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When he came there he perceived that the tribute from the lands in that region was of the least account, since it so happens that the land there is very narrow (for very high rocks of the Nile rise up not far away and occupy the rest of the country), but a very great multitude of soldiers had been stationed there from of old, by whose expenses the public treasury happened to be exceedingly burdened, and at the same time the Nobatae, who dwelt about the city of Oasis, were previously always plundering all the lands in that region, He persuaded these barbarians to move from their own haunts and to settle around the river Nile, agreeing to present them with great cities and with a large and exceedingly better country 1.19.30 than the one they had previously inhabited. For thus he supposed that they would no longer harass the lands about Oasis and that, laying claim to the land given them as their own, they would probably drive off the Blemmyes and 1.19.31 the other barbarians. And since this pleased the Nobatae, they immediately made the migration, just as Diocletian had commanded them, and they took possession of all the cities and the land of the Romans on both sides of the river1.19.32 from the city of Elephantine. Then this emperor ordained that a fixed sum of gold be given to them and the Blemmyes each year on the condition that they would no longer plunder the Roman1.19.33 land. which they receive even to my time, but they nonetheless overrun the lands there. So it seems there is no way for all barbarians to maintain faith with the Romans except through the fear of defending soldiers.1.19.34 And indeed, this emperor found a certain island in the river Nile very near the city of Elephantine and having built a very strong fort there, he established there some common temples and altars for the Romans and for these barbarians, and he settled priests of each group in this fort, thinking that their friendship would be secure for them by their sharing in the 1.19.35 rites. For this reason, he named the place Philae. Both these nations, the Blemmyes and the Nobatae, worship all the other gods whom the Greeks believe in, and Isis and Osiris, 1.19.36 and not least of all Priapus. The Blemmyes, however, are accustomed to sacrifice human beings to the sun. These barbarians held these sanctuaries in Philae even to my time, but the emperor Justinian decided to destroy 1.19.37 them. At any rate, Narses, a Persarmenian by birth, whom I mentioned before as having deserted to the Romans, being commander of the soldiers there, destroyed the sanctuaries, on the emperor's order, and he put the priests in prison, and sent the statues to Byzantium. But I shall return to my former narrative. 