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But when the Vandals perceived that he had fled, and the enemy was already seen, then indeed the men and the women and the children were in an uproar and were wailing, and they took no thought for their possessions nor for their dearest ones who were lamenting, but each one fled wherever he could. And the Romans, having come upon them, captured the camp, and pursuing them the whole night, they killed the men whom they encountered, and they made the children and women into slaves, and they found such a great quantity of possessions, as has never happened to be in one place. For having plundered the Roman empire, they had brought much wealth to Libya; and since the land itself was good and fruitful, great revenues of wealth had come to them. For the Vandals ruled Libya for ninety-five years, and having gathered much wealth, on that day all the wealth returned into the hands of the Romans. For having waged war for three months, 197 from the month of October to the end of December, Belisarius subjugated all of Libya. And he sent John the Armenian with two hundred chosen men to pursue Gelimer until he should capture him alive or dead. Who, having caught up with Gelimer, was about to capture him, had not such a thing happened. A certain Uliaris of Belisarius's bodyguards was with John, who, being drunk with wine and seeing a bird sitting on a tree, drew his bow and shot at it; and he missed the bird, but struck John from behind in the neck. And he, having been mortally wounded, died, leaving great grief for himself for Emperor Justinian and Belisarius and all the Romans and Carthaginians. Thus Gelimer, having escaped on that day, proceeded to the Maurusii. But Belisarius, having pursued him, shut him up on Mount Pappua in the farthest reaches of Numidia. And having besieged this through the winter, when all his provisions failed, (for among the Maurusii there is no bread, nor wine, nor oil, but they eat spelt and barley uncooked like irrational animals.) Gelimer, having fallen into these circumstances, writes to Pharas, whom Belisarius had left to guard him, asking that a cithara and one loaf of bread and a sponge be sent to him. But Pharas was at a loss as to what this might be, until the one who brought the letter said that Gelimer desired to see a loaf of bread, not having seen bread since he went up, and a sponge because his eyes were afflicted from not washing, so that he might soothe them with the sponge; and a cithara, since he was a good cithara player, so that he might lament and bewail his present misfortune on the cithara. When Pharas heard these