25

to make the entire expense of the building from public affairs and funds. The Jews therefore ran together, and with much joy began the work, and were digging out the trench for the foundations with silver mattocks and spades, and were about to lay the foundations, a most violent tempest came on, and filled up what had been emptied. And with lightning and thunder being sent down continuously throughout that whole night, as day was then approaching an earthquake occurred, so that many who were remaining in the open air perished from the cold; and fire, brought forth from the foundations being dug, burned up all those who were found there; it also happened that the cities around Nicopolis fell, and Neapolis, Eleutheropolis and Gaza, and several others; and a portico of Aelia, that is Jerusalem, which was near the synagogue of the 96.1317 Jews, collapsed and killed many of the aforementioned people; and fire, breaking out from an unknown source, burned up very many of the Jews; and there was also darkness in those places and continuous earthquakes, working much destruction in many cities. 69. But Julian, having departed from Antioch with the whole army, marched to the land of Persia. And having captured the city of Ctesiphon, he seemed to have accomplished some great deed, to move on to other, better things. But the all-defiled one was deceived without realizing it. For having acquired a diabolical love of idolatry, and having hoped that through his godless gods he would have a long-lasting reign, and that he would become a new Alexander, and that he would overcome the Persians, and that he would wipe out the entire race and name of the Christians, he fell from his arrogant way ofthinking; for having met an old Persian man and being deceived by him, so that he would take the Persian palaces and all the wealth without toil, he led him into the Carmanian desert, into pathless places and chasms and into desolate and waterless places with the whole army, and having pressed them with thirst and hunger, and having killed all the cavalry, the Persian confessed that he had willingly led them astray, so that they might be destroyed by him, and he might not see his own fatherland being ravaged by the most hateful enemies. They therefore immediately cut this man limb from limb and put him to death; and immediately, even after such great hardship, falling unwillingly upon the Persian army, and an engagement having taken place, Julian himself, running here and there and giving orders, falls upon a spear, as some say, of a soldier; as others say, of a Saracen of the Persians; but as the true and our own [account] of the Christians, the Lord Christ having arrayed Himself against him. For a bow was suddenly drawn from the air and an arrow was shot at him as at a target, and rushing through his flank, it pierced him through to the hypochondria. And groaning heavily and discordantly, he seemed to see our Lord Jesus Christ standing before him and mocking him; but he, filled with darkness and madness, taking his own blood in his hand and sprinkling it into the air, as he was at his last breath, cried out saying: "You have conquered, Christ, be satisfied, Galilean!" And thus having met a most hateful death, he ended his life, having reviled his own gods greatly. 70. The Apostate having fallen in the midst of the army's lines, Jovian is proclaimed emperor by the army; and having made a peaceful treaty with the Persian, having handed over Nisibis to the Persians without its inhabitants, he departed from there; for the army was being destroyed by famine and plague. And he himself, having come to the land of the Romans, was added to the heresy of the Anomoeans, that is, the Eunomians; and when he had reached the province of Galatia, there in Dadastana in a certain place so-called, he suddenly ended his life; and the people remain without a king for forty days, until they came to Nicaea, Valentinian

