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he makes clear to the Alans, that "as I find, Justinian had no other such liar whom he ought to send and to stir you up against us your neighbors, except this man. For he lied to you also about the promise of money; for Justinian, having sent it, took it back. But give him to us, and we will provide you with three thousand nomismata, and may our friendship from the beginning not be dissolved." The 392 Alans said, "We did not obey him for the sake of money, but because of our love for the emperor." Again the Abasgians send to them, saying, "Give him to us, and we will provide you with six thousand nomismata. The Alans, wanting to learn about the country of the Abasgians, agreed to take the six thousand nomismata and to give the spatharios. And the Alans confided everything to the spatharios, and say to him, "As you see, the road leading to Roman territory is closed, and you have no way to pass; but rather let us use a ruse and agree with them that we are handing you over, and we will send our men along with them and we will learn their passes and we will raid and destroy their country and we will accomplish your deliverance." When the envoys of the Alans went to Abasgia and agreed to hand over the spatharios, they received very many guest-gifts from them; and they send more envoys again with the amount of gold to receive the spatharios. The Alans say to the spatharios, "These men, as we said before, have come to take you, and Abasgia awaits you. And since we are approaching them, merchants going to them do not cease. Therefore, so that our plan may not be betrayed, we will hand you over openly; and as you are moving away, we will secretly send men from behind, and we will kill them, but hide you, until our people are gathered and we enter their land unexpectedly." And so it happened. For the envoys of the Abasgians, having received the spatharios with his men, bound them and led them away; but the Alans with Itaxes, their lord, catching them from behind, kill the Abasgians, and hid the spatharios. And having levied an army he moved against Abasgia and, unexpectedly entering the passes, he wrought great captivity and destruction upon the Abasgians 393. But when Justinian heard these things, that even without the money the things of his commission had been done, he sends letters to the Abasgians, that "If you save our spatharios and allow him to pass through your land unharmed, we forgive you all your offenses. And they, having received these things with joy, sent again to Alania, saying, "We give you our children as hostages, and give us the spatharios, so that we may send him to Justinian. But the spatharios did not accept this, saying, "God is able to open a door for me to go out; since I will not go out through Abasgia." And after some time, when an army of Romans and Armenians had entered Lazica and were besieging Archaeopolis, and having heard of the arrival of the Saracens, they withdrew. And up to two hundred of them, having been detached, went up into the regions of Apsilia and the Caucasus, plundering. And when the Saracens had taken Lazica, the army of the Romans and Armenians took to flight and returned to the Phasis. But the two hundred who remained in the Caucasian mountains took to brigandage, having despaired of themselves. But the Alans, learning this, supposed that a multitude of Romans was in the Caucasus and, rejoicing, say to the spatharios, "The Romans have drawn near, go to them." And the spatharios, taking fifty Alans and crossing the snows of the Caucasus with snowshoes in the month of May, found them, and being in great joy, he asked, "Where is the army?" The

