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8 years. The 37th bishop of Jerusalem, Mazabanes, for 21 years. After Gallus and Volusianus, the son of Decius, according to most, Valerian and his son Gallienus succeeded to the Roman rule. When these men were killed by the treachery of their own forces, as was said before, they held the same rule for 15 years, but according to some, Aemilianus was in charge for a period of three years, and when he was killed according to the decision of Valerian, the same Valerian was proclaimed emperor of the Romans. 466 But in the time of Valerian and Gallienus, the Scythians again, having crossed the river Ister, both ravaged Thrace and besieged Thessalonica, a city of Illyris, achieving nothing of consequence against it because of the courage of its guards. Because of this, the Greeks, being disturbed, guarded Thermopylae, and the Athenians rebuilt their wall which had been torn down since the times of Sulla, and the Peloponnesians built a wall across the Isthmus from sea to sea, and the Scythians returned to their own lands with much booty. In addition to these things, Sapor, the king of the Persians, having overrun Syria, came to Antioch and ravaged all of Cappadocia. But when the Roman army suffered from famine in Edessa and was disturbed because of this, Valerian, being terrified and pretending to go into a second battle, betrayed himself to Sapor, the king of the Persians, also arranging for the betrayal of the multitude; which the Romans perceived and barely escaped, with a few being killed. Pursuing them, Sapor the king of the Persians takes great Antioch and Tarsus of the Cilicians and Caesarea of the Cappadocians. Then the Persians, scattered by greed in various places and being about to take Pompeiopolis by the sea, and while sacking Lycaonia, were killed in great numbers, when Ballistus, the Roman general, unexpectedly came upon them with ships and a force, whom they fled and placed in command of themselves. He, having taken Sapor's concubines along with much wealth, moved with the fleet to Sebaste and Corycus, where he killed three thousand Persians. Sapor, being greatly grieved by these things, returns with haste and fear; and Valerian remains among the Persians until the end of his life. But Odenathus, a Palmyrene man skilled in strategy, allied with the Romans, destroyed many of the retreating Persians by attacking them in the region of Euphratesia; for this he was honored as general of the East by Gallienus, having also destroyed some 467 of the Romans who had risen against him in Phoenicia. Then again the Scythians, also called Goths locally, came through the Pontic Sea into Bithynia and, proceeding through all of Asia and Lydia, they took Nicomedia, a great city of Bithynia, and destroyed the Ionian cities, capturing some that were unwalled, and others that were partially fortified; but they also reached Phrygia, having sacked Troy, Cappadocia, and Galatia. But again Odenathus, having fought valiantly against the Persians and having subdued Ctesiphon by siege, hearing of the calamities of Asia, comes with haste to Heraclea Pontica through Cappadocia with his forces to overtake the Scythians. And he is assassinated there by a certain man, also named Odenathus, but the Scythians, before he arrived, returned to their own lands through the same Pontus. And his bodyguards kill Odenathus, the murderer of Odenathus, and they entrust the rule of the East to Zenobia, his wife. Then also the Heruli with five hundred ships, having sailed through the Maeotian Lake to the Pontus, captured Byzantium and Chrysopolis. There, having joined battle and having retreated a little toward the mouth of the Euxine Pontus called the Sacred, on the next day, sailing with a favorable wind, they approach the strait of Cyzicus, first a very great city of Bithynia, then they also ravage the islands of Lemnos and Scyros, and arriving in Attica they burn Athens, and overran Corinth and Sparta and Argos and all of Achaea, until the Athenians, according to some
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ἔτη ηʹ. Ἱεροσολύμων λζʹ ἐπίσκοπος Μαζαβάνης ἔτη καʹ. Μετὰ Γάλλον καὶ Βουλουσιανὸν τὸν ∆εκίου παῖδα διαδέχεται τὴν Ῥω μαίων ἀρχὴν κατὰ μὲν τοὺς πλείστους Οὐαλεριανὸς καὶ Γαλιηνὸς παῖς αὐτοῦ. τούτων ἀναιρεθέντων προδοσίᾳ καὶ τῆς οἰκείας δυνάμεως, ὡς προείρηται, κρατοῦσι τῆς αὐτῆς ἀρχῆς ἔτη ιεʹ, κατὰ δέ τινας Αἰμιλιανὸς τριετῆ προΐσταται χρόνον, καὶ τούτου κατὰ γνώμην ἀναιρεθέντος Οὐαλε ριανοῦ ὁ αὐτὸς Οὐαλεριανὸς Ῥωμαίων βασιλεὺς ἀνεδείχθη. 466 Ἐπὶ Οὐαλεριανοῦ δὲ καὶ Γαλιηνοῦ πάλιν οἱ Σκύθαι διαβάντες τὸν Ἴστρον ποταμὸν τήν τε Θρᾴκην ἐδῄωσαν καὶ Θεσσαλονίκην ἐπολιόρκησαν τὴν Ἰλλυρίδα πόλιν, οὐδὲν ἄριστον ἐπ' αὐτῇ δράσαντες τῇ τῶν φυλάκων ἀν δρείᾳ. διὰ τοῦτο ταραχθέντες Ἕλληνες τὰς Θερμοπύλας ἐφρούρησαν τό τε τεῖχος Ἀθηναῖοι ἀνῳκοδόμησαν καθαιρεθὲν ἀπὸ τῶν Σύλλου χρόνων, Πελοποννήσιοι δὲ ἀπὸ θαλάσσης εἰς θάλασσαν τὸν Ἰσθμὸν διετείχισαν, οἱ δὲ Σκύθαι μετὰ πολλῶν λαφύρων εἰς τὰ ἴδια ἦλθον. Ἐπὶ τούτοις καὶ Σαπώρης ὁ τῶν Περσῶν βασιλεὺς καταδραμὼν Συρίαν ἦλθεν εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν καὶ πᾶσαν Καππαδοκίαν ἐδῄωσε. τοῦ δὲ Ῥωμαϊκοῦ στρατοῦ λιμώξαντος ἐν Ἐδέσσῃ καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ταραχθέντος