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formerly inhabited and cultivating the land and working at the business of the sea, which I happened for the most part to have witnessed, how could anyone be able to count the multitude of all the people? And the Moors here were still many times more numerous than these, all of whom, it happened, 18.8 were destroyed along with their wives and children. And again the earth concealed many of the Roman soldiers and of those who followed them from Byzantium. so that if anyone claims that five million people perished in Libya, he would not, I think, be adequately 18.9 stating the facts. The reason was that as soon as the Vandals were defeated, he was not concerned with how he might strengthen his hold on the country, nor did he take care that the safeguarding of its wealth might be secured by the goodwill of its subjects, but he immediately, without any delay, summoned Belisarius, charging him with a tyranny that was in no way his, in order that from then on, administering it according to his own authority, he might swallow up all of Libya and plunder it. 18.10 He immediately, of course, sent assessors of the land and imposed certain very harsh taxes which had not existed before. And he laid claim to the lands, if any were best, and he barred the Arians 18.11 from their own sacred rites. And he was behind in the payments to the soldiers, and in other ways had become burdensome to the soldiers. From which mutinies 18.12 arose and resulted in a great destruction. For he was never able to abide by established conditions, but was naturally inclined to throw everything into confusion and turmoil. 18.13 And Italy, being not less than three times the size of Libya, has become everywhere much more destitute of people than that land. So that an accounting of the number of those killed there 18.14 will be an approximation. For the cause of the things that happened in Italy has already been related by me before. For all the same things as in Libya, were done wrongly by him here too. 18.15 And sending in addition the so-called Logothetes, he at once upset and ruined 18.16 everything. And the rule of the Goths before this war extended from the land of the Gauls as far as the borders of Dacia, 18.17 where the city of Sirmium is. So then, most of the land of Gaul and Venetia the Germans took, when 18.18 the Roman army arrived in Italy. And Sirmium and the places in that region the Gepids possess, all, however, to speak summarily, are completely destitute of people. 