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On the next day Belisarius ordered all the Romans to convey their children and women to Naples, and as many of their servants as they thought would not be necessary for them for the defense of the wall, in order that 5.25.3 they might not fall into a shortage of provisions. He also announced to the soldiers to do this same thing, if any of them had a manservant or a maidservant. For he said he was no longer able to provide them with their rations in the usual manner in a siege, but that it was necessary for them to receive one half each day in actual provisions, 5.25.4 and the remainder in money. And they acted accordingly. And a great multitude immediately went to Campania. And they were transported, some having found boats which were moored in the harbor of Rome, and others going by the land route 5.25.5 called the Appian Way. And no danger or fear arose from the besiegers either for those proceeding this way or for those going to the harbor. 5.25.6 For the enemy were neither able to surround all of Rome with their trenches because of the size of the city, nor did they dare in small groups to be left far from their camps, fearing the sallies of their 5.25.7 opponents. And for this reason for some time the besieged had great freedom both to depart from the city and to bring provisions into it from the outside. 5.25.8 Especially at night the barbarians were always in great fear and, posting guards in their camps, 5.25.9 remained quiet. Since many, both others and Maurusians, going out from the city, wherever they might find the enemy either sleeping or proceeding along a road in small groups (such as is wont to happen often in a great army, both for other necessary needs and for pasturing horses and mules and whatever animals were suitable for food) would both kill them and having quickly despoiled them, if it so happened that more of the enemy fell upon them, they would withdraw at a run, being men swift of foot by nature and lightly equipped and anticipating in their flight. 5.25.10 Thus the great crowd was able to withdraw from Rome, and some went to Campania, some to Sicily, and others wherever it was thought by them to be easier and better. 5.25.11 But Belisarius, seeing that the number of soldiers was by no means sufficient for the circuit of the wall, for they were few, as has been said by me before, and the same men were not able to keep watch continually without sleep, but some, as was natural, chose to sleep, while others were assigned to the watch, and that the greatest part of the populace were oppressed by poverty and lacking necessities, for since they were artisans who lived from day to day and were forced to be idle because of