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of the disease, he summoned the patriarch Eutychius (for when John, formerly of the scholastici, had died, this man was brought back again and was restored to the patriarchal throne), and having gathered the senate and the clergy of the church he proclaimed Tiberius emperor, in the hearing of all instructing him to be pious towards God, to do good to his subjects, to avenge the wronged, not to give in to the soldiers' avarice, not to be proud of the purple, to allow the wealthy to enjoy their own property without envy, to assist the have-nots to the best of his ability, to honor fittingly the empress and his former mistress. Having exhorted and advised Tiberius thus, Justin passed away. 179 The empire was left to him, having been crowned by Eutychius the patriarch. And Tiberius, having a wife Anastasia, proclaimed her Augusta, who bore him two daughters, Charito and Constantina. Sophia, the former empress, withdrew from the palace and was settled in the palace named after herself, with Tiberius giving her an imperial retinue, as to his own mother. This emperor also sent an embassy to Hormisdas, renewing the truces. But he did not accept the renewal; therefore Tiberius prepared a large army for the war against the Persians and appointed Justinian, one of the notables of the East, as general, who, having marched against the Persians, when he had encamped near them, entered into talks before battle and persuaded them to make a truce with the Romans for three years. And when the third year was already flowing by, Hormisdas, the leader of the Persians, with his forces 180 marches into Armenia. This threw the Roman troops there into cowardice; but their general, having addressed them, instilled courage in all, and they undertook the battle against Hormisdas. And for a time, using volleys from their bows, they seemed to prevail, with the Romans fencing themselves in with their shields and not sallying forth. But when the Romans realized that the enemy's quivers were already emptied, locking shields together and shouting a war cry, they attacked the Persians at close quarters, fighting them off with hand-to-hand weapons. They, not withstanding their attack even for a short time, turn to flight, and the greater part are slain; and their camp is plundered; and the royal tent of Hormisdas and all his baggage and the elephants were set aside for the emperor, while the rest was left to the soldiers. And the Romans advanced into the interior of Persia and plundered a large part of its territory. Then Tiberius also began to build the bath of Blachernae