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of various nations he shut up in this along with the captives from the city of Dara. These, therefore, despairing of themselves, rose up against those guarding them; and having killed 262 Marusas and taking his head, they came to Byzantium; and the emperor received them with great joy; but the army barely accepted Philippicus as general. And when a battle between Persians and Romans took place at Martyropolis, the Romans were defeated. And the emperor, again replacing Philippicus in the generalship, sent Comentiolus as general of the east. And Comentiolus, being near Nisibis, and the Persians clashed with each other at Sarbanon. But Heraclius, the father of Heraclius, distinguishing himself in the battle, killed the general of the Persians. And when Aphraates was killed, the Persians were routed, and the Romans pursued. And since a great slaughter occurred among them, they also captured the baggage train and sent much booty to Byzantium. And the emperor brightened the city with horse races and festivals and celebrated the victories in triumph. But Hormizd, the king of the Persians, having appointed Bahram as general, sends him with many forces against Suania. And having come upon this unexpectedly, with the Turks having been defeated by the Persians, Hormizd was so exalted that he even received tribute of 40,000 gold pieces from the Turks, whereas previously he had paid the same amount to the Turks. And when Bahram became very famous during this war and was encamped at the Araxes river, Maurice, learning this, appointed Romanus general, and sends him to Suania with a force. And Romanus, having occupied Lazica and come to the Phasis river, encamped in Albania. But Bahram, having heard that the Roman army had arrived, laughed at the matter; for he desired to have a taste of a Roman battle line; for he had never fought the Romans. Therefore, crossing the neighboring river, he advanced as if drawing the Romans into the inner parts of Persia; but Romanus divided the Ro(263)man host, leaving the untested in the baggage train; and taking ten thousand picked men, he advanced against the barbarians, and he ordered two thousand to run ahead of the army; who, having encountered the vanguard of the Persians, routed them and destroyed them all. For when the flight occurred, and they came upon a cliff, being cut off, they were all killed; and the Romans reached as far as the barbarians' camp, so that Bahram was astonished at this. Hearing this, Romanus encouraged the army, and they drew up for battle on a plain of Albania. But Bahram attempted to win the war by stealth, but he failed in his plan; for Romanus was adorned with intelligence. And when they clashed with one another, and many barbarians had been killed, a very great victory for the Romans occurred; therefore the barbarians were despoiled and, being deprived of burial, became food for the wild beasts. Hearing this, the king of the Persians, not bearing the shame, sent women's clothing to Bahram, and he removed him from the generalship. Therefore Bahram revolted and proceeded to usurpation; and he returned the insult to Hormizd through a letter, having addressed the letter: To Hormizd, the daughter of Chosroes, Bahram sends this message. And having gathered the troops, he claimed that Hormizd was angry at the troops, because they had been defeated by the Romans. And he also showed forged letters as if from Hormizd for the purpose of reducing the soldiers' pay, reminding them of Hormizd's harshness and extreme cruelty, his avarice and violence, and how he was pleased with murders but abstained from peace, and how he subjected the magnates to bonds, and some he cut down with the sword, and others he drowned in the Tigris; and how he forced the Persians to go into great wars, so that they might be destroyed and not against

