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appeared, and a little 3.19.16 later a very great number of Vandal horsemen. And they sent to Belisarius, asking him to come as quickly as possible, since the enemy was pressing them hard. But 3.19.17 the opinions of the commanders were divided. For some thought it right to go to meet the attackers, while others said that their force was not adequate 3.19.18 for this. And while they were contending with one another about these things, the barbarians came near, with Gelimer leading them, taking a road between the one which Belisarius held and the one by which the 3.19.19 Massagetae who had joined Gibamundus had come. And since hilly places were on either side, they did not allow them to see either the disaster of Gibamundus or the camp of Belisarius, nor indeed the road on which Belisarius' men 3.19.20 were marching. And when they came near each other, a rivalry fell upon each army, as to which of them would seize the highest 3.19.21 of all the hills in that place. For it seemed to be a suitable place to encamp, and both sides chose to engage the enemy from there. 3.19.22 But the Vandals, getting there first, both seize the hill by making a charge and rout 3.19.23 the enemy, having already become fearsome to them. And the fleeing Romans arrived at a place seven stades distant from Decimum, where Uliaris, the spearman of Belisarius, happened to be with eight hundred shield-bearers. 3.19.24 And they all thought that Uliaris' men would receive them and would make a stand and with them would advance against the Vandals; but when they came together, contrary to expectation they now all fled at full speed and went at a run toward Belisarius. 3.19.25 From this point I am unable to say what possessed Gelimer that, holding the victory of the war in his hands, he willingly let it go to the enemy, unless it is necessary to refer it to God and matters of folly, who, whenever he plans for some evil thing to befall a man, first takes hold of his wits and does not allow what is advantageous to enter into his delib-3.19.26 eration. For if he had made the pursuit immediately, I do not think that even Belisarius himself would have stood his ground, but 3.19.27 all our affairs would have been utterly ruined; so great, indeed, appeared both the multitude of the Vandals and the fear of them among the Romans; and if he had marched straight for Carthage, he would have easily killed all those with John, who, in ones and twos, heedlessly and making walks on the plain, were stripping the fal-3.19.28 len. And having saved the city with its treasures, he would have gained control of our ships, which had not come far, and would have completely checked for us the hope both of sailing away and of victory. But in fact he did nei-3.19.29 ther of these things. But coming