,

They came to the emperor having a report of favorable 5..2 accounts. So he, having learned from Mebodes what had been done in Babylonia and having received the royal regalia sent to him from Ctesiphon, glorying in his successes, with joy proclaimed the 5..3 achievement to Narses and the Roman forces. And on the fifth day, the Roman force, having used three camps, joined with the divisions of John. So the forces, having come together, mutually gave to and received from each other a certain very great 5..4 strength. And it is said that Chosroes, along with his allies, brought more than sixty thousand combatants, while Bahram was preparing for 5..5 war with forty thousand heavy infantry. And indeed Bahram intended to steal the battle and to attack the Roman force by night. Therefore, since the difficulty of the terrain presented a hindrance to the plot, as the sun was rising he became visible to the Romans, 5..6 and the trick was brought out into the open. And on the third dawn, Bahram's men, wanting to do battle, advanced with shouting and clamor, but the Roman force, in quiet good order and without sharing in the noise, was drawn up for battle. Narses was angry with the generals Bindoes and Sarames, as they were not able to quiet the barbarian forces around them 5..7 to an undisturbed state of tranquility. Therefore the Romans imparted their own good order to the allied barbarian forces and persuaded them to arrange their disorder into formation and to refrain from irrational clamor. 5..8 Therefore the Roman force was drawn up in three divisions, and Chosroes and Narses occupied the center wing, and the right wing Mebodes and Sarames the Persians, leading the Median phalanx, and the other John the general, commanding the multitude of the Armenians. In this way, I suppose, the opposing force was also drawn up and he arranged it in three divisions in this 5.. manner. So the Roman force, seething in spirit, was uncontrollable in its impulses, while the opposing force, being terrified by the strength and number and order of the Romans, was turned to an ascent of the mountain. For this very reason five hundred of Bahram's company, laying down their arms, 5..10 deserted to the Romans. So Chosroes, being reluctant by nature for the undertaking, urged the Romans to advance toward the steep ground. But the Romans, reckoning this very thing as belonging to the depths of folly, as they had sense, not running anywhere outside of tactical harmony, put off advancing toward the heights 5..11 of the mountain by other ways. But the barbarians, having been