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Nabedes, as a side-task of his journey, also found Theodora, who had married Opsites (who was Goubazes' uncle, and king of the Lazi), in Apsilia and captured her, and carried her off to 8.9.8 the Persian territory. The woman happened to be a Roman by birth, since from ancient times the kings of the Lazi, sending to Byzantium and with the emperor's approval contracting marriages with certain women from the senatorial council, would bring wives 8.9.9 from there as their spouses. And indeed Goubazes was born of a Roman woman. For what reason these Abasgi turned to revolt, I shall make clear. 8.9.10 Since they had deposed their own kings, as I have just recently narrated, Roman soldiers sent by the emperor were for the most part stationed among them and claimed to be adding the 8.9.11 country to the Roman dominion, and they imposed certain new things upon them. At these measures, which were rather violent, the Abasgi were simply vexed. Fearing, therefore, lest they should henceforth be slaves of the Romans, they again established rulers for themselves, Opsites by name for the parts of the country toward the rising sun, and Sceparnas 8.9.12 for the parts toward the west. For having fallen from good things into despair, they exchanged what had previously seemed to them to be bad for what came after, since it was worse, as was likely, and fearing on this account the power of the Romans, they went over to the Persians as secretly as possible. When the emperor Justinian heard this, he ordered Bessas to send a considerable army against them. 8.9.13 And he, having selected many from the Roman army, and having set over them as commanders Uligagus and John the son of Thomas, immediately sent them against the Abasgi by ship. Now it happened that one of the leaders among the Abasgi, Sceparnas by name, was spending some time among 8.9.14 the Persians. For he had arrived a little earlier, having been summoned by Chosroes. But the other, learning of the Roman attack, roused all the Abasgi and was eager to meet them. 8.9.15 There is a place beyond the borders of Apsilia at the entrance to Abasgia of the following sort: a high mountain, beginning from the Caucasus and gradually diminishing and sinking, stretches down like a kind of ladder and ends 8.9.16 at the Euxine Sea. And a fortress, both very strong and very noteworthy in size, the Abasgi had built from of old at the foot of this mountain. 8.9.17 Fleeing to this, they always repel the attacks of their enemies, who are in no way able to force the difficult terrain. There is one entrance leading both into this fortress and into the rest of the land of the Abasgi, which happens to be impassable for men coming two abreast. 