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to campaign. But Belisarius made nothing of these words, saying that Chosroes was the cause of the war; for if he desired peace, he would not have come into the land of the Romans seeking it, but would have waited for the ambassadors while remaining in his own country. And having said these things, he sent the ambassador away. And he, having come to Chosroes, said that he had seen a general, Belisarius, who was exceedingly intelligent and brave, and soldiers the like of whom he himself had never seen, whose good order he admired. And he advised Chosroes not to engage in battle with him, lest if he were defeated the whole Persian kingdom should fall, since he was in the land of the Romans and had no place for flight. And for him to win was no great thing; for he would be defeating a general of the Romans. And Chosroes, persuaded by his advice, intended to return immediately to his own lands; for he was afraid to make the crossing of the river, as the Romans held it. And he sends to Belisarius, asking him to withdraw those who had crossed the river, and that by this action he would be given unimpeded passage. But Belisarius immediately sent ambassadors to him, and praised him for his withdrawal, and assured him that ambassadors would soon arrive from the emperor to arbitrate the peace. 1.655 And Chosroes asked Belisarius to make the passage through the land of the Romans without danger; and he sent John of Edessa, a most distinguished man, as a hostage to Chosroes, so that he might pass through the land of the Romans without danger. And the Romans held Belisarius in acclamations, as he had gained more credit in this deed than when he had brought Gelimer and Witiges, the two captive kings, to Byzantium. For what had happened was truly worthy of account and praise; for while the Romans were terrified and all were hiding in their strongholds, and Chosroes with a great army was in the midst of the Roman dominion, for one man to arrive on a swift course from Byzantium and encamp opposite the king of the Persians, and for Chosroes, unexpectedly deceived by his wisdom, to withdraw to his own lands having accomplished nothing.

In the same year, when Timothy, bishop of Alexandria, died, Severus the impious adulterer of Antioch and Julian of Halicarnassus, having fled to Alexandria, were at odds with each other over the corruptible and incorruptible, as they were strangers to the truth. And some put forward Theodosius, and others Gaïnas, as bishop of Alexandria. And Gaïnas held the bishopric for a year, and Theodosius for two. But Justinian brought them to Byzantium and separated them from each other. And he put forward a certain Paul, who was thought to be orthodox, as bishop of Alexandria; who, after making commemoration of the unholy Severus, was expelled from the bishopric through 1.656 the anger of the emperor, and departed and stayed in Jerusalem. In this year a great earthquake occurred in Constantinople, and churches and houses fell, and especially the wall by the Golden Gate, and the spear