compelled by their own king, undertook irrational dangers, and having dared to mount the mountain, were forcefully pushed back by their opponents. And death would have been the greatest penalty for the undertaking, if the Romans had not stopped the barbarians from pursuit, 5..12 having been drawn up face to face with them. And when the sun had indeed turned toward its setting, Bahram with his allied force returned to the camp, being encouraged by what had been done, while the Roman force, having reached the trench, accused Chosroes of folly. 5.10.1 And when Bahram perceived that the Romans were very keenly affected by the recent strategic errors committed against them by Chosroes, and that they were extremely eager for battle, having risen at dawn, he broke camp and turned aside toward places that were 5.10.2 difficult, steep, and impassable for cavalry. At any rate, after this they came to the nearby sunken plain, where the city of Canzacon is also situated, and Bahram, having changed his camp, from there moved his forces to other places, contriving from there to make the Romans' attacks 5.10.3 ineffectual. And the Romans, having learned of Bahram's withdrawal, by a forced march encamped somewhere very near the enemy. Then they approached the river Blarathus, where having bivouacked for the night, 5.10.4 when day came, they drew near to a wide plain. So the generals of the Romans

ἧκον παρὰ τὸν βασιλέα αἰσίων 5..2 ἀφηγημάτων ἔχοντες διαγόρευσιν. ὁ μὲν οὖν τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς Βαβυλωνίας πραχθέντα διαγνοὺς τῷ Μεβόδῃ τήν τε σκευὴν τὴν βασίλειον τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς Κτησιφῶντος δεδεγμένος σταλεῖσαν αὐτῷ, ἐπὶ τοῖς κατωρθωμένοις ἐναβρυνόμενος μεθ' ἱλαρίας Ναρσῇ τε καὶ ταῖς ῾Ρωμαίων δυνάμεσιν ἐστηλίτευε τὴν ἐπί-5..3 τευξιν. ἡμέρα δὲ πέμπτη, καὶ τρισὶ τὸ ῾Ρωμαϊκὸν χρησάμενον χάραξι τοῖς περὶ τὸν ᾿Ιωάννην κοινοῦται συντάγμασιν. αἱ μὲν οὖν δυνάμεις ἐς κοινὸν συνελθοῦσαι μεγίστης τινὸς εὐρωστίας ἀμοιβαίως σφίσιν αὐταῖς ἐδίδοσάν τε καὶ ἀντε5..4 λάμβανον. λέγεται δὲ τὸν μὲν Χοσρόην ἅμα τῷ συμμαχικῷ τῶν ἑξήκοντα περαιτέρω ἐπιφέρεσθαι χιλιάδας μαχίμων, τὸν δὲ Βαρὰμ τεσσαράκοντα χιλιάσιν ὁπλιτικοῦ καττύειν τὸν 5..5 πόλεμον. καὶ δὴ ὁ Βαρὰμ κλέψαι διενοεῖτο τὸν πόλεμον ἐνάλλεσθαί τε νυκτὸς κατὰ τῆς τῶν ῾Ρωμαίων δυνάμεως. τῆς τοίνυν δυσφορίας τῶν τόπων κωλύμην τῇ ἐπιβουλῇ παρασχομένης, ἡλίου ἀνίσχοντος κατάδηλος ῾Ρωμαίοις ἐγίνετο, 5..6 ὅ τε δόλος ἐς τὸ φανερὸν ὑπεξήγετο. τρίτῃ δὲ ἕῳ, καὶ οἱ μὲν ἀμφὶ τὸν Βαρὰμ πολεμησείοντες μετὰ βοῆς τε καὶ θορύβου ἐπῄεσαν, τὸ δὲ ῾Ρωμαϊκὸν ἡσυχίας εὐκοσμίᾳ καὶ τοῦ θρύλου ἀμέτοχον διιθύνετο πρὸς παράταξιν. τῷ τε Βινδόῃ καὶ Σαράμῃ τοῖς στρατηγοῖς ὁ Ναρσῆς ἐχαλέπαινεν οὐχ οἵοις τε οὖσι τὰς περὶ αὐτοὺς δυνάμεις τῶν βαρβάρων 5..7 κατευνάζειν πρὸς τὸ τῆς ἠρεμίας ἀθόλωτον. τοίνυν μετεδίδοσαν καὶ τῆς ἑαυτῶν εὐκοσμίας ταῖς συμμαχούσαις τῶν βαρβάρων οἱ ῾Ρωμαῖοι δυνάμεσι καὶ πείθουσι διακοσμῆσαι τάξει τὴν ἔκταξιν τῆς τε ἀλόγου ἀποσχέσθαι κλαγγῆς. 5..8 τριττοῖς τοιγαροῦν τὸ ῾Ρωμαϊκὸν στίφεσι συνετέτακτο, καὶ τὸ μὲν μέσον ὁ Χοσρόης ὅ τε Ναρσῆς περιεβάλλετο κέρας, τὸ δεξιόν τε Μεβόδης καὶ Σαράμης οἱ Πέρσαι, τῆς Μηδικῆς ἐξηγούμενοι φάλαγγος, τὸ δὲ ἕτερον ᾿Ιωάννης ὁ στρατηγός, τῆς τῶν ᾿Αρμενίων πληθύος ἐπιστατῶν. οὕτω δήπου καὶ τὸ ἀντίπαλον ἀντετέτακτο καὶ τρισὶ συντάγμασι ταύτῃ διεκό5.. σμησεν. τὸ μὲν οὖν ῾Ρωμαϊκὸν σφαδάζον τῇ γνώμῃ ἀκατάσχετον ἦν ταῖς ὁρμαῖς, τὸ δὲ ἀντίπαλον τῷ σθένει καὶ τῷ πλήθει καὶ τῇ τάξει τῶν ῾Ρωμαίων καταπληττόμενον ἐπ' ὄρους ἀνάβασιν ἀνετέτραπτο. διά τοι τοῦτο πεντακόσιοι τῆς περὶ τὸν Βαρὰμ συμμορίας τὰ ὅπλα καταθέντες 5..10 προσχωροῦσι ῾Ρωμαίοις. ὁ μὲν οὖν Χοσρόης ἄκων πεφυκὼς τῷ ἐγχειρήματι πρὸς τὸ ἄναντες παροτρύνει ῾Ρωμαίους χωρεῖν. ῾Ρωμαῖοι δὲ τοῦτο δὴ τοῦτο τοῖς τῆς ἀβουλίας κόλποις ἐναποθέμενοι, ὡς εἶχον συνέσεως, τῆς τακτικῆς ἁρμονίας ἔξω που μὴ διαθέοντες, δι' ἑτέρων ἀνεβάλλοντο πρὸς τὰ ὑψηλὰ 5..11 τοῦ ὄρους χωρεῖν. οἱ δὲ βάρβαροι καταναγκασθέντες ὑπὸ τοῦ σφῶν αὐτῶν βασιλέως τῶν ἀλόγων κινδύνων ἐφήπτοντο, καὶ τοῦ ὄρους ἐπιβαίνειν θαρρήσαντες ὑπὸ τῶν ἀντιπάλων καρτερῶς ἐξωθοῦντο. καὶ ἦν ἂν θάνατος μέγιστος ζημία τῷ ἐγχειρήματι, εἰ μὴ ῾Ρωμαῖοι τῆς διώξεως τοὺς βαρβάρους 5..12 ἀπέπαυσαν, ἀντιμέτωπον αὐτοῖς ἐκταξάμενοι. ἡλίου δὲ δὴ πρὸς δυσμὰς κεκλικότος, ὁ μὲν Βαράμης ἅμα τῇ συμμάχῳ δυνάμει ὡς τὸν χάρακα ἐπανέρχεται ἐπὶ τοῖς οὕτω πραχθεῖσι ψυχαγωγούμενος, τὸ δὲ ῾Ρωμαϊκὸν ἐπὶ τὴν τάφρον γενόμενον τῆς ἀβουλίας κατηγόρει Χοσρόου. 5.10.1 ᾿Επεὶ δὲ ὁ Βαρὰμ διεγνώκει τὸ ῾Ρωμαϊκὸν ἔχον λίαν ὀξυπαθῶς ἐπὶ τοῖς ἔναγχος ὑπὸ Χοσρόου παρεστρατηγημένοις αὐτοῖς, τῆς τε συμπλοκῆς ἐφιεμένοις ἀκρότατα, ὄρθριος γενόμενος λύει τὸν χάρακα καὶ ἐκκλίνει πρὸς τὰ 5.10.2 δύσχωρά τε καὶ ἀνάντη καὶ ἄφιππα. γίνονται γοῦν μετὰ τοῦτο ἐς τὸ πλησίον πεδίον καθειμένον, ἔνθα καὶ τὸ Κάνζακον καθίδρυται πόλισμα, μεταστρατοπεδευσάμενός τε καὶ ὁ Βαρὰμ ἐντεῦθεν ἐφ' ἕτερα τὰς δυνάμεις μετέβαλλεν, ἐκλύ5.10.3 τους ἐντεῦθεν τῶν ῾Ρωμαίων τὰς ὁρμὰς τεκταινόμενος. οἱ δὲ ῾Ρωμαῖοι τὴν μεταχώρησιν τοῦ Βαρὰμ ἐγνωκότες συντόνῳ πορείᾳ ἄγχιστά που τῶν πολεμίων στρατοπεδεύονται. εἶτα προσβάλλουσι ποταμῷ τῷ Βλαράθῳ, ἔνθα τὴν νύκτα ἐναυλι5.10.4 σάμενοι ἡμέρας ἀφικομένης πεδίῳ εὐρεῖ προσωμίλησαν. οἱ μὲν οὖν στρατηγοὶ τῶν ῾Ρωμαίων