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therefore for the Romans, there being ... towards all men, not having anyone who might be, with a desire for slaughter, he set all the barbarians against one another, and summoning the leaders of the Huns for no reason, he gave them great sums of money with an absurd generosity, making these things ostensibly as pledges of friendship; which it was said he had also done during the reign of Justin. 11.6 And they, having received the money, sent some of their fellow-chiefs with their followers, ordering them to overrun the emperor's land on a raid, so that they themselves might be able to sell peace to him who for no reason wanted to buy it. 11.7 And some immediately began to enslave the Roman dominion and were no less in the pay of the emperor; but others, immediately after them, set about plundering the wretched Romans, and after the plunder, they received the emperor's generosity as prizes for their incursion. 11.8 And so all of them, to speak collectively, letting no opportunity pass, by turns plundered and pillaged everything. 11.9 For among these barbarians there are many groups of chieftains, and the war went around in a circle, taking its cause from an unreasoning generosity, but being able to find no end, but forever revolving upon itself. 11.10 Therefore, indeed, no place or mountain or cave or anything else of the Roman land remained unravaged during this time, and it happened that many regions were captured more than five times. 11.11 And these things, to be sure, and all that happened at the hands of the Medes and Saracens and Sclaveni and Antae and the other barbarians, have been narrated by me in the previous books; but as I indicated at the beginning of this account, it was necessary for me here to state the cause of what had happened. 11.12 And having given to Chosroes a multitude of centenaria for the peace, he himself, acting willfully for no reason, became most responsible for the breaking of the treaty, by eagerly and insistently trying to win over Alamoundaras and the Huns who were allied with the Persians, a matter which, it seems to me, was not stated without concealment in the books about them. 11.13 But while he was stirring up and fanning the flames of evils for the Romans from seditions and wars, having planned this one thing, that the earth should be filled with human blood by many contrivances and more money plundered, he also devised another great slaughter of his subjects in the following manner. 11.14 There are many rejected doctrines of the Christians in all the Roman dominion, which they are accustomed to call heresies, such as those of the Montanists and Sabbatians and whatever others by which the minds of men are accustomed to be led astray. 