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not against the enemy, but so that they might work8.23.34 divisions among themselves. And being occupied with their helplessness against each other, they became for the enemy the principal cause of victory over themselves. But the Romans, managing the engagement bravely and the sea-battle skillfully, having drawn up their ships in a line, and neither being far distant from one another nor indeed coming too close beyond what was necessary, but always keeping both their approaches and their withdrawals in due measure, if they saw an enemy ship scattered from the others, they rammed and sank it with no trouble, and if they saw any confusion among some of the enemy, they would send numerous arrows there, and when they fell upon them, being in disorder and worn out by the toil of their disarray, they would destroy them at close quarters.8.23.35 Therefore the barbarians, exhausted both by the adversities of fortune and the mistakes which had occurred during the battle, did not know how they should fight, neither fighting a naval battle, nor indeed standing on the decks as in a land battle, but having thrown away the contest, they remained dangerously still,8.23.36 having left it to fortune. For this reason the Goths turned to a shameful retreat in great disorder, and they no longer thought of valour, or of any seemly flight, or of anything else that could lead them to safety, but for the most part, being scattered8.23.37 among the ships of the enemy, they were at a loss. And some of them escaped with eleven ships and were saved unnoticed, but all the rest8.23.38 came under the power of the enemy. Of these, the Romans destroyed many with their own hands, and many they killed by sinking them with their ships; and of the generals, Gundulf escaped unnoticed with the eleven ships, but the other8.23.39 one the Romans took alive. And then those in the eleven ships, having disembarked on the land, immediately burned the vessels, so that they might not fall into the hands of the enemy, and they themselves proceeded on foot to the camp,8.23.40 from which they were besieging those in Ancona. And having told them what had happened, they made their withdrawal with them straightway, leaving the camp to the enemy, and at a run and with much clamor they retreated to8.23.41 the city of Auximum, which was somewhere nearby. But the Romans, arriving at Ancona not much later, captured the enemy's camp, empty of men, and having brought supplies to those in the fortress,8.23.42 sailed away from there. And Valerian proceeded to Ravenna, but John returned to Salona. This battle, especially, broke down the spirit and the power of Totila and the Goths. 