and he renovated many temples and public houses, I mean hospitals and homes for the aged, and he further adorned the Chrysotri181clinos which had been built by Justin. And when Eutychius the patriarch, having for a second time adorned the throne of Byzantium for four years, had passed away, John the Faster, a deacon of the great church, a most holy man, was ordained patriarch. And all the Persian captives who had been brought into the queen of cities, the emperor magnificently reclothed and sent them back to return to their homes; whom their relatives, seeing unexpectedly, were greatly amazed and praised the emperor. In the time of this emperor, the Khagan, the leader of the Avars, requested that builders be sent to him, so that they might build him a bath. But when they were sent, he built a bridge over the Danube, forcing them to this, so that by crossing over it without toil he might plunder the land subject to the Romans. And from the gentiles he gathered a multitude of twelve thousand 182 young and vigorous men, and he organized them into an army in his own name, and having appointed over them as general Maurice, the count of the foederati, and as subordinate general Narses the cubicularius, he sent them out against the Persians. And when war broke out, the Roman army prevailed and cities of the barbarians and

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τῆς νόσου προσεκαλέσατο τὸν πατριάρχην Εὐτύχιον (θανόντος γὰρ τοῦ ἀπὸ σχολαστικῶν Ἰωάννου, πάλιν οὗτος ἐπανήχθη καὶ εἰς τὸν θρόνον ἀποκατέστη τὸν ἀρχιερατικόν), συναθροίσας δὲ καὶ τὴν σύγκλητον καὶ τὸν κλῆρον τῆς ἐκκλησίας βασιλέα τὸν Τιβέριον ἀνηγόρευσεν, ἐπ' ἀκροάσει πάντων αὐτῷ ἐντειλάμενος τὰ πρὸς θεὸν εὐσεβεῖν, τοὺς ὑπηκόους εὐεργετεῖν, τοὺς ἀδικουμένους ἐκδικεῖν, τοῖς στρατιώταις μὴ ἐνδιδόναι πλεονεκτεῖν, μὴ μέγα ἐπὶ τῇ ἁλουργίδι φρονεῖν, τοῖς εὐποροῦσιν ἀπολαύειν τῶν οἰκείων ἀνεπιφθόνως παραχωρεῖν, τοῖς μὴ ἔχουσιν ὡς δύναμις ἐπαρκεῖν, τὴν βασιλίδα καὶ πρῴην κυρίαν αὐτοῦ προσηκόντως τιμᾶν. ταῦτα παραινέσας καὶ συμβουλεύσας ὁ Ἰουστῖνος τῷ Τιβερίῳ ὁ μὲν ἐξέλιπε. 179 Τῷ δ' ἡ βασιλεία περιελέλειπτο, στεφθέντι ὑπὸ Εὐτυχίου τοῦ πατριάρχου. ἔχων δὲ γαμετὴν ὁ Τιβέριος Ἀναστασίαν Αὐγούσταν αὐτὴν ἀνηγόρευσεν, ἣ δύο αὐτῷ θυγατέρας ἐγείνατο, Χαριτὼ καὶ Κωνσταντῖναν. Σοφία δὲ ἡ πρῴην βασίλισσα τῶν ἀνακτόρων ὑπαπελθοῦσα εἰς τὰ ὁμώνυμα ἑαυτῇ κατῳκίσθη βασίλεια, βασιλικὴν αὐτῇ τοῦ Τιβερίου δόντος ὑπηρεσίαν, ὡς οἰκείᾳ μητρί. οὗτος ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ καὶ πρὸς Ὁρμίσδαν πρεσβείαν ἐποιήσατο, ἀνανεῶν τὰς σπονδάς. ὁ δὲ τὴν ἀνανέωσιν οὐ προσήκατο· διὸ καὶ ὁ Τιβέριος πρὸς τὸν κατὰ Περσῶν πόλεμον πολλὴν