple treasury, encountered the sacred books of Moses stored there, and sent them via the scribe to the king. When they were read to him, he tore his mantle, and sent the high priest Chelcias and others to the prophetess Olda, wife of Selum, asking her to propitiate God on his behalf. She said that the divine verdict had indeed been brought against the land and the people because of their impiety, but because the king was righteous, [the evils] would not be brought now; but once he had passed on, what had been decreed would come to pass. Upon hearing these things, he gathered the people to Jerusalem, and caused the sacred books to be read to the hearing of all. Then he demanded oaths from all to keep the laws and to worship God. And the people as they sacrificed were propitiating God. He also burned the votive offerings of the idols, and put their priests to death, and burned the bones of the false prophets with fire on the altar which Jeroboam had erected, according to ^B the prophecy of that prophet who had approached him as he was sacrificing, and had predicted that Josiah, a descendant of David, would do these things after three hundred and sixty-one years. Josiah also went to the Israelites who had escaped the captivity, and urged them to worship their ancestral God and to live according to the laws. And having cleared the idols from the whole country, he gathered the multitude to Jerusalem, and celebrated the feast of Azymes, which they call Pascha. Having led a peaceful life, he met his end at the close, having been struck by an arrow. For Nechaos, king of the Egyptians, was going off to make war against the Medes, and Josiah prevented him from passing through his own country. He declared to him that he was not marching against him. But Josiah did not desist. Now therefore they were drawn up for battle, and an Egyptian shot Josiah as he was ordering his own people, and brought an end to the war. The king, having turned back to Jerusalem, died, having reigned thirty-one years, and having lived eight [years] before ^D his reign. In his time was the prophet Jeremiah, who also predicted the terrible things about to happen to Jerusalem, and [its] captivity by the Assyrians.

and he released the allies among the captives without ransom, as he had ^A done before, but kept the Romans, hoping to sell them so as to make himself more prosperous and the Romans more distressed. Since no one arrived from them to claim the captives, he ordered them to send some to their homes to arrange for a ransom, having sworn an oath that they would return. When even then they would not ransom them, he sent those of any account to Carthage; of the others, he tortured and killed some, and forced others to fight as gladiators, pitting friends and kinsmen against each other. Those who had been sent to arrange the ransom returned in order to fulfill their oath, but then fled afterwards; they were declared dishonored by the censors and took their own lives. ^B Hannibal sent his brother Mago to Carthage to report what had occurred and to request funds and reinforcements from them. Mago went and displayed the rings and magnified the success even further, and all that he requested was voted for; they did not listen to Hanno, who spoke to the contrary and advised ending the war as long as they appeared to have the upper hand. However, they did not carry out what had been decreed, but delayed.

Meanwhile, Hannibal advanced into Campania and captured a small Samnite town; he rushed toward Nola, having sent a few men ahead with the plunder. When they appeared as if they were alone, the people of the city made a sortie and he suddenly showed himself and ^C killed many of them, though he did not take the city nor did he linger there for long. The Campanians living in Capua were divided, some remaining in friendship with the Romans while others leaned toward Hannibal. When he had success in Cannae and some of their men who had been captured were released, the majority set out to defect to Hannibal, but the powerful men held back for a time. Then the multitude, having gathered in the council chamber, would have destroyed all of them had not someone from the crowd, recognizing the gravity of the evil, denounced the councillors as men worthy of total destruction, but said that it was appropriate to choose others to replace them first; for the city could not survive without some to ^D provide forethought. When those in Capua were persuaded, he cast each one out of the council and asked the multitude whom they would choose in his place; and in this way, since they were unable to select others in the short time, he left all those men as necessary. Having been reconciled to each other, they made a treaty with Hannibal. He quickly decamped from the neighborhood of Naples and came to Capua; and having spoken with them, he said many other alluring things and promised that he would give them the leadership over Italy, so that they, becoming hopeful as though they were to work for their own interests, would fight more zealously.

When Capua had defected, the rest of Campania was also stirred up; and the Romans, learning of its apostasy, were grieved. Hannibal, however, campaigned against the Nucerians. The besieged expelled the useless portion of their population due to a shortage of food; Hannibal would not admit them, but only gave them safety to go off to the city. Thus, the rest agreed to leave the city with only one garment. When he became master of them, he shut the senators into bathhouses and suffocated them, and having told the others to go where they wished, he killed many of them on the road. Many, however, survived by fleeing into the woods ahead of time. Because of this, the rest, having become afraid, no longer made agreements with him but held out as long as they could. The Nolans, who were considering joining him, when they saw what had been done to the others, secretly brought in Marcellus and, when Hannibal attacked the city, they subsequently drove him off. Repulsed from Nola, he captured Acerrae by famine under the same terms as with the Nucerians, and did the same things to them.

Then he also marched against Casilinum, where about a thousand Romans and allies had taken refuge. They killed the locals who had plotted to betray them and repulsed Hannibal many times, enduring bravely against famine; when provisions failed them, they sent some on a skin down the river to the dictator. He tossed jars full of flour into the river at night, having instructed them to watch for the current in the darkness. For a time he remained unobserved while providing food to them in this way, but then one of the jars struck somewhere and shattered, and the Carthaginians learned what was happening and blocked the river with chains. Since many had perished from famine and wounds, they abandoned one part of the city and held out in the rest, having cut the bridge. Then they threw turnip seeds from the wall into a space outside of it. They did this in order to strike terror into the enemy, as if they were going to hold out for a long time. Whence Hannibal, thinking they had food in abundance and marveling at their perseverance, invited them to negotiate and sold them for money. For the Romans outside gladly ransomed them and, moreover, honored them.

^A Not only did he write about these things beforehand, but Ezekiel also, being of the priestly tribe, left behind two books on these matters. Upon the death of Josiah, Jehoahaz his son began to reign, being twenty-three years old, and having become impious. The King of the Egyptians, having returned from war, bound him, gave the kingdom to his elder brother Eliakim—renaming him Jehoiakim—and imposed upon the land a tribute of one hundred talents of silver and one of gold. He led Jehoahaz away to Egypt, where he also died. The time of his reign was three months and ten days.

Jehoiakim, being impious and wicked, was already in the fourth year of his reign when Nebuchadnezzar seized the rule of the Babylonians. He, having conquered Necho the Egyptian, snatched away a large portion of his territory. In the eighth year of the reign of Jehoiakim, he marched against Judea with a heavy force. Jehoiakim, fearing, made his land tributary to the Babylonian, and for three years brought the tribute. Afterwards, having heard that the Egyptians were marching against the Babylonian, he held back the payment of the tribute, even though the prophet Jeremiah had predicted the capture of the city by the Babylonian and the taking away of King Jehoiakim, and not only spoke it, but also wrote it down and read the composition in the hearing of the multitude, which the princes taking, brought to the king.

But he, being enraged at what was written, burned the document with fire, and sought to punish the prophet and Baruch his scribe; but they, having fled, avoided his wrath. Not long after, the Babylonian marched against him. Jehoiakim, without resistance, admitted him into the city. ^B He executed the best of the citizens and the king himself. He led away three thousand of the finest as captives, among whom was also the prophet Ezekiel, being still a boy, and he declared the son of the slain king, also named Jehoiakim, king of Judea. Thus did Jehoiakim reach his end, having lived thirty-six years and reigned eleven.

But the Babylonian, suspecting that the son of that man might harbor resentment on account of the murder of his father and might revolt, sent troops and besieged him. He, not wishing the city to be endangered on his account, surrendered himself and those belonging to him to the enemies, upon the condition that they would not harm the city or them. But the enemy did not keep this, but ordered all the youth and the craftsmen in the city to be brought to him, who numbered ten thousand eight hundred and thirty-two. Jehoiakim himself, along with his mother and friends, he imprisoned and kept under guard, having reigned for three months and ten days.

XXV.

^A The Scipios immediately sent those who had joined them to Italy, while they themselves settled affairs in Iberia; and having captured the subjects of the Zacynthians who were responsible for the war and the disaster to them, they razed their small town, sold the people, and after this recovered Zacynthus and restored it to the ancient citizens. They treated the booty with such scrupulousness that they sent nothing home; for while they permitted their fellow soldiers to do so, they themselves sent only knucklebones to their children. Hence, when Gnaeus asked for leave to return home in order to provide a dowry for his daughter, who was of marriageable age, the senate voted that a dowry be given to her from the public treasury. At the same time, Sicily and Sardinia were also openly at war. The situation in these places was settled in a short time; Hasdrubal, who was bringing them aid, was captured, and Manlius Torquatus regained almost the whole island. Then, for a time, affairs in Sicily were quiet, but after this they were disturbed. ^B Philip, the king of Macedonia, became a most manifest supporter of the Carthaginians. For, wishing to extend his power over Greece, he made a treaty with Hannibal to wage war jointly, so that the Carthaginians would take Italy, and he would take Greece and Epirus along with the islands. The agreement was made on these terms, but the Romans learned of what was happening when the herald sent by Philip to Hannibal was captured; and they immediately sent Marcus Valerius Laevinus as general against him, so that, fearing for his own lands, he might remain in his country. And it happened as planned; for Philip advanced as far as Corcyra, intending to sail to Italy, but upon learning that Laevinus had already arrived at Brundisium, he returned home. Laevinus, having sailed as far as Corcyra, set out against the allies of the Romans, captured Oricus, and laid siege to Apollonia. ^C When Laevinus marched against him again, he regained Oricus and rescued Apollonia. Thence, Philip burned the ships he had been using and retreated home on foot. In Rome, they elected Fabius and Marcellus as consuls. They assigned to Gracchus, who had governed before them, the task of dealing with Hannibal, who was roaming about in what is now called Calabria and its surrounding regions. He turned back Hanno, who had encountered him near Beneventum after coming from the Bruttians, and proceeding from there, he kept watch on Hannibal and laid waste the lands of the defectors, and recovered several cities. The consuls themselves turned toward Campania, so that by subduing it they would leave no enemy behind them, and then proceed against Hannibal. Afterwards, they separated; Fabius overran the enemy's territory and that of the Samnites, while Marcellus sailed over to Sicily and besieged Syracuse, which had joined him but then defected due to the deceit of certain individuals through a false report. ^D And he would have subdued them in a very short time, having attacked the wall by land and sea at once, had not Archimedes made them hold out for a very long time through his machines. For he would suspend stones and men-at-arms by machines and let them down suddenly, and draw them up just as quickly. Against the ships carrying towers, he cast other devices, gripped them, lifted them into the air, and let them drop all at once, so that they dashed into the water and sank with great force. And finally, he destroyed the entire navy of the Romans in a miraculous way. For he raised a certain mirror toward the sun and received its rays into it, and by the density and smoothness of the mirror he heated the air from it, ignited a great flame, and cast it upon all the ships as they drew near the range of the fire, burning them all up. Marcellus, therefore, despairing of capturing the city because of Archimedes' ingenuity, decided to hold them by famine through a long siege. He entrusted these operations to Pulcher, while he himself turned against those who had defected with them; and he granted pardon to those who came to their senses, but treated those who resisted harshly, capturing many of the cities by force, and some by treachery. During these events, Himilco came from Carthage with an army, took Acragas and Heraclea, and coming to Syracuse, he was defeated but then gained the upper hand; yet when Marcellus suddenly fell upon him, he was defeated again. From that point, Marcellus besieged Syracuse. Hannibal for his part was passing time in Calabria. The Romans, however, suffered many severe blows again; the consuls failed at Capua, Gracchus perished in Lucania, the Tarentines and other cities defected, Hannibal, previously cowed, remained in Italy and marched upon Rome, and both of the Scipios perished. Emboldened by these events, Hannibal attempted to aid Capua. He came as far as Beneventum; but learning that Claudius had departed for Lucania from Samnium because of the death of Gracchus, and fearing that he might take some of it for himself, he did not proceed any further, but turned against him. Since the Scipios had died, all of Iberia was in turmoil, and some willingly inclined toward the Carthaginians, while others did so under compulsion, even if they later turned back toward the Romans. Marcellus, since he was making no progress attacking Syracuse, devised the following. There was a part of the wall of the Syracusans that was vulnerable, which they called Galeagra; it had previously escaped notice that it was of such a nature, but then it was discovered. Having watched the Syracusans celebrating a nightly festival to Artemis with the whole population present, he ordered certain soldiers to climb over the wall at that spot.

^A Zedekiah, however, did not believe either of the two prophets, as if they were in disagreement. For concerning other matters they were in agreement, but concerning Zedekiah himself, they appeared to contradict each other. For Ezekiel prophesied that he would not see Babylon, while Jeremiah predicted that he would be led off bound to Babylon. But what had been foretold concerning this matter was consistent with the prophets; for having been blinded in Judea, and led off as a prisoner, he did not behold Babylon. This Zedekiah, having kept his faith to the Babylonian for eight years, inclined toward the Egyptians. For this reason, Nebuchadnezzar made an expedition and besieged Jerusalem. When the Egyptians came to assist the Judeans, the Babylonian went out to meet them, and having routed them, he pursued them. But the false prophets said that the enemies would no longer besiege them. Jeremiah, however, predicted that they would return, and that they would capture and raze the city, and burn the temple, and lead away the people who were left behind as captives, to serve for seventy years, until the Persians and Medes should overthrow the Babylonian empire. And then, he said, they would be released from captivity, and would rebuild the temple and the city. These things Jeremiah said. But the king and those around him mocked his words. When the prophet was departing to his homeland of Anathoth, one of the officers met him, and having seized him, brought him before the authorities as a deserter; and they, having tortured him, held him for punishment. ^B In the ninth year of the reign of Zedekiah, the Babylonian came a second time against Jerusalem, and for one year and a half, he besieged the city firmly. With the siege came famine, and upon these, pestilence. Jeremiah, even while imprisoned, encouraged the multitude to receive the Babylonian; for he said that they would be saved in this way, but if not, those who remained would perish either by famine or by the sword, whereas whoever went over to the enemies would escape death. However, no one considered the prophet to be trustworthy. The commanders also instigated the king against him. He, currying favor with them at that time, gave them permission to treat the prophet as they wished. And they cast him into a miry pit. Zedekiah, having learned of this, ordered him to be drawn up from there, and having called him in secret, asked what he had to say regarding the present disasters. He advised him to surrender the city to the Babylonian. But Zedekiah, fearing, said it was so that he might not be killed. The prophet asserted that he would suffer no such hardship if he did so. The king then released him. The Babylonian, however, besieged the city with a fierce assault, and took it in the eleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah. Zedekiah, with his wives, and children, and kin, and friends, fled from the city. But the enemies pursued him and captured him ^C when he was left alone. For his commanders and his friends had scattered. ^D

for these had abandoned their city in a body and gone over to Hannibal. The rest of Italy, too, which leaned toward the side of the Carthaginians, was changing; the consuls, going about, were winning it over. ^A The Tarentines did not yet openly choose the side of the Romans, but they were secretly hostile to the Carthaginians. Those in Rome sent messengers to Hannibal to propose an exchange of prisoners. They did not settle the matter, however, because they did not receive Carthalo within their gates as an enemy; indeed, they did not even wish to enter into discussions with him, and he turned back immediately, full of rage.

It was during this time that Laevinus also won over the Aetolians as allies against Philip, and having advanced as far as Corcyra, he so frightened Philip that he returned with haste to Macedonia. Those at Rome sent Gaius Claudius Nero into Iberia with soldiers; he was conveyed by sea as far as the Iberus, where, finding the remaining armies, he came upon Hasdrubal before it was known that he was present. And having surrounded him, he was deceived. For Hasdrubal, seeing that he was caught, sent messengers to Nero offering to leave all of Iberia if he were allowed to depart. As Nero gladly accepted the terms, ^B delaying so as to conclude the agreements the following day, Hasdrubal sent his men out by night, some one way and some another through the mountains. When they had passed through, for there was no guarding by the Romans due to the hope for a treaty, he came the next day to converse with Nero, but he spun out the entire day before anything was ratified. And he sent others off again in the same manner during the night. He did this likewise on certain other days, disputing some point in the agreement. When all the infantry had advanced, at last he himself slipped away with the cavalry and elephants. Having saved himself, he again became fearsome to Nero.

Learning this, those in Rome condemned Nero and voted to entrust the command to someone else. They were at a loss as to whom they should send—for the situation did not call for an ordinary man—and many, on account of the misfortune of the Scipios, were holding back. ^C Then that Scipio, Publius—the one who had saved his father when he was wounded—voluntarily offered himself for the campaign. He was most excellent in virtue and very learned in letters. He was chosen at once; but not long after, owing to his youth—for he was in his twenty-fourth year—and because his house was in mourning due to the destruction of his father and uncle, remorse arose. He came again into the assembly and made a speech, and by what he said he moved the members of the senate to reverence; he was not removed from his command, but Marcus Junius, an elderly man, was sent with him.

For the Romans, after this, matters did not proceed without toil toward a better state. For Marcellus, after he had been cleared of the charges brought against him, hastened against Hannibal; he conducted most things with caution, fearing to hazard a trial against desperate men; but if ever he was forced to engage, he became superior through wisdom tempered by daring. ^D Hannibal, therefore, both for these reasons and because the cities allied with him were—some having abandoned him, others contemplating it—and for other reasons, attempted to ravage the territories he was unable to hold. He did damage to many, and more revolted on this account.

About the city of Salpia, something of this sort occurred: two men held their affairs, and they were at odds with one another. Dasius favored the Carthaginian cause, but Plautius favored the Romans, and he spoke with Dasius about betraying the city to the Romans. Since the latter immediately reported these things to Hannibal, Plautius was brought to trial. While Hannibal was deliberating with his councilors on how he should punish him, Plautius dared in his presence, with Dasius somewhere nearby, to speak again of a betrayal. When Dasius shouted out, “See! See! Even now he is talking to me about this very thing,” Hannibal did not believe it because of its absurdity, but released him, thinking him to be slandered. Upon being released, they both came to an agreement, and having brought in soldiers from Marcellus, they cut down the Carthaginian garrison and handed the city over to the Romans.

And thus matters fared for the Carthaginians in Italy; nor was Sicily kindly disposed toward them, but was going over to the consul Laevinus. Hanno was leading the Carthaginians in Sicily, and Mutines was serving with him. He, who had been with Hannibal shortly before and, having incurred envy because he displayed great deeds of valor, had been sent to Sicily. As he was performing brilliantly there as commander of the cavalry, he incurred the envy of Hanno as well, and for this reason, he was removed from the command. Being deeply pained by this, he leaned toward the Romans. At first, he assisted them with the betrayal of Akragas, then he worked toward the other things as well, so that all of Sicily again came under them without much toil.

Fabius and Flaccus captured many other cities, including Tarentum, which Hannibal was holding. For they ordered some men to make an incursion into Bruttium so that Hannibal would depart from Tarentum for its defense; when this happened, Flaccus kept watch on him, while Fabius in the meantime attacked Tarentum by night with both ships and infantry, and took the city by assault and betrayal. Hannibal, distressed by the deception, sought to plot against Fabius in return. He sent a letter to him from Metapontum as if from the locals regarding a betrayal of the city, hoping to ambush him if he approached without reflection. But he suspected what was being done, and by comparing the documents with letters he had once written to the Tarentines, he discovered the trap from the likeness of their characters.

[Having captured him, along with his children and wives, they led him away to the Babylonian. He reproached him for his ingratitude and faithlessness. He ordered his children and friends to be killed before his eyes; then, having blinded his eyes, he led him away in chains to Babylon. And then he realized that both prophets had truly foretold it. Thus came the end of those of the seed of David who had reigned—twenty-one in all—after five hundred and fourteen years, six months, and sixteen days had passed since Saul ascended the throne. Nabuzardan, the chief cook of the Babylonian ^A, was sent and burned the temple and the palaces, razed the city, and plundered all the temple’s treasures. The temple was burned four hundred and seventy years, six months, and ten days after it was built; from the migration of the Hebrews out of Egypt, one thousand sixty-two years, six months, and ten days; from the Flood, one thousand nine hundred and fifty-seven years, six months, and ten days; and from the creation of the first man until then, three thousand five hundred and thirteen years, six months, and ten days had passed.]

BOOK THREE

^A Nabuzardan, having razed Jerusalem, brought the people, the high priest Sabæus, ^B and the holy vessels to Babylon. Nabuchodonosor dedicated the vessels of God to his own gods and settled the captives in his own land. Those who had deserted to the Babylonians during the siege—the poor—Nabuzardan left in Judæa, appointing over them Godolias, a noble man, just and moderate, and ordered them to till the fields and pay tribute to Nabuchodonosor. He exhorted the prophet Jeremiah to go to Babylon, but since he preferred to dwell in the ruins of his fatherland, he left him there, most diligently commended to Godolias, granting him also Baruch the scribe, who was excellently learned in his ancestral tongue. As many, therefore, as had fled because of the siege, when they had betaken themselves to Godolias, were advised by him to till the fields and to inhabit whichever cities they wished ^C and to restore the ruins; and because of his probity, they loved him marvelously. But when, among the others, a certain Ismael, who was of the royal line and who had fled to the Ammonites during the time of the siege, had arrived, certain men sought from Godolias the power to kill him, because plots against his life were being woven by him. But Godolias did not believe them, and even said that he would rather perish himself than kill a man who had committed himself to his faith.

^A Some time later, this same Ismael came to Godolias and, having been received as a guest, killed both Godolias and those who were feasting with him. Then, attacking the Babylonians who had been left in the city by night, he destroyed them as well as all the Jews who were there. The next day, eighty men came from the country to Godolias with gifts, and Ismael destroyed these as well, except for a few who promised to show him property, clothing, and grain hidden in the fields. Having taken much plunder, he departed for the Ammanites. When the leaders of the Jews learned of these things, they stirred up those with them and pursued him; they recovered the captives, but Ismael escaped with eight men. ^B Those who remained, fearing the Babylonians, deliberated about going to Egypt. And although Jeremiah advised them to stay (for God would provide for them if they stayed, so that they would suffer no evil; but if they were to leave, He would abandon them), they did not believe the prophet. Instead, despising his warnings, they departed for Egypt, taking both Jeremiah and Baruch with them. When the prophet had arrived there, being divinely instructed about what was to happen, he foretold to his fellow countrymen that the Babylonian would invade the Egyptians, and would master Egypt, and would kill some of them and lead others away as captives. Because of this, he was stoned by his own countrymen and died; yet what he had foretold came to pass, for it happened in the fifth year after the destruction of Jerusalem. ^C And Nabuchodonosor set out against Coelesyria and, having captured it, came upon the Ammanites and the Moabites. Thence he campaigned against Egypt and, having subjugated it, killed the king who was reigning there and installed another. He transported the Jews who were there to Babylon. After Jeremiah had been buried in Egypt, it is said that King Alexander, having mastered Egypt along with other lands, while the Egyptians were honoring the prophet, transferred his bones to the city founded by him, Alexandria. The prophet, therefore, as I have already explained, foretold the future events in this way: the race of the Hebrews found such an end, being carried away beyond the Euphrates. For the ten tribes were taken captive by the Assyrians while Osees was reigning over Samaria. ^D The two tribes, after this, were taken as captives by Nabuchodonosor, along with those who had survived the fall of Jerusalem. Salmanasar moved the nation of the Chuthites from Persia into Samaria; but Nabuchodonosor left Judea desolate, and it remained so for seventy years. The time that elapsed between the captivity of the ten tribes from Samaria and that of the two from Jerusalem was one hundred and thirty years, six months, and ten days.

II.

^A of noble birth, handsome in appearance and virtuous in character. The Babylonian renamed them: Daniel he called Balthasar; Ananias, Sedrach; Misael, Misach; and the remaining one, Azarias, Abdénago. He held them in greater honor than the others, because they were progressing in wisdom due to their natural intelligence. These youths, then, besought the eunuch set over them not to feed them with the food provided from the king's table, but with legumes, dates, and other such things. He, however, said he feared that, if they were fed on such food and their bodies became emaciated, he himself would be maltreated by the king. But they pleaded with him to feed them in this manner for ten days, and if the condition of their bodies did not change, then to continue feeding them in that way thereafter; but if he saw their bodies wasting away, then to provide them with the former diet. The one set over the boys agreed to this, and having done so, when he saw that they suffered no harm from such food, but on the contrary had become even more vigorous than the others, he brought them the vegetables ^B. When their minds had become sharper, they mastered the entire Chaldean and Assyrian education. Daniel, for his part, applied his diligence to the interpretation of dreams. Afterward, Nebuchadnezzar saw a marvelous dream, and having learned the interpretation of it during his sleep, he forgot both the dream and its interpretation. Therefore, in the morning, having summoned the Chaldeans, and the seers, and the magicians, he demanded that they both tell him the dream and explain its meaning. When they asked that he first tell them the dream, and then finally request the interpretation, the king grew angry, and because they said they could not find the dream, he condemned them all to death. Among these, Daniel and the three boys—as men of learning—had been summoned and condemned along with them. Daniel, therefore, approached the commander of the royal bodyguards and asked that the execution of the condemned men be postponed for one night. "For perhaps," he said, "by this means we shall beseech God and learn the dream." Having obtained this delay, and having taken along his three kinsmen, ^C he entreated God throughout the night. Therefore, it was revealed to him by God both the dream and the things signified by it; and in the morning he went to the king. And he said that it was God who had made known to him both the dream and its interpretation, having taken pity on those who were unjustly in danger of death because of this. "And no less," he said, "have you yourself been spared, you who wished to kill these men without cause for things which you demanded, which could not be known by them, and are known only to the divine nature. The things, however, that you saw are as follows: You seemed to see a great statue standing, whose head was golden, but the shoulders and arms were silver, and the belly with the thighs were of bronze, while the legs and feet were partly of iron, and partly of clay. Then a stone, broken off from a mountain, seemed to fall upon the statue and shatter ^D the statue and crush the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, and the clay so that they were dissipated by the wind. But the stone grew into such a great mound that it filled the whole earth. And you saw this dream when you were thinking anxiously about the kingdom and the successor of your empire. The things, however, which are signified by it are these: The head of gold is you and the other kings of the Babylonians, for the gold signifies the happiness of your empire. But the hands and shoulders represent two kingdoms, by which your sovereignty shall be destroyed. The belly and thighs of bronze signify a king clothed in bronze who will oppress those by whom you are to be oppressed; and his kingdom, moreover, shall be destroyed by another, more powerful one. For iron is stronger than gold, and silver, and bronze.

^A For gold, especially when pure, is softer than silver; silver, as it is denser than gold, is also looser than bronze; iron, furthermore, is even more solid than bronze.

The head, therefore, represents the kingdom of the Assyrians, as being older and more ancient than the others. By the second, the kingdom of the Medes and Persians is understood, who overthrew the Assyrians. For Cyrus, as will be narrated hereafter, born of a Persian father and a Median mother, conquered the Assyrians with the arms of both nations and overthrew their kingdom. By the two hands, the two nations are signified. The third kingdom is that of the Macedonians, compared to bronze as being more powerful, in that it destroyed the Persian empire; and the belly refers to Alexander, the two thighs to the division of the kingdom after his death. The fourth kingdom is that of the Romans, to which he attributes iron on account of its solidity, and the shins by reason of time, because it is later than the other great empires, just as the legs and feet are the extreme parts of the body. Now, the earthen tile mixed with iron signifies that that kingdom, though robust, nevertheless has something fragile and weak adhering to it, of the sort that a tile made of clay consists of.

III.

^A then one might perceive that the discord among the Romans brought much injury to the state. For when Caesar, desiring the monarchy, stirred up civil wars against Magnus Pompeius and against the others who laid claim to the old liberty, and when Caesar and Augustus and Antony stirred up similar battles against those who had killed him; and then later these same men, wrangling with each other for sole power, set in motion grievous wars—with their own people being destroyed on both sides in the battles, and the Roman power consequently being diminished—one could not see the seditions subsiding even in the times that followed. But if one should compare the quality of the iron and the earthenware with the later kingdoms, he will find the Roman power there also to be partly firm and partly weak ^B and having lost the greatest part of its former potency, with scarcely certain remnants retained. And these things concerning the four kingdoms. There remains that which is not to be overturned, which was adumbrated by the stone hewn without hands, which crushed the materials of which the image consisted, and filled the whole earth, and concerning which the prophet said it would perish in no age. This signifies the advent of our Lord Christ, who, when the iron kingdom had become weaker on account of the intermixture of earthenware, will appear, when all things will be subjected to him; and he will deem those who have shown themselves worthy of it worthy of an infinite and imperishable kingdom. For Scripture is wont to call Christ the stone. For David also said: "The stone which the builders rejected ^C has become the head of the corner" (Ps. CXVII, 22). And Isaiah says under the person of God: "Behold, I place in Zion a corner stone" (Is. XXVIII, 16). And the great Paul calls Christ a corner stone, upon which he wrote that believers are built (Eph. II, 20). And again he says: "No other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (I Cor. III, 11). And again elsewhere: "They drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ" (I Cor. X, 4). And he is also called a "rock of scandal" and a "stone of stumbling," and one might find many other places where the Lord is called rock and stone. Now, that it was hewn without hands indicated his birth, which surpasses nature, without seed and without conjugal union. For the tribe of Judah might be considered as the mountain ^D from which David sprang. But the Stone, Christ, according to his humanity was hewn from it. Without hands, because it did not emerge by the law of nature, but from the womb of a holy virgin. He was seen at first as small, on account of his human nature, but in his progress he effectively filled the whole earth and is to fill it even more by his future advent. The prophet, therefore, explained the dream to Nebuchadnezzar and revealed its comparison. Wondering at the cleverness of his conjecture, he fell upon his face and ordered sacrifices to be offered to Daniel, not bestowing that honor upon him—a man proud and arrogant—but to the God who was worshipped by Daniel. For he said: "Truly your God is the God of gods, and Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets." And having given many gifts, he made Daniel ruler of all the province of Babylon.

and named him Baltasar, bestowing upon him the appellation of his own god.

IV. Then, having set up a golden image, sixty cubits in height and six in width, he summoned the chief men of all his empire, commanding that whenever they heard the trumpet, they should fall down and worship the image; and those who did not obey were to be cast into a furnace of fire, which he had there kindled great and fierce. ^B Therefore, when all were worshiping, the three youths, whom history records as being kinsmen of Daniel, not wishing to violate their ancestral customs, did not worship. And they were immediately cast into the furnace; but the fire did not touch them, but standing in the midst of that insufferable flame, they sent up a hymn to God. And there stood by those three a fourth, who had descended together with them, and was transforming that burning air into a dewy breeze. These things so astonished the beastly and cruel soul of that king that, laying aside his pride, he approached and called the youths by name, and having praised their God, he honored them, and appointed them as leaders of all the Jews who were in Babylon.

Not long after, the same Assyrian saw another dream of this kind. A tree was great, embracing the ends of the earth, adorned with leaves, and heavy with fruit, under which wild beasts dwelt, and birds nested in its branches. Then he perceived a Watcher ^C who had come down from heaven, who cried with a loud voice: "Cut down the tree, and pluck off its branches, and strip off its leaves, and scatter its fruit; but leave the stump of its roots, and bind it with a band of iron; it shall dwell in the grass of the earth, and in the dew of heaven, and its portion shall be with the beasts, and its heart shall be alienated from men, and the heart of a beast shall be given to it, and seven times shall pass over it." Having seen this vision, he again summoned the magicians and the wise men of Babylon, desiring to know its significance. When they were at a loss, and could not find the interpretation of the dream, he fled again to Daniel, and narrating the dream, he requested its explanation; for he was able to do this, since the holy Spirit of the Lord was in him. Then he said: "My lord king, let this dream be for those who hate you." Then he explained the meaning to him in this way: "The great tree which you saw, O king, is you, who have become great and powerful, and your magnificence reaches to heaven, and your dominion extends to the ends of the earth" (for he called his arrogance of mind and pride 'magnificence'). ^D "And the holy Watcher who descended from heaven is a divine angel. For 'Watcher' in Greek signifies one who is wakeful, by which an incorporeal nature is indicated: for he who has a body is subject to sleep; he who does not is by nature devoid of a body. Since, therefore, you saw that one crying out while wakeful, as the tree ex-

- ^A -scinded and its root-stock left, etc. - it will come to pass that you will be stripped of your kingdom and, driven from the society of men, will dwell among the beasts and feed on grass. Yet you will not be completely deprived of the kingdom, but being restored, you will recover it: for this is what is signified by the root-stock being left. Thus, then, Daniel explained the vision to Nebuchadnezzar, and all things came to pass according to the divine oracle: and the king, moved by fury, because of his arrogance and pride, after seven years spent in the deserts—the kingdom meanwhile occupied by no one—recovers it, God having been placated: and when he had reigned forty-three years, he dies. Josephus reports that many of the ancient historians—Berosus, Megasthenes, Diocles, and Philostratus—mention this. Upon his death, his eldest son Evil-merodach succeeds to the empire; he releases King Jehoiakim (who is also called Jechonias), whom Nebuchadnezzar had kept in chains, treats him honorably, bestows gifts upon him, and keeps him as a constant guest at his table. ^B

V. Upon his death as well, the kingdom passes to his brother, called Balthasar, against whom Cyrus, under the direction and auspices of the Persians and Medes, campaigned. He, having invited his nobles to a drinking party, and reclining with his concubines, and having become intoxicated, ordered the sacred vessels, which Nebuchadnezzar had plundered from Jerusalem and consecrated to his own gods, to be brought, and he made use of those whose use his father had abstained from; and while he was blaspheming against God amidst his drinking, he sees the fingers of a human hand appearing from the wall, writing upon the plaster of the wall; upon beholding this, he was astounded and his whole body shuddered. And having summoned the Chaldeans and the magi, he demanded the explanation of the letters, and proclaimed great rewards for whoever would interpret their meaning. But that writing was unknown to all. Wherefore, his grandmother, seeing the king sad ^C and troubled, says: If Balthasar the Jew were summoned—he who signified many things to Nebuchadnezzar that no one else could explain—he would interpret the secret of those syllables for you: for there is a holy Spirit of God in him. Immediately, therefore, the ruler orders Daniel to be summoned, demanding the explanation of that writing without any dissimulation, even if it might portend something sad; promising that he would grant him the right to wear purple and a golden necklace, and [would give him] the third part of his kingdom. Daniel, however, having refused the gifts, said that the writing portended his death, because he had not been rendered more modest even by the punishment for his father's impiety, but had used the divine vessels with his concubines for the purpose of his own service. He read the letters thus: Mani, Tekel, Phares: the meaning of which he interpreted as follows: God has numbered the time of your life and of your empire, ^D of which but little remains. For the word

^A *Mani* in Greek is a number; thus, then, did he interpret *Mani*. But *Tekel*, he said, signifies a weight. Since God has set the limit of your kingdom, it implies that it is drifting downward and broken; for *Tekel* also signifies a fragment in the Greek language. *Phares*, the prophet interpreted as division (for this word, when carried over into the Greek tongue, signifies such), saying that his kingdom was to be divided by God between the Medes and the Persians. Daniel thus read what was written on the wall, and made such a comparison of those syllables—that is to say, the interpretation thereof. And sorrow seized the king. And after a little while, the prophecy of the prophet came to pass, when Cyrus, the king of the Persians, having waged war, captured Babylon, and Balthasar was slain in the capture of the city. Some assert that on the very same ^B night in which the fingers were seen writing, Babylon was captured and the king slain.

Furthermore, after the capture of the city, Daniel was transferred to Media by Darius the Mede, who was also named Cyaxares, and who was the uncle of Cyrus, being the son of Astyages, king of the Medes [(76)], and he was held in every honor. For this reason, the princes of the Medes, envying him, prepared snares for his life. For when they saw him daily worshipping God three times, they became the instigators to Cyaxares, or Darius, of a law to be passed: that for thirty days no one should worship any gods, nor even pray to the king himself, and that whoever should violate this law ought to be thrown into a den of lions. The king, who did not know that this was being contrived for the destruction of Daniel, proposed an edict of this kind. ^C And while the others remained quiet according to the edict, Daniel, as was his custom, prayed to God. And the Satraps reported him to the king, and according to the law, they demanded that he be cast into the den of lions. When the prophet had been thrown in there, the king sealed the stone which closed the den and departed. But anxious and grieving, he spent the night sleepless. For although he hoped that Daniel would not be harmed by the beasts, since he knew that the holy Spirit of God was in him, yet he could not be tranquil in mind, fearing lest some evil should befall him, nor—as a barbarian—sufficiently understanding the power of God. But immediately at daybreak, he approached the den of lions and called to Daniel; and he answered him. And the king immediately commanded that the prophet be drawn out, and seeing him unharmed and safe, he was astonished. But when the informers said that the lions had not touched him because of their fullness, the king, ^D hating them for their wickedness, and having understood the fraud and the snares which they had set for the prophet, commanded the beasts to be fed abundantly, and when they were sated, he had the accusers of Daniel thrown to them, so that it might be known whether the lions did not touch men on account of their fullness. Then, those wicked men having been immediately torn to pieces, it was clear to all that Daniel had been preserved by a certain divine power, the jaws of the beasts having been stopped. And so the king celebrates the God of the prophet and grants him even greater honors: and this, indeed, happened afterward.

Variæ lectiones et notæ. (76) Son of Astyages the king of the Medes. These are absent from the Colbert codex. (77) Cyaxares. Cod. Colb. Astyages.

this, indeed, happened afterward.

VI. The prophet’s vision in the first year of the reign of Belshazzar

^A VI. Moreover, in the first year of the reign of Belshazzar, a vision of this kind was offered to the Prophet: Four animals appeared to be emerging from the sea, the first of which resembled a lioness, with eagle’s wings; and it was lifted from the earth, stood on human feet, and a human heart was given to it. Now the sea signifies human life, fluctuating and subject to very many and continuous changes and reversals. The lioness represented the kingdom of the Assyrians: its being lifted from the earth denoted the end of that empire and the loss of its power. Because it stood on human feet, it was hinted that it would be equal to its subjects. Because a human heart was given to it, it noted that it would come to learn through experience that it is human, and would not, through arrogance, imagine for itself things that exceed human nature. The wings, growing on the beast contrary to nature, signified the elevation of those kings, whose pride of mind towered above the clouds. The second animal was similar to a bear, and it stood on one side and had three ribs ^B in its mouth. And it was said to it: Arise, devour much flesh. The bear became a symbol of the kingdom of the Persians on account of the savagery and cruelty of that nation. For the Persians surpass all the barbarians in the atrocity of their punishments, making their torments more grievous and prolonged through "scaphism" and flayings. But because I have mentioned scaphism, it must be explained for the sake of the unlearned. They join together two boats equal to one another, so carved out that the head, hands, and feet of the one being punished remain outside the boats, in which they lay the person being tortured on his back; and thus they fasten the boats together with nails. Then they pour a drink of ^C honey and milk into the mouth of the miserable man until he is filled to the point of nausea, and they also smear the same over his face, feet, and arms, and expose him under the open sky to the sun; and they do this every day. Thus, flies, wasps, and bees, attracted by the sweetness of the liquids, settle upon his face and his other limbs protruding from the boats, as has been said, and annoy him; but they also eat away at the miserable man. And his stomach, filled with the honey and milk, discharges liquid excrement, from the rotting of which worms and maggots swarm: and the man who lies in the boats, amidst that filth and putrefying flesh, eaten away by the worms, dies more cruelly and slowly. By this kind of punishment, Parysatis, the mother of ^D Artaxerxes and Cyrus, is said to have put to death the man who had boasted of having killed Cyrus while he was fighting with his brother for the kingdom, having tormented him for fourteen days. And such is the punishment of the boats. However, those words, *Arise and eat much flesh*, are not those of one exhorting, but one predicting the future. For the four Assyrians, and their allies...

^A suffered great destruction at the hands of the Persians and Medes. One might also say that "Eat much flesh" is indicative of the cruelty of that nation. The three ribs, or wings, which it held in its mouth, were a foreshadowing of the rule over the three parts of the inhabited world. For Cyrus, who had destroyed the Assyrian empire, subjected the entire East as far as the Hellespont; and his son Cambyses held both Egypt and Ethiopia under his sway. These are the southern regions. Darius, the son of Hystaspes, also subdued the nomadic Scythians; ^B these dwell in the northern climate. Xerxes, further, attempted to conquer this as well, but was repelled, having been defeated in a naval battle by the Athenians, and returned home disgraced. The fact that the beast stood "in part" (80) is significant that the empire would not be entirely lost, but that a small portion of it would be retained. For whereas that empire formerly held all of Asia, Ethiopia, Egypt, Palestine, and Phoenicia, ^C and Libya itself, it fell away from the rest, but Media and Persia were left to it. Or the beast standing "in part" may be understood in another way: that the Persian empire would be at rest for a time, and inactive. For after Alexander had destroyed it and then died, his monarchy was divided into four realms. But since his successors wore themselves down in frequent wars against one another, and were weakened by these mutual conflicts, the Persians, seizing the opportunity, took courage again, ^D and recovered much of their former dominion. The third animal was like a panther, and it had four wings of a bird upon its back. And four heads grew upon this beast, and he says that power was given to it (81). This beast represented the Macedonian empire. For it was likened unto a panther on account of its speed and agility, which the wings also indicated; the quaternion of wings denoted the four parts of the world, which he traversed like a bird, taking possession of almost everything. The four heads signified the division of the empire into as many parts after his death. For Ptolemy, son of Lagus, obtained Egypt, and his descendants until Cleopatra; Seleucus gained power over Syria and the adjacent regions; Antigonus subdued Asia; and Antipater ruled over Macedonia—or, as some narrate, Aridaeus, the brother of Alexander by his father Philip. For the Chaeronean says that Perdiccas, being possessed of great power, immediately after the death of Alexander sought to pull Aridaeus toward him as a protection for the kingdom, a man born of a common and lowly woman, and of little mental capacity: not by nature so born, but corrupted by the sorcery of Olympias.

^A VII. The prophet did not describe the form of the fourth beast, but he called it formidable and excessively terrifying, possessing great iron teeth, devouring and crushing, and trampling the rest with its feet, and he said that its difference from the preceding beasts was great. By this, the empire of the Romans is signified. For this reason, the prophet assigned neither a form nor a name to it. For the rule of the Romans is multiform; first it was governed by kings, from Romulus down to the Tarquins. But after the tyranny of the latter was abolished, it was governed by an aristocracy, as the Senate and the consuls administered affairs. There were times when it was also governed democratically, the people having often rebelled against the Senate; later, however, it fell back again into a monarchy, and from there returned to the title of a kingdom. He called the beast formidable and terrifying because it has become more powerful than the other kingdoms; and all that the Macedonian kingdom did not subjugate, this one brought under its own sway—namely, all Greece, Carthage with Libya, Sicily, Sardinia, and other islands, and various other western nations over which Alexander did not rule. Whoever wishes to know these things should read the books of the Roman Dio [(81)] and the writings of Polybius. The beast is called formidable, and terrifying, and possessed of iron teeth, as the Roman hegemony has become more chilling than all the other kingdoms. And indeed, in the image seen in the dream by Nebuchadnezzar, he set iron as the likeness of the fourth kingdom. Therefore, he said that the beast ate with iron teeth, and crushed, and trampled the rest with its feet. Now, devouring and crushing is taken to refer to the exaction of tributes, since heavier taxes were imposed upon the subjects, which nourish and fatten those who reign, while they diminish and impoverish those being taxed. But those who did not submit to paying taxes, claiming their freedom, the beast trampled and destroyed with its feet. By the feet, the military is hinted at, as it is upon this that the kingdom is established and moves, transitioning from one state to another. And he says the beast has ten horns, signifying that in the final days the kingdom will be divided into many ^B dominions. In the middle of the ten horns, he says a small horn will emerge, by which three other horns will be uprooted: and that this horn has eyes, and a mouth speaking great things and hostile to the saints. Some interpret this horn as the Antichrist; it is called small because it is to arise from a small tribe of Hebrews, and will overthrow three of the ten kings. Through the eyes, his wickedness is hinted at, and his deceit, by which he will seduce many.

^C Variæ lectiones et notæ. (81) He understands Dio Cassius of Nicaea, who wrote the Roman History, and whom Zonaras saw in its entirety—not as it exists today, in its greatest part useless—and he often copies from him.

^A By his boastful mouth, his arrogance and the elation of his mind are declared. His initiation of war against the saints demonstrates that he will apply every effort to entice everyone into communion with his own wickedness and blasphemy. It is further argued that he utters blasphemy against God, when it says: *He shall speak words against the Most High.* To this the prophet adds: *I was looking until thrones were set, and the Ancient of Days sat, and his garment was as white snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was as a flame of fire, his wheels were burning fire, a river of fire flowed out before him; ten thousand times ten thousand ministered to him, and thousands of thousands stood before him, and the court was seated, and the books were opened.* ^B That which the horn is said to do, it is shown to Daniel, will not last for long; but [it will continue] until the Ancient of Days shall convoke the court, that is, until He shall establish the time for judgment and recall the memory of the deeds of each. For he calls the remembrances "books," and the "Ancient of Days," Him who is eternal. The whiteness of the hair and the garment signifies His purity and integrity from every side. But that he might signify that the things which will be done by the Antichrist are done with God’s permission—and not in such a way as if they could not be restrained or prevented entirely by divine power—he commemorates the ten thousand times ten thousand ministers and the thousands of thousands of attendants, and the throne of fire, and the wheels like unto it, and the burning river; and he looked until the beast was taken away and its body burned in the fire. ^C For because of the fury of the Antichrist, the whole kingdom will be taken away from him; nor will the beast itself be handed over to the fire, but its body. For since the beast signifies the kingdom, it is probable that there are many in it who worship God and strive for virtue. These, therefore, are not to be burned, but the malevolent, those assiduously devoted to the pleasures of the body, and those totally negligent of spiritual things. After the destruction of the beast, the Prophet says he saw one coming as it were the Son of Man in the clouds, and he reached as far as the Ancient of Days, to whom was given empire, honor, and a kingdom, and all peoples, languages, and tribes were subjected to his service, and his power was to be eternal, not to pass away, and his kingdom not to be destroyed. These things clearly foretell the second coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. ^D For He is called the Son of Man because of the nature of ours which He assumed, about to come in the clouds, according to His own promise, when He said, *You will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven.*

^A VIII. Daniel was taught these things in the first year of Belshazzar. In the third year, he saw another vision. *For being in Susa,* he says, *I lifted up my eyes, and behold a ram standing at the Ulai, and it had high horns, and one was higher than the other, and the higher rose up at the last; and it was pushing against the sea, and north, and south.* And no beasts could stand before it, and it did according to its will, and was magnified. Here again, the prophet is instructed regarding the kingdoms, and the empire of the Persians is likened to a ram because of the wealth surrounding it. The ram was standing at the Ulai, that is, at the gate of Susa. For this city was the metropolis of the Persians, ^B and there was the palace of the kings, and the prophet, dwelling in that city, saw the vision. The two horns, which this kingdom had, signify two families governing that empire: the lesser, Cyrus and his son Cambyses, in whom the empire consisted, with the race of Cyrus not proceeding further; the greater horn portends the race of Darius, which lasted until that Darius whom Alexander defeated. For when Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, died, the Magians usurped the kingdom for themselves by fraud; but, not holding it for long, they were recognized and suppressed by the seven Persian families, from one of which sprang Darius, son of Hystaspes, who obtained the kingdom; his family was propagated until the destruction of the kingdom—a point which the Prophet hints at when he adds that the higher horn grew *at the last*, that is, it lasted for a long time and until the destruction of the Persian kingdom. ^C Moreover, the ram was pushing toward the south and the north and the sea; for it subdued both the southern and northern regions, and reduced the greater number of the islands (which are signified by the sea) into servitude. Xerxes used the help of the islanders when he made war upon Greece; wherefore the Prophet sees the ram even striking the sea with its horns, and no beast could stand before it. He calls the individual kingdoms "beasts," as they were formidable to their subjects—such as the kingdom of the Syrians, the Cilicians, the Arabs, the Egyptians, the Jews, and others, none of which could finally withstand the Persian empire, but it subdued all whom it invaded. *And it was magnified*; whether because the empire was amplified, with many nations and provinces subjected, or because, being a great thing, it imagined for itself things greater than human nature, elated by prosperity. ^D While the Prophet is in doubt about the things he had seen, he sees a goat coming from the west over the whole earth, and it had a conspicuous horn between its eyes; which, having advanced as far as the ram, struck it ferociously, and crushed its horns, and trampled it prostrate upon the ground with its feet, and there was no one who could deliver the ram out of its hand. The goat represented the Macedonian empire, swifter and more agile than the ram. It came, moreover, from the west, because Alexander, having first subdued Egypt, then finally invaded Darius himself; and by his victory, the Persian...

empire was overturned. For previously at Issus in Cilicia, having encountered him, he defeated him, and took possession of his wife and daughters, his chariot and bow, and plundered the Persian camp. Darius fled from there, but having again gathered forces, he fought against Alexander, who had marched upon him from Egypt; and being again defeated at Arbela, he fled ^B and perished. He speaks of a "conspicuous" horn, meaning by this that which is notable and visible; and by this, he signifies the kingdom of Alexander. He says it grew "between his eyes" because of the sagacity, and prudence, and the noble spirit of Alexander. "And he came," he says, "to the ram that had horns, and I saw him reach the ram, and he became enraged against it, and struck the ram, and crushed both its horns, and threw it upon the ground, and trampled it, and there was no one to rescue the ram from his hand." The goat signifies the Macedonian kingdom; for the goat is swifter than the ram, and more agile. It began, moreover, from the west, because Alexander, having first brought Egypt under his own power, thus marched against Darius in the second place, and having put him to flight, he destroyed the kingdom of the Persians. For having previously encountered him at Issus of Cilicia, he defeated him, and indeed captured his wife and daughters, his chariot, and his bow, and plundered the Persian camp. Darius fled from there, and having again gathered forces, he fought against Alexander, who had marched against him from Egypt, and he was again defeated at Arbela, and fleeing, he perished. He calls the horn ^C "conspicuous," that is, notable and to be looked upon; and through this, the kingdom of Alexander is alluded to. And he says it grew between his eyes on account of the sharpness of mind, and the wisdom, and the noble spirit of Alexander. "And he came," he says, "the goat to the ram that had the horns, and I saw him reaching up to the ram, and he became enraged against it, and struck the ram, and crushed both its horns, and there was no strength in the ram to stand before him, and he threw him to the ground, and trampled him." And both the horns of the ram were broken, he says, when the goat struck against him; that is, both its powers in which it trusted, the Persian and the Mede. For the kings of the Persians and Medes ruled; of the Persians, as Cyrus, as has been said, was born of both and held both kingdoms under himself, and both these races destroyed the kingdom of the Assyrians. And the goat became exceedingly great. For he did not only bring into subjection those who were under the Assyrian rule, but also subjugated many other things. For he attacked India, and defeated Porus, and won over Taxiles, and took possession of other parts of India. Then, ^D indicating that this one too, having enjoyed good fortune for a short time, would pass away, the prophet added: "And when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and four horns grew up from beneath it." For since Alexander died shortly after those successes, his empire was divided into four parts, as has already been stated regarding the third beast, which appeared to Daniel in his sleep as coming up out of the sea, having four heads. "And out of one of the horns came a terrible horn, and it was greatly magnified toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the north-west, and toward the west. And it was magnified up to the power of heaven, and some from the power and from the stars fell to the ground, and he trampled upon them." The matters concerning Epiphanes...

^A are taught to Daniel through these things; for he was emboldened by the kings before him—those, clearly, from Seleucus—and having mastered Egypt and other lands, he campaigned against the Jews, and captured the city of Jerusalem, but also the entire nation. And he plundered the temple and defiled it, by sacrificing swine in it, and by erecting an altar to Zeus; he compelled the whole nation to Hellenize, forbidding them to circumcise their males. For his madness against God, “it was magnified up to the power of heaven,” implies this. And as for, “They fell from the power and from the stars to the ground, and he trampled upon them,” he signifies those of the Jewish people who apostatized because of the necessity brought upon them by him, those who fell away ^B from the legal and divine way of life, yielding to the tyrant and being trampled by him. They were called “stars” because of the purity and brilliance of their piety, or because God had promised Abraham that his seed would multiply like the stars of heaven. “And it was set up until the ruler of the power.” For he even provoked the ruler of the powers above, God Himself. “And the sacrifice was disturbed by a corpse, and it was brought about, and it was smelled, and sin was given upon the sacrifice, and justice was thrown to the ground.” For by sacrificing forbidden things, he disturbed the sacrifice—instead of that, he confused it, he defiled it. By “corpses,” he means the swine, and by “sin upon the sacrifice,” the lawlessness concerning it. And by the words, “Justice was thrown to the ground,” the annulment of the divine laws is shown, and the unjust murders of those who did not consent to commit impiety. But even while doing these things, and acting so impiously, Antiochus, he says, was prosperous. Upon these things, Daniel adds: “And one holy one said to Phelmuni, ‘How long will the vision last, and the sacrifice that was taken away, and the sin of desolation that was given?’ And he said to him, ‘Until evening and morning, two thousand three hundred days, and the holy place shall be cleansed.’” ^C Because the prophet was anxious over the things occurring, angels were sent to him, informing him that the difficult times would have an end, and teaching him the time of their passing. And one asked the other. For “Phelmuni,” when rendered into Greek, signifies a certain one. He asked not as one ignorant, but so that Daniel might learn. But he who was asked replied: “Two thousand three hundred days until evening and morning, and the holy place shall be cleansed.” By “evening,” he called the beginning of the calamities, or the whole time of them—for troubles are likened to night and darkness—and by “morning,” the peaceful state after the disasters. Therefore, this is what he signifies by the words he says, that from the beginning of the evils until their end, so much time will pass. And the days, when counted as years, produce six months and as many years, according to the calculation of the Hebrews. For for that long the calamity brought upon the Jews by Antiochus prevailed. These things were revealed to the prophet, who was seeking understanding, by the archangel Gabriel.

IX. NINTH

^A and require greater diligence. Sometimes divine matters are indicated by enigmas, so that they might not immediately become clear to everyone, and for this reason be held in contempt. Daniel was called a "man of desires," either because he conducted himself manfully against carnal passions and courageously resisted them, or because he desired to learn what was to come to pass for his people and his fellow tribesmen, or because he was desirable and beloved for the virtue he practiced.

Then the angel adds: “Seventy weeks are determined upon your people, and upon your holy city, even to wear out the transgression, and to finish the sin, and to seal up sin, and to expiate iniquity, and to bring in everlasting justice, and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Holy of Holies.” The prophet, while praying, had said to God: “Your people, and your city.” But the angel says to Daniel: “Your people and your city,” as if the people were no longer worthy to be called God’s. The same manner of speaking is found in the case of Moses, when the Israelites, having made a calf, offered sacrifice to it; for even then, when the prophet was praying, God spoke in the same way. The angel says, then, that Jerusalem shall indeed be built, and that the people shall return, and that they shall remain for four hundred and ninety years. For the seventy weeks result in such a number, with each day being reckoned as a year. The word "determined" is used in place of "decreed" and "fixed." “Even to wear out the transgression, and to finish the sin,” that is, even until sin has lingered and increased; for this is what it signifies ^B to wear out: by these words he designates the audacity of the Jews, and their madness against the Lord. For although they had previously committed many crimes and had paid the penalties for them, yet they were called back again. But after they raged against the Savior and arrived at the height of wickedness, and brought sin to its completion, they were no longer called back.

“To seal up sin” and “to expiate iniquity” signifies the remission of faults granted by the Lord to those who believe in Him. For He it is who takes away the sin of the world. For "to be sealed up" is the same as to cease. “To bring in everlasting justice” is the very coming of Him into the world who is justice, redemption, and sanctification. ^C “To seal up vision and prophecy” signifies that prophecy has ceased—either because those things which were foretold by the prophets concerning Christ have come to pass, or because the gift of prophecy has failed among the Jews, or both. For when Christ came, He sealed the prophecies; that is, He fulfilled and confirmed them, and indeed, He even brought them to an end. For there is no longer a prince, or prophet, or leader among them. And “to bring in everlasting justice” is the advent of our Lord and Savior Himself, who, as the Apostle says, was made unto us wisdom from God, justice, sanctification, and redemption. ^D And writing elsewhere in the Gospel: “The justice,” he says, “is revealed in it.” Furthermore, the Lord teaches that the kingdom of God is to be sought, and His justice, which He Himself brought and revealed through His own teaching.

as the Apostle says, "Wisdom was given to us by God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption," and elsewhere, writing concerning the Gospel, he says, "The righteousness of God is revealed in it." But the Lord teaches us to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, which He Himself brought to light for us through His own teaching. And "to anoint the Holy of Holies" denotes that the Master, Christ, has ^A arrived. For who else could be called the Holy of Holies, if not our Lord and Savior? He, being the source of holiness, is anointed with the Holy Spirit according to His humanity, as Isaiah proclaimed beforehand, saying, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for which reason He anointed me"; and as David sang, saying, "God, Thy God, has anointed Thee with the oil of gladness beyond thy companions"; and as the pinnacle and head of the apostles, Peter, taught, writing about the Savior that "God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power." He seals and confirms the ancient Scriptures, doing and suffering everything that had been foretold through them. And He expiates injustice, reconciling those who had sinned to God and the Father, and making Him propitious to those who have offended. ^B Then the divine archangel adds, "And thou shalt know and understand from the going forth of the word to return, and to build Jerusalem, unto Christ the Prince, seven weeks and sixty-two weeks." Now the temple had begun to be built under Cyrus. For Cyrus was the first to grant the return to the Jewish nation, but it was hindered by Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, due to the envy of the nations neighboring them. But the rebuilding of this was permitted to the Jews again when Darius, the son of Hystaspes, ruled over the Persians. But from none of these times, if the period is reckoned, is it found to agree with the voice of the archangel; rather, it exceeds it. But if the time be calculated from the years of the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus, it is found to be neither ^C excessive nor lacking, and from this it ought to be reckoned, because then the wall was also built around the city, and what was wanting was added to the temple, and the city was filled with inhabitants, when Nehemiah, being cupbearer to Artaxerxes, besought him to permit him to return to his fatherland. And having gone, he fortified and organized the city, and completed the temple, which was still unfinished. If, therefore, one counts the time backward from the manifestation of the Savior, through whom remission of sins was given, and righteousness was introduced, and the prophecies of the prophets are fulfilled, he will find this to be completed up to the twentieth year of the reign of Artaxerxes, when ^D Nehemiah was granted leave to return to Jerusalem. And as the story proceeds and continues, the history will relate this more broadly. Now, he calls Him "Holy" who is superior to the saints, when again he calls Him "Christ the Prince," using a human title. For just as He is called the firstborn of the new creation and the firstborn from the dead, so also is He called "Prince." Divine Peter the apostle, when speaking among the Jews, also calls the Savior the "Prince of life," just as it is written in the Acts by divine Luke. As, therefore, He is called our firstborn and Prince by divine Paul according to his humanity, so also is He named "Prince" by the archangel Gabriel.

^B X. But one might ask why the weeks are numbered separately, and not all together, but divided into seven, sixty-two, and one other? The archangel did not do this without purpose, but through these things he teaches certain new events that were to come to pass in the divisions of time. For if the times are counted from the restoration of Jerusalem which took place under Nehemiah, as has been said, until Hyrcanus the high priest, under whom the lineage of the Asamoneans ceased to perform the sacred rites, the number of sixty-two weeks is completed. For from the twentieth year of the reign of Artaxerxes, who gave Nehemiah the power to return to Jerusalem and to wall it about, until Darius the son of Arsames, whom Alexander overthrew, there are one hundred and fourteen years. Furthermore, from the destruction of the Persian empire, which took place in the sixth year of the Asiatic expedition of Alexander, until Gaius Julius Caesar, who was the first of the Romans to seize the monarchy, two hundred and eighty-two years passed. From the principate of that same Caesar until the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar, when Christ was baptized by John and began to perform miracles, seventy-three years passed; so that this sum total amounts to four hundred and sixty-nine years, which indeed, by the Hebrew calculation of years, make up four hundred and eighty-three years. For the Hebrews do not calculate the year as we do, but they reckon it according to the lunar course of three hundred and fifty-four days, so that eleven days are redundant from each of our years; these redundant days, when gathered into years, fill up the number of four hundred and eighty-three Hebrew years. But because the angel was speaking with Daniel the Hebrew, he certainly named for him years that were familiar to him. Therefore, until the destruction of the high priest Hyrcanus, whom King Herod put to death (concerning which matter it will be necessary to speak more fully), the sixty-two weeks were measured out. From that time on, since the high priesthood no longer remained for the whole of life, as had been established by the custom of the ancestors for those worthy of it, but was instead given for a year or even for a shorter space of time illegally, and was for sale to anyone for money—a fact which Josephus also records—the seven weeks had passed. This the divine archangel indicates with these words: "And after the sixty-two weeks, the anointing shall be cut off, and there shall be no judgment in it," that is, the anointing of the priesthood shall perish, since those who, contrary to the law...

were promoted to it, did not have the power of the anointing, but it was corrupted, being devoid of divine grace. And therefore he added: "and there is no judgment in it," meaning that they would not be appointed by judgment and examination, but without judgment, either by favor or by money. With these things happening in this way, the seven weeks also passed, having lasted until the coming of the Lord. The division, therefore, of the sixty-two weeks and the seven weeks was made for these reasons. ^B But since, beyond the seventy weeks mentioned at the beginning, one more week remains, the archangel spoke also of it thus: "And one week shall confirm the covenant with many, and in the middle of the week the sacrifice and libation shall be taken away, and upon the temple the abomination of desolation; and until the end of time, the end shall be given upon the desolation." The remaining week, he says, the one after the sixty-nine, shall introduce the New Testament, so strong that by it the sacrifice and libation in the middle of the week shall be taken away, that is, shall be removed. For after his baptism, Christ taught for three years and more, and having exhibited signs, he thus came to the Passion, and he having been sacrificed for the whole world, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the sacrifice and libation according to the Law ceased. And the Jews did sacrifice then, as also they still do unlawfully, but their sacrifice and libation were not acceptable to God.

But that saying, "He shall confirm the covenant with many," can also be interpreted in another way: that that week would make the holy apostles powerful for the preaching of the Gospel. For the archangel seems to divide the week into two parts, into the time which precedes the Passion and the time which follows the Passion. For when the Lord had preached for about three years and a half, according to the Gospel of the Son of Thunder, ^C and had secured faith in himself among his holy apostles by the truth of his words and the exhibition of miraculous works, thus he proceeded to the Passion, and accepted the cross, and endured death. Then, during the remaining time of the week, after the resurrection from the dead and the ascent into the Father’s bosom, from whom he was never separated, and the visitation of the Paraclete and the divine inspiration, his holy disciples, having announced the divine Gospel in Jerusalem, and confirmed their preaching with miracles, and drawn multitudes of men to the knowledge of the true God, were scattered to the nations and enlightened them.

This, therefore, the archangel, foreshadowing to the prophet Daniel, was saying: "One week shall confirm the testament with many," ^D that is, he shall wrap the many—the disciples, that is—with power, encompassing both the time before the Passion of the Lord and the time after the Passion, during which the apostles were first preaching in Jerusalem, and afterwards were teaching while visiting the extremities of the world. Soon he divides the same week with the words: "In the middle of the week shall be taken away the sacrifice and libation." By this he declares the end of the shadow of the law. Then he adds: "and upon the temple the abomination of desolation"; for when these things shall come to pass, the temple, formerly holy and venerable, shall be an abomination

^A, or that after this last week some abomination shall be introduced upon the temple, a sign of the desolation of both itself and the city, which happened under Pilate, who brought in standards by night, having royal images, which were considered an abomination by the Jews; for it was forbidden to them to possess or even to worship any human image or that of any animal. And the Lord also says: "When you see," he said, "the abomination of desolation, standing in the holy place, know that its desolation has drawn near," namely, that of Jerusalem. And elsewhere the Lord said: "Behold, your house is left to you desolate." The archangel, forewarning Daniel of these things, after having predicted that the legal worship would be done away with, adds: "And upon the temple the abomination of desolation." Lest, however, the Jews should think that the desolation would last only for a time, and that the city would be restored and the temple rebuilt—as had happened very frequently to the city and temple at other times—he adds: "And until the completion of time, a completion shall be given upon the desolation"; that is to say, until the age is completed, the desolation shall remain, and then there shall be an end to it, when there is no longer time for either the city or the temple to be restored. These things Daniel has beheld and been initiated into concerning his own countrymen, but he has also seen other visions and dreams, through which the future change of worldly things was revealed to him by God; and he was instructed not only in the foreknowledge of the transformation, but also in the times at which each of these things will be accomplished. Anyone who wishes to know this more perfectly may, by perusing the book of the Prophet's visions, be convinced and from it receive a firm grasp of the fact that nothing happens without providence, nor is anything carried out at random and as it were by chance, but all things are governed and directed by divine providence. And these things are indeed so, and are believed by the pious.

XI.

including Ecbatana, where Arphaxad had his royal seat, ^A after he was taken and slain, [Nebuchadnezzar] called Holofernes, the commander-in-chief of his own forces, and commanded him to fulfill the oath he had sworn, and to march with a heavy force against those who refused to be his allies in the war against the Medes. He ordered him to spare such as submitted themselves to him and leave their cities unplundered, but as for the disobedient, he was not to spare them, but to put the men to the sword and deliver their cities to pillage and destruction. Nebuchadnezzar, then, gave such orders to his chief satrap. Holofernes departed, and having marched against the nations he was sent to subdue, he dealt with the others according to his instructions. But when he was about to march against the Israelites and take up arms against them (for they did not come to him, nor did they submit), he asked who these people were and in what power they trusted that they resisted. Achior, the leader of the Ammonites, spoke to him, recounting their lineage, how they had first settled in those cities, and the power of their God. He then added, "Now, therefore, we must consider; if they are sinning against their God, we shall go up and make war upon them; but if not, let my lord pass by, lest their God shield them, and we be defeated." After Achior had said these things, Holofernes, seized with anger, ordered his attendants to bind Achior and take him away, and deliver him to the sons of Israel, so that he might be punished once captured along with them. Those who had seized the man took him to Bethulia. The people of the city attacked those approaching with slings and arrows. They threw the bound Achior beneath the foothills and returned. The men of the city came down, released Achior, and brought him into their city, asking what had happened, and he recounted everything to them. They called upon God for defense. On the following day, Holofernes led his army against Bethulia—a force of one hundred and seventy thousand infantry and twelve thousand cavalry, besides the baggage train—and encamped near it. He then resolved not to fight, but to take possession of the springs from which they drew water, so that they might either perish from thirst or surrender the city to him. He stationed a detachment of his army as guards over the waters. When the enemies had besieged them for thirty-four days, the water failed them, and the people gathered before the ^B leaders, demanding that they surrender the city and themselves to the enemy, so that they might either live as slaves to them, or be put to death and thus be delivered from their torments. Ozias, the chief of the city, said, "Stay, brothers, for five more days, and if help from God comes to us in that time, it will be well; but if not, I shall do as you advise."

XII.

^A ordered them to stand guard by the city gate. She herself said that she would go out with her maidservant, yet she would not tell them what she was planning until it had been carried into action. They said to her, "Go," and indeed they departed, while she turned to prayer to God. Then, having put aside the mourning attire of her widowhood, having washed her body with water and anointed herself with perfume, she put on a joyous garment and adorned herself with ornaments. And having made herself more attractive, she gave her maidservant instructions to carry in vessels wine and oil, and a bag full of flour, dried figs, and bread; and she went out of the city, she and her maidservant. As she was going toward the camp of the Assyrians and met with the enemy’s sentries, she was seized and led off to Holofernes. He marveled at her beauty and said to her, "Do not fear, for you have come for your salvation." But the woman said to him, "Accept my words, my lord, and let the word which Achior spoke be in your heart; for it is true that if the people of Israel do not sin, the sword will not prevail against them. But now, since food and water have failed them, they have decided ^B to consume even those things forbidden by the Law, and they have resolved to spend the first fruits of the wheat and the tithes of the wine which were reserved for the priests—things which it is not even lawful for anyone else to touch. Since those dwelling in Jerusalem have also determined upon these matters, they have sent to the council there, asking for indulgence for these actions. And if they thus break the law, there will be no defense for them from God, and they will be delivered up to destruction. Understanding these things, I have fled from the city so that I might escape the destruction. And now I shall stay here, my lord, and I shall go out during the night to the ravine and pray to God, and He will tell me when they have sinned, and I will report it to you; then I will lead you through Judea as far as Jerusalem, and I will place your throne in the midst of it." These words pleased Holofernes, and he commanded that she be brought into his store-tent and that food be given to her to eat. But she said, "I will not eat of your provisions, ^C lest it become a cause of stumbling for me, but I shall be nourished by what I have brought with me." And Holofernes said to her, "But if these provide for you fail, from where will such things be supplied to you?" She answered, "As your soul lives, my lord, my provisions will not fail me before God accomplishes through my hand what He has determined." When the night was middle-worn, she asked to go out to the ravine for prayer, and Holofernes permitted it, and for three days she did so. On the fourth day, Holofernes prepared a banquet, and he said to the eunuch Bagoas, who was set in charge of all his possessions: "Persuade the Hebrew woman to come to us; for it is shameful for us if we let such a woman go without having consorted with her." Bagoas said to Judith, "Come to my lord, that you may be glorious in his sight and drink with us, ^D and be happy at the table as are those who dwell in the house of Nebuchadnezzar." Judith, therefore, adorned herself and went in to Holofernes; she reclined, and she ate and drank what had been prepared for her by her maidservant. Holofernes, struck with wonder, was inflamed with love for her; and when the banquet had been prolonged and, having drunk much wine, he was intoxicated, he reclined on his couch, his head heavy with wine; after everyone had departed, Bagoas locked the tent, leaving only Judith inside. Now she had instructed her maidservant to observe her exit, for she was to go out to pray. But when she saw Holofernes immersed in wine and overcome by a most profound sleep, having invoked God and drawn his blade, she severed his head; having gone out, she handed it to her maidservant, and went away as if for her customary prayer. And when

^A he had been denounced to the king, since he was being sought, he took to flight, and all his goods were plundered. And not yet fifty days had passed, when Sennacherib was killed by his own sons, and the parricides, seized with fear, fled into exile. Another son of his, Nachordan, took up his father’s kingdom, and he appointed a kinsman of Tobit, Achiacharus by name, as administrator of his affairs. ^B And he petitioned the king on behalf of Tobit, and he returned to Nineveh. ^C When Pentecost, which the Jews celebrated after seven weeks, was at hand, Tobit had a lavish feast prepared, and he charged his son to bring to the feast any of their needy kinsmen whom he might see mindful of the Lord. Tobias went out and returned, reporting to his father that one of their own kin lay strangled in the marketplace. Tobit immediately went out, carried the corpse into the house, and after sunset buried it. ^D Having returned from the burial, he did not enter the house, being impure according to the law as one who had touched a corpse, but he slept by the wall in the courtyard. Sparrow chicks nesting in the wall dropped their dung into his eyes, from which white films formed in them, and from these Tobit was blinded. Having been reduced to poverty, he was supported by his wife, who spun for wages. And once, having received her pay, she had also taken a kid in addition to her wages, and brought it to Tobit. ^A Upon hearing the kid bleating, he asked lest perhaps it had been stolen. She replied, “It was given to me as a gift in addition to my wages.” And he persisted, saying, “If it is stolen, let it be returned to its owners.” The woman, moved by pain and, as it were, mocking her husband for his excessive zeal for justice, said, “Where are your alms and your acts of justice?” At these words, Tobit was troubled and, weeping, begged God for release from life. Now it happened that on that same day, in Ecbatana of Media, Sara, daughter of Raguel, was provoked by her father’s maidservants, as though she were the one who strangled her husbands, since she had been betrothed seven times but had belonged to none of them. For a certain demon, named Asmodeus, would kill them as they approached her. ^B She, unable to bear the reproach, deliberated about hanging herself. But so as not to be a source of mourning and disgrace to her father, she held herself back from this; and having turned to prayer, she called upon God, asking to die and to be freed from the reproaches, or to be shown pity and thus escape the shame. Therefore, the prayer of both was heard. ^C And Raphael the archangel was sent by God, to cure Tobit’s blindness, and to betroth Sara to Tobias, and to bind Asmodeus, the wicked demon, so that he might do no harm to Tobias when he took Sara as his wife. ^D Tobit therefore called his son Tobias, gave him much advice, and finally explained to him: that he had deposited ten talents of silver with Gabael, the son of Gabrias, who lived in Rages of Media, and he commanded him to receive them, returning the bond, and to hire a companion for wages. While he was looking for a companion, he fell in with the archangel Raphael, who, appearing to him in the form of a man, professed that he knew the way and the house of Gabael, and would be his companion. Having therefore engaged him, as if he were a man, named Azarias, he set out on the journey: they spent the night beside the river Tigris. And when Tobias had entered the river to wash himself, a fish leapt out from it, intending to devour the young man. But the angel [told him] to catch the fish and drag it—

[the king of the Lydians, and both the Phrygians, and the Paphlagonians, and the Indians, and the Carians and Cilicians, to join him in his alliance against the Medes, having set out with the belief that it would be profitable for them also. He said that the nation was powerful, and that having formed intermarriages with the Persians and having acquired assistance from them, one would be strengthened by the other. And he argued that if someone did not anticipate them by weakening them, they would eventually overcome each of the nations by attacking them one by one. He sent such arguments to each of the nations; and some of them, moved by these words, others enticed by money and gifts, and some even overwhelmed by fear of the Assyrian, agreed to form an alliance. Cyaxares, having learned of these things, also prepared himself and sent envoys to the common council and to Cambyses, their king, requesting assistance and asking for Cyrus, the son of his sister, to come as the leader of the allies; for he had already been counted among those who had reached maturity. The Persians having agreed to form an alliance, the elders chose Cyrus to be the commander of the force sent to the Medes, and they gave him thirty thousand peltasts, archers, and slingers. As soon as he had taken leave of his father, he set out for the Medes with the army. When he arrived—and the Assyrian was present—he ordered his men to practice the arts of war. Meanwhile, a messenger came from Cyaxares, saying that an embassy of Indians was present, and that he too should attend, and added, "I bring you the most beautiful garment; for he wishes to present you [to them] in the most splendid attire, so that you may appear to the Indians in this way." When he arrived at the gates of Cyaxares with his army, dressed in Persian style, he entered in to him; the latter was displeased by the simplicity 91 of his attire. The Indians, having been called in, said that they had been sent by their own king, who was asking from what cause war had arisen between the Medes and the Assyrian; and that they should inquire the same things from the other side, and tell both parties that the king of the Indians, having considered justice, would be with the one who had been wronged. To this Cyaxares replied: "We do not wrong the Assyrian at all; as to what he says, inquire of him." And Cyrus said: "If the Assyrian claims to have been wronged by us, O Indians, we choose your king as judge." Having heard these things, they departed. But Cyrus, not wishing his own army to sit idle, said to Cyaxares: "I remember hearing from you recently that the Armenian neither sends you troops nor pays you tribute, having violated his covenants. If you wish, send me along with a moderate number of horsemen; and I trust with the help of God that I shall bring it about that he sends you both troops and tribute." Cyaxares having agreed, and having promised that when he approached the borders of Armenia he would send him the horsemen, Cyrus set out as if going on a hunt; for he was accustomed to hunt between the borders of both, I mean the Medes and the Armenians. While hunting, therefore, he ascended the mountains of Armenia and little by little advanced further. When Cyaxares learned of this, he sent him those horsemen. Having received them, he summoned the commanders and revealed his secret: that he was there because of the wickedness of the Armenian, who was violating the faith he had given to Cyaxares. He commanded Chrysantas, having taken half of the Persians, to occupy the mountains of Armenia; and he warned him to take care that it not be known that an army was operating there, but to send ahead some men, similar in number and dress to brigands, so that if any should happen to encounter them, they might think they were robbers. Thus Chrysantas ascended the mountains. Cyrus, having sent envoys to the Armenian, ordered them to [demand] as soon as possible both the tribute and...

the hostages, that he might know that he had them.

XVIII. But Croesus, the king of the Lydians, had sent away his women by night in carriages, so that they might travel in the cool (for it was summer), and he himself followed with his cavalry. They say the leader of the Phrygians by the Hellespont did the same. When those who were fleeing perceived them, and learned what was happening, they also began to flee; and the Hyrcanians slew the king of the Cappadocians, who was still close by. While the others were intent upon pursuing the enemy, Cyrus commanded his men to surround the camp, and to kill those who came out with weapons, but to summon those who remained to bring out their arms bound together and to leave their horses at the tents, and that whoever did not do so would pay for it with his head. And so those who were armed threw down their weapons in one heap, and those who had been assigned the task burned them. ^B Then Cyrus, remembering that they had brought neither food nor drink, summoned all the stewards of the tents and ordered them to prepare in all the tents double the amount of food they had previously provided for their masters and their servants. While they were carrying out his orders, those of the Medes who had ridden further out returned, some bringing carriages filled with provisions, others bringing the carriages in which the most choice women were; and having shown these to Cyrus, they went back to their plundering. This thing vexed Cyrus; and being angry with himself, he summoned the tribunes and persuaded them also to organize a cavalry, so that they might pursue the horsemen and capture the fugitives. The others agreed. Meanwhile, when it was already past noon, the Medes and Hyrcanians returned, bringing both captive men and horses. He ordered the prisoners, leaving their horses behind, to return home, to cultivate their fields, to dwell in their houses, and to enjoy their wives and children, and to announce these things to the others. He said that only one thing would be new for them, that the same man would not rule them as before, but that all other things would be the same for them. They, having bowed to the king, departed. ^C Cyrus then said, "It is time, O Medes and Armenians, to dine; and dinners have been prepared for you, as well as we, O best of men, were able. And you, O Hyrcanians," he said, "lead them to the tents, the leaders to the largest, and the others as it may seem best to you; and dine yourselves, for your tents are safe and inviolate." While they were carrying out his orders, Cyrus sent many of the Persians to keep watch around the camp, so that if anyone approached from outside, he would not go unnoticed, and if anyone inside fled, he would be caught. And the Persians thus spent the night. The next day, he ordered the spoils to be distributed among the soldiers, and the horses to be given to the Persians, so that they themselves might become cavalry, and also that those things which were known to be pleasing to Cyaxares should be set aside for him. As for the Persians, he said, "Whatever remains with me, this shall suffice for us. For we," he said, "have not been delicately educated; and perhaps you would laugh at us if you gave us something elegant, just as I know you would provide much material for laughter when we monted our horses and fell to the ground." Having called the tribunes, he ordered the horses to be distributed among them equally by lot. ^D

order to tell him everything. ^A Upon hearing this, he laughed and sent Artabazus with the eunuch, with instructions to tell him not to force such a woman, but rather to persuade her if he could, saying that he (Cyrus) would not prevent it. Araspes, having heard these things, was overwhelmed by grief, partly from shame and partly from fear. Cyrus, therefore, upon learning this, called him privately and said: "Take heart, Araspes, for I see that you are afraid and ashamed. For I hear that even the gods are overcome by love, and I know how even those among men who are deemed most prudent have suffered from love. I myself am responsible for this, for it was I who shut you up with such an insurmountable matter." And Araspes, answering, said: "But you, O Cyrus, are both gentle in these matters and forgiving of human errors. But other men drown me in distress. For my enemies gloat over me, and my friends advise me to get out of the way, lest I should suffer something at your hands." And Cyrus said: "Know, then, that by this opinion you will be able to both show me favor and benefit your allies. Would that I, Araspes said, could be of use to you at the right moment. If, then, he said, pretending to flee from me, you go to the enemy, you will be trusted by them." "Yes, by Zeus, Araspes said, and by my friends too." "Go then, he said, and report everything to us that the enemy say or do." Araspes, therefore, having departed in this manner, and taking his most faithful servants with him, went away. Panthea, learning of this, sent to Cyrus and said: "Do not be grieved, O Cyrus, that Araspes has gone over to the enemy. For if you will permit me to send to my own husband, he will be a friend to you more faithful than Araspes." And Cyrus commanded her to send. She sent, and Abradatas, as soon as he understood the signals from his wife, came gladly to Cyrus. And when he was near the scouts, he sent to Cyrus explaining who he was. Cyrus commanded him to be brought to his wife. And when the husband and wife saw each other, they embraced, having despaired of seeeing one another again. Then Panthea told him of Cyrus’s integrity, his temperance, and his compassion toward her. Upon this, Abradatas came to Cyrus, and taking hold of his right hand, said: "For the benefits you have bestowed upon us, O Cyrus, I offer myself to you as a friend, a servant, and an ally." And Cyrus said: "And I accept you."

^C 22. At that time, messengers came to Cyrus from the Indian, who said that he rejoiced that Cyrus had revealed to him the things of which he was in need, and that he was sending money; and if there was need for more, he should ask for it, and the Indian offered him his own hospitality. He had also instructed his people to do whatever they were commanded by Cyrus. To this Cyrus replied, commanding the others to remain where they had pitched their tents and guard the money; but he asked that three of their number come to the enemy, as if sent by the Indian to seek their alliance, and having learned the state of affairs there, to report as quickly as possible to him and to the Indian what they were saying and doing. The Indians, having prepared their things, departed the next day. Cyrus was preparing the things for war in a magnificent manner. For the Persian cavalry were already complete, reaching ten thousand; and there were a hundred scythed chariots, and Abradatas had prepared another hundred, and another hundred Median chariots had been assembled, in addition...

^A to those who had joined the invasion. And these were cut to pieces. The Persians, by attacking [in turn], killed those of the Egyptians who were in disorder; but those who stood fast marched against the Persians, and there a fierce battle took place. The Egyptians had the advantage, both in number and in arms. The Persians could not hold their ground, but retreated step by step, striking and being struck, until they reached the siege engines. When they arrived there, the Egyptians were struck in turn from the towers. There was a great slaughter of men, a great clashing of arms, and a great shouting. At this juncture Cyrus, pursuing those who were against him, arrives. And seeing the Persians being pressed from the field, he was pained, and having ordered those with him to follow, he rode to the rear, and falling upon them, he killed many. When the Egyptians realized this, they turned about, and fought in confusion, both infantry and horse. A man, having fallen under Cyrus, and being trampled, struck Cyrus's horse in the belly with a sword. The horse, from the wound, rearing up, threw Cyrus off; and immediately they all shouted, and falling on him, they fought. And one of Cyrus's attendants, jumping down, lifted him onto his own horse. When he had mounted, he saw that the Egyptians were already being struck from every side. When he was riding past the engines, he climbed onto one of the towers; and he saw the whole plain full of horses, men, chariots, those fleeing, those pursuing, those conquering, and those being conquered; but he could see nothing left standing anywhere except the line of the Egyptians. These, having been surrounded on all sides, sat under their shields, doing nothing more, but suffering many terrible things. Cyrus, admiring them and pitying them, because they were brave men who were being destroyed, would not allow anyone to fight them any longer. He sent heralds to them to ask whether they wished to perish all together, or to be saved. They said that they would gladly be saved if they could. And Cyrus [said], "If you would surrender your arms to me, I who could destroy you prefer to save you." Having heard this, the Egyptians gave pledges, and received them. Having accomplished these things, Cyrus, it being already dark, led them away, and camped; and those around Cyrus ate their supper and went to sleep. Croesus, however, immediately fled towards Sardis with the army; and the other tribes went away in the night, in whatever direction they could. ^B

XXIII. In the morning Cyrus led towards Sardis, and when he reached the city, he set up engines and brought forward ladders. The following night he led the Chaldeans and the Persians up the most precipitous rock of the Sardian citadel, the way being shown by a certain Persian, who had been a slave to one of the guards in the Sardian citadel. The citadel being occupied, the Lydians deserted the walls. Cyrus entered the city at dawn, having issued orders that no one should leave their ranks. Croesus, having shut himself up in the palace, called out to Cyrus; who, having left some [guards] for his custody and led his own men into the camp, returned to him; and when he saw him, Croesus said: "Hail, Master." "And you too," said Cyrus, "O Croesus; but would you be willing to advise me if I should ask?" "I would be willing," he said, "O Cyrus." "Then I, Croesus, seeing that my soldiers are exhausted and have endured the greatest dangers, and having captured the most opulent city of Asia after Babylon, ^C I see they have hopes of ^D plunder. I, indeed, although I wish to reward them, yet I will not allow the city to be plundered. To these things Croesus [replied]: If...

(The translation begins from the top of the page, continuing the chronicle of the Kings of Israel and Judah):

^A ...the king of the Israelites, Phaceas, acting in concert, besieged him at Jerusalem for a long time. And Raason, having taken other cities and slaughtered their inhabitants, and having settled Syrians in them, returned to Damascus. Achaz, however, with Phaceas left alone, joining battle with him, was defeated, losing twelve myriads of the people, and many of the notables, and his son. ^B Phaceas then retreated to Samaria, he and his army, having transported a great multitude of captives to their own land. But a certain prophet in Samaria met them outside the walls and counseled them to release the captives, as they were kinsmen. And they, being persuaded, released the captives. ^C Achaz then entreated the king of the Assyrians to assist him against the Syrians and the Israelites. He came; and he devastated the land of the Syrians, and took Damascus, and slew Raason, and having overrun the land of the Israelites, he led away a great many captives. And Achaz, as a reward for these things, gave to Thaiglafalassar the royal treasures and all that was stored up in the Temple. He was so impious that he not only worshiped the gods of the foreigners, but also closed the Temple and plundered its offerings. Having lived in this manner, he died, having lived thirty-six years and reigned sixteen, leaving the kingdom to his son Ezechias. It happened that at that time the king of the Israelites also died by the treachery of Oseas. He too was evil. Wherefore, ^D the king of the Assyrians, Salmanasar, having campaigned against him, he was enslaved to him, being ordered to pay annual tributes. Ezechias, however, being pious and just, having convened the priests and Levites, commanded that the Temple be opened, and that they sacrifice according to their law, and he ordered the people to consider nothing more important than the worship of God. He sent, moreover, to the entire country, calling everyone to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which had not been celebrated for a long time due to the lawlessness of those in power. And he exhorted the Israelites to worship the God of their fathers according to the ancient custom. But they were not persuaded, and even killed the prophets who advised this. Yet certain ones, being persuaded, returned to piety and hastened to Jerusalem for the worship of God. And King Ezechias, having gone with the leaders of the people to the Temple, offered expensive sacrifices through the priests, and gave the people many animals for a feast; and he commanded the priests to go out into the countryside and purify it. Then he waged war against the foreigners, and took their cities. The king of the Israelites, Oseas, had called upon Sobain, king of Egypt, for an alliance against the Assyrians. Salmanasar, learning of this, was angered, and besieged Samaria for three years, and took the city, and destroyed the kingdom, and having taken the people captive, he transported them to his own land, including the king of the Israelites himself, Oseas. And having transported them from their own land, [he brought] other nations from a certain place...

and proclaimed it to all for three years. ^A Having now reigned for seven months, he was recognized; and he was recognized in this way. Otanes was in lineage and wealth in no way inferior to the first of the Persians. Cambyses had a daughter of this man, who was named Phadymia. The Magus used her, just as he did with the others he found in the palace. Therefore, the father sent to her secretly, asking if she were cohabiting with Cyrus’s son Smerdis, or with someone else. She answered that she had neither seen Cyrus’s Smerdis, nor did she know who it was with whom she slept. But he sent to her again, ordering her to take the risk, if need be, in order to fulfill her father’s command. And he suggested that when she was sleeping with the king, and knew him to be asleep, she should touch his ears. And if she found that he had ears, he should know that he considered him to be the son of Cyrus. Phadymia obeyed her father, and having learned that the one cohabiting with her had no ears, she signaled this to her father. He did not have ears because Cyrus had once cut them off on account of a certain offense. ^B Otanes communicated that secret to his friends, Aspathines and Gobryas, who were among the first of the Persians and his friends; and they, having previously been suspicious of the matter, immediately accepted his report. It seemed good to them, therefore, that others also should be joined to them: Otanes brought in Intaphernes, Gobryas [brought in] Megabyzus, Aspathines [brought in] Hydarnes; and they shared the secret with Darius, the son of Hystaspes, who had recently arrived at Susa from Persia. He also accepted the proposal and immediately counseled them to act; he said that if the present day were allowed to slip by in vain, he himself would be the one to inform the Magus of the plot. They were persuaded by the counsel of Darius, and the others, and set about the work. But another thing happened which spurred them on to hasten the undertaking. For the magi, knowing that Prexaspes had performed the slaughter of Smerdis, the son of Cyrus, and that on account of this he was in bad odor with the Persians, invited him, and tried to make a friend of him, and bound him with oaths, ^C and with bright promises, not to reveal their deception to anyone. When he promised that he would do these things, they added that he should call the multitude to the walls of the palace, and that he himself, having ascended a tower, should proclaim to the hearing of all that Smerdis, the son of Cyrus, and no one else, was reigning. For they claimed that he had spared him, and had not killed him as Cambyses had ordered him. When he had also promised to do this, the people were called together; Prexaspes ascended the tower, and commemorated the good things conferred upon the Persians by Cyrus. He affirmed that he himself had killed his son Smerdis under compulsion from Cambyses, and that the magi held the kingdom. He cursed the Persians if they allowed that crime to go unavenged. Having said these things, he threw himself from the tower and died. The seven men, having heard of this, immediately rushed to the palace, ^D not hindered by the guards, who revered their dignity. Having passed into the courtyard, they encountered the eunuchs, who were carrying messages back and forth. Being asked why they had come, and being prevented from going further, they killed them and quickly entered. The magi, who had perceived the tumult of the eunuchs inside, prepared to repel the force: and one who had seized a spear wounded Aspathines in the thigh and Intaphernes in the face, from which his eye was injured; the bow of the other was useless, since the fighting was at close quarters. Therefore, he rushed into the bedroom, and Gobryas and Darius followed; and the one embraced the Magus: the other, fearing...

of the multitude of the priests and the Levites had taken foreign wives, he persuaded them with many tears and frequent exhortations to cast out the foreign women and those born of them. And when ^A the feast of Tabernacles was at hand, and almost the whole multitude of the people had gathered for it, they requested Ezra that the laws of Moses might be read. And hearing these, they were moved to tears, grieving over things past. But Ezra said that they ought not to mourn since it was a feast-day; but rather to feast, be of good cheer, and keep the laws for the future. And that old man died.

One of the captives, Nehemiah by name—being cupbearer to Xerxes—walking before Susa, saw some strangers entering the city; and hearing them speaking Hebrew, he approached and asked them where they were from. Being told that they were from Jerusalem, he asked how the people were, and the metropolis Jerusalem. Upon their answering that things were ill, and that the surrounding nations were inflicting many evils upon them, the young man wept. And as the hour was at hand, he entered to serve the king, as he was. The king, seeing him gloomy, asked why he was dejected. And he told of the grievance of his heart, the misfortunes of his fatherland. And he begged leave to go, both to rebuild the wall and to supply what was lacking in the temple. And the king assented to the request; and on the morrow he gave him a letter to the governor of Phoenicia and Syria and Samaria, commanding him to honor Nehemiah ^B and to provide the expenses for the building.

He came, therefore, to Jerusalem, with many of his kinfolk accompanying him, in the twenty-fifth year of the reign of Xerxes, and delivered the letter to the governor of the aforementioned regions. The building of the wall he distributed among the people by villages and cities, so that it might be finished as quickly as possible. And the Jews set themselves to the work, being so called from the day they came up from Babylon. For from the tribe of Judah, which was the first to come to those places, they themselves were called Jews and the country was renamed after them. But the Ammonites and Moabites and Samaritans were distressed at the building of the walls and set upon them. And they slew many, and even plotted against Nehemiah himself. And the multitude, being disturbed by these things, was nearly about to desist from the building. But Nehemiah, having stationed a company for the protection of his person, persevered tirelessly, both by night and by day, going around the circuit of the city, and he endured this hardship for two years and four months. For in such time the wall was fortified for Jerusalem, in the twenty-eighth year of the reign of Xerxes, in the ninth month. And Nehemiah, seeing the city sparsely populated, exhorted the priests and the Levites, leaving the countryside, to migrate into the city. And Nehemiah died in old age, a man kind in character, and just, and most ambitious for his fellow countrymen.

VI.

^A Mardochaeus, having been found to be the informer against the plot of the eunuchs ^B against the king. But when the scribe had merely reported this, and had moved on to other business, the king paused, asking if any reward had been recorded as given to him. When he heard that there was none, he asked what hour of the night it was. And having learned that it was already dawn, he ordered that whoever of his friends was found before the court should be summoned. Now it happened that Haman was hastening, that he might ask for Mardochaeus. And when he had entered, the king said to him: "Give me counsel, how I might honor someone whom I love?" But he, thinking that the advice he would give would be for himself (for he believed he was loved by the king more than others), said: "If you wish, O king, to honor him, cause him to ride upon a horse, wearing the same robe as you, and having a golden necklace about his neck, and let him go forth before your necessary friends, for one to proclaim through the whole city that this is the honor that befalls him whom the king honors." And the king, being pleased with the advice, said: "Seek out Mardochaeus the Jew, and giving him the horse, and the robe, and the necklace, lead him before you and proclaim: 'For you are a most necessary friend to me. These things shall be yours from me, for you saved my life.'" Upon hearing these things, he was confounded, and struck with helplessness; yet he goes out, leading the horse, and the purple, and the necklace. And having found Mardochaeus before the court clothed in sackcloth, he ordered him to put on the purple. But he said, "O most wicked of men, do you thus mock us in our misfortunes?" But realizing that the king had provided these things as a reward for his salvation, after he informed them of the plot of the eunuchs, he puts on the purple, and places the necklace about his neck, and mounting the horse, rode around the city, with Haman preceding and proclaiming that this is how the king honors whomsoever he loves. And so he, having ridden around the city, returned to the king.

VII. ^B But Haman returned to his house, and weeping, recounted the events to his wife. At this time, eunuchs from Esther came, who were hastening Haman to the banquet. One of them, having seen the cross in his house, and learning from one of the servants that it had been prepared for Mardochaeus, who was to be requested for punishment by the king, then departed. And when the feast was near its end, the king allowed the queen to say what she wanted. But she lamented the danger of her people, and said that with the nation she too had been handed over for destruction, and that Haman had brought these things to pass. But the king being disturbed by this, and having sprung out from the banquet, Esther was imploring him, and as he fell upon the couch and was supplicating the queen, the king entered and said, "O most wicked one, do you also attempt to do violence to my wife?" In these things the eunuch was present, and spoke of the cross which he had seen prepared for Mardochaeus. ^C And the king at once ordered Haman to be hung upon that very cross. And he thus perished, and the queen received his property as a gift. And the king, having learned of the kinship between Mardochaeus and Esther, gave him the ring which he had previously given to Haman. The queen also bestowed upon Mardochaeus his possessions, and she implored the king to deliver the nation of the Hebrews from the danger. Then he allowed him to write in his name, whatever he might wish. Now the letters written contained these things: they accused Haman as wicked and thankless, in that he had asked for the destruction of a nation that had done no wrong. But they called Mardochaeus a savior, and the Jews the best governed, and worshipers of God; and not only did they release them from the punishment to which he had requested they be subjected, but they also considered them worthy of honor, and allowed them to live peacefully by their own laws, granting them the power, on the thirteenth day of the month which is Adar, to take vengeance on those by whom they had been harmed. And they instructed the satraps of the provinces that they should be a help to them for taking vengeance on their enemies. ^D As for the Jews of Susa, Mardochaeus...

lamenting as if Darius were dead, since his chariot and bows were seen to have been captured. But, being troubled at the news because of the instability of fortune, he sent someone to the women to say that Darius was alive, and that nothing unpleasant would happen to them. For he held that he did not regard Darius as an enemy, but rather was disputing with him over the kingdom; and that he neither took away any of the service they had, nor did he come before their eyes, nor did he allow them to suffer or endure the expectation of any indignity from him.

^A X. After the Issic victory, he also became master of Damascus, where the Persians and Darius himself had left their wealth and the greater part of their baggage. After this, Cyprus and Phoenicia, except for Tyre, were turned over to him. Tyre was captured by siege; while he was besieging it, Alexander had two dreams. In one, he thought he was being called from the walls by Hercules, who was offering him his right hand: the other showed him a satyr playing with him, a creature which, though about to be caught, escaped, yet at last, after a long time, came into his hands. The interpreters of these dreams explained that they signified the possession of Tyre: for the word, "Satyrus," if you divide the name, denotes "Sa Tyros" (Tyre will be thine). Then, when he was besieging Gaza, a great city of Syria, he was struck on the shoulder by a stone, but he captured the city. ^B Having taken possession of Egypt, he desired to found a Greek city there in his own name, and he had already marked out a site for the city. While he was sleeping, a man appearing to be hoary-headed and venerable stood over him, who was Homer, and he recited these verses:

There is an island lashed by the much-surging Pontus, In front of Egypt, which men call Pharos.

^C Getting up, therefore, he immediately traveled to Pharos, and, pleased with the natural amenity of the place, he founded the city there. He joined it to the mainland by an embankment, though it had been an island before. It is said that, charmed by the natural suitability of the spot, he remarked that Homer was, in addition to being great in other things, a wise architect. While he was proceeding to the temple of Ammon through the waterless and sandy region, he found that the good fortune which accompanied him in all things served him there, too, alleviating the difficulties of that journey. For showers of rain occurred, which warded off the danger of thirst, and they tempered the air; the sand was moistened and compressed by the humidity. ^D When the road markers were obscured and the scouts had lost their way, crows flying overhead showed them the path; and those who were lagging behind and had not followed the army, they called back by cawing during the night. Having thus overcome the difficulty of the journey and arrived at Ammon, the prophet there, wishing to greet him in the Greek tongue, tripped up at the end of the phrase, saying "O pai Dios" (O child of Zeus) instead of "paidion" (my child). And this barbarian slip gave to many the opinion that Alexander’s birth was from the gods, the report spreading that...

he had had a mother adorned in a kingly fashion. He also threw Bessus, who had killed him, into a sling—having ordered him to be attached to two trees bent toward each other, then letting the trees go, so that the man was torn apart, as each of the trees sprang back to its natural position with great force. ^A Going off into Hyrcania, near the Hyrcanian Sea (also called the Caspian), he was vexed when some barbarians took away his horse Bucephalus, and having sent word, he threatened to kill them all if they did not return the horse to him; they handed over both the horse and themselves to him.

XII. Thence he set out for Parthia, where he first put on barbarian dress—less arrogant than the Median, but more haughty than the Persian; this sight appeared offensive to the Macedonians. Having selected thirty thousand boys from the captives, he ordered them to be taught Greek letters and to be armed in the Macedonian fashion. Having fallen in love with the beautiful Roxana, he approached her in no other way than according to law. Of his friends, he called Hephaestion—who praised his attire and had donned similar garments himself—"Lover of Alexander," but Craterus, who did not depart from ancestral customs, he called "Lover of the King." The former he employed in dealings with the barbarians, while through Craterus he transacted business with the Macedonians and Greeks. ^B He also executed Philotas, the son of Parmenion, who boasted that the successes were achieved by himself and his father, and who called Alexander a youth—having also discovered a conspiracy. Having sent word to Media, he also had his father (for he was there) put to death. He also killed Cleitus, one of his companions, during a drinking party. When poems were being sung, composed about some commanders recently defeated by the barbarians, and Alexander was listening to them with pleasure, Cleitus—dissenting, indignant, and boasting out of arrogance and drunkenness, hurling abusive language—was first pelted by him with an apple. And when he continued to be shameless and bold, and recited the iambic verse of Euripides:

"Alas, how perverted is the custom in Greece!"

and the rest, Alexander, boiling over with rage, pierced him with a spear and killed him. ^C Immediately, when his anger had cooled and he repented, he rushed to kill himself as well, but he was restrained by his bodyguards and carried to his chamber, where he spent that night and the following day in tears; he lay there speechless, groaning only with heavy heart. When his friends came to him, he would not accept their words. But when Aristander the seer reminded him of the vision he had seen concerning Cleitus, and of certain omens that had occurred to him, and said that what happened was destined, he began to yield. When he was about to invade India, seeing the carriages packed, he ordered fire to be set to them—first to his own, then to those of his friends, and finally to those of the Macedonians. This act was distressing to a few, but the rest, with shouting and almost as if inspired by a divine frenzy, set out on the expedition and filled Alexander with eagerness for the campaign. ^D Now he was also formidable, and an inexorable punisher of those who transgressed. Many dangers befell him in the battles, and he suffered remarkable wounds. But the greatest destruction to the army came from the shortage of supplies and the inclemency of the weather. But he himself was of such a daring nature that he thought nothing could withstand brave men, and nothing was safe for the cowardly.

he prayed that [God] would not forsake the nation. But God in a dream bade him be of good courage, and to adorn the city, open the gates, and go out to meet the king himself with the priests in their customary vestments, and the people in white garments. He did as he was instructed. And when Alexander was now approaching the city, he went out with the priests and the multitude of the city to a certain place from which the city and the temple could be seen. While the soldiers who were following the king were thinking that he would order the city to be plundered and the high priest to be killed, Alexander, when he saw from afar the priests adorned, and the multitude as has been said, and the high priest dressed in a robe of hyacinth and gold, and wearing the tiara on his head with the golden plate upon it, on which the name of God was inscribed, ^A, he alone approached, did obeisance, and greeted the high priest. At this, all the others were struck with amazement. But Parmenion dared to ask why he worshipped the high priest of the Jews. He replied: "I did not worship him, but the God in whose priesthood he is honored. For I saw this man in my sleep, while I was still not far from Macedonia, in this very habit. He spoke to me, as I was considering how I might conquer Asia, not to delay, and he promised that he himself would be the leader of my army and would deliver the kingdom of the Persians to me. ^B Since, therefore, I have seen no one else in such a habit, except this one, I have now recalled the nocturnal vision; and with God as the author of the war, I am confident that I shall defeat Darius and possess the kingdom of the Persians." Having said these things, and having given his right hand to the high priest, he entered the city; and ascending to the temple, he sacrificed to God, as the high priest instructed. And he saw the book of Daniel, in which it is written that one of the Greeks will overthrow the Persian kingdom, and he was pleased by it. And whatever the Jews asked, he fulfilled.

Seeing these things, the Samaritans also went to meet Alexander not far from Jerusalem, equipped splendidly, and begged him to honor them with his presence and to ^C visit their temple also. Alexander promised that he would do so on his return. But when they asked that he grant them what he had granted to the Jews, he asked who they were. When they replied that they were Hebrews, but were called Sidonians of Shechem, he asked again if they were Jews. When they denied it, he said that he had granted what they were seeking to the Jews. Furthermore, the temple on Mount Garizim was a refuge for those who violated their ancestral laws. For if anyone had eaten unclean food, or had otherwise departed from the custom of their ancestors, he would flee to the Shechemites. ^D Upon the death of the high priest Joaddus, his son Onias assumed the high priesthood.

XVI. Post the death of Alexander, his inheritance— [alt-version omitted]

As we have digressed toward the designation of the Ptolemies, come, let us also set forth somewhat more tangentially the origin and succession of their race from the beginning; for they were also Heracleidae. Satyrus, in his history of the demes of the Alexandrians, beginning...

^A to be slightly corrupted in their morals. Marcus Junius was named dictator, and Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus was named master of the horse. And immediately they enrolled not only those of military age, but even those already past their prime, and released prisoners for the sake of security, and promised freedom to slaves, and further took on some brigands, and called upon the allies, reminding them of any benefits they had received, and promising in addition that they would give some grain and others money—something they had not done before—and they sent into Greece, either to persuade some to ally with them or to hire them.

Hannibal, learning that the Romans were gathering and preparing, remained at Cannae, having despaired of a sudden capture of the city; and of the prisoners, he released the allies without ransom, as he had also done before, but kept the Romans, hoping to sell them, so that he might thereby make his own forces better supplied and the Romans more destitute. But when no one came from them to seek the prisoners, he ordered them to send some of their own number home for the ransom, after they had sworn an oath to return. But when not even then were they willing to ransom them, he sent those who were of some repute to Carthage, and of the others, he killed some after torturing them, and forced others to fight as gladiators, pitting friends and relatives against one another. Those who had been sent for the ransom, having returned to fulfill their oath, but having fled after this, were branded with infamy by the censors, and made away with themselves.

Hannibal sent his brother Mago to Carthage to report what had happened and to ask for money and forces. And he, on departing, enumerated the rings ^B and extolled the success to a greater degree, and everything he requested was decreed; for they did not listen to Hanno, who spoke to the contrary and advised them to end the war while they were still in a stronger position. However, they did not carry out what had been decreed, but neglected it.

Meanwhile, Hannibal advanced into Campania, and took a certain Samnite town, and hastened against the city of Naples, having sent on a small group with the booty. Against these, seeing them as if they were alone, the city folk ran out, whereupon he himself appeared unexpectedly and killed many, but he did not take the city, nor did he remain laying siege to it for long. For as for the Campanians who lived in Capua, some remained in the friendship of the Romans, while others leaned toward Hannibal. When he had been successful at Cannae, and some of their men who had been captured were released, the multitude were eager to defect to Hannibal; but the men of power held back for a time. Then, as the multitude rushed against them while they were gathered in the council chamber, they would all have been destroyed had not someone from the multitude, perceiving the magnitude of the evil, accused the senators as deserving to be destroyed, but also said that it was appropriate first to choose others in their place, for the city could not be saved without some deliberation ^C on their part. Once the Capuans had obeyed, he started casting them out of the council one by one and asked the multitude whom they would appoint in their place; and since they were unable to provide others in the short time available, they dismissed them all as necessary; and having been reconciled with one another, they made a treaty with Hannibal. He quickly, having left Naples, came to Capua, and before an assembly, after many other agreeable things ^D and gold...

and encouraged those who were with him. And having ^A finished the evening, and having left many fires in the camp, having journeyed through the night, he attacked those of Antiochus about the dawn; and fighting he slew many, and put others to flight, so that more than three thousand fell. And after the defeat of the enemies, Judas returned, and having plundered their camp, and having taken much spoil and abundant wealth, he returned home rejoicing. In the following year, Lysias, having collected a larger army, invaded Judea. And Judas having engaged his vanguard, defeated them. Wherefore Lysias, having taken the rest of the force, retreated to Antioch, and prepared with a greater army to invade Judea. Judas, however, having gone up to Jerusalem, in order that he might cleanse the temple, and having found it desolate, and in some places burnt, lamented. And having cleansed it, he brought in new vessels, a lampstand, a table, an altar, gilded, and he built a new altar of stones not hewn by iron, and he burned incense and offered burnt-offerings, and placed the breads upon the table. And these things took place on the day on which the temple was defiled, and the worship was profaned, three years having passed, according to the prophecy of Daniel, which happened four hundred and eight years before. And from that time the Jews celebrate the restoration of the worship, calling it "Lights." And having walled the city, he appointed guards. And since the surrounding nations were destroying many of the Jews, lying in wait through envy, Judas defended them against the wars and repressed them. But Antiochus, having learned that there was a city in Persia abounding in wealth, named Elymais, and a temple of Artemis in it full of costly votive offerings, marched against it and besieged it. But having been repulsed by those within the city who had sallied out, he fled and came to Babylon, and lost most of his army. ^B And to Antiochus, lamenting for this, the defeat of his generals by the Jews was announced. And upon the additional grief, he fell ill; and knowing that he would die, he called his subordinates, and said that he was suffering thus because he had maltreated the Jewish nation and despoiled the temple. Saying these things, he expired, having left Philip, one of his friends, as guardian of the kingdom, and having given him the diadem and the ring, so that he might carry these to his son Antiochus. But Lysias, learning that Antiochus was dead, declared his son king, calling him Eupator.

XXI. But the Macedonians in the citadel ^C of Jerusalem were harming the Jews who were going up to the temple to offer sacrifice. Wherefore Judas was eager to remove the garrison, and was besieging the fortress strongly. Having learned this, the boy Antiochus was angered, and with a great force marched against Judea and Jerusalem. Judas, however, having met him, slew about six hundred of the vanguard. And Eleazar, the brother of Judas, also called Auran, seeing the tallest of the elephants armed with royal breastplates, and thinking that the king was riding upon it, ^D charged against it with great vehemence, and having gotten under the belly of the beast, he pierced it and slew it. But it fell down upon Eleazar, and crushing him with the weight of its body, destroyed him. Seeing the strength of the enemy, Judas returned to Jerusalem and prepared for a siege. And Antiochus, as he besieged the city and the defenders were strenuously repelling the enemy, many, because of a lack of provisions,

concluded ^A that the danger concerned their lives; he stood his ground, and having slain many, and charging against Bacchides as if to strike him, but failing, he leaped into the river with his companions and swam across. And Bacchides returned to the citadel in Jerusalem, and taking the children of the chief men of Judea as hostages, he shut them up in the citadel. Jonathan, however, was concerned to avenge the murder of his brother John. And as the sons of Amarae were celebrating a wedding, and were leading the bridegroom and the bride from one city to another with a costly procession, he set an ambush on a certain mountain, attacked those in the procession, and destroyed them all, and plundered all that they were carrying. Jonathan and Simon remained with their companions in the marshes of the river. Bacchides, however, having left a garrison in Judea, returned to Demetrius. And from that time on, for two years, the people enjoyed peace; Jonathan and those with him lived in the country with security. Those Jews, therefore, who had acted impiously, sent to King Demetrius, informing him craftily that if someone were sent against Jonathan, he would be captured. And the king sent Bacchides. But he, having come into Judea and having striven to capture Jonathan, but being unable, killed fifty of the chief men of those who had made the report to the king, as having lied. Jonathan and Simon and those with them withdrew into the desert, where having built towers, they waited. ^B And Bacchides also came and besieged him. But Jonathan, leaving his brother Simon there, went out secretly, and having gathered many from the country, at night attacked Bacchides and his army. And he himself killed many, and Simon, having also slipped out from the fortifications, killed many, having set fire to the siege engines. Despondent because of these things, Bacchides wished to withdraw. And he sought a plausible reason for withdrawing. And Jonathan, having learned of this, sent an embassy regarding friendship, so that both parties might return to each other the captives they held. Receiving the embassy, therefore, Bacchides made a truce. And they swore no longer to make war against one another, and they exchanged the captives. And Bacchides, having returned, no longer attacked Judea; while Jonathan, having obtained security, administered the affairs of his countrymen and punished those who had acted impiously. ^C

XXIII. But Alexander, the son of Antiochus Epiphanes, having taken Ptolemais by treachery, disturbed Demetrius, so that he was forced to gather his forces and send to Jonathan regarding goodwill and alliance. He permitted him to muster an army, and allowed him to receive the children whom Bacchides had shut up in the citadel as hostages. Jonathan therefore, having gone to Jerusalem, read the king's letter to the people and the soldiers of the garrison as they listened, and taking the children from the citadel, he restored them to their parents, to each his own. And he himself remained in Jerusalem, renewing the city and rebuilding its walls. Alexander also wrote to Jonathan, calling him to an alliance and making himself a friend, and offering him the high priesthood, and having sent gifts. He, having received the letter, put on the high priestly vestment during the feast of Tabernacles, ^D in the fourth year after the death of his brother Judas, and prepared soldiers and arms. But Alexander, having defeated Demetrius in battle (for the latter had slipped with his horse into a marshy place, from whence he could not easily emerge, and being surrounded by the enemy and finished off with wounds, after first slaying many, he perished in the eleventh year of his reign), [ruled] the kingdom of Syria.

when the seventh year of the siege arrived, during which it was lawful for the Jews to rest. For this reason, Ptolemy having been relieved of the war, ^A he put to death the mother of Hyrcanus and his brothers, and fled to Zeno Cotylas, the tyrant of Philadelphia. Antiochus, however, being incensed at Simon for what he had suffered at his hands, marched against Judea and, having overrun the country, laid siege to Hyrcanus. He raised very high towers on the northern side of the city and from them made an assault upon the wall. But he accomplished nothing, due to the bravery of those within, the strength of the walls, and the abundance of water, which had just recently accumulated from the rains. Hyrcanus, fearing that necessities might run out for them, selected only the fighting men from the multitude and drove the others out of the city. Antiochus did not permit them to depart from there, and as they waited outside the walls, they perished; but those within, pitying them, received them back again. When the Feast of Tabernacles was at hand, Hyrcanus, having sent a message to Antiochus, asked for a truce for seven days for the sake of the festival. He [Antiochus] not only granted the truce but also sent an expensive sacrifice along with votive offerings, on account of which, and because of his piety toward the Divinity, he was called "the Pious." Hyrcanus, having perceived the reverence Antiochus held for God, sent an embassy requesting that their ancestral constitution be restored to them. He replied that if they surrendered their arms, paid tribute for the other cities—apart from Judea—and received a garrison, he would both refrain from war and accede to their requests. The Jews accepted the other terms but did not agree to the garrison; instead of this, they offered hostages and five hundred talents of silver. Antiochus having yielded to this, the siege was lifted. Hyrcanus, having opened the tomb of David, took from it three thousand talents of silver; he made a friendship with Antiochus and received him into the city. He also set out with him on his expedition against the Parthians, where Antiochus, having waged war against Arsaces, perished along with the greater part of his army.

^B II. His brother Demetrius became successor to the Syrian kingdom, having been released by Arsaces when Antiochus had marched against the Parthians. After the death of Antiochus, Hyrcanus captured many cities of Syria and other parts of Idumea. Having subdued the Idumeans, he permitted them to remain in the country if they would undergo circumcision and adopt the customs of the Jews. They, for the sake of their ancestral land, endured both the circumcision and the rest. But Demetrius, having determined to make war upon Hyrcanus, was hindered, for the Syrians and the soldiers, detesting his wickedness, had sent envoys to Ptolemy Physcon to ask that he give them someone from the family of Seleucus to assume the kingdom. He sent Alexander, who was called Zebinus. A battle having been joined between him and Demetrius, Demetrius was defeated and fled to Ptolemais. Being denied entry by his wife Cleopatra, he fled to Tyre; there he was captured, suffered many things, and was destroyed. Alexander, having taken over the kingdom, formed a friendship with Hyrcanus. But having been attacked ^C by Antiochus Grypus, the son of Demetrius, he was defeated and perished in the battle. Antiochus, having assumed the kingdom of Syria, waged war for many years with his brother Antiochus, surnamed Cyzicenus, because he had been raised in Cyzicus. That ^D Antiochus was...

^A arriving, and upon the people attacking his prosperity, he fought against them for six years (for he routed the Pisidians and Cilicians), and he slew no fewer than fifty thousand. For this reason, he was even more hated, so that when he asked the multitude what he ought to do to end their hostility, they shouted back that he should die. And after this, many Jews fought against Alexander, and a great number of them perished. Having shut the most powerful of them up in a city, he besieged them; and having overcome them, he led them away to Jerusalem. And while feasting with women in plain sight, he performed a most cruel deed, having crucified eight hundred of them, and he slaughtered their children and their wives before their eyes while they were still alive. This abhorrent act persuaded his rebels, who numbered about eight thousand, to flee. And from that time on, Alexander enjoyed peace. Afterwards, Antiochus, who was called Dionysus, marched against Judea. And a fierce battle taking place against the Jews, Antiochus died in the war while winning and fighting alongside his struggling wing. Upon his death, his army fled and was destroyed by famine. After Antiochus, Aretas reigned over Coelesyria, and having marched against Judea, and having defeated Alexander in battle, he retreated upon reaching terms. Alexander, however, after these events, having captured many cities of the Idumeans, Cilicians, Phoenicians, and Syrians, after spending three years on the campaign, returned, and was eagerly received by the Jews because of his success. Then, having fallen ill from drunkenness, and struggling for three years with a quartan fever, he did not refrain from military expeditions. Seeing him now despaired of, the queen lamented both for herself and for their children. He advised her to hide his death from the soldiers, so that until he captured the stronghold (for he happened to be besieging one), she would then arrive in Jerusalem as if from a victory, and grant some authority to the Pharisees. For he said that they were able to render the nation well-disposed to her, and stated that he himself had been at odds with the nation because of them, having abused them. "Do you, therefore," he said, "having sent for their leaders, allow them to do as they wish with my corpse, on the grounds that I have greatly abused them, and promise to do nothing contrary to their will. If you say this, I shall be honorably buried, and you shall rule securely." Having advised his wife of these things, he died, having reigned for twenty-seven years, and having lived for forty-nine. And Alexandra, having arranged everything according to her husband's advice, both made the Pharisees well-disposed toward her, and secured the kingdom, and performed the burial of her husband more sumptuously than the custom of the kings before him. ^D Two children having been born to Alexander, Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, the one, Hyrcanus, was timid by nature and unsuited for the administration of affairs; the younger, however, was energetic. Their mother appointed Hyrcanus high priest because of his lack of ambition, and entrusted everything to the Pharisees, and ordered the multitude to obey them. And while she held the name of the kingdom, the Pharisees had the power. And the country was at peace, with only the Pharisees troubling the queen and inciting her to kill those who had been the instigators against Alexander.

after him Herod, since they perceived him to be very young, bold, and eager for power. Therefore they accused Antipater before Hyrcanus, and stirred up the man against him and his sons; for they perceived them to be not curators of royal functions, but masters. For Herod had put Ezechias to death with many others; whereas it is provided by the laws that no one, however wicked, should be condemned without the sentence of the council. Hyrcanus, moved ^A by these words and by the complaints of the mothers of those who had been murdered, who were demanding that he be punished, was stirred to anger and summoned Herod to stand trial. He, however, came with a sufficient guard, so that he would not go to court undefended and unguarded; and having entered the praetorium in this manner, he so terrified everyone that, with no one daring to accuse him, all were at a loss as to what should be done. Yet one man named Sameas, a just man and one who ^B possessed lion-like boldness, said: "Indeed, gentlemen, I do not recall anyone who has been summoned to court appearing in this manner; nor, I suppose, do you. For all who are accused are usually accustomed to bear the demeanor of those who are afraid. But Herod, summoned to judgment for the murders he has committed, has brought with him armed men, who, should he be condemned by the law, will kill us. However, I would not blame him so much as you, who have granted him such license. Know, therefore, that God is just; and He whom you now wish to acquit for the sake of Hyrcanus will one day punish you and Hyrcanus himself." That these words came to pass, the unfolding of the narrative 227 will show. And Hyrcanus, having postponed the trial to another day, warned Herod to depart from the city; and upon his departure, the council was indignant. But Herod, having redeemed the praetorship of Syria from Sextus, not long after came with an army, angry at Hyrcanus because he had been summoned to trial at all, and would have attacked Jerusalem had his father and brother ^C not restrained his impulse.

