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500 and 100 wild asses, and sheep and pigs and oxen of which there was no number. And he gave everything to the army. And some of the Armenians who were with the Persians came to the emperor, saying that Chosroes with his elephants and his own army had encamped near his palace of Dastagerd, waiting for all his army to be assembled to make war on you. And immediately after burning everything, the emperor comes near his palace of Dastagerd, in which he also found Roman standards, which the Persians had taken at different times, and certain spices, such as much aloe and large logs of aloe-wood, and silk and pepper and linen shirts beyond counting, sugar and ginger and uncoined silver, and all-silk garments, and fleecy rugs and embroidered carpets, a great quantity. These things they burned because of their weight. And many captives fled to the emperor, Edessenes and Alexandrians and a great multitude from other nations. And the emperor celebrated the feast of the holy Theophany there, razing the palaces of Chosroes, which were priceless and marvelous and full of wonder, to the ground, so that Chosroes might learn, he says, what pain the Romans had when their cities were burned by him. But Chosroes, before the emperor reached Dastagerd, having pierced the wall of the city, went out unknown to all with his wives and his children. And he who was not able to make a journey of five 1.733 miles in a day went away fleeing for twenty-five, and having passed through Ctesiphon beyond the Tigris river, he entered a certain fortress with his wife and his three daughters. But some of the Persians slandered Sarbarus to Chosroes as being pro-Roman, and he sends his spatharius to Cardarichan, the co-general of Sarbarus, to Chalcedon, in order to kill Sarbarus and, taking over the army, to hasten to Persia. But the one carrying the letters is captured around Galatia by the Romans, who led him away to Byzantium to the son of the emperor. And he immediately sends for Sarbarus, and shows him the letter to Cardarichan. And he, being fully informed, makes treaties with the son of the emperor and the patriarch, and having forged the letter of Chosroes, he puts in it that, along with him, four hundred other satraps and commanders and chiliarchs were to be killed. Therefore, having gathered everyone and Cardarichan, and having read the letter, he said to Cardarichan, "Do you see fit to do this?" And the commanders, filled with anger, renounced Chosroes, and made peace treaties with the emperor, so that they might depart to their own lands having done no harm. And Heraclius wrote to Chosroes about