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they would neither ever be a match for the enemy, who were numerous, and by consuming the provisions of the besieged they would make the city still more quickly capturable for their opponents. And when this had been decided, they themselves and the one thousand prepared for the departure, intending to begin their retreat by night, but immediately one of the soldiers, deserting secretly to the enemy's camp, made known what was being done. Totila, therefore, having chosen out two thousand men from the best, when night came on guarded the roads, thirty stades from Auximum, giving no one any hint of his presence. who, when they saw the enemy passing by about the middle of the night, drawing their swords set to work. And they killed two hundred of them, but Sabinianus and Thurimuth with the rest, since it was dark, were able to escape notice and flee to Ariminum. The Goths, however, captured all the baggage animals, which were carrying the servants and the arms and the clothing of the soldiers. There are two small cities on the coast of the Ionian gulf, Pesaro and Fano, lying between the city of Auximum and Ariminum. At the beginning of this war Wittigis had burned the houses of these and demolished the walls down to about half their height, so that the Romans might not seize them and cause trouble for the Goths. One of these, Pesaro, Belisarius decided to occupy; for it seemed to him that the place was suitably situated for pasturing horses. Sending, therefore, some of his trusted men by night, he secretly had the exact width and height of each gate measured. And having had the gates constructed and sheathed with iron, he then put them on some skiffs and sent them, and he ordered the men with Sabinianus and Thurimuth to fit them to the walls with all speed and to remain inside the circuit-wall, and being in safety, to rebuild whatever of the circuit-wall had fallen down, in whatever way they could, throwing in stones and mud and anything else. So they acted accordingly. But Totila, learning what was being done, came against them with a great army. And after making an attempt and spending some time there, since he was not able to take it, he withdrew unsuccessful to his camp at Auximum. And still no one of the Romans went out against the enemy, but each man remained inside the walls. But Belisarius also sent two of his own bodyguards to Rome, Artasires, a Persian, and Barbation, a Thracian, to help Bessas, who happened to be there, guard the city, and he instructed them to sally forth against the enemy as little as possible. But Totila and the Gothic army, since they perceived that Belisarius' force was