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And bringing many others in alliance, who had long been stirred to a frenzy from the regions of Paphlagonia, ready to wipe out and carry off everything in their path with great audacity, he gathered them all together somewhere there. But the forces around Mouzalon, comprising Romans and Alans, natives and foreigners, barely amounted to about two thousand. Nevertheless, the fact of fighting on their own land gave them great impetus to dare, though few, against very many. And they might even have prevailed, if, with sincere hearts, as was said by many, they had rushed 334 and engaged in the battle. But as it was, being sluggish as if having suffered a numbness, no less from ill-will than from poor counsel, having been recently deprived of both horses and money on account of the levy imposed on everyone for the sake of the Alans, they both checked their impulses and engaged more timidly. This also gave a great advantage to the Persians, and they, being very many, dared more against the few. And so, with the battle being unequal both in numbers and in spirit, not a few fell, but the majority fled, and Nicomedia being nearby, they rushed through with a conspicuous rout and burst into it ingloriously. At that time the Alans also seemed very useful, more of them falling than the Romans; for giving the infantry, which was numerous, a chance to flee when the battle was already turning, they themselves, surrounding the enemy and moving underfoot and attacking somehow from the side, deliberately skirmishing, shot with arrows and showed that those who were recently cavalrymen were now foot soldiers. And a cloud of their infantry, gathering together with them and rushing forward, was saved. But those men, putting forth dangers for their own safety, fell continuously. And for the rest, there was nothing to prevent the Persians from conquering and, having scattered in different directions, from overrunning the neighboring regions, since many things were from that point exposed for easy plunder due to the great lack of defenders. This, then, was the beginning of great evils for the whole country, at a critical time, that of the gathering of the crops, with some being carried off and others slaughtered, and some also fleeing, if anyone did indeed anticipate the terrible events and entrusted his affairs to some fortress. 