166

to become as was fitting; and that they themselves should make the treaties for peace. And when not many words had been exchanged on both sides, they came to an agreement and made the treaty that very day; and the rulers took oaths upon them according to custom; and they released the remaining Roman prisoners of war without ransom; for so it was stated in the treaties; and on the next day, being in the same place, they had breakfast with each other and spent the whole day together, conversing about what had happened the day before during the battle. For astonishment seized both Alexander and the Mysians at the Romans' daring and courage, because, though few in number, fighting against many times their own, and with those stationed behind them already splendidly defeated, they in no way abated their 1.470 manliness and daring, but as if nothing unusual had happened, they engaged the enemy with an unshaken spirit; and afterwards, when forced by the multitude they retreated, they did not look entirely to flight, but defended themselves as they went, which most of all saved them. And Alexander affirmed, adding oaths, that if they had remained a little while longer in formation, and the rout had not occurred, they themselves would not have held their ground, but would have fled, being struck with awe at their daring and endurance, and especially the emperor's. Having spoken of such and other things throughout the entire day, toward evening they took leave of one another; Alexander returned to his own land, while the emperor, after spending a few days in Rousokastron, departed from there and came to Didymoteichon, and disbanded the army. 28. And after the fifteenth day, it was reported to him that Amour, satrap of Smyrna and Ephesus and the other cities in Ionia, leading a fleet of seventy-five ships, had crossed the Aegean and first put in at Samothrace; and from there, having crossed to the opposite continent, he was sailing along the coasts of Thrace, it being unclear where he would disembark. And immediately, having gathered as many as he could from those present, he proceeded to the coasts of Thrace, intending to be an obstacle to the Persian fleet to keep them from disembarking and harming the country. And it happened that the emperor encamped for the night near Komotini, a small city of Thrace not far removed from the sea, and that Amour made his landing at Poros, a coastal region of Thrace 1.471 opposite Komotini; and that he, having gone out with his whole army as if for plunder, and the emperor, having advanced to stop him, met one another at a certain place named Panagia. This place was open and level, and especially opportune for cavalry to fight against infantry, and for this reason