of the statue of the Forum, and the right hand of the statue of Xerolophos. In the 15th year, Adad the king of the Axumites, wishing to make war with Damianus the king of the Hebrews because Damianus had killed the Christian merchants, vowed that if I defeat the Homerite, I will become a Christian. And when the war was joined, by the cooperation of God he conquered the Hebrews, and took Damianus their king captive alive, and their land and their royal palaces. And having given thanks to God, he sends to the emperor Justinian to send them bishops and clerics. And the whole country believed and was baptized, and they became Christians. In the 10th year, in the month of September, on the 2nd, on the 1st day, in the 7th indiction, a great earthquake occurred throughout the whole world, and half of Cyzicus fell. And the great bronze column of the Augustaeum was also completed, and the equestrian statue of Justinian was erected, holding in the one hand

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στρατεύσασθαι. Βελισάριος δὲ ἀντ' οὐδενὸς τούτους τοὺς λόγους ἐποιεῖτο, τὸν Χοσρόην λέγων αἴτιον εἶναι τοῦ πολέμου· εἰ γὰρ εἰρήνης ἐφίετο, οὐκ ἂν εἰς τὴν Ῥωμαίων γῆν ἀφικόμενος ταύτην ἐζήτει, ἀλλ' εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν χώραν μένων τοὺς πρέσβεις ἐξεδέχετο. καὶ ταῦτα εἰπὼν τὸν πρεσβευτὴν ἀπεπέμψατο. ὁ δὲ πρὸς Χοσρόην ἀφικόμενος ἔφη στρατηγὸν ἑωρακέναι Βελισάριον συνετὸν καὶ ἀνδρεῖον ὑπέραγαν, στρατιώτας δὲ οἵους αὐτὸς ἄλλους οὐπώποτ' εἶδον, ὧν τὴν εὐκοσμίαν ἐθαύ μασα. καὶ συνεβούλευσε Χοσρόην μὴ συμπλέκεσθαι εἰς μάχην μετ' αὐτοῦ, ὅπως μὴ ἡττηθέντος αὐτοῦ τὸ πᾶν διαπέσῃ τῆς τῶν Περσῶν βασιλείας, ἐν γῇ Ῥωμαίων ὑπάρχοντος καὶ φυγῆς τόπον μὴ ἔχοντος. καὶ τὸ νικᾶν αὐτὸν οὐ μέγα· στρατηγὸν γὰρ Ῥω μαίων νικήσειεν. ὁ δὲ Χοσρόης τῇ τούτου παραινέσει πεισθεὶς ἀναστρέφειν εὐθὺς ἐπὶ τὰ ἴδια διενοεῖτο· ἐφοβεῖτο γὰρ τὴν διά βασιν τοῦ ποταμοῦ ποιήσασθαι ὡς τῶν Ῥωμαίων ταύτην κατεχόν των. καὶ πρὸς Βελισάριον πέμπει παρακαλῶν τοὺς τὸν ποταμὸν διαβάντας ἀναστεῖλαι, καὶ τούτῳ τὴν πάροδον ἀκωλύτως παρέ ξειν. Βελισάριος δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν εὐθὺς πρέσβεις ἔπεμψε, καὶ τοῦτον τῆς ἀναχωρήσεως ἐπῄνεσε, καὶ πρέσβεις ἐκ τοῦ βασιλέως συντόμως ἥκειν διεβεβαιοῦτο, ὅπως τὴν εἰρήνην βραβεύσωσιν. 1.655 ἠξίου δὲ Χοσρόης Βελισάριον διὰ τῆς τῶν Ῥωμαίων γῆς τὴν πάρο δον ποιήσασθαι ἀκινδύνως· ὁ δὲ Ἰωάννην τὸν Ἐδεσηνόν, ἄνδρα περιφανέστατον, ὅμηρον τῷ Χοσρόῃ ἀπέστειλε πρὸς τὸ ἀκινδύνως παρελθεῖν αὐτὸν τὴν τῶν Ῥωμαίων χώραν. οἱ δὲ Ῥωμαῖοι Βελισάριον ἐν εὐφημίαις εἶχον μᾶλλον ἐνευδοκιμήσαντα ἐν τούτῳ τῷ ἔργῳ ἢ ὅτε Γιλίμερα δορυάλωτον καὶ Οὐιττίγην τοὺς δύο βασιλεῖς εἰς τὸ Βυζάντιον ἤγαγεν. ἦν γὰρ ὡς ἀληθῶς λόγου τε καὶ ἐπαί νου ἄξιον τὸ γενόμενον· πεφοβημένων γὰρ τῶν Ῥωμαίων καὶ ἐν τοῖς ὀχυρώμασι κρυπτομένων πάντων, Χοσρόου δὲ σὺν στρατῷ μεγάλῳ ἐν μέσῳ γεγονότος τῆς τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῆς, ἄνδρα ἕνα ἐν τῷ ὀξεῖ δρόμῳ ἐκ Βυζαντίου ἥκοντα ἀπεναντίας τοῦ τῶν Περ σῶν βασιλέως στρατοπεδεύσασθαι, Χοσρόην δὲ ἐκ τοῦ ἀπροσδο κήτου τῇ τούτου σοφίᾳ ἐξαπατηθέντα ἄπρακτον εἰς τὰ οἰκεῖα ὑποχωρῆσαι.