VIII. The Condition of Syria

VIII. Syria was disturbed by such a cause. Bassus Cecilius, of the Pompeian faction, having slain Sextus Caesar by treachery, was [the one] in power. When the generals of Julius Caesar moved against Bassus, Antipater, mindful of the benefits he had received from Caesar, brought them aid through his sons. While time was being wasted in this war, Marcus came from Rome to assume the praetorship of Sextus, at which time Caesar was killed in Rome by Brutus and Cassius; and because of his murder, war broke out, and the leaders were scattered in different directions to collect armies. Cassius came into Syria and, going around it, collected arms and soldiers and levied very heavy ^D taxes, demanding seven hundred talents from Judaea alone, the collection of which Antipater entrusted separately to each of his sons. And Herod, since he had offered the amount he had been ordered to give to Cassius first, was received into his friendship. Malichus, however, from Cas-

^A whom it was also indicated that they should have been apprehended if the barbarians had not put it off until Herod was captured by the Parthians who were in Jerusalem, lest he realize their situation and slip away. Some advised Phasael to flee immediately; Ophellius also, because the sea was nearby, promised ships for his escape. But since he would not desert Hyrcanus, both were seized and bound. When Herod learned of this, taking his soldiers, his mother, his sister, the daughter of Hyrcanus betrothed to him, and her mother, and having set out by night with his whole retinue, he departed toward Idumaea, having deceived the enemy. But when the carriage was overturned on the journey and his mother was in danger of losing her life, he very nearly laid hands upon himself. Being restored and, as time permitted, treated, he marched energetically to the fortress of Masada; in the meantime, having also overcome the pursuing Parthians and the Judeans who were laying ambushes. Now, because such a great multitude was accompanying him—which the fortress of Masada, to which he was hastening, could not contain—he dismissed the greater part, having given them provisions for the journey, and with the light-armed and most necessary men he entered the fortress. Having left the women and servants there with sufficient supplies, he himself set out for Petra of Arabia. In the morning, the Parthians plundered other houses of the Jerusalemites as well as the palace itself; but they refrained only from the money of Hyrcanus, which amounted to ^B eighty talents, and the Parthians also devastated the land.

X. Antigonus, however, having been brought back into Judea in this way, takes Hyrcanus and Phasael as captives; and because he feared that the people might restore the kingdom to Hyrcanus, he cuts off his ears, since the law commands those who are to be priests to be unblemished. But Phasael, when he understood that he was going to be slaughtered, because his hands were in chains, dashed his head against a rock and brought death upon himself, having snatched away from the enemy the pleasure of killing him. But when, a little while before he expired, he heard that his brother Herod had escaped from the hands of the enemy, he died cheerfully, having left behind an avenger and punisher of his enemies. ^C Herod, meanwhile, was hastening to Malchus, the king of the Arabs, whom he had previously benefited, so that he might receive from him money to ransom his brother, for he did not yet know that he was dead. But when Malchus had given him notice not to come, for he himself was forbidden by the Parthians from receiving him, he replied that he had not come to cause him trouble, but to speak about the most necessary matters. Having said these things, he went away into Egypt. And on that journey, he learned how it had fared with his brother. But when Malchus with a change of mind ^D

^A he allowed to proceed just so far, until they were apprehended in the very act of flight; and he pardoned their transgression, not so much out of humanity as out of fear of Cleopatra. But since he had it entirely in mind to remove the youth from his path, it happened that, as he was in his seventeenth year, on the feast of Tabernacles, he was adorned in the high-priestly vestments and ascended to the altar to offer sacrifice; and the people, moved by a certain impulse, were carried away by benevolence toward him, both on account of his bodily stature and his noble lineage, and at the same time they rejoiced and lamented, and mingled auspicious shouts with their prayers. Moved by these things, Herod urged forward the design he had formed against the youth even more. And the feast having passed, after the banquet he showed himself pleasant to the youth, playing in a youthful and festive manner, and he swam with him in the pool. But the friends of Herod, who were privy to the secret, did not cease to press down and submerge Aristobulus, as if in play, until they had suffocated him. And thus he perished, having completed his seventeenth year. And everyone took this disaster as a personal calamity. Alexandra, indeed, having understood the cause of his destruction, was held even more by her grief, but she endured it for fear of other evils. Herod practiced everything, acting to remove suspicion, weeping, and showing himself troubled, and displaying a sumptuously magnificent funeral. But Alexandra was not softened by any of these things; rather, she wrote to Cleopatra concerning the destruction of her son by the conspiracy of Herod. And she provoked Antony to punish the murder of the boy. Antony therefore sent for Herod, commanding him to come to Laodicea to ^B make his defense. Fearing the cause and the hostility of Cleopatra, and departing, he left Joseph, his uncle, as overseer of the affairs there, having secretly commanded him that, if anything were to befall him at the hands of Antony, he should kill Mariamme immediately, so that, if he were dead, she would not belong to another because of her beauty. Herod therefore departed. But Joseph, administering the affairs of the government, and constantly meeting with Mariamme and Alexandra, kept describing the disposition of the king toward Mariamme. When they evaded his words with dissimulation, he did not restrain himself from blurting out the secret command. This statement brought greater despair to the women. When a rumor had been spread by the enemies of Herod that he had been killed by Antony, letters were brought from him, in which he explained how honorably he was treated by him, how he sat with him in judgment, and how he feasted and dined with him, and that he obtained these things even though Cleopatra was harshly slandering him to him. When these letters were delivered, the false rumor ceased.

^C XIV. When the king Herod had escorted Antony on his way to the Parthians and returned to Judea, his sister Salome and his mother immediately accused Alexandra and Mariamme. Salome also introduced a statement against her own husband, saying that he was intimate with Mariamme; this was Joseph, the overseer of the affairs of the kingdom. She said these things, being moved with long-standing anger toward her, because she had reproached them with their low birth. Herod was immediately disturbed, and out of jealousy ^D of Mariamme, he...

^B made inquiries. In the meantime, Salome, having seized the opportunity and having previously corrupted the cupbearer, urged him to accuse Mariamme, persuaded him to approach the king and reveal what she had taught him to say. He claimed he had been honored with gifts from Mariamme in order to persuade him to give the king a love potion, but that it was actually a kind of poison, the power of which he claimed to be ignorant. Upon hearing this, the king was inflamed with yet greater anger, and he interrogated the cupbearer of his wife, whom he knew to be most trusted by her. The man, however, neither knew nor could say anything regarding the matters for which he was being tortured; instead, he asserted that the woman’s hatred arose from the words that Soemus had told her. He had not yet finished this statement when Herod cried out with a loud voice: "Soemus," he said, "would not have slighted my commands, had he not had some familiarity with the woman." He therefore ordered Soemus to be killed immediately, and summoned his closest associates to accuse his wife of love potions and witchcraft, in a fit of rage. Those who were present, seeing the state of the king’s mind, sentenced her to death. ^C As she was being led away to execution, Alexandra, her mother, now fearing for her own life and wishing to demonstrate her ignorance of the crimes of which Mariamme had been accused, jumped out, crying out that her daughter was evil and ungrateful toward her husband, and she claimed that she was suffering justly. But she, neither disturbed by this nor offering any reply, went forth to her death with an unwavering demeanor and a brave spirit, manifesting her nobility even in her final moments.

XVI. Mariamme having thus perished, her death having been hastened by Salome, Herod burned even more with love for her; he would often call her by name, lamenting unseemly, and was so mastered by that affection that he ordered his servants to summon Mariamme. Finally, having gone out into the deserts and there giving way to his grief, he fell into a grave illness, which was an inflammation and putrefaction ^D of the neck, and an alienation of his mind. Alexandra, meanwhile, living in Jerusalem, upon hearing that the king was afflicted with these evils, attempted to seize two of the suburban fortresses. Upon learning this, Herod immediately ordered her to be killed. Having with difficulty escaped the danger of death from his illness, he rendered himself cruel and implacable, prone to vengeance and slaughter, not only of the common people but even of his most intimate friends. He also violated the ancestral customs of his country and corrupted the ancient order with foreign manners. By these things [index: entries preserved]

Archelaus, the father-in-law of Alexander, meets him near Cilicia, ^A rejoicing at the reconciliation of the sons. Then, having returned to Judaea, he proclaimed a council, and, as had been done on the journey, he explained the situation and concluded his address with an admonition to his sons. When he had testified to them that he was leaving the kingdom first to Antipater, and then to the sons of Mariamme also, he dismissed the council.

XIX. Herod was, ^B toward others, most liberal and munificent, but toward his subjects he was grievous and most unjust, and toward his own kin and friends an inexorable punisher. The cause of these things was his love of glory and his love of power. For, thanks to his love of glory, if he were about to obtain the memory of posterity or the fame of a name in the present, he would spare no expense; and since these matters required great outlays, he burdened his subjects with heavy exactions and was harsh toward them. ^C And because of his love of power, if he conceived any suspicion against anyone of aspiring to the throne or of attempting something against it, he treated him as an enemy and took vengeance upon him. Consequently, he punished kin and friends without sparing, wishing to be honored alone. A proof of his desire to obtain money from every source on account of his extravagance is this: having heard that Hyrcanus, who reigned before him, had opened the tomb of David and had taken three thousand talents of silver, he opened the tomb by night, having taken with him the most trusted of his friends, so that the deed might not be disclosed. ^D And he found no money—that is to say, silver—but a great quantity of golden ornaments, all of which he carried off. He therefore hastened to proceed further into the vaults where the bodies of the kings David and Solomon were entombed. As he forced his way in, two of his guards perished, a flame—as the story goes—bursting forth upon them from within; he himself departed in terror, and because of this act his household affairs seemed to languish. For the events occurring in the royal palace bore the appearance of civil war. For Antipater, being a cunning man, was engineering war against his brothers: when he was accusing them through others, he himself would frequently defend them, so that, by appearing well-disposed toward them, he might be unsuspected by his father for his machinations and might appear to be the only one concerned for his safety. And he was everything to his father; but the sons of Mariamme were constantly becoming more embittered, not bearing the ignominy due to their noble spirits, having been thrust aside and having a more dishonorable rank. The women, too, were stirred up: Glaphyra, who lived with Alexander, had a hatred for Salome, both because of her ill-will toward her husband, and because of that woman’s daughter, who was married to Aristobulus, whom Glaphyra treated haughtily, being indignant that she was deemed equal to her in dignity. Pheroras, the king’s brother, also came into suspicion and hatred with the king, in this way: when to him the king’s daughter...

had been promised, she was to serve as a mediator with Herod. And he advised him that it was better to approach his brother personally, and to beg for all of them, acknowledging himself as the cause; for in this way the harshness of his anger would be softened. And he himself, being present, promised that he would cooperate. Pheroras was persuaded, and Alexander was released from the charges, and Archelaus reconciled Pheroras to Herod.

^B XXI. But after a long time had passed, the affairs regarding the sons and the domestic situation of Herod grew much worse. For Eurycles the Lacedaemonian, a man not unknown among his own people, but of a most depraved character, having offered gifts to Herod and received many in return, was received into the king’s intimate friendship. He resided with Antipater, but he also frequented the house of Alexander, claiming to be known to Archelaus as well, and for that reason he feigned to honor Glaphyra. Having been received into intimacy, Alexander related his own tragedies to him and the ruin of his mother, and said that those things were unbearable. When these things were uttered with sorrow, Eurycles reported everything to Antipater; and having received gifts from him, he moved the king to such a degree that he burned with implacable hatred. By this method, he moved away from the faction’s resources. Herod, however, boiled with such rage against his sons that there was no longer any need for calumniators, but he himself curiously investigated and observed all their words and deeds. When, indeed, two of the king’s guards, having been expelled due to his anger, were riding with the ministers of Alexander, and had accepted gifts from him, Herod, having immediately suspected something sinister, held examinations regarding them. They, indeed, at first endured the tortures, then reported that Alexander had sought from them that they should kill Herod while hunting. Examinations were also held regarding the prefect of the fortress of Alexandrium, as if he had promised that he would receive the young men into the fortress. While he confessed nothing, his son affirmed that it had been done, and presented a letter regarding these matters, which seemed to be written by the hand of Alexander. Then, indeed, Herod no longer doubted regarding the treachery of his sons. But Alexander insisted that the short note had been fabricated through the malice of Antipater. At that time, however, the custody of the young men took place, and they were in the disgrace and fear of those condemned. Aristobulus, thinking that his mother-in-law Salome felt his plight and hated the one who believed such things, said: "These things foretell danger for you also, as someone slandered on account of the hope of a marriage with Syllaeus." That woman immediately carries these words to her brother. He orders both his sons to be bound and kept separately, and each to write separately what they had meditated against their father. They write that they had neither conceived nor prepared any treachery against their father, but that they had considered flight, and this out of necessity, because their life was anxious and suspect. Then, therefore, the ambassador from Archelaus having arrived, he led out Alexander in chains, and questioned him about the flight in the presence and hearing of the ambassador, as to where and how he had intended to depart. He, indeed, answered: "To Archelaus, who had promised that he would send me thence to Rome," and that he had conceived nothing else more serious against his father. These things having been said, the king sent two of his own men to Rome to Caesar with letters, and ordered them to sail to Cilicia to complain to Archelaus, that he had [been a party to the snares] of the sons.

[...and neither approached him, nor did any greet him.] Varus, the governor of Syria, being present in Jerusalem, sat in council with Herod, having been called to deliberate upon the current state of affairs. ^A He entered the palace still wearing his purple robe. The guards at the doors received Antipater, but debarred his friends. He was disturbed, already perceiving why he had come, since his father, upon his approach, had thrust him away, calling him an assassin and a plotter against his own life, and saying that Varus would be the auditor and judge of these matters the following day. He departed in the midst of these evils. His mother and his wife (who was the daughter of Antigonus, the king before Herod) met him; and from them he learned of everything and prepared himself for the contest.

On the following day, Herod and Varus sat in council. The friends of both parties gathered, along with the kinsmen of Herod, the informers regarding the plans of Antipater, and the servants of Antipater’s mother, who brought a letter from her directing him not to return, as it was thought that all these matters had become known to his father, and that Caesar was his only remaining refuge, so that he might not fall into his father’s power. When Antipater had prostrated himself as a suppliant before his father, pleading that he be heard and that judgment be rendered only after that, he commanded that he be led into the center. ^B He himself lamented the disposition of his children, and that his own old age had arrived at such a pass through Antipater. He said he was amazed at how Antipater could have embarked upon such crimes, even though he was named as heir in the will and had been able to do everything while he was alive; and that he should repay such great benefits by inciting his kinsmen to his own slaughter. As he spoke these things, he broke into tears. Then Nicolaus of Damascus, by the king’s permission, accused Antipater, relating everything in order; but many others also spoke against Antipater of their own accord.

When Nicolaus had finished his discourse, Varus ordered Antipater to make his defense. He lay prone upon the ground, invoking God to witness that he was innocent of any wrongdoing. But since nothing was said by Antipater beyond his invocation of God, he ordered the poison to be brought into the center. When it had been brought, one who had been condemned to death was ordered to drink it, and having drunk it, he immediately fell dead. ^C Upon this, Varus arose and departed from the council. Herod immediately bound Antipater and wrote to Caesar in Rome concerning him.

XXV. At that time, a letter was also intercepted, sent by Antiphilus to Antipater, which read: "I have sent to you the letter from Acme, sparing nothing for my own life. For you know that I am again in danger from two houses if I should be discovered. May you be successful in the matter." The king sought the other letter as well, but the slave of Antiphilus denied having received another. However, someone saw that the slave’s inner tunic was sewn up and surmised that the missive was hidden there, and it was indeed so. He took...

and Trachonitis, and Batanea, and Pania to his son, while he bequeathed the tetrarchy to his brother Archelaus; and he bestowed Jamnia and Azotus and Phasaelis upon his sister Salome. Having done these things, and having bequeathed many talents as gifts to Caesar and his wife Livia, he died on the fifth day after he slew Antipater, having reigned thirty-four years after he had taken Antigonus, ^A but thirty-seven years from the time he had been declared king by the Romans. Now Salome and Alexas, before his death became publicly known, sent forth those who were confined in the Hippodrome, saying that the king commanded them to go out into the fields and enjoy their own property; and this was the greatest benefit conferred by them upon the nation. Then the death of the king was made public, and the wills were read, bestowing the kingdom upon his son Archelaus. But Ptolemy, who had been entrusted with the king’s signet ring, said that the wills could not be confirmed otherwise than by Caesar. Immediately a shout was raised, and Archelaus was proclaimed king, and after this the king’s funeral was performed magnificently. And thus Herod paid the debt of nature.

BOOK SIXTH

I. Archelaus, having ascended into the temple and being acclaimed, sat upon a golden throne and addressed the multitude kindly; but he refused to accept the royal diadem from the soldiers unless Caesar ^B first confirmed his father’s testament; and having sacrificed, he turned to a feast. However, certain Jews gathered, and lamented with great wailing for Matthias and those with him who had been punished by Herod on account of the tearing down of the golden eagle; and, a meeting having been convoked by them, they demanded that Archelaus punish those who had held authority under Herod, and that he avenge the dead, and above all that he depose the High Priest and appoint another more righteous according to the law. Archelaus, although vexed by these things, while checking their impulse, gave his assent; and he sent a commander to converse with the multitude, as if this were not the time for these things, but rather when his rule had been confirmed by the consent of Caesar. But they, shouting and creating a tumult, did not allow the commander to speak, nor would they listen to any other person who approached to speak to them for the purpose of disciplining ^C and deterring the seditions. Now the feast of Unleavened Bread being at hand, and a multitude having flowed together from all sides into the temple, they were eager to escalate the sedition to a great height. Archelaus, fearing this, sent a chiliarch with a cohort to repress the surge of the seditious populace. But the seditious ones immediately rushed upon the soldiers and stoned most of them, and a few and the chiliarch escaped wounded. Archelaus, therefore, perceiving that if the impulse of the multitude were not restrained, the matters of the sedition would result in great evil, sent out the entire army, by which some three thousand were slain, and the rest were dispersed to the mountains, and a proclamation was made for all to withdraw to their own homes; and they, leaving the festival, departed. ^D Archelaus, meanwhile, with his mother and Herod’s sister Salome, went away to Rome, the sum of affairs having been entrusted in the interim to Philip

^A lead to a state of madness, though it is in other respects in agreement with the Pharisees; yet a fierce desire for liberty is implanted in them, because they acknowledge God alone as their Leader and Lord, and will not submit to giving these titles to any man; nor do they refuse to undergo deaths and various and terrible tortures, so as not to depart from their own resolve. From this, the Jewish nation began to succumb to a madness born of folly, Gessius Florus, the governor, having goaded them into this insolence. Cyrenius, however, once the census and the valuations were completed—which took place in the thirty-seventh year after the defeat of Antony by Caesar at Actium—took the dignity away from Joazar the high priest, who was opposed by the multitude, and appointed Annas, the son of Seth, as high priest. When Cyrenius had returned to Rome, Coponius governed the Jews. To him was succeeded by Marcus Ambibuchus; and after Marcus, Rufus Annius, under whom the Roman emperor died, in the fifty-seventh year of his reign, in the sixth month, on the eleventh day. He had his colleague Antony for fourteen years. He reigned alone for forty-three, or forty-four years, as some maintain. He lived seventy-seven years. The monarchy was truly transferred to Tiberius, the son of Caesar’s wife Livia, by whom Valerius Gratus was sent as governor into Judea; he, revoking the high priesthood of Annas, designated Ismael, the son of Phabi, as supreme priest. And not long after, having forced him into retirement, he bestowed the honor of the priesthood upon Eleazar, the son of Annas; and after a year had passed, he introduced Simon, the son of Camithus, in his place. And Joseph Caiaphas was successor to him after he had served the priesthood for an equal length of time.

^B

^C Ⅳ. Gratus, having governed Judea for eleven years, returned to Rome after these deeds; Pontius Pilate succeeded him, having accepted the governorship. Herod the tetrarch, who had enjoyed the friendship of Tiberius while he was a private citizen, after Tiberius obtained supreme power, built a city named for him in Galilee by the lake of Gennesaret, calling it Tiberias. Pilate, transferring the army from Caesarea to winter in Jerusalem, brought the standards into the city at night, which bore images of Caesar, even though the law forbids the Jews to have such images. When the matter became known, a multitude rushed to Caesarea, petitioning that those images be moved, and for this reason they continued their supplications for five days. When Pilate refused, holding that by this action the majesty of Caesar would be injured, and the people would not cease to pray, on the sixth day, having surrounded them with armed soldiers, he threatened death unless they ceased their rioting. But they, casting themselves prone upon the ground, declared that they would receive death with joy. Pilate, therefore, admiring their fortitude and eagerness for the observance of the law, immediately returned the images to Caesarea. He spent the sacred funds, however, on the construction of an aqueduct for Jerusalem. For this reason many gathered, demanding with clamors and even insults that he stop. But he ordered cohorts of soldiers, wearing garments under their cloaks and carrying scourges, to encircle the rioters, and thus drove the Jews away; but as ^D

^A many were captured, he slaughtered the leaders of them. But the Samaritans came to Vitellius, who was governing Syria, accusing Pilate regarding the slaughter of their fellow-tribesmen. And Vitellius, having sent Marcellus to oversee the affairs of the Jews, ordered Pilate to depart for Rome to defend himself before the Emperor regarding the things of which he was accused. And he departed, having governed Judea for ten years. But before he reached Rome, Tiberius had already passed away. Vitellius, having come to Jerusalem while the feast of the Passover was being celebrated, ^B was received magnificently, and he remitted the taxes on the crops to the Jerusalemites, and allowed the stola of the high priest to remain in the temple, and to be with the priests, just as before; for at that time it was stored in the Antonia. For one of the high priests—the first one, that is, Hyrcanus—having built a tower very near the temple, and residing in it, had the high-priestly stola there, as it belonged to him as high priest. The same thing was being done by those after him as by him. Herod, having built that tower more magnificently, being a friend of Antony, renamed it after him. And having found the stola there, he kept it there. ^C And Archelaus used to do this, and after him the Romans did the same things regarding the stola, which was stored there under the seals of the priests and the treasurers. When a feast was impending, it was given to the high priests by the commander of the garrison, and after one day of the feast, it was again stored there. Vitellius ceded the stola to the nation; and having removed Joseph, who is also called Caiaphas, from the high priesthood, he gave this to Jonathan, the son of Annas the high priest. And according to the commands of Tiberius, Vitellius made a treaty with Artabanus, the king of the Parthians, who had sent his son Darius along with many gifts as a hostage. And the tetrarch Herod was present at this pacification, and wrote to Caesar of what had been done. ^D When Vitellius afterwards also explained these things by letter, Caesar wrote back to him that he had learned everything from Herod. This incited Vitellius to anger against Herod; he nourished his wrath in secret, and took vengeance on him when Gaius had obtained power.

VI.

And the centurion, fearing because he had been living with a prisoner of the Emperor, ordered him to be bound, having already released him. On the next day, news was widespread regarding the death of Tiberius, and letters were sent by Gaius, one to the senate, announcing the death of Tiberius and his own succession to the empire; the other to Piso, the guardian of the city, authorizing him to transfer Agrippa from the camp to the house where he had been before he was imprisoned. Gaius, having brought the corpse of Tiberius to Rome and buried it sumptuously, wished to release Agrippa immediately; but Antonia prevented it—not out of hatred for the one to be released, but out of care for the one releasing him, so that he might not appear to be rejoicing at the passing of the Emperor by ^A releasing his prisoner too quickly. After three days had passed, he sent for Agrippa, cut the excess of his hair, and gave him different clothes; then, placing on him a diadem, he established him as king of the tetrarchy of Philip, adding also for his enlargement the tetrarchy of Lysanias, and exchanged bronze for gold, providing him with a golden chain of equal weight to the iron one with which he had been bound. In the second year of Gaius's monarchy, Agrippa asked for the ability to depart to his own lands, promising that he would return once his kingdom was duly established; having obtained this, he set sail.

Herodias, his sister, envied her brother's good fortune, especially when she saw him acting among the masses adorned with the insignia of royalty; and she spurred on her husband to sail for Rome and seek an equal authority for himself. ^B He wanted to remain quiet, but the woman pressed her husband more vehemently, bidding him to do everything for the sake of the kingdom; and she did not desist until she had made Herod, even against his will, of the same mind as herself. He therefore set out with his wife for Rome.

Agrippa, for his part, was also preparing to go to Rome; he sent ahead one of his freedmen, carrying gifts to the Emperor and letters against Herod. They reached Gaius at Baiae, a small town in Campania. At the same time that Herod arrived to see Gaius, he received the letters of Agrippa, accusing him of a conspiracy with Sejanus against the reign of Tiberius, and again with Artabanus, the king of the Parthians, against Gaius himself. As proof of the charge, he indicated the storing of arms in the armories of Herod, sufficient to arm seventy thousand men. ^C Gaius was stirred by what had been sent, and asked Herod if the report about the arms was true. Upon his confirming it, believing in his defection, he took away his tetrarchy and added it to the kingdom of Agrippa, and likewise presented him with his money, while sentencing Herod to perpetual exile. To Herodias, as she was the sister of Agrippa, he gave whatever money pertained to her, and allowed her not to share in her husband's exile, on account of Agrippa. But she, having offered thanks to Gaius, said that it was not right to desert her husband in adversity, to whom she had been a companion and partner in prosperous times.

Furthermore, Gaius conducted himself quite moderately during the first and second years, but with the passage of time, he wished himself to be considered and worshipped as a god. ^D Sedition having arisen between the Alexandrians, the Jews, and the Greeks, three ambassadors from each faction went to Gaius.

^A He rewarded the benevolence of the Jerusalemites toward him by a remission of the tax that was paid for each house. He appointed Silas, who had been a participant with him in many hardships, as captain of the army. When certain young men from Dora, being bold and reckless, had placed a statue of Caesar in a synagogue of the Jews, Agrippa was troubled and immediately approached Publius Petronius, the governor of Syria, and accused the Dorites. Petronius sent a centurion and ordered those who had dared to commit this deed to be brought to him, and he charged the magistrates of the Dorites to point out the guilty parties to the centurion, unless they wished to be seen as accomplices in the act. Agrippa ^B took the priesthood from Simon Cantheras and again conferred it upon Jonathan, the son of Ananias. But he declined, saying that it was sufficient for him to have held the high priesthood once; he asked, instead, that his brother Matthias be promoted to that honor, as he was worthy of it. The king, being persuaded, bestowed the high priesthood upon Matthias. Now Silas, the captain of Agrippa’s army, relying upon the risks he had taken on his behalf, laid claim to an untimely freedom of speech and was burdensome, constantly reminding him of the hardships of his past fortune and boasting of his zeal and fidelity during those times. Agrippa felt unfavorably toward this unrestrained license of his, and because Silas would not yield, the king was provoked to anger, and not only stripped him of his command but even bound him in chains. But in time, his anger being mitigated, and considering how many labors he had endured on his behalf, ^C when the king was celebrating his own birthday, he invited Silas to share the meal with him. Silas, however, refused. “To what honor,” he asked, “does the king call me, seeing that I am on the point of perishing? Does he suppose that I have abandoned my freedom of speech? Now I shall cry out all the more, from what perils I rescued him, and what labors and dangers I underwent for his dignity and safety. For which services he rewards me with bonds and a dark prison, which I shall never forget.” When the king learned of this, seeing the man’s incurable disposition, he left him in custody. This king was no less beneficent in his gifts than his grandfather Herod, though that man displayed his generosity toward foreigners, but not toward the Jews; whereas this one strove to benefit all alike, and showed himself gentle to all. ^D Therefore, he lived willingly and continuously in Jerusalem, and observed the ancestral laws inviolate. There was, however, a certain Simon in Jerusalem, famous for his legal expertise, who gathered a crowd and dared to denounce the king while he was away on a journey to Caesarea. When Agrippa learned of this, he summoned Simon and said, “Tell me, what of the things that are done is contrary to the law?” Since he had nothing to say, he asked for pardon, and having received it contrary to his expectation, he departed with a gift. Agrippa took the high priesthood from Matthias and conferred it on Elionaeus, the son of Cantheras. Now when he had ruled over all of Judea for three years, he held games in the city of Caesarea, which was formerly called Strato’s Tower. On the second day of the spectacles, dressed in a silver garment, he entered the theater at dawn, and the silver, illuminated by the first rising of the sun’s rays, shone with a marvelous brilliance, causing a certain horror among those looking on. Immediately, therefore, flatterers from one side and another cried out and called him a god, and as

^A and his concern and magnificence and skill; and how he started no war, and brought those he inherited to an end; and that he deprived no one of money unjustly, but even provided it to many, most especially of his own accord and without even being asked; and he assisted—so to speak—all the cities, both those allied and those tributary, providing to some water by constructing conduits, to others by building harbors, and to others by giving grain, works, money, and honors. He conducted himself towards the Roman populace not in a fawning manner, but with gravity. And once, when someone asked for something too boldly, he did not grant it, but ordered the herald to say: "Keep silence." And when that person said nothing, but raised his hand, and they were silent, he was not only not enraged at the herald, as though he had not performed what was commanded, but [b] even deemed the man worthy of honor, because he had accomplished what he himself wished, without revealing the harshness of the command. For he was not indignant if anything was done by someone contrary to his opinion, provided it looked towards his own utility. And once, when he was passing by, a certain woman was making a petition, and when he said, "I do not have leisure," the woman cried out, "Then do not be king." And he immediately turned and paid attention to the petitioner. And he did none of his great and necessary affairs privately, but performed them with the senators. And with the foremost men, he sat in judgment from the tribunal, so that the proceedings might be made public; and he was present with the consuls as they judged together; he always had the best men around him and dined with the best. And his table was full of all manner of discourse. He visited those of his friends who were very ill, and was wont to dine with his associates on their feast days. When he came to Rome, he proclaimed a remission of debts for those who owed money to the imperial treasury and to the public treasury of the Romans. Then, traveling from one province to another, he visited the lands and the cities, and changed each one for the better. And he did not only inspect and examine for himself the general state of the camps, but also the affairs of each individual. And as many as he found to have become accustomed to a softer life, he moved and re-formed them towards a more soldierly way, and taught them what they ought to do. And some he honored, others he admonished, and he himself lived more rigorously, so that the military might see him and be trained to live in that same way. From this, he made the soldiers such that [c] even a column of cavalry would easily swim across the Ister in their armor, and the barbarians, [d] seeing these things, were so struck with amazement that they would even use this emperor as a mediator for the things over which they had been at war with one another. He was also diligent about hunting, to the point that in these he even broke some of his limbs. And in Mysia he founded a city, which he called Hadrian's Hunting-ground. When he was in Egypt, he had the collapsed tomb of Pompey the Great restored, and sacrificed to him as a deceased hero; and having uttered this verse:

[alt-version omitted]

^A of the Jerusalemites, and they would revile one another, and throw stones, and there was no one to rebuke them or to put an end to the sedition. The chief priests became so bold that they would even send to the threshing floors, and seize by force the tithes owed to the priests, whence the poor among the priests perished from want. Porcius Festus having been sent by Nero as a successor to Felix, the Caesareans accused Felix before Nero concerning the Jews; and he might perhaps have paid the penalty for the injustices done to them, had not Pallas, his brother, who possessed great influence with Nero, appeased his wrath. But the Syrians in Caesarea also, having won over Beryllus, Nero’s tutor, with money, obtained from him a letter from Caesar declaring void the equal right of citizenship of the Jews with the Syrians in Caesarea, from which the evils that subsequently afflicted the nation sprang. For because of this letter, the Jews more fiercely engaged in sedition against the Syrians, until the war was kindled.

XVII. Festus, having come to Judea, ^B found it suffering from robberies. For the Sicarii, as they are called (they were also robbers), banded together in greater numbers at that time, using short curved daggers, and similar to those called by the Romans *sicae*, from which the Sicarii were named; they would mix with the crowd during the festivals, slaughtering those whom they wished with ease, and they would also plunder and burn the villages. Festus sent a force against those who had been deceived by a certain impostor who promised salvation to those who would follow him into the desert, and those he sent destroyed both the impostor and those who followed him. King Agrippa, however, having built a large structure in the palace, could watch from there what was taking place in the Temple. ^C Toward this, the people of the city were indignant. They therefore built a wall, which cut off the view, not only of the royal house, but also of the western portico, where the Romans kept guard during the festivals because of the Temple. Agrippa was annoyed at this, and Festus even more so, and he wanted to tear down the wall. But they begged to be allowed to petition Caesar. And upon Festus granting this, they sent ten of the leading men to Nero, along with Ishmael the high priest and Helcias the treasurer. And Nero, out of favor to his wife Poppaea, who was interceding on behalf of the Jews, ordered the building to be left alone. Poppaea, however, sent the others away, but kept Ishmael and Helcias as hostages. ^D When King Agrippa heard this, he gave the high priesthood to Joseph, called Decabizo, son of the high priest Simon; then, having removed him, he bestowed it upon Ananus, son of Ananus. This young Ananus, having received the high priesthood, was bold and reckless. Festus having died, and Albinus not yet having reached Judea (he who was sent by Nero as governor of Judea in place of Festus), he sat in council—to use the very words of Josephus—and brought forth the brother of Jesus, who is called Christ, James by name, and some others, accusing them of having transgressed the law, and delivered them to be stoned. But as many of those who were considered the most equitable in the city and most observant of the laws were deeply distressed by this.

[GREEK COLUMN] ^A if they found anything, they would torture them; if nothing, they would torture them all the more as if they had hidden it more carefully; and they would infer whether or not the wretches had food from their bodies. For those who still had some strength were thought to have food, while those whose bodies had wasted away were passed over. If, however, anyone had secured wheat or barley, he would eat it while keeping his house shut; some, due to the violence of the hunger, even ate the grain uncooked; and mothers would snatch food from the very mouths of infants, children from their fathers, and wives from their husbands. And yet, even eating in this way, they did not escape the notice of the seditious. For wherever they caught sight of a closed house or saw smoke rising, they took this as a sign that those inside were eating, and, smashing the doors, they would drag the food from their very throats. Neither age nor white hair nor youth brought any pity. And to those who had already eaten what was being consumed, they would visit terrible and ruthless punishments, blocking the passages of their private parts with vetch and piercing their seats ^B with sharp rods. A person would endure things horrendous even to hear, just so that he would not confess to possessing a single loaf of bread or give handful of flour to the robbers. To recount all the things that happened at that time in detail is difficult or even impossible; but to sum it up: neither has any other city suffered such things, nor has there existed from the beginning of time a race more prolific in wickedness. Such, then, were the things the Jews suffered.

XXI

fire having advanced ^A to fifteen cubits, the Jews cut away the roof. The seditious who were in the temple attacked the soldiers openly as they were working on the rampart, and drove them off by craft. But a countless multitude perished from famine: those who remained were oppressed by disasters which are as horrible to relate as they are incredible to hear, one of which I shall recount. A certain woman, living beyond the Jordan, not obscure in birth or wealth, having fled to Jerusalem, was enduring the siege. Finding that the food she had prepared was often snatched from her by the brigands of the city, and taking it ill, and being driven by rage and hunger, she slaughtered her own suckling child, roasted him, ate part of him, and kept the rest for a next meal. The seditious, having smelled the odor, were there immediately; they threatened her with death unless she gave them what she had prepared. She uncovered the remains of the child, and they were confounded at the sight and shuddered, and trembling, they withdrew, scarcely leaving that food to the mother. Now that the ramparts were completed, the battering rams were brought up; but there was no result due to the strength of the wall. Others dug under the foundations, but not even so was the wall shaken. Having despaired, therefore, of other means, they applied ladders to the porticoes. The Jews did not forestall this but fought with those who had ascended, and no small slaughter of them took place.

XXIII. Titus and the Temple

^C Titus, seeing that the reverence for the temple was becoming a harm for the soldiers, ordered fire to be applied to the gates. The silver with which they were bound having melted as the fire was brought to them, it gave way for the flames to seize the wood, and from there it spread to the porticoes. The Jews, seeing the fire all around, failed both in spirit and in body. The fire raged that day and the following night, but only in parts, for they could not burn all the porticoes at once. The next day, Titus having ordered a part of his forces to extinguish the fire and to prepare a way at the gates so that the legions might ascend more expeditiously, he called together the principal commanders and deliberated about the temple. Some, then, were of the opinion that the law of war should be used and that nothing should be spared. Others cautioned that if the Jews should fight from it, it ought to be burned—for it was no longer a temple but to be held as a fortress—but if not, it should be preserved. But Titus said that even if the Jews occupied it and fought from it, he would not be avenging himself upon inanimate things in place of men, nor would he burn so great a work, the destruction of which would be a loss to the Romans, while its preservation would be an ornament. And Titus intended, on the following day, to make an assault with all his forces and occupy the temple. But God had already long decreed its destruction. For when Titus had seen from the Antonia the guards of the outer temple, ^D

[in mines with his brothers, starving, ^A indutus tunica, et chlamyde purpurea infibulatus, eo in loco e terra emersit, ubi templum dudum fuerat. Quem qui viderunt, primum stupore correpti sunt, deinde propius accesserunt, 306 interrogantes quis esset? Simon cum ducem vocari jussisset, Terentius Rufus (hunc enim Titus exercitui praefecerat) accersitus, Simonem, audito ejus sermone, in vincula conjectum, Titi jussu ad triumphum asservavit: in quo, laqueo enectus est, per id forum tractus, ubi de maleficis supplicium sumitur. Hic fuit exitus Simonis Giorae. Joannes vero, altera Judaeorum furia, ad perpetuum carcerem est damnatus. Captivorum multitudo partim ad Aegyptia metalla missa est, partim in spectaculis urbium interfecta, seu cum feris, seu inter sese dimicando. Simonis ex terra emersio in causa fuit, ut ceterorum etiam seditiosorum magna turba in meatibus inveniretur: unde etiam templi fundamenta sunt suffossa. he begged to receive from the Romans. Simon was later captured while Titus was conducting his campaign toward what is called Caesarea Philippi. For, while Jerusalem was being besieged, Simon, being in the upper city when the Romans had come inside the city, took his most trusted friends, and with them stonemasons and iron tools suitable for this work, and lowered himself into one of the sewers with them, and having gone through the old excavation, he tunneled under the earth, so that by advancing further they might make their emergence in safety. But after those who were mining had advanced a little, food failed them. Then, indeed, he donned white tunics and, having fastened on a purple chlamys, he emerged from the earth at that place where the temple previously stood. At first, indeed, astonishment fell upon those who saw him; then, however, coming closer, they asked who he was. Simon ordered their commander to be called, and Terentius Rufus, who had been left as commander of the army, came after being summoned; to him Simon revealed who he was, was captured, and bound and kept under guard. To Titus, however, his capture was reported, and he was kept for the Triumph, during which he was also taken to be killed by hanging, having been dragged in the marketplace in Rome, where it is customary for the Romans to execute those condemned to death for crimes. This, then, was the end for Simon, son of Gioras. John, however, the other fury of the Jews, was condemned to perpetual imprisonment. The multitude of captives, some were sent to the labors in Egypt, but others were destroyed in the spectacles performed in the cities, either by being given to wild beasts or by killing one another. And the emergence of Simon from the ground caused a great multitude of the other seditious people to be found in the sewers, so that from this, even the foundations of the temple were dug up.

XXVII. Persecution of the Jews in Antioch

from what was his own property, having betrayed himself to the enemy. However, as far as pertained to him and the Roman armies, the soldiers were not lost; for they, realizing the betrayal, escaped, with only a few being slain. Whether the emperor was taken prisoner of war by the Persians, or whether he surrendered himself to them voluntarily, he was led away dishonorably by Sapor. ^A The Persians, proceeding with full impunity against the cities, captured Antioch on the Orontes, and Tarsus, the most famous of the cities of Cilicia, and Caesarea in Cappadocia. Having gathered a multitude of captives, they did not even share food with them, except for the barest amount, just enough to keep them alive; nor did they allow them to share water to their fill, but their guards drove them once a day to water, just like cattle. Caesarea, however, was populous (for it is said that four hundred thousand people lived in it), and they did not capture it at first, as those within were resisting the enemy bravely, and were being led by a certain Demosthenes, a man both brave and prudent; but a certain physician who had been taken prisoner, unable to bear the torments applied to him, pointed out a certain place, through which the Persians entered by night and slew everyone. Their commander, Demosthenes, having been surrounded by many Persians who had been ordered to take him alive, mounted his horse and, raising his naked sword, threw himself into the middle of the enemy; and after striking down a great many, he escaped the city and had the strength to flee. ^B With events having turned out thus for the Persians, they were scattered throughout all the territory subject to the Romans, and they ravaged it without fear. However, the Romans, having fled as has been said, appointed a certain Callistus as their commander, who, seeing the Persians scattered and invading the regions recklessly, because they believed that no one would oppose them, attacked them suddenly, and caused great slaughter among the Barbarians, and he took the concubines of Sapor along with much wealth. Grieved by this, Sapor returned home in haste, also taking Valerius with him, who ended his life in Persia, being reproached and mocked as a prisoner. But not only did Callistus distinguish himself then against the Persians, but also a man from Palmyra named Odenathus, being an ally to the Romans, destroyed many of the Persians, attacking them as they were returning along the Euphrates region; for which Gallienus, in return for the military exploit, appointed him general of the East. ^C Among the fallen from the Persian army being despoiled, it is said that women were even found dressed and armed like men, and that such women were even captured alive by the Romans. On the return march, Sapor happened upon a deep ravine, through which it was difficult for the pack animals to pass, and he ordered the captives to be slain and thrown into the ravine, so that in this way, its depth being filled by the dead bodies, the pack animals might pass over. And it is recorded that he crossed the ravine in this way. And such are the matters concerning Valerian. ^D Xystus governed the Church of the Romans; Demetrianus succeeded Flavianus for the Antiochians; Hymenæus was over that of the Jerusalemites, Mazabanus having died; and Dionysius presided over that in Alexandria.

bringing in a considerable rustic force; and many of the citizens likewise came to him, out of hatred for Amulius, who, things having thus come to pass, having neither taken action nor devised any [plan for] salvation, was slain.

^A III. Romulus and Remus, having surrendered the sovereignty of Alba to their maternal grandfather and having paid the appropriate honor to their mother, judged it best to live by their own terms (for they could not bear to be ruled) and wished to found a city where they had been reared. As the brothers set about the building of the city, a dispute arose between them concerning both the rule and the city, and they proceeded to battle, in which Remus was killed. Another account holds that while Romulus was digging a trench as a fortification for the city, Remus partly hindered the work, partly mocked it, and finally jumped across it, as being easy to overcome; and for this cause he fell, struck either by Romulus or by another. Whence also it became established that whoever should dare cross the trench of the encampment, except by the customary paths, should be punished with death. But Romulus, having buried his brother, began to settle the city; and having yoked a bull with a cow, and having fitted a bronze share to a plow, he himself traced out a deep, circular furrow, while those who followed him gathered all the clods overturned by the plow and placed them within the furrow. And where the wall was to rise, as has been said, the furrow was cut. But where they intended to place gates, they made a break in the furrow, holding the plow aloft. For they consider every wall sacred. And if the gates were also sacred, it would not be permitted to bring in or take out through them the necessary—and not purely sacred—things. The founding of this city was completed on the eleventh day before the Kalends of May, which would be the twentieth of April; and the Romans celebrate this day, calling it the birthday of the fatherland. Romulus is recorded to have been eighteen years old when he founded Rome. He began it near the dwelling of Faustulus; and the place was called the Palatium.

Once the city was founded, he divided the multitude that was of military age ^B into military companies, and each company consisted of three thousand infantry and three hundred cavalry. It was called a "legion," because those who fought well were chosen out of all [the people]. He used the rest for the citizenry, and named the people *populi*, whence also in legal books the popular regimen is termed *popularia* (78). Furthermore, he appointed one hundred senators from those who were more illustrious in lineage, wisdom, and conduct of life, naming them "patricians" (79); and their subsequent assembly he called the "senate," which is to say, a council of elders. The senators were called "patricians," either because they were the fathers of legitimate children, or rather because they were able to show themselves as fathers, ^C each being born of noble lineage, or else from patronage and the bearing of aid. But he who may seem to come closest to Romulus’s intention is he who believes that, by the name of "patricians," he wished to signify that the lowlier and more humble of the city were to be embraced by the paternal care of the princes and the most powerful: and at the same time, that he strove to lead the populace not to envy the honors of the upper class, but rather to favor those whom they might both consider and call "fathers." Since, however, many unmarried men had been received into the city, it was a care to Romulus that they, too, might obtain wives.

^A And, as he felt buoyed by his successes and carried a haughtier spirit, he began to withdraw from the common people, and his demeanor changed, and he fashioned himself into a heavy monarchy, disagreeable in its form. For he wore an imperial purple tunic, and put on a toga embroidered with purple, and used red sandals, and sat to conduct business reclined upon a throne. A number of young men were always about him, whom he called *Celeres*, which in the Roman dialect denotes "the swift." Before him, others walked with rods, keeping back the crowd, and girded with straps so as to bind whomever they were commanded. And when Numitor, his grandfather, died in Alba, and the kingdom properly fell to Romulus, he placed the state in the middle, engaging in demagoguery, and appointed a ruler for the Sabines each year: this incited the powerful men in Rome to seek a state without a king and self-governing. For those called patricians had no share in affairs, but there was for them only the name and the appearance, gathering in the senate house more for the sake of custom than for the expression of opinion; then, when Romulus was taking action, they would listen in silence, and having the advantage over the rest only in learning what had been decided by him first, they would depart. ^B Whence it seemed that he was insulting the senate; therefore, it became suspect after Romulus became invisible a little later. For it is said that while he was holding an assembly near what is called the Goat's Marsh (Capra palus), the light of the sun failed, and night took the place of it, and terrible thunders occurred, and gusts of winds drove a storm; in this, the crowd fled, but the powerful men gathered together with one another; when the disturbance in the air had ceased, and many had come together again, the king was sought for; but the powerful men forbade any inquiry about him, and exhorted all to honor and venerate Romulus as one snatched up to the gods, and one who would be a god for them in place of a good king. The common people, then, persuaded by these words, went away, hanging on bright hopes. Some, however, held the patricians in suspicion, and were troubled, because they were persuading the people of nonsense, having themselves been the murderers of the king. ^C And they would have caused trouble for the powerful, had not one of the knights, Julius Proculus, a man most approved in lineage, and good in character, and faithful to Romulus, come into the marketplace and said under oath that Romulus had appeared to him, beautiful and great, as never before, adorned in shining and gleaming armor; and that he himself had asked, "Why, O King, have you involved us in terrible accusations, and left the whole city in mourning?" And he answered to these things: "It seemed good to the gods, O Proculus, that I should be among mortals for so long a time, but now to inhabit the heaven, being from there. But fare well, and tell the Romans that if they practice temperance and courage, they will reach the limit of human power. I, however, will be a propitious Quirinus to you." These things, on account of both the oath of the speaker and his character, seemed so credible to the Romans that not one spoke against it; and, putting aside all suspicion and slander, they prayed to Quirinus, and invoked him as a god. They say this surname was given to Romulus either because they called the citizens *Quirites*, or because the ancients called the spear or javelin *Quiris*; thus, Romulus was named Quirinus as a certain god of war or an armed god. ^D It is said that he lived fifty-four years, and in the thirty-eighth year of his reign, he disappeared from among men.

ANNALS BOOK VII

^A Having sent them off to the hunt, and according to what he said and did, he arranged for the kingship to be voted to him, on the pretense that he would return it to his sons when they reached manhood. Having established firm control over affairs, he so fashioned the Romans that they would never wish to choose his sons again; and by accustoming the young men to ease, he corrupted their souls and their bodies with a certain sort of elegance. Yet fearing that he might be in a precarious position even so, he secured strength for himself in the council. For he enrolled about two hundred of those from the common people who were favorably disposed toward him into the patrician class and made them senators; and thus he brought both the senate and the multitude under his control, and changed his apparel to be more magnificent. This was a robe and tunic entirely of purple and shot with gold, a crown of gold-trimmed stones, a scepter, and an ivory chair—things which those who came after, both the others and those who held the authority of emperor, also used. And he rode in a four-horse chariot during his triumphal processions, and had twelve lictors for life. He would surely have introduced even more innovations, had not a certain Attus Navius, an augur ^B of unrivaled skill, prevented him when he wished to reorganize the tribes. Vexed by his opposition, Tarquin plotted to insult him and to hold his craft in contempt. Taking a whetstone and a razor in his robe, he went before the people, intending to cut the whetstone with the razor—a thing impossible—and after saying everything he wished, since Attus argued against him most vehemently and would concede nothing, he said: "If you are not arguing out of rivalry, but are speaking the truth, answer me before all these people: will what I have in mind to do happen?" The augur, having consulted his omens on the spot, said: "Yes, indeed, O King, what you are planning shall be accomplished." "Well then," he said, "take this whetstone and cut it with this razor; for this is what I have planned to happen." The man took it at once and cut it through. Marveling, Tarquin granted him other honors and deemed him worthy of a bronze statue, and he changed nothing else of the constitution, but used Attus as his counselor in all things. Having fought against the Latins who had revolted, and then against the Sabines who were invading Roman territory with the help of the Tuscans, he overcame them all. ^C When he discovered that one of the priestesses of Vesta, who are required to remain virgins for life, had been corrupted by a man, he had an oblong underground vault excavated, and having placed a bed, a lamp, and a table full of food inside, he had the corrupted woman taken down there; and having brought her inside alive, he walled her in, and thus it became the established custom from that time to punish unchaste Vestals. Those who violate them are put into a pillory in the forum, stripped naked, and beaten with scourges until they expire. As for the children of Marcius, since he did not restore the kingdom to them, but preferred a certain Tullius, born to him of a bondwoman, to everyone—and since the patricians also bore this with great resentment—they took some of their number into their confidence and prepared a plot against him, suborning two men armed in the manner of rustics with axes and sickles to attack him. When they did not find Tarquin in the forum, ^D they came to the palace gates, feigning a quarrel among themselves, and asked to be admitted to the king. When this was granted, as they spoke by turns, while the king was intent on the one stating his case, he was killed by the other. This was the end of Tarquin, when he had reigned eight and thirty years.

^A His children, however, encouraged the Romans to press for a democratic and free state. The Tarquins were even more distressed by these things; but the younger one, even though he was resentful, endured them, whereas the one advanced in years no longer thought he should tolerate Tullius. Since he could not find his wife in agreement, nor his own brother, he killed the woman himself, and through that woman he did away with his brother by poisons; and having joined himself to the wife of his brother, he conspired with her against Tullius. Having persuaded many of the senators and nobles who held grievances against Tullius to assist him, he suddenly arrived at the senate house with them, with his wife Tullia also following him; and he spoke many words, reminding those present of his father’s dignity, and uttered many mockings against Tullius. When the latter learned of these things and arrived in haste, and had said something indeed, he seized him and, lifting him up, cast him down the steps in front of the senate house. And he, being distressed by the boldness of Tarquin, and because no one came to his aid, neither said anything nor did anything. Tarquin immediately received the kingdom from the senate. And having sent some men, he did away with Tullius as he was retreating toward his home. His daughter, having kissed her husband in the senate house and hailed him as king, and going toward the palace, is said to have driven her chariot over the corpse of her father as it lay there. Thus did Tullius rule, and thus he died, having reigned for four and forty years.

X. ^B Tarquin, having received the kingdom, surrounded himself with a bodyguard after the manner of Romulus, and he used them by night and by day, both at home and in the marketplace. For he was fearful because of what he himself had done to his father-in-law, and what his wife had done to her father, and he dreaded the rest of them. And since he had prepared himself to act the tyrant, he arrested the most powerful of the senators and others and executed them, putting some to death openly—those to whom he could attach some charge—and others secretly; and some he even sent into exile. Nor did he destroy only the supporters of Tullius, but even those who had been the abettors of his own tyranny. And so, with the best of those of the senatorial and equestrian orders removed, and believing himself to be hated by the whole populace, he decided to elect no one into the senate; but, embarking upon the total abolition of the senate, he replaced no senator, nor did he communicate with those who remained regarding anything of any importance. ^C For although he would summon them, he did not do so in order that they might assist in the administration of any necessary affairs, but so that by their diminished number their insignificance might be manifest to all, and they might thenceforth be despised. Most matters he transacted by himself or with his sons. He was difficult of approach and hard to converse with, and behaved with equal pride and cruelty toward all; and both he and his children acted toward everyone in a more tyrannical manner. For this reason, ^D also holding his bodyguards in suspicion, he secured for himself a guard from the Latins, and he mixed the Latins into the ranks of the Romans, so that the Latins, having attained equal status with the Romans, might thus owe to him their gratitude, and the Romans might fear him less, no longer being grouped together by themselves, but serving alongside the Latins. He joined battle with the Gabini and fought poorly, but overcame them by guile. For he instructed his son Sextus to defect to them; and in order that he might have a plausible pretext for this defection, he openly attacked his father as a tyrant and a promise-breaker, and was in turn beaten by his father with scourges. Then, when he had defected to the Gabini according to a prearranged plan, with money and companions, they, in order to believe his pretense, were swayed both by the cruelty of Tarquin and by many true words from Sextus.

^A Tarquin, having despaired of recovering the kingship through treason, appealed to the Tyrrhenians. They brought him back with a heavy force. The consuls also led out the Romans to meet them. As the battle began, Arruns, the son of Tarquin, and Brutus, the Roman consul, fell upon each other and fought; and, being reckless in their rage, they both perished. As the battle was great and many fell on both sides, the victory was undecided. But night having come on, it is said that the grove near which they were encamped shook, and a loud voice issued from it, declaring that one more of the Tyrrhenians had died than of the Romans. At this voice, the Romans shouted with a great and courageous cry. Terror fell upon the Tyrrhenians, and, being thrown into confusion, they fled from the camp. The Romans took it and plundered it. When the dead of those who had fallen in the battle were counted, there were found to be eleven thousand three hundred of the Tyrrhenians; the Romans were one less than that number. Valerius Publicola triumphed, being in his first consulship.

Tarquin, after that great battle in which he had also lost his son who had fought Brutus, fled as a suppliant to Lars Porsena, the most powerful of the Italian kings. Porsena promised to assist him. And first he sent to Rome, ordering them to receive Tarquin. When they did not listen, he arrived with a heavy force. Valerius Publicola, having been elected to office for the second time, joined battle; but having been wounded, he was carried from the fight on a litter. While Porsena was pressing the city, famine gripped the Romans. But by some chance, or rather by divine providence, Porsena ended the war against the Romans.

For a certain man, Mucius Cordus, good in every virtue and most excellent in military courage, nicknamed Scaevola—which signifies "left-handed" or "one-handed"—resolved to kill Porsena. He entered the enemy's camp, wearing Tyrrhenian clothing and using their language as well. Not clearly knowing Porsena and fearing to ask, he drew his sword and killed the secretary sitting with the king, who had similar dress. Having been seized and interrogated, he thrust his right hand into a brazier prepared for sacrifice, and stood firm while his flesh burned, gazing at Porsena with an untroubled face—from which the destruction of his hand gave him his nickname—until the king, nearly astonished at the miracle, let him go.

^B Scaevola deceived the enemy in another way and said, "Having overcome my fear of you, Porsena, I have succumbed to your virtue, and you shall receive from me a kindness, which you could not have obtained by force. Three hundred Romans, possessed of the same spirit as I, are moving about in your camp. My lot was the first. Nor do I blame fortune because I went astray from a good man, for you are more worthy to be a friend to the Romans than an enemy." From this, Porsena became more disposed to terms of peace.

Publicola, then serving his third consulship, repeatedly challenged Tarquin to a trial, as one who would expose him as the most wicked and as having been most justly deposed from his rule, with Porsena acting as judge. When Tarquin replied that he would not accept Porsena as an arbitrator if he was changing from an ally (to an arbiter), Porsena condemned his cause and ended the war. As for Tarquin, though he often attempted afterward, with the aid of neighboring peoples, to recover the kingdom, all of them perished in battles, except for the old man who was called the Proud. But even he eventually perished at Cumae among the Opici.

^A The people remained quiet, not out of sparing the Senate, but because they were about to be destroyed by the enemy. Therefore, they neither set a guard for the wall nor provided any assistance until Servilius released those held for arrears ^B and decreed immunity from tax collection for as long as they were campaigning, and promised to lighten their debts. Then, indeed, because of these things, they went out against the enemy and were victorious. But when they were neither relieved of their debts nor obtained any fair treatment, they rioted and grew angry again, engaging in sedition against both the Senate and the consuls. When war was once again brought upon them, the consuls voted for the cutting of debts, but others opposed it; for this reason, Valerius Marcus, who was of the lineage of Publicola and beloved by the multitude, was elected dictator. Therefore, so many gathered so eagerly, since prizes were also promised to them, that he overcame the Sabines and the Volscians and Aequians who were allied with them. For this, the people voted other honors for Valerius, and surnamed him Maximus—a name which, when Hellenized, means "Greatest." He, wishing to do a favor for the people, spoke much to the Senate, but did not find it compliant. Therefore, in anger ^C he leaped out of the Council chamber, and having harangued the people against the Senate, he resigned his dictatorship. And the people were stirred further into sedition; for the creditors, holding fast to the strict letter of their contracts and yielding nothing to the needy, missed the mark of what is fair and failed of many other things, too. For poverty and the despair born from it is a violent evil; and if it wins over the multitude, it is almost unconquerable. At any rate, the severity of the wealthy toward the poor was then the cause of many evils for the Romans. For just as the soldiery was pressed by campaigns and had been clearly deceived many times over, and debtors were suffering humiliations and whippings from lenders, they were so inflamed with wrath ^D that many of the poor left the city and deserted the camp, and from the Roman territory began to forage for provisions like enemies. When things had turned out this way, since many were streaming toward those who had seceded, the senators, fearing that they might be further provoked to hostility and that neighboring peoples might take advantage of the state being distracted by factions, sent heralds to them, promising to do whatever the Senate was willing to do for them. But as they were becoming even more emboldened and would hear no reasoning, one of the envoys, Menenius Agrippa, asked them to hear a fable, and having obtained a hearing, he said: "When sedition once arose among the other members of the body against the belly, the eyes, hands, and feet said that they were at their stations in the performance of their duties; the tongue and lips, that through them the thoughts of the mind were announced; the ears, that through their ministry the speech of others reached the mind; the hands, that by their labor necessary goods were prepared; the feet, again, that by carrying the whole body, they were fatigued whether by travel, work, or standing. The belly, however, alone being free from every duty and labor, used the services of all like a king and enjoyed the fruits produced by their sweat. The belly, having confessed that this was so, commanded that if it seemed good, nothing should be assigned to it and nothing served to it. The members jointly decided that thereafter nothing should be provided to the belly. And when it received no food

they were ambushed by the Tyrrhenians, and they were surrounded by those who had been defeated in all things, and they were all killed; and their lineage would have vanished entirely, had not one been left at home on account of his youth, from whom they grew again later. ^A Since the Fabii had thus been destroyed, the Romans were severely harassed by the Tyrrhenians. Then, after making a truce with their enemies, they turned against each other and committed many terrible acts, so that the masses did not even spare the commanders. For they beat their attendants, broke their fasces, and brought the consuls themselves to trial for any reason whatsoever, whether it was great or small. They even plotted to throw Appius Claudius into prison at the very start of his magistracy, because he was an opponent of the people in all things, and because he had decimated the soldiers serving with him, since they had given way to the Volscians in battle. ^B Now, decimation was conducted in this way: whenever soldiers had sinned greatly, the commander would divide them into groups of ten, and taking one from each group who had been chosen by lot, he would punish him with death. After Claudius left his post, the plebeians immediately set him a date for trial, and although they did not condemn him, they deferred the vote, and by compelling necessity, they drove him to take his own life. Moreover, some of the tribunes of the plebs drafted other measures against the patricians, among them that it be lawful for the people to assemble by themselves, to deliberate without them, and to decide on all matters according to their own discretion. And if anyone were penalized by the consuls for some crime, they established that there should be an appeal to the people. They also increased the power of the aediles and tribunes, so that they might have as many patrons as possible. While these things were being done, the patricians did not openly oppose them except in a few cases, but secretly they did away with many of the most audacious. ^C But neither did this restrain the rest, nor the fact that once nine tribunes were burned by the people. The tribunes who followed their example were so far from becoming more moderate that they behaved even more ferociously. To this extent had the people been reduced by the patricians. For when wars arose, they refused to serve in the military unless their wishes were satisfied; or if they did go out, they fought sluggishly, unless they had achieved everything they wanted. Hence, many among their neighbors, relying not so much on their own strength as on the dissension of the Romans, waged war. Among these were the Aequi, who, having defeated the consul M. Minucius, grew emboldened. ^D Upon learning of the defeat of Minucius, those in Rome chose as dictator Lucius Quintius, a man who was poor indeed and devoted to agriculture, but outstanding in virtue and temperance, though he let his hair grow in curls, from which he was named Cincinnatus, of the sort that many now frequent the royal courts; and with this evil introduced into the republic, one can see Cincinnatuses everywhere. He, therefore, having been created dictator, led the army on that same day, and using speed devoid of rashness, along with Minucius, made an assault upon the Aequi, killed many, captured the rest alive, and released them after sending them under the yoke. This thing was of this nature: two straight pieces of wood were fixed in the ground, to which a third was placed obliquely across the top, and through the middle of these the captives were led naked; which was of great glory to the victors, and such a disgrace to the vanquished that some preferred death to this ignominy. With Corvinus having captured the city and Minucius' consulship being abrogated due to the defeat,

^A honor and status were conferred upon them (for this had been entrusted to the patricians from very ancient times); but in practice it was a hindrance, so that the tribunes and the multitude might not act easily as they wished, but might sometimes be impeded by the pretext of bird-augury. The patricians and the senate, however, being angry at the consuls as supporters of the people, did not vote the triumphs for them, although each had defeated the enemy, nor did they assign a day for each as was customary. The multitude, however, celebrated holidays for two days and voted the triumphal honors to the consuls. Thus, as the Romans came into disagreement, their enemies, taking courage, attacked them. ^B In the following year, with Marcus Genutius and Gaius Curtius serving as consuls, hostilities turned against each other. For the multitude wished to have a consulship, since the patricians were holding the office of tribune by passing over to them. The patricians clung excessively to the consular office, and many violent things were both said and done against one another. But in order that they might not proceed to something worse, the nobles yielded the function of the command itself to them, but did not share the name; instead of consuls, they named them military tribunes, so that the honorable nature of the title might not be defiled by mixing with the rabble. And it was decided that three tribunes should be chosen from each side in place of the two consuls. However, the name of consuls did not completely disappear, but at times consuls were installed, and at other times military tribunes. Thus, it is handed down that these things happened, although not only consuls (even though their authority was much less than that magistrate) but also, at times, tribunes appointed dictators. It is said, however, that no tribune ever celebrated a triumph, although many often defeated the enemy. And the tribunes were chosen in that way at that time.

The censors, in the following year when Barbatus and Marcus Macrinus were in office, were appointed and elected: Lucius Papirius and Lucius Sempronius. They were elected because the consuls were unable to handle all matters due to the multitude. For the rights attributed to the censors had held until that time. And in the beginning there were two patrician censors, who initially and later ruled for five years; ^C but after an interval, they ruled for eighteen months, and although they had received only a portion of the authority of the consuls, they proved to be superior. Their duty was to farm out the public revenues, to care for roads and public buildings, to describe the resources of each person, and to observe and inquire into the conduct of the citizens; and to enroll those worthy of praise into the tribes, the equestrian order, and the senate, according as it was thought proper for each; and to strike those who did not live well from the register in the same way. This was greater than all those things which were left to the consuls. They took a sworn oath in every case that they would perform nothing for the sake of favor or hatred, but with a sincere mind ^D would both deliberate and act upon those things which were in the interest of the commonwealth. Likewise, they summoned the people to propose laws and for other duties, and they made use of the ornaments of the major magistrates, with the exception of the lictors. Such was the office of the censors. Whoever, when the census was being taken, had not declared their names and assets, their assets were sold by the censors, and they themselves by the consuls. And these things were done in this way for some time. Afterward it was ordained that whoever was once in the senate

nulla ratio haberetur. Cumque amicos rogasset, ut sibi per injuriam damnato opem ^A 355 ferrent, illi vero contra suffragia judicum, auxilia ei negarent, sed ad multam solvendam stipem promitterent: ea conditione repudiata, cum exsulatum abiret, precatur, si nulla sua culpa, sed injuria et invidia populi pelleretur, ut sui cives sua opera celeriter egerent, seque desiderarent, ad Rutulos se contulit: indictaque causa damnatus est xv millibus æris, quæ drachmas 1500 argenti valent.

XXIII. Concerning the Gallic invasion and the capture of Rome

^B The European Gauls, of whom those in Asia are considered colonies, being of Celtic stock, left their own land, as it was not sufficient to sustain them; some rushed toward the Riphaean mountains, while others settled near the Alps and spent a long time there. But once wine from Italy was brought to them and they tasted it, they were amazed by such great sweetness. Taking up arms and taking their families with them, they sought the land that could produce such fruit. They marched against a Tyrrhenian city called Clusium and besieged it. The Clusians fled to the Romans, seeking aid. Ambassadors from Rome were sent to them, whom the Gauls, because of the name of the Romans, received honorably, and abandoning the siege, they entered into parleys. In the midst of this, the Clusians, with the Roman ambassadors, set an ambush and attacked the Gauls. ^C Brennus, the king of the Gauls, being indignant at this, ignored the Clusians and immediately led his army toward Rome, since the ambassadors were not surrendered to him for punishment; and he used such speed that he reached the city before the Romans knew of his approach, although it had been divinely announced to them. For it is said that Marcus Caedicius, traveling by night, heard a voice saying, "The Gauls are coming." When Marcus reported this to the people and the senate, they took his words with mockery and laughter, until the Gauls themselves announced their arrival close by. Then, rushing out in haste and fighting in disorder, they were most shamefully defeated. Many fell in the battle, many were captured in flight, and a great number were pushed into the river Tiber and perished. The rest, scattered, fled—some managed to reach Rome, others went elsewhere. ^D Those in Rome, lamenting the disaster, were devoid of counsel and in despair; they neither set a watch over the walls nor closed the gates of the city, but some, abandoning it, fled, while others, with their wives and children, ran up to the Capitol. Only eighty men remained, who some say were priests, while others say they were the leading Romans in age, wealth, and birth; they, donning sacred or most expensive robes, sat in the forum upon ivory chairs, awaiting the fortune that hung over them. On the next day, the Gauls arrived at Rome, but when they saw the gates standing open and the walls devoid of guards, they halted, not entering, as they suspected an ambush was afoot. On the third day, having gained confidence, they made an attack and took the city. The king of the barbarians surrounded the Capitol with a guard, and while walking through the forum, he marveled at that calm and silent gathering of old men. A stupor also invaded the Gauls, due to the unusual...

^A sight. When Camillus, who was still present, heard of these events, and learned what had happened, he hurried immediately to Sutrium just as he was, and attacking it unexpectedly, he found it unguarded and recovered it unharmed for the citizens on that same day. He celebrated a triumph for these actions, having attained great glory. But Marcus Manlius, who first drove the Gauls from the Capitol and from that event derived the name Capitolinus, envying Camillus more than the others, aspired to tyranny. Because of this, he endeared himself to the mob, demagoguing and doing everything for their favor. The populace therefore carried him off to the Capitol, and they held it. For this reason, Camillus was chosen dictator for the fourth time. And when the senate and the magistrates were thrown into great fear, and were at a loss as to what they should do, a certain slave approached them and promised that he would deliver the Capitoline to them alive. ^B Having therefore taken some armed men, and having arranged for them to lie in ambush secretly under the Capitol, he went to the Capitoline as if he were a deserter. He praised him for his endeavor and promised him assistance from his fellow slaves. While discoursing in this way, he led the man a bit further from the bystanders, as if to discuss some secret matter, and led him to that place on the Capitol where the ambush had been laid; from there he pushed him down, and having been seized, he was carried off to the court. There, he recounted his exploits and pointed out the Capitol to the judges and the bystanders—for it was visible from that spot—and reminded them that he had saved the citadel and those who had fled thither. The judges, moved by pity, neither acquitted him nor condemned him, but adjourned the case. ^C When Camillus learned of this, he moved the judges to another location from which the Capitol could not be seen. There he was condemned, and having been led to the Capitol, he was cast from the Tarpeian rock, from which he himself had thrown down the Gaul. Subsequently, the Romans, through Camillus and—since he was now quite elderly—through others, warded off all the many wars that were waged both against the city itself and against the cities subject to it. Having attained total peace from foreign enemies, they began to contend among themselves. For a certain patrician named Marcus Fabius, the father of two daughters, had betrothed his elder daughter to a certain Licinius Stolo, a man of much inferior status, and the younger to Sulpicius Rufus, a man of his own rank. Now, while Rufus was serving as military tribune and was in the forum, his wife's sister came to visit her. Upon his return, when the lictor ^D knocked on the doors according to ancient custom, the woman, unused to such a noise, was terrified; for this reason, laughter arose from her sister and the others, and she was mocked as a common little plebeian woman. Taking this matter ill, she urged her husband to seek honors, at whose instigation Stolo, having communicated the matter with L. Sextius, a man of his own order, both obtained the tribunate by force, with the order of the republic thrown into confusion, so that for four years there was no obedience of the people, with the patrician assemblies interrupted. And that trouble would have increased, had it not been announced that the Gauls were about to invade Rome again. Therefore, casting aside all contention among themselves, and with Camillus declared dictator for the fifth time, they set out against the enemies. But before the battle was joined, a single combat took place. For Titus Manlius, a man of...

consulted with the consuls, and they put the vote first to Postumius, so that he might deliver an opinion for himself, out of shame lest they all be filled with dishonor. He, coming into the center, said that what had been done by them ought not to be ratified by the senate and the people; for they had not done these things willingly, but were constrained by necessity, which the enemy had brought upon them not through valor, but through guile and ambush. Therefore, if those who deceive are themselves deceived in return, they could not justly complain against those who deceived them in return. When he had said these and many such things, the senate was in a quandary; but as Postumius and Calvinus took the blame upon themselves, it was voted that the agreed terms should not be ratified, and that those men should be delivered up. Both the consuls, therefore, were led away, together with the rest of the magistrates who had been present at the oaths, to Samnium. The Samnites, however, did not receive them, but demanded back all who had been captured, and they invoked the gods and appealed to the divine, and in the end they sent back those who had been surrendered. The Romans gladly received those men back, but in their anger they brought the war against the Samnites. And having prevailed, they did the same to them, brought them under the yoke, and let them go, having done them no other harm. And they recovered their own cavalry, whom the Samnites had been holding as hostages, unharmed. ^A

BOOK EIGHTH

1. After many years, when the Romans were again waging war against the Samnites, under the leadership of Gaius Junius, they fell into disaster. For when Junius was plundering their territory, the Samnites carried their property into the forests—the Aortes—which were so named by the locals because not even a bird could fly into them on account of the thickness of the trees. Being there, they left some flocks of shepherds or guards without sentries, and they sent out decoys, leading the Romans on as if for easy plunder. When they had gotten inside the forest, the Samnites surrounded them, and did not stop killing them until they were completely exhausted. But the Samnites, even though they had been often defeated by the Romans, did not keep quiet; but with others, and also having taken on the Gauls as allies, they prepared themselves as if they were going to assault Rome itself. ^B The Romans, having learned this, were struck with fear, and were further urged on by many omens; for it is rumored among them that on the Capitol, from the altar of Zeus, for three days—on one day blood, on another honey, and on the third milk—oozed forth, if anyone can believe these things. And in the forum, a bronze statue of Nike, set upon a stone base, was found standing of its own accord on the ground. It happened to be looking toward the direction from which the Gauls were already advancing. These things, and other events, were terrifying the people, but they were disturbed even more by the dire interpretations of the diviners. A certain Manius, a Tyrrhenian by birth, encouraged them, saying that Nike, even if she had descended, had moved forward, and had been established more firmly upon the ground, and was revealing to them victory in the war; ^C and that for this reason, many sacrifices would be made to the gods. For it is custom that altars, especially those on the Capitol, where they offer the spoils of victory, should be bloodied in times of their success and prosperity, and not in times of disaster. From these things, therefore, he persuaded them to look for something good; but by the honey [he said] that disease was portended (because it is necessary for the sick), and by the milk, famine. For they would be reduced to such penury that they would look for that food which grows of its own accord without human labor. Manius, interpreting the omens thus, when the outcome afterwards confirmed his prediction, gained the glory of wisdom and foresight. Volumnius to the war against the Samnites ^D

^A soiled with filth. On this account a tumult arose, and with the Tarentines laughing, Postumius said: "Laugh, laugh while you may; for you shall weep for a very long time when you wash this garment with your own blood." The Romans, bearing this insult with resentful minds, decreed the Tarentine war to the consul L. Aemilius. Having arrived there, he tested their spirits with fitting words, thinking they would embrace peace on fair terms. But as dissension arose among the citizens, with the elders and the wealthy desiring peace, and the young and those who had little or nothing demanding war, the opinion of the younger men prevailed. Fearing, however, they resolved to invite Pyrrhus the Epirot to an alliance, and sent ambassadors and gifts to him. Aemilius, having learned of this, ravaged and laid waste their land. They went out against him but were turned back, so that the Romans plundered their country without danger and captured certain fortresses. Aemilius having shown great care for the captured, and having released some of the more powerful, the Tarentines, admiring his humanity and raised to hopes of peace, elected Agis, a man friendly to the Romans, as commander with supreme power. ^B Hardlly had he entered upon his magistracy when Cineas, an ambassador sent forward by Pyrrhus, stood in the way of what was being done. For Pyrrhus, reigning over so-called Epirus, surpassed all in the dexterity of his nature, the rigor of his training, and his experience in affairs; and he had attached to himself the greater part of Greece either by benefits or by terror. This man, therefore, meeting with the Tarentine ambassadors, thought the alliance a godsend, being long desirous of subjugating Sicily, Carthage, and Sardinia; yet, fearing to be the first to initiate hostilities against the Romans, and although he promised to help them, in order not to be suspected for the reasons mentioned, he said he would immediately return home, and in the treaties he saw to it that it was added he should not be detained in Italy by them longer than necessary. Having agreed to these terms, he kept the greater part of the ambassadors as hostages, under the guise of their preparing armies for him, and sent a few of them and Cineas on ahead with an army. Upon their arrival, the Tarentines, emboldened, refrained from the reconciliations with the Romans, and having deposed Agis from the command, they elected one of the ambassadors as general. Not long after, ^C Pyrrhus sent Milo with an army to occupy the citadel in anticipation of his arrival and to guard the walls. This was pleasing to the Tarentines, for they were not forced to be in garrisons or to undergo any labor. They therefore provided food for the soldiers and sent money to Pyrrhus. Aemilius, who up to this time had kept himself in camp, having learned of the arrival of Pyrrhus's soldiers, and being unable to besiege the city through the winter, decided to depart into Apulia. But because the Tarentines had occupied certain narrow passes through which he had to pass, and had blocked his path with arrows, javelins, and slings, he sent their captives on ahead. They, fearing they might kill their own men for the Romans, desisted ^D and were silent.

ANNALS BOOK VIII

^A the senate, and said that King Pyrrhus pleads that he did not come to make war upon you, but to reconcile the Tarentines who beseech him; indeed, that he even released your captives without ransom, and, while he was able to ravage the country and attack the city, he asks to be enrolled among your friends and allies, hoping to receive many benefits from you, and to bestow still more and greater ones upon you. Because of these things, the majority of the senators were won over because of the gifts and because of the captives; they did not, however, answer, but took several more days to consider what ought to be done; and while many things were said, it nevertheless prevailed that a truce should be made. But Appius the Blind, having learned of this, was carried into the senate house (for he was kept at home by old age and by illness), and said that agreements with Pyrrhus were not to the advantage of the Republic. He advised that Cineas should be driven from the city immediately, and that through him it should be made known to Pyrrhus that he should return home, and from there send heralds concerning peace to them, or whatever else he needed. This is what Appius advised. The senate no longer delayed, but immediately with one accord voted to send Cineas beyond the borders that same day, and to declare war upon Pyrrhus as long as he remained in Italy. They also placed a certain marks of disgrace upon the captives in the campaigns, and neither used them against Pyrrhus anymore, nor sent them elsewhere in large groups, lest, being together, they might stage a revolt, but rather sent them to be guards in different places. Thus, throughout the winter, both sides prepared themselves.

^B V. When spring had already arrived, Pyrrhus invaded Apulia, and secured many things by force and many by surrender, until the Romans approached him as he was at the city of Asculum and encamped against him. For several days they lingered, hesitant of one another. For the Romans did not take courage against those who had already been victorious, and the others feared the Romans as men driven to desperation. Meanwhile, when some spread the rumor that Decius was preparing to devote himself in the manner of his father and grandfather14, and were terrifying the troops of Pyrrhus by saying that, upon his death, they would all perish, Pyrrhus gathered his soldiers ^C and spoke to them about this, advising them not to be downcast nor to be shaken by such words; for neither could one man dying overcome many, nor could any incantation or sorcery be better than arms and men. Having said this, and with arguments having strengthened his words, Pyrrhus emboldened his own army; and having inquired into the habit that the Decii were accustomed to use when devoting themselves, he commanded his men that if they saw anyone thus equipped, they should not kill him but take him alive; and he sent to Decius, saying that this act would not succeed for him should he wish to perform it, and threatened that, if captured alive, he would perish miserably. To this the consuls replied that they had no need of any such act; for they would surely conquer him in any other way as well. ^D Since a river, not easy to cross, flowed through the midst of the camps, they inquired whether he wished to cross over himself without fear, they having withdrawn, or to allow them to do so, in order that a final judgment concerning courage might be obtained from an equal battle, with both forces intact. The Romans had given this option to Pyrrhus for the purpose of striking terror into him; he, relying much on his elephants, allowed them to cross the river. The Romans, however, while they prepared other things, then also [prepared] against the elephants ironed... [index: entries preserved]

^A seats, and the riders, wandering about in search of the mother, and she being disturbed by this, and the other elephants being thrown into confusion, all things were mixed together in disorder. Finally the Romans prevailed, having killed many, and having captured eight elephants, and they took possession of their camp. But Pyrrhus with a few horsemen fled to Tarentum, and from there sailed into Epirus, as if to return again, having left Milo with a garrison in Tarentum, and having given to them a chair bound with thongs made from the skin of Nicias, whom he had killed for treason. Thus he took vengeance upon Nicias. And he intended to punish certain youths who had mocked him at a banquet. But having asked them why they had mocked him, when they answered that they would have said much more and harsher things if the wine had not failed them, he laughed and dismissed them. Pyrrhus therefore, a most illustrious commander, who struck great terror into the Romans, having left Italy in the fifth year and undertaken an expedition into Greece, not long after perished at Argos. For a certain woman, as the story goes, desiring to see him passing by, fell from an upper story and killed him. In the same year Fabricius and ^B Pappus having been made censors, they struck off the rolls both others of the cavalry and of the senators, and Rufinus, although he had been dictator and twice consul. The reason was that he possessed silver vessels weighing ten pounds; thus the Romans believed that poverty consisted not in having a little, but in coveting much; and for this reason an allowance and a ring were given from the public treasury to magistrates and others departing abroad for the sake of the republic. Certain of the Tarentines, having been maltreated by Milo, attacked him, with Nicon as their leader, and when they accomplished nothing, they occupied a certain fortress of their own territory, and from there, setting out, they harassed Milo. But when they learned that the Romans intended to make war upon them, they sent ambassadors to Rome and obtained peace. And Ptolemy Philadelphus, the king of Egypt, having learned that Pyrrhus had fared badly and that the Romans were prospering, both sent gifts to them and formed an alliance. The Romans, being delighted at this, in turn sent ambassadors to him; who, having been magnificently gifted by him, wished to bring the gifts into the public treasury, but the senate did not admit them and ordered them to keep them. After these things they subdued the Samnites through Carvilius, ^C and conquered the Lucanians and Bruttians through Papirius. The same Papirius also subdued the Tarentines. For as they barely tolerated Milo, and were being pressed by those of their own people who were hostile to Milo, as it has been said, they implored the help of the Carthaginians, when they also learned that Pyrrhus was dead. But Milo, being reduced to straits, with the Romans pressing by land and the Carthaginians by sea, surrendered the citadel to Papirius on the condition that it be permitted for him to depart unharmed with his money and soldiers. Then the Carthaginians, as allies to the Romans, withdrew: the city made surrender to Papirius, with arms and ships handed over, walls demolished, and tribute imposed. The Tarentines having been subdued, the Romans invaded Rhegium, because they had overthrown Croton, captured by treachery, and had killed the Romans found in the city. The Mamertines dwelling in Messana ^D

to advance from the plain, as far as he had been in Messana, ^A Claudius. But he, not daring to force his passage, turned toward Syracuse and Hiero, leaving a garrison in Messana. He made an assault himself upon the city, and they sometimes sallied out; and sometimes they prevailed, and sometimes they were prevailed upon, on both sides. And once, the consul having been in a narrow pass, he would have been captured, had he not, before being surrounded, sent to Hiero, inviting him to certain terms. Thus, a certain person having come, with whom he intended to reach an agreement, he parleyed with him, and was retreating until he arrived at safety. Since the city could not be taken easily, and the blockade was difficult on account of a shortage of provisions and disease in the army, he withdrew. The Syracusans followed, and held parleys with those who were scattering. And they would have made peace, if Hiero had also been willing to agree. The consul, leaving a garrison in Messana, sailed away to Rhegium. The Romans, since the Etruscan affairs had been settled, and those in Italy were perfectly at peace, but the Carthaginian affairs were growing more formidable, ordered both consuls to march into Sicily. Having crossed over, therefore, Maximus Valerius and Octacilius Crassus, both marching together through the island and separately, brought many to terms by agreement. As the majority were becoming friendly, they rushed toward Syracuse. And Hiero, becoming afraid, sent heralds to them, offering to return the cities which had been taken from them, and promising money, and freeing the captives, and he obtained a truce on these terms. For the consuls thought that by ending the war with him, they would more easily crush the Carthaginians. Having come to terms with him, they turned to the remaining cities which were guarded by the Carthaginians. And they were repulsed from the others, but they took Segesta, which surrendered voluntarily. For on account of their relationship with the Romans, saying they were descended from Aeneas, they went over to them, ^B having slaughtered the Carthaginians.

X.

^A Once this was done, Quintus Postumius, the commander of the auxiliary forces, feigned that he was in agreement with them, so that he might accurately learn everything that had been determined by them. And since he was not able to reveal the scheme (for all the Samnites were around him), he persuaded them, when a council was being held in the marketplace, to gather and shout at him as if they were being wronged regarding the grain they were receiving. When they had done this, he was summoned as if he were the cause of the commotion; he then revealed the plot to them. And at that time they sent them away having remained quiet. During the night, each of those who were in possession of slaves seized some of them, and thus the entire conspiracy was dissolved. The following summer, the Romans and the Carthaginians made war simultaneously in Sicily and in Sardinia.

After this, Attilius Latinus came to Sicily, and finding the city of Mutistratum being besieged by Florus, he utilized the supplies of the latter. While he was making assaults upon the wall, for a time the local residents resisted bravely together with the Carthaginians. ^B But when their wives and children were brought to tears and lamentations, they could not hold out. The Carthaginians having departed during the night, at the break of dawn the local populace voluntarily threw open the gates. When the Romans entered, they spared no one, until Attilius issued a proclamation that the remaining booty and people should belong to whoever captured them. From then on, they took the rest as prisoners of war, and after plundering the city, they burned it down.

XII. From there, having incautiously attacked Camarina and fallen into a region occupied by ambushes, they would all have perished had not Marcus Calpurnius, a military tribune, rectified the disaster with his ingenuity. For, having observed that one of the surrounding hills was the only one not occupied due to its precipitous nature, he requested three hundred hoplites from the consul and rushed with them to that hill, so that the main force of the enemy would turn towards them, and the rest would escape from there; and it turned out as he planned. For when the opponents saw their charge, they were struck with amazement, and leaving the consul and those with him as if they were already captured, they ran together against Calpurnius. And a fierce battle having taken place, many of those [enemies] fell, whilst all three hundred of the [Romans] perished—except for Calpurnius alone, who had lain among the corpses as if dead due to his wounds; ^C being found alive, he escaped safe and sound. While the three hundred were fighting, the consul Attilius withdrew. Having escaped in this way, he brought Camarina and other cities to submission, some by force and others by agreement. From there, Attilius advanced upon Lipara. But Hamilcar had occupied it secretly by night, and making a sudden sortie, he slaughtered many.

Gaius Sulpicius ravaged most of the regions of Sardinia, and being puffed up by this success, he set out against Libya. The Carthaginians also set sail with Hannibal, fearing for their home. But a headwind having blown against them, both sides retreated. After these events, Attilius deceived Hannibal through some suborned turncoats, pretending that he would sail back to Libya. When he [Hannibal] had set sail from the harbor in haste, Sulpicius, having sailed against him, sank most of the ships, for they were ignorant for a long time of what was happening due to the fog and were in confusion; the rest fled to the land and were captured empty. ^D For Hannibal, seeing that the port was not safe, abandoned them and retreated to the city of Sulci. There, after the Carthaginians had mutinied against him, he was killed upon appearing before them alone. From that time the Romans ravaged the fields more securely, until they were defeated by Hanno. These things were done in that year; and continuously many stones fell from the sky in Rome, like hail.

one of you, O Fathers, even ten thousand times. For my body belongs to the Carthaginians, but my soul is yours. The former has been alienated from you, but no one can prevent the latter from being Roman; and as a captive, I belong to the Carthaginians. Since, however, I met with misfortune not through malice but through zeal, and I am a Roman, and I think your thoughts, I do not believe that the exchanges are advantageous to you in any way. ^A Having said these things, Regulus added the reasons for which he opposed the terms. And he added that, "I know that a manifest death lies before me. For it is impossible for them not to know what I have advised; but even so, I prefer the common good to my own safety. But if someone says, 'Why then do you not flee, or why do you remain here?' he shall hear that I have sworn an oath to them that I will go back, and I would not break my oaths, not even if they have become my enemies; and for other reasons, but most of all because if I suffer this terrible fate alone, I will bear it, but if I perjure myself, the whole city will be polluted." And the Senate, for the sake of his safety, was eager both to make peace and to exchange the captives. Knowing this, he himself, so that they might not harm the common interest on his account, feigned that he had drunk a deadly poison and would certainly die from it. And so the agreement did not take place, nor did the exchange of captives. As he was leaving with the ambassadors, others, as well as his children and his wife, were trying to hold him back. But the consuls said that they would neither surrender him when he did not wish to remain, nor detain him when he wished to go. And thus, having preferred not to break his oaths, he was taken back; and, as the story goes, he died after being tortured by them. For they cut off his eyelids, and after keeping him in the dark for some time, they cast him into a certain device bristling with spikes on all sides, and turned him toward the sun; and in this way, due to the suffering and sleeplessness, as he could not lie down because of the spikes, they destroyed him. ^B Having learned of this, the Romans (22) delivered the foremost of the captives they held to his children to be tortured and put to death in retaliation. They decreed that the consuls should campaign in Libya: Gaius Attilius, the brother of Regulus, and Mallius Lucius. These, having arrived in Sicily, attacked Lilybaeum, and attempted to fill part of the trench for the bringing up of the engines. And the Carthaginians, counter-mining, drew away the earth underneath. But since they were being overcome by the sheer number of workers, they built another crescent-shaped wall inside. And the Romans were working on tunnels under the circuit wall, so that as the wall sank into the hollow spaces, they could break through. But the Carthaginians, counter-mining from the opposite side, caught many who were unaware of what was happening and killed them, and burned many with fire into which they had thrown faggots into the trenches. ^C But when certain of the allies, bearing ill the delay of the siege and the pay not being paid in full, were negotiating with the Romans to betray the town, Hamilcar perceived this intention but feigned ignorance, so that they would not openly defect. Having given money to the officers and made promises to the multitude, he reconciled them in such a way that they did not deny the treason, and they did not receive the last ambassadors who were returning; these fled to the consuls, and were rewarded with land in Sicily and other things. The Carthaginians who were at home, having heard these things, sent Ardebam with many ships carrying grain and money to Lilybaeum. Having observed the weather, he made port. ^D Which then others

^A sought to compensate for the disasters they had previously suffered. Nevertheless, the Romans grasped the victory. For the Carthaginian vessels, carrying goods in addition to other things, as well as grain and money, were heavily laden. Hanno, having escaped, hastened straightway to Carthage. But the Carthaginians, seized by anger and fear, crucified him, and sent ambassadors to Catulus for peace. Catulus was of a mind to end the war, because, as his term of office was nearing its end, he neither hoped to destroy Carthage in a short time, nor did he wish to leave the glory of his labors to his successors. Therefore, he made a truce, and having received money, grain, and hostages, he gave them leave to send ambassadors to Rome on the condition that they would cede to the Romans the whole of Sicily and all the surrounding islands, and would not harass Hiero; and that they would pay money, part immediately upon the making of peace and part later, and would return the Roman captives for free, while redeeming their own. Such an agreement was settled (for Amilcar had stipulated only for the ignominy of passing under the yoke); and he, having made these arrangements, and having led his soldiers out of the fortifications, sailed home before the oaths could be administered. Those who were in Rome, having learned of the victory quickly, were so elated in spirit as if the war were completely won; and when the ambassadors arrived, they could no longer contain themselves, having conceived the hope of occupying all of Africa. Thus, they did not acquiesce to the conditions proposed by the consuls, and demanded money much greater than what had been promised; and they forbade them to sail with long ships to Italy or to their other allied provinces, or to use any mercenaries from ^B them. And so the first Punic war was ended by the Romans in the twenty-fourth year, and for it Catulus held a triumph. Quintus Luctarius, indeed, after his consulship, set out for Sicily, and with his brother Catulus settled everything there. The weapons of the Sicilians were taken away: the whole island, with the exception of Hiero’s realm, was subdued by the Romans, and a friendship was established between them and the Carthaginians. But both a little later engaged in other, separate wars. For the Carthaginians were attacked by the remnant of those who had served them for pay, by the enslaved labor within the city, and by many of their neighbors, all emboldened by their misfortune. Yet the Romans, when they were summoned by the enemies of those men, not only did not consent, but even by acting as counter-ambassadors, and when they were unable to reconcile them, they released for free all of the Carthaginian captives they held, sent grain, and granted them the power to enlist soldiers from their own allied provinces—seeking the praise of clemency ^C more than they were looking out for their own advantage, a choice from which they later encountered difficulties. For that Amilcar, surnamed Barca, when he had conquered his enemies, though he was most hostile to the Romans, did not dare to make war upon them, but departed against the will of his own magistrates for Iberia. But these things happened later. ^D XVIII. At that time also the Romans waged war with the Faliscans, and Manlius Torquatus burned their territory:

wanted to keep it, and he attempted to keep his colleague as well. Furius, however, did not heed him. Those who were to be left behind with Flaminius, fearing that if they were left isolated they might suffer some harm from the enemy, and having begged him to wait for a few days, were persuaded; yet he did not engage in any action. Flaminius marched around the territory and razed some fortifications, and ^A he gifted all the spoils to the soldiers as a means of currying favor with them. When they returned home late, they were held to account by the Senate for their disobedience; for out of anger toward Flaminius, they even dishonored Furius. 28 But the masses, out of a spirit of rivalry on behalf of Flaminius, voted him a triumph; and, having celebrated it, they stepped down from office.

Other consuls, Claudius Marcellus and Gnaeus Scipio, having been elected in their stead, campaigned against the Insubres; for the Romans had not voted to grant them peace when they requested it. Both at first were warring, and they were gaining the upper hand in most respects. Then, learning that their ally was being pillaged, they divided their forces. Marcellus, having come swiftly against those who were marauding in the allied territory, did not catch them there, but he pursued them as they fled, and having stood his ground, he defeated them. Scipio, remaining in his assigned region, besieged Acerrae; and having taken it, he made it a base of operations for the war, as it was well-situated and defensible. ^B Starting from there, they captured Mediolanum and another town. Once these had been taken, the remaining Insubres also submitted to them, giving money and a portion of their land.

Next, Publius Cornelius and Marcus Minucius campaigned toward the Ister 29 and subdued many of the nations there, some by war and others by treaty. Lucius Veturius and Gaius Lutatius marched as far as the Alps, and without a fight they won over many.

Now, Demetrius, the ruler of the Pharians, as has been mentioned somewhere above, was oppressive to the local inhabitants and was maltreating those of the neighboring regions, and he seemed to be doing wrong by abusing his friendship with the Romans. The consuls, Aemilius Paulus and Marcus Livius, becoming aware of this, summoned him. Since he would not listen, but rather was attacking their allies as well, they campaigned against him while he was at Issa. ^C Having learned in advance that he was anchored somewhere behind the merchant ships, they sent a portion of their fleet to approach the other side of the island. Because of this, when the Illyrians turned toward the latter as if they were the only ones there, they themselves sailed up at their leisure and encamped in a convenient spot; and when the locals fell upon them that same day, they drove them back in anger at the deception.

When Demetrius fled to another island, Pharos, they sailed there too, defeated those who opposed them, and took the city through treachery, though Demetrius escaped. He, having gone at that time to Macedonia with much wealth to Philip, its king, was not surrendered by him; but having returned to the Illyrians, he was captured by the Romans and faced justice.

^D XXI. The following year the enmity between the Romans and the Carthaginians broke out openly, and this war, while smaller in duration than the former one, proved far greater and more grievous in its deeds and sufferings. The one who most of all incited this was Hannibal, the commander of the Carthaginians.

^A And a certain Hasdrubal, one of those prepared by Hannibal, advised them that they ought to reclaim their ancient freedom and shake off the servitude of peace by means of money, forces, and allied troops, adding that, "Even if you entrust Hannibal alone with everything he wishes to do, it will be done properly, and you yourselves will have to endure no hardship." After he had spoken these words, the great Hanno, opposing Hasdrubal's arguments, brought forth the opinion that they should not lightly, nor for the sake of petty or external grievances, draw war upon themselves, but rather, as to some things, provide an excuse, and as to others, turn the responsibility onto those who had committed them. And with this said, he ceased. Of the Carthaginians, those who were older and remembered the former war agreed with him; but the younger ones, and especially those who were acting in the interest of Hannibal, strongly opposed him. Since they gave no clear answer and held the envoys in contempt, Marcus Fabius, having drawn his hands from under his toga, and holding them out open, said: ^B "I here bring you war and peace: take whichever you please." When they replied that they would choose neither, but would readily accept whichever he gave, he immediately declared war upon them. In this manner, and for these reasons, the second war between the Carthaginians and the Romans was ignited, and future events were divinely foretold. For in Rome an ox spoke with a human voice; and another at the Roman games threw itself from a house into the Tiber and perished; many lightning bolts were reported; blood flowed both from statues and from the shield of a certain soldier; and a wolf snatched the sword of another from out of the camp itself. To Hannibal, however, many unknown beasts appeared as he was crossing the Ebro, as if they were pointing out the way; and a dream of this kind appeared to him. He thought that he was summoned by the gods sitting in council and commanded to lead his army into Italy as quickly as possible; and that he received from them a guide for the journey, whom he followed without looking back. ^C But when he turned, he saw a great storm approaching, and a dragon of immense size following him. Wondering at these things, he asked the guide what they meant, and he replied: "These things are coming alongside you to the devastation of Italy."

XXIII. These things brought good hope to Hannibal, but great fear to the Romans. Having divided their forces and consuls in two, the Romans sent Sempronius Longus into Sicily, and Publius Scipio into Iberia. Hannibal, however, being eager to invade Italy at the very first opportunity, quickened his march, and passed through all of Gaul that lies between the Pyrenees and the Rhone without a fight: nor did anyone engage him until he had arrived at the Rhone. There Scipio appeared to him; and although his own forces had not yet arrived, yet with the locals ^D and their neighbors, he secured the ships that were on the river and kept watch over its channel. Hannibal, therefore, spent some time constructing rafts, skiffs, and he also made dugout canoes. And so he managed, through the abundance of labor, to have everything necessary for the crossing prepared before Scipio's legions had arrived. His brother...

[GREEK Column] ...and [as for] those who had been left on the road, having turned them to flight and conquered those who assisted them, he pitched camp, not indeed far from the enemy, but neither did he come to blows with them, ^A but prevented them from scattering and foraging. So that Hannibal, being at a loss, at first set out for Rome; but since he did not fight, and Fabius followed him in silence, he returned to Samnium. And Fabius, following him, watched over him in safety, fearing neither to lose any of his own men, and himself obtaining an abundance of necessities, while seeing that the other had nothing outside of his weapons, and that no provisions were coming from home. For the Carthaginians were even making a mockery of him, writing that he was doing well and succeeding in many things, and asking for soldiers and money from them, saying that his requests did not agree with his achievements. For it behooves those who are winning both to rule with the present army and to send money home, and not to beg. ^B As long as Fabius was present, no evil befell the Romans; but when he went off to Rome for some public business, they suffered a reverse. For Rufus the Master of the Horse, possessing a mind empty through youth and being indifferent to military mistakes and aggrieved by the delay of Fabius, when he held the command of the army alone, disregarded the instructions of the dictator; and having rushed into battle, at first he seemed to win, then he was defeated. And he would have been destroyed completely, had not some Samnites by chance, who were arriving as allies to the Romans, given the Carthaginians the impression that Fabius was approaching. When they had retreated for this reason, he thought he had been victorious, and he sent letters to Rome magnifying the deed and slandering the dictator, calling him slothful and a delayer, and one who held the views of the adversaries. But those in Rome thought that Rufus had indeed been victorious, and as if emboldened against expectation, they praised him and honored him. And holding Fabius in suspicion because of these things, and because his lands in Campania were not ravaged by the enemy, they almost removed him from his command. But thinking him to be useful, they did not remove him, but they granted the Master of the Horse the same authority, so that both would rule on equal terms. ^C When these things had been decreed, Fabius was angry neither with the citizens nor with Rufus. But Rufus, not being right-minded even before, was then greatly inflated, and could not restrain himself, but demanded that he alone rule on alternate days or even for more days in succession. But Fabius, fearing that he might cause some evil if he became master of the entire force, agreed to neither, but divided the camp, so that each of them should have his own power equally, like the consuls; and immediately Rufus ^D pitched his camp apart, so that it might be evident that he ruled on his own, and not under the dictator. Hannibal, therefore, realizing this, led him into battle, having approached under the pretext of seizing the place; and having surrounded him...

[LATIN Column] ...He pitched his camp, but refused battle, and prevented them from foraging and carrying off booty. Therefore Hannibal, because of the scarcity of provisions, first decided to invade Rome. But as Fabius, refusing him the opportunity for battle, followed him step by step, he returned to Samnium: as the dictator never departed from him, and was anxious about this, that he might lose none of his own men, and that he himself might abound in provisions: while he [Hannibal], however, had nothing except arms, nor did he receive help from home. For the Carthaginians mocked him, writing that he was doing very well and enjoying prosperous successes, and yet was clamoring for money and soldiers: for his requests did not accord with his successes. For it befits victors to be content with the armies they have, and to send money home, 415 not to beg for it. And while Fabius was with the army, nothing adverse happened to the Romans. But he having departed for Rome on public business, they suffered a reverse. For Rufus, the Master of the Horse, exulting in youthful audacity, and not foreseeing the chances of war, and bearing with difficulty the procrastination of Fabius, when he had obtained the command alone, forgetful of the dictator's instructions, having joined battle with the enemy, fought well at first, but finally succumbed: and would have been destroyed by slaughter, had not by chance the arrival of Samnite auxiliaries approaching the Romans brought to the Carthaginians the belief of the arrival of Fabius. Who, having retreated for this reason, believing himself victorious, sent letters to Rome, in which he both exaggerated the deed and maligned the dictator, calling him a laggard and a delayer and one partial to the enemy. ^C The Romans, believing that Rufus had indeed won, and with their spirits raised beyond expectation, having lauded and honored him, and holding Fabius suspect both for that calumny, and because the enemy had not burned his estates in Campania, they came close to depriving him of his magistracy. But when they thought him to be of use to the republic, they did not do that indeed, but gave to the Master of the Horse the same power, so that both might command with equal right. By these decrees, Fabius was not resentful toward the citizens or his colleague. But Rufus, being even before not very wise, was then even more inflated, and could not restrain himself from demanding that he might rule alone on alternate days, or even for more days in turn. But Fabius, fearing that if he gained command of the whole army he would manage matters badly, conceded neither, but divided the army, so that according to the custom of the consuls, each should have equal private forces. Rufus, therefore, immediately moved his camp, so that it might appear that he commanded by his own authority, and was not subordinate to the dictator. Which Annibal having observed, when he had lured him to battle under the pretext of occupying that place, and had surrounded him on all sides through ambushes, he brought him into the danger of losing his entire army, had not Fabius, having attacked the enemy from the rear, stood against him. Having received this blow, Rufus changed his mind: and having immediately brought the remnants of the army to Fabius, he voluntarily surrendered his command to him, not waiting for the votes of the people, 416 which he had received as sole master of the horse: for which name he was praised by all. And this Fabius immediately, without any doubt...

restraining them from water, and preventing them from scattering, he threw the bodies of the slain up before the trenches, so that their drinking-water might be fouled. From this point the Romans also rushed to battle. Hannibal, foreseeing this, stationed troops under the embankments, and drew up the rest of his army, and ordered some false deserters, when he gave the signal, to throw down their shields and spears and the larger of their swords, but to carry their daggers secretly, so that when those opposing them received them as unarmed, they might fall upon them unexpectedly. ^A The Romans, seeing from early morning those around Hannibal drawn up in battle array, armed themselves and prepared for the fight, and the trumpeters urged on both sides, and the standards were raised, and having engaged, they fought in many ways, and until midday victory was assigned to neither. But when the wind arose, and the false deserters, received as though they were unarmed, moved behind the Romans, so that they might not, as they pretended, attack the Carthaginians, then the troops rose up from both sides, and Hannibal ^B joined the battle in front with his horsemen, and the enemies harassed the Romans from every side, and the wind and the dust, blowing violently into their faces, confused them, and the breathing that became continuous from the toil choked them, so that being deprived of their sight and deprived of their voice, they were destroyed confusedly and in no order. And such a multitude fell that Hannibal did not even attempt to find the number of the common crowd, but as for the horsemen and the senators, he did not write the number to the Carthaginians at home, but indicated it by means of their rings; for he sent them to them measured out by the ^C peck. For only the senators and the horsemen used rings. Many however still escaped even then, and Terentius—for Paulus died. But Hannibal did not pursue them, nor did he hasten to Rome. For being able to rush to Rome immediately with his entire army, or even a part of it, and finish the war quickly, he did not do this, although Maharbal agreed that he should. Therefore he got the blame, as being able to conquer, but not knowing how to use his victories. Since they neglected this then, they were never again so eager. Therefore Hannibal, as having erred, repented, and kept crying out, "O Cannae, Cannae!"

II. How the Romans, having almost perished, recovered through Scipio

^C The Romans, having been in danger of perishing a short time before, gained the upper hand through Scipio, who was the son of Publius who was in Iberia, and who had saved his father when he was wounded; then, being in the army, he fled to Canusium, and was later honored. For having received the command by the consent of those who had fled with him to Canusium, he both established things there and sent garrisons to the neighboring territories, and he both planned and did everything well. Those in Rome heard of the defeat, but were not yet willing to believe it. Having believed, however, they wept; and assembling in the senate chamber, they kept departing without accomplishing anything. ^D Late, however, Fabius gave his opinion to send scouts to report what had happened and what Hannibal was doing. And that they should not weep, but walk with silence, so that in due time the necessary things might be done; and to collect as great a force as they could, and to call upon the neighboring peoples. After this, when they learned that Hannibal was in Apulia, and received letters from Terentius, that he was surviving, and what things he was doing,

Fabius ravaged Campania and Samnium. Marcellus set out for Sicily and besieged Syracuse. When they had surrendered, they revolted again on account of a false report brought by someone; he attacked their walls by land and sea, and would have easily captured them had not the engines of Archimedes stood in his way. For he used to let down stones and soldiers suspended from them, and suddenly pull them back in an instant. By projecting other engines, he would seize ships and towers, and after lifting them high, would suddenly drop them so that they fell back into the water and were submerged with great force. Finally, he miraculously burned up the entire fleet of the Romans. For by suspending a certain mirror toward the sun, he caught its rays, and the air having been ignited by the density and smoothness of the mirror, he caused a huge flame to extend directly upon the ships and burned them all. Marcellus, therefore, ^B despairing of taking the city on account of the ingenuity of Archimedes, decided to wear them down by the length of the siege and by famine. He entrusted these matters to Pulcher, while he himself turned toward those who had revolted along with [the others]; he granted pardon to those who repented, but dealt harshly with those who resisted; some of these cities he took by force, others by treachery. In the meantime, Himilco arrived from Carthage with an army, took possession of Agrigentum and Heraclea, and after advancing toward Syracuse, was defeated and in turn conquered; and upon the sudden arrival of Marcellus, he was defeated again.

^C V. Thereafter Marcellus remained at Syracuse, while Hannibal was spending time in Calabria. The Romans, however, had again suffered many and severe disasters. For the consuls had met with failure at Capua, and Gracchus had perished in Lucania, and the Tarentines and other cities had revolted; and Hannibal, who had formerly been frightened, remained in Italy and marched against Rome, and both the Scipios had perished. Elated by these events, Hannibal decided to bring aid to Capua and proceeded as far as Beneventum. But when he heard that Claudius had crossed from Samnium into Lucania on account of the death of Gracchus, fearing that he might alienate any of those places, he abandoned his route and turned against him. By the death of the Scipios, all of Spain was in turmoil: some of their own accord, others forced by violence, joined the Carthaginians, who later returned to the friendship of the Romans. Marcellus, when he could achieve nothing by assaulting Syracuse, devised a scheme of this kind. There was a part of the wall in Syracuse ^D that was not very strong, which they called Galeagra; as this had previously been unknown, it was then observed. Therefore, when the whole population of Syracuse was engaged in nocturnal rites in honor of Artemis, he ordered some soldiers to scale that wall. When they had opened some gates and others had also entered, all together, as many as were inside as well as those who were outside, raised a shout by pre-arrangement, striking their shields with their spears.

^A Having thus surrounded him, they deceived him. For Asdrubal, seeing that he had been caught, sent heralds to Nero to request that he be dismissed on the condition that he abandon all of Iberia. When the latter eagerly accepted, he—delaying the agreements to make them the next day—sent others away at night by various mountain paths. When those had departed, since there was no guard on the part of the Romans due to expectations of peace, he came the next day to discussions with Nero, but spent the whole day before anything could be confirmed. In the same way, he sent others away at night, and did this likewise on other days, cavilling over some points in the agreement. Finally, having also snuck himself away with the cavalry and the elephants, he became formidable again to Nero. When those in Rome learned of this, they condemned Nero and voted to entrust the command to someone else. ^B Since they were therefore at a loss as to whom they should send (for the situation did not require just any man), and many were deterred by the disaster of the Scipios, that Scipio, Publius, who saved his wounded father, voluntarily offered himself for the expedition. He was most excellent in virtue and most learned in his education; and he was immediately chosen. But since the people regretted their judgment not long after, both because of his age (for he was in his twenty-fourth year) and because his house was mourning due to the destruction of his father and his uncle, he came again to the public assembly and delivered a speech, and having shamed the members of the senate by what he said, he was not deprived of his command, but Marcus Junius, an old man, was added to him as a colleague. After these things, the Roman situation began to change for the better, not without hardship. For Marcellus, once he had been acquitted after being accused, attacked Hannibal and carried out most things cautiously, fearing to compete against desperate men. But if ever it was necessary to engage, he proved superior through prudence tempered by daring. ^C Hannibal, however, both for this reason and because the cities allied with him had either abandoned him or were intending to do so, and for certain other reasons, set out to ravage the lands he could not hold, and he did much harm, and for this reason more people deserted him. Concerning the city of Salapia, such a thing happened. Two men were in charge of their affairs, and they were at odds with each other. Alinius favored the Carthaginians, while Plautius favored the Romans, and he had even discussed with Alinius the betrayal of the city to the Romans. When the latter immediately reported this to Hannibal, Plautius was brought to trial. As Hannibal was deliberating with those in his council on how he should punish him, [Plautius] dared in his presence to speak again to Alinius, who was standing nearby, about the betrayal. When the latter cried out, "Look, look! Even now he speaks to me about this very thing," Hannibal did not believe it because of its absurdity, but even acquitted him as though he were being falsely accused. Once he was acquitted, they both conspired: and having summoned soldiers from Marcellus, they handed the city over to the Romans, killing the Punic garrison. ^D With the situation in Italy thus, the Sicilians, not favoring the Carthaginians any more than before, were making their way to the consul Lavinius. For the Carthaginian who was in Sicily at that time, and under whom Mutinas was serving—who, having long been familiar to Hannibal, had incurred envy by reason of the great deeds of valor he had performed—had been sent to Sicily.

Scipio, when they were suffering, since their pay was delayed, they openly revolted; having driven away their tribunes, they chose for themselves ^A their own consuls—they were about eight thousand in number. When the Iberians learned of this, they revolted more readily and harmed the Roman alliance. Mago, although he had already wished to abandon Gades, did not do so, and crossing into the mainland, he did much mischief. When Scipio learned of these things, he sent to the mutinous camp and wrote to them, pretending to sympathize, saying that they had taken such measures out of necessity due to a lack of provisions, and that he did not suspect them of anything further on account of this, and praising those who had taken charge of them, so that no disaster might occur, nor might they do any harm through a lack of leadership. When Scipio had written such things, and the soldiers learned that he was still alive and not even angry ^B at them, they did not move further. But when he recovered his health, not even then did he threaten them harshly; rather, he sent word that he would pay them their rations. He also called for them all to come to him as they might wish, either in a body or in shifts. The soldiers, however, did not dare to go in small numbers, but departed all together. Scipio ordered them to bivouac outside the wall (for it was towards evening), and he provided them with abundant provisions. And while they were encamped, he made arrangements for the bolder of them to enter the city, and having seized them by night, he imprisoned them. At daybreak, as if intending to campaign somewhere outside, he sent all his own troops ahead. Then he called those who had just arrived inside the wall to him without their weapons, in order that they might campaign under him after taking their grain ration. And when they had entered in this way, he signaled to those who had departed to return just as they were. Having surrounded them, he scolded and threatened them much. Finally, "All of you," he said, "are worthy of death, but I shall not personally put everyone to death, but only the few whom I have already apprehended I shall punish, and I release the others." Having said this, he brought forward those who had been bound, and having had them tied to posts and scourged, he killed them. As some of the bystanders were indignant and caused a disturbance, he was also angry with many of them. After this, he gave their pay to the others, and campaigned against Indibilis ^C and Mandonius. And when they did not dare to join battle with him, he attacked and defeated them. After they had offered surrender, the greater part of Iberia was again subjugated, Mago departed Gades, and Masinissa joined the Romans. For the Carthaginians, after the death of Hasdrubal, the brother of Hannibal, had decreed that they should withdraw from Iberia and recover what was in Italy; they sent money to Mago so that he might gather auxiliaries and campaign against it. And he, having set out again for Italy, arrived at the Gymnesian islands. He missed the larger one, being unable to land on it (for the locals slung stones at the ships from afar, being most skilled at doing this), but having put in at the smaller one, he stayed there for the winter. ^D

^A And many were destroyed, and many were captured, and Hanno himself as well. For this reason, Hasdrubal captured the mother of Masinissa, and they were exchanged. Syphax, having discarded the reputation of friendship towards the Romans, openly aligned himself with the Carthaginians. The Romans also hoped for the land, and recovered many of those who had been sent from Italy by Hannibal to Libya, and wintered in the countryside. After these things, when Gnaeus Scipio and Gaius Servilius held the consulship, the Carthaginians, exhausted by the war, desired to make peace, and both Hannibal and Mago fell away from Italy. For when the consuls stood against Hannibal and Mago, Scipio was ravaging Libya and attacking the cities. And in this, having captured a Carthaginian ship, he released it, since they feigned that they had arrived ^B to him on an embassy. He knew indeed the fiction, but he preferred not to be maligned as one who had detained envoys. And with Syphax still negotiating for an armistice—so that Scipio might depart from Libya and Hannibal from Italy—he accepted the argument, not as trusting him, but in order to deceive him. For he sent various soldiers at different times to the camp of the Carthaginians and that of Syphax, under the pretext of the truce, and when they had spied out all things among them, he broke off the agreement on some reasonable pretext; further, and because Syphax was discovered plotting against Masinissa, he countered him. By night he came to their camps, which were not far separated from each other, and set fire to that of Hasdrubal from many places at once. And since his camp was easily ignited (for the tents were fashioned for them out of straw and leaves), the Carthaginians suffered badly, and those with Syphax, wishing to help them, fell among the Romans who were encircling them, and they themselves perished, and their camp was also set on fire, ^C and many were destroyed, both horses and men. The Romans, having done these things, suffered nothing by night. But at the break of day, Iberians who had recently come to the Carthaginians for alliance fell upon them unexpectedly and killed many. Immediately, therefore, Hasdrubal departed for Carthage, and Syphax returned home. But Scipio opposed Masinissa and Gaius Laelius against Syphax; he himself marched against the Carthaginians. They in turn sent ships against the fortification of the Romans, which they were using for winter quarters and where they had deposited everything, in order that they might either capture it, or force Scipio to withdraw from them—and it turned out so. Having learned what was happening, he withdrew, and hastening to the naval base, placed it under guard. And on the first day the Romans easily repelled those who attacked them, but on the next day they were much disadvantaged. For by the casting of iron hands, the Carthaginians dragged away some of the ships of the Romans. ^D They did not dare to disembark on the land, but having sailed back home, they deposed Hasdrubal. And a certain Hanno, having taken up a certain number of the slaves of some and deserters, assembled a force not weak, and having secretly persuaded some of the Iberians who were serving with Scipio, attempted by night to plot against his camp. And he would have accomplished it...

hastened. And Apustius, knowing of his arrival, withdrew; for it was already winter. Galba, having recovered from his illness, prepared a larger force and, with the coming of spring, hastened into Macedonia. When they drew near to one another, they encamped against each other and engaged in skirmishes of cavalry and light-armed troops. When the Romans moved to a place from which they might be able ^A to procure provisions, Philip, thinking that they were shifting position because they feared him, came upon them as they were foraging, unexpectedly, and killed some of them. Galba, perceiving this, sallied out from the camp and, falling upon him, killed many more of his men in return. Philip, having been defeated and wounded, retreated during the night. Galba, however, did not pursue him but withdrew to Apollonia. Apustius, meanwhile, sailing about with the Rhodians and Attalus, subdued many islands.

At about the same time, a certain Carthaginian named Amilcar, who had campaigned with Mago in Italy and had stayed on there, remaining quiet for a time, upon the outbreak of the Macedonian war, incited the Gauls to revolt; and, having campaigned against the Ligurians with them, he won over some of them as well. Being fought by the praetor Lucius Furius, they were defeated, and sent envoys for terms. The Ligurians obtained theirs, but the others were not granted them; rather, Aurelius the consul marched against them, out of jealousy toward ^B the praetor for his victory. In the following year, many dire events occurred involving Amilcar and the Gauls. For they defeated the praetor Gnaeus Baebius, overran the allies of the Romans, besieged Placentia, and, having captured it, razed it.

XVI. In Greece and Macedonia, the consul Publius Villius was in the field against Philip, who had occupied the narrow passes of Epirus, through which there is entry into Macedonia. After winter had passed, Titus Flaminius, the consul, when Philip had walled off the entire space between the mountains and was difficult to engage, proceeded through a certain narrow path with a few men and bypassed the fortification. By appearing suddenly from a higher position, he terrified Philip, who thought that the whole army of Titus had passed inside the narrow ^C passes, and from there he immediately took himself off into Macedonia. The consul did not pursue him but gained the cities in Epirus, and having come into Thessaly, he drew away many from Philip and withdrew into Phocis and Boeotia. While he was besieging Elatia, his brother Lucius Flaminius, with Attalus and the Rhodians, was subduing the islands. Finally, having taken Cenchreae and learning that envoys had been sent by Philip to the Achaeans for alliance, they also sent their own, and the Athenians joined them in the embassy. At first, the opinions of the Achaeans were divided, some voting for an alliance with Philip, others with the Romans. Eventually, having voted them aid, they campaigned against Corinth, and they brought down a portion of the wall; but after laboring in [failed] sorties, they withdrew. Then Philip, fearing ^D that many cities would be captured, sent heralds to the consul regarding peace. And he accepted it.

^A Believing that everything had been written for them alone, and having received no time for deliberation, they all threw down their walls. Cato crossed the Ebro, and because he did not dare to join battle with the Celtiberians, his enemies' allies, on account of their numbers, he dealt with them in a wonderful way: sometimes winning them over to defect to him by the promise of higher pay, sometimes encouraging them to return home, and sometimes even challenging them to a pitched battle on a set day. For out of this they fell into discord among themselves, and being afraid, they no longer dared to war against him.

