they would be frustrated. And having gone out of the camp, and having overrun a part of the country, when he learned from those who had been taken alive, that a barbarian army of about forty thousand was being gathered upon a certain hill, in order that it might unexpectedly attack the Romans, and drive them from the 14 island, and free their own men from the siege of the city. When the general heard these things and had given the elite army following him a whole day's rest, setting out late in the evening and having taken up native men as guides of the region, since the moonlight was also shining, as it was a full moon, he hastened with exertion, not slackening his speed at all; and indeed he surrounded the hill on all sides, where the barbarians were sleeping a deep sleep. And then, having ordered the trumpets to sound and the drums to beat, he advanced across the hill. But the barbarians, hearing the clash of arms, being light-armed and unprepared, and terrified by the unexpectedness of the attack, turned to flight. But there was no escape, as the entire base of the hill was held by the Roman phalanx. Therefore, without a struggle, in a brief moment of time, the entire host of forty thousand barbarians was utterly destroyed, having become the work of the Roman spear. But to such a strange trophy the general added another trophy. For he ordained that the heads of the fallen multitude be cut off, and that these, placed in pouches, be transported to the camp; and he confirmed that a reward of silver would be given to the one who brought a head. The army, and especially the contingent of the Armenians, gladly received this decree, and they cut off the barbarian heads and put them in their pouches. And the general arrived at the camp during the night. 8. On the next day, as the morning star was just passing the 15 horizon and moving towards the rim of the pole, he ordered the heads of the barbarians to be impaled on the spears, and to fix them in a row along the small wall which he himself had built; and to hurl others by means of the stone-throwing engines against the city. And the Cretans, seeing the row of spears and the heads impaled upon them, and those being hurled against the city and crashing against the battlements of the city, and recognizing accurately that these belonged to their countrymen and kinsmen, were immediately seized with shuddering and a change of mind, and at the pitiable and unexpected sight they were stupefied. Thence were heard the wailings of men, and the lamentations of women, and the city took on the appearance of being captured, with everyone bewailing and weeping for their dearest ones. But even so they were not about to yield again to the Romans and make a truce; but, confident in the strength of their city, they both whetted their spirits, and, fully armed, watched for an attack by the Romans, so that, if any came on, they might defend themselves. But the general, having signaled for war with the trumpet and having exhorted them to fight more vigorously, led the army to the wall. And indeed when the battle broke out, one could see deeds full of handiwork and daring being done, with spears being hurled everywhere, and arrows being sent forth like winter snowflakes, and stones being frequently discharged from the stone-throwing engines, and crashing against the battlements. But the barbarians themselves also, with necessity pressing them, stoutly fought back, both defending themselves from the wall and shooting arrows in return, and 16 hurling axes from above, and letting fly stones of a talent's weight; and nothing was left unused by them of the means of defense for war, and they retaliated no less than they suffered. For the manifest danger and the despair of salvation incited them to struggle beyond their strength, and to oppose their enemies recklessly. 9. But Nikephoros, the general of the Romans, when he saw that the circuit-wall of the city was truly strong, and otherwise difficult to attack and impregnable (for not

