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being distressed at what had happened and praying that the Romans would avenge the insolence shown him. 1.11.31 And after this Mebodes slandered Seoses to Cabades, saying that he had deliberately, though not instructed to do so by his master, put forward the matter of Lazica, thereby blocking the peace, and having previously conferred with Hypatius, who, being anything but well-disposed toward his own emperor, did not allow either the peace or the adoption of Chosroes to be carried into effect. 1.11.32 And making many other accusations, his enemies summoned Seoses to trial. Therefore the whole council of the Persians, having gathered together more out of envy than for justice, passed judgment. 1.11.33 For they were greatly annoyed at the office, to which they were unaccustomed, and were ill-disposed to the man’s character. For Seoses was most incorruptible as to money and a most scrupulous guardian of justice, but possessed by the sickness of arrogance in a way unlike other men. For this trait seems to be congenital with the Persian officials; but in Seoses, they themselves thought, the affliction was at its height to an extraordinary degree. 1.11.34 And his accusers said both these things which have been previously related by me and that the man was by no means willing to live in the established manner or 1.11.35 to preserve the customs of the Persians. 1.11.36 For he worshipped new divinities and had recently buried his wife who had died, it being forbidden by the laws of the Persians ever to hide in the earth the bodies of the dead. The judges, therefore, condemned the man to death, and Cabades for his part seemed to be grieving with Seoses as with a friend, but was by no means willing to save him. 1.11.37 However, he did not reveal that he was angry with him, but in word was unwilling to abrogate the laws of the Persians, although he owed the man his life, since Seoses had been most responsible for his both living and being king. 1.11.38 Thus Seoses, having been condemned, disappeared from among men. And the office, having begun with him, ended with him. For no one else has become adrastadaran salanes. 1.11.39 And Rufinus slandered Hypatius to the emperor. For which reason the emperor both removed him from his office and, after torturing some of his associates most cruelly, found absolutely nothing sound in this slander; yet he did no other harm to Hypatius. 1.12.1 And immediately Cabades, although he was eager to make an invasion into the land of the Romans, was in no way able to do so, since it befell him that the following obstacle 1.12.2 arose. The Iberians, who live in Asia, are settled somewhere near the Caspian Gates, which are to their north. 