Alexander, having been martyred, left Marzabanes as successor of the ministry, and Hymenaeus succeeds him. After Gallienus, Claudius reigned for two years. And his successor was Aurelian for six years. After him, Tacitus and Florianus ruled for nine months. His successor was Probus for six years. When he died, Carus received the rule with his sons Carinus and Numerian for two years. After them, Diocletian and Maximian came to the throne for twenty-one years. In their time the most severe and longest persecution of the Christians occurred, in which innumerable myriads, known only to the Lord, were martyred. And in Aelia, Hymenaeus, having ceased his ministry, left Zabdas as his successor, and when he died, Hermon took the throne of Jerusalem. But Diocletian and Maximian surnamed Herculius, after they had killed many myriads of the saints, as if having had their fill of evils, lifted up by an excess of madness, on the pretext of piety becoming chief sinners, by agreement they laid aside the imperial office, and were reduced to private life. Maximian, called Galerius, and Maxentius the son of Herculius held the Roman rule for nine years. Maximian indeed spent his time in the regions of the East, while Maxentius made his palace in great Rome itself, these were wild beasts pursuing every kind of evil, and raging fiercely against the Christians. And there co-reigned with them in Britain Constantius the great, the father of the great Constantine, a man in all things most serene and most gentle, embracing piety, and abominating idols, and greatly accepting the Christians. But Constantine, being still a boy, was brought up with the tyrant of the East, being instructed in Greek wisdom, whence, being in Palestine and seeing all that the servants of Christ were suffering, his soul was grieved. For he was a hater of evil from childhood. But Diocletian, while living in Dalmatia, was seized by a divinely sent wrath, and his body having swelled, burst into many parts, his blasphemous tongue having rotted in his throat and gushing forth a multitude of worms. Thus he gave up the ghost. But Herculius ended his life in Tarsus of Cilicia. But Galerius Maximian, as if having received license, both impiously and inhumanly exercised his tyranny. For since he had become mad for women, those under him struggled 4052 where to hide their own wives and daughters from the face of the tyrant. And he was so steeped in the deceit of the demons who led him astray, that he could not endure to taste anything without divination; and he ordered the utter destruction of the Christians, not only on account of his impiety, but also to seize their possessions. But seeing Constantine advancing in age and adorned with intelligence, and suspecting, or rather divining, that he would be the future destroyer of his tyranny, he planned to kill him by treachery. But by divine providence the young man learned of the plot, and like David secured his safety by flight. And when the tyrant had descended into immeasurable wickedness and was violently attacking the Christians, divine justice restrained him, sending a scourge against him. For a grievous ulcer having sprung up on the secret member itself of his licentiousness, became beyond all human skill. And as gangrene and putrefaction and a most terrible stench spread over the areas, and a multitude of worms was produced, for the wretch was also very fleshy, having finally come to despair, he lay a pitiful sight to all those around him. Then indeed a thought entered his mind, that it was because of the unjust slaughter of the Christians that this had happened to him by divine justice. Therefore immediately he sent out decrees to every city to release the Christians, and to do

