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being forced to travel on foot because of old age. And arriving at the fortification at Christoupolis, since the guards were not able to withstand such a great force, they cut through in many places, and with those guards having abandoned it, they crossed and camped nearby for the night. 2.347 57. But the people of Pherai, having learned about the Persian army, that it was about to pass through their territory, and fearing the damage that it would inflict upon their country, and moreover being vexed by their hatred for the emperor, lest he be aided by the Persians, decided that they must divert the commander of the army, and forging letters as if from the emperor, they sent them to him. These letters, after offering a greeting and confessing much gratitude for his goodwill toward him, because he had endured much toil and expense for his sake, then ordered him to turn back from whatever place he should happen to come upon the letters, lest he unwittingly do harm thinking he was helping. For he was staying in the farthest reaches of the land of the Triballians, from which it was not easy to return now. And if they should proceed toward him through the middle of the land of the Triballians, there was a fear lest their ruler, instead of the friendship which he now showed toward him, might turn to enmity and anger and treat him badly, as having become for him the cause of a barbarian war and destruction. Such things, then, the letters commanded. But when Amour read them, he suspected nothing of the forgery, but believing them to be truly from the emperor, he wrestled with doubtful thoughts, whether he should turn back according to the commands, or go to him, as it would be difficult to come in search of him again with so large an army. And while he was considering such things during the night, a terrible winter storm arose, such that two hundred men in the 2.348 camp died from the cold, and it forced him to turn back, with the letters also contributing much to his return. And coming to Bera, where his ships were moored along the Hebrus river, he found that during that night three hundred of those on the ships had also died; and of the captives, all but a few, they themselves being few because the satrap Amour did not allow the army to be dispersed too much for plunder on account of the proposed campaign. And to Didymoteichon, having indicated in a letter to the empress Irene the necessity of his return and having excused himself for not returning to her to pay homage on account of the winter, he sailed away to his own land. After this, since the winter that year was extremely severe, the men from Byzantium and the rest of Thrace remained quiet