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Halys. And as he was unable to draw up in battle against them, Constas deliberated with himself that he would be in no other way able to expel the Sarmatians, unless some of the neighbors of the Bosporans and of the Maeotic lake were sent against them to war and to plunder their families, so that when Sauromates heard these things he might return from the war, and to report these things to the emperor, so that he might send against the Chersonites and stir them up against the Sarmatians, as they were their neighbors, and make war on their families so that Sauromates, upon hearing this, would quickly return from the war. But the emperor Diocletian, having heard these things, immediately sent against the Chersonites, urging them to ally with him and to go out and plunder the country of the Bosporans and Sarmatians and to take their families captive. And when Chrestus, son of Papias, was then crowned and was chief of the Chersonites, the Chersonites gladly obeyed the emperor's words, and so they contrived by what means they might be able to take both Sauromates' city of Bosporus and the fortresses of the Maeotis. And having gathered the men of the neighboring fortresses and having constructed war chariots and having placed in them the so-called hand-ballistae, they came against the city of the Bosporans, and having made ambushes during the night, a few of them engaged the city in war, and having assaulted the walls from dawn until the third hour, they made a show of fleeing, not having revealed the hand-ballistae constructed in the chariots. And indeed, those in Bosporus, thinking that the Chersonites were fleeing defeated because of their small number, grew bold and went out in pursuit of them. But the Chersonites, fleeing slowly, he says, with the hand-ballistae were destroying the pursuing Bosporans, and the ambushing Chersonites also rising up, and surrounding the Bosporans, slaughtered them all, and turning back they seized Bosporus, and likewise also the fortresses towards the Maeotic lake and all the families of the Sauromatians, and they settled in Bosporus, slaughtering no one from that point on, except those who had fought, and holding Bosporus, they guarded it. And when some days had passed, Chrestus, the son of Papias, says to the women of the Sauromatians, that: "We had no need to fight you, but since Sauromates went off to plunder the land of the Romans, for this reason, having been urged by the emperor of the Romans, as we are his subjects, we made war on you. If, therefore, you wish to live in your city, come let us send envoys to your lord, Sauromates, so that he may make peace with the Romans in the sight of our envoys and withdraw from there, and we will release you, and we will depart to our city, provided, however, that Sauromates sends our envoys back here and with his own men announces to us the terms of the peace, and then we will release you and withdraw; but if Sauromates should try to come with some treachery, as though thinking to shut us in here and fight, and we learn of this through our scouts, we will slaughter all of you from the least to the greatest, and thus we will withdraw from here. And what benefit then for Sauromates, with all his family and his city being destroyed?" And the women of Sauromates, having heard these things, eagerly arranged for this to be done. And so the Chersonites sent with the Bosporans also five of their own envoys to Sauromates, reporting to him the things that had happened and been said. And indeed when the envoys reached Sauromates at the places of the Halys river, they reported to him all the things that had been done against the Bosporans by the Chersonites. And he, being in great distress, as if, he says, wishing to give the envoys of the Chersonites rest from their journey,

