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having met with many reverses in sieges and battles, were nonetheless destroyed together. 18.27 For not only the Romans, but also almost all the barbarians reaped the fruits of Justinian's bloodthirstiness. 18.28 For while Chosroes was himself wicked in character and, as has been said by me in the appropriate books, this man provided him with all the pretexts for the war. 18.29 For he did not see fit to adapt his actions to the circumstances, but did everything out of season, in times of peace and treaties always contriving with a treacherous mind pretexts for war against his neighbors, while in war being unaccountably remiss and making the preparation for operations very sluggishly because of his love of money, and instead of zeal for these things, he would investigate celestial phenomena and meddle in the nature of God, and neither would he give up the war, being bloodthirsty and an avenging spirit, nor was he able to overcome his enemies, because, through his stinginess, he did not provide what was necessary. 18.30 And so, while he was reigning, the entire earth was continuously filled with human blood from both Romans and almost all barbarians. 18.31 These things, to speak in summary, are what happened to take place throughout the Roman land in the course of the war during this time. 18.32 But as I count up the things which happened in the matter of factional strife both in Byzantium and in each city, I think that no less slaughter of men happened in this way than in the war. 18.33 For since justice and impartial retribution for crimes were least in evidence, but since one of the two factions was especially supported by the emperor, the other faction, for its part, was not quiet, but the one side because it was at a disadvantage, and the other because it was emboldened, were always looking to desperation and recklessness, and sometimes advancing against each other in a body, sometimes fighting in small groups, or even laying ambushes for a single man, if it so chanced, for thirty-two years, letting no occasion pass, they both did irreparable deeds to one another and for the most part were being destroyed by the authority set over the people. 18.34 However, the punishment for the crimes committed for the most part fell upon the Greens. And what is more, the punishment of the Samaritans and the so-called heretics filled the Roman empire with slaughter. 18.35 And these things are recalled by me now only to be told in summary, since they have been narrated by me sufficiently a little before. 