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99

many myriads, of whom 205 Iaudas and Ortaias were leaders. And having joined battle, and the fight having become fierce, one of the enemy killed Germanus' horse. And having fallen to the ground, Germanus came into danger, had not his bodyguards quickly formed a shield-wall and brought a horse and mounted him on it. Therefore the soldiers turn to flight, and Stotzas in this confusion was able to escape with a few men. But Germanus, having exhorted those around him, immediately rushed upon the enemy's camp and took it by force. There the soldiers, plundering the valuables without any order, paid no heed to the general. And Germanus, fearing that the enemy, agreeing together, might come against him, stood lamenting and exhorting them to good order. And the Maurusians, seeing the rout, rushed against the rebels and pursued them with the emperor's army. And Stotzas, having his confidence in them, seeing what was done by them, with 100 men was turned to flight and went into Inner Mauritania. And the rebellion ended in these events. And the emperor, having summoned Germanus with Domnicus and Symmachus to Byzantium, again entrusted the affairs of Libya to Solomon (and this was the thirteenth year of the reign of Justinian), providing him with other commanders, both Rufinus and Leontius and John, the son of Sisinius. And Solomon, having sailed down to Carthage, governed the people with moderation and guarded Libya securely, organizing the army, [and] if he found anyone suspicious in it, he sent him to Byzantium. And Belisarius, having taken both Sicily and Rome, which was held by Vittius, and the surrounding cities, led Vittius to Byzantium to Justinian with his wife and children. And the emperor sent Narses the cubicularius with a fleet to Rome in order to maintain control of affairs there. And Solomon, having administered the affairs in Carthage and Libya well, campaigned against the Maurusians. And first he sent Gontharis, his bodyguard, a man skilled in warfare, with an army, who, having arrived at 206 the river Viga, encamped at Vaga, a deserted city. And there, a battle having taken place, being defeated and having withdrawn to the palisade, he was hard pressed by the siege of the Maurusians. And Solomon, having come near and learned these things, came with speed. And the barbarians, fearing, withdraw and encamp at the foot of Mount Aurasius. And Solomon, joining battle with them, turned them to flight. And the Maurusians fled to the difficult terrain of the mountain and went to the Mauritanians. And Solomon, having plundered the plains in Mugada and burned all their land and taken much grain, returned to the fortress of Zerbule. where Iaudas with twenty thousand Maurusians had taken refuge. And Iaudas, having left the fortress, went up to the height of Mount Aurasius and kept quiet. And Solomon besieged the fortress of Zerbule for three days, and having plundered everything in it and established guards in it, he advanced forward. And he was considering how he might be able to get to the summit of the mountain, since it was steep and held with great difficulty. But God made a way in the difficulty thus. One of the soldiers of the infantry, an optio named Genzon, whether acting out of anger or some divine impulse moved him, went up against the enemy alone. And behind him some fellow soldiers followed, holding what was happening in great wonder, and three of the Maurusians who had been assigned to guard the entrance, seeing the man, met him at a run, thinking he was coming up to them. But he, as they came one by one because of the narrowness of the place, killed the first, and likewise the other with the third. Seeing this, those coming behind advanced against the enemy with great noise and confusion. And when she heard 207 and saw what had happened

