141
to conduct business, Dimnos, the king of the Homerites, having learned of this, killed them and took away all their possessions, saying that the Romans who are Christians do evil to the Jews in their own lands and kill many each year; and because of this the trade was hindered. But the king of the Axumites declared to the king of the Homerites that, "You did evil by killing Roman Christian merchants and you have harmed my kingdoms." And from this they were turned to great enmity and joined in war against each other. And when the king of the Axumites was about to make war, he made a vow 434 saying that, "If I defeat Dimnos the king of the Homerites, I will become a Christian; for I am fighting him on behalf of the Christians." And having conquered, the king of the Axumites, and having taken him captive, killed him and all his host, and took his country and his kingdoms. And after the victory he sent two of his senators and with them two hundred men to Alexandria, asking the emperor Justinian that he might receive a bishop and clergy and be catechized and taught the Christian mysteries and be enlightened, and for the whole Indian country to be under the Romans. And everything was reported to the emperor Justinian through Licinius, augustalis of Alexandria; and the same emperor decreed that they should receive whomever they wished as bishop. And the same Indian ambassadors chose the warden of Saint John's in Alexandria, a devout man, a virgin, named John, being about sixty-two years of age. And taking the bishop and the clergy, whom he himself had chosen, they led them away to the Indian country to Andas their king. And at that time it happened that an enmity arose between Diomedes the silentiarius, dux of Palestine, and the phylarch Arethas. And Arethas, being afraid, entered the inner limiton towards the Indian parts. And Alamoundaros the Saracen of the Persians, learning this, having attacked the phylarch of the Romans, 435 capturing him, killed him; for he was with thirty thousand men. And learning these things, the emperor Justinian writes to the duces of Phoenicia and Arabia and Mesopotamia and to the phylarchs of the provinces to go against him and to pursue him and his multitude. And immediately having gone forth Arethas the phylarch and Gnouphas and Naaman and Dionysius the dux of Phoenicia and John of Euphratesia and Sebastianus the chiliarch with the military host; and Alamoundaros the Saracen, having learned of this, fled to the Indian parts with the Saracen host which he had. And the duces of the Romans and the phylarchs having entered with the accompanying host, and having nowhere apprehended him, rushed upon the Persian parts, and took his tents, and they took captive a multitude of men and women and children and as many racing camels as they found and other various animals. And having taken four Persian forts, they also burned them and those in them, both Saracens and Persians, and they returned to the Roman lands with victory. And the same emperor also completed the public bath in Constantinople, which the emperor Anastasius had begun to build, called of Dagistheus. and he also built the atrium of the Basilica 436 cistern, wishing to bring into it the water of Hadrian. and he also restored the aqueduct of the city. And at that time some of the bishops from various provinces were accused of living badly with respect to bodily matters and of practicing sodomy. among whom was Isaiah of Rhodes, formerly night-prefect of Constantinople, and likewise also he from Diospolis in Thrace, named Alexander. who by divine command were brought to Constantinople, and having been examined, were deposed by Victor, the prefect of the city, who punished them,
141