18.36 These things, then, happened to befall all men because of the demon who had become incarnate, the causes of which he himself, being established as emperor, provided; and however many evils he wrought upon men with a hidden power and demonic nature, 18.37 I shall declare. For while this man was administering the affairs of the Romans, many other calamities also happened to take place, which some insisted had happened because of the presence here of the wicked demon and by his contrivance, while others said that the divinity, hating his works, had both turned away from the Roman empire, and had given place to the avenging demons to accomplish these things in this way. 18.38 For at Edessa, the river Skirtos, having flooded, became the author of countless misfortunes for the people there, as will be written by me in the books that follow. 18.39 And the Nile, though rising as it was accustomed, but not receding at the proper times, wrought terrible deeds upon some of the inhabitants, which have also been narrated by me before. 18.40 And the Cydnus, surrounding almost all of Tarsus and flooding it for many days, did not recede before 18.41 it had done it irreparable harm. And earthquakes overthrew Antioch, the first city of the East, and Seleucia, which is inhabited near it, and Anazarbus, the most illustrious city in Cilicia. 18.42 And who would be able to count the number of people who perished together in them? And one might add both Ibora and Amaseia, which happened to be the first city in Pontus, and Polybotus in Phrygia and the city which the Pisidians call Philomede, and Lychnidus in Epirus and Corinth, which indeed were from of old the most populous. 18.43 For it happened to all these cities during this time to both be thrown down by earthquake and to be destroyed together with almost all their inhabitants. 18.44 And the pestilence also coming on, of which

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πολιορκίαις καὶ ξυμβολαῖς ἐναντιώμασι πολλοῖς προσεπταικότες οὐδέν τι ἧσσον ξυνδιεφθάρη18.27 σαν. οὐ γὰρῬωμαῖοι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ βάρβαροι σχεδόν τι πάντες τῆςἸουστινιανοῦ μιαιφονίας ἀπώ18.28 ναντο. ἦν μὲν γάρ τε καὶ Χοσρόης αὐτός τε πονηρὸς τὸ ἦθος καὶ, ὥς μοι ἐν λόγοις εἴρηται τοῖς καθήκουσι, τὰς μὲν αἰτίας αὐτῷ τοῦ πολέμου ὅδε παρείχετο 18.29 πάσας. οὐ γὰρ ἠξίου τοῖς καιροῖς ἐναρμόζειν τὰς πράξεις, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ καιροῦ πάντα εἰργάζετο, ἐν μὲν εἰρήνῃ καὶ σπονδαῖς ἐξαρτυόμενος ἀεὶ νῷ δολερῷ ἐπὶ τοὺς πέλας πολέμου αἰτίας, ἐν δὲ τῷ πολέμῳ ἀναπεπτωκώς τε οὐδενὶ λόγῳ καὶ τὴν τῶν ἔργων παρασκευὴν ὀκνηρῶς ἄγαν διὰ φιλοχρηματίαν ποιούμενος, ἀντί τε σπουδῆς τῆς περὶ ταῦτα περισκοπῶν μὲν τὰ μετέωρα, περιέργος δὲ ἀμφὶ τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ φύσει γινόμενος, καὶ οὔτε τὸν πόλεμον μεθιεὶς, τῷ μιαιφόνος τις καὶ παλαμναῖος εἶναι, οὔτε περιεῖναι τῶν πολεμίων οἷός τε ὢν, τῷ μὴ τὰ δέοντα ὑπὸ σμικρολογίας περιεργάζεσθαι. 18.30 ταύτῃ τε αὐτοῦ βασιλεύοντος ἡ γῆ ξύμπασα ἔμπλεως αἵματος ἀνθρωπείου ἔκ τεῬωμαίων καὶ βαρβάρων σχεδόν τι πάντων διαρκῶς γέγονε. 