XVIII. Then Flaminius attacked Argos.

^A after the king of the Cappadocians had departed and remained there until his death, no one passed judgment on him any longer. Manlius brought much of Pisidia, Lycaonia, and Pamphylia, as well as Asian Galatia, into subjection. For there is a certain nation of them therein, a remnant of the European tribe. For having once set up Brennus as their king, they overran Greece and Thrace, and from there crossing over into Bithynia, they carved off certain parts of Phrygia, Paphlagonia, Mysia, the region toward Olympus, and Cappadocia; and having settled in them, they are even now a distinct nation bearing the name of the Galatians. These gave trouble to Manlius, but he overcame them too, taking the city of Ancyra by assault and bringing the others to submission through surrender. Having accomplished these things, and having received much silver from Ariarathes, king of the Cappadocians, for the sake of peace, he departed for home.

XXI. The Aetolians, however, having sent envoys to Rome for peace a second time, engaged in new insurrections themselves. Wherefore the Romans, having immediately rejected the envoys, ^B assigned Greece as a province to Marcus Fulvius. He first marched against the city of Ambracia, a large city (for it was once the royal seat of Pyrrhus, but at that time it was held by the Aetolians), and besieged it. The Aetolians therefore discussed peace terms with him. When he would not agree to a truce, they sent a portion of their army into Ambracia. The Romans attempted to take the city by means of a certain mine, and they dug from afar, and for a time they were unnoticed by those under siege. But when the earth was piled up, they surmised what had happened. Ignorant of where it was being dug, they placed a bronze shield against the wall in the area and, from the sound, recognized the place. And they themselves having dug from within, and having approached the Romans, engaged in secret battles. ^C Finally, they devised a trick of such a kind. Having filled a large jar with feathers, they threw fire into it and inserted a bronze lid perforated in many places; and having carried it to the mine and turned its mouth toward the enemies, they threw it in at the bottom. By inflating this with bellows, they produced a great and stifling smoke issuing from the feathers, which none of the Romans could endure. Wherefore, the Romans, having despaired, made a truce and broke off the siege. When they had agreed, the Aetolians also changed their mind and negotiated a suspension of hostilities, and subsequently a peace treaty from the assembly, having given much money and many hostages. Fulvius also brought Cephalenia to surrender by treaty and settled the Peloponnese, which was laboring under sedition. Later, when Gaius Flaminius and Aemilius Lepidus were consuls, Antiochus died, and his son Seleucus succeeded him. After he too had died much later, Antiochus, who was a hostage in Rome, ^D took the kingdom. Philip indeed dared to attempt disturbances because he was accused of certain actions in Thessaly and, in addition to that, at Ainos and Maroneia; but he was unable to do anything on account of his old age and the events that had befallen his children. Some Gauls, having crossed the Alps, wished to found a city within them; Marcus Marcellus took away their weapons and all else they had brought from home. But the Romans, when they sent envoys to them, returned everything to them on condition that they immediately depart from Italy. At that time also Hannibal died. For when envoys had been sent to Prusias, the ruler of Bithynia, for other reasons and also that he might surrender Hannibal who was living with him, he, having learned of the matter in advance and seeing that he could not escape, inflicted death upon himself. Having once received an oracle that he would die in Libyan land, he thought he would pass away in Africa. But the estate in which he was dying bore the name of Libya. At that time also Scipio Africanus died. From Rome, besides other things, and how also the...

^A reaching of the summits having been achieved, he moved at night toward the mountains; and in some places by stealth, and in others by force, he crossed over them. Perseus, having learned this and fearing lest he should fall upon his rear or pre-occupy Pydna (for indeed the fleet of the Romans was sailing along at the same time), abandoned the fortifications by the river and, hurrying toward Pydna, encamped before the city. Paulus also arrived there. However, they did not engage immediately, but spent not a few days. Paulus, having learned beforehand that the moon was about to be eclipsed, gathered the army toward evening, when the eclipse was to occur, and foretold what would happen, and exhorted them not to be troubled at all because of this. The Romans, therefore, having watched the eclipse, suspected no evil from it; but the Macedonians were seized with fear by this, and suspected the omen to point toward Perseus. While both sides were in this state, something happened by chance on the following day that impelled them into an unheralded battle, and it put an end to the war. For when an animal of the Romans fell into the water from which they were drawing, and the Macedonians seized it while the water-carriers struggled [to keep it], at first these ^B fought by themselves, then the rest, coming out of the camps to help their own, gradually joined in, and all on both sides engaged. And although the battle was disorganized, it was fierce; the Romans prevailed, and having pursued the Macedonians to the sea, they slew many themselves and handed over many to be killed by the approaching fleet. And not one of them would have been left, had not night aided them. For the battle occurred late in the evening. Perseus, therefore, having fled to Amphipolis as if to take up those who were left behind and to set affairs straight again—when he learned that no one had come to him except some Cretan mercenaries, and that Pydna and the other cities had sided with the Romans—departed from there, and having placed all the wealth he was carrying onto ships, he sailed at night to Samothrace. And having learned not much later that Octavius, who was in charge of the fleet, was sailing nearby, and that Paulus had arrived at Amphipolis, he sent to him, begging for a settlement. And because he had named himself ^C king in the letter, he did not even receive an answer. Later, when he had sent letters without any such address, he accepted the plea for a truce, but said that it would not arrive at an agreement unless he surrendered both himself and all his possessions to the Romans; and because of this they did not conclude the treaty. After this, when Evander the Cretan, who had served him in many things and was most faithful to him, was requested by the Romans, he did not surrender him, fearing that he might reveal what he knew; but having secretly killed him, he spread the rumor that he had taken his own life. Then, therefore, his associates, fearing his perfidy (for they were not ignorant of what had taken place), began to desert him. And he, fearing that he might be betrayed to the Romans, attempted to escape by night. And he would have avoided [capture] by arriving at Cotys the Thracian chieftain, ^D

themselves; nevertheless, they did not actually enter. For the Carthaginians repelled those who were forcing their way in. And by night, sallying forth through the ruins, they killed many men and burned a great many siege engines. But ^A they were not permitted to remain for long in the countryside by Asdrubal and his cavalry, nor did Masinissa assist them; for he had not been invited at the beginning of the war, and they did not permit him when he promised to fight the war through against Asdrubal at that time.

XXVII. The consuls, therefore, because of these events, and because their fleet was suffering from disease due to its being stationed in the marsh, raised the siege. And Martius, having attempted to do something by sea or to harass the coast, since he achieved nothing, sailed away for home, and ^B changing course, he captured Aegimurus. Manilius set out into the interior; but being harassed by Himilco, the commander of the Carthaginian cavalry, whom they also called Phabeas, he returned to Carthage. And there, too, he was exhausted both from outside by Asdrubal and from inside by the sallying of those in the city, both by night and by day. The Carthaginians, therefore, grew contemptuous and advanced even up to their camp, and after losing many men—for most were unarmed—they were shut back again within the walls. Manilius, however, particularly desired ^C to join battle with Asdrubal, thinking that if he defeated him, the rest would be easily overcome; and he approached him. But having followed him as he withdrew to a certain fortress, he unwittingly fell into rough and narrow ground and was severely worsted. And he would have been destroyed along with his entire army had not Scipio, the son of Africanus, been of most use to him—a man who was best at conceiving and planning the finest course of action, and best also at putting it into practice (for he was also robust in body), and he was fair and moderate, through which he also ^D escaped envy. For while he was a military tribune, he wished to be equal to his inferiors, no better than his equals, and less than his superiors. Manilius, therefore, both spoke of him and wrote to those in Rome, concealing nothing, and among other things [he wrote] about Masinissa and Phabeas, which matters stood as follows: As Masinissa was dying, he was at a loss as to how to arrange matters concerning his kingdom, because of the multitude of his sons and the difference of their birth from their mothers. For this reason, he sent for Scipio for advice, whom the consul sent. But Masinissa, passing away before Scipio arrived, gave his ring to his son Micipsa, but everything else belonging to the rule he committed to Scipio upon his arrival. Scipio, having scrutinized the dispositions of his sons, did not assign the kingdom to any one of them alone; but since there were three of the most notable—Micipsa the eldest, Gulussa the youngest, and Mastanavus in the middle—he divided the administration of affairs among them, albeit in parts. For to the eldest, being a man of business and fond of money, he entrusted the administration; to the one after him, being a judge, he granted the authority to settle disputes; and to Gulussa, who proved to be warlike, he gave the armies. To their other brothers, who were many, he distributed certain cities and lands, but he brought Gulussa to the consul. At the beginning of spring, having attacked the allies of the Carthaginians, Scipio [conquered] many by force, many by treaty.

^A He left Mancinus to guard, while he himself departed toward Piso and the forces, in order to be engaged in action with them. He returned quickly with the lightest part of the army, and caught Hasdrubal entering Carthage and attacking Mancinus fiercely. Scipio arrived and ended the attack. When Piso also arrived, he ordered him to remain outside the wall near certain gates. He sent other soldiers around to a small gate far from themselves, having instructed them what they needed to do. He himself, taking the best part of the army at midnight, went inside the perimeter, using deserters as guides, and having run up to the small gate and pried open the bolt, he brought in those who were lying in wait outside and destroyed the guards. He hastened to the gates where Piso was approaching, routing the guards who were keeping watch on the inside—as they were few in number—so that Hasdrubal learned of what had happened at the same time that he saw almost the entire Roman force within. They held out for some time, then abandoned the rest of the city and fled into Cothon and Byrsa. ^B Thereafter, Hasdrubal killed all the Roman captives, so that the Carthaginians, having lost hope of pardon, might the more readily resist; many of the locals he also put to death as if they were traitors. Scipio fenced them in with walls and earthworks, but he did not yet capture them quickly. For the walls were strong, and those inside, being many, defended themselves vigorously in a small space and had food in abundance. For Bithias was sending merchant ships to them from the continent opposite the city, whenever the swell and the wind blew strongly into their harbor, to which Scipio had conceived and executed a great project; he dammed up the entrance to the harbor, which was narrow, with difficulty and much effort, yet the work was eventually carried out by the multitude of hands. For although the Carthaginians tried to prevent them, and many battles took place during this, they were not able to prevent the filling of the harbor.

XXX. The Carthaginians reduced to starvation

^C The Carthaginians, seeing the mouth of the harbor filled in, were dreadfully oppressed by the scarcity of grain; some deserted, others holding out died, and some even resorted to eating the dead. Wherefore, in despair, Hasdrubal sent ambassadors to Scipio regarding a truce; and he would have obtained amnesty had he not also desired to secure safety and freedom for all the rest. Having failed in this, he locked his wife in the acropolis, since he had solicited Scipio on behalf of her and their children. He also continued other tasks, becoming more daring through despair. He himself, therefore, and others, mastered by despair, fought night and day. Sometimes they were defeated, at other times they prevailed, and they set up other machines against the Roman machines. And Bithias, having a fortified position and operating far into the mainland, both assisted the Carthaginians and harassed the Romans. ^D For this reason, Scipio divided his army; he ordered one part to remain in the siege of Carthage, and he sent the other against Bithias, placing over it the

805 ANNALIUM LIB. Χ. 806

^A ...with entreaties and outcries, and they scarcely desisted, when he swore he would lay hands upon himself if they compelled him. Originally, it had been announced to Sulla that Pompey had defected. Then, having learned the truth, he went to meet him as he approached, and having greeted him, addressed him by the name "Magnus" in a loud voice. "Magnus" signifies "the Great." When Pompey sought a triumph, Sulla opposed him, arguing that it was conventional for a consul or a praetor to triumph, but for no one else. If Pompey, not yet having a beard, were to triumph against the rules, and since he had no place in the senate on account of his age, the honor would be an object of envy for him. When Sulla said these things, Pompey was not intimidated, but said that one ought to consider that more people worship the rising sun than the setting sun, declaring thereby that his own power was increasing, whereas Sulla’s was diminishing and fading away. ^B Stunned at this, Sulla exclaimed, "Let him triumph twice over!" But when the soldiers became troublesome and tumultuous, because they had received less than they had expected, Pompey affirmed that he would rather give up the triumph than curry favor with the soldiers. At this, Servilius, an illustrious man who had previously opposed his triumph, said, "Now, indeed, Pompey is truly 'Great' and worthy of a triumph." Sulla, although he was envious of the growth of Pompey's glory and power, was nevertheless deterred by shame from opposing him. Yet Lepidus, having obtained the consulship through Pompey’s zeal, upon Sulla’s death immediately sought to lay claim to his power, and being in arms, started the sparks of sedition. Pompey was sent as commander against him, ^C when he had already stirred up a great part of Italy and had occupied Cisalpine Gaul through Brutus. Pompey easily overcame the others, but delayed the engagement against Brutus for some time, until at last, either by a change of heart or betrayed by his own men, Brutus made a surrender and was put to death. This Brutus was the father of that Brutus who later slew Caesar. Lepidus, driven from Italy, died of disease. But Sertorius, holding Iberia (Spain), was a source of fear. Pompey was therefore sent to him to assist Quintus Metellus, who was fighting against Sertorius. Arriving in Iberia, he first engaged two of Sertorius’s generals and, having conquered them, killed over ten thousand; then, engaging Sertorius himself, he conducted an uncertain battle. ^D When a foot soldier of great stature rushed at Pompey, who was on horseback, Pompey was struck on the hand by him, but he in turn cut off the hand of the soldier. Having united with Metellus, he honored the man and was honored in return; but after Sertorius was assassinated by his friends, Perpenna, the chief of his commanders, attempted to do the same thing toward him, having surrounded himself with his forces. But Pompey, having drawn up against him, overcame them all, and most of the commanders were destroyed in the battle; but he [Perpenna], the leader of his commanders, being fortified by his legions, was conquered by Pompey, as most of his commanders were slain in the battle, and he himself, being taken alive into custody, paid the penalty. Having lingered in the Spains while he quieted the disturbances and settled matters, and having led his troops back to Italy, he banished the suspicion and fear of men—that he might, by retaining the legions, seize the principate by arms—by declaring that he would dismiss his army after his triumph. One thing regarding him the envious criticized, that he was more of a partisan of the popular favor than of the aristocrats; and this was true. For no one had greater or more ardent support from the Roman people. Thus, both his (second) triumph, and his consulship, and Crassus, his...

^A of the Romans to them; and casting their javelins they pressed on upon no one; observing which, the Romans ran upon them with a shout and slaughtered those fleeing, such that many more than ten thousand died. Mithridates himself escaped with a greater number. Pompey then invaded Armenia, the younger Tigranes having summoned him. For he had already rebelled against his father. But the king, Tigranes, having been crushed by Lucullus, and hearing that Pompey was mild, surrendered himself and received a guard around the palace. Approaching Pompey, he removed the diadem from his head and hastened to place it before his feet and to prostrate himself. But Pompey, taking his right hand, raised him up and seated him nearby, and his son on the other side, and said ^B that for other things Lucullus was to be blamed, as he had taken from him Syria, Phoenicia, Cilicia, Galatia, and Sophene; but that he would keep what he had maintained up to his own arrival, and his son would reign over Sophene. With this Tigranes was satisfied. But his son was angry, and when invited to dinner, he said that he had no need of such honors from Pompey; for he himself would find another Roman. Consequently, he was fettered and kept for the triumph. Having left Afranius in charge of the guard of Armenia, Pompey himself marched against Mithridates through the nations dwelling around the Caucasus. The greatest of these nations are the Albanians and the Iberians; the former ^C living toward the Meschic mountains and Pontus, the Albanians toward the sunrise and the Caspian Sea. These first gave passage to Pompey when he requested it, then, having gathered no fewer than forty thousand, they attacked him, and having been turned, they were destroyed in great numbers. Having made a truce with their king, who had sent envoys, he departed against the Iberians, who were more warlike than the Albanians and had yielded neither to the Medes nor to the Persians, and had also escaped the dominion of the Macedonians, as Alexander quickly departed from Hyrcania. But having routed even these in a great battle, he killed many and took many captive. From there he invaded Colchis. But the Albanians having revolted again, he marched against them through a waterless and difficult road, having water carried along in many skins. And having engaged them, as they were being led by the brother of their own king, he was victorious; and he pursued and killed the one who had attacked him and struck him by hand. It is also said that the Amazons fought as allies to the Albanians. For after the battle, when the dead were being despoiled, ^D the Romans encountered Amazonian shields and buskins, but no female body was found. These women occupy the parts of the Caucasus that descend toward the Hyrcanian Sea; between the Albanians and them dwell the Gellae and the Ligyes, with whom the women meet every year at the Thermodon river, staying together for two months. Then they depart and live by themselves. And when they have given birth, they carry the males and leave them in the land of the fathers, but the females they raise themselves. Of Mithridates' concubines who were brought to him, Pompey knew none.

V. Stratonice, who had the greatest dignity with Mithridates and guarded the most golden of the fortresses, brought many gifts to Pompey and surrendered the fortress. And he, of what was brought to him, [accepted] whatever was to be an ornament for temples and a splendor [E] (in the Greek: E') Stratonice, who held the greatest rank under Mithridates and guarded the most golden of the fortresses, brought many gifts to Pompey and delivered the fortress. And those things which were offered [he took,] as many as would provide ornament to temples and splendor

[ANNALIUM LIB. X.]

^A ...most chose flight as their fatherland, for the sake of Pompey, and fled Rome thinking it Caesar’s camp. At this time, Labienus, a man counted among Caesar’s friends and one who had struggled alongside him in wars most eagerly, abandoned him and went over to Pompey. Caesar, even as Labienus abandoned him, sent his gold and baggage after him. Domitius, holding Corfinium, upon the arrival of Caesar, abandoned all hope for himself and drank poison, intending to die. But later, having learned of the wonderful kindness Caesar showed to those he captured, he lamented his own condition. When his physician told him that the draught was soporific and not lethal, he went to Caesar, and having been given his hand, he escaped once again to Pompey.

^B VIII. These things being reported at Rome made the people slightly more cheerful, so that some returned to the city. Caesar, however, with his forces augmented, now marched against Pompey himself. But Pompey had fled and sailed off to Brundusium. Lacking ships, Caesar returned to Rome, and within sixty days, had become master of all Italy without bloodshed. Finding the city settled and many of the senators still there, he spoke with them in a moderate fashion, asking them to send delegates to Pompey to negotiate peace terms. But no one heeded him. When the tribune Metellus prevented him from taking money from the public treasuries and cited the laws, he replied, “It is not the same time for laws and arms. For now, withdraw; war has no need of free speech. When I have laid down my arms, then you shall play the demagogue.” And he added, “I say this while waiving my own rights. For both you and all those whom I have captured while they were stirring up revolt against me are mine.” When the keys could not be found, he ordered the treasury to be broken open with axes. When Metellus again tried to stop him, while some praised his constancy, Caesar threatened to kill him if he did not cease, saying, “Young man, do you not know that it is harder for me to say this than to do it?” He then campaigned into Iberia, and having brought the forces and provinces there under his own control, he thus marched against Pompey. Elected dictator by the senate, he recalled the exiles and took in hand other affairs of state. Within eleven days he laid down his dictatorship, and having declared himself and Servilius Isauricus consuls, he returned to the campaign. Having crossed the Ionian Sea, he captured Noricum and Apollonia. From Apollonia, he secretly boarded a twelve-oared boat disguised as a servant, intending to sail toward Brundusium, even though the sea was held by great enemy fleets. ^C It being winter, the voyage seemed impossible to the helmsman, and he ordered the sailors to turn the boat around. Then Caesar revealed his identity. The helmsman was struck with terror at the sight [of him], [but Caesar] said, “Have courage and do not fear; you carry Caesar and Caesar’s fortune with you.” Antony also sailed in, bringing the forces. Encouraged by this, Caesar challenged Pompey. ^D There were always some sporadic skirmishes around Pompey’s fortifications, and Caesar prevailed in all of them, except for one, in which a great rout occurred and he was in danger of losing his camp; and—

^A Having spoken these words, he boarded. Since he was still at a considerable distance from the land, Pompey read the discourse which he had written in Greek in a small book, intending to use it for Ptolemy. Now as they approached the shore, Cornelia, with her friends, looking out from the trireme, was in great agitation as she watched to see what would happen. In the meantime, as Pompey took the hand of his friend Philip in order to stand up, Septimius was the first to run him through from behind with his sword; then Achillas and others followed. Pompey, drawing his toga over his face with his hands, merely groaned, and though he said nothing unworthy of himself, he endured the blows, having lived fifty-nine years. Those on the ships, when they beheld the slaughter, fled, uttering a lamentation that could be heard all the way to the shore. The ministers of the murder cut off his head, and casting his naked trunk out of the boat onto the beach, they left it to be a spectacle for any who wished to see it. While the populace was being satisfied with this, Philip remained there. Afterwards, he washed the body in the sea, wrapped it in one of his own tunics, and using the remnants of a small boat, he cremated it. A certain old Roman man, who had served his first campaigns under Pompey when he was a young man, was assisting him. When Philippus asked him who he was, and why he was preparing to bury Pompey the Great, he replied that he had been his freedman. Then the old man said: "This honor will not be for you alone. Let me also be a partner in so pious a duty, so that I too may touch with my own hands and lay to rest the greatest commander of the Romans." Thus were Pompey's funeral rites performed. ^B

X. ^C Caesar, coming not long after into Egypt, turned away from the one who brought him the head of Pompey, as though he were a parricide; and having received his signet ring, he wept. He put Achillas and Pothinus to death. King Ptolemy himself was captured in battle and vanished alongside the river. As for the rhetorician Theodotus, for a time he escaped the vengeance of Caesar, having slipped away from Egypt and living in low circumstances, loathed by all. But later, having been seized in Asia by Marcus Brutus, the slayer of Caesar, he was tortured with every kind of punishment and perished. Caesar received with favors all of Pompey's friends who had been captured by the tyrant of Egypt, and attached them to himself. He also waged war there, having secretly sent for Cleopatra from the countryside, for she had already been driven from the kingdom and the city by the eunuch Pothinus. ^D She, embarking in a small boat with only the Sicilian Apollodorus, reached the royal palace; wrapping herself in a mattress-cover, she stretched herself out at full length. Apollodorus, having bound the mattress-cover with a strap, brought her in through the doors to Caesar. Through this artifice, as she appeared charming—and he was captivated by her conversation and grace—he reconciled her with her brother so that she might rule alongside him. But while they were feasting upon the reconciliation, Caesar, having uncovered a plot being brewed by Achillas the general and Pothinus the eunuch, put Pothinus to death; but Achillas fled to the army and stirred up a heavy war against him. During this time, when Caesar had set fire to the fleet, that great Library was also burned. When the battle was joined, from the embankment into a skiff

promised to rescind the acts of Caesar; and that they would deprive no one of those things already granted to each. And thus they came to a reconciliation. But they did not descend from the Capitol until they had received the son of Lepidus and the son of Antony as hostages. ^A After this, when Caesar’s will was read and the people learned that he had adopted Octavius as his son, and that he had left bequests to the city and to each individual—thirty drachmas, as Octavius writes, though others say seventy-five—they were stirred to turmoil. And Antony, having displayed his blood-stained body in the forum and spoken a discourse over the deceased, inflamed the multitude to anger. For he said much in praise of the man, and provoked the listeners to pity for his suffering. Then, after enumerating the titles decreed to him, he added: "But this father, this high priest, this inviolable person, this hero, this god, is dead! Woe is me! Not having been overcome by sickness, nor withered by old age, nor wounded by any foe in war, nor snatched away by any divine agency; but here, within the walls, he has been plotted against! He who had marched safely into Britain has been ambushed in the city! ^B He who had expanded its pomerium has been slaughtered in the senate-house! He, the warrior, unarmed; the peacemaker, naked; the judge, at the courts; the ruler, at the magistracies; done to death by citizens—he whom none of the enemy, not even when he had fallen into the sea, had been able to slay—slain by his own associates, whom he had often shown mercy! Where, O Caesar, is your benevolence? Where is your immunity? Where are the laws? You, indeed, took careful thought that no one should be killed by enemies; but friends have cruelly killed you, and now you lie slain in the forum. You lie upon the platform, riddled with wounds, from whence you had often harangued the people. Woe for those grey hairs clotted with blood! Woe for the garment, torn—which you donned for this occasion only, it seems, that you might be slaughtered in it!"

Moved by these words, the populace sought the slayers and, seizing the body of Caesar, burned it in the forum. They rushed to the houses of the assassins and tore to pieces Helvius Cinna, a tribune of the plebs, having been deceived by the similarity of his name; for it was not he who had plotted against Caesar, but Cornelius Cinna, the praetor. Upon the site where Caesar’s body was burned, the crowd raised an altar, that they might sacrifice to Caesar upon it as to a god. ^C But the consuls tore it down, and introduced a law that no one be made dictator thereafter, establishing death as the penalty for any who should propose this, or for any who should accept it. Antony, meanwhile, performed many acts on his own authority, granting offices, provinces, freedom, immunity, and recalling exiles, just as if he were the successor to Caesar's power, and from these things he amassed a great deal of money.

XIII. Octavius, known as Gaius, who was also named Pius, was the son of Caesar’s sister, who had been married to Octavius of Velitrae of the Volsci. Left an orphan, he was raised under his mother’s care. When he had grown, he spent his time with Caesar, who was childless. Therefore, Caesar loved his nephew, and held great hopes for him; for Accia, his mother—

^A they had entrusted. Having learned this, Antonius reviled those who had been sent to him, and having sent others back, he declared the cause of the war through those who had been proposed, in order to turn those who had voted against him. But those in Rome again declared Antonius an enemy, and those fighting with him, if they did not abandon him, having set another day for them for this. He himself was besieging Decimus in Mutina, but did not achieve any worthy account.

Decimus, however, at first defended himself strongly against Antonius, but then was completely walled in. Caesar, therefore, fearing lest he succumb either to hunger or to a shortage of provisions, campaigned with Hirtius towards Mutina. But they could not cross the river near it because of the guard upon it. Being eager to make their presence known to Decimus, they shot signals from the tallest trees; and when he did not understand, they made an extremely thin sheet of lead, inscribed on it what they wished, and having rolled it up like paper, they gave it to a swimmer to carry across. And thus, Decimus, having learned of their presence, sent back to them in the same manner.

Antonius, therefore, seeing that Decimus was not yielding, left his brother Lucius to him, and he himself rushed against Caesar and Hirtius. At first battles were equal, but later Antonius prevailed; and having sensed that Junius was approaching, he marched out by night unknown to him, and having laid an ambush, he wounded him, killed most of the soldiers, and shut the rest into the entrenched camp; he then turned toward Caesar and the others. And Hirtius, having been exhausted by the march and the battle, won a great victory unexpectedly.

^B XV. Having learned of this defeat of Antonius, the senate named Hirtius, Junius, and Caesar commanders (imperatores), although Junius had managed the matter poorly, and Caesar had not even fought, having been left by Hirtius for the guarding of the camp. Thus, then, Antonius was defeated. And Titus Munatius Plancus, though being of the faction of Antonius, while waging war against Pontius Aquila, the legate of Decimus, was defeated. From then on, the soldiers of Antonius were not disposed toward him as they were before, and some of the tribes previously attached to him were rioting. He for a time was struck with terror and kept quiet; but when some force from Lepidus came to him, he took heart and made a sudden sally; and a great slaughter occurring from both armies, he was routed and fled. ^C The senate, having learned of what had happened, rejoiced at the defeat of Antonius, but declared all who had campaigned with him to be enemies, and confiscated both their property and that of Antonius. They deemed Caesar worthy of no distinguished honor, and attempted to suppress him, bestowing upon Decimus everything that he (Caesar) had hoped to receive. And so that he might not be able to do any harm, they decreed his enemies to the offices, assigning the fleet to Sextus Pompeius, Macedonia to Marcus Brutus, and the war against Dolabella to Cassius. By contriving to set the soldiers of Caesar against one another, they praised some and provided them with money and olive wreaths, while they decreed nothing for others. But they, even so, remained in harmony, through the diligence of ^D Caesar. When this was known at Rome, they did not even then decree the consulship to him, but other honors. Having spurned these, they made him first praetor, then consul. And they indeed treated Caesar as a boy and a youth, as he was commonly called; but he, taking it ill both for other things and for the appellation of "boy," turned to arms, secretly regarding peace

and of his wife. For by decree the tenth of their property was exacted from each of them, but in deed not even the tenth was left to anyone. And another thing was contrived. For to whoever wished to stand aside from all his property, it was granted to demand the third part of it afterward—which is to say, neither to receive it, nor to get into trouble. For those who were openly despoiled by force of their two parts, how could they have recovered the third? And many other things were brought upon the people at that time, driving them into poverty; only those who held arms became exceedingly wealthy. ^A Thus did those three men act, and at the same time they honored that previous Caesar with many and various decrees. After these matters were settled, Lepidus remained in the city, so as to govern Rome and the rest of Italy; Caesar and Antonius set out against Brutus and Cassius. For those men, having learned that Caesar Octavius was taking hold of affairs and winning over the common people, despaired of the democracy and, fearing him, they went to Athens. The Athenians received them brilliantly and voted to grant them bronze statues, as having emulated the tyrannicides among them, I mean Harmodius and Aristogeiton. Then, learning that Caesar was rising to greater power, Cassius hastened toward the Syrians, who were familiar to him; but Brutus stood by Greece and Macedonia, and they attached themselves to him both because of the glory of his deeds, and because he had many soldiers—some wandering there from the battle at Pharsalus, ^B some taken up as remnants from those who had gone out with Dolabella—and he kept them, and he had funds sent from Asia by Trebonius. Thus he acquired the Hellenic region without a struggle, and having subsequently taken on all of Macedonia and Epirus, he sent word to the Senate, declaring his deeds. They (for they happened to be suspicious of Caesar at that time) both praised him and ordered him to rule over everything there. From this he himself became more confident, and the subjects submitted to him without pretext. And when Caesar was firmly established in Rome and was openly punishing those who had slain his father, he considered how he might defend himself against those attacking him, and he repelled some plots that had been formed against him by certain persons. And he withdrew into Upper Macedonia, having the strongest part of the army, and from there he sailed into Asia, so that the soldiers might not change sides upon hearing that what was being done in Rome was reported in a more fearful light. Then he hastened back again to Europe, fearing lest any revolutionary movement occur. At the same time, Cassius also crossed into Asia to Trebonius, and having taken money and many cavalry from him, and many, many others of the Cilicians and Asians, he even compelled the Tarsians to join his alliance. And upon coming to Syria, he acquired all the property of the peoples and the armies without a fight. Having therefore taken possession of Syria, ^{C D}

^A they made use of pushing, but with the sword to a great extent, and with eagerness, and made no use of retreats or pursuits, but where they happened to stand, they were wounded, destroyed, and destroyed others. And Brutus indeed held the upper hand against those stationed against Caesar; but Cassius, being drawn up against those with Antony, had been defeated, and both camps were taken. However, those who were defeated did not know of the victory of their comrades, nor did the victors know of the defeat. For the camps were far apart, and a vast dust having risen, they were ignorant of the outcome of the battle. Meanwhile, Caesar’s trench and that of Antony were plundered, and everything in them was taken, so that if Caesar had not left the rampart according to the dream of the physician, he would have been caught and endangered in it. But Cassius was saved from the battle, and when his fortification was destroyed, he retreated to a hill that had a view of the plain. Suspecting that Brutus too might have been defeated, he sent a centurion to reconnoiter and report to him where Brutus was and what he was doing. But when the one sent met the horsemen whom ^B Brutus had dispatched to learn about the situation regarding Cassius, and was surrounded by them as they greeted and welcomed him, Cassius took the approaching ones to be enemies, and being caught by them, he ordered a certain Pindarus, a freedman, to put him to death. And such was the end he met; and the centurion having returned and learned of the deed, blaming himself for the delay, killed himself as well. But Brutus, having learned of the defeat of Cassius and his death, wept, and gathering those of his soldiers who had survived, consoled them with words and a gift of money. In that battle, about eight thousand of these had fallen, and more than twice that number of those with Caesar and Antony. Therefore, they were despondent, until Demetrius, a servant of Cassius, arrived at last to Antony, carrying his cloaks and sword. Upon these things being brought, they took such heart that at daybreak they armed the force for battle. But Brutus did not wish to fight in a set engagement, but attempted to harass and disturb the enemies by night. And he once diverted the river and flooded a large part of their rampart. But when he knew that some of his own men were deserting to the opponents, fearing that something more might be done in revolt, he decided to join battle with them. ^C Since there were many prisoners in his camp, and he did not know how to deal with them at the time of the battle, he ordered the slave multitude to be put to death, but of the free men, he openly released some, and saved others by hiding them and sending them away, seeing that the commanders were implacable, even though the enemies had killed the captured soldiers of his own.

XX. On the day before the battle, ^D a phantom appeared to Brutus in the evening, which he had also seen before, when he was crossing from Asia at night. It was of this sort. The night was deep, and a light not very bright was burning in his tent. Now he was awake, contemplating and considering something, when he thought someone was entering the tent; and as he looked toward the entrance, he saw a terrible and strange appearance of a monstrous body silently standing by him. And having asked, "Who are you, or what do you want in coming?" he heard from him: "I am your evil spirit, Brutus; you shall see me at Philippi." And Brutus, undaunted, said, "I will see you." This phantom, therefore, he saw again, showing the same appearance, but without saying anything, but simply departing. And they say that two eagles [in the middle space between the lines of battle...]

[...and no ships were to be added, and no garrisons were to be held in Italy; but the sea was to be pacified, and a fixed amount of grain was to be sent to the city. These conditions were inscribed on tablets and deposited with the Vestal Virgins, and they gave each other their right hands and kissed. Then a huge clamor was raised, as much on the mainland as on the ships, so that the mountains resounded. Afterward, they hosted banquets for one another—first Sextus on his ship, then Caesar and Antonius on the shore. Although Sextus could have killed both of them while they were on his vessel with but a few men, as his freedman Menas had advised him, saying that if he wished it he could cut the mooring ropes and sail away, he would not; instead, he betrothed his own daughter to M. Marcellus, the nephew of Caesar. And thus the war was postponed.

^B XXIII. When Antonius returned from Italy to Greece, he spent a very long time there, indulging his whims and distressing the cities so that, being quite weakened, they might be handed over to Sextus. And besides many other things abhorrent to ancestral customs, he called himself a new Bacchus and ordered others to call him so too. For this reason, when the Athenians betrothed Minerva to him, he said he would accept that condition, and he exacted ten million drachmas from them in the name of a dowry. Occupied with these matters, he sent P. Ventidius into Asia, who, having joined battle with Labienus and the Roman and Parthian forces with him, put them to flight. Many of the Parthians were slaughtered by the enemy, but more were trampled by their own side in their flight, and the rest fled into Cilicia. ^C When Labienus was preparing to join battle with him again, and Ventidius learned from a deserter that his soldiers, discouraged by the flight of the barbarians, wanted to flee by night, he killed many of them by setting an ambush during their departure and drew the others to himself. Labienus himself escaped at that time, but was later captured by Demetrius, a freedman of Caesar’s father, whom Antonius had at that time sent to Cyprus. Ventidius, having recovered Cilicia, sent Silon with cavalry to the Amanus, a mountain situated on the border of Cilicia and Syria, which has very narrow passes. There he was in danger from those whom Pacorus had left behind to guard it, had not Ventidius, having chanced upon them while fighting, brought him aid by his unexpected arrival. Thus he also recovered Syria, except for the Aradians. Then he took possession of Palestine also. In the consulship of Appius Claudius and C. Norbanus, the multitude, burdened by the exactions of the tax collectors, fought through a sedition against them, their assistants, and the soldiers who helped them collect the taxes. Caesar married Livia, the daughter of Livius Drusus—who had laid hands on himself after the battle of Philippi—and who was married to Nero. She was at that time, from her former husband, in the seventh month of pregnancy,

^A crossed to Tauromenium without danger. When the battle was over, Sextus quickly returned to Messana, and upon learning of Caesar’s crossing, he attacked him by land. Caesar, having lost the greater part of his fleet, nearly perished himself, but escaped to land. He was aggrieved that his army was trapped on the island and did not recover his spirits until a fish leapt out of the sea and fell of its own accord before his feet. The diviners interpreted this as a sign that he would master the sea. His army, meanwhile, was being besieged, had no provisions, and had no one to bring them aid; Cornificius, his commander, having burned the remaining ships of the battle, led his forces to Mylae, suffering many disasters on the march, especially while crossing rivers, with the enemy close at his heels. This lasted for three days. ^B On the final day, when Sextus also arrived, they would all have been destroyed by the vexations from every side had the Pompeians not been forced to withdraw. For Agrippa, victorious in the naval battle, had entered Sicily and sent grain and reinforcements to the army. Fearing his arrival, Sextus withdrew with such haste that he left behind some baggage and provisions in the fortification, which sustained the men of Cornificius; when they reached Agrippa, they were received by Caesar with praise and rewards.

XXV.

newly acquired [Iotape] from Antony, as a bride for his son Alexander. On these grounds he set out for Ionia and Greece for war against Caesar. The Mede, who was in alliance with the Romans, defeated the Parthians and Artaxes who had attacked him. But when Antony summoned his own soldiers and had taken hold of those of the other [the Mede], he was undefeated and captured. And thus Armenia, together with Media, was lost. The Romans, however, although they had maintained the democracy, did not slide into an overt monarchy until Sextus had perished, and the rebellious nations had been enslaved, and the Parthian was stirring up nothing. ^A For then Antony and Caesar turned openly upon each other, and the people were strictly enslaved. They alleged the following causes for the war between them. Antony accused Caesar of having confiscated the territory and power of Lepidus and Sextus, and of demanding half of these, and of the soldiers whom he had levied from Italy, which belonged to him. Caesar, in return, accused him of having seized Egypt and other lands that had not fallen to his lot, and of having killed Sextus (for he said he himself had willingly wished to spare him), and of having taken the Armenian by deceit and imprisoned him, and by this act having cast a stigma of disgrace upon the Romans, and that he himself similarly demanded half of the spoils, and he brought charges against him before all of the Cleopatra incident and the children born of her, and the gifts bestowed upon them. ^B Most of all, he accused him of introducing Caesarion into the lineage of Caesar.

XXVIII. Thus did they reproach each other, and for a time they were not openly arming against one another, until Gnaeus Domitius and Gaius Sossius, who were of Antony's faction, became consuls. Then, indeed, they became openly enemies. For when Sossius, on the Kalends, had spoken many things in praise of Antony and had slandered Caesar, Caesar at that time departed from the city, feigning some other cause. But returning after this, and having stationed a guard of soldiers for himself, he spoke moderately in his own defense, but accused Sossius and Antony of many things, and promised to convict Antony of injustice through letters. ^C The consuls, therefore, daring neither to contradict him nor enduring to keep silent, left the city and went off to Antony, and no few of the other senators went along with them. And again, others left Antony and went over to Caesar, because he had repudiated his cohabitation with Octavia and because they were indignant at Cleopatra. Learning from these both the other matters of Antony and his wills, and whose hands they were in, Caesar took them and read them in public—an act most lawless. And the leading men showed such anger at what was written that they stripped him of the consulship and all other authority, and they voted immunity and praise to those with him if they would desert him, and they openly declared war on Cleopatra, which had reference ^D more to Antony (for they knew he would endure anything for her sake). For she had so enslaved him that she was called queen and mistress by him, that he permitted Roman soldiers to be in her bodyguard, and her name to be inscribed on the shields of all of them. And she would even enter the forum with him, and would join in overseeing the games, and would administer justice with him, and would ride on horseback with him. She was carried in a litter in the cities, while he followed on foot with the eunuchs. She was both painted and sculpted with him; and he was indeed called Bacchus and Osiris, while she was called Isis and Luna. On account of this, because of her arts...

^A or saw their preparations and was making his own; but having also learned their mind from others and from Dellius, ^B he assembled his army, and exhorted them to battle with the words he had spoken. When a violent rainstorm and a great tempest fell upon Antony’s fleet during this, Cæsar took heart, and kept watch for their sailing out. When Antony’s men drew up in battle line, yet did not advance, he charged, intending either to close with them as they stood, or to force them to retreat. As they neither advanced nor turned back, but remained in their place, drawing up close together in order, he held back for a time, then, having engaged, they fought a naval battle. The battle being for a long time undecided and indecisive, Cleopatra’s sixty ships, upon a signal given by her, hoisted their sails and rushed out to the open sea. Antony, seeing Cleopatra’s ship sailing away, forgetting everything else, transferred to a quinquereme and pursued the woman who had ruined him and was destined to ruin him still further. She, recognizing the ship’s sign, stopped. And having been taken into her ship, he went alone into the prow and sat in silence, and spent three days thus. When they arrived at Tænarus, the women who were accustomed to her brought them together, and persuaded them to dine and sleep together. Antony’s fleet, after his departure, having held out until the tenth hour, when fire was brought to the ships by order of Cæsar, was partly burned and partly captured. It is said that about three hundred ships were captured. ^C

XXX. This was the outcome of the naval battle, on the fourth day before the Nones of September, and then Cæsar began to be the sole master of all things, so that his reign began to be reckoned from that time. In the place of the camp he founded a city, having named it Nicopolis after the victory, and he set up bronze statues of a man and a donkey. For it is said that, at night, on the eve of the day on which the naval battle was joined, when he had gone out from his tent to inspect the ships, he met a man driving a donkey. Upon asking his name, he replied: "My name is Eutychus, and my donkey’s is Nikon." These statues were later transferred to Byzantium and stood in the hippodrome. The infantry and cavalry of Antony, having remained for seven days after his flight, finally surrendered to the victor. Some, especially the Romans, departed to Antony, while others, the allies, went home. Cæsar hastened to Italy, fearing lest some sedition might arise there. Having come to Brundisium, he did not advance any further; for the senate, the equestrian order, and the greater part of the people came there to him. Having settled matters there as he thought best, he departed again for Greece, and having transported his ships across the Isthmus of Peloponnesus because of the storm, he crossed rapidly into Asia. Cleopatra, fleeing, strove to occupy Egypt, fearing lest they should attempt a revolution. Having arrived there, she collected money and raised forces from all sides. Antony sailed to Libya. But when the army which he had there also deserted him, he sought to take his own life; but he was prevented by his friends, and was carried to Alexandria. And they were preparing as if they were going to wage war; yet they also sent some ^D

ANNALS BOOK X

^A and settled Octavia upon him. Because he was praised to the heavens by the senate, he desired to receive the empire from those who were willing, out of a desire for greater honor, and so that he might not appear to rule over those who were unwilling. Having coached those closest to him, he entered the senate while serving as consul for the seventh time and asked leave to resign the monarchy, saying that all things should be handled by the best men, and he begged them to accept from him the laying down of the monarchy. Those in the senate, some knowing his mind and others suspecting it, were either unwilling to put him to the test, or were afraid. Therefore, some feigned to trust him, others felt compelled to do so, and they supposedly forced him to take sole rule. In this way, he secured his hegemony from the senate and the people and took upon himself the entire care of public affairs. Among the nations, he assigned the weaker ones, as being more peaceful and unwarlike, to the senate, but the stronger ones, as being dangerous and perhaps precarious, he kept for himself, under the pretext that the senate might enjoy the finest parts of the government and that the burdens should fall upon him, but in truth so that they might be unarmed and unwarlike, while he alone held the weapons and maintained the soldiers. And that he might not appear to harbor any monarchical intent, he accepted the government of the provinces assigned to him for ten years. For he promised that he would set them in order in that time, declaring these things in word. For when the decade had passed, another five years, and then again five, and after that ten and five again ^B were decreed to him, so that by the succession of these ten-year periods he might rule as monarch for life. And from this, even the emperors after him, although appointed for life, nevertheless always celebrated the end of every ten years as if they were then renewing their hegemony. Many things were decreed at that time in honor of Caesar, and he was called Augustus. For he desired to be named Romulus, but realizing that he was suspected of desiring kingship from this—for the Romans, while enduring the reality of those who were ruled by kings, were averse to the name of king—he refrained from being called Romulus and wished to be called Augustus, as existing as something more than human. ^C For all things that are most sacred and venerable are called *augusta*; from which they also called him *Sebastos* (Augustus), from the word meaning "to be venerated," Hellenizing it, as it were, as if he were someone sacred. And the dwelling of the emperors was called the *palatium*, because he lived on the hill called the Palatine, where Faustulus lived and had his headquarters; and for this reason, even if the emperor lodges somewhere else, his residence bears the name of the Palatine. And all authority, that which in the past was given to the consuls, the tribunes, the censors, and all the others, has been given to the emperor. Furthermore, it was also decreed that they ^D should be exempt and unbound by any statute.

Variæ lectiones et notæ. (86) And five times again.

^A He hated Lepidus, indeed, for other reasons and because his son had conspired against him, though he did not wish to kill him, but rather insulted and mocked him in various ways. He established other laws as well: that those who corrupted the magistracies should be debarred from them for five years; he set penalties for those who remained unmarried or who were without a wife, and established prizes for marriage and the begetting of children. And since there were many more noble-born males than females, he allowed those who wished to marry freedwomen, ordering that their progeny should be deemed legitimate. And since some, in order to enjoy the prizes given to married men while circumventing the law, betrothed themselves to infants, he ordered that no betrothal should be valid unless marriage was celebrated within two years. This meant that girls might not be betrothed before the age of ten, so that their twelfth year, the year of maturity, would be the time for marriage.

Agrippa also fathered another son by Julia, named Lucius, whom Augustus adopted along with his brother Gaius, immediately designating them as successors to his authority, so that he might be less conspired against. Once, when he was dining with Pollio—a man very wealthy but extremely savage and cruel—because the cupbearer had broken a crystal cup, the master ordered that he be cast to the lampreys, which he raised in fishponds and had trained to devour men (the manner of punishment he had devised for the slaves he killed). Caesar interceded for the punishment of the cupbearer. When he could not persuade Pollio, he said: "Bring out all the cups you have of that material, or any other valuable things, so that I may use them." When they were brought, he smashed them, saying, "So that men may not be punished because of these." Pollio, because of the multitude of broken cups, forgot about the single one, and not being able to punish the cupbearer—since Augustus had done the same thing over many—he kept quiet, albeit unwillingly.

Agrippa fell ill and died in Campania. The Emperor went there, brought his body to Rome, placed it in the Forum, delivered an oration over him, conducted a magnificent funeral, and buried him in his own tomb. The death of Agrippa became a common cause of mourning for the Romans. For in all other respects he was the finest man of his time, and he used his friendship with Augustus for both his own benefit and that of the public. He contributed all his wisdom and bravery to the most useful ends for Caesar, and spent all the power and honor he received from him in benefiting others. Hence he was neither burdensome to him nor an object of envy to others. When he had passed away, since he needed an assistant for public affairs, he took on Tiberius, though unwillingly (for the sons of Agrippa, who were his own grandsons, were still mere children). He took his wife—who was a daughter of Agrippa from another marriage—away from him and betrothed her to Tiberius. Thereafter, through him, and through Drusus and Lucius Piso, he brought many nations into subjection. ^{B C D}

themselves, as they knew not how to conduct a siege. The Romans made use of numerous archers, by whom they were also repelled, and many were destroyed. After this, having learned that the Romans had set a guard at the Rhine and that Tiberius was advancing with a heavy army, the majority withdrew from the fortification, while those who remained abandoned it, so that they might not be harmed by sudden sorties from those inside, but they watched the ^A roads, expecting to subdue them by a shortage of food. The Romans inside, as long as they were well-supplied with provisions, remained in place, awaiting help; but as no one came to their aid, and they were constrained by famine, they sallied forth in the dead of a wintry night (the soldiers were few, but there were many camp followers) and passed the first and second barbarian guard-posts. However, they were discovered upon reaching the third, and all would have perished or been taken captive, had not the Barbarians turned to the plundering of booty, and had not the trumpeters by a sudden blast ^B given the impression that help had arrived for the besieged, which eventually, in truth, did arrive. Tiberius, however, did not deem it proper to cross the Rhine, but kept quiet, watching to see if the Barbarians would do so. But neither did they dare to cross, knowing he was present. After this, he himself and Germanicus made an incursion into Celtic territory and ravaged certain parts of it, but they did not conquer in battle, nor did they subdue any nation, because no one came to close quarters with them. Nor did they themselves proceed far from the Rhine, fearing lest they suffer a defeat again, but after tarrying there until the autumn, they returned home.

38. The Death of Augustus

^C 38. Augustus, while administering the affairs of the monarchy and having now grown very old, assigned Germanicus, who had completed his consulship before his praetorship, to the Senate, and commended the Senate to Tiberius. During the Circensian games, on his birthday, a certain madman occupied the chair dedicated to Julius Caesar and placed his crown upon his own head. This disturbed everyone, as they considered it a sign of ill omen for Augustus. Moreover, many portents appeared to this effect. For the sun suffered a total eclipse, the sky appeared to be burning far and wide, and comets and blood-colored stars were seen. When the Senate was convened because of his illness, so that they might offer prayers for his health, the senate house was found to be closed; and a lightning bolt, striking his statue, obliterated the first letter of the name Caesar. These things occurred while he was still alive. ^D He then fell ill at Nola and passed away on the nineteenth day of the month of August, having lived seventy-six years, lacking thirty-four days; and he had reigned for forty-four years from the time he was victorious at Actium. However, suspicion fell upon Livia regarding his death, because Augustus had sailed secretly to the island where Agrippa was exiled, along with his mother Julia. For she feared that, having been reconciled, he might designate him emperor upon his recall from exile; and it is said that she poisoned some figs that were still hanging on the trees, from which Augustus was accustomed to pick and eat with his own hand. She herself ate the non-poisoned ones, and left the poisoned ones for him. Whether, therefore, for that or some other cause he was affected by illness, he summoned his friends, and after discussing what he wished, at last he said: "I found a city of brick, and I leave it to you of marble." By these words he implied that the empire had been established by him.

^A He ordered Agrippa, the grandson of Augustus by Julia and Agrippa, to be put to death. He also greatly feared Germanicus. The army in Pannonia also mutinied, going so far as to launch an assault against their commander. But after the more audacious men and the ringleaders were punished, the rest settled down. Those in Germany, however, accused Tiberius and hailed Germanicus as emperor. When he drew his sword as if to kill himself, one of the soldiers raised his own sword and said, "Take this, for it is sharper." Germanicus therefore refrained from killing himself, so as not to cause more discord. He then forged letters as if they had been sent from Tiberius, and by promising them gifts and other things, he quieted the sedition for the time being. Later, when envoys were sent by Tiberius, they learned of the cunning of Germanicus and, suspecting that the envoys had come to rescind the promises he had made, the soldiers mutinied again and rushed at the envoys. They seized Germanicus’s wife, Agrippina, who was the daughter of Caesar’s daughter Julia and Agrippa, and his son Gaius. They released Agrippina, who was pregnant, to him, but they kept the son. When they accomplished nothing, they themselves also grew quiet.

Thus, though he was able to seize the imperial power, he refused it. ^B Tiberius, outwardly, praised him before the Senate, but in his own heart he suspected him greatly and feared him because he had command of the armies. When no further revolutionary activity was reported, he no longer dissembled and accepted the rule. As long as Germanicus was alive, he did nothing on his own authority, but referred everything to the Senate, and he did not want to be called emperor by anyone except the soldiers. He was called Caesar, Germanicus, and the leading man of the Senate, and he prayed to rule and live only as long as it would be beneficial to the public. In all things he strove to appear a man of the people, spending very little on himself and the most on the commonwealth. ^C He restored and adorned ruined buildings, inscribing them with the names of the original builders, provided aid to cities and private citizens, and enriched many of the senatorial order who had fallen into poverty; and these donations were counted out immediately in his presence, so that the givers might not embezzle any of the funds, as he knew had happened under Augustus. He killed no one for the sake of money, nor did he confiscate anyone's property, nor did he exact anything beyond what was customary. To Aemilius, indeed, who had sent more money than had been assessed, he wrote back that he wanted his sheep to be shorn, but not flayed. He was easy to approach and affable; he honored the magistrates as in a democracy, and would stand up for the consuls. He consorted with his companions as if he were a private citizen. ^D He visited the sick, without any retinue of guards. And when one of them died, he himself delivered the funeral oration. He ordered his mother Livia to conduct herself in the same way toward everyone. But she, showing great arrogance, was for a time inscribed on Tiberius's letters, and she acted with such pretense of imperial power that she seemed not to want to rule on an equal footing with him, but on better terms, claiming that she had made him emperor. This Tiberius took ill at first, then...

^A be done; it was not rather by decree and vote of the Senate. When she had rejected the message regarding our Savior, Tiberius felt no concern, having already been of the opinion that nothing improper had been introduced against the teaching of Christ. Eusebius brings forward as a witness for these things Tertullian, a Roman man and one of the illustrious men in Rome, in a certain treatise written by him in the Roman language, and translated into the Greek tongue, saying these things: "It was an ancient law that no god should be consecrated by anyone, unless he had been approved by the Senate." Tiberius, therefore, in whose time the name of the Christians had entered the world, having received a report of this doctrine from Palestine, where it first began, communicated it to the Senate, signifying to them that he was pleased with the proclamation. But the Senate, because they had not themselves approved it, rejected it. He, however, remained of the same opinion, having threatened death to the accusers of the Christians; Eusebius records that Tiberius did these things, having learned about the divinity of our Savior and his resurrection from the dead, having selected them from the treatise of Tertullian.

^B IV. And Tiberius having thus departed, Gaius, the son of Germanicus and Agrippina, who is also called Germanicus and Caligula, succeeded him. For although Tiberius had left the empire to his own grandson Tiberius, yet Gaius, having sent his will to the Senate, caused it to be declared invalid, on the grounds that he was demented, as if in the case of a child who was not permitted even to enter the senate-house, he had entrusted the rule of the Romans. Thus he immediately removed him from the rule, and after this, having pretended to adopt him, he killed him, as if he had prayed to die. He distributed much money to the soldiers and the people, partly from the will of Tiberius, and partly from that of Livia, which Tiberius had not yet paid out. And if he had spent the rest also as it behooved, he would have been thought magnanimous and magnificent. But now, by spending greedily and insatiably on actors, horses, gladiators, and other similar things, he exhausted his vast treasures in a short time, and proved himself to have done those things through frivolity and lack of judgment. And he did not preserve even a third part of them for the third year, but immediately stood in need of vast sums. He used the same manner for other matters as well. For, having become the most adulterous of men, he snatched away one woman who was betrothed to a man, and having taken away others already given in marriage and living with their husbands, he hated all others with one exception: whom he would certainly have hated as well, had she lived longer. Toward his mother, his sisters, and his grandmother Antonia, he at first behaved with great piety: but afterwards he forced his grandmother, who had reproved him, to a voluntary death. He corrupted all his sisters, and shut two of them up on an island; for the third had died beforehand, and he did many other such things. He slandered Tiberius as a lecher and a murderer, so that others, thinking they would please him by this, used freer speech. Then he praised and honored him, so that he even punished some for the things ^C they had prompted against his father, mother, and brothers; although he claimed to be mollified

^A when he learned that he possessed nothing worthy of death. He said, "He deceived me, and he perished in vain, when he could have lived." But Domitius Afer, being close to danger, escaped miraculously. For, when Caius was reciting a long speech against him in the Senate (for he thought that he surpassed all orators, and he strove to outdo Domitius, who was a man most eloquent), he neither spoke anything against him, nor did he defend himself, but he pretended to admire the eloquence of the man, and to be struck with awe by it, and he begged and entreated, saying that he feared the orator more than he did the Caesar. Pleased by these things, and believing that by the power of his speech he had overcome him, he ceased from his wrath.

VI. Then he marched into Gaul to suppress the movements of the Celts, but he did no harm at all to the enemies, while he harmed his subjects, allies, and citizens in the greatest degree. And once, as he was gambling and discovered that he had no money, he asked for the descriptions of the Gauls. And having ordered the wealthiest of them to be put to death, he returned to his fellow gamblers and said, "You strive for a few drachmas; I, meanwhile, have collected ten thousand myriad talents." Thus was everything done without judgment. And that Lepidus, the lover, the object of his passion, the husband of Drusilla, whom he had honored above all and whom he promised he would leave as his successor to the empire, he killed; and his own sisters, as having been corrupted by him, he banished to the Pontian islands, and he did many other things of this kind. Then, having cast off Paulina, on the pretext ^B that she was not bearing children, though the truth was that she had become estranged, he married Milonia Caesonia, whom he had previously debauched, but then desired also to have as his wife, because she was with child, in order that a child might be born to him after thirty days.

The people in Rome were disturbed by these things, and they were also disturbed because many lawsuits were brought against them on account of their friendship with his sisters, and with those who had been murdered, and they expected that both the cruelty and the licentiousness of Caius would increase further if the time of his rule continued longer. And they were disposed thus toward him. ^C But he also sent for Ptolemy, the son of Juba, and killed him too, as a wealthy man. Living in this manner, he was bound to be plotted against, and he discovered the attack. Having seized Nicius Cerealious and his son Sextus Papinius, he tortured them. When Papinius revealed nothing, he persuaded him to denounce some men—whether truly or falsely—by promising him safety and immunity, and he immediately killed him and the others before his own eyes. And he forced the father of one of those being killed to be present, and when he, upon hearing his son being murdered, asked if he was permitted to close his eyes, he ordered him also to be slaughtered. But he, being in danger, pretended to be one of those who had plotted against him, and promised to name all the rest, ^D

under Claudius the Romans have lived. Hence they were enslaved by others and by Annius Vinicianus, ^A who sent to Furius Camillus Scribonianus, the governor of Dalmatia, and persuaded him to revolt. When the soldiers did not obey him, he killed himself. Claudius, although in great terror, being ready to yield the power to him voluntarily, yet upon learning of his death, took heart; he rewarded the soldiers with various gifts and money, but sought out those who had conspired with him, and executed the greater number. Many others, as well as Vinicianus, took their own lives. For Messalina and Claudius’s freedman Narcissus, and his fellow freedmen, taking this opportunity, refrained from no kind of extreme cruelty. Thus many men and women were executed, and some even of those most guilty were saved, some by money, others by favor. A certain Galates, a freedman of Camillus, when Narcissus had come into the center of the senate-house and said to him, "What would you have done, Galates, if Camillus had become monarch?" replied that he would have stood behind him, and remained silent. ^B Arria, wife of the consul Caecina, though she was very intimate with Messalina, could not bear to live while her husband was dying, but even encouraged her husband, who was losing heart. For she took the sword, struck herself, and handed it to him, saying, "See, Paetus, I do not grieve." And they were lauded for these deeds. Claudius was so inclined toward punishments that he would frequently give the soldiers this verse as a countersign: "To ward off a man, when someone is the first to be cruel."

Messalina and his freedmen thus sold and auctioned off the government, military expeditions, commissions, magistracies, and everything else, so that there was a scarcity of all things for sale, and from this, Claudius was forced to set their prices from the tribunal. When Aulus Plautius had campaigned in Britain, and, having suffered some things and done others, ^C reported the events to Claudius, he entrusted affairs at home to Lucius Vitellius, his colleague in the consulship, and went on campaign himself. Arriving at the Ocean and crossing over into Britain with greater preparation and elephants, he joined the armies. Having engaged the Barbarians with them, he conquered, took their kingdom, and returned to Rome, having sent word of the victory ahead through his sons-in-law, Magnus and Silanus. The senate, learning of this, bestowed the name Britannicus upon both him and his son, and voted them many other honors. Messalina, having become enamored of a dancer named Mnester, since she could not persuade him to have relations with her either by promises or by threats, arranged for Claudius to order him to obey her, as if she were in need of his services for other matters. And when ^D Claudius had spoken, and what was commanded by Messalina,

^A astrologers from all over Italy were driven out, and those who associated with them were punished. A certain barbarian leader named Caratacus, having been captured and brought to Rome, obtained pardon from Claudius. Afterwards, having walked about the city after his release and seen its splendor and size, he said: "Do you, then, possessing such things and the like, desire our huts?" ^B Claudius, having become indignant at a certain Julius Gallicus who was pleading a case, ordered him to be thrown into the Tiber; upon which Domitius Afer, who had the greatest power in pleading cases among those of his time, jested most wittily. For when someone, having been abandoned by Gallicus, had asked for his help, he said to him: "And who told you that I am a better swimmer than him?"

^B XI. After this, when Claudius had fallen ill, Nero entered the senate and promised [to hold] chariot races, if Claudius should recover. For Agrippina was putting everything into motion, that he might become popular with the masses and be thought of as the sole successor to the imperial power. Wherefore she had Nero promise the equestrian spectacle, to which they were most attached, for the health of Claudius, which she prayed very much for—while in fact she desired the opposite; and having stirred up some clamor over the sale of bread, she persuaded Claudius to announce to the people through an edict, and to write to the senate, that even if he should die, Nero was already capable of administering public affairs. And from that time on he was very much in the public eye and was spoken of by everyone. But as for Britannicus, some did not even know if he was alive, while others, due to the stories Agrippina spread, thought him to be crippled and epileptic. After Claudius had recovered, Nero put on the games magnificently, and at the same time he married Octavia, so that from this, too, he might already be thought of as a man. ^C But nothing seemed sufficient to Agrippina, even though everything that Livia had possessed had been given to her, and even more had been decreed. She even wished to be plainly named empress on an equal footing with Claudius, and when a great fire was sweeping through the city, she appeared in public along with him to bring aid. Claudius, therefore, being offended by the things that had come to his knowledge, and thinking that these things were not to be borne and that the woman must be restrained, had in mind to invest Britannicus with the manly toga and designate him as his successor. Agrippina, having learned of this, was in haste to forestall him with poison before any such thing could be accomplished. And since this effort by wine, of which Claudius always drank heavily, and by his other manner of living—to which all who hold power are wont to resort for the sake of protecting themselves—had proven ineffective, she sent for Locusta, a notorious poisoner who had recently been apprehended for that very crime, and through her prepared another inescapable poison and threw it into some of those mushrooms called "the best." She herself ate of the others, but she arranged for him to eat of the one containing the poison, which was the largest and finest. And he, having been plotted against in this way, was carried out from the banquet as if he had been overcome by drunkenness and gluttony, which had often happened to him on other occasions. ^D Having been brought to his end by the poison, he passed away during the night, being able neither to speak nor to hear anything.

standing as soldiers before him, they rose up against him. Galba, therefore, upon hearing of the revolt, adopted Lucius Piso, a young man of noble birth and gentle character, wise in counsel, and designated him Caesar. But Marcus Otho Salvius, angered that he had not been adopted by Galba, revolted against him, having prepared thirty soldiers to assist him. For when Galba was sacrificing, he alone among the senators stood by him, and having heard the soothsayer say that a conspiracy was being directed against him, and having heard him advise him to stay at home and not to go out anywhere at all, he immediately ran down to the camp, pretending he was going for some other purpose, and having been brought inside the rampart by the soldiers who had conspired with him, and having persuaded the others—or rather, to put it better, having bought them over with many promises—he immediately received the rule from them. Galba, having learned what was being done, sent some men to the camp, thinking to persuade those within it. Meanwhile, a certain soldier came up to him brandishing a naked and bloodied sword, saying, "Take courage, Emperor! For I have killed Otho." Galba, believing this, hastened to the Capitol to offer sacrifice, and in the middle of the forum, after meeting him, ^A both cavalry and infantry, when they hacked to pieces the old man, the consul, the high priest, the Caesar, the Emperor, with many looking on, and having cut off his head, they impaled it on a spear. And he was thus slain, having said only: "And what evil have I done?" Piso also died, and many others. And having done these things, the soldiers cut off those men's heads and carried them to Otho at the camp and into the senate, so that the senators, struck with terror, pretended to rejoice, and voted for Otho all things pertaining to the rule. Yet he did not fail to perceive that the senate was disgusted, and that he was going to rule more wantonly and harshly than Nero. Galba, therefore, having lived seventy-two years, three days and twenty-three days, and having ruled for nine months and thirteen days, met this end. ^B

XV. The death of Otho and the rebellion of a false Nero

^Aives, they would be in it with him. Mamaea, the mother of Alexander, was a woman who aspired to virtue and a serious life. Being in Antioch with her son and learning about Origen, she sent for him from Alexandria; and, having been instructed in the word of the faith by him, she became most god-fearing, as Eusebius records and some other writers confirm. Hence, not only did the persecution against the Christians calm down at that time, but those who worshipped Christ were held in the highest honor. At that time, Urbanus presided over the episcopate of the city of the Romans, and Hippolytus also flourished, a most holy and wise man, who was bishop of Portus near Rome; he also wrote many treatises, having provided interpretations of the divine scripture on various subjects. As for Antioch, Asclepiades was presiding there at that time and guiding the church of the faithful; and Sardianus was at Jerusalem. Alexander, having ruled for ten years, was slain in the manner already related; and Maximinus succeeded to the rule. He immediately stirred up a persecution against those who bear the name of Christ, and ordered those who presided over the churches to be put to death as teachers and heralds of the mystery of Christ. It is said that he instigated the persecution out of anger toward Alexander, because the latter honored those who worshipped Christ. For he had been enraged against that emperor, because having been appointed commander by him and having campaigned against the Persians, and having been most shamefully defeated, he experienced royal wrath. There was also a second cause for the persecution: that many in the household of Alexander had recognized Christ as God. At that time, Ambrose, a lover of learning—who had urged Origen to the interpretation of divine scripture, provided him with abundant funds, and assigned him seven shorthand writers who took turns at writing at set times, as well as no fewer copyists and young girls skilled in fine calligraphy—is said to have been adorned with the crown of martyrdom, along with the presbyter Protoctetus.

Having become sole ruler, this Maximinus immediately wrote to the Senate, declaring his own proclamation by the armies. He was harsh and cruel not only to the Christians, but also to all his subjects. For he was abusive and greedy, and from this, most unjust and a worker of murders, and a tyrant in the true sense, resorting to the plunder and destruction of men without any reasonable pretext. He drifted into such bloodthirstiness that he did not even spare his own wife; he killed her, too. As if to cover up his own base birth, he dishonored those of noble birth and attached to himself those from obscure origins. For these reasons, therefore, he was hated by all. He campaigned against the Germans and plundered their land, as none of the barbarians appeared *against him*. Then, however, they appeared around the marshes and continuous forests; and there, as the Romans entered, many multitudes were slain. Having conquered in this way, Maximinus returned, bringing with him a multitude of captives. Appropriating everything of his subjects and enriching himself from every source, he did not even spare the sacred things. Since everyone was blaming the soldiers who had made him emperor, those serving in Libya, learning of these things, turned their thoughts to revolt, a certain other cause having also incited them. For the overseers of the affairs in Libya were stripping the wealthy there of their properties without any reasonable pretext and destroying those who possessed them. Consequently, the people there became indignant and rose up; and having seized a man from the Senate named Gordian, even though he was an old man and against his will, they placed a diadem upon him, clothed him in purple, and proclaimed him emperor and Augustus. He arrived in Carthage; and all received him gladly on account of their hatred for Maximinus. He therefore wrote to the Senate, and sent those who would announce his proclamation to those in Rome. As the envoys were delayed in their voyage, those in Rome, unable to bear the tyranny of Maximinus, had moved toward revolt and were tearing down his images and heaping insults upon the tyrant. Then, realizing that if Maximinus were safe there would be no hope of salvation for them, they put forward two commanders, Maximus and Albinus, both of whom were numbered among the Senate. Some have recorded that they were proclaimed Caesars by the Senate, which had not yet learned of the proclamation of Gordian.

Maximinus, however, learning of these things, rushed toward Italy, having threatened the Senate greatly. Having learned that Maximus had marched against him—for Albinus had remained in Rome for its protection—he turned toward Aquileia, having the Maurusians with him, striving to take it first. Aquileia is said to be the present-day Venice. But he was repulsed, as those within it took their stand against him quite bravely. Having been repulsed from Aquileia and having engaged in battle with the forces of Maximus, he was defeated. He retreated to his own tent; but when the soldiers and his own bodyguards mutinied, he came out of the tent with his own son, as if to speak to them. But they immediately fell upon both and killed them. Maximinus was sixty-five years old, having reigned for six of them. The heads of those who were killed were cut off and shown to those in Aquileia and sent to Rome. Those in Rome impaled the head of Maximinus in the marketplace so that it might be visible to all. Thence Maximus returned to Rome, and Albinus met him; and both the people and the Senate received him with acclamations and applause.

^A Who could recount each of these [prodigies]? Since by all it was agreed that two hundred million drachmae were spent on his banquets during the time of his reign. Often he dined with others, and on the same day one man provided him with breakfast, another with lunch, another with dinner, and yet others with sweetmeats after dinner to soothe his indigestion. Yet, having lived in this way, he was not entirely devoid of noble deeds. For he retained the coinage struck under Nero, Galba, and Otho, in no way offended by their images; and whatever had been gifted to certain people, he ratified it all, taking nothing away from anyone. He neither demanded what was owed from taxes, nor did he confiscate anyone's property, having executed very few of those who had acted for Otho, and not even depriving their relatives of their estates. Furthermore, to the families of those who had been put to death in times past, he gifted everything that could be found in the public treasury. Nor did he even invalidate the wills of those who had fought against him and had fallen in battle. ^B He forbade senators and equites from fighting in the arena or offering themselves for show in the orchestra, and for these things he was praised.

Upon these events, the revolt in Judea against him was reported to him. He was terribly afraid, both because of this and other signs that had occurred, and because the moon was thought to have been eclipsed twice, contrary to its usual course. For it was darkened on the fourth and seventh days. At the same time, two suns were seen, one from the west and one from the east: the former weak and pale, ^C the latter robust. The reason for that movement was as follows. Vespasian was residing in Judea, to which—as we have already related—he had been sent by Nero on account of the defection of the Jews. He sent his son, Titus, to greet Galba. But Titus returned (for on the way he had learned of the uprising of Otho and Vitellius) and (as Dion reports) he himself also aspired to the monarchy. But according to Josephus, in his history of the destruction [of Jerusalem], his soldiers, having learned that the Gauls in Europe had revolted and proclaimed Galba emperor, that the legions in Germany had chosen Vitellius, and those in Rome had proclaimed Otho, they likewise voted the monarchy to their own commander, and provoking one another, they hailed Vespasian as emperor and exhorted him to come to the aid of the endangered republic. ^D When he resisted, the commanders persisted, and the soldiers, surrounding him with drawn swords, threatened him with death. He obeys, therefore, and first writes to the one governing the province of Egypt about the state of his affairs, and he immediately proclaimed him emperor. Vespasian, having learned of this, sent Mucianus, the governor of Syria, into Italy against Vitellius. At that time, he ordered Josephus the Hebrew—whom, while Nero was still alive, he had held captive in chains for daring to call himself emperor on account of that divination—to be released. When Titus encouraged that, along with the iron, the disgrace might also be removed (which was done, as the chains were not undone but cut: and this was practiced on those who had been unjustly bound), and with Vespasian’s approval, a certain man cut the chain with an axe. For Josephus (as he himself narrates), having found in the Holy Scriptures a prophecy that one from Judea would rule the world, interpreted that oracle...

^A city no small number, he attacked the Gauls and conquered them in battle, and killed most of them, and recovered for the Romans the city and the gold that had been paid to them. But to return to our subject: Origen also lowered the Holy Spirit from the dignity of the Father and the Son, saying that the Son cannot see the Father, nor can the Spirit see the Son, just as the angels cannot see the Spirit, nor men the angels. These were the blasphemies of Origen concerning the holy and consubstantial Trinity. And concerning the incarnation of the Son of God, he blasphemed, impiously introducing the notion that Christ did not take a soul-endowed flesh from the holy Virgin. For he concocted myths, saying that the only-begotten Son of God was united before the foundation of the world to a soul—which he invented as having been chosen and not having existed—and that with this soul He became man in the last times and assumed flesh without a rational and intellectual soul. And he also dogmatized that the Lord would put off His flesh again, and that His kingdom would have an end. And he suggested that there would be a restoration of the demons, and that their punishment would be temporal and not eternal; that it would take place for the purification of sins; and that after all had been purified, both men and demons would be restored into the Monad. But the matters concerning this Monad, requiring much long-windedness in order for this drivel to be clarified, were passed over, as were others of his blasphemies. ^B Such, then, were the things concerning Origen, whom they also called Adamantius. At that time, Novatus, a presbyter of the church at Rome, became a heresiarch and the leader of those who call themselves Cathari (the Pure), refusing repentance to those who had succumbed during the persecution and had offered sacrifice to the idols, even when they subsequently turned back and confessed; he would not admit them when they fell down and sought therapy for their error with repentance and a contrite heart. Against him a synod was convened in Rome, with Cornelius presiding over it. In it, it was decided that it was right to accept those who had fallen during the time of the persecution, if they turned back, and to treat them with the medicines of repentance; and those divine fathers alienated and excommunicated Novatus from the Church because he did not obey what the synod had decided, deeming him a hater of his brethren. Eusebius mentions a certain history from a letter of Dionysius, who presided over the church of the Alexandrians. For he says that Dionysius wrote this word for word: "There was a certain Serapion among us, an old man of the faith, who had lived blamelessly but had fallen during the trial. He often asked, and no one paid attention to him; for he had sacrificed. Now, having fallen ill, he continued for three successive days speechless and senseless. But having recovered a little on the fourth day, he called the young grandson, and said, 'Hurry, call for me one of the presbyters;' and he was speechless again. The boy ran to the presbyter; but he could not come, for he was ill; yet, as an order had been given by me that those who were departing from life, if they asked—and especially if they had previously supplicated—should be absolved, so that they might depart full of hope, he gave a small portion of the Eucharist to the boy, telling him to soak it and drop it upon the mouth of the elder. The boy returned bearing it. When he was near, before entering, Serapion again recovering, said, 'Have you come, child?' The presbyter could not come, but you, do quickly what you were ordered, and let me depart.' The boy soaked it, and as he poured it into the mouth of the elder, he swallowed a little and immediately gave up the ghost. Was he not clearly preserved and kept alive until he was released, and, his sin having been absolved, could he be acknowledged for the many good things he did?" This is what the letter of Dionysius relates.

Decius, having been thus disposed toward those who worshipped Christ, did not even complete two full years in the rule of the Romans before he perished most shamefully. For as barbarians were plundering the Bosporus, Decius was engaging with them and killing many. But when they were hemmed in and asked to leave all their booty if passage were granted them, Decius would not yield, but appointed Gallus, one of the members of the Senate, to stand at the passage of the barbarians, ordering him not to allow them to pass. But Gallus, plotting against Decius, suggested to the barbarians that they should draw up their lines ^C near a deep marsh. As the barbarians drew up their lines and turned their backs, Decius pursued them; and he himself, with his son and a multitude of Romans, fell into the marsh, and all perished there, so that their bodies were not even found, having been buried by the mud of the marsh. Gallus therefore takes power—whom some of the writers say was also called Volusianus, as having two names, while others have written that Volusianus was his son and ruled with him. Gallus, then, having taken possession of the Roman rule, makes a treaty with the barbarians on the condition of them receiving from the Romans an annual tribute and not plundering the Roman lands. And having made this treaty, he returned to Rome, and proclaimed his son Volusianus Caesar. He also became heavy upon the Christians, no less than Decius, raising a persecution against them and killing many. And the movement of the Persians began again under him, and Armenia was seized by them, its king Tiridates having fled, and his children having defected to the Persians. The Scythians also invaded Italy, being a multitude almost exceeding count, and they overran Macedonia, Thessaly, and Greece. It is said that a portion of them passed through the Bosporus and crossed the Maeotian Lake and reached the Euxine Sea and plundered many lands. And many other of the nations at that time had rushed against the Roman empire. ^D

^A with reference to Vespasian, and foretold to him the empire. Appianus also mentions this oracle in the twenty-second book of his Roman History. But it is more correct and truer to understand this oracle concerning the Savior of the human race, the Lord Jesus Christ. For Vespasian did not rule over the entire world, but only over the Roman provinces, outside of which there were many other kingdoms. But the Lord has dominated and does dominate the entire world, concerning whom it was said by the Father: *Ask of me, and I shall give thee the nations for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession* (Ps. II, 8).

Vespasian, having set out ^B for Alexandria, received word from Rome concerning the slaughter of Vitellius, and that he himself had been declared emperor by the Senate and the Roman people, and that his son Domitian had been ordered to hold the principate until his arrival. Vitellius, however, met his end in this manner: Vespasian’s soldiers, having come near Rome and into the city itself, did not abstain from any kind of violence. While the city was being ravaged, Vitellius, fearing for himself, put on a tattered tunic and hid himself in a dark little room ^C where dogs were kept, planning to flee by night to Tarracina to his brother. But the soldiers found him, full of filth and blood (for he had been bitten by the dogs), with his clothing torn, his hands bound behind his back, and a noose cast about his neck; some struck him with their fists, others plucked at his beard; and all reproached him for his luxury. Because he was ashamed and looked toward the ground, they pricked him under the chin with small knives so that, even if unwilling, he might lift his face. ^D Indeed, a certain Gaul, taking pity on him, said: "I will help you as much as I alone can," and having wounded him, he killed himself. But Vitellius did not die from that wound; rather, he was dragged to the prison. Being greatly pained by what he was suffering and by what he was hearing, he said, "But I, at least, was your emperor." At this remark the soldiers became enraged and cut him to pieces, and having cut off his head, they carried it around the whole city. He lived fifty-four years and eighty-nine days; he reigned for one year, lacking ten days.

XVII. With these things accomplished, Mucianus arrived, and with him [note: the rest of the sentence continues on the next page]

^A he set about affairs of the state together with Domitian. Vespasian was also acclaimed by the Senate, and both Titus and Domitian were called Caesars. Mucianus was termed a brother by Vespasian, and he received the authority to do and to decree whatever he wished, having only the name of the Emperor inscribed upon it; for this reason, he wore a ring sent to him so that he might receive the imperial seal for events as they occurred. Thus both he and Domitian gave offices and procuratorships to many, and appointed various governors and consuls, as if they themselves were in power, so that Vespasian wrote to Domitian, "I am grateful to you, my child, for allowing me to rule, and for not having yet unseated me."

Upon arriving at Alexandria, Vespasian collected much money from there, exacting it from all quarters; he renewed many taxes that had fallen into disuse, increased those that were customary, and devised new ones. He did the same thing later in the rest of his domains, in Italy, and in Rome itself. Having settled Egypt in a short time, he sent a great abundance of grain from it to Rome. Leaving his son Titus in Jerusalem to capture it, he awaited the destruction of that city so that he might return to Rome with his son. But as time was consumed in the siege, he left Titus in Palestine, while he himself boarded a transport ship, sailed to Lycia, and from there, traveling partly by land and partly by sea, reached Brundisium.

Upon coming to Rome, he bestowed gifts upon the soldiers and the populace. He restored the temples and public works that had fallen into ruin; the buildings whose foundations had been laid he brought to completion, but he did not inscribe his own name on them, but rather the names of those who had originally begun them. The property of those who had opposed him and those who had fallen in the battles he left to their children or other relatives. He also destroyed the records of debts owed to the public treasury. Magnificently spending on the common good, he lived very sparingly, and spent nothing beyond what was necessary. He was neither of noble descent nor wealthy. ^B He welcomed all who approached him; he met with his friends before dawn while lying on his couch, and the doors of the palace were wide open throughout the day, and there was no guard at them. In short, he was considered the Emperor in his care for public affairs, but in all other respects, he was common and lived the equal of everyone else.

When Jerusalem was captured, Titus returned to Italy, and both he and his father celebrated the victory in a chariot. Domitian also accompanied them, riding a racing boat. After this, he established teachers of Latin and Greek learning in Rome, who received a salary from the public treasury. Mucianus, having raised many charges against the philosophers, persuaded Vespasian to expel them from Rome, ^C with the exception of Musonius alone, and he drove them from the city. He underwent a charge of avarice, since a statue had been decreed for him by certain people for the price of 250,000 drachmas, with hand extended; "Give me the money," he said, "for this is the base for it." To his son Titus, who was angry about the establishment of a certain tax, he showed gold coins brought in from it and ordered him to test whether they smelled. Alcinus and Marcellus were caught as conspirators against him; Alcinus was killed in the palace by the order of Titus, while Marcellus, condemned by judgment, cut his own throat with a razor. Vespasian died from a fever, or, as others falsely claim of Titus, from poison ingested at a banquet. Having been rebuked by his physicians because in ^D sickness he continued to perform all his duties, he replied, "An Emperor ought to die standing." He became extinct—

^A Some say that the senate in Rome, having learned of the death of Claudius, asked his brother Quintillus for the emperorship, due to their affection for Claudius, but the military proclaimed Aurelian. Quintillus, being simple-minded and ill-suited for the management of affairs, upon learning of the proclamation of Aurelian, slew himself, cutting the vein of his own arm and breathing his last in the flow of blood from it, having dreamed of the emperorship for only seventeen days. However, the historians do not even agree with one another regarding the length of Claudius’s reign. For some record that he reigned for one year, while others, among whom is Eusebius, for two. Constantius Chlorus, the father of Constantine the Great, was a grandson of this Emperor Claudius. ^B When Aurelian had ascended to the rule of the Romans, he asked those in authority how he ought to reign. One of them said to him: "If you wish to reign well, you must fortify yourself with gold and iron, using iron against those who vex you, and rewarding with gold those who serve you." He was the first, as it is said, to benefit from this counsel of his own, having soon after experienced [the edge of] the iron.

This emperor earlier behaved temperately toward those who worshiped Christ, but as time went on, the nature of his autocracy changed, and he himself planned to stir up a persecution against the faithful, and had already even written out edicts. But divine justice checked his impulse of wickedness against those who worshiped Jesus Christ by cutting short his life. But let us not yet speak ^C of his end, but rather recount the things he did during his autocracy. For being most skilled in generalship, he won many wars. He subdued the Palmyrenes; he campaigned against and subdued their queen, Zenobia, who had gained control of Egypt and had captured Probus, who was the general there at that time. Some say that she was taken to Rome and joined in marriage to one of the more prominent men, but others say she died on the way, grieving over the reversal of her fortune; and that Aurelian took one of her daughters as a wife, and wed the rest to prominent Romans.

He also recovered for the Roman empire the Gauls, which had been held for many years by certain tyrants, and having installed governors there, he himself returned to Rome and triumphed on a chariot [drawn by] four elephants. He also defeated the Gauls, who had revolted at that time. ^D When he set out on a campaign against the Scythians, he was slain while in Heraclea in Thrace. For a certain Eros, who was called such and was an informant of news brought from outside, or as some historians relate, an eavesdropper who reported to the emperor things said about him by certain people—Aurelian, having become angry with him, plotted against him. And having imitated his handwriting, he drew up a document containing the names of certain powerful men, ordering that they be led to death; having shown this to them, he incited the men to the murder of the emperor. For, fearing for their own lives, they attacked Aurelian and slew him, he having completed six years in the kingdom, lacking only a few months.

He was succeeded by Tacitus, an elderly man; for he is recorded as being seventy-five years old when he was chosen for the monarchy. The military proclaimed him even though he was absent; for he was then residing in Campania. Having received the decree there, he entered Rome in the attire of a private citizen, and by the judgment of the senate and the people, he donned the imperial robe. The Scythians, having crossed the Maeotic Lake and the Phasis river, attacked Pontus, Cappadocia, Galatia, and Cilicia. Tacitus and Florianus, who was prefect, joined battle with them and slew many, and the remainder sought their safety in flight. Tacitus appointed a certain Maximinus, a relative of his, as governor of Syria; but he, misusing his authority, was slain by the soldiers. And those who had slain him, fearing that the emperor would not overlook them unpunished, pursued and killed him as well, he not yet having finished his seventh month in the kingdom, or according to some, not even two full years. When he was slain, two emperors were proclaimed at the same time: Probus in the East by the soldiers, and Florianus in Rome by the senate. And both ruled: Probus in Egypt, Syria, Phoenicia, and Palestine, and Florianus from Cilicia as far as Italy and the Western regions.

^A having lived sixty-eight years, eight months, and eight days, and having reigned for ten years wanting sixteen days.

XVIII. After his death, Titus succeeded to the rule. He, in the time of his monarchy, did nothing bloodthirsty or lewd—either because he had changed his ways, or because he lived [in power] for a very short time, as far as one might speak of a reign. For he lived two years after his sole rule, and two months and twenty days; [at his death] he was thirty-nine years of age, and five months, and twenty-five days. Because of this, some weigh him equally with the long reign of Augustus, for neither would that man have been beloved if he had lived for a shorter time, nor this one if he had lived longer. For while the former, having been harsh at the beginning due to wars and factions, was able thereafter to be glorified by his benefactions over a long period; the latter, having ruled with leniency, died at the pinnacle of his glory, and perhaps might have been found [wanting] if he had lived for a long time, because he made use of good fortune more than virtue. He killed not one of the senators during his rule, and he issued decrees confirming all the privileges granted by previous emperors to certain persons. ^B He was also scrupulous concerning finances, and did not squander them in vain, though he never punished anyone after that [for financial reasons]. During his reign, a False Nero appeared—he was an Asian, called Terentius Maximus—who resembled Nero in both appearance and voice; for he also played the cithara. He gathered some supporters in Asia and, advancing toward the Euphrates, he drew a much greater number to himself; finally, he fled to Artabanus, the leader of the Parthians. Artabanus, being angry with Titus, welcomed him and prepared to bring him back to Rome. In the first year of the reign of Titus, during the autumn, a great fire suddenly broke out in Campania. ^C For the mountain called Vesuvius, which is near the city of Neapolis, possesses fountains of abundant fire; yet only the middle is scorched, while the outer parts are fireless. Therefore, the surrounding summits retain their ancient height, but the middle, having been consumed by the fire, became hollow from caving in. And flames are sent up from it by night, and smoke by day, sometimes more, at other times less. At other times also ash ^D

^A Having recovered from his wound, Narses sent an embassy to Diocletian and Galerius, asking that his wives and children be returned to him and that a peace treaty be concluded. He obtained his request, yielding to the Romans as much as they desired. Diocletian and Maximian also brought many other wars to a successful conclusion, some by themselves or their Caesars, and others through their generals, and they expanded the boundaries of the empire. Elated by these successes and having formed too high an opinion of himself, Diocletian no longer endured being addressed by the senate as he formerly had been, but decreed that he should be worshipped; he adorned his clothing and footwear with gold, precious stones, and pearls, and added greater luxury to the imperial insignia. For the kings of old had been honored on a par with the consuls, and had only the purple robe as an insignia of royalty. ^B When the persecution intensified, and countless men and women were dying for the confession of Christ, and yet the believers continued to multiply, these tyrants, driven to madness around the nineteenth year of Diocletian’s reign, sent out decrees everywhere commanding the churches of the Christians to be razed and leveled to the ground, their books to be burned, and their priests to be mercilessly destroyed as teachers and heralds of the faith. As for the others, those enrolled in ranks or military service were to be dishonorably expelled from both rank and service, while those of private status were to be enslaved.

When Diocletian had already completed his twentieth year in power, both emperors by mutual agreement laid down their authority. Publicly, they said they were divesting themselves of the burden of affairs; but to those to whom they revealed the secrets of their hearts, they confessed in their despair that they were laying down their power because they had been unable to overcome the Christians or extinguish the name of Christ, and did not choose to enjoy the reign. Having resigned the office on the same day by prearrangement—the one in Nicomedia, and Maximian in Milan—they lived as private citizens; Diocletian resided in Salona, a city in Dalmatia, which was his homeland, and Herculius in Lucania. ^C Before resigning their power, they returned to Rome and conducted the triumph on account of the victory over the Persians, in which they paraded Narses’ wives, children, and kin, as well as the leaders of other nations and all the wealth they had plundered from the Persians.

But here it is well to show from where the name "triumph" is derived. They say it is named from *thria*, which are fig leaves. For before masks were invented for actors, they would cover their faces with fig leaves and engage in mockery through iambs. And soldiers in victory processions would also hold fig leaves before their faces to mock those who were conducting the processions; and from this, the victory processions are thought to have been called triumphs. Others say that the triumph was so named because those who fulfilled the procession consisted of three orders—the senate, the people, and the soldiers—and because the three orders walked together, it was called a *triambos* (triumph), the letter *theta* being used instead of *tau* for the sake of better euphonic sound.

After this victory procession, they departed from power and proclaimed the Caesars to be emperors, dividing the authority among them: they allotted the eastern portion to Galerius along with Illyricum, and assigned the western to Constantius Chlorus, along with Africa. When these things had come to pass, the soldiers who were called Praetorians proclaimed Maxentius, the son of Herculius Maximian, as emperor in Rome. ^D Now, of these three, Constantius, who held sway in Britain, the Cottian Alps, and Gaul, behaved very mildly toward those who worshipped Christ, and indeed toward all under him, and he was contemptuous of wealth. Maximin, ruling in the East, stirred up a most grievous persecution against the Christians and treated his other subjects most harshly. Being an utter womanizer and adulterer, he did not only take private wives when he heard of them and commit adultery with them, but he would even forcibly tear the wives of prominent men away, abuse them, and then send them back to their own husbands. He was so addicted to divination that he would do not even the slightest thing without it, and those who performed secret rites were held in great honor by him. He decreed the total destruction of the pious and ordered their property to be confiscated, attaching no other accusation to the innocent than their knowledge of God and their faith in Christ. Maxentius, as a tyrant in Rome, was no more moderate toward his subjects, but managed his authority on an equal footing with Maximin, also raging against the Christians under his hand and subjecting them to every sort of affliction, while being most bitter toward all who were under him.

is thrown up when it suddenly subsides. It sends up stones when it is lifted by the wind; these resound and roar; they are not compacted, but porous and free, having voids. Such is Vesuvius. Then a tremendous ^A crash was heard suddenly, as if the mountains were collapsing. And first, excessively large stones sprang up, then much fire and infinite smoke, so that even the sun was hidden, and darkness came from the light. And an untold amount of ash was thrown up, so that it was scattered over all the land and sea and air, and the fish and birds were destroyed, and two cities, Herculaneum and Pompeii, were buried while the people were sitting in the theater. And there was so much ash that some of it came even to Africa and to Syria and to Egypt and to Rome itself, from which a pestilential disease later broke out. Titus therefore sent colonists to the Campanians and gave money, especially to those who had died without heirs; but he himself accepted nothing from anyone, although many offered it. He built many public ^B works at his own expense and held wonderful games, in which he threw down small wooden spheres from above, having a symbol of some edible thing, or of clothing, or gold, horses, pack animals, cattle, or slaves; and those who snatched the tokens and brought them to the stewards received what was inscribed. His is that celebrated saying: "Today I have not reigned, because I have benefited no one." In his first year, Linus, the first bishop of the Roman Church, while dying, handed over the episcopacy to Anacletus. In the following year Titus passed away, either plotted against by his brother or from illness. Domitian indeed, while he was still breathing, and while he might perhaps have lived longer, threw him into a crate full of snow, as if the disease required some cooling. It is said that while he was dying he said, "I have made one slip," but what this was he did not explain. Some say that it was that he had ^C taken Domitia, his brother’s wife; others that it was that he did not kill Domitian, who was clearly plotting against him, but that he himself was destroyed by him and handed over the Roman government to such a man.

XIX. Domitian takes power

XIX. While Titus was still breathing, he rode to Rome, and having entered the camp, he received the title and power of emperor. He was bold and irascible, and a plotter, and secretive; he truly loved no human being except some women. He pretended to love those whom he most desired to destroy. He was treacherous even to those who did him favors and served him in the most dreadful things. And whenever any of them secured him very much money or falsely accused many, he would execute them, so that it might appear that the injustices proceeded from them alone. Being ^D a most wicked man, he treated his father's and brother's friends without honor, and some he even destroyed. He sent away his wife Domitian on account of adultery, having killed Paris the dancer in the middle of the street on her account. With his brother’s daughter Julia…

^A she consorted openly, as if she were his wife. Later, after the people entreated him, he was reconciled to Domitia, but he used Julia nonetheless. And after these things he set out into Gaul, and having plundered some of the trans-Rhenish tribes who were at peace, he boasted as if he had achieved something great, and he increased the pay of the soldiers as if for the sake of the victory. For five and seventy drachmas having been received by each, he ordered one hundred to be given. But having repented, he did not decrease the amount, but he contracted ^B the number of those serving. And on both sides he greatly harmed the state, having neither enough men to defend it, and having made those few men highly paid. And he was equally vexed with both those who flattered and those who showed contempt. Pretending false victories, he was appointed consul for ten years and censor for life. Many of the subject peoples revolted from the Romans, being oppressed by violent exactions, as were the Nasamones. For they destroyed the collectors of their money, and they defeated the governor of Numidia, Flaccus, who had advanced against them, so that he even plundered the camp. But having found in it other necessities and wine, they were filled and fell asleep. ^C And Flaccus having known this, set upon them, destroyed all of them, and slaughtered all the non-combatants. On account of which Domitian exalted himself and said to the Senate that he had ensured the Nasamones were no more. For already he desired to be considered a god, and he rejoiced exceedingly at being called master and god. These things were not only said, but even written. And during a spectacle, a great rain and severe storm having suddenly arisen, he allowed no one to leave the spectacle, but he himself kept changing his cloaks, while to the others he allowed no change of clothes; and from there many, having become ill, died. ^D Those punished by him one could not count, and many men and women of the wealthy were punished for adultery—of whom some were even seduced by him himself. And for other causes many were both fined and died. For a certain woman, because she stripped off clothes in front of his statue, was killed; and another, because he had spoken with astrologers. A certain Mettius, about whom rumor claimed he was to rule, he sent into exile and killed, accusing him because he had the world drawn on the walls of his bedchamber. And a certain sophist, because he had composed a practice speech against tyrants, he punished with death. Many also perished as philosophers, and the rest were driven out. And while he was doing such things, he was plotted against by Parthenius and Sigerus, his chamberlains, and by Entellus, who managed the records of the office, and by the freedman Stephanus. And his wife Domitia was not ignorant of the plot, nor was the prefect Norbanus, nor his colleague Petronius. For Domitia, knowing she was hated by him, feared him, as the others no longer loved him.

^A and said that King Pyrrhus makes his defense that he did not come to you as one desiring to make war, but as one wishing to reconcile the Tarentines who petitioned him; indeed, he even released your captives without ransom; and though he had the power to ravage the land and assault the city, he asks to be enrolled as your friend and ally, hoping to benefit much from you, and to benefit you still more and in greater ways. To these things, most of the senators were agreeable because of the gifts and because of the captives, yet they did not immediately answer; but they were still considering for more days what it was necessary to do; and many things were being said, but the opinion to make a truce was prevailing. But Appius the Blind, having learned of this, was carried into the senate house (for by reason of old age and his affliction he was homebound), and he said that the pacts with Pyrrhus were not to the advantage of the republic. He advised that they should immediately drive Cineas out of the city, and through him signify to Pyrrhus that, having returned home, he should from there send legates concerning peace with them, or even concerning whatever else he might demand. ^B These things Appius advised. But the senate no longer hesitated, but immediately with one mind they voted on that very day to send Cineas outside the borders, and to wage unproclaimed war upon Pyrrhus as long as he should remain in Italy. On the captives they imposed a certain dishonor in their service, and they used them no longer against Pyrrhus, nor sent them to any other place together, lest by being with one another they might foment rebellion, but they sent them to different garrisons in different places. Thus, then, both sides spent the winter in preparations.

V

^A It is said that Domitian, suspecting all of them at once, had written down their names and placed them beneath his pillow on the bed, but a young child who had taken the list away carried it off, not knowing what it contained. Domitia happened upon him, and having read what was written, she informed those people, and as a result, they accelerated the plot. Many signs also occurred which were not without cause. A certain ^B Larginus Proclus, having predicted beforehand in Germany that on a certain day Domitian would die, was for this reason seized and sent to Rome; and being asked by him, he affirmed that it would indeed happen at that time. Having been condemned to death, he was kept in custody so that he might be executed on the very day on which he had said Domitian would perish; but as Domitian was slaughtered on that day, he escaped. Another man, who had told him when and how he would be destroyed, was asked in what manner he himself would die; and having said that he would be consumed by dogs, he was ordered to be burned alive, and was cast into the fire. ^C But a heavy rain having broken out, the fire was extinguished, and as he lay there with his hands tied behind his back, dogs found him and tore him to pieces. Parthenius sent Stephanus to Domitian while he was resting at midday, as he was more robust than the others. Domitian was struck, though not fatally, but having been brought down by him, he lay there; then he was finished off by him and others. And so he was slaughtered, and Stephanus also perished, as those who were not privy to the conspiracy rushed upon him. Apollonius of Tyana (this man was a Pythagorean philosopher, but most especially a sorcerer), while staying in Ephesus at that time and speaking to the crowd, at the very hour in which Domitian was being slaughtered—as was later confirmed by the events which took place in both ^D places—stood stunned for a time, then shouted out: "Well done, Stephanus, act bravely, Stephanus, strike the wicked man; you have struck, you have wounded, you have killed." Philostratus of Lemnos, who wrote the Life of Apollonius, recorded this as well. Domitian lived for forty-four years, ten months, and twenty-six days; he reigned for fifteen years and five days. In the fourth year of his reign, the one who had become the first high priest of the Church of the Alexandrians after Mark the apostle died, and Abilius succeeded him, the second bishop of Alexandria. In the twelfth year of his rule, Anacletus having died, Clement took up the high priesthood of Rome, becoming the third bishop of that city, according to Eusebius. This most hateful emperor, after Nero, revived the persecution of the Christians, becoming the successor to that man's war against God; he also exiled the apostle and evangelist John to the island of Patmos because of his preaching, and ordered the descendants of David to be destroyed. Eusebius explains this matter using the words of Hegesippus in this way: "There were still surviving some descendants of Judas, who is called the brother of the Lord according to the flesh, whom some denounced as being descendants of David. Domitian had them brought before him and asked if they were of David's line. When they affirmed it, he proceeded to ask what property they possessed, and how much money they had. They answered him that they possessed only nine thousand denarii, and this not in cash, but in the valuation of their land, from which they themselves lived by the labor of their own hands, paid tribute, and by the calluses of their hands for

the proof of their labor they ^A demonstrated. When they were asked also about the kingdom of Christ, of what sort it might be, and where and when it would appear, they answered that it was not worldly nor earthly, but heavenly, and that it would appear at the consummation of the ages. Upon which, looking down upon them as inconsequential people, Domitian released them, and by an edict stopped the persecution. Thus, he who had become the most wicked violently cut short his life; would that this had happened before he assumed the monarchy!

XX. The governance was then transferred to Nerva, a man most noble and most gentle. For those who were plotting against Domitian did not 583 set their hand to the deed until they had secured the one who would succeed to the autocracy. They came, therefore, to Nerva, who had almost perished on account of astrologers who said he would reign as monarch. For Domitian investigated the days and hours in which all the prominent men had been born, and on account of this he destroyed not a few of those who were expected to hold some power. And he would have killed this man also, had not one of the astrologers who was well-disposed toward him said that he would die within a few days; for, believing that this would truly come to pass, he did not wish to murder him as well, thinking he would die within bit of time. For these reasons, therefore, they persuaded him to consent to the acceptance of the governance. And when Domitian was destroyed, he immediately received the autocracy, and by decree allowed those who had been driven out by him to return and to recover their properties. The senate, ^B however, voted to have the honors of Domitian abrogated. At that time, then, it is said that the great apostle John returned to Ephesus from his exile on Patmos.

Nerva was a lover of justice and not overcome by money. For when Atticus, the father of the sophist Herodes, as Philostratus records in the *Lives of the Sophists*, had found an immense treasure in his house, fearing lest some danger be created for him out of it, he wrote to Nerva: "A treasure has been found by me in my house; what then do you command concerning it?" And he wrote back: "Use what you have found." But, still fearful, he wrote again: "But that which has been found exceeds my [status]"; ^C and the emperor wrote back to this, "Even so, use it."

During his reign, Abilius, the second bishop of Alexandria, passed from this life, and Cerdo assumed the leadership of the church there. Ignatius, who is called Theophorus, then presided over the church in Antioch, being himself the second to be known as bishop in that place after Evodius. Similarly, also, Symeon presided over the church of the faithful in Jerusalem—he, too, another who had obtained the bishopric after the relative of the Lord who is called the Lord's brother. ^D

^A For Claudius was in Messana. But he, not daring to force his passage, turned towards Syracuse and Hieron, having left a garrison in Messana. And he himself attacked the city, and they [the Syracusans] sometimes made sorties; and sometimes he was victorious, and sometimes they were victorious. And once, the consul being caught in a narrow place, he would have been taken prisoner, had he not, before being surrounded, sent to Hieron, inviting him to certain terms. Thus, upon the arrival of someone to whom he was about to submit the proposal, he conferred with him, and went off until he retreated to safety. But since the city could not be easily captured, and the watch was difficult because of the scarcity of food, and because of the sickness in the army, he withdrew. And the Syracusans followed him, and went to the scattered [troops] with words. And they would have made a truce, if Hieron also had been willing to come to an agreement. The consul, having left a garrison in Messana, sailed away to Rhegium. But the Romans, since the Tyrrhenian matters were settled, and those in Italy were in accurate peace, while the things of the Carthaginians were mounting further, ordered both consuls to go on an expedition to Sicily. Having therefore crossed over, both Maximus Valerius and Octacilius Crassus, both traveling together through the island and separately, brought many ^B to terms. And as most parts were being reconciled, they moved towards Syracuse. And Hieron, being afraid, sent a herald to them, promising to return the cities which had been taken away from him, and to give money, and to release the prisoners, and he obtained a truce on these terms. For the consuls thought they would finish the war against the Carthaginians with his help. Having encountered this, they turned to the remaining cities guarded by the Carthaginians. And from the others they were repulsed, but they took Egesta, which they received voluntarily. For because of the connection with the Romans, the people there, saying that they were descendants of Aeneas, submitted to them, having killed the Carthaginians.

X. The consuls, on account of the winter season, departed for Rhegium. The Carthaginians, however, carried the greater part of their army to Sardinia, so that from there they might attack Rome, and either expel them completely from Sicily, or, if they had crossed over, wear down their strength. But neither of these things succeeded for them, with the Romans defending their own, and defending Sicily with regular troops, under the leadership and auspices of Postumius Albinus and Q. Aemilius. When they had come to the island, they besieged Hannibal, the son of Gisco, at Agrigentum. Upon hearing this at Carthage, ^C Hanno was sent with a large force to aid him, and carried on the war at Heraclea, which is not far distant from Agrigentum; and many great battles were fought, at first with Hanno challenging the consuls, and later the Romans challenging him. For as long as the Romans had an abundance of food, they did not dare to fight, being inferior in number, [but] they hoped to capture the city by famine. But when they were short of grain, they themselves were eager to take the risk. But Hanno hesitated, suspecting that because of their eagerness they would be ambushed. For this reason, the others deemed it right to curry favor with the Romans as [people] who were at the point of victory, and Hieron, although he had been accustomed to ^D give aid sluggishly, at that time offered supplies, whence the Romans regained their spirits. Hanno also began to join battle.

^A Under this emperor, gladiatorial combats and their spectacles were forbidden. He did nothing without the counsel of the leading men of the senate. He also legislated that no one should castrate males among the Romans, nor should one marry a niece. Having discovered that Calpurnius Crassus and others were plotting against him, he seated them near him at a certain spectacle; and, while they were as yet unaware that they had been found out, he handed swords to them, ostensibly to see if they were well-crafted and sharp, but in truth so that they might know how death is despised. He said that he had so restrained himself that he could, even after laying down his rule, live his private life in safety. But when he was being held in contempt because of his mildness of character and his advanced age, he climbed the Capitoline and cried out, "May it be good and fortunate for the senate and the people, that I adopt Marcus Ulpius Nerva Trajanus." Then he also proclaimed him Caesar, and with his own hand wrote to the man who was governor of Germany at that time: "May the Greeks pay for my tears with your weapons." So Nerva, having reigned for one year and four months, departed this life after falling ill, having proposed Trajan as emperor.

^B XXI. Trajan, tracing his lineage from Spain, obtained the empire in the forty-second year of his age, being in the full vigor of both soul and body, neither filled with the rashness of youth nor dulled by the infirmities of age. He honored the good, and, being well-disposed toward all, he feared no one, nor did he nurture hatred; he gave no heed to informers, nor was he prone to anger; he abstained from others' money just as he did from unjust slaughter. Although he was of a magnanimous and high-minded nature, he spent great sums on roads, ports, and public buildings. And since he rebuilt the hippodrome in Rome, which had decayed, larger and more beautiful, he inscribed upon it that he had done so to provide enough space for the Roman people. He rejoiced more in being loved than in being honored; he wished to be dear to his subjects and terrible to his enemies. Although he had not participated in literary education, he knew and practiced the work of it. While inclined toward wine, he remained sober; and though enthralled by youths, he injured no one. Having become a lover of war and having achieved many successes, he did not allow the soldiers to become arrogant, so firmly did he rule them. He had a wife named Plotina. However, he campaigned against the Daces, or Dacians, according to the Ionians—as Appian says in the twenty-third book of his Roman History—because they refused to pay the annual tribute they had been receiving, and he desired to exact justice for their deeds. ^D When Decebalus, who ruled the Dacians, learned of Trajan’s onslaught against his nation, he became afraid, knowing the man to be most skilled in the art of war. When the battle was joined, the Romans killed many of the enemy, and no fewer of their own were wounded; their multitude was so great that, when bandages ran out, Trajan did not even spare his own garments. With the summits taken after great labor, they themselves...

and having approached their palaces, Decebalus sent envoys, agreeing to surrender his arms, his engines, and his siege-engineers, and to do whatever else might be demanded. And having come to the emperor, he prostrated himself on the ground and did him obeisance. Then Trajan, having returned to Italy, took the envoys of Decebalus with him; these, having been led into the senate, their arms set aside, and their hands joined in the manner of prisoners, spoke many words and made supplication. And having thus obtained a truce, they received their arms back again. Trajan also celebrated a triumph and was named Dacicus. He did not, however, because of his zeal for military matters, neglect other things; indeed, he often and in many places rendered justice from the tribunal. But when it was reported that Decebalus had violated the pacts and agreements and was plotting a rebellion, he led an army against him once more; and since he was unequal in strength, he sought to overcome the emperor by deceit. ^B Knowing that he was accessible and received anyone who wished for an audience, he suborned deserters to kill him if they could. But one of them, falling under suspicion, was arrested and, being put to the question, revealed the secret. The emperor, having built a bridge across the Ister—a work which transcends all admiration and description—crossed the river by means of this bridge; and though he mastered the Dacians with difficulty and danger, he did master them. And Decebalus, in despair, did away with himself. Henceforth the nation of the Dacians and their land became subject to the Romans (19). He also found the treasures of Decebalus, although their discovery was difficult. ^C For the barbarian, having diverted a river that flowed past his palaces into another channel, dug the ground over which the water used to flow to a great depth, and, having deposited there a vast amount of gold, a greater amount of silver, and other precious things which are not spoiled by moisture, he covered it with stone slabs and spread earth over them; then he turned the water back into its former course. He had also deposited many things in caves. He did these things with no one present except the prisoners who labored at these tasks; and after the concealment, he had the prisoners put to death, so that they would not make known what had been done by them. But one of the companions of Decebalus, who knew of the treasures, revealed them. As for Licinius Sura, a wealthy man whom he loved and by whom he was loved, when some accused the man of plotting against him, ^D after he had been invited to dinner, he went to him, and having sent away his bodyguards, he offered his eyes to Sura’s physician to be treated and his beard to his barber to be shaved. Then he bathed and dined. The next day he said to his accusers: "If Sura had wished to kill me, nothing would have prevented him from doing it yesterday." When he was appointing him to the position of praetorian prefect and handing him the sword with which he was to be girded, he said: "Take this, and if I rule well, use it for me; but if ill, against me." He also provided libraries. Later, he led an army against the Parthians and Armenians, because the Armenian had received his diadem not from him, but from the king of the Parthians. That was the pretext offered for the war, though the whole affair proceeded from ambition and a desire for glory. Armenia having been subdued, many things were decreed for him by the senate.

among other things, they gave him the title of Optimus, which being translated into Greek signifies "best." Then they also bestowed upon him the surname Parthicus. He was more pleased with the title of Optimus than with any of the others, because it indicated his character.

^B XXII. A most violent earthquake occurring during his reign, many cities suffered, but Antioch, which is on the Orontes, suffered more than the rest. Trajan himself, who was staying there, barely escaped danger, having been struck by the collapse of the house in which he was living. A countless multitude was buried in the wreckage. Some were crushed by the weight of the falling structures; others, who by chance were caught in hollow spaces where the buildings fell and could not break through, perished from hunger as the earth continued to shake for many days. When the calamity finally subsided, someone took heart and climbed upon the ruins, and heard a woman crying out from below. Having dug her out, they rescued the person, who was carrying an infant at her breast, whom she had nourished with her milk, and herself as well. From this point they cleared away the rest of the debris, but found no one else alive, save only one infant, while many had perished from hunger.

At the return of spring, Trajan again set out against the Parthians. He took control of the whole of Adiabene, which is a part of Syria near Nineveh, Gaugamela, and Arbela, where Alexander defeated Darius. He advanced as far as Babylon itself, crossed the Tigris, and entered Ctesiphon. He also desired to navigate the Erythraean Sea, which is said to be a part of the Ocean and is named after a certain man who held power in that region. He also contemplated the Indians, and remarked that if he were still a young man, he would have crossed over to them as well. ^C While he was sailing toward the Ocean and preparing to return, the regions that had been previously conquered fell into revolt. Fearing that the Parthians would do the same, he appointed a king for them of their own race and placed the diadem upon him with his own hand. Then, as the Arabs were also rebelling, he rushed against them, but accomplishing nothing, he came near to being wounded, and departed from there in sickness.

^D The Jews in Cyrene also revolted and were slaughtering both Romans and Greeks; those in Egypt and those in Cyprus were destroying them in like measure. He subdued these also 587 with his army. Eusebius mentions this Jewish revolt in the fourth book of his Ecclesiastical History. When he desired to go to Mesopotamia, he was oppressed by disease and turned his course toward Italy, having placed P. Aelius Hadrianus in charge of the Syrian legions. But when he had come to the city of Selinus in Cilicia, which is also called Trajanopolis, he ended his life—as he himself thought, from having ingested poison; but as others say, due to the suppression of blood which he was accustomed to discharge annually through the bowels. An apoplexy followed, with a resultant dissolution of the body.

^A Eusebius also mentions this revolt of the Jews in the fourth book of his Ecclesiastical History. While his impulse was toward Mesopotamia, he was worn down by the disease, and began his voyage toward Italy, after having appointed Publius Aelius Hadrianus to rule the troops in Syria. Having arrived at Selinus in Cilicia, which is also called Trajanopolis, he ended his life, as he himself had thought, corrupted by poison, but as some say, due to the suppression of blood which he was accustomed to discharge annually through the bowels. It also happened to him that an apoplexy followed, with a resultant dissolution of part of his body. Dropsy, for the most part, was the cause of his death. He ruled for nineteen years and six months. ^B While he was reigning, Symeon son of Clopas, having become the second chief priest of Jerusalem after the divine James, suffered martyrdom, after having been tortured for many days, and then sentenced to the cross, being one hundred and twenty years of age. After him, Justus, from the circumcision, was chosen as the third chief priest of the Jerusalemites, and he held that office. And Eusebius records that many others at that time in many places were deemed worthy of a martyr’s end; then, the Emperor, having learned of the multitude of those being killed, and that they were doing nothing profane, but rather rising early and singing hymns to Christ as to God, and being only unwilling to sacrifice to idols, decreed that those called of Christ should not be sought out, but if they were brought in, they should be punished. And thus the persecution became milder. At that time also, the God-bearer Ignatius, being the second chief priest of Antioch in Coele-Syria, having been arrested, was sent to Rome in chains, where he finished his martyrdom by being delivered to wild beasts. And after him Heros took up the hierarchy. In the third year of the autocracy of Trajan, Clement having departed, who was the third chief priest in Rome, and had governed the Church of the faithful for nine years, Evarestus was introduced in his place; who, having served as chief priest for eight years, departed from this life, being succeeded by Alexander, who became the fifth chief priest of the Romans. And Cerdon, who had become the third bishop of the Alexandrians in order, having departed from here, had Primus as his successor.

XXIII. Accession of Hadrian

^C [KΓ.] Trajan having died without children, his wife Plotina, by reason of amorous friendship, and Tatianus, who had been his procurator, declared Hadrian Caesar and Emperor while he was staying in Antioch of Syria, since he was also governing it, and was a relative of Trajan, and lived with his niece. He was the son of Afer Hadrian, a man of letters, who left behind some works, both in prose and in verse; yet for the sake of ambition he was insatiable, and practiced everything, and boasted that he was ignorant of nothing. Whence he also brought down many of those who were distinguished in some arts, and destroyed not a few, so that he might appear to prevail in everything. ^D He was on this account reproached for being excessively subtle, curious, and versatile. Yet he balanced these things, and he remedied them with his foresight, [index: entries preserved]

^A and his magnificence, and his dexterity; and by the fact that he neither started a war, and put a stop to those that were begun, and that he did not unjustly deprive anyone of money, but even bestowed it upon many, most especially spontaneously and without even being asked; and he assisted, so to speak, all cities, both allied and tributary, to some by bringing in water, to others by building harbors, to others by giving grain and works and money and honors ^B to the people of the Romans he behaved not obsequiously, but with gravity. And once, when someone requested something rather boldly, he did not grant it, but ordered the herald to say to him, "Be silent." When that man said nothing, but merely lifted his hand, they kept silence. He not only was not angry at the herald, as if he had not done what was commanded, but he even deemed the man worthy of honor because he had accomplished what he himself wished without revealing the harshness of the command. For he was not indignant if anything was done by someone against his own opinion, but he looked toward his own advantage. And once, while he was passing by, a certain woman was making a request, and when he said, "I have no leisure," the woman cried out, "Then do not rule!" He immediately turned around and attended to the petitioner. And all great and necessary matters he did not handle privately, but with the senators being involved. ^C He judged with the leading men from the tribunal, so that the proceedings might be public; and he was present in the council with the consuls, and he always had the best men around him and dined with the best. And his canteen was full of discourses of every kind. He used to visit friends who were seriously ill, and he was accustomed to attend the festivities of his acquaintances. When he came to Rome, whatever was owed to the imperial treasury and the Roman public exchequer, he abolished. He visited provinces and cities, and corrected everything for the better. He did not only inspect and examine the public affairs of the camps by himself, but also those of each individual. And as many as he found to have become overly effeminate, he changed and refashioned toward a more military manner, and taught them what they ought to do. And some he honored, others he admonished, and he lived more severely, so that the military ^D might see him and become accustomed to living in this way. Thence he made the soldiers such that an entire troop of horsemen could easily swim across the Ister in armor, and the barbarians, seeing these things, were so struck with amazement that they used this emperor as a mediator for matters in which they were at war with each other. He was also diligent about hunting, so that in these he even broke some of his limbs. And in Mysia he founded a city which he called Adriani Venationes. When in Aegypt he saw the tomb of Pompeius Magnus had collapsed, he sacrificed to the deceased as to a hero; and this verse having been pronounced,

To him for whom temples remain, how great a lack of a tomb,*

he restored the monument. In Palestine, having built a city in place of the one that had been razed, Jerusalem, he named it Aelia Capitolina; and in the place where the temple of God had formerly stood, he built another ^B precinct to Zeus. The Jews, unable to bear that others were enjoying their metropolis (for Greeks had been settled therein) nor suffering the customs of foreign gods to be honored there, kept quiet as long as Hadrian was staying in Egypt and Syria, being wary; but when he had departed from there, they seized the strategic points of the region, so that they might have them as strongholds, and they harmed the Romans much, both secretly and openly, with Jews from all parts of the earth gathering there, and many foreigners also assisting them from a love of gain. Hadrian, however, sent the most illustrious of his commanders against the Jews, over whom Severus Julius was placed; he, thinking it not advantageous to engage the enemy in a set battle, fearing the multitude of them and their desperation, by cutting off their provisions, and blockading them, and in places where he could lead his soldiers in sections against them, ground them down and wore out their nation, albeit more slowly, yet with less danger, so that very few remained. Their strongest fortresses were indeed stormed, and their most famous villages, nine hundred and eighty-five in number, were razed to the ground. Fifty-eight myriads of men were slaughtered in the raids and battles. The multitude of those who perished by famine and disease and fire was beyond investigation ^C and was not known, so that almost all of Judaea was rendered desolate, which the divine power had signaled to them by certain prodigies before the war. For the memorial of Solomon was broken apart and fell down from no evident cause; and wolves and hyenas in great numbers kept leaping into their cities howling. Many Romans also perished at that time, so that Hadrian, in writing to the senate, did not use his customary opening. That phrase was: *If you and your children are in good health, it is well; I and the armies are in good health.* Thus was the war against the Jews concluded.

