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When these same mountains were taken over by the most divine Anastasius, the Romans alone receive the decreed tax. And from this arose a disruption concerning the treaties. The betrayal of the Samaritans became known to the Romans, as some of their wealthy men were arrested while returning from the Persian regions, and were recognized after they had gone to Koades, king of the Persians, and had arranged with him to carry out the betrayal of their own country, as has been said before; and the Samaritans who were recognized were five by name; and having been arrested they were brought to the magister militum of the East, and were interrogated by him, and they confessed the betrayal which they were planning. And their deeds were read to the emperor Justinian. At that time earthquakes occurred in places, and they were occupied with litanies in every city. And at the same time an ambassador was sent by the king of the Persians to the emperor of the Romans; and having delivered the letters which he carried, he was dismissed, having received gifts. But the emperor of the Romans, having heard from the patrician Rou 457 finus of the transgression by Koades, king of the Persians, made sacred commands and sent them down to the king of the Axumites; this king of the Indians, having joined battle with the king of the Homerite Indians, and having won a mighty victory, took over his kingdom and all his land, and made Anganes from his own race king of the Homerite Indians in his place, because the kingdom of the Homerite Indians was also under him. And the Roman ambassador, having sailed away to Alexandria by way of the Nile river and the Indian sea, reached the Indian regions. And having come before the king of the Indians, the king of the Indians was surprised with great joy, because after many years he was deemed worthy to acquire friendship with the emperor of the Romans. And as the same ambassador related, when the king of the Indians received him, he described the manner of the royal state of the Indians: that he was naked and around his loins down to his thighs he had a linen-gold garment, and on his belly and shoulders he wore canopies of pearls and five clavii on each, and golden bracelets on his hands, and on his head a linen-gold turban fastened like a sling, having four bands on either side, and a golden torque on his neck, and he was standing above four elephants having a yoke and four wheels, and on top, like a high chariot covered with golden plates, just as are the chariots of the provincial governors 458 covered with silver. And the king of the Indians was standing on top, carrying a small gilded shield and holding two small gilded lances in his hands. And thus stood all his senate with their arms and flutes playing musical tunes. And the Roman ambassador, having been brought in, knelt and did obeisance; and the king of the Indians ordered me to rise and be brought to him. And receiving the letter of the emperor of the Romans, he kissed the seal. And receiving also the gifts sent by the emperor, he was astonished. And having opened and read the letters through an interpreter, he found that they contained instructions for him to arm himself against Koades, king of the Persians, and to destroy the land neighboring him and for the future to make no more commerce with him, but to conduct trade through the land of the Homerite Indians which he had subdued, via the Nile to Egypt at Alexandria. And immediately the king of the Indians, Elesboas, in the sight of the Roman ambassador, started a war against the Persians, and sending forth also the Indian Saracens under him, he attacked the Persian land on behalf of the Romans, declaring to the king of the Persians that he should expect the king of the Indians to make war on him and to ravage all the land ruled by him. and of all things thus