8.9.18 For there is no way to proceed from there except one by one and on foot with difficulty. And above this path lies a very rugged ravine, extending from the fortress all the way to the sea. 8.9.19 The place also bears a name worthy of the ravine, since the people there, speaking Greek, call it 8.9.20 Trachea. The Roman fleet, then, sailed in between the borders of the Abasgi and the Apsilii, and John and Uligagus, having disembarked the soldiers onto the land, proceeded on foot, while the sailors with all the small boats 8.9.21 followed the army along the shore. And when they came as close as possible to Trachea, they saw all the Abasgi under arms and standing in formation above the path, which I have just mentioned, along the whole ravine, and they were in great perplexity, having no way to deal with their present situation, until John, after much deliberation with himself, 8.9.22 found a certain remedy for the trouble. For leaving Uligagus there with half of the army, he himself, taking the rest, filled the small boats. And rowing, they went around and crossed the whole area of Trachea and in this way got behind the enemy. 8.9.23 So raising the standards, they went against them. But the Abasgi, seeing the enemy pressing upon them from both sides, no longer looked to their fighting strength, nor did they keep their formation, but turning to retreat in great disorder they moved forward, so hampered by their fear and the resulting helplessness that neither their native

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Ναβέδης ὁδοῦ πάρεργον, καὶ Θεοδώραν Ὀψίτῃ ξυνοικήσασαν (ὃς ἐγεγόνει Γουβάζου μὲν θεῖος, Λαζῶν δὲ βασιλεὺς) εὑρὼν ἐν Ἀψιλίοις εἷλεν, ἔς τε 8.9.8 τὰ Περσῶν ἤθη ἀπήνεγκε. Ῥωμαία δὲ γένος ἡ γυνὴ ἐτύγχανεν οὖσα, ἐπεὶ ἐκ παλαιοῦ οἱ Λαζῶν βασιλεῖς ἐς Βυζάντιον πέμποντες βασιλέως τε γνώμῃ ξυνιόντες ἐς κῆδός τισι τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς συγκλήτου βουλῆς γυναῖκας 8.9.9 ἐνθένδε γαμετὰς ἐκομίζοντο. καὶ Γουβάζης ἀμέλει Ῥωμαίας γυναικὸς ἐγεγόνει γένος. ὅτου δὲ ἕνεκα οἱ Ἀβασγοὶ οὗτοι ἐς ἀπόστασιν εἶδον, ἐγὼ δηλώσω. 8.9.10 Ἐπειδὴ βασιλεῖς τοὺς σφετέρους καθεῖλον, ᾗπέρ μοι ἔναγχος δεδιήγηται, στρατιῶται Ῥωμαίων πρὸς βασιλέως στελλόμενοι ἐπεχωρίαζόν τε αὐτοῖς ἐκ τοῦ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον καὶ προσποιεῖσθαι τῇ Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῇ τὴν 8.9.11 χώραν ἠξίουν, καινά τε αὐτοῖς ἄττα ἐπέταττον. οἷσπερ Ἀβασγοὶ βιαιοτέροις οὖσιν ἀτεχνῶς ἤχθοντο. δείσαντες οὖν μὴ Ῥωμαίων δοῦλοι τὸ λοιπὸν ἔσονται, τοὺς ἄρχοντας αὖθις κατεστήσαντο σφίσιν Ὀψίτην μὲν ὄνομα ἐς τῆς χώρας τὰ πρὸς ἀνίσχοντα ἥλιον, Σκεπαρνᾶν δὲ 8.9.12 ἐς τὰ πρὸς ἑσπέραν. ἐς ἀγαθῶν γὰρ ἐκπεπτωκότες