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I mentioned before, it carried away at least half 18.45 of the surviving population. So great was the destruction of people, while Justinian was first administering the state for the Romans and later holding the imperial power. 19.1 But I shall now proceed to tell how he took away all the money, first relating a vision which a certain distinguished man happened to see at the beginning of Justin's reign. 19.2 For he said it seemed to him in the dream that he was standing somewhere in Byzantium by the seashore, the one which is opposite Chalcedon, and saw this man standing in the middle of the strait there. 19.3 And first he drank up all the water of the sea, so that he thought for the future he was standing on the mainland, the strait no longer flowing there; then other water, full of much filth and rubbish, gushing from sewers on either side, appeared there, and this man drank it up as well, and again made the area of the strait bare. 19.4 Such things, then, the vision of the dream signified. But this Justinian, when his uncle Justin took over the empire, found the state full of public money. 19.5 For Anastasius, having been the most provident and the most economical of all emperors, fearing what actually happened, that his successor in the empire, being perhaps short of money, might plunder his subjects, filled all the treasuries to overflowing with gold and so ended his life. 19.6 Justinian squandered all of these funds as quickly as possible, partly on senseless building projects by the sea, and partly on gifts to the barbarians; and yet one would have thought they would have been sufficient for a hundred years for an emperor who was going to be excessively profligate. 19.7 For those in charge of the treasuries and the exchequers and all the other imperial funds maintained that Anastasius, who had ruled the Romans for more than twenty-seven years, had left three thousand two hundred centenaria of gold 19.8 in the public treasury. But during the nine years that Justin held the imperial power, while this Justinian was inflicting confusion and disorder upon the state, four thousand centenaria were brought into the treasury by no lawful means, and of all this not a single thing was left, but had been spent by this man while Justin was still alive in the manner that I have stated in my previous account. 19.9 For as to what he himself was able to misappropriate and spend throughout the entire time, there is no device by which any account or reckoning 19.10 or measure of it could be shown. For like some ever-flowing river, each day he ravaged and plundered his subjects, and everything immediately flowed on to the barbarians **. 