26. You saw then also those from the interior packing up their belongings, and a pitiful sight crossing over into the city, having already despaired of their own safety. And this strait received daily a swarm of men and animals, not having escaped without the greatest misfortunes; for there was no one who did not mourn the loss of his own, one woman calling for her husband, another for her son or indeed her daughter, another for a brother and a sister, and another for some other name of kinship, with all lying exposed pitiably, some inside the city, and others outside along the shore being heedlessly reduced to dust, bearing remnants of both life and livelihood. And infants and women and pitiful old men lying exposed in the streets caused pain even to one who only heard of it. But from there, of the army, the 336 foreign element, crossing over, returned ingloriously, while the native and indigenous element, having yielded even their own homes to the enemies, out of necessity sought where it might escape and be saved. Meanwhile the enemy, having filled themselves with many things from the interior, freely reveled in them, carrying off captives, and also carrying off animals and all plunder and even the annual fruit of the earth, provisioning themselves with the animals from the booty, and transporting whatever seemed secure. However, they did not touch the areas below Nicomedia, perhaps not yet being bold enough for the invasion; for it occurred to them to fear an attack from nearby, and they kept away from the suburbs of the city as if they were still sacred and inviolable, even if those here needed a respite from the expected terrors, and so they were held back. For the terror was not only here, but to the east as far as Atramyttium, where the emperor was also staying, all the inland regions, apart from the strongest fortresses, lay open for the enemies to plunder, while the areas further on around Achyraous and Cyzicus and Pegae and Lopadion with some little distance from the sea free

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ἄγων δὲ καὶ πολλοὺς κατὰ συμμαχίαν ἑτέρους ἐξωρ μημένους κατὰ λύσσαν πάλαι τῶν κατὰ Παφλαγονίαν μερῶν, ἑτοίμους ἐξαλείφειν τε καὶ ἀπάγειν τὰ πρὸς ποσὶν ἐκ πολλῆς ἰτα μότητος, ἐκεῖ που πάντας συνῆγεν. οἱ δ' ἀμφὶ τὸν Μουζάλωνα, ὅσον Ῥωμαϊκὸν καὶ ὅσον Ἀλανικόν, ὅσον ἰθαγενὲς καὶ ὅσον ἔξωθεν, μόλις που περὶ δύο χιλιάδας συνίστατο. ὅμως γε μέντοι τὸ ἐπὶ τῆς οἰκείας μάχεσθαι πολλὴν σφίσι ῥοπὴν ἐπὶ τῷ τολμᾶν πρὸς πλείστους ὀλίγοις ἐδίδου. κἂν καὶ περιγενέσθαι σφᾶς ξυμ βεβήκοι, εἴπερ γνησίαις καρδίαις, ὡς πολλοῖς ἐλέγετο, ὥρμων 334 καὶ τῆς μάχης ἀντελαμβάνοντο. νῦν δ' ἀλλ' ἐρραθυμηκότες οἷον καὶ νάρκην παθόντες, οὐχ ἧττον ἐκ δυσνοίας ἢ ἀβουλίας, ἀφῃρημένοι ἐξ ὑπογύου καὶ ἵππους καὶ χρήματα διὰ τὴν ἐπισυμ βᾶσαν τῶν Ἀλανῶν ἕνεκα ἐξ ἁπάντων συντέλειαν, τὰς ὁρμάς τ' ἐπεκλῶντο καὶ ἀτολμότερον συνερρήγνυντο. ὃ καὶ τοῖς Πέρσαις μεγάλην ῥοπὴν ἐνεποίει, καὶ μᾶλλον ἐτόλμων κατ' ὀλίγων πλεῖστοι. οὕτω δὲ τῆς μάχης ἀνισουμένης καὶ πλήθει καὶ γνώ μῃ, πίπτουσι μὲν οὐκ ὀλίγοι, φεύγουσι δ' οἱ πλείους, καὶ τῇ Νικομηδείᾳ ἐγγύθεν οὔσῃ μετὰ περιφανοῦς τῆς τροπῆς διεκπαίον τες συνεισβάλλουσιν