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having come inside the circuit-wall, killed all the enemy and recovered Hadrumetum for the emperor, and the fame concerning Germanus 4.23.26 beginning from this went as far as Carthage. But the Moors and Stotzas with their followers, upon hearing these things, at first both took fright and fled to the extremities of Libya, but then, learning the true account, they were indignant that they themselves, after having spared all the people of Hadrumetum, had suffered such things at their 4.23.27 hands. Wherefore, indeed, falling upon them everywhere, they wrought unholy deeds upon the Libyans, sparing no age, and the country became for the most part desolate of men at that time. 4.23.28 For of the Libyans who were left, some fled into the cities, and others to both Sicily and the other islands. 4.23.29 The men of note, however, almost all went to Byzantium, among whom was also Paul, the one who had recovered Hadrumetum 4.23.30 for the emperor. And the Moors more fearlessly, since no one was coming out against them, plundered everything, and with them was Stotzas, already 4.23.31 in power. For many Roman soldiers followed him, some having come as deserters, and others, though having at first been made prisoners, remained with him voluntarily. 4.23.32 But John, who, indeed, had some standing among the Moors, having quarrelled violently with Sergius, kept quiet. 4.24.1 Meanwhile, the emperor sent to Libya 4.24.1 another general, Areobindus, with some few soldiers, a man of the senate and of noble birth, but by no means experienced in the works 4.24.2 of war. And with him he sent Athanasius, a prefect who had recently come from Italy, and some few Armenians, whom Artabanes and John commanded, sons of John, Arsacids by birth, but lately having left the Persian army, and come again as deserters to the Romans with the other Armenians. 4.24.3 And with Areobindus were both his sister and Prejecta his wife, daughter of Vigilantia, the sister of the Emperor Justinian 4.24.4. He did not, however, recall Sergius, but ordered both him and Areobindus to be generals of Libya, having divided between them both the country and the rolls 4.24.5 of the soldiers. And he assigned to Sergius, on the one hand, to carry on the war against the barbarians in Numidia, and to Areobindus to fight always with the Moors in Byzacium 4.24.6. And when this fleet had sailed into Carthage, Sergius, on the one hand, departed for Numidia with his own army, but Areobindus, learning that Antalas and Stotzas were encamped near the city of Sicca Veneria, which is distant a three days' journey from Carthage, ordered John, the son of Sisiniolus, to go against them, 4.24.7 having selected whatever was best