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to Count Alexander for the embassy. And at that time, someone appeared from the land of the Italians, a village-wanderer, having with him a tawny dog, which, when commanded by its trainer, did certain things worthy of wonder. For its trainer, standing in the marketplace, and with a crowd standing around to watch, secretly from the dog took rings from those standing by, and placed them on the ground, covering them with dirt. And he commanded the dog to pick up and give to each his own; and the dog, searching with its mouth, delivered to each the one that was recognized. And this same dog also delivered countless coins of different emperors by name. And with a crowd of men 454 and women standing by, when asked, it pointed out those who were pregnant and those who were pimps and adulterers and stingy and magnanimous; and it revealed all things with truth. Whence many said that it had the spirit of a Python. And in the same reign a great and fearful star appeared in the western part, sending a white ray upward, and its character sent forth flashes of lightning; which some said was a comet. And it remained shining for twenty days, and there were droughts and popular murders city by city and many other things filled with threat. And at the completion of the month of September, the ambassadors of the Romans who had been sent among the Persians returned, having made treaties. And when the emperor Justinian learned this, that he had peace with the Romans, he was filled with joy. For having received the documents of the treaties and having read them, he found them containing the following. Having come up to us, our ambassadors who were sent to your Clemency have reported to us the good intention of your paternal disposition. And for all things we have given thanks to the Lord God that an act befitting His goodness has come to pass, and with God, peace has advanced for the benefit of the two states. And that it is great glory and praise in all the earth, before God and men, that peace has come about between the two worlds in the time of 455 your Clemency and of us who genuinely love you, is manifest; and the enemies of each state will fall, with this having come about with God. Therefore our ambassadors will quickly arrive, being obliged to fulfill the things for the security of the peace. We pray, therefore, that your paternal disposition may be preserved for many years. And Rufinus, having been sent out again by the Romans, when a second response was sent down to the Persian regions, found the king of the Persians backtracking on the things that had been agreed upon between them for the sake of peace. For it was rumored that the Roman Samaritans, having been angered by the emperor Justinian, as was written before, had fled and gone away to Koades, king of the Persians, from their own country of Palestine, and promised to be his ally; and their number was fifty thousand, and they promised the king of the Persians to betray their own country, all of Palestine and the holy places, a city having the gifts of various emperors; for both a great multitude of gold and an innumerable quantity of precious stones; and hearing these things, the king of the Persians, and being persuaded by what was said by them, backtracked on making the treaties. And taking as a pretext the matter of the gold mines that were formerly discovered in the time of the emperor Anastasius, being under the Romans; for formerly these same mountains were under the Persian state; and the gold-bearing mountains are between the borders of Roman Armenia and 456 Persarmenia, as those who know say; which mountains bear much gold; for when rains and downpours occur, the earth of these mountains is washed down, gushing forth flakes of gold; and these same mountains were formerly leased by some from the Romans and Persians for two hundred pounds of gold; from