XXIV. The war against the Albanians (who are, according to Dion, Massagetae) was stirred up by Pharasmanes, which caused much distress to Media, and touched Armenia and Cappadocia. But from the Albanians, partly persuaded by gifts ^D and partly struck with fear, he desisted. Coming to Rome, Hadrian, when the people requested that a slave charioteer be set at liberty, refused, saying that it was not fitting for him to liberate another's slave, nor for them to compel his master to do so. Being seized by a discharge of blood through his nostrils...

and being despaired of, he announced Lucius Commodus Caesar as emperor of the Romans. And he slew Severianus and Fuscus his grandson, who were aggrieved at this. Now Severianus was ninety years old. ^A And he, as he was about to be slaughtered, asked for fire, and having made an offering of incense, he said: "You, O gods, know that I am guilty of nothing. But I pray that Hadrian may desire to die, and yet not be able." Whence Hadrian, having also fallen ill for a long time, often prayed to be extinguished, so that he even wished to destroy himself. Moreover, this Severianus had been considered by Hadrian himself as worthy of the autocracy. For having once said to his friends that they should name ten worthy men for the autocracy, after a short delay he said: "I wish to discover nine; for I know the one, Severianus." There were also Turbo and Similis, who were the most illustrious of the best men. And Turbo, as being most skilled in strategy, having become prefect, that is, commander of the bodyguard, ^B lived as one of the many; for he was never seen at home during the day, nor did he fall ill, but spent his time with the king. And once, when he was ill and the emperor was advising him to be quiet, he said that it was fitting for a prefect to die standing. But Similis, who was older than he in age and rank, having been a centurion under Trajan and having been called by him before the prefects, said to him upon entering: "It is shameful, Caesar, while the prefects are standing outside, for you to converse with a centurion." Then, having been appointed against his will to the command of the bodyguards, he accepted it, but soon resigned it of his own accord and lived in the country. There he died, having spent seven years there, having inscribed on his tomb that Similis ^C lies here, having lived for so many years, but having lived for seven. But Hadrian was seized by consumption from a great discharge of blood, and by dropsy. And when the Caesar Lucius Commodus, having been accustomed for a long time to vomit blood, suddenly failed from the pouring out of a great quantity of blood, he called together the first of the senators and said: "The divine power has taken from us Lucius. But I have found for you an emperor who is noble, gentle, easy, wise, who will do nothing rashly because of youth, nor negligently because of old age—Aurelius Antoninus." And he was thus appointed emperor. And Hadrian, planning for those who would rule after this, since Antoninus lacked male offspring, adopted for him the son of Commodus, the child of Commodus, ^D and named him Marcus Annius Verus, who had previously been called Catilius, being the grandson of Annius Verus, who had held the consulship three times and had served as a tribune. And Hadrian, having fallen into dropsy, and having once, through magic and certain conjurings, drained off the harmful humors, and not long after, as others flowed out, finding himself daily worse, desired death; but he could not become master of his wish, since no one would offer him a sword or poison. Finally, since he could not kill himself, having abandoned...

by certain remedies and incantations, he once drew away the fluid; but it soon collected again, and as it kept changing for the worse, he desired to die; yet he could not, as no one would provide him either a sword or poison. At last, being unable to do away with himself, he abandoned the strictness of his diet; and using foods and drinks that were not appropriate, he ended his life, having lived sixty-two years, five months, and nineteen days, and having reigned for twenty-one years, lacking one month. ^B During his reign, Alexander, having served as high priest in Rome for ten years, departed to the ageless life. He was succeeded by Xystus. Primus, also, having been bishop of the Alexandrians for twelve years, departed this life and had Justus as his successor. Eusebius records that the number of bishops in Jerusalem lasted until the revolt of the Jews under Hadrian to fifteen, all of them—as it seems, being short-lived—having been believers from among the Jews: the first of whom was James, called the brother of the Lord, and the second Symeon, and the third Justus, Zacchaeus the fourth, Tobias the fifth, Benjamin the sixth, John the seventh, Matthias the eighth, Philip the ninth, Seneca the tenth, another Justus the eleventh, Levi the twelfth, Ephres the thirteenth, Joseph the fourteenth, and Judas the fifteenth. After Xystus died at the end of ten years, Telesphorus, the seventh, succeeded him in Rome. The oversight of the Church of the Alexandrians fell to Eumenes, the sixth in number, after Justus died in the eleventh year. This emperor, because of the aforementioned seditions, after that great slaughter of the Jews, also issued a decree preventing their nation from setting foot in Jerusalem and their entire territory. And henceforth, the city having been settled by foreigners and named Aelia (34), as Hadrian was called, Marcus became its first high priest after those from the circumcision; it was then also that Saturninus the Antiochene, and Basilides the Alexandrian, and Carpocrates, were known as fathers and leaders of various heresies. And Hegesippus is recorded to have written then the tradition of the apostolic preaching in five books. Also Justin the Philosopher, who later became a martyr, then turned from Greek studies to the worship of God. He records that Serenius Granianus, proconsul of Asia, wrote to Hadrian that it was not just for Christians to be punished for no charge; and that the emperor decreed that no one should be put to death unless convicted of a crime based on an accusation.

TWELFTH BOOK

I. When Antoninus had gained control of affairs, having been adopted by Hadrian and designated Caesar and emperor, the senate was unwilling ^D to decree heroic honors for Hadrian because of the murder of illustrious men. For this reason An- [A'] When Antoninus had assumed absolute power, having been adopted by Hadrian as Caesar and emperor, the senate was unwilling to vote heroic honors to Hadrian on account of the murders of men—

Antoninus spoke to them at length with tears, saying that he himself would not even begin his reign, for everything done by that man, whose rescinding ^A would be my own act, would be invalidated as the work of a most hostile and wicked man. The senate, shamed by this, and fearing no less the soldiers, voted the honors to the deceased. This Antoninus was named Pius, because, having recently received the imperial power, with many under accusation and some even specifically sought for execution, he exacted no penalty from any; for he said that the imperial government must not be inaugurated by such deeds. He remained throughout his entire reign just and kind, and to all his subjects, even to the Christians, never burdensome—those whom he not only did not mistreat, but even deemed worthy of respect. It is said that he was of an inquisitive nature and fastidious about small matters, and for this reason those who mocked him called him ^B "Cumin-splitter." He did not, however, grow wealthy from his subjects for this reason; but once when he was in need of money due to pressing wars, neither did he devise any new tax, nor did he deign to ask for money from anyone. Instead, he placed all the palace heirlooms and whatever finery his wife possessed for sale in the market, and with the money collected he paid the soldiers. When he had conquered the enemies and obtained much more, he issued a proclamation that anyone who wished to return the royal property they had purchased should receive back the price. Some did this, but the majority refused, and he forced no one to return what had been acquired. It is said that the law of his making was that when children die intestate, their parents are to be their heirs; and for those making a will while childless, there is a necessity to leave a legal portion to their parents. ^C Under him a dreadful tremor of the earth occurred around Bithynia and the Hellespont, from which many cities fell, and Cyzicus suffered most of all, when also the renowned temple in it collapsed—of which it is said the pillars were four fathoms thick and rose to a height of fifty cubits, constructed from a single stone, if to anyone these things should not seem incredible; and all the other features of that structure were likewise marvelous. Concerning this emperor it is sung that he also burned the decree of the senate which had been made by the command of Julius Caesar, which ordained that no one was allowed to make a will unless they bequeathed a set portion to the public treasury. Whence it is thought that even until this day it is inscribed in wills that "I leave this to the imperial treasury." Antoninus Pius died at an old age, his death being ^D not unlike the gentlest sleep, in the twenty-fourth year of his reign. In the first year of his reign, Telesphorus, bishop of Rome, in the eleventh year of his ministry, was adorned with the crown of martyrdom, as Irenaeus narrates, having attained a happy end, and Hyginus was installed in the Roman see. Under him the heretic Valentinian arose, and Cerdo, the author of the Marcionite sect. Hyginus having died after the fourth year of his pontificate, Pius became prefect of the Roman Church, and Marcus of the Alexandrian, after Eumenes.

^A And after Marcus passed to the other life ten years later, Celadion received the ministry. ^B And at Rome, after Pius had completed his fifteenth year of the episcopate, Anicetus succeeded him. At this time the philosopher and martyr Justin also flourished, a champion of the true doctrine, who also published a treatise against Marcion and wrote a defense on behalf of the Christians to the pious Antoninus. ^C Whence this emperor, being persuaded, sent an edict to the common assembly of Asia, that no Christian should be punished for his religion; but if anyone were accused for this cause, the accused was to be acquitted, and the accuser held liable for the trial. These things occurred under the Pious.

II. But after the death of Antoninus, Marcus Aurelius, having been adopted by him—as is recounted—received the autocratic power, and immediately made Lucius Verus Commodus, the son of Lucius Commodus, his partner in the empire. ^D For Marcus was indeed delicate of body, but he was so devoted to learning that, even after becoming emperor, he was not ashamed to attend a teacher; rather, he practiced philosophy with Sextus the Boeotian and kept company with Hermogenes the orator, though he was more inclined toward the Stoics. But Lucius, being younger, was vigorous in labor and naturally gifted for military operations. Whence Marcus, having joined him to his daughter Lucilla, entrusted to him the war against the Parthians, because Vologaesus had shot down many of the Romans, had destroyed the entire camp, had declared himself an enemy to the Romans, and was invading the cities of Syria with great terror. Lucius, therefore, having arrived at Antioch, handed over the armies to Cassius, who engaged Vologaesus, defeated him, and pursued him as far as Seleucia; he burned the city and razed his royal palaces at Ctesiphon. These successes brought pride to Lucius, so that he even plotted against his father-in-law and emperor; but before he could do anything, he perished by poison. From then on, Cassius was appointed procurator of all Asia. The emperor himself waged war for a long time against the barbarians living around the Ister—the Jazyges and the Marcomanni, and others at other times—using Pannonia as his base.

^A And the Celts beyond the Rhine [(9)] advanced as far as Italy, among whose dead there were found the bodies of women equipped for battle. He ruled with such temperance and self-control that, during such great wars, he neither said anything flattering to the soldiers nor did anything out of fear. When he was not occupied with wars, he would sit in judgment, and he would order the water to be poured out more generously for those rhetoricians pleading at the water-clock, so that he might accurately discern the justice of the case from every side. He was also so industrious that he would judge even at night; and he did nothing carelessly, neither in word, nor in writing, nor in deed, believing that an emperor should not perform any action—not even the smallest—carelessly, and this even though he possessed a sickly constitution. This emperor subdued the Marcomanni and the Jazyges in many great struggles and dangers. But toward the Quadi a grievous war was joined, and the divine power granted him a miraculous victory. For when the barbarians had surrounded the Romans on every side, and the Romans, having formed a testudo, were defending themselves bravely, the Barbarians gave up the fighting and blocked off the entire surrounding area so that they could not draw water from anywhere, thinking that they would the more easily overcome them, weakened by thirst and heat. ^B Consequently, the Romans being worn out by toil, and heat, and thirst, and wounds, clouds suddenly gathered in that sky, and it rained most heavily—not, as Dion [(40)] recorded, that an Egyptian magician, having invoked Hermes, was able to bring on the rain through his sorceries, but because the God of the Christians was implored by their entreaties, and he then granted that miraculous deed to them and to the entire army. For there was a certain legion in the Roman army at that time, all of whom were Christians. When the emperor was at his wit's end and fearful for the entire army, the prefect of the guards is said to have told him that there is nothing that the race of those called Christians cannot do, and that there was an entire regiment of men of that kind in the army. Hearing this, he asked them to implore their own God. Upon their doing so, the enemies were struck by lightning, and rain was bestowed upon the Romans. Amazed at this, Marcus honored the Christians by decree, and he named that regiment the "Thundering Legion." ^C And although Dion and the others agree that the legion was called by this name, they do not add the cause. Eusebius also mentions this miracle in his *Ecclesiastical History*. Dion however says that once the rain occurred, the Romans, preoccupied with drinking, almost perished by an attack of the Barbarians, had not a heavy hailstorm broken upon them and the enemies been struck by lightning.

III. Now Cassius, who was living in Syria, engaged in revolution; he was a Syrian, but a most excellent man, such as people might pray for in an emperor. He was moved to revolt when a false report was brought to him that Marcus had died. But having once embarked upon the enterprise, he did not desist, even when after a short time he learned that the message was false. He was preparing for war as one who wished to seize the empire by force. To Marcus, however, the soldiers, in ^D their...

^A summoning of him, heard him speak, and he encouraged them for the war. While he was making preparations, news arrived of many victories over the various barbarians, and of the slaughter of Cassius, whom a certain centurion, having approached him while he was traveling, wounded suddenly—though not mortally—but a decurion finished off the murder. Thus he perished, having dreamed of his reign for only three months and six days. His son also was murdered elsewhere. The Emperor, however, killed no one who had defected with him, but treated them all with clemency. He even wrote to the Senate that no one of Cassius’s supporters should be put to death: "Heaven forbid," he said, "that any of you should be put to death because of me, whether by my vote or yours. If I cannot achieve this, I shall hasten to die." Thus he showed himself pious and good to all. At that time a law was enacted that no one should govern the province in which he was born, because Cassius, being governor of Syria, where he had his ancestral home, had aspired to the kingdom. ^B Coming to Athens, Marcus bestowed honors upon the Athenians and appointed teachers for all branches of learning, receiving an annual salary from the treasury. Having returned to Rome, he released all to whom the imperial or public treasury was owed from their debts, gave money to the cities, and ordered Smyrna, which had suffered from an earthquake, to be rebuilt. When the Scythian tribes were again in turmoil, he took his wife Faustina with him—sooner than he had wished, for she married him to Crispina—and campaigned against them, requesting funds from the public treasury, for he said that all things belonged to the Senate and the people. The barbarians having been defeated, he was proclaimed Emperor for the tenth time. And if he had lived longer, he would have made all those regions subject to the Romans; but he passed away, brought to death by the physicians, as is said, to please Commodus. Just as he was dying, ^C he commended the latter to the soldiers, so that it might not appear that he died by his hand. To the tribune who asked for the watchword, he said, "Go toward the rising sun; for I am now setting." Having reigned most excellently, he passed away, having lived fifty-nine years and having held sole power for nineteen years and eleven days. For he was a good man by nature, and he became even better through his education. Yet his prosperity did not correspond to his virtue. Hence one might admire him all the more: that even having to deal with strange and monstrous events, he himself prevailed and saved the empire. During his reign, the holy Polycarp, the high priest of Smyrna, donned the martyr’s crown; and the great man, in his discourses, and even greater in his ^D testimony, Justin, suffered, whose many writings still survive to this day. In the eighth year of the reign of this Marcus Verus Antoninus, Anicetus died, having presided over the Church of Rome for eleven years. Soter succeeded him. After Celadion had fulfilled his life after fourteen years, the Alexandrian bishopric was handed over to Agrippinus; [he was] the successor to Cornelius, who had succeeded Heron, the fourth in order, the fifth being Eros, and after him the sixth, Theophilus, who fought with his writings against Marcion. He was succeeded by Maximinus, the seventh. Soter, the pontiff of the Romans, having been removed from earthly affairs, Eleutherus was placed upon his throne.

^B IV. Commodus, the son of Marcus Antoninus, though educated and trained in the best manner by his father, did not live up to the discipline in which he had been schooled. Rather, being simple-minded, not at all shrewd, and timid, he obeyed his companions; and having been corrupted in his morals, he was driven by them to luxury and slaughter. He was nineteen years old when he attained power. Wherefore, he cast aside the counsels of the best men of the senate, whom his father had appointed as guardians for him, made peace with the Barbarians, and returned to Rome, moved by the boredom of labor and a love for a dissolute life. For these reasons, being pursued by frequent conspiracies, he killed many not only of the men, but also of the women, and almost all the famous men of that age, with the exception of Pompeianus, Pertinax, and Victorinus, so that those who have written about these things are at a loss to imagine how those men escaped that slaughter at that time. As he was entering the hunting theater, Claudius Pompeianus lay in wait for him ^C and, drawing his sword in the narrowness of the entrance, said: "The senate sends you this." This Pompeianus had married the daughter of Lucilla, the sister of Commodus, but Lucilla herself was also living in intimacy with him, being no more humane or modest than her brother. And for this reason, having persuaded Pompeianus to attack Commodus, she ruined both him and herself. Commodus also did away with his wife, Crispina, accusing her of the crime of adultery. But if anyone were to try to investigate and record in this history every one of those whom he put to death—whether through false accusations, or vain suspicions, or for great wealth, or splendor of birth, or excellence of learning, or reputation for virtue—he would cause great annoyance to his readers. War also occurred during his reign against the Barbarians who dwell above Dacia, and the greatest of all was the British war; against which he sent Ulpius Marcellus, a man of temperate and military life, most abstinent, and watchful not so much by nature as by sobriety. For, so as not to be satisfied even by bread, he would eat it when it was quite stale and many days old, so that he could eat nothing beyond what the most extreme necessity required. He greatly afflicted the Barbarians in Britain. For which reason, because of his virtue, he was nearly put to death by ^D Commodus. Perennius, however, the praetorian prefect, while the emperor was occupied with chariot-racing and luxury, was forced to manage both the state and military affairs. And if anything adverse happened to the soldiers, they would angrily blame him. Those who, therefore, in Britain…

delay in their pay, they openly revolted, drove out their own tribunes, and appointed consuls for themselves. They numbered about eight thousand. The Iberians, therefore, having learned of these things, revolted more readily and harmed the Roman alliance. And Mago, wishing to leave Gades already, did not in fact leave, but crossing over into the mainland he did a great deal of damage. ^A Scipio, having learned of these things, sent to the mutinous camp and dispatched a letter to them, feigning sympathy, asserting that they had stirred up rebellion because of a lack of necessities, claiming that they should not suspect anything on that account, and even praising those who had accepted their leadership, intending that they should suffer or do nothing disastrous on account of lack of order. Such things having been written by Scipio, the soldiers, having learned that he was still alive and not even angry ^B towards them, made no further movement. When he had recovered his health, not even then did he threaten them harshly, but having sent word, he promised to provide their provisions. And he invited them all to come to him as they pleased, either in a body or in batches. But the soldiers did not dare to go off in small groups, but they went together. And Scipio ordered them to camp outside the wall (for it was towards evening), and he provided them with ample provisions. And while they were encamped, he made arrangements for the boldest of them to enter the city, and having detained them at night, he bound them. At daybreak, as if to lead them somewhere else to fight, he sent his entire army on ahead. Then he called those who had just arrived inside the wall without their weapons, so that they might campaign under him, having received their rations. And when they had entered in this way, he signaled those whom he had sent away to return just as they were. And having surrounded them, he reproached them severely and threatened them. And he said, "You all, in fact, deserve to die, but I myself will not execute all of you, but I will punish only the few whom I have already seized, and I release the others." Having said this, he brought forward those who were bound into the middle, and having had them tied to posts and tortured, he killed them. As some of those standing by were indignant and rioted, he punished many of those as well. And after this, having given the pay to the others, he campaigned against Indibilis ^C and Mandonius. And since they did not dare to engage with him, he himself attacked and defeated them. Since they had agreed to terms, the greater part of Iberia was again enslaved, and Mago left Gades, and Masinissa joined the Romans; for the Carthaginians, after the death of Hasdrubal, the brother of Hannibal, had voted to withdraw from Iberia and to recover the things in Italy. And they sent silver to Mago, so that he might gather auxiliary forces and campaign against it. And he, having set out again for Italy, arrived at the Gymnesian islands. And he failed to take the greater one, not being able to land upon it (for the locals shot arrows from far away at the ships, being the most skilled at doing this), but having moored at the smaller one, he stayed there through the winter. ^D

were mutinying and for that reason had been reprimanded, sent fifteen hundred of their number into Italy. When they approached Rome, Commodus went out to meet them and said, "Fellow soldiers, what is it that you wish?" They replied, "We have come, because Perennis plays the slave to you." He was persuaded, and handed the man over to them. The soldiers insulted him and cut him to pieces, though he had managed the administration most honorably and temperately. ^B After getting rid of him, the courtiers, of whom Cleander was the foremost, did whatever was worst without fear; for they sold everything, and they acted with insolence and debauchery.

Cleander, having been raised high by fortune, both bestowed and sold seats in the senate, military commands, procuratorships, governorships, and simply everything; and some purchased the right to become senators for all that they possessed, so that it was said of Julius Solon, a most obscure man, that having been stripped of his property, he was relegated to the Senate. He also appointed twenty-five consuls for a single year—a thing which had never happened before nor ever has since. From every quarter, therefore, by extorting money, he acquired vast wealth, from which he gave most to Commodus and to his concubines. Nevertheless, having been raised to such a height of fortune, he perished ignominiously. For a grain shortage plagued Rome, and Papirius Dionysius, who was in charge of the grain supply, made it more acute so that the Romans would hate Cleander and destroy him as the cause of the evil through his thefts. A horse race was being held, and as the horses were about to compete, a large number of children ran into the hippodrome, led by a tall, fierce-looking virgin, who was later thought to be a goddess ^C (47). The children raised a cry, and from this the people shouted out and rushed towards Commodus, who was in the suburbs, praying for him but cursing Cleander. The emperor sent soldiers against them, who wounded some and killed some, but they could not hold back the people. But he, trusting in the crowd and the strength of his guards, hurried on. As they approached, Commodus, being a great coward, was so afraid that he immediately ordered both Cleander and his child to be slaughtered. The child was dashed against the ground and perished; the Romans took the body of Cleander, dragged it, and insulted it, and his head was carried about on a spear; they also destroyed some others of those who had power with the emperor.

V.

^A many things were decreed for him, and a golden statue of a thousand pounds in weight, and he commanded that all the months be named after himself, and they were numbered in this order: Amazonius, Invictus, Felix, Pius, Lucius, Aelius, Aurelius, Commodus, Augustus, Herculanus, Romanus, and Exsuperatorius. For he arrogated all these names to himself, and wrote thus to the Senate: "Emperor Caesar Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus Augustus, Felix, Pius, Invictus, Romanus, Hercules, Pontifex, holding the tribunician power for the eighteenth year, acclaimed imperator for the eighth time, consul for the seventh time, Father of the Fatherland; to the consuls, praetors, tribunes, and the Commodian Senate, greetings." Many statues were also erected to him in the guise of Hercules; and it was decreed that the age under him be called the Golden Age. For in addition to other names, he was also called the Golden One and a God. Spending heavily, he ran out of funds, whence he brought charges against men and women; some he murdered, while from others he exacted their safety at the cost of all their goods. He would drive chariots at home (for he feared to do so in public), and he would fight there even to the point of bloodshed, ^B though in the theater he fought without iron or human blood. At home, too, he would shave the hair of some, cut off the noses of others, or the ears of others, or some other limb. He would enter the theater in the guise of Mercury, carrying a golden caduceus in his hand. He took great pride in being left-handed. When weary from competing, he would drink, while the Senate and the equestrian order were ordered to cry out continually: "Long live, you are our master, you are the first, you are the most fortunate in all victories." ^C Item, "Amazonius, you conquer," they were ordered to shout one after another. Having once gathered those who were deprived of their feet or those lame from illness or misfortune, he fastened the forms of serpents to their knees, and as Hercules killed the giants, he killed these miserable people with a club. When about to fight as a gladiator again, he ordered the equites and the Senate to enter the theater in equestrian dress and with cloaks, which was not customary to do except when an emperor had died; and his helmet on the last day of the games was carried out through the gate through which the dead were brought out. ^D These things appeared to all as portents that his tyranny was soon to pass away, and this happened shortly thereafter. For Aemilius Laetus the prefect, and the chamberlain Electus, being displeased by his actions, advised him not to do these things. But he threatened them and was angered; and they, fearing him, conspired against him, providing him with poison in beef. As it did not work quickly, and he had even vomited it up, and suspecting what had happened and breathing threats, they caused him to be strangled while he was bathing by a certain Narcissus, having held power for twelve years and nine months and fourteen days, and having been born thirty-one years and five months. In him the direct family of the Aurelii ceased to rule. In the first year of his reign, the episcopate of Alexandria was handed to Julianus, after Agrippinus had died in the twelfth year of his governance. At that time also, Clemens the writer flourished, and Pantaenus the philosopher of our mysteries. [alt-version omitted]

^A Regarding the Church of Jerusalem, the account has already narrated that after those of the circumcision, it was governed by Mark, the city having been rebuilt by Hadrian and inhabited by Gentiles. Cassianus succeeded him, and after him Publius, then Julianus, then Caius, then Symmachus, afterward another Caius, then another Julianus, then Capito, after him Valens, and to Valenti, Dolichianus. After all of these, Narcissus became the thirtieth bishop of Jerusalem from the apostles. In the tenth year of the reign of Commodus, Eleutherus, who had presided over the Church of the Romans for thirteen years, departed this life, and Victor presided over the faithful there. And Julianus having directed the Church of the Alexandrians for ten years, and having rendered his debt to nature, the office of the episcopate was entrusted to Demetrius. In the Church of the Antiochians, after Maximinus, Serapion presided over the Christians, becoming the eighth high priest from the apostles. At that time also, Apollonius, a man renowned for his education and philosophy, migrated to the eternal tabernacles by a martyr’s end, by decree of the Roman Senate. ^{B C} VI. Commodus having thus corrupted the affairs of the government, as has been said, he himself also perished. Those around Laetus and Eclectus chose Pertinax for the autocracy on account of his virtue and his worth. Having confirmed that Commodus was dead, he accepted the government; he entered the camp and, by the presence of Laetus and by great promises, he won over the soldiers. Then, having arrived at the Senate, he said that he had been named emperor by the army, but that he was resigning from the government because of his age, his infirmity, and the difficulty of the situation. But when he was both praised and elected by the Senate, he was declared emperor, and Commodus was voted an enemy. Both the Senate and the people heaped insults upon him, and tore down his images. They even wanted to drag about and tear apart his body, but because Pertinax said that he was already buried in the earth, they refrained from this; yet they called him an impious man, a tyrant, a charioteer, a gladiator, and many other names. ^D Pertinax was a Libyan from Alba Pompeia, from a father of no noble birth, and had served as a tribune among the knights. He was approachable, listened willingly, and answered whatever seemed right to him. Thus did Pertinax take hold of the government. And in addition to his other titles, he was also named Prince of the Senate, according to the ancient custom. All things that had been disposed wrongly toward the state were transformed by the administration and foresight of the emperor, and the dishonor of those who had been unjustly put to death was removed by him. There was such a shortage of money in the palace that no more than twenty-five myriad drachmas were found. Pertinax then with difficulty, from the statues, and weapons, and furniture, and from those

^A a more easy passage might be had, Philip, thinking them to have fled out of fear of him, unexpectedly fell upon them while they were plundering and destroyed some of them. Galba, having become aware of this, rushed out of the camp, threw himself upon him, and killed many more in return. Philip, defeated and wounded, retreated by night. Galba did not pursue him, but withdrew to Apollonia. Apustius, meanwhile, cruising with the Rhodians and Attalus, subjugated many islands. At the same time, a certain Carthaginian named Amilcar, who had served with Mago in Italy ^B and had remained quiet there for a time, upon the outbreak of the Macedonian war, incited the Gauls to revolt; and having campaigned with them against the Ligurians, he joined even some of them to himself. But, having been defeated in battle by the praetor L. Furius, they sent envoys for peace. It was granted to the Ligurians; the rest obtained nothing. For the consul Aurelius, envying the praetor his victory, attacked them in his turn. In the following year, Amilcar and the Gauls inflicted many disasters upon the Romans. For they defeated the praetor Cn. Baebius, ^C invaded the allied cities, and having besieged Placentia, they took it and razed it to the ground.

XVI. In Greece and Macedonia, the consul P. Villius was in the field against Philip, who had occupied the passes of Epirus, through which there was access into Macedonia. Winter having passed, the consul T. Flaminius, since Philip, because the entire space between the mountains was blocked by a wall, was difficult to attack, went around the fortification with a few men by way of a narrow path; and having been suddenly seen from a higher position, he struck terror ^D into Philip, who thought that all of Titus’s army had passed through the defiles, so that he immediately withdrew into Macedonia. The consul, not pursuing him, took possession of the cities of Epirus: and from thence, having passed into Thessaly, with many being alienated from Philip, he betook himself into Phocis and Boeotia. While he was besieging Elatea there, L. Flaminius, his brother, along with Attalus and the Rhodians, were subjugating the islands. Finally, having also taken Cenchreae, and having heard that an alliance had been sought from the Achaeans by Philip, they themselves also joined with the Athenians in sending envoys to them. At first the sentiments of the Achaeans were divided, some voting for an alliance with Philip, others with the Romans. But eventually, after the alliance was made, they joined in the siege of Corinth; they tore down part of the wall, but being worn out by frequent sorties, they withdrew. Then Philip, fearing that many cities might be captured, sent heralds to the consul regarding peace. And when he had agreed to his demands, both he and his allies arrived; but nothing was accomplished, except that Philip sent envoys to Rome, and not even there was anything granted...

^A of Commodus's favorites, collected money and gave it to the guards, as he had promised, and one hundred drachmas to each of the people. For all the things which Commodus had used for luxury, and for sword-play, and for chariot-driving, these he put up for sale. Lætus, for his part, praised Pertinax, while he insulted Commodus. And some barbarians who had received a large sum of gold from the latter for peace, he sent for while they were on their way, took the gold back, and told those at home that Pertinax now ruled (for they already knew the man's name from the things they had suffered), and Laetus did other such things to slander Commodus. But Lætus did not long remain faithful to Pertinax. For he did not attain the power he coveted, and he goaded the soldiers against him. They, being hindered from their plunder by him, hated him and formed a plot with Lætus. Therefore, they conspired to make the consul Falco—a man distinguished by birth and wealth—emperor. When Pertinax learned this, while he was at the seaside in preparation for the grain supply, he hurried to the city and, having entered the senate-house, delivered a speech, and, as the senators were about to condemn Falco, he cried ^B out: "Far be it that under my reign any senator should be condemned, even justly!" But Lætus, through some of the soldiers, pretending he was ordered by the emperor, destroyed them; and because the rest were fearful, they caused a tumult. Two hundred of the most daring, with swords drawn, rushed to the palace. When they were inside, his wife announced their presence to him; but he, although he could have resisted and destroyed them with the night guard and the cavalry, did neither this, nor chose to hide and flee; but hoping perhaps to strike them with awe by appearing and to persuade them by speaking, he went out to meet them as they approached. They, at first, checked by shame, put their swords back into their sheaths. But as one of them rushed forward and, showing him the sword, said, "This ^C is the sword the soldiers have sent you," and struck him, the others also were moved and cut down both the emperor and Eclectus. Then, having fixed Pertinax's head on a spear, they carried it about, exulting in their deed. This man lived sixty-seven years, less four months, and reigned only eighty-seven days.

^D VII. When the murder of Pertinax was announced, Sulpicianus, having been sent by him to the camp in order to restore order there, remained in it and busied himself with how he might be declared emperor. Meanwhile, Didius Julianus, a man of insatiable greed, always coveting new disturbances, and on this account having been exiled by Commodus to Mediolanum, his native land, learning of the death of Pertinax, hastened and arrived at the camp. Standing by the gates, he from the outside, and Sulpicianus from the inside, while some affirmed that Rome and the empire were to be bought, and both were bidding—"This one gives so much, that one so much"—the amount

^A offered to the soldiers by Julian was nonetheless preferred, 51 for they feared Sulpicianus most of all, as one who would avenge Pertinax, being his father-in-law. Having been admitted into the camp, Julian was proclaimed emperor, and from there he proceeded to the forum and the senate house, bringing with him a great multitude of armed guards in order to terrify both the senate and the populace through them. And he said to the senate that you too are in need of a ruler, and I myself, if anyone else, am most worthy to lead you. And although he was hated for his arrogance, and for the soldiers who had encircled the senate house, nevertheless, out of fear of the senate, his rule was confirmed, and he ascended to the palace. On the following day, the members of the senate approached him, so that they might not be detected showing displeasure toward him. But the people openly showed their distress; and when the emperor arrived at the assembly, they all shouted as if by a prearranged signal, calling him a father-slayer and a plunderer of the empire. Although he pretended not to be angry, and promised them money, they were indignant, as if they were being bribed, and all together cried out: "We do not want it, we will not accept it." When Julian gave orders for those who were saying these things to be killed, the people were even more provoked; they remembered Pertinax and cursed Julian. And many, being wounded and killed in various parts of the city, resisted; and having taken up arms, they ran together to the hippodrome, where they spent the night and day without food, calling out to the remaining soldiers and especially to Pescennius Niger and those with him in Syria. Afterward, exhausted by hunger and lack of sleep, they dispersed and remained quiet. Julian, having thus seized the empire, used it in a base manner, flattering the senate and those who had some power, at times granting favors, at other times making promises. And he did everything to gain the favor of the powerful, yet he was not trusted. These things, then, were being done in Rome. Meanwhile, the leaders of the armies, three in number—Severus, the ruler of Pannonia; Niger of Syria; and Albinus of ^B Britain—having learned the affairs concerning Julian, had moved to overthrow him. But Severus, being more cunning than the others, calculated that if they were to bring down Julian, the three of them would contend among themselves for the rule. He decided, therefore, to win one over to himself. Because Niger was situated further away from him and appeared to have a lofty spirit, ^C because the people, as has been said, had called upon him by name, he inclined toward Albinus and secretly wrote to him that he would make him Caesar. And while Albinus hoped that he would be a colleague of Severus, and remained in his own place, he set out for Rome. Having learned this, Julian arranged for Severus to be judged an enemy by the senate and prepared himself for war, having secured the palace with bolts and sturdy gates. For because he thought the soldiers would not have easily killed Pertinax if he had been inside ^D the starting point of this rule, it had to be bought from the soldiers.

^A He believed that if he were shut up within it, he would be able to overcome them if he were attacked. He also killed Laetus, and sent others against Severus to assassinate the man. But when the latter invaded Italy and took Ravenna, and those who were sent were defecting to him, and the guards were becoming fearful on account of the presence of Severus, he convened the Senate and ordered them to vote that Severus be a partner in the government with him. But because Severus wrote to the soldiers that they would suffer no harm, persuaded by this, they handed over the killers of Pertinax; and they captured those men, and notified the reigning consul Silius Messala of these things. He assembled the Senate in the Athenaeum—so called because the students performed their exercises in it—and shared with it the message from the soldiers. The Senate condemned Julianus to death and immediately proclaimed Severus emperor. And thereupon, Julianus was killed in the palace, saying, "But what terrible thing have I done, and whom have I killed?" He lived for sixty years and four months, and the same number of days, having reigned for sixty days.

VIII.

Some signs occurred to him presaging his rule. He once dreamed that he was suckling a she-wolf, as is told of Romulus; and while he was sleeping, water welled up as if from a spring, and in his dreams the whole Senate and people of Rome approached him and greeted him. And again, he seemed to see, in the Roman Forum, Pertinax riding on horseback and being thrown from the horse, while he himself seized it as it willingly offered its back to him. While a youth, he had ignorantly, but not by design, sat upon the imperial throne. After obtaining the empire, he accorded many honors to Pertinax, and performed a most sumptuous funeral for him, although he had been dead for quite some time. Then he set out against Niger.

who was an Italian from the equestrian order, though not one of the most prominent. After various battles were joined, in the end, at Issus in Cilicia, by the so-called Gates—which are so named because of the narrowness of the place, for on one side the crags rise up abruptly, and on the other, deep precipices drop down to the sea—a fierce battle took place; Niger was defeated, and the greater part of his force perished there. He himself, while fleeing, was caught and killed. Severus sent his severed head to Byzantium and fixed it to a cross, so that the Byzantines, upon seeing it, might surrender. ^A When Severus proposed to punish those who had supported Niger, a senator named Cassius Clemens, being judged by him, spoke freely, saying: "I neither knew you nor Niger, but having been caught in his faction, I did not wish to fight against you, but rather to overthrow Julianus, and by striving for the same ends as you, I have done no wrong. Nor even in that I did not later defect to you; for you yourself would not have wished any of your own companions to desert to him. Examine therefore not our persons or our names, but the facts themselves; for whatever you judge concerning us, this you will be voting against yourself and your own companions." Severus, admiring the man's frankness, allowed him to keep half of his property. ^B The Byzantines, both while Niger was alive and after he died, performed many wondrous deeds while besieged for three years. For they would capture passing vessels, and they even captured triremes that were in the harbor of the enemy. By cutting the anchor cables with underwater divers, and fastening nails into their oars, and attaching ropes to these, they would pull them in, and they seemed to sail in of their own accord. When all their provisions were exhausted, they persisted nonetheless; they used the timber of their houses for ships, and for ropes they would braid them by cutting the hair of their women. And when the enemy attacked the walls, they hurled at them stone and bronze statues, both of horses and men. ^C When they were destitute of all customary food, they ate leather that had been macerated; when that too was consumed, they tasted human flesh, and they devoured one another. But when at last, even against their will, they had made their surrender, the Romans killed all the soldiers and officials there. Severus, marveling at that conquest, took away the city’s freedom and civic dignity, made it tributary, confiscated the property of the citizens, and gifted the city itself and its lands to the Perinthians. By dismantling its most robust walls, he did not afflict them so much with a greater hardship, nor deprive them of the glory of their fortitude, as he destroyed the Romans' most fortified stronghold against the Pontic and Asian barbarians, and their safest asylum. ^D

IX. Now, as he was possessed by an insane desire for glory, he brought war upon the Osroenian barbarians, and the Adiabenians, and the Arabs; and, having set out for Nisibis, he sent forth generals and legions. They ravaged the lands of those nations and conquered their cities. But when he had honored Albinus with the title of Caesar, 9 Severus, craving glory, campaigned against the Osroenian barbarians, and the Adiabenians, and the Arabians; and having arrived at Nisibis, from there he sent out generals and regiments against the aforementioned nations, who laid waste to their territory and took their cities.

^A Again, civil war was joined with Severus. For the one (52) would not even grant Albinus the title of Caesar, while the other demanded even that of Emperor. As the world was stirred up by these things, a great multitude of the common people, gathered in the hippodrome, quite openly lamented, crying out, "How long shall we suffer such things, and how long shall we remain at war?" and they shouted other such things, as if inspired by some divine breath. For how could so many myriads, as if led by a chorus-master (55), say what they said without fault? Meanwhile, after a battle was joined, and the war had experienced many forms, turns, and fluctuations, Albinus was defeated, with the fallen on both sides almost exceeding count, and Albinus having killed himself. Severus, gloating over him as he lay there and railing against him, ordered the rest of his body to be thrown away, but having sent his head to Rome, he had it impaled on a cross. He killed many of the senators, and dismissed some as well. After these things he marched against the Parthians, who had taken Mesopotamia. And having built ships on the Euphrates, he took Seleucia and Babylon, which had been abandoned. Having taken Ctesiphon, he allowed it to be sacked by the soldiers; he killed many and took more alive. He did not pursue Vologaesus, the Parthian leader, who had retreated home, nor did he hold Ctesiphon; but he departed from there as if he had undertaken the expedition solely for the sake of plunder. During this war, he killed two famous men: Julius Crispus, a tribune of the soldiers, because he was troubled by the hardships of the war and had spoken somewhat [freely], and he appointed in his place the soldier who had accused him; and Laetus, because he was of high spirit and beloved by the soldiers, who affirmed that they would not march except with him as their leader, ^B and he attributed the blame for his murder to the soldiers, because, having killed him out of envy, he could not state a reason. Then he marched against the city of Atra. This is an Arabian city, in which many other riches were stored, as well as the offerings to the Sun, to whom the city was dedicated. Having achieved nothing, although he had broken down the outer wall and lost many of his own men, he retreated and arrived in Palestine and Egypt; he saw everything and investigated matters that had been hidden. For he was the kind of man to leave neither divine nor human things uninvestigated. He took from all the sanctuaries as many books of secret knowledge as he had been able to find until then. But let these things be said as if in passing, along with what we found that Dio says about the Nile, whence it rises and why it is accustomed to rise in the summer. He says, therefore, that it rises from Atlas, ^C a mountain of the Macennitides, near the western Ocean itself, the highest of all mountains, for which reason it is called the pillar of heaven by the poets. For no one has ever ascended its summit or seen its peaks, as they are always covered in snow. Whence, a great abundance of water flows down in the summer, ^D

and for this reason he says that the Nile rises; and these things were verified for the Romans by the men of lower Mauretania, who are neighbors to the Macennitidi, and many of the Romans who campaigned there also arrived at the Atlas. These things, then, Dion related concerning the Nile, even if others have not recorded matters concerning this in the same way. ^B

X. Furthermore, Plautianus, the prefect, who was almost a partner in the empire with Severus and upheld by supreme power, put to death many illustrious men who were of equal rank to himself. Being insatiable, he demanded something from everyone, and he left neither province nor city unplundered, so that all gave more to him than to Severus himself. He castrated noble Romans as well, not only boys and adolescents, but also married men, so that they might be seen as both husbands and eunuchs, and fathers who were childless (to use a comic expression) and castrated and bearded. Before this, a huge sea-monster drifted into the port called the port of Augustus, was captured, and, having been made into a likeness and brought into the amphitheatre, it is said to have sheltered fifty bears inside it. ^C When Severus betrothed Plautianus’s daughter, Plautilla, to his own son Antoninus, Plautianus gave so much to his daughter that it would have sufficed for many queens. Having become exceedingly great and having acquired most power, even surpassing Severus himself, he was plotted against by his son-in-law Antoninus and slaughtered, and was cast down from a higher place onto the road. With this man removed as a sort of tutor, the sons of Severus, Antoninus and Geta, abstained from no wickedness. At that time also, Bullas Felix, an Italian man, having organized a band of six hundred robbers, plundered Italy for two years. Although many strove to capture him, he was not caught, as he outwitted those pursuing him by many varied and clever methods; one of which we shall recount as an example of others. When a centurion was ordered by Severus to set an ambush for him, Bullas himself approached him as if he were someone else, and promised that he would deliver the robber to him if he would follow. The man, thinking it was true, was led to a place of ambush and easily captured. ^D Then, sitting on a tribunal as if he were the leader of the robbers, he shaved the centurion's head and dismissed him with these words: "Tell your master to feed his slaves so they do not turn to robbery." For many of the Caesarians' freedmen had joined him. However, he was later captured and thrown to the beasts. Severus undertook an expedition into Britain so that his sons would not become debauched by luxury, and the legions would not become soft from idleness. There are two very great tribes of the Britons, the Caledonians and the Maeatae, and both of them inhabit rugged, uncultivated, and marshy mountains; they have no cities, nor do they till the land, but live off pasturage, hunting, and the fruits of trees. For although the island abounds in fish, they do not eat them; they live in tents, go naked and without shoes, and have their wives in common.

^A and they rear all the children that are born. They are governed by a democracy, and they engage in brigandage, and they fight in chariots, having horses that are small and swift, and as foot soldiers they run very quickly. As for weapons, they use a certain shield, a short spear, and a dagger. Suffering from hunger and cold and other hardships, they endure them by retreating into swamps for many days, keeping only their heads above the water, and in the swamps they feed upon roots and bark. They also prepare a type of food, of which if they eat as much as the size of a bean, they neither hunger nor thirst. Such then was the island of Britain, and it was inhabited by such men not subject to the Romans at that time. For the Romans held a portion of it, not much less than half, and the length of the whole island is said to extend to seven thousand one hundred and thirty-two stadia, and the breadth to be for the most part about two thousand three hundred, though in some places it is even less. Severus, then, intending to master the whole island, invaded Caledonia, and had troubles neither by fighting nor by seeing an enemy in pitched battle, but through felling woods and leveling high places. Yet his own soldiers, scattering, were ambushed and destroyed, and in that way many thousands perished. Still, he forced the Britons to come to terms. Antoninus, his son, burdened him with cares, leading a dissolute life and being plain for all to see that, if he could, he would destroy his brother. He even plotted against his own father, and was caught twice, but Antoninus suffered no harm from his father. For having called him, and Papinianus ^B (55), and Castor (Castor was his slave, a most excellent and most faithful man), he placed a sword in their midst and said to his son: "If you wish to kill me, execute me here, and not while everyone is looking. But if you shrink from becoming my murderer with your own hand, command Papinianus, the prefect, to do it for you, for he will not disobey you, being emperor." When the Britons revolted again, he prepared to make war upon them. But in the meantime, while he was living on the island, he was released from his illness, and from Antoninus, as it is said that he collaborated in this. Before, therefore, he breathed his last, there is a story that he said to his children: "Be of one mind, enrich the soldiers, and neglect no one else ^C (56)." He reigned for seventeen years and eight months and three days, having lived in total sixty-five years, nine months, and twenty-nine days. Such was his conduct in time of peace; he would do something at night ^D just before dawn, and he would hear matters relating to the empire, and thus he would dispense justice until midday, unless it was a great festival, with the assessors given the power to speak their opinion freely. After this he would ride, then bathe, lunch, and take a midday nap. Having awakened, he would perform the rest of the business, and while walking he would devote himself to Greek and Latin studies. In the evening he would bathe again and dine. On very necessary days he would frequent public banquets.

he walked about, speaking and listening to things appropriate to the morning, and thus he judged until midday, unless there were some great festival; and he gave freedom of speech to his fellow-judges. In addition to this, he would ride, then bathe, then rest for a while, and having arisen, he continued the rest of his work, and would converse on the walk in both Latin and Greek; and towards evening he bathed, then dined again, and on days of urgent necessity he held lavish banquets.

XI. Persecution under his reign, and the life of Origen

^A XI. A persecution against the pious having been stirred up under his reign, many acted with manly courage and received the crowns of martyrdom. At that time, Leonides, the father of Origen, was also seized, and after other punishments, he was beheaded, leaving his son quite young, who, it is said, being still a child, was eager for martyrdom. ^B His mother, at first, tried by words to draw her son away from the undertaking. But when she could not persuade him, she hid all his clothes, and thus compelled him to remain at home, even against his will. Being unable to go out, he exhorted his father by letter to undergo martyrdom, among other things writing thus: "Hold fast, and do not change your mind on our account." In his childhood, he joined the study of the Sacred Scriptures with the liberal arts at his father's command; nor did he read the divine oracles in a cursory way, but strove to penetrate to ^C their hidden teaching, troublesome to his father with frequent questions. And although he rebuked his son's curiosity in words, he truly marveled at his natural ability; and he would often uncover the breast of the sleeping boy and kiss it as the dwelling-place of the Holy Spirit, counting himself happy in such a son. After the martyrdom of his father, Origen, laboring in poverty, was taken in by a certain very famous and wealthy matron in Alexandria, who had adopted as a foster-son ^D a certain Antiochene by the name of Paul, one of the heretics in Alexandria. To him, as a crowd gathered every day because of his reputation for eloquence (for he seemed capable in speech), Origen was forced to associate; yet it is related that he never joined him in prayer, detesting the man as not orthodox. Being eighteen years old, he was placed in charge of the catechetical school in Alexandria, and he urged those then contending [for the faith] toward their struggle; and he accompanied and encouraged those departing for death, so that the executioners were often set upon him, whom he escaped through divine aid. ^A Nor was the man great in speech alone, but he also lived a philosophical life that was in harmony with his teaching. For it is reported that he did not have a second tunic, nor did he wear shoes for many years, nor did he use wine, nor take food other than what was necessary. And, as Eusebius relates, for the love of chastity, he cut off his own generative members. But others say he did not cut them off, but applied a certain herb to them, from which it happened that they became so numbed as to appear dead. ^B Under Pope Zephyrinus, he traveled to Rome. Then, having returned to Alexandria, after learning the Hebrew language, he explained the writings of the Hebrews; and having arranged them in Hebrew letters with the addition of interpretations—namely, those of the seventy-two, Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion, and two other anonymous interpreters—he labored on the commentaries which are called the Hexapla, as if you would say "sextuple." In the Psalms, he even mentions a seventh interpretation, found at Jericho. But Aquila, Symmachus...

and Theodotion, having placed their edition alongside that of the seventy-two, delivered what are called the Tetrapla. ^B However, Demetrius, whom I mentioned above as having presided over the Church of Alexandria, having died, Heraclas, a student of Origen, was chosen as bishop. Narcissus presided over the Church in Jerusalem, a man who performed miracles, and who, loving a life of seclusion, fled and lived in the deserts, remaining unknown. After he had withdrawn, Dius was introduced in his place, after whom Germanio was appointed, then Gordius; under whom Narcissus, having returned to the city, since he could not carry out the ministries of the Church, to which he was called by the faithful for its governance, on account of his extreme old age, Alexander, formerly illustrious for his confession of Christ, but then bishop in the region of Cappadocia, was invited by the faithful in Jerusalem by revelation to administer the Church together with Narcissus. After Serapion had rested, Asclepiades was made bishop of the Antiochene Church, whose commentaries Eusebius says are extant. And so much for these matters.

XII. ^C Antoninus seemed to share the power of the empire with his brother Geta, but in reality, he was the sole monarch. And he immediately made peace with the British enemies, ceding the land and the fortresses to them, and he removed the prefect Papinian from his office, and killed others—and among the rest Evodus, who was also called Castor, his nurse—and his own wife Plautilla, and her brother Plautius, and besides these, his own brother. For he had been plotting against him for a long time, but he could not kill him because he was guarded by soldiers and many others. Then he persuaded his mother to summon them alone for the sake of a reconciliation. And Geta, believing this to be true, entered into the chamber with Antoninus, and centurions, having been prepared for this by Antoninus, pushed themselves in behind them, and there they hacked Geta to pieces as he clung to his mother’s neck, and to her breasts and chest, so that she was covered in his blood, and her hand was also wounded. ^D She, from fear, did not even feel the wound, nor was she able to mourn her son, who had perished so pitifully and at an immature age (for he was twenty-two years and nine months old), fearing lest she herself might also perish. And Antoninus, having immediately taken the military camp, said, "Rejoice, fellow soldiers, for now it is permitted for me to do well by you; since I am one of you, and I wish to live with you and through you, that I may confer many benefits upon you. But if I should not be able, I wish to die with you." On the day after...

having discoursed at length before the senate, he finally said: "Listen to me, so that all the world may rejoice; let all the exiles return." He killed up to twenty thousand of the Caesarians ^A and the soldiers who had been with Geta, and he destroyed a great many of the illustrious men and deprived Rome of many good men. And the sword with which his brother was slaughtered he dedicated as an offering. From murders he turned to games, and in these too he committed murder. And while he was most generous toward the soldiers, he made it his goal to strip, plunder, and drain the rest of the people, and not least of all the senators. During the whole time of his reign, the territory subject to him was so ravaged that when Julia once said that there was no longer for us any just or unjust source of income, he replied, drawing his sword: "Be of good cheer, Mother, for as long as we possess this, nothing shall fail us." He was also, above all else, treacherous. For, having summoned the king of the Osrhoeni, Abgarus, by the pretext of friendship ^B as if as a friend, he arrested him upon his arrival, and thus subjugated Osrhoene. And the king of the Armenians, who was quarrelling with his own children, he summoned with friendly letters as if he were going to reconcile them, and he treated him in the same way as Abgarus, but he did not subdue the Armenians; for they rose up in arms, and no one trusted him any longer. In times of necessity and urgent military expeditions, however, he was frugal and unadorned; he would walk and run along with the soldiers, not bathing, not changing his clothes, but working at every task, eating the same food as they did, and he would sometimes challenge the leading men of the enemy to single combat. The duties of a general, however, he did not manage well; all his deeds were counterfeited, and even the coinage itself. He suffered from both manifest and secret ailments. And often he thought that his father and brother were pursuing him with swords. Wherefore it is said that he tried to raise up the souls ^C of both his father and of Commodus and others, but only of Commodus ^D to say to him: "Go closer to the judgment." And at his death, being in secret places with an incurable disease. He also had listeners and spies, and everything, even the most trivial, was reported to him. And he would announce that he would act as judge or do some other public business early in the morning; but he would put it off until past noon or even until evening, not even admitting to the vestibule those who had gathered from...

the senate. Moreover, he committed murders ^A and transgressed the law, and squandered wealth, nor would he obey his mother when she offered him much useful advice on these and other matters. He also took delight in magicians and sorcery. Having campaigned against the Parthians and arrived in Antioch, he lived in luxury; and by organizing gladiatorial matches, he would lament and endure as if he were suffering great hardships. He reproached the senate for living in comfort, and finally wrote to them: “I know that what I do does not please you; but for this very reason I possess weapons and soldiers, so that I need not concern myself with the things being gossiped about.” ^B Again, having campaigned against the Parthians because Artabanus did not give him his daughter in marriage (for he knew that he had used the marriage as a pretext to usurp the Parthian kingdom [alt-version omitted]), he ravaged much of their land, took Arbela, and broke into the monuments of the Parthian kings and scattered their bones; yet no war had been formally declared by him against that nation. Otherwise, he also acted lawlessly in his campaigns, and he devised a personal style of dress, cutting barbarian garments into the fashion of a mantle, and he continually wore it; from this he was surnamed Caracalla. He also ordered the soldiers to be dressed in this way.

However, he was killed by soldiers. For Macrinus, the prefect, having learned through some prophecy that he would rule, and fearing that for this reason he might be put to death by Antoninus, did not delay, but having prepared two centurions of the bodyguard, he plotted against him. And as he was departing from Edessa to Carrhae, and had dismounted his horse to relieve himself, a certain soldier, sent by the centurions, approached him as if to tell him something, and coming near, struck him with a small dagger. And thus he lived, and thus he perished, having lived twenty-nine years and having reigned for six years, two months, and some days. It is said that while he was in Antioch at the end, he dreamt that his father stood over him with a drawn sword, saying: “As you killed your brother, so I shall kill you.” Seers also told him to beware of that day, and they say other signs preceded his destruction.

^C XIII. After Antoninus was destroyed—whom, as has been said, they called Caracalla, but also Taras, after a certain most repulsive and bloodthirsty gladiator—Macrinus received the command from the army on the fourth day. He was a Moor by race, from Sicily, of very obscure parents, whence, according to the custom of the Moors, he had one ear pierced; yet he was a moderate man and a very faithful guardian of the laws. Having been prefect of the praetorian guard, he had administered that office in the best manner, but he did not manage the empire rightly in all respects. For he bestowed offices upon the unworthy, which is the most important part of imperial administration; and he used a more luxurious way of life, yet he also maintained a certain haughtiness. ^D Julia, the mother of Antoninus, dwelling in Antioch and having learned of the death of her son, sought to make away with herself—not for the sake of her son, but fearing that she might return to private life. But since her circumstances did not change, and she retained her ministry and attendants, she preferred to remain in life. 615 After Macrinus had heard…

^A that she was speaking abusively of him, and realized that she was attempting to use her authority, she was ordered to leave Antioch and go wherever she wished. She then destroyed herself. But Artabanus, moving against the Romans with great forces, engaged Macrinus near Nisibis; Macrinus was defeated twice and was forced to purchase peace with a large sum of money. While he had thus quieted the war against Artabanus, another civil war arose among the Romans. For a certain Eutychianus, one of the Caesarians, perceiving the soldiers' hatred for Macrinus—because he was more restrictive than Antoninus in his largesse—and spurred on by prophecies, rose up against Macrinus. ^B Maesa, the sister of the Empress Julia, had two daughters, Soaemis and Mamaea, and each of them had two male children. Eutychianus took one of these, and pretending that he was the illegitimate son of Caracalla, led him into the camp by night; he persuaded the soldiers, who were already seeking a pretext for sedition, to favor a revolution. They at once proclaimed him emperor, naming him Antoninus, although he was still a child. Taking him with them, they marched against Macrinus, who was then in Antioch. They engaged him in a region some distance from Antioch, and although defeated at first, they rallied again. Macrinus, seeing them, turned to flight and retreated to Antioch as if he had been victorious, intending not to be excluded from the city. He sent his son to Artabanus. ^C When news of his defeat, and of the many who had been slain, was brought to him, he fled by night, having shaved his head and beard and put on dark clothing so that he might not be recognized. Accompanied by a few, he arrived at Aegae in Cilicia, and traveling through Cappadocia, Galatia, and Bithynia, he reached Eribolus, a naval station opposite Nicomedia, and crossed to Chalcedon. He sent to one of the officials and asked for money. Consequently, he was recognized and seized by those who favored the Pseudo-Antoninus and was led back as far as Cappadocia. There, learning that his son had been captured, he threw himself from the carriage and fractured his shoulder. ^D Not long after, he was slaughtered, having lived fifty-four years and having ruled over the Romans for one year and two months, less three days, destroyed by a little boy. This is the verse said to have been spoken to him in an oracle:

*Alas, old man, indeed young warriors harass you,* *Your strength is loosened, and grievous old age comes upon you.*

616 XIV. Avitus, or Pseudo-Antoninus—sometimes called the Assyrian or Sardanapalus—upon coming to Rome, did one thing worthy of a good emperor. For although he had been treated with many insults, both privately and publicly, by the Romans on account of the letters Macrinus wrote against him, he punished no one. In other matters, however, he was most base, most lawless, and a most bloodthirsty executioner. Eutychianus, however, was appointed commander of the Praetorian guards and subsequently held the consulship twice and thrice. Other illustrious men were murdered, either on trumped-up charges or without any charge at all, because they did not approve of his actions. For he did not

^A even shrink from writing this to the Senate. He acted as both man and woman, and in both capacities he committed the most unchaste acts. He put to death not only others, but even some of his own dearest friends who encouraged him to live with moderation. He also introduced to Rome a certain foreign god called Heleagabalus, whom he preferred even to Jupiter Optimus Maximus; it was from this that he himself received the cognomen Heleagabalus. He circumcised his own private parts, abstained from swine's flesh, and appeared in public wearing a barbarian garment of the kind used by Syrian priests, for which reason he was called an Assyrian. Among others, he married a virgin, a priestess of Vesta, violating national religion through total effrontery; he claimed that he had taken her so that from the sacrificer and the priestess, divine children of Heliogabalus might be born. ^B He did not merely chant barbarian songs with his mother and grandmother to his foreign god and offer abhorrent sacrifices, slaughtering boys and employing sorceries and countless amulets from time to time, but he also betrothed a wife to that god of his, as if he were in need of children, and established her in the palace, having exacted a dowry for her from his subjects. His own life was so corrupt that it cannot be recounted nor heard without the greatest distress. However, we shall touch upon a few points. At night he would enter taverns, wearing a wig on his head, and would behave and work alongside the tavern women. He frequented the notorious brothels, and by driving out the prostitutes, he would play the part of a prostitute for anyone at all. In the palace, he had a special chamber, before the doors of which ^C he would stand naked, like the harlots, and shaking a silken veil, would invite passers-by to intercourse with an effeminate, soft, and broken voice, and would extort money from them. He even disputed with those who practiced the same obscenities as he, boasting that he had more lovers than they and collected more money. And he was not merely lascivious in this way; he also drove chariots and danced, and he even wished to have one man as his husband, as it were a legitimate spouse, and he wished to appoint him Caesar; he was called mistress and empress, wore a hair-net, worked wool, and painted his cheeks. Once he even shaved his beard so that he might appear a smooth and sleek little woman. Her husband was a Carian slave named Hierocles. He also wished to be considered as committing adultery, so that he might imitate the most unchaste of women; he would intentionally be caught in the very act, ^D and would be scolded and beaten by his husband until his eyes were suffused with black and blue marks. A certain Aurelius, who was elegant in his whole body and gifted with huge private parts, was reported to him, and he immediately had him brought to him with a magnificent escort. When he said to him, "Hail, lord emperor," he, tilting his neck with womanly softness and closing his eyes slightly, said, "Do not call me lord; for I am a lady." When, having bathed with him, he found that the report did not lie, he reclined upon his breast and dined in his lap like a mistress. Hierocles, therefore, fearing that he might be neglected because of Aurelius, rendered him effeminate and stupefied through certain sorceries or witchcraft so that throughout

the whole night he would lie motionless for intercourse. For this reason he was driven from the palace and from Rome and from all of Italy itself. He proceeded to such a depth of licentiousness that he requested physicians to contrive for him a female pudendum through an operation, and he offered them great rewards for this. On account of all these things, Sardanapalus was detested by everyone, for they could no longer endure his lewdness. Then Bassianus, the son of Mammaea, his mother's sister, whom he had adopted into the court and ordered to be called Alexander, took him to the senate and commanded ^B them to call him likewise. But not long after, he began to suspect everyone, and since he learned that most people were well-disposed to that child, he changed his mind and finally attempted to destroy him. But he was guarded by the soldiers with great care, and the soldiers were terribly incensed because of this. He himself, however, entered the camp to Alexander to try to appease the uproar. When the soldiers learned that he was plotting against him, they rushed to kill him. Being caught, he was put to death, and his mother who was clinging to him was killed together with him; their bodies, having been stripped, were dragged through the middle of the city. Then the corpse of Sardanapalus was cast into the Tiber, for which reason he was named Tiberinus. There were slaughtered along with him Hierocles and many others, after he had reigned for three years, ten months, and four days, from the time he overcame the forces of his rival and took possession of the empire. In his reign, Zephyrinus, bishop of the Roman Church, departed this life in the eighteenth year of his governance. After him Callistus led the gathering of the faithful for five years. He was succeeded by Urbanus.

XV. ^C Upon the death of the Pseudo-Antoninus, Alexander, the son of Mammaea and the cousin of that man (for this is how the ancients referred to children of siblings), took up the empire. He immediately declared his mother Mammaea as Augusta; and having taken charge of the administration of affairs, he sought out learned men for his son, directed him according to their customs, and recruited the best men from the senate, with whom he took counsel on all actions. Having taken up the care of governing the state, he rescinded many of the deeds of Sardanapalus; for after killing Flavianus and Chrestus to replace them, not long after he himself was killed at night by the guards. While he was still alive, a slight sedition arose between the soldiers and the people, and they fought for three days. But when the soldiers were defeated, ^D and set fire to the houses, the people returned to favor against their will. Other uprisings were also quelled. Alexander's mother was a covetous woman, and she collected money from everywhere. She demanded a wife for her son, whom she did not permit to be called Augusta, and some time later she tore her away from him and banished her to Africa, although Alexander loved her, but he did not dare to oppose his mother, in whose power he was. Meanwhile, Artaxerxes the Persian, a man of obscure and inglorious origin, claimed for himself the kingdom of the Persians which had been transferred from them; from whom the race of Chosroes is said to be derived. For after the death of Alexander of Macedon, his successors held the Macedonians for a very long time.

and ruled over the Persians and Parthians, and other nations, fighting among themselves. When these had thus grown weak, the first ^A Parthian, Arsaces, undertook a revolt of his own people and, having prevailed, left the command to his descendants; he was the last of these, Artabanus, whom this Artaxerxes, having conquered in three battles, captured and killed. Then, having crossed into Armenia, he was defeated by the Armenians and Medes, and together with his sons attacked by Artabanus. But he, having recovered himself, remained in Mesopotamia and Syria with a larger force, and threatened to recover everything that belonged to the Persians from their ancestors. Then this Artaxerxes ravaged Cappadocia with the Persians, and besieged Nisibis. ^B However, the barbarian sent an embassy to him, asking for peace. He did not accept the embassy, but sent back to Alexander four hundred picked men, clothed in costly garments and adorned with splendid weapons, and riding on excellent horses, wishing by this to strike fear into Alexander and the Romans. When they arrived and Alexander saw them, the great King Artaxerxes said, "He commands the Romans to withdraw from Syria and all of Europe, and to concede the Persian Empire as far as the sea." Alexander captured these men, and having stripped them of their clothes and weapons, and taken their horses, he dispersed them into many villages and forced them to farm, for he did not consider it pious to kill them. He himself divided his own army into three parts and attacked the Persians on three sides. A great number of the Persians ^C perished, and even more of the Romans, not so much by the enemy as in the return through the Armenian mountains. For the roads were impassable, and the feet of many, and even their hands, blackened and deadened by the cold, were amputated. Because of this, the Romans were despondent, and for this reason, due to the change in weather, he grew severely ill. Upon recovering his health, he set out against the Germans, harassing them with slingers and archers. Then, being offered money, he invited them to peace. On account of this, the soldiers grew angry and deserted; and a certain Maximinus, who was Thracian by birth and from childhood had been a shepherd, and after those things became a soldier, they took against his will and declared emperor. ^D He, having taken those who called upon him, set out instantly to where Alexander was staying. Learning these things, a part of Persia and Parthia were dominant, but finally they destroyed one another in civil wars. By their broken strength, the first Parthian Arsaces defected, and having dominated the Parthians, extended the kingdom to his successors: the last of whom was Artabanus, whom this Artaxerxes, having vanquished and captured in three battles, slew. Then, having made war on Armenia, he was repelled by the Armenians and Medes and those accompanying Artabanus; having repaired his strength, he was intent on seizing Mesopotamia and Syria along with larger forces, and laid claim to everything that belonged to the Persian kingdom of old. But, with Cappadocia invaded and Nisibis under siege, Alexander asked for peace through legates. The barbarian rejected the embassy and sent to Alexander four hundred chosen men adorned with precious garments and splendid arms, and on fine horses, with the intention of striking terror into Alexander and the Romans. When they came into the presence of the emperor, they said: "The great king Artaxerxes commands the Romans to cede Syria and all of Asia, which is in Europe, and to concede the Persian empire up to the sea." Alexander seized them, and having stripped them of their vestments and arms—and having distributed the horses to many villages—ordered them to farm (for he thought it a crime to kill them), and having distributed his own legions into three parts, he assailed the Persians on three sides, and many of them were killed. Many Romans also perished, not so much by the enemy as on the return from Armenia: for there were those whose feet and hands were mutilated, frostbitten and dead. For which reason, with the Romans complaining, Alexander fell seriously ill from grief due to this adversity. Having recovered his health, he set out against the Germans and harassed them with light-armed infantry and archers. Then, with money offered, he invited them to peace. Wherefore the soldiers, being angered, deserted; and a certain Maximinus, of the Thracian nation, who had been a soldier from his youth, they took, though he was unwilling, and dragged him to the empire. He, having taken these soldiers who happened to be with him and promised their service for his defense—which was that they were to join him in the struggle against Alexander—gathered an army. Moreover, they cursed his mother, and insulting his 620 avarice, they departed, leaving him behind. When, therefore, he saw himself destitute of all aid, he returned to his tent and wept for his fortune. But Maximinus, having killed Alexander along with his mother and their intimates through a centurion, gained the object. Mammaea, eager for the virtue of the holy life of Alexander, while she was living at Antioch with her son, because she was moved by the fame of the man, sent for Origen and, having been instructed by him in the doctrine of the faith, worshipped the most holy God, as Eusebius and others have handed down to memory. This was done, so that the persecution

^A And another thing was thought up. For it was permitted to anyone who wished to abandon their entire property to demand back a third of it afterwards, that is to say, neither to receive it nor to have problems. For those who were clearly being robbed of two parts by force, how could they have recovered the third? And many other things were brought to bear upon the people at that time, which drove them to poverty; yet it enriched only those who held weapons. In this way did those three men act, and at the same time they decorated that earlier Caesar, and voted him various and many honors. Since they had done these things, Lepidus remained in Rome so as to govern the city and the rest of Italy; but Caesar and Antonius marched out against Brutus and Cassius. For those men, having learned that Caesar Octavius was taking control of affairs and was drawing the crowd to himself, had despaired of the democracy and, fearing him, had gone to Athens. And the Athenians ^B received them brilliantly and voted them bronze statues, as having emulated those tyrant-slayers among them, I mean Harmodius and Aristogeiton. Then, having learned that Caesar was rising to greater things, Cassius set off toward the Syrians, who were familiar to him; but Brutus stood by Greece and Macedonia. And they paid attention to him both from the glory of his actions and because he also had many soldiers—some wandering there from the battle at Pharsalus, and others whom he had taken up from those who remained of the forces having marched out with Dolabella—and he had money that had been sent to him from Asia by Trebonius. He therefore took Greece without labor, and after this, having also taken over all of Macedonia and Epirus, he sent to the senate, declaring what had been done. And they (for it happened that at that time they were suspicious toward Caesar) both praised him and ordered him to rule over everything in those regions. From that point, he himself became more confident, and the subject population yielded to him without protest. But when Caesar had established himself in Rome and was openly punishing those who had slaughtered his father, he considered how he might defend himself against those who were attacking him, and he repelled certain plots that had been formed against him by some persons. And he went back to upper ^C Macedonia, having the strongest part of the army, and from there he sailed into Asia, so that the soldiers, upon learning of the events in Rome reported in a more fearful light, might not change sides. Then he hurried back into Europe, fearing that some revolution might result. At the same time, Cassius also crossed into Asia toward Trebonius, and having received from him money and many cavalrymen, as well as many others of the Cilicians and Asians, he brought the Tarsians, even against their will, into the alliance. And having come into Syria, he gained control of everything, both of the popular councils and the armies, without a fight. Having therefore taken over ^D Syria, he hurried into Judea, having heard of the approach of the soldiers whom Caesar had left in Egypt: these, together with the Jews, he easily compelled to surrender. Thus, Cassius also, with his forces having been quickly increased, wrote to the senate in the same manner as Brutus: by it he was ordered to hold the province of Syria and to wage war against Dolabella. He, when Syria had been entrusted to him, while lingering in Asia and having come to know of the decree of the senate, did not go to his province, but staying there, he removed Trebonius at Smyrna by treachery: and having occupied all of Asia, as Cassius was remaining in Palestine, he came into Cilicia, and was welcomed by the Tarsians of their own accord. With the garrison of Cassius that was in Aegis having been overcome, he made an invasion into Syria.

^A should rest at that time, and the greatest honor should be held for those who worshipped Christ. At that time, while Urbanus held the episcopacy of the Roman city, Hippolytus, a most holy and learned man, also flourished, having become bishop of Portus in Rome; he wrote many works, commenting on various parts of the divine Scriptures. At that time, Asclepiades presided over the Church of the faithful in Antioch, and Sardianus over that of Jerusalem.

XVI. When Alexander had reigned over the Romans for ten years, in the manner already related, he was put to death. Maximinus immediately assumed the empire; he at once stirred up a persecution against those who were called by Christ’s name, and ordered the leaders of the Churches to be put to death as teachers and heralds of the mystery of Christ. ^B It is said that he set this persecution in motion out of wrath against Alexander, because he had honored those who worshipped Christ. For he had been mad against that emperor, because having been appointed a general by him, and having campaigned against the Persians, and been most shamefully defeated, he had experienced the royal anger. There was also a second cause for the persecution, namely that many in Alexander’s household had come to acknowledge Christ as God. At that time, Ambrose, a man of letters who had stirred Origen to the explanation of the divine Scripture, and abundantly supplied him with the wherewithal for expenses, ^C presented seven shorthand writers to him, employing them in turn for writing at various times, and no fewer book-writers, women trained in calligraphy, is said to have been adorned with the crown of martyrdom, along with the presbyter Protoctetus. When this Maximinus had become master of affairs, he immediately sent word to the senate of his proclamation by the soldiers, thereby declaring his own authority. He was harsh and cruel not only to the Christians, but also to all his subjects. For he was insolent and a lover of money, and thence most unjust, and a worker of murders, and a tyrant outright, having ^D proceeded to plunderings and the killing of men for no reasonable cause. He went to such lengths in his bloodlust as not even to spare his own wife; for he killed her. As if to cover up his own ignoble birth, he dishonored the well-born, while siding with those of obscure origins. Because of these things, therefore, he was hated by all. Having campaigned against the Germans, he hoped to conquer their land, with none of the Barbarians appearing. Then they appeared about the marshes and continuous forests. When the Romans rushed in upon them, many multitudes of them were destroyed. And having conquered, Maximinus returned, bringing with him a great throng of captives.

^A and extorting money from every quarter, he did not even refrain from sacred things. When, therefore, everyone blamed the soldiers who had made him emperor, those serving in Libya, having learned these things, turned their thoughts to revolt, and another cause also incited them. For the procurators of the affairs in Libya were seizing the properties of those who were well-off in that land without any reasonable pretext, and were killing the possessors themselves. From this, those there were indignant and rose up, and having seized a certain elder of the senate named Gordian—who was unwilling—they placed the diadem upon him, clothed him in purple, and proclaimed him Emperor and Augustus. He arrived at Carthage, and all welcomed him gladly, due to their hatred for Maximinus. He sent letters to the senate and dispatched those who would announce his proclamation to those in Rome. As the envoys were delayed on the voyage, those in Rome, not bearing the tyranny of Maximinus, had moved toward revolt, taking down his statues and reviling the tyrant. ^B Then, taking thought that if Maximinus were to be saved, there would be no hope of safety for them, they put forward two generals, Maximus and Albinus, both of them being enrolled in the senate. Some authors record that they were proclaimed Caesars by the senate before it had yet learned of the proclamation of Gordian. But Maximinus, having learned these things, rushed toward Italy, having threatened the senate greatly. Learning that Maximus had moved against him—for Albinus had remained in the city for the protection of Rome—he turned toward Aquileia, having Mauri with him, hastening to occupy it first (Aquileia is what is now called Venice); but he was repulsed by those within it, who arrayed themselves against him with greater bravery. Being repulsed from Aquileia, and having attacked those with Maximus, he was defeated and withdrew to his own tent. When his soldiers and guards began to mutiny, he came forth from his tent with his own son, as if to speak to them. But they, immediately rushing upon them, slew both of them. Maximinus was sixty-five years old, ^C of which he reigned for three. The heads of these who had been slain were cut off and shown both to those in Aquileia and sent to Rome. Those in Rome impaled the head of Maximinus in the forum, so that it might be visible to all.

XVII.

^A is recorded by some to have held the Roman power, but to have fallen from it very quickly, having enjoyed that authority as if in a dream. For when not even two months had passed, he was deprived of his monarchy and put to death; but by whom and for what reason, not having discovered, I too have passed over in silence. After him, they record that Publius Balbinus was introduced. And having tasted of the supreme rule for a short time (for they limit his authority to three months), he too was put to death, just as Gordian had reached us from Libya, who, as I have already said, was proclaimed there beforehand.

Gordian, having ascended to Rome, fell ill, partly because he was very elderly (for he lived seventy-nine years), and partly because he had been exhausted by the long hardships of the voyage, and so he perished from that sickness, having spent only twenty-two days in power; and he left behind his own son as successor to the throne, who was also named Gordian, and who had the same name as his father. Some, then, have recorded that events followed this course; but others say that when Gordian was proclaimed emperor in Africa, some stirred up sedition, ^B and the soldiers of Gordian were overcome: and after many were slain, his own son being among them, the old man, unable to endure the grief, ended his life by a noose. Others, who attribute the empire to the younger Gordian after his father’s death due to his illness, say that he undertook a war against the Persians; and while he was riding his horse around the battle line, exhorting his men to carry out their duty vigorously and encouraging them to bravery, his horse slipped and he fell with it, and his thigh was broken. And so, having been carried back to Rome, he died from the injury, having ruled for six years.

Urbanus, the high priest of Rome, having served as high priest for eight years, died while Maximinus was reigning, and Pontianus succeeded him. Following Philetus, Zebinus presided over the Church of the Antiochenes. Under the younger Gordian, ^C Pontianus, the overseer of the faithful in Rome, having departed from this life, had Anteros as his successor, who in the sixth year of his ministry died, and after a short time migrated to the other life. After him, Flavianus, by divine suffrage, as Eusebius relates, attained the episcopate. For it is reported that when the faithful had gathered for the purpose of choosing a high priest, Flavianus had also arrived recently from the country, and there was no mention by anyone as if he were to preside over the Church; but they were considering, in the council, whom they should prefer to the others. Meanwhile, a dove flew in and settled upon his head, and thereupon all, as if by a given sign, exclaimed with one voice that he was worthy of the pontificate; and without any hesitation he was placed upon the throne. Then, Babyla also died at Antioch, and succeeded him. ^D Origen, at that time living in Caesarea of Palestine, besides others who had flocked from everywhere,

Variæ lectiones et notæ. (62) Pompeianus. The author of the Alexandrian Chronicle writes that he succeeded, and that the elder Gordian was his successor; but he was called Publius Maximus Balbinus Pupienus. Casaubon thinks he is the same person as Pompeianus with Zonaras. Indeed, he was Pompeianus Civica, who was consul for the second time with Gordian, whose consulship is incorrectly cited in an ancient inscription recently published by Thomas Reinesius [original-script column: see facsimile]. [alt-version omitted] (63) After whom. Wolfius notes this passage as corrupt in three Codices, from which he omitted these three words in the version, and "others, another" — and in truth they are missing in the Royal and Colbertine codices.

^A And first, they conferred with him through their associates; then they themselves came to speech and made a truce on these conditions: that those slaves who had deserted should be free, that those who had fled might return, except the murderers, and that offices of the people and generalships and priesthoods be granted to them immediately. That Sextus himself should be chosen consul and augur, and receive from the paternal estate fifteen hundred myriads of drachmae, and that he should rule over Sicily and Sardinia and Achaea for five years—not receiving deserters, not building ships, and having no fortresses in Italy—but presiding over the peace on the sea himself, and sending a stipulated amount of grain to those in the city. Having written these terms, and depositing the documents with the consecrated virgins, they gave their right hands to one another and kissed; and at this, a vast shout arose from the mainland and from the ships, so that the mountains echoed. After this, however, they entertained one another, and feasted; and they themselves—first Sextus on his ship, then Caesar and Antonius on the mainland. And although Sextus could have killed both while they were on his ship with few attendants, as his freedman Menas advised him, telling him to cut the cables and sail away, he did not wish to, but instead betrothed his daughter to Marcus Marcellus, the nephew of Caesar. And thus, for the time being, the war was deferred.

^B When Antonius returned to Greece from Italy, he spent a very long time there, indulging his desires and vexing the cities so that they might be handed over to Sextus in the weakest possible state; and he behaved in many other ways contrary to ancestral custom; he called himself a new Dionysus and wished to be named so by others. And when the Athenians, because of this, betrothed Athena to him, he said that he accepted the marriage, and exacted a dowry of one hundred myriads from them. While he was occupied with these things, he sent Ventidius Publius into Asia, ^C who joined with Labienus and, having drawn up battle against the Romans around him and the Parthians, routed them. And while many of the Parthians were slaughtered by the enemy, more were trampled to death by one another in their flight, and those who remained fled into Cilicia. Labienus again prepared to come to blows with him. But the soldiers, discouraged by the flight of the barbarians, attempted to escape by night. And when Ventidius became aware of this defection, he lay in ambush during their withdrawal and killed many, while drawing the rest to himself; Labienus fled at that time, but was later captured by Demetrius, who was a freedman of the former Caesar and had then been sent to Cyprus by Antonius. Ventidius recovered Cilicia and sent Silo with cavalry to the Amanus ^D (this is a mountain located on the border of Syria and Cilicia, having a very narrow pass, where he might have been endangered by those stationed by Pacorus to guard it, had not Ventidius, by chance, arrived while he was fighting and rescued him). And thus he received Syria, except for the Aradians, and then took hold of Palestine, and when Appius Claudius and Gaius Norbanus were consuls, the multitude, burdened by the exactions of the tax collectors, fought a battle through sedition against them and their ministers and auxiliaries who were helping to demand the tributes. Caesar took Livia, the daughter of Livius Drusus, who had laid hands upon himself after the battle of Philippi, as his wife, after she had been married to Nero. And as she was in her seventh month of pregnancy from her former husband,

^A having spent six years in the ministry. But he, having guided the Church for a very short time, migrated to another life. After him, Flavian attained the high priesthood by divine vote, as Eusebius recorded. For it is said that when the believers were gathered so that the one about to preside over the episcopacy might be chosen by them, Flavian was also present, having just arrived from the country; yet not a word had been said about him being the one to preside over the Church, but there were others about whom the gathered assembly was concerned as to which one of them should be preferred. In the meantime, a dove flew down and perched upon Flavian's head; and from that point, all those gathered there spoke with one voice, as if by a signal, and shouted "Worthy!" to him, and brought the man to the throne of the high priesthood without any delay. At that time also, Zebinus, who presided over the Church of the believers in Antioch, departed this life and was succeeded by Babylas. Origen, meanwhile, staying at Caesarea in Palestine at that time, possessed many students from many places. He also had the great Gregory, the miracle-worker, and his own brother Athenodorus as hearers of his discourses. At that time, also, Africanus the writer became known.

^B XVIII. After the younger Gordian, another Gordian again took hold of authority, related by birth (as the story goes) to the previous Gordians. He, having campaigned against the Persians and waged war on them, while Sapor, the son of Artaxerxes, was ruling the nation, defeated the adversaries and recovered Nisibis and Carrhae for the Romans, which had been snatched away by the Persians during the reign of Maximin. Afterwards, having arrived at Ctesiphon, he was slain by the treachery of Philip, the prefect of the guards. For this Gordian, having begun to rule, had appointed his own father-in-law as prefect, who was called Timesitheus. As long as he was alive, the affairs of power went well for the emperor, and matters were carried forward for him with the current. But when Timesitheus died, Philip was appointed prefect. And wishing to incite the soldiers to mutiny, he diminished their rations, as if the emperor had commanded this. Others say that he withheld the grain which was being brought to the camp, so that the soldiers, pressed by need, were provoked to sedition. Having mutinied, they rose up against the emperor, as having been the cause of famine for them, and falling upon him, they killed him, he having ruled for six years; and immediately Philip leapt upon the authority. When the slaughter of Gordian was announced to the Senate, they bestirred themselves to appoint another emperor, and immediately proclaimed a certain Marcus ^C as Caesar, a philosopher. But he, before even fixing his foot in the autocracy, died suddenly while staying in the palace. Upon his death, Severus Hostilian took hold of the Roman empire. But even he, having laid hold of it, so to speak, in that way, paid the debt [of nature]. For, having fallen ill and been bled, he died.

XIX. Philip, having returned from the expedition, occupied the Roman empire, having taken his son Philip as a colleague on the way. He made peace with Sapor, who was ruling the Persians, and put an end to the war against the Persians, ceding Mesopotamia and Armenia to them. But realizing that the Romans were distressed because of the cession of these regions, after a little while he annulled the treaties and took back the regions. Sapor was, as they say, of such bodily bulk as had not yet been seen in that time. Philip, having returned from the Persian war, ^D [...]

Variæ lectiones et notæ

^A Sapor, as is related, possessed a massive bulk of body, and such a man as had not been seen until then. Philip, having returned, was favorably disposed toward the Christians, especially at certain times, and was added to the faith of Christ, such that he even partook in prayers at the Church with the Christians, and willingly confessed all that had been sinned by him. For he would not be received into communion by the one presiding over the Church unless he would confess and enroll himself among those seeking penance; and he is said to have obeyed. Some, however, say that he was the father of the martyr Eugenia (66), but they are mistaken in that belief. For it is related that he too was a prefect, but of Egypt, and not of the Praetorian Guard; and after the faith in Christ, having resigned his office, he played the man for the sake of the confession in Christ, and was adorned with martyrdom. Thus, then, Emperor Philip, having undertaken a war against the Scythians, returned to Rome. In Mysia, however, a certain officer named Marinus (67) was chosen by the soldiers to be emperor. Philip was troubled by this, and spoke to the Senate about the rebellion. ^B While others were silent, Decius said that he should not be concerned about Marinus, as he would be put to death by the soldiers themselves, being unworthy of the kingdom. And what he had predicted happened a short time later. Because of this, Philip admired Decius and urged him to go to Mysia and punish the authors of the rebellion. He declined the commission, saying that it would be profitable neither to himself nor to the one sending him if he were to go there; but Philip persisted, and he went even against his will. Upon his arrival, the soldiers immediately hailed him as emperor. When he refused, they drew their swords and forced him to accept the authority. He wrote then to Philip not to be troubled, for if he were to arrive in Rome, he would lay aside the imperial insignia. ^C But Philip, disbelieving this, marched against him. Having joined battle, he fell in the first rank while fighting. With him his son Philip was also slain; and these having died, everyone went over to Decius. He reigned, according to some, five years, according to others six and as many months. He originated from Bostra, where, having attained the kingdom, he built a city named after himself, calling it Philippopolis (68).

^D XX. Decius, indeed, with all the legions having gone over to him, returned to Rome and became master of the government. Having considered the weight of authority and the multitude of affairs, as some say, he took Valerian as a colleague; and each exhorting the other, they instituted a most atrocious persecution against the Christians. There are some who say that Decius persecuted our people out of hatred for Philip, who was an adherent of the Christians. However that may be, he surely acted insanely against the faithful. At that time Flavianus, bishop of the Roman Church, ended his life by martyrdom. Likewise Babylas of Antioch and Alexand- ^D er, as is related, all the armies having gone over to him, Decius returned to Rome and became master of the government. Having considered the weight of the authority and the administration of affairs, as some say, he chose Valerian for the management of affairs. And they immediately incited one another to fight against God, and stirred up a most violent persecution against those named after Christ. There are also those who say that Decius attacked the Christians out of hostility toward Philip, since he was honored by him.

^A He raged, therefore, against the believers; and at that time Flavianus, who presided over the Church in Rome, met a martyr’s end. Babylas, who governed the Church of the believers in Antioch, and Alexander, the bishop of Jerusalem—who did not at that time first struggle for the faith in the Savior Lord, but had done so previously, as has already been stated, and was now imprisoned—also died there. But the great Cyprian, being bishop of Carthage at that time, also struggled for the faith in Christ. When the aforementioned high priests had thus departed this life, Cornelius succeeded Flavianus in Rome, Flavianus succeeded Babylas in Antioch, Dionysius succeeded in Alexandria, and Mazabanes succeeded Alexander in Jerusalem; and many other believers were also deemed worthy of martyrdom at that time.

^B At that time, Origen was also brought before a tyrannical tribunal. Though he revered Christ, he did not meet a martyr’s end—I believe because God did not judge him worthy of it, on account of the corruption of that wretched man's views concerning orthodox dogmas. He proved a coward, even after having experienced tortures. This man, as was said before, having become great in learning, was then lifted up by arrogance and haughtiness. He did not follow the dogmas of the holy Fathers who preceded him, but, trusting in himself, he became an introducer of new dogmas and vomited blasphemies against the holy Trinity and the divine incarnation from the evil treasury of his heart, and he became the leader of almost every heresy. For he taught that the Only-begotten Son of God was a created being, foreign to the glory and essence of the Father; and he demoted the Holy Spirit below the dignity of the Father and the Son, saying that the Son cannot see the Father, nor the Spirit the Son, just as the angels cannot see the Spirit, nor men the angels. These, then, are the blasphemies of Origen concerning the holy and consubstantial Trinity. Regarding the incarnation of the Son of God, he blasphemed impiously, introducing the idea that Christ did not take flesh endowed with a soul from the holy Virgin. For he concocted a myth that the Only-begotten Son of God was united to a mind before the foundation of the world—a mind which he fashioned as having been chosen and having not yet come into being—and that with it he was incarnate in the last times, and had assumed flesh devoid of a rational and intellectual soul. And he taught that the Lord would again put off the flesh and that His kingdom would have an end. He also suggested that there would be a restoration of the demons, and that their punishment would be temporal, not eternal, intended for the purification of all sins; and that after they were purified, all would return to the unity, both humans and demons. The details concerning this unity, which would require much long-windedness to clarify the struggle over it, have been omitted, as have other of his blasphemies. Such, then, are the things regarding Origen, whom they also called Adamantius.

^C Then Novatus also, a presbyter of the Church in Rome, arose as a heresiarch, the leader of those who call themselves Cathari, or "Pure." He denied penance to those who, terrified by persecution, had sacrificed to idols and later, having recognized their sin, sought to convert; and he would not admit those who were suppliants and seeking the medicine for their sin with a sorrowful and afflicted spirit. ^D Against him a council was summoned in Rome, over which Cornelius presided, in which it was decreed that those who had lapsed during the time of persecution were to be received, if they converted, and were to be healed by the medicine of penance. But those holy Fathers excommunicated Novatus, who did not acquiesce to the council’s decree, from the Church as an enemy of the brethren. Eusebius

^A makes mention of some history from the epistle of Dionysius, who presided over the Church of the Alexandrians. For he says that Dionysius wrote these things word for word: There was among us a certain faithful old man named Serapio, who had lived a blameless life, but had fallen during the persecution. Since he often begged for help, and no one would listen to him because he had sacrificed to idols, he fell ill and remained speechless and senseless for a full three days. On the fourth day, his illness abating a little, he summoned his grandson and said: "Hasten, and call for one of the presbyters for me." And again he became speechless. The boy ran for the presbyter, but he could not come (for he was sick); however, as I had given orders that those departing this life, if they requested it—and especially if they had previously entreated it—should be absolved, that they might die with good hope, I ^B gave a little of the Eucharist to the boy, ordering him to moisten it and instill it into the mouth of the old man. When the boy arrived with it, before he had entered, Serapio being revived again said: "Are you here, child? Although the presbyter could not come, yet do what you were commanded, and absolve me." The boy instilled the Eucharist into the mouth of the old man. When he had swallowed a little, he immediately gave up the ghost. Was he not clearly preserved, and did he not wait until he were set free, and having been absolved of his sin, was he not able to be acknowledged for the many good works he had done? This is what the epistle of Dionysius relates. Now Decius, having been so disposed toward those who worship Christ, having not yet completed two full years in the Roman empire, perished most shamefully. For when the barbarians were plundering the Bosporus, Decius engaged with them and slew many. But when they were hard-pressed and asked to surrender all their booty if they were permitted to depart, Decius would not yield, but appointed Gallus, one of the senators, to stand at the passage of the barbarians, ordering him to permit them no passage. But Gallus, plotting against Decius, advised the barbarians to draw up their battle line near a deep marsh. When this was done, as they turned their backs to ^C flee, Decius pursuing them with his son and a great multitude of the Romans fell into the marsh, where they all perished, so that their bodies could not even be found, being buried in the mire of the marsh.

XXI. Gallus obtained power (whom some writers also call Volusianus, as if he were ^D known by two names: others asserting that Volusianus was his son and colleague.

^A Having thus obtained the Roman government, Gallus made a pact with the Barbarians on the condition that they receive an annual tribute from the Romans and not plunder Roman territory. Having struck this agreement, he returned to Rome and proclaimed his son Volusianus Caesar. He also became harsh toward the Christians, initiating a persecution against them no less than that of Decius, and put many to death. During his time, the movement of the Persians began anew, and Armenia was seized by them; its king, Tiridates, fled, and his children took refuge with the Persians. A multitude of Scythians, almost beyond number, also invaded Italy and overran Macedonia, Thessaly, and Greece. It is said that a portion of them passed by way of the Bosphorus, crossed the Maeotian marsh, reached the Euxine Sea, and ravaged many regions. Many other nations also rose up against the Roman Empire at that time. A pestilence also invaded the provinces then, starting from Ethiopia, spreading over almost the entire East and West, and depopulated many cities of their inhabitants, lasting for fifteen years. The Scythians, however, having asked for the tribute established by the Romans through their treaties, and having received less than what was promised them, departed making threats. Aemilianus, a Libyan, the commander of the army in Moesia, promised the soldiers that he would provide all that was due to the Scythians if they were to engage the Barbarians in battle. They, having attacked the Scythians unexpectedly, killed all but a few and gathered an immense amount of plunder, having overrun their territory. Then Aemilianus, puffed up by this success, persuaded the soldiers under his command, and they proclaimed him Emperor of the Romans. ^B He immediately gathered his forces and hastened to seize Italy. When these events came to the knowledge of Gallus, he also prepared himself on the other side and drew his troops up against Aemilianus; when the armies collided, those of Gallus were defeated. In their defeat, they turned against their own emperor, and having killed him and his son—who had reigned for two years and eight months—they went over to Aemilianus, having themselves voted him the empire.

XXII. The Emperor Aemilianus and the rise of Valerian

XXII. Having been proclaimed emperor in this manner, Aemilianus sent a letter to the Senate promising that he would deliver Thrace from the Barbarians and would wage war against the Persians; he promised that he would do and strive for everything ^C as their general, leaving the sovereignty to the Senate. But before he could accomplish any of these things, he was forestalled by the uprising of Valerian against him. Valerian, who was in command of the forces beyond the Alps, learned of the situation regarding Aemilianus and also sought the throne for himself. Having gathered the forces under his command, he hastened toward Rome. The troops then serving under Aemilianus, knowing themselves to be no match for Valerian’s army, and considering it unholy for Romans to destroy and be destroyed by one another or for civil wars to be waged by kin, and moreover judging Aemilianus to be unworthy of the empire, as he was inglorious and base, while considering Valerian more suitable—as one who would administer affairs with greater authority—they abandoned Aemilianus, who had held the empire for not yet four months.

The leaders of the government, as if having seized the affairs in a more authoritative manner, slew Aemilianus when he had governed for not yet four months, being in his fortieth year; and they approached Valerian and entrusted the Roman empire to him without a battle. Now Flavius having suffered martyrdom under Decius, as has been said, Cornelius succeeded to the pastoral care of Rome. And having distinguished himself in this for three years, he departed this life. Then Lucius was elevated to the throne of the high priesthood, who, not having completed even an eighth year in the episcopate of Rome, died. And Stephen succeeded to the pastoral office ^A. There exists an ordinance of his, that those Christians returning from heresies should not be rebaptized, but cleansed by the prayer of the laying on of hands; and a letter of his regarding this to Cyprian the hieromartyr is recorded. Stephen having fallen asleep after two years, Xystus sat upon the high-priestly throne of Rome. At that time also the heresy according to Sabellius had been stirred up in Ptolemais of the Pentapolis. But matters concerning the high priests of Rome went in this way.

XXIII. Valerian, having seized the Roman government with his son Gallienus, also stirred up a most violent persecution against the Christians, and many became martyrs in various regions, having struggled in many ways for the faith in Christ ^B. Therefore, an insurrection of the nations having occurred under him as well, Roman affairs were in a bad state. For the Scythians, having crossed the Ister and again plundered the Thracian territory, besieged the illustrious city of Thessalonica, yet they did not take it. However, they cast everyone into such fear that the Athenians (71) rebuilt the wall of their own city, which had been torn down from the times of Sulla, and the Peloponnesians walled off the Isthmus from sea to sea ^C. But the Persians also, with Sapor reigning over them, made a raid on Syria and ravaged Cappadocia, and besieged Edessa. Valerian was slow to engage the enemies. But having learned that the soldiers in Edessa, by going out from the city and grappling with the Barbarians, were killing many and taking very many spoils, he took heart, and having gone away with the army accompanying him, he engaged with the Persians. But they, being far more numerous, surrounded the Romans, and most of them fell, though some also escaped. ^D Valerian, along with those around him, was captured by the enemies and led off to Sapor. And he who had captured the king thought he already held power over all things, and though cruel before, he became far worse thereafter. Some, then, have historical accounts that Valerian was captured by the Persians in this way. But there are others who say that Valerian voluntarily went over to the Persians, because while he was staying in Edessa, famine had beset the soldiers, and from thence they had been moved to sedition and sought to kill the emperor. And he, fearing the insurrection of the soldiers, fled to Sapor, so that he might not be destroyed by his own subjects, having betrayed the empire to the enemy.

But as far as lay in him, the Roman armies, and indeed the soldiers themselves, did not perish; for, perceiving the treachery, they escaped, with only a few being put to death. Whether the emperor was taken prisoner by the Persians or voluntarily surrendered himself to them, he was led away in disgrace by Sapor. And the Persians, invading the cities with complete impunity, captured ^A Antioch, which is on the Orontes, and Tarsus, the most renowned of the cities of Cilicia, and Caesarea in Cappadocia. And having gathered a multitude of captives, they did not even share food with them, except for the smallest amount, just enough to keep them alive; nor did they permit them to partake of water to their fill, but their guards drove them to water once a day, like beasts. They did not, however, capture Caesarea, which was densely populated (for it is said that about four hundred thousand people lived in it), at first, because those within resisted the enemy bravely and were led by a certain Demosthenes, a man both brave and prudent, before he was captured as a prisoner of war. And not enduring the tortures applied to him, he pointed out a place from which the Persians entered by night and destroyed everyone. The commander of these, Demosthenes, having been surrounded by many Persians who had been ordered to take him alive, mounted his horse and, with his sword drawn, threw himself among the enemy. And having struck down many, he escaped from the city and was able to flee. ^B Thus, the affairs having turned out in favor of the Persians, they were scattered over the whole of the Roman territory that lay before them and ravaged it without fear. The Romans who had fled, as has been said, set over themselves as commander a certain Callistus, who, seeing the Persians straggling and invading the lands without caution, because they did not think anyone would stand against them, attacked them suddenly, and caused a great slaughter of the Barbarians and captured the concubines of Sapor, along with great wealth. At this, he, being bitterly grieved, returned home in haste, also taking with him Valerian, who ended his life in Persia as a prisoner, being insulted and mocked. Nor did Callistus alone perform well against the Persians at that time, but a certain man of Palmyra named Odenathus, who was allied with the Romans, destroyed many of the Persians, attacking them as they were returning through the land of the Euphrates. Galienus rewarded him for this military action by appointing him commander of the East ^C.

It is said that among the fallen of the Persian army who were being despoiled, there were even found women dressed as men and armed, and even some such as these were captured alive by the Romans. On his return journey, Sapor encountered a deep ravine, which the pack animals found difficult to pass through; he ordered the captives to be killed and thrown into the ravine, so that its depth could be filled with the dead bodies and the pack animals could pass over them. And thus, it is recorded, they traversed the ravine. And so matters stood regarding Valerian. At this time, Xystus presided over the Roman Church; Demetrianus, having succeeded Flavianus, over the Church of the Antiochenes; Hymenæus, upon the death of Mazabanes, over that of Jerusalem; and Dionysius presided over that of Alexandria. ^D

^A XXIV. After Valerian, Galienus his son took possession of the Roman empire. His father, while campaigning against the Persians, had left him in the West to stand against those who were plotting ill against Italy and ravaging Thrace. Having no more than ten thousand men, he defeated three hundred thousand Alemanni near Mediolanum [Milan]. Then he also routed the Heruli, a Scythian and Gothic tribe. He also waged war against the Franks.

Aureolus, who was from the Getic province (for thus Dacia was formerly called) and of obscure rank (for he had been a shepherd), having been raised to prominence by fortune, took up the military life; and having become skillful, he was appointed in charge of the imperial horses. Because he performed this duty excellently, he was held dear by the emperor. When the legions in Mysia revolted and proclaimed Ingenuus emperor, and Galienus, having brought against him the Moors (who they say were descended from the Medes) along with other forces to Sirmium, took up a position against him, Aureolus, serving as master of the horse, fought bravely with the cavalry, slaughtered many of those who favored Ingenuus, and put the rest to flight, so that Ingenuus himself, despairing and fleeing, was slain by his own guards.

After this was quelled, Posthumus rose up against the emperor for the following cause. Galienus had left his son, also named Galienus, ^B a clever and handsome youth whom he was designating as his successor to the empire, in the city of Agrippina [Cologne] to assist the Gauls, who were being ravaged by the Scythians; and he had placed him under the guardianship of a certain Albanus due to the youth’s age. Posthumus, having been left to guard the river Rhine to prevent the barbarians dwelling on the other side from making incursions into the Roman provinces, did not notice their crossing, but upon their return, loaded with booty, he attacked them, killed many, and seized all the plunder, which he immediately distributed to the soldiers. When Albanus demanded that it be brought to himself and to the younger Galienus, the soldiers, having demanded it back and been driven to sedition, brought it to the walls of Agrippina and slew Albanus and the younger Galienus, who had been given over to them by the citizens.

Galienus, therefore, having undertaken a war against Posthumus, was defeated in the first encounter. Then, the tyrant having been put to flight, he ordered Aureolus to pursue him; ^C but, although he could have caught him, he did not wish to pursue him further and made an excuse that he was unable to overtake him. Thus, Posthumus having escaped and reorganized his forces, Galienus attacked him again and besieged him, having driven him into a certain town in Gaul; but having been struck by an arrow in the back, he abandoned the siege on account of the pain of the wound.

But another war also arose from Macrinus, who, having two sons, Macrianus and Quintus, aspired to the kingdom. And he himself, because one of his feet was mutilated, did not don the imperial robe, but ordered his sons to put it on; and having been eagerly accepted by the Asiatics, after he had stayed for a short time against the Persians, he began to prepare himself against Galienus. ^D and he came [to an agreement] with them, and he attacked the city of Agrippina, and those in the city handed over to him both the emperor’s son and Albanus, whom he killed, both of them. Having learned this, Galienus went against Posthumus, and upon engaging him, was first defeated, but then prevailed, such that Posthumus fled. Therefore, Aureolus is sent to pursue him; but he, though able to overtake him, did not wish to pursue for long, but returned and said he was unable to overtake him.

for they did not know how to conduct a siege. The Romans used many archers, by whom they were driven back, and many [of the barbarians] were killed. After this, when the barbarians learned that the Romans were guarding the Rhine and that Tiberius was advancing with a heavy army, the majority withdrew from the fortification; but those who were left behind, having abandoned it so as not to be harmed by sudden sorties from those inside, instead kept watch on the roads, thinking they would capture them through a shortage of provisions. The Romans who were inside, as long as they had an abundance of food, remained in their place, expecting aid. But when no one brought them help and they were gripped by starvation, they went out, having kept watch for a stormy night (there were few soldiers, and many were unarmed). They passed the first and second guard-posts of the barbarians, but when they reached the third, they were caught, and all would have perished or been captured had not the barbarians turned their attention to the plundering of booty, and had the trumpeters not sounded a signal, giving the impression that reinforcement had come to the besieged—and then they were indeed assisted. Tiberius did not decide to cross the Rhine, but remained quiet, watching to see if the barbarians would do so. But even they did not dare to cross, knowing he was present. After these things, he and Germanicus invaded Celtica and overran some part of it, but they did not win a battle, nor did they subdue any nation, because no one came to meet them in hand-to-hand combat; and they themselves did not advance far from the Rhine, fearing lest they falter again, and so they stopped there until autumn and returned.

XXVIII. The Death of Augustus

^C Augustus, while administering the affairs of the monarchy and having become already extremely aged, assigned the man who had been consul before serving as general—Germanicus—to the Senate, and the other—Tiberius—to the Senate as well. When games at the racecourse were being held on his birthday, a mad man sat in the chair dedicated to Julius Caesar and placed his crown upon his own head. This disturbed everyone, as if it signified something for Augustus. But even more portents bearing on this occurred. For the sun completely eclipsed, and much of the sky appeared fiery and seemed to be burning, and comets and blood-colored stars were seen. ^D When the Senate was called together regarding his illness so that they might offer prayers, the senate-house was found locked; and a thunderbolt fell upon his image and erased the first letter of the name of Caesar. These things, then, appeared while he was still alive. He fell ill at Nola and passed away on the nineteenth of the month of August, having lived seventy-six years, less thirty-four days; and he had reigned for forty-four years from the time he was victorious at Actium. However, it was suspected that Livia was involved in his death, because Augustus had secretly sailed to the island to visit Agrippa, where he had been exiled along with his mother, Julia. For she, fearing that he might be reconciled and, upon his restoration, appoint him emperor, is said to have poisoned some figs still hanging on the trees, which Augustus was accustomed to pick with his own hand; and she herself ate the ones that were not poisoned, while she offered those that were poisoned to him.

^A Postumus thus escaping, he again organized an army. And again Gallienus marched against him, and having shut the tyrant up in a certain city of Gaul, he besieged him. But during the siege, the emperor was struck by a javelin in the back, and falling ill from this, he broke off the siege. Another war, too, was stirred up against Gallienus by Macrinus, ^B who, having two sons, Macrianus and Quietus, had attempted a tyranny. And he himself, because one of his legs was crippled, did not don the imperial robe, but put it upon his sons, and those in Asia gladly received him. He, having spent but a little time against the Persians, prepared to march against Gallienus. And against the Persians he set up Balista, whom he himself had appointed praetorian prefect, and with him he left his son Quietus. The emperor therefore sent Aureolus against Macrinus and his son Macrianus, along with other generals. And having come upon them, they surrounded them, and slew some of them. For they spared them as being of the same race, and hoped they would defect to the emperor; but they did not yield, although by some chance event they all crossed over to the emperor. For as those around the tyrants were marching, they held their standards upright. But one of those carrying a standard tripped while marching and fell, and his standard fell as he fell. The rest, therefore, of those who were carrying the standards, seeing the standard tilted, and not knowing why it had been tilted, supposed that the one holding it had intentionally tilted it to defect to the emperor. And immediately they too tilted all theirs, and marched forward, and acclaimed Gallienus, only the Paeonians being left remaining with those around Macrinus. Afterwards, when those too wished to change sides, Macrinus begged them, with his son, not to betray them, but rather to kill them first and thus cross over to the emperor; which the Paeonians having performed, they surrendered themselves. Now Quietus, the younger son of Macrinus, was in the East with Balista, having brought almost all of it under himself. Against whom Gallienus sent Odenathus, who was leading the Palmyrenes. And the defeat of the Macrini occurring in Paeonia being reported to Quietus and Balista, many of the cities subject to them defected. They were residing in Emesa, where Odenathus arriving and engaging them, he was victorious; and he himself slew Balista, while those of the city slew Quietus. The emperor, rewarding Odenathus for his bravery, appointed him commander of the whole East. This Odenathus, having become great and faithful to the Romans, and having distinguished himself in many wars against different nations and against the Persians themselves, was finally slain by his own nephew. For while he was with his uncle at a hunt, since a wild beast leaped out, he anticipated him and having cast his spear at the beast, slew it; but Odenathus was indignant and threatened his nephew. The latter did not desist, but did this a second and a third time; angered, Odenathus took away his horse, and this is considered a great insult by the Barbarians. Being aggrieved, therefore, the youth threatened his uncle; and on account of this he imprisoned him. Afterwards, the elder of Odenathus's sons asked his father that the prisoner be released; and he having been released, he came upon Odenathus as he was banqueting with a sword, and slew both him and that son of his through whom he had been released. But he himself was also slain, some having attacked him. ^C

^A XXV. Then Aureolus, the prefect of the entire cavalry, ^B a powerful man, rebelled against Gallienus; and having occupied Mediolanum, he prepared himself to invade the emperor. But having been driven back by him, with many of his men lost and having suffered a wound, he was shut up in Mediolanum and besieged on all sides. While Gallienus was making sallies against the enemy, the empress, whom he had brought with him, was in peril. For when the enemy observed that the palisade was guarded by a very few soldiers, they attacked the emperor's tent for the purpose of carrying off the empress. But a certain common soldier, who was sitting in front of the tent mending a shoe he had taken off his foot, seizing his shield and dagger, rushed fiercely at them; and having struck one and then another, he repelled the rest, who were terrified by his boldness, until the emperor’s wife was rescued by the arrival of many more (soldiers). While he was still besieging Mediolanum, Aurelianus came to Gallienus with cavalry; the nobles had been deliberating with Aurelianus to put off the plan of killing him until Mediolanum could be taken. But when they learned that this had been betrayed, fearing traps, they announced the arrival of the enemy to Gallienus, against whom the cavalry ran, meeting him as he set out shortly after mealtime with a few companions. When they, standing not far from him, neither dismounted from their horses nor offered him any other honor due to an emperor, he asked his companions what they wanted of him. When they replied that they were going to strip him of his authority, he immediately gave his horse his head and turned to flight; and he would have escaped the conspirators through the speed of his horse, had he not been terrified and stopped at a certain water conduit. For the horse, fearing to cross it, stood still; and thus those pursuing him caught up, and one of them threw a spear at him. ^C Wounded by this, he died from the flow of blood, having reigned alone, and with his father, for fifteen years. He was of a liberal disposition, and eager to gratify everyone, and never did anyone go away without achieving his desire; he did not even punish those who were opposed to him or those who had followed the tyrants. Some, therefore, reported that Gallienus was slaughtered in this way; but others say he was slain by the prefect Heraclianus. For when Aureolus, who was in command of the Celtic legions, had stirred up a sedition and marched into Italy with the army, Gallienus had marched out against him. Heraclianus, who was a party to the conspiracy, came to him by night while he was sleeping in his tent, ^D together with Claudius, a man most skilled in generalship, reporting that

^A Aureolus was already advancing with a heavy force. Disturbed by the suddenness of the news, he leaped up from his bed and, half-naked, asked for his weapons. Heraclianus struck him a lethal blow, and he was killed. During this man's time, Xystus, who had presided over the Roman Church for eleven years, died, and Dionysius succeeded him. But also when Demetrianus, who shepherded the flock of Christ at Antioch, had finished his life, Paul of Samosata took over the Church; he taught lowly things about Christ, as if He were a man whose nature had come into being as an ordinary man, and not God. Against him the shepherds of the remaining churches gathered in a synod, where also Gregory the Wonderworker and his own brother Athenodorus were present, and they exposed him for thinking wrongly about Christ, and excommunicated him. When he would not be persuaded to depart from the Church, Aurelian, who was then in power and had received a petition about this from the orthodox, issued a decree that the Church should be assigned to those to whom the bishops in Rome and Italy should incline. From then on Paul was dishonorably driven out of the Church, and Domnus was introduced in his place.

^B XXVI. When Gallienus was killed, Claudius was designated Caesar. Aureolus laid down his arms and submitted to him; but when he again sought the rule, he was killed by the soldiers. Claudius, being a good man and a follower of justice, forbade everyone thereafter to seek from the emperor things belonging to others. For it had been considered that emperors were able to bestow even the property of others, whence the laws still remaining in the state have had their origin. A certain woman therefore approached, whose land he himself had received before his reign as a gift from the emperor, saying: "Claudius the master of the horse has wronged me." And he said: "What Claudius, while he was a private citizen, took away, because he cared not a whit for the laws, this he, having become emperor, restores." In Rome, the senate, having learned of the killing of Gallienus, put his brother and son to death. However, while Postumus still held the tyranny, and the Barbarians had crossed the Maeotic lake into Asia and Europe and were plundering them, and a council was proposed as to which war should be undertaken first, Claudius said: "The war against the tyrant pertains to me, but that against the Barbarians to the state, and the one for the state must be preferred." Now the Barbarians raided many regions, but they besieged Thessalonica, which is said to have been called Emathia in ancient times, but to have been renamed Thessalonica from Philip’s daughter and Cassander’s wife, Thessalonica. But they were repelled from that city; however, they went on to Athens, captured it, and gathering all the books in the city, wished to burn them. But one ^D of the more sensible men recalled his fellow citizens from their purpose: because the Greeks, being occupied with these matters, were neglecting military affairs and could easily be overcome. Indeed, Cleodemus, an Athenian, having escaped by flight, and having gathered

a multitude, attacked them from the sea with ships, and slew many, so that those who remained fled from there. ^A Claudius, having launched an assault against them, won victories in many regions where they had been scattered, sometimes in naval battles, and at other times in battles fought on land. Winter also afflicted them, and famine pressed upon them and destroyed them. While staying in Sirmium, Claudius fell ill, and having summoned the more prudent members of the army, he spoke to them about the appointment of an emperor, and said that Aurelian was worthy of the imperial power. Some say that he immediately proclaimed him emperor. But others say that the senate in Rome, having learned of the death of Claudius, bestowed the empire upon his brother Quintillus because of their longing for Claudius, but the military hailed Aurelian. Quintillus, being simple-minded and unsuited for the handling of affairs, upon learning of the proclamation of Aurelian, killed himself by cutting the vein of his own hand, and having poured out the stream of blood from it, he had dreamed, as it were, of the sole rule for only seventeen days. Furthermore, the historians do not agree even on the time of the reign of Claudius. For some record him as having reigned for one year; others for two, among whom is Eusebius. Constantius Chlorus, the father of the great Constantine, was a grandson of this emperor Claudius.

XXVII. The Reign of Aurelian

^C Aurelian, having ascended to the leadership of the Romans, asked those in authority how one ought to reign. One of them said to him: "If you wish to reign well, you must fortify yourself with gold and iron: using iron against those who cause distress, and rewarding with gold those who serve you." He is said to have been the first to benefit from this counsel of his own, having shortly thereafter experienced the iron. This emperor at first behaved mildly toward those who worshiped Christ; but as the time of his sole rule progressed, he changed, and he himself began to contemplate raising a persecution against the faithful, and decrees were even already being written. ^D But divine justice checked the impulse of his wickedness against those who worship Jesus the Christ, by cutting short his life. But let us not speak yet of his end, but rather let us relate the things done by him during his sole rule. For being most skilled in generalship, he won many wars. For he subdued the Palmyrenes, and their queen, Zenobia, who had seized Egypt and had even taken the Probus who was general there at the time—he himself campaigned against her and defeated and subjugated her. Some say that she was taken to Rome.

^A And he was considered to join with the most illustrious, but they say she died on the way, having been deeply grieved by the change in her fortune. Aurelian took one of her daughters to be his wife, and wed the others to prominent Romans. This man also restored to Roman rule the Gauls, who had been held for many years by certain tyrants, and after installing rulers there, he himself returned to Rome and triumphed in a chariot drawn by four elephants. But he also defeated the Gauls who had risen at that time. When he set out on a campaign against the Scythians, he was killed, having reached Heraclea in Thrace. ^B For a certain Eros, so called, who was an informant of communications arrived from outside, or as some historians record, an eavesdropper and reporter to the emperor of what was said of him by certain persons, having been rebuked by Aurelian, plotted against him. And mimicking his handwriting, he drew up a list containing the names of certain powerful men, ordering that they be led to their death; having shown this to those men, he spurred them on to the murder of the emperor. For fearing for their own lives, they attacked Aurelian and killed him, he having completed six years in the empire, lacking a few months.

^C XXVIII. Tacitus succeeded him, an old man, who is recorded to have been seventy-five years old when he was elected to the monarchy. ^D The military proclaimed him emperor even while he was absent (for he was then staying in Campania). There, having received the decree, he entered Rome in a private manner and, by the decision of the senate and the people, he donned the imperial robes. The Scythians, having crossed the Maeotic Lake and the Phasis river, descended upon Pontus, Cappadocia, Galatia, and Cilicia. Tacitus and Florian his prefect joined battle with them and killed many, while the rest sought safety in flight. Tacitus appointed a certain Maximinus, his kinsman, as governor of Syria. But he, using his authority poorly, was killed by the soldiers. Those who had killed him, fearing that the emperor would not leave them unpunished, pursued and killed him, too, before he had completed his seventh month in the empire, though some say not even two whole years.

^C XXIX. And upon his slaughter, two emperors were declared at the same time: Probus in the East by the soldiers, and Florian in Rome by the senate. And both reigned: Probus in Egypt, Syria, Phoenicia, and Palestine, and Florian from Cilicia as far as Italy and the West. But he, not having completed even three full months in power, lost both his life and his authority, being killed by the soldiers who were said to have been incited by Probus. Upon his death, as has been said, Probus seized the whole of the authority; he is recorded as having been most illustrious and as having set up trophies against many nations, and as having— ^D

^A brought to justice those who had slain Aurelian and Tacitus, and having rebuked them severely, and put them to death. When Saturninus the Moor attempted a tyranny—though he had been most dear to him—he punished the one who had informed him of this, disbelieving the report; but Saturninus was slain by the soldiers. Another, too, plotted a revolt in the Britains, one whom the Emperor had placed in authority at the request of Victorinus the Moor, who had become intimate with him. When Probus learned of this, he blamed Victorinus, and requested that he be sent to that man; he went off pretending to be fleeing the Emperor, and was received gladly by the one who had played the tyrant. But in the night he killed him and returned to Probus. Probus was loved by all, as he was gentle, kind, and generous. When this man was opposing the nation of the Germans who were attacking the cities under Roman rule, the war lasting a long time, he fell into a difficult situation, as a famine had befallen his army. It is said that a heavy rain fell in his camp, and that with the rain much grain also came down—if one cares to believe this—and that the soldiers gathered it, and were fed by it, and escaped the danger, and routed the enemy. There was also another sedition stirred up against Probus. For Carus, who was ruling over a part of Europe, learned that the soldiers under him were conspiring to proclaim him Emperor, and he declared this to Probus, asking to be recalled from there. But he did not wish to be deprived of the authority itself. The soldiers therefore surrounded Carus and, even against his will, forced him to accept the Roman authority, and immediately set out with him for Italy. When Probus learned of this, he sent an army with a commander to resist him; but when they arrived near Carus, the soldiers ^B who had been sent bound their own commander and surrendered both him and themselves to Carus. Probus was then slain by his own bodyguards, who had learned of the soldiers' defection to Carus. And the time of Probus's sole rule had not lasted for six full years.

XXX. Carus having become master of the empire, adorned his own sons, Carinus and Numerian, with the imperial diadem. And immediately he campaigned against the Persians along with one of his children, Numerian, and took Ctesiphon and Seleucia. The army of the Romans was nearly in danger. For the Persians, having observed that they had camped in a valley, let the river flowing past there into that hollow place through a canal. But Carus attacked the Persians, was successful, and routed them. He returned to Rome, bringing a multitude of captives and much spoil. Then, when the nation of the Sarmatians rose up, he engaged them as well, won the victory, and subdued the nation. He was a Gaul by race, but a brave man and skilled in military affairs. ^C The account regarding his death is not in agreement among those who have recorded it. For some say he was killed in the Hunnish expedition; others, that when he was encamped at the Tigris river, he burned up along with his tent from a lightning strike. By this or that manner he was taken off, and Numerian his son—

sole emperor left in the army—was immediately left behind, and he straightway campaigned against the Persians. When the war joined and the Persians proved stronger, and the Romans turned their backs, some recorded that he was captured in the rout, and the hide of his entire body was flayed off like a wineskin, and he thus perished; others recorded that when he was returning from Persia he fell ill with an eye disease and was killed by his own father-in-law, the prefect of the camp, who coveted the autocracy, but did not, however, attain it. For the army chose Diocletian as emperor, who was present there at that time and had displayed many feats of valor in the war against the Persians. ^A The other of Carus's sons, Carinus, while staying in Rome, was hard on the Romans, becoming licentious, cruel, and vengeful; he was destroyed by Diocletian when he arrived in Rome. The time of the rule of these three did not complete three years.

In these times, Manes, that thrice-accursed man, slipped in from the Persians into our inhabited world and vomited his own poison, from which the name of the Manichaeans has not ceased to this day. ^B Sometimes he professed himself to be the Paraclete and the Holy Spirit, when the spirit of wickedness was evidently dwelling in him; at other times he called himself Christ, having been anointed for their service by the demons. He led around twelve disciples, companions and heralds of his own babbling, which he had gathered from many godless dogmas of heresies that had already apostatized.

Dionysius, however, who shepherded the faithful in Rome, having completed nine years in this ministry and having passed on, Felix succeeded to the priestly throne of Rome. After he died five years later, Eutychian was deemed worthy of the Roman episcopacy. And this man, having served as bishop for not yet ten months, departed this life, and Gaius was introduced into the ministry of pastorship. After he stood over the Church for about fifteen years, Marcellinus became his successor. These were in the times of the persecutions.