down from the hill at a walk, when he came to the level ground and saw the corpse of his brother, he turned to lamentations, and by taking care of the burial he thus blunted the critical moment of opportunity, which he was no 3.19.30 longer able to grasp again. But Belisarius, meeting the fugitives, orders them to halt, and having arranged them all in an orderly manner and reproached them much, when he heard of both the death of Ammatas and the pursuit of John and learned as much as he wished about the place and the enemy, 3.19.31 he advanced at a run against Gelimer and the Vandals. But the barbarians, being now in disorder and unprepared, did not withstand their attack, but fled at full speed, losing many men there, and the battle 3.19.32 ended at nightfall. And the Vandals fled not to Carthage nor to Byzacium, whence they had come, but to the plain of Bulla and the road leading to Numidia. 3.19.33 So John's men and the Massagetae, returning to us about lamp-lighting time, and having learned and reported all that had happened, spent the night with us at Decimum. 3.20.1 On the next day, when the infantry arrived along with Belisarius' wife, we all marched toward Carthage, where, arriving late in the afternoon, we bivouacked, although no one prevented us from riding into the city immediately. For the Carthaginians, having thrown open the gates, were lighting lamps all together, and the city was ablaze with fire that whole night,

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ἐφαίνετο καὶ μικρὸν 3.19.16 ὕστερον Βανδίλων ἱππέων πάμπολυ χρῆμα. καὶ πέμπουσι μὲν πρὸς Βελισάριον, ὡς τάχιστα ἥκειν αἰτοῦντες, ἅτε δὴ σφίσιν ἐγκειμένων τῶν πολεμίων. τῶν 3.19.17 δὲ ἀρχόντων αἱ γνῶμαι δίχα ἐφέροντο. οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἠξίουν τοῖς ἐπιοῦσιν ὁμόσε ἰέναι, οἱ δὲ οὐκ ἀξιόχρεων 3.19.18 σφίσιν ἐς τοῦτο ἔφασκον εἶναι τὴν δύναμιν. ταῦτα δὲ αὐτοῖς ἐς ἀλλήλους διαφιλονεικοῦσιν οἱ βάρβαροι ἀγχοῦ ἐγένοντο ἡγουμένου αὐτοῖς Γελίμερος καὶ ὁδῷ χρησαμένου μεταξὺ ἧς τε Βελισάριος εἶχε καὶ ἧς οἱ 3.19.19 Μασσαγέται ἧκον οἱ Γιβαμούνδῳ ξυμμίξαντες. λοφώδεις δὲ χῶροι ἐφ' ἑκάτερα ὄντες οὔτε τὸ Γιβαμούνδου πάθος ἰδεῖν οὔτε τὸ Βελισαρίου χαράκωμα ξυνεχώρησαν, οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ τὴν ὁδὸν, ἣν οἱ ἀμφὶ Βελισάριον 3.19.20 ἐπορεύοντο. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἀγχοῦ ἀλλήλων γεγόνασιν, ἔρις τῇ στρατιᾷ ἑκατέρᾳ ἐνέπεσεν, ὁπότεροι τοῦ πάντων 3.19.21 ὑψηλοτάτου τῶν ἐκείνῃ λόφων κρατήσουσιν. ἐδόκει γὰρ ἐνστρατοπεδεύσασθαι ἐπιτήδειος εἶναι, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἑκάτεροι ἐνθένδε ᾑροῦντο τοῖς πολεμίοις εἰς χεῖρας 3.19.22 ἰέναι. προτερήσαντες δὲ οἱ Βανδίλοι τόν τε λόφον καταλαμβάνουσιν ὠθισμῷ χρησάμενοι καὶ τρέπονται 3.19.23 τοὺς πολεμίους, ἤδη φοβεροὶ αὐτοῖς γεγονότες. φεύγοντες δὲ Ῥωμαῖοι ἐς χωρίον ἀφικνοῦνται σταδίους ἑπτὰ τοῦ ∆εκίμου ἀπέχον, ἔνθα δὴ Οὐλίαριν τὸν Βελισαρίου δορυφόρον ξὺν ὑπασπισταῖς ὀκτακοσίοις τετύχηκεν 3.19.24 εἶναι. πάντες τε ᾤοντο ὡς σφᾶς οἱ ἀμφὶ τὸν Οὐλίαριν δεξάμενοι στήσονταί τε καὶ ξὺν αὐτοῖς ὁμόσε ἐπὶ τοὺς Βανδίλους χωρήσουσιν· ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ ἅμα ἐγένοντο, παρὰ δόξαν ἤδη ξύμπαντες ἀνὰ κράτος τε ἔφευγον καὶ δρόμῳ τὴν ἐπὶ Βελισάριον ᾔεσαν. 