not strong enough to be arrayed against them, decided to harass the strongest of the fortresses. Therefore, having encamped in Picenum near both Firmum and Asculum, they set about a siege. And the winter was ending, and the tenth year was coming to a close for this war, which Procopius wrote. But Belisarius, being in no way able to help the besieged, sent John, the nephew of Vitalian, to Byzantium, having bound him with the most terrible oaths, that he would make it his business to return as quickly as possible, to ask the emperor to send them a large army and great sums of money, and indeed also arms and horses. For the soldiers, being very few, were not even willing themselves to fight, saying that the state owed them much money and that they themselves were in want of everything. And it was so. And he wrote a letter to the emperor concerning these things. The letter declared the following: "We have arrived "in Italy, most mighty emperor, without men and "horses and arms and money. And without an adequate supply of these, I think, "no one would ever be able to carry on a war. For after going through Thrace and Illyricum "most thoroughly we have gathered soldiers "altogether few and pitiful, holding no arms in their hands "and being entirely unpractised in fighting. "And we see also that those left behind here are neither "sufficient in number and have come to dread the enemy, "and have their spirit enslaved to the

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οὔτε τοῖς πολεμίοις πολλοῖς γε οὖσιν ἀξιόμαχοί ποτε γένοιντο καὶ τὰς τῶν πολιορκουμένων καταδαπανῶντες τροφὰς ἁλώσιμον ἔτι θᾶσσον 7.11.27 τὴν πόλιν τοῖς ἐναντίοις ποιήσονται. καὶ ἐπεὶ ταῦτα ἐδέδοκτο, αὐτοὶ μὲν καὶ οἱ χίλιοι παρεσκευάζοντο εἰς τὴν ἄφοδον, ὡς νύκτωρ τῆς ἀποπορείας ἀρξόμενοι, αὐτίκα δὲ τῶν τις στρατιωτῶν αὐτομολήσας λάθρα ἐς τὸ τῶν πολεμίων στρατόπεδον ἔκπυστα ἐποίησε τὰ 7.11.28 πρασσόμενα. Τουτίλας τοίνυν ἄνδρας δισχιλίους ἀριστίνδην ἀπολεξάμενος νυκτὸς ἐπιλαβούσης ἐφύλασσε τὰς ὁδοὺς, ἀπὸ σταδίων Αὐξίμου τριάκοντα, οὐδενὶ 7.11.29 αἴσθησιν παρεχόμενος. οἳ ἐπεὶ παριόντας ἀμφὶ νύκτα μέσην τοὺς πολεμίους εἶδον, σπασάμενοι τὰ ξίφη ἔργου 7.11.30 εἴχοντο. καὶ αὐτῶν διακοσίους μὲν ἔκτειναν, Σαβινιανὸς δὲ καὶ Θουριμοὺθ ξὺν τοῖς λοιποῖς ἅτε ἐν σκότῳ 7.11.31 λαθεῖν τε καὶ φυγεῖν ἐς τὴν Ἀρίμινον ἴσχυσαν. τῶν μέντοι ὑποζυγίων ἁπάντων Γότθοι ἐκράτησαν, ἃ τῶν στρατιωτῶν τήν τε θεραπείαν καὶ τὰ ὅπλα καὶ τὰ ἱμάτια ἔφερεν. 