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and indeed beautiful faces waned, and then on the third night, the lamp on the chariot shone from near evening, but suddenly it became dark, beginning first to be eclipsed from the east, until it was entirely gone, being nothing for an hour. And it was extinguished for a third of an hour. But it began to grow light, and again from the east it appeared full within an hour. Then someone knowledgeable about celestial matters spoke, and seeing it, he marvelled, he who had learned beforehand by hearing. 307

16. These things happened in that year. And the magnanimous nation of the Alans, numbering about sixteen thousand, of whom more than half were fighting men, having been freed from Nogai and the servitude under him when he perished in war, sought to join the emperor, and approaching the hierarch of Vitzina, they supplicated the emperor through him to receive them. At any rate, matters in the east were then ailing and in a terrible state, and when the hierarch of Vitzina announced their supplication, they considered it a godsend, as they had arrived at a critical time; for they were the ones who had served as shield-bearers for Nogai, and through whom he had achieved great successes. And for this reason they considered their arrival some heaven-sent contrivance, opportunely devised for aid. And imperial letters were sent down to them, and in great numbers, on wagons and covered carriages, they came over as deserters. And the emperor had prepared the greatest possible provision of grain for them from the lands of Thrace and Macedonia. And having brought in their magnates and welcomed them kindly, having prepared their rations from common contributions, and moreover having supplied them sufficiently with horses, especially from his own soldiers, entrusting those who seemed to have sufficient means to Roman 308 escorts, he set out for the east. And it had also been ordered by the emperor to settle them there. And the ruler's aim was very hopeful; for he learned that the nation was tractable and obedient, and for wars, very warlike and combative. And for these reasons he almost scorned the Romans, as they had become utterly effeminate and for the most part had grown soft out of necessity, but no less also from malevolent sentiment and purpose. But he had all the more confidence in those who had just appeared for the first time and were stripping for the Persian wars, having sufficient support from the emperor. They, for their part, just as they had long been accustomed to fighting with Nogai, so also here sought to campaign, that is, all together, so that they might help one another in war. But circumstances throughout the Roman land from all sides caused them to be divided, so that they had neither respect for one another nor the proper mutual defense for one another. Therefore he sent the majority of them to the east, and others he handed over to Mouzalon, who was commander of the Halizones. 309 And having prepared many of the better ones, he sent them out with his son and co-emperor; for the affairs in the east required the co-emperor's supervision. But those who had marched out ahead to the east, as soon as they had only just crossed the strait at Kallipolis, immediately resorted to their own customs, and scorning their leaders, they inflicted great evils upon the Romans, attacking in the manner of brigands, inflicting unforeseen evil on those inhabiting the lands, making themselves known as a terrible encounter to those they met, and to those with whom they camped, being a difficult neighborhood, to those whom they had been sent to help. And finding lands abounding in all kinds of good things, they lived luxuriously by plundering them. And having been saved with difficulty, after enjoying many of the hardships of those they were set over and those they met, they remembered the agreements, but they did not turn out as they were thought to, but they were contemptuous of their leaders, and on their own, banding together as barbarians do, they attacked the Romans more than the enemy. But sometimes, having been led by a great and provident 310 welcome, coming together at a place, they attacked Chênai with the Romans, and they behaved most valiantly, acquiring sufficient captives and booty. And they seemed to have a warlike spirit, but to employ insubordinate customs as barbarians do, and they would behave properly, since they scorned the others, if they were to be under the emperor commanding in the field.

