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from Carthage it lies to Gades and the setting of the sun, and he sent another, John, one of his guards, to the strait at Gades and the other of the Pillars of Hercules, to seize the fort there, which they call Septum. And to the islands, which are near the entrance of the Ocean, both Majorca and Minorca, he sent Apollinarius, a man skilled in warfare. And he also sent some of the Libyans and Vandals to Sicily and ordered them to take the fort. But the Goths guarding this made these things known to the mother of Atalaric. And she wrote 199 to Belisarius not to take this fort by force, until the Emperor Justinian should learn of it and do what seemed best to him. In these circumstances the Vandalic war came to an end. But envy, as is wont to arise in the midst of great good fortune, was also stirring against Belisarius. For some slandered him to the emperor as planning a tyranny. And the emperor, sending Solomon, tested the mind of Belisarius, whether to come to Byzantium with both Gelimer and the Vandals, or, while he himself remained, to send them here; for the commanders who were making the charge of tyranny had not escaped his notice. And Belisarius arrived in Byzantium, leaving Solomon as general of Libya. And when Belisarius reached Byzantium together with Gelimer and the Vandals, he was deemed worthy of great honors, such as in former times the generals of the Romans were crowned with for the greatest victories. And though six hundred years had passed, no one had come to such an honor, except Titus and Trajan and other emperors who, having campaigned against a barbarian nation, were victorious. For he paraded through the middle of the city displaying both the spoils and the captives of the war, a thing which the Romans call a triumph, not, however, in the ancient manner, but walking on foot from his own house as far as the hippodrome. And the spoils were all those things which were usually reserved for the service of the imperial office: golden thrones, and carriages in which the wives of the kings ride, and much jewelry made of precious stones, and golden goblets, and all the other things which are useful for the imperial banquet. And there was silver weighing many thousands of talents and royal treasures of all kinds, which Gizeric had taken when he plundered the palace in Rome. Among these were also the treasures of the Jews, which Titus the son of Vespasian had brought to Rome after the capture of Jerusalem. And the captives of the triumph were Gelimer himself, wearing a certain purple garment over his shoulders, and all