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they killed themselves, thinking in their foolishness that this was the highest act of piety, and the greatest crowd of them, abandoning their ancestral land, went into exile, but the Montanists, who dwelt in Phrygia, shutting themselves up in their own churches and immediately setting these sanctuaries on fire, perished with them for no reason at all, and as a result the whole Roman empire was filled with slaughter and exile. 11.24 And when such a law was also immediately passed concerning the Samaritans, an indiscriminate confusion seized Palestine. 11.25 So all who lived in my own Caesarea and in the other cities, considering it a trivial thing to suffer hardship for a senseless dogma, exchanged the name they had for that of Christians, and by this pretense they were able to shake off the danger from the law. 11.26 And of these, as many as had some share of reason and moderation did not at all think it unworthy to be faithful to this doctrine; the majority, however, as if indignant that they had changed their ancestral dogma not willingly but forced by the law, immediately inclined toward the Manichaeans and the so-called Polytheists. 11.27 But all the farmers, gathering in a body, decided to take up arms against the emperor, having put forward as their king a certain brigand named Julian, son of Sabarus. 11.28 And for some time, engaging the soldiers, they held out, but then, being defeated in the battle, they were destroyed along with their leader. 11.29 And it is said that ten myriads of men perished in this struggle, and a country which was the most fertile of all the earth became as a result desolate of farmers. 11.30 And for the owners of the lands, who were Christians, this affair resulted in a great calamity. For it became necessary for them, while receiving no revenue from there, to pay the annual tax, which was a heavy one, to the emperor for all time, since the penalty for this deed was imposed with no mercy. 11.31 From there he turned the persecution against the so-called Hellenes, torturing their bodies and plundering their property. 11.32 But even those of them who decided ostensibly to take the name of Christian, warding off their present troubles by this profession, were for the most part caught not long afterward taking part in libations and sacrifices and other unholy acts. 11.33 For what was done concerning the Christians will be told by me in the accounts that follow. 11.34 After this, he also forbade pederasty by law, not investigating cases that occurred after the law was passed, but those who had long ago been caught in this very sickness. 11.35 And the investigation into them was conducted in no orderly fashion, since the punishment against them was carried out even without an accuser, and the word of one man or boy, and he a slave, as it might be, and forced to testify unwillingly against his owner, was considered to be sufficient proof. 11.36 And those thus convicted they would parade in public with their genitals cut off. This evil, however, was not at first directed against all, but against those who were known to be Greens or who possessed great wealth or who happened for some other reason to have offended the rulers. 11.37 And indeed they were also harsh toward the astrologers. For this reason the official in charge of thieves would torture them for no other reason and, after having them flogged severely on the back, would parade them through the whole city, mounted on camels, though they were old men and otherwise respectable, having no other charge to bring against them, except, indeed, that they wished to be skilled in the science of the stars in such a place. 11.38 Consequently a great throng of people was continually in flight, not only to the lands of the barbarians but also to Romans who lived far away; and in every land and in every city one could always see a great number of foreigners. 11.39 For in order to escape notice each person readily exchanged his native land for a foreign one, as if his own country had been captured by an enemy. 11.40 So then, the wealth of those who appeared to be prosperous both in Byzantium and in every other city, next after the members of the senate, Justinian and Theodora plundered and took possession of in the manner which has been described. 11.41 But how they were able to strip the members of the senate also of all their property, I shall immediately make clear.

