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what was said, he took up the siege more vigorously and used the preparations more effectively. But when, though he was toiling at everything, he saw that his effort was not advancing, nor was he able to be established on any sure hope, and he was also considering the suffering of the multitude in the open in freezing places, having reckoned it better to save his own men than to capture the enemy, he decided it was advantageous to withdraw before winter. And so these things. But it occurs to us, who see the outcome of that prophecy after so much time, to marvel what sort of accurate knowledge and grasp of the truth was in those barbarians, who were not in every way virtuous in their life or their worship. For since that one was not able to take the city then, now in our times Constantine, the offspring of the purple, the son of Leo the most wise and that one's grandson, has carried off such a success and was credited with the achievement of the complete destruction of the inhabitants of Adata, so that it was then, according to Homer, a good thing even for one who has perished to leave behind a son, in order that the son might be manifestly preserved as an avenger of those who dared to act insolently against his grandfather's power. But let the account run back again to its track and declare the things that follow. 283 49 At that time, therefore, the emperor, having filled the army with many captives and spoils, then having ordered the captives to be unburdened by the sword on account of the difficulty and length of the road, turned his mind to return, leaving behind great fear of him among the descendants of Hagar. But nevertheless expecting some attack in the narrow places (for he knew that "I would not have expected it" is a bad utterance for a general) and having secretly placed ambushes in opportune places, he captured alive many of those who thought to capture others. When that Abdelomel saw these things, who was master of the places there, having sent envoys he asked to obtain security and peace, promising to become a well-disposed servant and pledging and handing over the forts and places held by him. The emperor, having accepted his request, granted the things asked for, and from that time had him as a willing ally against his own countrymen. And from there again, having crossed the mountain of Argaeus and having come to Caesarea, he received messages of victory from both Koloneia and Loulon. And the tokens also followed, a multitude of spoils and captives, which happened to be from the fortresses of Tarsus and from the Manichaean cities. There he also ordered a very large crowd of the Kourtoi who had been brought to him to be slaughtered; for they happened to be useful for almost nothing, and since the army was already overfull, he did not wish to have these as a useless encumbrance. And the emperor, having come to Medaion on his return, and having distributed honors to those under him and having promoted each according to 284 his own valor and having treated them kindly, and having dismissed them to winter quarters, kept to his road; and having reached the reigning city, according to his former custom he received the crown of victory through the patriarch and from the people the shouts of victory. 50 But with Tephrike having already withered in times gone by and been utterly extinguished, the strength of the Tarsites began to flourish again and to grow, and again by these the farthest reaches of the Roman borders were continually pressed. At that time that Andrew, the one from the Scythians, often acted bravely against them, and in proportion to the force around him, he would destroy and take as captives many of those running out for plunder and breaking away from the whole army. And since on every occasion he produced sufficient proofs of both manliness and intelligence, he was advanced by the emperor to the rank of the patricians and to the command of the scholae. And then indeed all the more, from greater authority and power, often in open battles against both those from Melitene and those from