11.15 He ordered all these to change their old doctrine, threatening many other things to those who disobeyed and that it would no longer be possible for them to bequeath their property to their children or relatives. 11.16 And the sanctuaries of these so-called heretics, and especially of those by whom the doctrine of Arius was practised, 11.17 possessed a wealth beyond report. For neither the entire Senate nor any other very great part of the Roman dominion could be compared with these sanctuaries in point of property. 11.18 For they had treasures of gold and silver and compositions of precious stones, unspeakable and innumerable, and very many houses and villages, and much land in every part of the world, and every other form of wealth that exists and is named among all men, since none of the emperors who had ever reigned had troubled them. 11.19 And many men, and these of the orthodox faith, on the pretext of their own occupations, always had their means of livelihood from this source. 11.20 First, then, by confiscating the properties of these sanctuaries, the emperor Justinian suddenly took away all their wealth. From which it came about that for many their future livelihood was cut off. 11.21 And many, immediately going about everywhere, forced those they encountered to change their ancestral faith. 11.22 And since these things seemed to the country-folk to be unholy, they all resolved to resist those who brought this message. 11.23 Many, therefore, were destroyed by the soldiers, and many also

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τοίνυνῬωμαίοις οὔσης ἐς πάντας ἀνθρώπους οὐκ ἔχων ὅστις γένηται τῶν φόνων ἐπιθυμίᾳ πάντας βαρβάρους πρός τε ἀλλήλους ξυνέκρουε, τῶν δὲ Οὔννων τοὺς ἡγουμένους ἐξ αἰτίας οὐδεμιᾶς μετακαλῶν χρήματα μεγάλα σφίσιν ἀτόπῳ φιλοτιμίᾳ προΐετο, φιλίας ἐνέχυρα δῆθεν τῷ λόγῳ ταῦτα ποιούμενος· ὅπερ αὐτὸν ἐρρήθη καὶ ὑπὸ τὸν χρόνον τῆςἸουστίνου βασιλείας πεποιηκέναι. 11.6 οἱ δὲ καὶ χρήματα κεκομισμένοι τῶν ξυναρχόντων τινὰς ξὺν τοῖς ἑπομένοις τοῖς αὐτῶν ἔπεμπον, καταθέειν ἐξ ἐπιδρομῆς γῆν τὴν βασιλέως κελεύοντες, ὅπως καὶ αὐτοὶ τὴν εἰρήνην ἀπεμπολεῖν τῷ ταύτην ὠνεῖσθαι 11.7 λόγῳ οὐδενὶ βουλομένῳ δυνατοὶ εἶεν. καὶ οἱ μὲν αὐτίκα ἠνδραπόδιζόν τε τὴνῬωμαίων ἀρχὴν καὶ οὐδέν τι ἧσσον ἔμμισθοι πρὸς τοῦ βασιλέως ἐγίνοντο· ἕτεροι δὲ μετ' ἐκείνους εὐθὺς ἐς τὸ ληΐζεσθαι τοὺς ταλαιπώρουςῬωμαίους καθίσταντο, καὶ μετὰ τὴν λείαν ἆθλα τῆς ἐφόδου τὴν βασιλέως φιλοτιμίαν ἐδέχοντο. 11.8 οὕτω τε ἅπαντες ξυλλήβδην εἰπεῖν οὐδένα ἀνιέντες καιρὸν ἐκ περιτροπῆς ἦγόν τε καὶ ἔφερον ἁπαξάπαντα. 