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And the letter declared the following: “We have decided neither to make war on the Vandals nor are we breaking the treaty of Gizeric, but we are undertaking to depose your tyrant, who, having disregarded the testaments of Gizeric, has imprisoned and is guarding your king, and of his relatives, those whom he especially hated he killed at the beginning, and the rest, having deprived them of their sight, he holds in prison, not allowing them to end their 3.16.14 misfortunes by death. Join with us, therefore, and help free yourselves from so wicked a tyranny, so that you may be able to enjoy both peace and freedom. For we give you pledges in the name of God that these things will be yours from us.” 3.16.15 So much, then, the emperor's letters declared. But he who received these from Belisarius did not dare to bring them out into the open, but having shewn them secretly to his friends accomplished nothing at all worthy of mention. 3.17.1 But Belisarius, having arranged the army thus as for battle, was marching toward Carthage. And picking out three hundred of his guards, men good at warfare, he handed them over to John, who was in charge of the expenses of his household; the Romans call this man an 'option'. 3.17.2 He was a man of Armenian race, and had indeed reached the highest degree of intelligence and manliness. This John, then, he ordered to lead the army, keeping a distance of not less than about twenty stades, and if he should see any enemy, to signal with all speed, so that they might not be forced to enter battle unprepared. 3.17.3 And he ordered the allied Massagetae, keeping at a distance of as many or even more stades, always to make their march on the left flank; and he himself marched behind with the best men. 3.17.4 For he suspected that Gelimer, following them from Hermione, would attack them before long. For on the right flank there was no fear, since they were marching not far from the 3.17.5 coast. And he instructed the sailors always to follow along and not be far separated from the army, but when the wind was favourable, to slacken the great sails and follow with the small ones, which they call 'dolones', but when the wind had died down completely, to force their way by rowing as much as they were able to. 3.17.6 And when Belisarius arrived at Sullectum, he kept his soldiers moderate, neither beginning unjust acts nor doing anything out of order, and he himself, by displaying great gentleness and humanity, so won over the Libyans that for the rest of the time they made their march as if in their own country, with neither the inhabitants of that place withdrawing nor wishing to hide anything, but even providing a market and serving the soldiers in other ways as they wished. 