and did not attack those in Didymoteichon, but of necessity spent the winter in their homes. But they, forced by want to dare even the things most terrifying to others, a little more than two hundred foot soldiers and fewer horsemen than these having gone out to plunder the city, were so overtaken by the severe winter that they were forced to go over to the enemy as deserters, already failing from the cold. So the foot soldiers, all together, came to the town of Lititza, and since the ruler of the city had secretly taken the emperor's side, he shut the men up in one house, ostensibly to be guarded, and having revived them with a fire and the other 2.349 necessary provisions, after the third day, he willingly allowed them to escape; and having escaped all together, they returned again to Didymoteichon. For which reason he also incurred blame from those warring against the emperor. The horsemen, however, having been scattered in different directions, some met with a certain humane hospitality and returned to their homes unharmed, with the emperor's friends assisting in their salvation; but the majority of them were entertained by their hosts a little more gently than Odysseus and his men were by the Cyclops. However, none of them died, but later, a few at a time, they returned again to Didymoteichon, naked after an ordeal of many pains. But when spring was already beginning, those from Didymoteichon attacked the cities throughout Thrace and did harm by plundering, so that many of them, having become exhausted by the continuous attacks and raids, wished for the empress Irene

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ὄντων πεζεύειν διὰ τὸ γῆρας. καὶ γενόμενοι παρὰ τὸ ἐν Χριστουπόλει τείχισμα, ἐπεὶ ἀντέχειν οὐχ οἷοί τε ἦσαν οἱ φρουροῦντες πρὸς τοσαύτην δύναμιν, πολλαχοῦ διατεμόντες, ἐκείνων ἐκλιπόντων, διέβησάν τε καὶ ηὐλίσαντο ἐγγὺς τὴν νύκτα. 2.347 νζʹ. Φεραῖοι δὲ πυθόμενοι περὶ τῆς στρατιᾶς τῆς Περσικῆς, ὅτι μέλλει διιέναι κατ' αὐτοὺς, καὶ τήν τε βλάβην δείσαντες, ἣν κακώσειν ἔμελλεν αὐτοῖς τὴν χώραν, ἄλλως τε καὶ μίσει τῷ πρὸς βασιλέα δυσχεραίνοντες, μὴ ὑπὸ τῶν Περσῶν ὠφεληθείη, ἔγνωσαν δεῖν παράγειν τὸν ἄρχοντα τῆς στρατιᾶς, καὶ γράμματα πλασάμενοι ὡς ἐκ βασιλέως ἔπεμπον πρὸς αὐτόν. ἃ μετὰ τὸ προσαγορεύειν πολλὴν ὁμολογοῦντα χάριν τῆς εἰς αὐτὸν εὐνοίας, ὅτι πολλὴν ὑπέμεινε καὶ πόνον καὶ δαπάνην δι' αὐτὸν, ἔπειτα ἐκέλευεν ἀναστρέφειν, ἐξ οὗπερ ἂν ἐγγένοιτο τοῖς γράμμασι τόπου περιτυχεῖν, μὴ καὶ ἄκων βλάψῃ νομίζων ὠφελεῖν. ἐκεῖνον γὰρ ἐν ἐσχατιαῖς τῆς Τριβαλῶν διατρίβειν γῆς, ὅθεν οὐ ῥᾴδιον ἐπανελθεῖν νυνί. εἰ δ' αὐτοὶ χωροῖεν πρὸς ἐκεῖνον διὰ μέσης τῆς γῆς τῶν Τριβαλῶν, δέος μὴ αὐτῶν ὁ ἄρχων ἀντὶ φιλίας, ἣν ἐνδείκνυται πρὸς αὐτὸν νυνὶ, πρὸς ἔχθραν καὶ ὀργὴν μεταστραφῇ καὶ διάθηται