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so that he might go up, he asked them to let it down. And they, casting off the ends of the ropes as quickly as possible, thought to effect the hauling up of the Goth, but the Roman, taking hold of the nooses, was drawn up, saying something like this, that if he himself went up first, the Goths would never neglect his companion, but if they learned that only the enemy was there, they would pay no 6.1.18 attention to him. Saying this, he went up. And when the Goths saw him, they were both amazed and in great perplexity, and hearing the whole story from him, they hauled up his companion second, who then explained to them both the things agreed upon by them and the pledges given by both 6.1.19 sides. And he for his part went off with his companions, but they let the Roman go unharmed into the 6.1.20 city. After that, horsemen from both sides, not many in number, often armed themselves as for battle, but their contest always ended in single combat, and in all of them the Romans were victorious. So these things went in about this way. 6.1.21 A short time later, when an engagement took place in the plain of Nero, and various pursuits were being made in different directions by small groups of horsemen, Chorsamantis, a renowned man among the bodyguards of Belisarius, a Massagete by race, with some others was pursuing seventy of the 6.1.22 enemy. And when he had gone far from the plain, the other Romans rode back, but Chorsamantis alone was still pursuing. When the Goths saw this, they turned their 6.1.23 horses and came at him. And he, making his way into their midst and killing one of their best men with his spear, went against the others, but they turned again and set off in 6.1.24 flight. But feeling ashamed before those in the camp (for they suspected that they were already being watched by them), they wished to go against 6.1.25 him again. But suffering the same thing as before, and losing one of their best men, they were turned to flight no less, and Chorsamantis, having made the pursuit as far as the 6.1.26 stockade, returned alone. A little later in another battle this man was wounded in the left shin, and the missile was thought to have touched the tip of the 6.1.27 bone. However, being unfit for battle for some days on account of this wound, being a barbarian he did not bear it meekly, but threatened to take vengeance on the Goths as quickly as possible for the insult to his 6.1.28 leg. So, having recovered not long after, and being drunk at breakfast, as was his custom, he decided to go alone against the enemy and take vengeance for the insult to his foot, and having come to the Pincian Gate, he said that he was being sent by Belisarius against the enemy 6.1.29 camp. The guards there (for they could not disbelieve a man who was one of the best of Belisarius' bodyguards) opened