things, being greatly grieved and bewailing human fortune, he did according to what was written and sent everything that Gelimer needed. And when the winter had passed, Gelimer, fearing the 198 siege of the Romans and pitying the children of his relatives who had become worm-eaten in this misery, his spirit was softened and he wrote to Pharas that, having received pledges, he himself and those with him might come to Belisarius. And he, having assured him with an oath, taking everyone, came to Carthage. And Belisarius received him with great joy, but Gelimer entered before Belisarius laughing; whom some suspected was out of his natural mind and raving due to the extremity of his suffering; but his friends considered the man to be sagacious, because, having been a king and of royal lineage and having a strong army and great wealth, and having suddenly endured both flight * and the misery on Pappua, and now having come as a captive, he thought human affairs to be worth nothing but much laughter. And Belisarius kept him, along with all the rulers of the Vandals, not in dishonor, so that he might bring him to Emperor Justinian in Byzantium. And Belisarius at once sent Cyril with the head of Tzatzon to the island of Sardo, which was formerly called Cyrnus, and subjugated it to the Romans. And having sent another John to Caesarea in Mauritania, which is a thirty days' journey away

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δὲ αὐτὸν φυγόντα ᾔσθοντο Οὐανδῆλοι, καὶ οἱ πολέμιοι ἤδη ἑωρῶντο, τότε δὴ οἵ τε ἄνδρες καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες καὶ τὰ παιδία ἐθορύβουν τε καὶ ἐκώκυον καὶ οὔτε χρημάτων μετεποιοῦντο οὔτε τῶν φιλτάτων ὀδυρομένων, ἀλλ' ἕκαστος ἔφυγεν, ὅπου ἠδύνατο. ἐπελθόντες δὲ οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι τό τε στρατόπεδον αἱροῦσιν, καὶ ἐπιδιώξαντες τὴν νύκτα ὅλην ἄνδρας μέν, ὅσοις ἐνέτυχον, ἔκτειναν, παῖδας δὲ καὶ γυναῖκας ἐν ἀνδραπόδων λόγῳ ἐποιοῦντο, χρήματα δὲ τοσαῦτα τὸ πλῆθος εὗρον, ὅσα οὐδεπώποτε ἐν ἑνὶ χωρίῳ τετύχηκεν εἶναι. τὴν γὰρ Ῥωμαίων ἀρχὴν ληϊσάμενοι χρήματα εἰς Λιβύην πολλὰ μετήνεγκαν· καὶ τῆς χώρας αὐτῆς ἀγαθῆς οὔσης καὶ εὐκάρπου, χρημάτων πρόσοδοι αὐτοῖς πολλαὶ γεγόνασιν. ἐνενήκοντα πέντε γὰρ ἔτη Οὐανδῆλοι Λιβύης ἐκράτησαν, καὶ πολὺν πλοῦτον συναγαγόντες, ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ εἰς τὰς τῶν Ῥωμαίων χεῖρας ὁ πᾶς πλοῦτος ἐπανῆκεν. ἐν τρισὶ γὰρ μησὶ πολε197 μήσας ὁ Βελισάριος ἀπὸ τοῦ Ὀκτωβρίου μηνὸς εἰς τὸ τέλος τοῦ ∆εκεμβρίου πᾶσαν τὴν Λιβύην ὑπέταξεν. ἀπέστειλε δὲ Ἰωάννην τὸν Ἀρμένιον σὺν διακοσίοις ἐπιλέκτοις διώκειν τὸν Γελίμερα ἕως αὐτὸν ζῶντα ἢ νεκρὸν λάβῃ. ὃς φθάσας τὸν Γελίμερα ἤμελλε λαμβάνειν, εἰ μὴ συνηνέχθη πρᾶγμα τοιόνδε. Οὐλίαρίς τις τῶν Βελισαρίου δορυφόρων συνῆν τῷ Ἰωάννῃ, ὃς οἴνῳ μεμεθυσμένος ἰδὼν ὄρνιν ἐπὶ δένδρου καθημένην, ἐντείνας τὸ τόξον κατ' αὐτῆς ἔβαλεν· καὶ τῆς μὲν ὄρνιθος ἀπέτυχεν, τὸν δὲ Ἰωάννην ὄπισθεν εἰς τὸν αὐχένα ἔβαλεν. ὁ δὲ καιρίαν πληγεὶς τέθνηκε πολὺ αὑτοῦ πένθος βασιλεῖ τε Ἰουστινιανῷ καὶ Βελισαρίῳ καὶ πᾶσι Ῥωμαίοις καὶ Καρχηδονίοις ἀπολιπών. οὕτω Γελίμερ διαφυγὼν ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐπὶ Μαυρουσίους ἐχώρει. Βελισάριος δὲ τοῦτον διώξας εἰς Παππούαν τὸ ὄρος ἀπέκλεισεν εἰς τὰ ἔσχατα Νουμιδίας. τοῦτο δὲ παρακαθίσας διὰ τοῦ χειμῶνος, λειψάντων αὐτῷ πάντων τῶν ἐπιτηδείων, (ἄρτος γὰρ παρὰ Μαυρουσίοις οὐ γίνεται, οὔτε οἶνος, οὔτε ἔλαιον, ἀλλὰ τὰ ὄλυρα καὶ τὰς κριθὰς ὡς ἄλογα ζῶα ἄνεφθα ἐσθίουσιν.) τούτοις Γελίμερ περιπεσὼν γράφει πρὸς Φαρᾶν, ὃν Βελισάριος κατέλιπε φυλάσσειν αὐτόν, πεμφθῆναι αὐτῷ κιθάραν καὶ ἄρτον ἕνα καὶ σπόγγον. ὁ δὲ Φαρᾶς διηπόρει, τί ἂν εἴη τοῦτο, ἕως ἂν ὁ τὴν ἐπιστολὴν κομίσας εἶπεν, ὡς ἄρτον μὲν ἐπιθυμεῖ θεάσασθαι Γελίμερ, μὴ ἰδὼν ἄρτον, ἀφ' οὗ ἀναβέβηκεν, σπόγγον δὲ διὰ τὸ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐκ τῆς ἀλουσίας κακοῦσθαι, ὅπως τῷ σπόγγῳ τούτους παραμυθήσηται· κιθάραν δὲ κιθαριστῇ ἀγαθῷ ὄντι, ὅπως τὴν συμφορὰν τὴν παροῦσαν τῇ κιθάρᾳ θρηνήσῃ καὶ ἀποκλαύσηται. ταῦτα ἀκούσας Φαρᾶς περιαλγήσας τε καὶ τύχην τὴν ἀνθρωπείαν ἀπολοφυρόμενος, κατὰ τὰ γεγραμμένα ἐποίει καὶ πάντα ἔπεμπεν, ὅσα ἔχρηζε τῷ Γελίμερι. τοῦ δὲ χειμῶνος παρελθόντος, δεδιὼς ὁ Γελίμερ τὴν 198 πολιορκίαν Ῥωμαίων καὶ ἐλεήσας τὰ τῶν συγγενῶν τέκνα σκώληκας ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ ταλαιπωρίᾳ πεποιηκότα, ἐθηλύνθη τε τὴν διάνοιαν καὶ πρὸς Φαρᾶν ἔγραψεν, ὅπως τὰ πιστὰ λαβών, αὐτός τε καὶ οἱ σὺν αὐτῷ πρὸς Βελισάριον παραγένωνται. ὁ δὲ ὅρκῳ τοῦτον πληροφορήσας, λαβὼν ἅπαντας εἰς Καρχηδόνα ἧκεν. Βελισάριος δὲ τοῦτον περιχαρῶς ἐδέξατο, ὁ δὲ Γελίμερ γελῶν πρὸς Βελισάριον εἰσῆλθεν· ὃν οἱ μὲν τῇ ὑπερβολῇ τοῦ πάθους ἐκστάντα τῶν κατὰ φύσιν ὑπώπτευον καὶ παραπαίοντα· οἱ δὲ φίλοι τούτου ἀγχίνουν τε τὸν ἄνθρωπον λογίζεσθαι, ὅτι βασιλέα ὄντα καὶ βασιλικοῦ γένους καὶ δύναμιν ὀχυρὰν ἔχοντα καὶ χρήματα μεγάλα, ἄφνω εἰς φυγήν τε * καὶ κακοπάθειαν τὴν ἐν Παππούᾳ ὑποστάντα καὶ νῦν ἐν αἰχμαλώτων λόγῳ ἥκοντα, οὐδενὸς ἄξια τὰ ἀνθρώπινα ἢ γέλωτος πολλοῦ οἴεσθαι εἶναι. Βελισάριος δὲ τοῦτον σὺν τοῖς ἄρχουσι πᾶσι τῶν Οὐανδήλων οὐκ ἐν ἀτιμίᾳ ἐφύλαττεν, ὅπως πρὸς βασιλέα Ἰουστινιανὸν τοῦτον ἀπαγάγῃ εἰς τὸ Βυζάντιον. Κύριλλον δὲ εὐθὺς Βελισάριος σὺν τῇ κεφαλῆ Τζάτζωνος εἰς Σαρδὼ τὴν νῆσον πέμψας, ἣ Κύρνος ἐκαλεῖτο πρότερον, ταύτην Ῥωμαίοις ὑπέταξεν. εἰς δὲ Καισάρειαν τὴν ἐν Μαυριτανίᾳ Ἰωάννην ἕτερον ἀποστείλας, ἥτις τριάκοντα ἡμερῶν ὁδὸν ἀπέχει