1.12.3 And on their left, extending towards the setting of the sun, is Lazica, and on the right, toward the rising sun, are the nations of the Persians. This people are Christians and observe the customs of this faith more than all men whom we know, yet from of old they happen to be subjects of the Persian king. 1.12.4 But at that time Cabades wanted to compel them to the customs of his own faith. And he sent instructions to their king, Gourgenes, both to do the other things as the Persians customarily do and by no means to hide the dead in the earth, but to throw them all to the birds and 1.12.5 dogs. For this reason Gourgenes wished to go over to the emperor Justin and asked to receive pledges, that the Romans would never 1.12.6 abandon the Iberians to the Persians. And he both gave him these with much eagerness and sent Probus, the nephew of the late emperor Anastasius, a patrician, with much money to Bosporus, for the purpose of persuading an army of Huns with money to send it to the Iberians as an alliance. 1.12.7 Bosporus is a coastal city, on the left as one sails into the sea called Euxine, and from the city of Cherson, which is the last on Roman land, it is distant a journey of twenty days. 1.12.8 And the Huns possess all the land in between. The Bosporitans lived autonomously in the past, but 1.12.9 they recently decided to submit to the emperor Justin. But since Probus withdrew from there without success, the emperor sent Peter the general with some Huns to Lazica 1.12.10 to assist Gourgenes with as much force as possible. And at this time Cabades sent an army of great account against both Gourgenes and the Iberians and

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ὢν τοῖς ξυμπεσοῦσι καὶ Ῥωμαίους εὐχόμενος τῆς ἐς αὐτὸν ὕβρεως τίσασθαι. 1.11.31 Μετὰ δὲ Μεβόδης μὲν τὸν Σεόσην διέβαλλε Καβάδῃ, ὡς δὴ ἐξεπίτηδες, οὔ οἱ ἐπιτεταγμένον πρὸς τοῦ δεσπότου, τὸν Λαζικῆς λόγον προθείη, τὴν εἰρήνην ἐκκρούων Ὑπατίῳ τε κοινολογησάμενος πρότερον, ὃς δὴ βασιλεῖ τῷ οἰκείῳ εὐνοϊκῶς ὡς ἥκιστα ἔχων τήν τε εἰρήνην καὶ τὴν Χοσρόου ἐσποίησιν ἔργῳ ἐπιτελῆ οὐκ ἐῴη γενέσθαι. πολλὰ δὲ καὶ ἄλλα κατηγοροῦντες οἱ 1.11.32 ἐχθροὶ τὸν Σεόσην ἐς δίκην ἐκάλουν. Περσῶν μὲν οὖν ἡ βουλὴ ξύμπασα φθόνῳ μᾶλλον ἢ νόμῳ ξυνειλεγμένοι ἐδίκαζον. τῇ τε γὰρ ἀρχῇ οὐ ξυνειθισμένῃ σφίσιν αὐτοῖς ἐπιεικῶς ἤχθοντο καὶ τῷ τρόπῳ τοῦ 1.11.33 ἀνδρὸς χαλεπῶς εἶχον. ἦν γὰρ ὁ Σεόσης χρημάτων μὲν ἀδωρότατος καὶ τοῦ δικαίου ἐπιμελητὴς ἀκριβέστατος, ἀλαζονείας δὲ νόσῳ ἐχόμενος οὐδὲν ὁμοίως τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀνθρώποις. ξυμφυὲς μὲν γὰρ εἶναι δοκεῖ τοῖς Περσῶν ἄρχουσι τοῦτό γε· ἐν δὲ τῷ Σεόσῃ καὶ αὐτοὶ ᾤοντο ὑπερφυῶς ἐς τὰ μάλιστα τὸ πάθος ἀκμάσαι. 