,

he attacks vigorously and wrought great death upon the barbarians. 1.7.4 For this very reason he is again appointed general by the emperor and sent out and is honored with Roman dignities and carries off the armed honor of command called 1.7.5 *praesentus* by the Romans. Then, when summer came, having gathered the Roman forces he proceeds to Adrianople and encounters Ardagastus, who was trailing behind him great multitudes of Sclavenes, a very valuable catch of captives, and splendid booty; and having passed the night, he came at dawn near the fortress of Ansinus and bravely engages with the barbarians. 1.7.6 The enemy turned tail and was driven into flight and is driven from Astica itself, and the Roman heroic deed brought a bright day for the captives. And the general sang a song of victory and set up a trophy. 1.8.1 But at the beginning of autumn the barbarians again broke the treaties and openly enslaved 1.8.2 the confederation. And I shall state the reason, nor do I shrink from it. A Scythian man, bearing the name Bocolabras (and if you wish to learn the exact meaning of the appellation, I will straightway 1.8.3 translate the name into the Greek tongue. by transforming the Scythian tongue into the noble one, we shall obtain the meaning ‘magician’, or in other words ‘priest’), this man at that time performed a daring deed. 1.8.4 For he lay with one of the Khagan's wives, and being enticed by a brief pleasure, he fell into great snares of death. But suspecting that the evil deed might be discovered and that he would suffer a conspicuous conviction, he persuaded seven men from the subject Gepids 1.8.5 and made his escape to his ancestral tribe. These were Huns, who dwell towards the east, neighbors of the Persians, whom 1.8.6 it is more familiar to most to also call Turks. And so, crossing the Ister, and heading for the city of the Libidinenses, having been caught by one of the Roman commanders assigned to guard the Ister, he revealed his race and his past activities and the pleasure 1.8.7 that drove him thence. And since he seemed convincing in the narration of his misfortune, he is sent by the commander to the emperor. And from this point the Roman treaties seemed to be rent asunder, and the war is laid bare, while Targitius was still present at the royal city in the capacity of an ambassador, reaping the annual tribute from the Romans, which the treaties produced for the Khagan 1.8.8 each year. This, to be sure, not unreasonably provoked the emperor to