11.9 ἀρχόντων γάρ εἰσι τοῖς βαρβάροις τούτοις ξυμμορίαι πολλαὶ καὶ περιήρχετο πόλεμος τὴν μὲν αἰτίαν ἐκ φιλοτιμίας ἀλογίστου λαβὼν, τὸ δὲ πέρας εὑρέσθαι οὐδαμῆ ἔχων, ἀλλ' ἐφ' ἑαυτὸν ἀνακυκλούμενος τὸν 11.10 πάντα αἰῶνα. διὸ δὴ χῶρος μέν τις ἢ ὄρος ἢ σπήλαιον ἢ ἄλλο τι τῆςῬωμαίων γῆς ὑπὸ τὸν χρόνον τοῦτον ἀδῄωτον οὐδαμῆ ἔμεινε, χώραις δὲ πολλαῖς 11.11 πλέον ἢ πεντάκις ἁλῶναι συνέβη. καὶ ταῦτα μέντοι καὶ ὅσα πρὸς Μήδων τε καὶ Σαρακηνῶν καὶ Σκλαβηνῶν καὶἈντῶν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων βαρβάρων ξυνηνέχθη γενέσθαι ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθέν μοι δεδιήγηται λόγοις· ἀλλ' ὅπερ τοῦδε ἀρχόμενος τοῦ λόγου ὑπεῖπον, τὴν αἰτίαν τῶν ξυμπεπτωκότων ἐνταῦθά μοι ἦν ἀναγκαῖον εἰπεῖν. 11.12 Καὶ Χοσρόῃ μὲν κεντηναρίων πλῆθος ὑπὲρ τῆς εἰρήνης προέμενος, αὐτογνωμονήσας δὲ οὐδενὶ λόγῳ αἰτιώτατος τοῦ λελύσθαι τὰς σπονδὰς γέγονεν,Ἀλαμούνδαρόν τε καὶ Οὔννους τοὺς Πέρσαις ἐνσπόνδους σπουδάζων τε καὶ διατεινόμενος ἑταιρίζεσθαι, ὅπερ μοι ἐν λόγοις τοῖς ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν οὐκ ἀπαρακαλύπτως 11.13 εἰρῆσθαι δοκεῖ. ἐν ᾧ δὲ τὰ ἐκ τῶν στάσεών τε καὶ πολέμων κακὰῬωμαίοις ἀνήγειρε καὶ ἐρρίπιζεν, ἓν τοῦτο βουλευσάμενος, αἵματος ἀνθρωπείου τὴν γῆν πολλαῖς μηχαναῖς ἔμπλεων γίνεσθαι καὶ χρήματα ληΐζεσθαι πλείω, φόνον καὶ ἄλλον τῶν ὑπηκόων ἐπενόει πολὺν τρόπῳ τοιῷδε. 11.14 Χριστιανῶν δόξαι ἀπόβλητοι πολλαί εἰσιν ἐν πάσῃ τῇῬωμαίων ἀρχῇ, ἅσπερ αἱρέσεις καλεῖν νενομίκασι, Μοντανῶν τε καὶ Σαββατιανῶν καὶ ὅσαις ἄλλαις 11.15 πλανᾶσθαι αἱ τῶν ἀνθρώπων εἰώθασι γνῶμαι. τούτους ἅπαντας δόξαν τὴν παλαιὰν ἐκέλευε μετατίθεσθαι, ἄλλα τε ἀπειλήσας ἀπειθοῦσι πολλὰ καὶ τὰς οὐσίας ἐς τοὺς παῖδας ἢ ξυγγενεῖς μηκέτι παραπέμπειν οἷόν 11.16 τε εἶναι. τούτων δὲ τὰ ἱερὰ τῶν αἱρετικῶν καλουμένων, καὶ διαφερόντως οἷσπερ ἡ τοῦἈρείου ἤσκητο 11.17 δόξα, πλοῦτόν τινα εἶχεν ἀκοῆς κρείττω. οὔτε γὰρ ἡ σύγκλητος βουλὴ ξύμπασα οὔτε τις ἄλλη μεγίστη μοῖρα τῆςῬωμαίων ἀρχῆς τά γε εἰς τὴν οὐσίαν εἰκάζεσθαι 11.18 τούτοις δὴ τοῖς ἱεροῖς ἔσχε. κειμήλιά τε γὰρ αὐτοῖς χρυσᾶ τε καὶ ἀργυρᾶ καὶ ξυγκείμενα ἐκ λίθων ἐντίμων ἀμύθητά τε καὶ ἀναρίθμητα ἦν, οἰκίαι τε καὶ κῶμαι παμπληθεῖς, καὶ χώρα πολλὴ πανταχόθι τῆς γῆς, καὶ ὅση ἄλλη πλούτου ἰδέα ἐστί τε καὶ ὀνομάζεται ἐν πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις ἅτε οὐδενὸς αὐτὰ τῶν πώποτε 11.19 βεβασιλευκότων ὀχλήσαντος. πολλοί τε ἄνθρωποι, καὶ ταῦτα δόξης ὄντες ὀρθῆς, τῇ τῶν σφετέρων ἐπιτηδευμάτων προφάσει ἐνθένδε ἀεὶ τοῦ βίου τὰς ἀφορμὰς 11.20 εἶχον. τούτων μὲν οὖν τῶν ἱερῶν πρῶτον τὰς οὐσίας δημοσιώσαςἸουστινιανὸς βασιλεὺς ἀφείλετο ἐξαπιναίως τὰ χρήματα πάντα. ἐξ οὗ τοῖς πολλοῖς ἀποκεκλεῖσθαι τὸ λοιπὸν τοῦ βίου συνέβη. 11.21 Πολλοὶ δὲ εὐθὺς πανταχόσε περιιόντες δόξης τῆς πατρίου τοὺς παραπίπτοντας ἠνάγκαζον μεταβάλλεσθαι. 11.22 ἅπερ ἐπεὶ ἀνθρώποις ἀγροίκοις οὐχ ὅσια ἔδοξεν εἶναι, τοῖς ταῦτα ἐπαγγέλλουσιν ἀντιστατεῖν ἅπαντες ἔγνω11.23 σαν. πολλοὶ μὲν οὖν πρὸς τῶν στρατιωτῶν διεφθείροντο, πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