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the battle lines of the hoplites, he imparted divine power. And standing behind the battle line, holding this weapon, with many tears he propitiated the divinity; who received the heavenly hosts as allies. When the battle was joined, Vitalianus the taxiarch, moving more boldly than all, broke through the phalanx of the Persians and took the baggage train. But the Romans began to occupy themselves with the spoils; When Philippicus saw them, fearing lest the rest, turning to the booty, should forget the battle line, and the barbarians, turning back, should destroy them, he placed his own helmet on Theodore the Ilivinus and sent him out to strike with his sword those who were busying themselves with the booty. Seeing him and thinking him to be Philippicus, leaving the spoils, they proceeded to the war. When the battle had raged for many hours, an order came from the general to strike the horses of the Persians with their spears. When this was done, the Persian 256 army was turned to flight, and the Romans won a great victory, and destroyed many, and despoiled them. On the next day, Cardarigas, having gathered his own forces, again armed for war. And when a second battle was joined, the Romans conquer again, and many Persians are slain, and two thousand are taken alive and are sent to Byzantium. And Cardarigas also took refuge in Daras; but the Persians sent him away with insults. And Philippicus sent out Heraclius, the father of the emperor Heraclius, who was hypostrategos, to spy on the barbarians, and he himself sent those who had been wounded in the war to the cities to be healed. And taking up the army, he invades Babylonia and besieges the fortress of Chlomaron. But Cardarigas levies private citizens with baggage animals and having gathered a mob boasted that he would make camp and through secure places on a moonless night he gets behind the backs of the Romans, in no way daring to lay hands on them. But an unseasonable fear falling upon Philippicus, leaving the fortress he engaged in an irrational flight. And when the Romans realized this, they were turned to flight through places difficult to pass, falling into great dangers; for the night was also moonless. But when the sun rose, they were freed from the disaster. And overtaking the general, they blasphemed him with the most shameful insults. But the Persians, thinking the flight was a feint, did not dare to pursue. But Heraclius, having crossed the Tigris, gave over to fire all the notable places of the Median country, and thus returned to Philippicus with much spoil. 