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τὸ λαλούμενον, συντονώτερον τῆς πολιορκίας ἀνθήψατο καὶ ἐνερ- γέστερον ἐχρήσατο ταῖς παρασκευαῖς. ὡς δὲ πάντα πονοῦντος αὐτοῦ ἑώρα μὴ προβαίνουσαν τὴν σπουδήν, μηδὲ ἐπί τινος ἀσφα- λοῦς ἐλπίδος ἑδρασθῆναι ἠδύνατο, ἐνενόει δὲ καὶ τὴν ἐν ὑπαίθρῳ τοῦ πλήθους ἐν τόποις κρυμώδεσι κάκωσιν, τοῦ τοὺς πολεμίους ἑλεῖν κρεῖττον τὸ τοὺς οἰκείους περισώσασθαι λογισάμενος πρὸ χειμῶνος ἀναχωρῆσαι λυσιτελὲς ἐδοκίμασεν. καὶ ουτω μὲν ταῦτα, ἡμῖν δὲ θαυμάζειν ἐπέρχεται τοῖς μετὰ τοσοῦτον χρόνον τῆς προρ- ρήσεως ἐκείνης ἰδοῦσι τὴν εκβασιν, τίς ἡ ἐν τοῖς βαρβάροις ἐκεί- νοις καὶ οὐδὲ πάντῃ τὰ περὶ τὸν βίον η τὸ σέβας χρηστοῖς ἀκριβὴς ουτω γνῶσις καὶ τῆς ἀληθείας κατάληψις. καὶ γὰρ ἐκείνου μὴ δυνηθέντος τότε τὴν πόλιν ἑλεῖν, νῦν ἐπὶ τῶν ἡμετέρων χρόνων Κωνσταντῖνος ὁ τῆς πορφύρας βλαστός, ὁ Λέοντος μὲν τοῦ σο- φωτάτου υἱὸς ἐκείνου δὲ υἱωνός, τὸ τοιοῦτον προτέρημα ἀπηνέγ- κατο καὶ ἐπεγράφη τῷ κατορθώματι τῆς παντελοῦς ἀπωλείας τῶν οἰκούντων τὴν Αδατα, ὡς ην αρα, καθ' Ομηρον, ἀγαθὸν καὶ παῖδα καταφθιμένοιο λιπέσθαι, ινα τιμωρὸς ὁ παῖς τῶν εἰς τὸ παππῷον κράτος ἀποθρασυνθῆναι τολμησάντων περιφανῶς δια- σώζηται. ἀλλ' εἰς ιχνος αυθις ὁ λόγος παλινδρομείτω καὶ δηλούτω τὰ ἐφεξῆς. 283 49 Τότε τοίνυν ὁ βασιλεὺς πολλῆς αἰχμαλωσίας καὶ λα- φύρων ἐμπλήσας τὸ στράτευμα, ειτα τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους διὰ τὸ δύσβατον καὶ πολὺ τῆς ὁδοῦ τῷ ξίφει κελεύσας ἀποφορτίσασθαι, ἐπανόδου ἐμνήσθη, πολὺ δέος αὐτοῦ τοῖς τῆς Αγαρ ἐκγόνοις ἀπο- λιπών. προσδοκήσας δὲ ομως ἐπίθεσίν τινα κατὰ τοὺς στενοὺς τῶν τόπων (ῃδει γὰρ κακὴν ειναι φωνὴν στρατηγοῦ τὸ οὐκ αν προσεδόκησα) καὶ λόχους ἐν τοῖς ἐπικαίροις ὑφεὶς πολλοὺς τῶν αλλους ἑλεῖν οἰομένων ἐζώγρησεν. απερ ὁ ̓Αβδελομὲλ ἐκεῖνος ἰδών, ος τῶν ἐκεῖσε τόπων ἐκυρίευε, πρέσβεις πέμψας ἀδείας καὶ εἰρή- νης ἐδεῖτο τυχεῖν, εὐγνώμονα δοῦλον ἑαυτὸν γενέσθαι καθυπι- σχνούμενος καὶ τῶν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ κρατουμένων φρουρίων καὶ τόπων ποιούμενος τὴν ὑπόστασιν καὶ ἐγχείρισιν. ου τὴν δέησιν ὁ βασι- λεὺς δεξάμενος τὰ αἰτούμενα δέδωκε, καὶ σύμμαχον αὐτὸν τὸ ἀπὸ τοῦδε κατὰ τῶν ὁμοφύλων ειχεν ἐθελοντήν. ἐκεῖθεν δὲ πάλιν τὸ τοῦ ̓Αργέου διελθὼν ορος καὶ πρὸς Καισάρειαν γενόμενος εκ τε Κολωνείας καὶ Λούλου ἐπινικίων ἀγγελίας ἐδέξατο. ἠκολούθει δὲ καὶ τὰ σύμβολα, λαφύρων καὶ αἰχμαλώτων πλῆθος, απερ ἀπό τε φρουρίων τῆς Ταρσοῦ καὶ ἀπὸ Μανιχαϊκῶν ἐτύγχανε πόλεων. ενθα καὶ πλεῖστον οχλον τῶν Κούρτων προσενεχθέντα ἀποσφαγῆναι προσέταξεν· εἰς οὐδὲν γὰρ σχεδὸν ἐτύγχανον χρήσιμοι, καὶ προ- καταπεπλησμένον υπαρχον τὸ στράτευμα οὐκ ἐβούλετο καὶ τούτους εχειν δύσχρηστον παρενόχλημα. ἐν Μηδαίῳ δὲ γεγονὼς ὑποστρέ- φων ὁ βασιλεύς, καὶ τιμὰς διανείμας τοῖς ὑπ' αὐτὸν καὶ ἀναλό- 284 γως τῆς οἰκείας εκαστον ἀρετῆς προβιβάσας καὶ φιλοφρονησάμε- νος, καὶ πρὸς παραχειμασίαν ἀφεὶς ειχετο τῆς ὁδοῦ· καὶ τὴν βα- σιλεύουσαν φθάσας κατὰ τὸ πρότερον εθος διὰ τοῦ πατριάρχου τὸν τῆς νίκης ἐδέξατο στέφανον καὶ παρὰ τοῦ δήμου τὰς ἐπινικίους φωνάς. 50 Ηδη δὲ τοῖς οἰχομένοις χρόνοις ἀπανθησάσης καὶ παντάπασιν ἀπεσβηκυίας τῆς Τεφρικῆς, ἡ τῶν Ταρσιτῶν ἰσχὺς ἀναθάλλειν καὶ αὐξάνεσθαι ηρχετο, καὶ πάλιν ὑπὸ τούτων αἱ τῶν ̔Ρωμαϊκῶν ὁρίων ἐσχατιαὶ συνεχῶς ἐπιέζοντο. τὸ τηνικαῦτα ̓Αν-δρέας ἐκεῖνος ὁ ἐκ Σκυθῶν πολλάκις ἠνδρίσατο κατ' αὐτῶν, καὶ τῆς περὶ αὐτὸν ἀναλόγως δυνάμεως πολλοὺς τῶν εἰς προνομὴν ἐκτρεχόντων καὶ τοῦ ολου ἀπορρηγνυμένους στρατεύματος ἀνῄρει καὶ αἰχμαλώτους ἐλάμβανε. καὶ ὡς ἱκανὰ τεκμήρια ἀνδρίας τε καὶ συνέσεως καθ' ἑκάστην ἐξέφερεν, εἰς τὸ τῶν πατρικίων προ- ῆλθεν ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως ἀξίωμα καὶ εἰς τὴν τῶν σχολῶν ἀρχήν. καὶ τότε δὴ μᾶλλον ἀπὸ μείζονος ἐξουσίας τε καὶ δυνάμεως πολ- λάκις ἐμφανέσι μάχαις πρός τε τοὺς ἀπὸ Μελιτηνῆς καὶ τοὺς ἀπὸ