John Malalas, Chronography

six months. He was tall, thin in body, dark-skinned, with fine features, short-haired, grey-haired, having deep-set eyes. And until the second year of his reign, Saint John the Apostle and Theologian was appearing and teaching in Ephesus, being bishop and patriarch; and having made himself disappear he was no longer seen by anyone and no one knew what happened until the present day, as the most learned Africanus and Irenaeus wrote. And during the reign of the same Trajan a great persecution of the Christians occurred and many were punished. at which time 270 the king of the Persians, of the Parthian race, the brother of Osdroes, king of the Armenians, marched up and waged war with a great force against Roman territory. And he took cities and plundered many lands, having with him also his own son Sanatrucius. And as king Meerdotes was plundering the land of Euphratesia, while riding he was thrown from his horse and was badly broken and died a natural death. And when he was about to die, he made his son Sanatrucius an arsaces, which is king, in his place; and in Persian torkim is interpreted as king. And the same Sanatrucius, king of the Persians, continued ravaging the Roman territory. And Osdroes, king of the Armenians, the brother of Meerdotes, hearing of his death, immediately sent his own son Parthemaspates from Armenia itself with a large army to the aid of his cousin Sanatrucius, king of the Persians, against the Romans. And hearing these things the most divine emperor Trajan immediately marched out against them in the 12th year of his reign, setting out from Rome in the month of October, which is also Hyperberetaios; and having arrived first he sailed to the east, setting out with a great force of the army and of senators; among whom was also Hadrian his kinsman by marriage on his sister's side. And he arrived in Seleucia of Syria in the month of Apellaios, which is also December, in a dromon from the so-called anchorage of Bytullion, which is a natural harbor near Seleu 271 cia of Syria. But the Persians had taken Antioch the great, but without war, by friendly agreement and pacts they were settled in it, holding it and guarding it for the Persian king Sanatrucius, since the Antiochene officials, by their own volition, had established pacts of peace and submission through their embassy to the Persian king. And the same Persian king, being persuaded, sent two barzamaratai, whose names are these, Furtun and Gargaris, with much Persian assistance, of 3,000 men. But emperor Trajan, having only just arrived by dromon at the city of the Seleucians in Syria, wrote secretly to the Antiochene officials and to all the citizens, indicating his own arrival and these things, that: We have learned that your city has its own great multitude of men apart from the military units stationed there. But the enemy Persians who are in your city are few in comparison to your multitude. Let each one therefore kill the Persians whom he has in his own house, trusting in our arrival, because we have come to avenge the Romans. And knowing these things, the Antiochenes themselves rushed by night against the Persians who were in their city, and keeping watch they killed them all. and seizing the two Persian generals, the so-called barsamanatai, and killing them, they also dragged their remains throughout the whole city, of Furtun and 272 Gargaris, shouting this cry concerning them. For the victory of Trajan the lord, see, Furtun and Gargaris are being dragged; come on, come on, Gargaris, Furtun. But those Persians who were able to slip away while those men were being dragged by the multitude, coming out and fleeing, set fire that same night and burned a small part of the city at the so-called