peace; but he did not accept, and for this reason the people hated Chosroes. He again conscripted the men of his commanders, and sent them to unite with the army of Rhazates and to take a stand at the Narbas river, and 1.734 as soon as the emperor crossed, to cut the bridges. When the emperor learned this, he goes up to Siazour, and sets fire to the whole country and the cities. And Gundufundus the chiliarch of Sarbarus and many others deserted to him; who also said to the emperor that Chosroes intends to crown his youngest son Merdasan, and when his first son Siroes learned this, he did not accept it, but taking me and 22 other commanders and a multitude of people, if we are able to kill Chosroes, it is a blessing, but if not, we will all desert to your majesty. Accepting these things, the emperor, having also honored him, sent him back to Siroes, indicating to him to open the prisons and bring out the Romans and give them arms and thus to move against Chosroes. And Siroes, having done so, attacked his parricidal father Chosroes, and seizing him and putting him in chains, he shut him up in a dark place, and giving him a little bread and water, he starved him to death. And he sent all the satraps, and they spat in his face. And the

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φʹ καὶ σύαγροι ρʹ, πρόβατα δὲ καὶ χοῖροι καὶ βόες ὧν οὐκ ἦν ἀριθμός. καὶ πάντα δέδωκε τῷ λαῷ. τινὲς δὲ τῶν συνόντων τοῖς Πέρσαις Ἀρμενίων προσῆλθον τῷ βασιλεῖ λέγοντες ὅτι ὁ Χοσρόης μετὰ τῶν ἐλεφάντων καὶ τοῦ ἰδίου στρατοῦ πλησίον τοῦ παλατίου αὐτοῦ ∆υσταγέρδη κατεσκήνωσεν, ἐκδεχόμενος συναχθῆναι πάντα τὸν στρατὸν αὐτοῦ τοῦ πολεμῆσαί σοι. καὶ εὐθέως πυρπολήσας πάντα ὁ βασιλεὺς ἔρχεται πλησίον τοῦ παλατίου αὐτοῦ ∆υστα γέρδη, ἐν ᾧ καὶ εὗρε βάνδα Ῥωμαίων, ἅπερ ἐν διαφόροις χρόνοις ἔλαβον οἱ Πέρσαι, καὶ εἴδη τινά, οἷον ἀλόην πολλὴν καὶ ξύλα μεγάλα ἀλόης, μέταξάν τε καὶ πέπερι καὶ καρβάσια καμίσια ὑπὲρ ἀριθμόν, σάχαρ καὶ ζιγγίβερ καὶ ἄσημον, ὁλοσηρικά τε ἱμάτια, νακοτάπητά τε καὶ τάπητας ἀπὸ βελόνης, πλῆθος πολύ. ταῦτα διὰ τὸ βάρος κατέκαυσαν. προσέφυγον δὲ τῷ βασιλεῖ πολλοὶ αἰχμάλωτοι, Ἐδεσηνοὶ καὶ Ἀλεξανδρηνοὶ καὶ ἀπὸ ἄλλων ἐθνῶν πλῆθος πολύ. ἐποίησε δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐνταῦθα τὴν ἑορτὴν τῶν ἁγίων θεοφανίων, καταστρέφων τὰ τοῦ Χοσρόου παλάτια ὑπέρ τιμα καὶ θαυμαστὰ καὶ ἐκπλήξεως γέμοντα ἕως ἐδάφους, ἵνα μάθῃ, φησίν, ὁ Χοσρόης οἷον πόνον εἶχον οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι τῶν πό λεων αὐτῶν πυρπολουμένων ὑπ' αὐτοῦ. ὁ δὲ Χοσρόης πρὸ τοῦ καταλαβεῖν τὸν βασιλέα εἰς ∆υσταγέρδην τρυπήσας τὸ τεῖχος τῆς πόλεως ἐξῆλθεν ἀγνοούντων πάντων μετὰ τῶν γυναικῶν καὶ τῶν τέκνων αὐτοῦ. καὶ ὁ μὴ δυνάμενος