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and from this deed she carried off a great reputation for insolence among all men, and with no trouble she persuades her husband, when he arrived, to share with her in this pollution. So that at that time the character of the 5.25 man was plainly convicted. And yet, though he had sworn an oath to Photius and to some of his intimates before and had in no way kept his sworn promises, he met with pardon 5.26 from all men. For they suspected the cause of the man's faithlessness to be not his domination by his wife, but fear of 5.27 the empress. But when Theodora too was dead, as I have said, no account was made of either Photius or anyone else of his necessary friends, but to him his wife appeared to be his mistress, and Calligonus the pander was his master, then indeed everyone, despairing of him, both mocked him, gossiping, and reviled him as one guilty of folly. So the sins of Belisarius, to speak without concealment, are somewhat as follows. 5.28 But the sins of Sergius, the son of Bacchus, in Libya have been sufficiently revealed by me in the appropriate books, who indeed was most responsible for the ruin of Roman affairs there, having made of no account the oaths sworn by him on the gospels to the Leuathae and having killed the eighty envoys without justification, but it will be necessary for me to insert this much in my account now, that neither did these men come to Sergius with deceitful intent, nor did Sergius have any pretext of suspicion concerning them, but having invited the men to a feast under solemn oath, 5.29 he dispatched them in a disorderly manner. From which indeed it happened that Solomon and the army of the Romans and all the Libyans were 5.30 destroyed. For because of him, especially since Solomon had died, as I have said, neither any officer nor any soldier thought it right to go into the danger of war. 5.31 And most of all John, the son of Sisinniolus, because of his hatred for him, was unwilling to fight, until Areobindus arrived in Li5.32 bya. For Sergius was soft and unwarlike, and very young in character and age, and was possessed to an excess by envy and arrogance towards all men, and was effeminate in his way of life and 5.33 puffed up in his jaws. But since he happened to be the betrothed of the granddaughter of Antonina, the wife of Belisarius, the empress was in no way willing to inflict any punishment on him or to remove him from his command, although she saw Libya being most relentlessly ruined, since she and the emperor also let Solomon, the brother of Sergius, go unpunished for the murder of Pegasius. And what this is I shall immediately make clear. 5.34 When Pegasius had ransomed Solomon from the Leuathae and the barbarians had departed for home, Solomon was setting out for Carthage with Pegasius, who had ransomed him, and a few soldiers, and on this journey Pegasius, catching Solomon doing some wrong, said that he ought to remember how God 5.35 had recently rescued him from the enemy. But he, being angry because he had reproached him as a captive of the spear, immediately killed Pegasius, and this was the reward for rescue he paid to the man. 5.36 And when Solomon came to Byzantium, the emperor made him clear of the murder, as having killed a trai5.37 tor to the Roman empire. And he gave him letters providing him security concerning these matters. And so Solomon, having thus escaped punishment, went gladly to the East, to see his fatherland and his family at 5.38 home. But the punishment from God, overtaking him on this journey, removed him from mankind. So the affairs concerning Solomon and Pegasius proceeded in this way. 6.1 I am about to tell what sort of people Justinian and Theodora were, and in what manner they tore apart the affairs of the Romans. 6.2 When Leo held the imperial power in Byzantium, three young peasants, Illyrians by race, Zimarchus and Ditybistus and Justinus from Bederiana, fighting relentlessly at home with the difficulties arising from poverty and wishing to be rid of them, 6.3 set out to become soldiers. And travelling on foot they went to Byzantium, themselves carrying goat-skin cloaks on their shoulders, in which indeed they had put nothing else from home but twice-baked bread when they arrived, and having been enlisted

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μεγάλην τε ἀγνωμοσύνης ἐκ τοῦ ἔργου τούτου ἀπηνέγκατο δόξαν εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους, ἥκοντά τε οὐδενὶ πόνῳ ἀναπείθει τὸν ἄνδρα τοῦ ἄγους αὐτῇ μεταλαχεῖν τοῦδε. ὥστε διαρρήδην τηνικάδε ὁ τοῦ 5.25 ἀνθρώπου τρόπος ἐλήλεγκται. καίτοι διομοσάμενος Φωτίῳ τε καὶ τῶν ἐπιτηδείων τισὶ πρότερον καὶ τὰ ὀμωμοσμένα οὐδαμῆ ἐμπεδώσας συγγνώμης ἐτύγχανε 5.26 πρὸς πάντων ἀνθρώπων. αἴτιον γὰρ τοῦ ἀπίστου τἀνδρὸς οὐ τὴν γυναικοκράτειαν, ἀλλὰ δέος τὸ ἐκ 5.27 τῆς βασιλίδος ὑπώπτευον εἶναι. ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ Θεοδώρας ἀπογενομένης, ὥσπερ μοι εἴρηται, οὔτε Φωτίου οὔτε ἄλλου του τῶν οἱ ἀναγκαίων λόγος γεγένητο, ἀλλ' αὐτῷ δέσποινα μὲν ἡ γυνὴ ἐφαίνετο οὖσα, κύριος δὲ Καλλίγονος ὁ προαγωγὸς ἦν, τότε δὴ ἀπογνόντες αὐτοῦ ἅπαντες ἐχλεύαζόν τε διαθρυλλοῦντες καὶ ἅτε ἄνοιαν ὀφλισκάνοντι ἐλοιδοροῦντο. τὰ μὲν οὖν ἡμαρτημένα Βελισαρίῳ ἀπαρακαλύπτως εἰπεῖν ταύτῃ πη ἔχει. 5.28 Τὰ δὲ Σεργίῳ τῷ Βάκχου παιδὶ ἐπὶ Λιβύης ἡμαρτημένα διαρκῶς μὲν ἐν λόγοις μοι τοῖς ἐπιτηδείοις δεδήλωται, ὃς δὴ αἰτιώτατος γέγονεῬωμαίοις ἐνταῦθα διαφθαρῆναι τὰ πράγματα, τά τε πρὸς Λευάθας αὐτῷ πρὸς τῶν εὐαγγελίων ὀμωμοσμένα ἐν ἀλογίᾳ πεποιημένος καὶ τοὺς