155

astounding, which he razed to the ground, so that Chosroes might learn what pain the Romans had when their cities were laid waste and burned by him. And many from the apartments of the palace were also captured. And when they themselves were asked when he had withdrawn from Dastagerd, they said, that "nine days before you arrived, having heard of your approach, he secretly breached the city wall near the palace; and so unhindered 323 he went out through the gardens, he and his wife and his children, so that there would be no commotion in the city." And neither his armies nor the rulers knew, until he had gone five miles; and then he made it known, so that they might follow him to Ctesiphon; and he who was not able to make five miles a day, fleeing, made twenty-five. And his wives and children, not seeing one another, then fled in confusion, pushing one another aside. And when night fell, Chosroes entered the house of a certain peasant to stay, having been scarcely admitted at his door, which Heraclius, seeing it last, marveled at. And after three days he reached Ctesiphon; and he who had been given an oracle by the magicians and astrologers twenty-four years before, when he besieged Daras in the time of Phocas, the emperor of the Romans, that, at whatever time he might go to Ctesiphon, he would be destroyed; and who had not endured to travel even one mile from Dastagerd in that direction, then fled and went into it. And not even in it did he dare to stand, but having crossed the pontoon bridge of the Tigris river to the city on the other side, which is called Seleucia by us, but by the Persians Guedeser, he deposited all his treasures in it, and he sat there with Sirem, his wife, and with three other women, who were also his daughters; but his remaining wives and his many children he sent forty miles away to the more eastern part to a strong place. But some of the Persians were slandering Sarbarus to Chosroes as one who favored the Romans and spoke against him; and he sends his spatharius with his command to Kardarigan, the co-general of Sarbarus, to Chalcedon, having written to him, that he should kill Sarbarus and thus, taking charge of the Persian people, hasten to Persia to his aid. But the one carrying the letters is captured around Galatia by the Romans. And those who captured 324 him, escaping the notice of the Persians, brought him to Byzantium and handed him over to the emperor's son. And the emperor, having learned the truth from the messenger, immediately summons Sarbarus. Therefore, having entered, he stood before the emperor. And the emperor, handing him the letter to Kardarigan, also pointed out the one who had been sent, and he read the letter, and having been informed of the truth, he immediately changed sides and makes agreements with the son of the emperor and the patriarch. And having forged Chosroes' letter with him, he inserts in it that 400 other satraps and rulers and chiliarchs and centurions were to be killed, and having skillfully applied the seal, he gathers the leaders and Kardarigan himself, and having read the letter, he said to Kardarigan: "Do you agree to do this?" But the rulers, filled with anger, renounced Chosroes and made peaceful agreements with the emperor, and having deliberated together, it was decided that they should withdraw from Chalcedon and depart to their own lands, doing no harm. And Heraclius wrote to Chosroes: "I pursue and I run towards peace. For I do not willingly burn Persia, but I am forced by you. Let us therefore lay down our arms even now and embrace peace; let us extinguish the fire, before it consumes everything." But when he did not accept this, the hatred of the people of Persia greatly increased against him. And Chosroes conscripted all the men of his rulers and all the servants of his household and of his wives, and having armed all these he sent them out