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δηλοῖ τοῖς Ἀλανοῖς, ὅτι "ὡς εὑρίσκω ἄλλον τοιοῦτον ψεύστην οὐκ εἶχεν Ἰουστινιανός, ὃν ὤφειλεν ἀπολῦσαι καὶ συγκινῆσαι ὑμᾶς καθ' ἡμῶν τῶν γειτόνων ὑμῶν, εἰ μὴ τὸν ἄνθρωπον τοῦτον. ἐψεύσατο γὰρ ὑμᾶς καὶ περὶ τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν τῶν χρημάτων· πέμψας γὰρ ὁ Ἰουστινιανὸς ταῦτα ἐπῆρεν. ἀλλὰ δότε ἡμῖν αὐτόν, καὶ παρέχομεν ὑμῖν τρισχίλια νομίσματα, καὶ ἡ ἀπ' ἀρχῆς ἀγάπη ἡμῶν μὴ διαλυθῇ." οἱ 392 δὲ Ἀλανοὶ εἶπον, ὅτι "ἡμεῖς οὐχ ἕνεκεν χρημάτων ὑπηκούσαμεν αὐτῷ, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως ἀγάπην." πάλιν δὲ οἱ Ἀβασγοὶ πέμπουσι πρὸς αὐτοὺς λέγοντες, ὅτι "δότε ἡμῖν αὐτόν, καὶ παρέχομεν ὑμῖν ἑξακισχίλια νομίσματα. οἱ δὲ Ἀλανοὶ θέλοντες καταμαθεῖν τὴν χώραν τῶν Ἀβασγῶν συνέθεντο λαβεῖν τὰ ἑξακισχίλια νομίσματα καὶ δοῦναι τὸν σπαθάριον. οἱ δὲ Ἀλανοὶ ἐθάρρησαν τῷ σπαθαρίῳ πάντα, καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ, ὅτι "ὡς ὁρᾷς ἡ ὁδὸς ἡ ἐπὶ Ῥωμανίαν ἄγουσα κεκλεισμένη ἐστίν, καὶ πῶς παρελθεῖν οὐκ ἔχεις· ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον τροπευσώμεθα καὶ συνταξώμεθα αὐτοῖς, ὅτι παραδίδομέν σε, καὶ ἀπολύομεν ἅμα αὐτοῖς ἀνθρώπους ἡμῶν καὶ καταμανθάνομεν τὰς κλεισούρας αὐτῶν καὶ κουρσεύομεν καὶ ἀφανίζομεν τὴν χώραν αὐτῶν καὶ ποιοῦμεν τὴν θεραπείαν ὑμῶν." τῶν δὲ ἀποκρισιαρίων τῶν Ἀλανῶν ἀπελθόντων εἰς Ἀβασγίαν καὶ συνθεμένων παραδίδειν τὸν σπαθάριον, πλεῖστα ξένια παρ' αὐτῶν εἰλήφασιν· καὶ πλείονας ἀποκρισιαρίους πάλιν ἀποστέλλουσι μετὰ καὶ τῆς ποσότητος τοῦ χρυσίου πρὸς τὸ παραλαβεῖν τὸν σπαθάριον. οἱ δὲ Ἀλανοὶ λέγουσι τῷ σπαθαρίῳ, ὅτι "οἱ ἄνθρωποι οὗτοι, καθὼς καὶ προείπομεν, ἐπὶ τὸ λαβεῖν σε παρεγένοντο, καὶ ἡ Ἀβασγία ἐκδέχεταί σε. καὶ ἐπεὶ πλησιάζομεν αὐτοῖς, πραγματευταὶ ἀπερχόμενοι πρὸς αὐτοὺς οὐ διαλείπουσιν. λοιπὸν ἵνα μὴ διαβληθῇ ὁ σκοπὸς ἡμῶν, παραδώσομέν σε φανερῶς· καὶ ἀποκινούντων ὑμῶν, ἀπολύομεν κρυπτῶς ἐκ τῶν ὀπίσω, καὶ ἐκείνους μὲν ἀποκτέννομεν, σὲ δὲ κρύπτομεν, ἕως ἂν σωρευθῇ ὁ λαὸς ἡμῶν καὶ ἀσυμφανῶς εἰσέλθωμεν ἐν τῇ γῇ αὐτῶν." ὃ καὶ γέγονεν. παραλαβόντες γὰρ οἱ τῶν Ἀβασγῶν ἀποκρισιάριοι τὸν σπαθάριον σὺν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις αὐτοῦ, δήσαντες αὐτοὺς ἀπήρχοντο· καταλαβόντες δὲ ἐκ τῶν ὄπισθεν οἱ Ἀλανοὶ σὺν τῷ Ἰταξῇ, τῷ κυρίῳ αὐτῶν, ἀποκτέννουσι τοὺς Ἀβασγούς, τὸν δὲ σπαθάριον ἔκρυψαν. καὶ στρατολογήσας ἐκίνησε κατὰ Ἀβασγίας καὶ ἀπροσδοκήτως εἰσελθὼν τὰς κλεισούρας πλείστην αἰχμαλωσίαν καὶ ἀφανισμὸν εἰς τοὺς Ἀβασγοὺς 393 ἀπειργάσατο. ἀκούσας δὲ ταῦτα Ἰουστινιανός, ὅτι καὶ χωρὶς τῶν χρημάτων τὰ τῆς ἐπιτροπῆς αὐτοῦ γέγονεν, πέμπει γράμματα πρὸς τοὺς Ἀβασγούς, ὅτι "ἐὰν διασώσητε τὸν σπαθάριον ἡμῶν καὶ παρελθεῖν ἐάσητε δι' ὑμῶν ἀβλαβῆ, πάντα τὰ πταίσματα ὑμῶν συγχωροῦμεν ὑμῖν. οἱ δὲ μετὰ χαρᾶς ταῦτα δεξάμενοι ἀπέστειλαν πάλιν εἰς Ἀλανίαν, λέγοντες, ὅτι "δίδομεν ὑμῖν ὄψιδας τὰ τέκνα ἡμῶν, καὶ δότε ἡμῖν τὸν σπαθάριον, ἵνα ἀπολύσωμεν αὐτὸν πρὸς Ἰουστινιανόν. ὁ δὲ σπαθάριος τοῦτο οὐ κατεδέξατο, εἰπών, ὅτι "δύναται ὁ θεὸς ἀνοῖξαί μοι θύραν τοῦ ἐξελθεῖν· ἐπεὶ δι' Ἀβασγίας οὐκ ἐξέρχομαι." μετὰ δὲ χρόνον τινὰ φωσάτον Ῥωμαίων καὶ Ἀρμενίων εἰσελθόντων ἐν Λαζικῇ καὶ τὴν Ἀρχαιόπολιν πολιορκούντων, ἀκουσάντων τε τὴν τῶν Σαρακηνῶν ἔλευσιν, ἀνεχώρησαν. ἀποσπασθέντες δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν ἕως τῶν διακοσίων ἀνῆλθον ἐν τοῖς μέρεσιν Ἀψιλίας καὶ τῶν Καυκασίων πραιδεύοντες. τῶν δὲ Σαρακηνῶν καταλαβόντων τὴν Λαζικήν, φυγῇ χρησάμενος ὁ τῶν Ῥωμαίων καὶ Ἀρμενίων λαὸς ἐπὶ τὸν Φᾶσιν ὑπέστρεψαν. οἱ δὲ διακόσιοι ἀπομείναντες εἰς τὰ Καυκάσια ὄρη ἔστησαν λῃστεύοντες, ἀπογνόντες ἑαυτῶν. οἱ δὲ Ἀλανοὶ μαθόντες τοῦτο ὑπέλαβον πλῆθος Ῥωμαίων εἶναι ἐν τοῖς Καυκασίοις καὶ χαρέντες λέγουσι τῷ σπαθαρίῳ, ὅτι "οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι ἐπλησίασαν, ἄπελθε πρὸς αὐτούς." λαβὼν δὲ ὁ σπαθάριος πεντήκοντα Ἀλανοὺς καὶ ὑπερβὰς μετὰ κυκλοπόδων Μαΐου μηνὸς τὰς χιόνας τῶν Καυκασίων εὗρεν αὐτούς, καὶ ἐν πολλῇ χαρᾷ γεγονὼς ἠρώτα, "ποῦ ἐστὶν ὁ λαός;" οἱ