the siege, no source of provisions was available to them, he mixed soldiers and civilians and assigned them to each guard-post, having fixed a certain stated wage for each civilian for each 5.25.12 day. From these men companies were formed which were adequate for the guard-duty, and the guarding of the circuit-wall for a fixed night was assigned to each company, and they all kept guard in turn. And in this way Belisarius solved the difficulty of both. 5.25.13 And when suspicion had arisen against Silverius, the chief priest of the city, that he was negotiating treason with the Goths, he sent him to Greece immediately, and a little later appointed another chief priest, Vigilius by name. 5.25.14 And having driven some of the senators from here on the same charge, when the enemy raised the siege and departed, he brought them back to their homes again. 5.25.15 Among these was also Maximus, whose great-grandfather Maximus had perpetrated the outrage against the emperor Valentinian. And fearing lest some plot might be made by the guards at the gates, and that someone from outside might come to corrupt them with money, twice each month he would destroy all the keys and always have them remade in a different pattern, and he would replace the guards with others at another post somewhere far from the former one, and over those keeping watch on the circuit-wall each night he would set others. 5.25.16 upon whom it was incumbent, going around a certain portion of the wall in turn, to write down the names of the guards, and if anyone were missing from there, another in his place

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τῇ δὲ ὑστεραίᾳ Βελισάριος πάντας Ῥωμαίους ἐκέλευε παῖδάς τε καὶ γυναῖκας ἐς Νεάπολιν ὑπεκκομίζειν, καὶ τῶν οἰκετῶν ὅσους μὴ ἀναγκαίους σφίσιν ἐς τοῦ τείχους τὴν φυλακὴν ἔσεσθαι ᾤοντο, ὅπως δὴ 5.25.3 μὴ ἐς ἀπορίαν τῶν ἐπιτηδείων καθιστῶνται. ταὐτὸ δὲ τοῦτο ποιεῖν καὶ τοῖς στρατιώταις ἐπήγγελλεν, εἴ τινι οἰκέτης ἢ θεράπαινα ἦν. οὐ γὰρ ἔτι οἷός τε εἶναι τὰς σιτήσεις αὐτοῖς ἔφασκεν ἐν πολιορκίᾳ κατὰ τὰ εἰωθότα παρέχεσθαι, ἀλλ' αὐτοὺς τὸ μὲν ἥμισυ ἐς ἡμέραν ἑκάστην ἐν αὐτοῖς φέρεσθαι τοῖς ἐπιτηδείοις 5.25.4 ἐπάναγκες εἶναι, τὸ δὲ λειπόμενον ἐν ἀργυρίῳ. οἱ δὲ κατὰ ταῦτα ἐποίουν. καὶ πλῆθος πολὺ αὐτίκα ἐς Καμπανίαν ᾔει. ἐκομίζοντο δὲ οἱ μὲν πλοίων ἐπιτυχόντες ἅπερ ἐν τῷ Ῥώμης λιμένι ὡρμίζετο, οἱ δὲ καὶ 5.25.5 πεζῇ ὁδῷ τῇ καλουμένῃ Ἀππίᾳ ἰόντες. κίνδυνός τε οὐδεὶς ἢ δέος ἐκ τῶν πολιορκούντων ἐγίνετο οὔτε τοῖς ταύτῃ βαδίζουσιν οὔτε τοῖς ἐπὶ τοῦ λιμένος ἰοῦσιν. 