19.11 Having thus straightway made away with the public wealth, he turned his gaze upon his subjects, and immediately deprived very many of their property by plundering and forcing them without any reason, bringing under accusation the apparently wealthy men in Byzantium and in every other city for crimes that had in no way been committed, charging some with polytheism, others with adherence to an unorthodox Christian doctrine, others with pederasty, others with love-affairs with holy women, or some other illicit unions, others with instigating sedition, or affection for the Green faction, or insulting him, or bringing any other charge whatever, or becoming the automatic heir to the dead or even to the living, if it so happened, since he was adopted by them. 19.12 For such were his most venerable deeds. But how, after managing the revolt against him, which they called "Nika," he immediately became the heir of all the senators has already been related by me just now, and how before the revolt he himself had privately taken the property of not a few, one by one. 19.13 And he presented all the barbarians with great sums of money, letting no opportunity pass, eastern and western, toward the north and the south, as far as the inhabitants of Britain and the nations of the whole inhabited world everywhere, of whom we had not even so much as heard before, but saw them for the first time and then learned the name of their race. 19.14 For they themselves, learning of the

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πρόσθεν ἐμνήσθην, τὴν ἡμίσειαν μάλιστα 18.45 τῶν περιγινομένων ἀνθρώπων ἀπήνεγκε μοῖραν. τοσούτων μὲν ἀνθρώπων ἐγένετο φθόρος,Ἰουστινιανοῦ πρότερονῬωμαίοις διοικουμένου τὴν πολιτείαν καὶ ὕστερον τὴν αὐτοκράτορα ἀρχὴν ἔχοντος. 19.1Ὅπως δὲ καὶ τὰ χρήματα ἀφείλετο ἁπαξάπαντα ἐρῶν ἔρχομαι, ὄψιν ὀνείρου ὑπειπὼν πρότερον ἥνπερ κατ' ἀρχὰς τῆςἸουστίνου βασιλείας τῶν τινι 19.2 ἐπιφανῶν ἰδεῖν ξυνηνέχθη. ἔφη γάρ οἱ δοκεῖν ἐν τῷ ὀνείρῳ ἑστάναι μέν που ἐν Βυζαντίῳ παρὰ τὴν τῆς θαλάσσης ἠιόνα, ἣ δὴ Χαλκηδόνος καταντικρύ ἐστιν, ὁρᾶν δὲ τοῦτον κατὰ τὸν ἐκείνῃ πορθμὸν ἑστῶτα 19.3 μέσον. καὶ πρῶτον μὲν τοι τὸ ὕδωρ τῆς θαλάσσης αὐτὸν ἐκπιεῖν ὅλον, ὥστε οἴεσθαι τὸ λοιπὸν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τῆς ἠπείρου ἑστάναι, οὐκέτι τοῦ πορθμοῦ ταύτῃ ἐπιόντος, ἔπειτα δὲ ὕδωρ ἄλλο ῥύπου τε πολλοῦ καὶ φορυτοῦ γέμον, βρύσαν ἐξ ὑπονόμων ἑκατέρωθεν ὄντων, ἐνταῦθα γενέσθαι, καὶ αὐτὸ μὲν τοῦτον ἐκπιεῖν ἅμα, γυμνόν τε αὖθις ἐξεργάσασθαι τοῦ πορθμοῦ χῶρον. 19.4Ἡ μὲν τοῦ ὀνείρου ὄψις ἐδήλου τοιαῦτα.Ἰουστινιανὸς δὲ οὗτος, ἡνίκα οἱ ὁ θεῖοςἸουστῖνος τὴν βασιλείαν παρέλαβε, χρημάτων δημοσίων ἔμπλεων τὴν 19.5 πολιτείαν εὗρεν.