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being, a great stone slab was found, on which was inscribed in carving these words: The Skirtos river will leap with evil leaps for the citizens. The same city of Edessa was founded by Seleucus Nicator, receiving walls; which city the same Seleucus the Macedonian named Antioch the mixed-barbarian, and when it suffered its first 419 disaster, it was renamed Edessa. The same emperor provided many things in each city, renewing them with much splendor and bestowing many gifts on the survivors; and he renamed Edessa Justinopolis. In the seventh year of his reign, Antioch the great suffered its fifth disaster from the wrath of God in the month of May, during the consulship of Olybrius; for great was the terror from God that occurred at that time, so that those trapped by the buildings in the earth were also burned by fire, and sparks of fire were seen coming from the air; and they burned whoever was found as if by lightning, and the ground of the earth boiled, and the foundations were struck as if by thunderbolts, being lifted by the earthquakes and reduced to ash by the fire, so that the fire even met those who were fleeing. And it was possible to see a fearful and strange wonder, fire belching forth a rainstorm, a rainstorm of fearful furnaces, a flame dissolving into rain, and rain igniting like a flame and consuming those crying out in the earth. And from this Antioch became useless; for nothing remained, except only the dwellings built near the mountain. And no holy house, whether an oratory or a monastery or any other holy place, remained intact; for the rest were utterly destroyed; but the great church of Antioch, which was built by Constantine the great emperor, 420 when the wrath of God occurred and everything had fallen to the ground, stood for two days after the fearful threat of God occurred; and it too, being seized by fire, was brought down to the ground. And other houses that had not fallen from the divine disaster were destroyed by fire down to their foundations. And up to two hundred and fifty thousand perished in that terror; for it was the great feast of the Ascension of Christ our God; and a great multitude of foreigners was visiting; and in this same wrath of God it was also shown how great was the multitude of citizens. And many of those who were buried, having survived after they were brought out alive, died. Some of the citizens who were saved took whatever they could and fled; and countrymen met them, and took it from them, murdering them. And in this also the philanthropy of God was shown; for as many as took things, died violently, some rotting, others being blinded, others being cut by operations, and confessing their own sins they gave up their souls. Among these at that time was a certain silentiarius, Thomas, who engaged in looting, who went out fleeing from the wrath of God, and outside the city about three miles away he lived near the gate called that of Saint Julian, and he took everything from the fleeing people through his servants. And he did this for four days; and as he was despoiling everything, suddenly, while being in good health, he died; 421 and all glorified God. And his plundered property was lost; and in the place where he died, there he was also buried. For certain other mysteries of the philanthropic God were also shown; for pregnant women after twenty or even thirty days came up healthy from among those who were buried; and many having given birth in the earth down under the soil came up unharmed with their infants and lived with those born of them. And other children were similarly saved after 30 days; and many things more fearful than these happened. On the third day after the fall, the precious cross appeared in the sky through a cloud in the northern part of the same city; and all who saw it remained weeping and praying for one hour. And after the fall of the city there were also other

