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having come into being. And not many days later, having issued forth somewhere very near the borders of Theodosiopolis, it appeared in a place about forty stades distant from the city of Daras, having been recognized by those whom it had brought from the houses there. For there the whole torrent appeared. 2.2.17 And for the rest of the time, in peace and good circumstances, this river, being in the midst of the city and having made the reservoirs full of water, is carried out of the city through the outlets which were purposely made for it by those who built the city, as has been 2.2.18 recently recounted by me. And watering the lands in that region, it is always desired by all the inhabitants. But whenever an army of the enemy comes there to besiege the city, they block the outlets through the iron bars with what are called cataracts, and immediately by man-made force compelling the river to change its nature and its outflow to change its course, they lead it to the 2.2.19 channel and from there to the chasm. And as a result of this, the enemy, being pressed by the lack of water, are forced to abandon the siege immediately. Indeed Mirranes, the Persian general, when he came there for a siege during the reign of Cabades, being compelled by all these things, 2.2.20 withdrew without success not long after. And Chosroes himself much later, having arrived for this very purpose with a great army, 2.2.21 attempted the plot against the city. And being at a loss concerning the lack of water, and observing the height of the circuit-wall, and suspecting it to be quite impregnable, and changing his mind about his plans, he departed straightway for the lands of the Persians, having been out-generalled by the foresight of the Emperor of the Romans. 2.3.1 These things, then, in the city of Daras Emperor Justinian thus established; but what manner he contrived for the city so that such a disaster from the river should no longer befall it, with God manifestly assisting him in 2.3.2 this endeavor, I shall declare. There was a certain Chryses of Alexandria, a skillful engineer, who, serving the emperor in matters of construction, had accomplished most of the things that had been built both in the city of Daras 2.3.3 and in the rest of the country. This Chryses was away from home when the disaster from the river occurred in the city of Daras; but having heard of it and being greatly grieved by the misfortune, he retired to his bed. 2.3.4 And he saw a vision of a dream of this sort. It seemed to him in the dream that someone of superhuman nature and in other respects too great to be compared to a man, was announcing and showing a certain device, which would be capable of preventing the river from roaring any more to the detriment of the city. 2.3.5 And he, at once suspecting the matter to be divine, wrote and reported to the emperor both the device and the vision of the dream, having sketched 2.3.6 the instruction from the dream. And it happened that not long before a messenger had come to the emperor from the city of Daras, who reported to him all the things that had happened from the river. 