Τῷ δ' αὐτῷ ἔτει Τιμοθέου ἐπισκόπου Ἀλεξανδρείας τελευ τήσαντος, Σεβῆρος ὁ δυσσεβὴς Ἀντιοχείας μοιχὸς καὶ Ἰουλιανὸς Ἁλικαρνασεὺς ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ φυγόντες, περὶ φθαρτοῦ καὶ ἀφθάρτου διενεχθέντες, κατ' ἀλλήλων γεγόνασιν ὡς ἀληθείας ὄντες ἀλλό τριοι. καὶ οἱ μὲν Θεοδόσιον οἱ δὲ Γαϊνᾶν προβάλλονται εἰς ἐπίσκοπον Ἀλεξανδρείας. καὶ Γαϊνᾶς μὲν ἐκράτησε τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς ἐνιαυτόν, ὁ δὲ Θεοδόσιος δύο. τούτους δὲ Ἰουστινιανὸς ἤγαγεν εἰς τὸ Βυ ζάντιον, καὶ ἀπ' ἀλλήλων ἐχώρισε. Παῦλον δέ τινα δοκοῦντα εἶναι ὀρθόδοξον ἐπίσκοπον Ἀλεξανδρείας προεβάλετο· ὃς τὴν μνή μην Σεβήρου τοῦ ἀνιεροῦ ποιήσας ἐξεβλήθη τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς δι' 1.656 ὀργὴν τοῦ βασιλέως, καὶ ἀπελθὼν διέτριβεν εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα. τούτῳ τῷ ἔτει σεισμὸς ἐγένετο μέγας ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει, καὶ ἔπεσον ἐκκλησίαι καὶ οἶκοι καὶ τὸ τεῖχος μάλιστα τὸ κατὰ τὴν χρυσῆν πόρταν, καὶ ἡ λόγχη τοῦ ἀνδριάντος τοῦ φόρου, καὶ ἡ δεξιὰ χεὶρ τοῦ ἀνδριάντος τοῦ Ξηρολόφου. Τῷ ιεʹ ἔτει Ἀδὰδ ὁ τῶν Ἀξουμιτῶν βασιλεὺς βουλόμενος πολεμῆσαι μετὰ ∆αμιανοῦ τοῦ βασιλέως τῶν Ἑβραίων διὰ τὸ ἀποκτεῖναι τὸν ∆αμιανὸν τοὺς Χριστιανοὺς πραγματευτάς, ηὔξατο ὡς ἐὰν νικήσω τὸν Ὁμηρίτην, ἵνα γένωμαι Χριστιανός. καὶ τοῦ πολέμου κροτηθέντος τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ συνεργείᾳ ἐνίκησε τοὺς Ἑβραίους, καὶ ἔλαβε ζῶντα αἰχμάλωτον τὸν ∆αμιανὸν τὸν βασιλέα αὐτῶν καὶ τὴν χώραν καὶ τὰ βασίλεια αὐτῶν. καὶ εὐχαριστήσας τῷ θεῷ, πέμπει πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Ἰουστινιανὸν ὡς ἀποστείλῃ αὐτοῖς ἐπι σκόπους καὶ κληρικούς. καὶ ἐπίστευσε πᾶσα ἡ χώρα καὶ ἐβαπτί σθη, καὶ ἐγένοντο Χριστιανοί. Τῷ ιʹ ἔτει, μηνὶ Σεπτεβρίῳ ʹ, ἡμέρᾳ αʹ, ἰνδικτίωνι ζʹ, γέγονε σεισμὸς μέγας εἰς ὅλον τὸν κόσμον, καὶ ἐπτώθη τὸ ἥμισυ τῆς Κυζίκου. ἐπληρώθη δὲ καὶ ὁ χαλκοῦς κίων ὁ μέγας ὁ Αὐ γουστίων, καὶ ἀνηνέχθη ἡ στήλη τοῦ Ἰουστινιανοῦ ἔφιππος, κρα τοῦσα τῇ μὲν