anger, thinking that he was being deceived not least by the Avars, the one demanding the annual tribute and peaceful revenues, while the other was not remaining still but ravaging Europe and making the cities 1.8. desolate. At any rate, Targitius is banished to the island of Chalcia, suffering hardship for six months, and until this point the emperor's anger was inflamed; for death was threatened to be decreed against the ambassador. 1.8.10 Those around the Khagan ravaged all the neighboring peoples of the Scythians and Mysians and captured many cities: Ratiaria and Bononia and Acys and Dorostolon and Zaldapa and Pannasa and Marcianopolis and Tropaeum. 1.8.11 But the enterprise caused him many troubles; for not without sweat nor without care did he subdue these towns, although he was greatly assisted by the advantage of a sudden attack, which is seized by the irresistible evil of complacency to the greatest degree. But the emperor appointed Comentiolus general and put him in charge of the entire command. 1..1 But since the prologues of my history have been about the Huns living by the Ister, come now, let us also strike the lyre of narration for the Persian affairs. For I shall return to the proclamation of Maurice the emperor, now to write about the Median

καρτερῶς ἐπιτίθεται καὶ θάνατον πολὺν τοῖς βαρβάροις ἀπεσχεδίασεν. 1.7.4 διά τοι τοῦτο καὶ στρατηγὸς ὑπὸ τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος αὖθις χειροτονηθεὶς ἀποστέλλεται καὶ ῾Ρωμαϊκαῖς ἀξίαις λαμπρύνεται τήν τε τοῦ πραισέντου τὴν παρὰ ῾Ρωμαίοις λεγομένην 1.7.5 ἔνοπλον ἡγεμονίας τιμὴν ἀποφέρεται. εἶτα περιόντι τῷ θέρει τὰς ῾Ρωμαϊκὰς συναθροίσας δυνάμεις ἐπὶ τὴν ᾿Αδρια-νούπολιν φοιτᾷ καὶ συντυγχάνει ᾿Αρδαγάστῳ ἐπισυρομένῳ πλήθη Σκλαυηνῶν πολλὰ ἄγρας τε αἰχμαλώτων ἀξιολογωτάτας καὶ λείας λαμπράς· διανυκτερεύσας τε ὄρθριος ἧκε πλησίον ᾿Ανσίνου τοῦ φρουρίου καὶ γεννικῶς τοῖς βαρβάροις 1.7.6 συμπλέκεται. τὸ δὲ πολέμιον πρύμναν τε ἐκρούσατο καὶ ἐς φυγὴν ἐξωθεῖτο καὶ τῆς ᾿Αστικῆς αὐτῆς ἀπελαύνεται, λευκήν τε τοῖς αἰχμαλώτοις ἡμέραν ἀνέσχε τὸ ῾Ρωμαϊκὸν ἀνδραγάθημα. ὁ δὲ στρατηγὸς ἐπαιώνισεν ἐπινίκιον καὶ τρόπαιον ἐνιδρύσατο. 1.8.1 Μετοπώρου δ' ἀρχομένου πάλιν οἱ βάρβαροι τὰς συνθήκας διέχεον τήν τε ὁμαιχμίαν εἰς τὸ φανερὸν ἀνδραποδί1.8.2 ζονται. λέξω δὲ τὴν αἰτίαν, οὐδ' ἀναίνομαι. Σκύθης ἀνὴρ Βοοκολαβρᾶ τὴν ἐπωνυμίαν περιαγόμενος (εἰ δέ τι καὶ τῆς προσηγορίας τὸ σαφέστατον ὑπογλίχῃ μαθεῖν, παραυτίκα 1.8.3 πρὸς τὴν ῾Ελλάδα φωνὴν μετοχετεύσω τὸ ὄνομα. μάγον, ταὐτὸν δὲ φάναι ἱερέα, τὴν τῶν Σκυθῶν ἐπὶ τὴν