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οὗ δὲ παρελήφθησαν τὰ αὐτὰ ὄρη ὑπὸ τοῦ θειοτάτου Ἀναστασίου, Ῥωμαῖοι μόνοι κομίζονται τὴν θεσπισθεῖσαν συντέλειαν. καὶ ἐκ τούτου ἐγένετο διαστροφὴ περὶ τὰ πάκτα. Ἡ δὲ τῶν Σαμαρειτῶν προδοσία ἐγνώσθη Ῥωμαίοις, ὥς τινων ἐξ αὐτῶν εὐπόρων συσχεθέντων ἐν τῷ ὑποστρέφειν αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν Περσικῶν μερῶν, καὶ γνωρισθέντων μετὰ τὸ ἀπελθεῖν αὐτοὺς πρὸς Κωάδην, βασιλέα Περσῶν, καὶ συντάξασθαι αὐτῷ ποιεῖν τὴν προδοσίαν τῆς ἰδίας χώρας, ὡς προείρηται· ἦσαν δὲ οἱ γνωρισθέντες Σαμαρεῖται ὀνόματα πέντε· καὶ συσχεθέντες ἀπηνέχθησαν πρὸς τὸν στρατηλάτην τῆς ἀνατολῆς, καὶ ἐξητάσθησαν παρ' αὐτῷ, καὶ ὡμολόγησαν τὴν προδοσίαν ἣν ἐμελέτων. τὰ δὲ πεπραγμένα αὐτῶν ἀνεγνώσθη τῷ βασιλεῖ Ἰουστινιανῷ. Ἐν αὐτῷ δὲ τῷ χρόνῳ ἐγένοντο σεισμοὶ κατὰ τόπον, καὶ λιταῖς ἐσχόλαζον ἐν ἑκάστῃ πόλει. Τῷ δὲ αὐτῷ καιρῷ καὶ πρεσβευτὴς ἐπέμφθη ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως Περσῶν πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Ῥωμαίων· καὶ ἐπιδοὺς ἃς ἐπεφέρετο σάκρας ἀπελύθη κομισάμενος δῶρα. Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς Ῥωμαίων ἀκούσας παρὰ τοῦ πατρικίου Ῥου 457 φίνου τὴν παρὰ Κωάδου, βασιλέως Περσῶν, παράβασιν, ποιήσας θείας κελεύσεις κατέπεμψε πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα τῶν Αὐξουμιτῶν· ὅστις βασιλεὺς Ἰνδῶν συμβολὴν ποιήσας μετὰ τοῦ βασιλέως τῶν Ἀμεριτῶν Ἰνδῶν, κατὰ κράτος νικήσας παρέλαβε τὰ βασίλεια αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν χώραν αὐτοῦ πᾶσαν, καὶ ἐποίησεν ἀντ' αὐτοῦ βασιλέα τῶν Ἀμεριτῶν Ἰνδῶν ἐκ τοῦ ἰδίου γένους Ἀγγάνην διὰτὸ εἶναι καὶ τὸ τῶν Ἀμεριτῶν Ἰνδῶν βασίλειον ὑπ' αὐτόν. καὶ ἀποπλεύσας ὁ πρεσβευτὴς Ῥωμαίων ἐπὶ Ἀλεξάνδρειαν διὰ τοῦ Νείλου ποταμοῦ καὶ τῆς Ἰνδικῆς θαλάσσης κατέφθασε τὰ Ἰνδικὰμέρη. καὶ εἰσελθὼν παρὰ τῷ βασιλεῖ τῶν Ἰνδῶν, μετὰ χαρᾶς πολλῆς ἐξενίσθη ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἰνδῶν, ὅτι διὰ πολλῶν χρόνων ἠξιώθη μετὰ τοῦ βασιλέως Ῥωμαίων κτήσασθαι φιλίαν. ὡς δὲ ἐξηγήσατο ὁ αὐτὸς πρεσβευτής, ὅτε ἐδέξατο αὐτὸν ὁ τῶν Ἰνδῶν βασιλεύς, ὑφηγήσατο τὸ σχῆμα τῆς βασιλικῆς τῶν Ἰνδῶν καταστάσεως ὅτι γυμνὸς ὑπῆρχε καὶ κατὰ τοῦ ζώσματος εἰς τὰς ψύας αὐτοῦ λινόχρυσα ἱμάτια, κατὰ δὲ τῆς γαστρὸς καὶ τῶν ὤμων φορῶν σχιαστὰς διὰ μαργαριτῶν καὶ κλαβία ἀνὰ πέντε καὶ χρυσᾶ ψέλια εἰς τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ, ἐν δὲ τῇ κεφαλῇ αὐτοῦ λινόχρυσον φακιόλιν ἐσφενδονισμένον, ἔχον ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων τῶν μερῶν σειρὰς τέσσαρας, καὶ μανιάκιν χρυσοῦν ἐν τῷ τραχήλῳ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἵστατο ὑπεράνω τεσσάρων ἐλεφάντων ἐχόντων ζυγὸν καὶ τροχοὺς δʹ, καὶ ἐπάνω, ὡς ὄχημα ὑψηλὸν ἠμφιεσμένον χρυσέοις πετάλοις, ὥσπερ ἐστὶ τὰ τῶν ἀρχόντων τῶν ἐπαρχιῶν ὀχήματα 458 ἀργύρῳ ἠμφιεσμένα. καὶ ἵστατο ἐπάνω ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰνδῶν βαστάζων σκουτάριον μικρὸν κεχρυσωμένον καὶ δύο λαγκίδια καὶ αὐτὰ κεχρυσωμένα κατέχων ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτοῦ. καὶ οὕτως ἵστατο πᾶσα ἡ σύγκλητος αὐτοῦ μεθ' ὅπλων καὶ αὐλοὶ ᾄδοντες μέλη μουσικά. Καὶ εἰσενεχθεὶς ὁ πρεσβευτὴς Ῥωμαίων, κλίνας τὸ γόνυ προσεκύνησε· καὶ ἐκέλευσεν ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἰνδῶν ἀναστῆναί με καὶ ἀναχθῆναι πρὸς αὐτόν. καὶ δεξάμενος τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως Ῥωμαίων σάκραν κατεφίλησε τὴν σφραγῖδα. δεξάμενος δὲ καὶ τὰ δῶρα τὰ πεμφθέντα ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως ἐξεπλάγη. λύσας δὲ καὶ ἀναγνοὺς δι' ἑρμηνέως τὰ γράμματα, εὗρε περιέχοντα ὥστε ὁπλίσασθαι αὐτὸν κατὰ Κωάδου, βασιλέως Περσῶν, καὶ τὴν πλησιάζουσαν αὐτῷ χώραν ἀπολέσαι καὶ τοῦ λοιποῦ μηκέτι συνάλλαγμα ποιῆσαι μετ' αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ δι' ἧς ὑπέταξε χάρας τῶν Ἀμεριτῶν Ἰνδῶν διὰ τοῦ Νείλου ἐπὶ τὴν Αἴγυπτον ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ τὴν πραγματείαν ποιεῖσθαι. καὶ εὐθέως ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἰνδῶν Ἐλεσβόας ἐπ' ὄψεσι τοῦ πρεσβευτοῦ Ῥωμαίων ἐκίνησε πόλεμον κατὰ Περσῶν, προπέμψας καὶ τοὺς ὑπ' αὐτὸν Ἰνδοὺς Σαρακηνούς, ἐπῆλθε τῇ Περσικῇ χώρᾳ ὑπὲρ Ῥωμαίων, δηλώσας τῷ βασιλεῖ Περσῶν τοῦ δέξασθαι τὸν βασιλέα Ἰνδῶν πολεμοῦντα αὐτῷ καὶ ἐκπορθῆσαι πᾶσαν τὴν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ βασιλευομένην γῆν. καὶ πάντων οὕτως