7.11.32 Ἔστι δὲ πολίσματα δύο πρὸς τῇ ἀκτῇ τοῦ Ἰονίου κόλπου, Πίσαυρός τε καὶ Φανὸς, μεταξὺ τῆς τε Αὐξίμου καὶ Ἀριμίνου πόλεως κείμενα. ὧν δὴ τὰς οἰκίας τοῦδε τοῦ πολέμου κατ' ἀρχὰς Οὐίττιγις ἐμπρήσας τὰ τείχη καθεῖλεν ἄχρι ἐς ἥμισυ μάλιστα, ὅπως μὴ καταλαβόντες 7.11.33 αὐτὰ Ῥωμαῖοι πράγματα Γότθοις παρέξωσι. τούτων θάτερον, Πίσαυρον, Βελισάριος καταλαβεῖν ἔγνω· ἔδοξε γάρ οἱ ἐς ἵππων νομὰς ἐπιτηδείως τὸ χωρίον κεῖσθαι. πέμψας οὖν νύκτωρ τῶν οἱ ἐπιτηδείων τινὰς ἐς τὸ ἀκριβὲς εὖρός τε καὶ μῆκος πύλης ἑκάστης ξυνεμετρή7.11.34 σατο λάθρα. τάς τε πύλας τεκτηνάμενος καὶ σιδήρῳ περιβαλὼν εἶτά τισιν ἀκατίοις ἐνθέμενος ἔπεμψεν, ἃς δὴ ἐκέλευε τοὺς ἀμφὶ Σαβινιανόν τε καὶ Θουριμοὺθ κατὰ τάχος τοῖς τείχεσιν ἐναρμόσαντας ἐντὸς τοῦ περιβόλου μένειν, ἔν τε τῷ ἀσφαλεῖ γενομένους ὅσα τοῦ περιβόλου κατεπεπτώκει, ὅτῳ δὴ ἀνοικοδομήσασθαι τρόπῳ, λίθους τε καὶ πηλὸν καὶ ἄλλο ὁτιοῦν ἐμβαλλο7.11.35 μένους. οἱ μὲν οὖν κατὰ ταῦτα ἐποίουν. Τουτίλας δὲ μαθὼν τὰ πρασσόμενα στρατῷ πολλῷ ἐπ' αὐτοὺς ἦλθε. 7.11.36 καὶ ἀποπειρασάμενος χρόνον τε ἐνταῦθα διατρίψας τινὰ, ἐπεὶ ἐξελεῖν οὐχ οἷός τε ἦν, ἄπρακτος ἐν Αὐξίμῳ 7.11.37 εἰς τὸ στρατόπεδον ἀνεχώρησεν. ἐπεξῄει δὲ Ῥωμαίων ἔτι τοῖς πολεμίοις οὐδεὶς, ἀλλ' ἐντὸς τειχῶν ἕκαστοι ἔμενον. ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν δορυφόρων τῶν αὑτοῦ δύο Βελισάριος ἐς Ῥώμην στείλας, Ἀρτασίρην τε, ἄνδρα Πέρσην, καὶ Βαρβατίωνα Θρᾷκα, ὡς ξυμφυλάξοντας Βέσσᾳ τὴν πόλιν, ὃς ἐνταῦθα ἐτύγχανεν ὢν, ἐπέστελλε 7.11.38 τοῖς πολεμίοις ὡς ἥκιστα ἐπεξιέναι. Τουτίλας δὲ καὶ ὁ Γότθων στρατὸς, ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἀξιόχρεων ἀντιτάξασθαι σφίσι τὴν Βελισαρίου δύναμιν ᾔσθοντο οὖσαν, τῶν 7.11.39 χωρίων τὰ ἐχυρώτατα ἐνοχλεῖν ἔγνωσαν. διὸ δὴ ἐν Πικηνοῖς ἀμφί τε Φίρμον καὶ Ἄσκουλον ἐνστρατοπεδευσάμενοι ἐς πολιορκίαν καθίσταντο. καὶ ὁ χειμὼν ἔληγε, καὶ δέκατον ἔτος ἐτελεύτα τῷ πολέμῳ τῷδε, ὃν Προκόπιος ξυνέγραψε. 7.12.1 Βελισάριος δὲ ἀμύνειν τοῖς πολιορκουμένοις οὐδαμῆ ἔχων Ἰωάννην τὸν Βιταλιανοῦ ἀνεψιὸν ἐς Βυζάντιον ἔπεμψεν, ὅρκοις αὐτὸν δεινοτάτοις καταλαβὼν, ὡς ἐπανήκειν ὅτι τάχιστα ἐν σπουδῇ θήσεται, βασιλέως δεησόμενον στρατιάν τε πολλὴν σφίσι καὶ χρήματα μεγάλα πέμψαι, καὶ μέντοι καὶ ὅπλα καὶ 7.12.2 ἵππους. οἱ γὰρ στρατιῶται ὀλίγοι λίαν ὄντες οὐδὲ αὐτοὶ μάχεσθαι ἤθελον, χρήματά τε πολλὰ φάσκοντες τὸ δημόσιον σφίσιν ὀφείλειν καὶ αὐτοὶ ἁπάντων ἐνδεεῖς 7.12.3 εἶναι. καὶ ἦν δὲ οὕτως. καὶ γράμματα ὑπὲρ τούτων βασιλεῖ ἔγραψεν. ἐδήλου δὲ ἡ γραφὴ τάδε «Ἀφίγμεθα «εἰς τὴν Ἰταλίαν, ὦ βασιλεῦ κράτιστε, ἀνδρῶν τε καὶ «ἵππων καὶ ὅπλων καὶ χρημάτων χωρίς. ὧν οὐδ' ἄν «τις μὴ διαρκῶς ἔχων πόλεμον, οἶμαι, διενεγκεῖν οὐ 7.12.4 «μή ποτε ἱκανὸς εἴη. Θρᾷκας μὲν γὰρ καὶ Ἰλλυριοὺς «ἐνδελεχέστατα περιελθόντες στρατιώτας ξυνήγομεν «κομιδῆ ὀλίγους οἰκτροὺς οὐδέ τι ὅπλων ἐν χερσὶν «ἔχοντας καὶ μάχης ὄντας παντάπασιν ἀμελετήτους. 7.12.5 «ὁρῶμεν δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἀπολελειμμένους ἐνταῦθα οὔτε «αὐτάρκεις ὄντας καὶ κατεπτηχότας τοὺς πολεμίους «δεδουλωμένους τε τὸ φρόνημα τῷ πρὸς