it gave the emperor an eagerness to engage the barbarians. But on the other hand, the multitude of the Persians deterred him, being not three or four, nor ten, but many times more numerous than those he himself was leading, and for this reason he was neither able to withdraw from them, seeing that their enterprise was not hopeless; and he considered it a terrible thing to engage, if leading few men he should risk battle against so many. But hoping that another army would arrive, which had been ordered to come to him, he waited there, so that if it arrived he might engage the barbarians. For so the Grand Domestic and his father-in-law Asanes, being present there, advised. And the barbarians, on the one hand, were not confident because of the nature of the place, since there was no retreat to any strong position, if they should be hard-pressed by the cavalry; but on the other hand, seeing that they greatly exceeded the enemy in multitude, they held their ground, neither beginning the war themselves, nor retreating, so that they might not give the Romans courage to fall upon them. Thus, then, both armies stood drawn up opposite one another, each having the intention not to attack first, but to defend against those who came on. But when it was already late in the afternoon, the barbarians first said to the Romans in Greek that 1.472 it was not right to stand idle thus all day long; but either to join battle, or to withdraw, having made a truce. But when the Romans answered nothing, the barbarians, after a short pause, inquired

166

τῷ προσήκοντι γενησομένους· αὐτοὺς δὲ περὶ τῆς εἰρήνης ποιεῖσθαι τὰς συνθήκας. καὶ γενομένων παρ' ἀμφοτέρων λόγων οὐ πολλῶν, συνέβησάν τε καὶ τὰς σπονδὰς ἐποιήσαντο αὐθήμερον· καὶ ὅρκους ἐποιήσαντο ἐπ' αὐταῖς οἱ βασιλεῖς κατὰ τὸ ἔθος· καὶ τοὺς περιόντας τῶν Ῥωμαίων δοριαλώτους ἔλυσαν ἄνευ λύτρων· οὕτω γὰρ ἦν ἐν ταῖς συνθήκαις εἰρημένον· εἰς τὴν ὑστεραίαν τε γενόμενοι ἐν ταὐτῷ, συνηρίστησάν τε ἀλλήλοις καὶ συνδιέτριψαν διὰ πάσης τῆς ἡμέρας περὶ τῶν γεγενημένων τῇ προτεραίᾳ κατὰ τὴν μάχην ὁμιλοῦντες. ἔκπληξις γὰρ εἶχεν Ἀλέξανδρόν τε καὶ Μυσοὺς τῆς Ῥωμαίων τόλμης καὶ τῆς εὐψυχίας, ὅτι ὀλίγοι πρὸς πολλαπλασίους ἀγωνιζόμενοι, καὶ τῶν μετ' αὐτοὺς τεταγμένων ἡττημένων ἤδη λαμπρῶς, οὐδὲν μᾶλλον ὑφῆκαν τῆς ἀν 1.470 δρίας καὶ τῆς τόλμης, ἀλλ' ὥσπερ μηδενὸς καινοῦ γεγονότος, ἀτρέπτῳ φρονήματι συνέβαλον τοῖς πολεμίοις· καὶ βιασθέντες ὑπὸ τοῦ πλήθους μετὰ ταῦτα ἐπεὶ ἀνεχώρουν, οὐ πρὸς φυγὴν παντάπασιν ἀπεῖδον, ἀλλ' ἠμύνοντο ἀπιόντες, ὅπερ καὶ μάλιστα διέσωσεν αὐτούς. διεβεβαιοῦτό τε Ἀλέξανδρος καὶ ὅρκους προστιθεὶς, ὡς εἰ χρόνον τινὰ ἔτι ἐνέμειναν μικρὸν ἐπὶ τοῦ σχήματος, καὶ μὴ ἐγένετο ἡ τροπὴ, οὐκ ἂν ὑπέμειναν αὐτοὶ, ἀλλ' ᾤχοντο φεύγοντες, ἐκπεπληγμένοι τὴν τόλμαν αὐτῶν καὶ τὴν