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like some robber or clothes-stealer, and tearing his back with many blows, they forced him to tell of his past life. And John had not been very clearly convicted of being responsible for the murder of Eusebius, yet the justice of God seemed to be exacting from him penalties for the whole world. Then, having taken away all his money, they put him on the ship naked, wearing one garment, and this a very rough one, bought for a few obols, and those who escorted him, wherever the ship might anchor, ordered him to beg for bread or obols from those who came near. And so, begging everywhere along the way, he is conveyed to Antinous in Egypt. And for this third year, having imprisoned him there, they are guarding him. But he, although he was in such sufferings, did not give up the hope of power, but he even decided to slander certain Alexandrians, on the grounds that they owed gold to the public treasury. So then, ten years later, this retribution for his political actions overtook John the Cappadocian. At that time the emperor appointed Belisarius again as general of the East and sending him to Libya, took the country, as will be told in the subsequent books. When this came to the ears of both Chosroes and the Persians, they were terribly vexed, and they already regretted having made peace with the Romans, because they perceived that their power was growing great. And Chosroes sent ambassadors to Byzantium, and said that he congratulated the Emperor Justinian and asked, laughingly forsooth, to receive his share of the spoils from Libya, because he would never have been strong enough to overcome the Vandals in the war, if the Persians had not made a treaty with him. So then, at that time, Justinian, having presented Chosroes with money, sent the ambassadors away not long after. In the city of Daras something of this sort happened to occur. There was a certain John there, enrolled in the infantry roster; this man, with the support of not all the soldiers, but of a certain few, set up a tyranny and seized the city. And sitting in the palace as in an acropolis, he strengthened his tyranny each day. And if it had not happened that the Persians were at that time bound by peace toward the Romans, irreparable evils would have arisen for the Romans from this. But as it was, the treaty, as I have said, forestalled and prevented this. And on the fourth day from the start of the tyranny, some soldiers, having come to an agreement, with the approval of Mamas, the priest of the city, and Anastasius, one of the notable citizens, went up to the palace at high noon, each one having hidden a dagger under his cloak. And first, at the door of the inner court, finding a