151
to meet the enemy on the bridge and cross together; but the people did not obey the emperor. But Sarbaros, having set an ambush and showing himself as if fleeing, drew many Romans, against the emperor's will, to cross in pursuit of him; but turning back and routing them, he killed as many as he caught outside 314 the bridge, who paid the penalty for their disobedience. But the emperor, seeing that the barbarians had broken rank in the pursuit, and that many of the Romans stationed at the outworks were being killed, moved against them. And a certain gigantic man, meeting the emperor in the middle of the bridge, attacked him; but the emperor struck this man down and threw him into the current of the river. And when he fell, the barbarians were turned to flight and in the narrowness of the bridge threw themselves into the river like frogs; and others were killed by swords; but the mass of the barbarians, pouring towards the banks of the river, both shot arrows and resisted, not allowing the Romans to cross. But the emperor, having crossed, bravely resisted the barbarians with a few of his own company, fighting beyond human strength, so that Sarbaros was astonished and said to a certain Cosmas, a Roman refugee, a magarites, standing near him: "Do you see the Caesar, O Cosmas, how boldly he stands for battle and fights alone against so great a multitude and, like an anvil, spits out the blows." For he was recognized by his true imperial boots and received many blows, though not a single fatal one in this war. And having fought the whole day in this war, when evening came, they separated from each other; and Sarbaros, becoming afraid, retreated during the night. But the emperor, gathering his people, set out for the city of Sebasteia, and crossing the Halys river, he stayed in that region for the whole winter. But Chosroes went mad and, sending out men, took the treasures of all the churches under Persian rule. And he forced the Christians to adopt the religion of Nestorius in order to wound the emperor. 315 ιʹ. ληʹ. ιζʹ. ιζʹ. ζʹ. In this year Chosroes, the king of the Persians, made a new campaign, drafting foreigners and citizens and slaves, making a selection from every race; and having handed this selection over to the general Sain, and having taken a choice of another 50,000 from the phalanx of Sarbaros, he joined them to him and named them the Golden Lances; and he sent them against the emperor. But Sarbaros with the rest of his army he sent against Constantinople, so that, having made an agreement with the Huns from the west, whom they call Avars, and with Bulgars and Slavs and Gepids, they might march against the city and besiege