3.17.7 And covering eighty stades each day, we continued on until Carthage, either in a city, if it so happened, or in a camp from what was at hand, bivouacking as safely as possible. 3.17.8 So in this way, through the city of Leptis and Adrametum, we arrived at the place Grasse, distant three hundred and fifty stades from Carthage. 3.17.9 There indeed was a palace of the ruler of the Vandals and a park, the most beautiful of all that 3.17.10 we know. For it is exceedingly well-watered with springs and has a very great quantity of groves. And all the trees are full of fruit; so that each of the soldiers pitched his hut among fruit trees and since the fruits were then ripe, all ate their fill of them, but there was practically no perception of the fruit being diminished. 3.17.11 But Gelimer, when he heard that the enemy was first present at Hermione, wrote to his brother Ammatas in Carthage, to kill Ilderic and others, as many as he held in prison related to him either by birth or otherwise, and for him to get ready the Vandals and any other fighting force that was in the city, so that when the enemy came into the narrow place around the suburb of the city, which they call Decimum, coming together from both sides they might both surround them 3.17.12 and, having caught them in a net, destroy them. And Ammatas acted according to these instructions, and Ilderic,

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ἐδήλου δὲ ἡ γραφὴ τάδε «Οὔτε «Βανδίλοις πολεμεῖν ἔγνωμεν οὔτε τὰς Γιζερίχου «σπονδὰς λύομεν, ἀλλὰ τὸν ὑμέτερον τύραννον καθ»ελεῖν ἐγχειροῦμεν, ὃς τῶν Γιζερίχου διαθηκῶν ὀλι»γωρήσας τὸν μὲν βασιλέα ὑμῶν καθείρξας τηρεῖ, τῶν «δὲ αὐτοῦ συγγενῶν οὓς μὲν σφόδρα ἐμίσει κατ' «ἀρχὰς ἔκτεινε, τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς τὰς ὄψεις ἀφελόμενος «ἐν φυλακῇ ἔχει, οὐκ ἐῶν θανάτῳ καταλῦσαι τὰς 3.16.14 «συμφοράς. συλλάβεσθε τοίνυν ἡμῖν καὶ συνελευ»θεροῦτε ὑμᾶς αὐτοὺς οὕτω μοχθηρᾶς τυραννίδος, «ὅπως ἂν δύνησθε τῆς τε εἰρήνης καὶ τῆς ἐλευθερίας «ἀπόνασθαι. ταῦτα γὰρ ὑμῖν παρ' ἡμῶν ἔσεσθαι 3.16.15 «πρὸς τοῦ θεοῦ τὰ πιστὰ δίδομεν.» τοσαῦτα μὲν τὰ βασιλέως γράμματα ἐδήλου. ὁ δὲ ταῦτα παρὰ Βελισαρίου λαβὼν ἐξενεγκεῖν μὲν εἰς τὸ φανερὸν οὐκ ἐτόλμησε, λάθρα δὲ τοῖς φίλοις ἐπιδείξας οὐδὲν ὅ τι καὶ λόγου ἄξιον διεπράξατο. 