ἡτοίμαζε στρατιὰν καὶ Ἰουστινιανὸν τῶν ἐπισήμων τινὰ τῆς ἀνατολῆς προὐβάλετο στρατηγόν, ὃς ἐπὶ Πέρσας χωρήσας, ἐπεὶ πλησίον αὐτῶν ἐστρατοπεδεύσατο, εἰς λόγους ἧκε πρὸ παρατάξεως καὶ ἔπεισεν αὐτοὺς σπείσασθαι Ῥωμαίοις ἐπὶ τριετίᾳ. ἤδη δὲ τοῦ τρίτου παραρρυϊσκομένου ἐνιαυτοῦ Ὁρμίσδας ὁ τῶν Περσῶν ἀρχηγὸς σὺν ταῖς αὐτοῦ δυνάμεσιν 180 ἐπὶ τὴν Ἀρμενίαν χωρεῖ. τοῦτο εἰς δειλίαν ἐνέβαλε τὰ ἐκεῖ Ῥωμαίων στρατεύματα· διαλεχθεὶς δὲ τούτοις ὁ σφέτερος στρατηγὸς θάρσος ἅπασιν ἐνεποίησε, καὶ τὴν πρὸς Ὁρμίσδαν μάχην ὑπέστησαν. καὶ μέχρι μέν τινος ταῖς ἐκ τόξων κεχρημένοι βολαῖς ἐδόκουν ὑπερτερεῖν, τῶν Ῥωμαίων ταῖς ἀσπίσι καταφραγνύντων ἑαυτοὺς καὶ μὴ ἀντεπεξιόντων. ἐπεὶ δ' ἔγνωσαν οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι ἤδη κεκενῶσθαι τὰς φαρέτρας τοῖς ἐναντίοις, συνησπικότες ἀλλήλοις καὶ ἀλαλάξαντες ἐνυάλιον ἐπῆλθον τοῖς Πέρσαις κατὰ συστάδην, ἀγχεμάχοις ὅπλοις αὐτοὺς ἀμυνόμενοι. οἳ οὐδὲ πρὸς βραχὺ τὴν ὁρμὴν αὐτῶν ὑπομείναντες τρέπονται, καὶ ἀναιροῦνται μὲν οἱ πλείους· τὸ δὲ στρατόπεδον αὐτῶν διαρπάζεται· καὶ ἡ μὲν βασιλικὴ τοῦ Ὁρμίσδου σκηνὴ καὶ ἡ ἀποσκευὴ ἐκείνου πᾶσα καὶ οἱ ἐλέφαντες τῷ βασιλεῖ ὑπεξῄρηντο, τὰ δ' ἄλλα τοῖς στρατιώταις εἰάθησαν. καὶ οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι πρὸς τὰ ἐνδότερα τῆς Περσίδος ἐχώρησαν καὶ χώραν πολλὴν αὐτῆς ἐληίσαντο. τότε καὶ τὸ τῶν Βλαχερνῶν λοετρὸν οἰκοδομεῖν ὁ Τιβέριος ἤρξατο καὶ πολλοὺς ναοὺς καὶ δημοσίους οἴκους, ξενῶνάς φημι καὶ γηρωκομεῖα, ἀνενεώσατο καὶ τὸν Χρυσοτρί181 κλινον παρὰ Ἰουστίνου δομηθέντα προσεπεκόσμησεν. Εὐτυχίου δὲ τοῦ πατριάρχου ἐπὶ τέσσαρας ἐνιαυτοὺς τὸ δεύτερον τὸν θρόνον τῆς Βυζαντίδος κοσμήσαντος καὶ ἐκλελοιπότος, χειροτονεῖται πατριάρχης διάκονος τῆς μεγάλης ἐκκλησίας Ἰωάννης ὁ νηστευτής, ἀνὴρ ἱερώτατος. τοὺς δ' εἰς τὴν βασιλίδα τῶν πόλεων εἰσαχθέντας δορυαλώτους Πέρσας ἅπαντας μεταμφιάσας ὁ βασιλεὺς μεγαλοπρεπῶς εἰς τὰ οἰκεῖα ἀφῆκεν ἐπανελθεῖν· οὓς ἀνελπίστως οἱ προσήκοντες θεασάμενοι ὑπερεθαύμασαν καὶ δι' ἐπαίνων τὸν βασιλέα πεποίηντο. ἐπὶ τούτου τοῦ βασιλέως ὁ Χαγάνος ὁ τῶν Ἀβάρων ἀρχηγὸς ᾐτήσατο σταλῆναι αὐτῷ οἰκοδόμους, ἵνα αὐτῷ δομήσωνται λοετρόν. σταλέντων δὲ γέφυραν παρὰ τὸν ∆άνουβιν ᾠκοδόμησε, βιασάμενος πρὸς τοῦτο αὐτούς, ἵνα δι' αὐτῆς ἀπόνως περαιούμενος τὴν ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίους ληίζηται. ἐξ ἐθνικῶν δὲ πλῆθος ἐς χιλιάδας δώδεκα συνιστά182 μενον ἀθροίσας νέων καὶ σφριγώντων ἀνδρῶν, ἐπὶ τῷ ἑαυτοῦ ὀνόματι τούτους συνεκρότησε στράτευμα, καὶ στρατηγὸν αὐτοῖς ἐπιστήσας Μαυρίκιον τὸν κόμητα τῶν φοιδεράτων καὶ ὑποστράτηγον Ναρσῆν τὸν κουβικουλάριον ἐκπέπομφε κατὰ τῶν Περσῶν. πολέμου δὲ συρραγέντος τὸ Ῥωμαϊκὸν ὑπερτέρησε στράτευμα καὶ πόλεις τῶν βαρβάρων καὶ