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κόμητι Ἀλεξάνδρῳ εἰς τὴν πρεσβείαν. Ἐν αὐτῷ δὲ τῷ χρόνῳ ἀνεφάνη τις ἐκ τῆς Ἰταλῶν χώρας κωμοδρομῶν, ἔχων μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ κύνα ξανθόν, ὅστις κελευόμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀναθρεψαμένου ἐποίει τινὰ θαύματος ἄξια. ὁ γὰρ αὐτὸν ἀναθρεψάμενος ἑστὼς ἐν τῇ ἀγορᾷ, καὶ ὄχλου περιεστῶτος εἰς τὸ θεάσασθαι, λάθρᾳ τοῦ κυνὸς ἐκομίζετο παρὰ τῶν ἑστώτων δακτυλίδια, καὶ ἐτίθει εἰς τὸ ἔδαφος περισκέπων αὐτὰ ἐν χώματι. καὶ ἐπέτρεπε τῷ κυνὶ ἐπᾶραι καὶ δοῦναι ἑκάστῳ τὸ ἴδιον· καὶ ἐρευνῶν ὁ κύων τῷ στόματι ἐπεδίδου ἑκάστῳ τὸ γνωριζόμενον. ὁ δὲ αὐτὸς κύων καὶ διαφόρων βασιλέων νομίσματα μυρία ἐπεδίδου κατ' ὄνομα. παρεστῶτος δὲ ὄχλου ἀν 454 δρῶν τε καὶ γυναικῶν, ἐπερωτώμενος ἐδείκνυε τὰς ἐν γαστρὶ ἐχούσας καὶ τοὺς ὄντας πορνοβοσκοὺς καὶ μοιχοὺς καὶ κνιποὺς καὶ μεγαλοψύχους· καὶ ἀπεδείκνυε πάντα μετὰ ἀληθείας. ὅθεν ἔλεγον πολλοὶ ὅτι πνεῦμα Πύθωνος ἔχει. Ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς αὐτῆς βασιλείας ἐφάνη ἀστὴρ μέγας καὶ φοβερὸς κατὰ τὸ δυτικὸν μέρος, πέμπων ἐπὶ τὴν ἄνω ἀκτῖνα λευκήν, ὁ δὲ χαρακτὴρ αὐτοῦ ἀστραπὰς ἀπέπεμπεν· ὃν ἔλεγόν τινες εἶναι λαμπαδίαν. ἔμεινε δὲ ἐπὶ ἡμέρας εἴκοσιν ἐκλάμπων, καὶ ἐγένοντο ἀνυδρίαι καὶ κατὰ πόλιν δημοτικοὶ φόνοι καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ ἀπειλῆς πεπληρωμένα. Τῇ δὲ συμπληρώσει τοῦ σεπτεμβρίου μηνὸς οἱ πρέσβεις Ῥωμαίων οἱ πεμφθέντες ἐν τοῖς Περσικοῖς ὑπέστρεψαν ποιήσαντες πάκτα. καὶ γνοὺς τοῦτο ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἰουστινιανός, ὅτι εἰρήνην ἔχει πρὸς Ῥωμαίους, χαρᾶς ἐπλήσθη. δεξάμενος γὰρ τὰ γράμματα τῶν πάκτων καὶ ἀναγνοὺς εὗρε περιέχοντα οὕτως. Ἀνελθόντες πρὸς ἡμᾶς οἱ ἡμέτεροι πρεσβευταὶ οἱ πρὸς τὴν σὴν σταλέντες ἡμερότητα ἀπήγγειλαν ἡμῖν τὴν ἀγαθὴν προαίρεσιν τῆς πατρικῆς ὑμῶν διαθέσεως. καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσιν εὐχαριστήσαμεν τῷ δεσπότῃ θεῷ ὅτι πρέπον τῇ αὐτοῦ ἀγαθότητι πρᾶγμα γέγονε καὶ προέβη σὺν θεῷ εἰρήνη εἰς ὠφέλειαν τῶν δύο πολιτειῶν. ὅτι δὲ μεγάλη δόξα καὶ ἔπαινός ἐστιν ἐν πάσῃ τῇ γῇ παρὰ θεῷ καὶ ἀνθρώποις τὸ εἰρήνην γενέσθαι μεταξὺ τῶν δύο κόσμων ἐπὶ 455 τῆς σῆς ἡμερότητος καὶ ἡμῶν τῶν γνησίως ὑμᾶς ἀγαπώντων πρόδηλόν ἐστι· καὶ οἱ ἐχθροὶ δὲ ἑκατέρας πολιτείας καταπεσοῦνται ταύτης σὺν θεῷ γενομένης. διὰ τάχους τοίνυν ἐπικαταλήψονται οἱ ἡμέτεροι πρεσβευταί, ὀφείλοντες ἀναπληρῶσαι τὰ πρὸς ἀσφάλειαν τῆς εἰρήνης. εὐχόμεθα γοῦν ἐν πολλοῖς χρόνοις τὴν πατρικὴν ὑμῶν διάθεσιν περισῴζεσθαι. Καὶ ἐκπεμφθεὶς ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων πάλιν Ῥουφῖνος, δευτέρας ἀποκρίσεως καταπεμφθείσης ἐν τοῖς Περσικοῖς μέρεσιν, εὗρε τὸν βασιλέα Περσῶν ἀναδυέντα πρὸς τὰ δόξαντα μεταξὺ αὐτῶν ἕνεκεν τῆς εἰρήνης. φημισθέντος γὰρ τούτου, ὡς τῶν Σαμαρειτῶν Ῥωμαίων ἀγανακτηθέντων ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως Ἰουστινιανοῦ, ὡς προγέγραπται, φυγόντων καὶ ἀπελθόντων πρὸς Κωάδην, βασιλέα Περσῶν, ἀπὸ τῆς ἑαυτῶν χώρας Παλαιστίνης, καὶ ἐπαγγειλαμένων αὐτῷ συμμαχεῖν· τὸ δὲ πλῆθος αὐτῶν ἦν χιλιάδες πεντήκοντα, ἐπηγγείλαντο δὲ τῶν Περσῶν βασιλεῖ προδιδόναι τὴν ἑαυτῶν χώραν, τὴν Παλαιστίνην πᾶσαν καὶ τοὺς ἁγίους τόπους, πόλιν ἔχουσαν διαφόρων βασιλέων χαρίσματα· χρυσοῦ τε γὰρ πλῆθος πολὺ καὶ λίθων τιμίων ἀναρίθμητος ποσότης· καὶ ἀκούσας ταῦτα ὁ βασιλεὺς Περσῶν, καὶ πεισθεὶς τοῖς παρ' αὐτῶν λεγομένοις, ἀνεδύη περὶ τὸ ποιῆσαι τὰ πάκτα. ἀφορμὴν δὲ λαβὼν περὶ τῶν χρυσοῤῥύτων τῶν εὑρεθέντων πρῴην ἐπὶ Ἀναστασίου τοῦ βασιλέως, ὄντων ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίους· ἦν γὰρ πρῴην τὰ αὐτὰ ὄρη ὑπὸ τὴν Περσῶν πολιτείαν· τὰ δὲ χρυσόῤῥυτα ὄρη ὑπάρχει μεταξὺ τῶν ὅρων Ἀρμενίων Ῥωμαίων καὶ 456 Περσαρμενίων, ὡς εἰδότες λέγουσιν· ἅτινα ὄρη φέρουσι χρυσὸν πολύν· ὅτε γὰρ βροχαὶ καὶ ὄμβροι γίνονται, κατασύρεται ἡ γῆ τῶν αὐτῶν ὀρέων, λεπτίδας ἀναβλύζουσα χρυσοῦ· τὰ δὲ αὐτὰ ὄρη ἐμισθοῦντο τὸ πρότερόν τινες ἀπὸ Ῥωμαίων καὶ Περσῶν χρυσοῦ λιτρῶν διακοσίων· ἐξ