ἐπὶ τὸ ποιήσασθαι πραγματείαν, ἐγνωκὼς ∆ίμνος ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἀμεριτῶν, ἐφόνευσεν αὐτοὺς καὶ πάντα τὰ αὐτῶν ἀφείλετο, λέγων ὅτι οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι οἱ χριστιανοὶ κακῶς ποιοῦσι τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ἐν τοῖς μέρεσιν αὐτῶν καὶ πολλοὺς κατ' ἔτος φονεύουσι· καὶ ἐκ τούτου ἐκωλύθη ἡ πραγματεία. ὁ δὲ τῶν Αὐξουμιτῶν βασιλεὺς ἐδήλωσε τῷ βασιλεῖ τῶν Ἀμεριτῶν ὅτι Κακῶς ἐποίησας φονεύσας Ῥωμαίους χριστιανοὺς πραγματευτὰς καὶ ἔβλαψας τὰ ἐμὰ βασίλεια. καὶ ἐκ τούτου εἰς ἔχθραν ἐτράπησαν μεγάλην καὶ συνέβαλον πρὸς ἀλλήλους πόλεμον. ἐν τῷ δὲ μέλλειν τὸν βασιλέα τῶν Αὐξουμιτῶν πολεμεῖν συνετάξατο 434 λέγων ὅτι Ἐὰν νικήσω ∆ίμνον τὸν βασιλέα τῶν Ἀμεριτῶν, χριστιανὸς γίνομαι· ὑπὲρ γὰρ τῶν χριστιανῶν πολεμῶ αὐτῷ. καὶ νικήσας ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Αὐξουμιτῶν καὶ παραλαβὼν αὐτὸν αἰχμάλωτον, ἀνεῖλεν αὐτὸν καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν βοήθειαν αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὴν χώραν καὶ τὰ βασίλεια αὐτοῦ ἔλαβε. Καὶ μετὰ τὴν νίκην ἔπεμψε συγκλητικοὺς αὐτοῦ δύο καὶ μετ' αὐτῶν διακοσίους ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ, δεόμενος τοῦ βασιλέως Ἰουστινιανοῦ ὥστε λαβεῖν αὐτὸν ἐπίσκοπον καὶ κληρικοὺς καὶ κατηχηθῆναι καὶ διδαχθῆναι τὰ χριστιανῶν μυστήρια καὶ φωτισθῆναι καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν Ἰνδικὴν χώραν ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίους γενέσθαι. καὶ ἐμηνύθη τῷ βασιλεῖ Ἰουστινιανῷ πάντα διὰ Λικινίου, αὐγουσταλίου Ἀλεξανδρείας· καὶ ἐθέσπισεν ὁ αὐτὸς βασιλεὺς ὅντινα βούλονται ἐπίσκοπον λαβεῖν αὐτούς. καὶ ἐπελέξαντο οἱ αὐτοὶ πρεσβευταὶ Ἰνδοὶ τὸν παραμονάριον τοῦ ἁγίου Ἰωάννου τοῦ ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ, ἄνδρα εὐλαβῆ, παρθένον, ὀνόματι Ἰωάννην, ὄντα ἐνιαυτῶν ὡς ἑξήκοντα δύο. καὶ λαβόντες τὸν ἐπίσκοπον καὶ τοὺς κληρικούς, οὓς αὐτὸς ἐπελέξατο, ἀπήγαγον εἰς τὴν Ἰνδικὴν χώραν πρὸς Ἄνδαν τὸν βασιλέα αὐτῶν. Ἐν αὐτῷ δὲ τῷ χρόνῳ συνέβη ἔχθραν γενέσθαι τοῦ δουκὸς Παλαιστίνης ∆ιομήδου σιλεντιαρίου μετὰ τοῦ φυλάρχου Ἀρέθα. ὁ δὲ Ἀρέθας φοβηθεὶς εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸ ἐνδότερον λίμιτον ἐπὶ τὰ Ἰνδικά. καὶ μαθὼν τοῦτο ὁ Ἀλαμούνδαρος ὁ Σαρακηνὸς τῶν Περσῶν, ἐπιῤῥίψας αὐτῷ τῷ φυλάρχῳ Ῥωμαίων, πα 435 ραλαβὼν ἐφόνευσεν αὐτόν· ἦν γὰρ μετὰ χιλιάδων τριάκοντα. καὶ μαθὼν ταῦτα ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἰουστινιανὸς γράφει τοῖς δουξὶ Φοινίκης καὶ Ἀραβίας καὶ Μεσοποταμίας καὶ τοῖς τῶν ἐπαρχιῶν φυλάρχοις ἀπελθεῖν κατ' αὐτοῦ καὶ καταδιῶξαι αὐτὸν καὶ τὸ πλῆθος αὐτοῦ. καὶ εὐθέως ἀπελθόντες Ἀρέθας ὁ φύλαρχος καὶ Γνούφας καὶ Νααμὰν καὶ ∆ιονύσιος ὁ δοὺξ Φοινίκης καὶ Ἰωάννης ὁ τῆς Εὐφρατησίας καὶ Σεβαστιανὸς ὁ χιλίαρχος μετὰ τῆς στρατιωτικῆς βοηθείας· καὶ μαθὼν Ἀλαμούνδαρος ὁ Σαρακηνὸς ἔφυγεν εἰς τὰ Ἰνδικὰ μέρη μεθ' ἧς εἶχε βοηθείας Σαρακηνικῆς. καὶ εἰσελθόντες οἱ δοῦκες Ῥωμαίων καὶ οἱ φύλαρχοι μετὰ βοηθείας συνεπομένης, καὶ μηδαμοῦ αὐτὸν καταλαβόντες, ὥρμησαν ἐπὶ τὰ Περσικὰ μέρη, καὶ παρέλαβον τὰς σκηνὰς αὐτοῦ, καὶ αἰχμαλώτους δὲ ἔλαβον πλῆθος ἀνδρῶν καὶ γυναικῶν καὶ παιδίων καὶ ὅσας εὗρον καμήλους δρομωναρίας καὶ ἄλλα διάφορα κτήνη. ἔκαυσαν δὲ καὶ κάστρα Περσικὰ τέσσαρα παραλαβόντες καὶ τοὺς ἐν αὐτοῖς ὄντας Σαρακηνούς τε καὶ Πέρσας, καὶ ὑπέστρεψαν εἰς τὰ Ῥωμαϊκὰ μετὰ νίκης. Ὁ δὲ αὐτὸς βασιλεὺς ἀνεπλήρωσε καὶ τὸ δημόσιον τὸ ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει, ὃ ἤρξατο κτίζειν Ἀναστάσιος ὁ βασιλεύς, τὸ ἐπίκλην ∆αγισθέου. ἔκτισε δὲ καὶ τὸ μεσίαυλον τῆς βασιλικῆς 436 κινστέρνας, βουλόμενος εἰσαγαγεῖν ἐν αὐτῇ τὸ ὕδωρ τὸ Ἀδριάνιον. ἀνενέωσε δὲ καὶ τὸν ἀγωγὸν τῆς πόλεως. Ἐν αὐτῷ δὲ τῷ χρόνῳ διεβλήθησάν τινες τῶν ἐπισκόπων ἀπὸ διαφόρων ἐπαρχιῶν, ὡς κακῶς βιοῦντες περὶ τὰ σωματικὰ καὶ ἀρσενοκοιτοῦντες. ἐν οἷς ἦν Ἠσαΐας ὁ τῆς Ῥόδου ὁ ἀπὸ νυκτεπάρχων Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ὁ ἀπὸ ∆ιὸς πόλεως τῆς Θρᾴκης, ὀνόματι Ἀλέξανδρος. οἵτινες κατὰ θείαν πρόσταξιν ἠνέχθησαν ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει, καὶ ἐξετασθέντες καθῃρέθησαν ὑπὸ Βίκτωρος ἐπάρχου πόλεως, ὅστις ἐτιμωρήσατο αὐτούς,