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σφᾶς αὐτοὺς διεχρήσαντο εὐσεβεῖν μάλιστα ὑπὸ ἀβελτερίας οἰόμενοι, καὶ αὐτῶν ὁ μὲν πλεῖστος ὅμιλος γῆς τῆς πατρῴας ἐξιστάμενοι ἔφευγον, Μοντανοὶ δὲ, οἳ ἐν Φρυγίᾳ κατῴκηντο, σφᾶς αὐτοὺς ἐν ἱεροῖς τοῖς σφετέροις καθείρξαντες τούτους τε τοὺς νεὼς αὐτίκα ἐμπρήσαντες ξυνδιεφθάρησαν οὐδενὶ λόγῳ, πᾶσά τε ἀπ' αὐτοῦ ἡῬωμαίων ἀρχὴ φόνου τε ἦν καὶ φυγῆς ἔμπλεως. 11.24 Νόμου δὲ τοῦ τοιούτου καὶ ἀμφὶ τοῖς Σαμαρείταις αὐτίκα τεθέντος ταραχὴ ἄκριτος τὴν Παλαιστίνην 11.25 κατέλαβεν. ὅσοι μὲν οὖν ἔν τε Καισαρείᾳ τῇ ἐμῇ κἀν ταῖς ἄλλαις πόλεσιν ᾤκουν, παρὰ φαῦλον ἡγησάμενοι κακοπάθειάν τινα ὑπὲρ ἀνοήτου φέρεσθαι δόγματος, ὄνομα Χριστιανῶν τοῦ σφίσι παρόντος ἀνταλλαξάμενοι τῷ προσχήματι τούτῳ τὸν ἐκ τοῦ νόμου ἀποσείσασθαι 11.26 κίνδυνον ἴσχυσαν. καὶ αὐτῶν ὅσοις μέν τι λογισμοῦ καὶ ἐπιεικείας μετῆν, πιστοὶ εἶναι τὰ ἐς δόξαν τήνδε οὐδαμῆ ἀπηξίουν, οἱ μέντοι πλεῖστοι ὥσπερ ἀγανακτοῦντες, ὅτι δὴ οὐχ ἑκούσιοι, ἀλλὰ τῷ νόμῳ ἠναγκασμένοι δόγμα τὸ πάτριον μετεβάλοντο, αὐτίκα δὴ μάλα ἐπί τε Μανιχαίους καὶ τοὺς καλουμένους Πολυ11.27 θέους ἀπέκλιναν. οἱ δὲ γεωργοὶ ξύμπαντες ἀθρόοι γεγενημένοι ὅπλα ἀνταίρειν βασιλεῖ ἔγνωσαν, βασιλέα σφίσι τῶν τινα λῃστῶν προβεβλημένοι,Ἰουλιανὸν 11.28 ὄνομα, Σαβάρου υἱόν. καὶ χρόνον μέν τινα τοῖς στρατιώταις ἐς χεῖρας ἐλθόντες ἀντεῖχον, ἔπειτα δὲ ἡττη11.29 θέντες τῇ μάχῃ διεφθάρησαν ξὺν τῷ ἡγεμόνι. καὶ λέγονται μυριάδες ἀνθρώπων δέκα ἐν τῷ πόνῳ τούτῳ ἀπολωλέναι, καὶ χώρα ἡ πάσης γῆς ἀγαθὴ μάλιστα 11.30 ἔρημος γεωργῶν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ γέγονε. τοῖς τε τῶν χωρίων κυρίοις Χριστιανοῖς οὖσι τὸ πρᾶγμα τοῦτο ἐς μέγα κακὸν ἐτελεύτησεν. ἀναγκαῖον γὰρ γέγονε σφίσιν οὐδὲν ἐνθένδε μετακομιζομένοις φόρον τὸν ἐπέτειον ἁδρόν τινα ὄντα ἐς τὸν ἅπαντα αἰῶνα βασιλεῖ φέρειν, ἐπεὶ οὐδεμιᾷ φειδοῖ ἡ τοῦ ἔργου τούτου ἐντροπὴ γέγονεν. 11.31Ἐντεῦθεν ἐπὶ τοὺςἝλληνας καλουμένους τὴν δίωξιν ἦγεν αἰκιζόμενός τε τὰ σώματα καὶ τὰ χρήματα 11.32 ληϊζόμενος. ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτῶν ὅσοι τοῦ Χριστιανῶν ὀνόματος δῆθεν μεταλαχεῖν ἔγνωσαν τῷ λόγῳ τὰ παρόντα σφίσιν ἐκκρούοντες, οὗτοι δὴ οὐ πολλῷ ὕστερον ἐπὶ ταῖς σπονδαῖς καὶ θυσίαις καὶ ἄλλοις οὐχ 11.33 ὁσίοις ἔργοις ἐκ τοῦ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ἡλίσκοντο. τὰ γὰρ ἀμφὶ τοῖς Χριστιανοῖς εἰργασμένα ἐν τοῖς ὄπισθέν μοι λόγοις λελέξεται. 11.34 Μετὰ δὲ καὶ τὸ παιδεραστεῖν νόμῳ ἀπεῖργεν, οὐ τὰ μετὰ τὸν νόμον διερευνώμενος, ἀλλὰ τοὺς πάλαι 11.35 ποτὲ ταύτῃ δὴ τῇ νόσῳ ἁλόντας. ἐγίνετό τε ἡ ἐς αὐτοὺς ἐπιστροφὴ οὐδενὶ κόσμῳ, ἐπεὶ καὶ κατηγόρου χωρὶς ἐπράσσετο ἡ ἐς αὐτοὺς τίσις, ἑνός τε ἀνδρὸς ἢ παιδὸς λόγος, καὶ τούτου δούλου, ἂν οὕτω τύχοι, καὶ ἀκουσίου μαρτυρεῖν ἐπὶ τὸν κεκτημένον ἀναγκασθέντος, 11.36 ἔδοξεν εἶναι ἀκριβὴς ἔλεγχος. τούς τε οὕτως ἁλισκομένους τὰ αἰδοῖα περιῃρημένους ἐπόμπευον. οὐκ ἐς πάντας μέντοι κατ' ἀρχὰς τὸ κακὸν ἤγετο, ἀλλ' ὅσοι ἢ Πράσινοι εἶναι ἢ μεγάλα περιβεβλῆσθαι χρήματα ἔδοξαν ἢ ἄλλο τι τοῖς τυραννοῦσι προσκεκρουκότες ἐτύγχανον. 11.37 Καὶ μὴν καὶ τοῖς μετεωρολόγοις χαλεπῶς εἶχον. διὸ δὴ αὐτοὺς ἡ ἐπὶ τοῖς κλέπταις τεταγμένη ἀρχὴ ᾐκίζετό τε ἀπ' οὐδεμιᾶς ἄλλης αἰτίας καὶ ξαίνουσα κατὰ τοῦ νώτου πολλὰς ἐπὶ καμήλων φερομένους ἐπόμπευεν ἀνὰ πᾶσαν τὴν πόλιν γέροντάς τε καὶ ἄλλως ἐπιεικεῖς ὄντας, ἄλλο αὐτοῖς ἐπικαλεῖν οὐδὲν ἔχουσα, πλήν γε δὴ ὅτι σοφοὶ τὰ περὶ τοὺς ἀστέρας 11.38 ἐν τοιούτῳ χώρῳ ἐβούλοντο εἶναι. ἔφευγον τοίνυν ἀνθρώπων διηνεκὲς πολὺς ὅμιλος οὐκ ἐς βαρβάρους μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐς τοὺς μακρὰν ᾠκισμένουςῬωμαίους, ἦν τε ἰδεῖν ἐν χώρᾳ τε ἀεὶ καὶ πόλει ἑκάστῃ τοὺς 11.39 πλείστους ξένους. τοῦ γὰρ διαλαθεῖν ἕνεκα γῆς τῆς πατρῴας τὴν ἀλλοτρίαν ἠλλάξαντο εὐπετῶς ἕκαστοι, 11.40 ὥσπερ τῆς πατρίδος αὐτοῖς ὑπὸ πολεμίων ἁλούσης. τὸν μὲν οὖν πλοῦτον τῶν εὐδαιμόνων εἶναι δοκούντων ἔν τε Βυζαντίῳ καὶ πόλει ἑκάστῃ μετά γε τοὺς ἐκ τῆς συγκλήτου βουλῆς, τρόποις οἷσπερ εἴρηται 11.41Ἰουστινιανός τε καὶ Θεοδώρα ληϊσάμενοι ἔσχον. ὅπως δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἐκ βουλῆς ἀφαιρεῖσθαι τὰ χρήματα ξύμπαντα ἴσχυσαν, αὐτίκα δηλώσω.