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διαφόρων ἐθνῶν ἐν ταύτῃ κατέκλεισε σὺν τοῖς αἰχμαλώτοις τῆς πόλεως τοῦ ∆αρᾶς. οὗτοι οὖν ἀπογνόντες ἑαυτῶν ἐπανίστανται κατὰ τῶν φυλασσόντων αὐτούς· καὶ ἀνελόντες τὸν 262 Μαρουσᾶν καὶ τὴν τούτου κεφαλὴν λαβόντες εἰς τὸ Βυζάντιον ἧκαν· ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς μετὰ χαρᾶς μεγάλης αὐτοὺς ὑπεδέξατο· τὸν δὲ Φιλιππικὸν μόλις στρατηγὸν ὁ στρατὸς κατεδέξατο. πολέμου δὲ Περσῶν καὶ Ῥωμαίων ἐν Μαρτυροπόλει γεγονότος, ἡττῶνται Ῥωμαῖοι. ὁ δὲ αὐτοκράτωρ πάλιν τῆς στρατηγίας τὸν Φιλιππικὸν διαδεξάμενος Κομεντίολον στρατηγὸν τῆς ἀνατολῆς ἀπέστειλεν. ὁ δὲ Κομεντίολος περὶ τὴν Νισίβιν γενόμενος καὶ οἱ Πέρσαι κατὰ τὸ Σαρβανῶν ἀλλήλοις συνέβαλον. Ἡράκλειος δέ, ὁ τοῦ Ἡρακλείου πατήρ, ἐνευδοκιμήσας ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ ἀνεῖλε τὸν τῶν Περσῶν στρατηγόν. Ἀφραάτου δὲ ἀναιρεθέντος, τρέπονται Πέρσαι, καὶ διώκουσι Ῥωμαῖοι. πολλῆς δὲ ἁλώσεως ἐν αὐτοῖς γενομένης, παραλαμβάνουσι καὶ τὸ τοῦλδον καὶ πολλὰ λάφυρα ἐν Βυζαντίῳ ἐκπέμπουσιν. ὁ δὲ αὐτοκράτωρ ἱππικαῖς θεωρίαις καὶ πανηγύρεσι τὴν πόλιν ἐφαίδρυνε καὶ τὰς νίκας ἐθριάμβευσεν. ὁ δὲ Ὁρμίσδας, ὁ τῶν Περσῶν βασιλεύς, στρατηγὸν χειροτονήσας τὸν Βαρὰμ ἅμα δυνάμεσι πολλαῖς κατὰ Σουανίας ἐκπέμπει. ἀδοκήτως δὲ ταύτῃ ἐπιστάς, καταπολεμηθέντων τῶν Τούρκων ὑπὸ τῶν Περσῶν, τοσοῦτον Ὁρμίσδας ηὐξήθη, ὡς καὶ φόρους μʹ χιλιάδας χρυσοῦ παρὰ τῶν Τούρκων λαβεῖν, πρότερον τούτου τὰ ἴσα τοῖς Τούρκοις τελοῦντος. τοῦ δὲ Βαρὰμ περιδόξου κατὰ τὸν πόλεμον τοῦτον γεγονότος καὶ εἰς τὸν Ἀράξην ποταμὸν στρατοπεδευομένου, ὁ Μαυρίκιος τοῦτο μαθὼν Ῥωμανὸν χειροτονεῖ στρατηγόν, καὶ ἐν Σουανίᾳ μετὰ δυνάμεως ἐκπέμπει. καταλαβὼν δὲ ὁ Ῥωμανὸς τὴν Λαζικὴν καὶ εἰς τὸν Φάσιδα γενόμενος ποταμὸν ἐπὶ τὴν Ἀλβανίαν στρατοπεδεύεται. ὁ δὲ Βαρὰμ τὸν τῶν Ῥωμαίων στρατὸν ἐπιδημήσαντα ἀκηκοὼς διεγέλα τὸ πρᾶγμα· ἐπεθύμει δὲ καὶ Ῥωμαϊκῆς παρατάξεως πεῖραν λαβεῖν· οὐ γὰρ ἦν ποτε Ῥωμαίους πολεμήσας. διαβὰς τοίνυν τὸν γείτονα ποταμόν, ὡς ἐπὶ τὰ ἐνδότερα μέρη τῆς Περσίδος τοὺς Ῥωμαίους ἐφελκόμενος ᾔει· ὁ δὲ Ῥωμανὸς τὴν Ῥω263 μαϊκὴν πληθὺν ἐχώριζεν, τοὺς ἀδοκίμους εἰς τὸ τοῦλδον καταλιπών· καὶ δέκα χιλιάδας ἐπιλέκτους λαβὼν κατὰ τῶν βαρβάρων ἐχώρει, δύο δὲ χιλιάδας προτρέχειν τοῦ στρατοῦ παρακελεύεται· οἵ τινες συναντήσαντες τοὺς προτρέχοντας τῶν Περσῶν τούτους τρέπουσι καὶ πάντας ἀνήλωσαν. τῆς γὰρ φυγῆς γενομένης, καὶ κρημνοῦ συναντήσαντος αὐτοῖς, ἀποκλεισθέντες πάντες ἀνῃρέθησαν· οἱ δὲ Ῥωμαῖοι μέχρι τοῦ χάρακος τῶν βαρβάρων ἐγένοντο, ὡς καταπλαγῆναι τὸν Βαρὰμ ἐπὶ τούτῳ. τοῦτο ἀκηκοὼς Ῥωμανὸς παραθαρρύνει τὸ στρατόπεδον, καὶ παρατάσσονται ἐν πεδίῳ τῆς Ἀλβανίας. ὁ δὲ Βαρὰμ ἀπεπειρᾶτο κλέψαι τὸν πόλεμον, διητύχησε δὲ τοῦ βουλεύματος· συνέσει γὰρ ὁ Ῥωμανὸς ἐκεκόσμητο. συμβαλόντων δὲ ἀλλήλοις, καὶ πολλῶν ἀναιρεθέντων βαρβάρων, μεγίστη Ῥωμαίων γίνεται νίκη· σκυλεύονται τοίνυν οἱ βάρβαροι καὶ ταφῆς ἀμοιρήσαντες τοῖς θηρίοις γίνονται κατάβρωμα. τοῦτο ἀκούσας ὁ τῶν Περσῶν βασιλεὺς καὶ τὴν αἰσχύνην μὴ φέρων γυναικείαν ἐσθῆτα τῷ Βαρὰμ ἐξέπεμψεν, καὶ τῆς στρατηγίας τοῦτον ἀπέπαυσεν. νεωτερίζει τοίνυν ὁ Βαρὰμ καὶ πρὸς τυραννίδα χωρεῖ· καὶ ἀνθυβρίζει διὰ γραμμάτων τὸν Ὁρμίσδαν ἐπιγράψας τὴν ἐπιστολήν· Ὁρμίσδᾳ, τῇ θυγατρὶ Χοσρόου, ὁ Βαρὰμ ταῦτα ἐπιστέλλει. συναγαγὼν δὲ τὰ στρατεύματα ἔφασκεν ἀγανακτεῖν τὸν Ὁρμίσδαν κατὰ τῶν στρατευμάτων, ὡς ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων ἡττηθέντων. ἐπεδείκνυε δὲ καὶ ἐπίπλαστα γράμματα ὡς ἀπὸ Ὁρμίσδα πρὸς τὸ ὑπομειῶσαι τὰς τῶν στρατιωτῶν ῥόγας, ὑπομιμνήσκων αὐτοὺς τό τε ἀπηνὲς τοῦ Ὁρμίσδα καὶ ὠμότατον, τὸ φιλάργυρόν τε καὶ βίαιον, καὶ ὅπως φόνοις μὲν ἀρεσκόμενος, εἰρήνης δὲ ἀπεχόμενος, καὶ πῶς τοὺς μεγιστᾶνας δεσμοῖς καθυπέβαλεν, καὶ τοὺς μὲν ξίφει ἀπέτεμεν, τοὺς δὲ ἀπέπνιξεν ἐν τῷ Τίγριδι· καὶ πῶς κατηνάγκαζε Πέρσας ἐν μεγάλοις πολέμοις χωρεῖν, ὅπως διαφθαρῶσι καὶ μὴ κατ'