2.3.7 The emperor, being then disturbed by what had happened and greatly distressed, immediately summoned those who were famous in engineering, both Anthemius and 2.3.8 Isidorus, whom I have mentioned before. And communicating what had happened, he inquired of the men what sort of device might be made, so that nothing further might happen to the city; and each of them stated a certain proposal which seemed to him to be suitable for this purpose; but the emperor, clearly because some divine inspiration came to him, though he had not yet seen Chryses' letter, conceived and sketched on his own initiative and in a surprising manner what was in fact a copy of the dream. 2.3.9 And while the deliberation was still in suspense and what they should do was uncertain, they broke off the discussion. 2.3.10 And three days later someone came to the emperor showing both the letter of Chryses and the model of the device from the dream. 2.3.11 And he, having summoned the engineers again, commanded them to recall to mind all that 2.3.12 had previously seemed best to them concerning the work. And they recited in order everything, both what they themselves had said in their craft and what the emperor, speaking on his own authority, had instructed 2.3.13 to be done. And then indeed the emperor the one from

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γεγενημένος. ἡμέραις δὲ οὐ πολλαῖς ὕστερον ἄγχιστά πη τῶν Θεοδοσιουπόλεως ὁρίων ἐκδούς, ἐν χώρῳ ἐφάνη σημείοις τεσσαράκοντα διέχοντι μάλιστα ∆άρας πόλεως, οἷσπερ ἐπηγάγετο ἐκ τῶν τῇδε οἰκίων γνωσθείς. διεφάνη γὰρ ἐνταῦθα ὁ συρφετὸς ὅλος. 2.2.17 καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν ἐν μὲν εἰρήνῃ καὶ ἀγαθοῖς πράγμασιν ἐν μέσῃ πόλει γινόμενος ὁ ποταμὸς οὗτος, περιπλέους τε τοῦ ὕδατος τοὺς θησαυροὺς ἐργασάμενος, φέρεται μὲν τῆς πόλεως ἔξω διὰ τῶν ἐξόδων αἵπερ αὐτῷ πεποίηνται ἐξεπίτηδες πρὸς τῶν δειμαμένων τὴν πόλιν, ὥσπερ μοι 2.2.18 ἔναγχος δεδιήγηται. ἀρδεύων δὲ τὰ ἐκείνῃ χωρία ποθεινὸς ἅπασι τοῖς περιοικοῦσιν ἐς ἀεὶ γίνεται. ἐπειδὰν δὲ πολεμίων στρατὸς ὡς πολιορκήσων τὴν πόλιν ἐνταῦθα ἴοι, τὰς μὲν διὰ τῶν σιδηρῶν ὀβελῶν ἐξόδους ἐπιβύσαντες τοῖς καταράκταις καλουμένοις, αὐτίκα τε τὸν ποταμὸν μεταπεφυκέναι καὶ τὴν ἐκβολὴν μεταπορεύεσθαι βιασάμενοι ἀνάγκῃ χειροποιήτῳ, ἐπί τε τὴν 2.2.19 διώρυχα καὶ τὸ ἐνθένδε περιάγουσι χάος. καὶ ἀπ' αὐτοῦ οἱ πολέμιοι πιεζόμενοι τοῦ ὕδατος τῇ ἀπορίᾳ διαλύειν ἀναγκάζονται τὴν πολιορκίαν εὐθύς. Μιρράνης ἀμέλει ὁ Περσῶν