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The patriarch and the patrician Bonos (for Heraclius, when he departed, had left both of these as guardians 209 of his son Constantine and administrators of public affairs), having prepared a multitude of brave men against the barbarians who were off their guard, as if no army were present, unexpectedly sent them out and destroyed many thousands of them. But those who were left, fleeing disgracefully, returned to their own lands. Heraclius, again engaging with another satrap sent against him by Chosroes with thirty thousand men, also routed this one and sent almost all those with him to Hades. But those who were left returned and reported what had happened to their countrymen, and they provoked those who already held Chosroes in hatred to hate him even more. Heraclius also invaded inner Persia and was destroying the cities and the temples of Fire along with the very object of their worship. But learning that the ambassadors whom he had sent had been killed, he became enraged and did not spare, but killed, burned, and destroyed what lay in his path. Chosroes, however, as the emperor was plundering and overrunning Persia, fled to 210 Ctesiphon. And when the chief satrap Sarbarus was slandered to him as being pro-Roman and reviling him, he wrote to his second-in-command to kill Sarbarus. But when the one carrying this letter was captured by the Romans on his way and brought to Byzantium, the administrators of public affairs, having learned what was written in it, send it and its carrier to Sarbarus; and he, having read what was written and having inquired of the letter-carrier and learned the intention of Chosroes, forges another letter, ordering that he himself and many satraps and the leaders of the army be killed. And he persuades the one who had brought Chosroes' letter to say that he had received this letter from Chosroes. Having therefore gathered the commanders of the regiments, he had the letter read in the hearing of all. The commanders of the regiments, therefore, being filled with anger, jointly agreed to go over to the emperor. In addition to these things, something else also happened, which destroyed Chosroes; 211 for having many sons, he slighted Siroes, the eldest of all, and wished to make another, named Merdasan, successor to the throne. When Siroes learned this and had won over some of the satraps, he attacked his father, bound him, and set before him much gold and heaps of precious stones, saying, "For these things you made the Persians war against the Romans and forced them to fight and be destroyed by one another; enjoy, therefore, your desires." Then he killed his son Merdasan, to whom he was entrusting the rule of the Persians, before his eyes, and indeed his other sons as well, and after all of them, him too. Having therefore become master of the Persian empire, he sends to Heraclius, announcing to him the good news of the death of Chosroes; and having made a truce with him, he released all the Roman prisoners in Persia as free men, and returned to him the precious wood of the saving cross and the patriarch of Jerusalem, Zacharias. And the emperor in turn released all the Persians held by the Romans to go to their own people. Having accomplished these things in six years, Heraclius, and having restored to Jerusalem the precious wood and 212 the patriarch himself, returned in the seventh to the palace, received with acclamations and applause and splendor by both the senate and the populace of the city. And when the emperor Heraclius was in Jerusalem, the catholicos of the Jacobites approached him, whom they called patriarch. The emperor therefore brought a charge against this man, that he did not accept the council in Chalcedon nor confess two natures united in Christ, saying that if he would accept the council and confess two unconfused natures in the Savior, of the same opinion