Ἀναστάσιος γὰρ προνοητικώτατός τε ἅμα καὶ οἰκονομικώτατος πάντων αὐτοκρατόρων γενόμενος, δείσας ὅπερ ἐγένετο, μή οἱ ὁ τὴν βασιλείαν ἐκδεξόμενος χρημάτων ὑποσπανίζων ἴσως τοὺς κατηκόους ληΐζηται, χρυσοῦ τοὺς θησαυροὺς ἅπαντας κατα19.6 κόρως ἐμπλησάμενος, τὸν βίον ξυνεμετρήσατο. οὕσπερ ἅπανταςἸουστινιανὸς ὡς τάχιστα διεσπάσατο, πὴ μὲν θαλασσίοις οἰκοδομίαις λόγον οὐκ ἐχούσαις, πὴ δὲ τῇ ἐς τοὺς βαρβάρους φιλότητι· καίτοι ᾠήθη ἄν τις αὐτοὺς βασιλεῖ ἐς ἄγαν ἀσώτῳ ἐσομένῳ ἐτῶν ἑκατὸν 19.7 ἐπαρκέσειν. ἰσχυρίζοντο γὰρ οἱ τοῖς θησαυροῖς τε καὶ ταμείοις καὶ ἄλλοις ἅπασι τοῖς βασιλικοῖς χρήμασιν ἐφεστῶτες,Ἀναστάσιον μὲνῬωμαίων ἔτη πλέον ἢ ἑπτὰ καὶ εἴκοσιν ἄρξαντα διακόσια καὶ τρισχίλια χρυ19.8 σοῦ κεντηνάρια ἐν δημοσίῳ ἀπολιπεῖν. ἐπὶ μέντοιἸουστίνου ἔτη ἐννέα τὴν αὐτοκράτορα ἀρχὴν ἔχοντος, τούτουἸουστινιανοῦ ξύγχυσίν τε καὶ ἀκοσμίαν τῇ πολιτείᾳ προστριψαμένου, τετρακισχίλια κεντηνάρια ἐς τὴν βασιλείαν εἰσκομισθῆναι οὐδενὶ νόμῳ, καὶ τούτων ἁπάντων οὐδ' ὁτιοῦν ἀπολελεῖφθαι, ἀλλ' ἔτι περιόντοςἸουστίνου πρὸς τοῦδε τοῦ ἀνθρώπου δεδαπανῆσθαι 19.9 ᾗπέρ μοι ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν εἴρηται λόγοις. ἅπερ γὰρ αὐτὸς ἐν τῷ παντὶ χρόνῳ σφετερίζεσθαί τε οὐ δέον καὶ ἀναλοῦν ἴσχυσεν, οὐδ' ἄν τινα λόγον ἢ λογισμὸν 19.10 ἢ μέτρον φανῆναι μηχανή τις οὐδεμία ἐστίν. ὥσπερ γάρ τις ποταμὸς ἀένναος ἐς ἡμέραν ἑκάστην ἐδῄου τε καὶ ἐληΐζετο τοὺς ὑπηκόους, ἐπέρρει δὲ ἅπαντα τοῖς βαρβάροις εὐθύς **. 19.11 Πλοῦτον οὕτω τὸν δημόσιον εὐθὺς ἐκφορήσας ἐπὶ τοὺς κατηκόους τὸ βλέμμα ἦγε, πλείστους τε αὐτίκα τὰς οὐσίας ἀφείλετο ἁρπάζων τε καὶ βιαζόμενος οὐδενὶ λόγῳ, τῶν ἐγκλημάτων τε οὐδαμῆ γεγονότων ὑπάγων τοὺς εὐδαίμονας ἔν τε Βυζαντίῳ καὶ πόλει ἑκάστῃ δοκοῦντας εἶναι, καὶ τοῖς μὲν πολυθεΐαν, τοῖς δὲ δόξης ἐν Χριστιανοῖς οὐκ ὀρθῆς αἵρεσιν, τοῖς δὲ παιδεραστίας, ἑτέροις ἱερῶν γυναικῶν ἔρωτας, ἢ ἄλλας τινὰς οὐ θεμιτὰς μίξεις, ἄλλοις στάσεως ἀφορμὴν, ἢ μέρους Πρασίνου στοργὴν, ἢ ἐς αὐτὸν ὑβρίζειν, ἢ ὄνομα ὁτιοῦν ἄλλο ἐπενεγκὼν, ἢ κληρονόμος αὐτόματος τοῖς τετελευτηκόσιν ἢ καὶ περιοῦσιν, ἂν οὕτω τύχοι, γινόμενος ἅτε ἐσποιητὸς πρὸς αὐτῶν γενό19.12 μενος. αἱ γὰρ δὴ σεμνόταται τῶν πράξεων αὐτῷ τοιαῦται ἦσαν. ὅπως δὲ καὶ τὴν γενομένην ἐπ' αὐτὸν στάσιν, ἣν Νίκα ἐκάλουν, διοικησάμενος πᾶσι κληρονόμος τοῖς ἐκ βουλῆς εὐθὺς γέγονεν ἤδη μοι ἔναγχος δεδιήγηται, καὶ ὅπως τῆς στάσεως πρότερον οὐκ ὀλίγων αὐτὸς ἰδίᾳ ἑκάστου τὴν οὐσίαν ἀφείλετο. 19.13 Τοὺς δὲ βαρβάρους ἅπαντας οὐδένα ἀνιεὶς καιρὸν χρήμασιν ἐδωρεῖτο μεγάλοις, ἑῴους τε καὶ ἑσπερίους πρός τε ἄρκτον καὶ μεσημβρίαν, ἄχρι ἐς τοὺς ἐν Βρεττανίαις ᾠκημένους καὶ γῆς πανταχόθι τῆς οἰκουμένης τὰ ἔθνη, ὧνπερ οὐδὲ ὅσον ἀκοὴν πρότερον εἴχομεν, ἀλλὰ πρῶτον ἰδόντες εἶτα τοῦ γένους ὄνομα 19.14 ἔγνωμεν. αὐτοί τε γὰρ πυνθανόμενοι τὸ τοῦ