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As they advanced, the king of the Indians, taking the 459 head of the ambassador of the Romans, having given a kiss of peace, sent him away with great honor. For he also sent sacred letters through an Indian ambassador and gifts to the king of the Romans. And at that time a petition was sent down from Gilderic, king of the Africans, that his own cousin had acted as a tyrant against him, and the Maurusians having joined battle with the Africans, they took over much of his land, in which was taken what is called among them Tripolis and Leptoma and Sabatha and Byzacium, capturing ten monades. And the same king of the Africans, Gilderic, campaigned against them, having a great multitude with a general named Gelimer; who, having joined battle with the Maurusians, prevailed decisively. and having made a friendship with them he took them as allies, and having acted as a tyrant he went against the same Gilderic in Carthage, and he arrested him and having shut him up in a house with his wife and his children, having also murdered the senators. And the same Gelimer sent gifts through his own ambassador to the emperor Justinian; and when these things were reported to the king of the Romans he was indignant with them on account of the king of the Africans; for he had learned of the tyranny that had occurred against Gilderic; and he sent them away with great insult. And having sent a magistrianus to Ro 460 me to king Athalaric, grandson of Valemeriacus, declaring to him not to receive ambassadors sent to him from Gelimer, nor his title as king, because he is a tyrant. And having received the letters sent from the king and having complied, he did not receive ambassadors from Gelimer the African. And at that time the same king, wishing to contend against the Persians by both land and sea, sent out an army to keep the Roman state untroubled. And at the same time a petition was sent down to the patriarch Ephraimius from those who remained in captivity under Alamundar the Saracen, that they were bound with bitter punishments. for he even beheaded some of them, fearing lest some treachery might come from them. And some, falling down before him, begged for a respite of a few days to be given to them in order to send a petition to the Roman state for money to be sent out for their ransom. and when Alamundar heard this, rejoicing, he says, he was persuaded; and having given a deadline of sixty days, with Taizanus the archiphylarch of the Saracens speaking on their behalf, and when the petition was sent out, it was read in Antioch, and with tears everyone contributed into the so-called treasuries in each church according as each was able. among whom first the patriarch, being moved to compunction, 461 along with the clergy and the magistrates contributed of their own free will. and when the petition sent from the captives was read, the whole populace asked for a public assembly to be held; and when the public assembly was held and a carpet was spread out, each according as he was able threw onto the carpet. and when all was collected and sent out, the captives were ransomed. And at the same time the magister Hermogenes was sent down to the eastern parts on account of the Persian war; for the king of the Romans had learned that a Persian general named Exarath with Persian assistance, having with him also a royal bandon, had set out against the Roman territories. And Alamundar, chieftain of the Saracens, with much armed assistance, having come through Circesium appeared at Callinicum, a city of Osrhoene. And when Belisarius the general learned this, going to the aid of the duces with eight thousand, among whom was also found Arethas the phylarch with five thousand. But the Persians having set out with their own Saracens encamped by night near the fort of Gabbula,