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πατριάρχης καὶ ὁ πατρίκιος Βῶνος (τούτους γὰρ ἄμφω κηδε209 μόνας τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ Κωνσταντίνου καταλελοίπει καὶ τῶν κοινῶν πραγμάτων διοικητὰς ἀποδημῶν ὁ Ἡράκλειος) ἑτοιμασάμενοι πλῆθος ἀνδρῶν γενναίων κατὰ τῶν βαρβάρων ἀφροντιστούντων, ὡς μὴ παρόντος στρατεύματος, ἀπροσδοκήτως ἐξέπεμψαν καὶ πολλὰς αὐτῶν χιλιάδας διέφθειραν. οἱ δέ γε περιλειφθέντες αἰσχρῶς φεύγοντες ἐς ἤθη τὰ ἑαυτῶν ὑπενόστησαν. Ἡράκλειος δὲ πάλιν ἑτέρῳ σατράπῃ μετὰ τριάκοντα χιλιάδων κατ' αὐτοῦ πεμφθέντι παρὰ Χοσρόου συμμίξας, καὶ τοῦτον ἐτρέψατο καὶ τοὺς μετ' αὐτοῦ σχεδόν τι πάντας Ἄιδι προΐαψεν. οἱ δέ γε περιλειφθέντες ὑποστρέψαντες καὶ τὰ συμβεβηκότα τοῖς ὁμογενέσιν ἀπηγγελκότες, καὶ πρῴην διὰ μίσους ἄγοντας τὸν Χοσρόην μᾶλλον αὐτοὺς μισεῖν αὐτὸν ἐξηρέθισαν. Ἡράκλειος δὲ καὶ εἰς τὴν ἐνδοτέρω Περσίδα εἰσέβαλε καὶ τάς τε πόλεις καθῄρει καὶ τὰ τεμένη τοῦ Πυρὸς αὐτῷ τῷ τιμωμένῳ παρ' αὐτοῖς συνδιέφθειρε. μαθὼν δὲ ἀνῃρημένους οὓς ἔστειλε πρεσβευτάς, ὠργίσθη καὶ οὐκ ἐφείδετο ἀναιρῶν τε καὶ πυρπολῶν καὶ καταστρέφων τὰ ἐν ποσίν. ὁ μέντοι Χοσρόης, τοῦ βασιλέως τὴν Περσίδα ληιζομένου καὶ κατατρέχοντος, εἰς Κτη210 σιφῶντα κατέφυγε. διαβληθέντος δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν τοῦ ἀρχισατράπου Σαρβάρου ὡς τὰ τῶν Ῥωμαίων φρονοῦντος, αὐτῷ δὲ λοιδορουμένου, ἐπιστέλλει τῷ ὑποστρατήγῳ αὐτοῦ τὸν Σάρβαρον ἀνελεῖν. τοῦ δὲ τὴν ἐπιστολὴν ταύτην κομίζοντος ἐν τῷ ἀπιέναι συλληφθέντος παρὰ Ῥωμαίων καὶ ἀπαχθέντος εἰς τὸ Βυζάντιον, γνόντες τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ γεγραμμένα οἱ τῶν κοινῶν πραγμάτων διοικηταὶ στέλλουσι ταύτην καὶ τὸν αὐτῆς κομιστὴν πρὸς τὸν Σάρβαρον· καὶ ὃς τὰ γεγραμμένα ἀναγνοὺς καὶ τοῦ γραμματοφόρου πυθόμενος καὶ μαθὼν τὴν γνώμην Χοσρόου, ἑτέραν πλάττει ἐπιστολήν, κελεύουσαν αὐτόν τε καὶ πολλοὺς σατράπας ἀναιρεθῆναι καὶ τοὺς τοῦ στρατεύματος προύχοντας. πείθει δὲ καὶ τὸν τὴν ἐπιστολὴν τοῦ Χοσρόου κομίσαντα λέγειν ὅτι παρὰ Χοσρόου ταύτην ἔλαβε τὴν ἐπιστολήν. συναγαγὼν οὖν τοὺς τῶν ταγμάτων ἡγεμονεύοντας ἐν ἐπηκόῳ πάντων τὴν ἐπιστολὴν ἀναγνωσθῆναι πεποίηκε. θυμοῦ τοίνυν πλησθέντες οἱ τῶν ταγμάτων ἐξάρχοντες κοινῇ συνέθεντο τῷ βασιλεῖ προσελθεῖν. Ἐπὶ τούτοις καὶ ἕτερόν τι συμβέβηκεν, ὃ τὸν Χοσρόην 211 διώλεσε· παῖδας γὰρ ἔχων πολλούς, τὸν ἁπάντων πρεσβύτερον Σιρόην παραγκωνιζόμενος ἠβουλήθη διάδοχον τῆς ἀρχῆς ἕτερον ποιήσασθαι, καλούμενον Μερδασάν. ὃ γνοὺς ὁ Σιρόης καί τινας τῶν σατραπῶν ὑποποιησάμενος, ἐπιτίθεται τῷ πατρί, δεσμεῖ τε τοῦτον καὶ χρυσὸν αὐτῷ πολὺν παρατίθησι καὶ λίθων τῶν πολυτίμων σωρούς, "διὰ ταῦτα" λέγων "Ῥωμαίοις τοὺς Πέρσας ἐξεπολέμωσας καὶ ἀλλήλοις μάχεσθαι καὶ διαφθείρεσθαι κατηνάγκαζες· ἀπόλαυε τοίνυν τῶν ἐφετῶν σοι." εἶτα τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ Μερδασάν, ᾧ τὴν τῶν Περσῶν ἀνετίθει ἀρχήν, ἀνεῖλε πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους παῖδας αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσι κἀκεῖνον. ἐγκρατὴς οὖν τῆς τῶν Περσῶν ἀρχῆς γεγονὼς διαπέμπεται πρὸς Ἡράκλειον, τὸν τοῦ Χοσρόου ὄλεθρον αὐτῷ εὐαγγελιζόμενος· καὶ σπεισάμενος αὐτῷ πάντας τοὺς ἐν Περσίδι αἰχμαλώτους Ῥωμαίους ἐλευθέρους ἀφῆκε καὶ τὰ τίμια ξύλα τοῦ σωτηρίου σταυροῦ αὐτῷ ἀποδέδωκε καὶ τὸν πατριάρχην τῆς Ἱερουσαλὴμ Ζαχαρίαν. καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς αὖθις πάντας τοὺς παρὰ Ῥωμαίων κατεχομένους Πέρσας ἀπελθεῖν ἀφῆκε πρὸς τοὺς οἰκείους. ταῦτα ἐν ἓξ ἔτεσιν ἀνύσας Ἡράκλειος καὶ ἀποκαταστήσας τῇ Ἱερουσαλὴμ τὰ τίμια ξύλα καὶ 212 τὸν πατριάρχην αὐτόν, τῷ ἑβδόμῳ ἐπανῆλθεν εἰς τὰ βασίλεια, μετ' εὐφημίας καὶ κρότων δεχθεὶς καὶ λαμπρότητος παρά τε τῆς γερουσίας καὶ τοῦ πλήθους τῆς πόλεως. Γενομένῳ δὲ τῷ βασιλεῖ Ἡρακλείῳ κατὰ τὴν Ἱερουσαλὴμ ὁ τῶν Ἰακωβιτῶν καθολικὸς προσελήλυθεν, ὃν ἐκεῖνοι πατριάρχην ὠνόμαζον. τούτῳ τοίνυν ὁ βασιλεὺς αἰτίαν προσῆπτεν, ὅτι τὴν ἐν Χαλκηδόνι μὴ δέχοιτο σύνοδον μηδὲ δύο φύσεις ἐν Χριστῷ ἡνωμένας ὁμολογεῖ, λέγων ὡς εἴ γε τὴν σύνοδον δέξοιτο καὶ δύο φύσεις ἀσυγχύτους ἐπὶ τοῦ σωτῆρος ὁμολογήσει, ὁμόδοξον