στρατηγὸς ἐπὶ Καβάδου βασιλεύοντος ἐπὶ πολιορκίᾳ ἐνταῦθα ἥκων, τούτοις τε πᾶσιν ἀναγκασθείς, 2.2.20 ἄπρακτος οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν ἀνεχώρησε. καὶ Χοσρόης αὐτὸς πολλῷ ὕστερον ἐπ' αὐτῷ τούτῳ ἀφικόμενος στρατῷ με2.2.21 γάλῳ ἐγκεχείρηκε τῇ ἐς τὴν πόλιν ἐπιβουλῇ. ὕδατός τε ἀπορίας πέρι ἀμηχανῶν, καὶ ἀποσκοπούμενος τὴν τοῦ περιβόλου ὑπερβολήν, ἄμαχόν τε αὐτὴν διαρκῶς ὑπώπτευεν εἶναι, καὶ τὰ βεβουλευμένα μεταγνούς, εὐθυωρὸν ἐς τὰ Περσῶν ἤθη ἀπιὼν ᾤχετο, τῇ τοῦ Ῥωμαίων αὐτοκράτορος καταστρατηγηθεὶς προμηθείᾳ. 2.3.1 Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐν πόλει ∆άρας οὕτω δὴ βασιλεὺς Ἰουστινιανὸς κατεστήσατο· ὅντινα δὲ προσεποίησε τρόπον τῇ πόλει μηκέτι αὐτῇ πάθος πρὸς τοῦ ποταμοῦ ξυμβῆναι τοιοῦτον, τοῦ θεοῦ διαρρήδην αὐτῷ ξυνεπιλαμβανομένου 2.3.2 τὸ σπούδασμα τοῦτο, ἐγὼ δηλώσω. Χρύσης ἦν τις Ἀλεξανδρεύς, μηχανοποιὸς δεξιός, ὅσπερ βασιλεῖ τὰ ἐς τὰς οἰκοδομίας ὑπηρετῶν, τὰ πλεῖστα τῶν τε ἐν πόλει ∆άρας 2.3.3 καὶ τῇ ἄλλῃ χώρᾳ γεγονότα ἐξείργασται. οὗτος ὁ Χρύσης ἀπεδήμει μὲν ἡνίκα δὴ ἐν πόλει ∆άρας τὸ ἐκ τοῦ ποταμοῦ πάθος ξυνέπεσεν· ἀκηκοὼς δὲ καὶ περιαλγήσας τῇ συμφορᾷ ἐς κοίτην τὴν αὑτοῦ ἀπεχώρησεν. ὄψιν δὲ 2.3.4 ὀνείρου τοιάνδε εἶδεν. ἐδόκει οἱ ἐν τῷ ὀνείρῳ τις ὑπερφυής τε καὶ τὰ ἄλλα κρείσσων ἢ ἀνθρώπῳ εἰκάζεσθαι μηχανήν τινα ἐπαγγέλλειν τε καὶ ἐνδείκνυσθαι, ἣ ἂν διακωλύειν τὸν ποταμὸν ἱκανὴ εἴη ἐπὶ πονηρῷ τῆς πό2.3.5 λεως μηκέτι μορμύρειν. καὶ ὁ μὲν αὐτίκα θεῖον ὑποτοπήσας τὸ πρᾶγμα εἶναι, τήν τε μηχανὴν καὶ τὴν τοῦ ὀνείρου ὄψιν ἐς βασιλέα γράψας ἀνήνεγκε, σκιαγραφήσας 2.3.6 τὴν ἐκ τοῦ ὀνείρου διδασκαλίαν. ἐτύγχανε δὲ οὐ πολλῷ πρότερον ἄγγελος ἥκων ἐς βασιλέα ἐκ ∆άρας πόλεως, ὅσπερ αὐτῷ τὰ ἐκ τοῦ ποταμοῦ ξυνενεχθέντα πάντα 2.3.7 ἐσήγγειλε. βασιλεὺς δὲ τότε τοῖς ξυμπεπτωκόσι ξυνταραχθεὶς καὶ περιώδυνος γεγονώς, τοὺς τὰ μηχανικὰ εὐδοκιμοῦντας εὐθὺς μετεκάλει, Ἀνθέμιόν τε καὶ Ἰσί2.3.8 δωρον, ὧνπερ ἔμπροσθεν ἐπεμνήσθην. καὶ τὰ ξυμβεβηκότα ἐπικοινούμενος ἀνεπυνθάνετο τῶν ἀνδρῶν ὁποία ποτὲ μηχανὴ γένοιτο, ὡς μή τι περαιτέρω τῇ πόλει ξυμβαίη· καὶ αὐτῶν μὲν ἑκάτερος ὑποθήκην τινὰ ἔφραζε τήν οἱ δοκοῦσαν ἐπιτηδείως ἐς τοῦτο ἔχειν· βασιλεὺς δέ, θείας δηλονότι ἐπινοίας αὐτῷ γενομένης τινός, οὔπω τὰ Χρύσου ἰδὼν γράμματα, ἐπενόει τε καὶ ἐσκιαγράφει αὐτογνωμονήσας ἐκ τοῦ παραδόξου ὃ δὴ τοῦ ὀνείρου ἐκτύ2.3.9 πωμα ἦν. ἔτι δὲ τῆς βουλῆς ᾐωρημένης καὶ τοῦ πρακτέου σφίσιν ἐν ἀδήλῳ ὄντος, διέλυσαν τὸν διάλογον. 2.3.10 ἡμέραις τε τρισὶν ὕστερον ἧκέ τις βασιλεῖ τήν τε τοῦ Χρύσου ἐπιστολὴν καὶ τῆς τοῦ ὀνείρου μηχανῆς τὸ ἐκ2.3.11 μαγεῖον ἐνδεικνύμενος. καὶ ὃς μεταπεμψάμενος τοὺς μηχανικοὺς αὖθις ἀνανεοῦσθαι τῇ μνήμῃ ἐκέλευεν ὅσα 2.3.12 δὴ σφίσιν ἀμφὶ τῷ ἔργῳ τὸ πρότερον δοκοῦντα εἴη. οἱ δὲ ἀπεστομάτιζον ἐφεξῆς ἅπαντα, ὅσα τε αὐτοὶ τεχνάζοντες εἶπον καὶ ὅσα βασιλεὺς ἀπαυθαδιασάμενος ἐπήγ2.3.13 γειλε γενέσθαι. καὶ τότε δὴ βασιλεὺς τόν τε πρὸς τοῦ