5.25.6 οἱ γὰρ πολέμιοι οὔτε Ῥώμην ξύμπασαν τοῖς χαρακώμασι περιβαλέσθαι διὰ μέγεθος τῆς πόλεως οἷοί τε ἦσαν οὔτε κατ' ὀλίγους ἐτόλμων μακρὰν ἀπολείπεσθαι τῶν στρατοπέδων, φοβούμενοι τὰς ἐπεκδρομὰς τῶν 5.25.7 ἐναντίων. καὶ δι' αὐτὸ τοῖς πολιορκουμένοις ἐπὶ χρόνον τινὰ πολλὴ ἐξουσία ἐγίνετο τῆς τε πόλεως ἀπανίστασθαι καὶ τὰ ἐπιτήδεια ἔξωθεν ἐς αὐτὴν ἐσκο5.25.8 μίζεσθαι. μάλιστα δὲ νύκτωρ οἱ βάρβαροι ἐς δέος τε ἀεὶ μέγα καθίσταντο καὶ φυλακὰς ποιούμενοι ἐν τοῖς 5.25.9 στρατοπέδοις ἡσύχαζον. ἐπεὶ ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἄλλοι τε καὶ Μαυρούσιοι συχνοὶ ἐξιόντες, ὅπη τοὺς πολεμίους ἢ καθεύδοντας ἢ ὁδῷ ἰόντας κατ' ὀλίγους εὑρήσειαν (οἷα πολλὰ ἐν στρατῷ μεγάλῳ γίνεσθαι εἴωθεν, ἄλλων τε ἀναγκαίων χρειῶν ἕνεκα καὶ τοῦ βόσκειν ἵππους τε καὶ ἡμιόνους καὶ ζῷα ὅσα ἐς βρῶσιν ἐπιτήδεια ἦν) ἔκτεινόν τε καὶ κατὰ τάχος ἐσκυλευκότες, πλειόνων σφίσιν, ἂν οὕτω τύχοι, πολεμίων ἐπεισπεσόντων ὑπεχώρουν δρόμῳ, ἄνδρες φύσει τε ποδώκεις καὶ κούφως ἐσκευασμένοι καὶ τῇ φυγῇ προλαμβάνον5.25.10 τες. οὕτω μὲν ἐκ Ῥώμης ὑποχωρεῖν ὁ πολὺς ὅμιλος ἴσχυον, καὶ οἱ μὲν ἐπὶ Καμπανίας, οἱ δὲ ἐπὶ Σικελίας ᾔεσαν, οἱ δὲ ὅπη ῥᾷόν τε σφίσιν ἐνομίσθη καὶ βέλτιον 5.25.11 εἶναι. Βελισάριος δὲ ὁρῶν τόν τε τῶν στρατιωτῶν ἀριθμὸν ἥκιστα ἐς τὴν τοῦ τείχους περίοδον ἐξικνούμενον, ὀλίγοι τε γὰρ ἦσαν, ὥσπερ μοι ἔμπροσθεν εἴρηται, καὶ οὐκ ἀεὶ φυλάσσειν οἱ αὐτοὶ ἄϋπνοι ἴσχυον, ἀλλ' οἱ μὲν ὕπνον, ὡς τὸ εἰκὸς, ᾑροῦντο, οἱ δὲ ἐς τὴν φυλακὴν ἐτετάχατο, καὶ τοῦ δήμου τὸ πλεῖστον μέρος πενίᾳ τε πιεζομένους καὶ τῶν ἀναγκαίων σπανίζοντας, ἅτε γὰρ βαναύσοις ἀνθρώποις ἐφήμερά τε ἅπαντα ἔχουσι καὶ ἀργεῖν διὰ τὴν πολιορκίαν ἠναγκασμένοις πόρος οὐδεὶς τῶν ἐπιτηδείων ἐγίνετο, στρατιώτας τε καὶ ἰδιώτας ξυνέμιξε καὶ φυλακτηρίῳ ἑκάστῳ ἔνειμε, ῥητόν τινα μισθὸν ἰδιώτῃ ἀνδρὶ τάξας ἐς ἡμέραν ἑκά5.25.12 στην. ὧν δὴ ἐγίνοντο μὲν ξυμμορίαι ἐς τὴν φυλακὴν ἱκανῶς ἔχουσαι, νύκτα δὲ τακτὴν ἡ φυλακὴ τοῦ περιβόλου ἐπέκειτο ξυμμορίᾳ ἑκάστῃ, ἐφύλασσόν τε αὐτῶν ἐκ περιτροπῆς ἅπαντες. καὶ ταύτῃ Βελισάριος ἑκατέρων τὴν ἀπορίαν διέλυεν. 5.25.13 Ὑποψίας δὲ ἐς Σιλβέριον τὸν τῆς πόλεως ἀρχιερέα γεγενημένης, ὡς δὴ προδοσίαν ἐς Γότθους πράσσοι, αὐτὸν μὲν ἐς τὴν Ἑλλάδα ἔπεμψεν αὐτίκα, ἕτερον δὲ ἀρχιερέα ὀλίγῳ ὕστερον, Βιγίλιον ὄνομα, κατεστήσατο. 5.25.14 τινὰς δὲ καὶ τῶν ἐκ βουλῆς ἐπ' αἰτίᾳ τῇ αὐτῇ ἐνθένδε ἐξελάσας, ἐπειδὴ τὴν πολιορκίαν οἱ πολέμιοι διαλύσαντες ἀνεχώρησαν, ἐς τὰ οἰκεῖα κατήγαγεν 5.25.15 αὖθις. ἐν τοῖς καὶ Μάξιμος ἦν, οὗ δὴ ὁ προπάτωρ Μάξιμος τὸ ἐς Βαλεντινιανὸν βασιλέα πάθος εἴργαστο. δείσας δὲ μή τις πρὸς φυλάκων τῶν κατὰ πύλας ἐπιβουλὴ γένηται, καί τις ἔξωθεν χρήμασί τε αὐτοὺς κακουργήσων ἴοι, δὶς ἑκάστου μηνὸς τάς τε κλεῖς ἁπάσας ἀφανίζων ἀνενεοῦτο ἀεὶ ἐς ἕτερον σχῆμα, καὶ τοὺς φύλακας ἐς φυλακτήριον ἄλλο μακράν που ἄποθεν τοῦ προτέρου ἀντικαθίστη, τοῖς τε ἐν τῷ περιβόλῳ φυλακὴν ἔχουσιν ἐς νύκτα ἑκάστην ἑτέρους 5.25.16 ἐφίστη. οἷς δὴ ἐπέκειτο μέτρον τι τοῦ τείχους περιιοῦσιν ἐκ περιτροπῆς ἀναγράφεσθαι τὰ τῶν φυλάκων ὀνόματα, καὶ ἤν τις ἐνθένδε ἀπολειφθείη, ἕτερον μὲν ἀντ' αὐτοῦ