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having quickly traversed the desert regions they sacked the fortress called Xylokastron and the other one called Phyrokastron, and enslaved their inhabitants. Terrified by these events, the inhabitants of the so-called castle of Phalakros willingly surrendered to the Romans. But the son of Ambron, Apabdele, the emir of Anazarbos, as long as the emperor was far away, was barbarously 2.214 arrogant, but when he drew near, joining the throng of the Melitenes, he contrived his safety with them by flight. The emperor sacked Kasama and Karban and Ardalan and Eremosykea, at which time that Simas, son of Tael, who was holding the difficult passes of the Taurus and from raids was ravaging the Roman frontiers, took refuge with the emperor. After this, having crossed the river called Onopniktes and the Sardos, the emperor with his army came to Koukousos, and after clearing out the thickets there and making the impassable passable, he took control of the thickets in that place. And arriving at Kallipolis and Padasia, and encountering difficult and precipitous roads, encouraging those under his command, he himself went ahead of the army on foot and at a walking pace. And having passed through the straits of the Taurus, he attacked Germanikeia. But since all who resisted were shut up within the walls and no one dared to come to blows, having cut down the beauties before the city and given them over to fire, he came to the city of Adapa. And since its inhabitants did not dare to contend in the open but were driven inside the walls, having plundered and reduced to ashes the things outside the city, and having captured by siege the small town which they called Geron, and having allowed the soldiers to plunder it, at last he attacked the walls themselves, and brought up all sorts of engines, and was energetic in the siege, having no small hopes of taking the city on account of the weight of the force around him. But finding those inside robust and bearing what 2.215 befell them fearlessly, he gave a truce to the war and inquired of those inside on what they relied, since their homeland was already about to be taken, they seemed to make little account of him; to which one of the elders answered that they had received an assurance that the city would not be besieged by you now, but that it was fated to be taken by a certain other person related to you by birth (Constantine was his name), and for this reason they were not dismayed by what was happening. When he pointed out his son and said that he was called Constantine, the interpreter said that this was not the Constantine who was to make their city desolate, but some other one after a long time and from your descendants. At this the emperor was angered, and wishing to prove the prophecy false by deeds, he applied himself more intensely to the siege. But when he saw that, although everyone was toiling, the effort was making no progress, and an unbearable cold set in, severely afflicting those in the open, he lifted the siege. And on the return journey, having ordered the bulk of the captives to be dispatched with the sword on account of their being a burden, he made for the reigning city, leaving great fear among the people of Hagar. Expecting that they would attack them in the narrow passes, he left ambushes in opportune places and took many of the ambushers captive. At which Abdelomeler, the ruler of the place, being exhausted, sent envoys and begged to receive security and peace; whose request the emperor accepted, and from then on had him as a willing 2.216 ally against his kinsmen. From there, having passed through Argaios, and having arrived at Caesarea, he received messages of victory from both Koloneia and Mesopotamia, with much spoil and many captives, both Kurds and Saracens, brought to him, all of whom he dispatched with the sword; for the army was already overfilled with spoils from both Syria and Tephrike, and he did not wish to have these as well as a useless encumbrance. And having arrived at Medaios, and having distributed honors