σκαιωρήσοιντο. ἐξελθὼν δὲ τοῦ χάρακος, καὶ μέρος τῆς χώρας καταδραμὼν, ἐπεὶ πρὸς τῶν ἐζωγρημένων ἀνέμαθεν, ἐπί τι γεώλοφον στρατιὰν βαρβάρων ὡσεὶ μυριάδων τεττάρων ἀθροίζεσθαι, ὡς ἂν ἐξ ἐφόδου ἀπροόπτως τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις ἐπέλθῃ, καὶ τῆς τε 14 νήσου τούτους ἀπελάσῃ, καὶ τοὺς σφετέρους τῆς τοῦ ἄστεος ἀπαλλάξῃ καθείρξεως. τούτων ἀκηκοὼς ὁ στρατηγὸς καὶ τὸν ἐφεπόμενον τῶν λογάδων στρατὸν πανημέριον διαναπαύσας, πρὸς ἑσπέραν βαθεῖαν ἀπάρας καὶ ἡγεμόνας τῶν τόπων ἰθαγενεῖς ἄνδρας ἀνειληφώς, ἐπεὶ καὶ τὸ σεληναῖον φῶς ὑπέλαμπε, πεπληρωμένης τῆς μήνης οὔσης, συντείνων ἔσπευδε, μηδὲν τάχους ἀνίεισι· καὶ δὴ κυκλόθεν τὸν γεώλοφον περιεστοίχισεν, ἵνα βαθὺν οἱ βάρβαροι ὕπνον ἐκάθευδον. κἄπειτα τὰς σάλπιγγας ἐπηχῆσαι καὶ τὰ τύμπανα παταγῆσαι ἐγκελευσάμενος, διὰ τοῦ γεωλόφου ἐχώρει. οἱ δὲ βάρβαροι, τὸν ψόφον τῶν ὅπλων αἰσθόμενοι, ψιλοὶ καὶ ἀπαράσκευοι ὄντες, καὶ τῷ ἀπροόπτῳ τῆς ἐφόδου καταπλαγέντες, εἰς φυγαδείαν ἀπέκλιναν. ἀλλ' οὐκ ἦν ἀπαλλάξαι, τῆς ὑπωρείας ἁπάσης κατεχομένης τῇ Ῥωμαϊκῇ φάλαγγι. ἀκονιτὶ οὖν ἐν μικρᾷ χρόνου ῥοπῇ τὸ τῶν τεττάρων μυριάδων τῶν βαρβάρων ἡβηδὸν παραπώλετο πλῆθος, ἔργον γεγονὸς αἰχμῆς Ῥωμαϊκῆς. ἀλλὰ τῷ τοιούτῳ καινῷ τροπαίῳ ἕτερον ὁ στρατηγὸς ἐξήρτυε τρόπαιον. τοῦ γὰρ πεσόντος πλήθους τὰς κάρας ἐκτεμεῖν διωρίσατο, καὶ ταύτας ταῖς πήραις ἐνθέντας μετακομίσαι πρὸς τὸ στρατόπεδον· μισθὸν δὲ τῷ κάραν κομίζοντι δίδοσθαι διεβεβαιοῦτο ἀργύριον. τοῦτο τὸ δόγμα ἀσμένως δεξάμενος ὁ στρατὸς, καὶ μάλιστα τὸ τῶν Ἀρμενίων στίφος, τὰ βαρβαρικὰ ἐναπέτεμε κάρηνα καὶ ταῖς πήραις ἀπέθεντο. ἐννύχιόν τε ὁ στρατηγὸς ἀφίκετο κατὰ τὸ στρατόπεδον. ηʹ. Τῇ δ' ὑστεραίᾳ ἄρτι τοῦ φωσφόρου τὸν ὁρίζοντα παρα 15 μείβοντος καὶ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ πόλου μεταβαίνοντος ἄντυγα, ἐπὶ τῶν δοράτων περιπείρειν τὰς τῶν βαρβάρων κάρας προσέταττεν, ἐπιστίχως τε παρὰ τὸ τειχίον, ὃ αὐτὸς ἐδείματο, καταπηγνύειν αὐτά· τὰς δὲ καὶ διὰ τῶν πετροβόλων ὀργάνων ἐπὶ τῷ ἄστει ἐκσφενδονᾷν. τοὺς δὲ Κρῆτας, τὴν ἐπίστιχον τῶν δοράτων τάξιν καὶ τὰς ἐπ' αὐτῶν ἐμπεπαρμένας κάρας ἀθρήσαντας, τὰς δὲ κατὰ τὸ ἄστυ ἐκσφενδονωμένας καὶ ταῖς ἐπάλξεσι προσαρασσομένας τοῦ ἄστεος, καὶ ταύτας τῶν ὁμοεθνῶν καὶ συγγενῶν εἶναι ἀκριβῶς ἐπιφρασαμένους, φρίκη μὲν ἐκ τοῦ εὐθέος καὶ ἀλλοίωσις ᾕρει φρενῶν, καὶ παρὰ τὴν οἰκτρὰν καὶ ἀπροσδόκητον ὄψιν ἐπεπήγεσαν. ἐντεῦθεν ἀνδρῶν οἰμωγαὶ, καὶ κωκυτὸς τῶν γυναίων ἠκούετο, καὶ σχῆμα τὸ ἄστυ κατεῖχεν ἁλώσεως, ὀλοφυρομένων ἁπάντων καὶ ἀποκλαιομένων τὰ φίλτατα. ἀλλὰ καὶ ὣς οὐκ ἔμελλεν αὖθις Ῥωμαίοις εἶξαι καὶ σπείσασθαι· τῷ ἐρυμνῷ δὲ πίσυνοι τοῦ σφετέρου πτολίσματος, παρέθηγόν τε τὰς προθυμίας, καὶ καθωπλισμένοι τὴν τῶν Ῥωμαίων παρετηροῦντο ῥοπὴν, ἵν', εἴ τις ἐπῄει, ἀμύνοιντο. ὁ δὲ στρατηγὸς, τῇ σάλπιγγι σημήνας τὸν πόλεμον, ἐῤῥωμενέστερόν τε διακινδυνεύειν ἐγκελευσάμενος, τῷ τείχει προσῆγε τὸ στράτευμα. καὶ δῆτα τῆς μάχης ἀναῤῥαγείσης ἦν ὁρᾷν ἔργα χειρῶν καὶ τόλμης γιγνόμενα ἔμπλεα, πολλαχῇ τῶν δοράτων ἀκοντιζομένων, καὶ τῶν βελῶν δίκην χειμερίων νιφάδων ἐκπεμπομένων, καὶ θαμινὰ τῶν λίθων τῶν πετροβόλων ὀργάνων ἀφιεμένων, καὶ ταῖς ἐπάλξεσι προσαρασσομένων. οἱ δὲ βάρβαροι καὶ αὐτοὶ τῆς ἀνάγκης κατεπειγούσης ῥωμαλέως ἀντηγωνίζοντο, ἐκ τοῦ τείχους τε ἀμυνόμενοι καὶ ἀντιτοξεύοντες, καὶ 16 πελέκεις ἄνωθεν ῥιπτοῦντες, καὶ ταλαντιαίους λίθους ἐπαφιέντες· καὶ οὐδὲν ὅ,τι παρεῖτο τούτοις τῶν εἰς τὸ πολεμεῖν ἀμυντηρίων, καὶ οὐχ ἧττον ἀντέδρων, ὧν ἔπασχον. ὁ γὰρ προφανὴς κίνδυνος καὶ ἡ τῆς σωτηρίας ἀπόγνωσις παρεκρότει τούτους ὑπὲρ δύναμιν ἀγωνίζεσθαι, καὶ τοῖς δυσμενέσι παραβόλως ἀντικαθίστασθαι. θʹ. Νικηφόρος δὲ, ὁ τῶν Ῥωμαίων στρατηγὸς, ἐπεὶ καὶ τὸν περίβολον τοῦ ἄστεος ἐχυρόν τε ἀτεχνῶς ἑώρα, καὶ τὴν ἄλλως δυσέμβολον καὶ ἀνάλωτον (οὐ γὰρ