18.19 For war destroyed some, and disease and famine others, 18.20 which naturally follow war. And as for Illyricum and all of Thrace, that would be from the Ionian Gulf to the suburbs of Byzantium, in which are Greece and the land of the Chersonese, the Huns and Sclaveni and Antae, raiding almost every year since Justinian took over the Roman empire, have done irreparable deeds to the people there. 18.21 For I think that in each invasion more than two hundred thousand Romans there were either killed or enslaved, so that the Scythian desolation, of course, has come to be everywhere in this land. 18.22 Such, then, are the things that happened during the war in Libya and in Europe. But the Saracens, continuously raiding the eastern Romans from Egypt to the borders of Persia throughout this whole time, have wrought such persistent destruction, that all the places there have become most sparsely populated, and it will never, I think, be possible for any man investigating to find the number of those who thus perished. 18.23 And the Persians and Chosroes, invading the rest of the Roman domain four times, both destroyed the cities and the people whom they took in the captured cities and in each country, killing some, and leading others away with them, they made the land destitute of inhabitants, wherever it happened that they attacked. 18.24 And from the time they also drove into the land of Colchis, it happens that they and the Lazi and the Romans are being destroyed up to the present. 18.25 However, it befell neither the Persians nor the Saracens nor the Huns nor the race of the Sclaveni nor any of the other barbarians to depart from Roman land unscathed. 18.26 for in the raids and much more still in

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ᾠκημένων τὰ πρότερα καὶ γῆν γεωργούντων ἐργασίαν τε τὴν κατὰ θάλασσαν ἐργαζομένων, ὅπερ μοι αὐτόπτῃ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον γεγονέναι τετύχηκε, πῶς ἄν τις τὸ πλῆθος διαριθμεῖσθαι ἱκανὸς εἴη τῶν πάντων ἀνθρώπων; τούτων δὲ πολλῷ ἔτι πλείους Μαυρούσιοι ἦσαν ἐνταῦθα, οἷς δὴ ἅπασι ξύν 18.8 τε γυναιξὶ καὶ γόνῳ διεφθάρθαι ξυνέβη. πολλοὺς δὲ αὖ τὴ καὶῬωμαίων στρατιωτῶν καὶ τῶν αὐτοῖς ἐκ Βυζαντίου ἐπισπομένων ἡ γῆ ἔκρυψεν. ὥστε εἴ τις μυριάδας ἀνθρώπων ἔν γε Λιβύῃ πεντακοσίας ἰσχυρίζεται ἀπολωλέναι, οὐκ ἄν ποτε τῷ πράγματι, οἶμαι, 18.9 διαρκῶς εἴποι. αἴτιον δὲ ὅτι Βανδίλων εὐθὺς ἡσσημένων οὐχ ὅπως κρατύνηται τὴν τῆς χώρας ἐπικράτησιν ἐπιμελές οἱ ἐγίνετο, οὐδ' ὅπως οἱ ἡ τῶν ἀγαθῶν φυλακὴ ἐν τῷ ἀσφαλεῖ εὐνοίᾳ τῶν κατηκόων εἴη προὐνόησεν, ἀλλὰ Βελισάριον αὐτίκα μελλήσει οὐδεμιᾷ μετεπέμπετο, τυραννίδα οἱ οὐδαμόθεν προσήκουσαν ἐπεγκαλέσας, ὅπως τὸ ἐνθένδε διοικούμενος κατ' ἐξουσίαν Λιβύην καταπιὼν ὅλην ληΐζηται. 