it. Learning this, the emperor divided his army into three divisions; and some he sent to guard the city, and others he handed over to Theodore, his own brother, and ordered him to fight against Sain; and taking the third part himself, he marched to Lazica, and staying there he summoned the Turks from the east, whom they call Khazars, for an alliance. But Sain, along with the newly-levied people, upon reaching the emperor's brother Theodore, armed himself for war. And with God cooperating through the intercessions of the all-hymned Theotokos, and when the battle was joined, hail was miraculously brought down upon the barbarians and struck many of them, but the Roman battle-line enjoyed calm. And the Romans rout the Persians and kill a great multitude. When Chosroes learned this, he was enraged against Sain; and Sain, out of great despondency, fell into a sickness and died. By order of Chosroes his body was salted and brought to him, and he subjected it, though dead, to many tortures. And the Khazars, having broken through the 316 Caspian Gates in Persia, invade the land of Adraigan with their general Ziebel, who was second in rank to the Khagan; and in whatever places they passed through,
151
ἐναντίοις συνελθεῖν εἰς τὴν γέφυραν καὶ συμπερᾶσαι· ὁ δὲ λαὸς οὐκ ἐπείθετο τῷ βασιλεῖ. ὁ δὲ Σάρβαρος ποιήσας ἐγκρύμματα καὶ δείξας ἑαυτὸν ὡς φεύγοντα εἵλκυσε πολλοὺς Ῥωμαίους παρὰ γνώμην τοῦ βασιλέως εἰς δίωξιν αὐτοῦ περᾶσαι· ὑποστρέψας δὲ καὶ τούτους τρεψάμενος, ὅσους ἔξω 314 τῆς γεφύρας ἔφθασεν, ἀνεῖλε δίκην ὑποσχόντας τῆς παρακοῆς. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ἑωρακὼς τοὺς βαρβάρους τῇ διώξει τὴν τάξιν λύσαντας, καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἐφεστώτων Ῥωμαίων τοῖς προπυργίοις πολλοὺς ἀναιρουμένους, κατ' αὐτῶν ἐχώρησεν. ἀνὴρ δέ τις γιγαντιαῖος τῷ βασιλεῖ συναντήσας μέσον τῆς γεφύρας προσέβαλεν· ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς τοῦτον πατάξας ἐν τῷ ῥείθρῳ τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἔρριψεν. τούτου δὲ πεσόντος, εἰς φυγὴν ἐτράπησαν οἱ βάρβαροι καὶ τῇ στενώσει τῆς γεφύρας ὡς βάτραχοι εἰς τὸν ποταμὸν ἑαυτοὺς ἔρριπτον· ἄλλοι δὲ καὶ τοῖς ξίφεσιν ἀνῃροῦντο· τὸ δὲ πλῆθος τῶν βαρβάρων πρὸς τὰ χείλη τοῦ ποταμοῦ χυθὲν ἐτόξευόν τε καὶ ἀνθίσταντο μὴ ἐῶντες τοὺς Ῥωμαίους περᾶσαι. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς περάσας γενναίως τοῖς βαρβάροις ἀνθίστατο μετὰ ὀλίγων τινῶν τῆς αὐτοῦ ἑταιρίας ἀγωνιζόμενος ὑπὲρ ἄνθρωπον, ὡς καὶ τὸν Σάρβαρον ἐκπλαγῆναι καὶ πρὸς Κοσμᾶν τινα πλησίον αὐτοῦ ἑστῶτα πρόσφυγα Ῥωμαίων μαγαρίτην εἰπεῖν· "ὁρᾷς τὸν καίσαρα, ὦ Κοσμᾶ, πῶς θρασὺς πρὸς τὴν μάχην ἵσταται καὶ πρὸς τοσοῦτο πλῆθος μόνος ἀγωνίζεται καὶ ὡς ἄκμων τὰς βολὰς ἀποπτύει." ἐκ γὰρ τῶν ἀληθινῶν τζαγγίων ἐγνωρίζετο καὶ πολλὰς πληγὰς ἐδέχετο, εἰ καὶ οὐδεμίαν ἐν τούτῳ τῷ πολέμῳ καιρίαν. πᾶσαν δὲ τὴν ἡμέραν ἐν τούτῳ τῷ πολέμῳ μαχησάμενοι, τῆς ἑσπέρας καταλαβούσης, ἀπ' ἀλλήλων διέστησαν· καὶ ὁ Σάρβαρος φοβηθεὶς διὰ τῆς νυκτὸς εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω ὑπέστρεψεν. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ἐπισυνάξας τὸν ἑαυτοῦ λαὸν εἰς Σεβάστειαν τὴν πόλιν ὥρμησεν, καὶ περάσας τὸν Ἅλυν ποταμὸν ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ χώρᾳ διέτριβεν ὅλον τὸν χειμῶνα. ὁ δὲ Χοσρόης μανεὶς καὶ ἀποστείλας ἔλαβε τὰ κειμήλια τῶν ἐν πάσῃ τῇ ὑπὸ Πέρσαις ἐκκλησιῶν. καὶ ἠνάγκαζε τοὺς Χριστιανοὺς γενέσθαι εἰς τὴν τοῦ Νεστορίου θρησκείαν πρὸς τὸ πλῆξαι τὸν βασιλέα. 315 ιʹ. ληʹ. ιζʹ. ιζʹ. ζʹ. Τούτῳ τῷ ἔτει Χοσρόης, ὁ τῶν Περσῶν βασιλεύς, νέαν ἐποιήσατο στρατείαν στρατεύσας ξένους τε καὶ πολίτας καὶ οἰκέτας, ἐκ παντὸς γένους ἐκλογὴν ποιούμενος· καὶ ταύτην τὴν ἐκλογὴν τῷ Σάϊν παραδοὺς στρατηγῷ ἄλλας τε νʹ χιλιάδας ἐκ τῆς φάλαγγος τοῦ Σαρβάρου ἐπιλογὴν λαβὼν τούτῳ συνῆψε καὶ ὠνόμασε χρυσολόγχεις· καὶ τούτους ἀπέστειλε κατὰ τοῦ βασιλέως. τὸν δὲ Σάρβαρον σὺν τῷ λοιπῷ αὐτοῦ στρατῷ κατὰ Κωνσταντινουπόλεως ἀπέστειλεν, ὅπως τοὺς ἐκ δύσεως Οὔννους, οὓς Ἀβάρους καλοῦσιν, Βουλγάροις τε καὶ Σκλάβοις καὶ Γηπαίδαις συμφωνήσας, κατὰ τῆς πόλεως χωρήσωσι καὶ ταύτην πολιορκήσωσιν. γνοὺς δὲ τοῦτο ὁ βασιλεὺς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ στρατὸν εἰς τρεῖς διαιρέσεις ἐχώρισεν· καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἐξέπεμψεν εἰς τὸ φυλάξαι τὴν πόλιν, τοὺς δὲ παραδοὺς Θεοδώρῳ, τῷ ἰδίῳ ἀδελφῷ, κατὰ τοῦ Σάϊν πολεμεῖν ἐκέλευσεν· τὸ δὲ τρίτον μέρος αὐτὸς λαβὼν ἐπὶ Λαζικὴν ἐχώρει, καὶ ἐν ταύτῃ διατρίβων τοὺς Τούρκους ἐκ τῆς ἑῴας, οὓς Χάζαρεις ὀνομάζουσιν, εἰς συμμαχίαν προσεκαλέσατο. ὁ δὲ Σάϊν ἅμα τῷ νεοσυλλέκτῳ λαῷ καταλαβὼν τὸν τοῦ βασιλέως ἀδελφὸν Θεόδωρον πρὸς πόλεμον ὡπλίσατο. τοῦ δὲ θεοῦ διὰ τῶν πρεσβειῶν τῆς πανυμνήτου θεοτόκου συνεργήσαντος, καὶ πολέμου κροτηθέντος, χάλαζα παραδόξως κατὰ τῶν βαρβάρων κατηνέχθη καὶ πολλοὺς αὐτῶν ἐπάταξεν, ἡ δὲ τῶν Ῥωμαίων παράταξις γαλήνης ἀπήλαυεν. τρέπουσι δὲ οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι τοὺς Πέρσας καὶ ἀναιροῦσι πλῆθος πολύ. τοῦτο μαθὼν Χοσρόης ὠργίζετο κατὰ τοῦ Σάϊν· ὁ δὲ Σάϊν ἐκ πολλῆς ἀθυμίας εἰς νόσον ἐμπεσὼν ἐτελεύτησεν. τούτου δὲ τὸ σῶμα κελεύσει Χοσρόου ἅλατι ταριχευθὲν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐκομίσθη, καὶ τοῦτο νεκρὸν πολλαῖς αἰκίαις ὑπέβαλλεν. οἱ δὲ Χάζαρεις διαρρήξαντες τὰς 316 Κασπίας πύλας ἐν Περσίδι εἰσβάλλουσιν εἰς τὴν χώραν τοῦ Ἀδραϊγὰν σὺν τῷ ἑαυτῶν στρατηγῷ Ζιέβηλ, δευτέρῳ ὄντι τοῦ Χαγάνου τῇ ἀξίᾳ· καὶ ἐν οἷς ἂν τόποις διέβαινον,