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in other places prepared the way for the emperor and went on ahead. And the emperor, having seized a palace, the one called Dezeridan, destroyed it and gave it over to fire. But the Persians, having crossed the bridge of the Tornas river, encamped there. And the emperor, having seized another palace of Chosroes, the one called Rhousa, also destroyed it. And it was suspected that the enemy intended to fight him at the bridge of the Tornas river. But upon seeing him, they abandoned the bridge and fled. And the emperor, having crossed unhindered, seized another palace, the one called Beklal; there he also built a hippodrome and destroyed this. But some of the Armenians who were with the Persians came to the emperor by night, saying, "Chosroes with his elephants and his own army is encamped five miles 321 from the palace called Dastagerd in a place called Barasroth, and he has ordered the army to be gathered there, so that they may fight you. For there is also there a river difficult to cross, having a narrow bridge, and many narrow passages from buildings. And putrid streams." And the emperor, having conferred with his commanders and the army, stayed at the palace of Beklal. For he found in it in one enclosure three hundred fattened ostriches, and in another about five hundred fattened gazelles, and in another one hundred fattened wild asses; and he gave all these to the people. And they spent the first of the month of January there. For they also found sheep and pigs and oxen, of which there was no number. And all the people rested, enjoying themselves and glorifying God. And having seized those who were tending these, they learned accurately from them that Chosroes, having learned from the twenty-third of the month of December that the emperor had crossed the bridge of the Tornas, immediately set out from the palace in Dastagerd in great haste to depart for Ctesiphon, having loaded all the valuables which he had in the palace onto both the elephants and the camels and mules of his service, having also written to the people of Rhazates, so that they might enter into the same palace and the houses of the nobles and carry away whatever might be found in them. The emperor therefore sent half of the army to Dastagerd, while he himself went by another road to another palace, the one called Bebdarch. And having destroyed this and given it over to fire, they gave thanks to God who had done such wonders through the intercessions of the Mother of God. For who would have expected Chosroes to flee from the face of the emperor of the Romans from his palaces in Dastagerd and to depart for Ctesiphon, when for twenty-four years he had not endured to see Ctesiphon, but his royal residence was in 322 Dastagerd? And the people of the Romans found in his palace in Dastagerd three hundred Roman standards, which they had taken at different times; they also found leftover goods, much aloe and great logs of aloe of seventy and eighty pounds, and much silk and pepper and many linen shirts beyond measure, and sugar and ginger and many other goods. And some also uncoined silver, and all-silk garments, and woolen carpets and embroidered tapestries, a great multitude and very beautiful, all of which they burned because of the weight; and the pavilions of Chosroes and the porticoes which he used to set up when he was encamped in the field, they burned them all, and his many statues; and they also found in these palaces ostriches and gazelles and wild asses and peacocks and pheasants, a countless multitude, and in his game park lions and very large living tigers. And many of the captives fled to the emperor, Edessenes and Alexandrians, and a great multitude from other cities. And the emperor also celebrated the feast of the Epiphany in Dastagerd, gladdening and restoring both the people and the animals, and destroying the palaces of Chosroes, which were exceedingly valuable and wonderful buildings and