1.20.1 About the time of this war, Hellesthaeaeus, the king of the Ethiopians, being a Christian and most zealous in this faith, when he learned that the Homeritae on the opposite mainland (many of whom were Jews, and many revered the old faith, which men now call Hellenic) were treating the Christians there with immoderate cruelty, he gathered a fleet of ships and an army and went against them, and having conquered them in battle, he killed both the king and many of the Homeritae, and having established another king there, a Christian, a Homerite by birth, Esimiphaeus by name, and having ordered him to pay a tribute to the Ethiopians each year, he returned home. 1.20.2 Of this Ethiopian army, many slaves and all who were disposed to mischief in no way wished to follow the king, but being left behind they remained there out of a desire for the land of the Homeritae; for it is exceedingly good. 1.20.3 Not long after, this crowd, together with some others, revolted against king Esimiphaeus and shut him up in one of the forts there, and established another king for the Homeritae, 1.20.4 Abramus by name. This Abramus was a Christian, but the slave of a Roman man who was engaged in maritime 1.20.5 business in the Ethiopian city of Adoulis. When Hellesthaeaeus learned this, to punish Abramus together with those who had rebelled with him for their injustice to Esimiphaeus in

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ἐνταῦθα γενόμενος κατενόησεν ὅτι δὴ τῶν μὲν ἐκείνῃ χωρίων ὁ φόρος λόγου ἄξιος ὡς ἥκιστα ἦν, ἐπεὶ στενὴν μάλιστα τὴν γῆν ἐνταῦθα ξυμβαίνει εἶναι (πέτραι γὰρ τοῦ Νείλου οὐ πολλῷ ἄποθεν ὑψηλαὶ λίαν ἀνέχουσαι τῆς χώρας τὰ λοιπὰ ἔχουσι), στρατιωτῶν δὲ πάμπολύ τι πλῆθος ἐνταῦθα ἐκ παλαιοῦ ἵδρυτο, ὧνπερ ταῖς δαπάναις ὑπερφυῶς ἄχθεσθαι συνέβαινε τὸ δημόσιον, ἅμα δὲ καὶ Νοβάται ἀμφὶ πόλιν Ὄασιν ᾠκημένοι τὰ πρότερα ἦγόν τε καὶ ἔφερον ἅπαντα ἐς ἀεὶ τὰ ἐκείνῃ χωρία, τούτους δὴ τοὺς βαρβάρους ἀνέπεισεν ἀναστῆναι μὲν ἐξ ἠθῶν τῶν σφετέρων, ἀμφὶ ποταμὸν δὲ Νεῖλον ἱδρύσασθαι, δωρήσασθαι αὐτοὺς ὁμολογήσας πόλεσί τε μεγάλαις καὶ χώρᾳ πολλῇ τε καὶ διαφερόντως ἀμείνονι 1.19.30 ἧσπερ τὰ πρότερα ᾤκηντο. οὕτω γὰρ ᾤετο αὐτούς τε οὐκέτι τά γε ἀμφὶ τὴν Ὄασιν ἐνοχλήσειν χωρία καὶ γῆς τῆς σφίσι διδομένης μεταποιουμένους, ἅτε οἰκείας οὔσης, ἀποκρούσεσθαι Βλέμυάς τε, ὡς τὸ εἰκὸς, καὶ 1.19.31 βαρβάρους τοὺς ἄλλους. ἐπεί τε τοὺς Νοβάτας ταῦτα ἤρεσκε, τήν τε μετανάστασιν αὐτίκα δὴ μάλα πεποίηντο, ᾗπερ ὁ ∆ιοκλητιανὸς σφίσιν ἐπέστελλε, καὶ Ῥωμαίων τάς τε πόλεις καὶ χώραν ξύμπασαν ἐφ' ἑκάτερα τοῦ ποτα1.19.32 μοῦ ἐξ Ἐλεφαντίνης πόλεως ἔσχον. τότε δὴ ὁ βασιλεὺς οὗτος αὐτοῖς τε καὶ Βλέμυσιν ἔταξε δίδοσθαι ἀνὰ πᾶν ἔτος