3.19.25 Ἐνθένδε οὐκ ἔχω εἰπεῖν ὅ τί ποτε παθὼν Γελίμερ, ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν ἔχων τὸ τοῦ πολέμου κράτος, ἐθελούσιος αὐτὸ τοῖς πολεμίοις μεθῆκε, πλὴν εἰ μὴ ἐς τὸν θεὸν καὶ τὰ τῆς ἀβουλίας ἀναφέρειν δεήσει, ὃς, ἡνίκα τι ἀνθρώπῳ συμβῆναι βουλεύηται φλαῦρον, τῶν λογισμῶν ἁψάμενος πρῶτον οὐκ ἐᾷ τὰ ξυνοίσοντα ἐς βου3.19.26 λὴν ἔρχεσθαι. εἴτε γὰρ τὴν δίωξιν εὐθυωρὸν ἐποιήσατο, οὐδ' ἂν αὐτὸν ὑποστῆναι Βελισάριον οἶμαι, ἀλλ' 3.19.27 ἄρδην ἅπαντα ἡμῖν διαφθαρῆναι τὰ πράγματα· τοσοῦτον δὴ τό τε τῶν Βανδίλων πλῆθος τό τε αὐτῶν κατὰ Ῥωμαίων δέος ἐφαίνετο· εἴτε καὶ Καρχηδόνος εὐθὺ ἤλασε, τούς τε σὺν Ἰωάννῃ εὐπετῶς ἂν ἅπαντας ἔκτεινεν, οἵ γε κατὰ ἕνα καὶ δύο ἀφροντιστήσαντές τε καὶ περιπάτους ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ ποιούμενοι τοὺς κει3.19.28 μένους ἐσύλων. καὶ τὴν πόλιν ξὺν τοῖς χρήμασι διασωσάμενος τῶν τε ἡμετέρων νεῶν οὐ πόρρω ἀφικομένων ἐκράτει καὶ ὅλην ἡμῖν ἀνέστελλε τοῦ τε ἀπόπλου καὶ τῆς νίκης ἐλπίδα. ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἔπραξε τούτων οὐδέ3.19.29 τερα. βάδην δὲ κατιὼν ἐκ τοῦ λόφου, ἐπεὶ ἐν τῷ ὁμαλεῖ ἐγένετο καὶ τἀδελφοῦ τὸν νεκρὸν εἶδεν, ἔς τε ὀλοφύρσεις ἐτράπετο καὶ τῆς ταφῆς ἐπιμελούμενος οὕτω δὴ τοῦ καιροῦ τὴν ἀκμὴν ἤμβλυνεν, ἧς γε οὐκ3.19.30 έτι ἀντιλαβέσθαι ἐδύνατο. τοῖς δὲ φεύγουσι Βελισάριος ἀπαντήσας στῆναι κελεύει, κοσμίως τε ἅπαντας διατάξας καὶ πολλὰ ὀνειδίσας, ἐπειδὴ τήν τε Ἀμμάτα τελευτὴν καὶ τὴν Ἰωάννου δίωξιν ἤκουσε καὶ περὶ τοῦ χωρίου καὶ τῶν πολεμίων ἐπύθετο ὅσα ἐβούλετο, 3.19.31 δρόμῳ ἐπὶ Γελίμερά τε καὶ Βανδίλους ἐχώρει. οἱ δὲ βάρβαροι ἄτακτοί τε καὶ ἀπαράσκευοι ἤδη γεγονότες ἐπιόντας αὐτοὺς οὐχ ὑπέμειναν, ἀλλὰ φεύγουσιν ἀνὰ κράτος, πολλοὺς ἐνταῦθα ἀποβαλόντες, καὶ ἡ μάχη 3.19.32 ἐτελεύτα ἐς νύκτα. ἔφευγον δὲ οἱ Βανδίλοι οὐκ ἐς Καρχηδόνα οὐδὲ ἐς Βυζάκιον, ὅθενπερ ἧκον, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τὸ Βούλλης πεδίον καὶ τὴν εἰς Νουμίδας ὁδὸν φέρου3.19.33 σαν. οἱ μὲν οὖν ἀμφὶ τὸν Ἰωάννην καὶ οἱ Μασσαγέται περὶ λύχνων ἁφὰς εἰς ἡμᾶς ἀναστρέψαντες καὶ ἅπαντα τὰ ξυμβεβηκότα μαθόντες τε καὶ ἀναγγείλαντες σὺν ἡμῖν ἐν ∆εκίμῳ διενυκτέρευσαν. 3.20.1 Τῇ δὲ ὑστεραίᾳ τῶν πεζῶν ἅμα τῇ Βελισαρίου γυναικὶ παραγενομένων ξύμπαντες τὴν ἐπὶ Καρχηδόνα ἐπορευόμεθα, ἔνθα δὴ περὶ δείλην ὀψίαν ἥκοντες ηὐλισάμεθα, καίτοι ἐκώλυεν οὐδεὶς ἐς τὴν πόλιν αὐτίκα ἐσελάσαι. οἵ τε γὰρ Καρχηδόνιοι τὰς πύλας ἀνακλίναντες λύχνα ἔκαιον πανδημεὶ καὶ ἡ πόλις κατελάμπετο τῷ πυρὶ τὴν νύκτα ὅλην ἐκείνην,