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ἄλλοις τόποις προεποίησαν τὸν βασιλέα καὶ ἔμπροσθεν ἐπορεύοντο. καταλαβὼν δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς παλάτιον, τὸ ἐπιλεγόμενον ∆εζεριδάν, τοῦτο κατέστρεψε καὶ πυρὶ παρέδωκεν. οἱ δὲ Πέρσαι περάσαντες τὴν τοῦ Τορνᾶ ποταμοῦ γέφυραν ἠπλήκευσαν ἐκεῖ. καταλαβὼν δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἕτερον παλάτιον τοῦ Χοσρόου, τὸ ἐπιλεγόμενον Ῥούσα, καὶ τοῦτο κατέστρεψεν. ὑφωρᾶτο δὲ ὅτι ἐν τῇ γεφύρᾳ τοῦ Τορνᾶ ποταμοῦ οἱ ἐχθροὶ πολεμεῖν αὐτὸν μέλλουσιν. ἀλλὰ τοῦτον ἰδόντες, καταλιπόντες τὴν γέφυραν ἔφυγον. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς περάσας ἀκωλύτως κατέλαβεν εἰς ἕτερον παλάτιον, τὸ ἐπιλεγόμενον Βεκλάλ· ἐνταῦθα καὶ ἱπποδρομίαν ἔκτισε καὶ τοῦτο κατέστρεψεν. τινὲς δὲ τῶν Ἀρμενίων τῶν συνόντων τοῖς Πέρσαις ἦλθον πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα νυκτὸς λέγοντες, ὅτι "ὁ Χοσρόης μετὰ τῶν ἐλεφάντων καὶ τοῦ ἰδίου στρατοῦ ἀπὸ 321 πέντε μιλίων ἔνθεν τοῦ παλατίου τοῦ ἐπιλεγομένου ∆ασταγὲρδ εἰς τόπον ἐπιλεγόμενον Βαρασρὼθ ἀπληκευμένος ἐστίν, καὶ ὅτι ἐδήλωσε τὸν στρατὸν ἐκεῖ σωρευθῆναι, ἵνα πολεμήσωσί σε. ἔστι γὰρ ἐκεῖ καὶ ποταμὸς δύσβατος στενὴν γέφυραν ἔχων καὶ στενώματα πολλὰ ἀπὸ οἰκημάτων. καὶ ῥύακες σαπροί." ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς βουλευσάμενος μετὰ τῶν ἀρχόντων καὶ τοῦ στρατοῦ ἐκάθισεν ἐν τῷ παλατίῳ Βεκλάλ. εὗρε γὰρ ἐν αὐτῷ ἐν ἑνὶ περιβόλῳ στρουθεῶνας τριακοσίους σιτευτούς, καὶ ἐν ἄλλῳ περὶ πεντακοσίας δορκάδας σιτευτάς, καὶ ἐν ἄλλῳ ἑκατὸν ὀνάγρους σιτευτούς· καὶ πάντα ἐδωρήσατο τῷ λαῷ. καὶ τὴν πρώτην τοῦ Ἰαννουαρίου μηνὸς ἐποίησαν ἐκεῖσε. εὗρον γὰρ καὶ πρόβατα καὶ χοίρους καὶ βόας, ὧν οὐκ ἦν ἀριθμός. καὶ ἀνεπαύσατο πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ἀπολαύοντες καὶ δοξάζοντες τὸν θεόν. πιάσαντες δὲ τοὺς νέμοντας ταῦτα ἔγνωσαν παρ' αὐτῶν ἀκριβῶς, ὡς ὁ Χοσρόης ἀπὸ εἰκάδος τρίτης τοῦ ∆εκεμβρίου μηνὸς μαθών, ὅτι ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐπέρασε τὴν γέφυραν τοῦ Τορνᾶ, παραχρῆμα ἐκίνησεν ἐκ τοῦ παλατίου τοῦ ἐν ∆ασταγὲρδ ἐν τάχει πολλῷ ἀπελευσόμενος εἰς Κτησιφῶντα, πάντα τὰ χρήματα, ἃ εἶχεν ἐν τῷ παλατίῳ, ἐμβαλὼν τοῖς τε ἐλέφασι καὶ ταῖς καμήλοις καὶ ἡμιόνοις τῆς ὑπηρεσίας αὐτοῦ, γράψας καὶ τῷ λαῷ τοῦ Ῥαζάτου, ἵνα εἰσέλθωσιν εἰς τὸ αὐτὸ παλάτιον καὶ τὰς τῶν ἀρχόντων οἰκίας καὶ ὅ τι ἂν εὑρεθῇ ἐν ταύταις ἀπενέγκωσιν. ὁ οὖν βασιλεὺς τὸ μὲν ἥμισυ τοῦ στρατοῦ ἔπεμψεν ἐν ∆ασταγέρδ, αὐτὸς δὲ δι' ἄλλης ὁδοῦ ἀπῆλθεν εἰς ἕτερον παλάτιον, τὸ ἐπιλεγόμενον Βεβδάρχ. καὶ τοῦτο καταστρέψαντες καὶ πυρὶ παραδόντες εὐχαρίστουν τῷ θεῷ τῷ διὰ τῶν πρεσβειῶν τῆς θεοτόκου τοιαῦτα θαυμάσια ποιήσαντι. τίς γὰρ ἤλπιζε φυγεῖν τὸν Χοσρόην ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ βασιλέως Ῥωμαίων ἐκ τῶν ἐν τῷ ∆ασταγὲρδ παλατίων αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰς Κτησιφῶντα ἀπελθεῖν, ὅπου ἀπὸ κδʹ ἐτῶν οὐκ ἠνέσχετο ἰδεῖν Κτησιφῶντα, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν 322 ∆ασταγὲρδ ἦν τὰ βασίλεια αὐτοῦ; εὗρον δὲ οἱ λαοὶ τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἐν τῷ παλατίῳ αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ ∆ασταγὲρδ τριακόσια βάνδα Ῥωμαίων, ἅπερ ἐν διαφόροις χρόνοις ἔλαβον· εὗρον δὲ καὶ εἴδη ἀπομείναντα, ἀλόην πολλὴν καὶ ξύλα μεγάλα ἀλόης ἀπὸ ἑβδομήκοντα καὶ ὀγδοήκοντα λιτρῶν καὶ μέταξιν πολλὴν καὶ πίπερ καὶ χαρβάσια καμίσια πολλὰ ὑπὲρ τὸ μέτρον, σάχαρ τε καὶ ζιγγίβερ καὶ ἄλλα εἴδη πολλά. τινὲς δὲ καὶ ἄσιμον, καὶ ὁλοσήρικα ἱμάτια, νακοτάπητά τε καὶ ταπήτια ἀπὸ βελόνης πλῆθος πολὺ καὶ καλὰ πάνυ, ἅπερ διὰ τὸ βάρος πάντα κατέκαυσαν· καὶ τοὺς παπυλεῶνας τοῦ Χοσρόου καὶ τοὺς ἐμβόλους, οὓς ἔστενεν, ὅτε ἐν κάμπῳ ἠπλήκευεν, πάντα κατέκαυσαν, καὶ στήλας αὐτοῦ πολλάς· εὗρον δὲ καὶ ἐν τούτοις τοῖς παλατίοις στρουθεῶνας καὶ δορκάδας καὶ ὀνάγρους καὶ ταῶνας καὶ φασιανοὺς πλῆθος ἄπειρον, καὶ εἰς τὸ κυνήγιον αὐτοῦ λέοντας καὶ τίγρεις παμμεγέθεις ζῶντας. προσέφυγον δὲ τῷ βασιλεῖ πολλοὶ ἐκ τῶν αἰχμαλώτων Ἐδεσηνοὶ καὶ Ἀλεξανδρεῖς, καὶ ἐξ ἄλλων πόλεων πλῆθος πολύ. ἐποίησε δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ τὴν ἑορτὴν τῶν φώτων ἐν ∆ασταγὲρδ εὐφραίνων καὶ ἀνακτώμενος τόν τε λαὸν καὶ τὰ ἄλογα, καὶ καταστρέφων τὰ τοῦ Χοσρόου παλάτια κτίσματα ὑπέρτιμα ὄντα καὶ θαυμαστὰ καὶ