99

μυριάδες πολλαί, ὧν 205 Ἰαύδας τε καὶ Ὀρταΐας ἦρχον. συμβαλόντες δὲ πόλεμον, καὶ τῆς μάχης κραταιᾶς γενομένης, τὸν Γερμανοῦ ἵππον τις τῶν πολεμίων ἔκτεινεν. πεσὼν δὲ ἐπὶ γῆς Γερμανὸς εἰς κίνδυνον ἦλθεν, εἰ μὴ τὸ τάχος οἱ δορυφόροι φραξάμενοι ἔφερον ἵππον καὶ τοῦτον ἀνεβίβασαν. τρέπονται τοίνυν οἱ στρατιῶται, καὶ ὁ Στότζας ἐν τῷ θορύβῳ τούτῳ σὺν ὀλίγοις διαφυγεῖν ἴσχυσεν. ὁ δὲ Γερμανὸς τοῖς ἀμφ' αὐτὸν ἐγκελευσάμενος εὐθὺς ἐπὶ τὸ στρατόπεδον τῶν πολεμίων ὥρμησε καὶ τοῦτο παρέλαβε πολέμῳ. ἐνταῦθα δὲ τὰ χρήματα οἱ στρατιῶται οὐδενὶ λόγῳ ἁρπάζοντες τοῦ στρατηγοῦ λόγον οὐκ ἐποιοῦντο. δείσας δὲ ὁ Γερμανός, μὴ συμφρονήσαντες οἱ πολέμιοι ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἴωσιν, ἵστατο ὀδυρόμενος καὶ πρὸς εὐκοσμίαν τούτους παρακαλῶν. οἱ δὲ Μαυρούσιοι τὴν τροπὴν θεασάμενοι κατὰ τῶν στασιαστῶν ὥρμησαν καὶ τούτους ἐδίωκον σὺν τῷ τοῦ βασιλέως στρατῷ. Στότζας δὲ τὸ θάρσος εἰς αὐτοὺς ἔχων, ἑωρακὼς τὰ ὑπ' αὐτῶν γινόμενα μετὰ ρʹ εἰς φυγὴν ἐτράπη καὶ εἰς Μαυριτανίαν τὴν ἐνδοτέραν ἐχώρησεν. καὶ ἡ στάσις ἐν τούτοις ἐτελεύτα. Γερμανὸν δὲ σὺν ∆ομνίκῳ καὶ Συμμάχῳ μεταπεμψάμενος ὁ βασιλεὺς εἰς Βυζάντιον Σολόμωνι πάλιν τὰ τῆς Λιβύης πράγματα ἐνεχείρισεν, (τρισκαιδέκατον δὲ ἔτος ἦν τοῦτο τῆς Ἰουστινιανοῦ βασιλείας) παρασχόμενος αὐτῷ ἄρχοντάς τε ἄλλους καὶ Ῥουφῖνον καὶ Λεόντιον καὶ Ἰωάννην, τὸν Σισιννίου υἱόν. Σολόμων δὲ καταπλεύσας εἰς Καρχηδόνα μετρίως τὸν λαὸν ἐξηγεῖτο καὶ Λιβύην ἀσφαλῶς διεφύλαττεν, διακοσμῶν τε τὸν στρατόν, [καὶ] εἴ τινα ὕποπτον ἐν αὐτῷ εὕρισκεν, εἰς Βυζάντιον ἔπεμπεν. Βελισάριος δὲ τήν τε Σικελίαν καὶ Ῥώμην ὑπὸ Οὐιττίου κατεχομένην καὶ τὰς πέριξ πόλεις παραλαβὼν Οὐίττιον εἰς Βυζάντιον πρὸς Ἰουστινιανὸν ἤγαγε μετὰ τῆς γυναικὸς καὶ τῶν τέκνων αὐτοῦ. καὶ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ βασιλεὺς Ναρσῆν τὸν κουβικουλάριον μετὰ στόλου ἐν τῇ Ῥώμῃ πρὸς τὸ διακρατῆσαι τὰ ἐκεῖσε. Σολόμων δὲ τὰ ἐν Καρχηδόνι καὶ Λιβύῃ καλῶς διοικήσας κατὰ Μαυρουσίων ἐστράτευσεν. καὶ πρῶτον μὲν Γόνθαριν, τὸν αὐτοῦ δορυφόρον, ἄνδρα ἀγαθὸν εἰς τὰ πολέμια, σὺν στρατεύματι ἔπεμψεν, ὅστις εἰς 206 Βίγαν ποταμὸν ἀφικόμενος εἰς Βαύγαϊν, πόλιν ἔρημον, ἐστρατοπεδεύσατο. ἐνταῦθα δὲ μάχης γενομένης, ἡττηθεὶς καὶ εἰς τὸ χαράκωμα ἀποχωρήσας ὑπὸ τῆς τῶν Μαυρουσίων προσεδρίας ἐπιέζετο. Σολόμων δὲ πλησίον γενόμενος καὶ ταῦτα μαθὼν κατὰ τάχος ἤει. οἱ δὲ βάρβαροι δείσαντες ἀναχωροῦσι καὶ εἰς τὸν Αὐρασίου ὄρους πρόποδα στρατοπεδεύουσιν. ὁ δὲ Σολόμων τούτοις συμβαλὼν εἰς φυγὴν ἔτρεψεν. οἱ δὲ Μαυρούσιοι ἐπὶ τὴν δυσχωρίαν τοῦ ὄρους ἔφυγον καὶ ἐπὶ Μαυριτάνους ᾤχοντο. Σολόμων δὲ τὰς ἐν Μουγάδῃ πεδιάδας ληϊσάμενος καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν αὐτῶν πυρπολήσας σῖτόν τε πολὺν κομισάμενος εἰς Ζερβούλην τὸ φρούριον ἀνέστρεψεν. ἔνθα Ἰαύδας σὺν δισμυρίοις Μαυρουσίοις προσέφυγεν. Ἰαύδας δὲ καταλιπὼν τὸ φρούριον εἰς τὸ τοῦ Αὐρασίου ὄρος εἰς ὕψος ἀναβὰς ἡσύχαζεν. Σολόμων δὲ Ζερβούλην τὸ φρούριον εἰς τρεῖς ἐπολιόρκησεν ἡμέρας, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ ληϊσάμενος φύλακάς τε εἰς αὐτὸ καταστήσας ἐπὶ τὰ πρόσω ἐχώρει. καὶ διεσκοπεῖτο, ὅθεν εἰς τὴν κορυφὴν τοῦ ὄρους δυνηθείη γενέσθαι ἀποτόμου τε ὄντος καὶ πολλῇ δυσχερείᾳ κατεχομένου. ὁ δὲ θεὸς πόρον ἐν τῇ ἀπορίᾳ ἐποίησεν οὕτως. εἷς τῶν στρατιωτῶν τοῦ πεζικοῦ στρατοῦ, ὀπτίων ὤν, Γένζων ὀνόματι, εἴτε θυμῷ χρώμενος, εἴτε τι θεῖον αὐτὸν ἐκίνησεν, ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους ἀνέβαινε μόνος. ὀπίσω δὲ τούτου τινὲς συστρατιῶται ἠκολούθουν ἐν θαύματι μεγάλῳ ποιούμενοι τὸ γινόμενον, τρεῖς δὲ τῶν Μαυρουσίων οἱ εἰς τὸ φυλάσσειν τὴν εἴσοδον τεταγμένοι ἰδόντες τὸν ἄνθρωπον ὑπήντων δρόμῳ νομίσαντες πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἀνιέναι. ὁ δὲ καθ' ἕνα τούτους ἐρχομένους διὰ τὴν στενοχωρίαν τοῦ τόπου τόν τε πρῶτον ἀνεῖλεν, ὁμοίως καὶ τὸν ἄλλον σὺν τῷ τρίτῳ. τοῦτο κατιδόντες οἱ ὄπισθεν ἰόντες πολλῷ θορύβῳ τε καὶ ταραχῇ ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους ἐχώρουν. ὡς δὲ τὸ γενόμενον ἤκουσέ 207 τε καὶ εἶδεν ἡ