ὀγδοήκοντα πρέσβεις οὐδενὶ λόγῳ διαχρησάμενος, τοσοῦτον δέ μοι τανῦν ἐντιθέναι τῷ λόγῳ δεήσει, ὡς οὔτε νῷ δολερῷ οἱ ἄνδρες οὗτοι παρὰ Σέργιον ἦλθον οὔτε τινὰ σκῆψιν ὁ Σέργιος ὑποψίας περὶ αὐτοὺς εἶχεν, ἀλλὰ διώμοτος ἐπὶ θοίνην καλέσας τοὺς 5.29 ἄνδρας διεχρήσατο οὐδενὶ κόσμῳ. ἀφ' οὗ δὴ Σολόμωνι καὶ τῷῬωμαίων στρατῷ καὶ Λίβυσι πᾶσι διε5.30 φθάρθαι ξυνέβη. δι' αὐτὸν γὰρ, ἄλλως τε καὶ Σολόμωνος τετελευτηκότος, ὥσπερ μοι εἴρηται, οὔτε τις ἄρχων οὔτε τις στρατιώτης ἐς πολέμου κίνδυνον ἰέναι 5.31 ἠξίου. μάλιστα δὲ πάντωνἸωάννης ὁ Σισιννιόλου τῷ ἐς αὐτὸν ἔχθει ἀπόμαχος ἦν, ἕωςἈρεόβινδος ἐς Λι5.32 βύην ἀφίκετο. ἦν γὰρ ὁ Σέργιος μαλθακὸς μὲν καὶ ἀπόλεμος, τὸ δὲ ἦθος καὶ τὴν ἡλικίαν κομιδῆ νέος, φθόνῳ τε καὶ ἀλαζονείᾳ ἐς ὑπερβολὴν ἐχόμενος ἐς πάντας ἀνθρώπους, τεθρυμμένος τε τὴν δίαιταν καὶ 5.33 τὰς γνάθους φυσῶν. ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ τῆςἈντωνίνης τῆς Βελισαρίου γυναικὸς ἐγγόνης ἐτύγχανε μνηστὴρ γεγονὼς, τίσιν τινὰ ἐς αὐτὸν ἡ βασιλὶς ἐξενεγκεῖν ἢ παραλύειν τῆς ἀρχῆς οὐδαμῆ ἤθελε, καίπερ ἐνδελεχέστατα διαφθειρομένην Λιβύην ὁρῶσα, ἐπεὶ καὶ Σολόμωνα τὸν Σεργίου ἀδελφὸν τοῦ Πηγασίου φόνου αὐτή τε καὶ βασιλεὺς ἀθῷον ἀφῆκεν. ὅ τι δὲ τοῦτό ἐστιν αὐτίκα δηλώσω. 5.34Ἐπειδὴ ὁ Πηγάσιος τὸν Σολόμωνα πρὸς τῶν Λευαθῶν ὠνήσατο καὶ οἱ βάρβαροι ἐπ' οἴκου ἀπεκομίσθησαν, ὁ μὲν Σολόμων ξύν τε Πηγασίῳ τῷ ἐωνημένῳ καὶ στρατιώταις ὀλίγοις τισὶν εἰς Καρχηδόνα ἐστέλλετο, ἐν δὲ τῇ ὁδῷ ταύτῃ λαβὼν ὁ Πηγάσιος ὅ τι δὴ ἀδικοῦντα Σολόμωνα χρῆναί οἱ ἔφασκεν ἐν μνήμῃ εἶναι ὡς αὐτὸν 5.35 ἔναγχος ἐκ τῶν πολεμίων ὁ θεὸς ῥύσαιτο. ὁ δὲ χαλεπήνας, ὅτι δή οἱ ἅτε δορυαλώτῳ ὠνείδισε, τὸν Πηγάσιον εὐθὺς ἔκτεινε, ταῦτά τε σῶστρα τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ 5.36 ἀπέδωκεν. ἐπειδή τε ὁ Σολόμων ἐς Βυζάντιον ἦλθε, καθαρὸν αὐτὸν βασιλεὺς τοῦ φόνου ἐποίει ἅτε προ5.37 δότην ἀνελόντα τῆςῬωμαίων ἀρχῆς. γράμματά τε αὐτῷ ἐδίδου τὴν ὑπὲρ τούτων ἀσφάλειαν παρεχόμενος. καὶ ὁ μὲν Σολόμων οὕτω τὴν τίσιν διαφυγὼν ἐπὶ τὴν ἑῴαν ἄσμενος ᾔει, τήν τε πατρίδα καὶ γένος τὸ κατὰ 5.38 τὴν οἰκίαν ὀψόμενος. ἡ δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ τίσις ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ ὁδῷ καταλαβοῦσα ἐξ ἀνθρώπων αὐτὸν ἀφανίζει. τὰ μὲν οὖν ἀμφὶ Σολόμωνί τε καὶ Πηγασίῳ τῇδε ἐχώρησεν. 6.1 Οἵτινες δὲ ἀνθρώπωἸουστινιανός τε καὶ Θεοδώρα ἤστην τρόπῳ τε ὅτῳ διεσπάσαντο τὰῬωμαίων 6.2 πράγματα ἐρῶν ἔρχομαι. Λέοντος ἐν Βυζαντίῳ τὴν αὐτοκράτορα ἀρχὴν ἔχοντος, γεωργοὶ νεανίαι τρεῖς,Ἰλλυριοὶ γένος, Ζίμαρχός τε καὶ ∆ιτύβιστος καὶἸουστῖνος ὁ ἐκ Βεδεριάνης, πράγμασιν ἐνδελεχέστατα τοῖς ἀπὸ τῆς πενίας οἴκοι μαχόμενοι τούτων τε ἀπαλλα6.3 ξείοντες ἐπὶ τὸ στρατεύεσθαι ὥρμησαν. καὶ πεζῆ βαδίζοντες ἐς Βυζάντιον ᾔεσαν, σισύρας ἐπὶ τῶν ὤμων αὐτοὶ φέροντες, ἐν αἷς δὴ ἄλλο οὐδὲν ὅτι μὴ διπύρους ἄρτους οἴκοθεν ἐμβεβλημένοι ἀφίκοντο, ταχθέντας τε