25

δημοσίων πραγμάτων τε καὶ χρημάτων ποιεῖσθαι πᾶσαν τὴν τῆς οἰκοδομῆς ἔξοδον. Συνδραμόντων οὖν τῶν Ἰουδαίων, καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς χαρᾶς τοῦ ἔργου ἐναρξαμένων, καὶ τὴν τῶν θεμελίων τάφρον ἐξορυττόντων ἀργυραῖς ἅμμαις καὶ σκάφαις, καὶ τοὺς θεμελίους ἠμέλλον καταβάλλεσθαι, σφοδροτάτη καταιγὶς ἐπελθοῦσα, τὸ κενωθὲν ἀντεχώννυ. Ἀστραπῶν δὲ καὶ βροντῶν καθ' ὅλην ἐκείνην τὴν νύκτα συνεχῶς καταπεμπομένων, σεισμὸς ἐγγιζούσης λοιπὸν τῆς ἡμέρας ἐγένετο, ὥστε πολλοὺς καὶ ὑπαίθρους μένοντας ἐναποψύξαι· καὶ πῦρ ἐκ τῶν ὀρυσσομένων θεμελίων ἐξενεχθὲν, πάντας τοὺς εὑρεθέντας ἐκεῖσε κατέφλεξεν· καταπεσεῖν δὲ καὶ πόλεις συνέβη τὰς περὶ Νικόπολιν, καὶ Νεάπολιν, Ἐλευθερόπολίν τε καὶ Γάζαν, καὶ ἑτέρας πλείους· στοά τε τῆς Αἰλίας ἤγουν Ἱερουσαλὴμ, ἢ παρὰ τὴν συναγωγὴν τῶν 96.1317 Ἰουδαίων πολλοὺς τῶν εἰρημένων κατενεχθεῖσα ἀνεῖλεν· πῦρ τε ἐκραγὲν ἀδήλως, πλείστους Ἰουδαίων κατέκαυσεν· ἐγένετο δὲ καὶ σκότος κατὰ τοὺς τόπους ἐκείνους καὶ σεισμοὶ συνεχεῖς, πολλὰς φθορὰς ἐν πολλαῖς ἐργασάμενοι πόλεσιν. ξθʹ. Ὁ δὲ Ἰουλιανὸς ἀπάρας ἀπὸ τῆς Ἀντιοχείαςσὺν παντὶ τῷ στρατεύματι, ἐπὶ τὴν Περσίδα γῆν ἐπορεύετο. Καὶ τὴν Κτησιφῶντα πόλιν καταλαβὼν, ἐδόκει τι μέγα διαπραξάμενος ἔργον, ἐφ' ἕτερα μεταβαίνειν κρείττονα. Ἔλαθεν δὲ αὐτὸν ἐξαπατηθεὶς ὁ παμμίαρος. Ἔρωτα γὰρ διαβολικὸν τῆς εἰδωλομανίας ἐγκτησάμενος, καὶ ἐλπίσας διὰ μὲν τῶν ἀθέων θεῶν αὐτοῦ πολυχρόνιον τὴν βασιλείαν ἕξειν, καὶ νέον γενέσθαι Ἀλέξανδρον, περιγενέσθαι δὲ καὶ τῶν Περσῶν, καὶ τὸ τῶν Χριστιανῶν ἐξαλείφειν εἰς ἅπαν γένος καὶ ὄνομα, ἐξέπεσε τῆς ὑπερηφάνου διάνοιας· γέροντι γὰρ ἐντυχὼν Πέρσῃ καὶ παρ' αὐτοῦ ἀπατηθεὶς, ὥστε τὰ βασίλεια τῶν Περσῶν καὶ πάντα τὸν πλοῦτον ἀμογητὶ παραλήψεσθαι, ἐνέβαλεν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὴν Καρμανίτην ἔρημον εἰς ἀνοδίας καὶ βάραθρα καὶ εἰς ἐρήμους καὶ ἀνύδρους τόπους μετὰ παντὸς τοῦ στρατεύματος, καὶ δίψῃ καὶ λιμῷ πιέσας αὐτοὺς, καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν ἵππον ἐναποκτείνας ὡμολόγησεν ὁ Πέρσης ἑκουσίως αὐτοὺς πεπλανηκέναι, ὡς ἂν διαφθαρεῖεν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ, καὶ μὴ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ πατρίδα πορθουμένην ὑπὸ τῶν ἐχθίστων θεάσοιτο. Τοῦτον μὲν οὖν παραυτίκα μεληδὸν κατακόψαντες, τῷ θανάτῳ παρέπεμψαν· εὐθέως δὲ καὶ μετὰ τῆς τηλικαύτης ταλαιπωρίας, πίπτοντες ἄκοντες τῷ τῶν Περσῶν στρατεύματι, καὶ συμβολῆς γενομένης, αὐτὸς Ἰουλιανὸς τῇδε κἀκεῖ διατρέχων καὶ διαταττόμενος, περιπίπτει δόρατι, ὡς μέν τινες φάσκουσι, στρατιώτου· ὡς δὲ ἄλλοι, σαρακηνοῦ τῶν Περσῶν· ὡς δ' ὁ Χριστιανῶν ὁ ἀληθὴς καὶ ἡμέτερος [λόγος], τοῦ ∆εσπότου Χριστοῦ ἀντιταξαμένου αὐτῷ Τόξον γὰρ ἀθρόως ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀέρος ἐνταθὲν καὶ βέλος ἐπ' αὐτὸν ὡς ἐπὶ σκοπὸν ἀφιὲν, καὶ διὰ τῶν λαγόνων ὁρμῆσαν, διαμπερὲς ἔτρωσεν αὐτὸν εἰς τὰ ὑποχόνδρια. Καὶ ἀνοιμώξας βαρύ τε καὶ δυσηχὲς, ἔδοξε τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ ἑστάναι καὶ ἐπεγγελᾷν αὐτῷ· ὁ δὲ σκότους καὶ μανίας πλησθεὶς δεξάμενος τῇ χειρὶ τὸ ἴδιον αἷμα καὶ εἰς τὸν ἀέρα ῥάνας, πρὸς τῇ ἐκπνοῇ γενόμενος, ἀνέκραξε λέγων· Νενίκηκας, Χριστὲ, χορτάσθητι, Γαλιλαῖε! Καὶ οὕτως τὸν ἔχθιστον θάνατον καταλαβὼν, κατέστρεψε τὸν βίον, τοὺς αὐτοῦ θεοὺς πολλὰ λοιδορησάμενος. οʹ. Τοῦ δὲ Παραβάτου πεσόντος ἐν τῷ μεταιχμίῳ τοῦ στρατοπέδου, Ἰοβιανὸς ἀναγορεύεται βασιλεὺς ὑπὸ τοῦ στρατοπέδου· καὶ σπονδὰς πρὸς τὸν Πέρσην εἰρηνικὰς ποιησάμενος, τὴν Νίσιβιν παραδοὺς τοῖς Πέρσαις ἄνευ τῶν οἰκητόρων, ἐξῆλθεν ἐκεῖθεν· ὁ γὰρ στρατὸς λιμῷ καὶ λοιμῷ διεφθείρετο. Ἐλθὼν δὲ αὐτὸς ἐπὶ τῆς τῶν Ῥωμαίων γῆς, τῇ τῶν Ἀνομοιητῶν αἱρέσει προσετέθη, ἤγουν Εὐνομιανῶν· φθάσαντος δὲ αὐτοῦ τὴν Γαλατικὴν ἐπαρχίαν, αὐτόθι ἐν ∆αδαστάνοις ἔν τινι χωρίῳ, οὕτω καλουμένῳ, ἄφνω καταστρέφει τὸν βίον· καὶ μένει ὁ λαὸς ἀβασίλευτος ἡμέρας τεσσαράκοντα, ἄχρις οὗ ἐλθόντες ἐν Νικαίᾳ, Οὐαλεντινιανὸν