ῥητόν τι χρυσίον ἐφ' ᾧ μηκέτι γῆν τὴν Ῥω1.19.33 μαίων ληίσωνται. ὅπερ καὶ ἐς ἐμὲ κομιζόμενοι οὐδέν τι ἧσσον καταθέουσι τὰ ἐκείνῃ χωρία. οὕτως ἄρα βαρβάρους ἅπαντας οὐδεμία μηχανὴ διασώσασθαι τὴν ἐς Ῥωμαίους πίστιν ὅτι μὴ δέει τῶν ἀμυνομένων στρα1.19.34 τιωτῶν. καίτοι καὶ νῆσόν τινα ἐν ποταμῷ Νείλῳ ἄγχιστά πη τῆς Ἐλεφαντίνης πόλεως εὑρὼν ὁ βασιλεὺς οὗτος φρούριόν τε ταύτῃ δειμάμενος ὀχυρώτατον, κοινούς τινας ἐνταῦθα νεώς τε καὶ βωμοὺς Ῥωμαίοις τε καὶ τούτοις δὴ κατεστήσατο τοῖς βαρβάροις, καὶ ἱερεῖς ἑκάστων ἐν τῷ φρουρίῳ τούτῳ ἱδρύσατο, ἐν τῷ βεβαίῳ τὴν φιλίαν αὐτοῖς ἔσεσθαι τῷ μετέχειν τῶν 1.19.35 ἱερῶν σφίσιν οἰόμενος. διὸ δὴ καὶ Φίλας ἐπωνόμασε τὸ χωρίον. ἄμφω δὲ ταῦτα τὰ ἔθνη, οἵ τε Βλέμυες καὶ οἱ Νοβάται, τούς τε ἄλλους θεοὺς, οὕσπερ Ἕλληνες νομίζουσι πάντας, καὶ τήν τε Ἶσιν τόν τε Ὄσιριν σέ1.19.36 βουσι, καὶ οὐχ ἥκιστά γε τὸν Πρίαπον. οἱ μέντοι Βλέμυες καὶ ἀνθρώπους τῷ ἡλίῳ θύειν εἰώθασι. ταῦτα δὲ τὰ ἐν Φίλαις ἱερὰ οὗτοι δὴ οἱ βάρβαροι καὶ ἐς ἐμὲ εἶχον, ἀλλὰ βασιλεὺς αὐτὰ Ἰουστινιανὸς καθελεῖν 1.19.37 ἔγνω. Ναρσῆς γοῦν, Περσαρμένιος γένος, οὗ πρόσθεν ἅτε ηὐτομοληκότος ἐς Ῥωμαίους ἐμνήσθην, τῶν ἐκείνῃ στρατιωτῶν ἄρχων τά τε ἱερὰ καθεῖλε, βασιλέως οἱ ἐπαγγείλαντος, καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἱερεῖς ἐν φυλακῇ ἔσχε, τὰ δὲ ἀγάλματα ἐς Βυζάντιον ἔπεμψεν. ἐγὼ δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν πρότερον λόγον ἐπάνειμι. 1.20.1 Ὑπὸ τοὺς χρόνους τοῦ πολέμου τοῦδε Ἑλλησθεαῖος ὁ τῶν Αἰθιόπων βασιλεὺς, Χριστιανός τε ὢν καὶ δόξης τῆσδε ὡς μάλιστα ἐπιμελούμενος, ἐπειδὴ Ὁμηριτῶν τῶν ἐν τῇ ἀντιπέρας ἠπείρῳ ἔγνω πολλοὺς μὲν Ἰουδαίους ὄντας, πολλοὺς δὲ δόξαν τὴν παλαιὰν σέβοντας, ἣν δὴ καλοῦσιν Ἑλληνικὴν οἱ νῦν ἄνθρωποι, ἐπιβουλῇ μέτρον οὐκ ἐχούσῃ ἐς τοὺς ἐκείνῃ Χριστιανοὺς χρῆσθαι, στόλον τε νηῶν καὶ στράτευμα ἀγείρας ἐπ' αὐτοὺς ἦλθε, καὶ μάχῃ νικήσας τόν τε βασιλέα καὶ τῶν Ὁμηριτῶν πολλοὺς ἔκτεινεν, ἄλλον τε αὐτόθι Χριστιανὸν βασιλέα καταστησάμενος, Ὁμηρίτην μὲν γένος, ὄνομα δὲ Ἐσιμιφαῖον, φόρον τε αὐτῷ τάξας Αἰθίοψι φέρειν ἀνὰ πᾶν ἔτος, ἐπ' οἴκου ἀνεχώρησε. 1.20.2 τούτου τοῦ Αἰθιόπων στρατοῦ δοῦλοί τε πολλοὶ καὶ ὅσοι ἐπιτηδείως ἐς τὸ κακουργεῖν εἶχον τῷ μὲν βασιλεῖ ἕπεσθαι οὐδαμῆ ἤθελον, αὐτοῦ δὲ ἀπολειπόμενοι ἔμενον ἐπιθυμίᾳ τῆς Ὁμηριτῶν χώρας· ἀγαθὴ γὰρ ὑπερφυῶς ἐστιν. 1.20.3 Οὗτος ὁ λεὼς χρόνῳ οὐ πολλῷ ὕστερον ξὺν ἑτέροις τισὶν Ἐσιμιφαίῳ τῷ βασιλεῖ ἐπαναστάντες αὐτὸν μὲν ἔν τινι τῶν ἐκείνῃ φρουρίων καθεῖρξαν, ἕτερον δὲ 1.20.4 Ὁμηρίταις βασιλέα κατεστήσαντο, Ἄβραμον ὄνομα. ὁ δὲ Ἄβραμος οὗτος Χριστιανὸς μὲν ἦν, δοῦλος δὲ Ῥωμαίου ἀνδρὸς, ἐν πόλει Αἰθιόπων Ἀδούλιδι ἐπὶ τῇ 1.20.5 κατὰ θάλασσαν ἐργασίᾳ διατριβὴν ἔχοντος. ἃ δὴ Ἑλλησθεαῖος μαθὼν τίσασθαί τε Ἄβραμον ὁμοῦ τοῖς ξὺν αὐτῷ ἐπαναστᾶσι τῆς ἐς τὸν Ἐσιμιφαῖον ἀδικίας ἐν