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τυγχάνοντα εὑρέθη πλὰξ λιθίνη μεγάλη, ἐν ᾗ ἐπεγέγραπτο ἐν γλυφῇ ταῦτα· Σκίρτος ποταμὸς σκιρτήσει κακὰ σκιρτήματα πολίταις. ἡ δὲ αὐτὴ Ἔδεσα πόλις ἐκτίσθη ὑπὸ Σελεύκου τοῦ Νικάτορος, λαβοῦσα τείχη· ἥντινα ὠνόμασεν ὁ αὐτὸς Σέλευκος ὁ Μακεδὼν Ἀντιόχειαν τὴν μιξοβάρβαρον, καὶ ὅτε ἔπαθε τὸ πρῶτον αὐτῆς 419 πάθος, μετεκλήθη Ἔδεσα. πολλὰ δὲ παρέσχεν ὁ αὐτὸς βασιλεὺς ἐν ἑκάστῃ πόλει, ἀνακαινίσας ἐν πολλαῖς εὐπρεπείαις καὶ τοῖς σωθεῖσι πολλὰ χαρισάμενος· τὴν δὲ Ἔδεσαν μετωνόμασεν Ἰουστινούπολιν. Τῷ δὲ ἑβδόμῳ ἔτει τῆς αὐτοῦ βασιλείας ἔπαθεν ὑπὸ θεομηνίας Ἀντιόχεια ἡ μεγάλη τὸ πέμπτον αὐτῆς πάθος ἐν μηνὶ μαΐῳ, ὑπατείας Ὀλυβρίου· πολὺς γὰρ ἦν ὁ φόβος ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ γενόμενος κατ' ἐκεῖνον τὸν καιρόν, ὥστε τοὺς συλληφθέντας ὑπὸ τῶν οἰκημάτων ἐν τῇ γῇ καὶ πυρικαύστους γενέσθαι, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἀέρος δὲ σπινθῆρας πυρὸς φαίνεσθαι· καὶ ἔκαιον ὡς ἀπὸ ἀστραπῆς τὸν εὑρισκόμενον, καὶ ἐκόχλαζε τὸ ἔδαφος τῆς γῆς, καὶ ἐκεραυνοῦντο οἱ θεμέλιοι, κουφιζόμενοι ὑπὸ τῶν σεισμῶν καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ πυρὸς τεφρούμενοι, ὥστε καὶ τοῖς φεύγουσιν ὑπήντα τὸ πῦρ. καὶ ἦν ἰδεῖν θαῦμα φοβερὸν καὶ παράδοξον, πῦρ ἐρευγόμενον ὄμβρον, ὄμβρος καμίνων φοβερῶν, φλὸξ εἰς ὑετὸν λυομένη, καὶ ὑετὸς ὡς φλὸξ ἐξαπτόμενος καὶ τοὺς βοῶντας ἐν τῇ γῇ κατανήλισκε. καὶ ἐκ τούτου Ἀντιόχεια ἄχρηστος ἐγένετο· οὐκ ἔμεινε γάρ, εἰ μὴ τὰ πρὸς ὄρος μόνον παροικούμενα οἰκήματα. οὐκ ἔμεινε δὲ οὔτε ἅγιος οἶκος εὐκτηρίου ἢ μοναστηρίου ἢ ἄλλου ἁγίου τόπου ἀδιάῤῥηκτος· τὰ γὰρ ἄλλα συνετελέσθησαν εἰς τὸ παντελές· ἡ δὲ μεγάλη ἐκκλησία Ἀντιοχείας ἡ κτισθεῖσα ὑπὸ Κωνσταντίνου τοῦ μεγάλου βασιλέως 420 τῆς θεομηνίας γενομένης καὶ πάντων πεπτωκότων εἰς τὸ ἔδαφος ἔστη ἐπὶ ἡμέρας βʹ μετὰ τὸ γενέσθαι τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ φοβερὰν ἀπειλήν· καὶ αὐτὴ ὑπὸ πυρὸς ληφθεῖσα κατηνέχθη ἕως ἐδάφους. καὶ ἕτεροι δὲ οἶκοι μὴ πεπτωκότες ὑπὸ τοῦ πάθους τοῦ θεϊκοῦ ὑπὸ τοῦ πυρὸς διελύθησαν ἕως θεμελίων. καὶ ἀπώλοντο ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ φόβῳ ἄχρι χιλιάδων διακοσίων πεντήκοντα· ἦν γὰρ ἡ μεγάλη ἑορτὴ Χριστοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν ἡ τῆς ἀναλήψεως· καὶ πολὺ πλῆθος ἦν τῶν ξένων ἐπιδημῆσαν· ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς αὐτῆς θεομηνίας ἐδείχθη καὶ τὸ τῶν πολιτῶν πλῆθος ὁπόσον ὑπῆρχε. πολλοὶ δὲ τῶν χωσθέντων ζήσαντες μετὰ τὸ ἀνενεχθῆναι αὐτοὺς ζῶντας ἀπέθανον. τινὲς δὲ ἐκ τῶν πολιτῶν τῶν σωθέντων, εἴ τι ἠδυνήθησαν, ἀφείλαντο καὶ ἔφευγον· καὶ ὑπήντουν αὐτοῖς γεωργοί, καὶ ἀπέσπων παρ' αὐτῶν φονεύοντες αὐτούς. ἐδείχθη δὲ καὶ ἐν τούτῳ ἡ τοῦ θεοῦ φιλανθρωπία· ὅσοι γὰρ ἀπέσπων, ἀπέθνησκον βιαίως, οἱ μὲν σηπόμενοι, οἱ δὲ τυφλούμενοι, οἱ δὲ χειρουργίαις κοπτόμενοι, καὶ ὁμολογοῦντες τὰ πλημμελήματα ἑαυτῶν παρεδίδουν τὰς ψυχάς. ἐν οἷς ἦν ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ καιρῷ ἁρπαγῇ χρησάμενος Θωμᾶς τις σιλεντιάριος, ὅστις ἐξῆλθε φεύγων ἐκ τῆς θεομηνίας, καὶ ἔξω τῆς πόλεως ὡς ἀπὸ μιλίων τριῶν ἐπὶ τὴν πόρταν τὴν λεγομένην τοῦ ἁγίου Ἰουλιανοῦ οἴκει, καὶ ἀπέσπα πάντα ἐκ τῶν φευγόντων διὰ τῶν οἰκετῶν αὐτοῦ. τοῦτο δὲ διεπράξατο ἐπὶ ἡμέρας τέσσαρας· καὶ ὡς λυμαίνεται πάντα, ἐξαίφνης ὑγιὴς ὢν ἐτελεύτησε· 421 καὶ πάντες ἐδόξαζον τὸν θεόν. ἡ δὲ αὐτοῦ περιουσία ἁρπαγεῖσα ἀπώλετο· καὶ ἐν ᾧ τόπῳ ἐτελεύτησεν, ἐκεῖ καὶ ἐτάφη. ἐδείχθη γὰρ καὶ ἄλλα τινὰ μυστήρια τοῦ φιλανθρώπου θεοῦ· ἔγκυοι γὰρ γυναῖκες δι' εἴκοσιν ἡμερῶν ἢ καὶ τριάκοντα ἀνῆλθον ἐκ τῶν χωσθέντων ὑγιεῖς· πολλαὶ δὲ γεννήσασαι εἰς τὴν γῆν κάτω ὑπὸ τὰ χώματα ἀνῆλθον σὺν νηπίοις ἀβλαβεῖς καὶ ἔζησαν μετὰ τῶν τεχθέντων ἐξ αὐτῶν. καὶ ἄλλα δὲ παιδία ὡσαύτως διεσώθησαν μεθ' ἡμέρας λʹ· καὶ πολλὰ φοβερώτερα τούτων ἐγένετο. τῇ δὲ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ μετὰ τὴν πτῶσιν ἐφάνη ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ὁ τίμιος σταυρὸς διὰ νεφέλης κατὰ τὸ ἀρκτῷον μέρος τῆς αὐτῆς πόλεως· καὶ πάντες θεασάμενοι αὐτὸν ἔμειναν κλαίοντες καὶ εὐχόμενοι ἐπὶ μίαν ὥραν. ἐγένοντο δὲ μετὰ τὴν πτῶσιν τῆς πόλεως καὶ ἄλλοι