certain few of the bodyguards, they killed them at once. Then, bursting into the men's quarters, they laid hands on the tyrant; but some say that it was not the soldiers who did this first, but while they were still hesitating in the inner court and dreading the danger, a certain sausage-seller who was with them rushed in with his cleaver and, meeting John unexpectedly, struck him. And he, not having been struck a mortal blow, but fleeing with a great uproar, suddenly fell among these very soldiers. And so, having seized the man, they immediately set fire to the palace and burned it, so that no hope might be left from this for those attempting revolution, and leading him away to the prison, they bound him. And one of them, fearing that the soldiers, deciding to spare the tyrant, might again cause trouble for the city, killed John, and in this very way put an end to the disturbance. So then, the events concerning this tyranny proceeded in this way. OF PROCOPIUS OF CAESAREA ON THE WARS BOOK TWO. Not long afterwards, Chosroes, learning that Belisarius had also begun to win Italy for the Emperor Justinian, was no longer able to restrain his mind, but wished to devise pretexts, so that he might break the treaty with some plausible reason. Concerning which, having conferred with Alamundarus, he ordered him to furnish causes for war. And he, accusing Arethas that he was using violence against him concerning land boundaries, came to blows with him during the truce

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ἅτε λῃστήν τινα ἢ λωποδύτην, καὶ ξαίνοντες κατὰ τοῦ νώτου πολλὰς εἰπεῖν 1.25.41 τὰ βεβιωμένα ἠνάγκαζον. καὶ τοῦ μὲν Εὐσεβίου φόνου αἴτιος Ἰωάννης οὐ λίαν ἐξελήλεγκτο, ἐῴκει μέντοι ἡ τοῦ θεοῦ δίκη ποινὰς αὐτὸν τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐσπραττο1.25.42 μένη. ἔπειτα δὲ τὰ χρήματα πάντα ἀφελόμενοι γυμνὸν ἐς τὴν ναῦν εἰσεβίβασαν, ἱμάτιον ἓν, καὶ τοῦτο τραχὺ κομιδῆ, ἀμπεχόμενον, ὀβολῶν ὠνηθὲν ὀλίγων τινῶν, οἵ τε αὐτὸν παραπέμποντες ὅπη ἂν ἡ ναῦς ὁρμισθείη ἐκέλευον ἄρτον ἢ ὀβολοὺς ἐκ τῶν προσπιπτόντων 1.25.43 αἰτεῖσθαι. οὕτω τε πτωχεύων πανταχόθι τῆς πορείας τῆς Αἰγύπτου ἐς τὴν Ἀντινόου κομίζεται. καὶ τρίτον 1.25.44 τοῦτο ἔτος αὐτὸν ἐνταῦθα καθείρξαντες τηροῦσιν. ὁ δὲ, καίπερ ἐν τοιούτοις γεγονὼς πάθεσιν, οὐδὲ τὴν τῆς βασιλείας ἐλπίδα μεθῆκεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ Ἀλεξανδρέων τινὰς, ἅτε τῷ δημοσίῳ χρυσίον ὀφείλοντας, διαβαλεῖν ἔγνω. Ἰωάννην μὲν οὖν τὸν Καππαδόκην δέκα ἐνιαυτοῖς ὕστερον αὕτη τῶν πεπολιτευμένων κατέλαβε τίσις. 