καρτερίαν καὶ μάλιστα βασιλέως. τοιαῦτα καὶ ἕτερ' ἄττα διὰ πάσης τῆς ἡμέρας ὁμιλήσαντες, πρὸς ἑσπέραν συνταξάμενοι ἀλλήλοις, Ἀλέξανδρος μὲν ἐπανέζευξεν εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν, βασιλεὺς δὲ Ῥωσοκάστρῳ ἡμέρας ἐνδιατρίψας οὐ πολλὰς, ἄρας ἐκεῖθεν ἦλθεν εἰς ∆ιδυμότειχον, καὶ διέλυσε τὴν στρατιάν. κηʹ. Καὶ μετὰ πεντεκαιδεκάτην ἡμέραν ἠγγέλλετο αὐτῷ ὡς ὁ Σμύρνης καὶ Ἐφέσου καὶ ἄλλων τῶν κατὰ τὴν Ἰωνίαν πόλεων σατράπης Ἀμοὺρ, πέντε ἄγων καὶ ἑβδομήκοντα στόλον νεῶν, τὸν Αἰγαῖον διαβαλὼν Σαμοθράκῃ προσέσχε πρῶτον· κἀκεῖθεν πρὸς τὴν ἀντιπέρας ἤπειρον περαιωθεὶς, τὰ ἐκεῖ παράλια τῆς Θρᾴκης παραπλεῖ, ἄδηλος ὢν ὅποι ἀποβήσεται. αὐτίκα τε ἐκ τῶν παρόντων ὅσους ἐνῆν συναγαγὼν, πρὸς τὰ παράλια ἐχώρει τῆς Θρᾴκης ὡς τῷ Περσικῷ στόλῳ κώλυμα ἐσόμενος τοῦ μὴ ἀποβάντας κακοῦν τὴν χώραν. συμβέβηκε δὲ βασιλέα τε κατὰ τὰ Κουμουτζηνὰ πόλισμα τῆς Θρᾴκης οὐ πολὺ ἀπῳκισμένον τῆς θαλάσσης αὐλίσασθαι τὴν νύκτα, καὶ Ἀμοὺρ κατὰ τὴν Ποροῦν παράλιον τῆς Θρᾴκης 1.471 χώραν καταντικρὺ Κουμουτζηνῶν τὴν ἀπόβασιν ποιήσασθαι· ἐξελθόντα τε αὐτὸν πανστρατιᾷ ὡς ἐπὶ λείαν, καὶ βασιλέα ἐπὶ τὸ κωλῦσαι προελθεῖν, συντυχεῖν ἀλλήλοις κατά τι χωρίον ὠνομασμένον Παναγίαν. ὃ ὕπτιον μὲν ἦν καὶ ὁμαλὸν, καὶ μάλιστα ἐπικαιρότατον ἱππεῦσι πρὸς πεζοὺς διαγωνίζεσθαι, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο βασιλεῖ παρεῖχε προθυμίαν συμπλέκεσθαι τοῖς βαρβάροις. ἀπέτρεπε δὲ αὖθις τὸ πλῆθος τῶν Περσῶν, οὐ τρὶς καὶ τετράκις, οὐδὲ δεκάκις, ἀλλὰ καὶ πλεονάκις τοσούτων ὄντων ἢ ὅσους ἦγεν αὐτὸς, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο οὔτε ἀφίστασθαι αὐτῶν ἠδύνατο ὁρῶν οὐκ ἀνέλπιστον τὴν ἐπιχείρησιν αὐτῶν· τό, τε συμπλέκεσθαι ἐποιεῖτο ἐν δεινῷ, εἰ ὀλίγους ἄγων πρὸς τοσούτους διακινδυνεύσοι. ἐλπίζων δὲ ἀφίξεσθαι καὶ ἄλλην στρατιὰν, ἣ ἦν προστεταγμένη πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐλθεῖν, περιέμενεν ἐκεῖ, ὡς εἰ ἀφίξοιτο τοῖς βαρβάροις συμβαλών. οὕτω γὰρ ὅ,τε μέγας δομέστικος καὶ ὁ τούτου πενθερὸς Ἀσάνης συνεβούλευεν ἐκεῖ παρών. οἵ τε βάρβαροι τῇ φύσει μὲν τοῦ τόπου οὐκ ἐθάῤῥουν διὰ τὸ μηδεμίαν εἶναι ἀναχώρησιν πρός τι καρτερὸν, εἰ βιάζοιντο ὑπὸ τῶν ἱππέων· τῷ πλήθει δὲ ὁρῶντες ἑαυτοὺς ὑπερέχοντας πολὺ τῶν πολεμίων, ἐκαρτέρουν, μήτε ἄρχοντες αὐτοὶ πολέμου, μήτε ἀναχωροῦντες, ἵνα μὴ θάρσος παρέχωσι Ῥωμαίοις ἐπιφέρεσθαι αὐτοῖς. οὕτω μὲν οὖν ἀμφότερα τὰ στρατεύματα εἱστήκει ἀλλήλοις ἀντιπαρατεταγμένοι, γνώμην ἔχοντες ἑκάτεροι μὴ προεπιχειρεῖν, ἀλλ' ἀμύνεσθαι τοὺς ἐπιόντας. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἤδη περὶ δείλην ἡ ἡμέρα ἦν, οἱ βάρβαροι πρότερον Ἑλληνιστὶ πρὸς Ῥωμαίους εἶπον, ὡς 1.472 οὐ δέον ἀργοὺς οὕτω διὰ πάσης ἑστάναι τῆς ἡμέρας· ἀλλ' ἢ μάχην συνάπτειν, ἢ ἀναχωρεῖν σπονδὰς θεμένους. μηδὲν δὲ ἀποκριναμένων τῶν Ῥωμαίων, οἱ βάρβαροι μικρὸν διαλιπόντες, ἐπυνθάνοντο