1.11.34 ἔλεγον δὲ οἱ κατήγοροι ταῦτά τε ἅπερ μοι προδεδήλωται καὶ ὡς ἥκιστα τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ βουλομένῳ εἴη ἐν τῷ καθεστῶτι τρόπῳ βιοτεύειν ἢ περιστέλλειν τὰ Περ1.11.35 σῶν νόμιμα. καινά τε γὰρ αὐτὸν δαιμόνια σέβειν καὶ τελευτήσασαν ἔναγχος τὴν γυναῖκα θάψαι, ἀπειρημένον τοῖς Περσῶν νόμοις γῇ κρύπτειν ποτὲ τὰ τῶν νεκρῶν 1.11.36 σώματα. οἱ μὲν οὖν δικασταὶ θάνατον τοῦ ἀνθρώπου κατέγνωσαν, Καβάδης δὲ ὥσπερ μὲν ξυναλγοῦντι ἅτε φίλῳ τῷ Σεόσῃ ἐῴκει, ἐξελέσθαι δὲ αὐτὸν οὐδαμῆ 1.11.37 ἤθελεν. οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ ὅτι αὐτὸν δι' ὀργῆς ἔχοι ἐξήνεγκεν, ἀλλὰ τῷ λόγῳ παραλύειν τοὺς Περσῶν νόμους οὐκ ἐβούλετο, καίπερ ζωάγρια τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ὀφείλων, ἐπεί οἱ Σεόσης αἰτιώτατος γέγονε βιῶναί τε καὶ βασιλεῖ εἶναι. οὕτω μὲν ὁ Σεόσης καταγνωσθεὶς 1.11.38 ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἠφάνιστο. ἡ δὲ ἀρχὴ ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἀρξαμένη ἐς αὐτὸν ἐτελεύτησεν. ἕτερος γάρ τις ἀδρασταδάραν σαλάνης οὐδεὶς γέγονε. καὶ Ῥουφῖνος δὲ Ὑπάτιον ἐς 1.11.39 βασιλέα διέβαλλε. διὸ δὴ αὐτόν τε παρέλυσε τῆς ἀρχῆς βασιλεὺς, καὶ τῶν οἱ ἐπιτηδείων τινὰς πικρότατα αἰκισάμενος οὐδὲν ὑγιὲς ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ διαβολῇ τὸ παράπαν εὗρε, κακὸν μέντοι οὐδὲν Ὑπάτιον ἄλλο εἰργάσατο. 1.12.1 Εὐθὺς δὲ Καβάδης, καίπερ ἐν σπουδῇ ἔχων ἐσβολήν τινα ἐς τῶν Ῥωμαίων ποιεῖσθαι τὴν γῆν, οὐδαμῆ ἴσχυσεν, ἐπεὶ αὐτῷ ἐναντίωμα τοιόνδε ξυνηνέχθη 1.12.2 γενέσθαι. Ἴβηρες, οἳ ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ οἰκοῦσι, πρὸς αὐταῖς που ταῖς Κασπίαις ἵδρυνται πύλαις, αἵπερ αὐτοῖς εἰσι πρὸς βορρᾶν ἄνεμον. καὶ αὐτῶν ἐν ἀριστερᾷ μὲν ἐχομένη πρὸς τὰς ἡλίου δυσμὰς Λαζική ἐστιν, ἐν δεξιᾷ δὲ πρὸς ἀνίσχοντα ἥλιον τὰ Περσῶν 1.12.3 ἔθνη. οὗτος ὁ λεὼς Χριστιανοί τέ εἰσι καὶ τὰ νόμιμα τῆς δόξης φυλάσσουσι ταύτης πάντων μάλιστα ἀνθρώπων ὧν ἡμεῖς ἴσμεν, κατήκοοι μέντοι ἐκ παλαιοῦ τοῦ 1.12.4 Περσῶν βασιλέως τυγχάνουσιν ὄντες. τότε δὲ αὐτοὺς ἤθελε Καβάδης ἐς τὰ νόμιμα τῆς αὑτοῦ δόξης βιάζεσθαι. καὶ αὐτῶν τῷ βασιλεῖ Γουργένῃ ἐπέστελλε τά τε ἄλλα ποιεῖν ᾗ Πέρσαι νομίζουσι καὶ τοὺς νεκροὺς τῇ γῇ ὡς ἥκιστα κρύπτειν, ἀλλ' ὄρνισί τε ῥιπτεῖν καὶ 1.12.5 κυσὶν ἅπαντας. διὸ δὴ Γουργένης προσχωρεῖν Ἰουστίνῳ βασιλεῖ ἤθελε τά τε πιστὰ ἠξίου λαβεῖν, ὡς οὔποτε 1.12.6 Ἴβηρας καταπροήσονται Πέρσαις Ῥωμαῖοι. ὁ δὲ ταῦτά τε αὐτῷ ξὺν προθυμίᾳ πολλῇ ἐδίδου καὶ Πρόβον τὸν Ἀναστασίου τοῦ βεβασιλευκότος ἀδελφιδοῦν, ἄνδρα πατρίκιον, ξὺν χρήμασι πολλοῖς ἐς Βόσπορον ἔπεμψεν, ἐφ' ᾧ στράτευμα Οὔννων χρήμασιν ἀναπείσας Ἴβηρσι 1.12.7 πέμψῃ ἐς ξυμμαχίαν. ἔστι δὲ πόλις ἐπιθαλασσία ἡ Βόσπορος, ἐν ἀριστερᾷ μὲν ἐσπλέοντι τὸν Εὔξεινον καλούμενον πόντον, Χερσῶνος δὲ πόλεως, ἣ γῆς τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἐσχάτη ἐστὶν, ὁδῷ διέχουσα ἡμερῶν εἴκοσιν. 1.12.8 ὧν δὴ τὰ ἐν μέσῳ ἅπαντα Οὖννοι ἔχουσιν. οἱ δὲ Βοσπορῖται αὐτόνομοι μὲν τὸ παλαιὸν ᾤκουν, Ἰουστίνῳ 1.12.9 δὲ βασιλεῖ ἔναγχος προσχωρεῖν ἔγνωσαν. ἐπεὶ δὲ Πρόβος ἐνθένδε ἄπρακτος ἀνεχώρησε, Πέτρον στρατηγὸν σὺν Οὔννοις τισὶν ἐς Λαζικὴν βασιλεὺς ἔπεμψε 1.12.10 Γουργένῃ ὅση δύναμις ξυμμαχήσοντα. ἐν τούτῳ δὲ Καβάδης στράτευμα λόγου πολλοῦ ἄξιον ἐπί τε Γουργένην καὶ Ἴβηρας ἔπεμψε καὶ