18.10 Τιμητὰς ἀμέλει τῆς γῆς εὐθὺς ἔπεμπε καὶ φόρους ἐπετίθει πικροτάτους τινὰς οὐ πρότερον ὄντας. καὶ τῶν χωρίων προσεποιεῖτο, εἴ τι ἄριστον ἦν, καὶἈρεια18.11 νοὺς τῶν ἐν σφίσιν αὐτοῖς μυστηρίων εἶργε. καὶ ταῖς στρατιωτικαῖς συντάξεσιν ὑπερήμερος ἦν, καὶ ἄλλως τοῖς στρατιώταις ἐγεγόνει βαρύς. ἐξ ὧν αἱ στάσεις 18.12 φυόμεναι τετελευτήκασιν εἰς ὄλεθρον μέγαν. οὐ γὰρ μένειν ἐν τοῖς καθεστῶσί ποτε ἴσχυεν, ἀλλὰ ξυγχεῖν τε καὶ ἀναθολοῦν ἐπεφύκει πάντα. 18.13Ἰταλία δὲ οὐχ ἧσσον ἢ τριπλασία Λιβύης οὖσα ἔρημος ἀνθρώπων πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἔτι ἢ ἐκείνη πανταχόθι γεγένηται. ὥστε δὴ μέτρου τῶν κἀνταῦθα 18.14 ἀνῃρημένων ἐγγύθεν ἡ δήλωσις ἔσται. ἡ γὰρ αἰτία τῶν ἐνἸταλίᾳ ξυμπεπτωκότων ἤδη μοι ἔμπροσθεν δεδιήγηται. ἅπαντά τε γὰρ ὅσα ἐν Λιβύῃ, κἀνταῦθα 18.15 αὐτῷ ἡμαρτήθη. καὶ τοὺς καλουμένους λογοθέτας προσεπιπέμψας ἀνεχαίτισέ τε καὶ διέφθειρεν εὐθὺς 18.16 ἅπαντα. κατέτεινε δὲ ἡ Γότθων ἀρχὴ πρὸ τοῦδε τοῦ πολέμου ἐκ Γάλλων τῆς γῆς ἄχρι τῶν ∆ακίας ὁρίων, 18.17 οὗ δὴ πόλις τὸ Σίρμιόν ἐστι. Γαλλίας μὲν οὖν καὶ Βενετίων γῆν τὴν πολλὴν Γερμανοὶ ἔσχον, ἐπειδὴ 18.18 ἀφίκετο ἐςἸταλίαν ὁῬωμαίων στρατός. Σίρμιον δὲ καὶ τὰ ἐκείνῃ χωρία Γήπαιδες κατέχουσιν, ἅπαντα μέντοι συλλήβδην εἰπεῖν ἀνθρώπων παντελῶς ἔρημα. 18.19 τοὺς μὲν γὰρ ὁ πόλεμος, τοὺς δὲ νόσος τε καὶ λιμὸς 18.20 διεχρήσαντο, ἃ δὴ τῷ πολέμῳ ἕπεσθαι πέφυκεν.Ἰλλυριοὺς δὲ καὶ Θρᾴκην ὅλην, εἴη δ' ἂν ἐκ κόλπου τοῦἸονίου μέχρι ἐς τὰ Βυζαντίων προάστεια, ἐν τοῖςἙλλάς τε καὶ Χερρονησιωτῶν ἡ χώρα ἐστὶν, Οὖννοί τε καὶ Σκλαβηνοὶ καὶἌνται σχεδόν τι ἀνὰ πᾶν καταθέοντες ἔτος, ἐξ οὗἸουστινιανὸς παρέλαβε τὴνῬωμαίων ἀρχὴν, ἀνήκεστα ἔργα εἰργάσαντο τοὺς ταύτῃ 18.21 ἀνθρώπους. πλέον γὰρ ἐν ἑκάστῃ ἐσβολῇ οἶμαι ἢ κατὰ μυριάδας εἴκοσιν εἶναι τῶν τε ἀνῃρημένων καὶ ἠνδραποδισμένων ἐνταῦθαῬωμαίων, ὥστε τὴν Σκυθῶν ἐρημίαν ἀμέλει ταύτης πανταχόσε τῆς γῆς ξυμβαίνειν εἶναι. 18.22 Τὰ μὲν οὖν ἐν Λιβύῃ τε καὶ Εὐρώπῃ κατὰ τὸν πόλεμον ξυνενεχθέντα τοιαῦτά ἐστι. Σαρακηνοὶ δὲ τοὺς ἑῴουςῬωμαίους ἐκ τῆς Αἰγύπτου μέχρι τῶν Περσίδος ὁρίων πάντα τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον διηνεκῶς καταθέοντες οὕτω δὴ ἐνδελεχέστατα κατειργάσαντο, ὥστε ὀλιγανθρωπότατα ξύμπαντα ἐγεγόνει τὰ ἐκείνῃ χωρία, καὶ οὐ μήποτε ἀνθρώπῳ, οἶμαι, δυνατὰ ἔσται τὸ μέτρον τῶν οὕτως ἀπολωλότων διερευνωμένῳ εὑ18.23 ρέσθαι. Πέρσαι τε καὶ Χοσρόης τετράκις μὲν ἐμβάλλοντες ἐς τὴν ἄλληνῬωμαίων ἀρχὴν τάς τε πόλεις καθεῖλον καὶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους οὓς ἂν λάβοιεν ἔν τε πόλεσι ταῖς ἁλισκομέναις καὶ χώρᾳ ἑκάστῃ τοὺς μὲν κτείνοντες, τοὺς δὲ ξὺν αὑτοῖς ἐπαγόμενοι, ἔρημον τὴν γῆν κατεστήσαντο τῶν ἐνοικούντων, ᾗπερ αὐτοὺς 18.24 ἐπισκῆψαι ξυνέπεσεν. ἐξ οὗ δὲ καὶ εἰς γῆν τὴν Κολχίδα ἐσήλασαν, αὐτοῖς τε καὶ Λαζοῖς καὶῬωμαίοις διαφθείρεσθαι μέχρι δεῦρο ξυμβαίνει. 18.25 Οὐ μέντοι οὐδὲ Πέρσαις ἢ Σαρακηνοῖς ἢ Οὔννοις ἢ τῷ Σκλαβηνῶν γένει ἢ τῶν ἄλλων βαρβάρων τισὶν ἀκραιφνέσιν ἐκῬωμαίων τῆς γῆς ξυνηνέχθη ἀπαλ18.26 λαγῆναι. ἔν τε γὰρ ταῖς ἐφόδοις καὶ πολλῷ ἔτι μᾶλλον ἔν τε