8.24.1 At about the same time, the situation for the Romans in Sicily was as follows. Liberius came from there to Byzantium, summoned by the emperor, and Artabanes, as the emperor had decided, was in command of the entire Roman army in8.24.2 Sicily. He, besieging the Goths who had been left behind in the fortresses there, who were very few in number, and having defeated in battle those of them who came out against him and having reduced them to a complete lack of necessities,8.24.3 later captured them all by agreement. At this the Goths, having become exceedingly fearful and grieving greatly over what had happened in the sea-battle, despaired of the war, having now become altogether hopeless, and reasoning that at the present time, having been shamefully defeated by the enemy and utterly destroyed, if any reinforcement, even a small one, should come to the Romans, they would in no way be able to resist them for even a moment of time or to stand their ground in Italy. Nor indeed did they have any hope of accomplishing anything from the emperor by means of an embassy.8.24.4 For Totila had happened to send envoys to him many times. Who, when they came before the Emperor Justinian, informed him that the Franks had seized the greater part of Italy, and the rest had for the most part been deserted by its population because of the war, and that the Goths were yielding Sicily and Dalmatia to the Romans, which alone had remained intact, and they agreed to pay dues and tribute for the deserted land every year and to fight as allies against whomever the emperor might wish and 8.24.5 the other things

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οὐκ ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους, ἀλλ' ὅπως τὰς διαστάσεις αὐτοὶ ἀπ' ἀλλήλων ἐργά8.23.34 ζωνται. ἠσχολημένοι τε τῇ ἐς ἀλλήλους ἀμηχανίᾳ τῆς κατὰ σφῶν νίκης αἰτιώτατοι τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐγίνοντο. οἱ δὲ Ῥωμαῖοι ἀνδρείως μὲν τὰ ἐς τὴν ξυμβολὴν, ἐμπείρως δὲ τὰ ἐς τὴν ναυμαχίαν διαχειρίζοντες, τά τε πλοῖα μετωπηδὸν στήσαντες, καὶ οὔτε κατὰ πολὺ διεστῶτες ἀλλήλων οὔτε μὴν ἄγχιστα ξυνιόντες περαιτέρω τῆς χρείας, ἀλλὰ συμμέτρους ἀεὶ τάς τε ξυνόδους καὶ διαστάσεις ποιούμενοι, ἢν μὲν ναῦν πολεμίαν ἀποσκεδαννυμένην τῶν ἄλλων θεῷντο, κατέδυον ἐμβάλλοντες οὐδενὶ πόνῳ, εἰ δέ που ξύγχυσιν ἐς τῶν πολεμίων τινὰς ἴδοιεν, ἐνταῦθα τά τε τοξεύματα συχνὰ ἔπεμπον καὶ ἡνίκα σφίσιν ἐπιπέσοιεν, ἀτάκτοις οὖσι καὶ συντριβέσι γεγενημένοις τῷ τῆς ἀταξίας καμάτῳ, ἐκ 8.23.35 χειρὸς αὐτοὺς διεχρῶντο. ἀπειρηκότες οὖν οἱ βάρβαροι πρός τε τὰ τῆς τύχης ἐναντιώματα καὶ τὰς κατὰ τὴν μάχην ἁμαρτάδας ξυμπεπτωκυίας, οὐκ εἶχον καθ' ὅ τι μαχέσονται, οὐδὲ ναυμαχοῦντες, οὐ μέντοι οὐδὲ καθάπερ ἐν πεζομαχίᾳ ἐπὶ τῶν καταστρωμάτων ἑστῶτες, ἀλλὰ ῥίψαντες τὴν ἀγώνισιν ἐπικινδύνως ἠτρέ8.23.36 μιζον, ἐπὶ τῇ τύχῃ καταλιπόντες. διὸ δὴ ἐς ὑπαγωγὴν οἱ Γότθοι αἰσχρὰν ξὺν πολλῇ ἀκοσμίᾳ ἐτράποντο, καὶ οὔτε ἀλκῆς οὔτε φυγῆς τινος εὐπρεποῦς οὔτε του ἄλλου