In the Church of the Antiochenes, after Domnus, Timaeus was bishop; ^C Cyril succeeded Timaeus, and Tyrannus [succeeded] Cyril; under whom the siege of the Churches reached its peak, and the tyranny became insufferable. Over the Church of Jerusalem, after Hymenaeus, Zabdas (87) presided; after he fell asleep not long after, Hermon adorned this throne. In Alexandria, after Maximus—who after Dionysius had performed the priestly service for eighteen years—had paid the debt of nature, Theonas became bishop. Him Peter succeeded, who also took up the crown of martyrdom, having been beheaded. Thus, then, were the successions of these high priests.

XXXI. Diocletian becomes master of the empire

^D XXXI. Diocletian obtained the command; he was a Dalmatian by race, born of obscure parents (some say he was a freedman of the senator Anulinus), and from a common soldier he became the duke of Moesia. Others indeed...

say he became a count of the domestics. ^A Speaking to the soldiers, he asserted that he had no part in the murder of Numerian; and as he said this, he turned toward Aper, who was the prefect of the army, and said, "This is his murderer," and at once slew him with the sword he held in his hand. Having arrived in Rome, he took charge of the affairs of the government and applied himself to their administration. Reflecting upon the magnitude of the empire, he took on a colleague in it in the fourth year of his reign, or, as others say, in the second, namely Maximian Herculius, considering himself not sufficient alone for the administration of so great an empire.

Both, therefore, being of one mind, raised a persecution against the Christians, more violent and savage than all that had occurred before. For they strove with eager, or rather with frantic, zeal to blot out the saving name of our God Jesus Christ from all the earth. At that time, so great was the multitude of those who strove bravely for the confession of Christ in every city and province, that their number could hardly be reckoned; for they regarded this work as more important than all others.

^B When the Egyptian cities of Busiris and Coptos, which are situated near Thebes, revolted, Diocletian marched against them, captured them, and razed them to the ground. Thereafter, Alexandria and Egypt also raised their hands against the Romans, a certain Achilles having incited the Egyptians to this; but when the Romans came upon them with Diocletian, they did not hold out long, and many of the causes of the sedition were slain, including Achilles himself.

Diocletian and Maximian appointed their own sons-in-law as Caesars: Diocletian appointed Maximinus Galerius, having given him his own daughter Valeria in marriage; and Herculius Maximian appointed Constantius, who was called Chlorus on account of his paleness—a grandson of that Claudius who had reigned a little while before, as I have already mentioned—having also betrothed his own daughter Theodora to him. Although both Caesars had wives, they repudiated them, preferring the kinship of the emperors.

^C Maximian departed for the Gauls and suppressed the uprising of a certain Amandus. The prefect Asclepiodotus slew Crassus, who had occupied Britain for three years. Herculius subdued the Quinque-Gentiani, who had occupied Africa.

Constantius Caesar, while waging war against the Alemanni in Gaul, was on the same day both defeated and victorious. For at first, when the Alemanni attacked his army with great impetus, all turned their backs in flight; and as Constantius pursued them, he was almost captured as the gates were already closed. He would have been openly seized by the enemies, who were intent on taking him, had he not been pulled up by ropes lowered from the wall. Having thus been saved and received back into the city, ^D he immediately summoned the army, and having delivered an oration in which he brought alacrity to the spirits of the soldiers for acting energetically, and having inspired in them a certain confidence, he immediately led them against the enemy and gained a brilliant victory, with about sixty thousand Alemanni...

^A a prudent man, he declared him Caesar. ^B M. Salvius Otho, feeling aggrieved that he himself had not been adopted, stirred up a sedition, relying only upon thirty soldiers. For when he stood alone among the senators alongside Galba as he was sacrificing, and had heard the soothsayer say that snares were being readied for him, and [had heard the soothsayer] advise him to remain at home and go nowhere; he immediately ran off to the camp as if for some other reason; and having been received into the fortification by the soldiers who had conspired with him, and having persuaded the others—or rather, to put it more accurately, having bought them over with great promises—he was immediately hailed as emperor. When Galba learned of this, he sent some men to the camp to see if they could change the minds of those who were in it. ^B Meanwhile, a certain soldier approached him with a bloodied sword and said, "Be of good courage, emperor, for I have killed Otho." Believing this, Galba rushed toward the Capitol to perform a sacrifice, but in the middle of the forum, at the encounter of footmen and horsemen, the old man, the consul, the high priest, the Caesar, the emperor, was slaughtered in the sight of many; his head was fixed upon a spear. When he was being killed, he said nothing other than, "What have I done wrong?" Piso also perished, and many others. These things having been done, the soldiers brought their heads into the camp to Otho and into the senate house. The senate, ^C struck with terror by these things, feigned joy and decreed to Otho all things pertaining to the empire. Nor was it obscure that he had used force against the senate and would rule more licentiously and bitterly than Nero himself. Galba, having lived seventy-two years, twenty-three days, and having ruled nine months and thirteen days, met this end.

XV.

of them falling.

^B During the time that Narses was king of the Persians—who is recorded as the seventh to rule the Persians after Artaxerxes, whom this history previously mentioned as having renewed the kingdom for the Persians (since after this Artaxerxes, or Artaxares, as he is called by both names, Sapor ruled the Persians, and after him Hormisdas, then Vararanes, and after him Vararakes, and again another Vararanes, and upon these Narses)—at the time when this Narses was plundering Syria, Diocletian, who was departing for the Ethiopians through Egypt, sent his son-in-lawGalerius Maximianus with a substantial force to engage him; and he, having encountered the Persians, was defeated and fled. Diocletian again sent him with a larger army. Having met them again, he was so victorious that he retrieved his former defeat. For he killed the majority of the Persians, pursued the wounded Narses as far as the interior of Persia, and took his wives, children, and sisters captive, and seized all the wealth that Narses had taken with him for the campaign, as well as many of the renowned Persians. Having recovered from his wound, Narses sent an embassy to Diocletian and Galerius, asking that his children and wives be restored to him and that a peace treaty be established. He obtained his request, having ceded to the Romans whatever they wished. Diocletian and Maximian also successfully completed many other wars, some by themselves or through their Caesars, others through their generals, and they expanded the borders of the empire. Elated by these victories and puffed up with pride, Diocletian could no longer bear to be greeted by the senate as he had been before, but decreed that he should be adored; he adorned his garments and his footwear with gold, gems, and pearls, and added greater luxury to the imperial insignia. For the previous emperors had been honored on par with the consuls, and had only a purple cloak as the badge of their empire.

^D

XXXII.

^A Vitellius he sent. At that time also Josephus the Hebrew had dared to address him, while Nero was still alive, as emperor, although he was still a prisoner with him and a captive; having called him to himself, he ordered him to be released, as one who had prophesied to him his rule. And when Titus had said to his father Vespasian that it was just that the disgrace should also be removed from Josephus along with the iron chains—that this would be if they were not loosened, but broken, which is what is done for those who have been improperly bound—Vespasian agreed, and someone coming up cut the chain with an axe. For Josephus, as he himself recorded, having found a certain oracle in the sacred writings declaring that someone from their country would rule the inhabited world on account of the seditions in Rome and the continuous changes of the kings there, had assumed that it pointed to Vespasian, and had prophesied to him his power. Appian also mentions this prophecy in the twenty-second book of his *Roman History*. It would be more just, or rather most truly considered, that the prophecy should be understood of the Savior of the human race, the Lord Jesus Christ. For Vespasian did not rule over the entire inhabited world according to the prophecy, but only over that which was under the Romans; and much of the inhabited world was outside of the Roman rule. But the Lord has ruled and does rule over the entire inhabited world, to whom it was said by the Father: *Ask of me, and I will give thee the Gentiles for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession*. ^B Vespasian had set out for Alexandria, where news arrived for him from Rome concerning the slaughter of Vitellius, and that he himself had been declared emperor by the senate and the people of Rome, and that his son Domitian had been ordered to hold the principate until his arrival. The death of Vitellius, however, happened in this way. The soldiers of Vespasian were already near Rome, and having broken into it, they did not refrain from any kind of violence. As the city was being ravaged, Vitellius, fearing for himself, put on a ragged little tunic and hid himself in a dark room where dogs were tethered, thinking to flee by night to Tarracina to his brother. But the soldiers, having searched for him, seized him full of filth and blood (for he had been mangled by the dogs), and having torn his clothing, and having tied his hands behind his back, and having placed a noose around his neck, some boxed his ears, others plucked his beard, and all mocked him for other things and for his debauchery. ^C When he was ashamed of these things and looking at the ground, the soldiers pricked him under the chin with small knives so that, even if unwilling, he might look up. But a certain Gaul, having pitied him, "I will help you," he said, "as best as I am able." And he wounded him, and killed himself. Vitellius, however, did not die from that wound, but was dragged to the prison. Being greatly grieved at what he was suffering and what he was hearing, "But I, at least," he said, "was your emperor." The soldiers, therefore, being enraged, cut him to pieces, and having cut off his head, they carried it around the entire city, he having lived fifty-four years and eighty-nine days, and having reigned for a year, lacking ten days.

XVII. When these things had been accomplished, Mucianus arrived, and together ^D with him

^A, or, if they were of private station, were to be reduced to servitude.

When Diocletian had completed the twentieth year of his reign, both emperors, with mutual consent, abdicated the throne, publicly professing that they were succumbing to the weight of the tasks, but confessing to those to whom they confided the secrets of their hearts that they were doing so out of despair. For because they could neither overcome the Christians nor extinguish the proclamation of the Christian name, they did not wish to enjoy the empire.

Having resigned the power on the same day by prearrangement, one in Nicomedia ^B and the other, Maximian, in Milan, they lived as private citizens; Diocletian resided in Salona, a city of Dalmatia, which was his homeland, and Herculius in Lucania. Prior to their abdication of power, however, they had returned to Rome and conducted the triumph over the Persians, in which they led in procession the wives, children, and sisters of Narses, as well as the leaders of other nations, along with the wealth plundered from the Persians.

It would not be irrelevant to explain here whence the name "triumph" is derived. Some think it is derived from *thria*, which are fig leaves. Before masks were devised for stage performers, they used to cover their faces with fig leaves and deliver witticisms in iambic verse. Soldiers would also use the same license and the same attire during victory processions to mock those who were putting on the celebrations, and from this, it is thought, the victory processions came to be called ^C "triumphs." Others say the triumph was so named because those who filled the procession consisted of three orders: the plebs, the senate, and the soldiers, and because the three orders marched together, it was called a *triambus*, with the letter *theta* substituted for *tau* for the sake of euphony.

After this victory procession, they resigned their authority and designated the Caesars as emperors, dividing the rule among them. They assigned the Eastern portion, along with the Illyrian territory, to Galerius Maximinus, and conferred upon Constantius Chlorus the Western provinces, along with Africa. These things having been done, the Praetorian soldiers declared Maxentius, the son of Herculius Maximian, emperor in Rome.

Of these three, then, Constantius, who ruled in the Britains, the Cottian Alps, and the Gauls, treated those who worshipped Christ quite gently, and indeed all his subjects as well, and was a despiser of money. But Maximinus, emperor of the East, both persecuted the Christians most harshly and was most grievous to his other subjects. For being inflamed with lust and an utter adulterer, he did not only snatch women of low condition for his base desires, but also forcibly tore the wives of illustrious men from their husbands, only sending them home after his lust was sated. He was so given to divinations that he would undertake no matter, however small, without consulting them, and he held those who practiced such secret arts in high honor. ^D He condemned pious men to destruction and confiscated their wealth, no other crime being imputed to the innocent save their knowledge of God and faith in Christ.

^A erupts when it suddenly subsides. And it sends up stones when it is lifted by the wind, and it makes a roaring sound, and the stones are not packed together, but are loose and free, containing gaps. Such is Vesuvius. Then of a sudden an extraordinary crash was heard, as if the mountains were collapsing. And first, boulders of immense size leaped forth, then much fire and infinite smoke, so that even the sun was hidden, and darkness was made out of light. And an infinite amount of ash was thrown up, so that it was scattered over all the land and the sea and the air, and fish and birds were destroyed, and two cities, Herculaneum and Pompeii, were buried while their people were seated in the theater. So great was the ash that some of it reached Africa, and Syria, and Egypt, and Rome itself, from which a pestilential disease later broke out. Titus, however, sent settlers to the Campanians ^B and gave them money, especially to those who had died without heirs, though he himself accepted nothing from anyone, even though many offered it. He erected many public buildings at his own expense and held marvelous games, in which he would throw down little wooden balls from above, bearing a symbol of something edible, or of clothing, or some of gold, or of horses, of pack animals, of livestock, or of slaves. And those who snatched them brought them to the stewards and received what was written. His is that celebrated saying, when he said: "Today I have not reigned, because I have not done anyone a favor." In his first year, Linus, the first bishop of the Roman Church, departed and handed over the high-priesthood to Anacletus (15). Titus passed away during the tenure of his successor, as the rumor prevails, plotted against by his brother, but as some write, from illness. Domitian, however, even while he was still breathing and perhaps capable of recovering, threw him into a crate full of snow, as if the illness required some refrigeration. It is said that while dying, he said that he had erred in one thing only, though he did not clarify what this was. Some people say that he had Domitia, the wife of his brother; another says that he did not kill Domitian, who was clearly plotting against him, but that he himself was destroyed by him and handed over the Roman rule to such a man.

XIX. Domitian's Accession

^C 19. Even while Titus was still breathing, he rode to Rome and entered the camp ^D and received the title and authority of emperor. He was bold and irascible, and a plotter, and secretive, and he truly loved no man except for some women. He pretended to love those whom he most desired to destroy. He was treacherous even towards those who gratified him and served him in the most dreadful things. And whenever some provided him with great wealth or slandered many people, he would put them to death, so that the injustices might seem to proceed from them alone. He was a most wicked man and treated his father’s and brother’s friends dishonorably, and some he even destroyed. And he dismissed his wife Domitia on the grounds of adultery, having killed Paris the dancer in the middle of the street on her account. When he had his brother’s daughter, Julia,

^A Maxentius, who was in Rome, was no more moderate as a tyrant toward his subjects, but managed the affairs of his rule in a manner equal to Maximinus. He also raged against the Christians under his power, subjecting them to every kind of affliction, and was most bitter toward all those under his authority. Indeed, he would execute many illustrious men without any legal trial, and every day he dared to commit outrages of adultery against noble women and the deflowering of virgins, insulting them most shamelessly, while he also imposed unjust seizures of property upon the wealthy and oppressed his subjects with novel and heavy exactions. ^B Being seized with an unbridled lust for a certain most noble woman in Rome, who lived with a husband also of the notable men of the city, he sent those who ministered to such matters for him to bring the woman. When she realized that the procurers were standing at her house and learned the reason for their visit, and perceived that the journey to the tyrant was inevitable (for her husband, trembling through fear of death, allowed the woman to be taken away and led off), and as there was no other help for her, she requested a short space of time to be granted to her so that she might adorn herself before departing. Now the woman was also a worshiper of Christ and mindful of the divine mystery. Therefore she entered her bedchamber, and being left alone, she took her own life, so that she might remain unviolated and not lose her modesty, choosing a voluntary death and leaving her body as a corpse for the procurers and the lawless lover.

^C Now they ruled in this manner, but Diocletian and Maximian died in private life. Concerning their deaths, the writers disagree. For Eusebius, in the eighth book of his *Ecclesiastical History*, says that Diocletian suffered a loss of his senses and, being wasted away by a chronic disease, violently breathed out his wretched soul. But Maximian, the Herculian, he says, took his own life by hanging. Others, however, do not record their deaths in this way, but say that having repented and planning to seize the power again, they were detected and executed by a decree of the senate. There are some also who say that the Herculian, desiring the empire again, communicated his plan for recovering it to Diocletian: and since he refused the attempt, he entered the senate house and said that his son was unequal to the management of the state. But the soldiers, being roused to anger by these words as though he were claiming the empire for himself, and being terrified by the danger, he denied that he had had that in mind, but had wished to test the spirits of the soldiers to see how they were affected toward his son: and thus he had quelled the tumult. Then he went away to the Gauls to Constantine the Great, who also had his daughter Fausta in marriage, and among his people he passed ^D

provide proof of their labors. Being also questioned concerning the kingdom of Christ, of what sort it might be, and where and when it would appear, they replied that it was not worldly or earthly, but heavenly, and would appear at the consummation of the ages. Domitian, regarding them as simpletons, despised them and let them go free, and by an edict put an end to the persecution. ^A And so, the most wicked man that he was, he violently severed his life—would that he had done so even before he assumed the monarchy!

XX. The sovereignty was then transferred to Nerva, a man most noble and most gentle. For those who were plotting against Domitian did not set their hand to the deed until they had confirmed the one who would succeed to the autocracy. They came, therefore, to Nerva, who, since astrologers had predicted that he would reign as monarch, had all but perished. For Domitian, having investigated the days and hours in which all the foremost men were born, had already made away with not a few of those expected to come into some position of power. He would have killed Nerva as well, had not one of the astrologers, who was well-disposed toward him, said that he would die within a few days; for, believing that this would indeed come to pass, he did not desire to kill him, ^B thinking he would be dead in any case after a short time. For this reason, therefore, they persuaded him to agree to the reception of the sovereignty; and, Domitian having been corrupted [destroyed], he immediately received the autocracy, and by an edict permitted those who had been exiled by the former to return and to recover their estates. The Senate, however, voted that the honors of Domitian should be abolished. At that time, therefore, the story goes that the great apostle John returned from his exile on Patmos to Ephesus. Nerva was a lover of justice and not conquered by money. For while he was monarch, Atticus, the father of the sophist Herod, as Philostratus recorded in his *Lives of the Sophists*, found an immense treasure of money in his house. And being afraid, he wrote to Nerva: "A treasure has been found in my house; what, therefore, do you command concerning it?" And he wrote back, "Use what has been found." But he, still being cautious, wrote again: ^C "But what has been found is beyond me." And the emperor sent back to this, "Then abuse it also." During his reign, the second bishop of Alexandria, Abilius, departed this life, and Cerdo took charge of the Church there. At that time, Ignatius, who was called Theophorus, was presiding over the Church in Antioch, being himself the second bishop of that place known after Evodius. Similarly, also, of the Church of the faithful in Jerusalem, Symeon—another who, like his relative James who is called the brother of the Lord, had obtained the episcopate—was in charge. This emperor forbade the duels of gladiators. He did nothing except by the judgment of the leading senators.

^A his life in plotting and attempting to seize his kingdom; but he was discovered there as well, and having been repelled from his undertaking, he thus hanged himself. But this man, at least, had measured out his life in the manner described.

Constantius, having passed his eleventh year in power from the time he was proclaimed Caesar, and having reigned gently and kindly, ended his life in Britain, having left behind him, owing to his goodness, general mourning among his subjects, after having designated as his successor the eldest of his own children, namely, the great Constantine, whom he had begotten from his first wife. He also had other sons from his second wife, Theodora, the daughter of Herculius, namely, Constantine, Anaballianus, and Constantius. ^B But the great Constantine was preferred over these, because they were judged unsuited by their father for the empire. Yet the whole matter was managed by God for the sake of the divine proclamation, or rather for the sake of all who were under the Roman rule, so that by him the tyrannies might be abolished. For it is said that while Constantine was ill and depressed over the lack of success with his other sons, an angel appeared to him, commanding him to bequeath the authority to Constantine. This Constantine, the father, while he was still a youth, had handed over to Galerius as a hostage, so that while serving as a hostage he might at the same time be trained in the exercise of the art of war. ^C But he, seeing him to be very capable, and envying him, plotted against him. First, while he was fighting against the Sarmatians, he ordered him to attack the leader of the barbarians, known by his full armor. He did attack, and having seized him alive, brought him to Galerius. Then he ordered him to face a terrifying and savage lion. He completed this contest as well, perilously indeed, but with divine grace preserving him. Learning from this that he was envied by Galerius and plotted against at night, he fled with some whom he trusted, and returned to his father. And so he both escaped the danger and was deemed worthy of his father’s kingdom. ^D

XXXIV. Maximinus had taken as a partner in power Licinius, who drew the lineage of his birth from the Daci and was a brother-in-law to the great Constantine through his sister. Having made him a partner in the kingdom, he left him in Illyricum so that he might defend the Thracians who were being plundered by the barbarians; but he himself arrived at Rome to fight against Maxentius. Then, regarding his own men with suspicion,

^A and among other things, they named him *Optimus*, which in Greek signifies "the best"; then they also bestowed upon him the title *Parthicus*. He was more proud of the name *Optimus* than of any other, because it indicated his character. To others, indeed, with the title *Optimus*, he also added the title *Parthicus*, but he was more pleased with the name *Optimus* because it expressed his character. He later invited the physician of Scourra to dinner, having sent away his guards, and through the physician, he had his eyes tended, and by that barber, his beard shaved; then he bathed and dined. To those who were slandering Scourra, he said the next day: "If Scourra wished to kill me, nothing prevented the man from doing so yesterday." However, when appointing an officer of the guard and handing him the sword which he was to wear at his side, he said, "Take this, and if I rule well, use it for me; but if ill, against me." He also established libraries. After these things he campaigned against the Parthians and Armenians, because the Armenian did not receive the diadem from him, but from the king of the Parthians. This was the pretext for the war, though the whole matter was ambition and a desire for glory. He therefore subdued Armenia, and the senate decreed him many honors, and among the rest named him *Optimus*, which, when translated into Greek, signifies "the best." Then they also bestowed upon him the title *Parthicus*. He was, however, more proud of the name of *Optimus* than of the rest, because it signified his character.

^B XXII. During his reign, a most violent earthquake occurred having taken place, and while other cities suffered, the city of Antioch, which lies by the Orontes, suffered more than the rest. Trajan himself, who was staying there at the time, barely escaped danger, having been struck by the collapse of the house in which he was living. A multitude surpassing number was buried by the ruins. Some were destroyed, crushed by the weight of the falling structures; others, who by chance happened to be in hollow places, were enclosed and, unable to break out while the shaking continued for many days, perished from hunger. When the calamity finally ceased, a man, taking heart, climbed upon the ruins and heard a woman crying out from below. ^C Having dug her out, they rescued the person, along with an infant she carried at her breast; she had nurtured it with her milk, and indeed herself as well. Through this, they began to clear out the remaining areas; but they found no other survivors besides a single infant, while many had perished from famine. When spring approached, Trajan set out again against the Parthians. He gained control of all of Adiabene, which is that part of Syria near Ninus, Gaugamela, and Arbela, where Alexander conquered Darius. He even advanced as far as Babylon. He also crossed the Tigris and entered Ctesiphon. He was eager to traverse the Erythraean Sea, which is said to be a part of the Ocean, and is so named from some one who held power there. He also thought of the Indians, and said that if he were still young, he would have crossed over to them as well. ^D During the time he was sailing on the Ocean and again returning, those regions which had been captured earlier became ill with rebellion. Fearing that the Parthians might do the same, he appointed a king of their own race for them, placing the diadem upon him himself. Then, as the Arabs were also revolting, he rushed against them, but having accomplished nothing—and having almost been wounded—he departed from there sick. The Jews in Cyrene also revolted, and they slaughtered both Romans and Greeks; those in Egypt and those in Cyprus acts of no less violence also perpetrated. He subdued these, as Eusebius also mentions in the fourth book of *Ecclesiastical History*. When he desired to go into Mesopotamia, he was oppressed by disease and directed his course toward Italy, having set P. Aelius Hadrianus over the Syrian legions. But when he had come to the city of Selinus in Cilicia, which is also called Trajanopolis, he departed this life, as he himself thought, by poison, but as others say, due to the suppression of blood which he was accustomed to discharge annually through the bowels. An apoplexy followed, with a resultant paralysis of the body.

^A he withdrew from battle and retreated. ^B Having regretted the recruitment of Licinius, he first plotted against him secretly, and then openly organized a battle against him. And having engaged him, he was routed, and being defeated, he fled, and in his flight he made away with himself. Some, then, have recorded that Maximin thus ended his life, while others have reported that, having become mad against the Christians, he paid the penalty of divine justice. For a most severe ulcer having attacked him about the groin and the private parts, the instruments of his licentiousness festered. And indeed, from the suppuration of these parts, worms swarmed, and the affliction was incurable. As for the physicians, he had those who immediately despaired of the operation cruelly slaughtered, and those who undertook the job but could not heal him were most savagely put to death, because they could not accomplish the impossible. But late in the day the tyrant began to suspect that he was paying the penalty for the unjust murders of those who worshipped Christ, and he issued decrees everywhere ordering the persecution against the Christians to cease, and that they should live and worship as they wished, and offer prayers for his own safety. And here, too, two accounts are told; for the one says that he was delivered from the affliction beyond all hope, and then again aroused the persecution, and remained unrepentant until he had drained the dregs of the cup which the Lord holds in his hand; the other denies that the impious man recovered, reporting that he died of the aformentioned disease, and that he cast up worms from his mouth. Thus, by one of the ways mentioned, he violently broke off his life.

In Rome, after Marcellinus, who had fulfilled the ministry for two years, Eusebius presided over the Church of the faithful, whom Miltiades succeeded after he died a year later. And after Miltiades had presided over the faithful in Rome for four years, Silvester became his successor. In Antioch, after Tyrannus, who had been bishop for thirteen years, Vitalis was appointed; and after he had completed his sixth year, Philogenes succeeded him, and after five years were completed for him, Paulinus became his successor. In Jerusalem, after Zabdas, who had performed the ministry for the tenth year, Hermon received the high-priestly throne. In Alexandria, after the holy martyr Peter, who had adorned the throne of the high priesthood for one year, Alexander held the high priesthood. In Rome, after Silvester had performed the ministry for twenty-eight years, Julius presided over the Church for fifteen years. After him, Liberius completed his sixth year; and Damasus succeeded him, and for twenty-eight years fed the faithful. Siricius followed him, and performed the ministry for sixteen years. Then Innocent was chosen, who instructed the people of the Lord for fifteen years. Upon his death, Zosimus was placed upon the throne of the Roman Church: to whom, in his twelfth year, Coelestinus succeeded, who was renowned in the pontificate for ten years. His successor was Xystus, who lasted for eight years. Then Leo was placed in his stead, who defended the true doctrine for twenty-four years. After Leo died, Hilarus was placed in the seat: who, having completed six years, made way for the election of Simplicius, who himself also died in the nineteenth year of his ministry. ^C 647 In his place was introduced Felix: who

^A "To him whose temples abound, how great is the lack of a tomb?" he restored the monument. In Palestine, having built a city in place of the one that had been razed, Jerusalem, he named it Aelia Capitolina; and in the place where the temple of God formerly stood, he established another precinct to Zeus. The Jews, unable to endure that others should enjoy their metropolis (for Greeks had been settled therein), nor that foreign gods should be worshipped there, remained quiet while Hadrian stayed in Egypt and Syria, out of fear; but when he had departed from there, they seized the opportune places of the region so as to have them as strongholds, and they harmed the Romans greatly, both secretly and openly, as Jews from all over the world gathered there, and many from other tribes assisted them for the love of gain. Hadrian, however, sent the most illustrious of his generals against the Jews, chief among whom was Severus Julius; he did not judge it advantageous to engage the enemy in a pitched battle, being wary of their numbers and their desperation. By cutting off their food and keeping them shut in, and in some places by attacking them with detachments of his soldiers, he wore down and exhausted their race more slowly, but with less danger, so that very few remained. For fifty of their strongest fortresses were destroyed, and nine hundred and eighty-five of their most famous villages were razed; eight hundred and fifty thousand men were slaughtered in raids and battles. The multitude of those who perished by disease, famine, and fire could not be investigated or discovered, so that almost all of Judea was left desolate—which the Deity had ^B portended to them with certain signs before the war. For the tomb of Solomon fell apart and collapsed for no apparent reason; and wolves and hyenas broke into many of their cities howling. Many Romans also perished at that time, so that Hadrian, when writing to the Senate, did not use the customary opening. It was: "If you and your children are in health, it is well; I and the armies are in health." Thus was the war against the Jews concluded.

XXIV. The War with the Albanians

^D The war against the Albanians (who, according to Dio, are the Massagetae) was stirred up by Pharasmanes. He greatly afflicted Media, and touched upon Armenia and Cappadocia; but he ceased when the Albanians were in part persuaded by gifts and in part frightened. Coming to Rome, Hadrian, when the people demanded that a charioteer who was a slave be set at liberty, replied that it was not fitting for him either to free another man's slave, nor for them to force his master to do so. ^C When his blood began to flow from his nostrils...

the Lord’s people. And Zosimus was seated on the throne of the Church of the Romans, upon the death of Innocent. Celestine succeeded him, having completed his twelfth year, and shone forth in the high priesthood for ten years. ^A Xystus became his successor, lasting for the eighth year. Then Leo was inducted, contending for the orthodox dogmas, for twenty-four years. And upon the departure of Leo, Hilary was seated on the throne, completing his sixth year. In whose stead Simplicius [(97)] was ordained, and having also completed this ministry of shepherding for his nineteenth year, he departed; and Felix was inducted. In the ninth year, he too having passed away, he left the honor to Gelasius, who enjoyed it for five years. After him Anastasius was chosen. And after a fourth year, he too was succeeded by Symmachus. Upon his completion of twelve years in the high priesthood, Hormisdas was elected. And in his tenth year, he too finished his ministry and ended his life, and the throne of the Church of the Romans succeeded to John for a period of three years. After ^B whom, Felix presided over the faithful in Rome, enjoying the honor for four years. Then Boniface was deemed worthy of the oversight for two years, and upon him Agapetus [(98)] had been appointed. And he too, having shepherded the flock of Christ the Arch-shepherd in Rome for two years, paid the debt [of nature], and Silverius was ordained high priest of Rome. And after he had served as high priest for one year, he measured out his life. And Vigilius became successor to him. And when he had completed his eighteenth year in the office, Pelagius was removed. Fifth year having been spent in the ministry, he departed, and the high-priestly cathedra of the Romans received John for eight years, and after him Gregory for fifteen. After whom, those who presided over the Church of the Romans are no longer found in succession.

In Antioch of Coelesyria, Eustathius succeeded Paulinus, who had been idle in the ministry for five years. When Eustathius had shepherded the faithful for eighteen years, Euphronius ministered for ^C eight years. After whom, Phlacitus completed his twelfth year; then Stephanus, a sectary of Arius, intruded himself into the Church for a third year, and after him Leontius was inducted. He too, having presided as bishop for an eighth year, ended his life, and after him Eudoxius presided over the Church of the Antiochians for a second year, and in Eudoxius’ time Arianus [sic] presided as bishop for a fourth year. And after him Meletius, for twenty-five years. After whom Flavianus presided over those named after Christ for twenty-six years. Then Theodotus succeeded to the ministry and completed a four-year term. And in his stead John was inducted and lasted for an eighteenth year. In place of John, Domnus was ordained, surviving his ordination for an eighth year; and Maximus was seated on the throne of the Church of the Antiochians, remaining in the oversight for four years. He was succeeded by Martyrius, ^D who completed his ninth year in this office. Then Julian sat upon this high-priestly cathedra for a sixth year, and

^A Antoninus spoke at length to them with tears, saying that if I also shall begin my reign by rendering all the acts of my predecessor—among which my own designation would be included—a nullity, as though he were the most hostile and wicked of men, these measures will be rescinded. The senate, out of respect for Antoninus and also fearing the soldiers, decreed honors to the deceased. This Antoninus was called Pius because, having recently assumed power, though many were accused and some were even named and demanded for execution, he exacted punishment from no one. He said that he must not begin his rule with such deeds. Throughout his entire reign, he remained just and kind, and to all his subjects, including the Christians, he was not at all burdensome; he treated the latter so far from badly that he even held them in honor. It is said that he was meticulous, and so precise in small matters that his detractors called him "Cumin-splitter." He did not, however, enrich himself from his subjects; rather, when he was once in need of funds ^B due to pressing wars, he neither devised any new tax nor wished to demand money from anyone, but instead moved all the royal heirlooms into the market, along with whatever adornments his wife possessed for her attire, and invited anyone who wished to purchase them to do so. In this way, he gathered silver for the soldiers and distributed it; and having won the war, he acquired many times more. He issued a proclamation that anyone among those who had purchased the royal property who wished to return what had been bought could do so and receive the price back. Some did this, but the majority refused, and he forced no one to return what had been acquired. It is said to be a law of his that, when children die intestate, their parents are their heirs, and that those making a will while childless are under obligation to leave a legal portion to their parents. During his reign, a terrifying earthquake occurred in Bithynia and the Hellespont, causing many cities to collapse, but Cyzicus was affected above all; in it, the famous temple ^C fell, whose columns, each made of a single stone, were said to be four fathoms thick and to have risen to a height of fifty cubits—a fact which, if it seems incredible to anyone, let him consider how all the other elements of that work were equally miraculous. It is also celebrated of this emperor that he burned the senatusconsultum decreed by the order of Julius Caesar, which ordained that no one should be permitted to make a will without leaving a defined portion to the public treasury. From this, it is considered that to this day it is inscribed in wills: "I leave this to the imperial treasury." Antoninus Pius died as an old man, by a death not unlike the most peaceful sleep, in the twenty-fourth year of his reign. In the first year of his reign, Telesphorus, bishop of Rome, in the eleventh year of his ministry, was adorned with the crown of martyrdom, as Irenaeus narrates, and met a happy end, with Hyginus being installed in the Roman see, under whom the heretic Valentinian appeared, as well as Cerdo, the founder of the sect of Marcion. Hyginus having died after the fourth year of his pontificate, Pius is set over the Roman Church, and Marcus over the Alexandrian, after Eumenes.

he had Peter as his successor. Him, after three years, Stephen succeeded, having served as high priest for an equal number of years. For Stephen, the candidate in waiting (99) was Calandion. And after him, another Peter held the see after four years, having occupied the Church for a three-year period. His successor was Palladius, who completed ten years in office. Then Flavian was chosen, who served as high priest for thirteen years. After whom Severus, having served for the seventh year, left the holy throne to Euphrasius. Five years after him, Ephraimius succeeded; he lived in the ministry for eighteen years.

BOOK THIRTEEN

^A Thus, then, as has been said, the Great Constantine became the successor to his father’s reign, a ruler worthy of everlasting memory and most distinguished among the orthodox. The father had begotten him of the blessed Helena, about whom historians disagree, and among them, the accounts concerning her are not agreed upon. For some say she was joined to Constantius in lawful marriage, but was sent away when Maximian Herculius, as was said before, betrothed his own daughter Theodora to him and designated him Caesar. Others have recorded that she did not become the lawful wife of Constantius, but rather was a byproduct of erotic desires, and that from that connection this Great Constantine was conceived. ^B Having succeeded to his father’s reign, he ruled over Britain and the Alps, and in addition to these, the Gauls, because he was still attached to the religion of the Greeks and hostile to the Christians, being incited by his wife, Fausta, to a zeal for the worship of idols. Fausta was the daughter of Maximian; for he himself and his father had been married to two sisters. Now when there were three emperors—Constantine himself, and Licinius, and Maxentius—the latter, holding power in Rome and Italy, did not act as a king, but conducted himself as a pure tyrant, inflicting most terrible and absurd things upon those tyrannized by him, as I have already recorded. The people of Rome, not bearing these things, sent envoys to Constantine, imploring him to free them from the tyranny of Maxentius. Moved by these prayers to drive him out, he set out for Rome with his army. ^C But Maxentius long remained within the walls, not going out to face those besieging him, so that for this reason jokes were made against him by some. Yet eventually he drew up his army in battle array, having employed sorceries and having sought omens through the dissection of infants, and doing other unlawful things which struck fear into Constantine. Being anxious on account of these things, a sign of a cross appeared to him in the sky in the middle of the day, formed by stars, and an inscription around the cross, in Roman letters, also expressed by stars: "In this, conquer." Immediately, therefore, having made a cross of gold according to the form he had seen, and having ordered it to be carried before his army, when the battle was joined, he defeated Maxentius, with the greater part of his forces slaughtered and the rest turned to flight; among whom Maxentius himself, as he was about to cross the Milvian Bridge, fell from his horse, was precipitated into the Tiber, and drowned.

^A While he was preparing, many victories over various Barbarians were reported, as well as the slaughter of Cassius. A certain centurion, having approached him while he was walking, wounded him suddenly though not mortally; but a decurion completed the murder. Thus he perished, having dreamed of rule for three months and six days. His son was also killed elsewhere. The Emperor, however, executed no one who had conspired with him; rather, he treated everyone with clemency. He also wrote to the senate that no one among Cassius’s supporters should be put to death: "May it never be," he said, "that any of you should be put to death because of me, either by my vote or yours. If I am denied this, I will hasten to die." Thus he showed himself to be both godly and good toward all. It was then decreed by law that no one should govern the province in which he was born, because Cassius had fomented rebellion in Syria, where his own homeland was. Marcus, having come to Athens, bestowed honors upon the Athenians and appointed teachers for all branches of learning, receiving an annual salary from the treasury. ^B When he arrived in Rome, he remitted all debts owed by anyone to the imperial or public treasury, gave money to the cities, and ordered Smyrna, which had suffered from an earthquake, to be rebuilt. When the Scythian tribes were in turmoil again, he betrothed his son to Crispina sooner than he wished, set out on an expedition against them, and requested money from the public treasury. For he said that everything belonged to the senate and the people. After the Barbarians were subdued, he was proclaimed Emperor for the tenth time (42). And if he had lived longer, he would have brought everything there under the Romans; but he passed away, brought down—as is said—by his physicians, who were currying favor with Commodus. Just as he was dying, he commended his son to the soldiers, so that it might not seem that he was dying by his hand. ^C When the tribune asked for the password, he said, "Go toward the rising sun; for I am already setting." Thus, having ruled most excellently, he departed this life, having lived fifty-nine years and having ruled for nineteen years and eleven days. For he was by nature a good man, and became much better through education. Yet his happiness did not correspond to his virtue. Hence one might admire him all the more: that, although he was involved in strange and extraordinary events, he himself survived and preserved the empire. During his reign, the holy Polycarp, the high priest of Smyrna, was adorned with the crown of martyrdom, and Justin, a man great in words and greater in confession, struggled unto death, whose many writings survive to this day. In the eighth year of the reign of this Marcus Verus Antoninus, Anicetus died, having presided ^D over the Roman Church for eleven years. Soter succeeded him. After Celadion had departed this life after fourteen years, the Alexandrian episcopate was handed over to Agrippinus; to the successor of Cornelios and Heron, the fourth in order, the fifth succeeded, Eros; to him, Theophilus the sixth, who fought against Marcion with his writings. To him succeeded Maximinus the seventh. With Soter, the pontiff of the Romans, having been removed from earthly affairs, Eleutherus was placed upon his throne. And him, Soter succeeds; and

^A And thus he perished. The Romans, having been delivered from his tyranny, unbarred the gates of the city and received Constantine, acclaiming and extolling him as the liberator of the city; and they decreed that a statue of him should be erected in the Roman Forum. He commanded that this statue should be fashioned holding the sign of the cross in its hand, and he issued a decree that those who worshipped Christ as God should not be punished for their religion. ^B Thus, Italy and Rome itself being added to his empire, both he and Licinius, who was the husband of his sister, remained as emperors. For Licinius had killed the son and daughter of Maximinus, and thenceforth each of them viewed the other with suspicion, for each thought that, with the one removed, he himself would remain the sole monarch, there being no one left to contend for the supreme power. Some say that Licinius became master of Galerius's portion, having been accepted by him as a partner, as has been said; but others say that, having married the sister of Constantine, the soldiers, in favor of Constantine, proclaimed him Caesar, and he was sent by him to fight against Maximinus, and that, having conquered and routed him, he ceded that kingdom to him, having commanded him not to molest the Christians; but that he did not keep these precepts, but rather raged against the Christians no less than those before him, if not even more so. For he surpassed every extreme of cruelty; and this was, among other causes of their mutual dissensions, also a factor. Constantine therefore moved his army against Licinius, and, having fought him many times, finally defeated him. Then, for the sake of his sister, he made a treaty with him and did not strip him of his authority, but yielded it back to him on certain conditions; but he, being perfidious, did not keep the agreements. ^C Whence Constantine waged war upon him again; and when Byzantium and Chrysopolis were captured, he fled to Nicomedia. Then his sister begged Constantine that he might restore the empire to her husband; and when that was not obtained, she implored his brother to spare his life. Thus Licinius approached the emperor in the garb of a commoner, and was ordered to live a private life at Thessalonica. The soldiers complained that this was done, because he was spared, a perfidious man who had broken his treaties so often. Wherefore the emperor referred the matter by letter to the judgment of the senate. Concerning this, some say that he was delivered to the soldiers to be dealt with at their own discretion, and was put to death when he went to Thessalonica, or near Serres, I know not where; others report that he did not remain quiet even there, but attempted to seize power again, and upon this being made known, the emperor ordered him to be put to death. It is reported that Constantine, in the battles waged against him and Maxentius, saw a knight in armor bearing the sign of the cross before his battle line as a standard; and again at Adrianople, he saw two youths who were slaughtering the enemy phalanxes. ^D Likewise, around Byzantium at night, when everyone was asleep, a fire was seen by him which, like a lightning bolt, illuminated the rampart of his army. [alt-version omitted]

^A many other things, a golden statue of a thousand pounds weight was decreed to him, and he ordered all the months to be named after himself, and they were numbered in this order: Amazonius, Invictus, Felix, Pius, Lucius, Aelius, Aurelius, Commodus, Augustus, Herculanus, Romanus, Excellens. For he claimed all these names for himself. And so he would write to the senate: "Imperator Caesar Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus Augustus, Felix, Pius, Invictus, Romanus, Hercules, Pontifex, of tribunician power for the eighteenth time, imperator for the eighth time, consul for the sixth time, father of the fatherland; to the consuls, praetors, tribunes, and the Commodian senate, greetings." Many statues were also erected to him in the guise of Hercules; and it was decreed that the age during his time should be called and written as "Golden." For among his other names, he was called "the Golden" and "God." Since he was spending much money, his funds failed him, and thus he brought false accusations against men and women, killing some and allowing others to redeem their safety with all their goods. He would drive chariots at home, for he was afraid to do so in public. He fought at home even to the point of bloodshed, but in the theater, he fought without steel or human blood. At home, he would shave some people's hair and cut off the noses, ears, or other limbs of others. He would enter the theater in the guise of Mercury, carrying a golden caduceus in his hand. He considered it a great praise to himself that he was left-handed. While weary from competing, he would drink, ^B and the members of the senate and the equestrian order were ordered to shout incessantly: "May you live, you are lord, you are first, you shall be victorious with the most fortunate of all victories." ^C Others, "Amazonius, you win." Sometimes he would gather those who lacked feet or were lame from some disease or accident, and having fastened snake-like forms to their knees, he would kill the wretches with a club, as Hercules did the giants. Being about to fight as a gladiator again, he gave orders to the knights and the senate to enter the theater in their equestrian garments and cloaks—which was not accustomed to be done unless an emperor had died. And on the last day of the games, his helmet was carried out through the gate through which the dead were brought out. All these things appeared to everyone to portend a liberation from his tyranny, and this happened shortly after. For Aemilius Laetus the prefect, and the high official Electus, displeased by what he was doing, advised him not to act in this way. But he threatened them and was wrathful; and they, being afraid, plotted against him, giving him poison in beef. Because it was not very effective and he had vomited, and suspecting what had been done, he was breathing out threats; they had him strangled by a certain Narcissus while he was bathing, having held power for twelve years and nine months, at the age of thirty-one years and four months. In him, the true family of the Aurelii ceased to rule. In the first year of his reign, the bishopric of Alexandria was handed to Julianus, after Agrippinus had died in the twelfth year of his rule. At that time also, Clemens the writer flourished, as did Pantaenus the philosopher, of our mysteries.

From these things, therefore, he was led to the understanding that success ^A and victory were granted to him by God.] Having been victorious, he then captured Byzantium and Chrysopolis. Licinius fled to Nicomedia, and the sister of Constantine, having approached her brother, begged that his rule be preserved for her husband. But since she did not find her brother agreeing to this, she urged the plea for his salvation; and she persuaded her kinsman. Licinius therefore approaches him in private attire, and is ordered to live a private life in Thessalonica. He lived there. But the soldiers blamed Licinius for being kept safe, as he had many times proven treacherous and a violator of treaties; wherefore the decision concerning him was entrusted to the senate through letters from the emperor. Some, then, recorded that it was decreed ^B by the senate that he be handed over to the soldiers, that they might do what they thought best concerning Licinius; and that they killed him in Thessalonica or while he was departing somewhere near Serrae. Others say that he did not even remain quiet while living in Thessalonica, but was plotting tyranny; and that when the emperor Constantine learned this, he sent those who would put him to death. It is said that in his battles against him, or in those against Maxentius, he saw a certain knight of Constantine, unarmed, bearing the sign of the cross as a standard, and marching before his army. And again, two young men were seen by him in the city of Hadrian, cutting down the phalanxes of the enemy. And around Byzantium too, at night, when everyone was sleeping, a light was seen by him ^C illuminating the rampart of his own army. From these things, therefore, he was led to the understanding that success and victory were granted to him by God.

Constantine’s Sole Reign and Baptism

II. Having thus attained sole rule, Constantine was also named Flavius. And thus he was titled Flavius Constantine and lived in Rome; he had not yet forsaken the worship of idols, but was being initiated into matters concerning Christ, and was already accepting them. But having fallen into a sickly state of body, and with many pustules growing from a corruption of humors and an altogether malignant condition, so that the physicians compared this affliction to leprosy and despaired of a cure, the priests of Jupiter in the Capitol ^D replied that he would not recover his former health unless he washed in the blood of infants while it was still warm. Therefore, infants were immediately gathered from every region under his rule, and a day was set for their slaughter. And at that time the emperor was departing to the Capitol to bathe in the blood of the children. But their mothers, as he advanced, sent forth mournful cries and wailed. Upon hearing this, he asked what was the cause of the lamentation, and having learned that the mothers were mourning for their infants, as if rousing from a drunken stupor, he said: "The impiety of this act is evident, but the outcome is uncertain. Yet even if it were most certain, it would be better for me to be tormented by the afflictions of disease than to condemn so many infants to destruction, [marginal letter omitted upon line break] and to thrust the sword of sorrow into the souls of their mothers." Having said this, he returned, after ordering the infants to be restored to their mothers, and that money be given to them, so that it might balance or even double their joy, both because they had recovered their children alive, and because they had received money in addition to this. Having done these things, during the night there appeared to him two men...

^A closed within, he believed he would escape unharmed if he kept himself within the barriers. He also killed Laetus, and sent others to kill Severus by treachery. But when he had invaded Italy and taken Ravenna, and those who were sent were defecting to him, and the guards were trembling at the presence of Severus, Julianus called together the senators and ordered them to vote for Severus as an associate in the empire. But when Severus wrote to the soldiers that they would suffer no harm if they surrendered the murderers of Pertinax, they were persuaded; they apprehended them and reported these things to Silius Messala, who was then consul. He assembled the senate in the Athenaeum—so named because the students performed their exercises there—and communicated to it what had come from the soldiers. The senate condemned Julianus to death and immediately proclaimed Severus emperor. From there, Julianus was killed in the palace, saying, "What harm have I done, and whom have I killed?" He lived sixty years, four months, and as many days; he reigned for sixty days. ^B

VIII. Severus, having gained the absolute power, punished the soldiers who were the actual killers of Pertinax; the others he reproached most bitterly, deprived them of their arms and horses, and cast them out of Rome. Having accomplished this, he entered the city on foot, with an armed army following him, while the streets were everywhere adorned with flowers, garlands, and laurels. He was received by the people, who were dressed in white, with joyful shouts, as everyone was hastening to see and hear him. Having entered, he acted as if he were one of the former good emperors, vowing ^C that he would kill no senator, and he ordered this to be confirmed by a common decree. But he did not keep this oath for long; for shortly thereafter, he killed Julius Solon himself, who at his command had even written down this decree, and he destroyed many others and did things that were not at all pleasing to the senate. And whereas it was the custom that the bodyguards should be from Italy and from other nations whose appearance was more refined and whose manners were simpler, he, contrary to the custom of the soldiers, filled the city with men who were most savage to see, most fearful to hear, and most boorish to converse with. ^D

Certain signs occurred to him, prophesying his rule. He dreamt once that he was nursing a she-wolf, as it is told concerning Romulus; and while he was sleeping, water gushed forth as if from a spring; and in his dreams, the entire Roman senate and people approached and greeted him. And again, he seemed to see Pertinax riding in the Roman forum, being thrown from his horse, while he himself willingly took hold of it. When he was a youth, he sat in the imperial seat, not by design, but in ignorance. Even after attaining the empire, he accorded Pertinax many honors, and he bestowed upon the long-deceased man a most sumptuous funeral. Then he set out against Niger.

^A whom he took to be the apostles of Christ, and who said, "If you wish to obtain health of body and soul, summon the bishop Sylvester; he will heal the affliction of your flesh and will deem you worthy of eternal life." Upon this, the emperor, having recovered from his sleep, sent with reverence for the bishop to be brought to him. And when the holy Sylvester arrived, "Tell me," he said, "bishop, are those called Peter and Paul, who are worshipped among you, gods?" But he replied, "One God is known to us; Peter and Paul are his servants and ministers." Then the emperor recounted his dream to him, and was initiated by him into the mystery of our faith, and was baptized. And he arose from the holy font entirely whole, and immediately proclaimed liberty to the Christians, opened the temples to them, and allowed new ones to be built. He closed the shrines of the false gods instead, and decreed that those who were instructed in the faith of Christ might approach without fear ^B, saying that he wished to force no one, but to welcome those who of their own will joined themselves to Christ. Thus, then, he came to the faith of Christ; the preaching expanded, and freedom was given to those named after Christ. The Jews therefore approached the mother of the emperor, saying that the emperor had been deceived, and that he had mingled a hateful deed with a work pleasing to God. By a work pleasing to God they meant the destruction of the idols, and by a hateful deed they meant the faith in Christ; for they claimed that the one he worshipped was the only true God, but that Jesus, to those wretches, was a man, a criminal, and a magician. The mother reported these things to the emperor and her son; and he decided that a debate was necessary, with himself and the chosen elites of the senate listening, between those Jews who said these things and the Roman bishop Sylvester and those around him, so that he might know what was being brought forward by the Jews. The debate took place. The words of the holy Sylvester appeared stronger. The Jews said that ^C Sylvester was superior in dialectical power, but they demanded a display of signs. A certain magician among them, a man called Zambres, asked that an ox be brought, saying that through this he would show the power of his own god. The ox was brought; Zambres approached it, and whispered something into its ear. And it, having let out a great and wailing groan, and having been whirled about in a tremor, collapsed and died. At this, the Jews boasted, saying that the ear of the creature could not bear the name of their god. "But why," says Sylvester, "does the one speaking this to the beast ^D into its ear not hear what is said? How then does he not also die?" And Zambres said, "Bishop, there is no need now for wordplay and the plausibility of speech, but for deeds. If therefore you, into whose presence this bull was brought and killed—Silvester said—shall in the name of Christ call it back to life, will I not seem to have performed a greater thing and to have demonstrated the great power of Christ?" He agreed, and swore immediately by the health of the emperor that if he saw the bull revived, he would confess that Christ is God. But Silvester, with his eyes fixed on heaven and having invoked the Lord, stood near the bull, and with a loud voice cried out: "If the Christ whom I proclaim is the true God, arise, bull, and stand on your feet." Immediately the bull, stirring itself, leapt up. Those who were present exclaimed that the God of Sylvester was great; the Jews, smitten by the miracle, fell at the feet of the holy man, and begged him to make God favorable to them and to grant them baptism. The illustrious mother of the emperor, however, not yet instructed, [desired] to be instructed.

a mountain in the Macennitis region, near the Ocean to the west, and that it rises above the peaks, so that because of its height it is called by the poets the pillar of the heaven. For neither, he says, has anyone ever ascended to its summit, nor seen its peaks, which are ever full of snow, from which much water flows down in the summer; and for this reason, he says, the Nile swells at that time, and these things have been verified for the Romans by the people of lower Mauretania, who are neighbors to the Macennitis region, and many of the Romans who campaigned there arrived at Atlas. So much, then, for what is recorded by Dio regarding the Nile, even if it is not reported thus by others.

[X] X. Now Plautianus the prefect, being almost a partner in the empire with Severus and upheld by supreme power, put to death many famous men and others of equal dignity. And being insatiable in his greed, demanding something from everyone, he left neither province nor city unplundered. Whence all gave him more than they gave to Severus himself. He also castrated noble Romans, not only boys and youths, but even husbands, so that the same men were seen as both husbands and eunuchs, and fathers who were impotent (to use the comic expression) and castrated and bearded. ^B Before this, a huge sea-monster had drifted into the harbor called the Port of Augustus, and was captured; and it is said that its likeness was brought into the Amphitheater and received fifty bears inside it. When Severus betrothed the daughter of Plautianus, Plautilla, to his son Antoninus, Plautianus gave such a dowry to his daughter that it would have sufficed for many queens. Having become exceedingly great and having possessed more power than even Severus himself, he was plotted against by his son-in-law, Antoninus, and was slaughtered, and cast down from a higher place onto a road. ^C When this master, as it were, had been removed, the sons of Severus, Antoninus and Geta, refrained from no wickedness, but turned to the worst behavior. At that time, also, Bulla Felix, an Italian man, having gathered a band of robbers of six hundred men, pillaged Italy for two years. Although many strove to capture him, he was not caught, cleverly outwitting those who pursued him through many methods; one of which we shall recount as an example for the others. A centurion having been ordered by Severus to lie in wait for him, he himself approached the man as if he were someone else, and promised that he would deliver the robber to him, if he would follow. The man, believing it to be true, ^D was led into an ambush and easily captured. Then, sitting upon a tribunal, as if he were the leader of the robbers, he had the centurion summoned, shaved the hair of his head, and let him go, saying: "Announce to your master that he ought to feed his slaves, so that they may not turn to robbery." For he had many of the Caesar's freedmen who had deserted to him. Later, however, he was captured and given to the beasts. But Severus campaigned in Britain, so that neither might his sons become debauched, nor the legions grow soft from idleness. There are two very great tribes of the Britons, the Caledonians and the Maeatae, and both inhabit rugged mountains and uncultivated, marshy plains; they have no cities, nor do they till the land, but they live off pasturage, hunting, and the fruits of trees. For though the island abounds in fish, they do not eat them; they live in tents, go naked and without shoes, and have their wives in common.

and baptized; having thus obtained her wish and recognized the true God, she desired to see the places which the beautiful feet of Christ, as he announced peace, had traversed. Having taken with her the divine Silvester, she arrived in Jerusalem; and having venerated the tomb of the Lord and found the divine cross upon which our God was physically affixed, and having built costly temples, she returned to her son and emperor. The emperor begot three sons by Fausta, the daughter of Maximian ^B, Constantinus, Constantius, and Constans, and a daughter, Helena, who later lived with Julian. He also had another son, named Crispus, by a concubine, who was older than his other sons and had performed many feats of valor in the war against Licinius. The stepmother Fausta, appearing before him amorously, and because she did not succeed in [persuading] him, falsely accused him to his father, claiming that he lusted after her and had often attempted to force her. Consequently, Crispus was condemned to death by his father, who believed his wife. But when the emperor later learned the truth, he punished his wife for her licentiousness and the murder of his son ^C; for, having been brought into a bath that was heated excessively, she there violently ended her life. As for the Sarmatians and Goths, who were rising up against the Roman subjects and plundering the Thracian portion, Constantine the Great arose against them, and having occupied Thrace, he joined battle with the barbarians, and set up a most brilliant trophy over them.

III. Concerning the city which he wished to build in his own name.

Wishing to build a city ^D so that he might call it by his own name, he first intended to build it in Sardica, then at Sigeum (which is the promontory of the Troad), where it is said he even laid the foundations. And again, he began to set up the city in Chalcedon. It is said that eagles flew down and snatched the builders' ropes, and flying across the strait between them, dropped them near Byzantium. Since this happened many times, and was reported to the emperor, it seemed not to be a random occurrence, but rather that something was being portended by the divine power; he therefore betook himself to Byzantium, and contemplated the site...

[Variæ lectiones et notæ omitted.]

and Theodotion, having set out their edition alongside the seventy-two, provided what is called the Tetrapla. ^A Demetrius, whom I mentioned above as having presided over the Church of Alexandria, having died, Heraclas, a student of Origen, was chosen as bishop. Narcissus presided over the Church of Jerusalem, a man famous for miracles and a lover of the solitary life; when, because of a false accusation, he had fled secretly and was hiding in the deserts, Dius was introduced in his place. After him, Germanio was designated. Then Gordius, under whom Narcissus returned to the city, but since he could not perform the ministries of the Church—to which he was called by the faithful—on account of his old age, Alexander, already famous for his confession of Christ and then bishop in the region of Cappadocia, was summoned from the faithful of Jerusalem by revelation to administer the Church together with Narcissus. Serapion having died, Asclepiades was made bishop of the Church of Antioch, whose commentaries Eusebius says are preserved. And so much for these matters.

XII. Concerning Antoninus and Geta

^C XII. Antoninus, although he seemed to share power with his brother Geta, in truth was the sole monarch. And he immediately made peace with the British enemies, yielding the land and the fortresses to them, and he removed the prefect Papinianus from office, and killed others—among them Evodus, who was also called Castor, his tutor, and his wife Plautilla, and her brother Plautius. Finally, his brother Geta also: since he had long sought to attack him with traps, but could not kill him on account of the guard of soldiers and many others, he finally persuaded his mother to summon them both alone for the sake of reconciliation. Geta, believing this to be true, entered the chamber with Antoninus. Then the centurions, suborned by Antoninus, followed in by force and killed Geta, who was clinging to the neck, breasts, and chest of his mother, so that her bosom was filled with his blood, and her hand was wounded ^D as well. She, out of fear, did not even notice the wound, nor did she dare to mourn for her son, who had perished so pitifully and at an immature age (for he was then twenty-two years and nine months old), fearing lest she herself be killed. Antoninus, however, having immediately reached the camp, said, "Rejoice, fellow soldiers; for now it is granted to me to do you good; since I am one of you, and I wish to live with you and through you, so that I may bestow many benefits upon you. But if I cannot, I desire to die with you." On the day following...

found it pleasing, changed his intention, moved the craftsmen from Chalcedon thither, built the city with great ambition, called it Constantinople after his own name, and dedicated it to the Virgin and Mother of God. ^B And when the city was already completed, on the eleventh of the month of May, he celebrated its birthday or dedication, in the five thousand eight hundred and thirty-eighth year. It is said, as some have recorded, that he summoned Valens [(12)], the astronomer, the most precise of those who were then devoted to this art, and commanded him to draw up a horoscope for the city's birthday, in order to know how many years it would endure. He predicted that it would last for six hundred and ninety-six years, which have now already elapsed long ago. One must, therefore, either assume that Valens' prediction was false and the art not free from error, or that those years must be understood as the ones in which the institutions of the state and its condition were preserved, while the senate held its honor, while the citizens flourished under legitimate imperial power, and while the sovereignty did not claim public property for itself as private wealth or spend it on its own pleasures—and those sometimes not very honorable—giving away public things to anyone whatever, and not, like shepherds, shearing their subjects of superfluous wool and drinking milk sparingly, but like predators [(13)] slaughtering the sheep, devouring the flesh, and sucking out the very marrow.

Various readings and notes

[(12)] Valens. He is called Vectius Valens, whose books on the rising of the stars were praised; furthermore, his *Anthologia Genethliaka*. See our *Constantinople*. Hither also point the things which Zonaras writes, or, as others would have it, Michael Glycas in his *Antapologeticus* (ms.) toward the writing of the Emperor Manuel Comnenus sent to a certain monk, by whom he had been reproached because of his excessive study of astrology and mathematical disciplines: The letter mentioned contains that the configurations of the stars are signs of departures, but not necessarily productive of certain results. And we say, disputing these things, if it was thus according to the framing of the letter and also the matter itself, for what reason did that Valens, having been entreated by Constantine—who was, as they say, a saint ^C and great—endure for fourteen years at the laying of the foundations of this queen of cities? For it is evident that if he endured the expectation of so many years, so that the city would remain throughout unharmed by enemies, and its prosperity in the faith and the rest of the things in order would endure for the time to come, it would have contributed to his purpose, even if the letter clearly does not wish to say this. For the stars are then admitted to be unjust, not to speak of their creator, by making some men adulterers and others murderers by necessity; and if one must tell the truth, it was not at all appropriate to produce Valens in the middle. For the things of astrology are thereby falsified and rather refuted; for this Valens, being most accurate and yet an astrologer, predicted that this city would remain for six hundred and ninety-six years, and thus he showed the art to be mistaken by the result. But if one should say that Valens, though he had been reproached, yet endured for fourteen years for the sake of finding a time indicating some good things for the city, let us accept his interpolation, but let us immediately refute it, saying thus: if it were necessary, and the foundations of the city had been laid without forethought, they would not have been likely to have the state they have even today. We beseech you not to leave us in such perplexity and to be tossed about concerning this...

[(13)] *One must also consider this: When Arethas in his Apocalypse, ch. 17, criticizes the tyranny of the Constantinopolitans of his own time.* It remains then to suspect another Babylon by a likely argument; and who is this? None other than the city of Constantine, in which justice was formerly adorned, but now murder is committed in it by a parallel rivalry, of those in politics hastening to be made equal to the ecclesiastical, or rather not to be made equal, unless one of them takes the prize, for the sake of provoking greater divine wrath. *In ch. 24:* But if you wish, you may call the mother of the good harlots either ancient Rome, or the new one, or the time of the coming of the Antichrist, you will not miss the truth, because both assumed the power over other cities.

^A Artabanus, however, pressed the Romans with great forces, and Macrinus, having joined battle with him near Nisibis, was defeated twice and compelled to purchase peace with a great sum of money. ^B While the Parthian war was thus settled, another civil war broke out among the Romans. For a certain Eutychianus, one of the Caesarians, perceiving the hatred of the soldiers toward Macrinus—because he was less generous to them than Antoninus had been—and encouraged by oracles, attempted an insurrection against Macrinus. Maesa, the sister of the Empress Julia, had two daughters, Soaemis and Mamaea, and had two grandsons from them. Eutychianus took one of these, and pretending that he was the bastard son of Caracalla, brought him into the camp by night; and as the soldiers were already seeking an opportunity for sedition, he persuaded them to favor the new cause. They, having named him Antoninus, immediately proclaimed him emperor, although he was still a child. Taking him along, they marched against Macrinus, who was staying in Antioch. Having joined battle with him at a certain place far from Antioch, they were at first defeated; but when Macrinus saw them rallying again, he turned to flight and departed for Antioch, as if he were the victor, so that he might not be shut out of the city. He sent his son to Artabanus. When the news of his defeat and of the great slaughter that had occurred reached him, he fled by night, having shaved his head and beard and put on a dark garment so as not to be recognized; and arriving with a few others at Aegae in Cilicia, and having passed through Cappadocia, Galatia, and Bithynia as far as the naval station of Eribolus, opposite Nicomedia, he crossed over to Chalcedon. And having sent to one of the procurators, he asked for money. From this he was recognized, arrested by those siding with the Pseudo-Antoninus, and brought back as far as Cappadocia. There, learning that his son had been captured, he threw himself from his carriage and broke his shoulder. Not long after, he was slaughtered, having lived fifty-four years and having reigned over the Romans for one year and two months, less three days, and having been overthrown by a child. It is said that the following verse was spoken to him in an oracle: ^C

Old man, truly now young warriors press you hard, Your strength is loosened, and weary old age invades you.

XIV.

^C And the settlement, and the council were held in honor, and its citizens flourished, and the administration was according to law, and the state was truly kingly; but not outright tyranny, whereas those in power considered the common goods as their own, and used them for their own private enjoyments. And some of these were not respectable, and they distributed public funds to whom they wished, and they did not behave towards their subjects in the manner of shepherds—who shear the excess of the wool and consume the milk temperately—but like robbers who slaughter the sheep themselves, and consume the flesh, or even suck their very marrow. Thus, therefore, had the city been rebuilt by that pious emperor, in accordance with the ancient Byzantium.

Now, Byzantium itself was also formerly a city, not of the nameless or obscure, but one flourishing in the multitude of its citizens, and in wealth, and in the nobility of its men, and in the strength of its walls; and so much so, that for three years during the time of Severus, who reigned in old Rome, it was besieged by the Romans, and the besieged ones endured much, as I have already narrated in the section concerning Severus. Regarding, however, the power of the Byzantines and the strength of their walls, Dio ^B says this in his accounts concerning Severus: "Byzantium had most robust walls; for their breastwork was built of thick, square stones, joined together with iron plates, and their insides were fortified with earthworks and structures, so that the whole appeared to be one thick wall. There were also many great towers protruding outwards, and adorned with frequent windows. The part facing the mainland rose to a great height: the part facing the sea was lower, and both harbors could be closed within the walls by chains, and their extremities supported on either side towers that projected significantly."

The Byzantines had five hundred ships; most were single-banked; some were also double-banked, and in some of them, rudders and steersmen were fitted both at the prow and at the stern; and they had a double crew, so that they could sail forward and back without turning around, and harass their enemies both in their forward movement and in their retreat. In addition to these, Dio adds that seven towers stood from the Thracian gates towards the sea. ^C If anyone approached one of these, it was silent. But if anyone shouted something to the first, or threw a stone, it spoke through some mechanism and handed over the same to the second to do likewise; and thus it proceeded equally through them all, and they did not confuse one another, but in turn all received the voice and the sound from the one before them. Such, therefore, was the city of Byzantium formerly.

^D Thus was the city founded by that pious emperor on the soil of ancient Byzantium. Byzantium, however, was even previously a city not at all obscure or ignoble, but flourishing in the multitude of citizens, in riches, and in brave men, and in strongly fortified walls, so that under Severus, who ruled over old Rome, it was besieged by the Romans for three years, and the citizens endured many things, as we narrated above in the account of Severus. Dio also writes in the following manner in the account of Severus concerning the power of the Byzantines and the strength of their walls: "Byzantium had most robust walls: for their breastwork was constructed of thick, square stones, and bound with iron plates; the interiors were fortified with earth-mounds and buildings, so that all seemed to be one thick wall. There were also many great towers protruding outward, and adorned with frequent windows. The part opposite the mainland rose to a great height: that which faced the sea was lower, and either port could be closed within the walls with chains, and their arms on both sides supported towers that extended far out. The Byzantines had five hundred ships, mostly single-banked: there were some also double-banked, some of which were fitted with rudders and steersmen both in the prow and in the stern, and they had double crews, so that they could both approach and recede, without the ships being turned, and harass the enemy both in retreat and in approach." Dio adds that seven towers extended from the Thracian gate to the sea, of which, if one touched another, it remained silent: but if one shouted something at the first, or threw a stone, it resonated through a certain machine, and passed the same sound to the next, until it had permeated them all: yet not one confused by the other, but in turn, the voice and sound were received by all from the one preceding. And such was once the Byzantine city: but the illustrious Constantine increased it to an immense size, built temples, and adorned it with many things: finally, he erected that round porphyry column, brought, as they say, from Rome, in the forum paved with stone slabs, whence it is named by the Greeks 'Placoton': and close by he dedicated a statue of gold, both expressed by the wondrous art of the ancients as if almost alive, and notable for its remarkable size. They say this statue was of Apollo, brought from Ilion and Phrygia. But that divine emperor gave it his own name, with certain nails inserted into the head, which had fastened the life-saving cross of the body of the Lord. It remained intact even to our own time, standing on the column: but under Alexios Komnenos, it fell down, cast down by the force of a violent wind: and it not only was itself broken, but also crushed many who were standing there by chance. He also transferred the Palladium of Troy into the forum of Placoton. Thus, Constantine the Great adorned the city with many other things, and especially Byzantium, which was previously a bishopric of Heraclea of Thrace, which had been subjected by Severus to the Perinthians after its capture.

^A Persians and Parthians ruled, but in the end they destroyed one another in civil wars. With their strength exhausted, Arsacides the Parthian first began to defect and to rule over the Parthians, with the kingdom extended to his successors; the last of whom was Artabanus, whom this Artaxerxes defeated in three battles and captured and slew. Then, making war on Armenia, he was defeated by the Armenians and Medes and the sons of Artabanus, and having recovered his strength, and intent on occupying Mesopotamia and Syria with larger forces, he threatened that he would recover all that belonged of old to the Persian kingdom. But when Cappadocia was raided while he was besieging Nisibis, Alexander sought peace from him through ambassadors. The barbarian, however, rejected the embassy, and sent to Alexander four hundred of the most prominent men, dressed in precious robes and adorned with splendid arms, on excellent horses, thinking that by this means he would strike terror into Alexander and the Romans. When they had come into the emperor's sight, they said: "The great king Artaxerxes orders the Romans to withdraw from Syria and all the Asia that looks toward Europe, and to concede the empire to the Persians as far as the sea." Alexander seized them, and having stripped them of their arms and robes and taken away their horses, he dispersed them into many villages and ordered them to till the fields (for he thought it sacrilege to kill them), and having divided his own legions into three parts, he attacked the Persians in three directions, many of whom were killed. ^B Many Romans also perished, not so much at the hands of the enemy as on the return journey through the mountains of Armenia; for as these were wintry, the feet of those marching were frostbitten, and in some cases even their hands, turning black and dying. For this reason Alexander became an object of blame to the Romans, and he fell very ill from despondency as well as from the change of climate. Having recovered his health, he set out against the Germans and harassed them with javelin-throwers and archers. Then, offering money, he invited them to peace. On account of this, the soldiers, being enraged, defected and hauled along against his will a certain Maximinus, a Thracian by birth, who from childhood had been a herdsman and afterward had become a soldier. Taking these soldiers with whom he had been proclaimed, he immediately marched to where Alexander was staying. On hearing of this, Alexander exhorted the soldiers whom he had with him to defend him; but when they pledged their service, he gathered his army and ordered them to fight with Maximinus. ^C However, they hurled insults at his mother and accused her of avarice, and mocking him as a coward, they abandoned him and departed. When he saw therefore that he was destitute of all help, he returned to his tent, and embracing his mother, he lamented his fortune. Maximinus, however, through a centurion, having killed him and his mother and their household, gained power. Mammaea, the mother of Alexander, a woman studious of virtue and an honest life, while she was staying at Antioch with her son, being moved by the fame of Origen, summoned him from Alexandria, and having been instructed by him in the doctrine of the faith, she worshipped God most holily, as Eusebius and others have handed down to memory. This came to pass, as persecution

^A The illustrious Constantine increased its dignity many times over. Temples were founded by him there, and many other things were done for the adornment of that city. Above all, he set up the circular porphyry column, which it is said was brought from Rome, in the forum where it is paved with stone slabs 16, from which it is also nicknamed the "Plakoton" [Paved Place]; and upon it he placed a bronze statue, a wonder to behold, both for its artistry and for its great size. For while it was colossal, it displayed the precision of an ancient hand sculpting it as if it were alive; and it is said that the statue 17 was a stele of Apollo, and that it had been brought from the city of Ilium in Phrygia 18. But that most divine autocrat set up the statue in his own name, ^B having fitted to its head some of the nails with which they had fastened the body of the Lord to the life-giving cross, and it remained standing on the column until our own time. It fell during the reign of Alexios Komnenos, when a violent and fierce wind blew; and that [statue] was shattered, and crushed many of those who were standing nearby. He also brought the Palladium from Troy and set that up too in the Paved Forum. In addition to these things, as has been said, the great Constantine adorned the city with many other things, and he elevated to patriarchal rank 20 the bishopric of Byzantium — which, as was told in the accounts of Severus, had been a bishopric of Heraclea of Thrace, having been subjected to the Perinthians after the [city's] capture — preserving the privileges for Elder Rome on account of the seniority [of its see], and because the imperial power had been transferred from there to here. At that time, the bishop ^C of Byzantium was the most holy Metrophanes, a son of Domitius, brother of the Emperor Probus, who, just like Domitius, had been converted from unbelief to faith, and for this reason had left Rome and come to Byzantium, and was raised to the prominence of the episcopacy. After him, Probus, another son of his, was installed upon this high-priestly throne, whom his brother Metrophanes 21 succeeded.

IV. Under this emperor, Arius, a priest of the Church of Alexandria, was notorious, who did not hesitate to say that the Son of God and Word was a creature, and of a different substance, and not co-eternal with the Father; nor was he the author of this heresy himself, but Origen, who, beyond many other perverse opinions, ^D also suggested that the only-begotten Son of God was a created being and foreign to the paternal substance. And that he could not see the Father, just as he himself could not be seen by the Father.

^A is said by some writers to have held the Roman power, but to have fallen from it very quickly, having enjoyed the authority as if in a dream. For not yet had two months passed when he was deprived of his monarchy and his life; but by whom and for what reason, not having discovered, I myself have also passed over in silence. After whom, they report that Publius Balbinus was introduced. And having tasted of the absolute rule for a short time (for they limit his authority to three months), he too was slain, just as Gordian had reached us from Libya, who, as I have already mentioned, had been proclaimed there beforehand.

As for Gordian, having stepped onto Rome, he fell ill—partly because he was extremely elderly (for he lived seventy-nine years), and partly because he had been very much afflicted by the illness from the long-drawn-out navigation during his voyage—and he passed away from this disease, having spent only twenty-two days in holding the empire; and he left as his successor on the throne his own son, who was also named Gordian and shared the same name as his father. ^B Those, therefore, who have recorded these things have followed this course; but others say that when Gordian was proclaimed emperor in Libya, some rose up in rebellion, and a battle was joined, in which the forces of Gordian were defeated; and many of them, and indeed his son as well, were slain. And he, having suffered extreme grief, hanged himself, and thus dispatched himself from life.

Others, who attribute the empire to the younger Gordian after his father's death from illness, report that he waged war against the Persians; and while he was riding his horse about the battle line, exhorting his men to act strenuously and urging them toward bravery, the horse slipped and fell with him, and his thigh was broken. And so, having been carried back to Rome, he died from the fracture, having held absolute power for six years.

Urban, the high priest of Rome, having served as high priest for eight years, died during the reign of Maximinus, and Pontianus succeeded him. After Philetus, Zebinus presided over the Church of the Antiochenes. ^C But under the younger Gordian, Pontianus, who presided over the faithful in Rome, departed this life and had as his successor Anteros, who a little later migrated ^D to the other life. After him, Flavian, by divine suffrage, as Eusebius relates, was admitted to the episcopacy. For it is reported that when the faithful had gathered for the purpose of choosing a pontiff, Flavian also arrived recently from the field, and there was no mention made by anyone as if he were to preside over the Church; but the council was concerned as to which one of the others they should prefer. Suddenly, a dove flew in and settled upon his head, and from that, as if a sign had been given, all with one voice exclaimed that he was worthy of the pontificate; and without any hesitation, he was placed upon the throne. Then, Babyla also succeeding Zeno at Antioch, he took his place. Origen, however, was dwelling at that time in Caesarea in Palestine, besides others who had flowed in from everywhere.

He introduced these delusions, which he belched forth from the wicked treasury of his heart, to the Spirit; but they lay in writings only, covered in silence and not yet published. But Arius brought them forth to the sight of all, and preached them upon the housetops ^A, and tripped up many into impiety, and filled the Churches with tumults and factions. The most pious King, having learned of this, ordered the bishops of the provinces to come together at Nicaea, the city of Bithynia. There assembled, therefore, three hundred and eighteen holy Fathers, among whom were some priests and deacons, and even monks. And the great Athanasius was also present there, while he was still enrolled in the rank of deacons. And the most Christian King himself arrived at Nicaea, and having sat down with those holy Fathers, he permitted them to inquire into the things said by Arius, and to discern if they departed from the right faith. And they, having inquired and having examined exactly, dogmatized that the Son was consubstantial, co-equal, and co-eternal with the Father. And they cast Arius and those likeminded ^B with him out of the assembly of the orthodox. Now there was at that time among those who championed the cause of Arius, Eusebius son of Pamphilus, the bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, who is said later to have departed from the opinion of Arius and to have concurred with those who teach that the Son is co-eternal with the Father and of the same nature, and to have been received into communion by the holy Fathers. However, in the acts of the first Council, it is recorded that he even defended the faithful vigorously. These things are found to be set forth thus by some, things which he himself makes more ambiguous in his Ecclesiastical History. In which writing he is often detected favoring Arius, and immediately at the beginning ^C of the book, citing David, he says: "He spoke, and they were made; He commanded, and they were created" (Ps. CXLVIII, 5). He says that the Father and Maker is to be considered as Creator and Supreme Ruler, ordering with a kingly nod. But that the divine Word follows from Him, to execute His commands. And after a few things, he also says: "To Him, as to the power and wisdom of the Father, the second parts of the kingdom and empire over all were believed to have been entrusted." And a little later again: "And that there is a certain nature which lived and existed before the world, and ministered to God and the Father of all in the creation of things that were made, and Solomon under the person

Alexander, bishop of Jerusalem—who did not struggle for the faith in our Savior the Lord for the first time then, but formerly, as has already been stated, and having been imprisoned then also, died in prison—ended their lives. And the great Cyprian too, who was bishop of Carthage at that time, struggled for the faith in Christ. Therefore, those mentioned pontiffs having departed this life, Cornelius succeeded Fabianus at Rome, Flavianus succeeded Babylas at Antioch, Dionysius succeeded at Alexandria, and Mazabanes succeeded Alexander at Jerusalem, and many others were also ^B deemed worthy of martyrdom at that time.

At that time, Origen was also brought to the tyrannical tribunal. Though he respected Christ, he did not meet a martyr's end—I think because God did not judge him worthy of this, on account of the perverse opinions of that miserable man regarding orthodox dogmas. For he gave way, and that after the experience of tortures. This man, as has been said before, having become great in speech, and having become puffed up and arrogant from this, did not follow the dogmas of the holy Fathers before him, but trusting in himself, he became an introducer of new dogmas, and poured forth from the evil treasure of his heart blasphemies against both the holy Trinity and against the divine incarnation, and became the source of almost every heresy. For he taught that the only-begotten Son of God was a creature, and alien to the glory and essence of the Father; and he lowered the Holy Spirit from the dignity of the Father and the Son, saying that neither can the Son see the Father, nor can the Spirit see the Son, just as the angels cannot see the Spirit, nor can men see the angels. These are the blasphemies of Origen concerning the holy and consubstantial Trinity. And concerning the incarnation of the Son of God, he blasphemed, impiously introducing the idea that Christ did not take flesh endowed with a soul from the holy Virgin. For he concocted a myth that the only-begotten Son of God was united before the foundation of the world to the mind which he himself imagined as having been chosen, and which had not undergone any change, and that in union with this [mind] He became incarnate in the last times, and took on flesh devoid of a rational and intellectual soul. And he taught that the Lord would ^C lay aside the flesh again, and that His kingdom would have an end. He also suggested that there would be a restoration of the demons, and that the punishment would be temporary, not eternal, intended for the purgation of all sins; and that after being purified, all would be restored to the unity, both men and demons. But the matters concerning this unity, being in need of much long-windedness, in order for the struggle of this man to be made clear, have been passed over, just as other of his blasphemies also. Such, then, are the matters concerning Origen, whom they also called Adamantius.

At that time, Novatus—a presbyter of the Church at Rome—became a heresiarch, and the leader of those who call themselves Cathari or the Pure; denying repentance to those who, terrified by the persecution, sacrificed to idols and afterwards, having recognized their sin, were converted, and not admitting those who were suppliants and who were asking for the medicine for their offense with a grieving and afflicted soul. Against him a council was indicted at Rome, over which Cornelius presided; in which it was decreed that those who had lapsed in the time of persecution were to be received, if they were converted, 627 and were to be cured by the medicine of repentance. But those holy fathers, seeing that Novatus did not acquiesce to the decree of the council, expelled him from the Church as an enemy of the brethren. Eusebius.

of God's wisdom says: The Lord created me as the beginning of his ways, and so on. And after many other things he says: And upon all these things, as the Word of God, existing before and subsisting before all ages, having received venerable honor from the Father, he is to be worshipped as God. These and other things show Eusebius to be like-minded with the Arian dogmas, unless one were to say that the work was composed by him before his conversion. Therefore, that holy council decreed the dogma concerning the same nature and eternity of the Son, and immediately published the divine Symbol of the faith, theologizing concerning the Father and the Son, and progressing no further than: Whose kingdom shall have no end, and in the Holy Spirit, making this its conclusion. For the theology concerning the Holy Spirit was added later in the second council, by reason of the inquiry that arose concerning Him, which had been convened against Macedonius. The emperor, ^B equal to the apostles, rejoicing in the concord of the Fathers, grasped their hand, and kissed the mutilated limbs and members of some who bore the marks of Christ's confession in their bodies, and blessed them for these mutilations. When petitions were offered to him against certain bishops, he did not read them, nor did he allow them to be examined, but burned them in the sight of all, saying: Even if I were to see a bishop himself committing an offense, I would cover him with my purple robe. From there, having brought the holy Fathers to the royal city established by him, and having deemed it worthy of their blessing, and having arranged for a second patriarch to be ordained there, the holy Alexander (for the renowned Metrophanes had departed this life), he allowed each to return to his own diocese, having treated them with magnificent honors and ^C gifts. The emperor’s mother, the blessed Helena, having reached a great old age (for it is said she lived eighty years), departed to the heavenly mansions, whom her son royally entombed in the church of the holy Apostles. While undertaking an expedition against the Persians, he was conveyed by trireme to Soteropolis, which is now called Pythia, and having used the naturally hot waters there, where it is also said he drank poisonous venom, mixed for him by his half-brothers, he arrived at Nicomedia, where he died, having been ill for a considerable time, being sixty-five years of age, and having reigned for thirty-two years and two months. His son Constantius, arriving from Antioch (for he was there ^D resisting the Persians), having found him still living, performed his funeral rites magnificently, and buried him in the church of the holy Apostles, in a specially constructed portico. It is said that this renowned emperor spent money without discrimination, and acquired it with discrimination; so that his zeal in giving is not attributed to magnificence, but the contrary. But one must restrain the pen, lest I cast any stain upon that divine man. Indeed, that profane Julian, in his book *The Caesars*, as if mockingly noting the expenses of the most religious emperor, imagines Mercury conversing with him, asking what the mark of a good king might be? To which he replies that an emperor must both have and spend much. It is said he was not averse to the study of doctrine,

those who were at the head of affairs, seeing him take control of matters in a more imperious manner, killed Aemilianus, who had ruled for not yet four months and was in his fortieth year; and they made excuses to Valerian and, without a battle, handed over the Roman government to him. ^A And after Flavianus had suffered martyrdom under Decius, as has been said, Cornelius assumed the pastoral care of Rome. He shone in this office for three years and completed his life. Then Lucius was elevated to the throne of the high priesthood, who, not having completed even an eighth of a year in the episcopate of Rome, died. And Stephen succeeded to the ministry of the pastoral office. ^B It is he who issued the decree that Christians returning from heresies should not be rebaptized, but cleansed by the prayer of the laying on of hands; and his epistle concerning this matter is recorded to the martyr Cyprian. When Stephen had fallen asleep after two years, Xystus sat upon the high-priestly throne of Rome. At that time also, the heresy according to Sabellius was stirred up in Ptolemais of the Pentapolis. But such was the state of the high priests of Rome.

XXIII. Valerian, having seized the Roman government together with his son Gallienus, also stirred up a most violent persecution against the Christians; and many in different regions became martyrs, having struggled in many ways for the faith in Christ. ^C Under him, too, owing to the movements of foreign nations, Roman affairs fared badly. For the Scythians crossed the Ister and ravaged the Thracian land, and they besieged the illustrious city of Thessalonica, though they did not capture it. Yet they brought such terror upon all that the Athenians rebuilt the wall of their own city, which had been torn down since the times of Sulla, and the Peloponnesians walled off the Isthmus from sea to sea. ^D But also the Persians, with Sapor reigning over them, overran Syria and ravaged Cappadocia, and besieged Edessa. Valerian was at first afraid to engage the enemy. But having learned that the soldiers in Edessa, by sallying forth from the city and engaging the Barbarians, were killing many of them and taking much booty, he took heart, and having gone with the army that was with him, he joined battle with the Persians. But they, being far more numerous, surrounded the Romans, and most of them fell, though some indeed escaped. Valerian was captured with those around him by the enemies and was led away to Sapor. And he, having seized the king, thought that he now held control of everything; and being cruel even before, he became much worse thereafter. So some have recorded that Valerian was taken prisoner by the Persians in this manner. But there are those who say that Valerian voluntarily surrendered to the Persians, because while he was staying at Edessa, famine had attacked the soldiers, and from this they had been moved to sedition and were seeking to kill the emperor. And he, fearing the insurrection of the soldiers, fled to Sapor, so that he might not be

^A but had applied himself to it no less than to arms; hence his tongue became adept at discourse, and possessed a certain charm which captivated the ears of his listeners. It is recorded also that he was a hater of wickedness, and accustomed to say that for the sake of the preservation of public tranquility, one who holds power must not spare anyone from all those involved in the state of common affairs, not even his own limbs. To those who turned from wickedness, he showed a philanthropic disposition, saying that a diseased and putrid limb must be cut away, so that it might not harm those that are healthy; but certainly not one that has already attained health, or is in the process of healing.

^B V. That most blessed emperor having been translated to the eternal tabernacles, the Roman empire was divided among his three sons, whether by him, as some write, or, upon his death, by their own consent, in this manner. To Constans was allotted Italy, and Rome itself, Africa, Sicily, with the remaining islands, and also Illyricum, Macedonia, and together with Achaia, the Peloponnese. To Constantine, the Cottian Alps—which are said to take their name from Cottius, once king of those parts—together with the Gauls and the tract of the Pyrenees as far as Mauritania, separated from the Spains by the narrow strait of the Ocean. To Constantius fell those regions that were in the eastern part of the Roman dominion, and Thrace with the imperial city. ^C After this partition of the kingdoms, Constantius betook himself to the East, to repress the arms of the Persians. For their leader, Sapor, having heard of the death of Constantine the Great, was molesting the Roman provinces with continuous raids and plunderings.

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to capture him. Posthumus, having thus escaped, again organized an army. And again Galienus marched against him, and having shut the tyrant up in a certain city of Gaul, he besieged him. During the siege, the emperor was struck in the back by an arrow, and having fallen ill from this, he ended the siege.

Another war was also stirred up against Galienus by Macrinus ^A, who, having two sons, Macrianus and Quietus, had attempted to seize power. But he himself, because one of his legs was crippled, did not don the imperial robe, but put it upon his sons, and those in Asia gladly welcomed him. Having spent a little time against the Persians, he prepared to march against Galienus. And he set Balista against the Persians, whom he himself had appointed as praetorian prefect, and he left his son Quietus with him. The emperor therefore sent Aureolus against Macrinus and his son Macrianus, along with other generals; and having engaged them, they surrounded them and killed some. For they spared them as fellow-countrymen and hoped they would defect to the emperor; but they did not yield, although by some chance occurrence they all defected to the emperor. For as the men around the tyrants were marching, they were holding their standards upright. One of the standard-bearers, however, tripped while marching and fell, and his standard fell as he fell. The others, therefore, who were carrying the standards, seeing the lowered standard and not knowing how it had leaned, supposed ^B that the one holding it had intentionally lowered it in order to go over to the emperor. And like a flash, they all lowered theirs, and rushed forward, and acclaimed Galienus, with only the Paeonians remaining on the side of Macrinus. Later, when those, too, wished to defect, Macrinus and his son begged them not to abandon them to the enemy, but to kill them first and thus go over to the emperor; having done this, the Paeonians surrendered themselves.

Quietus, the younger son of Macrinus, was in the East ^C with Balista, having brought almost all of it under his control. Against them Galienus sent Odenathus, who was ruling the Palmyrenes. When the news of the defeat of the Macriani in Paeonia was announced to Quietus and Balista, many of the cities under them revolted. They were staying in Emesa, where Odenathus arrived, joined battle with them, and was victorious; he himself killed Balista, and the citizens killed Quietus. The emperor, rewarding Odenathus for his bravery, appointed him general of the whole East. This Odenathus, having become great and being loyal to the Romans, and having succeeded in many wars against different nations and against the Persians themselves, was finally killed by his own nephew. For when he was with his uncle on a hunt, a wild beast sprang out; he anticipated him, and having cast a javelin at the beast, he killed it. Odenathus was angered and threatened his nephew. The latter did not cease, but did this a second and a third time; Odenathus, in a rage, took away his horse, which is considered a great insult among the Barbarians. The young man, therefore, being vexed, threatened his uncle; and the latter, for this reason, threw him into chains. Afterward, the elder of Odenathus’s sons asked for the prisoner to be released by his father; and he, having been released, attacked Odenathus while he was feasting, with a sword, and killed him, and also his son, through whom he had been released. But he too was killed, as certain men set upon him.

^A Constantine demanded from Constans a partition of the provinces, requesting that he either yield up a portion of the realm to him or that a new partition be established from the beginning. Constans, however, relied upon the former division and sought to defend what had fallen to his lot, granting not the slightest portion to his brother; whereupon Constantine, having snatched up arms, invaded the provinces of Constans. Constans, who was then present in Dacia, upon learning of this maneuver, sent generals with an army against him, intending soon to follow with greater forces. Those who had been sent, having come near to Constantine, set an ambush, and when the battle was joined, they feigned flight. While the soldiers of Constantine were pursuing them, those who had been positioned in the ambush attacked them from the rear. Thus, while the men were turning in flight, they were caught in the middle of these two armies and were for the most part cut down, with Constantine himself being killed. For, his horse having been wounded and maddened by the wound, he was thrown from his saddle and finished off with many wounds: he neither obtained the object of his desire, and because he had been the author of the injustice, he was deprived of his life along with the loss of his empire. ^B Thus the western kingdom devolved to Constans alone, but he too, becoming entangled in wicked loves and following a perverted way of life, perished miserably at the hands of Magnentius—whom he had rescued from a sedition of the soldiers when they were already rushing upon him with drawn swords to kill him. While these things were happening, Constantius, in the East, was fighting against the Persian king Sapor, the son of Narses, though born from a base woman. For he had sired three sons from his noble wife: Adanarses, Hormisdas, and a certain third one. When Narses died, Adanarses, the eldest by birth, succeeded to the empire. But because of his excessive cruelty and inhumanity, he became hated by the Persians and fell from his kingdom. One example of his atrocious nature must be recounted. Once, a tent was brought to his father at Babylon, crafted from the various hides of that place. As Narses was contemplating it, now that it was spread out, he asked Adanarses, who was still a boy, if it pleased him. Then he said: "When I have gained the kingdom, I shall fashion a more beautiful tent from human skins." Thus, from infancy, he declared his own inhumanity. Therefore, when he was expelled, the kingdom was transferred to Sapor: who immediately deprived his other brother of his sight, and held Hormisdas bound in custody. ^C But his mother and wife, having appeased the guards with money, were admitted to visit him and gave him a file, by which he could cut through his iron chains: and they advised him what was to be done thereafter, with horses prepared and companions for his flight. ^D And furthermore, Thrace with the city of his fathers. Thus, when the partition of the rule had proceeded, Constantius departed for the East, campaigning against the Persians. For Sapor, the leader of these people, having learned of the death of the great Constantine, kept invading the territories under the Romans and did not cease from pillaging. But Constantine pressed upon Constans, blaming the distribution of the lands and demanding that he either grant him a portion of the rule or that they both seek to redistribute the kingdoms. But as the other held fast to the existing distribution and clung to what had been allotted to him, and would not yield even the slightest part to his brother, Constantine raised arms against him and came upon the lot of Constans. But he who was staying away in Dacia, having learned of the movement of Constantine, sent an army against him along with generals, promising that he himself would soon be there with a greater host. Those who had been sent, having arrived near Constantine, set an ambush; and having joined battle with him, they feigned flight. But while those of Constantine pursued them, those lying in wait behind them became positioned at their rear and attacked them. And those who were fleeing turned back and surrounded them in the middle. And much of Constantine's army was destroyed, and he himself as well. For his horse being wounded and, because of the wound, rearing and tossing, Constantine fell from the saddle and was slain, having received many wounds, neither obtaining his desire, and—because he had ruled unjustly—having lost his own portion of the rule and being penalized with his life itself. And the rule of the western portion came under Constans alone. Then he, too, having rolled into strange loves and an abandoned life, was conspired against by Magnentius and wretchedly perished—the same Magnentius whom he had previously rescued when he was in danger from a military sedition, at a time when the soldiers were already sharpening their swords against him and were eager to dispose of him. Constantius, meanwhile, staying in the East, was fighting the Persians, with Sapor of the nation, as has been said, reigning, who was a son of Narses, though not from a noble wife. For from the first of his wives three sons were born to Narses: Adanarses and Hormisdas and a third other. Upon the death of Narses, the elder of these three, Adanarses, became successor to the rule. But he was excessively cruel and savage, and by that reason was hated by his own subjects, and from that [he became]...

a multitude, attacked the enemies from the sea with ships, and inflicted such a blow that the survivors fled from there. Claudius, having rushed against them, defeated them in many places where they had scattered, some by naval engagements and others by land battles. Winters also afflicted them, and famine pressed upon them and destroyed them. While staying at Sirmium, Claudius fell ill, and having assembled the more prudent members of the army, he spoke to them about creating an emperor, and said that Aurelian was worthy of the empire. There are those who say that he at once declared him emperor. Others assert that the Senate in Rome, having learned of the death of Claudius, bestowed the empire upon his brother Quintillus, out of their affection for Claudius; ^B but the military declared Aurelian emperor. Quintillus, being a simple man and unskilled in the management of affairs, upon learning of the proclamation of Aurelian, killed himself by opening a vein in his own hand, and having poured out his life through the resulting flow of blood, he had dreamed of the sovereignty for only seventeen days. Nor do the historians agree with one another regarding the length of Claudius's reign. For some record that he ruled for one year, while others, among whom is Eusebius, say two. Constantius Chlorus, the father of the great Constantine, was a grandson of this emperor Claudius.

XXVII. Aurelianus,

^A he fell from the kingdom. Let it also be mentioned, as a sign of his peculiar cruelty: once, a tent was brought to his father from Babylon, fashioned of local skins [(34)], and worked in a very variegated manner. When Narses saw this, just as it was being spread out, he asked Adanarses, who was still a child, if he liked the tent. He replied: "If one were to gain the kingdom, one would make a better one than this from human skin." Thus, from childhood, he manifested his cruelty. This man, then, having in such a manner fallen from the kingdom, Sapor was introduced to the power. And he immediately blinded one of his brothers, but bound Hormisdas and kept him under guard. But his mother and his wife, having won over the guards with bribes, were permitted to enter to visit him. And having entered, they provided him with a file [(35)], so that with it he might cut his iron bonds, having suggested also what he should do after that, and having readied horses for him and for those fleeing with him. Then his wife set before the guards a sumptuous banquet; and they, having surfeited themselves with food and having drunk the unmixed wine more immoderately, were seized with a heavy sleep. But Hormisdas, while they slept, cut his bonds with the file, and having departed from the guard, went forth; and he fled to the Romans and was received most honorably. Sapor seemed to rejoice at his flight, as if freed from the fear he had of him, insomuch that he not only did not seek that the fugitive be surrendered, but he even sent his wife to him with honor. And Hormisdas was also a man of great strength, and a most skillful javelin-thrower, so that in casting a javelin at someone, he would declare where he was about to strike the enemy. He therefore campaigned under Constantius against his own countrymen, having been appointed to lead a large body of cavalry. But the emperor Constantius, having often engaged with the Persians, met with the lesser share, and lost many of his own men, and very many of the Persians had fallen, and Sapor himself had been wounded.

^C VI. With the affairs of Constantius in the war against the Persians having turned out in such a way, Magnentius, who was born of a British father, and who had served among the protectors, and thereafter had been named count of two Roman legions, and who had long desired to play the tyrant, then more than ever set his mind to that aim, as he heard that Constantius was faring ill in the Persian war. He judged the present time to be an opportunity for attempting the tyranny; and feigning that he was celebrating his own birthday in the city of Augustodunum [(36)], he summoned the leading men of the city to participate with him in the banquet, some being privy to his design, and others not sharing in his plan. And he prolonged the drinking until evening. Rising from the banquet ^D, he suddenly ran into the bedchamber and shortly thereafter emerged in the guise of royalty with many satellites, which confounded those who were not privy to his action. But he, having spoken to those who were present...

being the only emperor left in the army, immediately marched against the Persians. And when the battle was joined and the Persians had proved the stronger, and the Romans had turned their backs in flight, some recount that he was captured in the rout and flayed of his whole skin like a wineskin, being thus destroyed; but others have written that as he was returning from Persia he suffered from an eye ailment, and was slain by his own father-in-law, the prefect of the camp, who had cast greedy eyes upon the supreme authority, though he did not attain it. For the army chose as emperor Diocletian, who was then present there and had displayed many feats of courage during the war against the Persians.

^B The other son of Carus, however, Carinus, who was living in Rome, proved grievous to the Romans, becoming licentious, cruel, and resentful. He was destroyed by Diocletian when the latter arrived in Rome. The time of the reign of these three did not amount to three full years. In these times, Manes, an utterly accursed man, having been brought from Persia into our world, spewed forth his own poison, whence the name of the Manichaeans persists to this very day. He sometimes professed himself to be the Paraclete and the Holy Spirit, although the spirit of wickedness evidently dwelt within him; at other times he called himself Christ, having been anointed for their service by demons. He led about twelve disciples as partners and heralds of his own babbling, which he had gathered from many godless dogmas of heresies that had already fallen away.

^C Dionysius, however, who had shepherded the faithful in Rome, having completed nine years in this ministry and departed, Felix succeeded to the priestly throne of Rome. After he died five years later, Eutychianus was deemed worthy of the episcopate of the Romans. And not yet ten months having passed, he also departed this life, and Gaius was introduced into the office of shepherd. Marcellinus became his successor, having presided over the Church for about fifteen years. These were in the times of the persecutions. In the Church of the Antiochenes, after Domnus, Timaeus was bishop; Timaeus was succeeded by Cyril, and after Cyril, Tyrannus received the throne, under whom the siege of the Churches reached its peak, and the tyranny became unbearable. Of the Church of Jerusalem, after Hymenaeus, Zabdas presided; after he fell asleep not long after, Hermon adorned this throne. In Alexandria, after Maximus, who managed the Church for eighteen years after Dionysius, had completed his debt to nature, Theonas became bishop. Him Peter succeeded, who also took up the crown of martyrdom, having been beheaded. These, then, were the successions of these high priests.

^D XXXI. Diocletian obtained the leadership, who was a Dalmatian by race, born of obscure parents (some say he was a freedman of the senator Anulinus), and from a common soldier he became the duke of Moesia. Other men indeed...

^B and compelled them, immediately entered the palace and made a distribution of money. And he placed guards at the city gates, charging them to grant entrance to those coming in, but to allow no one to leave, so that the enterprise might not be proclaimed. And immediately he sent men to slay Constans, before he might come to know of the daring deed. Now he [Constans] was occupied with hunting—for he was madly devoted to the chase—and this, even though he was suffering from a constant gout, which he had brought upon himself through excessive indulgence and an intemperate life. Or even under the pretext of hunting he would retreat into the woods with boys and youths, who were gathered to him for their beauty and became his intimates, adorning themselves with excessive care and being as catamites—as it is said—an object of traffic for his lustful eyes. But he spent most of his time in the woods, shunning the company of honorable men. Therefore, those sent by Magnentius, having arrived at the River Rhone, slew Constans while he was sleeping after the hunt, and they also killed the few attendants he had with him (37). 14 Others say that his end did not happen in this way; that he learned of the sedition raised against him and, deserted by his own men, laid aside the imperial insignia and fled to a certain chapel, and was dragged from there and killed in the seventeenth year of his reign, having already completed his thirtieth year of age. It is said that his father had ordered the astrologers to draw up a horoscope for the infant upon his recent birth, and ^C that they, besides other things they foretold concerning him, added this too, that he would be slain in the arms of his grandmother. That woman having died, Constans used to mock this; but it turned out in reality, and the prediction of the astrologers did not fail, though it was cryptic. For in a little town named Helena, after the name of that empress, Constans was slain; and so he who had lived such a licentious life, met with such a wretched end.

Magnentius, as the affairs of his tyranny went according to his mind, was eager to remove from the midst those who held the more notable positions of authority. And having forged letters to them as if sent from Constans, summoning them to himself, he laid an ambush along the way and slew very many, not even sparing his own fellow-conspirators, but destroying them as well. And he was occupied with such things, strengthening for himself the tyranny. But to Constantius, upon hearing of the death of his brother, his mind was divided, considering whether he should prefer to stand against the Persians who were ravaging the Roman provinces, or to disregard that for the present moment and march against the one who had played the tyrant, both to avenge the murder of his brother and to claim the West for himself.

[Variæ lectiones et notæ] (37) *Slew them.* I do not know where these magnificent buildings in Constantinople, which were called "the Constans," were built by the emperor, and which the unpublished author of the Life of St. Stephen the Younger mentions: "He was living by the slope of the imperial public highway, in which is dug and called the Stavrion, from which towards ^D the downward part there are large houses called 'the Constans.'" We observe mention being made of the Monastery of "the Constans" in councils in our *Constantinopolis*, book iv, sect. 6, n. 26.

^A To others, those who were illustrious by rank or military service were dishonorably dismissed, both from their rank and their service, and those of private station were reduced to slavery. When Diocletian had completed the twentieth year of his reign, both emperors, by mutual consent, resigned the imperial power, publicly professing that they were succumbing to the crushing weight of affairs, but confessing to those to whom they had entrusted the secrets of their own hearts that they did it out of desperation. For, since they were able neither to overcome the Christians nor to extinguish the proclamation of the Christian name, they did not wish to enjoy the empire. Having thus resigned their power on the same day by prearrangement, one in Nicomedia, the other, Maximian, in Milan, and having become private citizens—Diocletian living in the city of Salona in Dalmatia, which was his homeland, and the other, Herculius, in Lucania—they reigned as private citizens. Before the resignation of their power, they celebrated a triumph in Rome upon their return from the victory over the Persians, in which they led in procession the wives, children, and sisters of Narses, and the leaders of other nations, and all the wealth that had been brought from Persia. ^B It would not be inappropriate to explain whence the name of the triumph was taken; indeed, some think it was derived from *thria*, which are fig leaves. For before masks were devised for stage performers, they would cover their faces with fig leaves and deliver their jests in iambic verse. Soldiers, too, in the victory celebrations, would use the same license and the same garb against the victors, and from this it is supposed that the triumph took its name. Others, however, say that because it consists of three orders—the senate, the people, and the soldiers—all marching together, with a slight change in the Greek word *thriambos*, it is so named. After this victory celebration was concluded, they transferred the imperial power to the Caesars and divided the empire, assigning the Eastern part along with Illyricum to Galerius Maximinus, and assigning the Western provinces along with Africa to Constantius Chlorus. ^C When these things had been done, the Praetorian soldiers declared Maxentius, the son of Herculius Maximian, emperor at Rome. Of these three, therefore, Constantius, holding sway in the Britains, the Cottian Alps, and the Gauls, treated the worshipers of Christ quite moderately, and indeed all his subjects; he was also a despiser of money. But Maximinus, emperor of the East, both persecuted the Christians most bitterly and was most oppressive to the rest of his subjects. For, since he burned with lust and was a supreme adulterer, he would seize not only private women for the purpose of debauchery, but also the wives of distinguished men, snatched by force from their husbands, and after satisfying his lust, he would send them home; he was so devoted to divination that he would undertake no matter, however small, without consulting them, and he held the practitioners of those dark arts in high esteem. ^D He condemned pious men to destruction and confiscated their wealth, no other crime being alleged against the innocent except the knowledge of God and faith in Christ.

^A While Constantius was pondering and delaying these matters, Sapor, who had himself also learned of the fate of Constans, pressed his advantage and, with a heavy army, invaded the provinces and cities of the Romans, plundering far and wide, capturing fortified positions, and finally laying siege to Nisibis. This city had formerly belonged to the kingdom of the Armenians, but under Mithridates, a son-in-law of Tigranes who was then ruler of the Armenians—by whom it had been taken—it had been brought under Roman sway. Sapor, having arrived there, set in motion every device in order that the city might be captured by him; for he brought battering rams against the walls and had made underground mines. But the besieged resisted everything bravely; and when he diverted the river that flowed through the middle of the city, that by being pressed by thirst the people of the city might surrender it to him, they had an abundance of water both from wells and from springs. ^B Since his schemes were achieving nothing for him, he devised something else. He ran back up the river, which, as has been said, flowed through the city, and having reached a ravine where the area through which it flowed was narrowed, he blocked the place and held back its stream. When the water had flooded, he suddenly removed the things blocking the path of the water and released the current against the city; and the water, having accumulated to a great volume, fell upon the wall with violent force and breached a part of it. But the barbarian did not immediately enter the city; rather, as if it were already captured (since the time was also toward evening), he deferred to the next day the taking of the city, provided no one resisted. Those within the city were initially thrown into confusion at the breach in the wall. But when they saw that the Persians had deferred the entry, they spent that entire night working with many hands to fortify the spot, erecting another wall within, which when Sapor saw, he attributed the misfortune to his own negligence, but not even thus did he desist from the siege. ^C Having devised many other things against the city and having lost very many of his own men (for it is said that over twenty thousand of the Persian army perished while Nisibis was being besieged), he retreated with shame. For already the Massagetae had also invaded Persia and were ravaging it. Emperor Constantius then fortified Nisibis and heartened its citizens. He himself, now that a truce had been made with the Persians, hastened toward the western regions. And it is reported to him that Vetranio ^D had conspired with Magnentius. For he was a general of the Illyrian legions, and upon learning of the move of Magnentius and the slaughter of Constans, he had not yielded to the tyrant, but had himself seized the tyranny elsewhere; although by letter he professed to be resisting the tyrant and was calling upon Constantius himself to come quickly to crush him. Therefore, Vetranio and Magnentius, having been reconciled on certain conditions, both sent envoys together to Constantius, requesting that, having laid down arms, he might obtain the princely honor. These envoys, having reached the emperor near Heraclea in Thrace, announced this to him, who, because of—

soldiers, and fearing that they might desert to the enemy, he withdrew from the battle and retreated. Having repented of his recruitment of Licinius, he first plotted against him secretly, then openly joined battle with him. Joining battle, he was put to flight, and being defeated, in his flight he made an end of himself. Some recorded that Maximin thus ended his life in such a state, while others handed down that, having been driven mad against the Christians, he paid the penalty of divine vengeance. For an ulcer having settled upon his groin and his private parts, it was most grievous, and it consumed the instruments of his wantonness. From the resulting gangrene worms swarmed out and the disease was incurable. Physicians who refused the operation at once were cruelly slaughtered; those who undertook the cure, but were unable to heal him, were most savagely put to death because they could not accomplish the impossible. Finally, the tyrant suspected that he was paying the price for the unjust murders of those who worshipped Christ, and he issued decrees everywhere ordering the persecution against the Christians to cease, that they should live and worship as they pleased, and offer prayers for his safety. There are two accounts here: for one says that he was delivered from the disease beyond all hope, but then again stirred up the persecution and remained uncorrected until he had drained the dregs of the cup which the Lord holds in his hand; the other denies the recovery of the impious man, saying that he died of the aforementioned disease and vomited worms from his mouth. Thus, in one of these ways, he violently cut his life short.

In Rome, after Marcellinus, who performed his ministry for two years, Eusebius presided over the Church of the faithful; he died after a year, and Miltiades succeeded him. And after Miltiades had presided over the faithful in Rome for four years, Silvester became his successor. In Antioch, after Tyrannus had held the episcopate for thirteen years, Vitalis was appointed; he completed six years and was succeeded by Philogenes; and after five years had been completed by him, Paulinus became his successor. In Jerusalem, after Zabdas had performed his ministry for ten years, Hermon obtained the archiepiscopal throne. In Alexandria, after the holy martyr Peter, who adorned the throne of the archiepiscopate for ten years, Alexander obtained the archiepiscopate. In Rome, after Silvester had performed his ministry for twenty-eight years, Julius presided over the Church for fifteen years. After whom, Liberius completed his sixth year; and Damasus, who shepherded the faithful for twenty-eight years, succeeded him. Siricius followed him, and performed his ministry for sixteen years. Then Innocent was chosen, who instructed the people of the Lord for fifteen years. After his death, Zosimus was placed upon the throne of the Roman Church; in his twelfth year, he was succeeded by Celestine, who was illustrious in the pontificate for ten years. His successor was Xystus, who lasted for eight years. Then Leo was raised into his place, who defended the true doctrine for twenty-four years. When Leo was dead, Hilarius was placed in the seat; he completed six years and made way for the election of Simplicius, who himself died in the nineteenth year of his ministry. ^B Into his place Felix was brought, who

^A these things, was in deep thought; and when night came on, he saw such a dream. He dreamt that his father stood before him, holding his son Constans by the hand, and saying to him: “Constantius, behold Constans, your brother, a descendant of many kings, who has perished at the hands of a tyrant. It is necessary, therefore, that you take vengeance for him, and not look on while the government is being torn apart and the state overturned. Make haste to overthrow the tyranny, and do not suffer your brother to remain unavenged.” Awakened by these things, Constantius detained the envoys and placed them under guard. He himself, without any delay, immediately arrived at Sardica. Vetranio, terrified by the unexpected arrival of the emperor, went out to meet him as his master, having abandoned his previous plans and rejected the pacts which he had entered into with Magnentius. Constantius received him sincerely, even admitting him to his own table. For Vetranio, having set aside the insignia of the realm, had grasped the emperor’s feet in the habit of a commoner. The emperor, indeed, embraced the man and called him father, and extending his hand and supporting him as he was an old man, he admitted him to his table, and assigned him the city of Prusa in Bithynia in which he might live, and lands were apportioned to him from which he might live. There he ended his life, which he had passed in comfort for six years. And such was the end of Vetranio.

VIII. Constantius moves against Magnentius.

^{C D} The Emperor Constantius set out against Magnentius. He was staying in Mediolanum, and having declared his brother Decentius Caesar, he sent him to guard the Gauls. In these times, however, Sapor again laid waste to the East, and having taken great spoils and many captives, he returned home. And so the emperor, hemmed in on both sides by the cares of war, honored Gallus, his own cousin, with the rank of Caesar, and having given him Constantia his sister in marriage, he sent him off to the East to break the Persian incursions. Gallus, therefore, having been declared Caesar in this manner, set out for the East, taking his wife with him. Constantius, for his part, moved toward the war against Magnentius. But in order that the Romans might not be stained with civil strife and mutual slaughter, he decided that the tyrant must be invited to negotiate. He, therefore, sent to him men of high standing, and letters written out, promising him pardon if he should depart from arms and cede the Gauls, so that he might content himself with the borders of his own realm. But he, harboring nothing moderate in his soul, did not accept.

^A his own destruction in this way. The Romans, however, rid of his tyranny, threw open the gates of Rome, received Constantine splendidly, hailed and honored him as the deliverer of the city, and decreed that a statue of him be erected in the Roman forum. He ordered that the statue be fashioned with the sign of the cross in its hand, and proclaimed a decree that those who worshipped Christ as God should not be punished for their religion. Thus, with Italy and Rome herself added to his empire, both he and Licinius, who had married his sister, were left as emperors. For Licinius had killed both the son and daughter of Maximin, and from that point on, each of them regarded the other with suspicion; for each believed that with the other removed, he alone would possess the empire, as there would be no one else to claim ^B authority. Some say, therefore, that Licinius thus obtained the portion of Galerius, having been accepted by him as a partner, as has been said; others say that, having been joined in marriage to the sister of Constantine, he was acclaimed Caesar by the soldiers as a favor to Constantine, and was sent by him against Maximin; and that having conquered and routed him, he yielded the empire to him, with the injunction not to trouble the Christians, but that he did not keep the commands, but rather raged against the Christians no less—if not even more—than those before him. For he exceeded every excess of cruelty; and this, in addition to other causes of their mutual dissensions, came to be. Therefore, Constantine moved his army against Licinius and, after joining battle many times, finally defeated him. Then, for the sake of his sister, he made a treaty with him and did not strip him of his authority, but again granted it to him upon conditions; but being the faithless man he was, he did not keep the agreements. Whence Constantine made war on him again; and

^A he committed to writing for him, offering him pardon for his rash act if he would abstain from arms and cede the Gauls to him, so that he might govern them and keep them within their borders. But he, having no moderate thoughts, did not accept the overtures peaceably offered to him by Constantius, but chose war, and moved against him with all the more speed because Silvanus (44), one of his commanders, had left him with a multitude of heavy-armed soldiers and gone over to the Emperor Constantius.

When they had now drawn near to one another and established their camps, Constantius exhorted his own soldiers with words to bravery, and Magnentius likewise urged his own men to show themselves loyal and valiant, promising them many things. But after they had drawn up against one another, they spent the greater part of the day doing nothing, as neither side would take the initiative against the opposing force.

Magnentius, moreover, had recourse to sorcery. For a certain female magician ^B suggested to him that he should slaughter a virgin, mix her blood with wine, and give it to the soldiers to taste, while she meanwhile muttered certain incantations and invoked the assistance of demons. But as the day was drawing to a close, the armies clashed together, and after the battle had undergone many shifts, in the end victory smiled upon Constantius, and until deep into the night the men of Magnentius were cut down and perished.

The tyrant, having received this blow, took to flight, and so that he might not be recognized, he put on plebeian clothing and, placing the imperial insignia upon his horse, sent it off riderless, so that those who saw the horse running without a rider ^C might think that he himself had been killed, and would not pursue him. Thus he escaped.

It is said that in the morning Constantius, having ascended a certain hill and seeing the plain below and the river flowing past it filled with corpses, burst into visible tears, not so much rejoicing in the victory as he felt pained at the destruction of those who had fallen. For it is said (45) that of his own men about thirty thousand fell, all numbering up to eighty thousand. And of the thirty-six thousand of Magnentius, twenty-four thousand perished.

He immediately ordered that all the slain who had fallen should be deemed worthy of burial, without distinguishing between his own men and the enemy. As for those who were still breathing, he ordered that they receive care and medical treatment. ^D Magnentius, having escaped, as has been said, began to gather those of his own men who had been saved and to collect others; and he attempted to take up his position again. He also sent to... [The Latin text adds: the senate of the senatorial order, an envoy whom he [Constantius], believing he had come to spy on his affairs, did not admit. But Magnentius again, by sending bishops, studied to obtain pardon, so that he might perform service for the Emperor as a soldier. To this embassy Constantius replied nothing, but dismissed the legates without success, and moved his army forward, while many who had served under Magnentius flocked to him, committing both themselves and their fortresses to him. But Magnentius, despairing of pardon, prepared himself for war and gathered his forces in the Gauls. Furthermore, that he might render the Emperor anxious and turn his attention elsewhere, he sent one of his intimates to Antioch, to carry off Gallus. He, so that he might be less suspected, turned aside into the hut of a certain old woman near the river Orontes.]

and baptized; having thus obtained her desire and recognized the true God, she desired to behold the places which the beautiful feet of Christ—as one who announced peace—had walked. Taking with her the divinely inspired Silvester, she arrived at Jerusalem; having venerated the tomb of the Lord and having found the divine cross upon which our God was physically affixed, and having constructed magnificent temples, she returned to her son and emperor. The emperor begot three sons by Fausta, the daughter of Maximian: Constantine, Constantius, and Constans; and a daughter, Helena, who later married Julian. He also had another son, named Crispus, by a concubine, who was older than his other sons, and who had often distinguished himself in war alongside his father, Licinius. The stepmother, Fausta, appearing before him amorously, since she did not find him compliant, ^B accused him to his father, claiming that he lusted after her and had often attempted to force himself upon her. Because of this, Crispus was condemned to death by his father, who believed his spouse. But when the emperor later discovered the truth, he executed the woman, both because of her licentiousness and the murder of his son; for having been brought into a bath severely heated, she there violently gave up her life. ^C When the Sarmatians and Goths had risen against the Roman subjects, and were plundering the Thracian region, Constantine the Great rose up against them, and having captured Thrace, he clashed with the Barbarians and set up a most brilliant trophy against them.

III. Concerning the founding of the city of Constantinople.

Wishing by divine oracle to raise up a city, so that he might call it by his own name, he first purposed to build it in Sardica, then at Sigeum (which is the promontory of the Troad), where they say he laid foundations. And again, he began to raise the city at Chalcedon. ^D It is said that eagles descended and snatched the ropes of the builders, and flying across the intervening strait, dropped them upon Byzantium. This having occurred many times, the emperor turned his course toward Byzantium, examined the site, and—having been struck by its favorable position and how it was almost surrounded by the sea—he recognized that this was the place indicated by the divine sign. Thus, having cleared the ground, he laid the foundations there.

^A This place was previously called Ophis, as some recount, but it was later called Orontes, from the young son of Cambyses, the king of the Persians, who fell into it and perished there. Now, the man sent by Magnentius to snare Gallus, having made many of those there his own by subterfuge, was dining one evening at the hut of the old woman—the one mentioned in the note—with those who were privy to the scheme. He was speaking of matters he should not have, thinking the old woman, in her simplicity, was not hearing what was being said. But she, as it seems, being of a sharp nature, or perhaps because she was pretending not to hear, was committing to memory everything that was said. When the party was heavy with wine and had fallen asleep, she slipped out of the hut and went to the city. She reported everything to the Caesar. Having apprehended those who had been sent, and finding them in a position of necessity, they revealed the entire plot. Thus Gallus escaped the ambush, and punished their conspirators.