Οὐαλεριανὸς πτοηθεὶς καὶ σχηματισάμενος ἐπὶ δευτέραν ἰέναι μάχην ἑαυτὸν προὔδωκε τῷ Περσῶν βασιλεῖ Σαπώρῃ, συνθέμενος καὶ τὴν τοῦ πλήθους προδοσίαν· ἣν αἰσθόμενοι Ῥωμαῖοι μόλις διέφυγον ὀλίγων ἀναιρεθέντων. οὓς κα ταδιώκων ὁ Περσῶν βασιλεὺς Σαπώρης τήν τε μεγάλην Ἀντιόχειαν αἱρεῖ καὶ τὴν Κιλίκων Ταρσὸν καὶ τὴν Καππαδόκων Καισάρειαν. τότε Πέρσαι διασπαρέντες ὑπὸ πλεονεξίας ἄλλοι ἀλλαχοῦ καὶ τὴν πρὸς θάλασσαν Πομπηιούπολιν αἱρεῖν μέλλοντες, Λυκαονίαν τε πορθοῦντες, ἀναιροῦνται πλεῖστοι, Βαλλίστου τούτοις ἐπελθόντος ἀδοκήτως ναυσὶ μετὰ δυνάμεως τοῦ Ῥωμαίων στρατηγοῦ, ὃν φυγόντες προεστήσαντο ἑαυτοῖς. οὗτος καὶ τὰς Σαπώρου παλλακίδας σὺν πολλῷ πλούτῳ λαβὼν εἰς Σεβαστὴν καὶ Κώρυκον μετέστη σὺν τῷ στόλῳ, ἔνθα τρισχιλίους Περσῶν ἀνεῖλε. τού τοις Σαπώρης περιαλγήσας μετὰ σπουδῆς ἀναστρέφει καὶ φόβου· καὶ Οὐαλεριανὸς μένει παρὰ Πέρσαις ἕως τέλους ζωῆς. Ὠδέναθος δὲ Παλμυρηνὸς ἀνὴρ στρατηγικὸς συμμαχῶν Ῥωμαίοις πολλοὺς διέφθειρε Περσῶν ἀναστρέφοντας κατὰ τὴν Εὐφρατησίαν ἐπιθέμενος χώραν· ὃς καὶ στρα τηγὸς τῆς ἑῴας ὑπὸ Γαλιηνοῦ διὰ τοῦτο τετίμηται, διαφθείρας καί τινας 467 τῶν ἐπαναστάντων αὐτῷ Ῥωμαίων κατὰ Φοινίκην. τότε πάλιν οἱ Σκύ θαι καὶ Γότθοι λεγόμενοι ἐπιχωρίως διὰ τῆς Ποντικῆς θαλάσσης ἐλθόν τες εἰς Βιθυνίαν καὶ πᾶσαν Ἀσίαν καὶ Λυδίαν χωρήσαντες τήν τε Νικο μήδειαν Βιθυνίας πόλιν μεγάλην ἔλαβον καὶ τὰς Ἰωνίδας πόλεις διέφθει ραν, τὰς μὲν ἀτειχίστους, τὰς δὲ μερικῶς ὀχυρωθείσας καταλαβόντες· οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ Φρυγίας ἥψαντο, Τροίαν πορθήσαντες, Καππαδοκίαν καὶ Γαλατίαν. ἀλλὰ πάλιν Ὠδέναθος κατὰ Περσῶν ἀριστεύσας καὶ Κτησιφῶντα πολιορκίᾳ παραστησάμενος, ἀκούσας τὰς συμφορὰς τῆς Ἀσίας σπουδαίως ἐπὶ τὴν Ποντικὴν Ἡράκλειαν ἔρχεται διὰ Καππαδοκίας σὺν ταῖς δυνάμεσι τοὺς Σκύθας καταληψόμενος. καὶ ὁ μὲν αὐτόθι δολοφονεῖται πρός τινος Ὠδενάθου τοὔνομα καὶ αὐτοῦ, οἱ δὲ Σκύθαι πρὶν αὐτὸν ἐλθεῖν ἐπανῆλθον εἰς τὰ ἴδια διὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ Πόντου. καὶ διαφθείρουσιν Ὠδέναθον τὸν Ὠδενάθου φονευτὴν οἱ τούτου δορυφόροι, Ζηνοβίᾳ δὲ τῇ γαμετῇ αὐτοῦ τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς ἑῴας ἐγχειρίζουσι. Τότε καὶ Αἴλουροι πεντακοσίαις ναυσὶ διὰ τῆς Μαιώτιδος λίμνης ἐπὶ τὸν Πόντον διαπλεύσαντες τὸ Βυζάντιον καὶ Χρυσόπολιν κατέλαβον. ἔνθα συμβαλόντες μάχην καὶ μικρὸν ὑποστρέψαντες πρὸς τὸ στόμιον τοῦ Εὐξείνου Πόντου τὸ λεγόμενον ἱερόν, τῇ ἑξῆς αἰσίῳ καταπλεύσαντες πνεύ ματι τὸν πορθμὸν Κυζίκου μὲν πρῶτον μεγίστης πόλεως Βιθυνίας προσ άγουσιν, εἶτα καὶ τὰς νήσους Λῆμνον καὶ Σκῦρον δῃοῦσι, καὶ εἰς τὴν Ἀττικὴν φθάσαντες ἐμπιπρῶσι τὰς Ἀθήνας Κόρινθόν τε καὶ Σπάρτην καὶ τὸ Ἄργος καὶ τὴν ὅλην Ἀχαΐαν κατέδραμον, ἕως Ἀθηναῖοι κατά τινας