257 Years of the world 6079. Years of the divine incarnation 579. Emperor of the Romans, Maurice, 20 years. 5th. King of the Persians, Hormisdas, 15 years. 14th. Bishop of Constantinople, John, 13 years. 6th. Bishop of Jerusalem, John, 20 years. 15th. Bishop of Alexandria, Eulogius, 27 years. 8th. Bishop of Antioch, Gregory, 24 years. 17th. In this year, the Khagan of the Avars, having broken the treaty, was warring against both Moesia and Scythia, terribly devastating Ratiaria and Bononia and Acys and Dorostolon and Zardapa and Marcianopolis. But Comentiolus came to Anchialus and, having divided the army, he separated the untested from the elite troops; and the useless force of 40,000 he ordered to guard the camp, but taking the elite, who were 6,000, he handed over 2,000 to Castus and two to Martinus, and taking the other two himself, he proceeded against the barbarians. And Castus, having come to Zardapa and the Haemus, finding the barbarians unprepared, destroyed many. And having taken many captives, he handed them over to a bodyguard for safekeeping. But Martinus, having come to the region around the city of Tomea, unexpectedly fell upon the Khagan and killed many of his force, so that he procured his own safety by flight. But Martinus, having achieved a glorious victory, was returning to the general, where

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τάξεις τῷ ὁπλιτικῷ μετεδίδου θείας δυνάμεως. καὶ στὰς ὀπίσω τῆς παρατάξεως τοῦτο κατέχων τὸ ὅπλον δάκρυσι πολλοῖς τὸ θεῖον εὐμενίζετο· ὅστις τὰς οὐρανίους ταξιαρχίας συμμάχους προσελάβετο. τοῦ δὲ πολέμου κροτηθέντος, Βιταλιανὸς ὁ ταξίαρχος πάντων θρασύτερον κινηθεὶς τὴν φάλαγγα τῶν Περσῶν διέσπασε καὶ τὸ τοῦλδον παρέλαβεν. οἱ δὲ Ῥωμαῖοι περὶ τὰ σκῦλα ἤρξαντο ἀσχολεῖσθαι· οὓς θεασάμενος ὁ Φιλιππικός, φοβηθεὶς μὴ εἰς τὰ λάφυρα καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ τραπέντες τῆς παρατάξεως ἐπιλάθωνται, καὶ στραφέντες οἱ βάρβαροι ἀπολέσωσιν αὐτούς, Θεοδώρῳ τῷ Ἰλιβινῷ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ περικεφαλαίαν περιθεὶς ἐξαπέστειλε τῷ ξίφει πλήττειν τοὺς ἐνασχολουμένους ἐπὶ τὰ λάφυρα. ὃν ἰδόντες καὶ νομίσαντες Φιλιππικὸν εἶναι, καταλιπόντες τὰ σκῦλα ἐπὶ τὸν πόλεμον ἐχώρησαν. τοῦ δὲ πολέμου κροτηθέντος ἐπὶ ὥρας πολλάς, φωνὴ γίνεται παρὰ τοῦ στρατηγοῦ τοὺς ἵππους τῶν Περσῶν πλήττειν τοῖς δόρασιν. τούτου δὲ γενομένου, ἐτράπη τὸ Περσικὸν 256 στράτευμα, καὶ νίκην μεγάλην οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι ἀνεδήσαντο καὶ πολλοὺς ἀνήλωσαν καὶ τούτους ἐσκύλευσαν. τῇ δὲ ὑστεραίᾳ ἀναλαβὼν τὰς ἑαυτοῦ δυνάμεις ὁ Καρδαρίγας πάλιν πρὸς πόλεμον