κακῶς, ὡς αἴτιον πολέμου βαρβαρικοῦ καὶ φθορᾶς αὐτῷ γεγενημένον. τοιαῦτα μὲν οὖν τὰ γράμματα ἐκέλευεν. Ἀμοὺρ δὲ ἐπεὶ ἀνέγνω, τῶν μὲν συνεσκευασμένων ὑπώπτευεν οὐδὲν, νομίσας δὲ ἐκ βασιλέως εἶναι ἀληθῶς, ἀμφιβόλοις λογισμοῖς ἐπάλαιεν, εἰ δεῖ ἀναστρέφειν κατὰ τὰ κεκελευσμένα, ἢ ἥκειν πρὸς αὐτὸν, ὡς δυσχερὲς ὂν αὖθις εἰς ἀναζήτησιν ἐκείνου μετὰ τοσαύτης στρατιᾶς ἐλθεῖν. τοιαῦτα δὲ αὐτῷ λογιζομένῳ τῆς νυκτὸς, χειμὼν ἐξαίσιος ἐπιγενόμενος, ὡς καὶ διακοσίους τῷ στρα 2.348 τοπέδῳ ὑπὸ κρύους ἐναποθανεῖν, ἠγάγκασεν ἀναστρέφειν, πολλὰ καὶ τῶν γραμμάτων πρὸς τὴν ἐπάνοδον συναραμένων. ἐλθὼν δὲ εἰς Βήραν, ἔνθα αὐτῷ ὡρμίζοντο αἱ νῆες κατὰ τὸν Ἕβρον ποταμὸν, εὗρε κατ' ἐκείνην τὴν νύκτα καὶ τῶν ἐν ταῖς ναυσὶ τριακοσίους ἀποθανόντας· αἰχμαλώτων δὲ πλὴν ὀλίγων πάντας, ὀλίγους ὄντας καὶ αὐτοὺς διὰ τὸ μὴ τὴν στρατιὰν πρὸς λείαν ἐπιπλέον διασκεδασθῆναι τῆς προκειμένης ἕνεκα στρατείας Ἀμοὺρ τὸν σατράπην οὐκ ἐᾷν. εἰς ∆ιδυμότειχον δὲ πρὸς βασιλίδα τὴν Εἰρήνην γράμμασι δηλώσας τῆς ἐπανόδου τὴν ἀνάγκην καὶ παραιτησάμενος, ὡς διὰ τὸν χειμῶνα μὴ πρὸς αὐτὴν ἐπανήκει προσκυνήσων, ἀπέπλευσεν εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν. μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο, ἐπεὶ ὁ χειμὼν ἐπεκράτει σφοδρότατος κατ' ἐκεῖνο τοῦ ἔτους, οἵ τε ἐκ Βυζαντίου καὶ τῆς ἄλλης Θρᾴκης ἡσύχαζον καὶ οὐκ ἐπῄεσαν τοῖς ἐν ∆ιδυμοτείχῳ, ἀλλ' ἀναγκαίως διεχείμαζον ἐν ταῖς οἰκίαις. ἐκεῖνοι δὲ ὑπ' ἐνδείας ἀναγκαζόμενοι καὶ τῶν ἄλλοις φοβερωτάτων κατατολμᾷν, πεζοί τε ὀλίγῳ πλείους διακόσιοι καὶ ἱππεῖς ἐλάττους τούτων πρὸς ἁρπαγὴν τῆς πόλεως ἐξελθόντες, οὕτως ὑπὸ σφοδροῦ κατελήφθησαν χειμῶνος, ὡς ἀναγκασθῆναι αὐτόμολοι πρὸς τοὺς πολεμίους ἀφικέσθαι, ἐκλείποντες ἤδη ὑπὸ κρύους. οἱ μὲν οὖν πεζοὶ πάντες ὁμοῦ πρὸς Λίτιτζαν πολίχνην ἐλθόντες, ἐπεὶ ὁ τῆς πόλεως ἄρχων τὰ βασιλέως κρύφα ᾑρημένος ἦν, ἐν μιᾷ οἰκίᾳ τοὺς ἄνδρας κατακλείσας, ὡς φρουρεῖσθαι δῆθεν, πυρί τε ἀνακτησάμενος καὶ τῇ ἄλλῃ 2.349 τῶν ἀναγκαίων χορηγίᾳ, μετὰ τρίτην ἡμέραν, ἑκὼν εἶναι, ἐνεδίδου αὐτοῖς πρὸς τὸν δρασμόν· καὶ διαδράντες ὁμοῦ πάντες αὖθις εἰς ∆ιδυμότειχον ἐπανῆκον. ὅθεν καὶ αἰτίαν ἔσχε παρὰ τοῖς πολεμοῦσι βασιλεῖ. οἱ μέντοι γε ἱππεῖς ἄλλοι ἄλλοσε διασκεδασθέντες, οἱ μὲν καὶ φιλανθρώπου τινὸς ἐπέτυχον ξενίας καὶ ἀπαθεῖς κακῶν πρὸς τὰς οἰκίας ἐπανῆκον, τῶν βασιλέως φίλων πρὸς τὴν σωτηρίαν συναραμένων· οἱ πλείους δὲ αὐτῶν ὀλίγῳ προσηνέστερον ἐξενίσθησαν παρὰ τῶν ὑποδεξαμένων, ἢ οἱ περὶ Ὀδυσσέα παρὰ Κύκλωπος. ἀπέθανε μέντοι ἐξ αὐτῶν οὐδεὶς, ἀλλὰ χρόνῳ ὕστερον κατ' ὀλίγους εἰς ∆ιδυμότειχον αὖθις ἐπανῆκον γυμνοὶ μετὰ πεῖραν ἀλγεινῶν πολλῶν. ἔαρος δὲ ἤδη ἀρχομένου, οἵ τε ἐκ ∆ιδυμοτείχου ἐπῄεσαν ταῖς κατὰ Θρᾴκην πόλεσι καὶ κακῶς ἐποίουν ληϊζόμενοι, ὡς καὶ πολλὰς αὐτῶν, πρὸς τὰς συνεχεῖς ἐφόδους καὶ τὰς λῃστείας ἀπειρηκυίας, τῇ βασιλίδι Εἰρήνῃ ἐθέλειν