18.31 Ταῦτα μέντοι κατὰ τὸν πόλεμον πανταχόθι γῆς τῆςῬωμαίων ξυλλήβδην εἰπεῖν ὑπὸ τοῦτον τὸν χρό18.32 νον ξυνηνέχθη γενέσθαι. τὰ δὲ κατὰ στάσιν ἔν τε Βυζαντίῳ καὶ πόλει ἑκάστῃ ξυνενεχθέντα διαριθμούμενος οὐκ ἐλάσσω ἀνθρώπων φόνον ταύτῃ ξυμβῆναι 18.33 ἢ κατὰ τὸν πόλεμον οἴομαι. τοῦ γὰρ δικαίου καὶ τῆς ὁμοίας ἐπιστροφῆς ἐπὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτανομένοις ὡς ἥκιστα ὄντων, ἀλλὰ κατεσπουδασμένου τῷ βασιλεῖ θατέρου τοῖν μεροῖν μάλιστα ἡσυχίαν οὐδὲ θάτεροι ἦγον, ἀλλ' οἱ μὲν τῷ ἐλασσοῦσθαι, οἱ δὲ τῷ θαρσεῖν ἐς ἀπόγνωσίν τε καὶ ἀπόνοιαν ἀεὶ ἔβλεπον, καὶ πὴ μὲν ἀθρόοι ἐπ' ἀλλήλους ἰόντες, πὴ δὲ κατ' ὀλίγους μαχόμενοι, ἢ καὶ κατ' ἄνδρα ἕνα τὰς ἐνέδρας, ἂν οὕτω τύχοι, ποιούμενοι ἐς δύο καὶ τριάκοντα ἐνιαυτοὺς οὐδένα ἀνιέντες καιρὸν αὐτοί τε εἰργάζοντο ἀλλήλους ἀνήκεστα ἔργα καὶ πρὸς τῆς τῷ δήμῳ ἐφεστώσης ἀρ18.34 χῆς ὡς τὰ πολλὰ διεφθείροντο. ἡ μέντοι τίσις τῶν ἁμαρτανομένων ἐκ τοῦ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ἐς τοὺς Πρασίνους ἐγίνετο. ἔτι μὴν καὶ ἡ ἐς τοὺς Σαμαρείτας καὶ τοὺς καλουμένους αἱρετικοὺς κόλασις φόνου ἐνέπλησε τὴν 18.35Ῥωμαίων ἀρχήν. ταῦτα δέ μοι ὅσον ἐν κεφαλαίῳ εἰρῆσθαι ἀπομνημονεύεται τανῦν, ἐπεί μοι ἱκανῶς ὀλίγῳ ἔμπροσθεν δεδιήγηται. 18.36 Ταῦτα μὲν κατὰ τὸν ἐν σώματι γενόμενον δαίμονα τετύχηκε γενέσθαι ἐς πάντας ἀνθρώπους, ὧνπερ τὰς αἰτίας αὐτὸς ἅτε βασιλεὺς καταστὰς ἔδωκε· καὶ ὅσα μέντοι κατακεκρυμμένῃ δυνάμει καὶ φύσει δαιμονίᾳ 18.37 διειργάσατο ἀνθρώπους κακὰ, ἐγὼ δηλώσω. τούτου γὰρῬωμαίων διοικουμένου τὰ πράγματα πολλὰ καὶ ἄλλα πάθη ξυνηνέχθη γενέσθαι, ἅπερ οἱ μὲν τῇ τοῦ πονηροῦ δαίμονος τῇδε παρουσίᾳ ἰσχυρίζοντο καὶ μηχανῇ ξυμβῆναι, οἱ δὲ αὐτοῦ τὸ θεῖον τὰ ἔργα μισῆσαν ἀποστραφέν τε ἀπὸ τῆςῬωμαίων ἀρχῆς, χώραν δαίμοσι τοῖς παλαμναίοις ἐνδεδωκέναι ταῦτα διαπράξασθαι 18.38 τῇδε.Ἔδεσσαν μὲν γὰρ Σκιρτὸς ἐπικλύσας ὁ ποταμὸς μυρίων δημιουργὸς τοῖς ἐκείνῃ ἀνθρώποις συμφορῶν γέγονεν, ὥς μοι ἐν τοῖς ὄπισθεν λόγοις γεγράψεται. 18.39 Νεῖλος δὲ ἀναβὰς μὲν ᾗπερ εἰώθει, χρόνοις δὲ οὐκ ἀποβὰς τοῖς καθήκουσι, δεινά τινας τῶν ᾠκημένων εἰργάσατο ἔργα, ἅπερ μοι καὶ πρότερον δεδιήγηται. 18.40 Κύδνος δὲ Ταρσὸν περιβαλλόμενος σχεδόν τι πᾶσαν ἡμέρας τε αὐτὴν ἐπικλύσας πολλὰς οὐ πρότερον ἀπέστη 18.41 ἕως αὐτὴν ἀνήκεστα κακὰ ἔδρασε. σεισμοὶ δὲἈντιόχειάν τε καθεῖλον τὴν τῆς ἑῴας πρώτην καὶ Σελεύκειαν, ἥπερ αὐτῆς ἐκ γειτόνων οἰκεῖται, καὶ τὴν ἐν 18.42 Κίλιξιν ἐπιφανεστάτηνἈνάζαρβον. αἷς τῶν ξυναπολωλότων ἀνθρώπων τὸ μέτρον τίς ἂν διαριθμεῖσθαι δυνατὸς εἴη; προσθείη δὲ ἄν τις τά τεἼβωρα καὶἈμάσειαν, ἣ πρώτη ἐν Πόντῳ ἐτύγχανεν οὖσα, Πολύβοτόν τε τὴν ἐν Φρυγίᾳ καὶ ἣν Πισίδαι Φιλομηδὴν καλοῦσι, Λύχνιδόν τε τὴν ἐνἨπειρώταις καὶ Κόρινθον, αἳ δὴ πολυανθρωπόταται ἐκ παλαιοῦ ἦσαν. 18.43 ταύταις γὰρ ἁπαξαπάσαις ὑπὸ τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον σεισμῷ τε καταπεσεῖν καὶ τοῖς ᾠκημένοις σχεδόν τι 18.44 πᾶσι ξυνδιολωλέναι τετύχηκεν. ἐπιγενόμενος δὲ καὶ ὁ λοιμὸς, οὗ