ὁπλίζεται. καὶ δευτέρου πολέμου κροτηθέντος, νικῶσι πάλιν Ῥωμαῖοι, καὶ ἀναιροῦνται Πέρσαι πολλοί, χειροῦνται δὲ καὶ ζῶντες δισχίλιοι καὶ εἰς Βυζάντιον πέμπονται. προσέφυγε δὲ καὶ Καρδαρίγας εἰς τὸ ∆αρᾶς· οἱ δὲ Πέρσαι μεθ' ὕβρεων τοῦτον ἀπεπέμψαντο. ὁ δὲ Φιλιππικὸς Ἡράκλειον, τὸν Ἡρακλείου τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος πατέρα, ὑποστράτηγον ὄντα ἐπὶ κατασκοπῇ τῶν βαρβάρων ἐξέπεμψεν, καὶ αὐτὸς τοὺς ἐν πολέμῳ τραυματίας γενομένους πρὸς τὰς πόλεις ἰατρεύεσθαι παρέπεμψεν. ἀναλαβὼν δὲ τὸ στράτευμα εἰς τὴν Βαβυλωνίαν εἰσβάλλει καὶ τὸ Χλομαρῶν φρούριον παρακαθέζεται. ὁ δὲ Καρδαρίγας στρατολογεῖ ἰδιώτας μετὰ ὑποζυγίων καὶ ὀχλαγωγήσας στρατοπεδεύειν ἐκόμπαζε καὶ δι' ὀχυρῶν τόπων ἐν ἀσελήνῳ νυκτὶ ἐπὶ τὰ νῶτα γίνεται τῶν Ῥωμαίων μηδαμῶς θαρρῶν χεῖρας αὐτοῖς ἐμβαλεῖν. φόβος δὲ ἄκαιρος ἐπιπεσὼν τῷ Φιλιππικῷ, καταλιπὼν τὸ φρούριον φυγῇ ἀλόγῳ ἐχρήσατο. καὶ τοῦτο γνόντες οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι εἰς φυγὴν ἐτρέποντο διὰ τόπων δυσεξοδεύτων μεγάλοις κινδύνοις περιπεσόντες· ἦν γὰρ καὶ ἀσέληνος ἡ νύξ. ἡλίου δὲ ἀνατείλαντος τῆς συμφορᾶς ἀπηλλάττοντο. καταλαβόντες δὲ τὸν στρατηγὸν ὕβρεσιν αἰσχίσταις τοῦτον ἐβλασφήμουν. οἱ δὲ Πέρσαι ἐπίπλαστον νομίσαντες τὴν φυγὴν διῶξαι οὐκ ἐτόλμησαν. Ἡράκλειος δὲ διαπεράσας τὸν Τίγριν, ὅσα τῆς Μηδικῆς χώρας ἦσαν ἐπίσημα χωρία, παρεδίδου πυρί, καὶ οὕτω πρὸς Φιλιππικὸν ἀνέκαμψε μετὰ σκύλων πολλῶν. 257 Κόσμου ἔτη ϛοθʹ. Τῆς θείας σαρκώσεως ἔτη φοθʹ. Ῥωμαίων βασιλεὺς Μαυρίκιος ἔτη κʹ. εʹ. Περσῶν βασιλεὺς Ὁρμίσδας ἔτη ιεʹ. ιδʹ. Κωνσταντ. ἐπίσκοπος Ἰωάννης ἔτη ιγʹ. ϛʹ. Ἱεροσολύμων ἐπίσκοπος Ἰωάννης ἔτη κʹ. ιεʹ. Ἀλεξανδρείας ἐπίσκοπος Εὐλόγιος ἔτη κζʹ. ηʹ. Ἀντιοχείας ἐπίσκοπος Γρηγόριος ἔτη κδʹ. ιζʹ. Τούτῳ τῷ ἔτει ὁ τῶν Ἀβάρων Χαγάνος τὰς σπονδὰς διαλύσας τήν τε Μυσίαν καὶ Σκυθίαν κατεπολέμει δεινῶς καταστρέψας τήν τε Ῥατιάρναν καὶ Βονωνίαν καὶ Ἄκυς καὶ ∆ορόστολον καὶ Ζάρδαπα καὶ Μαρκιανούπολιν. ὁ δὲ Κομεντίολος ἐπὶ τὴν Ἀγχίαλον ἦλθε καὶ διελὼν τὸ στράτευμα τοὺς ἀδοκίμους ἐκ τῶν ἀριστέων διέκρινεν· καὶ τὴν μὲν ἄχρηστον δύναμιν μʹ χιλιάδας φυλάττειν τὸν χάρακα κελεύει, τοὺς δὲ ἐπιλέκτους ἑξακισχιλίους ὄντας παραλαβὼν δύο χιλιάδας παρέδωκε τῷ Κάστῳ καὶ δύο τῷ Μαρτίνῳ, καὶ τὰς δύο αὐτὸς ἀναλαβὼν κατὰ τῶν βαρβάρων χωρεῖ. ὁ δὲ Κάστος ἐλθὼν ἐπὶ τὰ Ζάρδαπα καὶ τὸν Αἷμον, εὑρὼν τοὺς βαρβάρους ἠμελημένους πολλοὺς διέφθειρεν. αἰχμαλωσίας δὲ κρατήσας πολλῆς δορυφόρῳ διασώζειν ἐδίδου. Μαρτῖνος δὲ εἰς τὰ περὶ Τόμεα τὴν πόλιν γενόμενος, τῷ Χαγάνῳ ἀπροσδοκήτως περιπεσὼν πολλοὺς τῆς αὐτοῦ δυνάμεως ἀνεῖλεν, ὥστε αὐτὸν φυγῇ τὴν σωτηρίαν πραγματεύσασθαι. ὁ δὲ Μαρτῖνος ἐπίδοξον νίκην ἀράμενος πρὸς τὸν στρατηγὸν ἐπανήρχετο, ἔνθα