εὐγενίδα μεταμορφοῦντες φωνὴν τῆς ἑρμηνείας τευξόμεθα), οὗτος ἔδρα τὸ τηνικαῦτα καιροῦ φιλοκίνδυνον τόλμημα. παρευνά1.8.4 ζεται γὰρ ἑνὶ τῶν τοῦ Χαγάνου γυναίων ἡδονῇ τε βραχείᾳ δελεασθεὶς εἰς μεγάλας ἄρκυς θανάτου ἐμπέπηχεν. ὑποτοπήσας δὲ μή που τὸ κακὸν φωραθείη καὶ περίβλεπτον ὠδίνοι τὸν ἔλεγχον, ὑποπείσας ἐκ τῶν ὑπηκόων Γηπαίδων ἄνδρας 1.8.5 ἑπτὰ τὴν φυγὴν ἐπὶ τὸ ἀρχέγονον ἐπεποίητο φῦλον. Οὖννοι δ' οὗτοι, προσοικοῦντες τῇ ἕῳ, Περσῶν πλησιόχωροι, οὓς 1.8.6 καὶ Τούρκους ἀποκαλεῖν τοῖς πολλοῖς γνωριμώτερον. καὶ οὖν διαπορθμεύων τὸν ῎Ιστρον, ἐπὶ τὴν Λιβιδινῶν πόλιν φερόμενος, ἁλοὺς ὑπό τινος τῶν ῾Ρωμαϊκῶν ἡγεμόνων τῶν ἐς φρουρὰν συντεταγμένων τοῦ ῎Ιστρου τό τε γένος ἐδήλου καὶ τὰς πάλαι διατριβὰς καὶ τὴν ἐντεῦθεν ἐπελαύνουσαν 1.8.7 ἡδονήν. ἐπεὶ δὲ πιθανὸς ἐδόκει τῇ διηγήσει τοῦ ἀτυχήματος, παρὰ τὸν αὐτοκράτορα ὑπὸ τοῦ ἡγεμόνος παραπέμπεται. κἀντεῦθεν ἐδόκουν αἱ ῾Ρωμαϊκαὶ σπονδαὶ διασχίζεσθαι, καὶ παραγυμνοῦται ὁ πόλεμος, ἔτι Ταργιτίου τοῦ βασιλικοῦ ἐπιβαίνοντος ἄστεος ἐν πρέσβεων μοίρᾳ καὶ τὸν ἐγκύκλιον πλοῦτον παρὰ ῾Ρωμαίων ὑποθερίζοντος, ὃν αἱ συνθῆκαι τῷ Χαγάνῳ 1.8.8 ἀν' ἔτος ἐβλάστανον ἕκαστον. τοῦτό τοι καὶ βασιλέα οὐκ ἀπὸ τρόπου πρὸς ὀργὴν ὑπηρέθιζεν οὐχ ἥκιστα φενακίζεσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν ᾿Αβάρων διανοούμενον, τοῦ μὲν ἐξαιτοῦντος τὸν ἐγκύκλιον πλοῦτον καὶ τὰς εἰρηναίας προσόδους, τοῦ δὲ μὴ ἀτρεμοῦντος, ἀλλὰ τὴν Εὐρώπην δῃοῦντος καὶ ἀναστάτους 1.8. ποιουμένου τὰς πόλεις. ἐξοστρακίζεται γοῦν ὁ Ταργίτιος ἐπὶ τὴν Χαλκίτιδα νῆσον ἐπὶ μῆνας σκληραγωγούμενος ἕξ, καὶ μέχρι τούτου ὁ τοῦ βασιλέως θυμὸς ὑπεφλέγμαινεν· ἠπειλεῖτο γὰρ καὶ θάνατος κατὰ τοῦ πρέσβεως δογματίζεσθαι. 1.8.10 οἱ δ' ἀμφὶ τὸν Χαγάνον τῶν τε Σκυθῶν καὶ Μυσῶν τοὺς περιοίκους ἐλυμήναντο πάντας εἷλόν τε πόλεις πολλάς, τήν τε ῾Ρατηρίαν καὶ Βονώνειαν καὶ ῎Ακυς καὶ ∆ορόστολον καὶ Ζαλδαπὰ καὶ τὰ Παννασὰ καὶ Μαρκιανούπολιν καὶ Τρόπαιον. 1.8.11 πράγματα δέ οἱ πολλὰ παρέσχετο ἡ ἐγχείρησις· οὐ γὰρ ἀνιδρωτὶ καὶ ἀπεριμερίμνως τάδε παρεστήσατο τὰ πολίσματα, καίτοι μεγάλης ἐπικουρούσης ἐπιπνοίας αὐτῷ τῆς ἀθρόας ἐπιφοιτήσεως, ἥτις ἐς τὰ μάλιστα ἀνανταγωνίστῳ κακῷ τῇ ῥαθυμίᾳ κατέχεται. βασιλεὺς δὲ Κομεντίολον στρατηγὸν ἀνίστησι καὶ τῆς πάσης ἡγεμονίας κηδεμόνα τουτονὶ προεστήσατο. 1..1 ᾿Αλλ' ἐπεὶ περί γε τῶν Οὔννων τῶν πρὸς τῷ ῎Ιστρῳ βιούντων τὰ προαύλιά μοι τῆς ἱστορίας γεγένηται, ἄγε δή, ἄγε καὶ τὰς Περσικὰς πράξεις τῇ τῆς διηγήσεως ἀνατινάξωμεν φόρμιγγι. παλιννοστήσω γὰρ ἐπὶ τὴν Μαυρικίου τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος ἀναγόρευσιν τὸν Μηδικὸν νῦν ἀναγραψόμενος