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προβάντων ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἰνδῶν κρατήσας τὴν 459 κεφαλὴν τοῦ πρεσβευτοῦ Ῥωμαίων, δεδωκὼς εἰρήνης φίλημα, ἀπέλυσεν ἐν πολλῇ θεραπείᾳ. κατέπεμψε γὰρ καὶ σάκρας διὰ Ἰνδοῦ πρεσβευτοῦ καὶ δῶρα τῷ βασιλεῖ Ῥωμαίων. Ἐν αὐτῷ δὲ τῷ χρόνῳ κατεπέμφθη δέησις παρὰ Γιλδερίχου, ῥηγὸς τῶν Ἀφρῶν, ὡς τυραννήσαντος τοῦ ἰδίου ἐξαδέλφου κατ' αὐτοῦ, καὶ πόλεμον τῶν Μαυρουσίων μετὰ τῶν Ἀφρῶν συμβαλόντων, παρέλαβον πολλὴν αὐτοῦ χώραν, ἐν οἷς παρελήφθη ἡ παρ' αὐτοῖς λεγομένη Τρίπολις καὶ Λεπτωμὰ καὶ Σαβαθὰ καὶ τὸ Βυζάκιν, αἰχμαλωτίσαντες ἐπὶ μονὰς δέκα. καὶ ἐπεστράτευσε κατ' αὐτῶν ὁ αὐτὸς ῥὴξ τῶν Ἀφρῶν Γιλδερίχος πλῆθος ἔχων πολὺ σὺν στρατηγῷ ὀνόματι Γελίμερ· ὅστις συμβαλὼν μετὰ Μαυρουσίων περιεγένετο κατὰ κράτος. καὶ συνάψας φιλίαν μετ' αὐτῶν ἔλαβεν αὐτοὺς εἰς συμμαχίαν, καὶ τυραννήσας εἰσῆλθε κατὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ Γιλδερίχου ἐν Καρταγένῃ, καὶ συνέλαβεν αὐτὸν καὶ ἀποκλείσας αὐτὸν ἐν οἴκῳ μετὰ τῆς γυναικὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν τέκνων αὐτοῦ, φονεύσας καὶ τοὺς συγκλητικούς. καὶ ἔπεμψεν ὁ αὐτὸς Γελίμερ διὰ τοῦ ἰδίου πρεσβευτοῦ δῶρα τῷ βασιλεῖ Ἰουστινιανῷ· καὶ μηνυθέντων τῷ βασιλεῖ Ῥωμαίων ἠγανάκτησε κατ' αὐτῶν ἕνεκεν τοῦ ῥηγὸς τῶν Ἀφρῶν· ἦν γὰρ μαθὼν τὴν γενομένην τυραννίδα κατὰ Γιλδερίχου· καὶ ἀπέλυσεν αὐτοὺς μεθ' ὕβρεως πολλῆς. καὶ ἐκπέμψας μαγιστριανὸν ἐν Ῥώ 460 μῃ πρὸς τὸν ῥῆγα Ἀθαλάριχον, ἔκγονον τοῦ Οὐαλεμεριακοῦ, δηλώσας αὐτῷ τοῦ μὴ δέξασθαι πρεσβευτὰς παρὰ Γελίμερ ἐκπεμπομένους πρὸς αὐτόν, μήτε δὲ τὴν ὀνομασίαν αὐτοῦ εἰς ῥῆγα, διότι ἐστὶ τύραννος. καὶ δεξάμενος τὰ ἐκπεμφθέντα γράμματα παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ στοιχήσας, οὐκ ἐδέξατο πρεσβευτὰς παρὰ Γελίμερ τοῦ Ἀφροῦ. Ἐν αὐτῷ δὲ τῷ χρόνῳ ὁ αὐτὸς βασιλεὺς ἀγωνίσασθαι βουλόμενος κατὰ Περσῶν διὰ γῆς τε καὶ θαλάσσης, ἐκπέμπει στράτευμα τοῦ φυλάξαι ἀτάραχον τὴν πολιτείαν Ῥωμαίων. Τῷ δὲ αὐτῷ χρόνῳ δέησις κατεπέμφθη Ἐφραϊμίῳ πατριάρχῃ παρὰ τῶν ἀπομεινάντων ἐν αἰχμαλωσίᾳ ὑπὸ Ἀλαμουνδάρου Σαρακηνοῦ, ὡς πικραῖς τιμωρίαις δεδέσθαι αὐτούς. τινὰς γὰρ καὶ ἀπεκεφάλισεν ἐξ αὐτῶν, φοβούμενος μήπως καὶ προδοσία ἐξ αὐτῶν γένηται. καί τινες προσπεσόντες αὐτῷ παρεκάλεσαν ὀλίγων ἡμερῶν ἔνδοσιν γενέσθαι αὐτοῖς πρὸς τὸ πέμψαι δέησιν ἐν τῇ Ῥωμαίων πολιτείᾳ τοῦ ἐκπεμφθῆναι χρήματα εἰς ἀνάῤῥυσιν αὐτῶν. καὶ ταῦτα ἀκούσας Ἀλαμούνδαρος, χαίρων, φησί, παρεκλήθη· καὶ δεδωκὼς προθεσμίαν ἡμερῶν ἑξήκοντα, ἀντιφωνήσαντος ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν Ταϊζάνου τοῦ ἀρχιφύλου Σαρακηνῶν, καὶ τῆς δεήσεως ἐκπεμφθείσης, ἀνεγνώσθη ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ, καὶ μετὰ δακρύων πάντες εἰς τὰ λεγόμενα γαζοφυλάκια ἐν ἑκάστῃ ἐκκλησίᾳ καθ' ὃ ηὐπόρει τις μετεδίδου. ἐν οἷς πρῶτος κατα 461 νυχθεὶς ὁ πατριάρχης σὺν τοῖς κληρικοῖς καὶ τοῖς ἄρχουσιν ἐξ οἰκείας προαιρέσεως μετέδωκαν. καὶ ἀναγνωσθείσης τῆς δεήσεως τῆς παρὰ τῶν αἰχμαλώτων πεμφθείσης, ᾔτησε πᾶς ὁ δῆμος τοῦ ἀχθῆναι πάνδημον· καὶ τοῦ πανδήμου ἀχθέντος καὶ τάπητος ἁπλωθέντος, ἕκαστος καθ' ὃ ηὐπόρει ἔῤῥιπτεν ἐν τῷ τάπητι. καὶ συναχθέντων πάντων καὶ ἐκπεμφθέντων ἀνεῤῥύσθησαν οἱ αἰχμάλωτοι. Τῷ δὲ αὐτῷ χρόνῳ κατεπέμφθη ὁ μάγιστρος Ἑρμογένης ἐν τοῖς ἀνατολικοῖς μέρεσιν ἕνεκεν τοῦ Περσικοῦ πολέμου· ἦν γὰρ ὁ βασιλεὺς Ῥωμαίων μαθὼν ὅτι στρατηλάτης Περσῶν Ἐξαρὰθ ὀνόματι μετὰ Περσικῆς βοηθείας, ἔχων μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ καὶ βάνδον βασιλικόν, ὥρμησεν ἐπὶ τὰ Ῥωμαϊκά. καὶ Ἀλαμούνδαρος δέ, βασιλίσκος Σαρακηνῶν, μετὰ πολλῆς ἐνόπλου βοηθείας, διὰ τοῦ Κιρκησίου ἐλθὼν ἀνεφάνη εἰς Καλλίνικον, πόλιν τῆς Ὀσδροηνῆς. Καὶ γνοὺς ταῦτα Βελισάριος ὁ στρατηλάτης, ἀπελθὼν εἰς συμμαχίαν τῶν δουκῶν μετὰ χιλιάδων ὀκτώ, ἐν οἷς εὑρέθη καὶ Ἀρέθας ὁ φύλαρχος μετὰ χιλιάδων πέντε. ὁρμήσαντες δὲ οἱ Πέρσαι μετὰ τῶν ἰδίων Σαρακηνῶν νυκτὸς κατεσκήνωσαν πλησίον τοῦ κάστρου Γαββουλῶν,