^B IX. With these things thus having come to pass, Magnentius again prepared for battle, and joining combat with Constantius, he was defeated and fled. His fellow-soldiers, seeing no remaining hope of safety and deeming it useless to run risks for a man in such desperate straits, determined to hand him over to the Emperor. They surrounded his lodging and kept a guard over him with a soldier’s vigilance, so that he might not escape them. When Magnentius perceived their intention, and saw himself encompassed by inevitable straits, he gave way to madness and committed deeds of a frantic man, killing all his kin and friends who were with him. He also inflicted many wounds with a sword upon his brother Desiderius; however, none of these was lethal. Finally, he destroyed himself, so that he might not be handed over to Constantius by those guarding him and undergo a more prolonged punishment. Decentius, whom he had named Caesar, upon hearing of his brother’s death, discarded his hopes and ended his life with a noose. But Desiderius, having received wounds from his brother Magnentius, recovered from the injuries and surrendered himself of his own accord to Constantius. Thus the tyranny of Magnentius was dissolved, and all that he held came back under the power of Constantius, and he alone recovered the paternal empire intact. Because of this, the West was pacified, but the Eastern regions were ^C cast into turmoil; for Gallus, puffed up by success, gave way, as some report, to a sort of Ophites, and later, for the name of the son of Cambyses, the king of the Persians, having drowned in it, he was so named. Having made Gallus his target for traps, and having reconciled to himself some of the legionaries, one evening, while dining in the old woman’s hut—the one already mentioned—along with some who were privy to the affair, he was conversing with them, holding the old woman in contempt as one who would understand nothing that was said. But she, as it appears, having a sharper intellect, or pretending not to hear, was committing everything to memory. And when the guests were heavy with wine and had already fallen asleep, she went out of the hut, entered the city, and announced everything to Caesar, by whom certain men were sent who apprehended those sent to entrap him, and, when put to the question, they revealed the whole fable. Caesar Gallus, having escaped the ambush, took punishment from him and his conspirators.

^A Constantius sent a certain senator, by name Constantius; thinking that he had come in the name of the embassy—and he had been busied with matters concerning him—the Magnesian bishop again employed him for the embassy, seeking pardon, that he might serve with the king in the rank of a soldier. But to this embassy he made no response at all to Constantius. He left the ambassadors to return without success. He himself departed, having mobilized the army, and many of the Magnesians joined him, declaring for him; and they handed over the fortresses. Magnentius, having despaired of obtaining pardon, prepared for war and collected a crowd of people in Gaul. ^B But in order to cast concern upon the Emperor, and create a distraction against himself, he sent one of his intimates to Antioch, to carry off Gallus. He, so that he might be less suspected, turned aside into the hut of a certain old woman near the river Orontes. ^C Those who had been sent, having cast themselves upon him in his predicament, revealed the whole drama. And thus the plot was thwarted by Gallus, and he punished those who had acted for him.

IX. These things having come to pass, Magnentius again made preparations for battle, and joining in the struggle with Constantius, he was defeated and fled. The soldiers with him, when they saw that there was no hope of safety left for them anywhere, judging it vain to continue ^D risking (their lives) for a man already in despair, decided to deliver him up to the Emperor. They surrounded the house where he was lodging, and kept guard over him in the manner of soldiers, so that he might not escape them. When Magnentius became aware of their intention, and realized that he was encompassed in severe straits, he acted from despair like a frantic man, slaughtering his relations and friends; and he inflicted many wounds with a sword upon his brother Desiderius, but these were not mortal. Having done this, he destroyed himself, so that he might not be handed over by those guarding him to the Emperor Constantius, and be punished for a longer time. And Decentius, whom he had appointed Caesar, being in Gaul, when he learned of his brother’s demise and that he would be handed over to Constantius, used a noose. But Desiderius, who had received wounds from Magnentius, having escaped death and recovered from the wounds, approached Constantius of his own accord. And thus the tyranny of Magnentius having been dissolved...

as is recounted in the history of Severus, he raised to the honor of a patriarchate 20, while preserving the prerogatives of the elder Rome on account of its precedence, and because the empire was translated thence to this place. At that time, the very holy Metrophanes was bishop of Byzantium; he was the son of Dometius, who was the brother of the emperor Probus, and like Dometius, he had been converted from unbelief to faith, and for this reason, having left Rome, he came to Byzantium and was raised to the height of the episcopacy. After him, Probus, another son of his, ascended this high-priestly throne, whom Metrophanes 21, his brother, succeeded.

IV. Regarding the Priest Arius

^B IV. Under this emperor, Arius, a priest of the Church of Alexandria, became notorious, who did not hesitate to call the Son and Word of God a creature, and to say that He was of a different essence and not coeternal with the Father. And yet he himself was not the author of this sect, but Origenes, who, besides very many other perverse opinions, affirmed also that the only-begotten Son of God was created and was of a nature different from the Father’s; and that He could not see the Father, just as He Himself could not be seen by ^C the Father, rays of seven [stars/beams] on His head, a piece of bronze work which he brought from Heliopolis, a city of Phrygia.

19 As for the common name of the statue: regarding the porphyry column and the statue placed upon it, we have treated this at greater length in our Notes to the Alexiad, p. 382, and in *Constantinopoli Christiana*, lib. 1, sect. 24, n. 6. It is permitted to add only this here, that the anonymous writer *On the Finding of the Holy Cross*, in Gretzer, writes that this statue was fashioned and erected by the Romans because of the citizens being liberated from the tyranny of Maximian, and hence was afterwards translated by Constantine himself to Constantinople. He says this, where he writes of the Lord’s nails: "The other two he set in the column which the Romans made for Constantine because of the liberty from the tyrant Maximian; for it was this one that he brought to Constantinople, and set upon the great column of the Forum."

20 "Raised to the honor of a patriarchate": it is false that the Constantinopolitan patriarchate was erected by Constantine the Great; hence he calls Metrophanes of Byzantium "bishop" later, not "patriarch," as does also Joseph the Egyptian, *De concilio Ephesino*, p. 635, and Damascenus Studita, homil. 33. See our *Constantinopolim*.

21 "Metrophanes": see the life of Metrophanes and Alexander edited by Gretzer, and St. Nicephorus in his *Chronographia*, p. 415, and the Synaxaria and Menaea for the 4th of June, on which day the Greeks celebrate his feast.

everything that he held came under Constantius, and he alone became master of the entire paternal empire. The western provinces, therefore, enjoyed peace from then on; but the eastern part was disturbed. ^A For Gallus, elated by good fortune, once he had arrived at Antioch, behaved harshly toward those under him, who were suffering in many ways because of him, and he had his wife to incite him to this. Constantius, therefore, fearing that those being mistreated by him might be moved to rebellion, and that he might have need of a civil war, entrusted Domitian [(48)]—an illustrious and aged man—with the office of praetorian prefect, and sent him to Antioch, having commanded the man in secret to cleverly approach Gallus and persuade him to come to him. But he, having arrived at Antioch, handled the matter very ineptly, openly ordering the Caesar to set out for the emperor and threatening that, if he did not obey, he would cut off the provisions of those under him. Gallus, provoked to anger by these things, and being otherwise easily moved to wrath, seized the prefect and placed soldiers as guards over him. When Montius the quaestor blamed the action and ^B asserted that this was a manifest tyranny, the Caesar, further enraged and being even more inflamed by his wife as if he were being despised, threw the quaestor into chains and handed both over to the soldiers, who dragged both through the forum, tortured them, and finally threw them into the river and suffocated them. Having learned of these things, Constantius sent men to drag Gallus to himself. But he sent his wife, the brother [of Constantius], ahead to appease him, but she died from illness on the trip. Constantius, having learned of her death, immediately stripped Gallus of his rank and relegated him; later he also sent assassins against him.

^C For Gallus, wrapped in the purple of a Caesar, and having by then begun to ascend to the first rungs of the empire, did not remain in the same mind and faith he had held toward Constantius, but handled matters too royally, and conducted affairs with much arrogance and pride. For the officials whom Constantius had sent with him—being arbiters of royal and political affairs—as well as the praetorian prefect Domitian (for the one from Thalassius had died) and Montius who was in charge of the quaestorship, because they did not obey him and attend to his irrational and ungovernable impulses, he ordered their feet to be bound with ropes by the soldiers and dragged through the forum, and he killed both—men who had excelled in honors and had been found to be above all profit and gain—whom the bishop of the city buried, having held in reverence the excellence of their virtue. ^D When Constantius learned as quickly as possible of the event, he sent summons to Gallus to come to him. But he, knowing that he was not being summoned for any good purpose, but reflecting again that if he did not wish to obey it would be necessary to wage war and immediately take up arms against Constantius, chose instead the things of peace; and having sent his wife ahead to appease Constantius, he himself departed as a voluntary traveler into danger. Constantina therefore set out with haste, eager to encounter her brother and to plead with him on behalf of her husband, in order that he might not devise any irreparable harm against him. But using great haste in her journey, she fell into an illness while traveling, and having arrived in Bithynia, she died at a certain relay-station of that region called Caenos Gallicanum. Gallus, having considered this event also, which happened to him against his expectations, a great misfortune, nevertheless went forward, not withdrawing from his decisions. When he arrived among the Noricans, at a city of theirs called Poetovio, the general Barbatio was sent down from Mediolanum—where Constantius happened to be at that time—and he stripped Gallus of his purple and, having transformed him into a civilian, established him as an exile in a certain island of Dalmatia. 48 On the matter of Domitian and Montius being sent to Gallus Caesar, treat Ammianus, book xv; Philostorgius, book iii, cap. 38; book iv, cap. 1, and other writers.

but to have applied himself to them no less than to warfare. From this, his tongue became ready in conversation, and certain charms were present in it, mesmerizing the ears of his listeners. ^A It is also recorded that he was a hater of evil, and was accustomed to say that for the sake of the state of common affairs, the ruler ought to spare no one, not even his own limbs. To those who were turning away from wickedness, he was disposed toward them humanely, saying that a diseased and rotten limb must be cut off, so that it might not also harm those that are healthy; yet, one that had already attained health, or was in the process of healing, should not be.

^B V. That most blessed emperor having been translated to the eternal tabernacles, the Roman Empire was divided among his three sons, either by himself, as some writers maintain, or, upon his death, by their own consent, in this manner. To Constans was allotted Italy and Rome itself, Africa and Sicily, with the remaining islands, and also Illyricum, Macedonia, and together with Achaia, the Peloponnese. To Constantine the Cottian Alps—which are said to take their name from Cottius, once king of those regions—along with the Gauls, and the Pyrenean territory, as far as the Moors who are separated by the strait of the Ocean; and to Constantius fell such regions as were subject to the Romans in the eastern part. ^C

V. That most blessed emperor having been translated to the eternal tabernacles, the Roman Empire was divided among his three sons, either by himself, as some write, or, upon his death, by their own consent, in this manner. To Constans was attributed Italy, and Rome itself, Africa, Sicily, with the remaining islands, and also Illyricum, Macedonia, and with Achaia, the Peloponnese. To Constantine the Cottian Alps, which are said to take their name from Cottius, once king of that place, with the Gauls, and the tract of the Pyrenees as far as Mauritania, separated from Spain by the narrow strait of the Ocean. To Constantius fell those lands which were in the eastern part of the Roman dominion, and Thrace with the imperial city. After this partition of kingdoms, Constantius betook himself to the East to repress the arms of the Persians. For their leader Sapor, having heard of the death of Constantine the Great, infested the Roman provinces with continuous pillaging and plunderings. Meanwhile

^A he made the quaestor a prisoner and handed both over to the soldiers. The soldiers bound both men, dragged them through the marketplace, and tormented them; finally, they cast them into the river and destroyed them. Upon learning of this, Constantius sent men to bring Gallus to him. But Gallus had sent his wife on ahead to appease her brother; yet while she was still traveling, the end of her life overtook her from an illness. When Constantius learned of the death of his sister, he immediately sent orders, stripped Gallus of his rank, and banished him. He then sent men to kill him, having been provoked to this by those around him. Yet, repenting again, he sent others to restrain the execution; but those who were hostile to Gallus, and especially the eunuch Eusebius, who ^B held the office of praepositus 49 and had great power with Constantius, persuaded them not to report the imperial change of heart to those who had been sent to kill Gallus until they knew the man had been executed. And so he was put to death.

But as the Barbarians from beyond the Rhine were infesting the Gauls, Silvanus, a man most expert in military matters and an excellent commander, was sent to check their onslaught. However, the emperor, led by calumnies (to which he was accustomed to lend a ready ear), secretly plotted cruel things against the man. When he learned of this, he was driven to defection and usurped the status of Caesar for himself. But that movement was short-lived. For Ursicinus, having been sent by Constantius, corrupted some of his soldiers with money, by whose means Silvanus was dispatched and the defection quieted. As Constantius was returning from the West to Byzantium, embassies of the Persians, sent by Sapor, met him near Sirmium, demanding that Mesopotamia and Armenia be restored to the Persians, as those provinces had belonged to them for many centuries; they requested that he finally cease waging war against the Romans. If not, they indicated that their king would judge that case by the arbitrament of war. To this Constantius replied, saying that he was astonished that the man had forgotten that the Persians had been slaves to the Macedonians, and that when the Macedonians were subjugated by the 20 Romans, those who were slaves to them also became subjects of Roman rule. Inflamed by this, Sapor prepared for war, immediately besieged Nisibis, and, since he achieved nothing, abandoned it and attempted to take other cities; but having been repelled from those as well, he finally arrived at Amida and took it.

Various readings and notes.

49 *Praepositus*, the office of the eunuch Eusebius... the writers mention him everywhere: Ammianus Marcellinus, lib. xiv, xv, xvi, xviii; Sozomenus, lib. i, c. 1; lib. v, c. 3; Philostorgius, lib. iv, cap. 1; Palladius, in *Hist. Lausiaca*; St. Athanasius, *Ad solitar. vitam agent.*; Julianus, Libanius, etc. The dignity of the *praepositus sacri cubiculi* was almost always held by eunuchs, as was Eusebius, who in Zonaras is called *prōteuōn tōn basilikōn eunouchōn* (first of the imperial eunuchs); in this way Rhodanus is called *archieunouchos* in the *Chronicon Alexandrinum*, p. 700: *Kai ton praipositon tou palatiou autou Rhodanon onomati, andra dynaton kai euporon, kai dioikounta to palation, hos proton onta archieunouchon*. (And the *praepositus* of his palace, Rhodanus by name, a powerful and wealthy man, also directing the palace, as being the first *archieunouchos* [chief eunuch].) Besides Eusebius under Constantius, and Rhodanus under Valentinian, other *praepositi* are mentioned: Urbicius and Liberius under Constantine the Great, according to Codinus, *De orig.*; Eutherius under Constantius, according to Ammianus, lib. xvi and xx; Antiochus, Amantius, and Chrysaphius under Theodosius the Younger, according to Zonaras and Victor Tununensis; Macrobius, in L. un. *Cod. Th. de praepos. sacri cubic.*; Heraclius under Valentinian the Younger, according to the same Victor; Calligonus under the same Augustus, according to St. Ambrose, ep. 33; Amantius under Anastasius Dicorus and Justin, according to Marcellinus Comes, Tununensis, the author of the *Chronicon Alexandrinum*, etc.; Eutropius under Theodosius the Great in l. 17, *Cod. Th. de poenis*; according to Socrates lib. vi, cap. 5, and others. And Chrysoretus, in *Synodico adversus Tragoediam Irenaei*, cap. 203. But Jacobus Gothofredus has collected much regarding the dignity of the *praepositus* at the *tit. Cod. Theod. de praepositis sacri cubiculi*.

gates, instructing them to allow those who were entering to pass, but to permit no one to leave, so that the daring deed might not be proclaimed prematurely. Immediately, he sent men to slay Constans before he could learn of the attempt. Now, he was preoccupied with the hunt. For he was mad about the chase, and this, indeed, despite constantly struggling with arthritis, brought on by his intemperate life and boundless pleasures; or perhaps under the pretext of hunting, he would hide himself in the woods with the small boys and youths who were gathered and endeared to him for their beauty, and who, adorned with excessive care, were an object of lust to his greedy eyes and, as it is said, were his minions. Moreover, he spent more time in the woods, shunning the company of decent men. When those sent by Magnentius arrived at the river Rhone, they killed Constans while he was asleep after the hunt, and they also slew the few attendants who were with him (37). 14 Others tell the matter differently: that he learned of the sedition raised against him and, being abandoned by his own men, took refuge in a certain chapel after casting aside the imperial insignia, and that he was dragged from there and killed in the seventeenth year of his reign, having completed his thirtieth year of age. They say that his father had ordered astrologers to cast a natal horoscope for the infant who had been recently born, and who, besides other things predicted for him, had also added this: that he would be killed in the bosom of his grandmother. ^B And when she died, Constans used to mock this; but it had come to pass, and the prediction of the astrologers did not err, even if it was oblique. For in a small town called Helena, named after that empress, Constans was killed; and he who had led such a licentious life, met such a miserable end. Magnentius, meanwhile, with the affairs of his tyranny proceeding according to his wishes, made an effort to remove from the midst those who held the most prominent offices. And having forged letters to them as if sent by Constans, inviting them to come to him, he laid an ambush on the road and killed most of them, not even sparing his own fellow-conspirators. While he was occupied with these things to stabilize his tyranny, Constantius, when he heard of his brother's death, was of an uncertain mind, considering whether he should prefer to stand against the Persians who were ravaging the Roman provinces, or, leaving that aside for the moment, to attack the new tyrant, both to avenge the slaughter of his brother and to claim for himself the empire of the West. ^C

*Variæ lectiones et notæ*

(37) *᾿Απέκτειναν*. We observe that mention is made of the monastery *τῶν Κώνστα* in the councils in our *Constantinopolis*, book IV, sect. 6, no. 26. Regarding the emperor by whom those magnificent buildings in Constantinople, which were called *τὰ Κώνστα*, were erected, and which the unpublished author of the *Life of St. Stephen the Younger* mentions: "He was living on the slope of the imperial public thoroughfare, on which is situated and called the Stavrion, from which towards the lower part are large houses known as *τὰ Κώνστα*."

^A Constantius, being unable alone to direct an empire so vast, extending almost from the extreme boundaries of the earth to its opposite ends, summoned his kinsman Julian from Athens, declared him Caesar, and gave him his own sister Helena in marriage. It is said that when his mother was pregnant with him, she had a dream in which she appeared to give birth to Achilles. Upon waking and recounting the dream to her husband, she brought him forth almost without experiencing labor pains, bearing him before she had realized that she was about to give birth. His parents, having conceived great hopes for him from this, handed him over to Eusebius ^B of Nicomedia to be instructed in the Holy Scriptures. ^C When the Emperor Constantius had proclaimed him Caesar, he sent him to the Gauls with very few soldiers, giving rise to the suspicion that Constantius had not chosen Julian to be his partner in the government, but had bestowed upon him the title of Caesar as a pretext for plotting against him, so that he might be destroyed by the enemy, having no force sufficient for that war. But he departed, ^D met with good fortune, engaged the enemy, and won an unexpected victory. When the enemy had recovered their strength and were engaging him again, he fought them, set up a trophy, killed many, and caused many to perish in the river flowing past, while not a few were taken prisoner; it is said that eleven thousand Roman captives were released from the bonds of their captivity when the enemy was defeated. Afterwards, he also fought against the Alemanni, met with success against them, and, upon their request, granted peace to the nation, having recovered the Roman prisoners who were held in slavery by them. By these deeds, Caesar Julian became puffed up and arrogant; or, as some writers have maintained, fearing that Constantius might envy him for his successes and, following the example of his brother Gallus, might deprive him of life, he turned his mind toward rebellion. He approached some of the tribunes under his command, through whom he stirred up the military, and the faction, having combined, hailed him as Augustus. Then, standing before him with swords drawn—ostensibly because he did not accept the proclamation of his kingship—they threatened to kill him if he did not comply. Thus, perhaps even against his will, yielding to the impulse of the multitude, he accepted the sovereignty. When a diadem was sought, that he might be crowned immediately, he swore that he possessed none. When some demanded that a woman's ornament be used to fashion a diadem from it, Julian refused this as an ill-omened sign. But because one of the tribunes was wearing a golden collar of twisted metal, they fitted this to his head. Then he sent Pentadius, the master of the imperial legions, together with others, to Constantius with letters, in which he justified himself, stating that he had not accepted the title of empire of his own volition, but had been compelled by the soldiers, who did not wish to serve under a Caesar but under an Emperor, so that they might demand rewards worthy of their toils. He requested that he bear with an even mind this fellowship of empire, which would be for the benefit of the state; he promised that he would [provide] swift horses.

^A he writes to him, offering him pardon for the attempt if he would lay down his arms, and yielding up the Gauls to him, so that he might rule and govern them. But he, ^B having no moderate thoughts, did not accept the offers provided to him by Constantius without conflict; but he chose war, and moved toward it with greater speed because Silvanus, one of his commanders, having abandoned him with a multitude of heavy-armed soldiers, had come over to the Emperor Constantius. When they had already drawn near to one another and pitched their camps, Constantius both encouraged his own soldiers with words to fight bravely, and Magnentius exhorted his own men to prove themselves brave and good, promising them many things. They drew up in battle array, but spent the greatest part of the day doing nothing, as neither side from the opposing lines would attack.

Magnentius even made use of sorcery. For a certain female magician advised him to slaughter a virgin and to mix her blood with wine and offer it to the soldiers to taste, while she meanwhile recited certain charms and invoked the assistance of demons. But as the day was drawing to a close, ^C the armies engaged with one another, and though the battle saw many turns, in the end, victory smiled upon Constantius, and the troops of Magnentius were cut down and perished until deep into the night. The tyrant, however, having received this blow, took to flight, and so that he might not be recognized, he put on common clothing, and, having placed the royal trappings on his horse, he sent it away unbridled, so that those who saw the horse running without a rider might think he had been killed himself, and thus might not pursue him. He himself thus escaped.

In the morning, they say that Constantius, having mounted a certain hill, when he saw the plain below and the river flowing past it filled with corpses, burst into visible tears, rejoicing not so much at the victory as feeling stung by the destruction of the fallen. For it is said that out of his own [men], about thirty thousand fell, out of a total numbered at eighty thousand. And of Magnentius's thirty-six thousand, twenty-four thousand perished. ^D Accordingly, he immediately ordered that all the slain who had fallen should be deemed worthy of burial, without distinguishing between his own men and the enemy. As for those still breathing, he ordered that they receive care and medical treatment. Having escaped, as has been said, Magnentius gathered those of his own men who had been saved and collected others; and he attempted to recover himself once more. He also sent to...

Varia lectiones et notae

^A of the kind that were accustomed to be sent to him from Spain, and the picked men from the Gauls annually. After dispatching these things, he did not append "Augustus" to his signature, but "Caesar," so that Constantius, not being angered by the inscription, might not send back the letter. When this arrived for the Emperor Constantius, who was dwelling in Caesarea of Cappadocia, he answered back nothing in anger. But he proclaimed the expedition against the Persians to the soldiers, and sent Leonas the Quaestor to Julian, also sending a letter in which he reproached him because he had not awaited his decision; and, turning the blame upon him rather than himself for the fact that he was not elevated to power by the judgment of the one who held authority, but [had accepted] the title of Augustus by the disorderly tumult of the soldiers, he advised him to refrain from what had been improperly done, and to return to his former status which he had received from him. He gave orders to the Quaestor to remove from power those who had been promoted to magistracies there, and to depose the Praetorian Prefect himself, and to substitute others whom he named for each position in their place. Therefore the Quaestor went to Julian and related to him the words of Constantius: "I know that you ought to have been mindful of how much you owe me, not only for the fact that I proclaimed you Caesar, but that I also raised you, having taken you in yourself, you being orphaned in childhood." But he, answering the Quaestor, said: "Who, my dear sir, brought this orphanhood upon me at such an age? Was it not the murderer of my parents?" And further, "Does he not know that, recalling these things to me, he is tearing open the scar and making the wound more severe?" Afterward, Julian also opened the letter sent to him regarding the advice to lay aside the imperial state and return to that of Caesar; he said to the Quaestor that he would do this, but by the will of the armies. But the Quaestor, fearing that if Julian should reveal this to the soldiers who were present, he himself would be torn to pieces by them, begged him not to communicate any of these things to the military throng. Despairing, however, that he would be able to accomplish any of the things he had been commanded, he departed with letters ^B from the man who had played the tyrant, which shamelessly reproached the Emperor and rebuked him as having sinned most grievously against his own kin, and threatened that he would be the avenger of those who had suffered unjustly. And he departed to Constantius.

^A And those, having put the two men in bonds, dragged them through the marketplace and tortured them; and in the end they cast them into the river and destroyed them. Upon learning of this, Constantius sent men to bring Gallus to him. But he had already sent his wife ahead to appease her brother; yet she was overtaken by the end of her life from a sickness while still journeying. So Constantius, learning of the death of his sister, immediately sent out, stripped Gallus of his rank, and banished him. Then he sent also those who were to kill him, having been incited to this by those around him. But then, repenting, he sent others to restrain the execution; but those who were hostile to Gallus, and especially the eunuch Eusebius, who managed the ^B office of the praepositus [(49)] and had great influence with Constantius, persuaded them not to report the imperial change of heart to those who had been sent to kill Gallus until they knew the man had already been slain. And so he was slain.

Now, against the Barbarians beyond the Rhine who were threatening the Gauls, Silvanus was sent forth to check their onslaughts—a man most strategic and excellent in matters of war. But the emperor, having put his trust in slanders against him—for he was prone to lean his ears toward calumnies—was plotting grievous things against the man in secret. When he realized this, he inclined toward rebellion and assumed for himself the insignia of a Caesar; yet he did not persist in his rebellion for long. For Ursicinus was sent there and, by means of money, corrupted some of his soldiers, and by their agency he destroyed Silvanus and quelled the rebellion.

While Constantius was withdrawing from the Western regions and returning toward Byzantium, envoys from the Persians, sent by Sapor, met him near Sirmium, demanding that Mesopotamia and Armenia be restored to the Persians, as these provinces had belonged to them for many centuries, so that they might finally cease making war upon the Romans. If not, they signified to the emperor that the king would settle that dispute with Mars as the judge. To these things Constantius wrote back, saying he was surprised that he had forgotten that the Persians had been enslaved to the Macedonians, and that, the Macedonians having been subjugated by the Romans, those who were slaves to them became subjects of the Romans. ^C Angered by these words, Sapor looked toward war. And again he set himself to the siege of Nisibis. But as he achieved nothing against it, he departed and attempted other cities; and as he was repulsed from those as well, he arrived at Amida and took possession of it.

Various readings and notes

[(49)] Eusebius the eunuch, who under Constantius was praepositus of the sacred bedchamber, the author of the slaughter of Gallus Caesar, is mentioned everywhere by writers: Ammianus Marcellinus, book XIV, XV, XVI, XVIII; Sozomen, book II, ch. 1, book V, ch. 3; Philostorgius, book IV, ch. 1; Palladius, in the *Lausiac History*; St. Athanasius, *To the Monks*; Julian, Libanius, etc. The dignity of the *praepositus sacri cubiculi* was almost always held by eunuchs, as was Eusebius, who is called by Zonaras below "the chief of the imperial eunuchs"; thus Rhodanus is called ^D *archieunouchos* in the *Chronicon Alexandrinum*, p. 700: "And his own palace praepositus, Rhodanus by name, a man powerful and wealthy, and managing the palace as being the first *archieunouchos*." Praepositus of the palace himself, Rhodanus, a man powerful and wealthy, who ruled the palace and was the prince of the eunuchs. Besides Eusebius under Constantius, and Rhodanus under Valentinian, other praepositi are mentioned: Urbicius and Liberius under Constantine the Great, according to Codinus, *De originibus*; Eutherius under Constantius, according to Ammianus, book XVI and XX; Antiochus, Amantius, and Chrysaphius, under Theodosius the Younger, according to Zonaras and Victor Tununensis; and Macrobius, in the only law of the *Theodosian Code* concerning the *praepositus sacri cubiculi*; Heraclius under Valentinian the Younger, according to the same Victor; Calligonus under the same Augustus, according to St. Ambrose, ep. 33; Amantius under Anastasius Dicorus and Justin, according to Marcellinus Comes, Tununensis, the author of the *Chronicon Alexandrinum*, etc.; Eutropius under Theodosius the Great in law 17 of the *Theodosian Code* concerning punishments; according to Socrates, book VI, ch. 5, and others. And Chrysoretus, in the *Synodicon* against the *Tragoedia Irenaei*, ch. 203. But Jacob Godefroy has collected much concerning the dignity of the praepositus at the end of the *Theodosian Code* concerning the *praepositi sacri cubiculi*.

^A XI. The tyrant, knowing that many among those who were in his company held the same views as Constantius, drove them all away. For his own part, he prepared for civil war. In the midst of these events, his wife also died, as some say while giving birth in his presence, though others say she had already been cast off. He gathered the soldiers together and stirred them up toward civil war, counseling them that they must march against Constantius, rather than wait for the latter to come against them. But having already renounced the faith in Christ, he was fearful on account of the soldiers, knowing that they were almost all Christians. For this reason, in order to mask his own wickedness, he commanded each to worship as he pleased. He himself, when the day of the Savior’s nativity 58 was at hand, entered the church and performed acts of reverence, so that he might appear orthodox to the soldiers, and then departed. He also appointed to the magistracies whomsoever he wished, and thus he set out for civil war. He would say that he was not marching against Constantius, but that he desired the Eastern and Western armies to come together into one, so that, having gathered in one place, they might choose for themselves who should be emperor. He even boasted that he had foreknown the day on which Constantius would die, having been instructed of it in a dream, in these verses:

When Zeus comes to the broad bound of the famed Aquarius, And Cronus enters upon the twenty-fifth part of the Virgin, King Constantius shall have the bitter and painful end of his own life.

^B Now Constantius died, leaving behind the war with the Persians, for their king had also gone back home; but while he was marching against the one who had played the tyrant, he was overcome by many cares. From this, he was seized by a fever, and after vomiting much black bile, he died at Mopsocrene 60 (this place lies at the foothills of the Taurus), after three days, as it is said, lamenting to himself for the slaughter of his kinsmen; for he had not only killed Gallus, as has been said before, but also the brothers of his own father, by the raising of Julian [to the throne] and by his innovation in the faith. This emperor was kindly toward his subjects, ^C and observant of justice in his judgments. He was temperate in his manner of living, and in the distribution of administrative and honorary posts, he kept an eye on what was appropriate, appointing no one to the senate who had not attained an education, and who had not been trained in the art of speaking, and who did not know how to write both in verse and in prose. In regard to the faith, however, he was not pure; for he did not conform to the piety of his father, but attached himself to those who held the Arian views 61, by the zeal of the chief of the imperial chamberlains, ^D and by the prompting of Eusebius, he ordered that Arius be received into fellowship, and when he [Alexander] refused, he ordered a council to be convened. When the day of this [council] was at hand, Alexander in the evening

^A XI. The tyrant, knowing that many were of the same mind as Constantius, drove them all away. For his own part, he prepared himself for civil war. In these circumstances 57 his wife also came to her end, as some say, in childbirth, but according to others, having been already repudiated. He then gathered the soldiers and incited them to civil war, counselling them that they must march against Constantius, and not wait for him to come upon them. But having already renounced his faith in Christ, he was fearful on this account of the soldiers, knowing that they were almost all Christians. Therefore, cloaking his own wickedness, he commanded each to worship as he wished. He himself, when the day 58 of the Savior’s birth was at hand, entered the temple and performed worship, so that he might appear orthodox to the soldiers, and then departed. He also appointed to the magistracies whomsoever he wished; and thus he prepared for civil war. He said, however, that he was not moving against Constantius, but that he wished the eastern and western armies to gather in one place, so that, having become one, they might choose for themselves who should be emperor. He even boasted that he had known beforehand the day on which Constantius would die, having been informed of it in a dream, in verses which ran thus:

When Zeus 59 to the wide boundary of the famous Aquarius comes, And Saturn to the twenty-fifth part of the Virgin ascends, The king Constantius shall have the bitter and painful End of his dear life from the land of Asia.

^C Constantius died, leaving the war with the Persians, since their king had also returned to his own home, and he was marching against the tyrant. But, overwhelmed by many anxieties, he was seized by a fever, and having brought up black bile, he died at Mopsocrene 60 (this place lies at the foothills of the Taurus), on the third day, as it is said, accusing himself for the murder of his kinsmen; for he had not only killed Gallus, as has been said before, but also his paternal uncles, because of the hoisting of Julian, and the innovation in the faith. This emperor was kindly towards his subjects, and stood firm in justice regarding judgments. In his way of life he was temperate, and in the distribution of governorships and dignities, having regard for what was appropriate, he appointed no one to the senate who had not shared in education, nor was he unpracticed in speaking, and he knew how to write both in verse and in prose. In religious matters, however, he was not entirely pure; for he did not hold to his father’s piety, but joined himself to the Arianizers 61, at the instigation of the chief of the imperial chamberlains, ^D Eusebius, and ordered that Arius be received into fellowship, and when he [Alexander] refused, ordered a council to be convened. When the day for this was at hand, Alexander in the evening...

^A entered the house of prayer, and having prostrated himself on the ground, he besought God to remove the wolf (meaning Arius) from entering his flock, or else to take him away before he could do so. He prayed with great grief and tears. In the morning, the council having first begun, Arius went forth with a haughty spirit. But in the midst of it, his bowels were seized with a convulsion, and having gone aside to satisfy his bowels and pass urine, he there perished with an effusion of his intestines. Alexander the patriarch, having performed his priestly duty for twenty-two years, exchanged his life for death, in whose place Paul the confessor was ordained by the orthodox. But Constantius, returning to Antioch, drove him from the church of Constantinople, and placed Eusebius of Nicomedia in his place; for he was the leader of the Arian faction. ^B And after the holy Paul had been restored from Rome to the see of Constantinople, he was again driven out by Constantius, and exiled, and murdered by the Arians. After the death of Eusebius, Macedonius, who had the surname of Pneumatomachus (Spirit-fighter), was introduced by the Arians to the see of New Rome; he, out of pride, transferred the body of Constantine and of the Holy Apostles to the sacred temple of the holy martyr Acacius. Irritated by this action, Constantius, when he had returned to his ancestral city, sent back Macedonius, who had spent one year in the patriarchate, removing him from the throne, and exiled him. And he placed Eudoxius, who held the party of Arius, in his place, who held it for ten years, and he deposited the father's body in the church. The same Constantius also translated the holy apostle Andrea and Luke's ^C sacred bodies, through the then duke of Alexandria, after the illustrious martyr of Christ, Artemius, had been transferred to his ancestral city and buried within the sanctuary of the Church of the Holy Apostles. He had a wife named Eusebia, who was indeed famous for her beauty, but she was barren, and by nature weak in body, and rather sluggish regarding sexual intimacy. Whence, gradually pining away, she died before Constantius, leaving no offspring, as some say, and was mentally alienated by uterine pains. Constantius was recorded to have been skilled in riding ^D and throwing the javelin, and so learned in letters that he even composed poetry.

^A of St. Artemius, he brought back to the ancestral city; and he deposited them within the church of the Holy Apostles, inside the sanctuary. His wife was Eutebia, who became renowned for her beauty. ^B Regarding the... Variæ lectiones et notæ certain verses written in this church by men who are among the most famous of more recent Greeks, in which he pursues the Theodore lineage, perhaps not an ungrateful digression for the reader, since they pertain to the description of the greatest city, which we have recently given. We have extracted these from the Thuanian codex, where they bear this title.

On the Church of Saint Andrew, the hero-elegies, which the Protovestiaria erected to him. Persuaded that you dwell truly in the houses of heaven, In soul, O most renowned Andrew, And that in body you built this temple for yourself, Shining on earth with heavenly beauties, Theodora, wise among all women, Having gathered the glory of both arguments, Whose father was John Kantakouzenos, And mother Eulogia, worthy of praise, Being sister to the King Michael Palaiologos, Whose offspring was Andronikos, a king greater than a king. And John Raoul was partner of her life, Having received the honor of Protovestiarios. She cherished this widowhood blamelessly, She nurtured Christ incessantly in the needy. For the sake of right-cutting doctrine she suffered many pains, Honor and love as one of those who lived for the day. Such a one for such a one, such a temple she built for you, O Andrew, and do you measure back generous grace.

Iambi of the same in the same church of S. Andrew. Inscriptions reveal the nature of things, And the representations of persons in paintings. By the inscription I too give it to be known, Who I am, from whom I am sprung, and of what fortune. My name then is Theodora, Kantakouzene and Palaiologina, Komnene, Raoulaina, and besides these I was born Daughter of John Kantakouzenos, Of the Komnenian-blooded Angelos, Who was called Ioannikios, from the monk’s Habit, having harmonized all things. And this man was the grandson of John Sebastokrator and the lineage of the Angeloi, And child of the Porphyrogenita Theodora Was this man again, and she was the child of Alexios, The great Komnenian king. My mother, however, a boast of all mothers, Was the Komnene and Palaiologina, Eirene, peaceful, namesake of peace, Being of the same blood as the king Michael Palaiologos the Komnenos, truly, Whom they renamed Eulogia from her monastic ^C habit, And this not inappropriately. And she was that famous granddaughter Of the Despot Palaiologos and Alexios, And of the Empress Eirene the Angelos, Daughter of the king Alexios, and my husband Komnenos John Raoul the Doukas, Angelos, Petraliphas, Protovestiarios by merit, Drawing the roots of the race from there, paternal and maternal, A golden chain, From whence my parents and I also derived our lineage. And he was grand-nephew, son of the Doukas, The King John, who is also Vatatzes.

Other Iambi on the same subject. If someone with a mind to inquire, like a miner, Traces for me the veins of my race, He shall not hunt a system of small trinkets, But of many vessels of equal weight and hammered gold Gathered into the same heap for very rich grace; And he might learn of golden glorious chains, Having braided them from other sources into one, From which I was begotten and knew the light, Having obtained this as a countlessly great gift from God, And named along with Theodora. For I have the lot of a father, to state briefly, John of the lineage of the Kantakouzenoi, The Komnenian-blooded Angelos, Who was called Ioannikios from the monastic Habit, having harmonized all things. And he was the renowned grandson of John, Who leads the lineage back to the Angeloi And was girded with the power of the Sebastoi, Whom Theodora again leads forth to the light, The purple-flowered daughter of Alexios The great Komnenian King, justly. My mother, however, a boast of all mothers, Was the Komnene and Palaiologina, Eirene, peaceful, namesake of peace, Being of the same blood as the king Michael Palaiologos the Komnenos, except that Greater glory appeared for her in the power, Than all that power of the kinsman. This woman I called Eulogia for her monastic Habit, as worthy of the name blessing. She was the granddaughter of Alexios the Despot, Descending from the lineage of the Palaiologoi, And of the empress Eirene; and she again Bloomed truly from her father Alexios, Holding the scepter from the lineage of the Angeloi. Such was the glory of my father and mother to me. And if one must say the truth of my husband as well, This Komnenos was Raoul John, Ornament of the Doukai, Angelos, Petraliphas, Who received the worthy prize of virtue From the rulers as Protovestiarios, Drawing from there, paternal and maternal, The root of the race, and all grace, From whence my parents and I derived our lineage. And he was grand-nephew, son of the Doukas, The King John, who is also Vatatzes.

(65) That the relics of the Holy Apostles Andrew and Luke were first discovered, and brought into the city, the unpublished author of the Life of this same S. Artemius narrates (a): "As he happened to be in Odrusoi (Constantius), where the Emperor Hadrian, having founded a city, left his own name to the place, he inquired of one of the bishops how the bodies of Christ’s apostles, Andrew and Luke, happened to be buried in Achaia, Andrew in Patras, and Luke in Thebes of Boeotia. When the king Constantius heard these things, he was pleased with the report, and cried out in a loud voice, and said to those who stood by, 'Call my friend Artemius to me.' ^D When he had quickly arrived, 'I rejoice with you,' he said, 'O most God-beloved of all men.' And he to him: 'And may you be rejoicing, O King, throughout all time, and may nothing of painful things ever overtake you.' And the king said: 'Do you seek anything more gracious, O best of friends, than the discovery of the bodies of Christ’s apostles?' And the great Artemius: 'Who and whence, O master, has revealed this treasure to us today?' And Constantius: 'The bishop of Achaia,' he said, 'who now oversees in Patras. But go, best of men, and with speed in..."

^A her she was fortunate, though she was of a soft nature and sluggish in the ways of Venus, being so from infirmity and by nature. Whence, wasting away little by little, she died before Constantius, having remained childless all her life; but as some say, she succumbed to a disease of "mother-frenzy" [(60)] and so departed. It is said, however, that she was also very skillful in riding and javelin-throwing; and that Constantius had a conversational talent [(67)], so as even to be able to compose verses.

XII. When the death of Constantius was announced to Julian, the troops hailed him as Augustus. But he, having changed his royal attire and assumed mourning garments, showing signs of sadness, proclaimed a public lamentation for the deceased emperor according to custom. Then he set out for Byzantium; and the senate and the people met him [(68)] and with auspicious shouts he advanced into the palace, and took up the administration of public affairs. The body of Constantius, which was being transported to Constantinople by his soldiers on a carriage, he met and escorted, having removed the diadem from his head [(69)]. The corpse of the deceased emperor was laid within the church of the Holy Apostles. And Julian put to death many of those who were in the royal court, and others he banished and deprived of their property. To the remaining administrative affairs of the empire, he also added the duty of legal judgment. By way of example, once when judging one accused of having stolen public funds, and who denied the theft, seeing that the accuser said, 'Who, O Emperor, would pay the penalty for a crime if those accused benefit from denying it?', he replied, 'And who would be innocent if accusers were to be believed without proof?' He also held hearings for embassies sent from various nations to Constantius. He also inspected and examined the troops; and cast off much of the royal retinue. Having requested a barber [(70)], as the barber of Constantius came to him sumptuously dressed, he said that he had asked for a barber, not a senator, and dismissed the man. Likewise, seeing a royal cook in a garment more splendid than his position required, he sent for his own cook who was dressed according to the modest condition of his craft, and, when they had arrived, he asked those present which of them they would judge to look like a cook; and when they said the one who was cheaply dressed, he sent away the other. He did these things to gain a reputation for being a frugal man and a true philosopher. Having distributed ^B to the soldiers... ^C ...and truly a philosopher. Having distributed to the soldiers ^D

become emperor and solidified his authority, he immediately broke out into open Hellenism. For he had previously abjured, as it is said, the Christian faith; yet he did not dare to bring the travail of his impiety into the open. It is said that while he was nursing a desire for the empire, and hiding it in his soul like a spark, he approached the mantic arts and sorcerers to inquire if he would attain power. And by them he was corrupted and led over to Hellenism. Having attained power through the inscrutable judgments of God, he made many martyrs. For he was so infuriated against the Christians that he forbade them from participating in Hellenic studies, saying they should not be called myths, and that it was improper for those who slandered them to enjoy their benefits and be armed by them against them.

Hence, as the children of the Christians were barred from attending the poets, it is said that Apollinaris busied himself with a paraphrase of the Psalter, ^B and the great Gregory in theology [busied himself] with the composition of epics, so that, in place of Hellenic studies, the young, by learning these, might cultivate the language and be instructed in the meters. He also permitted the Jews to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. And as they set about the construction with great zeal and at great expense, and engaged in digging into the earth to lay the foundations, it is said that a copious fire burst forth from the trenches and scorched the diggers, so that they were compelled to desist from the structure. ^C He also put Eusebius the eunuch to death, as the author of the murder of his brother Gallus, and drove all the other eunuchs from the palace.

As the apostate was one day traveling near Chalcedon, Maris, the bishop of that city, called him a pestilential man and a deserter of Christ. But he, feigning patience, said, "Go, you wretch, and lament the loss of your eyes"—for he was suffering from poor eyesight. But Maris responded, "I thank my Savior Christ that He took thought for me, so that I would not look upon your most impious and most shameless face."

Having moved his army against the Persians, he came to the renowned city of Tarsus in Cilicia, and met with Artemius, a priest of Aesculapius, whose temple was at Aegis, a city also celebrated in that same province. He requested columns from him, which the Christian bishops had taken from that shrine and built into their own church; the deserter immediately ordered them to be restored at the bishop's expense. When the pagans, with great expense and labor, had demolished one column and dragged it with machines as far as the threshold of the church door, and could not move it any further for a long time, they abandoned it and departed. After the death of Julian, the bishop had it easily lifted and restored to its original place. When Julian was at Antioch, at Daphne...

^A, where the statue of Apollo—a work wonderful for its art—was set up, and he was making sacrifices to it, the Antiochenes, mocking him, called him a "sacrificer" and not an emperor who had come to visit them. And because he kept his beard hanging low, they called him a he-goat ^B and said he was suitable for twisting ropes. He, mocking their folly, softness, and luxury in return, said, "I do not wish to provide my beard to the Antiochenes for rope-twisting, lest their hands grow weary from the roughness of it," against whom he also wrote an oration which is titled *Antiochicus* or *Misopogon* ^C. He also sacrificed entire hecatombs to the Daphnean Apollo, seeking an oracle from him. But since that idol was mute, the shrine-keepers, being asked the cause of the silence, said that the statue was silent on account of the corpses lying there. For the relics of other martyrs were lying there, and also those of the hieromartyr Babylas ^D. Julian therefore ordered them all to be removed from there. But when they had been moved, a lightning bolt struck the Daphnean shrine by night and burned up both the temple and the statue. The wretch, believing that the arson was done by the treachery of the Christians, and becoming enraged, closed the churches of the believers. By him also the great Artemius was punished as a Christian; and the charge of the murder of Gallus was brought against him, and the presbyters Eugenius and Macarius were punished by him and deemed worthy of the crowns of martyrdom; as were those sent to him for the sake of an embassy from Persia, Manuel, Sabel, and Ishmael, and many others.

XIII. Having marched with an army against the Persians, initially...

[alt-version omitted]

*Variæ lectiones et notæ.*

(77) *Eis to tes Daphnes chorion.* Coins of Constantine, one silver and another bronze, which bear the names of Constantine and Daphne, some think should be referred to Daphne, that pleasant and celebrated suburb of Antioch, as Ammianus speaks of it, lib. XIX. Others on the contrary [refer it to] the fort Daphne constructed in Moesia on the bank of the Danube by Constantine, and rebuilt by Justinian, as Procopius is the author, lib. IV *De Aedif.*, cap. 7, from whom the balistarii are called Daphnenses, and Constantini Daphnenses, concerning whom see the *Notitia Imperii*. But concerning the Daphnean palace and grove, and thus the temple of Apollo, Jacques Godefroy has commented much on law 2 of the *Codex Theodosianus* regarding the aqueduct.

(78) *Thuten elegon.* Ammianus, lib. XXII, concerning Julian: He was called *Victimarius* instead of *sacricola*, alluding to the frequency of his sacrifices. Thus Philostorgius observes, lib. VII, c. 40, that Helpidius, count of the privy purse under the same Julian, was called *thuten* [sacrificer] for the same reason.

(79) *Tragon auton onomazon.* For they seemed like Cecrops, a short man, with his shoulders extended and narrow, and bearing a beard like a goat.

(80) *Antiokikos e Misopogon.* Ammianus: He composed an invective, which he called *Antiochenus* or *Misopogon*, enumerating the insults of the city with a hostile mind, and adding many things to the truth. lib. VII, cap. 8 and 12; Nicephorus, lib. X, cap. 29; Theophanes, page 42, etc.

(81) *Hieromarturos tou Babyla.* Philostorgius, lib. VII, cap. 8 and 12; Nicephorus, lib. X, cap. 29; Theophanes, page 42, etc.

(81') *O megas Artemios.* Duke of Alexandria, of whom he makes mention again in *Constantius*, as also the *Chronicon Alexandrinum*, page 69; Theodoret, lib. III, c. 17; and Nicephorus, lib. X, cap. 11. The Greeks celebrate his feast on October 20. See what we observed above from his *Life* in *Constantius*, and our own in the sacred buildings in Constantinople.

(82) *Manouel, Sabel, etc.* See the *Menaea* and *Synaxaria* for June 17, when the Greeks celebrate the feast of these saints, and what we observe in our own in Constantinople, where [we speak] of the sacred buildings.

(83) *Strateusas de.* John Malalas from the *Chronicon* of Eutychian of Cappadocia: The same emperor, having descended...

^A into the Persian territories via the Euphrates, and having become master [of the situation], and having conquered, he seized everything up to the city of Ctesiphon, where the king of the Persians also sat, while he himself fled towards the regions of the Persarmenians.

He performed well, and having taken some cities, he killed many, and seized much booty and many captives, and laid siege to Ctesiphon. Then, suddenly, as matters took a turn for the worse for him, both he himself and most of the army were destroyed. For the Persians, having lost hope and planning to drive themselves into a manifest destruction, intended to do some terrible harm to the Romans. Two [of them], therefore, under the guise of deserters (84), came to the emperor, promising him victory over the Persians if he would follow them. They advised him to abandon the river and to burn the triremes that he was bringing along, as well as the other transport ships, so that the enemy might not make use of them; and [they suggested] that, with them leading via other routes, he could guide the armies safely and in a short time reach the inner parts of Persia and easily take control of it. That wretched man, having been persuaded by these [counsels] in his folly—and this even though many were telling him (85), and Hormisdas himself, that the matter was a trap—cast fire into the ships; and, except for twelve, he burned them all. There were, indeed, seven hundred triremes and four hundred transport ships. Now that those had been reduced to ashes, since many of the commanders insisted that what was being said by those deserters was an ambush and a trap, he finally consented to have the false deserters interrogated (87); and these, when handed over to torture, revealed the secret. Some, therefore, say that Julian was deceived in this way. ^B Others say that, having abandoned the siege of Ctesiphon because of its strength, and because the supplies necessary for the army were failing, he took thought for a return; and [they say] that as they were departing, the Persians appeared from the rear and began to harass those bringing up the rear, but that the Gauls (88), who were in the rearguard, stood against the enemy quite bravely and killed many of them—not only those of the common sort, but also those who were prominent among them. The Romans were severely pressed by a shortage of provisions. Julian, in a dilemma as to what ought to be done and from where it was necessary to return, stood his ground and chose to make his march through the mountainous region. The Persians, having perceived this and gathering themselves together, attacked the Romans; and the Romans were prevailing on the left wing, but on the right they were in retreat. Recognizing this, Julian hastened to the aid of those who were being defeated. It chanced, however, because of the weight [of his armor] and the heat from the sun (for it was summer ^C and because of the dust), that he was struck by a spear in his side. It is said, moreover, that a violent whirlwind having arisen, the air there was filled with dense darkness, and that with a massive amount of dust stirred up by such great armies, no one knew where he was or what he was doing; and it is ambiguous as to what it was that pierced Julian, whether it was one of his own, or an enemy, or [some other].

Therefore they say that he caught in his hand the blood flowing from the wound and, sprinkling it into the air, said: "Be sated, Nazarene." Thus, as he had lived impiously, so did he violently breathe out his soul, having reigned for two years. The army carried his body to Tarsus in Cilicia and buried it in a suburb 92 of the city, at whose tomb this epigram was inscribed:

From the silver-flowing Cydnus, from the Euphrates’ streams, From the land of Persia, for an unfinished task Having stirred up an army—the grave of Julian holds this, Both a good king, and a strong warrior.

Later, it was translated to the queen of cities 94. He was obsessed with fame, and desired to be praised even for trivial matters 95. He was not displeased when corrected by his friends for the things in which he erred. He was endowed with every kind of wisdom, and especially with that which is more profound 96; and he was so temperate in his regimen 97 that he would avoid, as much as possible, those natural things, I mean eructations and the discharges through the mouth. He used to say that a philosopher ought, if possible, not even to breathe. They say that while in Antioch he saw in a dream a young man with golden hair, who said to him that he had to die in Phrygia. So when he was struck, he asked those present what the place was called. And when he heard that it was called Phrygia 98, he cried out, "O Sun, you have destroyed Julian."

It is said that on that very day on which he died, his death became known in Antioch. For some one of the order of the local court, and a Hellene himself, and of the same religion as the apostate, keeping watch near the record office, saw a configuration of stars in the heaven ^A forming letters to this effect: "Today in Persia, Julian is killed." The day having been noted, it was known later that he had been destroyed on that very day. And he who had lived for thirty-one years, passed away in this manner, as has been said. And the man who had been warned of his death through the stars, took the vision as a reason for believing.

XIV. After Julian had died, by the common vote of all, Jovian was chosen for the autocracy. At that time he was a tribune of the soldiers, a man pious and the son of Varronianus, who had held the rank of count. ^B And when he declined the empire and was asked the reason, he cried out that he was a Christian, and that he could not bear to rule a pagan army. And immediately, with one voice, as if by a concerted signal, all cried out that they were Christians. And thus, having accepted the principate, he made peace with the Persians, having been forced by necessity to make terms not fitting for Romans. For he ceded to them the illustrious cities of Nisibis and Singara, after having relocated the inhabitants of the cities; by whom, as they lamented, he was openly reviled without shame. He also ceded to them many lands and rights ^C that had belonged to the Romans from ancient times. And with hostages given on both sides, thus the peace was confirmed. From there, the Romans, as they departed, fell into such a lack of necessities that they could not even find water. With difficulty, then, did Jovian arrive at Antioch in Coele-Syria, and he restored to their churches those Christian priests who had been driven out under Constantius and the apostate, and before all others, the great Athanasius to Alexandria. From Antioch he reached Tarsus, and after adorning the tomb of Julian, he returned. And having arrived at Ancyra of Galatia, and having departed ^D from there, and having proceeded one stage, he halted at Dadastana and suddenly died; as some have written, by eating freshly sprouted poisonous mushrooms—for he was frugal in his diet—but as others say, it being winter, he slept in a room freshly coated with lime. And because of the intensity of the cold, a great deal of charcoal having been lit inside, a dense vapor arose from the heating lime, and through this he died suffocated in his sleep without sense of death, heavy with wine; for he is said to have made use of much unmixed wine. Nor did his wife anticipate his death, although she had set out to meet him with the royal retinue and his son Varronianus. The soldiers, dismayed by the death of Jovian, occupied Nicaea, deliberating about creating an emperor. But others...

^A named one, others another; the majority, however, agreed upon Sallust, who happened to be Praetorian Prefect. But he refused, pleading old age as his excuse. When they asked for his son, he did not consent, judging him unsuitable for such a position of authority on account of his youth and simplicity of mind. Along with the others, Sallust himself then voted for Valentinian, although he was absent. Jovian ^B was indeed pious regarding the faith, and good-willed. But he was overcome by wine and venery; and he happened to be of quite tall stature, and not unskilled in letters. As he was following Julian as a tribune, when he was proceeding along a steep place, he stepped on the border of his purple robe. Julian, whether inferring from this that he would be his successor in the empire, or having learned it from some oracle, said: "Would that you were but a man." He reigned for not quite eight months. His body was carried to Byzantium ^C and buried in the church of the Holy Apostles, where later his wife Charito was also buried. Jovian died in his thirty-third year.

XV. Valentinian, therefore, having been declared emperor in this manner (as has been said), when he had been led forward and proclaimed, assumed the royal ornaments. When Sallust sought a favor from him, because he had shown eagerness for his being proclaimed—that he might be freed from the burdens of the prefecture—the emperor said to him: "Was it for this, then, that you imposed such a burden of affairs upon me, that you yourself might not even touch it?" Valentinian was from Pannonia. Since he was a pious man toward God, Julian had banished him; but later he was recalled and made a tribune of a unit. Here he displayed great strength, and was a supreme cultivator of justice. Thus, he punished many who held magistracies as wrongdoers, saying that ^D the care of justice was demanded of a prince above all others. Having taken his brother Valens as a companion in the empire, and having placed him in charge of the East, he began to demand from others the care of justice.

He took his brother Valens as a partner in the empire ^A, and having entrusted the Eastern portion to him, he himself stayed in the West, and having engaged in many wars against the Barbarians, he set up many trophies over them. Before his reign, he had a son named Gratian, born to him from his wife Severa, whom he also proclaimed emperor. He took a second wife while his first was still alive. Justina was the second, from whom he also sired young Valentinian, and daughters Justa, Grata, and Galla.

During his reign, Eudoxius, the heterodox high priest of New Rome, died, and Demophilus, who shared the same opinions as his predecessor, was introduced in his place; he held the Church for twelve years. This emperor also appointed the great Ambrose as bishop of the city of Milan. Having learned concerning his brother Valens that he was attached to the Arian heresy, and was forcing all to agree to it, he reproved him through letters and advised him to desist from the heresy. But he did not depart from his own will, and became even more incensed against the orthodox.

There was a certain Rhodanus, a praepositus, who had great influence with Valentinian. A woman named Berenice approached the Emperor Valentinian, accusing the praepositus of an injustice. The emperor, having investigated the matter and found that the woman was not lying, summoned the praepositus and ordered him to make amends to the woman for the injustice. But he, relying on the favor of the emperor, took no account of the wronged woman. The woman, therefore, approached the emperor again; and he, having learned that the praepositus had given no thought to the woman, immediately stripped him of his rank, and ordered him to be bound and led around in the theater while the circus games were being conducted, with heralds going before him crying out the injustice done to the woman and his disobedience to the imperial command; and after this procession and proclamation, he was burnt to death on the spot. Such was the end he met; and all his wealth was granted to the woman by imperial letter.

This emperor died while residing in the Gauls, having enjoyed a long life: for he lived eighty-four years, having reigned for eleven of these, and having left behind his son Gratian as successor to the empire of the West.

^D XVI. Valens, a defender and supporter of those who held the Arian view, persecuted the orthodox, and brought many dire things upon them, in favor of his own wife. For when some...

eighty men of the priestly order ^A from the orthodox body came to him as an embassy while he was staying at Nicomedia, he commanded that they all be burned together with the ship in which they had arrived. And they were all consumed in the midst of the sea, even unto Dacybiza, ^B which lasted throughout; of which also great Gregory mentions in his theology, saying: "The ship-borne burnings of the presbyters." Nor did he only afflict the orthodox with punishments, but, having expelled the bishops who held the right views, he assigned all the churches to the Arians. It is said, therefore, that those who had been expelled from the catholic church of Nicaea, being zealous for true piety, approached Basil the Great, and that he went as an envoy regarding these matters to Valens, but he was not persuaded; and the great Basil is said to have declared: "The judgment regarding this, O Emperor, must be left to God, and let the temple be shut securely; let those who hold the view of Arius stand outside and pray to God. And if the temple be opened to them of its own accord, let them have it; but if it does not open, we must also be permitted to pray to God. And if the doors are opened of their own accord, it must be believed that the divine sanctuary ^C has been assigned to us by God; but if it does not open even to us, then in that way let it be surrendered to those who Arianize." This pleased the Emperor, and he permitted these things to be done. The temple in Nicaea was therefore closed on all sides. The Arians prayed to God, and they loitered for a long time, but the temple did not open. But when, late in the day, the heretics had departed, the orthodox, led by Basil the Great, began their prayer; and immediately the locks and the bolts were broken, the doors parted from each other, and yielded an entrance to the faithful. This Emperor granted the Greeks permission to perform sacrifices, and he was inclined toward the Jews, but he was solely opposed to the right-minded. And when the Scythians were overrunning the Thracian and Macedonian country, he went out to take the field against them. At which time the great father Isaacius, encountering him on horseback, said: "Restore, O Emperor, the churches to the orthodox, and know that you will return victorious; but if you war against God, you will not return from there." The most impious Emperor was angered at these things, and ordered the holy man to be watched until he returned. But he said, "If you return, then God has not spoken through me." Afterwards, Valens saw in a dream a man saying to him: "Make haste to great Mimas, set out on your way, There the grievous pain of death will seize you." ^D Having awakened, he inquired who Mimas might be? And one of those who had devoted himself to letters (for such were wont to accompany and reside with the Emperors—would that even now one might...

^A answering, said that it was a mountain of Asia situated by the sea, of which Homer (52) also makes mention in the *Odyssey*, saying: "Beyond windy Mimas." And he said: "What necessity, then, compels me to occupy this mountain and die there?" ^B Having therefore marched against the Scythians, and having engaged them in Thrace, he was shamefully defeated, and fleeing, he hid himself in a building in which a heap of chaff had been piled up. When subsequently the Scythians (53) were plundering that region after the king's defeat, and were setting fire to the houses, that building was also set ablaze, and Valens perished within it. ^C The holy Isaac (54), however, who was then in chains, had known by the Spirit of the burning of Valens, and said to those who happened to be there that Valens was just now dying by fire. Being noted, the day was afterwards recognized to have proved the saint was not mistaken. After the departure of the barbarians from those parts, when some were searching for the king’s body, a tomb was found in the house in which he had been burned, having an ancient inscription: "Here Mimas the Macedonian general is laid." Procopius, a cousin of Julian (55), rose in rebellion against this king and seized Byzantium; but, betrayed by his own followers and having his legs bound to two trees bent by force, when the trees were released, the wretch was torn asunder. ^D At that time, the walls of the city of Chalcedon were also razed, because its citizens had favored the cause of Procopius; and while they were being demolished, a tablet was found in their foundations, having these words written upon it:

Nymphs in sacred dance agitating the city Everywhere through the streets, with festive crown, When the wall with grieving groans shall guard the baths, Then truly the dire race, mighty, numerous, Endowed with fierce strength, having crossed the Cimmerian straits By the Ister and Scythia, shall press down with savage arms, And having entered Thracian soil, relying on maddened hope, Rushing to its own fate, it shall be sent down to sorrowful Orcus.

But when the Nymphs, throughout the sacred city, shall stand in dance, Delighting in the well-crowned streets, And the wall shall be a much-lamented defense for the baths, Then ten thousand tribes of widely-scattered men, Wild, raging, and clothed in evil strength, Having crossed the passage of the Cimmerian Ister with the spear, Shall destroy the Scythian land and the Mysian earth. And having embarked on Thracian soil with maddened hopes, There may they meet the end of life and their fate.

Valens used the materials of the Chalcedonian wall for an aqueduct (which popular speech calls a conduit), and gave it the name of Valens; by means of which he caused water to be led into the city, so that there might be an abundance of water for it, both for other uses and for the baths. And the city’s prefect built a Nymphaeum (56) in the place called Taurus, to testify to his grateful spirit for the piped waters. This was followed by the barbarian invasion, just as had been written on the tablet.

who also ravaged Thrace, and afterward perished in it. Under this Valens, Libanius the rhetor and Jamblichus, the teacher of Proclus, are said to have inquired by means of cock-divination who would be emperor after Valens. It is recounted that the manner of it is this: ^A Twenty-four letters are inscribed on the dust, and upon each of them a grain of wheat or barley is placed. Then a cock is released, after certain incantations have been chanted over these, and it is observed from which letters it takes the grains. And it is believed that these, when put together, provide the revelation of the thing inquired after. When they had done this then, they saw the cock take the grain on the theta, that on the epsilon, that on the omicron, and that on the delta. Thus the implication appeared ambiguous, for it seemed to indicate either Theodorus, or Theodosius, or Theodotus. Having learned this, Valens, suspecting many who bore such names, put them to death, and sought out even those who had performed the divination. Fearing his cruelty, Jamblichus, having drunk ^B poison, as some have recorded, brought death upon himself. For Valens was inexorable in his angers, whence he used to say that one who is easily moved from anger could also be easily moved from justice. He reigned for thirteen years and four months, meeting a death worthy of his impiety.

XVII. Gratian, the son of Valentinian, and the younger Valentinian, his brother, ^C took possession of the Roman Empire; for only Gratian had been proclaimed emperor by his father, as has already been set forth, when—

Various readings and notes

(37) *Libanius.* What Zonaras relates here, Cedrenus also possesses; but I fear that these things ought to be referred to Maximus the Sophist. For Eunapius writes that some of the courtiers had entered into a conspiracy against Valens, from I know not what divination, the interpretation of which they had received from that very Maximus, who was most skilled in that art, and that immediately, because what he had predicted had occurred, the conspirators were detected by the conspiracy, were put to death by the emperor, and Maximus was also seized, and sent to Antioch, where the emperor was then staying, and was there slaughtered by the praeses Festus, so that those things which follow in Zonaras pertain to the death of Maximus: "And he sought also those who had performed the divination." See Ammianus, book XXIX. See Valesius on Ammianus, p. 383: and Delrio, book IV, Disq. mag., quest. 7, sect. 3. (38) *Cock-divination.* Cedrenus has the same. (39) *Inexorable in angers.* Injuriosus alias et iracundus. (40) *Gratian.* Regarding Gratian, it is fitting to note what Georgius Hamartolus writes about him in his manuscript Chronicle, that the emperor Gratian shot with such skill and so often, that some say the arrows of Gratian had minds of their own. To this point refer those things in Victor's *Epitome*: "But Gratian was not mediocrily trained in letters; to make verse, to speak ornately, to explain controversies, in the manner of rhetoricians, to do nothing else night and day but meditate on arrows, and to believe it his destined pleasure and divine art to strike." ^D

^A It is recorded that when Valentinian died, he was not present at the death of his father. The army at that time proclaimed the young Valentinian, who was four years of age, emperor. Upon returning from his journey, Gratian scolded the soldiers, and some he even punished, having chastised the ringleaders of his brother’s proclamation, as they had named another without the consent of him who was emperor. Yet he did not refuse to have his brother as a partner in the empire, but chose him as a colleague in the sovereignty. This emperor emulated his father in piety. When his uncle Valens at one time sought an alliance from him against the Scythians, he did not provide it, writing to him that it was not fitting to ally oneself with an enemy of God. To the pastors who had been expelled from their own churches by decree, he granted a return to them. But the Scythians, after the defeat of Valens, having their pride inflated, were plundering Thrace and the surrounding regions; and as they could not be checked, he summoned from Spain Theodosius (now Spain is the most distinguished city of European Iberia, of those within it), a most valiant and pious man. Having selected this man as general, he sent him with an army against the Barbarians, and he, having joined battle with them and been victorious, raised a trophy, a great number of the Scythian host having been slaughtered in the war, while the rest were turned to flight, and some were destroyed while being overtaken, and others perished in the flight by trampling one another. When, therefore, almost all those Barbarians had perished, Theodosius, having left the army there, went himself to Gratian, then staying in Pannonia, as the messenger of his own victory. ^B Having reported the victory to the emperor and announced the destruction of the Barbarians, he was not believed, on account of the speed of the achievement and the great military skill of the Scythians. However, when the emperor recognized the truth and was fully assured of the slaughter of the Barbarians, he admired the man for his speed and for his valor, and praised him. Since the portion of Valens had also been acquired by him after that man’s destruction, looking toward the near infinity of the empire, and perceiving that he was not able to direct such an empire alone, he proclaimed Theodosius emperor of New Rome, partly to reward him for his bravery, and partly because he judged no other to be more suitable for a share in the empire. Having therefore entrusted to him the whole East and Thrace, he reserved to himself the West. And having set out for the Gauls, he was slain by the treachery of the general Andragathius, having reigned for six years after the death of his father.

^C I. When Gratian had died, the young Valentinian, not yet having reached puberty, was left as sole emperor of the Western reaches. Corrupted by his mother Justina, who favored the Arians, and ^D XVIII. Upon the death of Gratian, the power of the Western empire was conferred upon the young Valentinian, who was still not yet pubescent; having been gradually corrupted by his mother Justina, who favored the Arians, he accepted their dogma.

[index: entries preserved]

^A and set himself against the orthodox. When Maximus had risen up 43 against him and attempted to seize the tyranny, and had prevailed in certain battles, he wrote to the emperor Theodosius 44 about what had happened, asking for an alliance. He replied that it was no wonder if a seditious servant should prevail over his master, since he had repudiated his own Master, and called the Creator—who is consubstantial and equal in honor with the Father—a creature and a servant. Having set out to assist him, he captured and destroyed Maximus and the general Andragathius, who had treacherously put Gratian to death. Afterward, Eugenius 45 also rose up against the young Valentinian and assumed the tyranny. Valentinian, being afraid, took his own life by hanging. When Theodosius learned 46 of the tyranny of Eugenius, he marched against him. And having come to Thessalonica 47 with his army, he was insulted by the Thessalonians; the prefect was killed, owing to the agitation of the people for certain reasons. At that time, indeed, because of the uprising of the people, the emperor chose to forbear. But after this, he proclaimed an equestrian contest, and when the people were gathered in the theater, he surrounded them with his troops, and they slaughtered and shot down the populace with arrows and javelins, so that as many as fifteen thousand of them perished. Having thus sated his anger, Theodosius departed from there and arrived at the city of Milan. There he was rebuked by the great Ambrose for the slaughter of the Thessalonians, and he was not permitted to enter the church, nor did he allow him access to the holy sanctuary beforehand, unless he had established a law 48 that capital sentences should not be finalized before thirty days had passed after the verdict. He did this because of the emperor’s sudden impulsiveness toward anger, so that after the passage of thirty days, when the temper had subsided, he might examine the sentences with a calm mind, and confirm ^C the lawful ones, while perhaps repealing those that had been decreed in a fit of rage. Contending with the tyrant Eugenius in Gaul, Theodosius defeated him and removed him. While he was still a private citizen, he had a wife, Placilla, a woman of piety, modesty, and love for the poor, whom he named Augusta after having children by her, Honorius and Arcadius. After she died, following his attainment of the imperial power, he married Galla, the daughter of the great Valentinian. Meanwhile, while the emperor was occupied in the West, the Jews, having won over and gained the consent of Honoratus, the prefect of the city (for he was a pagan), built a magnificent synagogue in the forum. But the city populace, irritated by this, cursed the prefect; and since he ignored the curses, they threw fire into the synagogue and burned it.

^B The prefect wrote to the emperor, who decreed a penalty for this audacity: that the cost of the synagogue be paid, and that it be permitted for the Jews to restore it. When the great Ambrose learned of this, at a time when the emperor was entering the church at Milan on a certain Lord’s Day, he began to speak thus: "Why, Emperor, do you insult Him who raised you from a private citizen to be emperor, and entrusted His own flock to you—He who first adorned your head with a royal diadem—by preferring over those by whom He is worshipped, those by whom He is rejected, even employing force to build, in the middle of a city where Christ is worshipped and the cross is adored, a synagogue for the slayers of Christ?" Shamefaced at this rebuke, the emperor said: "Tell me, Bishop, is it permitted in a well-ordered state for the populace to have the freedom to dare things rashly and impudently?" "But not even that," said St. Ambrose, "is to be permitted, that the Jews should have synagogues in the middle of a Christian city, and deafen the ears of the pious with blasphemous prayers. Verily, do not decree this, most holy Emperor." Softened by these words, Theodosius remitted the fine, and forbade the Jews to have a synagogue within the royal city. ^C But when he imposed new taxes on the Antiochenes, the populace, indignant at the novelty of the exaction, pulled down the images of his former wife that were set up in the forum and dragged them along the public streets. Enraged by this deed, he deprived the city of its privileges and subjected it to neighboring Laodicea, threatening also the citizens, whom he would have treated harshly had not Flavian, the archbishop of Antioch, accepted an embassy and appeased the emperor. At which time the great man John Chrysostom, then still a presbyter of the Church of Antioch, wrote those orations which go by the title of *The Statues*. ^D

^A XIX. Then also Gregory, most skilled in divine matters, who formerly had secretly taught the orthodox in the church of Saint Anastasia because of the impudence and audacity of the heretics, after the churches were opened to the orthodox by Theodosius, preached openly that the Son is of the same nature as the Father, and that the Holy Spirit is to be adored and glorified with both. For Macedonius, who, as has been said, was for a short time patriarch of Constantinople, could not bear that the Spirit should be called God, or should be said to be endowed with equal power and the same nature as the Father and the Son; for which reason, by the emperor's command, the second council was summoned, one hundred and fifty divinely-inspired Fathers being gathered in the imperial city, among whom in the struggles the Theologian and great Gregory ^B of Nazianzus, bishop of Nyssa, and the holy Amphilochius, president of the Iconian Church, were leaders; they dogmatized that the Holy Spirit is God, and that [he is] of equal power and dignity with the Father and the Son.

^C [alt-version omitted] ^D You dare to pull down [the temple] while thinking that you worship God, But you do not realize that you are worshipping the nature of a creature. May no one ever fall so far out of their mind, As to call a creature equivalent to God, Mindful of your own divinely-inflicted fate.

Other iambics by the same: Because [the followers] of Arius wrongly think these things, Men are murdered, a crowd full of blood. Well did they send you forth into the houses of God; For while the house of God encompasses you, [The house] of Hades and ten thousand darknesses [encompass] them.

^A Macedonius and his followers were ejected from the Catholic Church, and that clause was inserted into the holy Creed which begins "And in the Holy Spirit" until the end, and the dogmas confirmed at the first council were upheld. ^B When some of the bishops, envying the Theologian for the throne of Constantinople, said he had not ascended the throne canonically, as it had been previously claimed by another, the holy man, having written the *Syntacterion* and read it publicly, withdrew from the throne and returned to his own fatherland, Nazianzus. Nectarius was ordained patriarch of Constantinople, a man of senatorial rank who had held political offices. At that time, the throne of New Rome obtained the second rank, being placed after Old Rome and preferred over others. ^C And the great Amphilochius then requested of the emperor that the Arians, who blasphemed against the Son of God, be driven from the city, or at least that they be forbidden from holding assemblies. When he saw that Theodosius was sluggish in this regard, he watched for an opportunity; when Arcadius was also sitting with his father, he entered, and while he offered Theodosius the appropriate salutation and obeisance as emperor, he said to Arcadius carelessly: "Greetings to you, too, boy." When the emperor became angry at the slight to his son, the holy man said: "Since you are human, you did not bear the slight to your son with a calm mind. Do you think that God does not loathe and hate those who blaspheme against His only-begotten Son, and is not angry at those who allow them to mix with the orthodox and corrupt many?" The emperor, therefore, marveling at the holy man's artifice, forbade the assemblies of the heretics by decree. ^D Having overthrown the last tyrant, Eugenius, the entire Roman empire came to this emperor, and he proclaimed his two sons emperors. Wishing them to participate in both liberal studies and moral discipline, he brought from Rome the great Arsenius, who was a deacon of the Church there, a man famed for his learning and virtue. He entrusted the children to him, commanding him not to treat them as emperors, but as private citizens and commoners, and to scourge them if he saw them being negligent or straying in any duty, and to treat them exactly as his own children. He awarded Arsenius great honor and enriched him with wealth. He, having taken the children, would seat them on thrones while he himself stood as he performed his duties as tutor. The emperor once entered unexpectedly and found the children sitting while Arsenius stood, and he ordered Arsenius to sit and teach while they sat, which they observed from that time on. But Arcadius, having once received blows for an offense, became angry and plotted against his tutor, constantly thinking of killing him, and he suborned an assassin. But Arsenius, having learned of his plan, secretly left the palace and betook himself to Scetis.

^A And he stood fulfilling his instruction to them. And once the emperor suddenly came upon them, and finding the others sitting, but Arsenius standing, he was indignant, and having raised the children from their thrones, and having seated Arsenius, he ordained that he should teach them in this way. And from that time on, they were the ones standing by the teacher, and he was the one teaching while seated. But once, the tutor having struck Arcadius with a lash, he, out of resentment for this, conspired against him and devised to kill the man, and he prepared the assassin. But Arsenius, having learned of what was being planned, secretly withdrew from the palace and, having gone to Scetis, adopted the monastic life and became an angel. ^B And the emperor Theodosius, having made great search for him, did not know where on earth he was. And this emperor passed from life in Mediolanum (60), having steered the empire for seventeen years and five months. And having divided it between his two sons, he assigned the New Rome and the regions around it, and the Eastern portion, to Arcadius; and to Honorius he assigned the Elder Rome and the rest of the Western provinces that were subject to the Romans.

^C XX. The Roman empire having been thus divided to the sons of Theodosius, each ruled his own portion, and having learned that the great Arsenius was living as a monk in Scetis, they sent to him many times, asking him to pray for them. Now Arcadius even wrote to the holy man privately, asking him to grant him forgiveness because he had conspired against him, and he permitted him to take the tribute of all Egypt for that year, and to make use of it as he pleased. But the great Arsenius did not wish to write back to the emperors, but to those who had been sent to the cell he instructed them to say: "God forgive you, and may He cause you to do His will; but as for me, having already died to the world, money is useless." This emperor Arcadius, having built a city in Thrace, named it Arcadiopolis (61). And he erected a column in the Xerolophos (62), and set his own statue upon it. And the patriarch of Constantinople, Nectarius, having died, he summoned the golden-tongued John from Antioch the Great and appointed him patriarch of the New Rome. But Arcadius, being sluggish and softer in his mind than was appropriate, was held captive by his spouse, Eudoxia. And she was a petulant woman and a lover of money, and consequently most unjust. Whence, being restrained in her impulse by this great Father, and at times even rebuked, she was inflamed with anger and hastened to take vengeance upon the holy man. And having found in Theophilus of Alexandria an accomplice in her wickedness, she persuades Arcadius to pass a sentence of exile upon the holy man. And he was cast out of the church and led away into exile; but the populace of the city—some lamented, while others rioted. The sluggish Arcadius, having learned this, sends with haste the

^A spouse whom he led about as if by a halter, to persuade him to banish the holy man. Pushed thus tyrannically from the Church, he is led away into dangerous provinces and into regions lying in the furthest extremities, having experienced many hardships and troubles upon the way, of which it is permitted to hear his golden tongue telling in his letters. ^B Having arrived at Cucusus, and from thence being led away to Pityus, and having come to Comana (for this is a small town 63), he there measured out his life, having attained the age of fifty-two years, and having served as chief priest of the royal city for five years and a half. Divine justice, however, did not slumber, but quickly pursued that most wretched empress. For not yet had three months passed after the death of the Father Chrysostom, when she fell into a violent death. For while she was in labor, the fetus died; and as the birth pains seized her sharply, since the fetus had perished within ^C and the womb of the empress had corrupted from the decay, thus wretchedly she departed this life 64. When that Father of golden speech had been cast out of the Church, Arsacius 65 was brought in as his replacement, and having served as bishop for two years, he died; after whom Atticus 66 was ordained. With Eudoxia having died before her husband and emperor, Arcadius himself too did not long after return to her, having reigned after the death of Theodosius his own father ^D for fourteen years and three months, plus some days. It is said that the column standing in the so-called Pittacia is the work of Eudoxia. Dying, Arcadius left his own son Theodosius, called the Younger, as successor to the empire, either to distinguish him from his grandfather, or because at the death of his father he was a boy in his seventh year. But let the matters concerning him be deferred; let the account concerning Honorius proceed in summary.

XXI. He, being left as emperor of elder Rome by his father at a very tender age (for he was ten years old), was governed under a guardian by the decision of his father, Stilicho, a man foremost among those in Rome, and one who had been entrusted with the administration of common affairs. He takes, therefore, his daughter Maria as his wife. Upon her death, it is said that he married her sister Thermantia 67 while she was still of an immature age. She, too, quickly died. This man, being simple-minded, was hated by the nobles in Rome. And having realized that he was being plotted against, he migrated to Ravenna 68, and desiring to retaliate for the hatred of the Romans against him, he sent envoys to Alaric, the leader of the Vandal or Gothic tribe, beseeching—

him to campaign against Rome, wishing in this way to punish the citizens of Rome on account of the hostility they showed toward him. And Alaric did indeed march against Rome, though he did not sack it, but rather made a pact with the Romans, taking whatever wealth was found in the palaces, as well as Honorius’ sister, Placidia [(70)], and then returned. He handed the maiden over to a certain Count Constantius to be kept safe; but he, having taken her, fled and brought her to her brother, who then joined her to him in marriage, having invested him with senatorial rank, and subsequently proclaimed him emperor; for Honorius was utterly destitute of his own offspring. Not long after, Constantius was slain, after Placidia had borne him children, Valentinian and Honoriades. Now some relate matters in this way. Others say that Stilicho was slain, and that the people in Rome hated Honorius, who had moved to Ravenna. And that Alaric, holding his cowardice in contempt, ^B besieged and took Rome; and once it had been taken, someone, filled with tears, announced to Honorius that Rome had been taken by Alaric. At this report, Honorius, physically shaken and striking his thighs with his hands, said: "Rome was here just now, how then has it been taken?" But the messenger, realizing his error, said with a groan that he meant the city, not the fowl. For he kept in his delight a very large hen named "Rome," which, having thought it was captured, he had mourned. He died of dropsy, having lived forty years, and having reigned ingloriously for thirty of these. But John, who had usurped the tyranny in Rome, drove his sister Placidia out of the city with her two children, Valentinian and Honoriades.

XXII. The Younger Theodosius, however, ^C living in Constantinople, was carefully raised and educated under the guidance of his sister Pulcheria, with no one rising up against them, due to the fear of Isdigerdes, the king of the Persians [(72)]. For Arcadia, when he was dying, had written in his will that Isdigerdes should be the guardian of his son, who was still a child, as has been said. When he received the will, he sent Antiochus [(73)], the chief of his eunuchs, to be the guardian and curator of the Emperor Theodosius, having warned the nobles by letter that they should—

obey their sovereign; and if they did not act thus, he threatened to come himself to avenge the child. ^A Since Theodosius had now reached the age of puberty, his sister Pulcheria betrothed him to Eudocia, who had come from Athens, a lady of exceptional beauty and extensively versed in all learning. She was the daughter of a certain Leontius (74), a philosopher who had set out from Athens, and she was called Athenais. He, having learned through his knowledge that his daughter was destined to achieve a brilliant fortune, while disposing of his property left his wealth to his two sons, Valerius and Genesius, but left only one hundred gold pieces to his daughter, having written that her own luck would be sufficient for her. When her relatives therefore had seized her paternal inheritance, Athenais demanded her lawful share and asked her brothers not to act unjustly in opposition to their father’s will. They, however, even drove her from her father’s house. Having been received by her maternal aunt, she went up to Constantinople, ^B and they presented their case to Pulcheria, begging for her help. When she saw the maiden to be most beautiful and in the bloom of youth, she asked if she were still experienced in marriage; and upon learning this, she baptized her, for she was still uninitiated, and renaming her Eudocia, she joined her to her brother Theodosius in marriage, adorned her with the diadem, and titled her Augusta. Once Theodosius had married her, he stripped Antiochus, who was the most powerful of the imperial eunuchs and who embroiled himself in everything concerning the government—not as a servant of the empire, but as a ruler—of his position ^C (75). And thus Antiochus was dismissed from the honor of the praepositus; he was deprived of all his property, tonsured, and became a cleric in the church of the renowned martyr Euphemia in Chalcedon, and he died not long after. The Empress Eudocia, however, summoned her brothers, and far from being angry with them, she expressed her gratitude, saying that she would never have attained the throne had she not been driven out by them and for that reason traveled to Constantinople; she caused the emperor to make Genesius prefect of Illyricum, and she honored Valerius (76) with the title of magister. Meanwhile, Atticus the patriarch, having brought a certain paralytic Jew (77) to the knowledge of Christ through his exhortations, deemed him worthy of the holy bath and led him out of the water sound; he also restored the name of the holy Chrysostom to the diptychs of the church, as it had not been inscribed there previously. For that most religious father was both called and held to be an Origenist. Upon the death of Atticus, who had presided over the company of the faithful for twenty years, Sisinnius was chosen; and having served in the pontificate for two years, he exchanged life for death in the twenty-first year of the reign of Theodosius, and in his place was introduced Nestorius, who presided for three years. ^D

^A He taught that the holy Virgin Mary should not be called Theotokos, and he dogmatized that Christ was a mere man, uttering nonsense as if the Son of God had merely dwelt in Him as in one of the prophets; and, dividing Him into two, he insisted that the Word of God did not take flesh from the pure blood of the Mother of God, but rather that the Son of God and Word was one thing, and Christ, who was created a son by adoption and deified by grace, was another. When those who presided over the other patriarchal sees learned of these things—Celestine of Rome, Cyril of Alexandria, John of Antioch, and Juvenal of Jerusalem—they reported the matter to the emperor Theodosius and Pulcheria, requesting that a council be assembled and what was being dogmatized by Nestorius be scrutinized. Therefore, a council of two hundred Fathers was convened in Ephesus, presided over by the most holy Cyril, who also occupied the place of Celestine, the Pope of Rome, who was unable to attend due to infirmity. The dogmas of Nestorius were examined and rejected as heterodox; ^B and it was decreed and declared that the holy Virgin should be held and called Theotokos, and that He who was born of her in the flesh was the Son of God and God without a man, as had been proclaimed by those holy Fathers beforehand. For a clearer confession of the faith and a more evident refutation of the impiety of Nestorius, the most holy Cyril composed twelve chapters as a record of the correct faith and handed them to the Church. Nestorius was cast out and removed from the choir of bishops who held the correct views. Three days after the council, John of Antioch, the bishop of Cyrrhus, Theodoret, and Ibas of Edessa, among others, arrived at Ephesus, ^C and because the members of the council had not awaited their arrival, they, being angered against the great Cyril as the leader of the others, decried the deposition of Nestorius, and, setting themselves against him, voted for the deposition of the divine Cyril and Memnon of Ephesus. Theodoret also moved against the twelve chapters of Cyril and composed other chapters for their overthrow, against which the great Cyril again contended, proving that Theodoret was not dogmatizing correctly. ^D

^A Now, when matters stood thus and the bishops had turned against one another, and there was a schism in their midst, the Emperor Theodosius ordered everyone to come to Constantinople. And upon their arrival before the emperor, the investigation took place, and Nestorius was deposed and relegated to the Oasis, since the party of Antioch and Theodoret had come to an agreement with the holy synod, as they had previously opposed it out of grief and strife. But since Nestorius was corrupting many in his exile, John of Antioch made a report regarding this to the emperor, requesting that he be moved elsewhere. And the wretch was carried off to the Oasis, a region of Arabia that is barren and blasted by corrupting winds. Maximianus, a presbyter of the Church, was brought in to lead the flock of New Rome. After he had held the high priesthood for two years, Proclus, disciple of Chrysostom, was appointed patriarch. He had previously been ordained bishop of Cyzicus by the patriarch Sisinnius, but not having been received by the people there, he lived as a bishop without a see in the interim. ^B Having thus been enthroned upon the see of Constantinople, he requested the emperor that the most sacred body of Chrysostom be brought back from Pityus, and that the holy man not remain in exile even after his death. The emperor agreed to this, and the holy man’s remains were brought back and received with exceeding honor, and were laid to rest within the altar of the renowned Church of the Holy Apostles.

Wishing to alter the walls of the city and to establish a greater perimeter for it, the Emperor Theodosius committed the task to Cyrus the prefect; and he, applying himself with great zeal and readiness, raised the land wall from sea to sea within sixty days. Consequently, the populace of the city, delighted with the work and marveling at the speed, publicly hailed the prefect: "Constantine built it, Cyrus rebuilt it." Wherefore, envied and suspected by the emperor, Cyrus was unwillingly tonsured a cleric; then, he also became bishop of Smyrna.

^C XXIII. After the patriarch Proclus had died, twelve years from the time he began to lead the orthodox people in Constantinople, the divine Flavian was enthroned in his see. At that time, Eutyches, who was an archimandrite, was teaching that our Lord Jesus Christ did not retain two natures after the incarnation, but rather that both were tempered and fused into one nature. Flavian cut him off from the body of the Church, as he remained uncorrected, so that the infection might not spread to the healthy members. Eutyches therefore approached Chrysaphius ^D and...

the Eunuch, who was of the same opinion as he, and had very great power with the emperor; and he persuaded Theodosius to permit Dioscorus, who was governing the throne of Alexandria after the passing of holy Cyril, to come to Ephesus with other bishops to examine the matters concerning Eutyches, in the presence also of Flavianus. Dioscorus, therefore, being of the same opinion as Eutyches, and having taken up other like-minded bishops, arrived at Ephesus and ratified the things introduced by Eutyches. But when the most sacred Flavianus spoke in opposition, Dioscorus, like some wild ass, leaped up and kicked the chest of that pious man, and striking him with his fist on the jaw, he did not cease until he had thrust him out of the assembly. And the saint, after the third day, ^B departed this life from the blow to the chest, having adorned the hierarchal throne of New Rome for two years. But Dioscorus compelled the bishops who were present there to subscribe to the document set forth by him. For the power of the aforementioned eunuch had caused armed soldiers to be present there, to terrify those who objected. Domnus, the president of the city of the Antiochians, indeed subscribed, having been seized [by the confusion], but afterward he cried out against Dioscorus and denounced the definition as full of impiety. When the emperor Theodosius learned these things, and understood the matters concerning Flavianus, he held Chrysaphius responsible and was enraged. But Dioscorus, fearing for himself, advised him to persuade the emperor to appoint Anatolius, his own responsary—whom they call an apocrisiarius—as patriarch of Constantinople, so that he might both receive Eutyches into communion and that the matters concerning the blessed Flavianus might remain uninvestigated. The eunuch therefore persuaded the emperor, as he was easily led, and Anatolius was ordained patriarch. ^C This aforementioned Chrysaphius, taking advantage of the emperor’s pliability, persuaded him, and having taken Empress Eudoxia as an accomplice, to remove Pulcheria from the administration of affairs. And she, having left the palace, lived by herself and stayed in the Hebdomon. But the emperor, having at last barely come to his senses and reflected on the murder of the blessed Flavianus and the calumny against Pulcheria, moved with just indignation against the eunuch, whom it was established was the author of all these things, sent the man into exile, confiscated his property, and, having recalled his sister and asked for pardon, entrusted the administration of affairs to her again. Pulcheria was most wise, and many of her brother’s faults she would partly correct, and partly conceal. It is said, indeed, that ^D she found that profane eunuch, was moved with righteous anger against him, and decreed exile for him, and confiscated his property, and having recalled his sister, she asked for pardon and once again entrusted the administration of affairs to her. Pulcheria was most wise, and many of the failings of her brother she would partly correct, and partly conceal. It is said, therefore, that he was said to subscribe to letters quite thoughtlessly. That he might not do this, and that he might consider the meaning of the letters, being admonished by her, he affirmed that no one was framing a fraud against him, and that he knew what the letters contained. Wherefore she, to expose the lethargy of her brother, used such a device: she composed a contract in his name, by which Eudoxia Augusta would be sold to her, and having offered it to the emperor as if it were something else, she caused him to subscribe. Then...

summoning Eudoxia ^A from him, she did not allow her to depart. When the emperor asked the reason, Pulcheria showed him the deed of sale, and thus she exposed him as signing very many things that he neither knew nor wished to come to pass. At that time, therefore, the feigned action being abandoned, the empress was restored to the emperor.

Later, a certain situation having arisen, the emperor grew cold toward the Augusta; the cause was that an apple of extraordinary size was brought to the emperor. He, having admired it, sent it to the empress, and she gave the apple to Paulinus ^B. Now this man was learned, and because of this he was close to the empress. He, admiring the size of the apple, offered it to the emperor, being ignorant of what concerned it. The latter recognized what was brought, and, hiding it, asked his wife where on earth was the apple that had been sent to her? She said she had eaten it, fearing that her husband might suspect what he had already been suspecting. He asked still more insistently; she again swore that she had eaten the apple. The emperor brought it forward, full of anger. Thus she was caught in a manifest lie, and her husband’s suspicion was confirmed ^C. Paulinus, though innocent, was put to death.

Eudoxia, seeing that she was detested, asked for permission to depart to Jerusalem, where indeed she went with great wealth, and she built temples and gave much to the poor and to the monasteries there. Having returned from there after the death of her husband, she arrived back and died there. What the empress was like regarding learning ^D is shown by the so-called Homeric Centones. For when a certain Patricius had begun the work and left it imperfect and unorganized, she both completed and arranged it, as the epigram prefixed in heroic verses declares.

Theodosius dies at fifty, remaining emperor for almost all the years of his life, of which he reigned for a few entirely with his father, and for the rest by himself. Some report the cause of his death to be disease, others that he fell from his horse while hunting, injuring vital parts, and died shortly after. He was not unskilled in letters, but was well-versed in other mathematical books, and not ignorant of astronomy; he was excellent in the skill of riding and shooting, and furthermore dexterous in painting and sculpting. But since he was of a mild character, he was too soft for managing affairs. Hence it came about that eunuchs were influential at his court and did many things amiss, such as Antiochus, and after him Amantius, and finally Chrysaphius.

^A During the times of this emperor, while Proclus the patriarch was leading a procession of litanies with the clergy and a large part of the city’s multitude, a child was suddenly lifted into the air. While the people were struck with awe and crying out for a long time, "Lord, have mercy," the child was set down again, saying that he had been initiated [in the heavens] and that it was necessary to add to the Trisagion the clause: "Who was crucified for us."

XXIV. Now Theodosius ^B has died. Pulcheria, while the death of the emperor was not yet known to many, sent for Marcian, already a man of advanced age but of good and modest character, and announced to him the emperor's death. She said, "I have chosen you above all others to be emperor, if you will give me assurance that you will keep my virginity, which I have vowed to God, inviolate." When he had agreed, she sent for the patriarch and the senate, hailed him as emperor, and crowned him with the diadem. ^C Now Marcian was not of the previously illustrious or noble-born, but was a common soldier. Once, while going on an expedition with his own regiment to the province of Lycia, he fell ill and was left behind by his comrades. Having been entertained there by two brothers—one named Julius and the other Tatian—and having recovered from his sickness, he went out hunting with his hosts. While hunting, worn out, they lay down on the ground to rest and fell asleep at midday. Tatian, waking up before the others, saw an eagle with its wings spread casting a shadow over Marcian and keeping off the heat of the sun's rays. Marveling, he woke his brother, ^D and pointed out the strange sight. He too was struck with amazement. Both men concluded that the eagle’s action was a sign of imperial dignity for Marcian, and when he woke from his sleep, they predicted the empire to him and asked him to remember them once he had attained the throne. He promised this and dismissed them with two hundred gold pieces. Later, while he was fighting under Aspar against the Vandals who were invading, he was captured along with many others and was being held in a certain courtyard. The Vandal leader, looking down at the captives through a window from a higher place, saw an eagle casting its shadow over the sleeping Marcian, and by this omen he himself...

^A inferred that empire was being signaled for the man. He summoned him, and having made an agreement that if he obtained the empire he would not wage war against the Vandals, he released him. Thus, God had pre-signified the empire to him a short while before.

Then, the things previously signaled were brought to fruition. He immediately summoned the brothers who had hosted him and brought him the good news of his authority, and he declared Tatianus prefect of the city, while he entrusted to Julius the government ^B of Illyricum. He became kind toward all.

During these times, Pulcheria built the church of the Theotokos in Blachernae, and the fourth council took place, when Leo, the Pope of Rome, and Anatolius, the Patriarch of New Rome, had requested the Emperor Marcian that the teachings of Dioscorus of Alexandria and Eutyches not be left unexamined, and that the shameful deed committed against the most holy Flavian not be passed over. Therefore, a council was ordered to be held, and six hundred and thirty God-bearing Fathers gathered ^C in the church of the holy martyr Euphemia in Chalcedon. ^D Leading these were Leo, the Pope of Rome, and the Constantinopolitan...

dared to think and profess, or would fabricate two natures in Christ before the union and one after the union, and would fable that the form assumed by the Lord from us was either heavenly or of another nature. They decreed that our Lord Jesus Christ is perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, truly God and truly man, consisting of a soul endowed with reason and a body, of the same nature as the Father according to divinity, and of the same nature as us and similar to us in all things, sin excepted: who is to be acknowledged as one and the same in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation, with the properties of each nature preserved, and concurring into one person and one hypostasis.

^A of Constantinople, and Juvenal of Jerusalem. The multitude of the Fathers had gathered against Dioscorus and Eutyches, who fabled that our Lord Jesus Christ bore a flesh of different substance than ours, and that there was one nature in Him, from which it would follow that the sufferings were ascribed to the Godhead. The divine Fathers deposed and anathematized these men, since they were unwilling to renounce their own heresy. They accepted both Theodoret and Ibas, who anathematized Nestorius and the chapters that they themselves had issued for the sake of contention, and they confirmed the three previous councils and established the holy Creed. They subjected to anathema those who introduce a duality of sons, or who dogmatize that the Godhead is passible, or those who dare to think and speak of a mixing and confusion in the two natures, or those who invent that there are two natures before the union in Christ but create a single one after the union, or those who invent that the form taken from us by the Lord was heavenly or of some other substance. And they dogmatized that our Lord Jesus Christ is perfect in Godhead and perfect in humanity, and truly God and truly man, from a rational soul and body, consubstantial with the Father according to the Godhead, and consubstantial with us and similar in all things, sin excepted: one and the same to be acknowledged in two natures, unconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably, with the properties of each nature preserved, and concurring into one person and one hypostasis.

XXV. When these things had been decreed by those holy Fathers, also in the presence of the pious Emperor Marcian, Dioscorus by his imperial command is relegated to Gangra; for Eutyches had already perished miserably previously. In place of Dioscorus, Proterius is elected Bishop of Alexandria, a most holy man and of the most integral faith. But when the followers of Eutyches and Dioscorus, who were moving about the city and mocking the things defined by the Council, asserted that the strength of the Council depended upon the imperial authority and not upon the truth, and were still attempting to uphold their own depravity, the Patriarch Anatolius, having called together both those of his own mind and those who held the contrary opinion, says to the opponents: [E] "Since you still hold to your own opinion, and are not persuaded that you do not think correctly, but accuse us of accepting the dogma of Nestorius, because we preach two natures in the Savior, each of which retains its own properties unconfusedly, let us leave, if you agree, the judgment concerning this matter to God; and let your thought concerning the faith be written by you in a scroll, and let ours also be written by us, and let both scrolls be placed in the chest of the most glorious martyr Euphemia, and to her must be given the judgment of the orthodox and the perverted dogmatizers." These words also pleased the heretics; the scrolls were written, the stone which was closing the chest is removed,

^A and it is sealed on both sides. Thence followed supplications to God and all-night prayers, for who is there who would not be well-disposed towards the revelation of His glories, or who would reject them? And after the third day they assemble, the emperor also not being absent, and upon the chest being opened, o Lord, of Thy wonders, the scroll of the heretics was found lying at the feet of the martyr, but the remaining one was being held in her right hand, which she is said to have extended toward the emperor and the patriarch, handing the scroll to them. Those, therefore, who were advancing the orthodox dogma were in applause, while the dissenters from them, crestfallen and covered by darkness out of shame, departed; some of them even turned to the orthodox side. At that time also the empress Pulcheria dies, piously ^B and gloriously, and in good hopes. For she distributed all her wealth to the poor, and by mercy toward them she acquired the mercy of God.

Valentinian, the nephew of Honorius, of whom we made mention above as born from his sister Placidia, reigning in elder Rome, takes as his wife Eudoxia, the daughter of the younger Theodosius. But living dissolutely and lewdly, he neglected his own wife, although she was of beautiful form, and corrupted himself with others; he also used divination and sorcery. Thus, as he lived an unholy life, he met a wretched end. ^C For Maximus, a Roman patrician, a descendant of that Maximus who once seized the tyranny whom the great Theodosius had defeated, having entered the palace, slays Valentinian, violates Eudoxia by force, and seizes the empire. But she, with her father Theodosius dead and Pulcheria having measured out her life, hoping for no other avenger for her injury from elsewhere, sends to Gizericus, called king of the Vandals, and entreats him to be liberated by him from the tyranny of Maximus; and he persuaded her, coming to Rome with his fleet and a great force. Maximus flees from him, and is killed by those accompanying him. Gizericus ^D then rules Rome without trouble, and having collected all her wealth, and the offerings of the divine temples made of gold and adorned with gems, and some of the vessels of the temple there [that were] brought from Jerusalem by Titus, themselves also of gold, and having taken Eudoxia along with her two daughters, he returned to Africa. And he joined the older of her daughters, Eudocia, to his own son Honoricus; the other, because he knew she was betrothed to the patrician Olybrius, he kept with her mother Eudoxia, where, after the empress had spent two years, she returned to Byzantium after [her] mother had already died. Thence having set out for Jerusalem 49, she dies. Marcian also dies, having reigned for six years and some months, whether from disease or from the poison of the patrician Aspar, who was advanced in age, a man of mild character and kind toward his subjects; he was accustomed to say that an emperor should not take up arms while it was permitted to conduct peace. Aspar the patrician, although he was very powerful, was nevertheless not created emperor by the people of Constantinople, on account of his adherence to the Arian sect. For this reason he declares Leo emperor, whether by his own authority or by power received from the people, having stipulated that one of his sons should be named Caesar...

to be distinguished, because he had promised it, and he was raised to the royal dignity. This Leo had been a procurator for Aspar: others say he was a tribune and prefect of the tributes of Selymbria, others that he drew his lineage from Thrace, others from the Dacians in Illyricum.

But Eudoxia, with her husband, having been left behind—having lived with him for sixteen years and borne children, among them Hilderich—because her husband was of the same doctrine as the Arians, she was ill-disposed toward her cohabitation with him. And finding an opportunity, she herself departs for Constantinople, after her mother had already died; then she departs for Jerusalem, and there she ends her life. But Marcian dies, having reigned for six years and some months, as some say, having fallen ill; while others say he was poisoned by the design of the patrician Aspar, having become an old man and having lived a long time. Being of a gentle disposition and kind to his subjects, he used to say that a king ought not to lift arms so long as it is possible to live in peace. But at that time the patrician Aspar, who wielded great power, was chosen to reign by the populace of the city, because he was a participant in the Arian party. Therefore he himself made Leo king, as some have recorded, of his own volition, while others say he received the authority from the populace; he, anticipating the possessor of his own property, as is said, demanded that one of his sons be crowned Caesar. And having promised this, he promoted him to the dignity of the empire. Others say he was a tribune, and an official of the tributes in Selymbria. And some say he drew his kin from the Thracians; others, from the Dacians who are in Illyricum.

BOOK FOURTEEN

^A Leo, having recently attained the empire, was pressed by the frequent demands of Aspar that, just as he had promised, he should name one of his sons Caesar. When he hesitated, Aspar, grasping his purple, said: "Emperor, it is not right for one clothed in this garment to lie." To which he answered: "And it is not right to be forced, and to be dragged like a slave." But when in the end he could not resist, yielding to necessity, he makes his son, the brother of Ardaburius, Caesar from a patrician. This action was not pleasing to the senate, and it drove the urban populace to sedition. For they feared that, with the empire devolved upon Aspar's family, the Arians, given impunity, would afflict the orthodox with even more inconveniences than before. Therefore, the clergy and the monks, and those of the people who felt correctly regarding the faith, having gathered, asked of the emperor that he designate for them a Caesar of the same religion. But he at that time suppressed the sedition both with words and with deeds, and when some time had meanwhile passed, having caught those around Aspar plotting against him, he killed them, along with his son Ardaburius. As for Isocasius the ^B quaestor, a learned man, he had him stripped of his dignity, having been accused both of other things and of paganism, and handed him over to the prefect for examination. And when he was led into the court in the guise of a condemned man, the ^C prefect said to him: "Do you see, Isocasius, in what state you are?" He replied: "I see indeed, and it does not seem strange to me, if a man, since I am human..."

has fallen into human misfortunes; but do you judge me just as you used to judge with me." Having heard these words, the people praised the emperor, while they snatched Isocasius away and took him to the church. The ruler, learning that he had been baptized, was pleased.

This emperor had a wife named Verina, from whom he had two daughters, Ariadne and Leontia; the former he betrothed to Zeno, while he joined the latter, Leontia, to the patrician Marcian, son of Anthemius, who had reigned in Rome. In his time a most terrifying ^A fire occurred in Constantinople, which spread from sea to sea, that is to say, from the northern part to the southern, and in length it stretched from the Bosporus to the church of Saint John of the Calybita; and towards the south, from the church of the holy apostle Thomas to the church of the great martyrs Sergius and Bacchus; and in the middle of the city, from the Lausus to the Taurus, it burned everything that was in between. It is said that at that time Aspar also ran through the streets, carrying a vessel full of water on his shoulders, and exhorting the people to do likewise in order to extinguish the fire, and giving a silver coin to each one as a reward. That fire continued to consume the city for four days, and it burned down, among other things, the great house in what is called the senate-house, ^B where the senate and the nobles used to gather to deliberate, and where the emperor himself, when he was put on the consular robe, would perform a famous and most splendid task; and the so-called Nymphaeum, another house lying opposite the aforementioned house, meant for weddings to take place within it for those who did not possess houses of their own, holding a multitude within them; and another house in the Taurus, which was imperial, luxurious, and very large; and in addition to these, most famous temples and many private houses of the more illustrious men. While he was reigning, it is also reported that Antioch was almost entirely destroyed by a most violent earthquake, and that in the territory of Byzantium ash fell to the depth of a palm. Terrified by these prodigies, the emperor left the city and lived for a long time at ^C Saint Mamas. The prefect of his legions was Rusticius, a man of vigor and most skilled in military affairs, in whose place—upon his death—he appointed Verina’s brother, Basiliscus.

^A And it is said that a most violent earthquake occurred in Antioch, such that almost that entire city collapsed; and a great quantity of ash was produced in Byzantium, so that it rose to the height of a palm. ^B Because of this the emperor of the city was terrified and departed, remaining for a long time at the church of Saint Mamas. This man, during his reign, appointed Rusticius as commander of the troops, a man of noble character and most skilled in military matters; upon his death, he chose Basiliscus, the brother of the empress Verina. He, having campaigned in Africa with a large fleet against Gizericus, was defeated most shamefully; he lost the greater part of the fleet, as some historians report, through malice and a failure to conduct the war with strategic skill, while others say through treachery—for they say he received vast sums of money from Gizericus. When the battle was joined, they say he turned the flagship, a trireme, and, having struck the stern, turned to flight, and from that moment gave courage to the enemy while crushing the spirits of his own men; he himself returned home in ignominy with a few ships, while the rest fell in the naval battle. ^C To this emperor, a grandson was born from his daughter Ariadne and Zeno, whom he named Leo and crowned with the royal diadem while he was still an infant in age. For he judged Zeno not to be suited for the empire, because he possessed neither a royal mind nor a form worthy of imperial power; nay, he was most hideous in appearance, and his mind was even worse than his looks. For this reason, some historians record that Aspar and Ardaburius were put to death by Emperor Leo, who desired his young grandson Leo to reign, yet feared them as men who had become greatly powerful, lest they might despise the infant’s age and usurp the authority. During the reign of this emperor, the honorable vesture of the all-holy Theotokos was brought to New Rome from Palestine and deposited in a silver casket in the church built by him at Blachernae; from which the church was also named the Holy Casket. Upon the death of the patriarch Anatolius, who presided over the Church for eight years, Gennadius was consecrated. And having governed the Church for thirteen years, ^D and having reached the end of his life, Acacius was introduced in his stead.

And the Emperor Leo also, having fallen ill, departed this life, having reigned for eighteen years, leaving the young Leo as successor to the empire. He had been adorned with other virtues, but the most radiant in him was his compassion, for he was accustomed to say that just as the sun imparts its warmth to those upon whom it shines, so too must the emperor prove himself worthy of pity toward those he surveys. ^B

II. Junior Leo, still an infant, having been left, continued for one year in the empire, and while still a child he succeeded his grandfather, leaving his own father Zeno as emperor, having himself placed the diadem upon the latter's head with his own hands. Now Zeno was from the most disgraceful nation, that of the Isaurians, and was himself most disgraceful in both form and soul. And he did not administer the principate as an emperor, but as a downright tyrant. He had a brother named Conon, who even surpassed his brother in wickedness, a bloody man who took pleasure in the slaughter and killings of men. Basiliscus, the kinsman of the Empress Verina, of whom mention was made above, while dwelling in Thrace, raised his hand against this Zeno, with the support of Verina and certain members of the senate. Cowardly and unmanly, Zeno fled at once with his wife Ariadne to Isauria, to his fellow tribesmen.

Basiliscus, however, having come to the Camp, was proclaimed emperor, and he crowned his own wife Zenonis as Augusta, and appointed his son Marcus as Caesar. But he also was in no wise better in his ways than Zeno, and was not rightly disposed regarding the faith. For he partook of the heresy of Eutyches and Dioscorus, having been led into this by his wife, and he greatly harmed the churches of the orthodox; he decreed by a tyrannical edict that the Council of Chalcedon was void, and forced Acacius, the patriarch of New Rome, to vote for this synodically. But the orthodox multitude of the city, having gathered in the church, reviled Basiliscus and called the Council of Chalcedon holy. For these reasons, therefore, Basiliscus was detested by both the people and the senate. And he sent Illus and Trocondus with forces against Zeno; those who had departed besieged him. Because Basiliscus, having promised them much, did not fulfill the promises he had made, and the senate, being burdened by Basiliscus on account of his wickedness, wrote to the aforementioned men of the things being done by him; they added ^C themselves to Zeno, having been made friends and helpers from being enemies, and having taken him up, they returned. But Basiliscus sent his cousin Harmatius with Thracian legions against Zeno, who, when he met him near Nicaea, corrupted by money and the promise that his son, Basiliscus Caesar, would be appointed, betook himself to Zeno. Proceeding from thence to Constantinople, by the senate and people...

Zeno was received. And Basiliscus, with his wife and children, fled to the church, whence he departed after having received assurance 24 that he would not be deprived of his life. And they were conducted to a certain fortress 25, where it is said he was shut up in a tower together with his dearest ones, and perished by famine 26. Others say they were killed while being led away. Zeno also banished his own mother-in-law, the Empress Verina. Basiliscus, then, after he had held the tyranny for two years, perished either as has been related or in some other way. During the reign of Zeno, a greatest conflagration 27 occurred in Constantinople, which began at the Copper Market (Chalkoprateia) and, consuming all the neighboring places, reduced them to ashes; it destroyed the porticoes of the public squares and the buildings placed upon them; but indeed it also consumed the basilica itself, the so-called Imperial (basilica), within which it happened that there was a library with one hundred and twenty thousand volumes deposited in it, in which it is recorded that there was also the intestine of a dragon, one hundred and twenty feet in length, upon which were written in golden letters the poems of Homer, both the Iliad and the Odyssey. Malchus mentions these matters while writing the history of these emperors. But this also burned, and the city’s splendor in the Palace of Lausus, and the statues established there, those of the Samian Hera, and the Lindian Athena, and the Cnidian Aphrodite—works of art celebrated for their craftsmanship—and it spread as far as the Forum. Zeno, having again grasped the power, appointed the son of Harmatius as Caesar, fulfilling his promise, but Harmatius himself as master of the soldiers; and after a short time he slew Harmatius, saying that just as he had not kept faith toward Basiliscus, neither would he by any means keep it toward him. And his son, the Caesar, he made a cleric. He also slew Illus 28, the master of offices, who had attempted a tyranny, because he knew he was being plotted against by the Empress Ariadne, with the knowledge also of Zeno. But indeed also Pelagius 29 the patrician, a man most learned and most just—according to appearances, because of paganism—he removed, when in reality he feared that he would be reproved by him. For the man of noble mind was reproving his wicked deeds. Furthermore, Zeno, most odious, killed many illustrious men; he also turned aside to heresies and to unspeakable crimes and a most corrupt life, which was followed by a violent end: but there is doubt concerning the manner of it. For some report that, because he was wont to indulge in gluttony and drunkenness, he would be afflicted with a mental derangement, and when he had fallen, he was indistinguishable from one dead. When, however, he was detested even by his own wife Ariadne, he was in this way—being drunken—cast by her into the imperial tomb as if he were dead, and a very large stone was placed over it as a lid: it is said that he, having become sober, cried out lamentably, but with no one caring, he perished miserably. Others say that when he was hard pressed by most bitter pains, having been taken for dead, he was placed in a sepulcher, and there expired, lamenting, while his servants...

[index: entries preserved]

since Ariadne would not permit anyone to open the tomb or pay any attention to him, left him to perish miserably. ^B

III. Regarding the election of Anastasius Dicorus under Emperor Zeno; the zeal of Euphemius the patriarch for the faith.

III. Zeno having died in this miserable fashion, Ariadne brought forward Anastasius the silentiary—who was also known as Dicorus (a humble position)—to the imperial throne, with the consent of the senate and the legions, upon the recommendation of the eunuch Urbicius, whose authority was great at that time, and who had promoted his nomination. Now, Anastasius was called "Dicorus" because his pupils were unlike, one being blacker, and the left tending more toward a grayish color. Before he could be crowned, the patriarch Euphemius demanded from him a written confession of faith, in which he promised that he would introduce no innovations in ecclesiastical dogmas. For after Acacius, who had treated the orthodox most dreadfully, had held the Church for seventeen years and died, Fravitas had been elected patriarch—a man of the same opinion as Acacius and Zeno. But he too departed this life within three months and a half, and Euphemius succeeded to the throne of the Church of Constantinople, a holy and most orthodox man. He erased from the diptychs the name of Peter Mongus, who had wickedly seized the throne of the great Church of Antioch, ^C as a heretic, and in his place he restored the name of Felix, pope of Rome, an orthodox man; the latter had, by letter, censured Zeno and Acacius for having communicated with Peter Mongus, who had embraced the sect of Eutyches and Dioscorus, and had even sent a libel removing Acacius from his dignity; for which reason he, in turn, had erased his name from the diptychs. Thus this patriarch, Euphemius, having received from Anastasius a handwritten document in which he professed that he accepted the dogmas of the Church and those pertaining to the synod in Chalcedon, crowned the man. Who immediately courted Ariadne and drafted royal letters by which he remitted those things which were at that time owed to the treasury by many, and on the fortieth day from the burial of Zeno, he celebrated marriage. ^D

^A And immediately he betrothed Ariadne, and made a royal decree remitting what was owed to the public treasury by certain persons up to that time. And when forty days had slipped by after the funeral of Zeno, he celebrated the marriage. But the tribute called the Chrysargyron was oppressing the subjects, and this also he cut off. Now the tribute of the Chrysargyron was of this kind: all, ^B both mendicants and the poor, and every harlot, and all those freedmen dwelling in the country and in the cities, were compelled to pay an annual tax to the public treasury; and for horses, and mules, and oxen, and asses, and dogs, a tax was exacted, for each person a silver coin, and the same also for a horse, a mule, and an ox; for an ass six folles (it is a kind of coin), and for a dog the same. And from this there was crushing of men and lamentation everywhere. But the Emperor Anastasius, having cut off this contribution, even burned the registers concerning it before the people in the Hippodrome. And in these things he was indeed ambitious and conducted the administration of political affairs well; for the political magistracies, which formerly were offered for sale, he bestowed without fee. But regarding the faith in the Divine, he was not good; ^C for having inclined to the heresy of the Confusionists, who hold to one nature in Christ the Savior after the union of the two natures, he greatly afflicted the churches of the orthodox, and was implacable toward those who presided over them. For he both afflicted and exiled the patriarch Euphemius, because he refused to anathematize the Synod at Chalcedon, having first taken away his own document by guile, or by force, as others say; and the one after him, Macedonius, a holy man, because he would not consent to him, he exiled to Euchaita. After whom was introduced Timothy, of the same mind as the emperor. And Longinus, the brother of Zeno, having set his hand to tyranny, was overcome by Anastasius, and was exiled to Alexandria, ^D where he was even ordained a presbyter and died. And many of the Isaurians in the queen of cities—

^A and those who were passing time there, he drove out. Taking others to himself, the magister Longinus (41)—not the brother of Zeno, but another one—began a sedition and plundered many things in the East. But he was battled against, and the barbarians with him were destroyed.

It is said that at that time Theodoric (42), the ruler of Africa, being an Arian, killed a certain orthodox deacon who was very familiar to him, and who had converted to Arianism for his sake, saying, "Since you did not keep faith with God, neither will you keep it with me." ^B When the Pope of elder Rome, Anastasius (43), died, and the people were divided, some voting for a certain Laurentius and the orthodox for Symmachus, and from this they were rioting against one another, the aforementioned Theodoric, who then held power in Rome, arrived there. Having gathered a synod, he confirmed Symmachus as bishop of Rome and drove away Laurentius.

During these times it is recorded that the nation of the Bulgarians (44) also raided Illyricum and Thrace, not having been known before. But since the Agarēnoi (45) were plundering the East, Anastasius made a treaty with them. However, when the Thracian Vitalian (46) attempted a tyranny, and having gained the Bessi ^C and Scythians as allies, and along with them plundered the Queen of Cities, not to mention having also approached it with a fleet, Anastasius resisted him through Marianus (47) the prefect. And a naval battle having occurred, the fleet of the enemy was defeated by a certain mechanical device of Proclus (48) the Great (for he flourished at that time both in philosophy and in mechanics, having gone through everything of the renowned Archimedes in these matters, and having himself discovered new ones). For it is recounted ^D that Proclus fashioned sun-reflecting mirrors and hung them from the wall facing the enemy ships; when the sun’s rays struck these, fire burst forth from them like lightning, burning up the crew and the ships themselves—which Dion narrates that Archimedes once devised when the Romans were besieging Syracuse.

Anastasius, being a student of the heresy of Eutyches, wished to add to the Trisagion (49) the phrase, "who was crucified for us." He therefore sent the logothete and the prefect to the church; and when they began to read the edict of the emperor from an elevated place, those of the people who were orthodox, being incited, hastened to tear those men to pieces; and they, indeed, avoided the popular fury. But the people, burning with rage, invaded their dwellings, and cast them down and plundered them, and having killed many, they reviled the emperor with shameful words, pursuing Vitalian with praises as though he were emperor, burned many dwellings, and killed very many; and among others also a certain monk, who living near the cistern built by Anastasius, named Mocisius, was dear to the emperor; also a certain nun, who was enclosed near the Xylocerus gate, for having been trusted by the emperor: both their bodies were dragged, tied together, through the city and burned.

burned.