ἀπόγνωσιν τὰ πρότερον δόξαντα σφίσι μοχθηρὰ εἶναι τῶν ἐπιγενομένων ἅτε πονηροτέρων ὄντων, ὡς τὸ εἰκὸς, ἀντηλλάσσοντο, δύναμίν τε ἀπ' αὐτοῦ τὴν Ῥωμαίων δειμαίνοντες Πέρσαις ὡς λαθραιότατα προσεχώρησαν. ἅπερ ἐπεὶ βασιλεὺς Ἰουστινιανὸς ἤκουσε, Βέσσαν ἐκέλευε στράτευμα λόγου ἄξιον ἐπ' αὐτοὺς 8.9.13 στεῖλαι. ὁ δὲ πολλοὺς ἀπολεξάμενος τοῦ Ῥωμαίων στρατοῦ, καὶ ἄρχοντας ἐπιστήσας αὐτοῖς Οὐλίγαγόν τε καὶ Ἰωάννην τὸν Θωμᾶ υἱὸν, αὐτίκα ἐπὶ τοὺς Ἀβασγοὺς ναυσὶν ἔπεμψεν. ἐτύγχανε δὲ ἅτερος μὲν τῶν ἐν Ἀβασγοῖς ἡγουμένων, Σκεπαρνᾶς ὄνομα, ἐν 8.9.14 Πέρσαις τινὰ διατριβὴν ἔχων. μετάπεμπτος γὰρ ὀλίγῳ πρότερον παρὰ Χοσρόην ἀφῖκτο. ὁ δὲ δὴ ἕτερος, τὴν Ῥωμαίων μαθὼν ἔφοδον, τούς τε Ἀβασγοὺς ἅπαντας ἤγειρε καὶ ὑπαντιάζειν διὰ σπουδῆς εἶχεν. 8.9.15 Ἔστι δὲ χῶρος μετὰ τοὺς Ἀψιλίας ὅρους ἐν τῇ ἐς τὴν Ἀβασγίαν εἰσόδῳ τοιόσδε· ὄρος ὑψηλὸν ἐκ τῶν Καυκασίων ἀρχόμενον καὶ κατὰ βραχὺ ἐλασσούμενόν τε καὶ ὑπολῆγον ὥσπερ τις κλῖμαξ κατατείνει καὶ τε8.9.16 λευτᾷ ἐς τὸν Εὔξεινον Πόντον. καὶ φρούριον μὲν ἐχυρώτατόν τε καὶ μεγέθους πέρι ἀξιολογώτατον ἐκ παλαιοῦ Ἀβασγοὶ ἐν τῇ ὑπωρείᾳ τοῦ ὄρους τούτου 8.9.17 ἐδείμαντο. οὗ δὴ καταφεύγοντες ἐκκρούουσιν ἀεὶ τὰς τῶν πολεμίων ἐφόδους, οὐδαμῆ ἐχόντων τὴν δυσχωρίαν βιάζεσθαι. μία δὲ εἴσοδος εἰσάγουσά ἐστιν ἔς τε τὸ φρούριον τοῦτο καὶ ἐς τὴν ἄλλην Ἀβασγῶν χώραν, ἥπερ ἀνδράσι σύνδυο ἐρχομένοις ἀπόρευτος 8.9.18 τυγχάνει οὖσα. μηχανὴ γὰρ οὐδεμία ἐστὶν ὅτι μὴ κατ' ἄνδρα καὶ μόλις πεζεύοντα ἐνθένδε ἰέναι. τῆς τε ἀτραποῦ ταύτης ὑπέρκειται φάραγξ ἐσάγαν σκληρὰ ἐκ τοῦ φρουρίου διήκουσα μέχρι ἐς τὴν θάλασσαν. 8.9.19 φέρεται δὲ καὶ προσηγορίαν τῆς φάραγγος ἀξίαν ὁ χῶρος, ἐπεὶ αὐτὸν ἑλληνίζοντες οἱ τῇδε ἄνθρωποι τὰ 8.9.20 Τραχέα καλοῦσιν. ὁ μὲν οὖν Ῥωμαίων στόλος μεταξὺ ὁρίων τῶν τε Ἀβασγῶν καὶ Ἀψιλίων κατέπλευσεν, Ἰωάννης δὲ καὶ Οὐλίγαγος ἐς τὴν γῆν τοὺς στρατιώτας ἀποβιβάσαντες πεζῇ ἐχώρουν, οἵ τε ναῦται ταῖς ἀκάτοις 8.9.21 ἁπάσαις παρὰ τὴν ἠϊόνα τῷ στρατῷ εἵποντο. ἐπειδὴ δὲ τῶν Τραχέων ὡς ἀγχοτάτω ἐγένοντο, ἐξωπλισμένους τε ὁρῶσιν Ἀβασγοὺς ἅπαντας καὶ τῆς ἀτραποῦ ὕπερθεν, ἧς ἄρτι ἐμνήσθην, κατὰ τὴν φάραγγα ὅλην ἐν τάξει ἑστῶτας, ἀμηχανίᾳ τε πολλῇ εἴχοντο θέσθαι τὰ σφίσι παρόντα οὐδαμῆ ἔχοντες, ἕως ἐν αὑτῷ πολλὰ λογισά8.9.22 μενος Ἰωάννης ἄκεσίν τινα τοῦ κακοῦ εὗρε. τὸν γὰρ Οὐλίγαγον ξὺν τῷ ἡμίσει τοῦ στρατοῦ ἐνταῦθα ἐάσας αὐτὸς τοὺς ἄλλους ἐπαγόμενος τὰς ἀκάτους ἐπλήρου. ἐρέσσοντές τε χῶρον τὸν τῶν Τραχέων περιῆλθόν τε καὶ διέβησαν ὅλον καὶ κατὰ νώτου τῶν πολεμίων 8.9.23 ταύτῃ ἐγένοντο. ἄραντες οὖν τὰ σημεῖα ἐς αὐτοὺς ᾔεσαν. Ἀβασγοὶ δὲ τοὺς πολεμίους σφίσιν ἑκατέρωθεν ἐγκειμένους ἰδόντες ἐς ἀλκὴν μὲν οὐκέτι ἔβλεπον, οὐδὲ τὴν τάξιν ἐφύλασσον, ἐς ὑπαγωγὴν δὲ ξὺν πολλῇ ἀκοσμίᾳ τραπόμενοι πρόσω ἐχώρουν, οὕτω τῷ δέει καὶ τῇ ἀπ' αὐτοῦ ἀμηχανίᾳ συμποδιζόμενοι ὥστε οὔτε τὴν πατρῴαν