1.26.1 Τότε δὲ βασιλεὺς στρατηγόν τε τῆς ἑῴας αὖθις Βελισάριον κατεστήσατο καὶ ἐς Λιβύην πέμψας τὴν χώραν ἔσχεν, ὥσπερ ἐν τοῖς ὄπισθεν λελέξεται 1.26.2 λόγοις. ὅπερ ἐπεὶ ἔς τε Χοσρόην καὶ Πέρσας ἦλθε, δεινῶς ἤσχαλλον, καὶ αὐτοῖς τὴν εἰρήνην ἐς Ῥωμαίους πεποιημένοις μετέμελεν ἤδη, ὅτι δὴ αὐτοῖς τὴν δύνα1.26.3 μιν ἐπὶ μέγα χωρεῖν ᾔσθοντο. πέμψας τε ὁ Χοσρόης ἐς Βυζάντιον πρέσβεις, ξυγχαίρειν τε Ἰουστινιανῷ τῷ βασιλεῖ ἔφασκε καὶ τὸ μέρος λαβεῖν ξὺν γέλωτι δῆθεν τῶν ἐκ Λιβύης λαφύρων ἠξίου, ὅτι δὴ οὐκ ἄν ποτε Βανδίλων τῷ πολέμῳ περιέσεσθαι ἴσχυσεν, εἰ μὴ αὐτῷ 1.26.4 Πέρσαι ἐσπείσαντο. τότε μὲν οὖν Χοσρόην Ἰουστινιανὸς χρήμασι δωρησάμενος, τοὺς πρέσβεις οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν ἀπεπέμψατο. 1.26.5 Ἐν δὲ πόλει ∆άρας τοιόνδε τι ξυνέβη γενέσθαι. Ἰωάννης τις ἦν ἐνταῦθα ἐν καταλόγῳ τεταγμένος πεζῶν· οὗτος οὐχ ἁπάντων οἱ ξυμφρονούντων στρατιωτῶν, ἀλλ' ὀλίγων τινῶν, τυραννίδι ἐπιθέμενος τὴν 1.26.6 πόλιν ἔσχεν. ἔν τε παλατίῳ καθήμενος ὥσπερ ἐν ἀκροπόλει, τὴν τυραννίδα ἐκρατύνετο ἡμέρᾳ ἑκάστῃ. 1.26.7 καὶ εἰ μὴ Πέρσας ἔχεσθαι εἰρήνης ἐς τοὺς Ῥωμαίους τηνικαῦτα ξυνέβη, ἀνήκεστα ἂν ἐνθένδε Ῥωμαίοις ἐγεγόνει κακά. νῦν δὲ τοῦτο ἐκώλυσε φθά1.26.8 σασα, ὥσπερ μοι ἐρρήθη, ἡ ξύμβασις. ἡμέρᾳ δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς τυραννίδος τετάρτῃ ξυμφρονήσαντες στρατιῶται, γνώμῃ Μάμαντός τε τοῦ τῆς πόλεως ἱερέως καὶ Ἀναστασίου τῶν δοκίμων τινὸς πολιτῶν, ἐς τὸ παλάτιον μεσημβρίας ἀκμαζούσης ἀνέβησαν, κρύψας ἕκαστος 1.26.9 ὑπὸ τῷ ἱματίῳ ξιφίδιον. καὶ πρῶτα μὲν ἐν τῇ μεταύλῳ θύρᾳ τῶν δορυφόρων εὑρόντες ὀλίγους τινὰς εὐθὺς ἔκτειναν. ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ εἰς τὸν ἀνδρῶνα ἐσβάντες τοῦ τυράννου ἥπτοντο· τινὲς δέ φασιν οὐ τοὺς στρατιώτας αὐτὸ πρώτους εἰργάσθαι, ἀλλ' αὐτῶν ἔτι μελλόντων τε ἐν τῇ μεταύλῳ καὶ κατωρρωδηκότων τὸν κίνδυνον, τῶν τινα ἀλλαντοπωλῶν ξὺν αὐτοῖς ὄντα ἐσπηδῆσαί τε ξὺν τῇ κοπίδι καὶ τῷ Ἰωάννῃ ἐντυχόντα ἀπροσδο1.26.10 κήτως παῖσαι. καὶ τὸν οὐ πληγέντα μὲν καιρίαν πληγὴν, ξὺν θορύβῳ δὲ πολλῷ φεύγοντα, ἐς τούτους δὴ 1.26.11 τοὺς στρατιώτας ἐμπεσεῖν ἄφνω. οὕτω τε τοῦ ἀνθρώπου αὐτοὺς ἁψαμένους πυρὶ μὲν αὐτίκα τὸ παλάτιον ὑφάψαντας καῦσαι, ὡς μή τις ἐλπὶς ἐνθένδε ἀπολειφθείη τοῖς τὰ νεώτερα πράγματα πράσσουσιν, αὐτὸν 1.26.12 δὲ ἐς τὸ δεσμωτήριον ἀπαγαγόντας δῆσαι. καὶ αὐτῶν τινα δείσαντα μὴ οἱ στρατιῶται περιεῖναι τὸν τύραννον γνόντες πράγματα τῇ πόλει αὖθις παράσχωνται, κτεῖναί τε τὸν Ἰωάννην, καὶ τούτῳ δὴ τῷ τρόπῳ τὴν ταραχὴν παῦσαι. τὰ μὲν οὖν ἀμφὶ ταύτῃ τῇ τυραννίδι τῇδε ἐχώρησεν. 2.τ.1 ΠΡΟΚΟΠΙΟΥ ΚΑΙΣΑΡΕΩΣ ΥΠΕΡ ΤΩΝ ΠΟΛΕΜΩΝ ΛΟΓΟΣ ∆ΕΥΤΕΡΟΣ. 2.1.1 Χρόνῳ δὲ οὐ πολλῷ ὕστερον ὁ Χοσρόης μαθὼν ὡς καὶ Ἰταλίαν Βελισάριος Ἰουστινιανῷ βασιλεῖ προσποιεῖν ἤρξατο, οὐκέτι κατέχειν οἷός τε ἦν τὴν διάνοιαν, ἀλλὰ σκήψεις ἐπινοεῖν ἤθελεν, ὅπως δὴ λόγῳ 2.1.2 τινὶ εὐπρεπεῖ τὰς σπονδὰς λύσειεν. ὑπὲρ ὧν κοινολογησάμενος Ἀλαμουνδάρῳ ἐκέλευεν αὐτὸν ξυμπορί2.1.3 ζεσθαι πολέμου αἰτίας. ὁ δὲ Ἀρέθᾳ ἐπικαλέσας ὅτι αὐτὸν περὶ γῆς ὁρίων βιάζοιτο, ἐς χεῖράς τε αὐτῷ ἐν σπονδαῖς ἦλθε