μῆνας ἕξ. ἦν δὲ μακρός, ξηρὸς τῷ σώματι, μελάγχροος, λεπτοχαράκτηρος, κονδόθριξ, πολιός, βαθεῖς ἔχων ὀφθαλμούς. ἕως δὲ τοῦ δευτέρου ἔτους τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ ἦν φαινόμενος καὶ διδάσκων ἐν Ἐφέσῳ, ἐπίσκοπος καὶ πατριάρχης ὤν, ὁ ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ ἀπόστολος καὶ θεολόγος· καὶ ἀφανῆ ἑαυτὸν ποιήσας οὐκέτι ὤφθη τινὶ καὶ οὐδεὶς ἔγνω τί ἐγένετο ἕως τῆς νῦν, καθὼς Ἀφρικανὸς καὶ Εἰρηναῖος οἱ σοφώτατοι συνεγράψαντο. Ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ αὐτοῦ Τραϊανοῦ διωγμὸς μέγας τῶν χριστιανῶν ἐγένετο καὶ πολλοὶ ἐτιμωρήθησαν. ἐν ᾧ χρόνῳ 270 ἐπιστρατεύσας ἀνῆλθε πολεμῶν μετὰ δυνάμεως πολλῆς κατὰ Ῥωμανίας ἐκ γένους Πάρθων βασιλεὺς Περσῶν, ὁ ἀδελφὸς Ὀσδρόου, βασιλέως Ἀρμενίων. καὶ παρέλαβε πόλεις καὶ ἐπραίδευσε χώρας πολλάς, ἔχων μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τὸν ἴδιον αὐτοῦ υἱὸν Σανατρούκιον. καὶ ὡς πραιδεύει ὁ Μεερδότης βασιλεὺς τὴν Εὐφρατησίαν χώραν, ἐλαύνων κατηνέχθη ἀπὸ τοῦ ἵππου καὶ ἐκλάσθη κακῶς καὶ ἐτελεύτησεν ἰδίῳ θανάτῳ. ἐν τῷ δὲ μέλλειν αὐτὸν τελευτᾶν ἐποίησε τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν Σανατρούκιον ἀρσάκην, ὅ ἐστι βασιλέα, ἀντ' αὐτοῦ· περσιστὶ δὲ τορκὶμ βασιλεὺς ἑρμηνεύεται. καὶ ἐπέμεινεν ὁ αὐτὸς Σανατρούκιος βασιλεὺς Περσῶν λυμαινόμενος τὴν Ῥωμανίαν. ὁ δὲ Ὀσδρόης, βασιλεὺς Ἀρμενίων, ὁ τοῦ Μεερδότου ἀδελφός, ἀκούσας τὸν αὐτοῦ θάνατον, ἔπεμψε καὶ αὐτὸς εὐθέως τὸν ἴδιον αὐτοῦ υἱὸν ἀπ' αὐτῆς τῆς Ἀρμενίας μετὰ πολλοῦ στρατοῦ τὸν Παρθεμασπάτην πρὸς βοήθειαν τοῦ ἑαυτοῦ ἐξαδέλφου Σανατρουκίου, βασιλέως Περσῶν, κατὰ Ῥωμαίων. καὶ ταῦτα ἀκούσας ὁ θειότατος Τραϊανὸς βασιλεύς, εὐθέως ἐπεστράτευσε τῷ ιβʹ ἔτει τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ ἐξελθὼν κατ' αὐτῶν μηνὶ ὀκτωβρίῳ τῷ καὶ ὑπερβερεταίῳ ἀπὸ Ῥώμης· καὶ φθασάντων πρῶτον κατέπλευσεν ἐπὶ τὴν ἀνατολήν, ὁρμήσας μετὰ δυνάμεως πολλῆς στρατοῦ καὶ συγκλητικῶν· ἐν οἷς ἦν καὶ Ἀδριανὸς ὁ γαμβρὸς αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ ἀδελφῇ. καὶ κατέφθασεν ἐν Σελευκείᾳ τῆς Συρίας μηνὶ ἀπελλαίῳ τῷ καὶ δεκεμβρίῳ εἰς δρόμωνα ἀπὸ τοῦ λεγομένου Βυτυλλίου ὁρμητηρίου, ὄντος αὐτοφυοῦς λιμένος πλησίον Σελευ 271 κείας τῆς Συρίας. οἱ δὲ Πέρσαι ἦσαν παραλαβόντες Ἀντιόχειαν τὴν μεγάλην, δίχα μέντοι πολέμου κατὰ σύνταξιν φιλικὴν καὶ πάκτα ἐκάθηντο ἐν αὐτῇ κρατοῦντες αὐτὴν καὶ φυλάττοντες τῷ βασιλεῖ Περσῶν Σανατρουκίῳ, τῶν Ἀντιοχέων ἀξιωματικῶν κατὰ ἰδίαν προαίρεσιν πάκτα εἰρήνης καὶ ὑποταγῆς στησάντων διὰ πρεσβείας αὐτῶν πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Περσῶν. ὁ δὲ αὐτὸς βασιλεὺς Περσῶν πεισθεὶς ἔπεμψε δύο βαρζαμαράτας, ὧντινων τὰ ὀνόματά ἐστι ταῦτα, Φούρτων καὶ Γάργαρις, μετὰ βοηθείας πολλῆς Περσικῆς, χιλιάδων γʹ. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς Τραϊανὸς ἢ μόνον κατέφθασε τῷ δρόμωνι τὴν Σελευκέων πόλιν τῆς Συρίας, ἔγραψε λάθρᾳ τοῖς Ἀντιοχεῦσιν ἀξιωματικοῖς καὶ τοῖς πολίταις πᾶσι, σημαίνων τὴν ἑαυτοῦ παρουσίαν καὶ ταῦτα, ὅτι Ἐγνώκαμεν τὴν ὑμετέραν πόλιν ἔχειν ἴδιον πλῆθος ἀνδρῶν πολὺ δίχα τῶν ἱδρυμένων αὐτόθι στρατιωτικῶν ἀριθμῶν. οἱ δὲ πολέμιοι Πέρσαι οἱ ἐν ὑμετέρᾳ πόλει ὄντες ὀλίγοι ὑπάρχουσι πρὸς τὸ ὑμέτερον πλῆθος. ἀναιρεῖ οὖν ἕκαστος οὓς ἔχει Πέρσας εἰς ἴδιον αὐτοῦ οἶκον, θαῤῥῶν εἰς τὴν ἡμετέραν παρουσίαν, διότι ἐληλύθαμεν ἐκδικοῦντες τὰ Ῥωμαίων. Καὶ ταῦτα γνόντες οἱ αὐτοὶ Ἀντιοχεῖς νυκτὸς ὥρμησαν κατὰ τῶν ὄντων ἐν τῇ αὐτῶν πόλει Περσῶν, καὶ ἀγρυπνήσαντες ἀνεῖλον πάντας. καὶ συλλαβόμενοι τοὺς δύο στρατηγοὺς Περσῶν τοὺς λεγομένους βαρσαμανάτας καὶ φονεύσαντες καὶ αὐτοὺς ἔσυραν καὶ τὰ λείψανα αὐτῶν κατὰ πᾶσαν τὴν πόλιν Φουρτούνου καὶ 272 Γάργαρι, φωνὴν κράζοντες περὶ αὐτῶν ταύτην. Εἰς τὴν νίκην Τραϊανοῦ τοῦ δεσπότου ἴδε σύρονται Φουρτοῦνος καὶ Γάργαρις· ἄγε ἄγε, Γάργαρι, Φουρτοῦνε. οἱ δὲ δυνηθέντες Πέρσαι ἐξειλῆσαι ἐν τῷ σύρεσθαι ἐκείνους ὑπὸ τοῦ πλήθους ἐξερχόμενοι καὶ φεύγοντες, ἔβαλον πῦρ τῇ αὐτῇ νυκτὶ καὶ ἔκαυσαν μέρος μικρὸν τῆς πόλεως ἐπὶ τὴν λεγομένην