155

καταπληκτικά, ἅπερ ἕως ἐδάφους καθεῖλεν, ἵνα μάθῃ Χοσρόης, οἷον πόνον εἶχον Ῥωμαῖοι τῶν πόλεων ἐρημουμένων παρ' αὐτοῦ καὶ πυρπολουμένων. ἐκρατήθησαν δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῶν διαιταρίων τοῦ παλατίου πολλοί. ἐρωτώμενοι δὲ καὶ αὐτοί, πότε ἀνεχώρησεν ἐκ τοῦ ∆ασταγέρδ, ἔφασκον, ὅτι "πρὸ θʹ ἡμερῶν τοῦ καταλαβεῖν ὑμᾶς ἀκούσας τὴν παρουσίαν ὑμῶν κρυπτῶς ἐτρύπησε τὸ τεῖχος τῆς πόλεως τὸ πλησίον τοῦ παλατίου· καὶ οὕτως ἀπαρακρά323 τητα διὰ τῶν κήπων ἐξῆλθεν αὐτὸς καὶ ἡ γυνὴ καὶ τὰ τέκνα αὐτοῦ διὰ τὸ μὴ γενέσθαι θόρυβον ἐν τῇ πόλει." καὶ οὔτε τὰ στρατεύματα αὐτοῦ ἔγνωσαν, οὔτε οἱ ἄρχοντες, ἕως οὗ ἀπῆλθε πέντε μίλια· καὶ τότε ἐδήλωσεν, ἵνα ἐπακολουθήσωσιν αὐτῷ ἐπὶ Κτησιφῶντα· καὶ ὁ μὴ δυνάμενος ποιῆσαι πέντε μίλια τὴν ἡμέραν φεύγων ἐποίησεν κεʹ. καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες καὶ τὰ τέκνα αὐτοῦ τὰ μὴ θεωροῦντα ἀλλήλους τότε φύρδην ἔφυγον ἀλλήλους παρωθούμενα. τῆς δὲ νυκτὸς καταλαβούσης εἰσῆλθε Χοσρόης εἰς οἶκον γεωργοῦ μηδαμινοῦ μεῖναι μόλις χωρηθεὶς ἐν τῇ τούτου θύρᾳ, ἣν ἰδὼν ἔσχατον Ἡράκλειος ἐθαύμασεν. διὰ δὲ τριῶν ἡμερῶν κατέλαβε τὴν Κτησιφῶντα· καὶ ὁ χρησμοδοτηθεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν γοήτων καὶ ἀστρολόγων πρὸ κδʹ ἐτῶν, ὅτε τὸ ∆αρᾶς ἐπολιόρκησεν ἐπὶ τῶν χρόνων Φωκᾶ, τοῦ βασιλέως Ῥωμαίων, ὅτι, ἐν οἵῳ καιρῷ ἀπέλθῃ ἐν Κτησιφῶντι, ἀπολεῖται· καὶ μὴ ἀνασχόμενος ἀπὸ τοῦ ∆ασταγὲρδ ἐπὶ τὸ μέρος ἐκεῖνο μίλιον ἓν πορευθῆναι, τότε φεύγων ἐν ταύτῃ ἀπῆλθεν. καὶ οὐδὲ ἐν ταύτῃ ἐθάρρησε στῆναι, ἀλλὰ περάσας τὴν ποντογέφυραν τοῦ Τίγριδος ποταμοῦ εἰς τὴν ἐκεῖθεν πόλιν, τὴν λεγομένην Σελεύκειαν παρ' ἡμῖν, παρὰ δὲ Πέρσαις Γουεδεσήρ, πάντα τὰ χρήματα ἐν αὐτῇ ἀπέθετο, καὶ ἐκάθισεν ἐκεῖ μετὰ Σειρέμ, τῆς γυναικὸς αὐτοῦ, καὶ μετὰ ἑτέρων τριῶν γυναικῶν, τῶν καὶ θυγατέρων αὐτοῦ· τὰς δὲ λοιπὰς αὐτοῦ γυναῖκας καὶ τὰ πολλὰ αὐτοῦ τέκνα παρέπεμψεν ἀπὸ μʹ μιλίων εἰς τὸ ἀνατολικώτερον μέρος εἰς τόπον ὀχυρόν. τινὲς δὲ τῶν Περσῶν διέβαλλον τὸν Σάρβαρον πρὸς Χοσρόην ὡς τὰ τῶν Ῥωμαίων φρονοῦντα καὶ καταλαλοῦντα αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἀποστέλλει σπαθάριον αὐτοῦ μετὰ κελεύσεως αὐτοῦ πρὸς Καρδαρίγαν τὸν συστράτηγον Σαρβάρου εἰς Χαλκηδόνα γράψας αὐτῷ, ἵνα τὸν Σάρβαρον ἀποκτείνῃ καὶ οὕτω τὸν λαὸν τῶν Περσῶν ἀναλαβὼν σπεύσῃ ἐπὶ Περσίδα εἰς συμμαχίαν αὐτοῦ. ὁ δὲ τὰ γράμματα κομίζων περὶ τὴν Γαλατίαν συλλαμβάνεται ὑπὸ τῶν Ῥωμαίων. οἱ δὲ συλλαβόντες 324 αὐτὸν διαλαθόντες τοὺς Πέρσας εἰς τὸ Βυζάντιον τοῦτον ἀπήγαγον καὶ τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ βασιλέως τοῦτον παρέδωκαν. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς μαθὼν παρὰ τοῦ ἀποστολιμαίου τὴν ἀλήθειαν Σάρβαρον παραχρῆμα μεταπέμπεται. εἰσελθὼν οὖν παρέστη τῷ βασιλεῖ. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς τὴν πρὸς Καρδαρίγαν ἐπιστολὴν τούτῳ ἐπιδοὺς καὶ τὸν ἀποσταλέντα ὑπέδειξεν, καὶ ἀνέγνω τὴν ἐπιστολήν, καὶ πληροφορηθεὶς τὸ ἀληθὲς παραχρῆμα ἐτράπη καὶ συνθήκας μετὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ τοῦ πατριάρχου ποιεῖ. καὶ φαλσεύσας τὴν Χοσρόου ἐπιστολὴν σὺν αὐτῷ ἐντίθησιν ἐν αὐτῇ ἄλλους υʹ σατράπας καὶ ἄρχοντας καὶ χιλιάρχους καὶ ἑκατοντάρχους ἀποκτανθῆναι, καὶ ἐπιθεὶς εὐφυῶς τὴν σφραγῖδα συναθροίζει τοὺς ἡγεμόνας καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν Καρδαρίγαν, καὶ ἀναγνοὺς τὴν ἐπιστολὴν ἔφη πρὸς τὸν Καρδαρίγαν· "συνορᾷς τοῦτο ποιεῖν;" οἱ δὲ ἄρχοντες θυμοῦ πλησθέντες τὸν Χοσρόην ἀπεκήρυττον καὶ πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα συνθήκας εἰρηνικὰς ἐποίησαν, καὶ κοινῇ βουλευσάμενοι ἔδοξεν, ἵνα ἐκ Χαλκηδόνος ἀναχωρήσωσι καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ ἴδια ἀπέλθωσι μηδὲν λυμαινόμενοι. ὁ δὲ Ἡράκλειος ἔγραψε τῷ Χοσρόῃ· "ἐγὼ διώκω καὶ πρὸς εἰρήνην τρέχω. οὐ γὰρ ἑκὼν πυρπολῶ τὴν Περσίδα, ἀλλὰ βιασθεὶς ὑπὸ σοῦ. ῥίψωμεν οὖν κἂν νῦν τὰ ὅπλα καὶ εἰρήνην ἀσπασώμεθα· σβέσωμεν τὸ πῦρ, πρὶν τὸ πᾶν καταφλέξῃ." τούτου δὲ μὴ καταδεξαμένου, μεγάλως τὸ μῖσος τοῦ λαοῦ τῆς Περσίδος ηὐξήθη κατ' αὐτοῦ. καὶ ἐστράτευσε Χοσρόης πάντας τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τῶν ἀρχόντων αὐτοῦ καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν ὑπουργίαν αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν γυναικῶν αὐτοῦ, καὶ τούτους ὁπλίσας πάντας ἀπέλυσεν