ἐς σωτηρίαν αὐτοὺς ἄγοντος ἐμέμνηντο ἔτι, ἀλλὰ μεταξὺ πλοίων τῶν πολεμίων ὡς τὰ πολλὰ σκε8.23.37 δαννύμενοι διηποροῦντο. καὶ αὐτῶν τινες ναυσὶν ἕνδεκα διέφυγον καὶ λαθόντες ἐσώθησαν, οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ 8.23.38 ἅπαντες ὑπὸ τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐγένοντο. ὧν δὴ πολλοὺς μὲν αὐτοχειρὶ Ῥωμαῖοι διέφθειρον, πολλοὺς δὲ αὐταῖς ναυσὶ καταδύοντες ἔκτεινον· τῶν δὲ στρατηγῶν Γουνδοὺλφ μὲν ξὺν ταῖς ἕνδεκα ναυσὶ λαθὼν ἔφυγε, τὸν 8.23.39 δὲ δὴ ἕτερον ἐζώγρησαν Ῥωμαῖοι. καὶ ἔπειτα οἱ ἐν ταῖς ἕνδεκα ναυσὶν ἐς τὴν γῆν ἀποβάντες τὰ μὲν πλοῖα εὐθὺς ἔκαυσαν, ὡς μὴ ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων ταῖς χερσὶ γένωνται, αὐτοὶ δὲ πεζῇ ἐς τὸ στρατόπεδον ἐκο8.23.40 μίσθησαν, ὃ τοὺς ἐν Ἀγκῶνι ἐπολιόρκουν. φράσαντές τε αὐτοῖς τὰ ξυμπεσόντα εὐθυωρὸν ξὺν αὐτοῖς τὴν ἀναχώρησιν ἐποιήσαντο, τὸ στρατόπεδον τοῖς πολεμίοις ἀπολιπόντες, καὶ δρόμῳ τε καὶ θορύβῳ πολλῷ ἐς 8.23.41 Αὔξιμον πόλιν ἐγγύς πη οὖσαν ἀνέδραμον. Ῥωμαῖοι δὲ ἀφικόμενοι ἐς τὸν Ἀγκῶνα οὐ πολλῷ ὕστερον τό τε στρατόπεδον τῶν πολεμίων ἀνδρῶν ἔρημον αἱροῦσι καὶ τὰ ἐπιτήδεια τοῖς ἐν τῷ φρουρίῳ ἐσκομίσαντες 8.23.42 ἀπέπλευσαν ἐνθένδε. καὶ Βαλεριανὸς μὲν ἐπὶ Ῥαβέννης ἐχώρησεν, Ἰωάννης δὲ ἐς Σάλωνας ἀνέστρεψεν. αὕτη διαφερόντως ἡ μάχη τό τε φρόνημα καὶ τὴν δύναμιν Τουτίλα καὶ Γότθων κατέλυσεν. 8.24.1 Ὑπὸ δὲ τὸν αὐτὸν χρόνον τῇδε Ῥωμαίοις τὰ πράγματα εἶχεν ἐν Σικελίᾳ. Λιβέριος μὲν ἐνθένδε βασιλεῖ ἐς Βυζάντιον μετάπεμπτος ἦλθεν, Ἀρταβάνης δὲ, τοῦτο βασιλεῖ δεδογμένον, παντὸς ἦρχε τοῦ ἐν 8.24.2 Σικελίᾳ Ῥωμαίων στρατοῦ. ὃς δὴ Γότθους τοὺς ἐν τοῖς ἐκείνῃ φρουρίοις ἀπολελειμμένους, ὀλίγους κομιδῆ ὄντας, πολιορκῶν, μάχῃ τε αὐτῶν τοὺς ἐπεξιόντας νικήσας ἐς πᾶσάν τε ἀπορίαν τῶν ἀναγκαίων κατα8.24.3 στησάμενος ὕστερον ὁμολογίᾳ ξύμπαντας εἷλεν. οἷς οἱ Γότθοι περίφοβοί τε γεγενημένοι καὶ τοῖς κατὰ τὴν ναυμαχίαν ξυμπεπτωκόσι περιαλγοῦντες τὸν πόλεμον ἀπεγίνωσκον, ἤδη δυσέλπιδες τὸ παράπαν γεγενημένοι, λογιζόμενοί τε ὡς ἐν τῷ παρόντι δὴ αἰσχρῶς ἡσσημένοι τῶν πολεμίων καὶ παντάπασι διεφθαρμένοι, ἤν τις Ῥωμαίοις βοήθεια καὶ κατὰ βραχὺ ἐπιγένηται, τρόπῳ οὐδενὶ ἀντέχειν αὐτοῖς οὐδὲ χρόνου ῥοπήν τινα ἱκανοὶ ἔσονται ἢ ἐπὶ τῆς Ἰταλίας ἑστήξειν. οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ κατὰ πρεσβείαν διαπράξασθαί τι ἐκ βασιλέως ἐν 8.24.4 ἐλπίδι εἶχον. πολλάκις γὰρ ἐς αὐτὸν πρέσβεις ὁ Τουτίλας ἐτύγχανε πέμψας. οἳ, ἐπεὶ ἐς ὄψιν Ἰουστινιανῷ βασιλεῖ ἦλθον, ἀνεδίδαξαν μὲν ὡς τῆς Ἰταλίας τὰ μὲν πολλὰ κατέλαβον Φράγγοι, ἡ δὲ λοιπὴ ἔρημος ἀνθρώπων τῷ πολέμῳ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον γεγένηται, Σικελίας δὲ καὶ ∆αλματίας, αἵπερ ἀκραιφνεῖς διέμειναν μόναι, Ῥωμαίοις ἐξίστανται Γότθοι, δασμοὺς δὲ καὶ φόρους ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐρήμου ἀποφέρειν ὁμολογοῦσιν ἀνὰ πᾶν ἔτος καὶ συμμαχήσειν ἐφ' οὓς ἂν βασιλεὺς βούλοιτο καὶ 8.24.5 τὰ ἄλλα