IV. During his reign, Alamundarus, prince of the Agarenes, was instructed by the orthodox, and he believed and was baptized. To him Severus sent two bishops, hastening to draw him over to his own heresy. When the bishops were instructing him that the two natures of Christ were merged into one nature, and from thence it was gathered that the divinity also suffered with the flesh of the Lord Christ, he, wishing to refute them for saying absurd things and teaching what cannot be believed, prepared one of his own men—with those unholy bishops present—to come and report something to him. When the man had done what was ordered, Alamundarus grew gloomy and feigned sadness. When the bishops asked why he was troubled and what it was that had been reported, he said that the archangel Michael had been reported to him as dead. When they insisted that the report was false, for it is impossible for an archangel to die, the phylarch replied: "If, therefore, an angel does not die, how can you affirm that the divinity suffered and died, having been tempered and merged with the flesh, and brought to a single nature?" The bishops, for their part, stood in awe of his intelligence at these words, but despairing of ever being able to convert him to their own opinion, they withdrew.

When the Bulgarians again made an incursion into Illyricum, some of the Roman tribunes with their units stood against them. But because they (the Bulgarians) employed incantations and sorcery, the Romans were shamefully defeated, and all but a few were destroyed. This slaughter was portended by a comet, and by ravens that flew over and preceded them as they marched, and by the trumpeters who, instead of a martial sound, blew a mournful and dirge-like note. ^C Upon the death of the aforementioned Timothy, who had caused many evils to the orthodox, John the Cappadocian was entrusted with the stewardship of the Church, which he held for two years. The empress Ariadne also died. It is recorded that during the years of the reign of Anastasius, a statue of the Fortune of the city ^D of a woman’s form, made of bronze, with one foot resting inside a ship before it, stood somewhere in the city: the ship of which, whether ruined by age or destroyed by treachery, had certain fragments taken away. From that time, merchant ships no longer docked at Byzantium, but when they approached near, they were driven back by the violence of the winds, and unless the ships were towed from afar by many rowers, their cargoes were not brought into the city.

^A

The statue of the Fortune of the city stood in the Basilica, as Byzantine writers frequently relate, and among them George Hamartolus in his *Chronicle* (manuscript), where he writes concerning Julian the Apostate: “The sacred things of the idols, and the sacrifices performed by those who dwelt in Constantinople, were publicly celebrated in the Basilica where the statue of the same Fortune had been established.” We have further clarified this passage of Zonaras in our *Constantinopolis*, book 2, section 9, no. 1, where we stated that the Fortune of the city is represented in the coins of Constantius Junior, Julian, Jovian, and Gratian, as described by us, adorned in a woman’s habit, with her head crowned by a *modiolus* (concerning the form of which *calyptra* we speak in the *Glossarium mediae Graecitatis*), and with one foot resting upon a prow placed before her, by which it is signified that the Fortune of the city presides over the government of affairs; just as Isis is exhibited in the coinage of Domitian, as recently illustrated by that man of singular learning, Ulric Obrecht of Strasbourg, in a most learned commentary. ^B But we also stated there that by *Tychē* in this passage, it is not the Genius, but Fortune that is indicated; although the Genius is sometimes expressed by *Tychē*, which Henry Valesius gathers from Charisius. And certainly the old Greco-Latin glosses express it thus: *Tychē*, Genius. *Tychē hekastou anthrōpou*, Genius. *Tycheion*, Genius, Genitalium. But there are also Latin-Greek glosses which should be amended thus: *Genialis*, *episēmos*, *gamēlios*; *Tycheion*, Genius, *tychē*; whence Eustathius on *Odyssey* 2 and 6 confuses *agathon daimona* and *tychē*, or *agathēn tychēn*. Although Fortune and the Genius may seem to be the same, since they are occasionally given one and the same appellation by writers (as in Apuleius, “by your fortunes and geniuses”), they differ nevertheless in this, that Fortune dominates all things, whereas the Genius presides individually over men, or peoples, or cities, and regulates their actions. Philostratus, in book 2 of the *Lives of the Sophists*, in the life of Herodes Atticus, writes: “And by the other side of the stadium stands a temple of *Tychē*, and an ivory statue, as if ruling all things.” ^C Furthermore, Fortune is figured in a woman’s habit, the Genius in the form of a naked youth, with the horn of Amalthea; as is also Fortune, or *Tychē*, in Pausanias in his *Achaica*: “There was a statue of *Tychē* holding the horn of Amalthea; and beside her stood Eros winged.” It is described thus also in the *Messenica*, p. 140. Wherefore I believe that *Tychē* of the city, which Zonaras mentions here, ought to be rendered as Fortune, not as Genius. This is confirmed beyond others by the author of the *Martyrdom of Saint Zoe*, where he mentions that a temple was erected which he calls *Tycheion*, and to which they sacrificed. It must be admitted, however, that the Latins called the Genius, and the Greeks *Tychē*, indiscriminately, whenever they believed that both Fortune—which was thought to preside over all things—and Fate—which they called the Genius for individuals or peoples—were meant; a distinction which is observed more strictly by Latin writers like Symmachus, in Prudentius, book 2, against the same Symmachus. ^D Regarding the gods and the world, chapter 9: “Just as there is Providence and Fate, and it exists concerning nations and cities, and also concerning each individual man, so too *Tychē*, concerning whom it is consistent to speak. Therefore, the power of those of the gods who assign to the good those things which happen differently and contrary to expectation is considered *Tychē*. For this reason it is especially fitting for cities to worship this goddess in common, for a city is composed of different things. And this power has its place among those things under the moon, since nothing under the moon can come to be without *Tychē*.” Just as, therefore, Providence and Fate [act] regarding nations and cities, and likewise toward every man, so also does Fortune, of whom the series of our discourse requires us to speak. Therefore, because it is thought that Fortune disposes divine power differently and contrary to expectation toward what is good, it is fitting that cities generally and universally honor this deity with rites. For any city is made up of diverse things. It exercises its power under the moon, since above the moon nothing happens by chance. From which it is fully proven that by *Tychē* is understood the Goddess Fortune, and that she presided over, and was worshipped by, the inhabitants of cities. Add to this that the Fortune of Constantinople is figured on coins with a woman's habit and face, which cannot be said of the Genius. But what Zosimus writes in the passage cited in our *Constantinopolis* concerning the statues of the Muses in the same temple where the statue of the Fortune of the city was kept, indicates the ritual and customs of the ancient pagans, who adjoined temples of the Muses to the houses of the Fortune, or Genius, of cities, as we are taught by Libanius. For he, in his *Ekphrasis of the Tycheion* (from the Allatian edition), says that from the temple of *Tychē* there was a passage through the doors to the sanctuary of the Muses: “And by the middle [the] doors [lead] to the precinct of the Muses.” Moreover, he teaches that in individual cities there were temples in their midst dedicated to *Tychē*, in which were various statues of other gods in semicircles, which we call niches. Then he adds, that although that temple contained many gods, it still retained the name of Fortune alone: “For,” he says, “those for whom all things are hidden by *Tychē*, for them the goddess [hidden] from *Tychē* was hidden, etc.” Then describing the statue of *Tychē* thus: “And the circle in the middle, as much as the number of the gods is named, and in the middle of this stands the statue of *Tychē*, signifying with a crown the victory of Alexander, and the earth is crowned by *Tychē*, and she herself crowns the victor. And the Victories of *Tychē* have been set up on either side,” etc. By all of which, he says, the virtue and capability of Fortune is expressed. Finally, he adds to this that in the extreme part of the temple another naked statue stood, holding in its left hand the image of the heaven, extending the right: “And another naked one stands [facing] the rest, carrying the image of heaven in its left hand, but the right [is] ready for all things, and it stands naked of covering.” From which description I would consider that Libanius had depicted the Genius of the city, which is accustomed to be shown naked on coins, were it not for that globe in the left hand, which is accustomed to be attributed to the sun alone; although Pausanias in the *Messenica*, p. 140, also ascribes to Fortune a globe, or heavenly pole, writing that Bupalus the Smyrnean was the first to make a simulacrum of Fortune with a pole above her head, and holding the horn of Amalthea in her other hand: “Bupalus the Smyrnean was the first of whom we know to make a statue of *Tychē*, having a city [crown] upon her head, and in the other hand what is called by the Greeks the horn of Amalthea; this man, therefore, showed the works of the goddess.” The temple of Fortune and the Genius, whom they called *agathos daimon* ("good demon"), was therefore the same: which indeed can be gathered from the same Pausanias in the *Boeotica*, p. 313: “And the building is of the good demon and of fortunate *Tychē*.” And below: “And those who went to the building where formerly he [the good demon]dwelt, alongside *Tychē* and the good demons, etc.” where *Tychē* holds the first place. Whence we are taught why the names of Fortune and of Genius are given to *Tychē*, since they were worshipped in the same temple. Eudemus in his *Lexicon*, from which Suidas drew his material: “*Agathos daimon*: a drink which the ancients were accustomed to drink after dinner, [calling it that] of the good demon, sipping unmixed wine, and this [was] the third [cup of the day], and they also called the second day of the month this [name]; and in Thebes there was a shrine of the good demon.” Verily also the temple of *Tychē* was adorned with various other statues of the gods.

^A And the cause of the evil was conjectured by some skillful person to have been the fragments of that bronze ship, which having been diligently sought out and restored to their proper place, navigation became unobstructed and the sea filled with vessels. But that they might know for certain that it was this which had hindered the approach of ships, the fragments were removed again, and whatever ships were then approaching were again driven away by the force of the winds. This having been discovered, that ship was restored with great labor.

Anastasius, shortly before his death, having been informed of conspiracies against him, had seized many, and among them Justin and Justinian, who afterwards obtained power, and it was his intention to put them to death. But he was deterred by a dream, for a terrible man seemed to stand by him and say: "Do no evil to Justin and Justinian, for each of them will in his own time serve God." Having therefore absolved them of the crime of high treason, it is recorded that he saw another dream, of a terrible man who, holding a book, said: "Behold, because of the perversity of your faith, I delete fourteen years from your life." And because he had learned from an oracle that it was fated for him to die by lightning, he built the "Vaulted" building ^B and lived in it, but in vain. For when at one time thunder roared in a terrible manner and many lightnings were emitted from it, he, being terrified, kept moving from one room to another, and from bedroom to bedroom. And thus he was found dead in one of the imperial bedchambers. He lived eighty-eight years; he reigned twenty-seven years and three months.

In his times there was a horrific earthquake, and buildings in many places in Byzantium collapsed. Antioch, indeed, almost entirely collapsed, with the citizens crushed by the ruins. The same Anastasius built a long wall extending from the Great Sea to Selybrium, on account of the incursions of the Mysians—that is, the Bulgarians—and the Scythians; and he placed his own bronze statue on the column of Taurus, since the statue of Theodosius the Great, which had been erected there, had fallen. And this man, having lived his life in this manner, thus departed.

^D Various readings and notes. [The Latin notes D and the following lines provide scholarly commentary on the text, noting the historian Dio and textual variations regarding statues and the circumstances of Anastasius’s death.]

^A for a period of three months. In his time a most terrible earthquake occurred (55), and while in Byzantium collapses took place in various locations, the great city of Antioch (56) was almost entirely overturned, and its inhabitants were buried under the wreckage. This Anastasius built the so-called long wall (57), extending from the great sea as far as Selymbria, on account of the raids of the Mysians, or Bulgarians, and the Scythians. He also set up a statue of himself in bronze on the column of Taurus, the one previously standing there having fallen, which happened to be that of the great Theodosius. And thus he reigned, and thus he ended his life.

^B V. Justin the Thracian was created emperor, born of parents low-born and obscure, and he himself had at first been a farmer or a herdsman and swineherd (58). Later, having changed his fortune to military life, he reached the rank of tribune and comes. When, after the death of Anastasius, there was a deliberation concerning the appointment of an emperor, the eunuch Amantius (59), who was also praepositus and quite powerful, wishing to install as emperor a certain Theocritus, a man of his own circle, provided money to Justin (60) to distribute among the soldiers, so that they might choose that man as emperor. But he, having distributed the money, secured the throne for himself, and was brought to the height of imperial power by the people and the soldiers. Since Amantius bore Justin’s trickery with great resentment, he plotted against him along with other famous men, and having been discovered, Justin had him put to death, along with Andrew the cubicularius and Theocritus. This Amantius, because Anastasius had seen in his sleep a man carrying a scroll who wiped away some of the years of his life, had also dreamed that while he was standing before the emperor, a great pig came upon him, threw him to the ground, and devoured him. He built the temple of the holy apostle Thomas (61), which is why it retains that name, being called the [temple] of Amantius. Being most orthodox, Justin issued a decree that all should revere the Council of Chalcedon and that the six hundred and thirty holy Fathers who had established it should be inscribed in the sacred diptychs (62) of all the Churches. Having a wife named Lupicina, he crowned her and proclaimed her Augusta, having changed her name to Euphemia. Vitalian, who had plotted sedition under Anastasius, was most familiar with him, and having been created magister militum by him and having attained the consulate, he was possessed of great authority. And since he was orthodox, he ordered Severus to be expelled from the Antiochene see and removed. But he…

having learned this, fled into Egypt with other like-minded men, and they stirred up that region by introducing the doctrine concerning the corruptible and the incorruptible. Severus having fled, Paul, the manager of the hospice of Eubulus, was appointed bishop of Antioch; and Justin brought back all ^A those who had suffered unjust exile under Anastasius. In his time, a comet appeared in the East, casting its rays downward, which meteorologists call the Pogonias. And Vitalianus was murdered by the Byzantines, who were angry with him for having killed many when he rose up against Anastasius. Some say that he was murdered in the palace by the order of the Emperor Justin and Justinian, because he wanted to take the lead even over the ruler himself. Justinian had been appointed commander of the armies. When John the Cappadocian, who was patriarch of Constantinople, died, Epiphanius, a presbyter of that same church, was consecrated in his place; and when Hormisdas, the pope of Rome, departed this life, John took up the reins of the Roman Church.

While hostilities between the Romans and the Persians were ongoing, the Emperor Justin sent envoys with gifts to the king of the Huns, seeking an alliance against the Persians; and he agreed. But when Kabades, ^B the king of the Persians, also asked the same king for an alliance, he promised to ally with him, and went off to the Persians with his people, arraying himself against the Romans. However, the Emperor Justin, having sent an embassy to the Persian king regarding peace, wrote to him not to trust the Huns, as they had sworn oaths of alliance with the Romans and had received much money, and wanted to betray them in time of war. Kabades asked the king whether he had received money from the Romans; and when he admitted it, he opined that Justin was telling the truth, and he immediately slew him, and destroyed almost all the Huns, even if a few escaped by flight. Later, having made peace with the Romans, he made Justin the guardian of his own youngest son, Chosroes; for he had destined the Persian throne for him, despising the others who were older by birth. But the emperor refused the guardianship. Tzathes, the leader of the Lazi, also defected from the Persians and betook himself to Justin; and having been baptized for the emperor's son and saluted as king of the Lazi, he married the daughter of a senator and returned to his own province. This, too, became a cause of strife between the Persians and the Romans again, because the Roman emperor was enticing their subject ^C to himself. At that time, even in the city, some of his supporters having slipped away in flight to Egypt, he also stirred that place up, having introduced a dispute concerning the corruptible and the incorruptible. In his place was substituted Paul, the prefect of the xenodochium of Eubulus. Furthermore, Justin recalled all those who had been driven out by injury under Anastasius. In his times, a comet was seen in the East, with its rays verging downward, which the meteorologists call Pogonias, and Vitalianus was slain by the Byzantines, they being angry with him on account of the slaughter of many committed by him when he had stirred up sedition against Anastasius. Others report that he was put to death in the palace by the order of Justin and Justinian, since he wished to rule even over the ruler himself, and Justinian was made master of the soldiers. John the Cappadocian having died, who was patriarch of Constantinople, Epiphanius, a presbyter of that church, was substituted; also, Hormisdas the pope of Rome having departed this life, John took up the reins of the Roman Church.

But whereas hostilities existed between the Romans and the Persians, the Emperor Justin, having sent legates with gifts to the king of the Huns, sought his alliance. The barbarian agreed, but offered his service also to Cavades, king of the Persians, who was seeking it, and went to him to attack the Romans. Envertheless, the Emperor Justin, having sent legates about peace, warned the Persian king by letter not to trust the Huns, who, having been bound by an oath of alliance with the Romans and having accepted much money, were intending to betray them in time of war. Cavades, when asked about the matter, confessed that he had ^D accepted money from the Romans, and thinking that Justin had written the truth, he made away with the man, and [destroyed] all the Huns, a few having escaped by flight, and [made] peace with the Romans, and made Justin the guardian of his son Chosroes, his youngest by birth. For he had destined the Persian kingdom for him, having despised his others who were older in age. But the emperor refused the guardianship. The leader of the Lazi, Tzathus, also defected from the Persians and betook himself to Justin, and having been baptized for the emperor's son, and saluted as king of the Lazi, having taken a wife, the daughter of a certain senator, he returned to his own province. Which matter again became a cause of dissension between the Persians and the Romans, because the Roman emperor was enticing their subject to himself. Then even in the city...

of Negra, the things happened that are recounted regarding Saint Arethas. ^A Cavades, however, slaughtered all the Manichaeans within his dominion, and burned their bishop and sixty books, because they had enticed one of his own sons into that detestable heresy. And then Anabarzos, the metropolis of the second Cilicia, collapsed in an earthquake; ^B and Edessa, a conspicuous city of the province of Osrhoene, was inundated when the river called Scirtus, which flows through the middle of it, overflowed and threw down the buildings of the city and swept them away, parts of the citizens being overwhelmed by the ruin, part by the waters. After some days had passed, the water subsided, and a stone slab was found on the bank of the river with hieroglyphic characters engraved upon it, saying these things: "The river Scirtus will leap evil leaps for the citizens." And half of Pompeiopolis collapsed, the city splitting down the middle, and many of the men therein perished while still alive in the chasm, and no one was able to rescue them. And a certain woman from Cilicia was born then, of gigantic size, and in the growth of her body and the rest of the proportion; for she stood a full cubit taller than any man of great stature; and she was broad in the shoulders and breast to a great degree, and she had the other parts proportionate in length and breadth, the appearance I mean and the voice, and the firmness of the arms and forearms, and the magnitude, and the thickness of the fingers, and whatever things follow these. ^C But when Justinian was created master of the soldiers, as has been said, the administration of all things devolved upon him after the death of Vitalian. And when the princes once entreated the emperor to associate with him a colleague as master of the soldiers, he, having seized the opportunity, said, "It is to be desired by you, that someone younger should put on this." And at that time he indeed thus eluded their entreaties. But they, after a short time had passed, decreed the title of "most noble" to Justinian, and obtained from the emperor that he should confirm that decree with his own letters. And not long after, he fell into an illness from a wound in the leg, and the disease growing stronger so as to make the hope of life doubtful, he appointed his nephew Justinian as emperor—the patriarch Epiphanion and the leading advocates being present—and placed the diadem upon his head with his own hands. And when the people had gathered into the equestrian theater, Justinian entered crowned, and, having been received by all with auspicious acclamations, he returned to the palace, being forty-five years old at that time. Immediately also his wife, Theodora, was named Augusta; and not long after, Justin ^D ceased to be among the living, having reigned for nine years and twenty days.

VI. When Justinian had obtained the principate, the empire was established not as a monarchy, but divided into a ^A double power; for the partner of his life was no less—if not indeed more—capable ^B than the ruler himself. This emperor was very accessible for audience, and his ears were wide open to malicious accusations; he was sharp in defense, unsparing in the exhaustive exaction of money, and even more unsparing in its collection. For he spent some of it on buildings, some on whatever his designs happened to be, and some on wars and the quarrels with those who stood against his wishes. Whence, always in need of money, he would select it from unholy methods, and he offered thanks to those who discovered pretexts for him to exact coin. Nor was he alone in this disposition; indeed, the empress yielded to him not at all in the matter of authority, whether in license or in any mode of amassing wealth. Indeed, she possessed power by a wide margin beyond her consort; and she was exceedingly resourceful for the discovery of newer and manifold inventions. Hence, calamities came upon the subjects from two sources; for both the annual taxes were raised to a higher level, and new ones were devised. Some were punished as not correctly disposed toward the divine faith, others as living licentiously or wantonly, ^C and their properties were taken away; others were stripped for their quarrels with one another, and still others for other reasons, and others for still others. For to enumerate them all would require a long narration. In the fifth year of his reign, ^D a comet was seen, which is named the "Lamp-bearer," as

^A I have set forth, both the hatred of the emperor and of his wife united the people among themselves; for the Venetians and the Greens, although they were wont to differ at other times, stirred up a sedition. To suppress this, part of the Barbarians, who are called Heruli, were sent in by the emperor, which only incited them the more. For a battle was joined between the citizens and the Barbarians in the place which is called the Milion, and many fell on both sides; and those of the Church, hastening to suppress the sedition and the war, went down into the midst of the ranks of the combatants with the most holy books of the divine Gospels and the venerable images of our Savior, thinking that those men, out of reverence for the holy things, would lay down their arms and desist from fighting. But the Barbarians, having no regard at all for the holy things, cut down the people and spared neither the sacred objects nor those who carried them. This became a provocation for the sedition to those in the city, and as if avenging the divine [Majesty] itself which was being insulted, they were inflamed to greater madness, and not only men, but also women fought from the upper stories, throwing stones and tiles and whatever came to hand from above upon that Barbarian multitude. But they, seized with madness and wishing to defend themselves against the women, threw fire into the houses from which they were being struck. ^B And a violent wind blowing at that time, the flame was quickly carried aloft, and consumed many of the greatest and most beautiful buildings, and burned images of ancient men, distinguished for wisdom and bravery, and for feats performed by hand and by wise counsel; and above all, the very sanctuary of the great church, which the Emperor Constantius built, and the [church] of the Holy Irene, and the hospice of Eubulus, and the Chalcostega of the palace, which is the one now called the Chalke, and which served as a prison, and the bath of Severus called Zeuxippus, and many other things which brought ornament and admiration to the city and to the empire. ^C Then, therefore, the emperor contemplated subduing the sedition in another way; and having gone up to the theater, he resolved to speak to the people, and having sent [messengers], he summoned the populace there. But they, being so far from obeying that they warned others to beware of the equestrian theater, lest, shut in there as in a prison, they should satisfy the anger of those who held power with their own destruction. Then they deliberated in the forum about creating another emperor, and having seized Hypatius, a kinsman of the Emperor Anastasius, partly against his will, but partly also persuaded, they brought him to the forum of Great Constantine, and having raised him on high upon a shield, they saluted him as emperor, and occupy the theater of the equestrian course, with favorable omens ^D

pursuing, regarding the purple and the crown. ^A But they did not endure to go near; rather, they exhorted one another to guard the hippodrome, lest, being locked inside it as in a prison, they should become fuel for the anger of the rulers. From there, running into the forum, they deliberated about choosing another emperor for themselves; and, having seized a relative of the emperor Anastasius, Hypatius—some say against his will, others that he was persuaded—they led him to the forum of Great Constantine 91, and raising him aloft upon a shield 92, they proclaimed him emperor, and from there they occupied the hippodrome, the arena for horses, acclaiming him and demanding the purple and a crown. Meanwhile, as the people were occupied with these things, those around the emperor prevailed, by distributions of great sums of money, to entice away many of the Veneti, and thus, having divided the unity of the people, they caused them to turn against one another. Then, suddenly, the emperor’s guards issued forth from the palace, and other soldiers from the city, and the Barbarians entered in, and they mowed down the crowds like grass without mercy. The theatre was already full of people, ^B both those of the faction of the seditious and those of the many who had gathered to watch what was happening, and for the announcement of Hypatius. They seized Hypatius 93 and his brother Pompeius and brought them to the emperor, and they were put to death, and their property was confiscated. The number of those of the people who were killed is estimated to be forty thousand. But it was not the property of these two men alone that was confiscated, but also that of many other senators; and they, too, were punished in various ways. In this riot, ^C as has been said, the Great Church was burned down, the founder of which was the emperor Constantius. The emperor Justinian began to build another, far larger and more glorious, the construction of which was begun in the six thousand and fortieth year from the creation of the world, in the fifteenth indiction, in the month of February. But he did not build this alone; he built many other churches as well. For the construction of these, as he was in need of infinite sums of money, on the advice of the prefect, he abolished the stipends for the masters of the liberal arts that had formerly been established in all the cities—those which, with the schools of literature standing empty, had been invaded by rusticity. In the seventeenth year of his reign, a great column was set up in the vestibule of the great temple, and he placed his own equestrian statue upon it. In that place there formerly stood a column holding a silver statue of the great Theodosius, made by his son Arcadius, weighing seven thousand and four hundred pounds; he demolished this with the column, and after the silver had been plundered, he put up this one, which is still visited today with his image. He also destroyed the very large leaden pipes by which water was led into the city, since he needed much of their material for his structures. At that time, also, a great earthquake occurred, by which the semi-statue at Cyzicus fell. It is even said that a certain person had brought a marvelous dog into the city, to see which the people flocked, and many piled their rings into a single heap before the dog, and at the command of its master, it brought each person his own without error. When asked which of those present was rich, which poor, which woman was a harlot, or which... ^D and... logical arts and sciences, by decree of the prefect, he cut off, and thus of those in the cities...

and other such things; and he indicated everything unerringly, holding in his mouth the garment for each one according to the question.

^B VII. In the tenth year of the reign of Justinian, Patriarch Epiphanius having died, Anthimus of Trebizond was translated to the priestly throne of Constantinople. This emperor was also very zealous against the lechers, and for this reason he punished very many by having their virile parts amputated. And when asked why he punished the sodomites in this way, he said: "For if they had committed sacrilege, would their hands not have been cut off?" He also erected the great temple of the Theotokos at the Spring, and the sacred place of the holy martyrs Sergius and Bacchus, and he undertook many other constructions; and he built a bridge over the river Sangarius, upon which also an epigram by Agathias was inscribed as follows:

And you, after the Westerners of haughty neck, and after the tribes of the Medes, And every barbarian herd, O Sangarius, bound fast by stone chains, Thus have you been enslaved by a kingly hand, You who were once impassable to ships, who were once untamable, You lie held fast in stone fetters.

At that time the Empress Theodora built the famous temple of the Holy Apostles. For there had been a temple to the Apostles there before, built by Constantius, the son of the great Constantine; but it was not like the one that exists now, but was much inferior to it both in beauty and in scale. ^C When Honorius was once reigning in Old Rome, the Vandalic race, having abandoned their abodes, had betaken themselves into Spain.

^A And therefrom, having crossed the strait with King Gondigisilus, they settled in Africa. Upon his death, with two sons ^B to rule the court. These men, making poor use of the guardianship and administration committed to them, one aspiring to royal power for himself, another for his son—so that, with affairs suddenly thrown into disorder, the necessity of the republic might elect [its] own undoing—this one brought in, that one fostered, the Barbarian races into the Roman Empire’s dominions. Among them, the Vandals and Alans, having crossed the Rhine on the day before the Kalends of January in the year of Christ 406, entered the Gauls, whom they ravaged with fire and sword; finally, having broken through the barriers of the Pyrenees, which Didymus and Veninianus, the bravest of the Roman generals, had long protected, they broke into Spain on the fourth day before the Kalends of November, or as others will have it, on the Ides of October, in the year 409, era 447. Thence, the Hispanic provinces having been divided among them, Gallaecia fell to the Vandals and Suebi, and Lusitania and the province of Carthaginiensis to the Alans: but the Vandals, by the surname Silingi, having left Gallaecia, chose the province of Baetica for themselves. Who might have ruled the Vandals at the time of this incursion into the Gauls and Spains is scarcely certain. Some think that Crocus, who brought so many evils upon Gaul—often recounted by our historians—or, as he is called by others, Croscus, was king of the Vandals. And indeed, he is so inscribed in the *Life of St. Antidius*, Bishop of Besançon, and in Sigebert, for the year 411. Others maintain he was not the king of the Vandals, but of the Alemanni. Moreover, it is certain that Crocus was intercepted by Marius, the prefect, near the city of Arles, and after various excruciating tortures, was finally put to death. Renatus Frigeridus, in Gregory of Tours, writes that the Vandals were defeated in battle by the Franks, with nearly 20,000 slain by the sword, and that Godegisilus—or, as he is called by Procopius and Theophanes, Godegisilus, or Modigisilus, as by Rodericus Sanctius and the Abbot Usperg—their king, was consumed, and, says the same Frigeridus, all the Vandals would have been destroyed to the last man, had not the way of the Alans come to their aid in time: the same author testifies that this slaughter occurred within the Gauls themselves, and therefore before the arrival of the Vandals into Spain, so that it might appear doubtful whether Godegisilus settled in Spain, as Procopius and Zonaras would have it. Furthermore, another king of the Vandal race is mentioned by Idatius, Fredibaldus, whom Constantius, the husband of Placidia, ingeniously captured without any fight around the year 417 and consigned to the Emperor Honorius: he, if I am not mistaken, ruled those Vandals who had remained in Gaul.

Gundaris, however, or Guntharis, as in Procopius, or Gundericus, as he is called by others, the son of Godegisilus, first led the Vandals in Spain, who, having broken the treaty of peace, besieged the Suebi after having crossed the mountains in the year 419, and finally, having left Gallaecia, passed over into Baetica with all the Vandals in the year 420; and having captured Hispalis, when he had irreverently laid hands within the basilica of the martyr St. Vincent, ^D he was immediately seized by a demon by God’s judgment at the very doors of the temple and died in the 4th year of Theodosius the Younger, of Christ 421, or 426, as others wish, having reigned 18 years. Procopius writes that he was killed by his brother. Gaiseric or Geisericus, the bastard brother of Gotharis, succeeded him on the throne: he, having turned from a Catholic into an Arian, passed from the shore of the province of Baetica with all the Vandals—whom Victor Vitensis writes were numbered at eighty thousand—and their families, leaving the Spains behind, to Mauritania and Africa in the year 427, in the month of May, in the consulship of Hierius and Ardaburius. Theophanes writes that the Vandals were called into Africa by Bonifacius, the governor of Africa. For when he was falsely accused of attempted tyranny before the Emperor Valentinian by Aetius, and feared for himself and his life, he summoned Geisericus from the Spains into Africa. Thence, his loyalty having been proved by friends to Placidia Augusta, he led an army into Africa against the Vandals, by whom he was defeated, and he returned to Rome, where he was killed by Aetius. But Geisericus, having violated the treaty which he had pledged with the Emperor Valentinian, occupied Carthage, the metropolis, after a siege of 14 months on the 10th day before the Kalends of November in the year of Christ 439. This captivity, in truth, Carthage underwent 585 years after it had begun to be Roman. After these things he invaded the islands of the Mediterranean Sea, and granted Sicily by right of tribute to Odoacer, King of Italy: thence, invited by Eudoxia, the wife of Valentinian—who was by then deceased—he entered Rome, despoiled everything for 14 days, and led away from there Eudoxia with her two daughters in the year of Christ 455. At last, after the ruins of many provinces, and the spoils and slaughters of the Christian peoples in Africa, he died in the year 466, having reigned 40 years, according to Victor Tununensis: although another Victor, the Vitensis, thinks it was only 27 years and 3 months. For this is how it must be read, not 37, as the published books suggest; for Victor commences the years of Geisericus’s reign from the capture of Carthage, the metropolis of Africa, which is clear from the time of the capture of Rome, which he writes was captured in the 15th year of Geisericus, that is, from the capture, as I have said, of Carthage, as is rightly observed by Franciscus Balduinus. He had four sons: Hunnericus, Genzo (or Gentho), to whom his father left a part of the kingdom, Theodericus, and Theodatus, who died while his father was still alive. Furthermore, the same Victor Vitensis, Possidius Calamensis, Prosper Aquitanus, the Emperor Justinian, and other writers of that age have described at length how many calamities he brought upon Africa, while he strove to subvert the Catholic faith within the borders of his kingdom with Arian impiety.

Hunnericus, the elder son of Geisericus, king of the Vandals and Alans, aroused by the same Arian fury, persecuted the Catholics throughout all Africa more cruelly than his father. Nor did he exercise cruelty only against them, but also against his kinsmen: for desiring after his death (the words are those of Victor Vitensis), which did not come to pass, to establish his own kingdom, he began to cruelly persecute his brother Theodericus and his sons, and the sons of his brother Gento as well, none of whom he would spare, unless death had taken away the desire of his heart. First, knowing that the wife of his brother Theodericus was clever—I believe for fear she might have armed her husband or her elder son, who seemed prudent and wise, with sharper counsels against the tyrant—he ordered her to be killed on a trumped-up charge. Afterward, that son too, trained in great learning, was killed; to him, according to the constitution of Geisericus, because he was the oldest of all, the kingdom was owed above all others among the grandsons. And a little later, he then also sent into cruel exile, without the solace of a servant or a maid, the elder son of Gento, by name Godegisus, with his wife. His brother Theodericus, after the killing of his wife and son, he likewise sent into exile, naked and destitute. After his death, the son who had survived, an infant, and his two adult daughters, he placed upon donkeys and cast them out to be afflicted in a distant land. But he also attacked very many counts and nobles of his race with false accusations, and for the reason that they favored his brother, he burned some and slaughtered others—an imitator of his father Geisericus, who had cast his own brother’s wife into the famous Cirtensian river, the Amsaga, by throwing her in with a weight of stones tied to her, and after the death of his brother, he killed his sons. And it has pleased me to extract these things, however lengthy, from Victor, so that the family of Geisericus might be known. Otherwise, Hunnericus, when he had previously obtained peace through envoys from Zeno, amidst the innumerable slaughters of his impieties which he exercised against the Catholics, having poured out all his inner parts, like his father Arius, miserably ended his life in the eighth.

[year of his reign]. ^A His successor was Gundamundus, his son, who, having also proved himself hostile to the orthodox, ended his life in the twelfth year of his reign. Thereafter, Trasamundus became ruler of the Vandals. He was also an Arian, though he did not punish the orthodox, but merely turned away from them; and after having spent twenty-seven years in power and having measured out his life, the sovereignty fell to Hilderichus, who was the grandson of Gizerichus, being the son of Honorichus, that man’s child. Furthermore, he was not harsh toward the Christians, but behaved toward everyone with kindness, being of a gentle temperament by nature, and therefore remained ^B backward in undertaking wars. He had, moreover, cultivated a friendship with Justinianus while the latter was still a private citizen. But Gelimerus, his kinsman—a man indeed wicked, but energetic and a most cunning plotter of new schemes—invaded the kingdom, having thrown his lord and all his relatives into chains: and that he might avert from himself the charge of tyranny,

^A he wrote to Justinian, claiming that he had not seized the empire out of a desire to rule, but because he saw that Hilderich was by nature ill-suited for its administration. But the emperor wrote back to Gelimer, saying that he would not rest unless he avenged the one oppressed by unjust might and punished the one who had played the tyrant. Wherefore, he summoned the patrician Belisarius from the East (for the man was there, fighting against the Persians) and sent him into Libya with a heavy hand and a great fleet, having appointed him commander-in-chief over all the forces; and Prokopios of Caesarea also accompanied him, who recorded the wars that took place there in greater detail. Having sailed therefore to Libya, Belisarius ^B encampment fortifies. And Gelimer, having learned of this, gives instructions to his brother Amata to kill Hilderich and his relatives, whom he held in custody, immediately. And they were slain. But Belisarius, Gelimer having been routed and Carthage taken, became master of all Libya, and subjected it to the Roman empire, having been occupied by the Vandals for ninety-five years. And he also captured Gelimer himself alive, together with his wife and children. It is said that while he was being besieged with his people in the rugged region of the Moors, and was in need of supplies, he requested from the tribune whom Belisarius had placed in charge of the siege, a loaf of bread, a lyre, and a sponge: and since he could not understand for what reason these things were asked of him by Gelimer, he questioned the courier; but the latter replied that he asked for the bread ^C because of a desire to see it, for he had not seen any since he had fallen from Carthage, for the Barbarians among whom he was living were wretched in their way of life: for the sponge, that he might wipe away the tears from his eyes with it: and for the lyre, that he might lament his own calamities upon it. But having nevertheless surrendered himself and his company to those who were besieging him, he was brought before Belisarius, and he laughed as he was being led in toward him, so that to those who saw him, he appeared to have lost his senses because of the excess of his suffering. But the thing that was happening was of a different sort. For reflecting upon into what fortune he had fallen from what a state, and deeming human affairs worthy of laughter, he laughed at these things. Belisarius, however, ^D kept both him and the Vandal leaders in honorable custody, so that they might be brought to the emperor. He also took Sicily and the island of Sardinia, of which I have spoken above, and having subdued all things even to Gades: thus finally he returned to Byzantium, and brought Gelimer himself with his wife, children, relatives, and all his household. On account of which great honor was paid to him by the emperor, and a triumph was decreed, and equestrian games were held in the theater, with the emperor himself presiding as was customary, and the senate and all the people present. But Belisarius the general made his way, leaning upon the hand of the purple-clad Gelimer who followed, accompanied by centurions and tribunes, and the relatives of Gelimer. And when he had already arrived before the emperor, Belisarius persuaded Gelimer to fall upon the ground and—

in doing so, to pay homage to the ^A emperor. He did as he was bidden, bathed in tears. Belisarius himself also prostrated himself, so as to show Gelimer that he was required to do this not as a captive, but because it is the custom for the emperors of the Romans to be honored in this way, and so that he might alleviate his misfortune. When Gelimer had paid the same honor to the empress, he was received with splendid hospitality and given the royal service that had already been prepared for him.

After some days had passed, when the equestrian games were again taking place in the theater, the spoils of war were displayed through the midst of the city and carried into the stadium: javelins, stalls, women's litters—all made of gold and adorned with precious stones—and a bed of the same sort, and golden carpets, and table-service vessels, some made of gold and others of silver, and drinking cups likewise of gold, set with gems, and purple garments and robes of the same kind, royal crowns, and women's ornaments interpunctuated with gems and pearls, and many other things, almost beyond number. And after all these things, seven chests filled with gold, and the books of the holy Gospels, refulgent everywhere with gold and distinguished by every sort of jewel. Such was the triumph. But the consulship was also bestowed upon Belisarius.

VIII. Concerning the Vandalic War

^B VIII. The Vandalic war now being concluded, he is sent by the emperor to Rome, in order that he might subdue it and all of Italy, which was then held by the Goths, whose leader was Theodatus. When Theodatus learned of this, he sent Agapetus, the great high priest of Rome, a man to be admired, as an envoy to the emperor. Having arrived at Byzantium and met with Justinian, he discoursed first concerning God and the correct faith in Him, and he made the elevation of Anthimus to the throne of New Rome a matter of accusation, because he had been transferred to the city of Constantine not according to the canons from Trapezus, which happens to be the metropolis of the cities situated in Polemoniac Pontus, and also because he had shared in the perverse heresy of Severus. But the emperor, owing to the zeal of the empress, having already designated Anthimus the patriarch of Constantinople, did not wish to rescind his own actions; ^C and when the divine Agapetus pressed him more keenly, the emperor threatened, saying that he could do as he wished by his own authority. But when the high priest laughed at these threats and said that he would even ^D bear death with an equable mind, having come to Constantinople from Rome, as we have said, he soon drove Anthimus from the Church, saying that according to the ecclesiastical rule he was an adulterer, who, having abandoned his own church, had coveted another.

^A While the divine Agapetus still persisted, he even threatened him, telling him to do what he wished. But when the high priest laughed at the emperor who was threatening him, and replied that he would gladly accept execution and considered himself blessed if he were found worthy of such an end, the emperor was shamed, and changing his mind, he submitted the matter to examination. And although some of the high priests opposed the Pope of Rome, Agapetus, currying favor with the Empress, by whom they had even been corrupted with money, he, however, defending the truth, overcame them all; and so Anthimus, having sat upon the throne of Constantinople for one year, was cast out, for the emperor respected the most holy Pope and the truth. In his place was introduced Menas, ^B a man most pious, claiming for his native land Alexandria in Egypt, springing from one of the notable men there, and by no means unversed in letters, and especially in the more divine ones. Thus, the divine Menas having attained the archpriesthood, or rather the archpriesthood having been fortunate to have him, convened a particular synod with Pope Agapetus, and placed under anathema Severus, and Eutyches, and Peter, and Julian of Halicarnassus, and Anthimus as of the same mind as them. But while the most holy Pope Agapetus was still residing in Byzantium, he departed this life. However, Menas ^C having governed the Church piously for sixteen years, ended his life; and Eutychius was raised to the archpriestly throne of New Rome, who presided over the Church in orthodoxy for twelve years. Under him also the fifth synod of the one hundred and sixty-five holy Fathers was assembled, over which presided Vigilius, Pope of Rome, and the aforementioned Eutychius, and Apollinaris of Alexandria. The cause of this synod being declared was Origen and his perverse opinions, and his followers Didymus and Evagrius, who taught the pre-existence of souls and said there would be an end to punishment, and a restoration of the demons to their ancient state, and many other things, all of which they subjected to anathema along with their dogmas, but also Theodore of Mopsuestia, who held the views of Nestorius, or rather had become his teacher, with the Emperor Justinian being present at the synod and agreeing with whatever those divine Fathers had godly ordained. But these things transpired in this way. ^D

^A Belisarius [(14)], having sailed to Italy, first took Naples by siege, and then, having arrived at Rome itself, he entered within it through both force of arms and the goodwill of the citizens. For the ruler of the Goths, Theodatus, happened to be residing in Ravenna. The city of Milan also had been taken by the Romans. But when the Goths besieged it again, the Emperor sent Narses with a force to assist Belisarius. Narses was a eunuch, yet otherwise noble and most skilled in generalship, and familiar with those in power. However, as these two generals did not agree with one another (for Belisarius wished to lay claim to all the successes for himself, while Narses did not endure to seem subordinated to him), they were divided, and they managed the war in different ways, and for this reason they failed in some things. For the imperial troops guarding Milan, pleading a shortage of necessities, surrendered the city to the Goths; and the rivalry between the two might have ended in an even greater evil, had not the Emperor recalled Narses to himself by letter.

IX. ^B Thereafter Belisarius, commanding alone again, brought all of Italy and its cities under his own authority, and he became so fearsome to the Barbarians, and yet so beloved, that they thought him worthy of their own rule, and entreated him to become their king [(15)], committing themselves and all they possessed to him. But he, as the Caesarean Procopius, who served in his campaigns at that time, wrote concerning these things, said that he would never permit himself to be called king while Justinian was alive. Hence, having become an object of envy, he was slandered to the Emperor as one aspiring to the kingship, and for this reason he was recalled [(16)] by him, as if to campaign in the East and be entrusted with the Persian war.

Meanwhile, the Augusta Theodora also died, having lived in the empire for twenty-one years and three months. And after the Great Church had been finished and consecrated, it happened that by an earthquake the great eastern sphere of that church fell, which in falling crushed the ciborium of the holy altar, and that very holy altar itself, and the ambo. Whence it is said that by order of the Emperor, the dome was also torn down, ^C and built up again twenty-five feet higher, and consecrated a second time [(17)] by the Patriarch Eutychius. Under this Emperor, the sea monster was also caught which had troubled the Byzantines for fifty years and more, which they called Porphyrius, which did not appear always, but at intervals. Whenever it appeared, it would send many ships to the bottom and was the cause of great destruction to people; and many machines were employed against it, but all remained useless; yet it was caught while pursuing dolphins. For while they fled toward the land, it did not check its impetus until, having been carried near land, ^D it fell into the shallows and deep mud, from which it could not emerge. When the local inhabitants learned of this, they dispatched that marine beast with axes and double-headed axes, and having tied it up with ropes where it was thicker,

they dragged it out of the sea. And its length was thirty cubits, and it was ten cubits broad, as Procopius of Caesarea has also recorded regarding this matter. In the days of this Emperor, according to the same writer, silk ^B began to be woven by the Romans; previously, the commodity had merely been brought by Persian merchants among the Romans, yet the latter did not know how it was produced, nor that it was the thread of worms. Two monks, however, having traveled from India to Byzantium, explained the origin of this, and promised to bring the offspring of those worms, in fact, eggs of extreme smallness, and to show the Romans how they are brought to life by heating them, how they change into worms, and how they produce silk, having nature as their teacher. Then the Emperor Justinian encouraged these monks in their task with gifts for the present and with grand promises for the future. They brought the eggs of the Seres to Byzantium, transformed them into worms by placing them in dung and warming them with it, fed them on mulberry leaves, and produced silk from them, and from then on it became known to the Romans how silk was manufactured. ^C But when a conspiracy, which had been plotted by many, was reported to the Emperor, and the patrician Belisarius was accused of participating in it, the Emperor took away all his guards and left him confined to his own house; and after he died, his wealth was distributed to the imperial treasuries. Now Justinian, in his final days, having fallen into the ^D heresy of the Aphthartodocetae—who do not admit that the Lord assumed corruptible flesh, but that it existed as incorruptible from the moment it was assumed—wished to bring all people into this opinion. He exiled Eutychian the Patriarch, for he resisted and opposed him, and designated as Patriarch John the Scholastic, the apocrisiarius from Antioch. Justinian died in this opinion, having reigned for thirty-eight years, seven months, and thirteen days, leaving the empire to his nephew Justin.

^A Justin, an Illyrian by birth, had been honored with the dignity of curopalates before his empire; he was a man capable in all things, and magnanimous. Being pious, he adorned the temples built by Justinian, and added both arches to the temple at Blachernae, so that it might take the form of a cross. He also built at great expense the church of the Chief Apostles in the Orphanotropheion, as well as the temple of the divine Anargyroi in the district of Basiliscus, and that of the holy protomartyr Thecla. He renovated the golden triclinium of the palace and the great aqueduct of Valens, and many other things besides. His wife was Sophia, whom he also crowned Augusta; in her name he built the harbor of the Sophians, and a palace before the city, naming both the place and these buildings "Sophiana" in her honor. Concerning these, an epigram was composed at the time by Agathias:

Where the resonating sea beats the hollow shores, And the Pontus with a double name cleaves the earth, The renowned king built a palace worthy of his wife, Queen Sophia, whom such honor adorned. How well, O Rome, thy mighty glory stands, from which The fertile fields of Europe and Asia lie open.

^B This Empress Sophia, having made exact inquiries about all the moneylenders and whatever was owed to them by anyone—whether through written contracts or pledges—paid off their debts to them from her own treasury. She took the pledges and the contracts, returning the former to their owners and destroying the latter. But this emperor, having been taken by a sickly body, did not go out frequently in public, and for this reason he made those who wished to do harm bolder, as if there were no one to exact vengeance. ^C When he did occasionally go out, he was troubled by many complaining of injuries, and he pondered how to avenge them. While he was concerned about this, someone approached him, promising that if he were made prefect and granted authority over everyone for a certain time, no one would be found to have been wronged. Having been pleased by this promise, the emperor appointed that man prefect. When he had taken his seat before the tribunal, and someone—a man from among the illustrious senators—had been accused by another and summoned, he did not present himself, and was summoned again by him.

^C But he did not appear even then, having treated the usher with contempt, but rather... ...of the Aphthartodocetae, who dogmatize that the Lord did not assume a corruptible flesh, but rather one incorruptible from the very moment of assumption, he was eager for everyone to believe this. Eutychius 22, who spoke against him and held a contrary opinion, he banished to Amasea 23; and John, from the scholastici, who had been an apocrisiarius of Antioch, was appointed patriarch. And Justinian died holding such views, having reigned thirty-eight years 24, seven months, and thirteen days, leaving the empire to his nephew Justin.

X. Justin, an Illyrian by birth, had held the honor of curopalates before the empire; he was a man capable in all things and magnanimous. Out of his piety, he adorned the sacred buildings erected by Justinian, and added both arches to the church at Blachernae so that it might take on the shape of a cross. In the Orphanotropheion, he built at great expense a church to the chief apostles, as well as the church of the holy Anargyroi in the district of Basiliscus, and that of the holy protomartyr Thecla. He also renovated the Chrysotriclinium of the palace and the great aqueduct of Valens, along with many other things. He had a wife, Sophia, whom he also crowned Augusta; in her name he built the harbor of the Sophiae and a palace before the city—which he named the Sophiana 25 after her, for both the place and these structures—at which time an epigram was also composed by Agathias:

Where the resounding strait beats against the hollow shores with its waves, And the Pontus divides the earth with a double name, The renowned King has built celebrated palaces for his wife Sophia, whom much honor has adorned. How well, O powerful Rome, does thy glory stand, from which The fertile fields of Europe and Asia lie open.

This Empress Sophia, having made exact inquiries concerning all the creditors and how much was owed to them by anyone, whether by written bond or by pledges given, paid off their debts from her own treasury, returned the pledges to their owners, and annulled the written bonds. But since this emperor was of a sickly constitution and for that reason did not frequently go out in public, he rendered many more audacious in inflicting injury upon others, as if there were no one to avenge them. ^B When, however, he did occasionally go out and was harassed by many complaining of injuries, he began to reflect on how to avenge them. As he was reflecting on this, a certain man approached him, promising that if he were made prefect and given authority over everyone for a certain time, no one would be found being wronged. ^C Delighted by this promise, the emperor appointed him prefect. And when he had taken his seat before the tribunal, and a certain man of the illustrious senators, who had been accused by someone, did not appear when summoned, he sent for him a second time.

^A But he, holding even this in contempt, went off to the imperial banquet, for he happened to have been invited to it. When the prefect learned of this, he too went off to the palace, and finding the meal already being served, he said to the emperor: "I promised you, O Emperor, that throughout such a long time I would allow no one to be treated unjustly, but that this goal would be fully achieved if the aid and authority of your imperial power were available to me. If, however, you yourself foster those who commit injuries, and keep them as your friends and table-companions, I shall have no success at all. Either, therefore, do not grant them license, or relieve me of my office." And the emperor replied: "If I myself am doing wrong, remove me from here." Straightway, then, the prefect had that aforementioned man stood up from the banquet and brought to the tribunal; and having confronted him with his accuser and confirmed that he had acted wrongly, he punished him with corporal scourging and ordered him to compensate the injured party with the damage plus a multiple thereof. Thenceforth, those who were keen on their own profit to the detriment of others became more moderate and slower to commit injury, having settled with those whom they had wronged.

The peace with the Persians ^B was broken under this emperor. For while the Romans paid an annual tribute of five hundred pounds of gold to the Persians, so that the fortresses of the Roman domain adjacent to them might be kept unharmed, this Justin, saying it was a shameful thing for the Romans to be tributary to the Persians, withheld the gold. Having sent legates to Arethas, king of the Ethiopians, he persuaded him to raid and plunder the Persian provinces bordering on Ethiopia; and thus, once again, a war between the Persians and Romans was kindled. The emperor therefore appointed the patrician Martin as general of the East and sent him against them; and in the fourth year of his reign, battle was joined, and although many fell on both sides, the victory nevertheless belonged to the Romans. But Hormisdas, ^C the ruler (29) of the Persians, sent Ardamanes with a heavy force to plunder the Roman provinces; he, having ranged far and wide and seized very great spoils, returned home, the patrician Martin not having dared to go out against him. The emperor took this very badly, and having stripped Martin of his command, he entrusted it to Archelaus and concluded a peace with Hormisdas (30) once more. ^D As a result of this, through these two...

^A fell into a frenzy, and suffered pain in his feet. Yet lacking legitimate issue, he had already anticipated 31 by adopting Tiberius, of the Excubitors, and proclaiming him Caesar. Being relieved of his illness, he summoned Patriarch Eutychius (for John, who had been a scholasticus, having died, this man had been brought back and restored to the archiepiscopal throne), and having gathered together both the senate and the clergy of the Church, he proclaimed Tiberius emperor, charging him in the hearing of all to be pious toward God, to benefit his subjects, to defend the wronged, not to allow the soldiers to commit extortion, not to be puffed up by the purple, to enjoy his own wealth in moderation, to concede his property without envy, and as far as possible to provide for those who had nothing, and to honor appropriately the empress ^B and his former mistress. Having offered these exhortations and counsels to Tiberius, Justin passed away, having reigned thirteen years.

XIV. The reign of Tiberius

14. Tiberius, having been crowned by the patriarch Eutychius, also hailed his own wife Anastasia as Augusta; she bore him two daughters, Charito and Constantina. Sophia, the former empress, having left the palace, took up residence in the palace named after herself, Tiberius having granted her royal service, as to his own mother. This emperor also sent an embassy to Hormisdas ^C to renew the treaties. But he did not accept the renewal; wherefore Tiberius prepared a great army against the Persians, and appointed Justinian, one of the notables of the Orient, as general, who, having marched against the Persians and having camped near them, held discussions before the engagement and persuaded them to make a three-year peace with the Romans. But with the third year already passing, Hormisdas, the leader of the Persians, marched with his forces against Armenia. This threw the Roman armies there into fear. But their leader, having spoken to them, inspired courage in everyone, and they endured the battle against Hormisdas. And for a while, the Persians, using shots from their bows, seemed to prevail, as the Romans covered themselves with their shields and did not come out ^D against them. But when the Romans perceived that the enemy had already emptied their quivers, closing ranks and raising an enyalion cry, they attacked the Persians at close quarters, defending themselves with weapons for fighting at close range. They, not having endured their onset even for a short time, were turned to flight and the majority were slain; and their camp was plundered; and the royal tent of Hormisdas, and all his equipment, and the elephants were taken for the emperor, while the rest was left to the soldiers. The Romans marched into the interior of Persia, and plundered a great part of its territory. At that time, Tiberius also began to build the baths of Blachernae, and he renewed many churches and public buildings—I mean hospices and homes for the aged—and he also repaired the Chrysotriclinos built by Justin. Eutychius the patriarch, having adorned the Byzantine see for four years in his second tenure, having died, John the Faster, a most holy man, deacon of the Great Church, was elected patriarch. The captured Persians, having been led to Constantinople, the emperor permitted all of them, magnificently dressed, to return home; their own kin, seeing them contrary to expectation, praised the emperor with great admiration. Furthermore, the Chagan, leader of the Avars, by Tiberius

^A, requested that builders be sent to him, so that they might build him a bathhouse. When they were sent, he compelled them regarding this to build a bridge over the Danube, so that by means of it he might cross over without difficulty, and plunder the territory under the Romans. ^B Having assembled from the gentiles a multitude of young and robust men amounting to twelve thousand, the emperor formed them into an army in his own name, and having appointed Maurice, the count of the foederati, as their general, and Narses the cubicularius as under-general, he sent them out against the Persians. When the battle was joined, the Roman army prevailed, and recovered cities of the Barbarians and much territory. When Maurice returned, the emperor received him with honor, and made him his son-in-law, for his daughter Constantina. The other, Charito, he joined in marriage to the general Germanus, and he honored both as Caesars. Having fallen into a wasting disease and being carried in a litter to the tribunal, he had Maurice proclaimed emperor there, in the presence of the patriarch John and the senate. He was so worn down by the disease that he could not even speak to those gathered; therefore, through a document, he presented his intention to them. Having returned from there to the palace, he paid his debt to nature, having reigned three years, ten months, and eight days.

XII. Maurice ^C took hold of the administration of public affairs, having been crowned by the patriarch John the Faster. When he ascended to the autocracy, he was forty-three years of age. In contracts, he was written as "Maurice who is also Tiberius." Now the Chagan, leader of the Avars, having taken possession of Sirmium, demanded that another twenty thousand be added to the eighty thousand provided to him annually; and the emperor, wishing to remain at peace, made this addition. Moreover, he also requested an elephant—for he had never seen such a beast—and the emperor sent him the largest one he had. But the Chagan ^D, being insatiable, or seeking pretexts not to be at peace, demanded that another twenty thousand be added to the hundred. As he did not easily refuse, etc.

he submitted to this increase also ^A, and then that king undertook a campaign against the Romans and subjugated many cities of Illyricum; he even threatened to destroy the Long Wall. Maurice, therefore, having sent envoys to the Barbarian, concluded a truce. But the Chagan, being insatiable and faithless, acted with guile against the Romans; while he himself remained quiet, he prepared certain tribes of the Sclaveni to pillage the provinces subject to the Romans, and they even reached the Long Wall. But the Emperor, having appointed Comentiolus as general, and through him having made a sudden sally against the Barbarians, drove them from the Roman borders, killing many and recovering all the booty ^B and the captives they had taken. Having betrothed his own sister to Philippicus, he sent him against the Persians with a heavy army. He, having come very close to Nisibis, and from there having invaded Persia, drove off much booty; and returning, he attacked the land of the Medes, and having plundered no small amount from there, he returned to the Romans. And again, having set upon the Persian territories, he was similarly successful. Falling ill, however, he arrived at Martyropolis and from there returned to Byzantium. A son was born to Maurice whom he named Theodosius. Philippicus, intending to fight the Persians again, asked his soldiers whether they were eager to fight the Persians; and they, having confirmed their eagerness with oaths, attacked the enemy. Although they resisted for a time, nevertheless, when the general ordered their horses to be struck, and many horses, being wounded, fell, the Persians took to flight, having been powerfully defeated and having suffered a great slaughter; the Romans indeed gained an illustrious victory, and captured about two thousand of the enemy alive. Hormisdas, the king of the Persians, having appointed Baram as general, ordered him to join battle with the Romans. ^C But he, having joined battle, was defeated; Hormisdas, learning of this, sent a woman’s garment to him, having removed him from the command, and ordered his lieutenant by letter to kill Baram. But he, having considered what kind of evil had come to pass, fabricated letters as if they had been sent to him from Hormisdas, expressing anger against the entire army, and having assembled it, he caused the letters to be read aloud to all, and he himself reminded them of the harshness and cruelty of Hormisdas, and through these things incited them to raise their hands against their own leader. They, therefore, having set upon him suddenly ^D, seized him and cast him into prison. He, however, asked to suggest to them concerning the rule of the Persians, as he knew what was advantageous for the nation, and he advised not that Chosroes, who was his son, be chosen for the rule, as he was insatiable, unjust, insolent, and of insufferable arrogance, but another of his other sons. But since some of the nobles opposed his opinion, the common people were incited against him, and they immediately killed the son to whom he had decreed the kingdom, and the mother of that son, before his eyes; he himself, having been blinded, was cast into prison: Chosroes was elected king by the whole nation. He for a time treated his father well, and although he did not lead him forth from custody, in it he nevertheless provided him all care and deference. But he, since he had nothing he might receive from his son that was welcome

but rather returned insults for his favors, Chosroes, seized with anger by these things, ordered his father to be killed by being struck in the flanks with clubs. This action engendered hatred against Chosroes among the Persians. ^B He then campaigned against Baram, and suspecting some of the grandees under him of being partisan to Baram, he put them to death. When the army mutinied against him, he, becoming afraid, fled with a few others and arrived among the Romans. Maurice, having learned of this, ordered the general of the region to receive Chosroes with royal care and hospitalities. He sent Narses with armies to aid Chosroes and to restore him to his own rule. Narses, therefore, having engaged with Baram, won a glorious victory, having killed many of the Persians, while taking about six thousand prisoners, whom he brought to Chosroes; the latter, however, pierced them all with javelins. As many of those who were captured as were of the Turkic race, aiding Baram, he sent them to Maurice; many of them bore crosses on their foreheads, their brows having been incised and black ink infused into the marks in the form of a cross. When questioned about this, they said that some time ago their race was being destroyed by famine, and that some Christians among them had suggested this to them—and not one of those who did so had perished from the famine. ^C Baram, defeated, sought safety in flight, and Chosroes returned to his own rule and country. It is said that before the victory, when the Roman general was planning to manage the war in one way, Chosroes insisted that he not engage in the battle according to his own judgment, but rather suggested another manner. The general said that it was disadvantageous to fight in that way, and Chosroes did not abandon his design, so that the general, being provoked, mocked Chosroes: "Do you, then, conduct the war yourself," he said, "[even if you are] ^D indeed unjust, an insulter, and most arrogant!" And he ordered another son of his to be chosen to rule the nation. But when some of those in positions of eminence opposed these words of his, and incited the Persians against him, his son, whom he had preferred for the rule, and his mother were immediately killed before his eyes by the crowd, and he himself had his eyes gouged out, and thus he was cast into prison. 76 But Chosroes was elected to the rule by the whole nation. And for a time he was well-disposed toward his father, not releasing him from guard, but providing every care for him there. Yet he did not accept any of the things sent to him by his son, but rather repaid his favors with insults. Chosroes, therefore, seized with anger on account of these things, ordered his father to be killed by being struck in the flanks with clubs. This caused hatred to arise among the Persians against Chosroes. He campaigned against Baram, and suspecting some of the grandees under him of being allied to Baram, he killed them. But the army having mutinied against him, he, being afraid, fled with a few, and arrived at the Romans. Maurice, having learned of this, ordered the general of the region to receive Chosroes with royal care and welcome. He sent Narses with armies to ally with Chosroes, and to restore him to his own rule. Narses, therefore, joining battle with Baram, won a manifest victory, having killed many of the Persians, and having captured about six thousand, whom he brought to Chosroes; and he shot them all down with arrows. Those who were among the captives who were of the Turkish race, fighting alongside Baram, he sent back to Maurice, many of whom carried crosses on their foreheads, their brows having been marked and black ink poured into the stigmata to the form of a cross. When questioned about this, they said that a long time ago their tribe was being destroyed by famine, and some of the Christians among them advised them to do this, and not one of those who had done so was endangered by the famine. Baram, therefore, being defeated, managed his safety by flight. And Chosroes returned to his own rule and country. It is reported that (48) before the victory, while the Roman general was thinking of conducting the war in a different way, Chosroes insisted that he not organize the battle according to what seemed best to him, but suggested another way; and the general said that it was disadvantageous to fight in that way, and Chosroes did not abandon his purpose, so that the general, being provoked, mocked Chosroes, "Go, manage the war yourself."

But since you think highly of yourself in present matters, hear what has been ordained by the gods for a later time. Know well that miseries will overflow upon you, the Romans. The Babylonian race will occupy the Roman land for the third revolution of a week of years. But after this, in the fifth week of years, you, Romans, will enslave the Persians. When these things have been accomplished, the day that knows no evening will arise for men, but so much for this." ^A The Emperor Maurice proclaimed his son Theodosius emperor, he being crowned at Easter by the patriarch John. He also completed the church of the Holy Forty Martyrs, which had been previously begun to be built by Tiberius but had been left unfinished. Peace having been made with the Persians, he moved his forces from the East to Thrace, and he himself departed from Byzantium to see the things that had been laid waste by the Barbarians. At that time also the sun was eclipsed ^B and a certain woman in Thrace gave birth to a child, which had neither eyes nor eyelids, nor hands nor arms, but had a fish’s tail stretched out toward its hip. But when the Chagan had come upon Thrace with an infinite multitude, the Roman general Priscus, being afraid, shut himself up in the fortress of Tzurulum. The Barbarian was preparing to besiege it. Then Maurice outmaneuvered him in the following way: he composed a letter to Priscus, urging him to hold out; for, he said, the Barbarians would soon depart in shame. For triremes were being sent into their country, to plunder their homes with an army, and to take their wives and children captive. He gave this letter to a certain man, having instructed him to "fall into the hands" of the Barbarians while supposedly on his way to Priscus. ^C When this had happened, the Barbarian, having read the letter and being afraid for his own people, made a treaty with Priscus for a few gifts and departed. Philippicus founded a monastery in Chrysopolis in the name of the Theotokos, and a most splendid house within it, that he might receive Maurice therein.

XIII.

[GREEK COLUMN] ^A …of those opposing him, sometimes he prevailed, and sometimes he was defeated. In one day (57) seven of his sons died from an epidemic and fever. The Emperor having sent Commentiolus against the Chagan with a numerous army, it is said that he instructed him to betray the military to the enemy because of certain seditions and insubordination, bearing them malice for this. And Commentiolus, having engaged the Barbarians in a disorderly fashion, he himself, with those around him, turned to flight, having prepared beforehand for this. Of the rest, some fell, and others were taken prisoner. It is said that those taken prisoner were about twelve thousand. And the Chagan (58), puffed up by this victory, arrived at the Long Wall. The Emperor, having collected a people, sent them for the guarding of the wall. ^B From the epidemic disease, not only the sons of the Chagan, as has been said, died, but also a multitude of the Avars was great; wherefore the Barbarian, being disheartened, hastened to return to his own land. He signals (59), therefore, to Maurice to purchase the prisoners, by giving one coin for each one. But the Emperor did not consent. And the Chagan asked to receive for each of the captives half of a coin. But he was not willing to purchase the captives for even that much, partly out of stinginess (for he was fond of money), and partly because he bore malice against the soldiers. The Barbarian, therefore, having become enraged, mowed them all down with swords (61), and departed. Hence, hatred against the Emperor grew in all, and he was hated by all. ^C The army made a report against Commentiolus, as having betrayed the military in the war. And with those making this report was also the soldier Phocas, and he spoke impudently to the Emperor, so that for this reason he was even beaten by some. But the Emperor, not paying heed to the accusations against Commentiolus, sent away those accusing him empty-handed. Then, as the Emperor was praying, a sedition was raised by the populace, and a stone was thrown at him by some; of whom the Emperor, having made an inquiry and having found some, punished them. To his son Theodosius, however, he betrothed the daughter of Germanus the Patrician, with the Patriarch Cyriacus completing the ceremony for the wedding. ^D A certain monk (62), holding a naked sword, had come from the Forum as far as the Chalke, saying that Maurice would die by the slaughter of a sword. But the Emperor, having reflected upon the lawlessness concerning the captives, besought God (63) in…

^A in the present life to inflict the vengeance for this, and sent everywhere throughout the world, beseeching all to petition God for this. And since a rumor [(64)] prevailed that he who was about to succeed him would have a name beginning with the letter Φ, he was suspicious that his son-in-law Philippicus was this person. And the man was under suspicion by him, and though he swore that such a thing had never entered his mind, he could not persuade him. But a dream [(65)] which the Emperor saw once did away with his suspicion regarding Philippicus. And the dream was this: It seemed that a great multitude was standing before the image of the Savior Christ, which is above the Chalke gate, and that the Emperor had been cast down, and that a voice proceeded from the image, and that Maurice was standing there, and that he was immediately brought forward, and asked whether he wished to pay the penalty for the lawlessness which he had committed against the captives in the present life, or in the one to come? And that he said, "In this one, O merciful Master!" And that he heard a voice saying, "Deliver him, therefore, to the soldier Phocas." Having then been awakened from his fear, the Emperor, having summoned Philippicus, first asked for his forgiveness, as he had wrongly suspected him. Then he asked if he knew a soldier named Phocas in the Roman legions? And he answered that he did know him, and that this was the one who had been sent a short while ago by the army, and who was also spoken of as being rather impetuous. And the Emperor asked what the man was like in age and in character; and Philippicus said that Phocas was a young man, and in character both impetuous and a coward. To this the Emperor replied, "If he is a coward, he is a murderer," and he narrated the dream to him. A comet also appeared at that time, which is called a Sword-star. The Emperor therefore wrote to his brother Peter, who was then in command of the army, that they should cross the Ister with the army and procure their necessities from there. This was arranged because of greed, so that the military forces might support themselves by plundering, and he himself might save the soldiers’ rations. This caused a sedition [(66)] in the army, and Phocas was immediately proclaimed Emperor by them; he happened to be a centurion. The general Peter, having learned this, fled and became the messenger to the Emperor of what had occurred. And he, having also discovered that those in the city were rising in revolt, slipped out of the palace, and having boarded a dromon with his wife and children, he fled; he sent his son Theodosius to Chosroes, that he, remembering the benefits he had received from Maurice, might show grace to him in turn. And when the Emperor’s departure [(67)] became known to the multitude, it increased the sedition all the more, and caused Maurice to be maligned throughout the marketplace.

XIV. Concerning the Accession of Phocas

XIV. Since Phocas was already not far from Byzantium ^C, those of the Green faction went out praising him, who, having arrived with them at the Hebdomon, was there crowned with the diadem by the patriarch; and having entered the palace, he immediately proclaimed his wife Leontia Augusta, the factions being present. Then, due to a dispute that arose in the places [(68)] where the Greens and the Blues were standing, they began to stir up sedition against one another. But Phocas, having sent some men, attempted to quell the sedition for them. Now one of those who had been sent, having driven away the tribe of the Veneti with insults, the people, not enduring this, shouted: "Depart, learn modesty!"

Maurice lives." Hence the tyrant was incited to the murder of Maurice, and when he had been led away to the harbor of Eutropius in Chalcedon, his children were slaughtered before his eyes. He, however, kept saying at each one: "You are just, Lord, and your judgments are right," bearing the calamity bravely. And he showed his manly courage all the more, and his bearing of the trial with gratitude, regarding his very last child still at the breast; for when the nurse, seeking that the family of Maurice should not be utterly destroyed, had hidden the nursling and offered her own child in its place for the slaughter, Maurice asked for his own to be brought forward. Then he himself also magnanimously ^B welcomed the slaughter. It is said that his son Theodosius also, while going to Chosroes, was intercepted and brought to Phocas, and put to death, as well as the Empress Constantina and her three daughters; and they were buried in the Church of Saint Mamas, which is near the wall, built by Pharasmanes the eunuch, who had been a chamberlain of Justinian. The following heroic elegies were inscribed upon their tomb:

O I, the thrice-wretched, daughter of Tiberius, and wife of both kings, Empress rich in children, and she who showed by my labor, How good a thing is government by many, Lie with my children and my husband, By the insolence of the populace and the madness of the soldiery. I endured much worse than Hecuba and Jocasta, Alas, I am a living corpse, the equal of Niobe, Yes, and of my father; for in vain did they kill the newborn, Knowing nothing of the wickedness of men? Rome, you no longer shade yourself under my leaves, For the root was torn up by the Thracian winds.

[Latin verses follow] I, the thrice-wretched daughter of Tiberius, spouse of the two kings, I, the queen of many children, who showed in my labor, How great are the profits of the scepters of many leaders, I lie here at the hands of a faithless soldiery and a maddened people, And with me lies my spouse, and my progeny lies low. Wretched I am, a living corpse, more than Niobe, Greater, O Cisseis, or greater than Jocasta, have I borne? Be it so, o father of justice; why are the little ones slain, A tribe truly ignorant of human guile? Rome, no longer will you pluck shade from my boughs, My stock lies uprooted by the Thracian North wind.

Mauricius died at the age of sixty-three, having reigned for twenty years. ^A When Phocas had seized power, Narses revolted from him and occupied Edessa. By the command of Phocas, Germanus marched against Narses, who was being assisted by Chosroes; Germanus was defeated and died a few days later from a wound. After this, Narses having fled to the holy city, and having received sworn assurances from Phocas’s brother, the magister Domentiolus, he was sent to Phocas. He, showing no regard for the oaths, had him burned. This Narses 77 had built the church of Saint Panteleemon and that of the holy martyrs Probus, Tarachus, and Andronicus, as well as the hostel located there. Phocas did not kill him alone, but also slew Peter, the brother of Mauricius; Germanus, the father-in-law of Mauricius’s son Theodosius, along with Germanus’s daughter; and all the kinsmen of Mauricius. Philippicus 78 was tonsured a cleric and spent his life in a monastery he had founded at Chrysopolis. Phocas also killed many others and punished them with cruel tortures. ^B After the patriarch Cyriacus 79 had passed away, eleven years after he had been appointed, Thomas 80, who had been a sacellarius and a deacon of the Great Church, became patriarch.

At that time the Romans were oppressed by various evils. For in the East, the Persians took Syria, Palestine, and Phoenicia for themselves; they made incursions into Armenia, Cappadocia, Paphlagonia, and Galatia, and advanced as far as Chalcedon, plundering everything. In Europe, the Avars 81 ravaged Thrace, and the Roman armies were destroyed in both sectors; furthermore, there was a great mortality among humans, and a failure of crops, and loss of livestock due to the most severe winters. Above all this, Phocas, that scourge of the human race, when the factions had directed some mockery at him during the horse races, was struck with such fury that he killed many, mutilated many, and indeed drowned others in the sea; he handed over most of them to the eparch to be punished, and they were imprisoned in the praetorium. ^C But the crowds gathered together, set fire to the praetorium, and the prisoners escaped. The Jews, having stirred up a sedition against the Christians in Antioch, killed many of the Antiochenes, including the patriarch of the city, Anastasius 82, and burned his corpse in the forum. Phocas sent troops who killed some and mutilated others, driving them from the city.

The patriarch Thomas, after having presided over the Church for three years and two months, died 85, and in his place was substituted Sergius, a deacon of the Great Church. Phocas betrothed his daughter Domentia to Priscus, the commander of the troops; and when, after the wedding, he happened to see the images of Priscus and his wife Domentia placed next to his own during the equestrian games, he was moved to fury and ordered the leaders of the factions to be beheaded, though he was with difficulty persuaded by the factions to release them. For this reason, Priscus, fearing for his own life, began to plot to remove the tyrant, who, when he was even in the women’s [apartments...]

and intoxicated, was savage and bloodthirsty, and was hated by everyone.

And while Heraclius, the father of the one who later reigned as Heraclius, was commanding in Africa and Libya, the members of the senate and Priscus the commander himself sent messages to him, begging to be delivered from the tyranny of Phocas. Now, serving under the aforementioned commander Heraclius was a certain distinguished lieutenant named Gregoras. These two, therefore, having come to a mutual understanding, sent their own sons against the tyrant: Heraclius sent Heraclius with many ships and a multitude of soldiers by sea, while the patrician Gregoras sent Nicetas by land with many horsemen and an infantry force, under the condition that whosoever reached the city first and took down the tyrant would be deemed worthy of the empire. ^B Learning of this, Phocas seized the mother of Heraclius and his betrothed, Eudocia, whom he had betrothed from Africa, daughter of the prince of that land, and shut them up in a monastery.

Heraclius arrived first and anchored at the harbor of the Sophiae; a battle was joined in which he emerged superior, with the assistance of Priscus, who was then serving in the office of Eparch. Photius, too, one of the notables whose wife the tyrant had raped by force, having seized the palace with a multitude of soldiers, pulled the tyrant from the throne (for those around him, having despaired of their safety, had withdrawn from the palace). He stripped him of the purple, clothed him in a dark garment, and ^C presented him as a prisoner to Heraclius. When he saw him, he said: “Is this, wretch, how you managed the affairs of the city?” ^D And Phocas, possessed by madness, replied: “And will you manage them any better?” Enraged, Heraclius kicked him and gave orders for him to be executed.

Some historical accounts say he was put to death immediately; others say that his hands and feet were cut off first, then his genitals, on account of his licentiousness and the fact that he had dishonored the wives of many men, and that only then was his head cut off. His wretched body was burned at the Bous, where there was, as it is said, a furnace constructed of bronze, having the form of an ox, which had been brought from Pergamon—from which the place also derived its name. His brothers and others who were intimate with him were also executed. Such was the end of the tyranny of the most wicked Phocas, who had danced insolently upon the empire for eight years.

XV. Heraclius, having been crowned by Patriarch Sergius...

^A immediately crowned Eudocia, his betrothed, and together they received the imperial and nuptial crowns, so that on the same day they were declared both emperors and spouses. Meanwhile, the Persians were overrunning the Eastern provinces, subduing some and plundering others, and the Roman legions, having been attacked by them, were defeated and destroyed, only a few escaping by flight. The Avars and Scythians ravaged Europe. This state of affairs caused the Emperor Heraclius to be of doubtful mind as to what he should do. For having examined the military registers, ^B he found them to be very sparse, as almost all had been consumed in the wars. For out of the many thousands who, in the time of Maurice, had proclaimed Phocas emperor, only two soldiers were found left remaining. Having therefore held a levy, he sends Crispus with a command into Cappadocia. From the Augusta Eudocia, whom he also named Fabia, he had a daughter, Epiphania. Then a son was also born, the younger Heraclius, also called the younger Constantine, and he adorned both children with the royal diadem. Not long after, his wife, the Augusta Eudocia, departed this life. As her corpse was being carried in royal state through the forum, a certain girl observed it and inadvertently spat upon the bier; for which act she was seized and burned, and thus paid an unhappy funeral tribute to the deceased empress. ^C Heraclius then married Martina, the daughter of his brother, and proclaimed her Augusta. However, as Chosroes and the Persians were raging uncontrollably and plundering everything, the emperor sent ambassadors to him, asking him to finally be sated by the destruction of men, to make peace, and to accept annual tributes. He rejected that embassy, so another one was sent to him requesting peace. But the Persian gave proud and blasphemous answers, saying that he would never spare the Christians unless they renounced the Crucified One and worshipped the sun. Despairing of peace, therefore, the emperor determined to make war upon the Persians; therefore he was also eager to make a truce with the Chagan, ^D so that he would not continue to plunder Thrace. He sent, therefore, to him to request peace, and the barbarian did not refuse. Delighted by this, the emperor left the city and encamped outside the Long Wall with royal magnificence and an escort, and much wealth, which he brought as gifts to the Chagan. But the barbarian, spurning both his oaths and the treaties, hastened to seize the emperor. But he was frustrated in that attempt (for the emperor had already fled), and he plundered all the royal equipment and retinue, as well as money and many thousands of captives, and returned home at his leisure. Heraclius, therefore, again complained through ambassadors [at this point, the text continues on the next page]

^A of his lack of faith and tried to draw him toward peace, but he remains stubborn. The emperor departed from the queen of cities ^B and arrived at Caesarea, where Crispus was in command as general. Because he was ill, or perhaps pretending to be, the emperor went to visit him, both to see him and to consult about future actions. He received him with indifference, neither coming out to meet him nor rising from his bed, and in their conversation appeared somewhat haughty. Heraclius understood what was happening and was resentful at being treated with contempt, but he pretended not to be troubled and not to notice Crispus’s slight against him. Meanwhile, word was brought to him that the Augusta had borne him a son. He left the troops with Crispus and returned himself to Byzantium. ^C When Nicetas, the son of the patrician Gregoras, entered the city that is queen of cities, the emperor held him in great esteem, calling him his brother. Crispus also returned from the expedition. When the senate was gathered, and the patriarch was present for the baptism of the emperor’s son, the emperor said to those present: "What is he worthy of who insults the emperor?" They replied, "He is not worthy to live, for he has rendered himself unworthy of all mercy." The emperor then recounted what Crispus had done, with him also present. Turning then to him, he said, "You who did not prove yourself a son-in-law, you will never prove yourself a friend." He therefore ordered him to become a cleric. By Martina, ^D his niece, he had two sons, Fabius, whom he also called Heraclonas, and David the other. While Chosroes was plundering and destroying everything, having subjugated Palestine and captured Jerusalem, it is said that an infinite multitude of Christians was slaughtered. For the Jews, having bought them at a cheap price, murdered them, and it is recorded that their total reached ninety thousand. The Persians carried off the patriarch of the holy city and the precious wood of the Cross to their own land. The emperor, being at a loss ^A because he did not have an army equal to the enemy and was struggling with a lack of funds, borrowed silver and gold from the Great Church and other holy houses, minted coins from them, drilled the people gathered from the provinces in military discipline, and summoned allies. After the feast of Easter, he routed Sarbarus, Chosroes’s chief satrap, who had been sent against the Romans with great forces, and slaughtered his army.

^A XVI. Meanwhile the Chagan, having broken the treaty, attacked Byzantium; and having pitched his camp before the walls, whatever was outside the city he burned. Whence the citizens, and the patriarch, and the patrician Bonus (for Heraclius, upon his departure, had left both of these as guardians of his son Constantine, and as administrators of public affairs), sent out a multitude of brave men against the barbarians, who were careless as if no army were present, and they killed many thousands of them. Those who survived, fleeing shamefully, returned to their own lands. Again, Heraclius encountered another satrap sent against him by Chosroes with thirty thousand men, and he routed him, and consigned almost all those with him to Hades. The remnants of his army, having returned home and announced the slaughter, stirred up their countrymen—who were already hostile to Chosroes—to an even greater hatred for the tyrant. ^B Indeed, Heraclius also penetrated into interior Persia, overturned cities, and destroyed the temples of fire along with the fire itself, which is worshipped by them. And learning that the ambassadors he had sent had been put to death, he was enraged and spared no one, slaying and burning and...

On the Ark of the Covenant

The Ark was seen to be more godly than the former one, Not bearing the tablets inscribed by God, But having received within itself God Himself. Here are the springs of carnal purifications And spiritual releases from transgressions. For however many are the assaults of the passions, It gushes forth as many gifts of miracles. Here, having conquered the adversaries, It destroyed them, instead of with a spear, into [the] water. For she who gave birth to God, ^C and crushed the barbarians, Has no change of turning.

Epigram on the War

For seven years Heraclius warring against the Persians, Digging up all of Persia, and burning, and scorching, He burned down that fire-bearing heaven, Together with the palaces of Chosroes which I mentioned, And extinguished the fire of the Persians, which they held in reverence. Kindled by lightning by Perseus of old, And by lamp-lighting with torches ever-successive, And with continuous flames, great and very secret, ^D Carefully kept until that time. But extinguished by Heraclius, a great grief for Persia, As the chronicles say, and with them Pisides.

^A Having brought the letters through to Byzantium, the magistrates sent them along with the courier to Sarbarus. When he had read the epistle and understood Chosroes' meaning through the courier, he forged another letter, and having convoked the tribunes and centurions, he saw to it that it was read aloud. Whereupon, inflamed with rage, they decided by common counsel to betake themselves to the Roman emperor. After these events, another thing happened that hastened Chosroes' ruin. For having many children, he rejected his firstborn, Siroes, and wished to hand over the kingdom to another, by name Merdasas. When Siroes learned this, having conciliated some satraps to himself, he attacked his father, threw him into chains, and having placed before his eyes many mounds of ^B gold and precious gems: Behold, he said, you incited the Romans against the Persians, and compelled them to rage with mutual slaughters and disasters. Satiate yourself, therefore, with your desires. Then he put away his son Merdasas as well, whom he had destined for the kingdom, and the rest of his children in his sight, and then finally he put away him too. And so, having taken possession of the Persian kingdom, he sent legates to Heraclius, announcing the death of Chosroes, and peace having been made, he dismissed all the Roman captives, and restored the venerable wood of the saving cross, and the patriarch of Jerusalem, Zacharias. By turns, the emperor gave permission to return home to the Persians who were held by the Romans. Having finished these things in six years, and having restored the precious wood and the patriarch himself to Jerusalem, in the seventh year Heraclius returned to the royal ^C city, and was received by the senate and the populace of Byzantium with joyful acclamations, and with applause, and most splendidly.

XVII. Concerning the Catholicus of the Jacobites

^D XVII. But when Emperor Heraclius arrived at Jerusalem, the "Catholicus" of the Jacobites came to him, whom they also called patriarch. The emperor brought a complaint against him, because he did not accept the Synod of Chalcedon, nor confess two natures in Christ united, saying that if he were to accept the Synod and acknowledge the two natures united inseparably in the Savior Christ, he would consider him of the same faith, and would set him forward as patriarch of the Church of Antioch. But he, being crafty and full of guiles, pretended that he did approve of the Synod, and declared he would confess two natures in Christ united; but concerning the wills and actions...

^A he inquired whether it were necessary to speak of these as double, or as single and unique. The emperor, accordingly, wrote about this very question to Sergius of Constantinople. He, having long since espoused the heresy of the Monothelites, wrote back to the emperor that one natural will and one action ought to be dogmatized in Christ. Having also interrogated Cyrus of Phasis, he found him to be of the same mind as Sergius. Moved by their authority, Heraclius himself also embraced that same opinion, and drank of the muddy water offered to him not by shepherds, but by hirelings. But when the holy Sophronius, who was then performing the high-priestly office in Jerusalem, had gathered the priests subject to him, and had demonstrated in synodical fashion that those who affirm one will and one action in the two natures of Christ openly proclaim ^B also one single nature, and when John, who presided over the throne of the elder Rome, had also joined his vote to this, the emperor proposed an edict: that neither a single nor a double action in Christ should be asserted. This edict seemed ridiculous, not only to the orthodox, but also to the followers of Severus. Upon the death of Patriarch Sergius of Constantinople, Pyrrhus, of the same opinion—an admirer and approver of the doctrine of Cyrus and Severus—succeeded him.

While this emperor was returning from Persia, triumphant and bearing trophies, Mahomet, ^C the phylarch of the Saracens, approached him. The principate had not fallen to him through nobility of lineage (for he happened to be of ignoble birth), but he had acquired it through wickedness. For being poor, he had served for wages a certain wealthy widow, whom by certain sorceries he enticed into love for him, and took as his wife. But because he labored under the comitial disease [epilepsy], and at intervals was struck down by the onset of that malady and became deranged in mind, it was a cause of both grief and shame to his mistress and wife. But the man, being wicked himself and having met a monk even more wicked than himself, who had been banished from Byzantium because of perverse religion—at his instigation ^D he told his wife that Archangel Gabriel descended from heaven to him to reveal certain divine and secret things; and that because he could not bear the sight of him, he would fall to the ground, overcome by dizziness due to fear. These words were confirmed by the testimony of the deceitful monk, who would tell the woman that this Gabriel was accustomed to be sent to all the prophets. Thus the woman, casting off her shame and rather boasting that she was living with a prophet, spread this story among the other women. Thus that impure man, having obtained among his own people the name of a prophet, and having been enriched by the inheritance of his dead wife, became the prince of the Ismaelite race, and was regarded as a teacher and legislator; for having seduced some with words, he had forced others who resisted his rule to yield to him by the drawn sword: for he had already made his faction not to be despised. He, therefore, having set out from Yathrib, met the emperor and asked for and received territory to inhabit. And when all his people

were deceived, he led them and thus that defiled one gained for himself the name of prophet among his tribesmen. Upon the death of that wife, having become her heir and the phylarch, teacher, and lawgiver of that Ismaelite nation, he deceived some with words, while those who were not readily persuaded by him he threatened with the sword, compelling them to submit to him. For he had already gathered a considerable band around him. This man, therefore, coming forth from Yathrib, approached the emperor, asking for land for habitation, and he received it. And having tricked the whole nation ^A in the manner described, and having made them his own, he overran and plundered Syria (18), and laid waste many of the Roman (19) lands; and from that time the race of the Ismaelites never ceased overrunning and plundering the entire Roman territory. Heraclius, meanwhile, as has been said, having slipped into the heresy of the Monothelites, fell into a dropsical disease. It is also said that his private parts became twisted, discharging urine upward, and if a board were not placed over his lap, it would be cast back onto his face. This was thought to happen because of the lawless union with his brother's daughter. This emperor died, having completed thirty-one years upon the throne of the Romans.

XVIII. The empire and supreme power devolved by succession upon his son Constantine; he did not long rejoice in it. For after having reigned for one year, he perished by poison, administered by his stepmother and cousin, Martina. He had taken as his wife Gregoria, the daughter of the patrician Nicetas, by whom he fathered Constans. He was sound in religion, being heir only to his father's empire, not also to his perverse opinion. For which reason Pyrrhus the patriarch is also thought to have been privy to the plot against him. Constantine having thus passed away, Martina sought to claim the empire for herself and her son Heraclonas, for which they themselves soon perished. For on account of the parricide of Constantine ^B.

IΗ'. The supreme power passed to his son Constantine, of which he enjoyed but little. Having reigned for a single year, he perished by poison mixed for him by Martina, who was his stepmother and his cousin; he had been married to Gregoria (21), the daughter of the patrician Nicetas, by whom a son was born to him, Constans. Constantine (22) was sound in the faith, having succeeded to the empire from his father, but not however to his heterodoxy. For which reason it is said that Pyrrhus, the president of Constantinople, also participated in the plot against him. And he having thus ended his life, Martina with...

(18) *Thy ten Syrian*. When the Saracens first began to invade the Roman provinces under the leadership of Muhammad, Stephanus the Mathematicus teaches in Constantine Porphyrogenitus, *De Administrando Imperio*, chap. 16. (19) *Roman territories*. The author of the *Oriental Chronicle* in Benjamin, Patriarch of Alexandria, has: "Heraclius the emperor saw in a dream someone saying to him: 'It shall come to pass that a certain circumcised nation will invade you, overcome you, and occupy a part of your empire,' which he considered to be the Jews. Wherefore he ordered all the Jews and Samaritans who were in his empire to be baptized. But not long after the Muslemen appeared, wherefore Heraclius collected all his armies from Egypt as far as Aswan, and paid tribute to the Muslemen for eight years, until all his treasuries were exhausted. In which time, namely in the 21st year, or as others will have it, in the 18th year of Heraclius, Antioch came into their power," which is also handed down by Hayton in *Historia Orientalis*, chap. 15: "In the year of the Lord 652, the accursed seed of the perfidious Muhammad entered the kingdom of Syria, and the Saracens, storming the most opulent city of Damascus, took it from the hands of the Greeks, who had held it for a long time, and later in a short time occupied the whole kingdom of Syria. Afterward they besieged the great city of Antioch, in which the Greeks were dwelling at that time. Emperor Heraclius Augustus, governing the Roman empire, hearing this, sent a great subsidy to the Greeks that they might defend the city from the perfidious Saracens: and while the armies of Emperor Heraclius had arrived at a certain plain which they call Possene, and the Saracens coming from the opposite side, joined a most cruel battle with them. There was indeed a great slaughter between them, but the innumerable multitude fell, and even until now the bones of the corpses appear there in great quantity. Whence it happened that the Greeks who were living in the city, terrified by excessive fear, surrendered the city of Antioch itself to the Saracens with certain pacts and conventions." He narrates that the Saracens then invaded Cilicia, Paphlagonia, Lycaonia, and other provinces of Asia. Add Nicephorus of Constantinople, p. 69, 1st ed., Cedrenus, p. 429; Sigebert, year 640, etc.

(20) *Transfers*. "And the kingdom and the supreme power passed to Constantine, who had succeeded to the Roman leadership earlier," etc. Another codex: "Upon his reign, and the supreme power transfers to the son," etc. Thus, the codices vary sometimes in their words while preserving the sense.

(21) *Gregoria*. Anastasia in the MS of Adam to Leo. Phil. on the same Constantine: "He is poisoned by his own stepmother Martina, leaving behind his son Constant... and his body was placed in the temple of the Holy Apostles in the heroön of Justinian; his wife was Anastasia, and after her own death she was buried with her husband." Cedrenus agrees with this. See our conjecture in *Familiæ Augustæ Byzantinæ*.

(22) *Constantinos*. Whom also Georgius Hamartolus in his Chronicle writes was surnamed Heraclonas: "After Heraclius, his son Constantine reigned, who is called Heraclonas, a Monothelite himself as well."

^A And these men also quickly fell from power. For Martina, having been hated by the senate because of the murder of Constantine, was dragged from the imperial palace, the senate having risen up against her. Her tongue was cut out, and her nose was slashed, and she was condemned; those who had begun... And Pyrrhus also was cast out of the Church and ordered into exile. ^B XIX. Then Constans, the grandson of Heraclius and son of Constantine, was installed by the senate; and in the episcopal see, Paul was placed in his stead. He also, in matters of faith, was of the same mind as those before him, namely Sergius and Pyrrhus. Thus, the emperor Constans, while not an incompetent ruler in other respects, imitated his grandfather in religious observances. For he too championed the heresy of the Monothelites. Wherefore he afflicted with most savage punishment the most wise man and most divine, the great Maximus, and both of his disciples, and condemned the most holy pope of Rome, Martin, to exile, where he also died. For he, having gone to Rome with the aforementioned father Maximus, and having convened a council of chief priests, had subjected the supporters of the Monothelites to anathema. Constans also punished many others among the orthodox who would not submit to his Monothelite will. ^C When, however, the Saracens had now obtained great power and had seized many of the provinces and islands tributary to the Romans, their leader Mabias, having built many warships, planned to attack the Roman empire. Constans, having learned of this, also prepared a fleet and set down at the harbor in Lycia, which is called Phoenix. ^D When the Agarenes had also arrived there, a naval battle was about to take place the next day. The emperor saw in a dream on that night that he was in Thessalonica. Having shared this with one of the learned, he heard that the dream was indicative of defeat, signifying "God gives victory to another," that it must be granted to the other side: and this is what happened. For when the battle was joined, the enemies prevailed, and there was such a slaughter of the Romans that the sea was dyed by their blood; but the emperor, having put on a lowly garment, and having boarded the ship that happened to be there, escaped with a few others and was saved at Byzantium. The Agarenes, with no one left to oppose them, proceeded against everything. Then they also brought the island of Rhodes under their control, and pulled down the famous Colossus on it.

^A A Jewish merchant is said to have purchased the bronze from it, and to have transported it with nine hundred camels. But for a certain time the insolence of the Agarenes against the Romans was restrained to some extent; for they were divided among themselves concerning their leader. For some favored Muawiya, and others Ali, who had become the son-in-law of Muhammad. Then they also made a truce for two years with the Romans, accepting the payment of tribute. While Constans was ruling alone, an earthquake took place, and many regions of the Roman Empire suffered grievously, and a violent wind blew at another time, and it threw down many buildings.

Now, when Paul the patriarch had presided over the Church unlawfully for twelve years, then died, Pyrrhus was again brought into the pastoral seat of the people of Constantinople in the twelfth year of the reign of Constans. For this Pyrrhus, having been expelled from the Church, as has been recorded, arrived at Rome, and having been convicted by Saint Maximus of holding wicked beliefs, he feigned conversion from the dogma of the Monothelites; and when requested by the Pope of that time for a document concerning the faith, he gave one and it was accepted. Then, departing from Rome and having gone to Ravenna, he was exposed as not having departed from the heresy. Consequently, the Pope, having learned this and gathered the bishops under him, pronounced a sentence of complete deposition against him. This man, then, having held the throne of Constantinople for the second time for four months, died, and Peter was appointed patriarch, who was also of the same belief as those before him, and having ruled the Church for twelve years, he died. After him, Thomas presided over the orthodox, adhering to the right belief; and two years and seven months later, having changed his life, he had John as his successor.

This Emperor Constans killed his own brother Theodosius, and was hated by the people of the city for this, and for his actions against Pope Martin and the great Maximus. Therefore, he departed from Byzantium and landed in Sicily, staying around Syracuse, wishing also to transfer the imperial seat to elder Rome. For he said that mothers ought to be honored more than daughters. For this reason, he summoned the empress and his three sons (who were Constantine, Heraclius, and Tiberius) to himself. But some of those close to him hindered this. Others say the populace of the city did not allow them to depart for him. But Constans, having spent years in Sicily, did not return from there. For having been plotted against by those around him while bathing, he was struck decisively on the head with the vessel ^B and ^C in which the hot water was poured over him, and he died, having ruled the Romans for twenty-seven years.

Various readings and notes

Colossus: after many years from its foundation, he pulled it down; a certain Jewish merchant, having purchased it, loaded seven hundred camels with the bronze of the colossus. Others say that it had broken at the knees and fallen in an earthquake. See Constantine Porphyrogenitus, *De administrando imperio*, ch. 21, from Theophanes, and what Allatius notes on the book *On the Seven Miracles of the World*.

(26) "For he said that mothers ought to be honored more than daughters," regarding this sentiment, we have also noted in our *Constantinopolis Christiana*, lib. 1, p. 35, that Constantine himself acknowledged this prerogative of elder Rome, observing the privileges for elder Rome because of its seniority, and that the imperial power was transferred from there to here, as the same Zonaras writes. And with a similar argument, the Emperor John Palaiologos acknowledges the prerogative of the Roman Church in Sguropulus, in *Hist. concilii Florentini*, sect. 5, ch. 12, "that the Roman Church is the mother, and the Eastern is the daughter; and the daughter ought to approach the mother." And after the city was taken by the Turks, Andronicus Callisti in a manuscript *Monodia* on miserable Constantinople: "O divine Rome, what will you ever do, now that your daughter has become a slave?" And certainly, they used to honor the cities from which they had received their origin as parents, and offered the same honor that children offer to their parents, as observed by Henri Valois in *Excerpta Polybii*. ^D

(27) *While bathing*: Anastasius Bibliothecarius, in *S. Vitaliano PP.* et alii.

^A XX. Upon his death, the legions that had been with him immediately designated as emperor a certain Armenian named Mizizius, a man so handsome that he would yield even to a painted or sculpted image. When the eldest son of Constans, Pogonatus, heard of this—whom his father himself had adorned with the insignia of empire—he took Sicily with a great fleet, killed the defeated Mizizius, and avenged his father's murder, having put to death among others the patrician Justinian, father of the patriarch Germanus. He also made Germanus himself, who had already passed beyond the years of puberty and the age at which it is customary to be castrated, a eunuch. Because he had left Byzantium still having only a tender down, but had returned from Sicily possessing a full beard, he received from the citizens the surname Pogonatus. ^B However, those who were from the Anatolic theme set off for Chrysopolis and began to shout that the other two brothers of Constantine should also be crowned, saying: "Just as we believe in the Trinity, so it is just that we should be ruled by three emperors." Constantine, having sent envoys, promised that he would yield to their demands and summoned the leaders of the populace, so that the proclamation of his brothers might take place in their presence. When they had arrived in Byzantium, he put them to death as seditious agitators. The others, finding this out, returned to their homes in fear, and he cut off the noses of both of his brothers. ^C The descendants of Hagar, meanwhile, did not cease to lay waste to all the provinces of the Romans, both by land and by sea, with burnings and looting. Then, with a heavy fleet, they attacked the Queen of Cities and made the station for their own fleet from the promontory to the west at the Hebdomon as far as Cyclobius. Constantine the emperor, also having equipped a fleet, engaged them daily, and naval battles were fought from spring until autumn. When the barbarians achieved nothing, they abandoned the siege and took Cyzicum, ^D where they wintered. At the beginning of spring, they invaded Byzantium again, where, as time was wasted in joining battle with frequent naval engagements, they returned their fleet to Cyzicum in the autumn, and this happened for seven years. Therefore, despairing of taking the city, and also having lost many soldiers and more ships (for it is said that it was then that Greek fire was devised by a certain architect named Callinicus who had come from Syria to the royal city), they departed with shame and great gloom. But when the remnants of the barbarian fleet had reached Silyeum, a violent storm arose, which partly sank the ships and partly shattered them against the rocks. Whence, those who had escaped were also destroyed by the commander of the Cibyrraeots. Moreover, another Arab army was defeated on land by the Roman legions. Whence the Saracens, cast down in their hope, and rather fearing that they themselves would be invaded by the Romans, took counsel to make peace.

And Madias sent ambassadors to the emperor, seeking peace. And the emperor consented to this, and sent the patrician John, who was called Pitzigaudes, as he was a man of understanding and had a fluent tongue in speaking, to complete the terms of the treaty. He, having gone to the Arabs and having been received most honorably, set the agreements for peace and confirmed it by writings for thirty years, with the Arabs agreeing to give to the Roman empire an annual tribute of three thousand pieces of gold, and eight slaves, and as many horses from among those prized among them. The men of Agar, therefore, thus obtained peace. And the enemies of the Romans in the West, having learned these things, they too made haste to put an end to the wars, and they sent ambassadors with gifts to the emperor, and peace was ratified with them as well.

^{A B C D} XXI. Thus were the East and the West pacified.

XXIV.

^A in those places, they restrained themselves and remained quiet; but the Roman army did not attack them. For some days, then, as both sides were so disposed, the barbarians grew to despise the Romans as weak. But an incident ^B also added a certain courage to them, contrary to their previous cowardice. For the emperor, having fallen ill from gout and being struck by sharper pains, had made a voyage for medical treatment to Mesembria (this is a region under Roman rule) with five dromons, leaving the army and the generals there, and having given orders to skirmish with the barbarians so as to draw them into battle. But a rumor having arisen in the camp that the emperor was fleeing out of fear of the enemy, everyone fled shamefully, with no one pursuing them. This, happening unexpectedly to the Bulgarians, breathed spirit into them and whetted them for battle; and pursuing them from behind, they slaughtered many, and took no fewer prisoner, and having crossed the Ister, they pitched their tents in Roman land, and from that time did not cease plundering the whole of the Roman territory. Whence, the ruler, being compelled, made a peace treaty with them on the terms of paying them an annual tribute, to the shame of the Roman Empire. And so, matters were everywhere at peace for the Romans until the death of this emperor. He died leaving as successor his son Justinian, having reigned seventeen years (31).

XXII. Justinian

new Arabic coin. ^A Indeed, it was forbidden to have any image impressed on a gold coin other than that of the Roman emperor. He therefore made war upon them, relying not so much on the Roman legions as on this new and acquired people. For although the Arabs begged him not to break the truce, nor to violate the documents of their pacts, calling upon God, by whose divinity those treaties had been confirmed, to witness them, and invoking Him as their avenger against those who would be the cause of battle, the emperor stopped his ears to these pleas and made preparations for war. The Arabs, therefore, having fastened the written document of the peace treaties to a spear, ^B and having raised this like a standard ahead of their own army, joined battle with the Romans. Immediately, twenty thousand of that acquired people of the Sclavenians defected to the enemy, which fact diminished the spirits of the Romans, brought them disaster, bolstered the enemy, and was the cause of their victory. The Romans then being pursued, they slaughtered whomever they could catch, and almost an innumerable multitude from the legions fell. The emperor himself, having been saved by flight with a few others, when he reached Leucate, ordered all the remnants of that Sclavenian and acquired people to be killed, and their corpses to be thrown into the sea. Returning to Byzantium, he occupied himself with building projects, and he founded the great triclinium facing the Orient, which is referred to by his own name, ^C and is still called the Justinianian to this day. The Agarenes, however, from that time onward, stepped onto Roman lands with impunity; and Sabbatius the patrician, the governor of Armenia, having learned of the emperor’s defeat, went over to the Arabs and surrendered Armenia to them. Nor did they cease to devastate the entire Orient with fire, and to lead Christians into servitude.

There was with Justinian a certain eunuch of great influence, named Stephen, who was also designated *sacellarius*. He was a barbarian by race, but in cruelty and inhumanity more than a barbarian, burdensome to all, not only in administrative affairs but also in the infliction of punishments; and he attacked not only plebeians but even the most powerful men, to such an extent that he even struck the mother of the emperor. The same emperor also designated as general the monk Theodosius, who had previously been imprisoned, and who himself did not yield to the eunuch Stephen in wickedness. Since the republic was being afflicted by these men with many evils, the emperor incurred the hatred of all. He kept Leontius the general in confinement for two years, being suspicious of his desire for power, ^D and afterwards, having released him, he made him general of Greece. This man said to a certain monk named Paul, who practiced astrology and was prophesying the empire to him: that he was already departing for Greece, and that he knew the emperor was sending assassins after him; but that what that man was saying would come to nothing. To this man...

had a new Arabic one. For it was not permitted ^A that any other image should be engraved upon a gold coin than that of the Roman emperor. He therefore made war upon them, relying not so much on the Roman legions as on this new and "acquired" people. For although the Arabs prayed that he would not break the truce, nor violate the tablets of the pact—testifying to God, whose name had been invoked in their confirmation, and calling upon Him as an avenger against those who should be the cause of the battle—the emperor, having stopped his ears to these pleas, prepared for combat. The Arabs, therefore, having fastened the written document of the treaty to a spear ^B and raised it like a standard in front of their army, joined battle with the Romans. Immediately, twenty thousand of that "acquired" people defected to the enemy, a fact which diminished the courage of the Romans and brought them disaster, while it emboldened their enemies and was the cause of their victory. The Romans, therefore, were pursued, and all who could be caught were cut down, and almost an innumerable multitude from the legions fell. The emperor himself, having been saved by a shameful flight with a few men, when he had reached Leucate, ordered all the survivors of that Sclavic and "acquired" people to be killed, and their corpses to be thrown into the sea. Having returned to Byzantium, he occupied himself with building, and ^C he constructed the largest of the palaces facing the rising sun, a triclinium which is called by his own name, known even to this day as the Justinian. From that time, the Agarenes stepped fearlessly into the Roman provinces; and Sabbatius the patrician, the governor of Armenia, having learned of the emperor's defeat, went over to the Arabs and surrendered Armenia to them. Nor did they cease to devastate the whole East with fire and to lead the Christians into captivity. There was with Justinian a certain eunuch of great influence, who was also named sacellarius, Stephen by name, a barbarian by descent, and in cruelty and inhumanity more than a barbarian, burdensome to all, not only in the administration of affairs but also in the infliction of punishments: and he attacked not only plebeians, but also the most powerful, insomuch that he even struck the mother ^D of the emperor. The same emperor also appointed the monk Theodosius, who had previously been imprisoned, as a general—a man who did not yield even to the eunuch Stephen in wickedness. Since the republic was being afflicted by many evils from these men, the emperor incurred the hatred of all. He kept Leontius, a general suspected of desiring the throne, in chains for two years, and afterward, having sent him into exile, made him governor of Greece. He, speaking to a certain monk named Paul who dealt in astrology and prophesied empire for him, said that he was now going away to Greece, and that he knew the emperor would send assassins after him from behind: but that what the monk proclaimed would come to nothing. To whom the monk... [1300/1301 link]

^A said: “Do not be cowardly, but take the action in hand, and you will not miss your goal.” Leontius therefore, taking those whom he trusted, broke open the public prisons and led out those who were held captive, to a large multitude who were standing around; and they, having entered the great temple of God along with many others who were streaming in, heaped insults upon Justinian and acclaimed Leontius, with the cooperation of Callinicus the patriarch. From there, having moved on to the equestrian arena, they did the same things, and having brought Justinian out of the palace, they cut off his nose in the area of the *sphendone*, and banished him as an exile to Cherson, after he had held the empire for sixteen years. As for the eunuch Stephen, namely the *sakellarios*, and the monk Theodosius, the head of the general prison, they seized them, and having tied ropes to their feet, they dragged them through the market to the *Bous* and burned them alive.

Chapter XXIII

Various readings and notes

(34) *John the patrician*: Africa, after the time of Justinian, returned again into the legal power of the emperors by the efforts of Belisarius. It began to be administered from then on by praetors, whom the writers sometimes call patricians, sometimes masters of the soldiers of Africa: the first of whom to hold this office was Solomon the eunuch, who conducted affairs excellently against the Mauritanians, whom he also destroyed in the year 525, as Procopius writes in his book II of the *Vandal War*, and Marcellinus Comes and Theophanes. As his army was in discord, Germanus, nephew of Justinian by his brother, was sent in the year 536, who conducted affairs successfully against the tyrant Stotzas, putting him to flight while fighting in the deserts of the Moors. From there, Germanus being recalled, Solomon was sent again to that province in the year 539, fighting successfully and disrupting the rebellions; but finally, he was killed by the same Stotzas, who had invaded the kingdom into the parts of the desert, in the year 541, but not three years later, as Victor Tununensis wrote. Sergius, nephew of Solomon by his brother, son of Bacchus, was sent in his place as administrator of the war and the province. He was troubled by Stotzas and the Moors in the year 543. He was later captured and drawn asunder by the Bulgars who were invading Thrace in the year 561. John, whom Marcellinus names without any title, but Victor writes that he was a leader of the militia in Africa, having engaged in battle at the port of Tacea, kills Stotzas, but he himself is killed by his own shield-bearer in the year 545. But since the same Marcellinus reports that Sergius was ^D recalled in the following year, it is uncertain whether he obtained this dignity by supreme right. Therefore, Sergius having been recalled, Areobindas, having received the emperor’s niece, was directed to Africa, and there in the year 547 he was killed in the palace at Carthage by Guntharius, who had assumed the kingdom with tyranny: whom Artabanus, the *dux* of Carthage, killed on the 30th day of his reign, John having been sent, furthermore, to the prince in chains along with the younger Stotzas. The same Artabanus is substituted for Areobindas by the emperor, and when he requested to be sent back after some days, John, the brother of Pappus, was sent to Africa, who subdued the Moors in the year 551. And finally in the year 562, in whose support Justinian sent Marcian, his nephew by his brother or sister, with a strong army, master of the soldiers, who restored peace to Africa. From then on, several other praetors and patricians of Africa are listed under Justin the Younger by John of Biclarium, and among these Theodore the prefect of Africa, killed by the Moors around the year 567. Theoctistus, master of the soldiers of the African province, who, having been overcome in war by the Moors, likewise perished around the year 568, and Amabilis, similarly killed by the Moors the following year.

^A The Arabs who were there having been expelled and defeated in battle, he wintered there, having written to the Emperor of his achievements and waiting to be told what further ought to be done according to his judgment. But the supreme consul of the Agarenes (for so they called their leaders), having learned of the situation in Africa and bearing the loss with an impatient mind, equipped a vast fleet for the recovery of the province. Since the patrician John was no match for this, he abandoned the port and headed toward the Emperor to request larger forces. But when the Roman fleet had reached Crete, the leaders of the people, partly thinking it a disgrace to return having abandoned Africa and left it to the enemies, and partly fearing the Emperor’s wrath, became the authors of a revolt among the sailors and began to harass Leontius, and [they] saluted Apsimar, the Drungarius of the Cibyrrhaeots—whom they immediately also named Tiberius—as Emperor. He, therefore, having arrived in Byzantium with the fleet, anchored his ships at Sycae. ^B Although Leontius had carefully seen to the protection of the city, nevertheless some of the provincial magistrates, having obtained the keys to the gate at the Blachernae wall, whose custody had been assigned to them, introduced Apsimar with a most solemn oath. Thus the naval troops entered and plundered the houses of the citizens. Apsimar had the nose of Leontius cut off and handed him over to custody. He relegated the leaders who stood by him, having had them beaten and despoiled of their goods. Leontius reigned for three years.

XXIV.

^A nicknamed Seven-Demon, betrayed the fourth Armenia to the Arabs. Then the chiefs of Armenia, having revolted against the Agarenes, killed him and sent envoys to Apsimarus, and again received the Romans into their territory. But Moametus, who was then governing the Agarenes, having advanced against them, brought Armenia back under the Agarene yoke, and burned the leading Armenians alive. At that time, the Agarenes also launched an expedition against Cilicia, against whom the emperor's kinsman Heraclius marched; he put the greater part of them to the sword, and having captured the rest, sent them in chains to the emperor. Apsimarus, because Philippicus, the son of the patrician Nicephorus, had dreamed that an eagle was shading his head and he (Philippicus) was coveting the kingship, banished him to Cephalonia. Justinian, meanwhile, being restricted in Cherson, as has been said, was able to escape from there and approach the Chagan, the chieftain of the Chazars; having been received by him most generously, he married his sister Theodora, and, after leaving shortly thereafter, he lived in another territory with his wife. ^B And Apsimarus sent to the Chagan, promising him much money if he would send him the head of Justinian, and he agreed; and having sent two of his own trusted men to him, he secretly ordered them to slay Justinian. Theodora, having learned this through a servant, warned her husband. Justinian, having called the men who had been ordered to kill him aside privately, strangled each of them to death, sent Theodora to Chazaria, and he himself, having boarded a small fishing boat, sailed away, going to Terbelis, the exarch of the Bulgarians. When a great storm caught him while sailing, the small boat was in danger of being submerged. And when those sailing with him advised him to vow to God that, if he were saved and recovered his rule, he would not bring any harm upon those who had acted against him, he said, "If I spare any of them, may I be submerged right here." Having therefore been saved and having reached the Bulgarian ruler, and having presented many gifts and having promised to provide even more if he were escorted by him back to his ancestral kingship—and promising to join his daughter to him in marriage—he seized the city situated above the others ^C with him and with a force of barbarian troops, and having encamped before the walls, he tried to test the citizens, speaking to those leaning out from the walls. They, however, not only did not receive him, but even showered him with wicked insults. So, at night, entering through the conduit, he emerged inside the city and became master of it. Apsimarus, having fled to Apollonias, was captured, having reigned for seven years.

XXV. Thus, indeed, did Justinian recover his kingship, and he took hold of it for the second time, his nose having been slit. He presented many gifts to the Bulgarian chieftain and, having made treaties of peace with him, sent him away. Then he [put to death] Apsimarus and his brother ^D

Heraclius, and also Leontius; Heraclius, along with many others, he hanged on gallows by the walls; but as for Apsimarus and Leontius, he led them in chains through the forum, and after making a spectacle of them at the chariot races, he threw them beneath his feet and trampled upon their necks, and thus ordered their heads to be cut off at the hunting arena.

He blinded the patriarch Callinicus (37) in the eyes first, and sent him into exile to Rome. He appointed a certain monk named Cyrus (38)—a recluse who had previously prophesied to him his restoration to the throne—as patriarch. This Emperor ^B destroyed a great multitude of both the common people and the military, some openly and some in secret. He sent to Khazaria and brought back his wife, Theodora, who had already borne him a son whom he named Tiberius; he deemed both her and the child worthy of the imperial title and crowned them both.

Having broken the treaties with the Bulgarians, he waged war against them with infantry, cavalry, and a large fleet, and marched towards Anchialus. At first, the Bulgarians were terrified and fled to the mountains; but then, seeing the Roman army encamped in disorder and scattered about in a disorderly manner to gather fodder, they took heart; they attacked them, slew many, took as many captive, and seized a great number of horses. ^C The Emperor, however, with those left to him, shut himself up in the fortress there. Then, after hamstringing all the horses (39) so that the enemy might not use them, he embarked on the ships of the fleet and returned to Byzantium in great disgrace.

Moreover, being angry with the people of Cherson, because they had thought of destroying him when they knew he was restricted there and was plotting revolution, he sent triremes, dromons, and other transport ships with a very large army and two generals, charging them to spare none of those there, but to cut them all down with the sword. They captured them without any labor (for the inhabitants of the Chersonite cities did not resist), and having caught them all, they put almost everyone to death, sparing only the young ^D and adolescent.

When Justinian realized that they had not killed even these, he was enraged and ordered those who had been saved to be sent to him. Many of those who were sent were lost by being cast into the sea, and this pleased the Emperor. And even so, he was not satisfied in his rage against them, but threatened to send again and thus to lay the region waste, so that even the

cities might be razed and plowed up. For this reason, those who still remained in Cherson, and the neighboring people who had rebelled, proclaimed Philippicus—the son of Bardanes, whom the account has narrated was sent into exile in Cephalallenia by Apsimar, and was recently recalled from his exile and was returning to Constantinople—as Emperor, with their own ruler, Elias, also cooperating. Upon learning this, Justinian slaughtered the children of Elias ^A in their mother’s lap, and gave her in marriage to Ino, his slave, a cook. Then, having prepared a fleet, he sent it against Cherson, having commanded the commander of the fleet to destroy all of them completely. But when the naval force had already reached Cherson and was besieging it, the Khazars arrived to assist the Chersonites. From this, the siege was ended; and the men of the fleet, not daring to return to the Emperor, heaped abuse upon him, while they acclaimed Bardanes as Emperor. As long time passed, and nothing was reported to him from the fleet, the Emperor, suspecting that something was being carried out against him, set out from Byzantium. And having reached as far as Sinope, he saw the fleet sailing directly toward the city; immediately, therefore, he too turned back. But Philippicus, having made a prosperous voyage, captured the great city first. Justinian, however, had his camp at Damatrys, where Elias, having been sent, was able to persuade the soldiers who were with Justinian to desert him and to flow instead to Philippicus. This having been done, Elias with his own hands cut off his head. ^B His son, Tiberius, together with his maternal grandmother, Anastasia (for his mother, Theodora, had already died), fled to the temple at Blachernae; and having entered the sacrosanct chapel, he went beneath the most holy table, and having seized one of its columns, he begged not to die. But those who had been sent to find him, having dragged the boy out from the sanctuary, cut off his neck with a sword like that of a beast, cruelly.

XXVI. Philippicus and the Sixth Synod

^C XXVI. Now, having obtained the empire, Philippicus armed himself against the sixth ecumenical synod; and having gathered a council, the vain man, as far as it lay in him, invalidated that holy synod through it. For it is said that when Leontius had recently seized the scepter, a certain monk who was an anchorite in the monastery of Callistratus, and who approved of the sect of the Monothelites, predicted to this Philippicus his accession to the throne, and as the reward for his prediction, demanded the abolition of the sixth synod, and this man promised it. And so, as he thought, he abrogated the sixth ecumenical synod. But when he found piles of money in the palace, amassed by earlier emperors, he used them for nothing necessary, and squandered the greater part in a short time; and perhaps he would have consumed all of it if he had held the empire longer. ^D For in speaking, he was considered most eloquent and not lacking in prudence; but in carrying out affairs, he was the most inept of all and altogether maladroit. He drove Cyrus the patriarch from the Church, which he had held for six years, and ordained John, his accomplice, in his place (40).