ποιῆσαι εἰς ὁδὸν μίλια πέντε 1.733 τὴν ἡμέραν ἀπῆλθε φεύγων κεʹ, καὶ διελθὼν τὴν Κτησιφῶντα πέραν τοῦ Τίγριδος ποταμοῦ εἴς τι φρούριον εἰσῆλθε μετὰ τῆς γυναικὸς καὶ τῶν τριῶν θυγατέρων αὐτοῦ. τινὲς δὲ τῶν Περσῶν διέβαλον τὸν Σάρβαρον πρὸς Χοσρόην ὡς τὰ Ῥωμαίων φρονοῦντα, καὶ ἀποστέλλει σπαθάριον αὐτοῦ πρὸς Καρδαρίχαν τὸν συστράτη γον τοῦ Σαρβάρου εἰς Χαλκηδόνα, ἵνα τὸν Σάρβαρον ἀποκτείνῃ καὶ τὸν λαὸν ἀναλαβόμενος σπεύσῃ εἰς Περσίδα. ὁ δὲ τὰ γράμ ματα κομίζων συλλαμβάνεται περὶ τὴν Γαλατίαν ὑπὸ τῶν Ῥω μαίων, οἵτινες εἰς τὸ Βυζάντιον αὐτὸν ἀπήγαγον πρὸς τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ βασιλέως. ὁ δὲ παραχρῆμα μεταπέμπεται Σάρβαρον, καὶ δείκνυσιν αὐτῷ τὴν πρὸς Καρδαρίχαν ἐπιστολήν. ὁ δὲ πληροφο ρηθεὶς ποιεῖ συνθήκας μετὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ τοῦ πα τριάρχου, καὶ φαλσεύσας τὴν ἐπιστολὴν Χοσρόου ἐντίθησι σὺν αὐτῷ καὶ ἄλλους τετρακοσίους σατράπας καὶ ἄρχοντας καὶ χιλιάρ χους ἀποκτανθῆναι. συναθροίσας οὖν ἅπαντας καὶ τὸν Καρδα ρίχαν, καὶ ἀναγνοὺς τὴν ἐπιστολήν, ἔφη τῷ Καρδαρίχᾳ "συνορᾷς τοῦτο ποιῆσαι;" οἱ δὲ ἄρχοντες θυμοῦ πλησθέντες τὸν Χοσρόην ἀπεκήρυττον, πρὸς δὲ τὸν βασιλέα συνθήκας ἐποίησαν εἰρηνικάς, ἵνα μηδὲν λυμηνάμενοι ἐπὶ τὰ ἴδια ἀπέλθωσιν. ὁ δὲ Ἡράκλειος ἔγραψε τῷ Χοσρόῃ περὶ εἰρήνης· ὁ δὲ οὐ κατεδέξατο, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ὁ λαὸς ἐμίσησε τὸν Χοσρόην. ὃς πάλιν ἐστράτευσε τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τῶν ἀρχόντων αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀπέστειλεν ἑνωθῆναι τῷ στρατῷ τοῦ Ῥαζάστου καὶ στῆναι εἰς τὸν Ναρβᾶ ποταμόν, καὶ 1.734 ἅμα τῷ περᾶσαι τὸν βασιλέα κόψωσι τὰς γεφύρας. ὅπερ μαθὼν ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀνέρχεται εἰς τὸ Σιαζούρ, καὶ ἐμπιπρᾷ πᾶσαν τὴν χώραν καὶ τὰς πόλεις. προσερρύη δὲ αὐτῷ Γουνδουφοῦνδος ὁ χιλίαρχος Σαρβάρου καὶ ἄλλοι πολλοί· οἳ καὶ εἶπον τῷ βασιλεῖ ὅτι ὁ Χοσρόης μέλλει στέψαι τὸν ὕστατον υἱὸν αὐτοῦ Μερδασάν, καὶ γνοὺς τοῦτο ὁ πρῶτος υἱὸς αὐτοῦ Σιρόης οὐ κατεδέξατο, ἀλλὰ προσλαβόμενος ἐμὲ καὶ ἄλλους κβʹ κόμητας καὶ πλῆθος λαοῦ, εἰ μὲν δυνηθῶμεν ἀποκτεῖναι Χοσρόην, χάρις, εἰ δ' οὔ, πάντες προσρυῶμεν τῇ βασιλείᾳ σου. ταῦτα ἀποδεξάμενος ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ φιλοτιμησάμενος αὐτὸν πάλιν πρὸς Σιρόην ἀπέστειλε, δηλώ σας αὐτῷ ἀνοῖξαι τὰς φυλακὰς καὶ τοὺς Ῥωμαίους ἐξαγαγεῖν καὶ δοῦναι αὐτοῖς ὅπλα καὶ οὕτω κατὰ Χοσρόου κινῆσαι. ὁ δὲ Σιρόης οὕτω ποιήσας ἐπῆλθε τῷ πατροκτόνῳ πατρὶ Χοσρόῃ, καὶ κρατή σας αὐτὸν καὶ κλοιὰ περιθεὶς εἰς σκοτεινὸν κατέκλεισε, καὶ ἄρτον ὀλίγον καὶ ὕδωρ διδοὺς αὐτῷ ἐλιμαγχόνησεν αὐτόν. ἀπέστελλε δὲ πάντας τοὺς σατράπας, καὶ ἐνέπτυον εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ. τοὺς δὲ