of the army; and he wrote to Sergius to join the forces of John, in order that all together they might advance to close quarters with the enemy 4.24.8. Sergius, therefore, decided to disregard both what had been written and this task, but John with a small army was compelled to come to blows with an untold multitude of the enemy 4.24.9. And there was for him and Stotzas always a great hatred towards each other, and each of them prayed that, having become the slayer of the other, he might thus indeed vanish from among men 4.24.10. At that time, at any rate, as soon as the battle was about to come to close quarters, both, riding out from their camps, 4.24.11 came against each other. John, therefore, drawing his bow, while Stotzas was still approaching, hit and struck him in the right groin, and he, being struck a fatal blow, fell there, not yet dead, indeed, but about to survive this blow for some little 4.24.12 time. And coming up immediately, all, both those who followed him and the army of the Moors, placed Stotzas, who was fainting, upon a tree, and they themselves with great fury advancing against the enemy, both John and all the Romans, since they were far superior in numbers, with no trouble 4.24.13 routed. Then indeed they say that John said that he was dying a sweet death, since the matter of his prayer concerning Stotzas had reached its fulfilment. And there was a certain steep place there, where indeed his 4.24.14 horse, stumbling, threw him. upon which again as he was trying to leap up, the ones who overtook him

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ἐντὸς τοῦ περιβόλου γενόμενος τούς τε πολεμίους ἅπαντας ἔκτεινε καὶ βασιλεῖ Ἀδραμητὸν ἀνεσώσατο, ἥ τε ἀμφὶ Γερμανῷ φήμη 4.23.26 ἐνθένδε ἀρξαμένη ἄχρι ἐς Καρχηδόνα ἐχώρησεν. οἱ δὲ Μαυρούσιοι καὶ ὁ Στότζας ξὺν τοῖς ἑπομένοις ταῦτα ἀκούσαντες κατ' ἀρχὰς μὲν κατωρρώδησάν τε καὶ ἐς τὰς Λιβύης ἐσχατιὰς φεύγοντες ᾤχοντο, ἔπειτα δὲ γνόντες τὸν ἀληθῆ λόγον δεινὰ ἐποιοῦντο, εἰ αὐτοὶ Ἀδραμητηνῶν φεισάμενοι πάντων τοιαῦτα πρὸς ἐκεί4.23.27 νων πεπόνθασι. διὸ δὴ πανταχῆ ἐπισκήψαντες ἀνόσια Λίβυας ἔργα εἰργάσαντο, οὐδεμιᾶς ἡλικίας φεισάμενοι, γέγονέ τε τότε ἀνθρώπων ἔρημος ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ἡ χώρα. 4.23.28 Λιβύων γὰρ τῶν ἀπολελειμμένων οἱ μὲν ἐς τὰς πόλεις διέφευγον, οἱ δὲ ἔς τε Σικελίαν καὶ νήσους τὰς ἄλλας. 4.23.29 οἱ μέντοι λόγιμοι σχεδόν τι ἅπαντες ἐς Βυζάντιον ἦλθον, ἐν τοῖς καὶ Παῦλος ἦν, ὁ τὴν Ἀδραμητὸν 4.23.30 ἀνασωσάμενος βασιλεῖ. οἵ τε Μαυρούσιοι ἀδεέστερον, ἅτε οὐδενὸς σφίσιν ἐπεξιόντος, ἦγόν τε καὶ ἔφερον ἅπαντα καὶ ξὺν αὐτοῖς ὁ Στότζας ἐν δυνάμει ὢν 4.23.31 ἤδη. Ῥωμαῖοι γὰρ αὐτῷ στρατιῶται πολλοὶ εἵποντο, οἱ μὲν αὐτόμολοι ἥκοντες, οἱ δὲ κατ' ἀρχὰς μὲν αἰχμάλωτοι γεγενημένοι, ἐθελούσιοι δὲ αὐτοῦ μείναντες. 