3.17.1 Βελισάριος δὲ ὡς ἐς παράταξιν ὧδε διακοσμήσας τὸ στράτευμα τὴν ἐπὶ Καρχηδόνα ἐβάδιζε. τῶν δ' ὑπασπιστῶν τριακοσίους ἀπολέξας, ἄνδρας ἀγαθοὺς τὰ πολέμια, Ἰωάννῃ παρέδωκεν, ὅς οἱ ἐπεμελεῖτο τῆς περὶ τὴν οἰκίαν δαπάνης· ὀπτίωνα τοῦτον καλοῦσι 3.17.2 Ῥωμαῖοι. ἀνὴρ δὲ ἦν Ἀρμένιος μὲν γένος, ξυνέσεως δὲ καὶ ἀνδρίας ἐς τὸ ἀκρότατον μάλα ἥκων. τοῦτον δὴ τὸν Ἰωάννην ἐκέλευσε τῇ στρατιᾷ ἡγεῖσθαι, οὐχ ἧσσον ἢ κατὰ εἴκοσι σταδίους διέχοντα, καὶ ἤν τι πολέμιον ἴδοι, κατὰ τάχος σημῆναι, ὅπως δὴ μὴ ἀπαρά3.17.3 σκευοι ἐς μάχην καθίστασθαι ἀναγκάζοιντο. τοὺς δὲ ξυμμάχους Μασσαγέτας ἐκέλευε τοσούτοις ἢ καὶ πλείοσι σταδίοις ἀπέχοντας ἀεὶ κατὰ τὸ ἀριστερὸν μέρος τὴν πορείαν ποιεῖσθαι· αὐτὸς δὲ ὄπισθεν μετὰ τῶν ἀρίστων 3.17.4 ἐβάδιζεν. ὑπώπτευε γὰρ ἐκ τῆς Ἑρμιόνης Γελίμερα σφίσιν ἑπόμενον οὐκ ἐς μακρὰν ἐπιθήσεσθαι. κατὰ γὰρ τὸ δεξιὸν μέρος οὐδὲν ἦν δέος οὐ πόρρω τῆς 3.17.5 ἠιόνος πορευομένοις. τοῖς δὲ ναύταις ἐπήγγελλε παρακολουθεῖν τε ἀεὶ καὶ τοῦ στρατεύματος μὴ πολὺ διεστάναι, ἀλλ' ἐπιφόρου μὲν γινομένου τοῦ πνεύματος χαλάσαντας τὰ μεγάλα ἱστία τοῖς μικροῖς, ἃ δὴ δόλωνας καλοῦσιν, ἕπεσθαι, λωφήσαντος δὲ παντελῶς τοῦ ἀνέμου βιάζεσθαι ὅσον οἷοί τε ὦσιν ἐρέσσοντας. 3.17.6 Εἰς δὲ Σύλλεκτον ἀφικόμενος Βελισάριος σώφρονάς τε τοὺς στρατιώτας παρείχετο καὶ οὔτε ἀδίκων χειρῶν ἄρχοντας οὔτε τι ἄπο τρόπου ἐργαζομένους, αὐτός τε πρᾳότητα καὶ φιλανθρωπίαν πολλὴν ἐνδεικνύμενος οὕτω τοὺς Λίβυας προσεποιήσατο ὥστε τοῦ λοιποῦ καθάπερ ἐν χώρᾳ οἰκείᾳ τὴν πορείαν ποιεῖσθαι, οὔτε ὑποχωρούντων τῶν ταύτῃ ᾠκημένων οὔτε τι ἀποκρύπτεσθαι βουλομένων, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀγορὰν παρεχομένων καὶ τὰ ἄλλα τοῖς στρατιώταις ᾗ βούλοιντο ὑπηρετούντων. 3.17.7 ὀγδοήκοντα δὲ σταδίους ἀνύοντες εἰς ἡμέραν ἑκάστην ἄχρι ἐς Καρχηδόνα διετελέσαμεν, ἢ κατὰ πόλιν, ἂν οὕτω τύχῃ, ἢ ἐν στρατοπέδῳ ἐκ τῶν παρόντων ὡς 3.17.8 ἀσφαλέστατα αὐλιζόμενοι. οὕτω γοῦν διά τε Λέπτης πόλεως καὶ Ἀδραμητοῦ ἐς Γράσσην τὸ χωρίον ἀφικόμεθα, πεντήκοντα καὶ τριακοσίους σταδίους Καρχη3.17.9 δόνος διέχον. ἔνθα δὴ βασίλειά τε ἦν τοῦ Βανδίλων ἡγουμένου καὶ παράδεισος κάλλιστος ἁπάντων ὧν 3.17.10 ἡμεῖς ἴσμεν. ταῖς τε γὰρ κρήναις κομιδῆ κατάρρυτός ἐστι καὶ ἄλσους ἔχει πάμπολυ χρῆμα. ὀπώρας δὲ τὰ δένδρα μεστά ἐστι ξύμπαντα· ὥστε τῶν στρατιωτῶν ἕκαστος τὴν καλύβην ἐν δένδροις ὀπώρας ἐπήξατο καὶ τῶν καρπῶν τηνικάδε ὡραίων ὄντων ἐς κόρον μὲν αὐτῶν ἀφίκοντο πάντες, αἴσθησις δὲ σχεδόν τι τῆς ὀπώρας ἐλασσουμένης οὐ γέγονε. 3.17.11 Γελίμερ δὲ, ἐπεὶ ἐν Ἑρμιόνῃ τὸ πρῶτον παρόντας ἤκουσε τοὺς πολεμίους, γράφει πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφὸν Ἀμμάταν ἐς Καρχηδόνα, Ἰλδέριχον μὲν καὶ ἄλλους, ὅσους εἴτε κατὰ γένος εἴτε ἄλλως αὐτῷ προσήκοντας ἐν φυλακῇ ἔχει, ἀποκτιννύναι, αὐτὸν δὲ τούς τε Βανδίλους καὶ εἴ τι ἄλλο μάχιμον ἐν τῇ πόλει ἦν ἐν παρασκευῇ ποιήσασθαι, ὅπως τῶν πολεμίων ἐν στενοῖς γενομένων ἀμφὶ τὸ τῆς πόλεως προάστειον, ὃ ∆έκιμον καλοῦσιν, ἀμφοτέρωθεν ξυνιόντας κυκλώσασθαί τε αὐ3.17.12 τοὺς καὶ σαγηνεύσαντας διαφθεῖραι. Ἀμμάτας δὲ κατὰ ταῦτα ἐποίει, καὶ τόν τε Ἰλδέριχον,