the gates and let him go wherever he 6.1.30 wished. And when the enemy caught sight of him, at first they thought some deserter was coming over to them, but when he came near and took hold of his bow, not knowing who he 6.1.31 was, twenty men advanced against him. Having easily repulsed these men, he rode away at a walk, and when more 6.1.32 Goths came against him, he did not flee. But as a great multitude streamed against him he deigned to defend himself, the Romans, watching from the towers, suspected the man was mad, but they did not yet know that he was Chorsamantis. 6.1.33 After displaying deeds both great and worthy of much account, and having fallen into an encirclement by the enemy's 6.1.34 army, he paid the penalty for his irrational boldness. When Belisarius and the Roman army learned this, they were in great grief, and mourned, since the hope of all men in that man had been destroyed. 6.2.1 And a certain Euthalius came from Byzantium to Tarracina around the summer solstice, carrying the money which the 6.2.2 emperor owed to the soldiers. Fearing lest the enemy, meeting him on the road, might take the money and kill him, he wrote to Belisarius to make the journey to Rome safe for 6.2.3 him. So he selected one hundred of his best shield-bearers with two bodyguards and sent them to Tarracina to bring the money to 6.2.4 him. And he always gave the barbarians the impression that he was about to fight with his whole army, so that none of the enemy would go from there either for the purpose of collecting 6.2.5 provisions or for any other reason whatsoever. And when on the

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ὅπως ἀναβαίνοι, ἠξίου καθεῖναι. καὶ οἱ μὲν ὡς τάχιστα τῶν κάλων τὰς ἀρχὰς ἀπορρίψαντες τοῦ Γότθου ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ἀνολκὴν ᾤοντο, λαβόμενος δὲ ὁ Ῥωμαῖος τῶν βρόχων εἵλκετο ἄνω, τοιοῦτον εἰπὼν, ὡς, ἢν μὲν αὐτὸς ἀναβαίνοι πρῶτος, οὔποτε τοῦ ἑταίρου ἀμελήσειν τοὺς Γότθους, ἢν δέ γε τὸν πολέμιον πύθωνται μόνον ἐνταῦθα εἶναι, οὐδένα ἂν αὐτοῦ 6.1.18 ποιοῖντο λόγον. ταῦτα εἰπὼν ἀνέβη. καὶ αὐτὸν ἐπεὶ οἱ Γότθοι εἶδον, ἐθαύμαζόν τε καὶ ἀμηχανίᾳ πολλῇ εἴχοντο, πάντα τε παρ' αὐτοῦ τὸν λόγον ἀκούσαντες ἐν δευτέρῳ τὸν ἑταῖρον ἀνεῖλκον, ὃς δὴ αὐτοῖς τά τε ξυγκείμενα σφίσι καὶ τὰ δεδομένα πρὸς ἀμφοτέρων 6.1.19 πιστὰ ἔφρασε. καὶ αὐτὸς μὲν ξὺν τοῖς ἑταίροις ἀπιὼν ᾤχετο, τὸν δὲ Ῥωμαῖον κακῶν ἀπαθῆ ἐς τὴν πόλιν 6.1.20 ἀφῆκαν ἰέναι. ἔπειτα δὲ ἱππεῖς μὲν πολλάκις ἑκατέρωθεν οὐ πολλοὶ ὡς ἐς μάχην ὡπλίζοντο, ἐς μονομαχίαν δὲ ἀεὶ τὰ τῆς ἀγωνίας αὐτοῖς ἐτελεύτα καὶ πάσαις Ῥωμαῖοι ἐνίκων. ταῦτα μὲν δὴ ὧδέ πη ἔσχεν. 6.1.21 Ὀλίγῳ δὲ ὕστερον χρόνῳ ξυμβολῆς ἐν Νέρωνος γινομένης πεδίῳ, διώξεις τε ἄλλων ἄλλῃ κατ' ὀλίγους ἱππεῖς ποιουμένων, Χορσάμαντις, ἐν τοῖς Βελισαρίου δορυφόροις εὐδόκιμος, Μασσαγέτης γένος, ξὺν ἑτέροις τισὶν ἄνδρας ἑβδομήκοντα τῶν πολεμίων ἐδίωκεν. 