his 200 kindred, and as many of the Vandals as were very tall and handsome in body. And when Gelimer was in the hippodrome and saw the emperor sitting on his throne and the people standing on either side, he did not cease to shout, repeating: "Vanity of vanities; all is vanity." And when he came before the emperor's throne, they stripped off his purple robe and forced him to fall prostrate and do obeisance to the emperor. And the emperor and the empress gave considerable money to the children and grandchildren of Ilderic and to all those of the kinship of the Emperor Valentinian, and to Gelimer they granted large and pleasant estates in Galatia to live on with all his relatives, but they did not elevate him to the rank of patrician, because he was not willing to change from the Arian belief. And Belisarius after the triumph was made consul, and the people of Byzantium enjoyed a very great amount of money from his victory, such as never before. And while Solomon was governing Libya, the Maurusians stirred up a war against the Libyans. And the Maurusians are descended from the nations which Jesus, the son of Nave, drove out, who were dwelling in the land of the Phoenicians from Sidon as far as Egypt. These, having reached Egypt and not being received by them, seized Libya, and having settled near it (in later time the emperors among the Romans, having gained control, named this place Tigisis), setting up two pillars at the great spring, made of white stones
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Καρχηδόνος εἰς τὰ Γάδειρά τε καὶ τὰς ἡλίου δυσμὰς κεῖται, ἄλλον τε Ἰωάννην, τῶν ὑπασπιστῶν ἕνα, εἰς τὸν ἐν Γαδείροις πορθμὸν καὶ τὴν ἑτέραν τῶν Ἡρακλείων στηλῶν ἔπεμψεν, τὸ ἐκεῖ φρούριον, ὃ Σεπτὸν καλοῦσιν, καθέξοντα. εἰς δὲ τὰς νήσους, αἵπερ ἐγγύς εἰσι τῆς Ὠκεανοῦ εἰσβολῆς, Μαϊόρικά τε καὶ Μινόρικα, Ἀπολινάριον ἔστελλεν, ἄνδρα ἀγαθὸν εἰς τὰ πολέμια. ἀπέστειλε δὲ καὶ ἐν Σικελίᾳ τινὰς τῶν Λιβυαίων καὶ τῶν Οὐανδήλων τὸ φρούριον λαβεῖν ἐκέλευσεν. οἱ δὲ τοῦτο φυλάσσοντες Γότθοι τῇ μητρὶ Ἀταλαρίχου ταῦτα δῆλα ἐποίησαν. ἡ δὲ γράφει 199 πρὸς Βελισάριον μὴ τοῦτο τυραννίδι λαβεῖν τὸ φρούριον, ἕως ἂν βασιλεὺς Ἰουστινιανὸς γνῷ καὶ τὸ δοκοῦν αὐτῷ ποιήσῃ. ἐν τούτοις ὁ Οὐανδαλικὸς πόλεμος ἐτελεύτα. ὁ δὲ φθόνος, οἷα ἐν μεγάλῃ εὐδαιμονίᾳ φιλεῖ γίνεσθαι, ὤδινε καὶ εἰς Βελισάριον. τινὲς γὰρ διέβαλον αὐτὸν εἰς τὸν βασιλέα τυραννίδα μελετᾷν. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς πέμψας Σολόμωνα ἀποπειρᾶται τὴν Βελισαρίου γνώμην, πότερον σὺν Γελίμερί τε καὶ Οὐανδήλοις εἰς Βυζάντιον ἥκειν, ἤ, αὐτοῦ μένοντος, ἐκείνους στεῖλαι ὧδε· οὐ γὰρ ἔλαθον αὐτὸν οἱ ἄρχοντες οἱ τὴν τυραννίδα ἐπενεγκόντες. ὁ δὲ Βελισάριος εἰς Βυζάντιον ἀφίκετο Σολόμωνα στρατηγὸν Λιβύης καταλιπών. καταλαβὼν δὲ Βελισάριος τὸ Βυζάντιον ἅμα Γελίμερι καὶ τοῖς Οὐανδήλοις γερῶν ἠξιώθη μεγάλων, οἵων ἐν τοῖς ἄνω χρόνοις οἱ Ῥωμαίων στρατηγοὶ ἐν μεγίσταις νίκαις ἀνεδήσαντο. ἑξακοσίων τε χρόνων παρῳχηκότων οὐδεὶς ἐληλύθει εἰς τιμὴν τοιαύτην, εἰ μὴ Τίτος καὶ Τραϊανὸς καὶ ἄλλοι αὐτοκράτορες στρατηγήσαντες ἐπὶ τὸ βαρβαρικὸν ἔθνος ἐνίκησαν. τά τε γὰρ λάφυρα ἐνδεικνύμενος καὶ τὰ τοῦ πολέμου ἀνδράποδα ἐν μέσῃ τῇ πόλει ἐπόμπευσεν, ὃν θρίαμβον καλοῦσι Ῥωμαῖοι, οὐ τῷ παλαιῷ μέντοι τρόπῳ, ἀλλὰ πεζῇ βαδίζων ἐκ τῆς οἰκίας τῆς αὑτοῦ ἄχρις εἰς τὸ ἱπποδρόμιον. ἦν δὲ τὰ λάφυρα, ὅσα δὴ ὑπουργικὰ τῇ βασιλέως τάξει ἀνεῖσθαι εἰώθει, θρόνοι χρυσοῖ, καὶ ὀχήματα, οἷς τῶν βασιλέων αἱ γυναῖκες ὀχοῦνται, κόσμος τε πολὺς ἐκ λίθων ἐντίμων συγκείμενος, ἐκπώματα δὲ χρυσᾶ, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα σύμπαντα, ὅσα εἰς τὴν βασιλέως θοίνην χρήσιμα. ἦν δὲ καὶ ἄργυρος ἕλκων μυριάδας πολλὰς ταλάντων καὶ παντοδαπῶν βασιλικῶν κειμηλίων, ἅπερ Γιζέριχος τὸ ἐν Ῥώμῃ συλήσας παλάτιον ἔλαβεν· ἐν οἷς καὶ τὰ Ἰουδαίων κειμήλια ἦν, ἅπερ ὁ Οὐεσπασιανοῦ Τίτος μετὰ τὴν Ἱεροσολύμων ἅλωσιν εἰς Ῥώμην ἤνεγκεν. ἀνδράποδα δὲ ἦν τοῦ θριάμβου Γελίμερ τε αὐτὸς ἐσθῆτά τινα ἐπὶ τῶν ὤμων ἀμπεχόμενος πορφυρᾶν, καὶ τὸ 200 συγγενὲς ἅπαν, Οὐανδήλων τε ὅσοι εὐμήκεις ἄγαν καὶ καλοὶ τῷ σώματι ἦσαν. ὡς δὲ ἐν τῷ ἱπποδρομίῳ Γελίμερ ἐγένετο τόν τε βασιλέα ἐπὶ βήματος καθήμενον καὶ τὸν δῆμον ἑστῶτα ἐφ' ἑκάτερα μέρη εἶδεν, ἐπιλέγων οὐκ ἐπαύσατο βοῶν· "ματαιότης ματαιοτήτων· τὰ πάντα ματαιότης." ἀφικόμενον δὲ αὐτὸν κατὰ τὸ τοῦ βασιλέως βῆμα τὴν πορφυρίδα περιελόντες πρηνῆ πεσόντα προσκυνῆσαι τὸν βασιλέα ἠνάγκασαν. ὁ δὲ βασιλεύς τε καὶ ἡ αὐγούστα τοῦ Ἰλδερίχου παῖδας καὶ ἐγγόνους πάντας τε τοὺς ἐκ τῆς Οὐαλεντινιανοῦ βασιλέως συγγενείας χρήματα ἱκανὰ ἐδωρήσατο, καὶ Γελίμερι χωρία ἐν Γαλατίᾳ μεγάλα τε καὶ τερπνὰ μετὰ πάντων τῶν συγγενῶν αὐτοῦ ἐν τούτοις οἰκεῖν συνεχώρησεν, εἰς πατρικίου δὲ τάξιν τοῦτον οὐκ ἀνεβίβασε διὰ τὸ μὴ δέχεσθαι αὐτὸν τῆς Ἀρείου δόξης μεταστῆναι. ὁ δὲ Βελισάριος μετὰ τὸν θρίαμβον ὑπάτευσεν, καὶ πάμπολλα χρήματα ἐκ τῆς αὐτοῦ νίκης ὁ δῆμος τοῦ Βυζαντίου ἀπήλαυσεν, ὅσα οὐδέποτε. τοῦ δὲ Σολόμωνος τὴν Λιβύην διέποντος, Μαυρούσιοι πόλεμον κατὰ Λιβύων ἐκίνησαν. οἱ δὲ Μαυρούσιοι ἐκ τῶν ἐθνῶν κατάγονται, οὓς Ἰησοῦς ὁ τοῦ Ναυῆ ἐκ τῆς Φοινίκων χώρας ἀπὸ Σιδῶνος μέχρις Αἰγύπτου κατοικοῦντας ἀπήλασεν. οἵ τινες καταλαβόντες τὴν Αἴγυπτον καὶ μὴ δεχθέντες ὑπ' αὐτῶν καταλαμβάνουσι τὴν Λιβύην, καὶ ταύτην παροικήσαντες (ἐν ὑστέρῳ καιρῷ οἱ παρὰ Ῥωμαίοις βασιλεῖς κρατήσαντες Τίγισιν ταύτην ὠνόμασαν) στήσαντες δύο στήλας ἐπὶ τῆς μεγάλης κρήνης ἐκ λίθων λευκῶν