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Ἅλυν. Καὶ μὴ δυναμένου αὐτοῦ ἀντιπαρατάξασθαι αὐτούς, ἐβουλεύετο καθ' ἑαυτὸν ὁ Κώνστας μηδαμῶς ἄλλως δύνασθαι τοὺς Σαρμάτας ἐκδιῶξαι, εἰ μήτι γε τῶν πλησιοχώρων τῆς Βοσποριανῶν καὶ τῆς Μαιώτιδος λίμνης τινὰς κατ' αὐτῶν ἐκπεμφθῆναι εἰς πόλεμον καὶ τὰς τούτων φαμιλίας ἐκπορθῆσαι, ὅπως ταῦτα ἀκούσας ὁ Σαυρόματος ὑποστρέψῃ ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου, καὶ ταῦτα μηνῦσαι τῷ βασιλεῖ, ἐφ' ᾧ τε ἀποστεῖλαι κατὰ τῶν Χερσωνιτῶν καὶ τούτους διεγεῖραι κατὰ τῶν Σαρματῶν, ὡς πλησιοχώρων αὐτῶν ὄντων, καὶ πολεμῆσαι τὰς αὐτῶν φαμιλίας πρὸς τὸ τὸν Σαυρόματον ἀκούσαντα τὸ τάχος ὑποστρέψαι ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου. Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ∆ιοκλητιανὸς ταῦτα ἀκούσας, ἀπέστειλεν εὐθέως κατὰ τῶν Χερσωνιτῶν, προτρεπόμενος συμμαχῆσαι αὐτῷ καὶ ἀπελθόντας τὴν Βοσποριανῶν καὶ Σαρματῶν χώραν ἐκπορθῆσαι καὶ τὰς τούτων φαμιλίας αἰχμαλωτίσαι. Στεφανηφοροῦντος δὲ τότε καὶ πρωτεύοντος τῆς Χερσωνιτῶν Χρήστου, τοῦ Παπίου, οἱ Χερσωνῖται τοῖς τοῦ βασιλέως ῥήμασιν ἀσμένως ὑπακούσαντες, ἐμηχανῶντο λοιπόν, ποίῳ τρόπῳ δυνηθεῖεν τήν τε τοῦ Σαυρομάτου πόλιν Βόσπορον καὶ τὰ τῆς Μαιώτιδος καστέλλια παραλαβεῖν. Καὶ συναθροίσαντες τοὺς τῶν πλησιοχώρων καστελλίων ἄνδρας καὶ κατασκευάσαντες ἅρματα πολεμικὰ καὶ ἐνθέντες ἐν αὐτοῖς τὰς λεγομένας χειροβολίστρας, παρεγένοντο κατὰ τὴν Βοσποριανῶν πόλιν, καὶ ποιήσαντες ἐγκρύμματα διὰ τῆς νυκτὸς ὀλιγοστοὶ προσῆψαν τὸν πόλεμον τῇ πόλει, καὶ τειχομαχήσαντες ἀπὸ ὄρθρου ἕως ὥρας τρίτης, ἐτεκμήραντο τοῦ φυγεῖν, μὴ προδείξαντες τὰς ἐν τοῖς ἅρμασι κατασκευασμένας χειροβολίστρας. Καὶ δὴ τῶν ἐν τῇ Βοσπόρῳ νομισάντων ὡς δι' ὀλιγότητα ἡττημένους φεύγειν τοὺς Χερσωνίτας, καταθαρρήσαντες ἑαυτῶν ἐξῄεσαν πρὸς δίωξιν αὐτῶν. Οἱ δὲ Χερσωνῖται ἠρέμα, φησί, φεύγοντες ταῖς χειροβολίστραις τοὺς διώκοντας ἀνήλισκον Βοσποριανούς, ἀναστάντες δὲ καὶ οἱ ἐνεδρεύοντες Χερσωνῖται, καὶ περικυκλώσαντες τοὺς Βοσποριανούς, πάντας αὐτοὺς κατέσφαξαν, καὶ ὑποστρέψαντες κατέλαβον τὴν Βόσπορον, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τὰ πρὸς τὴν Μαιώτιδα λίμνην καστέλλια καὶ πάσας τὰς φαμιλίας τῶν Σαυρομάτων, καὶ ἐκαθέζοντο ἐν τῇ Βοσπόρῳ, μηδένα τοῦ λοιποῦ κατασφάζοντες, πλὴν τῶν πολεμησάντων, καὶ ἐχόμενοι Βοσπόρου, ἐφύλαττον αὐτήν. Ἡμερῶν δέ τινων διαγενομένων, λέγει Χρῆστος, ὁ τοῦ Παπίου ταῖς τῶν Σαυρομάτων γυναιξίν, ὅτι· "Ἡμεῖς οὐκ εἴχαμεν χρείαν ὑμᾶς πολεμεῖν, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ὁ Σαυρόματος ἀπῆλθεν τὴν τῶν Ῥωμαίων χώραν πορθῆσαι, τούτου χάριν προτραπέντες ἡμεῖς παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως Ῥωμαίων, ὡς ὑπήκοοι αὐτοῦ ὄντες, ἐπολεμήσαμεν ὑμᾶς. Ἐὰν οὖν θέλετε ζῆσαι ἐν τῇ πόλει ὑμῶν, δεῦτε ἀποστείλωμεν πρέσβεις πρὸς τὸν κύριον ὑμῶν, Σαυρόματον, ἐφ' ᾧ τε αὐτὸν ποιῆσαι εἰρήνην μετὰ τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἐπ' ὄψεσι τῶν πρέσβεων ἡμῶν καὶ ἀναχωρῆσαι τῶν ἐκεῖσε, καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφίομεν ὑμᾶς, καὶ ἀπερχόμεθα ἐν τῇ πόλει ἡμῶν, οὕτω μέντοι, προπέμποντος Σαυρομάτου ἐνταῦθα τοὺς πρέσβεις ἡμῶν καὶ μετὰ τῶν ἰδίων ἀνθρώπων μηνύοντος ἡμῖν τὰ τῆς εἰρήνης, καὶ οὕτως ἀφίομεν ὑμᾶς καὶ ἀναχωροῦμεν· εἰ δὲ καὶ δοκιμάσῃ Σαυρόματος δόλῳ τινὶ ἔρχεσθαι, ὡς νομίζων ἡμᾶς ἐνταῦθα συγκλεῖσαι καὶ πολεμῆσαι, καὶ γνῶμεν τοῦτο διὰ τῶν σκουλκατώρων ἡμῶν, πάντας ὑμᾶς ἀπὸ μικροῦ ἕως μεγάλου κατασφάξομεν, καὶ οὕτως ἀναχωροῦμεν τῶν ἐντεῦθεν. Καὶ τί τὸ λοιπὸν Σαυρομάτῳ ὄφελος, τῆς φαμιλίας αὐτοῦ πάσης καὶ τῆς πόλεως ἀπολλυμένης;" Αἱ δὲ γυναῖκες Σαυρομάτου ταῦτα ἀκούσασαι, σπουδαίως τοῦτο γενέσθαι παρεσκεύασαν. Καὶ δὴ ἀποστέλλουσιν οἱ Χερσωνῖται μετὰ Βοσποριανῶν καὶ ἰδίους πέντε πρέσβεις πρὸς Σαυρόματον, μηνύοντες αὐτῷ τὰ γενόμενα καὶ λεχθέντα. Καὶ δὴ τῶν πρέσβεων καταλαβόντων τὸν Σαυρόματον κατὰ τοὺς τοῦ Ἅλυος ποταμοῦ τόπους, ἀνήγγειλαν αὐτῷ πάντα τὰ γενόμενα κατὰ τῶν Βοσποριανῶν παρὰ τῶν Χερσωνιτῶν. Ὁ δὲ ἐν πολλῇ στενώσει γενόμενος, ὡς δῆθεν, φησί, βουλόμενος τοὺς τῶν Χερσωνιτῶν πρέσβεις ἐκ τῆς ὁδοιπορίας ἀναπαῦσαι,