^A. However, the Bulgarians, having pillaged all of Thrace, ran down everything as far as the City, and having taken a great deal of booty and almost innumerable captives, they returned home. But the Agarenes also treated the Orient in the same way. Two years and some months having passed since he gained the empire, he celebrated the chariot races, and after the contest had washed in the baths of Zeuxippus, he invited certain senators to dinner; or, as others say, those who had been victorious in the Circus games. At this banquet he was seized by certain senators and blinded. This happened on the Saturday of Pentecost. The next day, that is, on Pentecost itself, both the senate and the common crowd gathered and appointed Artemius, the first of the secretaris, as emperor, renaming him Anastasius. ^B

XXVII. Of the reign of Anastasius

He was a man learned in every kind of knowledge and most experienced in the administration of affairs. He removed the patriarch John from the high-priestly throne, as he was not orthodox, for having held the Church for three years, and translated Germanus from Cyzicus to the sacred see of the Queen of Cities, whom we have previously mentioned as having been castrated by Constantine Pogonatus. Having learned that the Alexandrians had put into Phoenicia to seek timber there for shipbuilding, he prepared a fleet and sent it against them, ordering that the fleets of the themes also sail to the island of Rhodes to anchor there, and once united, to sail against the enemy; he appointed as commander of the entire fleet John, a deacon of the Great Church of God and general logothete. When all had gathered at Rhodes and John was preparing for the voyage, the sailors, and especially the Opsicians, who were hostile to the emperor because he had managed the naval forces somewhat poorly, refused to obey the empire; and because the deacon punished their contumacy too severely, they heaped insults upon the emperor, ^C and immediately... ^D

rather, those of the Opsikion theme were not obedient, for they were not well disposed toward the ruler, since he himself had not employed the naval army skillfully. And when the deacon, because of their disobedience, became more authoritative and treated them more sharply, he provoked them to sedition; and after speaking ill of the emperor, they killed him. Immediately abandoning their advance, some went home, while others pressed on toward Byzantium; and when they arrived at Adramyttion, they took a certain Theodosius, a collector of public taxes—a private individual—and despite his reluctance, acclaimed him emperor. Learning of this, Artemius prepared a fleet and set a guard over the city, while he himself remained at Nicaea, the metropolis of the Bithynians. The seditious, however, arrived by land and sea at Chrysopolis, and naval battles took place for a while. Then Theodosius, having crossed over into Thrace, through the treachery of those within the walls of the Blachernae, entered the Great City, and the naval and military forces with him poured in; in the city, many things from the houses were plundered. Having seized the officials who stood by Artemius, and having taken the patriarch Germanos, they departed for Nicaea, demonstrating to Artemius that the city and the palace had already been taken. And he, having donned the monastic habit, and having received promises that he would suffer nothing further, surrendered himself to them, and was relegated to Thessalonica, having reigned for one year and three months. ^C

XXVIII. The emperor Theodosius, who was surnamed Adramyttenus, was a man of good character and proper life, but otherwise unskilled, and very ill-suited for the administration and handling of affairs, especially those of an empire. Leo, who was also called Conon, having been appointed commander of the Eastern troops by Artemius—nominally favoring the cause of Artemius—did not submit to Theodosius, having the Armenian strategist Artabasdos the Armenian as an ally. Setting out, then, from there with the legions under him, he came to Nicomedia, where he found the son of the emperor Theodosius; having captured him with the imperial baggage, he reached Chrysopolis. Theodosius, having no appetite for strife, withdrew from the empire to him, passing into the clerical state with his son, and having received assurance that he would suffer no further injury, he passed the remainder of his life in tranquility, having reigned for two years.

Various readings and notes

Book Fifteen

I. Thenceforth Leo obtained the dignity of the empire unworthily; he whose fatherland was Isauria, there...

^A having migrated with his parents from under the Emperor Justinian, he spent his life in the city of Mesembria in Thrace. But when Justinian was deposed from the empire, and afterwards, upon returning with the Bulgarians to reclaim the empire, Leo went to meet him and offered him gifts; and Justinian immediately honored him with the dignity of *spatharius*, and upon reigning a second time, he took him into his confidence. Then he was sent by him to the Alans (or Albans, as they are called by the ancients), and he was sent to incite them against the Abasgi, who had revolted from the Roman empire. For the Abasgi, as Procopius of Caesarea recounts, were subjects to two of their own people, one of whom governed the eastern portion of them, and the other the western. And both of these rulers treated the nation badly out of greed. For as many boys as they found who were handsome, beautiful in appearance, and possessed of a good physical constitution ^B they would forcibly snatch from their parents, and by depriving them of their generative organs with iron, they would sell them to the Romans—who were always infatuated with the love of eunuchs—for a great sum of money, and would immediately kill their fathers, so that they, fearing they might be angry on account of their children, would not plot a revolt against them. And so among the Abasgi, it was a great misfortune to have given birth to a beautiful child, as they paid for that elegance with death. And such was the way the Abasgi were treated by their own magistrates. But Justinian was the first to send to them one of the eunuchs from the imperial palace, a fellow-countryman of theirs (for many such were reared in the Roman court), and he forbade the rulers of the Abasgi to force anyone in the future to be castrated; for they would be undertaking a vain labor, as no Roman would want to purchase their eunuchs. The Abasgi received this most gladly, and relying on the command of the Roman emperor, they no longer submitted to their rulers in this matter, and those rulers themselves became slower in that practice. Then, also deposing both of their leaders, they desired to live independently. Until that time, however, they were uninitiated into the Christian religion, and they worshipped groves and woods, and in their barbaric simplicity held trees as gods ^C But Justinian made it his study to convert them to piety, and having sent holy men to them, through them he brought them to the knowledge of God. Then he also built a divine temple of the Theotokos among the Abasgi, and installed priests, and thus he turned them from ways that were altogether barbaric to the customs of Christians. From then on, being ruled by no one ^D among the...

(45) To the Alans: Add *alter* and the Wolfian codices; Procopius writes "Albans."

^A and because their affairs were managed by them. When those who had been sent began to commit injustices and to behave in a more tyrannical manner toward them, fearing that they might be completely enslaved to the Romans, they rebelled and no longer wished to receive a Roman official. For this reason, Justinian, wishing to punish them, sent the spatharios Leo to the Alans with a great deal of money against the Abasgi, who were their neighbors, wishing to persuade them to arm themselves. Leo, having arrived there and having spent considerable time among them, returned late and with difficulty, having found neither Justinian (for he had been killed), nor indeed Philippicus (for he was sitting, as has been said, having been blinded in his eyes). He therefore approached Artemius, who was emperor at that time. He also received him kindly and appointed him general of the Anatolic theme. By doing this, as has been said, ostensibly defending him, he raised his hand against Theodosius and became master of the scepter. O abyss ^B of the judgments of God! Unfathomable! Having reigned in this way, he immediately united his daughter to Artavasdus and honored him with the rank of kouropalates. Maslama, the leader of the Arabs, having crossed over from Abydos with a great army into Thrace, ravaged much of the Thracian countryside. Having attacked the queen of cities (46), he pitched a camp near the walls on its land side, and he was besieging it from there, while from the sea, the archisatrap Solyman was doing so with a large fleet. But the Romans routed their ships, both the warships and the cargo ships, with liquid fire, so that many of the commanders, to whose ships this fire had not yet reached, in despair, fled to the emperor. Thus the greater part of the Arab navy was destroyed. As for the troops that were plundering in Bithynia, the Roman infantry soldiers encountered them and slew many, so that those left behind, fearing, fled. A mighty famine pressed upon the Arabs who were in Thrace, whence they did not abstain from the carcasses of any dying animals. It is said that they even partook of human flesh. But a plague-like disease also fell ^C upon them and destroyed them in great numbers. The Bulgarians, too, having come upon them, put many thousands of them to the sword, as some record.

II. Meanwhile, Sergius, the strategos of Sicily, having learned of the movement of the Arabs against the city and how the Romans were in a state of instability, he himself also attempted a tyranny. He did not consider himself worthy of the imperial title, but he caused a certain Gregory, one of those serving him, to be proclaimed emperor by the people, having changed the man’s name to Tiberius, and he also promoted certain others to offices according to his own judgment. When these things were reported to Leo, they stirred him to oppose the one who had acted as tyrant. He bestowed the rank of patrician upon Paul, who was in charge of the imperial grooms (the Roman tongue knows how to call this a chartularios), and, having designated him strategos of Sicily, he sent him against the rebel, having placed in his hand edicts to the governors of the regions commanding them to assist Paul and, toward the ^D Roman interest, to signify that things were going well, now that the Arabs had been defeated and routed. These, too, he delivered to Paul, to be given to the soldiers. Who, being...

in Sicily, having inscribed a letter declaring that matters were going well for the Romans, now that the Arabs had been defeated and routed through Paul, he sent this to the soldiers. ^A When Sergius realized that he had unexpectedly taken Sicily and entered Syracuse, he immediately took flight and set off for Longobardia. But Paul, having spoken to the military forces and read the emperor’s letter in their hearing, they immediately honored and acclaimed the emperor; and they handed over Gregory and those who were bound with him to Paul. And he put Gregory to death, while he scourged his aides, sheared their hair, and condemned them to exile. But Sergius, having received assurance that he would not suffer any harm, came to Paul from Calabria. And thus things in Sicily were calmed. The Arabs who were besieging the city, having suffered more than they inflicted, were eager to return home, and having boarded the remaining ships, they departed. But having fallen into a violent storm, they all perished with their own triremes, only ten ships being left, of which five were taken by the Romans, and the rest, having escaped the disaster, returned home, messengers of the calamity. A whelp was born to Leo more savage than his father, and Leo crowned his mother, who was called Maria, and baptized the child in the Great Church, naming him Constantine; ^B who, it is said, fouled the sacred font when he was submerged in it, and was hence named Copronymus [47], and the most holy patriarch Germanus is said to have remarked that this was a sign that this child would be a great evil to the Church and to those who chose to live piously. The magistros Nicetas Xylinites, a man of supreme authority, persuaded Artemius, who was living in Thessalonica, to set out for the Bulgarians and, with their cooperation, to attempt to recover the empire. And he was persuaded, and with a multitude of Bulgarians he came to Byzantium, thinking he would be welcomed by the people. But as those in the city did not concern themselves with him, the Bulgarians betrayed him to Leo for a large sum of money, and they departed; and he, along with Xylinites, was killed, and the property of Xylinites, which was great, was entirely confiscated. ^C Others of Artemius’s conspirators were also killed, among whom was the archbishop of Thessalonica. Thereafter, Leo made his son Constantine emperor, the rite of coronation being celebrated by the most holy Germanus. From that point on, Leo began to fight against God and raged against the venerable icons. Having summoned the patriarch Germanus, he said that the icons should not be honored, for he called their veneration idolatry. But that divine Father said: “Speak well, O Emperor, and do not think such things; for it is an impious [thought] outright.” ^D I know indeed it is sung that this heresy is to be stirred up, but do not be its author. Is a certain Conon said to be the one who will initiate it? Then he immediately said: “I am he, and no other. For I was called Conon by my parents as an infant.” Since the renowned Germanus would not agree, but rather resisted with great courage and refuted that perverse opinion, the Church expelled him, though he had governed it for fifteen years, and designated a certain Anastasius, who agreed with him, as patriarch. Now I shall explain where Leo was led to this opinion and how he progressed to this point of impiety.

III.

How those Jews, through their sorcery, incited the Emperor Leo to persecute the holy icons

When Izitho had recently achieved the principate of the Arabs; two Hebrews, sorcerers by trade, though they professed to predict future events through astrology, promised him the empire and a long life if he would cast out from the Christian churches the images of Christ and His Mother. The Barbarian did not hesitate, but destroyed the sacred images in all the temples within the land subject to him. But Divine Justice did not take long to overtake him. For not a year had passed before the wretch was deprived of his life. His son, who succeeded to the throne, sought out those other false prophets ^C desiring to punish them for the deception of his father. But they had already escaped from there and arrived in Isauria. There, having chanced upon this Leo, who was then a young man and a workman, they predicted to him the Roman empire. When he, looking at his own humble station, far removed from such a high office, refused to believe their oracles, they firmly insisted on the fulfillment of their prophecy and demanded he confirm by oath that, should he obtain the empire, he would grant them whatever they might ask. He swore that he would do so. ^D Having obtained, as it is said, the Roman empire, and having already held it for nine years, those who had prophesied it to him approached him and asked to be paid the reward for their prediction. Leo was prepared for this, and asked what it was they requested. That profane pair of Jews responded, "We do not ask for wealth to be given to us, nor to be promoted to any heights of dignity, nor anything else of imperial splendor, but only that the images of the Nazarene and she who bore Him be removed from every place." And he, being unsteadfast in the faith, agreed to do this as if it were some casual and trivial thing. Thus, at the commencement of the tenth year of his tyranny, he began to fight against God, and with a terrifying roar he raged against the sacred images and stirred up a most severe persecution, punishing many who resisted his most unholy will and making them martyrs. Besides these other things, he also designed this...

^A to carry out against those who piously opposed him, and he did it. There was a house located in the so-called Imperial district, very close to the Chalcoprateia, in which many books of secular learning, and of a more noble and divine wisdom, were stored. This place had long been the residence of the man whom they called the ecumenical teacher, who was preeminent in logic. He had twelve others living with him, men who partook of logical training to the highest degree. Public provisions were allotted to them, and those who were intended for logical and scientific training used to attend them. These were also the men whom the emperors had appointed as counselors for practical affairs. He judged that if he could win these men over and bring them to his own mind, he could accomplish everything. Having summoned the men, he shared with them his wicked opinion concerning the holy icons. ^B Instead of agreeing with him, they sought to turn him away from this opinion entirely, partly by soothing the savage beast and charming him with salutary songs, and partly by opposing him more boldly and refuting his impiety. But he, like an asp, stopped his ears and would not admit the voice of those charming him, nor would he accept medicine from the wise. Therefore, having dealt with them many times and having abandoned hope of persuading them, he released them to go to their own place of study, that is to say, the imperial house. But he himself ordered a great deal of combustible material to be collected and placed around the building at night, and in this way he burned that house together with the books and those wise and venerable men.

IV. For this reason Gregory, who at that time governed the Church of the Elder Rome, repudiated the communion of the pontiff of the New Rome and of those who followed him, and he subjected them, together with the emperor, to a synodal anathema. ^C He also withheld the tributes which until that time were being paid from there to the Empire, having reached an agreement with the Franks, whence they were given the occasion to rule over Rome. For the Franks are not of the Roman race, but, as the historian Procopius of Caesarea says in his *Varia Historia*, they are a Germanic nation that formerly dwelt around the Rhine river and the Rhone and the marshes of those regions. He relates that when Belisarius was commanding the Roman army under the former Justinian, and was contending against the Goths for Italy and the Italian cities, and Rome itself (for they were held by the Goths), the Franks then invaded Italy. But the Goths, not being able to stand against the Romans and the Franks at the same time, made an agreement with the Franks and dissolved the war against them, having ceded to them all the parts of Gaul ^D that had fallen to them. And this transaction, Justinian himself confirmed by imperial writing, at the request of the Franks, negotiating that the Franks should not oppose the Romans in their war against the Goths, but that through this confirmation their relations with the Romans might be friendly. Hence the Germans occupied Massalia, the colony of the Phocaeans, and all the coastal regions; and they mastered the sea there, and also seized a great part of the Venetiae. Thus, therefore, the Franks, having drawn near to the Italians, did not cease from that time to attack the Romans who were there, and to raid the provinces under their control.

^A Pope Gregory, having apostatized, as has been mentioned, from obedience to the emperor, did so on account of his impiety. He made a truce with the Franks, having previously hastened many times by letter to urge Leo to turn aside from his hatred of God and to be persuaded to venerate the holy icons. But it seemed like trying to wash an Ethiopian white. For not only did he not consider anything righteous, but, having been driven to frenzy against the orthodox, he punished many and deemed them worthy of the crowns of confession. He burdened the Calabrians and the Sicilians with new taxes, having decreed that they should pay a poll tax after the manner of the Jews, and that the males born among them should be registered. Now, when his son Constantine had already attained the age of a youth, he betrothed to him as a wife the daughter of the Chagan, who ruled over the Scythians, after having baptized her and named her Irene; she was not drawn into the impiety of her husband, but, having been initiated into the pious dogma in which she had been instructed, she remained unchanged.

A violent earthquake ^B occurring in the vicinity of Byzantium, many temples and houses fell, and a multitude of people were buried in the ruins. At that time, the column of Arcadius, which was erected in the Xerolophos, fell, as did the statue of the great Theodosius at the Golden Gate, and even the city walls facing the continent. The cities of Nicomedia and Nicaea also fell, the metropolises of Bithynia. The tyrant Leo seized upon the collapse of the walls as an opportunity for profit, and he made a proclamation to the people of the city: "We would not be able to quickly rebuild the walls, and it is disadvantageous for you for the city to remain for a long time without walls. Therefore, it has been ordered by us that there be an addition to the public taxes, twenty-four folles for every nomisma, so that as these are provided to the emperor, the collapsed parts of the walls may be restored at imperial expense." From that time, therefore, until now, this collection has prevailed. Thus, for the ruin of the state, the miserable Leo, having reigned for twenty-four years, fell ill with dysentery and miserably breathed out his soul.

^C

V.

he campaigned against the Arabs, and upon arriving at the province of Opsikion, where his brother-in-law, the Curopalates Artabasdos, held the command, he plotted against this very brother-in-law. ^A For the members of the senate, and those of the populace, and even the military, being ill-disposed toward Constantine, were voting for the empire to pass to Artabasdos, as he was considered orthodox. Then, having learned of the conspiracy, and having spoken to the people, Artabasdos attacked Constantine. But Copronymus was quick to escape and to take refuge in Amorion, and having sent envoys to the general of the Anatolics, Lakenon, ^B and to Sisinakios of the Thracesian theme, he persuaded them with magnificent promises to fight alongside him. Hence civil wars arose, and the Romans destroyed one another. For each side was adhering to its own emperor, since Artabasdos had already been proclaimed emperor. Now in the royal city, Constantine had left the Magister Theophanes in charge of affairs; [he was] dedicated to Artabasdos, and having received letters from him, he announced publicly that Constantine had been killed and that Artabasdos had been created emperor by the legions. And so the urban multitude, having assembled in the Great Church, anathematized Constantine and lauded Artabasdos, with the patriarch Anastasios also approving these things. ^C Accordingly, Artabasdos, now accepted and hailed by all as emperor, immediately restored the holy icons everywhere. But the patriarch Anastasios swore upon oath, affirming that Copronymus had said that Christ was not the Son of God, but a mere man born of Mary, just as he himself had been born of his own mother Mary. After Artabasdos had departed from the Great City, battles arose again. For Constantine, having crossed over from Chalcedon, was besieging the city, casting up ramparts around the terrestrial walls. Having engaged him and been defeated, Artabasdos shut himself up within the city and took care that it should be guarded securely. ^D But because Copronymus held command of the sea and would not allow cargo ships to put into the city, famine pressed upon those within, so that many perished from this. He also seized the son of Artabasdos, Niketas, and having shackled him, displayed him to his father. Then, attacking the city again—O the inscrutable judgments of God!—he took it. But Artabasdos fled and shut himself up in a certain fortress of the theme of Opsikion, and having been captured, he was blinded, along with his two sons. And those who had fought alongside him [were punished].

Many were killed by Copronymus, and before the others, Baktangios, a man of the distinguished patricians, whose wife the tyrant had forced, after many years, to depart for the country where he had been buried, and to dig up her husband’s bones and carry them herself, and throw them into the [place] of Pelagius, where the enemies and the condemned were cast. And while the horse races were taking place, he led Artabasdos and his sons through the middle of the theater and celebrated a triumph over them. Furthermore, having ordered the Patriarch Anastasius ^A to be brought from the Dihippion—seated backwards on an ass, so that he might face the tail—he thus disgraced him and celebrated a triumph over him as well, after he had first been publicly beaten, so that the prophecy of the illustrious Patriarch Germanus might be brought to fulfillment. For once, when the aforementioned Patriarch Anastasius was walking behind the patriarch, and had stepped on the latter’s omophorion, the holy Germanus turned and said: "Do not be in a hurry, the Dihippion awaits you." And after that disgraceful parading, he allowed him—as one of the same mind—to hold the Church again and to perform the sacred rites.

^B VI. The Arabs being at variance with each other and occupied with civil wars, Copronymus, seizing the opportunity, set out on an expedition against Syria and captured Germaniceia. A most violent earthquake having occurred in Palestine and Syria, many churches, monasteries, and dwellings collapsed, and tens of thousands of people perished. And furthermore, a great destruction of men from diseases occurred in Sicily, Calabria, Greece, and other regions, which spread as far as Byzantium itself; and the multitude of those dying was so great that it was not possible to carry out the dying, and for this reason, they carried them out by piling them onto wagons. ^C Copronymus’s wife, the daughter of the Chagan, bore him a son, whom he named Leo and proclaimed emperor, having him crowned by Anastasius, the patriarch who was of the same opinion as him. Constantine ruled Theodosiopolis and Melitene, and because of this, getting carried away, he breathed more fiercely against the Church and the orthodox faith, setting forth dogmas by which he drew the rabble to follow his most impious frame of mind. Then also the Patriarch Anastasius, having impiously presided over the Church for twenty-four years, ended his life. And Copronymus, having gathered a assembly of many bishops who were of the same mind as him, among whom were Theodosius of Ephesus and Pastilas of Perge, through them decreed whatever he wished, without anyone being present either from elder Rome or from the other patriarchs. ^D And that gathering of those unholy men, he did not hesitate to call an ecumenical synod; entering with them into the most holy church of the Deipara at Blachernae, and having ascended the ambon, and having placed Constantine, a certain monk who had been bishop of Syleum, there, he cried out: "May the years of Constantine, the ecumenical patriarch, be many!" A few days later the tyrant

arrived at the Forum with his patriarch and the bishops who agreed with him, ^A and before all the people they prohibited the veneration of the holy icons, calling those who worshiped them idolaters. They placed under anathema the venerable Germanus, and George of Cyprus, who had been patriarch of Constantinople (58), as well as John of Damascus, who was great in wisdom and virtue and who had frequently rebuked both this God-fighter and his father for impiety in his letters. ^B Constantine went on an expedition against the Bulgarians (59), and having engaged them in battle, he lost many men—not merely common soldiers, but also illustrious men and tribunes—and returned home with a defeat. Now, from of old, the Christians were the ones who kept the tax ledgers among the Hagarenes—for those people did not know how to calculate, nor even how to write down small fractions, I mean thirds and fourths, eighths and twelfths, and even smaller parts than these—but at that time, out of envy, they were prevented from managing them. When the people of Hagar could not accomplish this task by themselves, they were once again constrained to entrust the management of these accounts [to Christians]. The ill-fated tyrant, however, put to death a certain monk named Calybites, a holy man who had reproved him and called him impious, as well as another, Julian, and Valent, who was scourged. As for the Bulgarians, they killed their own leaders, who were descended from princely families, and chose another who was foreign to the principality, named Teletzin. ^C Against them the emperor brought war by land and sea and attacked at Anchialus; and although the battle lasted from the fifth hour of the day until evening, and many fell on both sides, he nevertheless won. The leader of the Bulgarians fled, a great slaughter of the Barbarians took place, and no fewer were captured; many also voluntarily surrendered themselves to the emperor, who, elated by the success of the affair, celebrated a triumph, himself advancing in arms with his armed legions, and bringing the captives in chains, attributing the victory not to divine power, but to his own arms. After the triumph, he put all the captives to death. ^D Saying: "Today there is salvation for the world, because you, O king, have delivered us from the idols." These things were done by the impious and the merchants of Christ.

Variæ lectiones et notæ.

(58) *τῆς Κωνσταντίνου γενόμενον.* The translator rightly rendered this as "who had been patriarch of Constantinople," for that pseudo-synod was convened while Germanus was still occupying the see. Consequently, Zonaras thought that George of Cyprus—who in that conventicle had been struck with anathema along with the patriarch Germanus and the Damascene—was the same George who, under Constantine Pogonatus, presided alongside the legates of the Roman see at the Council of Constantinople against the Monothelites (in his 15th year of his reign, as Theophanes writes): in which council certain decrees were indeed issued in favor of the holy icons, and especially those in which the Lamb is depicted being pointed out by the finger of the Forerunner—which is in Cedrenus, in the 15th year of Constantine Pogonatus, by canon 82 of the Trullan, or Quinisext, synod. But Zonaras was utterly mistaken, since George of Cyprus—not bishop of Cyprus, as Xylander translated in Cedrenus, and as the author of the history prefixed to the Seventh Synod believed—was alive at that time, nor is he gifted with this patriarchate by Nicephorus of Constantinople in the *Breviary*, nor by Theophanes, Cedrenus, and others, but he is merely described as being from Cyprus, and in the *Response to the Pseudo-synod* published by the Fathers, the same George is said to have "lived evangelically in life," that is, he embraced the monastic life. See Allatius in *Diatriba de Georgiis*.

(59) *Ἐκστρατεύσας δὲ κατὰ Βουλγάρων.* Another manuscript writer of the life of St. Joannicius mentions this Bulgarian war more than others: "While he was dwelling there, the Bulgarian nation went out during his sixth year, pillaging the land of the Thracians. The ruler of the Romans at that time stationed his army against them, having gathered a large and martial force, among whom, I suppose, this youth was also examined, he of pious mind. A great war broke out between them, and the phalanxes of the Romans fell in great numbers."

^A they went over to the king. And being lifted up by this, he celebrated a triumph for the victory, himself being fully armed with his armed army, and leading the captives in chains, inscribing the victory to his own arms and not to the divine power. And after the triumph he ordered all the captives to be slain.

^B VII. Now a great winter occurred in the days of his reign, so that not only were the rivers frozen through and through by the cold, but the northern sea itself for many stadia, and the strait of the narrows, and the path from the city to Chrysopolis. And when snow later fell upon the ice, and that too was compacted and frozen by the cold, people crossed the strait of the narrows on foot, and the path from the city to Chrysopolis, and beasts of burden carrying heavy loads, and oxen pulling carts with much cargo. This, it is said, happened at that time in other seas as well. Then, the air having warmed, the continuous mass of the ice was broken up and severed into segments. And a wind blowing suddenly, strong and violent, drove the segments through the sea, which were in no way unlike great mountains or islands many plethra in extent; and to these, wild and tame animals were frozen fast, having been trapped in the ice and frozen stiff. Some of these ice-floes, driven with great force by the winds, struck against the coastal walls of the city and along the water, and they immediately cast down what they struck, and not only did the walls collapse, but the houses adjacent to them were also shaken down. And a great drought occurred on account of these things, so that even the perennial rivers were dried up and the springs failed completely. But the senseless soul of that man was not improved by any of these things; rather, having summoned his patriarch, he said to him in secret, "Tell me, if we call Mary Theotokos, will there be any harm from this?" The other immediately turned to entreaty, saying, "May this not be said at any other time nor to any other person, O King, for that is the notion of Nestorius. Do you not know how he is censured by the entire Church of the faithful, and condemned with anathema?" He replied to him that not as one holding such an opinion did he say this, but that he asked desiring to learn. ^C And he was carried to such a degree of impiety that he even ordered the relics of the saints to be committed to the fire, and that the title of "saint" should not be applied to the Theotokos, nor to any of those well-pleasing to God, but rather that one should say "the apostle Peter and Paul," and "the martyr George," or "Theodore," and likewise for the rest. And the assembly of the unholy chief priests, about which I have already spoken, having committed their impiously dogmatized ideas to writing, and having called them the "Synodal Tome," the most impious one demanded that all the chief priests and those of the monks who were renowned for virtue should put their signatures to these things.

^D For even if he had waged a most heavy persecution against the monks, so that almost no one of them remained in the city to appear in public—yet many still dwelt there, and others led their lives outside the city. Those, therefore, who yielded to his brutality and confirmed that impious writing were allowed to live without harm. Those who resisted were deprived of life by bitter deaths and cruel tortures. At which time the great ascetic and famous athlete Stephen, having refused the acceptance and subscription of that tome, was after many torments cruelly killed, and having been dragged from the praetorian prison to Pelagium, there [was condemned...]

^A he placed it, so that there would be almost no one left in the city who might profess the monastic life in public. But there were still many remaining in hiding, and others outside the city who had betaken themselves to the ascetic life. Now, those who yielded to the fear of his beastliness and confirmed that impious writing, saying that they were untainted, were let go. But those who did not obey, [and who, subjected] to bitter punishments and violent deaths, were deprived of their lives, and the great among ascetics and athletes, the renowned Stephen (61), because he did not yield to satisfy ^B and confirm that tome, having suffered much, was at length killed in cruelty; and being dragged from the praetorian prison as far as the [shrine] of Pelagius, there he was thrown with the condemned—where there was a shrine of the martyr Pelagius (62), which the hater of God took down, and having dug a very deep pit, he commanded the condemned to be cast therein. He also punished many of those in rank and of the senatorial council for the sake of the honor of the holy icons, and required an oath from them all, that no one should offer reverence to the divine icons; but he even demanded this oath from Constantine himself, whom he had placed over the Church, and who, having ascended the ambo, swore it. Having set out against the Bulgarians with a large fleet, he moored his ships at Anchialus; and upon a violent wind blowing, nearly all of them were broken to pieces, and a great multitude both of the naval forces and of the infantry perished in the waters; whence he returned without having accomplished anything. ^C Nevertheless, being goaded by madness against the monks, a horse-race having taken place in the theater, he seized many of them and triumphed over them by leading them through the theater, with women holding shameful [objects] in their hands. Furthermore, he betrayed some of the illustrious princes: some out of envy because of their beauty and strength; others through calumny, because he claimed they were conspiring against him and reporting his deeds to the monks. He cut off the heads of two more notable ones; the others, having gouged out their eyes, he shut up in certain places, and having sent taskmasters every year, he ordered each to be beaten with a hundred bull-hide scourges. In addition to this, he delivered Constantine, the patriarch designated by him, to the charge of a crime—namely, that he had held conversations against him with one of those princes; and having suborned accusers to convict him—whom, when they went to deny it, he compelled to swear—by this course he relegated the patriarch, and the tyrant created another, Nicetas the eunuch, not of free birth but born of servile stock, who could barely read, and had been engaged in tasks involving women. Then he had Patriarch Constantine brought back from exile, and having most severely tortured him so that he could not walk, he ordered him to be carried like a bundle into the Great Church. There, with certain crimes that were charged against him being read out in the presence of many who had been summoned for that reason, ^D and with the new patriarch Nicetas sitting on the throne and listening, he was slapped; and having been thus tormented for a long time, he was finally branded with anathema, and his hair, beard, and eyebrows were plucked out.

and having been placed upon an ass while the race games were being celebrated, he was led into the theater, triumphantly disgraced, spat upon, and beaten with sticks. After these things, the tyrant sent some of the nobles and asked him what he thought of his own faith and about the council. He, seeking to appease his cruelty, answered that he believed rightly, and that the council had decreed correctly; having said these things, the thrice-miserable man was taken away to the stadium and beheaded.

^B VIII. Furthermore, the profane man added daily to his fury against the churches and monasteries. And being intemperate, he took three wives; from the first, he had a son, Leo, whom he honored with the title of emperor; and from the others, he had Christopher, Nicephorus, and Nicetas. The first two he crowned as Caesars, but Nicetas he honored with the title of nobilissimus. He also betrothed a woman from Athens to his firstborn son and emperor, and he crowned her Augusta, giving her the name Irene, of whom a son, named Constantine, was born to Leo.

Again, Copronymus set out against the Bulgarians with a very large number of triremes and dromons, wishing to invade Bulgaria by way of the Ister. But then, growing fearful, he pondered turning back the army. The Bulgarians, also terrified, sent envoys to request peace, which was granted on the condition that neither the Bulgarians would plunder the Roman provinces, nor would the Romans invade Bulgaria.

Having done these things, he returned home. Yet some of the Bulgarians, enticed by the gifts of this emperor, secretly revealed to him the plans of their ruler; and they informed Constantine that their leader wished to send an army against one of the Roman territories so that he might bring back booty from there. And he, having sent out scouts, when the raiders set out from Bulgaria, and he himself being ready, suddenly attacked them; some he destroyed, others he took prisoner, and he returned with much booty and again triumphed in arms. Furthermore, having prepared many triremes, he sent them against the Bulgarians, but when they were near Mesembria, a storm of violent winds fell upon them, and almost all were sunk. But Telerichus, the ^D prince of the Bulgarians, suspecting that his plans were being revealed to the emperor by his own household—though he was ignorant of who they might be—by the stratagem of Copronymus’ levity, was outwitted, and discovered the truth from the very person he did not know. For he wrote to him that he was coming to him in secret, and requested that he indicate to him...

^B if he had any friends among the great men of the Bulgarians, so that, trusting in them, he might entrust the secret to them and arrive to him in their company. The blockhead, because he did not understand the trick of the Barbarian, but foolishly revealed immediately those who were attached to him, was caught by the Barbarian, who treated them all cruelly and pitilessly. And once again this Emperor campaigned against the Bulgarians, and while he was encamped near Arcadiopolis in Thrace, his feet became gangrenous, whence violent and burning fevers consumed him, so that no remedy for this could be devised by the physicians. Brought from there on a litter as far as Selybria, and placed on a trireme, he kept crying out that he was being cast into fire while still alive. And immediately, when he reached Strongylus, he felt miserably the edge of a divine judgment, and there he ended his life violently—having destroyed many thousands of the Orthodox, especially monks, whose monasteries he partly burned, partly destroyed, and partly profaned, just as he did with the ancient Dalmatus monastery, which was the oldest of all those in Constantinople, which, after driving out the monks, he turned into a hostel for soldiers. Nor did he only harass the living servants of Christ, but he did not cease to insult the divine martyrs and others who were well-pleasing to God, asserting that they had no power and calling their intercessions a vain protection; indeed, he threw the relics partly into the earth with contempt, partly sank them, and partly turned them to ashes, just as he did with the holy body of the glorious martyr Euphemia, concerning which there is a double report. ^C For some say that the wicked Copronymus had the intention to burn it, along with dogs and donkeys that were to be burned with it, but that his plan failed because the Orthodox, having learned of the design, secretly took it away from the coffin and placed another in its stead, which was burned by that wretch. Others affirm that the body of the martyr was not burned, but was sunk in the sea together with the coffin, and that, being guided by divine grace, it was driven to the island of Lemnos and recognized by the faithful of that place, kept there, and under Irene and her son Constantine, was brought back to the imperial city with honor and magnificence. Therefore, having lived such a shameful life, he died in such a violent manner, as has been recounted, having reigned for thirty-four years and three months, including in this the two years during which Artabasdus ruled before him, having been overcome by him.

IX. His son, Leon, born of the Chazar, obtained the empire, laboring under the same disease of impiety, ^D

^A although at first he feigned piety and respect for the monks, to the point that some of the monks were even raised to the episcopacy in the more prominent metropolises. Having found a great deal of money in the public treasuries, which his father had gathered and hoarded unjustly, he used this and a feigned godliness to appease his subjects. Consequently, the citizens and many from the themes, having gathered together, requested, ostensibly to do him a favor, that his son Constantine be proclaimed emperor. He, for his part, if they truly desired this, demanded that they swear an oath that they would never accept any other king apart from him, his son, and their seed. And all swore—not only those of the senatorial council and the army, but also the common crowd, the merchants, and those who presided over the workshops—and they drew up written documents regarding these matters. These things took place on the sixth day of the week of the saving passion of the Savior. On Great Saturday, the emperor appointed his brother ^B Eudocimus as *nobilissimus*, and on the very Sunday of Pascha, he crowned his son, after the patriarch had performed the customary prayer. After the death of the patriarch Nicetas the eunuch, who had presided over Constantinople for fourteen years, Paul the Cypriot, a reader and an orthodox man, was chosen as patriarch. Leo, having discovered some of the prominent men of the palace paying homage to the divine icons, shed his fox's skin, brought the lion hiding within it out into the open, and after torturing them most brutally, leading them in a disgraceful procession through the marketplace, and first plucking out their hair, he cast them into the praetorium, where some of them yielded up their ^C souls to the Lord. Having completed the fifth year of his reign, he died. For, having lusted after the crown which Maurice had dedicated in the Great Church, and having taken it and placed it upon his own head, he was immediately gripped by a violent fever, which brought an end to his life.

X. Upon his death, the Augusta Irene, together with her son Constantine, who was in the tenth year of his age, received the imperial rule. Both were worshippers of the venerable icons, but, not having yet planted their feet firmly in the kingdom, some plotted against them, desiring to confer the supreme power upon Caesar Nicephorus, the brother of the deceased emperor Leo. The conspiracy having been detected, the empress ^D tortured those involved in the plot, and, having shorn them of their hair, sentenced them to exile. As for the brothers of her husband, the Caesars and the *nobilissimi*, she caused them to be tonsured and to be deemed worthy of the priesthood, and she ordained that they distribute the holy mysteries to the people at the feast of the Nativity of Christ. She herself, with her son, proceeded forth accompanied by the guard customary for emperors, and having arrived at the Great Church, she offered up the crown which her husband had taken from there, having adorned it with more ornamentation. She also sent an army against the Arabs, so that it might hold back their 115 incursions. The Hagarenes, therefore, having gone out to plunder, when they fell upon the Roman army, were turned to flight, with many of them killed. In Thrace, towards the Long Wall, a certain man, during his digging, came upon a stone chest which contained a human corpse,

and had inscriptions carved upon it saying, "Christ is to be born of a Virgin, and I believe in Him. Again, in the time of Constantine and Irene as rulers, O Sun, you shall behold me." ^A However, the Empress Irene, desiring to betroth a wife to her son, sent to Charles, the King of the Franks, seeking his daughter for her own child. Then, abandoning such an alliance out of envy and avarice—lest her son’s power be increased through the affinity with the Franks—she brought a maiden from the East, whom some say was from the Armeniac theme, while others say from Paphlagonia; she was the daughter of Philaretos, who was famous for his charity. She wed her to Constantine, against his will and in abhorrence of this marriage, for he exceedingly desired to marry the daughter of Charles. ^B Aaron, the leader of the Arabs, having undertaken an expedition against the Romans, had advanced as far as Chrysopolis. Against him Constantine sent an army, which occupied the swamp of Banes. When the Arabs learned of this, they requested a peace treaty with the Romans. The administrators of public affairs, therefore, went to Aaron to conclude the terms; but because they did not first take hostages from those indispensable to him, they were seized by him and cast into chains. Hence, the sovereigns, being coerced on account of the officials, made peace with the Arabs, promising a tribute. Thus they departed under such conditions. The Empress, having learned that Elpidios, the patrician whom she had appointed praetor of Sicily, was favorably disposed towards the Caesars (the previous emperors), ordered him to be brought back. ^C But since the Sicilians would not allow him to be taken by her envoys, she, moved to anger, had his wife and children scourged and their hair shorn, and cast them into the Praetorian prison; she then sent an army against him, placing one of her most trusted eunuchs in command. After several battles had been engaged, Elpidios was put to flight; he fled to Africa and went over to the Arabs. They received him and placed a royal diadem upon him, and he was proclaimed emperor by them, even though nothing went according to his plans. Relieved of her anxiety regarding the Arabs through the peace, the Empress went to Thrace with her son, accompanied by a great force and musical instruments. She arrived at Beroe, rebuilt the fortress there, and named it Irenopolis; moreover, she also built up Anchialos, and having advanced as far as Philippopolis, she returned.

XI. When the Patriarch Paul ^D fell ill and withdrew from the Church, and had been tonsured, the Empress came to him with her son, reproaching him for his withdrawal. He said, "Would that I had never sat upon the throne of the priesthood, oppressed as the Church is by tyranny and ..."

With letters of this kind upon it: "Christ is about to be born of a virgin, and I believe in him." And "under Constantine and Irene again, O Sun, you shall see me."

Now the Empress Irene, wishing to betroth a wife to her son, sent to Charles, king of the Franks, seeking his daughter for her own son. But afterward she abandoned this alliance, out of envy and love of power, lest her son, through this connection, should be surrounded by the might of the Franks; and instead she brought a girl from the East. Some say she came from the Armeniac province; others, from Paphlagonia, and that she was the daughter of the celebrated almsgiver Philaretus. This one she joined to Constantine against his will, for he was averse to the marriage, since he greatly desired to have Charles's daughter.

Aaron, leader of the Arabs, having campaigned against the Romans, advanced as far as Chrysopolis. Constantine sent an army against him and, through it, seized the marsh of Banes. When the Arabs learned of this, they wished to make peace with the Romans. So the administrators of public affairs went to Aaron to conclude a treaty; but not having first taken care to receive hostages from among those necessary to them, they were seized by him and thrown into fetters. Wherefore those in power, compelled on account of these officials, made peace, agreeing to pay tribute to the Arabs. So the Arabs withdrew on these terms.

The Empress appointed the patrician Elpidius as general (strategos) of Sicily; but afterward, learning that he favored the party of the Caesars, she sent men to bring him from there. But when the Sicilians would not allow those sent to take Elpidius, Irene, seized with fury, had his wife and children scourged, cut off their hair, and confined them in the Praetorium; and against him she sent an army, placing over it a eunuch most faithful to her. After continuous battles, Elpidius was routed, and fled to Africa, and went over to the Arabs. They received him and placed the royal fillet upon him, and he was proclaimed king by them, although nothing turned out according to his purpose.

Having been relieved of concern about the Arabs on account of the peace, the Empress went forth with her son into Thrace, drawing along with her a great force and musical instruments, and went to Berrhoea; and having rebuilt the fortress in it, she named it Irenopolis. She also built Anchialus, and advanced as far as Philippopolis, and then returned.

XI. When the Patriarch Paul fell ill and withdrew from the Church, and had his head shaved [became a monk], the Empress, together with her son, came to him, blaming him for his withdrawal. But he said: "Would that I had never from the beginning sat upon the throne of the..."

^A of the archiepiscopate. She settled [the matter], while the Church was being tyrannized and there was schism between it and the other catholic chairs. Then again she sent distinguished men of the senatorial order, to ask what could be done for the sake of the view. And he answered that, "If the error is not corrected by a catholic synod, and the union of the Churches does not proceed, there is no salvation for us." And the senators said, "Why then, did you agree at your ordination not to venerate the icons?" And he replied, "Because of the madness of those in power and your own cruelty. But I mourn for this, and through repentance I flee to the mercies of God, praying that I may not be judged as a high priest." He therefore ended his life in these circumstances. The rulers then appointed the celebrated Tarasius—who was his chief secretary—as patriarch, and all the people voted for this. He, however, refused, saying that he could not preside over a Church that was separated from the remaining Churches and was being subjected to anathema by them. But when the rulers and the people persisted, "If you agree," he said, "that an ecumenical synod be assembled, and that a union of the Churches will take place, I myself will accept the nomination." Since everyone agreed to this, the divine Tarasius was ordained, and he and the rulers sent to the elder Rome, in which Adrian was presiding, and to the remaining patriarchs, requesting that some be sent by them who would be present at the synod; and they were sent by all. ^B And when the remaining high priests and monks had been gathered in Nicaea of Bithynia, the patriarch Tarasius also went out, and the seventh ecumenical synod was established there. The holy icons were confirmed both to be venerated and to be worshipped, and those three who had presided over the Church in Constantinople—Anastasius, Constantine, and Nicetas—were condemned with anathema, and the decisions of the holy synod were recorded in the tomus. Having departed from Nicaea to the queen of cities, those of the synod, having come into the palace while the reigning sovereigns sat before them, read the tomus for all to hear; this was immediately confirmed by the rulers, who signed it, and thus the holy images were restored to the divine temples, and all the Churches were united. The affairs of the empire were, up to this point, administered by the empress and those who were closely attached to her. But now, King Constantine having passed his boyhood and having begun to enter into youth (for he was sixteen years old), and seeing all things being managed by his mother, and ^C Stauracius the patrician and logothete being able to do everything, while he himself [was accounted] as nothing ^D

^A suited to be considered, he was vexed, and with some of those of the senate, and of those serving under him, he planned to overthrow Stauracius from his position and to have him sent into exile. But the plot having become known, the empress, having scourged all the ministers of the king who were participating with him, and having shorn their hair, banished them different ways. And those from the senate she clothed in dishonor, commanding some to be absent from their own houses, and judging for others a punishment of exile. But she also treated her son with injury and insults, and prevented him from going forth and appearing in public. And she forced the armies to swear not to receive her son into sole rule while she lived. Now the others swore, even against their will. But those of the Armeniac theme did not submit, but said instead that they recognized Constantine as emperor, even as he who had been proclaimed from the beginning before his mother, and in this way they wished him to be acclaimed again. Irene, learning of these things, sent the spatharios Alexios and the droungarios of the Vigla, Mosele, that she might win them over to her will. But they kept their general under guard, and chose Mosele as leader of the theme, ^B and acclaimed only Constantine as autokrator. Urged on from there, those of the other themes also proclaimed only Constantine as emperor, and having assembled in common, they declared him alone as autokrator. Fearing the harmony of the regiments, Irene brought forward her son. And he immediately treated Stauracius with injury, and banished the more honorable of the maternal ministers; and having brought his mother, the queen, back with honor, he commanded her to dwell in her house, which she had built in the region of Eleutherius.

XII. And these things happened thus: a fire having broken out, the great triclinium of the sacred palace, which they call the Thomaïtes, was burnt, and it is said that certain commentaries on the sacred Scriptures by John Chrysostom, which were situated in that place, were burnt with it. ^C And these things happened thus. A fire having broken out, the great triclinium of the sacred palace, called the Thomaïtes (69), became the work of the fire; when it is said that the drafts of the expositions of the divine Scriptures, which John the Golden-mouthed wrote, were also burnt, being stored somewhere there. But the Emperor Constantine marched against the Bulgarians, while Kardamos was leading that nation; and a minor skirmish having occurred, cowardice took hold of both opposing sides. And the king returned to the Great City, and the Bulgarians to their own customs. But having set out against the Arabs as well, he achieved nothing worth noting. Being entreated both by his mother and by some of those in authority, he again brought her back to the palace, and allowed her to have acclamations made with him, and all the regiments of the themes accepted the proclamation ^D of Irene again. But those of the Armeniac theme opposed him and were seditious, and called upon their former general, as has been said, Alexios Mosele. For the emperor had anticipated them by summoning him from there, and having honored him with the rank of patrician, he kept him with himself, as the rumor prevailed that the man was going to be emperor. Wherefore, and because he was being summoned by the seditious,

the emperor, fearing, had him tonsured in the palace, and first cut his hair. When those who were leaders of the Bulgarians had crossed into Roman territory, the emperor attacked them in disorder and was defeated, and he lost a great multitude of soldiers, and indeed many of his nobles. And the military commanders, consulting, wished to make Nicephorus, the son of Constantine, emperor, by-passing all the Caesars. But the plot did not go unnoticed; wherefore Nicephorus himself was blinded, and Christopher and Nicetas, Anthimus and Eudocimus had their tongues cut out. But the emperor also blinded Alexius, on the advice—as these things are being handled by his mother. And those of the Armeniac theme, having learned of the blinding of their own general, Alexius, made him a prisoner. ^B And when this was reported to the emperor, he sent against them, with forces, Constantine Artaseras and the one who happened to be the general of the Boukellarioi. And battle having been engaged, many fell on both sides; the imperial party fled, and both of the generals were taken captive, and the Armeniacs immediately blinded them. Then the ruler himself also marched against them, and conquered them; and the leaders he killed, and upon the rest he imposed confiscation of property as a penalty. And having bound a thousand of those from their metropolis, and having brought them to the Great City, he branded their faces with letters, ink being poured into the brands; and the writing said, "Armeniac conspirator," and he dispersed them into Sicily and other islands. ^C And this emperor cast off his own wife, Maria, and forced her to be tonsured, upon the counsel, as is said, of his mother, in order that he might be hated by all, and the entire administration of the empire might again revert to her. For she was associated with her son regarding matters inside the palace, yet she did not share in the power, but only in the praise, and she was terribly afflicted with the love of rule. Therefore, having changed the clothing of the ruler's wife, and having clothed her—against her will—in black monastic garments instead of the imperial robe, he took a certain Theodote, a cubicularia ^D, and crowned her Augusta. Then, having marched against the Arabs, he set up a trophy. Nevertheless, concerning Kardamus, whom the speech of the Bulgarians recognized as leader, who demanded that tribute be paid to him by the Romans, and who had sent to the ruler threatening that unless he brought it, he would plunder Thrace as far as the City, he sent to the Barbarian the dung of beasts of burden, and wrote to him, "You are an old man, and do not weary yourself by coming here; for I shall rather come to you." And immediately having gathered the Roman forces, he departed against the Bulgarians; and when the armies were now near to one another, and the emperor was challenging the Barbarians to battle, Kardamus, having turned coward with his own troops, took up flight and went away. But the Arabs also, having marched against Amorium, gained nothing of consequence against the city, but, having taken plunder, they returned.

^A XIII. Plato, abbot of the Saccudion monastery, could not bring himself to hold communion with Patriarch Tarasius, because he had admitted to communion the emperor who, having abandoned his wife, had taken another in marriage against the institutions of Christians; for he called this act adultery. The emperor threw him into a prison in the Palace; but the mother of the emperor took up the defense of Plato, for he had brought shame upon her son. Having set out for Prusa with his mother, and having heard that a male child had been born to him, leaving his mother there, he returned in haste. Then she, having seized the opportunity, and having won over the tribunes of the soldiers with gifts and promises, persuaded them to promise that they would take the empire from her son and confer it upon her alone. Once this was obtained, she sought an opportunity to accomplish the deed. But as the emperor was mourning the death of his little son—whom he had named Leo—those who were privy to the plot against him, fearing that if time were wasted and the deed put off they might be discovered and perish, suddenly in the ninth hour ^B gouged out his eyes in the palace in a most cruel manner, prepared to deprive him not only of light, but of life itself. It then happened that for seventeen days the sun did not shine, but those days were obscure and dark, which I know not if it happened by chance or because of the blinding of Constantine, as it seemed to men at the time, as if Divine Providence were turning away that disaster inflicted by a mother upon her son. His eyes were gouged out on the same day on which he himself had blinded his uncle Nicephorus and Moseles, and, as has been said, had cut out the tongues of the others, five years having intervened in the meantime. Irene then once again took possession of the monarchy. When Hadrian, the pope of elder Rome, had died, Leo was ordained, a man venerable and most honorable. But the relatives of the deceased Hadrian, having incited the people against him, fell upon him and injured his eyes, though they did not take them away. For those to whom the blinding had been entrusted spared the man and took pity on him; they injured his eyes from the outside, but did not deprive him of sight. When he later betook himself to Charles, the King of the Franks, and was restored by him to the Roman see, he avenged himself on his enemies; and from that time Rome has been completely held by the Franks, with Charles crowned by Leo and called Emperor of the Romans. For under the previous Justinian, the Franks…

who were of Germanic race, as has been said above—invaded Italy and were enemies to the Romans. But under Leo the Isaurian, Pope Gregory of that time, because of that emperor’s heterodoxy, revolted against obeying that impious emperor and paying him tribute, and wanted nothing to do with the impious governors of the Church of Constantinople; so, abandoning wars, he made peace with the Franks. Under Constantine and Irene, Pope Leo also admitted them into Rome, and thus they took possession of all Italy and Rome itself. ^A

When Irene had seized the monarchy, as has been related, the brothers of her husband, who were under guard, were able to take refuge in the Great Church, having been persuaded to do this by certain people eager for political change. Aetius the eunuch, who was then very powerful with the empress, went there and, giving them assurances that they would suffer no harm, brought them out of the church, and they were sent away to Athens as exiles. While they were living there, some of the Greeks of Hellas approached the chieftain of the Slavic tribes, begging him to lead them out, to designate one of them emperor, and to bring him to the Queen of Cities. When this was reported to the empress, by her command they were all blinded. ^B

The leader of the Franks, Charles, having been proclaimed Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo, as has been said, sent envoys to Irene, seeking to be united to her in wedlock. This did not seem unwelcome even to her, and it would have happened, had not the eunuch Aetius, who held great power, set every machine in motion so that the union would not be accomplished. For he, wielding great power in the palace, had made it his concern to secure the empire for his own kinsman, Leo, to whom Aetius had, with great haste, already procured the command of Thracia and Macedonia. Aetius himself ^C was in charge of the eastern themes of Optimaton and the Anatolics. From this, becoming arrogant, he despised those in office and treated them insolently. Disturbed by this, they formed a plan against the empress and, having taken along the patrician Nicephorus, the general logothete, they came in the dead of night to the Chalke, while Empress Irene was sick and lying in her own house in the Eleutherian palace. They said to the guards there that they had been sent by the empress to proclaim Nicephorus emperor, so that the patrician Aetius—who was compelling her to designate his own kinsman as emperor—might thus be stopped. The guards, having faith in those who spoke these things because they were ^D patricians of high standing, themselves joined them in hailing Nicephorus as emperor, and were thus admitted into the imperial palace. Then, that same night, having gathered a motley crowd, they proclaimed the designation of Nicephorus throughout the whole forum before daybreak and placed a guard at the house of Irene where she was staying at the time. When the day was already dawning, they brought her to the eastern palace and shut her up there; afterwards they entered the Great Church so that Nicephorus might be adorned with the diadem there and be proclaimed emperor; and this was done.

^A

XIV. Having thus seized the autocratic power, Nicephorus went on the following day to the empress, who was being guarded by soldiers, and said that he had been brought to the pinnacle of sovereignty against his will, a thing that was not to his liking, and he urged her to be of good courage, as she would not be deprived of anything that was owed by a servant to his mistress. He asked that all the imperial treasuries be shown to him. She replied: "I have commended my affairs to God, and I ascribe the loss of the empire to my own sins, and I judge that his proclamation has come to pass by divine ordinance; I adore him as one designated by God, and I ask that you spare my weakness and allow me to pass my days in my own house." To this he replied that if she would hide nothing of the treasures that were stored in secret places, he would grant her request, and anything else she might desire; and he exacted an oath from her regarding this. When she had sworn and had shown him a great amount of money, he immediately relegated her to the island of the Prince, on which she had built a monastery. ^B

For Nicephorus was most greedy for money, with an insatiable avarice and the greatest perfidy, and, if I may so put it, a lodging-house for all wickedness, and not even for a short time could he feign benevolence toward his subjects, but immediately filled all things with injuries: and he did not even spare those whose help had brought him to the empire. For he did away with Triphylius by poison; and he summoned the patrician and commander of the Eastern forces, Bardanes, nicknamed Turcus—who had been proclaimed emperor by the Eastern regiments, whether willingly or unwillingly (for both are reported)—and after giving him assurances of immunity, had the now-subjected man transported to the island of Prota, where he had built a monastery. He robbed him of his sight ^C by sending certain men secretly, so that it might appear to have been done without his own knowledge, and he feigned distress and swore that he was not a participant in such a daring crime. He took to himself Constantine, the son of Irene, and fawning upon him, obtained from him the location of a great sum of money hidden in a wall enclosed by buildings. But when he saw that he was hateful to everyone, and feared that they might bring Irene back to the empire because she was living nearby, he relegated her to Lesbos under guard, where, consumed by grief, she departed this life. Nicephorus also crowned his son Stauracius, a man most odious and simple, endowed with neither form nor prudence worthy of a kingdom. ^D Upon the passing of Patriarch Tarasius in the first week of the fasts, the illustrious Nicephorus, his secretary, was elected patriarch by a common suffrage on the Sunday of Easter: to which election Plato and Theodorus, who had been the prefect or abbot of the Stoudios monastery, opposed themselves, because Nicephorus—

^A had been promoted to the episcopacy directly from the lay state. Yet this was a thing that had happened many times. The emperor even deliberated casting them out of the city, but he did not carry his intention into effect. There are some who say that their opposition was a pretext for the fact that the holy Nicephorus had been made patriarch from the lay state, but that the true cause was a desire for authority. For they wished to become masters of the Church ^B and set a high value on ascending the high-priestly throne of Constantinople.

The emperor, desiring to unite his son Stauracius in marriage to a woman, Theophano the Athenian, who was a relative of the empress Irene and already betrothed to a man, broke her off from him unlawfully and joined her to Stauracius. And this emperor, being a hotchpotch of every kind of wickedness, did not cease to devise one thing after another for the crushing of his subjects. I shall mention a few, leaving out the many, so that, as if from a full jar, these might be a sample for those who read this history. ^C He decreed that the needy from the themes should serve in the army, and that arms and expenses should be provided for them by their neighbors, and that the taxes of the needy should be exacted from the wealthy; this was called "Allelengyon" (mutual guarantee), because some guaranteed for others. He also appointed inspectors, whom he commanded to increase the public taxes, and that for the Chartiatikon, two keratia should be demanded upon each nomisma. Furthermore, those who were taking away the better part of the real estate from the owners, assigned it to the public treasury ^D. Also, his invention of the Kapnikon tax was a very wicked notion, imposed upon the serfs of the churches, of the poorhouses, of the old-age homes, and of the monasteries, and upon all those who possessed neither land nor livelihood. And it was a very wicked thing that those who had in any way been brought from poverty into prosperity should be required to pay money, as if they were finders of treasure. And he forced ship-owners to purchase lands from the public coffers, men who were ignorant of what agriculture even was, and this applied to the provincial ship-owners. Those, however, who resided in Constantinople, paid twelve pounds of gold each to the treasury as interest, besides the other burdens that weighed upon the ships. Moreover, from those whom he knew to be merchants or masters of workshops, having taken away the greater part of their money, he left them but a pittance; and he did this to a certain seller of candles, whom, having recognized to be a man of great wealth, he forced—with his hands placed upon his head—to swear...

how much gold he had. Upon the man affirming that he had one hundred pounds, he ordered him to bring them. When they were brought: "You have no need," he said, "of so much gold," and having left ten pounds for him, he appropriated the rest for himself, and having invited him to his own table, he forced him—not willingly—to purchase one imperial feast for ninety pounds of gold.

^B XV. Many such contrivances did Nicephorus devise (for he was most ingenious in such matters), by which he afflicted all his subjects and became hateful to all. On this account, a certain unknown man ran up to him with a drawn sword in the palace to kill him, and in the ensuing turmoil, he struck some with his sword, but was himself seized and put to the question. He revealed nothing, and having feigned madness, he was kept in confinement. Nicephorus made use of Manichaeans, and those called Athingani, in oracles, auguries, and arcane magic. Hence, that group of men was dispersed throughout the Roman provinces and corrupted the faith of many simple people. The Hagarenes also, in frequent expeditions against the Romans, brought many disasters, and among other things, even captured the metropolis of the Euchaitae. And they ravaged the East, while the Bulgarians ravaged the West.

The Emperor, therefore, having decided to wage war against the Bulgarians, and one of his intimates having advised him to treat his subjects more mercifully—"For all," said he, "are crying out against us, and if any adversity should befall us, they will all rejoice in our misfortune"—he replied: "God has hardened my heart just as He did Pharaoh's. Do not, therefore, wait for any good to come to those under my hand from me." Having therefore gathered legions from everywhere and arrived in Bulgaria, at the beginning he experienced success, such that he even captured the palace of Crumus (for so the Bulgarians called the dwelling of their leader) and set his own seals upon his treasuries, as if they were already his own, and punished many of his people for the plunder of spoils. But when Crumus, broken in spirit, supplicated him to spare his nation and to make peace on whatever terms he might wish, he, puffed up by the success, did not accept the truce. Crumus, therefore, despairing of his situation and already considering it a struggle for his life, gathered his own forces and, having encouraged them with exhortations, attacked the Roman camp while it was still night, with everyone sleeping unguarded (for they did not think that the Barbarians would ever dare to engage with them out of such despair); and immediately against the imperial

^A camp they rushed, and Nicephorus was slain, though the manner of it is unknown. It is said also by his own men that he was slain, being set upon by them in the midst, and that those who were the perpetrators of his slaughter were either the Barbarians who began it, or the Romans who finished off the killing of the wretched man. Stauracius was also wounded between his right shoulder and the tendon, and many of those in high positions, those in authority, those in military commands, those with titles, and those serving in other capacities, as well as those in the imperial service, and of the remaining attendants—they were beyond numbering—were slain. The entirety of the emperor’s equipment was plundered, and the whole of the Roman entrenchment, and abundant wealth, many arms, and much horses and countless other things fell to the Barbarians. Stauracius, at least, was with difficulty saved, and all those to whom the night provided the opportunity to reach thickets, swamps, and such like places of refuge. Krum took the corpse of the Emperor Nicephorus, and having cut off his head, he displayed it raised on high for some days, passing his time moving it about and parading it in triumph over the success. Then, having removed the bone of the skull and stripped it of the skin, he covered it with silver and used it as a drinking cup. pouring wine into it, he gave it to those under him to drink. When the report of the destruction of the Romans and the slaughter of the emperor was brought to Byzantium, there was great weeping everywhere, and those related to the slain ones wailed; yet the death of the ruler brought some relief to the calamity, as everyone rejoiced ^B at it. And the most wicked man reigned for nine years.

XVI. Nicephorus, as he had been a most wicked man, so too he perished most shamefully. Stauracius, having been wounded and having fled, made his way to Adrianople, where he was hailed as emperor by some of those in authority, and, being in a bad state from his wound, he entered the great city. He plotted against the Curopalates Michael, who had the surname Rhangabe and was his brother-in-law, being married to his sister Procopia, wishing to leave the empire to his own wife. But the members of the senatorial council, having learned of Stauracius’s design, gathered together those who were left of the legions, and at the approach of dawn of that very night, they proclaimed the Curopalates Michael emperor; and Stauracius immediately cut his hair and put on a monastic garment for himself.

XVII. Michael, when day broke, having come to the church, was crowned by the Patriarch Nicephorus with the imperial diadem, having first been required by him to provide ^C a written document in which he pledged not to violate any of the institutions of the Church, nor to contaminate his hands with the blood of Christians. After some days, his wife Procopia... ^D

neglect, he was most bitterly beaten; in despair he fled to the Bulgarians, from whom men of all sorts learned to construct engines of war: being abundantly supplied with these, they undertook the devastation of Mesembria without delay. The Emperor, however, having summoned the patriarch and some of the chief priests, and having proposed a deliberation concerning peace with the Bulgarians and the refugees—for the barbarian had demanded this among other things—the patriarch and the priests deemed it right to grant the request by handing over the refugees, judging it better that a few suffer than that countless multitudes be afflicted. But the senators of the court and Theodore the Studite, having repudiated the peace, declared they must not be surrendered. This matter was an impediment to peace with the Bulgarians. For this emperor was good in character and upright in faith, but sluggish in the administration of affairs, and he easily allowed himself to be led wherever he was guided by the leading officials. ^C Then a hairy star appeared, which took on various shapes, one of which was said to be that of a man without a head. The Bulgarians, however, having gained possession of Mesembria, found many things there, and among other things, not a little of the Greek fire. But when some captives returned, and the Emperor learned from them that Crumus wished to plunder Thrace, he went out of the city. Wherefore the barbarian, having abandoned his designs and having lost many of his own men, withdrew; and the Emperor, having gathered the Roman forces from every quarter, went out again into Thrace, the Augusta also accompanying him as far as Cedoctus. Whereupon the military, being discontented, kept reviling the Emperor; then she returned home. But Michael went about Thrace, doing nothing worthy of a leader, nor arranging anything against the enemy; and the legions were no less of a plunder to the inhabitants of the region than were the Barbarians. But Crumus, also, having departed from his own seats, encamped opposite the imperial ranks. And when a battle was joined, the Romans were defeated, the commander of the Eastern forces ^D (82) Leo the Armenian being the cause of the defeat. For he, lusting after the empire (83), and slandering Michael to the army as womanish and unskilled in war, as soon as the battle was engaged, ordered those regiments under him, and having deserted the ranks, he began to flee; a thing which caused the others also to turn to flight, to such a degree that Crumus, because of the absurdity of it, and fearing it was an ambush, held his own men back. But as he saw the Romans fleeing rashly and in disorder, he then ordered his own men to pursue.

^A This caused a very great slaughter of soldiers and commanders, and the emperor barely escaped with a few others to Constantinople, while the camp and the imperial pavilion were plundered by the Barbarians. From this, Leo took confidence and dispersed the confidants of his plans among the remnants of the legions, telling them that the Romans were being defeated because of the ineptitude of those in command, and that affairs required a brave man, such as was Leo, the commander of the Anatolics. And so he stirred the soldiers to sedition, so that they spoke ill of the emperor and deemed Leo worthy of imperial acclamation, surrounding his pavilion. While he feigned and ostensibly declined the autocracy, Michael the Stammerer, a commander of a regiment, drew his sword and, suggesting that others of the conspiracy do the same, persuaded them, so that they forced Leo—apparently against his will—to accept the proclamation.

As soon as these things were reported to Michael, he did not rush to resist, nor did he think to lay claim to the empire, but immediately sent the imperial insignia to Leo. When the latter had entered the palace, Michael, together with his wife and children, fled as a suppliant to the temple in the Pharos. Being dragged from there, Michael was brought to the island called Prote, and, having become a monk, he ended his life there. As for his child, Theophylactus, who, as we said, had been deemed worthy of the proclamation, he took away his generative parts and sent him into exile with his mother and brothers.

XIX. This was the end of Michael's reign, when he had held it for two years. Leo, having entered the palace, immediately took off the garment he was wearing and handed it to Michael the Stammerer, and the latter immediately put it on; for which reason many judged that he would be the successor to the empire for Leo. Nor was this the only sign of the succession of power that happened to Michael, but also, as he was walking behind Leo after he had put on the imperial robe, he stepped on the hem of it; this also seemed an ill omen to Leo. The empire had been foretold to both of these men. For the aforementioned Bardanes, the general and patrician, before he had embarked on the tyranny, while revolving it in his mind, [consulted] a certain monk dwelling in Philomelium...

^A enquiring whether he would ever attain the imperial power. For the monk, having called before him the two, Leo and Michael, who had brought him the horse, surveyed them and observed: "To you, as I have said, God grants the empire. As for these two who brought the horse to you, namely Leo and Michael, [know that] both shall possess the empire in their own times. The third, however, shall attempt to seize it and put the diadem upon himself, but he shall not attain his goal, but, frustrated of his desire, he shall perish miserably." He foretold these things; but Bardanes, giving no credence to it, invaded the tyranny. How he fell from the kingdom, and was blinded, and stripped of his wealth, has been narrated by me earlier. ^B

However, Leo, having attained the empire, made Michael Balbus a patrician, and Count of the Scholarian Guards; and Thomas—who was himself one of those who had brought the horse to Bardanes near the monk’s dwelling—he appointed Turmarch of the Foederati legion. When the Bulgarians were ravaging Thrace, he sent legates to their leader concerning peace; but when he, puffed up by a recent victory, rejected the conditions of peace, [the Emperor] attacked him with war. But the Barbarians, with victory inclining back toward them, pursued the Romans, who had turned to flight, with contempt and in no order, scattered in different directions. ^C When the Emperor observed this (for he happened to be on high ground), he suddenly exhorted those around him to the fight, attacked the Barbarians bravely and, by this sudden turning, terrified them, striking panic into the enemies, and he killed many, and captured a great multitude. Croum himself nearly perished, struck down by an arrow and thrown from his horse, had not his guards gathered around him and, shielding him with their shields and placing him upon another horse, opened a path for his flight. The Emperor, therefore, returned in triumph, having obtained much booty, and entered the royal city, but not long after, he inaugurated his madness against the sacred images. I shall now explain from where he fell into that fury. ^D Wishing to show gratitude to the monk by whom the empire had been predicted to him, he sent gifts through one of his intimates. He did not encounter the man himself, as he was already dead; but having found another man living there, he approached him, as one whom he did not know. But he (for he was a fighter against images, and a most vehement champion of that sect) neither accepted the gifts, and having dismissed the one who brought them, said that he would accept nothing from a worshipper of idols, and threatened Leo with the loss of both his kingdom and his life shortly unless he abstained from the adoration of idols (for so he termed the venerable images). These things, being reported, made Leo anxious: he therefore communicated the matter with one of his intimates, Theodotus Melissenus, who favored the fighters against images.

^B By guile, therefore, he approached Leo, and knowing a certain monk who was of the same opinion as himself, he advised him to share the matter with that man, and to do whatever he might suggest; for (he said) the man was full of spiritual graces, foreseeing things to come and prophesying them. When, therefore, he saw that Leo the emperor agreed to his words, Theodotus went to the monk and predicted to him the arrival of the sovereign in the guise of a private citizen, and for what reason he would come, and instructed him in all that he should say to the emperor.

Then at night the emperor went to the monk, and Theodotus was with him. That monk, as one who had supposedly been forewarned by the Spirit of the deception, addressed Leo as emperor: "Do not hide your dignity," he says, "and do not seek to deceive our insignificance. Know, however, that you are not rightly disposed concerning the worship, but are an idolater, both you yourself and all who are subject to you. If, therefore, you will remove the idols from the churches, your life and your reign will be long and fortunate; but if not, look for a swift expulsion from both, and besides this, eternal punishments will await you." Leo, having heard these things, marveled at the monk for his foreknowledge (for he did not know of the deception of Theodotus), and was captured by his words, and breathed most violently against the divine depictions, by decree judging their removal from everywhere. He desired, however, to have the patriarch also of the same mind. But he (Nicephorus) spoke against it strongly, and exposed the dogma as impious, both with words and writings. This most divine man was Nicephorus; for this reason he condemned the righteous man to exile.

It is said that the admirable Nicephorus had felt beforehand the evil disposition of Leo, that he would be a thorn for the orthodox and a handle for the disturbance of the Churches. For at the time of placing the diadem upon his head, he thought that thorns were driven into his hand. He, then, was led away in exile to Proconnesus; but the abbot of the Great Agros, the confessor Theophanes, having known by the Spirit of his passing (for he did not see the holy man), having lit candles and burning incense from afar, greeted him and sent him on his way; and he in turn from the boat venerated him on bended knees, although he neither saw him nor was seen. ^C When the companions of the patriarch marveled at this, and asked to whom he offered that honor, he answered: "To the confessor Theophanes, abbot of the Great Agros," having prophesied his confession, for he had not yet been deemed worthy of those things.

BOOK XV. ANNALIUM ^A OF THE ANNALS.

The faithful Nicephorus having been thus cast out by the Church, Theodotus Melissenus, who was also called Cassiteras—a man of double cognomen—was introduced into his place. How he came to the notice of Leo must not be passed over in silence. While Michael Rhangabe was emperor, a certain woman from the imperial women's quarters, seized by madness at the lunar cycles, used to cry out to him: "Step down, yield to another!" This happened not once, but very often, and it troubled the emperor. He therefore explained the woman's shoutings to Theodotus, with whom he was on familiar terms. He then said: "When she is out of her mind and shouts the usual things, she should be questioned by someone, to ask to whom the kingdom belongs, what his name is, what his form is, and if there is any other mark that distinguishes him." That advice seemed prudent, and the task of questioning her was entrusted to him. ^B Therefore, when she raved according to her custom, he questioned her. She told both the name of Leo and his appearance, and said: "If you go out now via the Acropolis, two men will come to meet you, and the kingdom belongs to one of these, who is being carried on a mule." Having heard these things, Theodotus did not report anything to the emperor, but said that the girl's words proceeded from insanity, declaring nothing certain. But he himself went out to the Acropolis and encountered Leo, and having identified the marks which the girl had mentioned, he took the man aside, and having given and received pledges, he foretold the kingdom to him, as if he had learned it by divine inspiration, and asked for the remuneration of his prediction after ^C the outcome. By this manner, Theodotus became known and became familiar to Leo; and after the removal of the holy Nicephorus, in return for his prediction, he obtained the see of Constantinople. O the incomprehensible abyss of the judgments of divine providence! For who is there who can fathom it? Furthermore, that nefarious man, having ascended the sacred chair unworthily, since he had the emperor as his supporter, attacked the sacred images with boldness. Leo also behaved like a wild beast toward those who wished to honor the venerable icons. For he was provoked by Theodotus himself, and by the prefect of the imperial clergy, whom it is customary to call the protopsaltes. Who, having ^D drunk to satiety of the turbulent perversity of the sect of the Iconoclasts, instigated the emperor to remove the images everywhere. And when

once those divine words ^A of Isaiah were being read in the church, which say: *To whom have you likened the Lord? Did the workman make an image, or did the goldsmith fashion a likeness for him?* and what follows, he approached the emperor and said to him: "Pay heed to the prophet, O master, and obey this." From then on, Leo clung shamelessly to the heresy, and was eager to tear apart and devour those who did not submit to his impiety, being harsh besides and implacable in his anger toward those who erred, and declaring heavy punishments even for minor offenses. Such then was Leo toward the pious and others who had offended him. Yet, concerning the administration of public affairs, he was not slothful, but very alert, and he restrained those who committed injustice. When, therefore, someone begged him, for his wife had been abducted by a certain senator, and he had added that he had approached the prefect but had not obtained redress; since the crime was proven, he immediately dismissed the prefect from his office, and handed over the abductor to be punished according to the law. As for magistrates, both military and civil, he appointed them by selecting the best, and he neither sold the leadership of the Roman nations for money, nor did he grant them out of favor to men who were not fit for office, or who were slaves to money, and thus betrayed justice to them. If even now these things held in this way, affairs would be in good condition.

^B XXI. Michael the Stammerer, from Amorion, when he had risen to a great fortune, and among other vices had an unrestrained tongue, was slandered to the emperor, as though he were secretly plotting against him and weaving his ruin. And the denunciation took place on the day before the church customarily celebrates the birth of the Lord in the flesh. Immediately, therefore, he was seized, and the emperor himself presided as the examiner of the matters of which he was accused. Michael is convicted by his accusers, and confesses himself; he is condemned to death, and to death by fire; he was led away to be burned, and the place of the punishment was the furnace of the palace bath. The emperor follows, either not trusting to another the punishment of Michael, or rejoicing in his destruction. But the empress, having learned this, restrained the deed, in part begging her spouse to defer it on account of the ^C feast, ^D and partly [rest of page missing in scan; continues on next page].

the punishment of the condemned during the festival; and she acted partly more boldly, reprimanding him, and saying that it was godless not to have reverence for the day of the fearsome mystery of the Savior's Nativity. Having softened his hardness with these words, she persuaded him to defer the destruction of Michael at that time; and he said to his consort: "Behold, I yield to you, but you and your children shall know what will result for you from this." Michael thus escaped destruction. But one might wonder whence Leo had foreseen what was to come; for he certainly did not know it through divine inspiration, being, as he was, a man who fought against God, and otherwise a man of blood, and one whose life was far from free of sins. It is said, therefore, that it was foretold to him by someone that on the day of the Nativity of Christ, he would lose both his throne and his life. People also say that there was a book stored in the royal library in which there were oracles concerning the emperors, and in it were depicted forms of both men and wild beasts; and among the others, a lion was also painted there as a beast, having the letter X inscribed on its back; and a man stood behind the beast, thrusting a spear through the middle of the X and piercing the lion. This book, therefore, contained these things, and they were considered to be Sibylline oracles. The enigmatic nature of the aforementioned painting was hard to interpret, but the quaestor of that time is said to have explained it, saying that the emperor would be killed on the day of the Nativity of Christ: for the beast signified the lion (Leo), the letter X hinted at the aforementioned day, and the fact that the spear was thrust through the middle of the X into the lion meant that on that very day of the feast, the emperor would be slain. These things troubled the emperor, but no less was he frightened by his mother's dream. For she seemed to herself to be in the church of the Mother of God at Blachernae, and to see a certain woman being escorted by men in white garments, and the floor of the church full of blood; and she heard that woman who was being escorted command a vessel to be filled with blood and given to the emperor's mother. And when she refused the offering, that illustrious woman said: "Your son fills those who honor me with blood, and does not understand that he is provoking both God and my Son to anger." The mother of Leo saw these things in her sleep, and she told the dream to her son, and begged him to cease from his audacity against the holy icons. But the wretch had deafened himself, and did not cease fighting against God. The holy patriarch Tarasius also appeared in dreams to someone, now having departed from this wretched life, calling out for a certain Michael, and urging him to set upon Leo and kill him. But also the prediction of the monk in Philomelium and other things unsettled and terrified Leo. In the meantime, having bound Michael's feet with shackles, he handed him over to Papia to be guarded; and he himself kept the key of the iron lock. But as he spent the night anxious, sleep did not settle upon his eyelids; he fled from his dreams. He entered the chamber of Papia, and saw Michael sleeping soundly in his bed, but Papia was lying on the ground—whether he did this as a mark of honor to Michael, or, as was supposed, because he was privy to the treachery against the emperor. Therefore, when he saw Michael overcome by deep and sweet sleep, bearing no sign of care, he withdrew in anger, and declared his wrath with a gesture of his hand. And no one else had noticed his presence except for one of Papia's guards, who

the feast of the condemned ^A unto his punishment; at other times she even assailed him more boldly, calling him impious, because he did not shrink back from the day of the fearsome mystery of the Nativity of the Savior. By these words, having softened his hard heart, she persuaded him to defer the destruction of Michael at that time. He then said to his wife: “Behold, I yield to you; but you and your children shall know what will come to you from this.” Thus Michael escaped his destruction. One might wonder from where Leo had predicted what was to happen; for he certainly did not foreknow it from divine inspiration—how could he, who was a fighter against God, and otherwise a man of blood, and one whose life was not free from passions? It is said, therefore, that it was foreknown to him by a certain oracle, that on the day of the Nativity of Christ, he would lose both his throne and his life.

They also say that there was a book stored in the royal library, in which were prophecies concerning the emperors, and where the forms of men and of beasts were inscribed; and among other things, a lion was painted there, a beast on whose back the letter X was inscribed. A man stood behind the beast, thrusting a spear through the middle of the X into the lion. This book contained what were thought to be Sibylline oracles. It is said that the quaestor of that time interpreted the obscure wrapper of that picture and said that the emperor would be slain on the day of the Nativity of Christ: for the beast signified the Lion, the letter χ indicated that day, and because the spear was thrust through the middle of the χ into the lion, the emperor would be slain on that very day. ^B These things troubled the emperor; nor did his mother’s dream frighten him any less. For she dreamt that she was in the church of the Mother of God at Blachernae, and saw a certain matron being escorted by young men dressed in white garments, and that the floor of the church was overflowing with blood, and she heard that matron, who was being escorted, order a vessel to be filled with that blood and given to the mother of the emperor. When she refused what was offered, that illustrious matron said: “But your son fills those who honor Me with blood, and does not understand that he is moving both God and my Son to anger.” These things the mother of Leo saw in her dreams and reported the dream to her son, and begged him to cease from his daring acts against the holy icons. ^C But the wretch turned a deaf ear and did not cease fighting against God. The holy Patriarch Tarasius also appeared in dreams to someone, having already departed from this wretched life, calling out for a certain Michael and exhorting him to attack and kill Leo. But the prediction of the monk in Philomilium, and other things as well, disturbed and terrified Leo. In the meantime, he gave Michael, bound in fetters, to Papia to be guarded, while he himself kept the key of the iron shackle; and he spent that night troubled, and for his anxiety, sleepless. Wherefore, having entered the chamber of Papia, he saw Michael sleeping idly in his bed, while Papia was lying on the ground—doing this either to honor Michael or, as was supposed, because he was privy to the plots against the emperor. Since, therefore, he saw Michael overcome by deep and sweet sleep, and showing no worry, he departed in anger, and ^D demonstrated his anger by the agitation of his hands. And no one else had noticed his presence except one of Papia’s guards, who

realized that he had entered unnoticed, and pretending to be asleep, he saw everything that he did, and how he was angered, and how he threatened, and reported everything to his master. He communicated these things to Michael, and both, seized with fear lest they suffer the Emperor’s fury, were distraught. And Michael said to Papias: “If you are willing, we shall not only escape the danger, but the things we are contemplating will be brought to pass.” And he said: “Do what is before you, for I shall follow wherever you wish.” He immediately inscribed a letter to those who were sharing in the councils with him, threatening that if they did not come quickly and carry out what had been decided (for this was easy, as he himself had arranged it), he would inform the Emperor of everyone, and he would not be the only one to share in the danger. He sent these letters to the conspirators through one of Papias’s ministers, ^C instructing him to tell them to come to the palace by night, having disguised themselves in the garb of clerics and carrying hidden daggers. They did as Michael had suggested, and took their stand at the palace. Now when the dawn of the night had arrived, the imperial chanters arrived to sing the morning odes; Papias brought the conspirators of Michael in with them, and they hid themselves in a corner and in a certain darkness. The chanters were singing the hymns; and when these were already midway through, the Emperor also arrived at the church. Because he had a loud voice, yet a very heavy one that pierced the ears with its harshness, he imagined that he was singing well and was a most melodious musician, and he was accustomed to begin the hymns. Therefore, standing there, he cried out: ^D “They have treated the love of the All-King with contempt.”

Immediately, those who had plotted against him sprang forth from the corner and the darkness, having drawn their swords. He, seized with fear, ran into the sanctuary, and his assassins followed him, and there, wounded by many blows, and his hand amputated, he was finally deprived of his head, having reigned cruelly, inhumanely, and impiously for seven years and five months. And his corpse was dragged into the Hippodrome and cast aside. But Michael, still being iron-fettered about the feet—for the key to his chains had not been found—was immediately acclaimed and worshipped as Emperor by Leo, who was carrying the key in his bosom. Then, the key not being found, [the guards] broke the irons.

XXII. In the morning, Michael came to the Great Church to be adorned with the diadem and publicly acclaimed; he entered the holy temple without regard for the nefarious slaughter ^A that had taken place, and having attained his wish, he brought out the wife of Leo and his four sons—there were four of them: Sabbatios, to whom the name Constantine was given when he was inaugurated emperor, as well as Basil, Gregory, and a fourth, Theodosius—from the palace. He shut the woman away in the Monastery of the Despotai, and he relegated all the adolescents to the island called Prote, after they had been castrated. Of these, Theodosius died, and Constantine lost his voice. For this reason, he prayed to God with the most fervent petitions, and he also accessed the image of the great Father, Gregory the Theologian, constantly, that the faculty of speech might be restored to him: for along with the empire, the children of Leo had lost their paternal impiety.

Therefore, the saint once appeared to him in a dream, bidding him rise and read the [verse], "Jesus my own again." Relying on this vision, he went into the church and read, without any impediment to his voice. And although Michael, as has been said, had confined the wife and children of Leo within certain limits, yet he did not allow them to be in need, having assigned to them some of their own possessions from which the necessities of life might be supplied, and having also apportioned servants to them for their service. ^B

Now this Michael originated from Amorion, a city of upper Phrygia, in which Jews, Athingani, and a throng of other impious people dwelt; from this there arose a certain confused sect, of which it is believed he himself was a participant. Although that sect accepted the holy baptism, it nevertheless taught the observance of Mosaic institutions, except for the circumcision of the foreskin. He also had a certain Jew in his house who tutored him. Hence, there was nothing sincere to be found in him; but he was, so to speak, a cesspool of sects: and for this reason he hated disputations, as they were things that would overturn his perverse opinion.

Because he was living in poverty from his youth, he served in the military. At one time, therefore, having approached the commander to ask for something from him, a certain Athinganos who was standing near said to the general, speaking the matter in secret, "This man who now supplicates you will one day rule over the Romans." Moved by that prophecy, he immediately formed a friendship ^C with Michael and betrothed his daughter to him.

When Michael had recently seized the empire, as has been recorded, the most holy Patriarch Nicephorus, while in exile, sent a letter to him, requesting that the venerable images be restored. To this he replied that he would neither innovate anything in religion, nor change the state of the Church, nor compel anyone to feel about God differently than he wished. But these were mere words. For not long after, having revealed his true intent, he attacked the ^D orthodox, and besides many others who were cruelly treated, he also set upon the holy Methodius and Euthymius, Archbishop of Sardis, because of the holy...

image-veneration. ^A Afterwards, he imprisoned Methodius in Acritas; but the glorious Euthymius he finished with a martyr’s death, as he was unsparingly scourged by his own son, Theophilus. He imitated Copronymus in all things, and attached himself to the Jews, and ordered that the Sabbaths be kept with fasting. Disbelieving in the resurrection, he mocked things to come, and disparaged the prophets, and asserted that demons did not exist. He did not consider fornication to be a sin, and commanded people to swear by the God of all things. He pronounced salvation upon Judas, and decreed that Easter should not be celebrated at the proper time. ^B These are but a few of the many signs of his wickedness and madness that have been written down. Let the account now proceed to the events and the many civil wars of those times.

Thomas, one of the three men concerning whom the monk in Philomelium had prophesied to Bardanes, as was mentioned above—that two of them would attain the imperial power, but the third (who was this Thomas) would attempt to seize the tyranny and place the diadem upon himself, but would not succeed in gaining the kingdom—instigated a sedition. Therefore, as has been written before, being appointed by Leo as commander of the legion of the Foederati, when he learned that his benefactor had been slain by Michael, he attacked Michael under the pretext ^C of avenging his death, though in reality he was coveting the empire. Having gathered a force that was not to be despised, he occupied almost all the eastern provinces and caused their public revenues to be brought to him. Thus, with increased resources, he also invaded the Agarenes, who were then plundering the whole land and even the islands more boldly on account of the civil war. He checked their onslaught, and having encamped nearby and engaged in talks, he struck a bargain that if he gained the empire, he would cede to them the Roman territories. Having done these things, he adorned his head with a royal diadem and was proclaimed emperor by the then-patriarch of Antioch, who was named Job. ^D Having set out from there with a great army (for he had acquired as allies not only Agarenes, but also many other nations), he attacked the tyranny with greater boldness. This Thomas was not of the patrician class, but was among the most obscure, even among the Barbarians, and a companion of the direst poverty, to the point of serving for hire. Yet, having been raised up by fortune, as has been said, and attempting the tyranny, [the assignment of] his name... [index: entries preserved]

^A he shared it with Constantine—naming him as such—and, as he supposed, took him on as a partner in the empire, having adopted someone and made him his own. Michael, however, having sent an army against him, the latter engaged with it, slew some, and put others to flight. From that point, he laid hold of the tyranny more strongly; and having equipped a fleet—and indeed, having brought the imperial navy under his own control—he crossed over from the East to Thrace and brought almost all the East under his own sway, though not, however, the themes ^B of Opsikion, where Katakylas was in command, and of the Armeniakoi; for Olbianos held the command of this, he who, having laid a trap and seized the son who had been adopted by the tyrant, slew him immediately.

XXIII. Concerning the Tyrant Thomas, and the Events in Thrace, and Michael's Defence

^A Having arrived in Thrace, as has been said, Thomas had all men joining him. Once again, therefore, the emperor engaged with him both by land and by sea, and the tyrant routed and scattered both the armies, and he adopted another in place of the first who had been slain, as has been said, named Anastasios—a man who was a monk, who had cast off the divine habit ^B and assumed the secular garb. Michael arrived at such a pitch of despair that he stretched an iron chain from the Acropolis to the fortress situated opposite, in order to keep what was within safe from the tyrant. But Thomas attacked the city by both land and sea, having most easily broken that iron chain; and he thought that if he only appeared, those in the city, on account of their hatred toward the one ruling, would provide him with an easy entrance. However, when he found those within hardened for the defense of the city, and was disappointed in his hopes, he then withdrew, and pitched a palisade against the most holy sanctuary of the divine Anargyroi; this place was called Paulinus's. After some days had passed, he again brought war upon the city by both land and sea, bringing to bear siege engines and scaling ladders. When he saw that his efforts were unavailing on all sides, then, avoiding the cold of Thrace (for it was winter), he distributed his army into the provinces, so that, at rest in these places, they might avoid the harshness of the winter.

Just as spring had arrived, he again brought up his army to the city from both sides, and was surrounding the walls with both the infantry and the navy. But already a fleet and an army had also been prepared for Michael. Therefore, the emperor, having encouraged his own men with hortatory speeches, led them out in a mass from several gates, and charged the tyrant's host. But they, having been panic-stricken by the suddenness and the boldness of those attacking, turned their backs and many fell, and the victory belonged to those from the city. So the events by land resulted thus for the deserter; nor, however, did matters by sea turn out any better for him. For the tyrant's navy, having seen the imperial triremes coming against it, did not withstand them, but, having avoided the engagement, with rapid rowing they made for the land, and some escaped ^D while others...

except for Chaereas and Zagorenos, who, having been in charge of the fortresses, refused to surrender them even after the death of Thomas; on these being captured, they were crucified and put to death.

^B XXIV. When the Roman forces were occupied with the defection of Thomas and with civil wars, the Western Hagarenes—inhabitants of the Iberian Gulf, who are called Spaniards—taking the opportunity, addressed their leader, whom they call the Amermumnes, and asked him to send them out as a colony, as they were crowded by their own numbers. He agreed, and having taken them on board triremes, set sail, surrounding and plundering the islands subject to the Romans. When he arrived in Crete, and perceived that the island was entirely fertile, he sent the greater part of them off to plunder, but he himself, remaining behind with a few men as though to guard the ships, set fire to them and burned them all. ^C When the Hagarenes were in an uproar because of this, and were inquiring into the cause, Achaps (for that was the name of their leader) said: "You asked for a colony; behold then, a land flowing with milk and honey—seize and inhabit this!" And when they said, "But where are our loved ones?" Achaps replied, "Here are women, from whom you shall have children not long hence." Convinced by these words, those from Hagar brought the island under their own control and enslaved the native inhabitants. At this time, Cyril, the Bishop of Gortyna, having contended for Christ, received the crown of martyrdom.

Meanwhile, the emperor’s wife having died, he pretended for the sake of appearances that he did not wish to enter into a second marriage, but secretly sending to the leaders of the senate, he prepared them to request that he bring into his household another companion for his life. ^D The pretext was honorable; for they said it was terrible that we should be ruled by you, while our own wives should be deprived of an empress. He, at first acting coy, did not accept the request, but when they persisted, he demanded a pledge from them, that if they wished him to take an empress, they should acknowledge her as empress even after his own death, and should honor the children born to them as emperors. When the senate had promised this in writing, and he himself had ceased from that feigned stubbornness, he married Euphrosyne, who was said to be the daughter of the Emperor Constantine—whom his mother Irene (as we have said) blinded—and who, having long before been tonsured among the nuns dedicated to religion on the Isle of the Princes, had lived her life from her first hair-cutting there. Patriarch Theodotus...

were captured, though some were delivered to the liquid fire, so that few remained. ^A On land, too, there were frequent skirmishes, with Theophilus, the emperor’s son, leading the people in the forefront; but the operations were evenly matched for the opponents, and victory smiled clearly on neither side.

In the meantime, an event occurred that brought Thomas’s affairs to ruin. For as the rumor of the defection of Thomas and the siege of the city had spread everywhere, Mortagon, the prince of the Bulgarians, who had made a thirty-year truce with Leo and was a friend to the Romans, came of his own accord to bring reinforcements to the emperor, and encamped at Cedoctus. This circumstance troubled the deserter. For since he did not think it to his advantage that he should simultaneously besiege the city and fight the Bulgarians, because his forces would be divided and he might prove a match for neither, he set out against the Bulgarians with his entire army. When the battle was joined, he was defeated, and he lost many of his own men, some being slain, and others captured. But those who had escaped both the barbarian sword and captivity, being kept in suspense by the expectation of future events, remained quiet. The Bulgarians, having taken the captives and much booty, returned exultant in their victory.

^B When this defeat of the deserter became known, the remainder of his fleet defected to Michael. In such a state of affairs, the tyrant, even though his forces were being diminished everywhere, did not desist from the siege. But when he achieved nothing even then, he abandoned the city and withdrew to a more distant place, and, having found a location suitable for his purpose, he fortified a camp. From there he launched raids to plunder the suburbs of the city and wasted their beauty. But Michael attacked him, and a battle was joined; those under Thomas voluntarily turned to flight, and some surrendered themselves to Michael, while others departed to their own homes.

The tyrant, with a very few followers, went to Adrianople, and Michael, following closely on his heels, besieged the city, not with engines of war, but by the scarcity of provisions. The citizens, pressed by hunger, sought and obtained from the emperor an amnesty for their offenses, and, having obtained this, surrendered Thomas in chains to him. He cut off his hands and feet, ^C and, placing him upon a donkey, paraded him in an ignominious triumph. Afterward, he inquired about his accomplices, and he would have named many, had not the patrician Hexabulius repressed the impulse of the emperor with the statement that one should not put faith in those who betray their friends to their enemies.

Thomas, after being tortured with various types of torment, expired most miserably. His adopted son, too, when he had fled to the town of Bizya, was bound by the inhabitants of the citadel and brought to the emperor. He was subjected to the same punishment as his fictitious father, and he, too, perished violently. The sedition of Thomas having been suppressed in this manner, the maritime cities of Thrace nevertheless, even with him removed, continued to urge on the movement, and above all Panium and Perinthus (for this is what Heraclea was formerly called—this was done out of hatred for the emperor). ^D However, Panium collapsed due to an earthquake and was captured, and Heraclea was taken by siege from the sea. Michael, having managed these matters well, returned in triumph to the city. During the Circensian spectacles, he had the accessories of Michael brought into the theater while mounted on donkeys, and, content with mere relegation, he did not afflict them with heavier punishments— [alt-version omitted]

except for two, Choereas and Zagorenos, who, not obeying even after the overthrow of Thomas to surrender the fortresses they held, he took and punished by impalement.

^B XXIV. Now while the Roman forces were occupied with the apostasy of Thomas and the civil wars, the Western Hagarenes—inhabitants of the Iberian Gulf who are called Spaniards—finding complete freedom of action, approached their own leader, whom they call the Amermumnes, and requested that he send them to a colony, as they were cramped by their great numbers. He agreed, and having taken them on board, he set sail with triremes, sailing around and plundering the islands under Roman rule. When he arrived at Crete [(9)], and recognized its extreme fertility, he sent most of them out to gather plunder, while he himself, with a few men, ostensibly left behind to guard the ships, set fire to them and burned them all. When the Hagarenes were thrown into a panic by this and sought the reason for it, Achaps (for that was the name of their leader) said, "You asked for a colony, didn't you? Behold, therefore, a land flowing with milk and honey; occupy and inhabit this land." And when they asked, "But where are our dearest ones [(10)]?" Achaps [(11)] replied, "There are women here from whom you will soon have children." Convinced by these words, those from the house of Hagar made the island their own and enslaved the natives. At this time, Cyril, the Bishop of Gortyna, having contended for Christ, received the crown of martyrdom.

The emperor’s wife having died, he publicly pretended to be averse to a second marriage, but secretly sent to the leading members of the senate to arrange for them to request that he bring another companion into his life. And the pretext was a decent one: for they said it was dreadful that we should be ruled by you, yet that our wives should be deprived of an empress. At first, he feigned hesitation and did not accept the request, but when they persisted, he demanded a pledge from them that, if they wanted him to take an empress, they must acknowledge her as empress even after his own death and honor the children born to them as emperors. When the senate had promised this in writing, he ceased from his feigned obstinacy, and took to wife Euphrosyne, who was said to be the daughter of the Emperor Constantine, whom his mother Irene (as we have said) blinded; she had long before been tonsured and had lived her life from her first hair-cutting as a nun dedicated to religion on the island of Principis. Patriarch Theodotus...

having died, who for six years had wickedly held the Church, Antony, ^B of the surname Cassimatas, was appointed; he too held a corrupt opinion concerning the faith. The emperor sent a fleet against the Agarenes who had seized Crete. Yet he was defeated, and those who survived brought him the news of the disaster. Later, he sent another huge fleet against them, with Craterus appointed as general. At first, he performed well against the Agarenes, taking many of them prisoner and killing others. Then, having become emboldened by this victory, both he himself and his soldiers, as if their adversaries were already enervated and would never dare to attack them, gave themselves up to pleasure and drink, and that night they slept idly without guards. The enemy, having realized this, attacked them in the night with a great clamor, and slaughtered them all, so that hardly a messenger of the disaster remained. For the leader of the fleet himself, Craterus, fled on a merchant ship, was captured, and put to the cross. After these things, another fleet was entrusted to a certain Ooryphas, who, visiting the islands, suppressed the attack of the pirate ships that were plundering them, and also checked the previous ferocity of the Cretans. ^C Also, another sedition was stirred up in Sicily. For a certain Euphemius, a leader of the people, was captivated by a mad love for a nun, and he carried her off. Because he was being sought by the magistrate for punishment, he fled to the Amīr of Africa and promised him that he would betray Sicily and pay great tributes if he were proclaimed emperor of the Romans. He granted the man’s wish and gave him great forces; having received these, Euphemius betrayed Sicily to him. Thus it came under the power of the Agarenes. However, the tyrant not long afterward paid the penalty for his crime and desperation, being killed in a most cruel manner. Moreover, the emperor Michael, having reigned for eight years and nine months, died of phrenitis and retention of urine, or pain in the intestines (for both are reported), leaving the empire to his son Theophilus. Under him, Dalmatia also shook off the yoke of the Roman empire, and they say this had been predicted by this ancient oracle: When at Babylon, the stutterer shall reign, The dragon subdued, through the love of gold destroyed, The earth shall perceive the beginnings of evils.

And truly, he was indeed most exceedingly fond of gold.

^A XXV. Having assumed sole rule, the first task Theophilus undertook was the punishment of those who had assisted his father in attaining the kingdom and had slain Leo. And so that none of them might escape, he gathered the entire senate at the palace and declared that it was his will to fulfill his father’s command. He said that his father had indeed wished to reward those who had been his helpers and fellow-workers in the kingdom in a manner worthy of them, but that he had not had the opportunity to carry out his intention—being occupied first by wars, and then having fallen ill and departed this life. He had, however, charged him to pay them the debt of gratitude in a generous manner. He then urged those who had labored for his father in the removal of Leo to separate themselves from the rest. The men, not understanding the trickery, stood apart, declaring themselves to be the ones who had fought alongside his father. ^B And he, immediately casting off the mask of hypocrisy, said, "Why have you laid murderous hands upon the Christ of the Lord, and become not only murderers of a human being, but even regicides?" Immediately, therefore, turning to the Eparch, he said, "Take these men and render unto them the rewards worthy of their daring deed." And they, being punished by the Eparch, paid the penalty for their homicide. Theophilus also drove his stepmother from the palace and brought her to her former monastery on the Island of the Princes, providing nothing of the things which Michael had exacted for her from the senate. Wishing to bring a wife into his home, Theophilus gathered many beautiful maidens from everywhere, among whom was Icasia, a virgin, beautiful in appearance, excelling the others, well-versed in speech, and of illustrious birth. He went about observing them, holding in his hand a golden apple, in order that he might offer it as a betrothal gift to the one who pleased him. When he came to Icasia and, admiring her beauty, said, "From woman, evils flowed forth." But she, quietly and with a modest blush, responded with cleverness, "But also, through woman, better things have blossomed." He, thunderstruck as if by the maiden's speech, passed her by and gave the golden apple to Theodora, who was from Paphlagonia. Icasia, having failed to obtain the kingdom, built a monastery ^C which she named after herself, in which she lived for herself and for God, not neglecting the study of literature. Whence her writings are also to be found, in which you would desire neither learning nor grace. And thus she managed her affairs, and having been disappointed by a mortal king, she was wed to the King of all, having been allotted a heavenly realm instead of an earthly one. The Emperor, for his part, adorned Theodora with both a nuptial crown and a royal diadem and celebrated the wedding. ^D

from where shall men of humbler fortune provide for their livelihood?

XXVI. The empress's fatherland was Paphlagonia, her parents were Marinus and Theoctista, from the noble family of that province; both were pious and worshippers of the holy images. When Theodora was betrothed to the emperor, her mother Theoctista, nicknamed Florina, was granted the dignity of Zoste and Patricia. She lived near the monastery of Gastria, and as some assert, she herself founded that monastery. Therefore, the emperor's five daughters were sometimes brought to her as to their grandmother; their names were Thecla, Anna, Anastasia, Pulcheria, and Maria. She would win over the girls with small gifts, and privately exhort them to the veneration of the holy images, and she saw to it that her granddaughters would venerate and kiss the holy effigies which she drew from a chest, and she would move them to their heads and faces. Sometimes, when the children returned, the emperor would ask them how they had been treated by their grandmother and what she had said to them. While the others remained silent, Pulcheria, still an infant, recounted it in a stammering voice, and added that her grandmother had puppets in a chest (for so she called the images), which she moved to their heads and faces and gave to be kissed. From this, having learned that his daughters were being taught by their grandmother to worship the holy images, he did not allow the children to go to her anymore, nor did he inflict any other grief upon Theoctista, whom he revered because of the affinity and even more because of her virtue; although she often rebuked him for punishing the orthodox, for insulting the holy images, and for incurring the hatred of all his subjects because of these things. A similar thing also happened to the empress. There was in the palace a certain person, a fool and with an impeded tongue, whom the emperor had as a curiosity. To such a person the women's quarters were accessible. Once, he entered the Augusta's chamber; she happened then to be kissing and venerating the holy images (for she honored them in a special way, unknown to her spouse). The half-witted person, having caught sight of the holy effigies, asked what they were. She replied simply: that they were her beautiful puppets. The foolish man went out and found Theophilus at a banquet; when asked where he came from, "From Manna," he replied (for so he called the Mistress), and said that she had beautiful puppets. The emperor, however, [suspecting] that the puppets were images, was moved and, boiling with rage, the emperor...

^A approached the empress, and assailing her with insulting words, called her an idolater, and related the things he had heard from Dendere (for that was the name of that fool). But she skillfully deceived her husband: "Dendere did not see images," she said, "but as I was gazing into a mirror, he called the forms reflected therein 'puppets'." By this plausible invention, she mitigated the emperor's wrath and calmed his fury.

He was indeed very harsh toward the pious, striving to make everyone participants in his own impiety; and just as he was a burning zealot for what he considered justice, so too he was for piety, and he madly contended to turn his subjects away from the honor paid by the faithful [to images]. Hence, he punished many for "idol-mania," as he called it with his intemperate tongue, and made many confessors.

He sent John the Syncellus, who had been his tutor and was a partner in his impiety, to the Agarenes, wishing to display to them the wealth of the Roman Empire. He sent him with very great sums of money, part of which he sent as gifts to the leader of the Agarenes, while part he assigned to the envoy for his own service; among these were two golden ewers, ^B set with gems and demonstrating the graces of exquisite craft. Besides all these, it is said that he gave him forty centenaria of minted gold, so that he might be able to lavish gifts generously and abundantly upon whomever he wished of the race of Hagar, and thereby strike the Barbarians with wonder, as they calculated that if the emperor’s servants were so well-provided, what immense wealth must the emperor himself possess.

Upon arriving at the city of Baghdad (this is the ancient Babylon) ^C and coming into the presence of the leader of the Agarenes, the Syncellus conversed with him and presented the emperor's gifts; both on account of these and because of his power of speech (for he was very clever in discourse), he was both honored and admired. But he astonished the Barbarians even more by his own munificence toward them. For if any came to him—whether sent by their own ruler or for some other need—he welcomed them with large sums of money, so that those receiving these things both rejoiced and were amazed. ^D

^A On one occasion, when the Amirmumnis was taking his meal and our man was eating with him, he had there one of those golden basins, pouring water over his hands. This basin, lying carelessly (for he had ordered his own servants to do so, so that it might be lost), was stolen by someone. When, upon inquiry, it was not to be found, the Barbarians raised a clamor, admiring its great price and beauty. But he, saying that he did not care about what was lost, caused astonishment among the Barbarians, as they saw him unconcerned about such a sum of money; and he instructed his own servants to bring another, which, when brought, put the Barbarians into even greater wonder. The leader of the Agarenes, wishing to show himself equally generous, welcomed John with many gifts, and above all provided him with one hundred captives, having arrayed them in more brilliant clothing. John, then, upon returning from there and reporting to the emperor the things that had happened there, and describing the shapes and variety of the princely houses, stirred in him a desire to build such things. And indeed he ordered him to erect in Bryas a palace like those in Syria in all respects; and he, overseeing the builders of these structures, and teaching them the shapes and the measurements of breadth, and length, and height, quickly brought the buildings to completion.

XXVII. This emperor also magnificently restored the seaside walls of the city, which had become ruinous at that time due to age as well as certain other accidents, ^B raising them to a height greater than they were before; and he built a very large hospice in his own name, in the place where there had previously been a lodging for prostitutes. He was also continent regarding carnal pleasures, in such a way that he was only once captivated by love for a handmaiden who was serving the empress, who was distinguished in beauty. Because Theodora was in pain on account of this, they say he swore that he would never again have experience of another woman, and that, grieving over the slip, he asked for forgiveness from her. But his madness regarding the venerable icons caused these things to be considered nothing. For he raged openly and with more insanity than those before him, and he was a more cruel punisher of those who revered the holy images, and indeed also of those who fashioned them with painting. Whence also he cruelly tortured a certain monk, Lazaros, who was renowned at that time for his painting, and shut him away in a prison; and when that man, having recovered from the wounds, again gave his hands to the painting of holy icons, the tyrant ordered iron plates to be heated and placed upon the hands of Lazaros, so that the pious might not be able to venerate the labors of his hands. He, therefore, underwent this punishment for the sake of the venerable icons, but the tyrant was deceived of his hopes. For it is said that after the punishment, that confessor, having been cast out, while still bearing the wounds on his hands, with divine grace assisting him, painted venerable icons; and after the tyrant’s destruction, ^C he painted the image of the Savior in the Chalkè, and restored it just as it is now seen, although the image had long since been erased. The same man [also punished] the brothers Theophanes and Theodore, who were both confessors, because of his own impiety—reproved by the oracles of the prophets and the testimonies of the Scriptures—first ^D

^A severely maltreated, and then branded their faces. And with the ink infused into the marks, he inscribed letters—the marks were these iambic verses:

All those who desire to run to the city, Where the most pure feet of the Word of God Stood for the foundation of the world, These were seen in that venerable place As wicked vessels of superstitious deceit; Thereafter they did many shameful things, Acting ungodly out of unbelief. Thence they were driven as apostates, And fleeing to the imperial city, They did not abandon their lawless follies; Whence, having been written down as evildoers, They were condemned in sight, and driven out again.

^B But this persecutor also revealed many other confessors and consigned them to a martyr’s end, men whom it would be for another treatise and another time to enumerate. He was also ambitious in music; for it is said that there are other compositions of that man, and among other things, the *sticheron* chanted on the feast of the Palm-bearer: "Go forth, ye nations, go forth, ye peoples."

Having become the father of five daughters, he had not yet obtained a male child; but of his daughters, he exceedingly loved the youngest, named Maria, for whom he also made as a son-in-law Alexios, called Mouseles, a man of the Armenian nation from the family of the Krinitai, being in the bloom of his age, and full of grace to the sight. Him he had previously honored with other dignities, and later, as time went on, he proclaimed as Caesar. Having joined him to his daughter and honored him thus, he sent him forth with armies to Longobardia. But Mouseles, having been thus raised up, was not destined to escape envy. He was slandered by those who envied him, as if he also lusted after the empire; but the slander did not prevail against the Caesar as long as the king's daughter was numbered among the living. But when his son Michael was born to the king, and the wife of the Caesar had died, he immediately changed his way of life: he voluntarily sheared his hair, clothed himself in a rough cloak, enrolled himself among the monks, and built the so-called monastery of Anthemius, in which he passed his life and died. ^C When the Arabs invaded the Roman provinces, Theophilus, having undertaken an expedition against them, took with him Theophobos and Manuel, men sturdy and warlike, of whom Manuel was noble in the eyes of all, even of the enemies themselves, as one who had often led the army and acted well.

And he had been protostrator to the Emperor Michael Rangabe. Theophobos, for his part, was of Persian descent, but was raised in the Queen of Cities and lived there, unknown and unrecognized. It is said that his father was born to the royal line among the Persians. And when those of the royal line had failed among the Persians, they learned that there was a man among the Romans who drew his descent from the royal line, and they came making inquiry for him. When he was found as they sought, he became known from that time to the Emperor, and was raised to great fortune, honored with the rank of patrician, and joined in marriage to the sister of the Emperor. ^A Relying upon both these aforementioned men, Theophilus advanced against his opponents. When the armies had pitched their camps very near to one another, the leader of the Saracens, Imbrael, leaving one of his generals with eighty thousand of the people for the engagement with the Roman army, retreated himself with the others, whether out of fear or out of arrogance. When the armies clashed, many fell on both sides. But, finally, the scholai were inclined toward retreat—and the Emperor himself would have been captured, had not Theophobos, with the Persian army about him, brought help with his hand and outwitted the barbarians by a stratagem. At that time, then, the Emperor returned to Constantinople.

XXVIII.

^A unsuccessful for the Romans. For it was very nearly the case that the Emperor himself was surrounded by the Ishmaelites and taken prisoner. When Manuel perceived this, he shouted to those around him, charged into the midst of the enemy, and said to the Emperor, "Follow me," for he had stood paralyzed by cowardice. But the Emperor, feigning bravery, said that he did not wish to flee and abandon his army. Yet when he was urged many times to leave the battle—as if fettered by his panic—he had stood his ground until Manuel drew his sword. "If you do not follow me," he said, "I will kill you at once. For it is better for you to die than to be taken prisoner by the enemy and inflict such disgrace upon the Roman state." Thus, through these threats from Manuel, he was with difficulty released from his frozen state of fear, and by following him, he was saved. Hence he even called the man his savior and paid him his "salvage" reward generously. But before long, the tongues of slanderers turned the Emperor's mind against Manuel. For they denounced him as attempting a tyranny, and Theophilus had already been persuaded by these slanders and intended to gouge out Manuel's eyes. When he learned of the plot, he fled and, having arrived somewhere near the Agarenes, made known to their leader who he was, and that if he would receive pledges that he would not be constrained to abjure his own religion, he would come over to him. The leader immediately gave his pledges and welcomed him with great joy. Manuel, having arrived there and been entrusted with an army, performed many exploits against the Persians, erected great trophies, and was loved and admired by those of Hagar. Theophilus, however, was both pained on account of Manuel and considered how he might recall him from there. Having sent him promises both by oath and by a document sealed with gold, through a certain monk, he urged him to return. And he returned; but the way in which this happened must be told, for it is not ungracious to relate. Having met with the monk who brought the pledges from the Emperor and having agreed to return, he approached the leader of the Ishmaelites and requested that an army be given to him, so that having arrived at Cappadocia, he might retaliate against those who were living there (for he said that his accusers resided there); and he asked the leader of the Agarenes to send his son along with him, saying, "I will train him for the war." He was persuaded and sent his own son along with him, for he trusted Manuel and had faith in him. He departed, and having reached the Roman borders, he took with him the son of the ruler from Hagar with a few Saracens, and went out as if for a hunt, accompanied by many attendants. When, therefore, he was within Roman territory, he embraced the son of the Ishmaelite and said, "As for you, child, return;

to the island of Panormus, which now bears the name of Antigonus, the impious Theophilus banishes him, and shuts him up within a tomb with two robbers; and when one of the two had died, how much violence and annoyance the holy man suffered from the fetid stench of the corpse, no speech can sufficiently describe. There, then, with that renowned father shut up, those brothers, the confessors Theophanes and Theodorus, after the marking of their faces, were relegated. When they had arrived at the port of Carta, they wrote these words to the holy Methodius through a certain fisherman who was known to him:

"To the living corpse, and the corpse bearing life, who while dwelling upon the earth, traverses the heavens, the imprisoned ones send letters to him who is oppressed by chains."

To whom, in turn, the holy man sent back through the same fisherman:

"To those whose names are written in the books of heaven, and who have been temperately marked upon their brows, he who is buried alive addresses them as fellow-prisoners."

^C When the holy man had completed the seventh year in the tomb, he was then cast out from there and shut up in the palace, with no one seeing him except his serving man and the emperor; for Theophilus, being diligent in his studies and reading, would ask the holy Methodius about those things which were in doubt, wherefore he also kept him with him at all times during his travels.

XXIX. Spring approaching, the emperor again took up arms against the Agarenes, and laid waste much of Syria, and captured cities, and Sozopetra itself, which happened to be the fatherland of the Amermumnis, and this although he (the Amermumnis) had begged him much to spare his fatherland. The emperor, therefore, returned with good fortune. But Theophobus, having been left behind to administer the troops—since the grain ration for the Persians was delayed (for the emperor had a Persian army)—because the Persians were in distress on account of this, he was acclaimed king by them even against his will, or rather he urged them to desist from their folly, lest they cast both themselves and him into extreme evils; but he did not persuade them. Therefore he sends word to the emperor, concealing this fact from the Persians, informing him of what had happened, and ^D asking that nothing sinister be suspected of him. Having returned, he approaches the emperor and is most eagerly received, his former happiness being restored. Pardon was also given to all the Persians, and no other penalty was imposed.

[...to] your [concerns], but I shall go to the Romans. On his return to the great city, he was received with great joy by the emperor, was immediately honored with the rank of magister, and received from the holy font the emperor’s son, Michael, whom the father crowned with a diadem and proclaimed emperor of the Romans.

After the patriarch Antony had ended his life, having held the Church for thirteen years, John, whom our account has already mentioned as having been the teacher of Theophilus and companion in his heresy, was promoted to patriarch. The people of that time called him Jannes, both because of his heresy and his sorcery, for he was well-versed in such arts.

The most holy Methodius, who later also adorned the patriarchal throne, because he would not yield to his [Theophilus’s] impiety, was subjected to many tortures—including the crushing of his jaws and the extraction of his teeth—and the impious Theophilus banished him to the island of Panormus, which is now called the island of Antigonus, and confined him within a tomb with two robbers. After one of them died, no words could sufficiently describe the intensity and loathing of the agony that the holy man suffered from the foul stench of the corpse. ^B There, then, with that celebrated Father imprisoned, the brothers—the confessors Theophanes and Theodore—who were also banished after the tattooing of their faces and had landed at the harbor of Karta, sent these words by way of a fisherman familiar to the holy Methodius:

To the living dead, and to the living-bringing dead, Dwelling on earth, yet wandering the poles, The scribes write to the prisoner.

To these, the holy man replied through the same fisherman:

Those whose names are inscribed in the books of heaven, And who bear the marks of modesty upon their brows, The man buried alive greets as his fellow prisoners.

After the holy man had spent a seventh year in the tomb, he was thrown out of there and shut up in the palace, ^C where no one saw him except the servant who ministered to him and the emperor. For Theophilus, being studious and given to reading, used to question the holy Methodius about matters concerning which he was in doubt, and for this reason, he always had him with him even on his travels.

XXIX. As spring began, the emperor again took up arms against the Hagarenes and laid waste to a large part of Syria, capturing many cities, including Sozopetra itself, which happened to be the homeland of the Amermumnis, even though he had begged him much but in vain to spare his homeland. The emperor then returned home successfully.

Theophobus, however, having been left behind to command the legions, because the pay for the Persians—for the emperor had a Persian army—was delayed, and because the Persians were aggrieved at this, was proclaimed emperor by them even against his will. Indeed, he was even entreating them to abandon their folly, lest they cast themselves and him into extreme evils; but he could not persuade them. Therefore, ^D he sent word to the emperor, keeping this secret from the Persians, and informed him of what had happened, ensuring that he suspected no evil of him. Upon returning, he approached the emperor and was most eagerly received, regaining his former happiness. Pardon was granted to all the Persians, and no other [punishment] was imposed upon them.

save that they were not allowed to remain together, but were gathered into three myriads, divided, and dispersed. To each theme two thousand were assigned, so that they might be subject and obedient to the commanders of the themes. ^A Such was the state of affairs concerning the Persians and Theophobos.

The devastation of his country affected the Amermoumnes with such sorrow that he thought his life bitter unless he could avenge himself upon Theophilos for it. Having learned that Amorion (29) was Theophilos’s homeland, he decided to campaign against it. The emperor, having learned of this, fortified it, and further sent troops commanded by Theophoros Krateros, who was mentioned above, along with the others—forty-two in all—who later completed the course of martyrdom among the Agarenes. The emperor himself went forth to intercept those coming from Agar, and engaging the son of the Amermoumnes, who had arrived with a sufficient force, he put him to flight. But when night came on, Manuel, patrolling the guards of the camp, heard some Persians discussing betrayal with the Agarenes (for he understood their language). This he reported to the emperor and persuaded him to depart from the camp at dawn. And he indeed departed, leaving his horse its full rein. ^B The Amermoumnes, secure from that point on, undertook the siege of Amorion and made frequent assaults on the city, but accomplished nothing, as those inside fought back with great strength, so that the Agarenes had despaired of its capture and were on the point of withdrawing; the city would not have been sacked had not one of those inside, maddened by some quarrel, become a traitor to it—his surname was Boiditzes. ^C When the city was captured, it is impossible to say how great was the populace that was slain. Women, children, and youths numbering many thousands were led away as captives, along with the foremost of the commanders there: Kallistos, Konstantinos, and Theodoros Krateros, the patricians, and many others who were distinguished in military commands and illustrious in dignities of honor.

Having learned this, Theophilos (for he was then at Dorylaion) sent envoys to the king of the Ismaelites, requesting that the illustrious of the captives and those related to him by blood be returned, promising to give him twenty-four centenaria. ^D But he dismissed the envoys brazenly, saying, "I would be a fool if, after having spent about a thousand centenaria upon this campaign, I were to accept such a sum and release them."

When, however, the envoys returned without success, such a calamity settled upon the soul of Theophilus that he could find no consolation; he even abstained from food and would take no drink, save for very cold water, as if it were from the snow. Using this constantly, he suffered internally, and a disease of dysentery set in. ^A Having betaken himself to the palace, and by then knowing that his own salvation was beyond hope, he summoned the senate and petitioned them to show loyalty to his wife and child, and to preserve for them the royal authority; and they assented. ^B These things having happened in this way, the emperor—who had previously, ever since Theophobus was raised up by the Persians, considered him a suspect person—relied more upon his suspicion, and because of the treachery which the Persians were contemplating (as I have already written), and because of those who slandered the man, insisting with suggestions that the Persians were doing these things at his instigation. ^C When, therefore, the body of the emperor had been consumed by the disease and his strength had failed, he feared that upon his own death Theophobus might seize the tyranny; he therefore threw him into confinement near the palace. And when he perceived that his own life was now hanging by a slender thread and was about to expire, he ordered that Theophobus be executed and his head be brought to him. When it had been brought, the story goes that the emperor placed his hand upon it, and, touching its hair, exclaimed: "From now on, neither am I Theophilus, nor are you Theophobus." Upon saying this, he breathed out his soul, ^D having reigned for twelve years and three months, after having earnestly besought his consort and Theoctistus, the Logothete of the Drome who was then wielding power, not to permit the holy icons to be restored, nor the patriarch John to be driven from the Church.

ORDER OF THE CONTENTS CONTAINED IN THIS VOLUME

JOANNES ZONARAS. Preface of Ducange, 9 Admonition of the same to the reader, 26 Preface of Hieronymus Wolfius, 27 ANNALS OF JOANNES ZONARAS, 59 Preface of the author, 59 Book One, 51 Book Two, 146 Book Three, 223 Book Four, 311 Book Five, 387 Book Six, 459 Book Seven, 545 Book Eight, 650 Book Nine, 711 Book Ten, 802 Book Eleven, 921 Book Twelve, 999 Book Thirteen, 1097 Book Fourteen, 1203 Book Fifteen, 1313

THE END OF THE ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FOURTH VOLUME.