4.23.32 Ἰωάννης δὲ, οὗ δὴ λόγος τις ἦν ἐν Μαυρουσίοις, Σεργίῳ προσκεκρουκὼς ἐς τὰ μάλιστα ἡσυχίαν ἦγεν. 4.24.1 Ἐν τούτοις δὲ βασιλεὺς ἄλλον ἐς Λιβύην 4.24.1 στρατηγὸν Ἀρεόβινδον ξὺν στρατιώταις ὀλίγοις τισὶν ἔπεμψεν, ἄνδρα ἐκ βουλῆς μὲν καὶ εὖ γεγονότα, ἔργων 4.24.2 δὲ πολεμίων οὐδαμῶς ἔμπειρον. καὶ ξὺν αὐτῷ Ἀθανάσιον ἔπαρχον ἄρτι ἐξ Ἰταλίας ἥκοντα ἔστελλε καὶ Ἀρμενίους ὀλίγους τινὰς, ὧν Ἀρταβάνης τε καὶ Ἰωάννηςἦρχον, Ἰωάννου παῖδες, Ἀρσακίδαι μὲν γένος, ἔναγχος δὲ ἀπολιπόντες τὸ Περσῶν στράτευμα, ἔς τε Ῥωμαίους αὖθις ξὺν τοῖς ἄλλοις Ἀρμενίοις αὐτόμολοι ἥκοντες. 4.24.3 συνῆν δὲ τῷ Ἀρεοβίνδῳ ἥ τε ἀδελφὴ καὶ Πρεϊέκτα ἡ γυνὴ, Βιγλεντίας θυγάτηρ τῆς βασιλέως Ἰουστινιανοῦ 4.24.4 ἀδελφῆς. οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ Σέργιον μετεπέμπετο, ἀλλ' αὐτόν τε καὶ Ἀρεόβινδον Λιβύης στρατηγοὺς ἐκέλευεν εἶναι, τήν τε χώραν καὶ τῶν στρατιωτῶν τοὺς κατα4.24.5 λόγους διελομένους. ἐπέβαλε δὲ Σεργίῳ μὲν τὸν πόλεμον διενεγκεῖν πρὸς τοὺς ἐν Νουμιδίᾳ βαρβάρους, Ἀρεοβίνδῳ δὲ τοῖς ἐν Βυζακίῳ Μαυρουσίοις ἀεὶ δια4.24.6 μάχεσθαι. καταπλεύσαντός τε τοῦ στόλου τούτου ἐς Καρχηδόνα Σέργιος μὲν ἐπὶ Νουμιδίας ξὺν τῷ οἰκείῳ στρατῷ ἀπιὼν ᾤχετο, Ἀρεόβινδος δὲ Ἀντάλαν τε καὶ Στότζαν ἐνστρατοπεδεύεσθαι μαθὼν ἀμφὶ πόλιν Σικκαβενερίαν, τριῶν ἡμερῶν ὁδῷ Καρχηδόνος διέχουσαν, Ἰωάννην τὸν Σισινιόλου ἐπ' αὐτοὺς ἐκέλευεν ἰέναι 4.24.7 τοῦ στρατοῦ ἀπολεξάμενον εἴ τι ἄριστον ἦν· τῷ τε Σεργίῳ ἔγραφε τοῖς ἀμφὶ τὸν Ἰωάννην ἀναμίγνυσθαι, ἐφ' ᾧ κοινῇ ἅπαντες ὁμόσε τοῖς πολεμίοις χω4.24.8 ρήσουσι. Σέργιος μὲν οὖν τῶν τε γεγραμμένων καὶ τοῦ ἔργου τούτου ὀλιγωρεῖν ἔγνω, ὁ δὲ Ἰωάννης ξὺν ὀλίγῳ στρατῷ ἀμυθήτῳ ἠνάγκαστο πολεμίων πλήθει 4.24.9 ἐς χεῖρας ἰέναι. ἦν δὲ αὐτῷ τε καὶ Στότζᾳ μέγα τι ἀεὶ ἐς ἀλλήλους ἔχθος, ἑκάτερός τε αὐτοῖν ηὔχετο φονεὺς θατέρου γενόμενος οὕτω δὴ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἀφανι4.24.10 σθῆναι. τότε γοῦν, ἐπειδὴ τάχιστα ἡ μάχη ἐν χερσὶ γίγνεσθαι ἔμελλεν, ἄμφω ἐκ τῶν στρατοπέδων ἐλαύ4.24.11 νοντες ἐπ' ἀλλήλους ἦλθον. ὁ μὲν οὖν Ἰωάννης ἐντείνας τὸ τόξον ἔτι προσιόντα τὸν Στότζαν κατὰ βουβῶνα τὸν δεξιὸν ἐπιτυχὼν βάλλει, ὁ δὲ καιρίαν πληγεὶς αὐτοῦ ἔπεσεν, οὔπω μὲν τεθνεὼς, χρόνον δέ τινα ὀλίγον 4.24.12 ταύτῃ δὴ ἐπιβιωσόμενος τῇ πληγῇ. ἐπελθόντες δὲ πάντες αὐτίκα, ὅσοι τε αὐτῷ εἵποντο καὶ ὁ τῶν Μαυρουσίων στρατὸς, Στότζαν μὲν ὀλιγοψυχοῦντα ἐπὶ δένδρου τινὸς ἔθεντο, αὐτοὶ δὲ θυμῷ πολλῷ ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους χωρήσαντες τόν τε Ἰωάννην καὶ Ῥωμαίους ἅπαντας ἅτε πλήθει πολλῷ ὑπεραίροντες, οὐδενὶ πόνῳ 4.24.13 ἐτρέψαντο. τότε δή φασιν εἰπεῖν τὸν Ἰωάννην ὡς ἡδύν τινα θάνατον θνήσκοι, ἐπεί οἱ τὰ τῆς εὐχῆς ἀμφὶ τῷ Στότζᾳ ἐς πέρας ἀφῖκται. χῶρος δέ τις ἦν κατάντης ἐνταῦθα, οὗ δὴ αὐτὸν ἀποβάλλει ὀκλάσας ὁ 4.24.14 ἵππος. ἐφ' ὃν αὖθις αὐτὸν ἀναθρώσκειν πειρώμενον καταλαβόντες οἱ