6.1.22 ἐπειδή τε τοῦ πεδίου πόρρω ἐγένετο, οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι Ῥωμαῖοι ὀπίσω ἀπήλαυνον, Χορσάμαντις δὲ μόνος ἔτι ἐδίωκεν. ὅπερ κατιδόντες οἱ Γότθοι στρέψαντες τοὺς 6.1.23 ἵππους ἐπ' αὐτὸν ᾔεσαν. καὶ ὁ μὲν ἐς μέσους χωρήσας, ἕνα τε τῶν ἀρίστων δόρατι κτείνας, ἐπὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ᾔει, οἱ δὲ αὖθις τραπόμενοι ἐς φυγὴν ὥρμηντο. 6.1.24 αἰσχυνόμενοι δὲ τοὺς ἐν τῷ στρατοπέδῳ (ἤδη γὰρ καὶ πρὸς αὐτῶν καθορᾶσθαι ὑπώπτευον) πάλιν ἰέναι ἐπ' 6.1.25 αὐτὸν ἤθελον. ταὐτὸ δὲ παθόντες, ὅπερ καὶ πρότερον, ἕνα τε τῶν ἀρίστων ἀποβαλόντες, ἐς φυγὴν οὐδὲν ἧσσον ἐτράποντο, μέχρι τε τοῦ χαρακώματος τὴν δίωξιν 6.1.26 ὁ Χορσάμαντις ποιησάμενος ἀνέστρεψε μόνος. ὀλίγῳ δὲ ὕστερον ἐν μάχῃ ἑτέρᾳ κνήμην τὴν ἀριστερὰν βληθέντι τούτῳ ἐνομίσθη εἶναι ἄκρου ὀστέου τὸ βέλος 6.1.27 ἁψάμενον. ἀπόμαχος μέντοι ἡμέρας ὅσας δὴ ἐπὶ ταύτῃ γεγονὼς τῇ πληγῇ ἅτε ἀνὴρ βάρβαρος οὐκ ἤνεγκε πρᾴως, ἀλλ' ἠπείλησε τῆς ἐς τὸ σκέλος ὕβρεως 6.1.28 τοὺς Γότθους ὅτι τάχιστα τίσασθαι. ῥαΐσας οὖν οὐ πολλῷ ὕστερον ἔν τε ἀρίστῳ οἰνωμένος, ὥσπερ εἰώθει, μόνος ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους ἐβούλευσεν ἰέναι καὶ τῆς ἐς τὸν πόδα ὕβρεως τίσασθαι, ἔν τε Πιγκιανῇ γενόμενος πυλίδι, στέλλεσθαι πρὸς Βελισαρίου ἔφασκεν 6.1.29 ἐπὶ τὸ τῶν ἐναντίων στρατόπεδον. οἱ δὲ ταύτῃ φρουροὶ (οὐ γὰρ ἀπιστεῖν ἀνδρὶ τῶν Βελισαρίου δορυφόρων ἀρίστῳ εἶχον) τάς τε πύλας ἀνέῳξαν καὶ ὅπη βούλοιτο 6.1.30 ἀφῆκαν ἰέναι. κατιδόντες τε αὐτὸν οἱ πολέμιοι, τὰ μὲν πρῶτα αὐτόμολον σφίσι τινὰ προσχωρεῖν ᾤοντο, ἐπεὶ δὲ ἀγχοῦ γενόμενος τοῦ τόξου εἴχετο, οὐκ εἰδότες 6.1.31 ὅστις ποτὲ εἴη, χωροῦσιν ἐπ' αὐτὸν εἴκοσιν. οὓς δὴ εὐπετῶς ἀπωσάμενος ἀπήλαυνε βάδην, πλειόνων τε 6.1.32 Γότθων ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἰόντων οὐκ ἔφυγεν. ὡς δὲ πλήθους πολλοῦ ἐπιρρέοντος ἀμύνεσθαι ἠξίου, Ῥωμαῖοι ἐκ τῶν πύργων θεώμενοι μαίνεσθαι μὲν τὸν ἄνδρα ὑπώπτευον, ὡς δὲ Χορσάμαντις εἴη οὔπω ἠπίσταντο. 6.1.33 ἔργα μὲν ἐπιδειξάμενος μεγάλα τε καὶ λόγου πολλοῦ ἄξια, ἔς τε κύκλωσιν ἐμπεπτωκὼς τοῦ τῶν πολεμίων 6.1.34 στρατεύματος, ποινὰς ἀλόγου θράσους ἐξέτισεν. ἅπερ ἐπειδὴ Βελισάριός τε καὶ ὁ Ῥωμαίων στρατὸς ἔμαθον, ἐν πένθει μεγάλῳ γενόμενοι, ἅτε τῆς πάντων ἐλπίδος ἐπὶ τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ διαφθαρείσης, ὠδύροντο. 6.2.1 Εὐθάλιος δέ τις ἀμφὶ θερινὰς τροπὰς ἐς Ταρακίναν ἐκ Βυζαντίου ἧκε, χρήματα ἔχων ἅπερ τοῖς στρα6.2.2 τιώταις βασιλεὺς ὦφλε. δείσας τε μὴ κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν ἐντυχόντες πολέμιοι τὰ χρήματά τε ἀφέλωνται καὶ αὐτὸν κτείνωσι, γράφει πρὸς Βελισάριον ἀσφαλῆ οἱ 6.2.3 ἐς Ῥώμην τὴν πορείαν ποιήσασθαι. ὁ δὲ ἄνδρας μὲν ἑκατὸν τῶν αὑτοῦ ὑπασπιστῶν δοκίμους ἀπολεξάμενος ξὺν δορυφόροις δύο πέμπει ἐς Ταρακίναν οἵπερ αὐτῷ 6.2.4 τὰ χρήματα ξυγκομίσαιεν. δόκησιν δὲ ἀεὶ τοῖς βαρβάροις παρείχετο ὡς παντὶ τῷ στρατῷ μαχεσόμενος, ὅπως μὴ ἐνθένδε τῶν πολεμίων τινὲς ἢ τροφῶν ξυγ6.2.5 κομιδῆς ἕνεκα ἢ ἄλλου ὁτουοῦν ἴωσιν. ἐπεὶ δὲ τῇ