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ἐρή μους ὀξέως διαδραμόντες φρούριον τὸ λεγόμενον Ξυλόκαστρον καὶ τὸ ἕτερον τὸ καλούμενον Φυρόκαστρον ἐξεπόρθησαν, καὶ τοὺς ἐνοίκους τούτων ἠνδραποδίσαντο. ἐφ' οἷς καταπλαγέντες οἱ τὸ τοῦ Φαλακροῦ λεγόμενον κάστρον οἰκοῦντες ἑκουσίως προσεχώρη σαν τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις. ὁ δὲ τοῦ Ἄμβρωνος υἱὸς Ἀπάβδελε, ὁ τῆςἈναβάρζης ἀμηρᾶς, ἕως μὲν μακρὰν ἀπεῖχεν ὁ βασιλεύς, βαρ 2.214 βαρικῶς ἐθρασύνετο, ἐπεὶ δὲ ἤγγιζε, τῷ τῶν Μελιτηνῶν στίφει συμμίξας φυγῇ τὴν μετ' αὐτοῦ σωτηρίαν ἐπραγματεύσατο. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς τήν τε Κασάμαν ἐξεπόρθησε καὶ τὴν Καρβὰν τὴν Ἀρδα λάν τε καὶ τὴν Ἐρημοσυκέαν, ὁπηνίκα καὶ Σίμας ἐκεῖνος ὁ τοῦ Ταήλ, τὰς δυσχωρίας κατέχων τοῦ Ταύρου καὶ ἐξ ἐφόδου τὰς τῶν Ῥωμαίων λυμαινόμενος ἐσχατιάς, πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα κατέφυγε. μετὰ ταῦτα τὸν Ὀνοπνίκτην λεγόμενον ποταμὸν καὶ τὸν Σάρδον διαπεράσας ὁ βασιλεὺς μετὰ τοῦ στρατοῦ ἦλθεν εἰς Κουκουσόν, καὶ τὰς ἐκεῖ λόχμας ἀποκαθάρας καὶ τὴν ἄβατον εὐπόρευτον πε ποιηκὼς τῶν ἐνταῦθα λόχων ἐκράτησε. πρὸς δὲ τὴν Καλλίπολιν καὶ Παδασίαν φθάσας, δυσβάτοις δὲ περιτυχὼν καὶ ἀποκρήμνοις ὁδοῖς, τοὺς ὑπὸ χεῖρα παραμυθούμενος πεζῇ καὶ βάδην αὐτὸς προεπορεύετο τοῦ στρατοῦ. ὑπερβὰς δὲ τὰ στενὰ τοῦ Ταύρου τῇ Γερμανικείᾳ προσβάλλει. ἐπεὶ δὲ τὸ ἀνθιστάμενον ἅπαν τοῖς τείχεσι συνεκλείετο καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐτόλμα πρὸς χεῖρας ἐλθεῖν, τὰ πρὸ τῆς πόλεως κάλλη κείρας καὶ πυρὶ παραδοὺς πρὸς Ἀδάπαν παρε γένετο τὴν πόλιν. καὶ τῶν ταύτης δὲ ἐποίκων μὴ τολμώντων ἐν τοῖς ὑπαίθροις διαγωνίζεσθαι ἀλλ' εἴσω συνελαθέντων τειχῶν, τὰ ἔξω τῆς πόλεως ληϊσάμενος καὶ ἀποτεφρώσας, ἐκπολιορκήσας δὲ καὶ τὸ πολίχνιον ὃ Γέροντα ἐκάλουν, καὶ διαρπάσαι ἐφεὶς τοῖς στρατιώταις, τελευταῖον αὐτοῖς προσβάλλει τοῖς τείχεσι, καὶ παν τοδαπὰς προσέφερε μηχανάς, καὶ ἐνεργὸς ἦν ἐν τῇ πολιορκίᾳ, ἐλπίδας οὐ μικρὰς ἔχων αἱρήσειν τὴν πόλιν διὰ τὸ τῆς περὶ αὐτὸν δυνάμεως βάρος. εὐρώστους δὲ τοὺς ἔνδον εὑρὼν καὶ ἀδεῶς τὰ 2.215 προσπίπτοντα φέροντας, ἀνοχὴν τῷ πολέμῳ δοὺς ἐπυνθάνετο τῶν ἔνδον ἐφ' ὅτῳ πεποιθότες, τῆς πατρίδος αὐτῶν ἤδη μελλούσης παραλαμβάνεσθαι, ὀλίγον αὐτοῦ λόγον ποιούμενοι φαίνονται· πρὸς ὃν ἀπεκρίνατό τις τῶν γεραιτέρων πληροφορίαν ἐσχηκέναι οὐχ ὑπὸ σοῦ πολιορκηθῆναι νῦν τὴν πόλιν, ἀλλ' ὑφ' ἑτέρου τινὸς πε πρωμένον εἶναι ταύτην ληφθῆναι κατὰ γένος σοι προσήκοντος (Κωνσταντῖνος τούτῳ τὸ ὄνομα), καὶ διὰ τοῦτο μὴ καταπλήττε σθαι τοῖς προσπίπτουσι. τοῦ δὲ τὸν υἱὸν ἐπιδείξαντος καὶ ὡς Κωνσταντῖνος καλεῖται εἰπόντος, οὐ τοῦτον ὁ ἐξηγούμενος ἔλεγεν εἶναι τὸν Κωνσταντῖνον ὃς αὐτῶν μέλλει ποιῆσαι τὴν πόλιν ἀνά στατον, ἄλλον δέ τινα μετὰ χρόνον συχνὸν καὶ τῶν ἀπογόνων τῶν σῶν. ἐφ' οἷς ὁ βασιλεὺς ὀργισθείς, καὶ ἔργοις ἐξελέγξαι βουλη θεὶς ψεῦδος τὴν πρόρρησιν, συντονώτερον ἥπτετο τῆς πολιορκίας. ὡς δὲ πάντων πονούντων μὴ προβαίνουσαν ἑώρα τὴν σπουδήν, ἐπεγένετο δὲ κρύος ἀμήχανον, τοὺς ἐν ὑπαίθρῳ σφοδρῶς λυμαι νόμενον, ἔλυσε τὴν πολιορκίαν. ἐν δὲ τῷ ὑποστρέφειν τὸ πολὺ τῶν αἰχμαλώτων διὰ τὸ βάρος ξίφει κελεύσας ἀποφορτίζεσθαι, τῆς πρὸς τὴν βασιλεύουσαν εἴχετο, πολὺ δέος τοῖς ἐκ τῆς Ἄγαρ καταλιπών. προσδοκήσας δὲ ἐπιθήσεσθαι αὐτοῖς κατὰ τὰ στενά, λόχους ἐν τοῖς ἐπικαίροις ἀφεὶς πολλοὺς τῶν ἐλλοχώντων ἐζώ γρησε. πρὸς ἅπερ Ἀβδελομέλερ ὁ τοῦ τόπου κατάρχων ἀπειρη κώς, πρέσβεις ἐκπέμψας ἀδείας καὶ εἰρήνης ἐδεῖτο τυχεῖν· οὗ τὴν δέησιν δεξάμενος ὁ βασιλεὺς σύμμαχον αὐτὸν τὸ ἀπὸ τοῦδε ἔσχε 2.216 κατὰ τῶν ὁμοφύλων ἐθελοντήν. ἐκεῖθεν τὸν Ἀργαῖον διελθών, πρὸς Καισάρειαν γενόμενος ἔκ τε Κολωνείας καὶ Μεσοποταμίας ἐπινικίους ἀγγελίας ἐδέξατο, κομισθέντων αὐτῷ λαφύρων καὶ αἰχμαλώτων πολλῶν Κουρτῶν τε καὶ Σαρακηνῶν, οὓς ἅπαντας τῷ ξίφει ἀπεσκευάσατο· ἦν γὰρ προκαταπεπλησμένον τὸ στρά τευμα λαφύρων ἀπό τε Συρίας καὶ Τεφρικῆς, καὶ οὐκ ἐβούλετο καὶ τούτους ἔχειν δύσχρηστον παρακολούθημα. ἐν Μηδαίῳ δὲ γενόμενος, καὶ τιμὰς διανείμας