ἀκλεῶς. ἔδοξαν δὲ τότε καὶ ἐς πολὺ χρήσι μοι Ἀλανοὶ πεσόντες πλείους ὑπὲρ Ῥωμαίων· τῷ γὰρ πεζῷ πολλῷ γε ὄντι διδόντες ἄνεσιν εἰς τὸ φεύγειν κλινάσης ἤδη τῆς μάχης, αὐτοὶ μὲν περικυκλοῦντες τοὺς πολεμίους καὶ ὑπὸ πόδα χωροῦντες καὶ λέχριοί πως ἐπιτιθέμενοι, περιαργοῦντες ἐπίτηδες, ὀϊστοῖς ἔβαλλον καὶ πεζοὺς τοὺς τέως ἱππότας ἐδείκνυον. πεζῶν δὲ νέφος ἐκείνων συνειλούμενον σφίσι καὶ διεκπαῖον τὰ πρόσω ἀπεσώζετο. ἐκεῖνοι δὲ τῆς αὐτῶν σωτηρίας τοὺς καθ' αὑτοὺς προβαλλόμενοι κινδύνους συνεχεῖς ἔπιπτον. καὶ οὐδὲν ἦν τὸ λοιπὸν καὶ τὸ νικᾶν 335 Πέρσας καὶ διασπαρέντας ἄλλον ἀλλαχοῦ κατατρέχειν τὰ πρόσ χωρα, τῶν πολλῶν ἐντεῦθεν εἰς ῥᾳδίαν προνομὴν κειμένων κατὰ πολλὴν ἐρημίαν τῶν κωλυόντων. ἦρξε τοίνυν ταῦτα μεγάλων κακῶν ἁπάσῃ τῇ χώρᾳ, ἐπὶ καιροῖς ἀναγκαίοις, τοῖς τῶν καρ πῶν συλλογῆς, τῶν μὲν ἀπαγομένων τῶν δὲ σφαττομένων, ἔστι δ' ὧν καὶ φευγόντων, εἴ τις καὶ προαπανίστατο τῶν δεινῶν καὶ φρουρίῳ τινὶ τὰ καθ' αὑτὸν ἐπίστευεν. 26. Εἶδες δὲ τότε καὶ τοὺς ἐνδοτέρω σκευαγωγοῦντας, καὶ οἰκτρὰν θέαν περαιουμένους εἰς πόλιν, ἀπογνόντας ἤδη τὴν τῶν ἰδίων σωτηρίαν. καὶ ὁ πορθμὸς οὗτος ἑκάστης μυρμηκιὰν ἀνθρώπων καὶ ζώων ἐδέχετο, οὐκ ἄνευ συμφορῶν τῶν μεγίστων ἀπαλλαγέντων· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἦν ὅστις οὐ τῶν ἰδίων ἀπεθρήνει τὴν στέρησιν, τῆς μὲν ἀνακαλουμένης τὸν ἄνδρα, τῆς δὲ τὸν υἱὸν ἢ μὴν τὴν θυγατέρα, ἄλλης ἀδελφόν τε καὶ ἀδελφήν, καὶ ἄλλης ἄλλο τι συγγενείας ὄνομα, πάντων δὲ ἐλεεινῶς προκειμένων, τῶν μὲν ἐντὸς πόλεως, τῶν δὲ καὶ ἐκτὸς παρ' αἰγιαλὸν εἰκαίως κατα σποδουμένων, λείψανα φερόντων καὶ ζωῆς καὶ βίου. νήπια δὲ καὶ γυναῖκες καὶ οἰκτροὶ πρεσβῦται προκείμενοι ταῖς ὁδοῖς ἀλγεῖν ἐποίει καὶ τὸν μόνον ἀκούοντα. πλὴν ἐντεῦθεν στρατὸς μὲν τὸ 336 μὲν ξενικὸν περαιούμενον ἀκλεῶς ὑπέστρεφε, τὸ δ' ἰθαγενὲς καὶ αὐτόχθον, καὶ αὐτῶν οἰκιῶν ἐκκεχωρηκὸς τοῖς ἐχθροῖς, ἐξ ἀναγ καίου ἐζήτει ὅπῃ γε καὶ ἀποφυγὸν σωθήσεται. ἐχθροὶ δὲ τέως πολλῶν ἐμπλησθέντες τῶν ἀνωτέρω ἀνέδην ἐκείνοις ἐνεσπατάλων, ἀπάγοντες μὲν αἰχμαλώτους, ἀπάγοντες δὲ καὶ ζῶα καὶ λείαν πᾶσαν καὶ αὐτὸν δὴ τὸν καρπὸν τῆς γῆς τὸν ἐπέτειον, ζώοις τοῖς ἐκ τῆς λείας διευθετούμενοι, καὶ ὅ τι καὶ ἔδοξεν ἀσφαλὲς μετα φέροντες. οὐ μὴν δὲ καὶ τῶν κατωτέρων Νικομηδείας ἥπτοντο, οὔπω θαρροῦντες ἴσως τὴν εἰσβολήν· ἐπῄει γὰρ ἐκείνοις φοβεῖ σθαι τὴν ἐξ ἐγγίονος ἔφοδον, καὶ ὡς ἱερῶν ἀθίκτων ἔτι τῶν τῆς πόλεως προαστείων ἀπείχοντο, εἰ καὶ τοῖς τῇδε τῶν δεινῶν προσ δοκωμένων ἀναστολῆς ἔδει, καὶ ὡς ἦν ἀνεστέλλοντο. οὐ γὰρ ἐνταῦθα μόνον ἦν τὸ δεινόν, ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν κατ' ἀνατολὴν μέχρι καὶ Ἀτραμυτίου, ὅπου καὶ βασιλεὺς ἐπεχωρίαζε, τὰ ἀνωτέρω πάντα δίχα τῶν ὀχυρωτάτων φρουρίων τοῖς ἐχθροῖς εἰς προνο μὴν ἔκειντο, τὰ δὲ προσωτέρω περί που τὴν Ἀχυράους καὶ Κύ ζικον καὶ Πηγὰς καὶ Λοφάδιον ὀλίγῳ τινὶ διαστήματι τῷ ἀπὸ θαλάσσης ἐλεύθερον