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Ἀλέξανδρος μαρτυρήσας Μαρζαβάνην διάδοχον τῆς λειτουργίας κατέλιπε, καὶ τοῦτον Ὑμέ ναιος διαδέχεται. Μετὰ Γαληνὸν Κλαύδιος ἐβασίλευ σεν ἔτη δύο. Καὶ τούτου διάδοχος κατέστη Ἀουρηλια νὸς ἔτη ἕξ. Μετὰ τοῦτον Τάκιτος καὶ Φλωριανὸς ἐκράτησαν μῆνας ἐννέα. Τούτου Πρόβος διάδοχος γέ γονεν ἔτη ἕξ. Τούτου δὲ τελευτήσαντος τὴν ἡγεμο νίαν ἐδέξατο Κάρος σὺν τοῖς υἱοῖς αὐτοῦ Καρίνῳ καὶ Νουμεριανῷ ἔτη δύο. Μετὰ τούτους μετέρχεται βασιλείαν ∆ιοκλητιανὸς καὶ Μαξιμιανὸς εἴκοσι καὶ ἓν ἔτος. Ἐπὶ τούτων ὁ βαρύτατος καὶ μακρότατος τῶν Χριστιανῶν γέγονε διωγμὸς, ἐν ᾧ ἀναρίθμητοι καὶ Κυρίῳ μόνῳ ἐγνωσμέναι μυριάδες ἐμαρτύρησαν. Ἐν Αἰλίᾳ δὲ Ὑμέναιος τὴν λειτουργίαν καταπαύσας, Ζαύδα διάδοχον αὐτοῦ καταλέλοιπεν, καὶ τούτου τε λευτήσαντος, Ἕρμων τὸν θρόνον κατέσχεν Ἱεροσολύμων. Οἱ δὲ περὶ ∆ιοκλητιανὸν καὶ Μαξιμιανὸν τὸν ἐπί κλην Ἑρκούλιον, μετὰ τὸ ἀποκτεῖναι αὐτοὺς τῶν ἁγίων πολλὰς μυριάδας, ὥσπερ κόρον λαβόντες τῶν κακῶν, τῇ ὑπερβολῇ τῆς ἀπονοίας ἀρθέντες, προφά σει θεοσεβείας ἀλιτάρχαι γενόμενοι, ἐκ συνθήματος ἀπέθεντο τὸ βασίλειον, καὶ εἰς ἰδιωτικὴν διαγωγὴν κατεστάθησαν. Μαξιμιανὸς ὁ λεγόμενος Γαλέ ριος, καὶ Μαξέντιος ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ Ἑρκουλίου κατέσχον τὴν Ῥωμαϊκὴν ἡγεμονίαν ἔτη ἐννέα. Ὁ μέν τοι Μαξιμιανὸς ἐν τοῖς τῆς Ἑῴας μέρεσι διέτριβεν, ὁ δὲ Μαξέντιος ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ Ῥώμῃ τῇ μεγάλῃ τὰ βασίλεια ἐποιήσατο, θῆρες ἄγριοι οὗτοι καὶ πᾶν εἶδος κακίας μετερχόμενοι, καὶ σφοδρῶς κατὰ τῶν Χριστιανῶν ἐπιμαινόμενοι. Συνεβασίλευσε δὲ αὐτοῖς κατὰ τὴν Βρετανίαν Κώστας ὁ μέγας, ὁ τοῦ μεγάλου Κων σταντίνου πατὴρ, ἀνὴρ τὰ πάντα γαληνότατος καὶ πραότατος, εὐσέβειαν ἀσπαζόμενος, καὶ εἴδωλα μυσαττόμενος, καὶ λίαν τοὺς Χριστιανοὺς ἀποδεχόμε νος. Ὁ δὲ Κωνσταντῖνος ἔτι ὑπάρχων παῖς παρὰ τῷ τῆς Ἑῴας τυράννῳ ἐτρέφετο, παιδευόμενος τὴν Ἑλληνικὴν σοφίαν, ὅθεν αὐτῷ καὶ ἐν Παλαιστίνῃ ὄντι καὶ θεωροῦντι, ὅσα πάσχουσιν οἱ δοῦλοι Χριστοῦ, ἐδάκνετο ἡ ψυχή. Ἦν γὰρ μισοπόνηρος ἐκ παιδόθεν. Τὸν δὲ ∆ιοκλητιανὸν ἐν ∆αλματίᾳ διάγοντα κατέλαβε θεήλατος ὀργὴ, καὶ ὀγκωθεὶς τὸ σῶμα εἰς πολλὰ διεῤῥήγνυτο μέρη, τῆς βλασφήμου αὐτοῦ γλώσσης σαπείσης ἐν τῷ λάρυγγι αὐτοῦ καὶ πλῆθος σκωλή κων ἀναβρισάσης. Οὕτως ἀπέῤῥηξε τὸ πνεῦμα. Ὁ δὲ Ἑρκούλιος ἐν Ταρσῷ τῆς Κιλικίας κατέστρεψε τὸν βίον. Ὁ δὲ Γαλέριος Μαξιμιανὸς, ὥσπερ ἄδειαν λα βὼν, ἀθέως ἅμα καὶ ἀπανθρώπως ἐκέχρητο τῇ τυραν νίδι. Γυναικομανοῦς γὰρ γενομένου αὐτοῦ ἀγῶνας 4052 ἔσχον οἱ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τελοῦντες, ποῦ κρύφωσι τὰς ἰδίας γαμετὰς καὶ θυγατέρας ἀπὸ προσώπου τυράν νου Εἰς τοσοῦτον δὲ ἦν ἐντετηκὼς τῶν πλανώντων αὐτὸν δαιμόνων ἀπάτῃ, ὡς μὴ ἀνέχεσθαί τινος γεύ σασθαι ἄνευ μαντείας· τῶν δὲ Χριστιανῶν πανολε θρίαν γενέσθαι προσέταξεν, οὐ μόνον διὰ τὴν ἀσέ βειαν αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ τὸ ἁρπάσαι τὰ ὑπάρχοντα αὐτῶν. Βλέπων δὲ τὸν Κωνσταντῖνον προκόπτοντα εἰς μέ γεθος τῆς ἡλικίας καὶ συνέσει κεκοσμημένον, καὶ ὑποπτεύσας, μᾶλλον δὲ μαντευσάμενος αὐτὸν καταλύ την μέλλειν ἔσεσθαι τῆς τυραννίδος αὐτοῦ, δόλῳ αὐ τὸν θανατῶσαι διενοεῖτο. Ἀλλὰ θείᾳ προμηθείᾳ μα θὼν ὁ νέος δόλον, ὡς ὁ ∆αυῒδ φυγῇ τὴν σωτηρίαν ἐπορίσατο. Τοῦ δὲ τυράννου εἰς ἄμετρον ἀτοπίας ἐκβάντος καὶ τοῖς Χριστιανοῖς σφοδρῶς ἐπικειμένου, ἡ θεία δίκη τοῦτον ἀνεχαίτιζε μάστιγα κατ' αὐτοῦ· ὑπεφιεῖσα. Ἕλκος γὰρ χαλεπὸν κατ' αὐτὸ τῆς ἀκολα σίας κρυπτὸν μόριον ἀναφυὲν, κρεῖττον πάσης ἀν θρωπίνης τέχνης κατέστη. Νομῆς δὲ καὶ σήψεως καὶ δυσωδίας δεινοτάτης διαλαβούσης τοὺς τόπους, σκωλήκων δὲ πλήθους ἀναδεδομένου, ἦν γὰρ καὶ πο λύσαρκος ὁ δείλαιος, εἰς ἀπελπισμὸν λοιπὸν ἐληλυθὼς, ἔκειτο θέαμα ἐλεεινὸν πᾶσι τοῖς περὶ αὐτόν. Τότε δὴ ἔννοιά τις ὑπεισῆλθεν αὐτῷ, ὡς ἄρα διὰ τὸν ἄδικον τῶν Χριστιανῶν φόνον ὑπὸ τῆς θείας δί κης αὑτῷ συνέβη. Εὐθέως οὖν κατέπεμψε προστά γματα κατὰ πᾶσαν πόλιν ἀναλύεσθαι τοὺς Χριστια νοὺς, καὶ πράττειν

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