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καὶ δὴ φθίνε καλὰ πρόσωπα, καὶ τότε νυκτὸς ἐνὶ τριτάτῃ σχεδὸν ἑσπερίηθεν λάμπ' ἐπιδίφριος, αἴφνης δὲ σκοτόεσσα τέτυκτο, ἀρξαμένη τὰ πρῶτ' ἐκλείπειν ἀντολίηθεν, μέσφ' ὅλη ἐξαπόλωλεν, ἐφ' ὥρῃ μηδὲν ἐοῦσα. ὥρης δὲ τρίτον ἔσβη. ἀτὰρ ἀπήρχετο φώσκειν, καὶ πάλιν ἀντολίηθεν ἐς ὥρην ἔμπλεος ὦπτο. τόρρα καὶ ἐς μετέωρα ἐειδώς τις ἔειπε, καί γε ἰδὼν θηήσατο, ὅς γε προμάνθαν' ἀκούσας. 307

16. Ταῦτα μὲν τοῦ ἔτους ἐκείνου γεγόνει· Ἀλανῶν δὲ μεγάθυμον ἔθνος ὡσεὶ δέκα καὶ ἓξ χιλιάδας ποσούμενον, ὧν τὸ ὑπὲρ ἥμισυ μάχιμον ἦν, ἀπολυθὲν Νογᾶ καὶ τῆς ὑπ' ἐκείνῳ δου λείας ἐν πολέμῳ ἀπολωλότος, ἐζήτουν προσχωρεῖν βασιλεῖ, καὶ τῷ ἀρχιερεῖ προσελθόντες Βιτζίνης ἱκέτευον δι' αὐτοῦ βασιλέα σφᾶς δέχεσθαι. ἐνόσουν γοῦν καὶ δεινῶς εἶχον τότε τὰ κατὰ ἀνατολήν, καὶ τοῦ Βιτζίνης τὴν σφῶν ἀγγέλλοντος ἱκετείαν ἕρ μαιον ἐλογίζοντο ὡς καιρόνδ' ἐπιστάντων· αὐτοὺς γὰρ εἶναι καὶ τοὺς τῷ Νογᾷ παρασπίζοντας, καὶ δι' ὧν ἐκεῖνος τὰ μεγάλα κα τώρθου. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὴν σφῶν ἄφιξιν θεόθεν τινὰ μηχανὴν ἡγοῦντο εὐκαίρως σχεδιασθεῖσαν εἰς ἀρωγήν. γράμματά τε παρ' αὐτοὺς βασιλικὰ κατεπέμποντο, καὶ παμπληθεὶ ἐφ' ἁμαξῶν καὶ λαμπήναις προσηυτομόλουν. καὶ βασιλεὺς ὅτι πλείστην ἐκ χω ρῶν Θρᾳκικῶν τε καὶ Μακεδονικῶν τὴν ἐκείνων παρεσκευάκει σί τησιν. τοὺς δέ γε μεγιστᾶνας ἐκείνων εἰσαγαγὼν καὶ φιλοφρόνως δεξιωσάμενος, ἐκ συνδοσιῶν κοινῶν τὰ ἐκείνων ἑτοιμάσας ὀψώ νια, ἔτι δὲ καὶ ἵπποις ἱκανώσας ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων στρατιωτῶν μάλι στα, τοῖς ἱκανῶς ἔχειν σφίσι δοκοῦσι παραδοὺς διασωσταῖς Ῥω 308 μαίοις, ἐπ' ἀνατολῆς ὥρμα. ἦν δὲ καὶ προστεταγμένον πρὸς βασιλέως αὐτοὺς κατοικίζειν τῇδε. καὶ ἦν ὁ σκοπὸς τῷ κρα τοῦντι καὶ λίαν εὔελπις· εὐάγωγον γὰρ ἐμάνθανεν εἶναι τὸ ἔθνος καὶ εὐπειθές, πρὸς δὲ πολέμους καὶ λίαν ἀρεϊκόν τε καὶ μάχιμον. καὶ διὰ ταῦτα κατωλιγώρει σχεδὸν τῶν Ῥωμαίων ὡς γυναικι σθέντων ἄντικρυς καὶ ἐξ ἀνάγκης μὲν τὰ πολλὰ καταμαλακισθέν των, οὐχ ἧττον δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ κακοθελοῦς γνώμης καὶ προαιρέσεως. τοῖς δὲ καὶ μᾶλλον ἐθάρρει ἄρτι πρώτως φανεῖσι καὶ ἀποδυομέ νοις εἰς Περσικοὺς πολέμους, τὸ ἱκανὸν παρὰ βασιλέως ἔχουσιν. ἐκεῖνοι μέν, ὡς εἴθιστο πάλαι σφίσι σὺν Νογᾶ πολεμοῦσιν, οὕ τως κἀνταῦθα στρατεύειν ἐζήτουν, πανσυδίην δηλαδή, ὡς ἀλ λήλοις ἀρήγοιεν κατὰ πόλεμον. τὰ δέ γε κατὰ τὴν Ῥωμαΐδα πανταχόθεν πράγματα μερίζεσθαι τούτους ἐποίει, ὡς μήτ' αἰδῶ παρ' ἀλλήλων εἶναι σφίσι μήτε συνασπισμὸν ὑπὲρ ἀλλήλων τὸν πρέποντα. τῷ τοι καὶ τοὺς μὲν πλείστους κατ' ἀνατολὴν ἔπεμ πεν, ἄλλους δέ γε τῷ Μουζάλωνι Ἁλιζώνων ἡγεμονεύοντι παρε 309 δίδου. πολλοὺς δὲ καὶ τοὺς κρείττους προσετοιμάσας τῷ υἱεῖ συνεξώρμα καὶ βασιλεῖ· ἐδέησε γὰρ καὶ βασιλέως ἐπιστασίας τοῖς κατ' ἀνατολὴν πράγμασιν. ἀλλ' οἱ μὲν προεξεληλακότες ἐπ' ἀ νατολῆς ὡς ἤδη καὶ μόνον τὸν κατὰ τὴν Καλλίου πόρον ἐπεραι οῦντο, εὐθὺς ἐχρῶντο τοῖς αὐτῶν ἤθεσι, καὶ τῶν ἀγόντων κα τολιγωροῦντες μεγάλα διετίθουν κακὰ Ῥωμαίους, λῃστῶν ἐπιόν τες τρόπον, τοῖς μὲν παροικοῦσι τὰς χώρας κακὸν ἀπρόοπτον ἐφιστάμενοι, τοῖς δὲ συναντῶσι δεινὸν ἀπάντημα γνωριζόμενοι, οἷς δὲ καὶ συνεσκήνουν, χαλεπὸν γειτόνημα ὄντες, οἷς βοηθεῖν ἀπεστέλλοντο. εὑρόντες δὲ χώρας παντοίων πληθούσας καλῶν, ἐνευπάθουν ἐκείνοις ἁρπάζοντες. μόλις δ' ἀποσωθέντες, πολ λῶν ἀποναμένων τῶν δυσχερῶν οἷς τ' ἐπεστάτησαν οἷς τε συνήν τησαν, ἐμέμνηντο καὶ τῶν συγκειμένων, πλὴν οὐχ ὡς ἔδοξαν ἀπεφάνησαν, ἀλλ' ὑπερηφάνουν μὲν ἡγεμόνων, καθ' αὑτοὺς δὲ ὅσα καὶ βάρβαροι συνιστάμενοι Ῥωμαίοις πλέον ἢ πολεμίοις ἐπῄε σαν. ἐνίοτε δὲ καὶ δουλαγωγηθέντες ἐκ μεγάλης καὶ προμηθοῦς 310 δεξιώσεως συνελθόντες κατὰ τόπον τὴν Χήναν σὺν Ῥωμαίοις προσβάλλουσι, καὶ ἀνδραγαθοῦσι τὰ μάλιστα, ἀπαγωγὴν ἱκανὴν καὶ λείαν περιβαλλόμενοι. ἐδόκουν δὲ λῆμα μὲν πολεμικὸν ἔχον τες, ἤθεσι δ' ἀνυποτάκτοις ὡς βάρβαροι χρώμενοι, ἕξοντες δὲ κατὰ τρόπον, ἐπεὶ τῶν ἄλλων κατωλιγώρουν, ἢν ὑπὸ βασιλεῖ στρατηγοῦντι γένοιντο.